I have a startling announcement
to make before I bring the message tonight. There are some questions regarding
things in the Word of God that I can't answer. Did you know
that? I just wanted everybody to know
that before I started the message. Religious people in an effort to confuse the main
issue, in an effort to win proselytes unto themselves, in an effort to sidetrack us
from where we ought to be, will come to us with all types of,
Paul called them, unlearned and foolish questions. There was
a friend visiting with me yesterday, and we talked about this subject,
and the longer we talked about it, the more that I thought about
it. And so I sat down today and prepared a message on this subject.
They did the same thing to Christ. All the different cults and the
sects and all the different organizations came to Him with their profound
questions. And they did it to entangle him
in his talk. Look at verse 15, chapter 22
of Matthew. Then went the Pharisees and took
counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they began
to ask him questions, and the first question they asked him
was this, verse 17. Tell us, therefore, what thinkest
thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not? I've actually
known religious people to get into all manner of controversy
over the question of whether a believer ought to vote, whether
we ought to go to the polls and vote, believe it or not. I've
seen religious people get into all kind of controversy over
whether or not a certain man ought to be nominated for the
Democratic presidential office, communists are going to take
over, or whether we're going to remain free, or whether we'll
remain a republic, or a democracy, or whatever we are, and they
just get in all manner of difficulty over these things. And this is
what they're asking Christ. Is it lawful for us to give tribute
to Caesar? And the Lord perceived their
wickedness. He saw through their evil and
their wickedness, and he says, why do you tempt me, you hypocrites?
And they brought unto him a penny, and he said, Whose is this image
and superscription? They said, Caesar's. He said,
as he handed it back to them, I'm sure, You render therefore
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things
that are God's. And when they heard these words,
they marveled, and left him, and went their way. He put them
to silence. I don't have his wisdom, and you don't either,
and I can't do this. When men come to me with their
so-called perplexing questions, Paul called them foolish questions,
their side issues, something to get into controversy over
and do no one any good, I don't have the wisdom of God, I don't
have the wisdom of Christ. I can't put the fools to silence.
The best thing I can do is avoid them. And that's what I recommend
for you. I recommend not casting your
pearls before swine and watch them trample them under their
feet, but rather avoid them." Then the Sadducees came to him.
These are the people that didn't believe in the resurrection,
verse 23. And they were trying to entangle
him in his talk, tempting him, and they said, Master, if a man
die having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise
up seed to his brother. Now there were with us seven
brethren, and the first, when he had married a wife deceased
and having no issue, left his wife unto his brethren, the second
also, and the third, even unto the seventh. Here was a woman
who had seven husbands. Now then, in the resurrection,
whose wife shall she be? They all had her as their wife.
Whose wife shall she be in the resurrection? Another foolish
question, unlearned question, but seeking to entangle the master,
to confuse the issue, to try to trap him. And the Lord Jesus
answered, and He said, You do err, not knowing the Scriptures,
nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they
neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels
of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection
of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you
by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead.
These men are not dead, they're living. And when they heard this,
they were astonished at his doctrine. And then verse 34, when the Pharisees
heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they wanted to try
one more time. So they came to him, and a lawyer
asked him this question. Now notice none of them are asking,
Master, what must I do to be saved? How can a man approach
the living God so as to receive forgiveness and mercy? No, they're
not asking questions like that. They're asking these questions
that are meant to confuse and trouble. And a lawyer came to
him, one of the Pharisees, tempting him and said, Master, which is
the greatest commandment? The Lord Jesus said, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul,
with all thy mind. This is the first commandment.
The second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Now there's nothing wrong. Now
understand this. There's nothing wrong with discussing
these subjects. There's nothing wrong with two
believers sitting down to discuss a Christian's position in regard
to politics. Nothing wrong with that. If this
subject is pursued in an earnest and sincere and humble and spiritual
way. There's nothing at all wrong
with it. If two believers, both are seeking to glorify God, both
are seeking to find the will of God, and both are seeking
to glorify God, there's nothing wrong at all with discussing
that issue. Now if one is trying to prove
tradition, trying to prove a point, trying to put across his particular
creed, forget it and go your way. You're wasting your time
to discuss these issues with simple-minded people. There's
nothing at all wrong with discussing the resurrection and what type
of people we shall be in the resurrection. I don't know whether
there will be men and women in the resurrection as we know them
now. I couldn't answer that question. You couldn't either, and nobody
else can. I know Christ said we're going
to be like the angels. Well, I've never seen an angel.
I don't know what the angels are like. I know we're going
to be like the Lord Jesus Christ, going to be just like Him, and
there'd be nothing at all wrong with me and one of you sitting
down to discuss this matter. But if a man comes to you with
an opinion and comes to you with a tradition or a creed already
established and wants to argue about this and wants to put a
question mark on the Word of God, avoid him. There's nothing
to be gained by this at all. These subjects become issues
that sidetrack us from the main subject. These subjects become
issues that take away our thoughts, and take away our minds, and
take away our activities from where they ought to be, and cause
unrest, and cause unhappiness, and cause division. There's nothing
at all wrong with sitting down with someone, another believer,
and talking about the commandments. I don't believe people ought
to enter into a controversy about which commandment carries the
greatest punishment, which commandment I can break and which one I can't
break, and get by with it. That'd be foolish, wouldn't it?
But there's nothing wrong with discussing the commandments of
God if you're going to pursue this discussion in a humble manner
and in an earnest manner. But when these subjects become
issues so that we're sidetracked, as these men were using them
here, they were using them to entangle the master, to try to
confuse the people, to try to drive a wedge between Christ
and those who heard him. And they were wrong. And after
all this discussion, and after all these arguments, while the
Pharisees, verse 41, look at it, while they were still gathered
together, Jesus asked them a question. And this is the main thing right
here. He said, What think ye of Christ? Now what you think
about the subject of hell and whether there's fire in hell
or no literal fire in hell is of little consequence if you
don't know who Christ is. And what you think about the
resurrection and the type of body we're going to have and
whether or not there'll be marriage or no marriage in heaven will
matter very little if you don't know who Christ is. And what
you think about government and what you think about the law
and what you think about communism and what you think about conservatism
and what you think about liberalism or any other kind of ism will
be of no consequence if you don't know who Christ is. And if you
know who Christ is, these things certainly lose their importance. What think ye of Christ? And you know in my experience,
and I've been around people who want to discuss religious issues,
seldom do I find people wanting to face this question. Everybody
wants to know where King got his wife. Everybody wants to
know whether or not I believe the whale really swallowed Jonah.
Everybody wants to know whether or not I believe that the sun
really stood still those few hours. Everybody wants to argue
about whether or not the whole world took part in the flood
or just the known world. Somebody asked me not long ago
if I really believe Noah took two of each animal on that ark. But seldom do I find people who
want to sit down. It's so rare. And I feel like
God's given me some knowledge of His Word and some knowledge
of His grace, and so seldom do I find someone who wants to sit
down in an earnest, humble, sincere way and ask me, how in the world
can a sinner be saved? How can I, an unholy creature,
approach a living God? Tell me that, preacher. You know
a little bit about God's Word, and you preach the Gospel, have
some communion with God. How about talking to me about
my sin and about salvation and about who Christ is and what
he came to do and what he's doing now and where he is. Let's talk
about the Savior. I want to know Christ. And I
challenge you, the next time that someone comes to you and
they want to talk about all these side issues and they want to
discuss whether or not you ought to baptize a man face down or
or backwards, or whether or not you ought to sprinkle him, or
pour him, or immerse him, or whether or not the Baptist church
is the right church, or the Methodist church is the right church, or
whether or not Catholicism is right or wrong, just point your
finger in his face and ask, Do you know Christ? Tell me who
he is. What do you think of Christ?
You tell me what you think of Christ, and then I'll tell you
what I think of Catholicism, or the Baptist denomination. Then I'll tell you what I think
of the Millennium. You tell me what you think of
Christ, and then I'll tell you what I think of the events that
are going to take place at the end of the earth, or whether
Russia's going to attack Jerusalem, or whether or not they're going
to build a temple. I don't know, and you don't know, and nobody
else knows. But I do know if a man doesn't know Christ, he's
going to hell. And though I have all knowledge, if I have not love, it profiteth
me nothing. And though I have all faith,
and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. And though I give
my goods to feed the poor, and have not love, it profiteth me
nothing. What think ye of Christ? In Matthew
16, the Lord faced the disciples with this. Look at Matthew 16. Verse 13, When Jesus came into
the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Whom do they say that I am? This
is the issue. Who is Jesus Christ? That's the
whole issue. And the disciples said, Well,
some say they are John the Baptist, some Elias, others Jeremiah,
or one of the prophets. He said to them, But whom say
ye that I am? Who am I? And Simon Peter answered
and said, Thou art the Christ, Thou art the Messiah, Thou art
the anointed Redeemer of Israel, Thou art the Son of the living
God. And Jesus said unto him, Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona, flesh and blood hath not revealed it
to thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto
thee that thou art Peter, a little stone, but upon this rock I'll
build my church." What rock? Who Christ is, that's the rock.
Who He is. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the Redeemer. He's the
Son of the Living God. And that's the foundation on
which the church is built. It's not built on the foundation
which day is the right day to worship. Now discuss that fine
and dandy. if we're going to approach it
with a sensible attitude, if we're going to approach it in
an earnest, humble way, if we're going to find God's will. But
after you've found out which day is the right day, you can
worship every one of those days and perish. That's what I'm trying
to say. I'm saying that the issue is
this. What think ye of Christ Jesus? Who is He? And where did
He come from? And what did He do? And why did
He do it? And where is He now? That's what the whole Bible is
about. Just think about creation, for example. Go back to creation,
Genesis 1. The scripture says all things
were made by him and for him. He's the very center of creation.
He's the very heart of creation. He is the one for whom all things
are made. Go back to the fall. As in Adam
we die, in Christ we're made alive. In Christ we're lifted
from the pit. In Christ we're lifted out of
the dunghill. In Christ we're lifted out of
the grave of sin. It's all in Christ. Look at the
whole Old Testament. The Scripture says Christ is
that rock. Christ is our Passover. Christ
is our High Priest. To him give all the prophets
witness. Moses wrote of me. Abraham saw
my day. The whole Bible, it says this,
these things are written that you might believe on the name
of the Son of God. These things are not written
that you might have an answer for everybody that comes to you
with a silly question. These things are not written
that you might become a biblical intellectual. These things are
written that you might believe on Christ. and have life in his
name. What about the government? The
scripture says the government will be on his shoulders. I'm
really not worried. I'm not concerned. I know I'm
supposed to get excited over this thing, but I never have
been able to get excited. I've listened to all of the arguments,
I've talked with people who belong to all of the different societies,
and I just can't get excited. over what's going to happen in
the next five or six years. Will we still be a republic in
1976? Well, maybe we will, maybe we
won't, but God will still be on the throne, and I'm not greatly
concerned. You may say, well, you're an
optimist. I don't know what I am, but I
do know that I believe God has the world in His hands, and I
believe He's going to do all things for His glory and for
our good. If I could do something about it, I would, but there's
nothing I can do about it. Christ said, I am the truth.
People say, well, we're looking for the truth. Well, Christ is
the truth. What about personal problems?
Not a soul here tonight doesn't have personal problems. Not a
soul. You've got family problems. You've got problems involving
your children. You've got problems involving your work, your bosses,
your employees, or your employer. You've got problems involving
your neighbors, you've got problems involving the schools, you've
got all these different personal problems. What about, what's
the solution to these personal problems? Christ said, come to
me, I'll give you rest. Christ said, my joy will be in
you. Christ said, my peace I give
unto you. I have problems too. But I'm
telling you this, Christ is my peace. And Christ is my rest
and Christ is my joy. And I've never found a problem
so severe and I've never found a trial so grave and I've never
found an experience so dark that I can't find in it Christ and
his presence and his peace. And that's where I find it. I
don't look for the psychological answer at all. I just look to
Him. I believe He's going to work
everything out for my good and for His glory. That's what Job said, though
He slay me, yet will I trust my faith to hold out? No, sir.
Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him, a person. What about death? Christ said, I'm the resurrection.
He that believeth on me shall never die. What about heaven? He said to the thief, today shalt
I be with me. Christ! Look at Colossians 3,
verse 4. Here's what the Apostle Paul
said in summing up the whole thing. What think ye of Christ? What do you think of Christ,
Paul? Well, here's his answer in Colossians 3, verse 4. Christ
is my life. Christ is my life, not religion,
not my denomination, Colossians 3, 4. Look at it. When Christ,
who is our life, shall appear. I love my wife. I told her the
other day she's the best pastor's wife there is in the United States,
and one of the finest ladies in the world. But she's not my
life, Christ is my life. I love my children. I think some
of you know how much Robbie meant to me, how close he was, and
how much I love Becky and the other two. But they're not my
life. If God takes them all away, my
life's not gone. Christ is my life. And I love
this church. Somebody asked me this afternoon
out at the golf course listening to one of my tapes and said somebody
kind of got under your skin to 13th Street Baptist Church, didn't
they? That's one of my biggest faults. I can't get mad at you
all. It may sound like it sometimes, but I'm really not talking to
you. I'm talking to folks in the radio audience. I think I love this
church too much. But you're not my life. Christ
is my life. If this church is swept away
tomorrow, as much as I love you, you're not my life. I'm going
right on living. Christ is my life. I mean that,
and that's the way you ought to feel too. Christ is my life. That's what Paul says, Christ
is my life. He's the life, he's the very
life of my spiritual existence. The very life of it. Because
of the fall of Adam, we're dead in trespasses and sin. The Bible
says without God, without hope, without life. And it was when
we were in this condition that Christ came that says, turn to
Ephesians chapter 2. In Ephesians chapter 2, verse
1, you hath he quickened who were dead, dead, dead. You were
dead in your trespasses and sins, and he quickened you. In times
past, we walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the pie there, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of our flesh and of the mind. We were by nature
children of wrath, even as others, but God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ." He's the
life of our spiritual existence. We're not in the grave of spiritual
deadness now because Christ made us live. We were resurrected
in Him, we were raised in Him, we were quickened in Him, we
were given life in Him. Because of Him we live under
God. Without Him we're dead. He's
the very beat, the heartbeat of our spiritual existence, is
Jesus Christ. Sometimes salvation is called
forgiveness. For Paul said, in whom we have
forgiveness through his blood. Sometimes salvations call release
from the curse of the law. Scripture says Christ redeemed
us from the curse of the law. The Scripture calls salvation
acceptance with God. Scripture says we're accepted
in the beloved. The Word of God calls salvation
a state of no condemnation. There's no condemnation to them
who are in Christ. No matter how you view salvation,
the blessings of salvation, the benefits of salvation, the security
of salvation, every iota of it, every jot and tittle of it, comes
through and by and because of Christ. He's my spiritual existence. I live because Christ loved me
and gave himself for me. He is my life. What do I think
of Him? He is the very life of my spiritual
existence. I live under God, by Christ,
through Christ, because of Christ. And then He's the life of my
sanctification. This is something that people
who call themselves free willers, Pentecostals, the so-called holiness
people, this is something they do not see right here. There are a lot of other folks
that don't see Him. Christ is the life of our sanctification.
Now listen to this. Our death in sin, because of
the fall, is not only a legal separation from God. When Adam
fell, we were legally separated from God, but also we are experimentally
separated from God. By nature, the scripture says,
the natural mind is enmity toward God. The scripture says men love
darkness rather than light. They personally love it. Not
only were they cast into darkness by the fall, but they loved the
darkness. You see what I'm saying? Not
only are they legally separated from God, but they're experimentally
separated from God. They love darkness. Christ said,
I come in my Father's name and you receive me not. Let another
come in his own name and him you will receive. Why? Because
your thoughts are not my thoughts. Again, he said, concerning the
will, he says, the affections are separated from God. Men love
darkness. The imagination, every imagination
of the heart is evil. You will not come unto me that
you might have life, and the natural mind is enmity. Men are experimentally separated
from God. They are driven out of the presence
of God, and they like it out there. So there must not only
be a legal restoration, but there must be an experimental restoration
of the heart. And for this, we're indebted
to Christ. For the scripture says, listen
to it, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. His death is the cause of our
sanctification. His Spirit is the agent of our
sanctification, His Word is the instrument of our sanctification,
and His life is the pattern of our sanctification, and we are
sanctified, made holy, experimentally, in proportion as we believe in
Christ and are motivated by Christ. Any so-called holiness motivation
that is not by and because of and for the glory of Christ will
result in self-righteousness. His death is the cause of our
sanctification. His spirit is the agent of our
sanctification. His word is the instrument of
our sanctification. His life is the pattern of our
sanctification. He's not only our redemption,
but He is our sanctification. I am holy because Christ is holy
and I'm one with him. Otherwise, there's enough evil
in my righteousness to send me to hell. Turn to Isaiah 64, verse
6. I've quoted this verse of Scripture,
I guess, a thousand times, but I don't know whether we've ever
really turned to it and read it. In Isaiah 64, verse 6. Listen to this. But we are all as an unclean
thing, and all our righteousnesses, it doesn't say our evil thoughts,
it says our righteousnesses. It doesn't say our bad deeds,
it says our righteousnesses, are as filthy rags. And we all do fade as the leaf,
and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. My friends,
Bishop Latimer said this, even our repentance needs to be repented
of. Even our tears of sorrow over
sin have to be bathed in the blood of Christ or there's enough
evil even in our tears to send us to hell. Now I know that that
won't meet with universal acceptation, but it's so. If we just knew how holy God
is, if we just knew how holy is his law, if we just knew how
pure and perfect is God's statute and what God requires, the finest,
purest specimen of humanity would brush in shame and perish in
the presence of his holiness. That's what Isaiah said when
I saw the Lord. I cried, Woe is me! I am undone! I am a man of unclean
lips! I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips! Why do you say this, Isaiah?
Mine eyes have seen the Lord of hosts. I would say that the man Job
naturally speaking, was the best human being that
ever lived on this earth. Now I'm talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ now, not including him. I'm talking about sons of
Adam. I would say that Job was the most upright man who ever
lived as far as outward behavior was concerned because even God
himself called him an upright man. God said to Satan, have
you considered my servant Job? He is a righteous man, or an
upright man. And yet when Job came face to
face with God's holiness, you talk about holiness. When he
came face to face with God's holiness, even Job said, I abhor
myself. I hate myself. I guess in New
Testament days the finest specimen of humanity that walked this
earth was the Apostle Paul. And yet Paul the Apostle said,
O wretched man that I am. Author of 13 books in the New
Testament, founder of churches, ordainer of preachers and elders,
God's choice servant to the Gentile cried, O wretched man that I
am. He saw the holy law of God. And for you and I to sit around
and talk about our sanctification and our holiness, if it weren't
for Christ, we'd be burned like the chaff before a driving, burning
forest fire, because that's all we are, tender for hail. Christ is our sanctification.
Christ is the last blood of our holiness and our sanctification.
It never is and never has been and never will be my behavior
that makes me acceptable to God. It is His righteousness. And I hope you see that before
you go to hell defending your righteousness. And then in the
third place, Christ is the life of our Christian graces. What
do we think of Christ? Well, he's the very life of our
spiritual existence. He's the very life of our sanctification. And when we see these things,
we'll quit talking about these side issues. We'll quit getting
involved in them because they don't amount to a hill of beans
anymore. Oh, that I may know Him who cares
about these other things. I don't. but I do care whether
I know him." Christ is the life of our Christian
graces. Let's look at faith a minute.
We hear a lot about faith, but did you know saving faith, and
there are several kinds of faith? There's miracle faith. Many believed
in him when they saw the miracles which he did. There's material
faith. Some of them followed him because
of the loaves and fishes. He said, I know why you're following
me, because you ate the fish and the bread and you got your
stomach filled. But there's saving faith. And
do you know that that's not a product of the human heart? That's the
gift of God. No man ever yet has been able to produce faith,
saving faith, to believe in a Lord they've never seen. To trust
a Savior they've never met. That takes a miracle of God's
grace. And the Scripture says Christ
is the author and finisher of our faith. The Scripture says
He is the object of faith. He is the life of faith. He's
the giver of faith. And we live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us. I don't
have anything to brag about. Even my faith is the gift of
God. Somebody came to an old woman
one time, she was noted for her spirituality, and someone came
to her and they said, Are you the lady with the great faith?
Oh no, no, she said, no, you've got it wrong. I'm the lady with
the little faith, but it's all in a great Savior. That makes
a difference. It's not how strong the vine
is, it's how strong the pole around which the vine is wrapped
is. And then hope, we talk about hope. Christ is the life of hope.
If we have hope, it's because we have Christ. Our anchor is
within the veil because Christ is in the veil. If Christ is
not in the veil, any attempt to cast my anchor there is foolishness. That's the only reason I have
hope. I have hope that God will forgive my sins because Christ
died for me. I have hope that the blood's
been put on the mercy seat because Christ put it there. I have hope
that God will hear my prayer because Christ is my intercessor. I have hope that I'm going to
be raised from the grave because Christ is coming in. It's all
wrapped up in Him. He is my hope. And then love. Turn to 1 John 4. Let's look
at this scripture a minute. 1 John chapter 4, verse 7. What about this subject of love?
1 John 4, 7. While you're turning there, let
me say this. If a man is one with Christ, he not only knows
something about love, but he loves if he's one with Christ. Because Christ is love. It's
impossible for a person to love unselfishly
who doesn't know Christ. Now that's a fact. It's impossible. 1 John 4, 7, look at it. As I say it's impossible, I didn't
say it's impossible for them to love. I said it's impossible
for them to possess real, unselfish love. In 1 John 4, 7, Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone
that loveth is born of God. and knoweth God, and he that
loveth not knoweth not God. For God is love. You can't have
love without having God. It's impossible. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us, and he sent his Son to be the propitiation
for our sin. What about forgiveness? Be ye
kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God
for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. What about missions? As my Father sent me, even so
send I you." It's all in Christ. What about humility? Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ. What about worship,
where two or three are met together? In my name. You see, we can sit
around and talk about these different subjects. Sit around and talk
about the subjects of mission. And if you don't make Christ
the central figure in the discussion, you're not talking about mission.
Because he says, as my Father sent me, so send I you. And we go to preach Christ. What
about preaching? You can't talk about preaching
if you don't talk about Christ, because Christ is the very heart
of preaching. Paul said, I determined to know
nothing but Christ and Him crucified. What about prayer? Whatsoever
you ask in my name. in my name. And then last of
all, what think ye of Christ? Well, he is our spiritual existence. He is our life. What do we think
of Christ? He is our sanctification. He
is our holiness. Christ is our holiness. What
do we think of Christ? Christ is the life of every Christian
grace, faith, love, hope, humility, whatever it is. And then Christ
is the life of glory. Turn to Philippians 3. Listen
to this. In Philippians the third chapter,
verse 20. Philippians 3, 20. For our conversation is in heaven. Some translate that our citizenship. From whence also we look for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body. that it shall be fashioned like
unto his glorious body. He's going to change it, and
he's going to make it like his own. He's the life and heart
of the resurrection. And his appearance is going to
be the signal for the resurrection, for Paul said, the trump of God
shall sound, the shout of the voice of the archangel, and the
dead in Christ shall rise when Christ appears. and he's going
to be our glory. He's going to be our heaven. To the thief on the cross, he
said, Today shalt thou be with me. To the disciples, he said,
That where I am, there ye may be also. Stephen looked up as
they stoned him and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. The
Apostle Paul said, I have a desire to depart and be with Christ. Too much to Christ I cannot give. Too much, O Lord, I cannot get
from Thee. Let all Thy love and all Thy
grace graven on my heart forever be. If there's any message that I
wish that I could convey from this pulpit over the radio and
by way of the television broadcast, if there's any message that I
could convey, any one message, this was what I would try to
get across to the people. Christ is our life. Paul said
of the early church, I travail till Christ be formed in you.
You can have religion, you can have ceremony, You can have even
morality. You can even have good deeds
and charity and have not God. But if you have Christ, you have
all these things. You don't arrive at Christ through
these things. You arrive at these things through
Christ. You start with Him. He is the life of your spiritual
existence. He is the life of your sanctification. He is the life of your Christian
graces. He is the life of your eternal
existence. It's Christ. Oh, that I may know
Him and the power of His resurrected life. That I might win Christ
and be found in Him. He is the foundation. He is the
protective covering. And He is the living temple.
in which we are grafted, and in which we are laid as living
stones. He's the head, we're the body,
he's the vine, we're the branches. Christ is our life. What think
ye of Christ? That's the question. And that's
the message we need to take to this lost world. And that's what
we need to confront people with when they want to argue, when
they want to discuss Paul said foolish and unlearned questions.
Let's get them on the main track. What think ye of Christ? And
you'll find 99% of the time that all discussions will cease. That's
what happened here. These people walked away and
it says nobody from that day forward asks him any more questions. Our Father in heaven anoint this
message by the special grace and power of thy Holy Spirit.
Let us rejoice that we have been together this evening because
a foundation has been laid, because the truth of Christ's glory has
been set forth, because we have resolved from this hour that
our very existence shall be Christ Jesus. We tear up the blueprints
of