I invite your attention back
to Luke chapter 11. Now, this is the record of Christ
answering the accusation of religion that he had by the power of devils,
or by the power of Beelzebub, cast out devils in verse 15. But some of them said that he
casteth out devils by Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. Now, our Lord had just cast out
a devil that made a man unable to speak. And when he had cast
out the devil, the man spoke. And this is why these people
said this. Rather than give God the glory,
these men sought to protect their own status in religion. They
didn't care much for this fellow from Nazareth. And they certainly
didn't like the idea that he was, by simply speaking, able
to make a man who had never spoke open his mouth and speak. Now, in what follows, our Lord
sets forth what is true and false conversion and what is true and
false salvation. And we must understand that He
addressed what He spoke here to those who believed The Bible. Those who search the Scriptures,
for in them they thought they had eternal life, not understanding
that the Scriptures spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ and they
would not come to Christ for life. These were Pharisees, religionists,
very moral, good men, self-righteous, but righteous nonetheless by
human standards. So much so that Christ Himself
said, except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and the Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter heaven.
Now, most people look at that and say, well, He is commending
their righteousness. No, He is condemning their righteousness
and showing that the best human righteousness will never make
the mark. You must have, in order to be
accepted by God, the righteousness of God Himself. And the way you have that is
that God puts you in Christ, according to I Corinthians 1.30,
and makes Christ to be unto you wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Christ is my righteousness. I have no other righteousness.
If you knew me, you'd know that to be true. Christ is my righteousness. And old Philip Henry, Matthew
Henry's daddy, said that will help you three times in your
life. When you do something bad, it's good to know that Christ
is our righteousness. And when you do something good,
it's good to know that Christ is our righteousness. And when
you come down to die, as we all will and that right soon, when
the death rattles in our chest and we know we are about to step
out of this world into the next, one thing we will do, Christ
is my righteousness. Christ is my righteousness. Marvin Stoniker, when Linda was
about to die, had cancer, beautiful southern
girl, bright, smart, all withered away by cancer. She had only
a few days to live. Marvin sat down by her bed and
said, You know, usually people who know the Lord and are dying
have seen some things that people who aren't dying don't. Do you
have any wisdom for me? He said this to his wife. I have no righteousness of my
own, but I stand before God in the perfect righteousness of
Jesus Christ. That'll do you when you die. That'll do you
when you die. Now, our Lord was talking to
those who believed by their works and by their doings that they
possessed an acceptable righteousness before God. And so He gives this
illustration, this message, if you will, about how indeed men
are saved and what is the difference between true and false conversion. For most who profess to know
Christ's salvation has little or nothing to do with casting
out devils, but Christ says it does. Christ says it does. To most of what is called Christianity,
devils and demon possession has to do with dark ceremonies, bars
and bordellos, pentagrams and strange and dangerous behavior,
wearing robes and such. It is clear that men by the power
of the devil do cast out devils. According to Matthew chapter
7, Our Lord said to those who claimed to know Him and even
called Him Lord, I never knew you. And they were able because
Christ did not discount that they did these things. They said,
didn't we do many mighty wonders in thy name? Didn't we cast out
devils in thy name? Didn't we? And He didn't say
they didn't. He said, yeah, but you do iniquity. in the name of Jesus Christ.
He called what they did, doing mighty wonders, preaching His
name, casting out devils as iniquity, in His name. In His name. What Satan is able to do. And I am not familiar and do
not want to familiarize myself with what I think is his tactics.
Because let me tell you this, he is a deceiver. I found this
to be true and I have been doing this for a while. Every time
somebody gets caught up in trying to figure out Satan and study
the occult, they end up oppressed by it or caught up in it or obsessed
by it and end up altogether gone. But Satan, according to Scripture,
holds men captive at his will. can make you believe, and it
is His design to do so, that you are able to do great wonders,
to cast out devils, to preach the name of Jesus Christ. That's
His job. And He's good at it. He's good
at it. Our Lord here describes the delivery
of the elect as defeating Satan and taking from him those whom
he held captive. Men, especially those of religion
without Christ, do not like to think of salvation as casting
out devils, or that demon possession is equated with unbelief. in Scripture. Men don't like
to think about that. Those who deny Christ and seek
to be justified by the works of the law of Moses, our Lord
Himself called them devils. They weren't irreligious. They
were very religious. They lived for religion. They
had Abraham to their father. They said, We're not born of
ornication. We're children of God. And look what our Lord says
to them in John chapter 8. John chapter 8. And we rarely
think in these terms, but we need to think in these terms.
Because our thinking is all wrong here. We look for pentagrams
and darkness and spooky movies from Hollywood thinking about
demon possession, the exorcist or some silly mess like this.
Demon possession according to Scripture. is approaching God
on your own merit, not the merit of Jesus Christ. It is unbelief.
It is unbelief. Our Lord said in John chapter
8 and verse 42, ìIf God were your Father, you would love Me.î
There is a good test, isnít it? That is a simple test. If God
is your Father, you love Jesus Christ. ìLet him that love not
Jesus Christ be anathema maranatha. But if God is your Father, you
would love Me. But they didn't. They hated Him.
They wanted to kill Him every time He opened His mouth. For I proceeded
and came forth from God, neither came I Myself, but He sent Me.
Why do you not understand My speech? He is not asking this
for information. This is a rhetorical question.
That means the answer is in the question. Why do you not understand my
speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. Now, he's speaking
words to them in their audible ear. The inner ear is picking
you up. It's translating. The brain is
telling them what it says. And yet, they can't hear. He said,
you know, you don't understand my speech because you can't hear
me. You can't hear me. And the reason is, you are of
your father, the devil, and the lust of your father Ye will do. And we'll find out what those
lusts are in a minute. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar
and the father of it. Those things are important to
remember. That's some description of what the devil is and what
he does. He's a liar and the father of
it. Don't try to study him. Don't try to figure him out.
He ain't going to be where you think he is. He is a deceiver
and a liar. Paul warned Timothy of the religious
influence of Satan in the last days, or the Gospel age, and
that influence was not toward outward evil, but was manifest
in works of religion and self-denial. Turn to 1 Timothy. In 1 Timothy chapter 4, he says,
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, and that means the Spirit really
has designed for you to listen, take heed to what is being spoken.
The Spirit speaker is expressing that in the latter times, some
shall depart from the faith. What is that talking about? That
is talking about apostasy. Those who say they believe Christ,
but then don't. Giving heed to seducing spirits,
and seducing spirits of false prophets and teachers, and doctrines
of devils. What kind of doctrines are those?
Well, they speak lies and hypocrisy. There is a two-faced issue here.
Hypocrisy comes from the Greek theater where a man wore his
face and wore a mask on the back of his head and played two characters.
He is a hypocrite. Their conscience being seared
or cauterized with a hot iron. What do they do? Well, they forbid
to marry. command to abstain meats which God created to be
received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the
truth. He says it's all about taste
not, touch not, handle not. That's the deception. If you
don't do this, and you don't do that, and you don't do this,
then you're holy. I don't drink beer. Oh, you must be a good
person. I don't chew tobacco. Then I
must be a good person. I don't go to the movie show
or get on the Internet. Then you must be a good person. No,
you're bound for hell just like everybody else, except by the
grace of God. I've told this story many times
about that 70-year-old man that came on my porch many years ago.
I hadn't been a preacher very long, probably 10 or 12 years.
He knocked on my door, that open door. I said, yes, sir. You always
pay respect to elders. Yes, sir, can I help you? He
gave me his name and he says, you know, I'm 70 years old. I've
never smoked a cigarette. I've never drunk a beer, and
I've never went to a movie show." Well, I was taken aback. I didn't
know what to say. I think I might have said, well,
okay, fine, you know, service is tomorrow at 11, you know.
But you ever finish, when somebody walks off, you say, boy, I wish
I'd have said, and here's what I wish I'd have said. When he
said, I've never smoked a cigarette, never drank a beer, never went
to a movie show, I wish I'd have said, well, man, you've missed
three of the best things in life. I wish I'd have said that. B.B. Caldwell said a woman in
New York approached him one time and said something like, you
know, I've never done this and I've never done that. And he
said, woman, what you need to do is get drunk and throw up
all over yourself so you get some idea how wretched you really
are. These Pharisees believed that
they had a righteousness before God. The devil's deception is
by saying, well, if you forbid Mary, you abstain from meat,
you eat right. You go by that, that Bible died. You know, that's
spiritual. It's not. It doesn't have anything
to do with spirituality. The great congregation of all
demons will be in the religion of Babylon, empowered by Satan. And that will not go under the
name of Islam. It will go under the name of
Christianity. False religion claims to have
power over devils, but they don't. They claim to have power over
devils, doing signs and wonders and wondrous things. But that's
a lie. God sent them a lie, sent them
strong delusion that they would believe a lie and be damned for
believing the lie because they received not the love of the
truth according to 2 Thessalonians. There were some people in Acts
chapter 19, I believe their names were, they were sons of Sceva.
And they had seen Paul and these other apostles casting out devils,
and they wanted to get in on that. They liked that. And so
this fellow was possessed of a devil, and these sons of Sceva
came up to him and said, Look, I adjure you, devil, in the name
of Paul and in the name of Jesus, come out of that man. And the
devil spoke and said, Well, I know Paul. And I know Jesus. I don't know you. And proceeded
to whoop them right there on the spot. Rip their clothes off
and send them running naked and bruised out in the street. People
talk about, we're going to run the devil out on the rail. You
better leave the devil alone. Because you can't handle him.
You can't handle him. He's handled people like you
and me for 6,000 years and it's not a problem. Trust me. You
better pray someone bigger Stronger, greater handles Him for you. Or else you will perish. You
will perish. True salvation is the defeat
of Satan and the delivery of man's soul from his domain and
power. And until that takes place, the
believer or the unbeliever remains under Satan's absolute sway unless
Satan chooses, as is spoken of here, to depart from him for
a time. which makes unbelievers think everything is okay. True conversion is the act of
the sovereign overcoming and defeating of the one who holds
the soul captive at His will. Nothing short of that is salvation. Nothing short of that is deliverance.
Satan is here declared to be greater in power than men. And though religion has relegated
salvation to the decision of free will, the Bible declares
no such thing. For it is not him that willeth,
nor him that runneth, but God that showeth mercy. Man is imprisoned,
but he is imprisoned by several things. We think we are somebody.
We think we can do something. We make our plans. We propose,
and then God disposes. We plan, and then something happens
to stop us. We cannot get up in the morning.
apart from the grace of God and the mercy of God. We think we're powerful. We're
not powerful. A microscopic nothing that we
can't even see without an electron microscope can get in our system
and reduce a 250 pound man down to nothing in a matter of weeks. Put him off the face of the earth.
Satan! Listen to me. Rules in the realm
of unbelief. But remember this, His rule is
derived. What does that mean? It's not
intrinsic to Him, and it is limited because it is God who created
Him, and God who controls Him, and God who even uses Him for
His purpose. Isn't that right? Have you seen my servant Job? He's a good man. Hates that which
is evil and loves that which is good. He's an honorable man,
a holy man, a perfect man. Satan said, Well, why wouldn't
he be? You've given him everything.
Does he serve you for nothing? And the Lord said, Yes, he does.
In fact, I'll let you take away everything he's got and let you
hurt his body and show you that he does worship me for nothing.
Why do I worship God for nothing? You worship God because He gives
you stuff, and you ain't worshiping God at all. Men worship God because
He's worthy of worship. He's worthy of worship. Job proved
that. Satan imprisons men, and many
things are sovereign over us. Sin is called sovereign over
us. Sin has reigned unto death. Even those who sin not after
the similitude of Adam's transgression, it says in Romans 14. Even as
sin hath reigned unto death, that grace might reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ. Satan is said
to hold sway over men. We are said to be in Ephesians
chapter 2, under the power of the prince of the power of the
air, to do the lusts of our minds and our hearts. You see, men
were put in this world not as tyrants, not as kings, but as
servants of Almighty God. Man's nature is that of a servant,
though he does his best to quell that rumor. Once Adam fell and
plunged the entire human race into sin, man's innate nature
didn't change as far as servitude goes. He simply sought out other
sovereigns to worship. From birth, he worships at the
altar of sin and self and Satan. And he is declared to be in prison.
In prison! Have you ever been in prison?
Have you ever been locked up by the law? I won't ask for a
show of hands. I have. I was in Atlanta prison in 1966
for grand theft. Stupid prank by me and a fella.
Set some cue sticks outside the back door of a pool hall and
the owner didn't like that. He called the law. We got put
in jail. Stood a chance of making a year
and a day in jail. They locked those doors. Plank. And you know all I really had
to do was exercise my free will and decide to be out of there
and I would be. Whoops, that wouldn't work then,
would it? Yet, men think they can get out of the prison of
sin, the prison of Satan, by exercising their free will? That's
just stupid, folks. If we could get out of prison
by free will, the penitentiaries would be empty before I finish
today, I'll guarantee you that. Men by nature, by choice, are
willingly held captive by sin. They like it. They like it. They love it. And that is why
Satan's palace is said here in this text to be at peace. Satan's
palace is said to be at peace. Look at verse 21. When a strong
man armed came to this palace, his goods are in peace. His goods are in peace. Matthew also writes of this.
Look back at Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12 and 28. But if I cast out devils by the
Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you, but
or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil
his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he will
spoil his goods? You have to bind the strong man.
Satan's palace is a peaceful palace. No man knows that he is even
captive until a greater than his captor comes and wrests him
from his wretched warden's wicked grasp. Our Lord said, this is
why I came in Luke chapter 4, quoting Isaiah chapter 61. He
says, to heal the brokenhearted. To open the doors of the prison. to set them that are captive
free. Conversion occurs when one who
is stronger than Satan comes into his domain and binds Satan
and takes those whom he held captive and sets them free. Nothing
short of an absolute defeat of Satan can ever even be considered
salvation. After Peter said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord said, Upon this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against him. When our Lord spoke of the death
of which he should die in John chapter 12, verses 31 through
33, He said, The prince of this world must be cast out. He spake
of the death of which he should die at Jerusalem. Absolute deliverance
by the death of Christ. Wherein He destroyed the works
of the devil is true conversion. Salvation, conversion is the
act of the sovereign Christ and to Him belongs all the glory.
Back at our text in verse 33. These words are directed to those
who have accused Christ of casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub.
And he is saying that either salvation is how he has said
it, or you find yourself in opposition to him. He that is not with me
is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. In Matthew
chapter 12 it says, He that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
And I can never read that without thinking about that preacher
who was trying to describe hell to people. He didn't have a whole
lot going on between his ears, but he had a lot of zeal. And
he read that scattereth abroad, and he read it this way, scratcheth
aboard. And that's a true story. It is
on the radio. And he was describing how hell
was. He says, you're down there in hell and there's fire going
on around you and you've got this board there. He said, ìAnd
you may scrape your fingernails across that board and get splinters
under your fingernails.î ìHeís not with me, scratcheth the board,î
he said. ìNo, as heís not with me, scattereth
abroad.î The Lord says, ìYouíre either
with me or youíll get me.î And Heís talking about the subject
of salvation, how itís accomplished. Verses 24 through 26, our Lord
teaches us of false conversion. He has told us what true conversion
is. Here is what true conversion is. Verse 22, But when a stronger
than he comes upon him, and overcomes him, he taketh from him all his
armor, wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoil. That is salvation.
How was I saying? God came into Satan's house.
Now, it was actually God's house, because God owns everything.
But Satan was using the house for a while, and I was in his
house. It said that Jesus Christ came into his house, worried
he had me bound and chained and unable to move. And Christ was
stronger and greater. And he ripped Satan from the
throne of my heart and soul. And took from him what he trusted
in and set me free. That's salvation. That's what
it is. That's what the Lord says it
is. If I, by the finger of God, cast out the devil, then the
kingdom of God, the rule of God, has come to your house. The rule
of God. But our Lord here is speaking
also of false conversion. And this must be seen in the
light of the Word spoken in verse 22 when it is said that Christ
takes from Satan all the armor wherein he trusted. You see,
Satan's house is in peace and he feels himself invulnerable
because he trusts in his armor. And his armor, that which he
has confidence in, is the lie by which he has hoodwinked humanity. He has not made men go out and
live ludicrous lives and believe that they have recommended themselves
to God. I have no doubt that he is involved in drugs. I have no doubt that he is involved
in the debauchery and the filth that goes on in this world. I
have no doubt whatsoever. But let's do it. Those are his
failures. Those are Satan's failures. No man. who does vile and wicked things
would ever say, these things recommend me to God, wouldn't
they? Back in my days of propagacy,
I never thought when I was laying in a ditch somewhere, boy, God
really likes me for this. But I'll tell you what I did
think when I stopped drinking and all that other stuff. I lived
for ten years without ever drinking wine. You know what I thought?
God likes me for this. I was more in danger there than
I was when I was in the gutter drum. Satan has made men feel that
by their choice they can be like God. Isn't that the lie? You remember Christ said He is
a murderer and a liar from the beginning and everything He says
is a lie? Well, that lie started back in the Garden of Eden as
far as humanity was concerned. This is the lie that he had from
the beginning. And what was the lie? Look back
at Genesis 3. In Genesis chapter 3, the record
of the fall of humanity, when Adam fell. And remember this, when Eve ate
this fruit, she didn't fall. She didn't fall until Adam ate
the fruit, because in Adam all men died, not in Eve. And there's
a reason for that. That's why Jesus Christ was born
of a woman, a seed of woman. That's why the language is that
way. His Father is God. He doesn't have the stain of
Adam's seed on Him. He has God's Spirit. He is God
Himself. Look what it says, ìNow the serpent
was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord had
made, and he said to the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall
not eat of every tree in the garden, which God did say. And the Lord said unto the serpent,
Well, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but
of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,
God has said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch
it, lest ye die. Now, some people harp on poor Oeve said she added
to what God had said. She really didn't. She just illuminated
what He said. In the day ye shall eat of the
fruit of the tree, ye shall surely die. She said, Well, you shouldn't
touch it. Well, you can't eat it if you
don't touch it. So don't be mad at Eve. And the
serpent said to her, Oh, you're not going to die. And God knows that. He knows
that when you eat this fruit, then your eyes are going to be
open. You're going to be smarter and brighter. You're going to
be able to figure out stuff. And you'll be as God's. In the
words there He uses, Elohim, you'll be like God Almighty. You will be sufficient within
yourself, powerful within yourself, self-sustaining. You'll be okay. You're no good and evil. And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and it was
pleasant to the eyes, and trees to be desired, to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave it also
unto her husband, and he did eat. That's the lie. What's the
lie? You can be like God by disobeying God. You can be like God. You'll be
better off. You'll be wiser. You'll be smarter. You see, Satan is not in the
gutters and the crack houses and the opium dens of the world
so much. These are his failures. He's in the pulpits convincing
men and women that they are right with God because they've cleaned
up their lives by moral rectitude and found acceptance with God.
And this is seen in the frightening words of verses 24 through 26
of our text. When the unclean spirit has gone
out of a man, He walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and
finding none. He saith, I will return to my
house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth
it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to
him seven other spirits more wicked than himself. And they
enter in, and dwell therein. And the last state of that man
is worse than the first state of that man. Our Lord here is not referring
to true conversion. When He binds Satan and spoils
his house, here the unclean spirit is said to go out of a man. Of
his own volition, he leaves a man. How revealing is this? First
of all, Satan can leave a man for a time. But the fact is,
Satan is happy when he is residing in the heart of man. He is at
peace. He is okay. It is his house, and he is content
there, and man is content to have him there. The demon-possessed
man of Gadara was alive and functioning, possessed by a legion of demons,
but the pigs could not live that way when they were cast into
the pigs. When the evil spirit leaves a man for a time, the
man is restless. But this speaks of the demon.
He is restless and finds no peace. Remember where he was in his
house. When a strong man is in control of his house, he's at
peace. That's what it says. He's at peace. Now he's not at
peace. He leaves a man and he's not
at peace. Why? Because he wants to be back where
he loves, back at the heart of man. Again, this is a suggestion
that in man the devil finds rest and peace and all the elements
available that are conducive to the Satan's comfort. Is it
any wonder that the Lord says that the heart of man is deceitful
and desperately wicked? Who can know it? When Satan has
had his feel of the dry desert places outside the comfort zone
of man's heart, he simply returns to his home. He said, I'm going
back home. I don't like this desert. I'm not at peace. I feel
uncomfortable. I feel uncomfortable. I'm going
back where I belong, to my home. To my home. That's what he said
in verse 24 in the last phrase. I'll return to my house from
whence I came. He can do so because he has not
been yet dispossessed of his house by Christ. It is his house
and he longs for the comforts of hearth and home as we all
do. Well, what has been going on
since he left? What has been going on since
he left? While he has been out, the heart of man has been busy
getting the house ready for his return. the return of the One who told
him he could be like God. The man cleans his house and
he decorates his house. That's what it says. And when
he cometh, in verse 25, he finds it swept and garnished. He sweeps
away the moral filth, the societal evil. He empties out the garbage
and makes himself presentable for the devil by deeds of merit
and goodness. He makes a moral reformation,
seeks to obey the law for righteousness, cleans the outside of the cup,
washes himself with snow water and makes himself never so clean,
puts on the robes of human self-righteousness. He becomes an ex-man. He is an
ex-drunk or an ex-dope addict or an ex-adulterer. He also garnishes
his house. He puts out things that are visible
to the eye that makes him appear religious. He hangs crosses on
his walls and puts them on top of his churches. He puts pictures
of Wild Bill Hickok on the wall and says it is Jesus. He opens
the Bible and highlights John 3.16 with a yellow highlighter. And if anyone sees him, He knows
he has ample evidence that he is a child of God, though he
has no interest in Christ at all. This is the home that Satan loves,
a home of moral dignity without Christ. a place where the fruit
that is good for food and pleasant to the eyes and desired to make
one wise is the main course of every meal. Here Satan can rest
and be at ease because his house is the house of human merit,
human work, free will, and religious abundance. This house is the
house of being like God without Christ. And this is all that Satan has
ever really wanted, to be like God. And the old saying
says, those who can't do, teach. Forgive me, teachers, for saying
that. But that's the old saying. Those who can't do, teach. Satan
couldn't be like God. He wanted to be. So he's teaching
you. how to be without Christ. Back in Isaiah chapter 14. In Isaiah 14, verse 12, it says,
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer? We get our word, luminescence,
from that. How art thou cut down to the
ground which did weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend to the heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also in the mount
of the congregation." I'll be the head of the church is what
he's saying. I'll sit in the sides of the north. I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.
It's always been what he wanted. He couldn't do it. God said,
Go to hell. Put him out of business. But you know what he did? He
fell. And he began to tempt humanity, saying, you know, you can be
like God. You can be like God. And men
believe it. This is the armor in which Satan
trusts. Here is the armor in which Satan trusts while there
is peace in his house. You believing His lie. You surrounding
yourselves with presumed righteousness, self-righteousness and merit
before God. You looking through your works
as evidence of your salvation. You, you, you! And not Christ. And Satan is
quite happy with that. He speaks peace where there is
no peace. When he returns to his house,
he does not come alone, it says. He brings with him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself. I can't imagine even what that
language means, can you? More wicked than Satan? What
is more wicked than Satan? We have but to understand what
made the bright and shining one to be Satan, to understand that.
What made Satan, Satan? What made Lucifer, Satan? Self-righteousness. That's what
made him fall. Self-deification. I'm the captain
of my own salvation. That's what men say. They're
saying, I'm God. This wickedness is sin. And what
the seven words, seven here, is for just so it's a complete
deal. It's a complete deal. The wickedness of religious wickedness,
what the old Puritans used to call splendida piccata, meaning
shining sins, sins in silver slippers. It is the sin that
speaks peace to your heart when there is no peace. It is the
sin that is so damning to your soul, the sin that says, listen,
I know I am a child of God because I do this, I do that, I don't
do this, I don't do that. I can look to my life and find
some kind of hope and peace and evidence. I am doing this, therefore
I am a child of God. Nothing you do and ever will
do will ever make you a child of God. What it is going to take
is for you to be ripped out of the hands of Satan and delivered
into the Kingdom of God's dear Son. The result of religious reformation
is comfortable And it's a comfortable abode for Satan in the estate
of the man at the end of it is worse than he was when he began, before he began to assume that
he could please God by his life and his works. There's one more
thing. In Matthew's account, our Lord
says this attractively hellish, fleshly hovel is empty. When the evil spirit returns,
he finds the house empty, swept, and garnished. He puts the word empty first.
Why? Though it is later swept and
decorated, there is still nothing there. God says none shall appear before
me empty. What's it empty of? It's void
of grace, void of mercy, void of salvation, void of any interest
in Christ, and void of any true hope. Yet, they think they have hope. Do you think you have hope this
morning? Are you confident? I heard a
fellow on TV, and I was just flipping through it. He says,
you've got to get to the point in your salvation that you know
you're sure for heaven. as if he was already there. Well,
there are people in Scripture who are as sure for heaven as
if they were already there. They are. They are lost people. Religious people. Confident people. Houses for Satan. In Isaiah 28, verse 14, Wherefore, hear the word of the
Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people, which is in Jerusalem,
that rule this people, because ye have said, and this
is what people say. This is not God saying, this
is what I say about you. He said, this is what you say
about yourself. You say, we've made a covenant with death. We
ain't worried about death. We can go to heaven when we die.
Because we walk down an aisle. Because we're good people. We're
not like other men. We don't drink, smoke, and chew
and mess around with folks who do. We go to church every Sunday.
We pray and we give. We get all our things. We go
to heaven when we die. We ain't afraid of death. And
with hell, we're in agreement. We're glad there's a hell for
them bad people and not for us. We're in agreement with hell.
Hell is okay. That's where them bad people ought to be. That's
where old Saba ought to be. Don't you think? Some of you
say, well, that's where George Bush ought to be. That's where all them bad people
are. Them non-Christian people are. They're the ones that are.
That hell's a good deal. They're in agreement with hell.
And it says, when the overflowing scourge shall come through, that's
the judgment of God, it shall not come to us. They said, we're
not worried about God's judgment. We're good people. We've done
the right thing. We've done everything the preacher told us to do. Now
look at this next phrase. Can you imagine anybody saying
this? For we have made lies our refuge. They're saying this.
I believe I'm going to heaven and I ain't worried about hell
or worried about dying because I believe a lie. That's what
they say. I'm holed up in a lie. That's
my refuge. See, people don't talk like that,
don't they? Don't they? Say things like, well, you know,
salvation is by grace alone. And someone says, no, you know,
it's got to be something we do. The refuge is a lie. God chose
whom He would save for the foundation of the world. That's what the
Bible says 144 times. People say, oh, I can't worship
a God like that. Thank you, my refuge isn't a lie. Salvation
is free of anything you do. Well, I believe you have to exercise
your free will and choose Jesus and accept Him. You've taken
a refuge in a lie. And you're saying it openly.
You say, well, my God's not like that. Well, this one is. I don't
care if the Bible doesn't say it. I don't believe it. Well,
the Bible does say it. And if you don't believe it, you're holding up
in a refuge of lies. And under falsehood have we hid
ourselves. What falsehood? Satan says, you
know, God really knows this about humanity. God's this loving, generous,
gray-haired granddaddy in a rocking chair on a cloud. God's a cosmic
muffin. God's all this sweetness and
light. And God really loves you. And
He's going to take care of the whole mess. Just do your best. Be good. Be kind. It's going to be alright. And
Satan smiles from your heart and says, Oh, it's nice to be
home. Nice to be in the comfort my
armor surrounds me, my lives. My lives. But the Lord has something
to say. Because you say that, laid in
Zion in the church for a foundation stone, a tried stone, tried by
the law, tried by men, tried by God, a precious stone for
unto you who believe He is precious, a sure foundation. There is no
other foundation that can be laid than that which God laid. And he that believeth on Him
shall not be in a hurry, shall not be confounded. Satan is the
author of confusion. You know why the Gospel is not
confusing? You know why I'm not confused? Because I might have
made you mad. I don't know. I don't know. And I don't care. I might have made you mad. But
you know why the Gospel is not confusing? It's just one thing.
Think about it now. One thing. Christ said, I'm the
way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to Me except the
Father, which has sent Me to draw him. I'm the way, the truth,
and life is one thing. Now, if it's just one thing,
you can't be confused about it. What's that? Well, it looks like
three. No, it's just one. Well, you know, maybe I ought
to add something. No, it's just one. It's Christ and Him crucified. That's it. Well, it can't be
that simple where you hold up in a refuge life. It's that simple. Christ! You mean everything I
do and everything, all this stuff I do don't count for anything?
That's exactly what I mean. If you're doing it to get something
from God, you're doing it all wrong to start with. God blesses us because of His
Son. One thing. Now here's how you
get confused. Put something with it. Two things
confuse you. One thing won't. You're not confused. You might not like it, but you're
not confused. Don't lie to yourself, please.
God have mercy on your soul. Don't lie to yourself. It's one
thing. One thing. May the great, omnipotent,
only potentate, almighty, sovereign Savior, the strongest of the
strong, engage our captor on our behalf. May he bind him and
spoil his house and take his armor that he trusted in and
set us free. May we with Peter, as he began
to sink beneath the billows, cry, Lord save me. or I perish. There is a true
conversion. There is also a false one. Father, bless us to understand
Him. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Good day. God bless you.