Sermon #1355 Miscellaneous
Notes
Title: What Is It
To
Preach The Gospel?
Text: 1 Corinthians 9:16
Reading: Ezekiel 33:1-16
Subject: Gospel
Preaching
Date: Sunday Morning – August 22, 1999
Tape
# V-41b
Introduction:
"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for
necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” —1 Corinthians 9:16
Proposition: If a man is called of God to
the work of the gospel ministry, it is his great privilege and awesome
responsibility to preach the gospel of Christ to eternity bound sinners, for
the glory of God and the everlasting salvation of those who hear him.
Let me repeat what I have told you hundreds of times. I
wish I had the ear of every preacher in this world, and could persuade him of
this fact. – The only true, biblical
preaching there is is gospel preaching.
·
No man has preached, in Bible terms, until he has preached the gospel.
·
No man has truly and accurately expounded any text of Scripture, until
he has preached the gospel from the text.
· No Bible subject has been faithfully and properly handled, if it has not been set forth in the context of gospel light.
·
No sermon should ever be preached which does not show eternity bound
sinners the way of life and salvation in Christ.
The
singular, universal subject of Holy Scripture is the gospel of God’s free and
sovereign, saving grace in Jesus Christ, our crucified, risen, exalted Lord and
Savior (Lk. 24:24, 44-47; 1 Pet. 1:23-25).
And certain of them which were with us went
to the sepulchre, and found [it] even so as the women had said: but him they
saw not. (Luke 24:24)
And
he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was
yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law
of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that
they might understand the scriptures,
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to
suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:44-47)
Being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
For all flesh [is] as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (1 Peter
1:23-25)
Knowing these things, I say with the
apostle Paul…
As much as in me is, I am ready to preach the
gospel to you… For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith
to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:15-17)
“Christ sent me…to preach the gospel: not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none
effect. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power
of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18)
“I determined not to know any thing among
you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
(1 Corinthians 2:2)
“God forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I
unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14)
“For though I preach the gospel, I have
nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not
the gospel!” (1 Corinthians
9:16)
With
that as our background, I want to answer one question in this message -- What
is it to preach the gospel? My
only source of authority for what I shall say is the Word of God. I encourage
you to search the Scriptures for yourself. Find out for yourself whether the
things I tell you are so. What is it to preach the gospel? Let’s look into the
Book of God and find out what it is to preach the gospel.
I.
First, what is it to preach the
gospel? It's to preach the TRUTH ABOUT MAN.
Men and
women do not want to hear the truth about themselves. But gospel preachers
preach the truth. It is my responsibility to leave you who hear me as empty,
broken sinners, utterly destroyed with every foundation of flesh swept out from
under you, with all your self-righteous rags stripped off, naked and guilty
before the searchlight of God's holiness.
What is the truth about man? Hear the Book of God. In
Isaiah 40:6-8, God tells every prophet what he must say to man about himself.
The
voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh [is] grass, and all
the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:
because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is]
grass. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:6-8)
What does the Bible say about man? Read Romans chapter three.
“There
is none righteous, no not one; there is none that understandeth; there is none
that seeketh after God" (vs. 10,11).
What are
men seeking? -- Their own pleasure, their own comfort, their own glory their
own wills, their own satisfaction. Everybody seeks his own things. No sinner
ever has, ever will, or ever can, of his own accord seek the Lord.
They
are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is
none that doeth good, no, not one (v. 12).
The Lord
Jesus Christ said, “You have not the love of God in you."
Somebody
says, "Well, I love people." No, you don't. Just consider whom you
love. You love yourself. Think about it. Is there anyone in this world you
really love? Well, you say, "I love my wife." That is yourself. She
is your wife. Well, "I love my
mother and father." That is still loving yourself; you love them because
they are your mother and father.
"Well, I love my son or daughter.” — Your
son and daughter. Do you love anyone else's son or daughter? “I love my
brothers and sisters.”— That is yourself. “Well, I love my Savior, my own
personal Savior." That is loving yourself. If he were not your Savior, you
would not love him. Everything you love is connected with your own sinful,
selfish nature. Your whole world revolves around you, your pleasures, your
delights, your own passions, yourself! Everyone seeks his own things. You seek
your own pleasure, your own desires, your own will, your own happiness. You do
not seek the Lord.
Read on…-- (v. 13).
There
is none good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their
tongues they have used deceit; the poison of snakes is under their lips: their
mouths are full of cursing and bitterness [murmuring, complaining,
fault-finding, gossip, back-biting]; their feet are swift to shed blood:
destruction and misery are in their ways: the way of peace they have not known;
there is no fear of God before their eyes. (vs. 13-18)
This Book tells us that the fear of God is
the beginning of wisdom. But there's no genuine, honest, sincere fear of God
before your eyes. You neither fear God, nor tremble at his presence.
In this
day of apostate religion, even very religious people have no fear of God. If we
feared God, we would be silent in the presence of God. -- We would choose our
words carefully. Our worship would he marked, not by shouting and clapping our
hands, but by awesome reverence and fear.
Job said, “When I saw the Lord, I
said, I have spoken once, yea, twice, but I'll never speak again." John said, "When I saw the
Lord, I fell at his feet as a dead man." Isaiah said, "When I saw the Lord, I cried, Woe is me,
for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell amongst a people of unclean
lips" — When I saw the Lord I saw my guilt! The average person goes to
church and comes away feeling good about himself.
Illustration: “When I leave, I feel too
good about myself.”
If the
preachers would preach the truth about man, men and women might once again
leave the house of God crying, "O, God, he merciful to me a sinner!"
II.
Second, to preach the gospel is to tell
the TRUTH ABOUT GOD.
Look at Isaiah 40 again, beginning at verse 9.
9. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift [it] up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10. Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong [hand], and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him.
11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead those that are with young.
12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13. Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath taught him?
14. With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
15. Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
16. And Lebanon [is] not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17. All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
18. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19. The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
20. He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, [that] shall not be moved.
21. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22. [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
23. That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
24. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
25. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.
27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28. Hast
thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the
Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no
searching of his understanding.
29. He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.
30. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31. But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
To preach the gospel is to tell the truth about man and the truth about God. Men never like to hear the truth about themselves; and fallen, depraved, God hating men and women never like to hear the truth about God. But hear it you must! If you do not know who and what you are, you will never know your need of Christ. If you do not know the truth about God, you can never know and trust him.
Who is God? What is he like? What are the essential, distinguishing characters of his Being? What are the essential attributes of his nature?
A.
The God of the Bible is the
eternal God.
He is “the everlasting God,” the God of
eternal existence, the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity. The Scriptures
say, "In the beginning God."
When Moses came to the burning bush, God said, "Go down and deliver my
people out of Egypt." Moses said, "Whom shall I say sent me?"
God replied, "I AM." -- Not, I was; not, I shall be; but, I AM — The eternal I AM — The everlasting I AM — I AM THAT I AM!
B.
Our great, all-glorious,
eternal God is the Creator of all things.
He is
the God of creation. “In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth.” "All things were made by him and without him was not anything
made that was made." In him we live, we move and we have our being.
God created all things.
C.
The Lord our God is the God
who rules and disposes of all things, as he will. – He is the God of
providence.
He who
created all things owns all things, rules all things, and disposes of all
things, as he will.
But our God is in the
heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. (Psalms 115:3)
Whatsoever the LORD
pleased, that did he in heaven, and
in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
(Psalms 135:6)
It is written, “All things are of God.” He works all
things after the counsel of his own sovereign will of predestination. To say
that God rules everything, everywhere, at all times, in absolute sovereignty,
is simply to declare that he is God. The king’s heart, and yours, and mine, are
in the hands of the Lord. Like the rivers of water, he turns it whithersoever
he will. “The lot is cast into the lap,
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.”
D.
The God of this Book, the
one true and living God, has mercy on whom he will.
He who
is God is the God of sovereign mercy.
The Scripture says, "Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord.” The Bible says, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious.” We preach the God of mercy yes, but sovereign
mercy; the God of grace, yes, but sovereign grace. God will be gracious to whom
he will be gracious. He owes us nothing. If he bestows grace, it is sovereignly
bestowed. He is an immutable Sovereign, an unchanging Sovereign (Rom. 9:13-18).
As
it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? [Is there]
unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and
I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then [it is] not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even
for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in
thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will
[have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth.
(Romans 9:13-18)
E.
The Lord God is the
righteous Lord who loves righteousness.
He is
the God of righteousness. Our Lord
said, “I will in no wise dear the guilty.
The soul that sinneth it shall die. Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death.”
God is a
righteous, a holy God. Christ Jesus came into the world that God might be just
and justify the ungodly. God cannot show his love' at the expense of his
holiness. He cannot show mercy at the expense of his truth. Only at Calvary can
mercy and truth meet together. Only there can righteousness and peace kiss one
another. He is the God of righteousness.
F.
He who is God is immutable.
·
Malachi 3:6
·
Hebrews 13:8
Our God
is unchanging and unchangeable. He is the God of unchanging grace. “I am the Lord,"
he said, “I change not; therefore, you
sons of Jacob are not consumed." God does not change and cannot
change. He is not changed and cannot be changed by anyone or anything, for any
reason, at any time. He says, “I change
not”…
·
In my purpose.
·
In my will.
·
In my desires.
·
In my pleasure.
·
In my decree.
·
In my mercy, love, and grace.
·
In the objects of my mercy, love, and grace.
Why is
there no fear of God before the eyes of this generation? The god of this
generation is no God at all, but a false god, a mere idol, an idol carved from
the wood in the dark forest of man’s depraved mind.
The god
of this generation, the god preached all across this city, and this country,
and around the world today is a weak god, a failing god, a disappointed god, a
god whose hands are tied. The god most people have preached to them is a god
who says, “I have no eyes but your eyes; I have no feet but your feet; I have
no hands but your hands." Such a god is no God at all. Those who worship
such a god are as lost as the barbarian tribesman in New Guinea, running around
naked, with a bone in his nose, worshipping a stump, and eating his dead
kinsman in the hope of giving himself and the dead eternal life.
A weak,
helpless, frustrated, defeated god, a god who wants what he does not have,
tries to accomplish what he fails to accomplish, wills what does not come to
pass, or purposes what he does not perform is a lie.
The God
of the Bible is totally and completely independent of his creatures. We need
him for everything. He needs us for nothing! To preach the gospel is to preach
the truth about God.
III.
Third, what is it to preach the
gospel? It's to preach the TRUTH ABOUT The Lord JESUS CHRIST.
Jesus of
Nazareth was not a weak, frustrated reformer. He is very God of very God. He is
the Messiah. He did not die as a martyr. He did not die as a moral example. He
came down here and died on the cross as the victorious, conquering, successful
Savior of his people. He died as the covenant Redeemer for the covenant people.
He died to accomplish the task given him by the Father before the world's
creation.
And
she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall
save his people from their sins.
(Matthew 1:21)
And other sheep I have, which are not of this
fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be
one fold, [and] one shepherd.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I
might take it again. No man taketh it
from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have
power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:16-18)
When he
completed his suffering on Calvary, he said, "It is finished;” and it was finished! He cannot fail! Christ
is not a frustrated Redeemer. He's not a disappointed nor defeated Savior. He's
not a poor, weak, reformer up there in heaven, crying his eyes out because
people won't let him have his way. He is a mighty Victor seated at the right
hand of the Father, expecting until his enemies become his footstool! He is the
Lord of the living and the dead.
For
to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both
of the dead and living. (Romans 14:9)
Preachers
everywhere plead with men, saying, “Won't you make Jesus your Lord?" “Let
Jesus be the Lord of your life.” I
emphatically declare to you that you cannot make Jesus your Lord. The Father
has already beat you to it!
He is
your Lord! He is your Lord if you are saved. He is your Lord if you are lost!
He is your Lord if you are on the right hand with his sheep. He is your Lord if
you are on the left hand with the goats! He is your Lord! Every knee shall bow
and every tongue shall confess in heaven, earth and hell that he is Lord.
You
don't make him Lord. — You recognize him as Lord and bow to him; but you do not
make him anything. The Father has delivered all things to the Son. God made him
Lord. He purchased that right through his death on Calvary. Christ is not a
fire escape from hell. He is the Lord. He is not a door-mat named Jesus. He is
Lord. If any man shall confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe
in his heart that God raised him from the dead, he shall be saved. His life is
a perfect righteousness. His death is a perfect sacrifice. He is a perfect, all-sufficient,
complete Savior!
IV.
Fourth, what is it to preach the
gospel? It's to preach the TRUTH ABOUT SALVATION.
We use
the word "salvation" rather loosely in this day. Salvation from sin
is not by the deeds of the law. Even those who are supposed to know something
about salvation by grace have to remind themselves again and again that
salvation is not by the works of the flesh, not at all, in any way!
Salvation is not by reformation. Salvation does not come by decision. Salvation does not come through church ordinances. Salvation is not ours by church membership. Salvation is in Christ alone. That's where salvation is. It is not in man's purpose. It is not in man's plan. It is not in man’s will, or man’s decision. It is not in man. Salvation is in Christ. It is not in a proposition. It is not in walking an aisle. It is not in baptism. It is in Christ! It is not in anything we can do. Salvation is in Christ.
·
A man does not have salvation until he comes by the power of God's
Spirit through faith to a living, personal, vital, intimate union with Christ
as Lord and Savior.
·
A man is not a Christian until he is inseparably and personally joined
to Jesus Christ.
·
A man is not a Christian unless you can cut into his heart and find
love for Christ, -- cut into his mind and find thoughts of Christ, -- and cut
into his soul and find a panting after Christ.
“Christ in you” --that's the hope of glory
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, empties a sinner, and brings a man to faith in
the Son of God. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become new.
Most
people's so-called Christianity can be taken off with their Sunday clothes, and
usually is. But a man who is genuinely born of God has Christ living in him as
an everlasting life. He has been regenerated. He has been resurrected from the
grave. He has the very image of the Son of God stamped on his heart, and it
cannot be removed.
A.
What does it take to save a
sinner?
1.
A Work of Eternal Election.
2.
A Work of Sovereign Predestination.
3.
A Work of Infinite Satisfaction.
4.
A Work of Universal Providence.
5.
A Work of Irresistible Grace.
6.
A Work of Infallible Preservation.
7.
A Work of Resurrection Glory.
B.
Where is salvation found?
Hear me now, and hear me well. Salvation is, in its entirety, found in the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man Mediator.
But
of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. (1
Corinthians 1:30-31)
To
preach the gospel is to preach the truth about man, about God, about the Lord
Jesus Christ, and about salvation.
Now, look back at our text in 1 Corinthians
9:16, and let me wrap this up. Paul says, "For
though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of.” Why is it that
those who preach the gospel have nothing in which to glory?
First, we are
conscious of our guilt. Any man who is not conscious of his own guilt
simply cannot preach the gospel because he does not know the gospel. And you
can't tell what you don't know any more than you can come back from where you
haven't been. A man who preaches the gospel is conscious of his own guilt. The
apostle Paul said of himself, "I am not worthy to be an apostle,” — I see
no worthiness in myself. Then he said, "I
am less than the least of all the saints." Later on he confessed, "Jesus Christ came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am chief."
I wonder
if I asked this morning, "Will the chief of sinners please stand?" —
Would anyone really stand? Not likely. But the apostle Paul said that the man
who really knows God feels that way. When someone asked Paul, "Who is the
chief of sinners?' — He replied, "I am."
"Suffer a sinner whose
heart overflows,
Loving his Savior to tell
what he knows;
Once more to tell it would I
embrace,
I'm only a sinner saved by
grace."
A man
who really knows God never rises above this — "I'm only a sinner saved by
grace." He grows in grace. He may grow in talent, in gifts, and in knowledge;
but he never grows above this – “only a sinner saved by grace” (Col. 2:6).
Second, we have
nothing to glory of because we're just using borrowed gifts. "Who maketh thee to differ?" (1 Cor 4:7). Am I able to
preach? Who gave me the gift, the ability to do so? Do you have a little more
than somebody else? Who gave it to you? Do you have more talents than the next
person? Who made you to differ? “What
hast thou that thou didst not receive?” Now if you received it, “Why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not
received it?”
Why do
you glory in your beauty? God gave it to you. Why do you glory in your
strength? Without God you wouldn’t have anything, and you wouldn’t be anything.
In ourselves we are nothing, nothing but sin! Why do you glory in your wealth?
It came from God. Why do you glory in your talent, in your singing ability? Why
do you glory in your ability to play an instrument? You couldn't play the radio
without God's grace; We would al be simple-minded imbeciles, except for God.
Who made
you to differ? What do you have that God did not give you? If you are walking
around with something somebody gave you, why are you bragging as if you have it
of your own natural ability? Why do you think you are better than anyone else?
Only God's grace enables you to he anything but a stuttering, stammering moron.
Who made
you to differ? What do you have that you have not received? Salvation is the
gift of God! Faith is the gift of God! Though I preach the gospel, I have
nothing to glory of — nothing! I can’t break the heart. The Holy Spirit must do
that. I can’t convict men of sin. God has to do that. I can’t give repentance
and faith. That comes from God. I can’t reveal Christ. That, too, is the
Spirit's work. If my voice is the only voice you hear, you will just have to
perish. You've got to hear him speak from heaven.
The
apostle also said, "Necessity is laid upon me." Why is it
necessary for me to preach the gospel? Why am I so compelled; why is it that
every time I speak it's always the gospel, Christ and him crucified? I'll tell
you why — because of the truth and the beauty of the gospel. I see in the gospel a beauty and a glory
beyond all things.
·
Only Christ can meet the perfect law, satisfy the justice of God, and
open the way for us into the holiest of all, into the presence of the Father.
·
Only Christ can supply the need of the bankrupt sinner, and only Christ
can keep me from falling.
"Now unto him who is able to keep you
from falling, and who is able to present you faultless before the presence of
his glory with exceeding joy; to him be glory both now and forever.” That's why it's necessary
for me to preach the gospel: the beauty of it, the truth of it.
I could
tell you that salvation is in the church, but it wouldn't be true. I could tell
you to come to the front and shake my hand and God would take you to heaven,
but it would be a lie. I could tell you to be baptized and you will go to
heaven, but it wouldn't be so. I could tell you that if you live a good life,
pray, go to church on Sunday, pay your tithes, give a little offering, God will
take you to heaven when you die, but it's not so. I could tell you to quit
drinking, smoking, going to the movies, and live a good moral life and you will
go to heaven when you die, but that would be a lie.
However, when I tell you that Christ died for our sins, -- that Christ is a sufficient Savior, -- that Christ is a perfect Substitute, one who came down here and gave us a righteousness which we did not have and could not produce, went to the cross, bore our sins, paid our debt, satisfied the justice of God, -- that he is our living Advocate at the right hand of the Father, -- and that if you trust him, if you come into a living, vital union with him, are saved, that is the truth, the only truth that will make you free.
Our text
closes with this, "Woe is unto me if I preach not the
gospel.” I cannot imagine a crime more terrible than this -- to be
entrusted with the immortal souls of eternity-bound sinners (like every
preacher is entrusted with every Sunday), and then stand up here and waste this
precious time talking about myself, about my problems, my church, my
denomination, or talking about my ideas of what is right and what is wrong. I
cannot imagine a greater crime than to be entrusted with the souls of men and
women who are sitting before me this hour (some of whom may be in hell before
next Sunday), and take that time singing a bunch of ditties, carrying on with
foolishness, and making a mockery of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I cannot
imagine a more awful crime against society than to deceive people who are given
to us to instruct in the things of God.
I have to preach the gospel. Woe is unto me if I do not
preach the gospel. God have mercy if I don't; -- but he won’t! Woe unto the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; woe unto the Christ-crucifiers of Jerusalem; but
double woe on the preachers, shepherds, and pastors who for advantage, filthy
lucre, or praise of men deceive souls. God help them, but he won't.
Woe is
unto me if I preach not the gospel. There
is only one. — It's the gospel of Christ. If an angel from heaven preach unto
you any other gospel, Paul said, "Let
him be accursed."
I say
this in closing, “Woe is unto me if I
preach not the gospel.” But, woe is unto you, if I preach it and you don’t
believe it. You may not understand it. It may not fit in with your tradition,
with your denominational pattern. I am sure it won’t. Christ didn’t fit the
denominational pattern when he came down here either. He didn’t fit into their
religious theology, their traditions, or their mold; and they crucified him!
My
message may not fit with what your mother taught you; but she wasn't sent of
God to preach the gospel. — I am. If I did not believe that, I'd quit
preaching. Do you see what I'm saying? I'm saying, “Woe is unto you, and woe is
unto everybody under the sound of my voice, if I preach the gospel and you
don't believe it." I'm willing to take my medicine, if I do not preach the
gospel; but better you get ready to take yours, if I do preach the gospel and
you don't receive it. Is that fair?
Paul said, I preach the gospel! I do not have anything about which to glory. I'm just a sinner saved by grace. Necessity is laid upon me. I've got to preach the gospel, for woe is unto me if I don't preach it.
Now,
will you say this? — I believe the gospel; but if I believe the gospel, I do
not have anything in which to glory. Will you say that? God gave me the
knowledge. God gave me the faith. For necessity is laid upon me. I've got to
believe the gospel, because there's no beauty anywhere else, no refuge anywhere
else, necessity is laid upon me. Can you say that?
And will you go on and finish it? — “Woe is unto me if I don't believe the gospel!” That's all I've got to say Now it's between you and God. May God enable you this day to believe the gospel, for Christ’s sake.
AMEN.