I am desperately interested in
three things. I believe these are the three
most important things in all the world to me personally, and
that includes everything in the world. In the first place, I
want to know the gospel. You say, everybody knows the
gospel. I beg your pardon. Very few people know the gospel. There aren't many preachers who
know the gospel. And you haven't heard very many
gospel messages. Dr. J. I. Packer asked 15 men
in a church one time to tell him why they thought it absolutely
necessary for Jesus Christ to die on a cross. He asked 15 reliable,
responsible, mature, professing Christians in a church to tell
him why they thought it necessary for Jesus Christ to die on a
cross. And according to his own testimony,
only one man out of those 15 could tell him why Christ had
to die on that cross. A lot of people know he did die.
A lot of people believe he died. A lot of people are glad he died,
but they don't know why he died. Isaiah said, Lord, to whom is
the arm of the Lord revealed? Who hath believed our report? Did you know the Bible calls
the gospel a mystery? You turn to the book of Ephesians.
It is a mystery. In the book of Ephesians, chapter
6, listen to this, verse 18 and 19. In Ephesians 6, pray for
me, Paul said, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all the saints and for me. Pray for me. That utterance may
be given unto me. that I may open my mouth boldly
to make known," what? The simple gospel? The gospel
everybody knows? The gospel everybody understands
but rejects? He says, pray that I may make
known the mystery of the gospel. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
That's a mystery. If our gospel be heard, it is
heard to them who are lost, whom the God of this world hath blinded,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine
unto them. Most people do not know the gospel. And I want to know the gospel.
I am desperately, desperately hungry to know the gospel. I want to know that I know the
gospel. I'm not satisfied just to preach.
sermons, moral essays, I want to know the gospel. And secondly,
I want to preach it. I want to declare unto you and
to other people to whom I preach the true way of salvation, not
the Baptist way, not the good way. I want to preach the true
way. Our Lord said, this is salvation,
that they might know thee the only true God. and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent. What shall it profit a man if
he gain the whole world, the world of knowledge, the world
of power, the world of fame, the world of popularity? What
shall it profit him if he gain the world and lose his soul?
What's it going to gain if we have the biggest church in Kentucky,
or in the world for that matter, if our people lose their souls?
What's it going to profit if we have a big organization here
with people flocking to hear the music and see the preacher
and attend the special services for our people lose their souls? In Luke chapter thirteen, listen
to this, the thirteenth chapter of Luke, verse twenty-four. Strive
to enter in at the straight gate. For many, I say unto you, many,
I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house
is risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand
without knocking, say, Lord, open to us, and he shall answer
unto you, I don't know you, I know not whence you are. And you say,
well, Lord, we've eaten and drunk in thy presence, we've taken
the Lord's table. We've attended the communion
and the sacraments. We've eaten and drunk in thy
presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall
say, I tell you, I know not which you are. Depart from me, ye workers
of iniquity." Matthew 7, our Lord said, "...many
shall say unto me in that day, Lord, we prophesied in your name,
we preached We did many wonderful works in your name. We cast out
the demons in your name." And he shall say, I never knew you.
Brethren, I want to know the gospel and I want to preach the
gospel, the true gospel, the only true way of salvation. the
way of life. I want men and women who come
to this church and sit and listen to the messages from this pulpit
to go out of here knowing the true way of salvation, not a
way, not some way, not our way, the way. The most tragic thing
I can think of is for a man to eat and drink in the presence
of the Lord and die and go to hell. The most tragic thing I
know is for a man to be faithful to the church and to religion
and to the law and to morality and to all these things and then
die in his sin and have to stand before a holy God and hear him
say too late, depart from me, I never knew you. That's two
things I want desperately, sincerely. I'm desperately interested in
those things. I want to know the gospel. I
want to preach the gospel. Thirdly, I want to be saved myself. Now, there's no use going to
hell defending a doctrine. That's the most foolish thing
I know, for a man to go to hell defending a doctrine. There's
no use going to hell defending a denomination, most of which
have departed from the living God. There's no need going to
hell defending a system. Paul was concerned about his
own interest in Christ. Listen to it. In Philippians
chapter 3, Paul was concerned about his... He said in another
place, I don't want to preach to others and then find myself
a castaway. And he said in Philippians 3
verse 8, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and I do count them but dumb, that I may
win Christ, that I may be found in him, not having my own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know him that I may win Christ, that I may be found in Him, that
I may know Him. Brethren, it's no selfish thing
to want to be saved. I just do not want to perish. I do not want to trust a system,
a doctrine, a denomination, be caught up in a mass of people
heading down a certain road. If I have to walk alone, I want
to walk on the road of God, don't you? I don't want to be swept
up in this thing of, we're bound to be right, there's so many
of us. It's bound to be good, there's
so many people there. If that's true, the Moslems have
the true religion, there's so many of them. And in this country,
the infidels have the true religion, there's so many of them. It doesn't have to be right because
there's so many of them. Crowds beget crowds. Crowds follow
crowds. Crowds attract crowds. And once
you've got the crowd, you can get the crowd. And it doesn't
have to be Christ to whom they're crowding. Now I've spent many
hours looking at my doctrine. As Paul called it, my gospel. And I've come to ask myself this
question again and again. If God told me to propose a way
of salvation. If God told you tonight to come
up with a way of salvation, what would you propose? Now here's
what I'm suggesting. There are five, at least five
requirements that your way of salvation must meet. If you're
a or Baptist, or Catholic, or Church of Christ, or whatever
you are, and whatever your plan or way of salvation is, whether
you think it's of the Scripture or not of the Scripture, it must
meet five requirements. It must. Absolutely imperative
that it meet these five requirements, this way of salvation. Now, what
is it? And this is going to help you tonight, if you can be helped.
It's helpful to me to go over this again. Now, listen. Any
way of salvation that is effectual, any way of salvation that will
save, must first of all honor God's law. Now if the way of
salvation in which you believe and in which you trust and upon
which you depend does not honor God's law, then it won't save. Now let me show you two or three
things. First of all, in Exodus chapter
20. What we call the law is the character
of God. What we call the law, God's commandments,
God's statutes, God's law, is really God's character. He's
telling us what He is. What He commands is what He is. He says here in Exodus chapter
20, as He gave the law to Moses, and God spake these words, saying,
I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of Egypt, Thou shalt
have no other gods before me, you can't, and be my child, because
that's the God I am, you see. I am the Lord God that brought
you out of Egypt. Here's what I'm like. Here's
my character. Here's my expectations. You see
that? That's what the law is. It's
the character of God. And God has required that man
obey the whole law. The whole law, not only in action,
but in attitude. Not only in deed, but in thought. Look at Galatians chapter 4.
In Galatians, the fourth chapter, Paul is writing to some of these
Galatians who think that they can be saved by keeping the law,
who think they can be saved by obeying the commandments, and
he says, tell me, in Galatians 4.21, tell me, you that desire
to be under the law. Don't you hear the law? Don't
you know what the law commands? Don't you know what the law demands?
How good does a man have to be to go to heaven? He has to be
perfect. God can be satisfied with no less than perfection
because of who he is. I am the Lord thy God. That is
my name. Here is my character. Perfection
from infancy to death in every jot and tittle. Tell me you that
desire to be under the law. Do you not hear the law? Look
at Galatians 5, verse 3. I testify again to every man
that is circumcised, that is, that tries to be saved by the
law, that he is a debtor to do what? The whole law. Now, the law requires doing.
It's not content with knowing. It's not content with hearing.
It's not content with agreeing. It's not content with professing.
The law demands deeds. the law demands that you produce,
not that you profess, the law demands that you produce a perfect
obedience. And to fail to produce a perfect
obedience is to be what? Galatians 3.10. Look at it. For
as many as are under the works of the law are under the curse,
for it is written, Cursed. is everyone that continueth not
in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them." So the law is the character of God. The law requires obedience
to the whole law. And God Almighty can be satisfied
with no less than absolute perfection. Now, your plans of salvation,
tell me. Church membership, does that
honor the law? A man can be saved by being a Baptist or be saved
by being a Catholic. Does that honor the law? Does
that produce obedience to the law? You who say that man is
saved by baptism, can baptism honor the law? Can baptism produce
an obedience to the law? Can baptism exalt the law? Can baptism present a perfection
that God demands? This bowing and praying and scraping
and pentance and all of these things that you do, does that
honor the law? Does that produce to God, here
God is my perfect obedience? It certainly does not. Well,
the way of salvation through Christ does honor the law. Now
turn to Romans 8. It says here in the 8th chapter
of Romans, now listen to it, chapter 8, verse 3. For what
the law could not do. There's no way in the world for
the law to save a sinner. There's no way in the world for
a sinner to be saved by keeping the law because he can't keep
it. What the law could not do in that the law was weak through
the flesh. The law wasn't weak. The law
is perfect and strong, but the flesh was weak. God sending His
own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and it says God sent His
Son in the fullness of time, born of a woman, born under the
law, to redeem them that were born under the law. And Romans
5 verse 19 tells us, by one man's disobedience we were made sinners,
so by the obedience of this one who was made in the likeness
of sinful flesh, who was born of a woman, who was born under
the law, by his obedience we are justified because through
him we have a perfect righteousness for he perfectly obeyed the law. Look at Matthew 5. In Matthew
chapter 5, and this is an important verse of Scripture, in the 5th
chapter of Matthew verse 17, listen to this, Matthew 5, 17,
Christ said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I'm not come
to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. For I say unto you, Till
heaven and earth pass away, and it hasn't passed away yet, one
jot or one tittle, one minute particle, one commandment of
the heart, of the soul, of the mind, of the eyes, one jot or
tittle shall not pass from that law till it be fulfilled. Now, if you're going to be saved
by obeying the law You remember this, not one jot, not one tittle,
not one minute particle, not one atom of the law is going
to pass, or be forgiven, or be struck out, or be overlooked. Not one jot. You're going to
come up with a perfect obedience, or you're going to hell. And
your way of righteousness, you can stand before him, we did
this, we did that, we did the other, yep, you didn't do this.
Yeah, I thought this would overshadow that. Nuh-uh, not one jot or
tittle. But Lord, we did this and that.
I know you did this and that, but you'd fail to do this. Christ gave us a perfect righteousness. He obeyed and honored the law. Now secondly, any way of salvation
that is effectual must secondly satisfy God's justice. It must not only honor the law,
but it must satisfy God's justice. Listen to these scriptures. First
of all, in the book of Numbers. Now, this is a plain scripture
here. Numbers, chapter 14, verse 18. Listen to it. The Lord is longsuffering
and of great mercy for giving iniquity, thank God for that,
and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty. By no means. There is no way
in the world that the guilty can be cleared. But you say,
we're guilty. In Christ we're not guilty if
we're in Christ. For in Christ there's no guilt,
there's no condemnation. Outside of Christ there's guilt,
and God will in no wise clear the guilty. How come we're not
guilty in Christ? Because He hath taken our sin.
Now turn to another verse of Scripture, Ezekiel chapter 18.
In Ezekiel, chapter 18, verse 20, Ezekiel 18, verse 20, the
soul that sinned, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity
of the father. The son is not going to die in
the place of the father for his sin. Neither shall the father
bear the iniquity of the son. That soul's going to be responsible
for his own sin, and if it's sinned, it's going to die. Be
sure your sin shall find you out. The wages of sin is death. Turn to James, chapter 1. James,
the first chapter. Look at verse 13, if you will.
Let no man say when he's tempted, I'm tempted of God. God cannot
be tempted with evil, and He doesn't tempt any man. Every
man's tempted when he's drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, you can't
avoid it, it bringeth forth death. So God will punish sin, God must
punish sin, God's mercy will be glorified in salvation, God's
righteousness and justice will be satisfied and glorified in
damnation. Now let me ask you this, what
way of salvation shall we produce that will actually, watch this
now, what way of salvation shall we produce that will actually
punish the evildoer with death? and at the same time allow him
to go free. What salvation, what way of salvation
can we produce that will actually inflict death upon the sinner
and at the same time set him free? What way of salvation can
we bring forth that will actually allow God to deal with men in
justice and at the same time deal with men in mercy? That
is just one way. In Romans chapter 3, listen to
this, Romans the third chapter, it says in verse 19, We know
that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that
are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world become guilty. Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified, for by the law is the knowledge
of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. without my obedience by the obedience
of another, being witness for the law and the prophets." What
is this righteousness? It's the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Christ Jesus. It's through Christ, it's by
Christ, it's because of Christ, and it's unto all and upon all
that believe. There is no difference. Well,
everybody's sinned and come short of the glory of God. Therefore,
being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a perpetuation,
a mercy seat, an effectual substitute through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for the remission or forgiveness
of sins that have passed through the forbearance of God, and to
declare at this time God's righteousness that He might be just and the
justifier of him which believes in Jesus. Only through Christ's
sacrifice, only through Christ's substitution, only through Christ's
death, only through Christ's sacrifice can God deal with me
in justice because I am in Christ, and at the same time deal with
me in mercy. Now the third thing quickly.
Any way of salvation that we come up with has got to honor
that law. It's got to produce a perfect
righteousness, Christ did. Any way of salvation that we
produce has got to satisfy God's justice. God said sin bringeth
death, and sin's got to bring death. God says the soul that
sinneth has got to die, and Christ died in our place. So both are
satisfied. God's justice is satisfied, not
in me, but in His Son. Thirdly, any way of salvation
that we come up with has got to be free. Now, brethren, let
me read this to you here carefully. Listen to it and weigh it. You
say, why does it have to be free? Because we've got nothing to
pay. The necessity of the freeness of salvation will mean nothing
to us till we have a clear understanding of our bankrupt condition. That's
one of the problems that people have who are trying to work their
way to heaven, is they think they've got some works that God
admires. That's one of the reasons why
people want to pay their way to heaven is because they think
they've got something to pay. We're proud individuals. I'm
that way, you are too. I'd rather pay my way when I
can than when I can't. That's all there is to it. I'll
just have to stay home. If somebody doesn't take me,
I'll have to stay home. And if God Almighty doesn't reach
down here in freeness and mercy and lift me, I'll have to stay
where I am because I've got nothing to pay. When we see our sinful,
empty, bankrupt condition, then we have to have a free salvation. Turn to Luke chapter 7. Now Christ
describes that here in the 7th chapter of Luke when he was talking
to the Pharisee Simon. He said to him, gave him an illustration,
Luke 7, 41. He said there was a creditor
who had two debtors. One owed him 500 pence. That
was a big debt. One owed him 50, but they both
owed him. They might have owed him a different amount, one more
than the other, but they both owed him. Now when they both
had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Different debts, but both bankrupt.
It doesn't matter if I owe God ten cents or owe God ten thousand
dollars. I don't have anything to pay.
It doesn't matter if my sins are high as Lookout Mountain.
Or if my sins are just a molehill, to offend in one point of the
law is to be guilty of all the law, and if I have nothing to
pay, I must go to prison. It doesn't matter what the debt
is. He lifted the beggar from the dunghill. It doesn't matter
whether the beggar's on top of the dunghill or down at the bottom
of the dunghill, he's on the dunghill. It doesn't matter whether
he has holes in his pockets or has good pockets, he's got nothing
in his pockets. And we're said in the Bible to
be without God, without Christ, without hope, without help, and
without strength. Now you call on that man to do
something, that man who's without, without, without. To talk about
doing or giving or pleasing God is foolishness. God says, Oh,
everyone that thirsteth come without money, without price.
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then in Matthew chapter 10,
verse 7 and verse 8 of Matthew 10, Christ said to the disciples,
You go preach the kingdom of heaven freely you have received,
freely give. It came free of any charge, and
it has to be free because the old sinner is bankrupt. Now the
fourth thing any way of salvation that you come up with. You've
got to honor God's law, you've got to satisfy God's justice,
which Christ did, you've got to be free, which Christ is.
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. He is God's
unspeakable gift. In the fourth place, it's got
to be available to any sinner. Now, salvation that's only for
the Jew is not of God. Salvation that's only for the
white man is not of God. Salvation which is only for the
Baptist or the Catholic or the Camelite, you can be sure it's
not of God. Salvation which is only for the
Jehovah Witness is not of God, because the Scripture says, go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And our Lord said, in Christ
is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, barbarian, Scythian,
or male or female. Christ is all. And the Scripture
says, Whosoever will, let him take the water of life. And the
Bible says that he has a people out of every tribe, kindred,
nation, and tongue under heaven. So you take your sectarian salvation,
it's not of God. You take your salvation that
prevents me from being baptized, or prevents me from being buried
in a certain place, or prevents me from being married under your
law, or prevents me from going to heaven, and take it to hell
with you because it's not of God. It's not of God. God has a people out of every
tribe, nation, kindred, tongue under heaven. Timothy! This way of salvation must reach
Timothy, who from a child knew the Holy Scripture. And this
way of salvation must be open to the thief on the cross who
has one hour to live. Now come up with your baptism
and tell me that's what saves. It won't meet the need of that
thief. He couldn't wash. His hands were
tied to a tree. Come up with your works. He couldn't
work. He couldn't take a step for the Lord. because his feet
were tied to the tree. He couldn't attend your Bible
classes and knock on doors and give for missionary causes because
he had one hour to live. But the freeness and fullness
of Christ was given to him in his dying hour, as it was given
to Timothy in his childhood and to John the Baptist, who was
filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. And then the
fifth Any way of salvation which you may produce has to be an
eternal salvation. I don't want it if it's not.
Don't give me a temporary salvation. Don't give me a salvation that
lasts as long as I meet your requirements. Don't give me a
salvation that lasts as long as I do what you say. Don't give
me a salvation that's mine until I fall. Don't give me a way of
salvation that's mine until I make a mistake. Salvation means nothing
if it doesn't finally bring me to glory, if it doesn't finally
result in my being like Christ. The Israelites who died in the
wilderness may as well have stayed in Egypt. Isn't that right? They may as well have stayed
in Egypt. In fact, they'd been better off if they'd stayed in
Egypt, because they perished and their bones bleached under
the burning sun of the wilderness, and they did not enter into God's
rest because of unbelief. They may as well have stayed
in Egypt. Don't talk to me of a salvation that is temporary.
In 1 Corinthians 15, listen to this, and this application may
be stretching it just a little bit, but I think it's not. In
1 Corinthians 15, verse 19, Paul's talking about the resurrection,
but it's also true if I don't come to glory. If in this life
only We have hope in Christ. We are of all men most miserable. If this is all there is, if this
meeting together on Sunday until I come to the end of the road,
that's all there is to salvation. I'm a miserable man, and so are
you. But I, Lord, thank God, and that's all your salvations
are that are in water or works or anything else, that's all
they are. But in Christ, listen to him in John 10, 27, he said,
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and
I give them eternal life, and thank God they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my Father's hand. And Paul said, No one can separate
me from the love of God which is in Christ my Lord, And I want
you to listen to a verse in Malachi chapter 3, verse 6. Listen to
this. I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, now I change and you
change, but he doesn't change. And he said, I am the Lord, I
change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. That's the only reason. These
little old silly holiness movements around here say that a man is
saved and then he commits a sin and he's lost again. Yeah, if
salvation was in our hands, we would be lost every day. If one
sheep of Christ could fall away, we'd fall a thousand times a
day. But thank God our salvation is not in the changeable flesh.
and the changeable heart and the changeable nature of man.
It's in an unchanging God who says the only reason that you
sons of Jacob are not consumed is because I don't change, you
do. What other verse? Romans 11.
Romans 11, verse 29. The gifts. Salvation is the gift of God,
isn't it? The gift of God is eternal life. Isn't that what
the Bible says? Salvation is a calling, isn't it? You are
the call of Christ Jesus. Give diligence to make your calling
and election sure. Salvation is a gift and a calling,
right? All right, read this. For the gifts and calling of
God are without change. He gave it to me and he'll never
take it back. He called me by spirit And he'll
never let me go. Now, if salvation is in the hands
of foolish man, he can lose it. But not if it's in the hands
of God. Let me show you one other verse. One other verse. And it's over here in the book
of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3. Then we'll close. One other verse. In Ecclesiastes 3.14. that whatsoever God doeth, it
shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nothing
can be taken from it. God doeth it that men may fear
before him." Christ honors the law. Christ satisfies justice. Christ is free. Christ is available
to anybody in this congregation tonight who wants it. And when
you're in Christ, you're eternally secure. And you can't scrape
heaven, earth, and hell and find a way of salvation that'll meet
all five of those requirements. He's the only way. That's the
reason Peter said there is none other name under heaven, given
among men, whereby we must be saved.