Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1-Marred Vessels

Chapter 2-The Condition of the Lost

Chapter 3-A Devilish, Depraved and Determined Man

Chapter 4-The Dead Made To Live

Chapter 5-The New Birth

Chapter 6-Why Do Men Go Away From Christ?

Chapter 7-The Man Who Played The Fool

Chapter 8-The Cry Of The Unsaved

Chapter 9-The Covenant Of Redemption

Chapter 10-The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

Chapter 11-"My God! My God! Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"

Chapter 12-The Blood

Chapter 13-Paradoxes In The Life Of Christ

Chapter 14-The Unpardonable Sin

Chapter 15-Four Negative Imperatives

Chapter 16-The Strangest Prayer Ever Prayed

Chapter 17-Ambassadors For Christ

Chapter 18-Walking In The Truth

Chapter 19-The Church

Chapter 20-The City of God

More Information

Preface

The messages contained in this book are just as I delivered them from the pulpit of the Woodlawn Terrace Baptist Church of which I am pastor, having been stenographically recorded. I must pay tribute to whom tribute is due, and that is Mrs. Helen Jacks, who at great cost to herself, both physically and financially, recorded these messages. Mrs. Jacks was so eager for others to read what she had been hearing for many years that she took a course in shorthand in order that she might be able to record these messages. Both she and her husband are great souls. They love the truth, and desire that others have the opportunity to at least read the truth, for they realize that it is the truth that sets men free (John 8:32).

I do not claim originality for all my thoughts contained in these sermons, because across the years I have read after great men of God and have been privileged to hear many great preachers of the Word of God. Therefore, I gathered many of my thoughts from many sources and from many men, and to those men whom I have heard, and from whose messages I have gotten seed thoughts, I say, "Thanks."

This book is being sent out in the interest of truth and souls. If just one soul is saved as a result of this book, then I shall know that my labor was not in vain; or if someone who is a Christian and has been in doctrinal error, is brought out of error to the embracing of the truth, then I shall say that it was well worth every effort that has been put forth in getting this book into the hands of the public.

There is no doubt that you will find many mistakes in this book, but I assure you that they are mistakes of the head and not of the heart.

I must pay tribute to the Woodlawn Terrace Baptist Church. Had it not been for them, this book would not have been published; but this church has been, and is, faithful to the Truth. There is no church anywhere that loves truth more than this church, and they desire that truth shall ever march forward, and they have proven this fact by making this book possible. I have been pastor of the Woodlawn Terrace Baptist Church for the past nine years, and I can truthfully say that they have been the most pleasant years that I have ever experienced in a pastorate.

This church is a great church-a church that loves the truth, and desires that the world hear the truth. They are missionary-minded, spending many thousands of dollars every year in sending the Gospel to a lost and dying world. They are supporting missionaries in many foreign lands and at home also.

The Woodlawn Terrace Baptist Church wants the world to hear the Baptist message, which is, the simple Gospel story of the Lord Jesus Christ and His power to save.

Many of you that read this book know the author personally and have heard Him preach. Therefore, you will be able to catch the spirit of these messages more readily.

I trust that this book will meet with approbation, and that countless thousands will be blessed in the reading of these messages contained herein, equally as much as the author was blessed in the delivering of them.

My prayer is that this work will redound to the glory of God, and to the exaltation of the wondrous name of our Blessed Kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wayne Cox

August 5, 1959

Introduction

It is always a joy to me to introduce a great man and a great book. I have the pleasure of doing both when I present this volume.

Wayne Cox, pastor of the Woodlawn Terrace Baptist Church of Memphis, Tennessee, is truly a great preacher. It has been my pleasure to be entertained in his home on numerous occasions, to preach from his pulpit many times, to have fellowship with him in various Bible conferences, and to often hear him expound the Word of God. After having thus been most intimately associated with him, I am sure that I speak the truth when I say that he is truly one of America's great preachers. There are many great preachers that I know personally, and of course there are many great preachers that I do not know. However, I am sure that Brother Cox stands on a par with the greatest of God's preachers today.

There is a tremendous difference between a sermon that is recorded as preached, and one that is prepared as a manuscript before preaching. Each of the messages in this book contains a part of the soul of Wayne Cox, since they are messages reproduced as they were delivered to the church of which he is pastor.

This is an unusually good book of sermons. In printing this book, of necessity I have read the most of it fully three times and some of it even more, and each time the messages have been read they have impressed themselves upon me as being still greater than I had previously thought. To say that I consider the contents of these sermons as being sane, sound and logical is but stating it mildly.

Laymen as well as preachers will be inspired and encouraged by the reading of this book. It will prove a source of valuable information to preachers. It is a joy indeed to introduce it to both laymen and preachers as well. May God bless the book itself, and may He bless my good friend, Wayne Cox.

John R. Gilpin, Editor

The Baptist Examiner

Ashland, Kentucky

Chapter 1-Marred Vessels

"The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel."-Jeremiah 18:1-6.

The text is found in Jeremiah 18:6. Jeremiah has been called the wailing, lamenting prophet of God because of two things: Israel's sins and her impending doom and judgment. He was easily discouraged and would lose heart and hope when he thought that surely Israel had transgressed until God must of necessity break His covenant with Abraham. He didn't stop to consider that in spite of Israel's sins God would consummate His covenant with Abraham, that the consummation of the covenant with Abraham did not depend upon Israel's obedience or disobedience, but merely upon the faithfulness of God to Himself.

While Jeremiah was in this frame of mind, God sent him down to the potter's house to learn an object lesson there. He watched the potter as he worked a work upon the wheels and made a vessel, and the vessel of clay became marred in the hand of the potter; he made another vessel as it seemed good to him.

Now you will notice that he didn't say that he REMADE or IMPROVED upon the marred vessel, but he made ANOTHER vessel as it seemed good to him to make it." He made a new vessel, and it didn't say that he overhauled the marred vessel, but he made "another as it seemed good to him to make it." And God likens Israel to the clay and He, Himself, to the potter, pointing out in verse 6, "O, house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand O house of Israel"

Now I realize this has to do with Israel as a nation and Israel's future, but God deals with Israel as a nation; and God dealt with nations of old even as He deals with individuals as such. We are, therefore, going to discuss this in the light of what God does FOR, TO and on the BEHALF of individuals.

There are three things suggested in the text, and if you forget everything else I might say I beseech you to remember these three thoughts:

(1) God's power demonstrated.

(2) God's love manifested.

(3) God's purpose defined.

I believe if you will study these particular verses I have read you can readily see that all three points I have mentioned are certainly set forth in these passages.

I. God's Power Demonstrated

God asked the question, or made the statement, that Israel is like clay, and He likens Himself as the potter. As the clay is subject to the molding of the potter's hand, God said, "Even so are ye, O house of Israel, in my hands."

God made man in the beginning for His own honor and glory, but man, like the vessel, became marred in the Potter's hand, or in the hands of his Maker. God made man and placed him in the Garden of Eden with only one restriction: he was not to partake of the fruit of the forbidden tree (Gen. 2:17), the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and said, "The day you partake of it, that day is the day ye shall surely die."

God pointed out to him that he might eat of the fruit of all the garden save this one tree. Man disobeyed God, and brought sin, death and degradation upon himself and his posterity. The "vessel became marred in the hand of the potter." This therefore, teaches that man, the creation of the Potter, became marred in the hand of the Creator, and God had to make him again.

Now, I am not reaching on total, inherent depravity- although I believe it if the Word of God teaches anything in the world it teaches that man is totally depraved in the sight of God. The WHOLE man, the TOTAL man is depraved; and there is nothing good, nothing holy in man. We do not mean to imply that men are as mean as they can become," for 2 Timothy 3:13 says, "Evil men shall wax WORSE and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." What we mean by total and inherent depravity is that the total man is corrupted and polluted by sin. All his faculties are depraved. The "do-gooders" say there is something good about all men and in every man. But the Word of God declares, most emphatically, there is NOTHING good in man. "I know that in me (that is, in the flesh) dwelleth no GOOD thing . . . (Rom. 7:18).

Paul said there was nothing GOOD in the FLESH; nothing but corruption. Man is depraved, cut off from God, without God, and without hope, spiritually DEAD, with a "HEART that is deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9). With an IMAGINATION that is evil only continually (Gen. 6:5). He is even DEPRAVED before he is BORN, and he is born in sin (Psalm 51:5). And the mind is enmity against God; so "they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8:7, 8).

I will go one step further and say with Paul in Ephesians 2:1 that the man outside of Christ is DEAD, dead, and man's NATURE, his whole BEING, his entire MAKE-UP is corrupt. Paul said, "We were by NATURE the children of wrath, even as others."-Ephesians 2:3.

Man, therefore, the creation, became MARRED in the hand of the Creator, and it takes more than the REFORMATION of life to get him out of that condition. It takes more than joining the CHURCH; it takes more than an empty profession of faith; it takes more than the church ordinances (Baptism and the Lord's Supper). It takes more than the world claims: It takes the POWER of GOD.

If the VESSEL is to be remade, reshaped, remolded it takes the power of God to do it. Men cannot remake, rebuild themselves. Notice that the sweet singer of Israel said in Psalm 100:3, "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are the sheep of his pasture."

David said, "The Lord is God and HE will, HE must do something. HE hath made us, and not WE ourselves."

Men may talk about working their way into the good graces of God: it can't be DONE. Men may say they can pull themselves up by their boot straps, or reform until they are acceptable in the sight of God; but I tell you, it can't be DONE. It takes the power of God. To refashion men's lives, the power of God must be demonstrated. This great verse, Psalm 100:3, says, "It is God that hath made us and not we ourselves." Thus, this is conclusive proof-is it not. "It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves." He is talking about the spiritual rebirth and not the physical birth.

"It is God that hath made us. . . ."

Jesus said to Nicodemus that a man must be born again, and in John 3:8, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is BORN of the SPIRIT." The Spirit of God takes over and regenerates, rebuilds, reshapes, remolds men. They can't do it themselves; it takes the power of God.

Then the third thing under the heading God's Power Demonstrated is the making of a new vessel which God will fashion as it leases HIM. Not as it pleases MEN now, but as it pleases God.

You know, I get out of patience with God sometimes. Don't you? You might say to me: "Brother Cox, what a thing to say." But I say again that I get out of patience with God sometimes. I pray and pray and God seemingly is not aware that I am praying. I plead with God and He seemingly ignores me. I grow impatient when God seemingly turns a deaf ear toward me. When I get up here in the pulpit and preach my heart out and no one comes, I want to go down into the audience and do the work of the Holy Spirit in compelling them to come. I grow impatient with God when no one is saved, but I am drawn irresistibly to the conclusion that God works and NONE can stay His hand. Everything He does is to please Himself, and it is NOT to please you. God is a jealous God, you remember that.

We are going to see that God doesn't save men to provide them with a fire escape. Although, that is wonderful on our part, but saving men from Hell is secondary, incidental to the real reason men are saved.

Psalm 115:3: "But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased."

The man that gets things from God is he who waits upon the Lord. Sometimes I feel like getting out into the audience, but I can't do the work of the Holy Spirit. He works as He pleases; God does as He PLEASES and not to please us. I know this is hard for us to accept, but it is true, nonetheless.

In Ephesians 1:4, 5 we read: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will (what God does is according to His own pleasure and will, and for WHAT?) to the PRAISE of the GLORY of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."

Now I know the carnal mind doesn't accept that; nevertheless, it is according to God's Word. Everything God does is according to His will and pleasure.

II. God's Love Manifested

If God didn't remake, remold, reshape men's lives, His love would not be manifested in what He has done for us. Well, WHAT has He done for us?

In 1 John 4:10, we read: "Herein is love; net that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the PROPITIATION for our sins." And in the 9th verse: "In this was MANIFESTED the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."

That is HOW the love of God was manifested toward us. He sent His only begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sins. John said that WE didn't love God. The reason God loved us isn't because we loved Him first, and God didn't love us because of any a foreseen love or faith on our part. But God loved us and "gave his only begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Beloved, that is the LOVE of God MANIFESTED toward us. God gave Him to be a sacrifice for us. That vindicated the law and satisfied the justice of God: He gave Him because He LOVED us.

Do you know that the most astounding thing in all history is the love of God? There isn't a man alive who can define this love: It is boundless, eternal, limitless and shall never cease. "He LOVED us and GAVE his Son that we might have life."

A boy was helping me in a meeting one time and he told me that he was in a college where the instructor taught them that Jesus' death was the death of a martyr and denied the substitutionary death of Christ, the Bible doctrine of the Atonement. I asked him if he were quite sure of this, and he replied: "I ought to be, I heard it for twelve months." I then asked him if it had made any difference in his own faith, and he told me that it hadn't on his part, but it had for others. I again asked him if he were sure the professor had said this, and he told me he was certain.

Can you feature that for one moment of time that Jesus didn't HAVE to die? If Jesus had not died upon the cross for our sins there would not be one soul saved. He died for our sins that God might be PROPITIATED and the law VINDICATED in the sight of God. That is why Jesus died. God's love was manifested HOW? By what He DID for us. WHAT did He DO? He SENT His Only Begotten Son to DIE for our sins, that God might be propitiated and we might be reconciled.

In John 10, Jesus said repeatedly, "No man TAKETH my life; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again." Over and over Jesus said that He had the power to lay down His life, and had power to take it up again. "I give my LIFE for my SHEEP," saith the Master. And in the golden text of the Bible, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."-John 3:16.

I believe that-don't you? I certainly do NOT believe that ONE sheep for whom Christ died is finally lost in Hell. I don't believe that God loves men who are in Hell. If His LOVE not AVAIL for them, then it might not avail for you and me.

The world thinks that God loves every man without exception, and that everyone is the object of God's affection. But that isn't true; there is not one word of truth in that. There is a world of believers and the world of unbelievers. Do you feature Christ dying the most cruel, inhuman death and not AVAILING for every last sheep for whom He died? I don't believe that. God loved the world of BELIEVERS, those who do believe or will yet believe; His elect. He is "long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

That is how His love is manifested toward us.

In 2 Timothy 2:10 we read Paul's words: "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Paul said that he endured much to preach the Gospel whereby the elect are brought to a saving knowledge of Christ.

2 Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

If you will go over the context you will see what he is talking about. He is NOT talking about YOU and YOURS, but about US. There is a great deal of difference between you and "us." He is talking about the elect-look at 1 Peter 1:2: "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." (Cf. 2 Pet. 3:1, 9.)

Then God's love is manifested in the REBUILDING of broken lives. What He has done and what He is doing for men, women, boys and girls in every walk of life is the MANIFESTATION of His LOVE.

One of the greatest examples of a rebuilt life is found in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 7. This poor outcast woman came and anointed the feet of Jesus, washing them with her tears and drying them with the hairs of her head. Jesus only spoke a few words: "Thy sins are forgiven; thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." And she went; her life having been remolded by the Master.

Now I come to the last thought:

III. What is the Purpose of Man's Salvation?

I said in the beginning that God doesn't save men just to keep them out of Hell: that is secondary, a result or "fruit." Some men think that they can just use God for a fire-escape. Naturally, if you are saved, God is going to keep you out of Hell, but that isn't the PURPOSE of your salvation.

Well, then, for whose sakes does God save men? I'll tell you right now, it isn't for your sake, but for the sake of Christ.

Ephesians 4:32: "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Paul said that God forgave the Ephesian brethren for the sake of Christ. When men get that through their heads and hearts Christ will come to mean a great deal more to them, and they won't be so egotistical; their life will be less SELF-centered and more Christ-centered.

Again, in 1 John 2:12 we read: "I write unto you little children (speaking of young Christians) because your sins are forgiven you for his name's SAKE."

God saves men for Christ's sake. He cannot do otherwise; for Christ DIED for the sake of vindicating the law of God on behalf of His sheep; therefore, God must save for the sake of Jesus. He saves for the SAKE of Christ, and that is the ONLY reason He does. Jesus died to satisfy the justice of God on the behalf of His sheep and God for Christ's sake saves those for whom Christ died. You remember that

We have already seen for WHOM or for whose SAKE God saves men; now WHY does He save folk? Romans 8:28, 29 tells us: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be CONFORMED to the IMAGE of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

God saves men that they may be CONFORMED to the image of His Son. That is the PURPOSE; that is the why of salvation, that it might be to His honor and glory; "that we should be to the PRAISE of his GLORY, who first trusted in Christ" (Eph. 1:12). That is the purpose. God made man that man might be to the honor and glory of God; but man, the creature, the CLAY, became MARRED in the Potter's hands, and God made another vessel as it seemed good in God's sight. God determined that man was to be to the praise of His glory in His sight, and it shall be so. It is going to be to the honor and glory of Christ.

In conclusion, may I ask you this simple question, and please listen closely: if you have come to see the fact that you are just the clay and God is the Potter, if you have been made to see WHY the vessel has to be made afresh, and GOD must do it, if you have sometime in the past trusted in works or ordinances to save you, please learn now that there is no LIFE in those things. If you are trusting in your works to save you, if you are trusting in moral life, good character, anything else but JESUS, there is no life in those things. God must REMOLD, REMAKE, REBUILD you, and May God help you to see that today. Amen.

Chapter 2-The Condition of the Lost

"Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

"And he spake a parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

"And when he cometh home, he called together his friends and neighbors, saying, Come rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."-Luke 15:1-7.

I am going to speak to you on "The Condition of the Lost," and the awfulness of being lost. Reading the passage just quoted, we should notice two things in particular that stand out. I don't mean to imply there are not many things clearly taught in these verses, but there are two things that stand out predominately, and they are the words "lost" and "sheep."

I do not know the haunts and habits of sheep, not ever having been a sheepherder, but I have been told by those familiar with their habits that there is nothing so lost as a sheep when it strays away. Thus, of all the animals in the world, Christ couldn't have used a more apt figure to represent the utter helplessness of lost mankind, nor could He have more accurately described the lost sinner, than He does in using the illustration of lost sheep; for there is nothing so lost as a sheep when it becomes lost.

Then the other thing in this passage which we notice particularly is, of course, the sheep itself. I am not going to speak this evening on the sheep, but I mentioned it only to point out the subject itself, and that is the ACTUALITY and the REALITY of being lost.

I. The Cause of Being Lost

Here is something that is undeniably a fact which cannot be shrugged off and dismissed from one's mind, and that is the fact of being lost if one is without Christ. I might just add this: in spite of what you may have entertained in your hearts, or what you have been told in times past, people without Christ ARE lost, not simply "going to be lost after awhile," but they are lost now in the eventful present.

The saddest thing in the world is to be lost, without God, without life, without hope and without Christ. That is the most pathetic, most horrible thing that one can think about. You can talk about the Atomic Bomb with all its devastation and all the destruction that might come as a result of its being dropped, but it comes nowhere near the awful fact that all around us there are those who are without Christ-lost.

I recognize there are those who don't like to think about this particular issue. Parents don't like to think of their children as being lost, and sometimes children don't like to face the fact that their parents are lost. We are prone to think in terms of the other fellow's children perhaps being lost, but not our own. But may I say, with all the fervor and strength of my heart and soul, that he or she who is without Christ is LOST, lost much worse than a sheep when it becomes lost.

Beloved, this fact of being lost is something that we cannot escape. In spite of the fact that many, no doubt, would like to dismiss it from their minds and never again think of being lost, I tell you, beloved, every moment that we live we are faced with the undeniable fact that we rub elbows every day with men, women, boys and girls who are actually lost. But how many Christians care enough to try to win them to a saving knowledge of Christ? Very few, I fear. May I shame you who are Christians into being submissive to the will of God?

If one child, in leaving the church auditorium some evening, should get lost on the way home-that is, lost from the presence of its parents-the police force, friends and the whole community would be called out to search and search until the lost child had been found. The parents would be wailing and lamenting, tasting their own hot, salty, briny tears because their child was lost. Yet there is a child, perhaps, in your own home who is lost, lost to God, lost to Christ, lost to life and lost to the New Birth; but you lie down at night and sleep soundly without a thought of the doomed, helpless, lost condition of that lost child. HOW can you rest? HOW can you be so UNCONCERNED? Every day of your life you see the other man's children who are lost, without God and without hope in the world, yet not one tear of sympathy is shed in their behalf.

We are living in an age of indifference and unconcern. I don't believe that in all my twenty years of ministry I have ever seen the lack of concern as in the last few years-that is, unconcern and indifference over the lost. Of you who profess to be the children of God, I venture to say, not ninety-nine per cent of you have spoken, given or offered one word of Scriptural advice in the past twelve months to a lost man; and yet you get up and sing: "Oh, how I love Jesus." Then you wonder why the lost look at us with a sneer; you wonder why they look at us with skepticism. Perhaps they reason in their hearts: "If you believe what you say you believe, that 'men outside of Jesus are actually lost,' then why have you not done something about me? Why haven't you witnessed to me of the saving grace of Christ? Now why?"

You know how I feel about segregation and integration, don't you? I say this in order that none of you will go away and say, "Brother Cox has turned over and taken the other side." I haven't! Brother Cox will die as he is tonight. But I say this in order to point this out: in my community there lived a Negro-only one- who had a little girl about two years old. This little girl got lost and the weather was very cold; the ground was frozen. Every white man in that community went out, and they searched all night for this lost child. Next morning about daylight they found her in a deep rut in a county road. She was hunched down, frozen stiff. They picked her up, took her home, revived her and she lived. One little Negro girl alarmed and struck a note of sympathy in that whole community. Yet men are lost in sin all around you and not one word do you speak to them about Christ. How can they believe that we are Christians? How can they believe that we are missionary-minded?

"But," you say, "Brother Cox, this church sends and spends more money for missionaries than any other church its size."

Granted; but it's so much easier to send money to foreign missionaries than to be a missionary at home. That's a good alibi we have, to escape from one's own responsibilities. Let us face facts as they present themselves. We are indifferent and unconcerned; we care nothing for the lost. Let us just face it and be honest, you don't care; you are not concerned; you just don't care. Let's just face it.

Someone will say, "You shouldn't say that."

But I am saying it because you just don't care, that's all. Man does that which he is concerned about. The man, therefore, who is not concerned for the lost will not do anything for the lost because he is unconcerned. He doesn't care if they are lost; he doesn't care if every lost man dies and goes to a Devil's Hell- you deny that.

I say this because we are living in an age in which folk, Baptist folk, are unconcerned. (Incidentally, I believe I know as much about Baptists as anyone else in the world. I know Baptist people up one side and down the other. I understand Baptist folk: I'm a Baptist.) But Baptist people have gotten to the place where they hesitate about becoming concerned and thoroughly aroused to the point of tears over the lost that they have all but dried up spiritually.

Three times in the New Testament we see Jesus weeping; twice we see Him weeping over the lost.

You might say, "I don't believe that."

It doesn't matter whether or not you believe it-it's still true. In John 11:35 we see Jesus weeping at the grave of a friend; in Hebrews 5:7 is testimony as to His weeping over a world that had rejected and rebelled against Him; and in Luke 19:41, He wept over the city in which He was soon to die. Don't TELL me the Lord didn't show and express His feelings over the lost: He DID.

You might say, "Then, it is a fact that men are lost-why?"

Listen to this: you don't have to do anything to become a sinner; you don't have to do one thing; merely be born into the world and you are a sinner. That's all there is to it, just be born.

Now I am not preaching on total depravity, but let me say this: the most obnoxious doctrine in the world to many folk is the doctrine of total and inherent depravity. Men don't like to believe there is sin in everyone that is born into the world. Men don't like to believe that. It makes no difference whether you believe it or not, it is true; it is a Biblical and experiential fact. Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

Men are born and condemned as such (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12). "We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that "they are all under sin" (Rom. 3:9). Sin, or depravity, is the CAUSE of being lost-SIN.

II. The Effect of Being Lost

Then if sin is the CAUSE of being lost, what is the EFFECT of being lost? For every cause there must be an effect; I believe in CAUSE and EFFECT. So then, what is the effect of being lost? This: men are spiritually DEAD and cut off from God; completely alienated from God, enemies of God. Romans 8:7: "The carnal mind is ENMITY against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

Paul said, "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world."-Ephesians 2:11, 12.

He was talking to the Ephesians, although they were saved at the time he wrote the Epistle to them, and he is telling them their condition as Gentiles prior to their conversion. He said they were aliens and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

"But," you might say, "it isn't so awful being lost."

Well, let us see: the Word of God says that it is. God, talking about the wicked, the lost, said in Jeremiah 23:12: "Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord."

It is an awful thing being lost. Can you feature being lost in the darkness, with snow on the ground and it frozen; you try to stand up, and one foot goes one way and the other foot goes the other way. Then suppose you are on the brink of a precipice; the ground is frozen, you are in the darkness and you can't stand up; you are slipping closer and closer to the edge of this precipice, and any moment you may go over the edge.

You say, "Why, that is an awful thought!"

Well, that is the condition of the lost: "Their way shall be unto them as SLIPPERY ways in the DARKNESS: they shall be driven on, and FALL therein." I tell you, beloved, this idea of being lost is a fact, and the awfulness of it cannot be denied.

III. The Terrible Awakening to Being Lost

You have heard me tell about the aged man who heard me preach on Hell: it was during one of the greatest meetings it was ever my privilege to be in; a meeting in which aged men tottering on their staffs were saved. One night this old man, tottering on his staff, came down the aisle, led by his wife.

I was preaching on Hell, and suddenly he had come face to face with the knowledge that he was lost (before, he didn't think he was). As he came toward me, holding up one hand toward Heaven, saying, "Brother Cox, I'm lost; I don't want to go to Hell-I'm lost: I need Christ," he wasn't far from the kingdom right then.

After he had said this to me, I told him, "There isn't but one thing that will keep you out of Hell and that is Christ." He wasn't far from the kingdom right then: for when he became conscious, realizing his need of Christ, he was immediately saved.

In a few years I held his funeral, and I told the people this man's experience; how this aged man who suddenly realized his spiritual condition said, "I'm lost, and I need to be saved. I don't want to go to Hell."

Just like the old prodigal son in Luke 15:17, he faced the fact that he was lost. When this prodigal son was faced with the fact of his condition, he was there feeding the swine, the most degrading thing that he could engage in. He was so hungry that he would have gladly eaten the husk (not the kernels, but the husk) that fell from the swine's mouths-the husk and not the corn-and no man gave him one thing to eat. He was helpless. No man fed him; no one was there to bless him, to comfort him; no one to lead him, and suddenly he came face to face with his lost condition and said, as he reasoned, "The servants in my father's house are fed, while here am I starving to death. While I am perishing, in my father's house there is bread to spare." He awoke to the knowledge that he was lost and far away from his father's house. What did he DO? "I will arise and go to my father's house-I will arise.

I tell you, the father's love was reaching out, touching and fingering his heart, breaking up the fallow ground thereof. Like a beam of light, it came across the miles; the distance was bridged and spanned with the father's love as it revealed to him his need. He faced the fact that his need could only be met back at the father's house, and he said, "I will arise and go to my father, and I will say I have sinned against Heaven and against thee; I'm not worthy to be called thy son; make me thy hired servant."

He faced the fact that he was lost-terrible awakening. Here was a man that had everything, and found himself at last in the hog pen. Let me tell you, beloved, every lost person in the world is in the hog pen, ready for the slaughter; he is ready to be taken from the swine's pen to the slaughter-house to be slain under the inexorable justice of God, who will not spare. It is a terrible thing to be lost!

When the Philippian jailer, in Acts 16:30, came to the terrible knowledge he was lost, brother, he came face to face with his need; he saw himself as he was, a helpless creature in the sight of God, destitute of life, destitute of God, of Christ and of the Spirit of God, helpless, without hope in the world as he cried out to Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Here was a direct admission that he was lost: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? I am lost; I am LOST; I'm lost." I tell you, beloved, this idea of being lost is a fact.

When I was a lost boy many years ago, I could hardly sleep at night as I was made to see I was lost; I was afraid to lie down and go to sleep for fear I would wake up in Hell-lost. But there came a time when the Shepherd found the sheep; and He brought it home and I came rejoicing. Not only did I rejoice, others rejoiced with me.

IV. Jesus Seeks Out the Lost

Notice in the parable before us: "Who of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he FIND it? and when he hath FOUND it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing."

Watch it now: He goes after it, looking, searching until He FINDS it. There is no giving up; He searches until He finds it. the Lord identified Himself over and over as the Shepherd. He is the one being used in the illustration before us. He is the one who SEEKS relentlessly on and on, seeking after the lost until they are found.

I used to read that over and over. I don't know how many times I have read that, and almost every time I read it I get a new thought or idea. Just recently as I was reading this I thought about the shepherd who suddenly looked around and a sheep was gone, and he started searching for the little lost sheep. And there was the poor little lost sheep wandering over the hills and valleys; its feet were bleeding and everywhere it looked, nothing but stark terror and it was frightened almost to death. But here is the shepherd, searching relentlessly, searching, looking for the lost sheep. I could almost picture the shepherd as he finally looked down into the valley and there was that poor, lost, straying sheep. Before it was certain death; but the shepherd, hurrying as fast as he could, runs down the hill, down the valley, and picks up that one little scrawny sheep, with its wool all twisted, dirty, matted and part of it gone; but the shepherd picks it up, hugs it to his bosom, and hurrying home, calls his friends, saying, "Come rejoice with me for I have found my sheep that was lost."

"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."-John 10:16.

Ezekiel 34:11, 12, 16: "For thus saith the Lord God; Behold I, even I, will both SEARCH my sheep, and SEEK them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I SEEK out my sheep, and will DELIVER them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day . . . I will seek that which was LOST, and bring again that which was driven away, and will BIND up that which was broken, and will STRENGTHEN that which was sick."

Lord, what will you DO? "I will SEARCH out my sheep." What will you do when you FIND them? "I will BIND that which was BROKEN, and STRENGTHEN that which was SICK."

You know, the Lord is a relentless searcher. If He hadn't been He would not have found me, and He wouldn't have found a lot of you, either. But He said, "I search for my sheep and seek them out." He seeks on and on until He finds them, and when the sheep has been found there is always rejoicing.

Then I want you to notice the last thing: He will search for how LONG? Until He FINDS it. Then what is the RESULT when He finds it? "Rejoicing." When the shepherd brought the little sheep home there was rejoicing. The Lord says, as He draws a vivid picture of what takes place in Heaven when a soul is saved, "Likewise, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, who need no repentance."

Rejoicing in Heaven itself; in the City of God there is rejoicing by the angels themselves when a sinner is saved. Why shouldn't there be rejoicing on EARTH? And if the parable holds true-and it does-there was rejoicing when the shepherd brought the sheep home and invited his friends to come: "Rejoice with me: I have found my sheep that was lost."

May the Relentless Searcher search you out and bring the wandering ones home is my prayer. Amen.

Chapter 3-A Devilish, Depraved and Determined Man

"And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him; for he was to pass that way.

"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.

"And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

"And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

"And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch, as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."-Luke 19:1-10.

I am going to speak to you on the subject, "A Devilish, Depraved and Determined Man."

Someone said to me one time, "Why do you speak on this subject dealing with man's depravity?" Well, it is a known fact that unless men come face to face with their own natures and are made to see that they are sinners in God's sight, that they are wholly incapable and incompetent to save themselves, then they will look away from Him who is the Saviour. As long as a man entertains the vaguest idea or hope that there is something good in him, then, just that long, he won't be SAVED, because he will not trust his all to the only One who is able to save-Jesus.

People talk about repentance, but the average man knows nothing about repentance; for repentance, like faith, is a gift from God, and it is given to men through the hearing of the Gospel by the Spirit of God. But the direction of repentance- if there be such a thing as direction-is from dead works. In Hebrews 6:1, the Apostle Paul points out that in order for a man to be saved, he must repent from dead works.

Now the only kind of a man who has DEAD works is a DEAD MAN. A living man cannot produce dead works. He may not produce any kind of works at all, but he cannot produce DEAD works. That is a Biblical fact that cannot be successfully denied. A spiritually dead man cannot please God; he cannot do anything to help himself, for he produces dead works. As long as a man entertains in his heart the slightest hope that he can pull himself up by his own boot straps and make himself acceptable in the Beloved, he will NEVER be saved. It is Christ who makes us acceptable in the Beloved, and not we ourselves: "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved" (Eph 1:6).

You might call the message by another name if you desire. You may call it an "Old Fashioned Biblical Conversion," but I prefer to call it "A Devilish, Depraved and Determined Man." Zaccheus was a publican, and a publican was a man who sold out his country. He was a tax collector; he collected for the Romans, who had subjugated Palestine. He was a collaborator with the Romans against his country. He was a man who desired to "get somewhere." The poverty, sorrow and misery to which his people had been subjected was of no concern to Zaccheus; he was determined to get rich, and his was a profession that would make a man rich in a hurry.

Now he didn't rob and steal from his people in order to BECOME a devilish, depraved man. Men do not have to DO ANYTHING to be devilish and depraved. The only thing you or I have to do in order to be both is to be BORN into the world. We are both by NATURE. He was acting like a devil because inwardly he WAS a devil; not THE devil, but he was acting like a devil because he was one of the devil's children. Men do not commit the gross sins they do in order to BECOME sinners, but they do those things as the MANIFESTATION of their NATURES. They are sinners by nature; they do what they DO because of WHAT they ARE.

I say without fear of contradiction, although people don't like to hear it, for it is an obnoxious doctrine to the carnal mind, but I tell you that every person outside of the Lord Jesus Christ is a DEVILISH and DEPRAVED man. Everyone outside of Jesus is LOST-not GOING to be lost, but he is ALREADY lost. This fact is presented in John 3:18, and also in 2 Corinthians 4:3: "If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them which ARE lost."

Jesus said in John 3:18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned ALREADY, because he hath not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Jesus said that the unbeliever is ALREADY lost and condemned-not going to be, but is already lost. We, therefore, are drawn to the specific conclusion that people outside of Jesus ARE lost and are the children of the devil.

Perhaps one of the doctrines that has caused more confusion than any other doctrine advanced in the last fifty years is the doctrine of "Fatherhood of God" and the "Brotherhood of Man." The proponents of this hellish doctrine say that all people are the children of God.

Now, beloved, that isn't so. There isn't a word of truth in the first word of that statement. All men are the HANDIWORK of God, to be sure, and we are all the CREATION of God; but He is NOT the spiritual Father of those who are lost, He is only the Father of those who have experienced the birth of the Spirit which is from above-the New Birth. We are by birth and adoption transferred FROM the family of the devil INTO the family of God.

"You mean to say, Brother Cox, that because I am not a Christian I am a child of the devil?"

That is exactly what I mean. I say again that EVERYONE outside of the Lord Jesus Christ is LOST, and he is the child of the devil. If you are lost, you are a child of the devil.

You wonder why men go to Hell. They go there because they want to go there. Their spiritual father is there, along with all their spiritual brothers and sisters. I mean by that, those who are unsaved have no desire for heavenly, immortal glory, for their affection cannot be set upon .things above when they, themselves, are from beneath.

I say this in all kindness and not in order to offend-although I am not an apologetic preacher and I never make apologies for the Word of God, but I say this in order that you might realize your position in the sight of God. If you are without Christ you are lost ALREADY, and you are a child of the devil.

In John 8:34 and also in John 8:44, Jesus said to that great religious group, the religious Pharisees, "Ye are of YOUR father the DEVIL, and the lusts of your father ye will do."

Jesus said they were of their father, the devil. They were very religious, but religion will not get you to Heaven. It is like a baby with a ten-pound weight hung around its neck, cast into the river and told to swim out. It is that which CONDEMNS men's souls. The ONLY religion-if you can call it that-which will save is the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ-though I don't like to associate the word "religion" with Christ.

Romans 9:8 tells us that "They which are the children of the flesh, these are NOT the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed."

Now the Holy Spirit points out that these Pharisees were NOT the children of God. Then, if not the children of God, they must be the children of somebody, and that someone is the DEVIL. I say this without fear of contradiction, every lost person in this building, nay, in the world, is a child of the DEVIL.

In Matthew 13:38, when Jesus spake the parable of the tares and the wheat-and I might just pause here long enough to point out that the word "tares" comes from the word ZIZANIA (zizania), and it means that which looks just exactly like the wheat; in fact, unless you are well acquainted with wheat there can be no distinguishing between the two-but notice in the parable, the angels of God know the difference; for Jesus said in explanation that the TARES are the children of the evil one, and that all the WHEAT are the children of the kingdom. Thus, the lost are the children of the devil, and second, they are depraved.

I heard a man say one time that this was one of the two blackest doctrines this side of Hell, the doctrine of total and inherent depravity. I heard him say this and cold chills ran over my body. He was lost. A man who will say that doesn't know the Word of God; moreover, he doesn't know the AUTHOR of this Book. The doctrine that he despised is a doctrine that destroys his own theology, but nevertheless, the Bible teaches that doctrine of DEPRAVITY.

I want you to get this now: men are depraved by NATURE. We do not mean by the words "total depravity" that men are as BAD as they can get. We mean that the total MAN is depraved; every faculty of man is depraved. I have seen many lost people whose outward lives were as clean as that of Christians, but they have a depraved heart. We do not mean that man is just as MEAN as he can BECOME, the Bible doesn't teach that. In fact, it teaches that evil men shall wax worse and worse for it says in 2 Timothy 3:13, "But evil men shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."

The Bible teaches, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that men are DEPRAVED in the sight of God, that is, in their natural state. Not only their hearts, but from the top of their HEADS to the SOLE of their FEET. Isaiah 1:5, 6: "Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole HEAD is sick, and the whole heart is faint; From the sole of the FOOT even unto the HEAD there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."

This covers the WHOLE man; for He said, "From the top of your HEADS to the sole of your FEET there is no SOUNDNESS in it." He said that it is rotten; it is rotten to the core; the WHOLE man has no soundness in him. There is nothing but putrefying sores: they have not been closed up, neither bound or mollified with ointment. The balm of Gilead has not been applied.

Jesus said in Matthew 23:25, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but WITHIN they are full of extortion and excess.

Jesus said that they make the outside of the cup clean, but on the inside they are filthy. He said, "You appear beautiful in the sight of MEN, but on the inside you are full of dead men's bones."

A lost man is like that. He is depraved and needs something besides his own strength-indeed, he has no STRENGTH with which to save himself! David knew the Lord in the free pardon and forgiveness of sins, but he also knew something else: he knew that he was DEPRAVED, for he said in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was shapen in INIQUITY; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Now this was no reflection upon the character of his mother, but only the recognition of his own condition: he was depraved by NATURE.

Adam stood as the federal head of the human race and when he fell the whole human race fell with him, or rather fell IN him. Romans 3:23 says that "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." And the tense of that verb "sinned" means sinned in the indefinite past. And in the first part of Romans 5:12 we locate the TIME. It was in ADAM. When Adam transgressed against God, He immediately imputed that sin to ALL Adam's posterity, that is, the whole human race. We sinned in ADAM, and we are all born into the world with this imputed sin. We are born with a deceitful heart. There is nothing in the world as fickle as the human heart. In Jeremiah 17:9 the wailing and lamenting prophet of God had this to say: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" The heart is deceitful and wicked, and who can know it? GOD knows it.

Not only is the HEART wicked, but the MIND is against God. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7, 8).

Beloved, the carnal or lost man is at enmity with God. He is an enemy of God. Never talk to me about a lost man, a man who is depraved as I have pointed out, never talk to me about such a one assisting God in any WAY in saving himself.

Jeremiah 13:23, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."

I tell you, beloved, it is just as easy for a Negro to change the color of his skin, and a leopard his spots as it is for a man to do good, who is accustomed to do evil. It just CAN'T be done. A man can no more SAVE himself or HELP save himself than a Negro can change his skin, or a leopard his spots.

Before us is a passage that teaches that Zaccheus was a depraved and devilish man. Not only that, he was a DETERMINED man. He wanted to see Jesus, who He was, with no desire for SALVATION, that being the farthermost thing from his mind. He closed his office and went down into the street; for he heard that Jesus was to pass that way. He was a DETERMINED man, and regardless of the cost, he was going to see WHO He was.

The crowd was so great he could not see, but he was a very ingenious fellow so he climbed a tree. . . "for Jesus was to pass that way" (Luke 19:4). He looked down the road. He was not looking for salvation for the thing that happened to him was just as big a surprise to him as it was to the bystanders. He wanted to see this miracle Man of the ages-"who He was . . ." (Luke 19:3).

When Jesus got to where Zaccheus was "He looked up." Brother, Jesus came to where Zaccheus was and looked up, and if you are ever to be saved, Jesus will come to where YOU are and call YOU. The Scriptures say that Jesus "looked up" and said, "Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house" (Luke 19:5).

Then we see that Zaccheus made haste and came down and "received Him joyfully." I tell you there is JOY in coming into an intimate relationship with the Master. There is JOY in coming to know Christ as personal Saviour. Zaccheus passed from death unto life, for he came down and "received Him JOYFULLY." And what did he say? He called Him "Lord." He was SAVED for "no man can call Jesus Lord, but by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3). And no man has the Holy Spirit except he be saved.

Then notice something else. There was a CHANGE in Zaccheus from what he was when he climbed the tree. What did he say? "Half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold" (Luke 19:8). That was according to LAW-Deut. 22. But before he climbed the tree he was a devilish and depraved man, and he would have taken money from his own mother or anyone else; but now there is a change: he had come into the knowledge of Christ; Christ had saved him and he wants to make everything right. He is no longer a devilish and depraved man; he wants to make things right. I tell you, God's people always want to make things right.

And Jesus said-bless His holy name-"This day is salvation come to this house." I tell you, beloved, Jesus SAVES; for He said, "I came to SEEK and to SAVE that which was lost."

Jesus came, He SOUGHT and SAVED Zaccheus, and not only that, He saved his whole FAMILY. He said, "This day is salvation come to thy house." I believe in household salvation; it is demonstrated through the New Testament. Cornelius and his whole household were saved. We see this throughout the New Testament.

When the Lord saves us we ought to desire to see our families saved. You know, I could never understand why a Christian can be unconcerned about the spiritual condition of his family. When I was saved I wanted to see everybody saved, especially those of my own family, and I witnessed to them of Christ and His saving grace and power.

Do you know Christ? Has He come to where you are? Have you come down and received Him joyfully even as did Zaccheus? Has He spoken to your heart? If so, may you receive Him right now as your personal Saviour. Amen.

Chapter 4-The Dead Made To Live

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live."-John 5:25.

Tonight, I want us to think together on the subject, "The DEAD Made To LIVE." Now Jesus is not talking about the resurrection. In verse 28 of the same chapter He does introduce the resurrection of the body, but verse 25 is not even remotely related to the resurrection of the body. It has to do therefore with the impartation of life to those who are destitute of spiritual life-"The Dead Made To Live."

There are five things suggested in this text, perhaps more, but five things in particular to which I would direct your attention this evening:

(1) The dead spoken of are the spiritually dead.

(2) The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God.

(3) And they that hear shall live.

(4) Who are they that shall ultimately hear?

(5) The effect of hearing.

Religionists everywhere assail Baptists because of their position on the condition of lost men outside of Jesus. We take the position that those who have not experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration are spiritually dead. For example, in Ephesians 2:1, the religionists mutilate and abuse this text to no end. When Baptists quote and read this text, they retaliate by saying this: "The Scriptures no where use the expression 'spiritually dead.'" Granted. But the implication is there just the same.

"And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1).

Well, if they had been made alive, He certainly was not talking about being made alive in the FLESH; for how could they have been dead in their sins if they had not been alive in the flesh to commit them? Thus, one can obviously see the inconsistency of the religionist position.

Now Paul said that these Ephesian brethren at one time were dead and that God had given life to them. I know what it says: "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." What kind of DEATH is He talking about? He is talking about spiritual death. He defines it in verses 11 and 12 of the same chapter in Ephesians 2, and the Apostle John corroborates what Paul introduces here: "He that hath the Son hath LIFE."-1 John 5:12. Now he wasn't talking about physical life; men that live in this world have physical life whether they know Christ or not. A lost person is just as much alive in the flesh as is a child of God. The Apostle John is talking about being void and destitute of the spiritual life: ". . . he that hath NOT the Son of God hath not LIFE" (1 John 5:12).

Well, if he did not have LIFE, then what was his CONDITION? What is, therefore, the extreme opposite of life? It has to be DEATH. They stand diametrically opposed to each other; therefore, John is actually saying that the man who does not have the Son of God is dead spiritually; he is without Christ, without life. Now may I remind you once again that the Divine Spirit of God-if one is honest enough to want to try to understand the Bible-makes it plain as to what KIND of death and what kind of life He is defining or describing: "He that HATH the SON hath LIFE ("hath," present tense, don't you see it?) and he that HATH not the Son hath not LIFE." Do you see it?

Well, he certainly had physical life, that isn't the argument; but he is saying that the man who is without Christ is spiritually dead. Then, if he has NOT spiritual life, what other conclusion can one draw? We are driven irresistibly to this conclusion: A man without Christ is spiritually DEAD; there are lots of dead men walking. No doubt, there are some dead folk here tonight; however, I trust it might please the Holy Spirit to impart life in your dead hearts.

Paul writing to the Colossian brethren in the Epistle to the Colossians 2:13 points out there was a time when these Colossian brethren were dead and when they were in that dead condition God had quickened them and had forgiven them all their trespasses or sins: "And you, being DEAD in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses."-Colossians 2:13.

Now he is talking to SAVED folk but pointing out to them there was a time when they were dead, and it was BEFORE they had been forgiven, before they had become the recipients of Divine forgiveness. So the DEATH spoken of in the text refers to those who are spiritually dead.

The second thing that I want you to see is what Jesus said in the text: "Truly, truly, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that HEAR shall LIVE."-John 5:25.

Religionists say, when Baptists introduce this text, "Did you not know that God is no longer speaking to man? How, then, are we going to hear the voice of the Son of God?" Yet in Luke 10:16, Jesus said, "He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." Jesus said, "He that heareth YOU heareth ME" and Jesus is saying in the second part of the text, "The dead shall HEAR the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall LIVE."

Now He is not talking about the actual, literal voice of Jesus, but He is talking about the voice of those whom God calls, those whom God saves and who witness to the lost. God is speaking in and through them, and "they that HEAR shall LIVE." There it is. "They that hear YOU," said Jesus, "hear ME."

That is why, beloved, it is so important as to our conduct in the house of God when one is teaching the Word of God or when one is preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ; for it is as if God were speaking to you. You always remember that. Always remember that when a preacher is preaching the Gospel and a Sunday School teacher is teaching the Word of God, it is as though God's Christ, Himself, were speaking to you: "He that HEARETH YOU," said Jesus, "heareth ME."

Now notice the third thing: only those who HEAR shall live. "And they that HEAR shall live," said Jesus. Now He didn't say that ALL were going to live; He predicates the LIVING upon the HEARING, and there are certain restrictions placed upon the sentence: "Only they that HEAR," said Jesus, "shall live."

You know people get the idea that when Christ spake a parable He did it every time in order to enlighten those to whom He was preaching. But that isn't the truth. Not every time that Christ spake a parable did He speak that parable in order to further enlighten the multitudes, but He spake it in order to further darken their hearts.

Now if you deny that, you deny God's Word. In Matthew 13:13, this is pointed out. In the context, the disciples asked the Master why He spake to the multitudes in parables, and He answered them, first, by pointing out that unto them it was given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom, but it had not been given to others. And in verse 13 He said, "Therefore, I speak to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."

Now they had ears with which to hear, but they heard not; they had eyes to see, but they saw not; they had hearts with which to understand, but they perceived not.

Now Jesus said in the text, "They that HEAR shall live," not they that do NOT hear. Then again, in John 8:43, Jesus said, "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because you cannot HEAR my word." Turn there and read it; in fact, I insist upon you following me in this discussion. He was talking to the Pharisees. They were religious, devoted to their religion, devout in their religious observances, but notice two things that Jesus said to them in verse 43: "Why is it that you can't hear my speech? even because you cannot HEAR my words."

The word "hear" commands our attention; it doesn't just mean the hearing of the ear altogether: it means the hearing of the inner ear, the spiritual ear, not the ear that we see with our eyes-we will notice that in another thought tonight-"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned."-1 Corinthians 2:14.

Who IS the natural man? The man spoken of here is the man that is natural in the sense that he has not been regenerated, the lost person, the man without God, without Christ, without life. Now Paul said that man could not understand the things of the Spirit of God; for they are spiritually discerned. It takes the spirit in a man having been regenerated by the Spirit of God to understand the things of the Spirit of God.

You know a lost man trying to tell you what the Bible teaches can confuse you if you don't know one thing about what it teaches. Do you know why we have so many renegade Christians, so-called religious institutions today? It is because lost men started them, that is exactly right. Men that were LOST, who knew nothing about the truth of God's Word, originated and introduced these man-made religious institutions that feed on fear and fear alone.

Now get this: "The carnal man, the natural man, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness unto him, neither can he KNOW them." Paul said that they were spiritually discerned, spiritually understood, spiritually judged, spiritually seen.

One thing that has always alarmed, and sometimes made me about half mad, was to see some mediocre Christian, who had not taken advantage of studying the Word of God, let some lost person get him confused and bewildered about whether or not he was saved. That is the most ridiculous thing that I ever heard tell of. A lost man doesn't know one thing about the Word of God. He may be eloquent, he may quote you Scriptures-the Devil can quote more Scriptures than anybody. Every time that he had an encounter with Jesus he quoted Scripture, but if you will notice he always left out or added a word. Go there and read it if you don't believe it (Matthew 4). He was a Scripture quoting demon. Thus, just because a man can quote Scriptures and is eloquent doesn't mean that he is SAVED. I have seen men that I knew were saved that couldn't quote a verse, but when they read the Bible they understood what it meant. There is the difference.

Then the fourth thing: WHO are those who will ultimately HEAR? Jesus said, "THEY that HEAR shall live," not they that do not hear. Then who are those who shall ultimately hear? In John 6:45-I told you we would get back to this remarkable word "heard" in this verse. I want you to get it. Turn there and notice the word "heard." Jesus said, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath HEARD, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." John 6:45.

Now who was to come to Christ? The man that hath HEARD and HATH LEARNED of the Father, that is what the word "heard" means in the text. It means to perceive, and it is the only time that it is used in the New Testament. It comes from a little Greek word that means to perceive, to understand, to grasp in the inward soul the things of God. They, therefore, that perceive in the inward soul and learned of the Father, they come to Jesus, and nobody else.

I think that Jesus sums it up much better than your pastor in John 8:47. Here is a text that many folk do not like, but I think that it is a great text. I have always believed that we should be honest with the Word of God. If it hits us right between the eyes, don't dodge a text, don't preach around a text. If you drown, just drown with it.

In John 8:47, Jesus said, "He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." That is why.

But somebody will say, "Brother Cox, that would scare lost people to death, run them away from the church, thus and so."

But, brother, it knocks the props from beneath them. It makes them to realize one thing: nothing in their hands they bring; there is nothing worth saving in them; God is under no obligation to save them, and if they are saved at all it is by the sovereign grace of God, and, brother, he falls upon that for mercy. As long as a person thinks-now you hear me-as long as a person thinks there is just one tiny thing that he has to DO in order to be saved, he will NEVER be saved. You hear me now.

You know I love repetition, I suppose. I use certain verses enough but you can't avoid them, they are in the Bible. About repenting for example: you know in order for a man to be saved, he has to do some repenting and that repentance is granted, but notice he has to repent from dead works. Who has DEAD works? A dead MAN (Heb. 6:1). So the man who wants to be saved must first repent from dead works; he must come face to face with the inevitable fact that he is filthy in the sight of God, that he must rid himself of his own dead works. He must change his mind about them. When he gets to the place where he recognizes the truth that he cannot save himself, he cannot assist God in saving him, that no overt act on his part has anything to do with his salvation, he falls upon the CROSS. This doctrine drives egotism out of men, abases man and exalts God.

Last, but not least, what is the EFFECT of hearing? It is through the hearing and call of God that men are saved. 2 Timothy 1:9, "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

That is not nearly it; that is it. What kind of CALLING? It is an holy calling. WHY is it an holy calling? Because it is from GOD and of God. WHAT is this CALL? It is the Gospel, of course. Now the Gospel deals with Christ and His finished work. You want to read the part of the 'Bible that defines the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 15 and the first eight verses is where you will find it.

The Gospel is the proclamation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus for men's sins: that is the Gospel. Everything that is preached is not the Gospel, but that is. What is that which they are to HEAR? The call of God. What is the CALL of God? The proclamation of the Gospel. What is the EFFECT of hearing? "They that hear shall live." That is what He said; "They that hear shall live."

John 6:47, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me HATH everlasting life." I BELIEVE that.

But someone will say, "He didn't actually mean that. He is speaking about the natural life."

But He didn't SAY that!

"Well," someone might say, "He means that you MIGHT have life after awhile."

He didn't say that either. He used the present tense, right NOW when he believes; not going to have later, but have it right now: "He that believeth on me HATH everlasting life." He has it NOW when he believes.

The Lord Jesus, in His marvelous prayer, had this to say: "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give ETERNAL life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life ETERNAL, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."-John 17:2, 3.

". . . that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him (now these are the ones who hear) and this is life ETERNAL that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." To KNOW God is to have ETERNAL life. What did He say in John 6:45? "They that HEARETH and LEARN of the Father (that is, they that come to know God) have eternal life."

This last text and then I am through. In 1 John 5:11, John said, "And this is the RECORD, that God hath given to us ETERNAL life, and this life is in his Son."

What is the RECORD, John? What is God's record? "This is the record, that God hath GIVEN to us ETERNAL life, and this LIFE is in His Son." You go back there and read the context and you will notice one thing: The person who says that life is for a little while, or life ends, or God may take it from you, or that you may lose your spiritual life, denies God's RECORD and gives God the lie. God gives us eternal life and this life being eternal can never be forfeited. So God's RECORD is that God has given to believers eternal life-life that shall never end.

Do you have this life? May God in His infinite wisdom and by His sovereign grace impart life to you who are destitute of life. May God have mercy on you. Amen.

Chapter 5-The New Birth

" There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

" The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

" Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

" Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

" Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

" That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

" Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

" The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

" Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?"- John3:1-10.

The subject under consideration is not one that is unfamiliar by any means. It is, perhaps, one of the most familiar subjects in all the Book of God-that is, the New Birth. I will have to admit, however, that in these modern days very rarely do you ever hear a sermon on the New Birth; for the simple reason that a "social gospel" is being proclaimed and people are believing and accepting it. There is nothing in the world more damaging to the cause of Jesus Christ than the "social gospel" that is being preached today. It sounds good to the alien sinner; it is certainly good news to them; it tickles their EARS, but it damns their SOULS.

If the Bible is plain on any subject that we might name this morning, it is certainly plain on the doctrine of the New Birth, and I forewarn you that the New Birth is a doctrinal subject; it is filled with the great doctrines of Jesus. It is needed, perhaps, in this hour of skepticism and unbelief more than it has ever been needed across 6,000 years of human history.

The reason that the New Birth is not being preached more today is because people rebel at the idea of the miraculous, denouncing and denying that God works a work in the human heart. It seems from the false premise that salvation is dependent upon a man's character rather than the specific, direct work of God.

I believe, with all my heart, that if we would lay aside every preconceived idea and notion and with open hearts and minds examine these verses that I have read, accepting the truth of them, believing what Jesus Christ here tells us, we will leave this building this morning fortified against skepticism and doubts, grateful for this marvelous passage in the Book of God; rejoicing in the fact that we, as believers in Christ Jesus, the Lord, are twice born.

A great deal has been said about this third chapter of the Gospel according to John which is not true. First of all, I want you to notice WHY Nicodemus came to Jesus in the first place. Now we are not concerned with the time element that becomes involved (he came to Jesus by night), but we are concerned with the PURPOSE of the visit itself.

Only recently I noticed an editorial on "Why Nicodemus Came To Jesus" in a religious paper, and the writer said this: "Nicodemus came to Jesus to ask of Jesus the way of life." Now there isn't anything further from the truth than that. Here was a man of noble birth, steeped in the traditions of the Jews, who had completely gotten away from the spiritual side of the law; he was only concerned and only concerned himself with the moral issues involved in the law itself. The spiritual precepts set forth in the teachings of the law were overlooked and completely forgotten. He came to Jesus to court the favour of the Master and that ONLY. He commended Him for performing the great miracles that He had performed, and here is what he said: "We know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles which thou doest, except God be with him" (John 3:2).

Where is the question? Where is the inquiry? Where do you find that Nicodemus asked the Master, "Lord, what about the way of life; will you tell it to me?"

The Bible is silent on that. It is foolhardy to read in the Word of God something that the Word of God doesn't say. The mind of the Spirit knew what He wanted us to learn from these passages, and that which He wanted us to learn is set forth in words easy to be understood. Therefore, Nicodemus came to court the favour of Jesus, and offered to Him words of praise and commendation.

Then I want you to notice the tactfulness of Jesus-those of you who do personal work can learn something from this. The Lord Jesus Christ, who knows all there is to know about us, knows our uprisings and our down sittings, knows the end from the beginning, and knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts, knew that the thing closest to the heart of Nicodemus was not his WEALTH, not his PRESTIGE because of the office he held, but the thing closest to the heart of Nicodemus was his BIRTH, his background. He was a descendant of the great patriot-he was a man, therefore, of noble birth, and being a man of noble birth, he exulted in that fact; thus, Jesus knowing his heart, began to speak to him concerning a birth.

So we see the tactfulness of Jesus. When He talked to a man who derived his livelihood from the business of fishing, He talked to him about fishing-only on a SPIRITUAL plane. When He talked to a man about a spiritual thing He searched the background of that man, reading his heart, and He would turn that which was closest to the man's heart into a spiritual fact; thus, gaining the man's attention and everlasting gratitude. To the rich man, He talked about riches; to the poor man, He talked about poverty, that He might win him, but always He directed His conversation in the channels of a spiritual nature just as He did here in the third chapter of John.

Here in the text, Jesus turns to Nicodemus and has this to say: "Ye must be born again; you have an illustrious background; you are a descendant of one of the twelve spies who spied out the land and gave an honest and true report. You have much of which to be proud, but in spite of your illustrious background, your good morals, ye need to experience another BIRTH."

Jesus said, "Ye must, YE MUST be born again." And in the third verse of the text: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." It makes no difference, beloved, how good you appear to be; it makes no difference about your background, what family you are from, Jesus would come to you and say, "Ye must be born again." There is no substitute for the New Birth. May I say, beloved, that there are no substitutes for the cardinal doctrines of the Book of God. When Jesus said, "Ye MUST be born again," He meant just exactly what He said. There is no evading the truth; there is no denying the fact of the necessity of the New Birth. Men need not close their eyes to this great fundamental truth; they must face the inevitable fact that the New Birth is necessary; it is ESSENTIAL.

In order for you to have lived in this world, you had to experience the birth that we call the birth of the flesh. Before you can live in the kingdom of God, you must experience the birth from God, the spiritual birth. Let me pause long enough here to throw this out for your consideration: did you do anything toward bringing yourself into the world? Did you have any part in your conception and birth? Certainly NOT. A power outside yourself, a power other than that which you had yourself, was the cause of your conception and your birth. Therefore, men cannot have any part in producing the NEW BIRTH; they cannot work their way into God's creation. Regardless of how men try, regardless of the efforts they put forth, regardless of all their good intentions, they must be BORN again.

You can study the lives and characters of men, and you will not find a man in all the Book of God with a more illustrious background than Nicodemus, and yet Jesus said, "That is beside the point; ye must be born again."

Then we would notice the third thing this morning: what the New Birth is NOT. You know, many people get the mistaken idea that they can turn over a new leaf. In just a little over two months we begin a new year. On New Year's Day people will make their resolutions. They will promise themselves: "I am going to be better this year; I'm going to quit drinking, gambling, cursing; I'm going to change thoroughly; I'm going to be a new person." And they actually mean that. But a few weeks after those New Year's resolutions they drift right back into the same old rut, because they found out that the reformation of life wrought no satisfaction and no PEACE; there was something definitely lacking. So the New Birth is NOT the turning over of a new leaf. The New Birth is NOT New Year's resolutions. The New Birth is NOT the reformation of life, as some would have you believe.

In 2 Peter 2, and in the closing verses of this remarkable chapter, the Apostle Peter is describing false teachers and prophets. He points out those who follow after these deceivers, and then the Apostle Peter said, "But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire" (2 Peter 2:22).

That is the CONSUMMATION of the reformation of life. Peter is discussing the person that tries to clean up and follow after that which teaches that salvation is by character; they make good resolutions; they try to reform their lives, but in only a little while, they are like the old "dog that turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

"But," somebody will say, "Brother Cox, that is a case of APOSTASY. Those people were actually saved and then they became lost."

I deny that. Since when does the Bible class God's people as "dogs and hogs"? When you find in the Word of God where the Holy Spirit has designated God's people as hogs and dogs, I will believe that apostasy is possible.

I have before me this morning C. I. Scofield's reference Bible, containing the King James Version, put out by the Oxford Press. I think that C. I. Scofield's Bible is a fine Bible. It is fine on how that men are saved; it is sound on the security of the believer in Christ; it is sound on the premillennial coming of the Divine Son of God, sound on the New Birth, but it is rotten to the core on the doctrine of the church. On church truth he missed the truth a country mile.

He speaks concerning the Lord's church and talks constantly about the church's apostasy, that the Lord's church would apostatize. I don't believe the first word of that-not the Lord's church. You are going to have to agree with the Divine Son of God and accept what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, 19, or disbelieve what the Master has said and accept the theorizing of men.

What did the Master say? Did He say that the church, His church, would apostatize? Did He say that His church would go so far from the truth that it would lose its identity? NO! He said, . . . . .upon this rock (Christ Himself) I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). And in Ephesians 3:21: "Unto him (that is God) be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without END. Amen." The Lord's church apostatize? I hardly think so; for Jesus said, "The gates of hell shall NOT prevail against MY church." I believe that with all my heart. I believe that the council of the unseen world shall NOT prevail against the Lord's church.

And then we would notice another thing that the New Birth is NOT: it is not the REFORMATION of life. May I repeat with emphasis: I would accept this as a strong passage teaching the individual case of apostasy (in 2 Peter 2:22) if God's Book designated God's people as hound "dogs and old sows that wallow in the mire." But here is exactly what the Apostle Peter is talking about: the person that made the RESOLUTION, reformed his life, quit his meanness and in a little while ran out of gas, did so because he didn't have much to begin with. He REFORMED his life; he was not TRANSFORMED by Christ.

You can take an old sow, as the Proverb says, bring her into the parlor, cut her toe nails, trim her ears, paint her face, wash her until she smells like a baby; you can put powder all over her, wash and scrub her, clean her until she is cleaner than a human, put a ribbon around her neck and a few on her ears. She looks fine, but turn her loose and it won't be three minutes until she is right back wallowing in the mire. WHY? Because it is her NATURE to do so. Her nature has not been changed in the least by all the cleaning on the outside. They washed her on the outside, painted her face, trimmed her hoofs, trimmed her ears, but her nature remained the same; she REMAINED a hog, and that is why she returned to the mud puddle. So it is with men, women, boys and girls who decide to clean up their lives. They join the church-that is all there is to it, they think-and in just a little while they go back as the "dog to his vomit and the sow to her wallowing in the mire." And it isn't a case of APOSTASY, beloved, but it is a case of never having experienced the NEW BIRTH. Their NATURE has never been changed.

Now you might ask me the question this morning: "Brother Cox, what did Nicodemus mean?"

You know, I didn't realize that people could err so much from the truth. The third chapter of John, first 10 verses, is just as plain as John 3:16. There is nothing difficult about it. There might be some things involved in the New Birth that you can't understand, but as far as the DESCRIPTION laid down in the Book of God, there is nothing of a difficult nature about it. Yet I read one time where a man said that Nicodemus was so upset and disturbed because he didn't understand the New Birth, inasmuch at this particular time, was the first he had ever heard about the New Birth, that Jesus had introduced a new doctrine the Jews had never heretofore known anything about.

Now this is modernism pure and simple, and actually, as far as I am personally concerned, that is rank infidelity. It depicts one of two things: either a person DISBELIEVES the Word of God or he has never READ it. Notice what the 10th verse of John 3 has to say: Jesus, when Nicodemus asked Him the question, "How can these things be?" said "Art thou a teacher of Israel and knowest NOT these things?"

Do you think for one moment of time that if Nicodemus had no way of knowing previous to this conversation he had with Jesus, that Jesus would have deliberately mocked and criticized him for not KNOWING something about which he could not have possibly known, had it not been TAUGHT? But it HAD been taught; it had been taught for 4,000 years. God introduced it in the Garden of Eden-the doctrine of the New Birth. The doctrine of the New Birth is just as old as mankind; every person that has ever been saved, or ever will be saved, was saved when he experienced the New Birth.

It makes no difference what people believe or say or think, there is no way for men to be saved apart and separate from the New Birth. Jesus makes it plain in the text; for three times He said, "Ye MUST be born again." There is no substitute for it. It is a spiritual truth, not a fleshly birth. Jesus tells us in John 3:6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto thee, Ye must be born again.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Man, you know, is a triune being: he has a BODY, SOUL and SPIRIT. The body of man is that which makes him world-conscious; the soul of man is that which makes him self-conscious, or conscious of self, and the spirit of man makes him capable of being God-conscious, capable of communing with God. The spirit, that is the thing that is BORN of the Spirit of God, the spirit inside of man, that which you cannot see-the spiritual birth.

I cannot pass up this text, John 3:5, without commenting on it. Jesus, the second time, said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

I wish to drive home this fact concerning this text: First, last and always the way that men enter the kingdom of God is through the NEW BIRTH. He is born into the kingdom of God just as he is born into the family of God. But notice there are some people who say that the 5th verse means that men are BAPTIZED into the family of God. But men are baptized into the CHURCH, not the family or kingdom of God (1 Cor. 12:13).

But I want you to get this: the word "water" spoken of here in John 3:5 has no reference to literal water; it is used first; it precedes the word "spirit"; then, if you take it literally, man has to be baptized, and then he experiences the New Birth afterwards. Do you believe THAT? I DON'T; for the BIBLE doesn't teach it. I want you to get it now. In the first place, BAPTISM is not a BIRTH and we are talking about a BIRTH. Where in all the Book of God can you find that baptism is a birth? BAPTISM is a BURIAL in water. Romans 6:4 says, "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." We are buried with Him in baptism into death.

Baptism, therefore, isn't a BIRTH. If baptism were a birth then water would be the mother of the new born soul, but WATER isn't my MOTHER, thank you! But get this now: WATER is used throughout the New Testament to illustrate the SPIRIT. In John 7:37-39, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth in me, as the scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of LIVING WATER. (But this spake he of the SPIRIT, which they that BELIEVE on him should RECEIVE: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)."

Therefore, water means the Spirit. So actually here is what Jesus said: "Except a man be born of water and (that word "and" is kai in the Greek, and it means EVEN) or even the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

Let us notice the verse in its entirety. "Except a man be born of water EVEN the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

I want you to notice the two AGENTS God uses in producing the New Birth. They both work harmoniously; you cannot separate one from the other. They both have their own office, that is, the WORD of God and the SPIRIT of God. God uses both agents to produce the New Birth, and God did not mean here in the text that He uses the Spirit as the only agent. He uses both the Word and the Spirit. Actually, the Holy Spirit is the agent and the Word is the instrument.

Then notice in the 16th verse that He speaks of "BELIEVERS." And we might ask the question: HOW do men BELIEVE? "So then faith cometh by HEARING, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Paul writing to the Corinthian brethren said in 1 Corinthians 4:15, "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the GOSPEL."

Again in 1 Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever . . . This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

And then in James 1:18, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of TRUTH, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures."

Thus, it takes both the SPIRIT of God and the WORD of God to produce the New Birth.

Then HOW do men, and WHEN, do they experience the New Birth? Men experience the New Birth through the operation of the Spirit and the Gospel. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have eternal life . . . For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."-John 3:14, 15, 17.

But FAITH is the EFFECT of the New Birth, and not the CAUSE. So men experience the New Birth when the Spirit with the Word imparts life to them. Jesus explained it. When men hear the truth of God then the Holy Spirit uses the WORD, the Word of God, to bring lasting conviction to their hearts and gives them enabling grace to trust in Jesus Christ-and this enabling grace is the impartation of life by the Spirit of God. "For ye are all the children of God by FAITH in Jesus Christ" (Gal. 3:26), actually sons. One who is a child by birth is a son by faith.

"Whosoever BELIEVETH that Jesus is the Christ is born of God . . ." (1 John 5:1). Actually this should read: "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God." So men believe in Christ as the effect of the New Birth.

Now we come to the last thought and that is: What are the RESULTS of the New Birth? Men become the children of God; they are born into the family of God. They have not been WORKED over; they have not been OVERHAULED, but they have been made NEW creatures in Christ Jesus, the Lord: these are the RESULTS of the New Birth.

"Therefore," said Paul, "if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE: Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new."-2 Corinthians 5:17.

If a man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creation. Then what does the Master do on the inside of man? He doesn't REFORM; He TRANSFORMS men's lives. There is a great deal of difference in self-reformation and the transforming power of God: He TRANSFORMS. When men believe in Christ and experience the birth which is from above, they become the children of God, and they are born into the family of God, the kingdom, and it is the power of the Lord that transforms them; thus, they become NEW creatures in Christ Jesus the Lord. Their very life is changed. I want you to get it now: implanted in the believer's heart, implanted in the twice-born soul, is the very NATURE of the Divine Son of God. It is there, whether folk accept it or not. "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be PARTAKERS of the Divine NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Pet. 1:4).

WHEN is the Divine nature implanted in a man s heart? When he experiences the New Birth, because the nature of Jesus Christ that has been planted inwardly is that which transforms him, and he becomes a new creature. "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the OLD MAN with his deeds; And have put on the NEW MAN, which is renewed in knowledge after the IMAGE of him that created him" (Col. 3:9, 10).

He is a new man because he has been created in the very image of Him that created him. He takes on the likeness of God; implanted in his heart is the nature of Jesus Christ; he has been born into the family of God, and the POWER of JESUS transforms his life. If the power of Jesus DOESN'T transform his life, he hasn't EXPERIENCED the New Birth. This is the truth taught in the Word of GOD, and I am going to say with the old Negro preacher I heard many years ago-one of the greatest sermons I have ever heard-who asked in closing the question: "Have you been born AGAIN? Have you experienced the birth from above? Have you felt the power of God? Has the power of Jesus transformed your life? Have you been BORN AGAIN?"

That is what I would ask you this morning. If you have not, may the Spirit of God take the Word this morning and use it to implant life in you. Amen.

Chapter 6-Why Do Men Go Away From Christ?

"Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? "When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. "But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. "And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."-John 6:60-66.

Verse 66 of this 6th chapter of the Gospel of John will suffice as the text. "From that time (after Jesus had said in verse 65, "Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father") many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him."

The subject under consideration is one that, I think, is of vital importance. That is the answer to that oft asked question: Why IS it that men go away from Christ? There MUST be an answer.

If you will notice, the word DISCIPLE is used in the context: "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." They were not irreligious libertines, but they were disciples. The advocates of the doctrine of apostasy have capitalized on this verse. They entertain the fallacious, erroneous idea that this verse teaches the possibility of apostasy. They raise the question: Isn't it true that the Bible designates these who went BACK as Christ's disciples? Doesn't being a disciple mean that you are a child of God? But the word DISCIPLE does not necessarily mean that one so designated is SAVED. In its original meaning, it means one who is a LEARNER of Christ. Now, lots of people LEARN of Jesus and never actually come to the ACKNOWLEDGING of the truth. A lot of people are "ever learning," as Paul said, "but never come to the KNOWLEDGE of the TRUTH." That truth that is in Christ.

This vast multitude of disciples, who went back and walked no more with Jesus, had only been following Him for one purpose only: that they might be fed the NATURAL bread.

Jesus on two occasions multiplied the loaves and fishes and fed them all. He had performed a most noted miracle in their presence. They had decided, no doubt, "If we follow this man all our natural problems will be solved: He will absolve us from ALL responsibility of making a livelihood."

But after Jesus had said the second time (verse 65), "No man can come to me except it were given unto him of my Father," many of His disciples went back and followed Him no more.

It is an utter impossibility for one to just, at his own volition, take up bag and baggage and go to Christ. So many people get the mistaken idea that salvation is entirely up to the one who is to be saved; that HE can choose the time and place for his salvation. I'm sorry to say that this doctrine has permeated even Baptist people, who have the TRUTH, to the extent that men are encouraged to just trust the Lord, or just come on and be saved any time that they feel the inclination to be saved. High pressure EVANGELISM has been the scourge of Christianity; it has filled the churches that belong to Christ with lost, ungodly, alienated sinners, and there is no man in this world more out of PLACE than a LOST man in the Lord's church. He is as much out of place in the Lord's church as he would be in Heaven itself. An unbeliever certainly would be out of place there.

But the advocates of apostasy say, "Well, this group that had been following the Master were saved and they lost their salvation."

That isn't so. In I John 2:19, the Apostle John said concerning this same group, "They went OUT from us, but they were not OF us; for if they had been OF us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all OF us."

So, they were not SAVED. They were LOST. Religious Pharisees and Sadducees, who had religion to be sure, but they did not have CHRIST. It is one thing to be devout and religious; it is quite something else to be CHRIST-centered and saved. For these who went out from among the apostles were not OF the apostles. They did not BELONG to Christ, yet they were RELIGIOUS just the same.

You may ask me this morning, "WHY is it that men go away from Christ?"

First, these went away because they objected to the TRUTH. Then, if they objected to the truth, to WHAT truth did they object? They objected to the truth of the SOVEREIGNTY of God. That's exactly WHY. That is the truth. When they came in great numbers to be fed-on one occasion 4,000 men, not counting women and children, and on another occasion 5,000 men, not counting women and children-the very moment Jesus said, "NO man can COME to me except my Father, which sent me, DRAW him," and when He repeated this in verse 65, "from that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more." WHY? Because they objected to the truth of the SOVEREIGNTY of God. THAT is the truth that is despised today.

Most people entertain the idea that God is like a GRASSHOPPER. Their conception of God is that He is OUR servant; that He is at OUR beck and call; that He is the One to obey US. But if you will read Isaiah 40, as I said last Wednesday evening, you will find that GOD looks upon NATIONS of men as a drop in a bucket, and there are many DROPS in a large bucket of water. God said the nations of the earth are as drops of a bucket, and men, themselves, are like GRASSHOPPERS and worse than NOTHING upon this earth. Yet, men will say, "I do not believe in the sovereignty of God."

God WORKS and NO man can still His hand. God MOVES and NO man can stymie God's MOVEMENTS. God SPEAKS and the world must become SILENT before Him. God is a SOVEREIGN Cod. David, the sweet singer of Israel, says over and over in the Psalms, that HIS will is done in the heavens, and no ONE can stay His hand; that HE hath done whatsoever HE pleased. God is SOVEREIGN.

I'd hate to TRUST a God who could not do with me as He pleased. God is SOVEREIGN. I would be AFRAID to trust a God who cannot control the affairs of MEN and the UNIVERSE, but bless God, He IS sovereign; He is a sovereign being, and HE is to be OBEYED. We are at HIS beck and call, rather than He at OUR beck and call.

You start preaching on the sovereignty of God and folk get fighting mad; for Paul said, "Every man has a song; he has a doctrine; he has a prayer" (1 Cor. 14:26).

Then, people today have to tell GOD how that men are saved. I'll tell you this morning, God has this to say, "SALVATION is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9). Jesus said, "I am THE way, the TRUTH, and the LIFE: NO man cometh unto the Father, but by ME" (John 14:6). "Neither is there SALVATION in any OTHER: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). SALVATION is of the LORD.

Jesus talked to Nicodemus concerning the New Birth in John 3:8. Nicodemus, you know, was constantly asking the Lord, "HOW can these things be?" Had he ACCEPTED the sovereignty of God, he would not have QUESTIONED the Master. It would have been a matter of course for him to accept the TRUTH.

Well, how CAN these things be? I don't KNOW. I just know it is the power of GOD. Notice in the 8th verse of John 3 Jesus said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the SPIRIT."

The Spirit of God works upon WHOM He pleases, WHEN He pleases, and AS He pleases. You cannot dictate the terms to Him; God is SOVEREIGN.

They, then, objected to the TRUTH, and that truth to which they objected is the sovereignty of GOD. This is a doctrine that separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls.

Why IS it that men go away from Christ? You know, when Jesus, in the 8th chapter of John, exposed the Pharisees and Sadducees, when He told them in the 6th chapter that He was the Bread of Life, that they had to partake of that Bread if they were to have eternal life, and He told them repeatedly that He came not of Himself, but His Father had sent Him; yet, they still questioned the Master. Jesus said, "Why is it that you don't BELIEVE me?" Then He said, "Is it because you cannot HEAR me; ye have eyes with which to see but see not; ye have ears with which to hear, and ye hear not." In John 8:47, Jesus TELLS us why men go away from Christ: "He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them NOT, because ye are not OF God."

You know, when you preach a doctrinal message to people and you can see them, as you look out over the audience, getting fighting mad, angry with the speaker when he is telling the truth, you can put it down that they who get angry are not saved. You HEAR me; I'll PROVE it.

But some will say that is a HARD statement. Well, it's the TRUTH. The worst ENEMY in the world that you could p05sibly have is a man who will tell you a LIE. The best FRIEND in the world you could possibly have is a man who will tell you the TRUTH, regardless of what it COSTS. I am going to tell you the truth and PROVE what I say.

Jesus said in John 8:47-I want you to get this, this morning- "He that is of God heareth Cod's words: Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not OF God."

That is WHY. Don't ask me any more WHY men go away from Christ. There it is. Christ answered it Himself: "He that is of God heareth God's words: ye hear them NOT, because ye are NOT of God." Now, don't try to explain it away. Don't say it doesn't mean that; it means this, that, thus, and so. It means exactly what it SAYS. It is self-explanatory. Don't get mad at ME this morning, and you SHOULD not and BETTER not, get mad at GOD. WHY is it that men go away from the TRUTH? It is because they are "not of God." That is exactly why.

I was holding a meeting one summer in a place; everybody came and patted me on the back until the last night. The last night I had a great audience there, and I preached the best I could. There was one thing I tried to do: I abased MAN and exalted GOD. I tried to show them that salvation was in CHRIST, not in themselves or in their work; but in the Person of Christ. I tried to show them the SOVEREIGNTY of God, and their faces began to swell up, actually swell up they were so angry. After the service, a little girl of 12 or 13 was saved. But that did not matter to the crowds They were not interested in the salvation of anyone; they were only interested in man's self exaltation.

When I left the meeting, several weeks passed and a friend of mine, who had belonged to that church, came and asked me, "Brother Cox, what in the WORLD did you preach?"

I said, "I preached the TRUTH."

He asked, "Did you preach on the sovereignty of God?"

I replied, "I most CERTAINLY did."

"Boy! Do they hate you with a holy passion.

They got mad. Now, WHY? Jesus tells you why. "He that heareth God's words is of God." That is WHY. That is exactly why. They "therefore heard them not, because they were not of God."

Do you know why you fail to enlist so many people in the Lord's work? It is because they have never HEARD the voice of the Master. Do you know why you try -to get folk interested in the Lord's work and you can not? It is because they are NOT of God. That's the reason.

People go away from Christ because they seek to establish their OWN righteousness, and they will not submit to the righteousness of GOD (Rom. 10:1-4). Paul said, "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved" (Rom. 10:1). He said, "They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge" (Rom. 10:2).

Now the Apostle Paul said that they were devout and religious, and actually had a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. They had gone about trying -to establish their own RIGHTEOUSNESS, and had not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for all who believe, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, or the Gentile. But folk like to say, you know, "I want to establish my own RIGHTEOUSNESS." Like the man at the wedding feast in Matthew 22 who said, "My wedding garment is SUFFICIENT; why, my wedding garment is alright." But when the Master came in HE said, "Take it off, cast him out where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth; take him away.

Thus, beloved, the only kind of righteousness that will meet the demand of GOD is the righteousness which God Himself provided (Phil. 3:7-9).

Then again, men go away because they like to have their WAY. Folk like to have their own way, you know. When most people pray, they say, "Thy will be done." But they don't mean that. What they actually mean is: "MY will be done," and not THY will, regardless of the cost. They like to have their own way, and the lost multitudes of this earth want to have their OWN way as to religious inclinations, salvation, and what have you. Talk to a lost man and he will say, "Aw, I will be saved one of these days when I get my fill of this, thus, and so. When I get to where I can live right, I'll be a good boy and join the church."

Well, let me tell you something: joining the church will not get you ANY WHERE. Joining the church never saved a SOUL. The REFORMATION of LIFE, becoming a "good" man, woman, boy or girl, never saved a soul. You are lost if Christ has never TRANSFORMED that life. But men like to have their own way. In Proverbs 14:12, the wise man Solomon said, "There is a way which seemeth right (didn't say that it was right now, only that it SEEMED right) unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

How well we know that is true; for the ways of man ever lead downward, never upward, ever downward, downward into Hell itself. Men's ways never lead upward for "it is a way which seemeth right, but -the end thereof are the ways of death." Man likes to have his own WAY, but his WAY leads to Hell.

In Proverbs 21:2, once again, the wise man Solomon said, "Every WAY of a man is RIGHT in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the HEARTS."

He just THINKS his way is right. It is NOT; for God ponders the heart. Like a surgeon with his scalpel, digging, cutting, probing into the deepest part of the human body trying to find the ailment, God's TRUTH searches; God's EYES see; He unbares the HEART; He tears it asunder and exposes it: God KNOWS.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God."-Luke 16:15.

Thus, that which SEEMS right leads to HELL. That which appears RIGHT unto men is an ABOMINATION in the sight of God. Jesus didn't pull His punches, did He?

Then there are those who go away from Christ because they are "pure in their own eyes." The most despicable man in the world is a self-righteous man; one who thinks he is the best man in the world. I have never seen a GOOD man, have you? Jesus SAID as much, "There is NONE that doeth good, no, not ONE" (Rom. 3:12).

But there are people in the world that think they are so pure and holy they are almost as good as Christ, and getting BETTER every day. I heard a man say one time in one of those so-called testimonial meetings years ago in Jackson, Tennessee-and this actually occurred-"Bless God, I'm saved; I'm as good as Christ and getting better every day." He was pretty GOOD (?) wasn't he? In a little while he was going to excel Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit. Of course, he was a liar. He didn't even KNOW Christ; for had he known the Lord, he would not have spoken of himself in such a manner-boasting about what the Spirit had done for him, and how that he was filled with the Spirit and so on.

You say, "Where in the world is that, Preacher?"

John 16:13 says, "Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come . . . He shall not speak of himself He will not speak of Himself; He will speak of Jesus. But this fellow belittled the Lord by saying that he was as good as Christ and getting better every day. Was he SAVED? NO! What he needed was a cleansing by the power of the blood of Christ.

"There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness."-Proverbs 30:12.

Where is the self-righteous man, where is the religious bigot, where is the egotistical religionist of today as he faces this text in the Book of God? "There is a generation that are pure in their OWN eyes, and yet they have not been washed from their own filthiness."

You may say, then, "If men go away from Christ, where do they GO?"

Well, if they are SAVED they go into horrible backslidings. Do you know WHERE backslidings originate? In the HEARTS of men. Solomon said, in Proverbs 14:14, "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways . . ."

Then God invites backsliders to come back. Now a backslider is NOT a lost person. He has lost the FELLOWSHIP of God, that's all. He is most WRETCHED.

In Jeremiah 3:22, God said, "Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." And, "Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord, our God." They returned.

If men go away from Christ, where do they go? If they be LOST, they go to HELL.

Who was it that said, "I don't like to pronounce that word?" Well, it's in the Bible: the word is used 23 times in the New Testament. Jesus used it over and over. Why shouldn't I?

Then, if men die without Christ they MUST go to HELL; there just isn't any other PLACE for them to GO; and brother, there just isn't any PLACE called PURGATORY, either.

You go to HELL when you die if you are lost. Hear me now: old Dives, the rich man, in Luke 16 (you know, the Book of God says that he fared sumptuously every day)' died, and was buried; and in Hell he "lift up his eyes, being in torments." HELL is not a GOOD place to go. I don't want to go there. In fact, I'm NOT going there. It is a place where "the worm dieth not," and the "fire is not quenched." It is a place of endless, everlasting torment, and they live with their SINS, trying to PAY for them, living on and on throughout the ceaseless ages of a never-ending eternity; and they NEVER get through PAYING for them. Hell is a HORRIBLE place.

Brother, if you are DONE with Christ, you are done with His WORD; you are done with the truth, and you are left in the presence of three of the greatest mysteries that ever confronted man: SIN, DEATH, and the JUDGMENT.

What about your SINS? What are you going to DO about your SINS? What about your DEATH? What are you going to DO about your DEATH? You are going to DIE, you know. And what about the JUDGMENT? When the Son of God shall say, "Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, for I never KNEW you," is THAT what you want to hear?

I tell you this morning in closing, there are only TWO places that men can GO: one is to HEAVEN and [he other is to HELL. The ONLY way you will get to Heaven is through CHRIST and by Christ; He is the ONLY Saviour. Brother, He IS our salvation. May it please Him to use the Holy Spirit in imparting life to you. May you come to know Christ as your Saviour as the Spirit imparts life to you. Amen.

Chapter 7-The Man Who Played The Fool

"And he spake a parable unto them saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: "And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? "And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater: and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods." "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."-Luke 12:16-21.

By way of introduction, I would like to point out this man was self-centered, preoccupied with the affairs of himself, selfish. He used the personal pronoun "I" six times in these few verses. You can rest assured when hearing anyone talk constantly saying "I, "mine," that such a person is self-centered and selfish. It is so in the lesson before us. Six times he said "I. I don't know what I'll do." And then, "I do know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build new, bigger barns; then I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.

And so it goes-the man who played the FOOL.

There are five points suggested in this great lesson before us. I want to be deliberate, specific and definite in the presentation of these five points. In verse 16, for example, you have his PROSPEROUS condition; in verse 17 you have his present DILEMMA; in verse 18 you have his settled PURPOSE; in verse 19 you have his self CONGRATULATION; and in verse 20 you have his terrible AWAKENING. And then, of course, you have the Lord's application of the parable.

First of all this morning, let us notice-and please, those of you who have your Bibles keep them open to the passage, and let us do some studying; there is no substitute for the Word of God. Visions, dreams, inclinations, impressions will not suffice as a substitute for God's eternal Word. As a matter of fact, this passage is a great sermon within itself. If I were to just read this again without even commenting upon it, and you were to be dismissed and go home you would have heard a masterful message: for Jesus was the Prince of Preachers. When He spake parables they were masterful sermons as He presented great truths enlightening those with whom He was conversing.

Notice in verse 16 his prosperous condition. You know the Apostle Paul tells us in I Timothy 6:10 that the "love of money is the root of all evil." Not MONEY, now, but the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Men kill, murder for money. But in this verse before us the Lord tells us that the "ground of a certain rich man . . ." Now he was ALREADY rich. Here is a text that so many people overlook. In 'the study of God's Word certain words escape those that read. This man was not striving to become RICH; he was already rich, but he wanted to get a little RICHER.

I don't know if it is true or not, but it has been said that someone asked Mr. Rockefeller one time, "You have all the wealth that your heart could desire, and all the material possessions that money can purchase, what else do you want?"

And Mr. Rockefeller said, "Just a little more money.

The man in the parable was such a man. Jesus said, "The ground of a certain rich man (he was already rich) brought forth plentifully. . ." May I repeat with emphasis that he was not trying to GET rich; he was trying to get RICHER. He was already rich.

I've said this many times, that money cannot buy the best things in life. Salvation is a gift of God, and it cannot be purchased. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."-Ephesians 2:8, 9, 10.

In Titus 3:5, Paul said, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit."

Money, therefore, cannot buy salvation; it is not for SALE.

There was a certain man in a small village who was quite wealthy-I know him. He and another man in this community had words over a fence, and the man said to him, "I do not wish to hold hard feelings; I am sorry if I have offended you.

This rich man said to him, "My friend, I care nothing for your apologies; I care nothing for your offense. The only thing I am interested in is your money, not your welfare. Now if you have money, that is what I want."

A friend of mine running a service station was servicing the car of this same man one afternoon, and he asked him the question: "WHAT are you going to do with all that money that you have acquired?"

He replied, "I am HOPING that I can buy my way into the Pearly Gates (those were his very words), and if my MONEY cannot buy, cannot purchase, my salvation then I am a goner.

My friend said to him, "I am happy to inform you that that is ONE thing that your MONEY cannot buy. You are left out."

In Psalm 49:6, 7, the sweet singer of Israel had this to say concerning the fact that money cannot buy redemption: "They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means REDEEM his brother, nor give to God a RANSOM for him."

The Psalmist David points out that they who trust in their wealth and boast themselves in the abundance of their riches cannot with these things (talking about his wealth) by any means redeem his brother, nor give a ransom unto God for him. David said, "Your money cannot redeem, and you cannot ransom one with your money. It's not for SALE."

A kidnapper comes along and kidnaps someone and puts a price tag on the victim, and the victim's family, or those interested in his welfare, will pay the ransom price. So JESUS CHRIST with His own BLOOD has paid our RANSOM price. It is not purchased with money; it is not purchased with wealth, not purchased with riches, but with something far more infinitely precious than that: the BLOOD of Jesus Christ.

David further points out in the same Psalm 49:16, 17, "Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he DIETH he shall carry NOTHING away: his glory shall not DESCEND after him."

David said, "Be not afraid when one is made rich, and when the glory of his wealth has increased for when he dies, he shall carry nothing away, and his glory shall not descend after him. Be not afraid, because he is going to die, and when he does, he is going to leave his wealth behind; his glory shall be left behind and shall not descend after him."

The most wretched man on this earth is the man who thinks in terms of dollars and cents. But while the Master said how difficult it is for a rich man to be saved, the apostles said this to Him: "Lord, who then shall be saved?" And Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with GOD all things are possible."

Wealth in many instances stands as a barrier before men separating them from God. They love their money; they love their wealth, and sell their souls to acquire it, then die and go to Hell, leaving it all behind. This man is a man who played the fool.

Notice the second thing under consideration is his present DILEMMA in verse 17: "What shall I do? what shall I do?" He thought within himself. His land produced. God blessed him with the proper rainfall, and his land produced bumper crops; he looked at his barns and realized that they were inadequate; he looked over his farm and saw that he had such a crop that his barns would not contain the commodities grown thereon. He was in a dilemma: "What shall I do?" He left God out; he was planning without God. He didn't say, "Lord what wilt THOU have me to do?" But he said within himself, "What shall I do?" He was directing his life without God. His life was without purpose because it was without GOD. He was in a dilemma: "What shall I do?"

May I say this as kindly and tenderly as I know how: I have seen men, and so have you-there are 'those perhaps in this church- who are in love with money so much that they have wrecked their spiritual lives. Their lives go on the rocks; they become an ineffective Christian because they put money before God. This is a truth that I dare you to deny-any of you. You visit folk in the community and the church and they invariably say they don't have time for church because they have to work, WORK. God gave you SIX days in which to work, not SEVEN. When will people learn that? When will people learn that you can't trifle with God? When will folk learn that God gave us six days in which to labour, hallowed and sanctified the seventh and rested from His labours, but man out-thinks God-he THINKS. But they don't. Now when you die and go to Hell you are going to leave that money behind. You just remember that. You are not going to take it WITH you.

"What must I do?" he said. Folk ruin their lives, corrupt themselves, ruin their testimony, destroy their witnessing, because they are eager to get wealth; they are self-centered and ambitious. Greedy, that is why. Greedy, after that mammon.

This man left out God, and we are going to see what happened to this fellow who left God out. Notice his settled PURPOSE in verse 18: "THIS will I do." The die is cast; there is no turning back now. There is no reformation now; it's too late; there is no repentance now; the die has been cast. "THIS will I do: I'll tear down my old barns, build bigger new barns." He was weighed in the balance and found wanting. Brother, just as sure as your pastor stands before you this morning, God weighs me in the balance; he weighs you in the balance. Do you think that God was only concerned about folk in the past? Don't you think God is concerned with folk today? Do you think that folk of today can get by with anything in the world? Why certainly NOT, no more than those in the past got by. You are dealing with a sovereign God.

You know, old Belshazzar invaded the Holy Land, and in order to insult the Jews he apprehended the vessels from the temple, the holy vessels, the sanctified vessels; he carried them into Babylon with him; there in Babylon-I want you to get this now-he had a great feast and invited hundreds of his lords and governors. They came and drank and were in a hilarious state. After awhile, in order that he might heap insults and abuse upon the Jews in captivity, he brought the sacred vessels, poured wine and strong drink in them, and the people drank from them. Suddenly there was a finger writing on the wall over against the candlestick, and old Belshazzar became frightened; he trembled and his knees smote together. Here was a man who had exalted himself against GOD. Here is a king over a world empire. Here is a king who laughed at God and desecrated the holy temple of God; here is a king that ignored God, but do you know what that message said? "Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."-Daniel 5:27, 28. And in the very same night old Belshazzar was killed.

In the lesson before us the man said, "Here is the settled purpose, I know exactly what I will do: I'll tear down my old barns and build new, bigger barns." Thus, the die is cast; there is no turning back now; there is only one road to travel, and he is on it now. He has the skids under him sliding rapidly into Hell. But in this modernistic age folk don't BELIEVE in Hell. I'll tell you one thing, when they get there they will believe in Hell. I can take this Bible and show you a letter from Hell- you hear me now, hear me out. You say, "Why the Bible doesn't teach there is a literal, burning Hell."

Well, friend, I can take the Bible and show, read, you a letter from Hell. Luke 16, there it is. And brother, that wasn't a PARABLE, either.

So the die is cast; the man is on the skids; he is on the road that leads to Hell. He has left GOD out; he has ordered his life as though there were no God; he must pay the price.

But notice how self-centered he is in verse 19, his self-congratulation as he says, "Now then, Soul, take thine ease; you have much goods laid up; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.

Well, that is exactly what the DEVIL wants folk to do. That is what the Devil wanted this man to do, and he did. But here is a man who paid for his crime in HELL. You might ask me this morning: "How LONG will he, will any man, have to suffer in Hell to pay for his sins?" He NEVER gets through. He suffers ETERNALLY and never gets through paying for his sins. If a man dies without Christ, he MUST go to Hell, and he STAYS there forever and forever, as long as God lives, paying for his sins, and he never gets through paying for them. He can never pay the debt. If he could, then, he could suffer so long and be taken out of Hell. That is what the Catholics would have you believe, but that isn't so; there is not a word of TRUTH in that.

This man was self-centered: "I congratulate myself," he said, "I congratulate myself."

You go ahead and play the fool, but listen to what God says. You can play the field; you can run the gamut; you can trifle with God, walk upon His precious blood all you please, but God will not hold you guiltless: "Rejoice, 0 young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things (get this now) God will bring thee into JUDGMENT."-Ecclesiastes 11:9.

You can go ahead, ignore God, trample with unhallowed feet upon the blood of Christ, do despite unto the Spirit of grace, ignore His Bible, scorn and ridicule God all you please, but "know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into JUDGMENT." And I'll tell you, beloved, it is an awful thing to trifle with God and to fall into the hands of the living God.

"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days (or TIME)."-James5:1-3.

You hear me now, you trifle with God, you just go ahead and ignore God, trifle with Him, be greedy, sell your soul for a little wealth; trying to get wealth, just go ahead, but God will bring you into judgment and consign you to Hell.

Then notice this man's terrible AWAKENING (verse 20). But God said unto him (here it IS-GOD said), "Thou FOOL (thou empty-headed fool, thou fool. Such a terrible denunciation from the lips of the Master. Thou FOOL, thou empty-headed fool; you have played the fool); this night (too late now, brother; you have heaped your wealth around you; you've sold yourself; you've consorted with the Devil; you have ignored me and forgotten my Word. You have sold yourself to the Devil and NOW-) this NIGHT thy SOUL shall be required of 'thee."

"Thy SOUL . . ." Now I have sense to know that the word "soul" sometimes means life, but not so here. It means more than animation, or animated LIFE; it means that INWARD part of man, that part that shall either spend eternity in Hell or with God. "Thou FOOL, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" They shall be left BEHIND. What did David say in Psalm 49:16, 17? "Be not afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him."

God said, "Thou FOOL: you have provided lots of goods, but whose things shall these be thou hast left behind. You have played the fool. THIS night, this night, THIS NIGHT, thy SOUL shall be required of thee-this night."

I tell you, you can't TRIFLE with God. "What shall it profit a man, anyhow, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul." Jesus asked this question in Mark 8:36, 37: "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

What SHALL a man give in exchange for his soul? Tell me that! Tell me that!

One soul is precious. One soul is worth more than ten thousand worlds. One SOUL is worth all the wealth of the universe- and far more than that, but you trifle with God, and God shall require thy soul; it is an awful thing to fall into the hands of a sovereign and angry God, who shall consign men to Hell.

This man woke up, but it was too late. Lots of people are awakened out of their lethargy, but it is too late. He awoke, but it was too late. He came face to face with the inevitable fact that GOD was taking charge now. "Thou FOOL, THIS night I am going to require thy soul . . ."

I say now in closing: God OWES no man anything. God is still on .the THRONE; God still RULES in the affairs of men. He can take my life or your life without a moment's notice; there is only a THREAD between ME and the grave, between YOU and the grave, between ME and eternity, and between YOU and eternity: the BRITTLE thread called LIFE.

Suppose God should say to you this morning, "You have played the FOOL; today, today, thy soul shall be required of thee." WHAT would you DO? WHERE would you spend ETERNITY? That is the question: WHERE? And there are only one of two places to which a man can go when he dies: one is to be with CHRIST, and the other is to HELL.

Then notice last: the Lord's APPLICATION (verse 21): "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself (for himself-for himself), and is not RICH toward GOD."

"Not rich toward God," when He has placed within our reach the unsearchable riches of Christ is to play the BIGGEST fool of all. Then, WHO are you this morning? Are you a FOOL or are you WISE because you trust Christ? He is your everlasting portion. Amen.

Chapter 8-The Cry Of The Unsaved

"And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. "And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. "And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. "And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. "And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. "And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."Mark 10:46-52.

The subject this morning is not one that is unfamiliar by any stretch of the imagination, because you have heard it discussed many times, I'm sure. It is the cry of the unsaved in these verses I have just read in Mark 10.

Now I don't want any of you to get the idea that this preacher believes, as the modern world believes, that an alien sinner must plead with God in order to be saved. I don't believe that and this lesson doesn't teach that. I cut my teeth on that doctrine, and when I was a boy preacher I used what is known as "The Mourner's Bench" in a modified form. I got to the place where I thought if a man were ever to find the Lord, he would surely find Him there. I thought my predecessors knew much more than I, and I had no right to disagree with them. But after seeing the failure of the use of it, I began to study the Word of God concerning this and came to the conclusion that this practice was without Scriptural foundation and completely foreign to the Word of God. It was no where to be found in the Bible.

I launched my study in another direction, and the course led me far from the accepted position of many of my colleagues. In my investigation of the everlasting Word of God, I began to recognize this one specific and definite fact: God says for the LOST to BELIEVE. They are not to plead with God to save them; they are to BELIEVE. "Whosoever believeth on me hath everlasting life." I believe that.

I want you to notice a number of things, perhaps you have already noticed them, perhaps not. But notice some things that are clearly set forth in these remarkable verses. Jesus went IN Jericho and He went OUT of Jericho. In the text before us there are two things about the ministry of Jesus. One was that He entered Jericho and always the Scriptures quickly add, "He went OUT of Jericho." It is an astounding fact. In Luke 19:1, 2, notice that Jesus entered Jericho and went OUT of Jericho. You recall, of course, that on that occasion Zaccheus was gloriously saved.

It has been said by men who have studied both profane and religious history that there never was a city more wicked, debased and profane than Jericho during the days of the ministry of Jesus. But if Jericho was wicked, ungodly, sinful and ugly that was NOT the reason that Jesus only entered and quickly passed through: because He CAME to the ungodly.

You might ask me: "Brother Cox, why then DID Jesus enter and quickly pass through?"

I don't know; we are not told, but suffice it to say that on these two occasions men found the Lord, salvation was given to three different men on two occasions. For example, the Gospel of Matthew recording the same incident in the life of Jesus, speaks of two lepers who were beggars. There is no contradiction in what Matthew and Mark had to say. Matthew is recording the fact that there were two men on the highway side begging, while Mark is dealing with the CRY of one and that Jesus helped him; therefore, Mark is dealing with the SPIRITUAL aspect and subsequent events of this visit.

Notice He came to Jericho, and He went out of Jericho. Here was a blind man sitting on the highway side and the Scriptures say he was begging. But the thing I want you to get, first, last and always, is that he was BLIND. This to me teaches every lost man in the world is BLIND. He is SPIRITUALLY blind, blind to the truth of God's Word, spiritually blind.

You might ask me this evening: "WHY are the lost blind? Why has the shade been pulled? Why are they blind to the truth of God's Word?"

The DEVIL has blinded them, that's WHY.

Then you might ask me: "Why has he blinded them, why have they permitted him to blind their hearts and minds?"

Because they are his CHILDREN, that's WHY.

You know, I have never believed in that rotten, devilish doctrine of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Beloved, I believe with all my heart if it had not been for the propagation of this hellish doctrine we would not be faced with the issue of integration. I believe that with all my heart. The "do-gooders" are constantly saying that all men are brothers and God is the Father of all of us. I have searched the Bible from cover to cover and I have never found the slightest inference that God is the spiritual Father of anybody save those that have been born of the Spirit of God.

In John 8:44, notice that Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Ye are of your FATHER the DEVIL, and the lusts of your FATHER ye will do."

Notice this: they were very devout and religious, yet Jesus pointed the finger of accusation at them when they claimed God as their Father and said, "Ye are of your father the devil

Then you might ask me: "Why is it? Why will people let the Devil blind their hearts and minds?"

Romans 9:8: "The children of the FLESH, these are NOT the children of God . . ." And in Matthew 13, the parable of the tares and wheat, Jesus in this exposition of that parable said, "The tares are the children of the wicked one." Therefore, the DEVIL has a family upon the earth.

The Apostle Paul, speaking to the Ephesian brethren concerning their spiritual condition prior to their conversion said, "And you hath he quickened (made alive) who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by NATURE the children of WRATH, even as others" (Eph. 2:1, 2, 3).

Paul said that the Ephesian brethren, prior to their conversion, were by NATURE the children of wrath; therefore, that is WHY men permit the Devil to blind their hearts, minds and eyes.

I heard a man say one time-and I am inclined to believe it- "You know WHY men go to Hell? They go there because their DADDY is there and they want to go home to be with their daddy."

What was he talking about? Was he talking about their natural father? No, he was talking about their SPIRITUAL father, the Devil. He didn't have any reference to the natural father but the spiritual father. Men die and go to Hell because their daddy is there. It makes sense, doesn't it? Therefore, men permit the Devil to blind their eyes because they are the children of the Devil.

In 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4 the Apostle Paul said, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

The DEVIL has blinded their hearts; that's why they are blinded.

I'll go further and say that in the New Testament, especially, LEPROSY stands for-though people actually had leprosy-or represents the sinfulness of the human heart. There MUST be a spiritual application: it represents the utter loathsome condition of the human heart. PARALYSIS always represents the inability of man to save himself; and BLINDNESS always represents blindness on the part of the unbeliever. Bartimaeus was BLIND.

And the second thing I want you to notice: he was BEGGING. Now for WHAT was he begging? He was begging for that which sustains the BODY; that which keeps body and soul together. He was begging for food for his PHYSICAL body. I imagine he was sitting there and every time someone came along he would hear the footsteps and would cry out to them for aid, for assistance.

Beloved, every lost man in the world is a BEGGAR in the sight of God. It makes no difference how RICH he may be in material things; it doesn't make any difference how much WEALTH he may possess, if he is without the Lord, he is a spiritual beggar.

But I want everyone to know that the child of GOD is RICH. He may not be rich in material things; he may live in a shack in the cotton field; he may be destitute of wealth as far as material things go, but if he is the Lord's he is rich. He is rich not in houses and land but in the fact of his relationship with the Lord. 1 Corinthians 4:8, the Apostle Paul said, "NOW ye are full, now ye are RICH, ye have reigned as kings . . ."

Now I went you to notice "he heard." Get that word "heard." When he HEARD that Jesus of Nazareth was passing that way, when he "heard." Now I have sense enough to know that whoever told him was not preaching a Gospel message; I know that he only heard that Jesus, the wonder Man of the age, was passing through. But let me ask you this: would it be doing violence to the Word of Cod to put a spiritual application to the word HEARD? Certainly not. "When he heard that Jesus was to pass that way," when he heard. Someone had told him that Jesus was coming that way. Just like everybody that has ever been saved, be heard about Jesus Christ.

I believe the Gospel should be preached to every creature in the world. In Mark 16:15, 16 Jesus said to His church, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Jesus said, "Preach the Gospel." And in Matthew 28:19, 20, He says to tell the Gospel to every nation of the earth. Tell everybody about JESUS.

You might ask me, "What is the GOSPEL?"

Did you know that you can preach the Word of God without preaching the Gospel? It took me a long time to learn that fundamental truth. In 1 Corinthians 1:1-4 we are told what the Gospel actually is: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel . .

What IS the Gospel, Paul? "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."

"The DEATH, BURIAL and RESURRECTION of Jesus for our sins is the GOSPEL," said Paul. You see? Preach the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus for our sins: that is the Gospel.

I am going further and say, "There won't be a soul saved in this dispensation separate and apart from the hearing of the Gospel."

"What are you saying, Brother Cox? Do you mean that the heathen who have never heard about Jesus will die and go to Hell?"

That is exactly what I am saying. I never have believed that God has two ways of saving people, one through the KNOWLEDGE of the truth and the other through IGNORANCE. Get this: suppose we assume the Lord is going to save the heathen without the hearing of the Gospel, then we do them a grave injustice when we send the Gospel to them because they are safe if left alone, but if we send the Gospel to them some of them are going to rebel against it and we are going to be responsible for them going to Hell--IF God saves some because of their ignorance.

I don't believe that. Men are going to Hell because they are SINNERS. The heathen is a sinner whether or not he ever hears the Gospel; he is a sinner because he is a son of ADAM, and in Adam all sinned (Rom. 5:19, "for as by one man's disobedience, many were made SINNERS."). Therefore, the heathen is a sinner whether or not he ever hears of Christ, and sin must be punished by the justice of God. I say again that in this dispensation not one soul shall be saved without first hearing the Gospel.

Then I want you to get this: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."-Romans 10:13. That has been used, hasn't it? People will quote that verse and forget about the 14th verse, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not BELIEVED? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not HEARD? and how shall they HEAR without a preacher?" And in the 17th verse: "So then FAITH cometh by HEARING, and hearing by the word of God." Faith comes HOW? "By hearing the Word of God."

God uses two agents in the conviction and conversion of a sinner: the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the agent and the Word of God is the instrument.

Some people get the idea that the Gospel isn't necessary and that we are just wasting money when we send the Gospel to the heathen nations, but Paul said it was: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD of God." The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit uses the Gospel in the begetting of men to new life in Christ Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 4:15, notice the Apostle Paul said, "For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have BEGOTTEN you through the gospel."

Paul said that you may have ten thousand instructors to tell you something about Jesus, but you don't have many fathers because "In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." Therefore, the preaching of the Gospel is necessary. The man HEARD that Jesus was passing through. May we always dedicate our lives to seeing that men HEAR about the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the thing that is needed.

Then the third thing that I want you to notice: "He began to say to Jesus, Thou son of David . . ." Now you notice that he didn't address Him as "Lord," but he addressed Him as "Thou son of David." He was only applying it to the Kingship of Jesus in that expression "thou son of David have mercy on me." He was not thinking of the Divinity of Christ at all, only the power associated with being king. He is not thinking of the Lordship of Jesus, but the kingship of Jesus.

Next I want you to notice what the church was doing- "What do you mean? Do you mean the church was there?"

I most assuredly mean just that. The church was there; Jesus had it with Him. They went here, there and everywhere. They were a going church: Jesus had it with Him. Notice the Bible distinguishes between the disciples of Jesus and the multitudes of people in Mark 10. The church said, "You are disturbing us; you are upsetting the apple cart." When the blind man cried after Jesus, the disciples rebuked him, but Jesus when He knew what the man was doing, stood still and said, "Call him, send him here."

You know that a church can make mistakes. For example, I know of a church that has the anathema of God upon it because of what they did to an eight-year-old boy many years ago. This church was holding a revival and an eight-year-old boy came down the aisle trusting the Lord and wanting to unite with the Lord's church. The preacher looked at him and thought, "I don't know if the church will do anything about this or not."

Two or three of the "good sisters" went to the boy and said to him, "You are too young"-I want you to get this now- "You are too young to know what you are talking about; you can not know anything about Jesus."

The boy said, "I do. I DO. The man preached it simply; I am saved and I want to get in the Lord's church."

But they rebuffed and rebuked him, and he wasn't accepted. Years later I talked to this man, and I asked him if this really happened. He said, "Yes, it is true, and you know this thing that happened to me nearly ruined my life. I know that I should go somewhere to the church of the Lord and be baptized, not because I think that it is essential to salvation, but because I am a child of GOD. But I don't desire to go to church. Every time I go to church I think of those hypocritical, sanctimonious women who turned me back and said I didn't have sense enough to know what I was doing, that I didn't have sense enough to believe in Jesus."

As far as I know, he has never become identified with the Lord's church, living out of it. And that is what these were doing when the blind man was crying after Jesus. They rebuked him, but finally Jesus stood still and said, "Come here." And the man laid aside his dirty, filthy, tattered rags and came to Jesus.

To me this represents a man's own filthy rags of self-righteousness. The man recognized his OWN righteousness, or self-righteousness, availed nothing. Before a man can be saved he MUST realize his own works and self-righteousness are as filthy rags in the sight of God, and that "nothing in his hands he brings, simply to the cross to cling."

This brings us to the subject of REPENTANCE. What is repentance? The repentance of a Sinner is repentance from DEAD works. WHO has DEAD WORKS? A DEAD SINNER, and he must change his mind about self-righteousness and come to Jesus to be saved. He must repent of dead works, lay aside his own self-righteous, filthy, dirty robes and come to Jesus.

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags . . ." (Isa. 64:6).

All our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God, and, brother, when the light of God's grace and truth hits the robes of self-righteousness of unbelievers it pierces them, tearing them to shreds, and he becomes filthy in the light of God's truth.

Blind Bartimaeus laid aside his robes and came to Jesus and stood in the presence of the Lord. And what did he SAY? No longer was Jesus the "Son of David," no longer, for Jesus had become his LORD. And Jesus said unto him, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" And he said, "Lord, that I might receive my sight."

I tell you he was SAVED: he was a child of God the very MOMENT he got up, for Jesus CALLED him to Him, and he addressed Jesus as "Lord," and "No man can call Jesus LORD but by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3).

Get the picture now. Here he was LOST, BLIND and dressed in FILTHY rags, representative of every unbeliever in the world whose mind has been BLINDED by the Devil, whose robes are dirty, filthy robes of self-RIGHTEOUSNESS: and then he HEARS the story of the redeeming love and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He lays aside his own filthy rags and comes to Jesus. BUT-and here is something I want you to see-just BEFORE he gets up and STARTS to Jesus, the Lord SAVES him. He hears the Lord CALL to him, and he is saved before he starts.

I want you to get this picture firmly fixed in your mind: you notice he said to Christ, previous to this, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on me," but now when he walks into the presence of the Lord, no LONGER is Jesus "thou Son of David," but he calls Him "Lord." Now he recognizes the Divinity of Christ, that He is his Saviour, his Lord. It means reverent love. He said, "LORD, that I might receive my sight." He was a saved man when he said that, because he addressed Jesus as "Lord."

Then the last thing that I would have you notice in the discussion: he received his SIGHT, and "he FOLLOWED Jesus in the way." He followed Jesus. I believe that always happens when men are saved. Anything contrary to that isn't salvation. If I didn't believe the power of God changes men's lives, makes them FOLLOW after Jesus, if I didn't believe that I would not preach the Gospel. There is a difference. Everytime, everytime someone went to Jesus and was saved, that someone began to follow Jesus right then.

Now notice what happened: "He followed Jesus in the way." Just because people think they are saved doesn't mean that they are; for Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they FOLLOW me."-John 10:27.

He didn't say they start and then stop, but He said, "They FOLLOW me." He did not say that they MIGHT, they SHOULD, but He said they would follow Him. And this old boy followed Jesus in the way the very moment his sight was restored. In fact, the very moment Jesus saved this poor, lost, deluded soul, Bartimaeus became a follower of Jesus Christ: "He followed him in the way." That is the way it has always been since the days of Jesus. When men become saved, genuinely born again children of God, they follow Jesus Christ. They do, they DO. That is the difference in the lost and the saved. The SAVED follow Jesus; the LOST don't. There is your difference.

Now this last thought and then I am through: Just as blind Bartimaeus' sight was restored by the power of the Lord Jesus, anyone here that is lost can have the BLINDNESS lifted from his heart and mind.

Paul talking about Israel's blindness in the Epistle to the Corinthians, in 2 Corinthians 3:16 said that when the heart of Israel turned to the Lord, the veil was to be lifted. You turn to the Lord- by that I mean let the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ find a lodging place in your heart-and the veil will be lifted and you will become the recipient of the power of Jesus Christ who can save, cleanse and make you whole, and you will go on your way rejoicing.

May God enable you to do that if you are without Christ. Amen.

Chapter 9-The Covenant Of Redemption

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! "Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, 1 thirst. "Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. "When Jesus therefore had receive the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost (or dismissed His Spirit)."-John19:25-30.

"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made a priest: (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament."-Hebrews 7:19-22.

The discussion this morning is the subject, "The Covenant of Redemption," and the text is found in John 19:30. It is the cry of the Master: "It is FINISHED!"

We want to notice also in the Book of Hebrews 7:22 the word "surety," which means SPONSOR of a better covenant, but let us notice first the cry of the Master in John 19:30. This is NOT the cry of the defeated. It was a VICTORIOUS CRY, for He had accomplished that which He CAME to do. Christ had finished the redemptive work. In short, He had COMPLETED, He had FINISHED the work the Father gave Him to do. "It is FINISHED," saith the Master. Christ had finished the work.

Long before the morning stars sang together, long before the sons of God ever shouted for joy, the first Person, the second and third Persons of the Trinity formed a CONTRACT that we designate "The Covenant of Redemption." Over and over Jesus said, "I am COME to do the WORK the Father GAVE me to do."

In John 18:37, 38 when Jesus was brought before Pilate, Pilate said to Jesus, "Art thou a King then?" And Jesus answered, "Thou sayest that I am a king; to this end was I BORN, and for this CAUSE CAME I into the world, that I should bear WITNESS unto the TRUTH. Everyone that is of the TRUTH heareth my voice.

Jesus said, "For THIS cause I was BORN, and for this cause I CAME into the world."

I tell you, beloved, salvation is not a hit or miss affair; Christ did not come into the world as a by-product; nor did He pour out His blood on Calvary's Hill by accident and just to satisfy blood-thirsty men. Christ died upon the cross to COMPLETE the Covenant of Redemption. This is a fact that cannot be successfully denied.

Jesus said in John 4:34 when He saved the woman at the well: "My meat is to do the will of him that SENT me, and to FINISH his WORK." Jesus said, "I came to finish the work of the Father," and He finished it; for in John 17:4 we read: "I HAVE finished the work which thou gayest me to do." And this was PRIOR to His crucifixion; nevertheless, Jesus said, "I have FINISHED the work."

Now this isn't a contradiction of other texts in the Bible. In the RECKONING of God, Jesus has ALWAYS stood as the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8). God, therefore, EVERMORE saw the cross upon which Jesus died, and in the reckoning of God the work had ALREADY been accomplished.

The text before us presents the age old question of sin. SIN is something that cannot be denied or shrugged away. Men CAN NOT get rid of sin themselves, because sin is a STATE, and the ugly, ungodly things men do, the unholy, ungodly acts of men's lives are the RESULTS of his sinful state. It is his NATURE to do those things; they are the FRUITS of the STATE of man. Sin, therefore, is a state.

Here is a doctrine that cannot be denied, but it is a doctrine which is despised by the religionist; for this involves man's totally inherent, lost, blinded condition: "ALL have SINNED, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).

You know, people talk about the tragedy at Calvary. Beloved, that was NO tragedy; that was a BLESSING. The TRAGEDY was when Adam partook of the FRUIT of the forbidden tree and thereby plunged mankind under the CONDEMNATION of God.

Romans 3:9: ..... For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin."

When God said that He had proved both Jews and Gentiles alike to be under sin, then ALL mankind was under the CONDEMNATION of God. "ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Everyone, EVERYONE has sinned in the sight of God.

Romans 3:19: "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the WORLD may become guilty before God."

The world, therefore, is GUILTY before God, and the LAW stops the mouths of men; it points the finger of accusation at mankind and says, "You are GUILTY before God." You can not deny this fact. In Romans 5:12 the Apostle Paul said this:"

By one man sin entered into the world, and death by Sin; and so death passed upon ALL men, for that ALL have sinned."

The Bible teaches that man is totally depraved, lost, blinded, ungodly, unholy and guilty before God. "We all have sinned IN Adam" (Rom. 5:12), not so much BECAUSE of Adam, but we sinned IN Adam. In the original, in I Corinthians 15, it says that we sinned IN Adam, DIED in Adam. Death came as a result of sin.

You know, the man, woman, boy or girl who denies the total depravity of mankind can't answer the question: why do babies and irresponsible persons die? Why do they die anyway? Because of the STATE of mankind, that is, SIN. Then if babies and irresponsible persons go to Heaven just because they are babies and irresponsible, then they ought to be killed in infancy.

"Why," you may say, "what an awful thing to say!"

But I repeat, if babies and irresponsible persons go to Heaven because they ARE babies, then they ought to be killed in infancy, BECAUSE some of them might grow up and go to Hell. Now don't you go away this morning and say that Brother Cox preached babies into Hell; I didn't say that. But I tell you one thing: babies go to Heaven to be sure; but NOT because the y are babies; they go there because of the BLOOD of Christ. That is the REASON and the only reason they go there.

In Romans 5:13, 14 the Apostle Paul goes a step further and says, "For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

You know these religionists say that man could not have sinned when there was no law, but the BIBLE doesn't say that. Here is what the Bible does say: "Until the law, SIN was in the world, but sin is not IMPUTED when there is no law" (Rom.5:13).

Personal sins were not CHARGED when there was no law existing. Paul tells us: "Nevertheless, DEATH reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of ADAM's transgression . . ." (Rom. 5:14).

WHY do you DIE? You died SPIRITUALLY because of Adam's transgression, and you die PHYSICALLY because of the STATE of mankind. This old earth is under the curse of God.

I haven't tried this, but I have been told by men who farm that you can go out to a place where nothing will grow, clear and plant something, and the first thing that will come up will be thorns, weeds and thistles. WHY? Read Genesis 3:17, 19. God said to Adam because he had eaten of the fruit, ". . . cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

This is WHY you have thorns and thistles; this is WHY you have to chop the grass from cotton and corn, and other things you try to grow. The CURSE of God, the earth is cursed of God.

You stand in the silent city of the dead and read the markers on the tombstones. A man was born on a certain date and died on a certain date: these are the marks of sin. SIN has left its mark upon every man and age in the world. Sin MARKS can be seen everywhere, not just somewhere, mind you, but EVERYWHERE. The marks of sin are stamped everywhere. Every cemetery that has ever been, every jail and penitentiary, all have been built by sin. I repeat, sin has built them all. Every ungodly act that men perform is the result of his sinful nature, and it has left its imprint upon the hearts, souls and minds of men. Lo, for these six thousand years of earth's existence, it has been so.

You may say then, "Brother Cox, were they not all lost before Moses, for Christ had not yet come and died? How could they have been saved?"

If I believed like most religious bodies today, I would have to say, 'Yes, they were all lost, and they all went to Hell."

But many of them were saved, and I'll tell you HOW they were saved. I told this at a meeting one time, and a few of the men said, "Amen," but some of them looked at me with consternation written all over their faces. I said, "The Old Testament saints were saved on CREDIT; the NOTE was signed by JESUS, and they were saved on credit; for Christ had not come and died upon the cross for men s sins.

Romans 3:24-25 used to worry me to death. I would read it over and over seeking the meaning. It says, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forebearance of God."

How in the name of common sense could they have been saved any other way, but saved on the CREDIT of Christ: Jesus signed their note; hence, they were saved. That is what Paul meant in Hebrews 7:22, "By so much was Jesus made a SURETY of a better testament."

He was their SPONSOR because He put His name on the note. He signed the note for the Old Testament saints. Let me illustrate the meaning. You may have heard this before, but please listen quietly for the next five minutes. I thought this was the greatest piece of literature I had ever read, and it blessed my heart as I read it. It is an illustration in which old Christmas Evans demonstrated how Old Testament saints were saved.

Old Christmas Evans (talking about the Old Testament saints) said, "The whole world, guilty before God, is like a cemetery, a graveyard with a great iron fence built around the whole earth, and they are on the inside and cannot get outside, and no one can get inside. There was a great iron gate, and the Sword of Justice stood there guarding the gate and no one could get in. The angel stood with the flaming Sword of Justice raised, and Mercy said, 'May I enter and relieve them?'"

"Justice said, 'Thou may NOT!' The Sword of God's inexorable Justice said, "Thou may not enter lest thou be struck down." The inflexible justice and judgment of God keeps the tree of life: "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen. 3:24).

And after awhile angels came, and Justice was standing there. The angels said, "May we go in and relieve them?"

Justice said, "Thou may NOT!"

Then the angels stood back and cried, "Is there no HOPE?"

Then came the answer: "There is NONE; there is NO hope.

Then one of the Cherubims of God, the angels so holy they burned in their own righteousness, came, but the Sword of Justice was still drawn and said, "Thou may NOT enter."

There is no HOPE; man is left hopeless, helpless, without hope in the world; there is NONE to help.

After awhile the Son of God came, stood and looked, but the angel with the drawn sword said, "Thou may NOT enter."

The Son of God said, "I will be their SPONSOR; I will be their PROPITIATION; I'll sign their NOTE, and I will PAY their DEBT."

The angel said, "When?"

The answer came: "Four thousand years hence."

"Where?"

"On Golgotha's Hill."

There was a lapse of four thousand years, and one day Mercy and Justice were conversing. Justice said, "Where is the ONE who is to PAY the DEBT? Where is the ONE who signed the NOTE?"

And Mercy said, "Look! Look yonder coming up Golgotha's Hill! see the One bent beneath the weight of the cross: THAT is He, that is the One who signed the note, the One who will pay the DEBT!"

On and on He came, step by weary step, until He finally reached the top of Golgotha's Hill. Mercy and Justice watched as evil men prepared to nail Him to the tree, and as the spikes were being driven into His hands and feet, Mercy cried, "There must, there MUST be another way to settle the debt!"

But Justice said, "There IS no other WAY."

The Cherubims said, "Surely, SURELY there MUST be another way! Surely God will not stand by and see the sword plunged into the heart of Jesus. Surely, there must be another way!"

But there WAS no other WAY: and Justice plunged the sword into the heart of Jesus; the flaming sword that kept the way of the tree of life was plunged into and killed the Son of God: and Justice was SATISFIED.

"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be SATISFlED; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant fustify many; for he shall bear their iniquities."-Isaiah 53:11.

Christ had paid the debt; He had settled the account on Calvary's tree. When the Son of God lifted those languishing eyes heavenward, when He lifted His blood-streaked, blood-stained face-the blood that was poured out for you and for me-He said, "It is FINISHED, it is finished!" (John 19:30). He had COMPLETED the WORK He came to do, the work of REDEMPTION. It was finished; the inexorable sword of Justice fell on the Son of God, who took OUR place, died under OUR sins to pay OUR sin debt. You hear me now: JESUS paid the debt that WE might go free.

You may ask me this morning, "Brother Pastor, how may I go free?"

God's answer to you is: "In Jesus; for there is no OTHER way. Acts 4:12 says, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Acts 10:43: "To him (Jesus) give all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall RECElVE remission of sins.

John 14:6: "1 am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Thus, He settled the debt and we can go free.

If you are here without Christ, that is the TRAGEDY. There isn't any tragedy worse than being without Christ, without life, without hope in the worl4, lost, world without end-LOST. I know of no other word in the English language like the word "lost, lost, LOST." My God, brethren, there is no word like it-LOST! Men are lost; men are lost, men are LOST. It is a terrible thing to be lost. Christ DIED because of THAT. He PAID the debt and you may go free. HOW? By FAITH in Jesus Christ, the Lord, that's how. Just trust in Christ and go FREE.

Mercy is never given at the expense of God's justice; justice has to be met. Jesus paid OUR sin debt by dying under the inexorable justice of God-the flaming sword of justice pierced the side of Jesus for our sins. You may become the recipient of this sin payment by FAITH in the shed blood of Christ (Rom. 5:1). Come to Christ and be SAVED. Amen.

Chapter 10-The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, hut have everlasting life."-John 3:16.

The text tonight is called the "golden text" of the Bible, and it IS. Perhaps it is the most familiar of all texts, even more familiar than the shortest verse in the Bible. In Vacation Bible Schools the first verse 'that children are taught is John 3:16, and the reason: so many things are suggested therein.

A man once spoke to his pastor saying, "Brother Pastor, I wish that you would cease and desist from preaching the doctrine."

The preacher, a rather elderly man, said to this member of the church: "If you will give me a text, I shall be only too happy to preach it."

"Well" said the member, "I can give you many texts that aren't doctrinal, but I will give you the most familiar one of them all. If you can preach a doctrinal message out of it, then I'll never say another word about doctrinal preaching."

So he gave him John 3:16.

This same pastor said to me, "You know, I began to study John 3:16. I had quoted it many times, but really, truly, I had not ever studied the passage. So I began; day after day, night after night I studied John 3:16. When I had exhausted not that which John 3:16 taught, but myself, I came to this conclusion:

John 3:16 is the most doctrinal passage in the Word of God."

And it is. So tonight we are talking on the subject "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told,"

From the human standpoint, the most fascinating love story is the love story of Jacob and his wife-the wife that he loved.

To me, it is the most fascinating love story, evaluated by human standards; but John 3:16 is the greatest love story that man can read. It is dealing NOT with human emotions, or the relationship of men and women to each other, but it is dealing with the love which God has manifested toward a lost, sick, dying world.

There are five things suggested in this marvelous text-no doubt someone more familiar with this passage than I could find much more suggested-but five things to which I would direct your attention this evening:

1. The AUTHOR of such LOVE-"For GOD so loved. . ."

2. The OBJECTS of His love-"For God so loved the WORLD. . ."

3. The MANIFESTATION of such love-"That he GAVE his only begotten SON . . ."

4. The RECIPIENTS of His love-"That whosoever BELIEVETH. . ."

5. The SECURITY of such love-"should never PERISH but have everlasting LIFE."

Those are the five things I would discuss with you this evening.

First, let us examine the opening phrase of this remarkable passage: Jesus, talking to Nicodemus, said, "For God so loved. . ." So, it is GOD who loved. There is no way whereby one can understand or define God's love. His love surpasses and far excels any and all other loves. The nearest love to God's love is a mother's love for her child. For example: in the Old Testament, as God admonished backsliding Israel to return, He points out His love TO them, His care FOR them and His concern ABOUT them, saying, "As a mother comforts her child, even so shall I comfort you.

But I would not, for anything in the world, attempt to define God's love, because that would be utterly impossible to do. But notice Jesus said, "For God SO loved. . ." He is the AUTHOR of this love.

From a doctrinal standpoint, the text declares the EXISTENCE of God: "For God . . ." The man who denies and is skeptical about the existence of God is not a smart man; although he may be acclaimed as an intellect. He might be acclaimed an intellectual man and at the same time, if he denies the existence of God, the Book says that he is a FOOL.

Then I would raise the question this evening: why is it that some men DENY God? The communists deny the existence of God-WHY? Why is it that men say, "There is no God?"

I believe the Bible answers that question. In Psalm 14:1 David said, "The FOOL bath said in his heart there is no God." They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

David said that it is the FOOL who hath said, "There is no God." And he tells you WHY men say such things: he is a FOOL. He is not an intellectual man, but a fool, the rankest kind of fool. Now it doesn't mean, however, that he is mentally unbalanced; it means that he is one that is ordering his LIFE as if there were no God. Psalm 19:1-3, a familiar passage, David said, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."

In short, they who say "there is no God" have no excuse. There is no EXCUSE for men to say there is no God when even the Heavens and earth shew His handiwork.

People are saying on every hand, "We want something that is tangible."

Well, that is what the natives, where the missionaries have never gone, have to say. So they build them a god with their own hands and bow down to it; but they are no worse than the man, who lives in an enlightened land, who declares there isn't a God. Then nature itself-that is what David actually had in mind in Psalm 19-the voice of nature declares the glory of God. There isn't any place in the world where nature hasn't been manifested; where the Divine hand of Cod has not been seen, or its effect. So that man is without excuse. He just THINKS he is an intellect.

The Apostle Paul, talking about the Gentile nations in Romans 1:19-22, said that he had a number of things against them, and here is one thing that he says-I want you to get it-"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God bath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without EXCUSE: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; hut became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became FOOLS."

So Paul said, "There is no EXCUSE for man to say, 'There is no God.' For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly SEEN, being understood by the things that are MADE, even unto His eternal power and Godhead." So, they are without excuse before God. Now, THIS is the AUTHOR of such love. He EXISTS, and NOT just in the imaginations of men, but He really, truly, actually exists: God LIVES. He isn't dead.

Someone said one time, "Why is it that God permits EVIL to triumph? Why does God permit WARS? Why does God permit ILLNESS, so many diseases, so much suffering throughout the world-why?"

I could give you two reasons; one perhaps you would accept, and the other perhaps you would reject. But I give them to you anyway. The reasons are simply these: first, for the child of God, God is working out everything for the GOOD of that child of God. It might be illness, adverse circumstances and conditions; it might, be financial adverse or the loss of one's health, but if he is a child of Cod, God works it out for his own good, and for HIS glory. Secondly, somehow, some way, God is going to divert, convert evil to His everlasting good and glory. He overturns evil works for Himself and for His own GLORY: God is a JEALOUS God; everything that He does and permits somehow will redound to his own eternal GLORY. This is a truth which cannot be denied.

DEFINE God's love! That is impossible, but suffice it to say that God is the AUTHOR of this love.

The second thing that I want you to notice tonight: the OBJECTS of His LOVE-NOT angels.

You know, sometimes mothers will take their child into their arms and hug that child to their bosoms saying, "You are a little angel." But .they are NOT. I won't tell you what they ARE, hut they are NOT angels. Then again, they promise their child if he will be good, thus and so, that he will some day be an angel, flitting here and yon. Now that isn't SO.

And then there are those who say, "I would to God I had been an angel." Well, I'll tell you one thing: I am glad that I'm NOT an angel; they have to stand on their own MERITS. He stands or falls on his own merits: the very moment that an angel sins against God he is driven from the presence of God, bound with everlasting chains unto judgment at the last day. But the people who have been saved stand NOT on their own MERITS, but they stand on the MERITS of the BLOOD of CHRIST. There is a DIFFERENCE. Angels are NOT the objects of God's love, but MANKIND. Jesus said, "For God so loved the world. . ."

Now, I am not so foolish as to assume that God loved ALL of Adam's race without exception. No, I don't BELIEVE that! I don't believe that men who die and go to Hell were the objects of God's LOVE. For had they been the objects of God's love and then died and gone to Hell, then His love did not AVAIL in their behalf, and it might not AVAIL on my behalf. God does not love BLINDLY.

Then let us see what KIND of love God has for the world: Jeremiah 31:3, God said, "I have loved thee with an EVERLASTING love, therefore, with LOVING KINDNESS have I drawn thee."

What did He say? "I have loved thee with a love that is everlasting, undying, a love that knows no bounds and no limits." And I'll let you in on a little secret: He loved us who are saved NOT because WE loved Him. Here is the strangest thing of all. Now I don't understand HOW God made the world, except that I accept what the Bible says. He SAID it and it was DONE. I don't know anything about LIFE. In fact, I don't know anything about this clock here, but I know it keeps time; I accept it as a matter of course. But the world, the planets, the stars, the moon and the sun are not nearly so astonishing, astounding as God's LOVE for you and me. Now, I understand how that a person can love someone that is lovable-can't you? I can understand how a person, you, me, anyone else can love somebody that is outstanding and a lovable person, but I can't understand how that GOD could love a REPROBATE like you and me-that is the amazing thing.

"But," someone will say, "we love GOD in order for GOD to love US." Now, beloved, that isn't SO. The CAUSE of our salvation is the LOVE of God. That is the cause-that's the CAUSE. I want you to see that tonight. It is NOT the GROUND of our salvation, but it is the CAUSE. For love could not be consistent with its own nature if it tolerated sin and sanctioned sin. Thus, the ground of our salvation is CHRIST and His finished work. That can be easily seen.

In 1 John 4:10-I'm not going to give you all .the text because the last part has to do with another thought-the Apostle John said, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that God hath loved us." And in verse 19 of the same chapter John said, "We love him (God), BECAUSE he FIRST loved us."

Well, then, does God love EVERYBODY? Did Jesus actually mean to imply that God loved ALL Adam's race without exception? I answer by saying this: if He did then Hell will be empty. But then I know Hell will NOT be empty. WHOM did He love then? Hebrews 2:11, 12, 13 gives you the answer. In verse 11, Jesus is seen and heard saying that He is not ashamed to call those whom God had given Him brethren; verse 12, He points out that He would sing in the midst of the church praises unto God; and then, verse 13, He speaks of the children which God hath given unto Him. Now THEY are the ones whom God LOVES: the children which God gave unto Christ in the Covenant of Redemption. The objects of His LOVE? Not ANGELS, not ANIMALS, but MEN, all kinds of men: the ungodly, the unlovable, all kinds of men; not GOOD folk, because you can't find anybody that is good.

Third: He said, "For God so loved the world that he GAVE his only begotten Son. . ." This is the MANIFESTATION of His LOVE. Do you see it? See how it unfolds.

I was noticing a word tonight after I came to church. I was back there in the office studying the word "commendeth." You know, I really appreciate that word in Romans 5:8, where the Apostle Paul said, "But God hath COMMENDED his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

The manifestation of God's love was the DEATH of Christ for US. The word "commendeth" is not used many times in the New Testament-about 9 or 10 times. It comes from a little Greek word -sunistemi,and means to SET TOGETHER. All right, God's love is SET TOGETHER. Every ingredient that is necessary to PRODUCE salvation of some men has been put together in the LOVE of God. The same word Paul uses, in reference to Phebe, in Romans 16:1, 2. God hath put His love together, and you and I were the OBJECTS of His love-those of us who have been saved. God manifested that love in Christ's DEATH upon the cross.

Now in the 10th verse of I John 4 he said, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that HE loved US, and sent his SON to be"-WHAT? "The PROPITIATION for our SINS." He died under our sins, and GOD was PROPITIATED that you and I might be RECONCILED to God by the DEATH of His Son, on the MERITS of CHRIST'S BLOOD. Jesus, in short, died in OUR place. It is that simple.

One of the greatest texts in all the fourteen Epistles that Paul wrote is in Galatians 2:20. I think that this is one of the greatest. It is familiar, almost as familiar as John 3:16. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved ME, and gave himself for ME." It was a PERSONAL matter with Paul. He knew that HE was the OBJECT of God's love, and that God manifested His love in the death of Christ for Paul.

Brother Lutts came out here one time several years ago and spoke to the young people of our church. Many of you will remember him. He, I believe, was about the worst cripple I have ever seen to be walking without a crutch. His limbs and feet were all twisted, and his whole body distorted. I haven't ever seen anything quite like it, and yet, he could still walk.

That night he was talking to the young people about God's love, and he said, "You know, I can't understand it. I don't understand how my wife could love me. We went to school together, and there were great, stalwart men who pursued her; a lot of them trying to marry her. But you know," he said, with great tears rolling down his face, "she loved me and I have asked her: 'Honey, how in the world can you love me, I am so unlovable?'"

"And," said he, "you know, she looked at me with a smile and replied, 'Why, you are not, Stanley Lutts! GOD loved you and God's CHRIST died for you, and if He did that, don't you think I could love you a little bit-enough to marry you?"'

Paul said, "Jesus died for ME. He loved ME and gave Himself for ME." It was a personal thing with Paul. If you can get lost men to see that, that salvation is in Christ and that Christ died for them-that is, for the individual who is lost, without God, without Christ. It would then become a personal thing-IF one is an OBJECT of His love.

Then, fourth, notice the RECIPIENTS of this love: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVETH . . ." The RECIPIENTS, therefore, are those who have FAITH. In John 3:14, 15 Jesus said to Nicodemus, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Jesus said that when Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness that everyone who LOOKED upon the serpent would be instantaneously HEALED of their snake bites, and there is no record where they were ever bitten again. Then Jesus said, "Even so in the same manner must the Son of God be lifted up, that whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

The RECIPIENTS of God's love are those who BELIEVE in God's Christ. In John 6:47, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on ME hath everlasting life." This is a wonderful text. It is short; it is brief, but it is a great text. Jesus said that the BELIEVER in Him HAS everlasting life.

"To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.-Acts 10:43.

Here is something that I wish those "works for salvation" fellows would read, but they don't. They ought to, but they won't. You know, some people can tell you how many chapters and verses there are in the Bible. I don't know how many, for I have never taken the time to count them. I never thought it was that important, but, you know, some people know how many chapters and verses in the Bible yet they don't know anything ELSE; they don't know WHAT the chapters and verses teach. They work, but as the Bulletin said this morning, "It is better to DO NOTHING than to WORK at doing NOTHING."

Yet, some folk work their daylights out trying to learn the Books of the Bible-that's all right-how many verses, chapters, this, thus and so, but they never come to "the acknowledging of the truth." So I wish someone would tell those "salvation by works" fellows about Acts 10:43.

I have been told-I don't know, it might have been more, might have been less-that I don't know, but I have been told there are 21 great prophets. I don't know how many; I am not concerned. I'll let the guy who is doing the counting count them and tell me. I am not interested. It could have been one. I am interested in the Author of the Book. But anyhow, the Apostle Peter said to the household of Cornelius, in Acts 10:43, "To him (that is Christ) give all the prophets witness" (everyone, whether there were 21, 51 or 101), everyone gave forth his testimony. They witnessed to one specific fact: the name of Christ, that "whosoever believeth in him should RECEIVE remission of sins." Simple, isn't it? The RECIPIENTS are those who believe in Christ.

The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas at the midnight hour, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). This is a great question. I am going to preach on that again; I love to preach on that. I see a new truth every time I preach on it. "What must I DO . . .?" Trembling, scared to death, frightened, he cried out in his anxiety: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And Paul said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt he saved" (Acts 16:31) I believe that. Do you? There it is-the RECIPIENTS, those who BELIEVE in CHRIST.

Then I come to the fifth and last thought: the SECURITY of such love. God doesn't QUIT loving us; although someone said, "Why you might fall OUT of God's love."

Yes? God just MAY fall out of the sky. You might just as well face up to this truth: it would be just as easy for God not to be God; for God to lose His soul, as it would be for God to CEASE to love. It would be against His nature. God isn't an "Indian giver" (John 5:24).

A man said one time that John 5:24 isn't in the Bible. Old Brother Nunnery was debating with this "works for salvation" fellow, and he quoted John 5:24. Do you know what this fellow said? He said over and over, "That isn't in the Bible. I DENY I would have been in Hell a long time ago; you would have, too.

Brother Nunnery got up and walked over to him and said, "Will you read it? Here it is."

The man looked off and wouldn't read it. Yet, people say that guys like this are saved, and religious denominations like that are all right! Why, they are the very sons of Hell! There is no use in denying the truth. A man who will deny the Word of God is a devil; you might just as well face that fact.

Old Brother Nunnery, tottering on his staff, with one foot in the grave, with tenderness and kindness said, "My friend, I never heard such a thing. Here it is, please, please read it. I want the congregation to hear you read. I know you can read because you have been reading."

The man said, "It is not THERE, Mr. Nunnery, it isn't there. That verse is NOT in the Bible."

Had I been that man, instead of saying that, I would have run off. But it IS in the Bible, and here it is: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, He that heareth my word, and BELIEVETH on him that sent me, hath everlasting LIFE, and shall NOT come into condemnation; but is passed FROM death unto LIFE."

There it is. That is what it says. The man who believes in Christ has passed the judgment of God: he will not be called to the White Throne Judgment; that day is PASSED; he has everlasting LIFE. That is why Romans 8:1 is TRUE: "There is therefore NOW no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. . ."

1 Peter 1:3, 4, 5: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

"KEPT by the POWER of God. . ." If it depended on ME, I would have been in Hell a long time ago; you would have, too.

Now this last Scripture: Paul said in Romans 8:33-39, "WHO shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is GOD that JUSTIFIETH. WHO is he that CONDEMNETH? It is CHRIST that DIED, yea rather, that is RISEN again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh INTERCESSION for US. WHO shall SEPARATE us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in ALL these things we are more than CONQUERERS through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be ABLE to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Talking about God's LOVE - NOTHING can separate us from it.

Now, do you think that this is a doctrinal text?

And the last word in closing: do you know Christ as your personal Saviour? If not, may the Holy Spirit be pleased to impart life to you, and you come to receive Christ as your Saviour. Amen.

Chapter 11-"My God! My God! Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"

"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost (actually dismissed His Spirit)"-Matthew 27:45-50.

Verse 46 will suffice for the text. It is one of the most heart-rending laments found in all the Book of God. "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani," meaning, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" You can search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and you will not find a cry more pungent, more heart-rending than this cry.

You will notice in the Scripture that I read that from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. The sun went down at noon; not a star could be seen and the moon did not give any light. There had NEVER been such a day, there never HAS been such a day since, and there never SHALL be a day like the day when the PRINCE OF LIFE was SLAIN. And just before the ninth hour the Lord Jesus cried out these memorable words: "My God, my God! why hast thou forsaken me?" This is the only time in the three and half years that Jesus preached, walking about the cities, on the roads of Judea and Samaria, that He ever complained about anything.

In Isaiah 53:7 we read two things said about the Master: one was that He was like a "sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth," and the other in the first part of the verse it says that He was as a "lamb being led to the slaughter. He didn't open His mouth. They buffeted Christ; they spat upon Him and they spoke all manner of evil against Him; they challenged Him to resort to His Divinity by coming down from the cross. But when the darkness finally descended upon this scene, when the curtain of God was slowly drawn and darkness descended upon the earth, Jesus complained.

Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:23 that: "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not . . ." Jesus never did resort to getting revenge, retaliation. But now in this august scene of death, in this picture of the degradation of sin itself, when God finally looked away, Jesus complained: He cried out in His agony and suffering, "My God, my God! why hast thou forsaken me?"

It was at this point that Jesus was entirely ALONE. It is altogether possible for men to be alone and yet be in the presence of ten thousand; their minds and hearts far removed from the crowds about them. Jesus was far removed from the crowds that trampled upon each other around His cross. They came in long streams up Golgotha's Hill to witness this august, sublime and yet awful scene. He was ALONE. This was the loneliest moment that Jesus ever spent in His thirty-three years upon the earth. This was the moment that He was treading the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God, and treading it ALONE.

Yet men get the idea, sometimes, that they can assist, that they can help God to save them when it was Jesus, and Jesus ALONE, who paid the debt. It was Jesus, and Jesus ALONE, who went to Calvary's Cross and died thereupon. It was Jesus, and Jesus ALONE, who tread the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God: NONE but HE.

"But now once in the end of the world bath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was ONCE offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."-Hebrews 9:26, 27, 28.

Christ bath appeared (not somebody else, not anything else), but Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. He went ALONE, I tell you, and every time that men get the idea that there is something that they can do, that there is some overt act that they can perform, it is an INSULT to God. WHY do you think that Christ drank the last bitter dregs of the cup of everlasting sorrow in Gethsemane and upon the cross, if a MAN can help to do anything about it? HE died, and He died ALONE.

You might ask me this morning: "Brother Pastor, why was it that Jesus cried out, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'"

I'll tell you why: fellowship with the Father had been broken. Jesus had now come to take the place of the sinner. He could not address God as "Father" but as "God"; for in that moment He had upon Himself the sins of all those whom God had given Him in the Covenant of Redemption. He was taking THEIR place, dying under THEIR sins; thus, the only way that He could address the Father God was as God, "My God." Fellowship with God had been severed when Jesus died.

I have often said, and I honestly believe it to be true, that one of the reasons that darkness descended upon the whole earth, one of the reasons that the sun went down at noon, was because God looked AWAY. No longer did He look upon the dying body of His Son. No longer did He look upon the blood that streamed from His side, His hands, feet, and from His wounded brow; He looked away and darkness came. Fellowship with God was broken. God cannot look upon sin with any degree of allowance, so He looked away from Christ.

You might say, "But, Brother Cox. Jesus did not sin."

TRUE. Jesus knew no SIN (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 3:5; Heb.4:15). Christ did not sin, but in that moment when the Divine Son of God died upon Calvary's Cross, a world of sin was upon Him: God cannot look upon sin so He looked away from His Son.

His cry is heart-rending because of a number of things, but primarily, it is heart-rending because no one came to comfort Him in the dying hour. Before, when Jesus was lonely, angels came to minister to Him. In Matthew 4:1-11, when Jesus was tempted forty days and forty nights, and when at last He drove the Devil from His presence, angels came and ministered unto Him. Yonder in Gethsemane when He fell upon His face and prayed until the blood came from His face, until the pores of His skin opened and the blood came, we notice in Luke 22:43 an angel came down and comforted Him; but now when He is drinking the last bitter DREGS, now when He is going the last MILE, now when He is DYING on Calvary's Cross, no angel came to comfort Him; no angel came to strengthen the Divine Son of God. No man came to offer Him a drink of water; instead they gave Him vinegar to drink. The angry mob walking all around the cross, throwing every kind of slur, making every kind of accusation against Jesus, throwing this and that into His face, none would offer one word of comfort, hope or cheer. Heart-rending? YES.

Bless your hearts, I say as tenderly and kindly as I know how this morning: if the crucifixion of Jesus for your sins doesn't mean very much to you there is something out of place with you and out of sorts in you. Like the old hymn that says: "You mean to tell me, Lord, Lord, all this suffering of Calvary for ME, a frail, insignificant human being, that is alive today and dead tomorrow," and the answer comes echoing back: "It WAS." It was for ME He died. No wonder that Paul said in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who LOVED ME, and GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME."

Bless your hearts, He died for ME. I helped plait the crown of thorns that adorned His brow; I helped drive the spikes into His quivering hands and feet; I wielded the spear that plunged into His quivering side: I KILLED the Prince of Life with my SINS.

He died in vindication of the law. The breaking of the law had to be paid for, and Christ died in the vindication of the law. Ezekiel 18:4 and 20 says "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Now Jesus died; He is the GUILTLESS, but He was the One who died for the GUILTY. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Across the ages, the thundering of Sinai comes to us: "The soul that SINNETH it shall DIE." Jesus died in vindication of the law. He paid it all. "All to Him I owe; sin had left its crimson stain; He washed it white as snow," so goes the old hymn. He paid it ALL.

When those Israelites stood in the shadow of Mount Sinai and heard the thundering and the roaring thereof, saw the brilliance and radiance of God reflected in the face of Moses, they never forgot that august scene; thus, coming to us thundering across the ages from Sinai is the voice of inexorable justice and judgment, saying, "The soul that SINNETH it shall DIE." It MUST. But amazing grace stepped in and saved a wretch like me. Jesus paid our sin debt. Oh, bless His name this morning; He paid our sin debt.

You know, we used to sing an old hymn that says: "The old account was settled long ago." Brother, it WAS-at Calvary. WHERE? At Calvary. Jesus paid the debt; He paid for my sins; Jesus died in payment of my sins: He paid the sin debt and the debt was cancelled. As Brother Freeman always says, "There was no devil left unconquered; no sin left undestroyed and no debt left unpaid when He died."

Brother, that is the truth: He paid it all; every last farthing was paid. That is what Paul meant in Ephesians 1:7, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." Jesus paid for our sins, and it is an insult to God for men to think that they can do something whereby they can make themselves acceptable in the sight of God, other than what Christ has already DONE.

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth (that word believeth means the one who does nothing but believe) on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."-Romans 4:5-8.

Wonderful, isn't it? WHO is the man to whom the Lord will not charge sin? He is the man who has done nothing but believe in Christ. That is what He said. Done nothing more or nothing less than just to believe in Christ; he is a blessed man, indeed he is; for the old sin debt was cancelled out and the blood has washed him and made him as white as snow.

You notice He said in Ephesians 1:7, "We have redemption through his blood; we have forgiveness of sins through his blood." It's His blood!

How do you reach the blood of Christ? Romans 3:25 tells you in plain English; there is no guess work about it: "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his BLOOD, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." That's HOW-faith in His BLOOD. I didn't say it; God's Word said it.

I love Isaiah 1:18; this is what God had in mind: "Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Jesus paid it, don't you seep in His blood. In Revelation 1:5, the Apostle John tells us, "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our SINS in his own BLOOD." I tell you-this morning, beloved, with all the fervor of my heart and soul that it's the blood of Christ that redeems, sanctifies, purifies, washes and makes men clean in His sight and as white as the driven snow; it's the BLOOD, the blood. May God help you to see that this morning; it's the BLOOD. If you have not believed in the blood, you are LOST. It takes FAITH in His BLOOD.

When Jesus cried out, "My God! My God! why hast thou forsaken me?" the justice of God was SATISFIED. God's justice had to be met and His justice satisfied. God never has saved a man at the expense and sacrifice of His justice. Justice was meted out, NOT upon the GUILTY, but upon the GUILTLESS, yet justice was meted out just the same.

I imagine, this morning, I can see Christ as He walked up Calvary's Hill, as they stretched His body upon the cross, nailing Him upon the tree. Mercy and Justice are standing there. Mercy is saying, "Surely, surely, at the last moment God will intervene and spare His Son: it's His SON."

But Justice stands there with his sword all gory and red and says, "Justice must be met; justice must be executed."

Is there no mercy; is there none to intercede? NONE. Is there no mercy to be shown? NONE. Thus, the sword of Divine Justice pierced the Son of God and took His life, and He died in payment of our sins to satisfy the justice of God. "He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be SATISFIED" (Isa. 53:11).

The PURPOSE of God was finished now. There in the 19th chapter of the Gospel of John, verse 30, "Jesus cried with a loud voice, It is FINISHED, and having said this, he delivered up his spirit." "I have finished what I came to do," said the Master. "I came to do that which thou gayest me to do, and now I have finished it; I have finished the job; it is over and done: I have redeemed those whom thou gayest me in the Covenant of Redemption."

Talk about the sin question-it is finished. He PAID for it. Luke 28:46-a marvelous verse. After all that suffering, after all the darkness upon the earth, after the Son of God finally said, "It is finished," God's justice had been satisfied, the law had been vindicated and sins paid for, Jesus said, "Father (now it is Father; no longer "My God"), into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). Fellowship with the Father had been restored; but it was AFTER Christ had paid the debt, satisfying the JUSTICE of God, and vindicating the law.

May I ask you this morning, dear friend, what are you trusting for your salvation? Are you going to trust anything other than the blood of Christ? If you do, you are lost. "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through FAITH in his BLOOD, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God: to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be JUST, and the JUSTIFIER of him which BELIEVETH in Jesus" (Rom. 3:25, 26).

It is the BLOOD of Christ that redeems, sanctifies, saves, purges and makes us acceptable in the Beloved. Are you trusting the blood this morning? If you are not, I would to God, ere you leave this building, you would trust in the blood of Christ, walk down this aisle saying, "Brother Cox, I am under the blood. I am trusting implicitly in the blood of Christ and in His blood ALONE for salvation."

May God help you to do that. Amen.

Chapter 12-The Blood

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins, But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives."-Matthew 26:26-28.

The 28th verse of this 26th Chapter of Matthew will suffice for the subject: "For this is my BLOOD of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

The subject under consideration is one that is timely and important inasmuch as it deals with the only thing that can cleanse, redeem, and save-that is the BLOOD of Jesus.

You hear people speak about the cross. The cross holds a fascination for many people, but there is nothing of a meritorious nature about the wooden cross upon which Jesus died, with this exception, it held the Son of God. Therefore it is not the cross that is so important, but the BLOOD that was shed upon the cross. That is the thing that is important; that is the thing we should learn more about-the blood of Jesus.

People in this modern age, the age of so-called enlightenment, have gotten way ahead of the Lord. The Bible has become to many an outmoded, outdated, book of Psalms. Then people hear something about the blood of Jesus, and they are quick to retaliate with, "That's a butcher-shop gospel." Call it what you will, term it a "butcher-shop gospel" if you please, but if there is one thing the Bible teaches, it is that "without the shedding of BLOOD there is no REMISSION of sin" (Heb. 9:22).

Attack the blood of Jesus all you please, denounce it, deny it; yet it still stands as the only thing that remits sin.

Fifty years ago professing Christians were quite different than they are today. Fifty years ago if a man preached a sermon without exalting the blood of Jesus, without mentioning the blood of Christ in the message, people said he wasn't preaching. But today it is revised; it has changed altogether. Today if a man preaches on the blood of Jesus, he is preaching that which is offensive. The Apostle Paul wanted the offense of the cross to continue and every Bible-loving, Christ-honoring member of the Lord's church and every God-called preacher of the Gospel ought to be willing for the offense of the cross to continue. Certainly one way to offend, is to preach on the blood of Jesus-the "butcher-shop gospel."

A man stood in a leading university, less than five years ago, and spoke to six hundred ministers, or supposed-to-be ministers, and said, "Boys, when you go out to preach, one thing I don't want you to mention is the blood of Jesus. There is no meritorious power in the blood of Christ, no more than in a hog's blood, and when you get up and talk about it you are only preaching a "butcher-shop gospel."

He was heralded as one of the greatest religious men of this age. They held him in the highest esteem. They said, "He is an eloquent speaker, a wonderful Christian gentleman."

He was a rank infidel, that's what he was. It's a sin to call anything by the wrong name. Why beat the Devil around the stump, so to speak; why not come right out and call him what he is, what anyone is who denies the blood of Christ?

There are a number of things I want to say about the blood of Jesus-

I. It Was The Price That Was Paid For Our Purchase

I've said this from the pulpit many times and I say it now again. The believer is not a free moral agent in the Arminian sense. People get the idea that life is their own, to do with as they please, to order after their own discretion. Beloved, that isn't true. Here is a text I want you to notice. I'm sure it has been read and heard many times without striking pay-dirt, without hitting home. 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, Paul is talking to the church at Corinth:

"What?know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of GOD, AND YE ARE NOT YOUR OWN? For ye are BOUGHT with a PRICE: therefore glorify God in your body. and in your spirit, which are God's."

Brethren, you are not your own, you have been bought with a price, and you belong to God.

I have been purchased by the blood of Jesus, and it is not for me to order my life as I please. God has the authority to command, and it is for me to obey. Remember that friends, if you are saved, you are not your own, you belong to God. Paul said, "You no longer belong to yourself. You have been purchased, bought with a price. Then use that which you have to glorify God; that is, your body and spirit."

You may raise the question this evening: "What WAS the PRICE that was paid?"

The PRICE, beloved, was the BLOOD of Jesus. Paul makes it so plain, talking to the Ephesian elders, pointing out to them their responsibilities as pastors and preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Acts 20:28: "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath PURCHASED with his own BLOOD."

Purchased how? With His own blood. That's the price.

I fear a lot of people who claim to be the children of God, have missed the boat; they have failed to take into consideration that it was the blood of Jesus that purchased, bought, and set free. It's the BLOOD, that's the PRICE.

My salvation didn't cost me one thing in the world, but it came at a tremendous price, for it cost Heaven, Christ; God, His Son; and Christ, His blood.

II. It Is The Blood That Is The Basis For Our Redemption

People who claim to be Christians sometimes hug their children to their bosoms and say, "I love you best in the world." Wives put their arms around their husbands, and husbands their wives, and say, "Honey, I love you better than anything."

Listen, beloved, that isn't right. Christ has bought us, and to Him and Him alone belongs the best love of our hearts, for He has redeemed us. "For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious BLOOD of CHRIST, as a lamb without spot or blemish."-(1 Pet. 1:18, 19).

There are three words used in the New Testament for redemption; Agorazo,which means to buy in the forum, or market-place.

The second word is Exagorazo,which means to buy out of the market-place, and set free. We were being auctioned off in the market-place as slaves to sin, but Jesus, by His Blood, bought us and forever set us free.

The third word used is Lutroo which means to pay the price and set free. Jesus paid the price and set us free, therefore we are now bond servants of the Master. He has the right to command and demand of me the best love of my heart.

Here in 1 Peter 1:18, 19 the Apostle Peter was talking to saved Jews, and they understood that under the law, men who were sold into slavery, if they could, would save enough money to redeem themselves from their masters. So he raises the question, how they were redeemed from sin, and tells them it was not with such corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious BLOOD of Christ. It was the BLOOD, he said, that redeemed.

Preachers, if you ever get up to preach and you suddenly forget everything you ever knew, if you can remember just one thing, it is the BLOOD that makes everything right. It is the BLOOD that saves. It is the BLOOD that redeems. If you never preach but one sermon in your whole life, let it be the blood of Jesus. Exalt the blood of Christ.

III. The Blood Is The Basis of Our Peace

When I was a young preacher-boy I made many mistakes, many blundering mistakes, in trying to win lost souls to Christ. I would approach a lost man and ask him if he wanted to make peace with God. Beloved, don't ever ask a lost man if he wants to make peace with God, for CHRIST has already made the PEACE. Peace is God's gift. (Col. 1:20): "And having made PEACE through the BLOOD of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself." Who made the peace? JESUS. How? Through the BLOOD of His cross. It's the BLOOD. . . It's the BLOOD. . . It's the BLOOD.

You may say, then, "Brother Cox, if Jesus has already made the peace, and I am lost, how can I become the recipient of this peace with God?"

Through faith in Jesus, that's how. It's not in the church, nor church ordinances, your friends, neighbors, or loved ones. Man without Christ is an enemy of God. There is enmity between the man and God, but through the blood of the cross, the enmity has been slain, and through the blood man can become reconciled to God, and enjoy peace with God. It is the BLOOD all the way. Romans 5:1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have PEACE with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Therefore the BLOOD is the basis of our PEACE.

Not only that-

IV. The Blood Is The Channel Of Our Forgiveness

I'd like to point out here that the forgiveness of sins is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible. You have heard people tell the lost to get down on their knees and beg God to forgive them of their sins, that if you pray long enough and hard enough, God will remit the penalty for sins. That's human forgiveness, beloved, not Divine. Divine forgiveness is the execution of the penalty, and that penalty is death. Jesus died under the penalty. Divine forgiveness means the bearing away of sins, and men RECEIVE the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1:7: "In whom we HAVE REDEMPTION through his BLOOD, the FORGIVENESS of sins, according to the riches of his grace." We have REDEMPTION. What else? FORGIVENESS of sins. We have it, we didn't get it, it's a gift.

The translation of the word "forgiveness" comes from a Greek word Aphesus,and means to bear up and bear away, to separate the sins from the sinner. Fifteen times it is found in the New Testament. Six times it is rendered "forgiveness," and nine times it is rendered "remission;" but it always means the same thing, to bear up and to bear away.

Paul talking to King Agrippa, told him how that God had called him to preach to the Gentiles to open their eyes and turn them from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan, unto God, that they might RECEIVE the forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Christ. In Christ, you see, you RECEIVE it. In Acts 10:43 the Apostle Peter says the same thing to the household of Cornelius:

"To him (Christ) give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall RECEIVE remission of sins."

You receive it, don't you see? You don't get it, for this expression carries with it an implication you have done something to earn forgiveness of sins.

The BLOOD of JESUS is the CHANNEL of our FORGIVENESS . . . The blood of Jesus was shed and Jesus paid for our sins. The old debt was settled on the cross, thus we who believe On Jesus, can sing as in that old song, "The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago." IT'S the BLOOD, don't you see? It's the blood.

Beloved, may I say this as tenderly and as kindly as I know how: anything, ANYTHING, that detracts from the blood of Christ and its power is a dangerous thing. May you always have before you this one great cardinal fact: it is the BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST that saves, cleanses, sanctifies, purifies and redeems.

Here is another thing-

V. Christ's Blood Provides The Liberty Of Our Access To God

No man without the merits of Christ's blood has the right to approach God. He is not God's child. He has nothing wherewith to plead his own cause before God. He must have the blood of Christ. "Watch it now," you say, "Brother Pastor, I can't accept that." Well, let's see what God's Word says. (Heb. 10:19, 20): "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the BLOOD of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the evil, that is to say, his flesh."

Paul said by the blood of Jesus we have access into the Holiest. Who dwells in the Holy Place? God. Who has access to the holy place? Only those who come by the blood of Jesus. Every saved person in the world can talk to God, can plead with God, can communicate with God, because he does it on the merits of the blood of Jesus, the blood of the Lamb of God. Therefore the BLOOD of Jesus provides the liberty of our ACCESS to God.

VI. The Blood Of Jesus Is Our Certainty Of Overcoming

I talked to a man a long time ago on the campus of the Baptist Hospital. He was a retired minister. I had gone there to take a patient, and his wife was in the hospital. We were discussing the Bible, and he said, "Brother Cox, I'm afraid the Lord's church will eventually lose her identity."

I said, "That won't do because the Lord Himself gives the marching orders, and has promised to be with her always, and the council of the unseen world shall not prevail against her. Therefore she will never lose her identity."

He said he was afraid a lot of God's people would not overcome, that they would succumb to temptation and be drowned out.

I said, "Every child of God will overcome, because the blood of Christ makes it so."

You watch it now. I said a moment ago that the blood of Christ is our certainty of overcoming all things and we shall walk in the sunlight of the presence of Jesus Christ, having been made as pure as the blood of Jesus can make us, having overcome. Notice Revelation 3:21: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."

Who is the man that overcomes? The Apostle John had this to say in 1 John 5:4, 5: "For whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that OVERCOMETH the world, but he that BELIEVETH that Jesus is the Son of God?"

You may say, "That's fine, that's good, but my faith may grow weak."

But you know, beloved, faithful is He who promised (Heb. 10:32).

But here is the one that climaxes and proves the certainty of our overcoming: (Rev. 12:11), "And they OVERCAME him by the BLOOD of the LAMB."

We are victorious through the blood of the Lamb of God. Don't talk to me about a man who believes in Christ not overcoming. He shall walk victorious into the presence of God, because the BLOOD sustains him. Through the BLOOD we are victorious. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb.

VII. The Blood Of Jesus Is The Means Of Our Cleansing Every Day

1 John 1:7: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST his Son CLEANSETH us from all sin."

You see, friends, it is a continuing, present tense, CLEANSING. The BLOOD is always there to cleanse from sin. It's continuous. It's there all the time.

Don't you see what the blood does? It saves us, it purifies us, and cleanses us from daily sins. It's the blood of Jesus, and not anything else.

And here is another thing-

VIII. The Blood Takes Us On To Heaven And Is The Theme Of Our Praise

I love to hear gospel hymns as well as anyone I know. I love to hear men sing, who know the One they are singing about. The blood will be the theme of our praise in the "by and by."

Revelation 5:9-10: "And they SUNG a new song, saying, THOU ART WORTHY to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and has redeemed us to God by THY BLOOD out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth."

They sing about the blood of Jesus; it is a victorious song. That's why we love to sing the old hymn:

"There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Emmanuel's veins

And sinners plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains."

You want to know what you'll be doing on the other side? You'll be singing about the blood of Jesus, that's what you will be doing. "And they SUNG a new song, and said, Thou art worthy; Thou wast slain to redeem us; by thy blood, by thy blood, thou hast redeemed us."

"Thy blood has made us become priests of God.

"Thy blood has made it possible to reign with thee on earth.

"Thy blood has saved us.

"Thy blood hast sanctified us. Thy BLOOD, thy blood, O Lord, thy blood!"

How many people realize, when they read the Word of God, that God is speaking to their hearts? How many people read about the blood of Jesus Christ and exult in the knowledge that they have been redeemed with that precious blood? How many people read the trial of Jesus, in Gethsemane, as we see Him there on His knees, as His pores open and He sweats great drops of blood, and forever hallows 'the place where He kneels-how many people read that and cry out, "Oh, Lord Jesus of Calvary, all that suffering for me!" How many read and think about the Word of God as they ought? They think of church membership, rituals, ceremonies, thus and so, but it is the BLOOD. It has always been the BLOOD and throughout all eternity it will always be the BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST.

Oh, if I could only make you realize it's the blood, beloved, that saves and you become the recipients of the power of the blood of Jesus, through faith in His blessed and holy name. Then you can say with the poet of old, "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling," wash me and free me in the blood of Christ. Amen.

Chapter 13-Paradoxes In The Life Of Christ

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."-2 Corinthians 8:9.

Last Sunday I announced that today I would be speaking on the subject "Paradoxes in the Life of Christ." Now, someone might say, "Brother Cox, it has been a long time since I was in school. What does the word 'paradox' mean?"

So that you might better understand the subject, and that you might appreciate what Christ has done for us even more, I give you the meaning of the word: it means something that is beyond human comprehension, that which seems to be incredible, a tenet which is contrary to received opinion. That is a paradox; that is the subject for this morning's discussion: "Paradoxes in the Life of our Lord."

In the text you will notice that the Apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthian brethren, was trying to point out to them their responsibilities, the obligation which was incumbent upon them relative to their gifts, their money, if you please, showing that God would provide, and that they were responsible for the use of their means. Then he climaxed it with the text: "For ye know the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ (you know it's grace) though he was rich, yet for your SAKES he became POOR, that ye through his poverty might be RICH."

First of all, notice that Christ was RICH, yet He became POOR that WE in turn might be made RICH. In Psalm 50:10 God said, "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." And in Haggai 2:8, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts." Christ was RICH. The sweet singer of Israel also said, talking about possessions of God, "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof, that dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1).

And YET, Christ became POOR. He became the poorest the poor in order that WE might be made RICH.

In Luke 9:57, 58, a would-be disciple came to the Master and said, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." And Jesus said unto him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."

Jesus became POOR: even the ROBE in which He died was a BORROWED robe. The cross upon which He died was not HIS cross; the tomb in which He was BURIED was not HIS tomb. It belonged to Joseph of Arimathaea. So Christ became poor, and yet, through His poverty, those of us who have believed have been made wondrously RICH. "That ye through his poverty," the text declares, "might be made rich."

Man may not have many worldly possessions; he may not have much of this world's goods, but if he has CHRIST he is the richest of the rich. That is what the text declares: "Might be rich." Christ has MADE you rich-if you are a believer. "Now ye are full, now ye are RICH, ye have reigned as KINGS" (1 Cor. 4:8).

Someone has asked the question: "Why is it that God's people apparently are the poorest as far as worldly possessions are concerned?"

And my ANSWER has always been this: man looketh upon the outward appearances, but not on the inside. He may APPEAR to be a pauper, but the man who knows Christ is therefore rich. He's RICH, not in houses and land, but in the GRACE of our Lord.

So this was a paradox, was it not? That "though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became POOR." Christ lay aside His judicial robes. Now, He didn't divorce Himself from Divinity but from the insignia of majesty only. WHY? That lost, ungodly sinners might be made everlastingly RICH. Here is something most difficult to understand from the human viewpoint, and that is how that man in the ungodly state, men who have rebelled against God, men who are lost, benighted sinners, ungodly, lost, on the road to Hell, can reject and turn away from Christ and fail to love Him-I said from a HUMAN viewpoint. HOW can it be! When the wonder of wonders was His poverty, His abject poverty, coming into a world of lost men and women, walking among THEM-He, the poorest of ALL-that THEY, in turn, might be made RICH. Brother, sister, if you have Christ this morning, you are RICH. When you leave this auditorium this morning, though you have heavy debts hanging over you and, perhaps, some of you may not know where the next meal is coming, you can rest ASSURED that you are RICH, not in worldly possessions but rich in CHRIST. He has MADE you so.

Second: He, who is the BREAD of LIFE, began His ministry in HUNGER. Matthew 4:1-4 records how Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights-here is something aside from the original thought, but I want you to see it: the Devil always hits a man at his weakest point, and he thought that Christ's hunger was His weakest point. But God never hits a man at his weakest point, but at his STRONGEST point-never at his weakest. God works differently from the Devil.

In the Book of Genesis you have read many times how Jacob wrestled all night with God. What WAS the STRONGEST point of Jacob? Not his arms, not his back, but the strongest point of Jacob was his thigh-the upper part of his lower limbs. They stood out like giant oaks. But when the dawn finally came, God struck him at his strongest point and he fell, a cripple, limping all the days of his life. Thus, when men looked upon him, and as old Jacob limped about, they could say, "There goes a man who has been with GOD; God has left His mark upon him. There goes a man who has been with God."

Now Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and the Devil came to Jesus and said, "IF thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." (He COULD have.)- Matthew 4:3.

And Jesus answered, "It is written, Man shall not live by alone, but by every WORD that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."-Matthew 4:4.

The SPIRITUAL bread is FAR more important; it takes precedence over NATURAL bread.

Jesus after having fasted forty days and nights was hungry, the Devil thought, "HERE is His weakest point; I'll make if He is Divine, use His Divinity in feeding Himself." But SO with the Master. He who is the Bread of Life began His ministry hungry.

Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the NOT that bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world . . . I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6: 32-35).

Jesus said, "This is the BREAD from God; the Bread of God is that PERSON whom God hath sent. The bread from heaven is he whom God hath sent to be the LIFE of the world. I AM the bread. I am the TRUE bread. I am the BREAD of LIFE; he that BELIEVETH on me shall never HUNGER; and he that BELIEVETH on me shall never THIRST. I give the man his innermost desires: I give him the BREAD of life; I give unto him the LIVING WATER. I am the Bread-the TRUE Bread."

During the wanderings of Israel, as they were in the wilderness, they cried out for bread, and God rained manna from Heaven and fed them-typical of CHRIST. But Jesus said that wasn't the TRUE bread. "I AM the TRUE bread," saith the Master, "I am the antitype. He that believeth on ME shall never HUNGER; he that cometh to ME shall never THIRST: I am the BREAD.

That is WHY He said in the same chapter, "Except a man drink my BLOOD and eat my FLESH, he hath no LIFE in him. For my flesh is MEAT indeed, and my BLOOD is DRINK indeed."

Now I ask you this morning: Have you eaten of the flesh of CHRIST? Have you drunk of His BLOOD?

You then may say, "HOW can this be done?"

This tells us HOW: "He that BELIEVETH on me shall never HUNGER; he that COMETH to me shall never THIRST" (John 6:85). This is HOW you drink the blood of Christ and eat of His flesh-by BELIEVING in His precious Holy Name; that's how, that's HOW.

And again, He, who is the WATER of Life, began his ministry THIRSTY. Notice the paradoxes in the Master's life: upon the cross, in John 19:28, upon the cross, with the BLOOD streaming down His hands, His feet and His brow, Jesus cried out, "I thirst! I THIRST!"

You know I have been subjected to surgery a number of times, and the first thing I always wanted when I awakened was a drink of water. And of course they wouldn't give it to me. I would think I must, I MUST have a drink of water. I must have a drink of water and I couldn't have any. Finally, they would give me hot water to drink and I wouldn't want it. When a man is in pain, suffering intensely, his thirst is tremendous. It becomes intensified when he is suffering. CHRIST was SUFFERING an awful DEATH, suffering as NO one has ever suffered; His thirst was intensified: "I thirst! I THIRST!" cried the Master.

HE, WHO is the WATER of Life, THIRSTED. And do you know what they did? They gave Him gall to drink-no WATER. They placed a sponge dipped in vinegar upon a reed, stuck it to His lips, and He CLOSED His lips, refusing to DRINK it. Do you know WHY? They looked upon CHRIST as a common criminal, and they used this for ALL people who died upon a cross. When their pain mounted up and became so intense, they placed vinegar with something else upon the sponge and touched it to their lips to deaden the pain, somewhat. But CHRIST said, "I'll not have it. Though I THIRST, I'll not have my SENSES deadened."

He was determined to go the last MILE of the way. He was determined to WALK the wine press of the fierceness of the WRATH of Almighty God ALONE. He was DETERMINED to do that: He DID. Bless God, He did. He went into the chambers of death and degradation for US; and, yet, He is the WATER of Life. The rivers and brooks are HIS. He SPOKE and they ran; yet, He THIRSTED upon the cross; there was NONE to give Him one DROP of water.

But then we turn the record over and the picture around: we see Him sitting on Jacob's well (John 4:10, 14) telling the woman of Samaria, "If you knew WHO it was that said unto thee, Give me to drink ye would have asked of HI\l, and I would have given thee LIVING waters. The water that ye drink of this well (Jacob's well) ye shall thirst again: but the water that I shall give unto thee, thou shalt never THIRST, neither come hither to draw; it is a well of WATER, spring up into everlasting LIFE."

And she said, "Evermore give me this WATER." HE is the Water of Life.

HE, who is our true REST, was weary and exhausted. The Scriptures say that He became WEARIED by His long journey and sat down on Jacob's well. That word "weary" means exhausted; Christ was completely exhausted. And YET, bless God, He gives US true REST. When you think of a child of God having true rest, we think of inward peace: the ONLY way that one can have true rest is in inward peace.

One of my favorite texts is found in Matthew 11:28-80-will you hear me this morning? Oh! let me tell you what Jesus can DO, has DONE, and is DOING! Jesus turns, and He is not talking just to the apostles any more, but He is talking to everyone who was gathered about Him, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Yoke yourself up with CHRIST is the admonition. Jesus was speaking, using a Jewish "yoke," knowing that they would know exactly what He was talking about. Did they not use oxen in the fields, on the roads? And were they not beasts of burden? Did they not wear YOKES, and the smallest oxen in the pair would be given the LONG end of the yoke. So Jesus said, "Yoke yourselves up with me; we'll climb to the summit; when the road gets too long, and the hills too steep, when you get weary, broken-down and tired, give ME the SHORT end of the yoke; you take the LONG end and we'll go together. And we'll reach the top." Yoke yourselves up with Jesus, that is the need of this hour.

Notice again: lie PRAYED and yet He hears OUR prayers. Isn't that wonderful! In John 17, we have recorded the greatest prayer ever penned-the prayer of the Master. In Luke 23, He prayed three times until the PORES of His skin OPENED and the BLOOD came forth, fell from the body onto the ground, and forever HALLOWED and SANCTIFIED the place where He PRAYED. Jesus prayed in AGONY; yet, He HEARS our prayers.

"Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13, 14).

"You pray in my name, and it shall be done," said Jesus. We need to LEARN that fact. No OTHER kind of prayer will ever be answered: God IGNORES it. The man, woman, boy or girl that just says, "In THY name I ask," God REFUSES to hear it; it must be offered in the NAME, and on the AUTHORITY of the person of our Saviour, Christ, the Lord. That is HOW.

I want to see the paradoxes in the life of the Saviour: He WEPT, but DRIES our tears. Christ was a weeping, lamenting crying Savior Saviour.

People of today are so materialistic and modernistic until they are ashamed of their tears, but your SAVIOUR wasn't ashamed of HIS. Three times we find the Master weeping; we find him in Hebrews 5:7 weeping over a lost WORLD. In Luke 19, we find Him weeping over a lost CITY, and in John 11 we find Him weeping over the death of a loved one-a friend, if you please. The shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35) shows He was a WEEPING Saviour; but bless God, He DRIES our tears.

"And God shall wipe away all TEARS from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev. 21:4).

God shall wipe away ALL tears from every eye-He SHALL. I don't know how you picture that meeting in the sky, but I picture it like this: there will come a time when God's people, because of the loss of rewards, shall weep their hearts out in Jesus' presence, but as a father, or mother, tenderly loves their child and kisses away their tears, drying them, I think of the Lord Jesus taking His Divine hand and drying OUR tears, saying to us, "Weep no MORE, my child; all is well, all is WELL."

He was SOLD for thirty pieces of silver, but He REDEEMED a lost world of SINNERS. He was sold for seventeen dollars, but He redeemed a world of believers. They didn't think He was so VALUABLE-did they? When old Judas Iscariot consorted with Christ's enemies and sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, or seventeen dollars in American money, they didn't value Him too much; but this Person, this Divine Son of God, sold for thirty pieces of silver, hath REDEEMED the world of believers unto Himself. He is the REDEEMER.

"Neither by the blood of calves and goats, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for US."-Hebrews 9:12.

ONE time He went into the Holiest of Holy. What FOR? To obtain eternal REDEMPTION for US. They laughed Him to scorn, but He is the REDEEMER. They spat upon, mocked, and jeered Him, but He is the blessed Kinsman Redeemer. They nailed Him to the CROSS, but He REDEEMED the world of believers. BLESS GOD, He HAS!

"In whom," said Paul, "we have REDEMPTION through his BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7).

"We have redemption," said Paul. We don't GET it; we HAVE it. We have it in CHRIST. We HAVE forgiveness in Christ on the merit and basis of His BLOOD. Do YOU have it this morning? Is He YOURS?

Now last but not least: He was led as a SHEEP to the slaughter but He is OUR Good Shepherd. Do you see the paradox?

"He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the SLAUGHTER, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH"(Isa. 53:7).

You can take a SHEEP and hang him up with his head down letting him hang there until he dies and he'll never open his mouth, never make a sound. But hang a GOAT up and he will scream until you kill him. So Jesus illustrated HIMSELF by a meek, humble sheep. "He opened not his mouth."

Can you feature that? Enemies all around Him, before Him, behind Him, railing accusations thrown in His teeth; not one time did He RETALIATE. But He said over and over again: "For this CAUSE came I into the world, and to this END was I born." Jesus said that He was BORN to DIE.

Pilate asked Him repeatedly, "Hast thou nothing to say? They have accused you of this and that. Don't you have ANYTHING to say?" And He didn't say a WORD. He MEEKLY went to the CROSS, meekly DIED thereupon; but gloriously He was RAISED from the dead. He is our Good Shepherd. John 10:11, "I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his LIFE for the SHEEP."

Oh, listen to it! Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd-I am the one." "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never PERISH, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them ME, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one" (John 10:27-30).

He, led like a sheep to the slaughter, is dumb, for He opened not His mouth, and He is OUR Good Shepherd. He is the Shepherd of the sheep. Is He YOUR Shepherd this morning? Can you say with David of old, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over; Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."

Wonderful, gracious Shepherd is HE. Is He YOURS? If not, may He become your Shepherd this morning. May you come to realize that LIFE is in the PERSON of CHRIST. May the Holy Spirit be pleased to give you that life; may you step forward confessing that Christ, of a truth, is YOUR Good Shepherd. Amen.

Chapter 14-The Unpardonable Sin

"Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man (of God) it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world (age), neither in the world (age) to come."-Matthew 12:31, 32.

"And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be, divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Verily, I say unto you, All sin shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is 'in danger of eternal damnation. Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."-Mark 3:22-30.

We are discussing this morning the unpardonable sin, and may I say in the very beginning that my own position relative to the unpardonable sin is original. Believe it or not, my position has alienated me from many of my Baptist colleagues. My position not conform to the position that most all religious bodies I know of no other subject in all the Word of God that has been more abused, misused and maltreated than has the subject of the unpardonable sin.

When I was a boy preacher I had the opportunity to read two, I thought, marvelous sermons on the unpardonable sin. One was by Dr. Frank Norris, and the other was by Dr. George W. Truett. They both said practically the same thing. Their position, of course, conformed to the common position of all religious faiths today. Dr. Norris and Dr. Truett both said that the unpardonable sin was not one specific sin so much but a combination of sins that culminated in one's final rejection of Jesus Christ, and God's withdrawing from that individual His saving grace, that he finally crossed the deadline; thus, his destiny was sealed and he was doomed.

Now that is fine as far as it goes. That's wonderful, except for one thing: there is not a word of TRUTH in it.

This subject has been used by high pressure evangelists for many, many years to scare children and adults, to make them entertain the fallacious and most ridiculous idea that they have committed the unpardonable sin.

Several years ago the thing that caused me to make a specific and thorough study of the unpardonable sin was what a man said to me in my own home. "I have committed the unpardonable sin," said he. "Nothing that you can do, nothing that anyone can do will help me in the least. I want to see my family saved, but as far as I am concerned, many years ago I crossed the deadline and thus my destiny was eternally fixed."

I thought the man was telling me the truth. I thought if any man should know, be ought to know whether or not he had crossed that so-called deadline. I had been taught there was such a line that men could cross. I was taught that men could live out their day of grace-we will get to that in a moment-so I was in sympathy with the fellow, and I prayed hard for that man.

One time during a regular Sunday afternoon meeting he came to church and I was thrilled at his presence. I thought, "Here is a golden opportunity for me to win him to Christ." I insisted upon him coming down to the mourner's bench, and, brother, we had a happy time. I was going to pray him right on through and get him saved. But the longer I prayed the colder I got, and suddenly, I became conscious of the fact that God was not in that thing at all. I got up from my knees, dismissed the audience, and the man said, "I don't feel any better than I did. I don't feel a bit different."

I said, "No, I don't guess you do."

But I could have told him something else. I felt a great deal different after the prayer was over than I did before I prayed. I felt like I had stolen a sheep, right ridiculous, rather foolish. That is when I decided, the Lord being my Helper, I would study the Word of God on the unpardonable sin and see just exactly what it was, and if all my Baptist colleagues left me, if they were alienated from me and I had to stand alone on my position, then I would stand alone.

Their position stated simply is this: that men can reject Christ until they live out their day of grace. Whoever heard of a lost man having grace? That's foolish and without scriptural foundation, that a lost man has grace in the first place. "For by grace are ye SAVED . . ." (Eph. 2:8).

Now the thing I want you to see is this: if a man rejects the Lord Jesus Christ there must be a CAUSE for his rejection of the Lord. I believe in CAUSE and EFFECT. For every effect there has to be a cause; for every cause there is an effect. Then man's rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ-if you want to call it that, I prefer to call it something else-then, that is the effect of some cause, and that cause has to be UNBELIEF. Then it boils down to this: the modern and common accepted position of the unpardonable sin is simply unbelief, and then if it is unbelief, then you are guilty of it, so am I; because I lived in unbelief at one time and so did you. Then we are ALL guilty of unbelief and everybody is LOST, nobody will be saved and Heaven will be for rent. IF that position commonly accepted among the religious bodies of this age be true, then there never HAS, never WILL, and never SHALL be a single soul saved, for the simple reason that EVERYBODY has disbelieved before they became believers. Then, if they have disbelieved, according to the accepted modern conception of the unpardonable sin, they have committed it; therefore, they have sealed their destiny and Heaven will be empty, vacant, a lonely ghost city.

I do not accept that. It will not stand the acid test of the truth of God's Word. For example, let us examine the Bible; it is supposed to be the finality to our thinking and opinions. As far as Baptists are concerned, the Bible is a perfect guide to faith and practice. We pride ourselves in speaking where the Bible speaks, and being silent where the Bible is silent. Then, let us be honest with the Word of God and stand for something if we have to stand ALONE. Let us be true to God's Word.

Now I object to that position I was discussing a moment ago, and the only reason that I object to it is because the Bible objects to it. This position, beloved, denies the foreknowledge of God. Did you know that? It renders God powerless and brings God down to the level of man. This position does not make one single concession to God; it denies the foreknowledge of God altogether. Don't you believe-if you believe the Bible at all you MUST believe-that God KNEW what He was doing when He made a man. If you believe the Bible at all, you MUST believe that God KNOWS more than man knows. If you believe the Bible at all, you MUST believe that God KNEW from the beginning who was going to be saved and who wasn't, or He is like a grasshopper, and I don't accept that. (Isaiah says that WE are the grasshoppers.)

Now I don't want you to leave here this morning and misquote me, saying, "Brother Cox preached this, thus and so," when Brother Cox didn't and shall not. But you follow me in this discussion with the Word of God, then after the service is over, if you don't believe what I introduce, tell me about it-tell ME about it, don't go off and tell my enemies; let them find out the best way they can. So turn with me to Romans 8:29 where we read these remarkable words:

"For whom he did FOREKNOW, he also did PREDESTINATE to be CONFORMED to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Now did you get that, beloved? God PREDESTINATED those whom He FOREKNEW. Now to WHAT did God predestinate them? "To be CONFORMED to the IMAGE of His Son," the ultimate purpose of salvation, itself. God doesn't save people just in order to save them from their sins. God doesn't save men just in order that they might glory in and enjoy God, but God saves men for the purpose that mankind might become a JOY to GOD and ultimately be conformed to the image of God's Son. That is the ultimate purpose of salvation.

Turning now to 1 Peter 1:2 we read, "Elect (chosen) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." Now then, these two verses harmonize; they are not antagonistic one toward the other, but they harmonize perfectly. So God foreknew some folk, and those whom He fore-knew He did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. And, Brother, 'those He foreknew He also CALLED, there is no getting around it. So the position that the religious groups take denies the foreknowledge of God, denies it completely, and salvation is by chance-if they be right.

I heard a man one time, standing in the courtyard at Henderson, Tennessee, take a text that he could not handle; finally, before he had finished with his discussion, he was bewildered, befuddled, and confused. He said that salvation was like "spinning a bottle," it was by chance; if the bottle pointed at you all right; if it didn't all right.

But salvation is NOT by chance. Everyone in the world that God has ever saved, He saved on PURPOSE and not by chance or accident. You know, if God had saved me by accident, I might accidentally lose my salvation if God was just passing by and accidentally saved me. I don't accept that. The Bible, beloved, doesn't teach or infer in the remotest sense such an idea as that, for the Lord saves men on PURPOSE. He purposed to save men and He saves; He doesn't TRY, He actually does save.

Jesus said, "The Son of man is come to SEEK and to SAVE . . ." (Luke 19:10). Jesus never has TRIED to save anybody. I can't accept that. If Jesus did what lie said, and He said that lie came to "seek and to SAVE that which was lost," then folk should quit trying to make Jesus say something that He didn't say. Jesus actually and literally saves and He doesn't try to do the job, He does it: He SAVES folk. And for any man, woman, boy or girl to deny that is to deny the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and render Him incompetent and incapable of saving anybody.

Then second, this position that I introduced in the beginning of the discussion, denies God's GIFT to His Son.

You say, "Well, salvation is a gift." (Why SURE.) "Faith is a gift." (Why SURE.) "Christ was a gift to us." (Why SURE.) But you know that God didn't leave out His Son, He gave Him a GIFT. Now let us see what the Lord gave to His Son. I know there are Baptists no doubt right here in this audience this morning who will get hopping mad and deny this great cardinal truth, that God gave unto His Son certain ones and those certain ones are going to be saved. To deny that is to deny the Word of God; salvation is not based on a guess so, who-shot-John basis; it is based on a plan, and God is going to execute that plan and save those for whom Christ died.

One time I attended a meeting in its death throes, shall we say. The preacher standing there with a big overcoat on, the pianist playing up a storm, not soft but loud, and he was talking over the piano. He used John 6:37, the last part: ". . . he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," and I thought, "Why don't you use ALL that verse?"

I'll tell you why, beloved: people are afraid of the Word of God. If the Bible doesn't conform to men's preconceived ideas and notions, they'll quote the part that they want to quote, they are afraid of the rest.

Now turn with me to John 6:37 and read it. Let us be honest with God and we are talking about God's GIFT to His Son. Here is what the Lord Jesus said: "All that the Father giveth me SHALL come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

Is that true, or isn't it true? Did Jesus say that or didn't He say it? Did He mean what He said, or didn't He mean it? Then why don't people just leave the Bible alone and let it speak for itself and quit tampering with the Word of God? "ALL that the Father GIVETH me shall COME to me"-and, brother, that word SHALL, when it is used in the second or third person, always carries with it the meaning of grim determination; I am determined that this SHALL come to pass, that is the meaning.

Now did Jesus say that God had given Him somebody? He said so, didn't He? Now why make the Lord out a liar? Oh, I know somebody will say, "What about John 3:16?" Uh-huh, what ABOUT 2 Corinthians 5:19, where He says the whole world became reconciled to God? I ask YOU this morning, "Was ALL the world reconciled? Is all the world saved?" Then John 3:16 means exactly what it means in 2 Corinthians 5:19. The whole world hasn't been saved and never shall be saved. Jesus didn't die to save the whole world anyway. Let us be true with God's Word.

Let's quit lying on God. Let's quit putting words in Christ's mouth; let's let the Lord say what He means and mean what He says. "ALL that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I shall in no wise cast out." Well, is that TRUE? I think so-in fact, I KNOW it is so. Bless your hearts, I happen to be one He gave to Jesus.

Now turn to John 17 in the marvelous prayer of Christ. In John 17:2, Jesus said, "As thou hast given him (Christ) power over all flesh (now then, what was He to do, was Christ in a dilemma?) that he should give eternal life to as MANY as thou hast GIVEN him." Now why not just leave it that way; there is no use trying to explain it away-there it is. There is no use taking the scissors to God's Word-there it is. Did Jesus tell the truth when He said that everyone that God GAVE to Him would COME to Him, and they that came would not lose their salvation?

Now the man who says that one can live out his day of grace hasn't a leg to stand on, does he? But I am not through. In fact, I am just getting warmed up. It denies the elective purpose of God.

You know, I have been called "Hardshell" by some and Arminian by others. I take the middle road, the Bible ground; I am not an extreme electionist, neither am I Arminian. I will go with the extremist as far as they are with the Bible; I will go with the Arminian as far as they are with the Bible, but when either of them leave the Word of God I divorce myself from them.

I believe in Divine election, and the person that does not, doesn't believe the Word of God, I'll tell you that for sure. This position that I introduced in the beginning, denies the elective purpose of God. But in Ephesians 1:4, 5, it says, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."

Do I BELIEVE that? Why, I MUST believe it; I cannot deny it. "According as he bath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. . ." In other words, before the foundations of the everlasting hills were laid, God knew some folk, and those whom He foreknew He elected.

Now turn to 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14-and I am giving you time to turn there, I don't want you to go away saying that I took the scissors to God's Word. "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

See the PURPOSE again? To do WHAT? "To the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you might be conformed to the image of his Son." That is the purpose of salvation itself.

There are two things I would like to say: first, you will notice that God elected some men to salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit; and second, the belief of the truth. In fact, the BELIEF of the truth came after the sanctification of the Spirit or the impartation of life. You can't deny that. Well then, how did God CALL them? He called them by the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ. What FOR? "To the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ." Being conformed to the image of His Son, then, is the ultimate purpose of salvation.

Then again, the position that I introduced in the beginning of the discussion denies the EFFECTUAL call of God. Let us see if the effectual call isn't taught in the Word of God. For example, in John 6:45, the Lord Jesus said, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that bath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."

They who have HEARD and have LEARNED of the Father. Now we raise 'the question: who is going to HEAR, and who is going to LEARN? The Lord Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say' unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall HEAR the voice of the Son of God: and they that HEAR shall LIVE" (John 5:25).

"But," someone will say, "Brother Pastor, we cannot hear the voice of the Son of God."

Is that so? He speaks to us in thunderous tones out of His WORD. In Luke 10:16 we read: "He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and lie that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." You have to be careful about despising the truth and those who present the truth.

Now you will notice what He said in John 5:25: "The hour is coming, and NOW is when the dead (He is talking about the spiritual dead) shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." Not those who do NOT hear, but those the Holy Spirit makes to HEAR, they will come to Christ. And in 2 Timothy 1:9, "Who bath saved us, and CALLED us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world was" (began). So our calling is an EFFECTUAL calling, and they that hear the effectual call have had life imparted.

Then again, the position that I introduced in the beginning, denies the POWER of God. Somebody might say, "Why, I didn't know that."

But it does. In John 17:9, Jesus said, "I pray for THEM: I pray NOT for the world, but for them which thou hast GIVEN me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." You know, folk, praying for the world, well, Jesus didn't. People get up and pray long prayers: "O, Lord, save the world," but Jesus said, "I pray for these, I pray not for the world. I pray for them which thou gayest me."

Now watch it. Jesus said in John 17:20, "Neither pray I for these alone (those twelve apostles before He left them), but for them also which shall believe on me through their WORD."

Now if these were given to Christ, so are all believers given to Christ, and if He prayed for all of them, there shall not be a one of them that shall fail of salvation. Then let us see if God ALWAYS hears His Son. John 11:41, 42, you will notice here that Jesus at the grave of Lazarus said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me ALWAYS: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me."

God always hears His Son, and if Jesus had prayed for the world then every one of Adam's race would have been saved. But Jesus didn't pray for the world; He prayed for the GIFT which God had given to Him, and that gift was BELIEVERS.

Now you ask me this morning, "Brother Cox, what is the unpardonable sin?"

Well, the Bible is plain about what it is. In Matthew 12:32, Jesus said that it was speaking a word against the Holy Spirit, and that was the sin that has "neither forgiveness in this age or in the age to come." And in Mark 3:30, "Because they said he hath an unclean Spirit." Thus, ascribing the work of the Holy Spirit to devils is the unpardonable sin.

But let us notice the CONDITIONS at the time that these remarkable words were spoken. You know, we have a ridiculous group today that claim to heal, thus and so, and if you tell them they are of the Devil, they tell you, "You have committed the unpardonable sin." That's a lie. Anything this side of Christ cannot be Christ's church anyway. But I want you to get it now: ascribing 'the work of the Holy Spirit to devils is the sin that "hath neither forgiveness in this age or in the age to come." Blasphemy is to speak injuriously, that is, to speak injuriously against the Holy Spirit of God. He is the last witness.

Then let us examine the conditions that prevailed at the time that Jesus spake these words: He was casting out devils; in short, He was performing miracles. He was healing the sick, casting devils out of people, raising the dead, restoring sight to blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears and unloosing dumb tongues, but when they saw what Jesus was doing they said, "He is casting out devils by the power of the prince of the devils," and Jesus said, "It is not so; for the devil is not divided against himself." Then He said that if He were, his kingdom would not stand. And then it was that He said, "Every sin, every word that is spoken against God and his Son shall be forgiven men, but he that speaketh a word against the Holy Spirit hath not forgiveness in this world or in the world to come." And in Mark 3:30, "Because they said, He hath an unclean Spirit." What words could be PLAINER than that?

Now this age in which we live is not the day of miracles, I don't care what others say notwithstanding. After the New Testament was finished about the year 80 A. D. there has not been one single miracle performed that is called miraculous. Now you may say I am crazy, but if I am, the Bible is also. 1 Corinthians 13:8, 9, 10, ". . . but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is done in part shall be done away."

Now what was done in PART? In 1 Corinthians 12, nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are enumerated. All right, one man had one gift and another man had another gift. Even the writing of the New Testament was in part. Here the Apostle Paul said, "When that which is perfect is come, then that which is done in part shall be done away," and the only gifts of the Holy Spirit left today are told us in 1 Corinthians 13:13: "Faith, hope and love." lie spells them out, T-H-R-E-E, three, and the "greatest of these is love." That's the only three you have-faith, hope and love; don't let anybody kid you.

For twenty years I have been after these fellows. I have begged them almost on my knees to trot out one single solitary miracle, just ONE. I want to see one, not two, but in twenty years I haven't seen a single one-and even if they did, I would not believe it in this day; for the man of sin has power to do miracles (Rev. 13, read it sometime). Don't be carried away with divers spirits, beloved.

All right, what is the unpardonable sin? A word spoken against the Holy Spirit. What were the CONDITIONS at the time? The day of miracles. This is NOT the day of miracles, and He said this in conjunction with performing miracles. I doubt very much if a man can commit the unpardonable sin today. I doubt it seriously-you didn't think I was going to say that, did you? I doubt it seriously for the simple reason that this is not the day of miracles, and He said this in conjunction with performing miracles. If a man CAN commit the unpardonable sin today, it is simply this: saying that Jesus Christ was illegitimate. You folk that don't believe in the virgin birth of Christ had better watch out. In Luke 1:35, "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." And the angel said in Matthew that she was to conceive of the Holy Spirit. The man who says that Jesus was conceived by a German soldier has come close, if not in fact, COMMITTED the unpardonable sin. I believe in the virgin birth of Christ, I'll tell you that for sure. Amen.

Chapter 15-Four Negative Imperatives

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."-Hebrews 9:22.

"But without faith it Is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."-Hebrews 11:8.

"But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."-Hebrews 12:8.

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."-Hebrews 12:14.

I would like to direct your attention to the four texts. They are negative imperatives and they are: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission; For without faith it is impossible to please God; And if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then ye are illegitimate and not sons; Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." These are the four negative imperatives. I believe that Hebrews 9:22 is the basis for the discussion on the other three texts. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission."

I have been preaching for something like 22 years, and recently I saw something in that text that I had not seen before. Paul said, "And almost ALL things are by law purged with blood."

This is an expression that commands, demands our attention. Under the Mosaic economy almost all things were purged by blood. Some things, however, were purged by fire; some things were purged by divers washings, but "almost ALL things were purged by blood." As far as sin is concerned, under the Mosaic economy, one exception was made and that is found in Leviticus 5:1-11. Here the Holy Spirit tells us that if a man was unable to provide a lamb let him provide turtle doves; if he was unable to provide turtle doves, then he was to offer for his sins One bushel and three pints of flour. So there was an exception made in this man's particular case. It had to do with his sins and his financial status. But god gave us BLOOD, and "Blood is that which maketh ATONEMENT for the soul" (Lev. 17:11).

However, the Apostle Paul is drawing a mere inference from the law to give us a great fundamental truth: as far as SALVATION itself is concerned men are saved and purged from their sins by the BLOOD of CHRIST; without the shedding of HIS blood there was no REMISSION.

The word REMISSION is a very interesting word. It is used nine times in the New Testament, and its companion word, FORGIVENESS, is used six times. Both words come from the Greek word, aphesus, and it means to bear away. Thus, both forgiveness and remission means to bear away, to separate the sinner from his sins. CHRIST has borne away our sins: 1 Peter 2:24, 25, the Apostle Peter said, "Christ hath borne our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."

In the 16th chapter of the Book of Leviticus we have the complete setting for the words REMISSION and FORGIVENESS. The high priest, after having slain the substitute and shed its blood, and after having sprinkled the blood upon the Mercy Seat in the Holiest of Holies, he came out of that place, walked through the Holy Place to the outside; there was a scapegoat held by a strong man and the high priest took his hands and grasped the scapegoat by the horns, confessed Israel's sins over the head of the scapegoat and sent it away into a land uninhabited, at the hands of a fit man. Thus, the sins were carried away.

When CHRIST went to Calvary's Cross, He died as OUR scapegoat: upon the cross He bore our sins away and purged us from our sins. If the Bible teaches a thing in the world it DOES teach this: men's SINS are purged by the BLOOD of Christ. For Paul said, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission." There isn't any other way whereby men's sins can be washed away and purged, other than the blood of Christ, although some people might say that to preach on the blood of Jesus is to preach a butcher-shop gospel. Call it what you will, men cannot be saved apart from the Gospel of Christ; that is, the exaltation of His blood. It is an impossibility for men to be saved separate and apart from the Gospel of Christ. Paul makes it plain in the text: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission."

The Apostle Paul points out in Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus, after having purged us from our sins, sat down on the right hand of His Majesty on high. But he said this: "He purged our sins by HIMSELF." He needed no HELP from anyone else. The very moment that men undertake or make an effort, or endeavor to assist the Master in saving a soul, they are intruding into the office that belongs to Christ. It is, therefore, an intrusion; for Jesus NEEDS no help. He entered the Holy Place one time by HIMSELF; He has purged our sins by HIMSELF, and He purged us with His Divine BLOOD. In Revelation 1:5, John, on the Isle of Patmos, had this to say: "Christ hath washed us from our sins in his own BLOOD." Therefore, if men's sins are washed away and cleansed it is in the blood of Jesus Christ; if men's sins are remitted it is on the basis of the blood of Christ, the Lord.

Then you might ask me this evening, "HOW is it that men become the recipients of the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, or HOW is it that men reach the blood?"

There are religious denominations that say you reach the blood in the water. May I pause and point out a great truth, and that is that no man believes in baptism stronger than I-for the believer, the saved. But there isn't a man in the world who will take offense quicker than I when men substitute water for the BLOOD. I say without reservation that every saved person in the world should be baptized at the hands of a Baptist preacher, in a Baptist church-IF he would be BAPTIZED like Jesus Christ. But being baptized by a Baptist preacher, in a Baptist church, will not, does not, can not, never has, and never will, SAVE. Men, therefore, cannot reach the BLOOD by the water route: you reach the blood by FAITH.

Now may I say that FAITH within itself has nothing of a meritorious nature: faith is the mere CHANNEL through which flows the blood of Christ to the sinner, by the which the sinner is cleansed.

In Romans 3:24, 25 we read these words: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his BLOOD, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

Paul, HOW do we reach the blood? He said, "By FAITH." And in Acts 15:8, 9 this same great truth is revealed. Once again, the Apostle Peter makes it plain that faith is the CHANNEL through which flows the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. Now FAITH does not cleanse, but the OBJECT of faith does cleanse-Christ's BLOOD. Here in Acts 15:8, 9, the Apostle Peter speaking, concerning the conversion of the household of Cornelius, points out-and these are my words-that "God, who knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit as well as He did us, and puts no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."

"But," someone will say, "the text declares that hearts are purified by FAITH."

No, it is the OBJECT of faith. Romans 3:25 teaches that it is faith in the BLOOD of CHRIST.

In these and many other texts I have introduced, it is quite evident that that which actually cleanses and purges is Christ's blood, and men reach the blood through faith; thus the text: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission."

And before leaving this thought I would like to add that Christ did not die a martyr; He died for a PURPOSE. Paul is pointing out that Christ must NEEDS die; that it was NECESSARY if sins were to be PAID for, and if remission was to become a glorious reality, Christ HAD to die. To Pilate, Jesus said-when Pilate repeatedly asked Him if He had nothing to say, "For this CAUSE came I into the world; to this END was I born" (John 18:37).

And in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus points out: "No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again" (verse 18). Jesus came in the fullness of time to do the work that God had for Him to do. "I came to do the work that thou gayest me to do," said Jesus repeatedly.

Galatians 4:4, 5: "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

Now what does the text DECLARE? "In the fulness of time, God sent forth his Son . . ." What was the PURPOSE? "To REDEEM them that were under the law." The purpose was to accomplish redemption. Therefore, redemption was wrought IN the Person of Christ and BY Him; thus, "Without the shedding of blood"-HIS BLOOD - there would have been no remission.

The second thing that I want you to see: Paul said, "Without FAITH (do you see the negative imperatives?) it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

May I point out that the Apostle Paul said that God is only the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and GOD IS, whether they believe it or not: God IS. But He promises that those who seek Him shall be rewarded by the God whom they seek, but "Without FAITH it is impossible to please Film." Now if it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without faith, then HOW can men please God when they depend on their works for salvation? How can men please God when they are dependent entirely and exclusively upon what they do for salvation?

Paul said, "Without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please him."

Well then, HOW is it that men become the recipients of faith? First, faith is a GIFT. That is WHY it is impossible without faith to please God. Now faith is NOT something that men work up. Men work up religious meetings; emotions can be stirred and worked up, but FAITH cannot be worked up, and SALVATION cannot be worked up. Faith is, therefore, the GIFT of God.

There are three texts in the Bible that declare this, I think, in such a manner that all men can understand and none should stumble over these texts:

Philippians 1:29: "It is not only GIVEN in your behalf to BELIEVE in Christ, but to suffer for him." (Notice that the Apostle Paul said that it was GIVEN to them to believe.)

Romans 12:3: ". . . think soberly, according as God hath DEALT to every man the measure of FAITH." (God hath GIVEN to all kinds of men the measure of faith.)

Ephesians 2:8, 9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

"Well," somebody will say, "it is SALVATION that is the gift."

We KNOW that salvation is a gift, but, incidentally, it isn't the gift that is under consideration here; the gift of God spoken of here is FAITH; for the antecedent of gift is FAITH. Faith is that gift which Paul had in mind here.

Then it is an established fact that FAITH is a gift from God, and without this faith, it is impossible to please God. Then, how do men become the RECIPIENTS of faith? In short, how does God GIVE men faith?

I have heard men say that God gives men faith by prayer. That isn't SO. Some people get the idea that if men pray long enough and hard enough for somebody else that God will give him faith, but that isn't so. That just is NOT the way that God gives faith. Now it doesn't make any difference what men believe or come to accept; it is what God's Word teaches-that is what does COUNT. Faith comes by the preaching of the Gospel of Christ; no other way. He only has ONE way: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17).

Paul points out in the context of this same chapter of Romans: "How can they BELIEVE in him whom they have not HEARD? how can they HEAR without a preacher? how can they PREACH except they be SENT?" I could pause here at that expression, "How can they preach except they be sent," and preach a long sermon on that, but time will not permit. Suffice it to say that Paul is saying that men CANNOT believe in someone about whom they have not heard, and that the only way they can believe in Him is by the report-that is what the word there actually means in the 17th verse: "Faith cometh by the reporting of the Good News (the Gospel of Christ)." Thus, it is a proven, indisputable fact that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God; it does not come any other way. So God gives men faith through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ: that is WHY the preaching of the Gospel is so NECESSARY. It is God's way of winning the lost. It is God's way of saving those whom He gave to Christ in the Covenant of Redemption. That is WHY the Gospel must be preached in every corner of this earth; that is why we must SEE to it that everyone on this earthen ball hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ; for "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Third, noticing that expression ". . . without CHASTISEMENT . . ." the Apostle Paul is pointing out that those whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom lie receiveth (Heb 12:6, 7, 8). And in verse 8, he points out that if one be without chastisement, whereby all (all God's children) are partakers, then are ye bastards (illegitimate) and not sons. Thus, the person who tells you that God NEVER chastens him is a LOST person.

There are two-there may be more-but I know of two religious denominations that deny that God chastens those whom He loves. They say that God doesn't chasten His people; they say that in the face of Hebrews 12. One group says this: "God does not chasten us because we do not commit SIN." Now God may NOT chasten them, not because they don't NEED chastisement, but He doesn't chasten them because they are LOST. They are not HIS; for GOD doesn't whip the DEVIL'S children; He whips his OWN. Therefore, to be without chastisement doesn't mean that men are without sin. It only proves one thing: they are NOT in the family of God. "For everyone whom God loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with Sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons" (Heb. 12:6, 7, 8).

You CLAIM to be sons now, but you are NOT. No man, therefore, has ever yet really received a good spanking until he gets one from God; He knows where to hit you where it costs you something-where it hurts the most. God WHIPS those He loves; He chastens everyone whom He receiveth, and if men be without chastisement it means, simply, that they are not in the family of God. If God never chastened me I would be scared to death- but He DOES.

"Well," somebody said, "now, how about 1 John 3:9 where the Apostle John said, 'Whosoever is born of God doth not commit SIN for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.' How are you going to get around that?"

I am not going to try to get around it. I BELIEVE that; I accept that; for that is the truth-a glorious TRUTH. The word for seed referred to in the text comes from the Greek word SPERMA, and it means the very LIFE of God, the life GERM, the germ of God's life. Now then, get this: the Apostle John said the person that had experienced the New Birth did not practice (the word "commit" means to practice habitually) because His (God's) seed remaineth in him and he cannot because he is born of God.

Then the question would naturally arise: What is that which BORN of God? It is NOT the flesh, for the carnal nature certainly was not born of God. The carnal nature undergoes no CHANGE. It may REFLECT that which has been experienced INSIDE, but the body undergoes no change and will not until the RESURRECTION (Rom. 8:21-24). Thus, it is the man which is born of the SPIRIT of GOD, in the which, is implanted the germ of God's life.

Jesus said to Nicodemus, "That which is born of flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I unto thee, Ye must be born again" (John 3:6, 7).

Jesus said that it is the SPIRIT that is born of the Spirit of and "that which is born of God doth not COMMIT sin." So the inward man, the spirit man, the man that has the germ of God, does not commit sin. In fact, he CANNOT sin. The spirit man, therefore, cannot sin. Now the person who claims they are sinless will have an exceedingly difficult time explaining away 1 John 1:8, 10,

Paul said, ". . . I am carnal, sold under sin" (Rom. 7:14). wasn't talking about his past; he is talking about his present The carnal man, the old Adamic nature, was still with to torment, tantalize, fight, rebuff, and to rebuke him, and cause him misery, woe and wretchedness.

1 John 1:8-10, these words are found: "If we (talking those who had the love of God in them. He is talking about I' brethren, the saved.) say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word (His TRUTH) is not in us."

What then is the TRUTH? Jesus said, "My WORD is truth" (John 17:17). Thus, if you say that you do not sin, or have not sinned, John said that His Word has no place in your life. And in verse 10 he said, "Now if we (now he said, "If WE . . .") say we have not sinned, we are LIARS, and make GOD a liar."

This is a terrible indictment against the "sinless perfectionist," for GOD said that person who claims he doesn't SIN says to God, "God, you are a LIAR: you say I sin; I say I do NOT."

Now whose word are you going to take? I'll take GOD'S word, won't you?

Therefore, if a man be without chastisement he is not a son of God; it doesn't mean that he isn't a SINNER; it only means this: he is without CHRIST.

And now to the last thought in verse 14 of Hebrew 12. Paul said, "Follow after peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." He is talking about following peace with ALL men, and holiness means, of course, follow AFTER holiness. Now you have heard folk say, "I am holy; I'm so holy that I am getting a little holier every day."

Paul had not achieved that perfection toward which he was STRIVING (Phil. 3:10, 11), but certainly he is saying to the Hebrews that they ought to follow AFTER it; they are ADMONISHED to follow after it; but it is a settled fact, an evident truth that they had not ATTAINED it. He said, "Follow after it. Follow AFTER peace and holiness. Follow after holiness, without which no man can see the Lord."

Now I might just pause here to point out that he is not talking about PERSONAL holiness; he is talking about IMPUTED holiness. He is talking about the holiness that GOD imputes to men. This is the same word, hagiasmos, from which we get the words hallowed, sanctification, and sanctify. Sanctification has its beginning in the NEW BIRTH, and it is progressive in its nature. As men learn more about the Word of God they become more separate from the world and more separated unto the service of God as they grow in grace and knowledge of the truth. That is what Paul had in mind when he said, "Follow after holiness." That which God gives to men is started in the New Birth; it is consummated in the redemption of the BODY itself: when every child of God shall reach the full stature of a man in Christ.

We ought to follow after holiness, that is, we ought to become more separate and separated unto the work of God. Let God become definite in our lives. We are to let Him have first place in our lives, and as we grow in grace this will become a fact and glorious reality. As we study the Word of God we can "follow after holiness," striving to attain it, "without which no man shall see the Lord." It is begun in regeneration; it is consummated in the consummation of the saints of God; and may I repeat, without it "no man shall see the Lord."

It has a twofold meaning: the secondary meaning, of course, has to do with God's righteousness. This is the ONLY kind of righteousness that will meet the acid test of God Himself; this is that which God imputes (Phil. 3:8, 9). But the primary meaning, however, is sanctification or separation; that is, to be set apart to the service of God. As men learn more of God and His Word, they become more separated unto Him and from the world.

In summation, Paul said, "Without the shedding of BLOOD there is no remission of sins; without FAITH it is impossible to please God; without CHASTISEMENT you are not sons; without HOLINESS no man shall see the Lord."

These are four negative thoughts, negative imperatives. Are they realities to you or not? Amen.

Chapter 16-The Strangest Prayer Ever Prayed

(And the Strangest Answer Ever Given)

"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."-Matthew 9:35-38.

Tonight I am speaking on the subject "The Strangest Prayer Ever Prayed." I was thinking about this text while I was in the office, and thinking about having discussed this subject while I was in Texas or Oklahoma-I don't remember which. I recalled that when I said I was discussing the subject, "The Strangest Prayer Ever Prayed," people raised their eyebrows as if to say, "Is such a thing in the Word of God?" But it is. In the text before us we have the strangest prayer ever prayed, and in the first seven verses of the 10th chapter you have the strangest answer ever received. This is the subject for this evening's discussion.

The Holy Spirit tells us that Jesus went over the countryside and into various villages teaching in the Jewish synagogues. Jesus went about preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and disease among the people. Jesus was busy. He was busy healing the diseases and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom.

I believe the Bible makes a distinction between the Gospel of God, the Gospel of the grace of God, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of the kingdom of God. I believe all four aspects of the Gospel are present in God's infallible Word. The Gospel of Matthew is the Gospel of the kingdom.

The word GOSPEL in the Greek is "evangelo," and it means good news, tidings of great joy; thus, we reach the conclusion that the good news is the telling of the kingdom. John the Baptist preached the Gospel of the kingdom and said, "The kingdom of God is at hand."

Jesus in his three and half years of ministry goes from city to city, village to village, and in many instances from house to house, and in a sense is giving the people a bird's eye view of the kingdom in all its glory. We are in the spiritual phase of the kingdom now, and when Christ comes back we shall live in the kingdom age, and the Jews once again will be the heralds of the kingdom of God; for it will be said, "No longer is the kingdom at hand, but the kingdom is HERE for Jesus is on His throne."

But in the text before us Jesus is teaching that the kingdom, in its spiritual phase, is here. In the 17th chapter of Luke it says, in the original, that the kingdom is "among you." Now Jesus is not talking about the militant kingdom, but the kingdom in the spiritual phase being among people, because He is in the midst of the people.

We might further add that the kingdom is one thing, and the church is quite something else. Various denominations, or religious organizations take the position that the kingdom and the church are one and the same thing, but the Bible doesn't teach such a thing as that. The Bible nowhere teaches that.

Today when we talk about the kingdom we are not talking about a militant kingdom, but we think of it as that spiritual phase into which men enter by way of the New Birth. The kingdom of Heaven, as taught in the Bible, has as its objective the bringing in of the kingdom of God on earth, that God might be all and in all. So Jesus went from place to place teaching that the kingdom, in its spiritual phase, was among the people to whom He preached. He went about healing their diseases and sickness-this one thing always touched the heart of the Master when He saw the vast multitudes that came to Him for, "He had compassion on them; for they fainted, and were like sheep having no shepherd."

We want to notice the word "shepherd." If the Bible teaches one thing in the world, it teaches that Jesus is a compassionate Christ, and God's people can be assured of one thing: no matter what the trouble to which they be subjected, Christ knows about it and sympathizes with His people in their sorrows.

Three times in the Bible we see Jesus weeping. One time is found in Hebrews 5:7 where we find Him weeping over a lost WORLD, a world FOR which He was soon to die; in the 19th chapter of Luke, verses 41, 42, we find Him weeping NOT over the world but over a lost CITY, a city IN which He was soon to die; and in John 11 we find Him weeping NOT over a city but over the loss of a friend.

Notice how it expanded. In John 11, He is seen weeping at the grave of Lazarus. This is the shortest verse in the whole Bible, "Jesus wept," but it is pregnant with meaning. Jesus wept over the grave of Lazarus, His friend, and today when God's people are bereaved over the loss of a loved one, Jesus is sympathetic with our sorrows. Here in John 11, Jesus is weeping over ONE person; in Luke 19, we find Him weeping over a lost CITY, and in Hebrews 5:7 we see Him weeping over a lost WORLD. It started with one man and reached the whole world.

Jesus, therefore, is a compassionate Christ. He has compassion upon the multitudes today just as in the long ago. He was moved with compassion because they fainted. Now it doesn't mean they swooned away and lost consciousness, that isn't the meaning of the word "faint." It is the same word as found in Luke 18:1 where Jesus said that men ought always to pray and not to faint. It means that we are not to GIVE up, and the passage before us means that the people had actually lost heart and hope; they had given up; they had fainted.

There is nothing as tragic as an individual, city or nation that has given up. For example, if the people in certain nations in Europe had given up they would not be free today. When the premier of France deceived them and they were over-run by Germany, they kept up the fight for freedom. They were determined to regain their freedom, and they organized into underground groups. Through their own perseverance, determination and the power of God they threw off the shackles. They were not the kind of people to give up.

It is a tragic thing when people throw up their hands and quit; we can't afford to give up. We have members in this church who would have, no doubt, been buried today had they given up, but they were determined and held on and did not faint. We had one member who actually lived almost two years after the doctors had said that she could not live. She was the kind that prayed, saying, "I will not give up." She was determined to live to a certain time-and she did. She fought day and night to live: she would not give up.

But that isn't like some folk. Some people actually left this church when I became ill. Because they thought that it was all over with me, they left the church; but the church didn't miss them. In fact, those who left didn't mean anything to the church anyway. Can you feature this? They thought that I might die and they had better get out of the church right then. So they jumped out like rats leaving a sinking ship; they gave up; and, like rats leaving a sinking ship, they left the church.

In the passage before us the people had fainted, they had given up, and Jesus had compassion on them, saying they were like sheep without a shepherd. God's people are like sheep, and Jesus identifies Himself over and over again as the Shepherd of the sheep. He points out that He loves His sheep and gave His life for them. When His sheep come to know Him in the free pardon and forgiveness of sins, He said in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Jesus said, "I KNOW my sheep; they HEAR my voice, and they FOLLOW me."

Jesus saw the multitudes and had compassion on them. He turned to His disciples and said in John 4:35, "Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." The field is the world in Luke 8 and also here in John 4. Jesus points out the "harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few." What does this mean? Does it mean that Heaven is going to be vacant as I have heard some say? Beloved, to say a thing like that is blasphemous. Do you think that Christ is not going to reap His harvest, even though the labourers be few?

We are told there are two billion people in the world. In short, they have taken a census and they tell us there are two billion. Suffice it to say that you can number the peoples of the nations of the earth, but in Revelation 7 we see a group in Heaven that no man can number. They had palms in their hands and worshipped the Lord. They were so numerous that John said, "No man can number them." Yet people say that Heaven will be for rent. But EVERYONE for whom Christ shed His blood will be saved and without the loss of ONE.

But Jesus said, "Pray ye therefore that the Father will send out labourers into his harvest."

You know, there are not many labourers for the Lord today. People will get out here and labor in every kind of occupation in the world, but they will not do one thing for the Lord. May I say this tonight-for it is on my heart, and I must say it because it is a fact: if folk were as careless with their jobs as they are with Christ's work, they would not have a job long; they would be fired-everyone.

One of the reasons that people are careless and negligent with God's work is because there is not enough love in their hearts for Christ. Beloved, you know that is true; why not just admit that the reason you don't serve the Lord as you should is because you just don't love Him as you should. Jesus said, "If you LOVE me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). And in verse 23, Jesus said, "If a man LOVE me, he WILL keep my commandments." And the RESULTS will be? "I will come and make my abode with him," said Jesus.

Did you know that people give every excuse in the world for not serving the Lord? They give every conceivable excuse, but I have NEVER heard a GOOD one yet. We are talking about alibis for not serving the Lord, for not being actively engaged in the Lord's work. People give every excuse for not working for the Lord, but ask them why they aren't on their jobs with their employer, and they will tell you one of two things: either they are too sick, or got fired. But ask them why they aren't serving the Lord, and they will give you every excuse under the sun. "Aunt Jenny got sick; she hurt her toe, and of course, I have to stay home; that is, unless something else comes up for me to go to-but I can't go to church."

Now they don't go to see Aunt Jenny, she lives too far away, but of course they have to stay home anyway. There has been more lies told to God than anything else. People just don't want to labor for the Lord; they can do anything else, go anywhere else; but they can't go to church, and they can't work for the Lord. They don't WANT to work for the Lord. That is the truth and you know it. They are desirous of having their own way and will only serve Him when they have "time," and for most, they never SEEM to have the time.

People treat God as if He were a beggar, but God is NOT a beggar. In the matter of tithe and stewardship of time and money, they treat God as if He were a beggar, begging for their time and money-but GOD is not a beggar: He OWNS everything, and He owns YOU.

People think that God is a beggar, and if they give Him one hour of time on Sunday morning, they think they have done God a favor. Is that right or wrong, brethren? It IS the truth and you KNOW it. God is NOT a beggar seeking your favor, but I'll tell you one thing, YOU had better seek the favor of GOD, that's what you better do. God doesn't care anything about YOUR favor, but YOU had better seek the favor of GOD.

Then let us go on. Jesus said, "The labourers are few . . ." That is the truth. The Master said for the disciples to "Pray the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." He said to these disciples for THEM to pray that God might send forth labourers into His harvest. It was the LORD'S harvest, and it was the LORD who was to SEND out the labourers. If God doesn't send you, you aren't worth anything.

"But," someone will say, "He didn't send ME." Well, He might not have SAVED you either. Did you ever think of that? You don't have to take my word for it, it is in the Bible. Everyone who is saved is CALLED to SERVICE. That is why you are sanctified, set apart for service. It is in the Book and you don't have to take my word for it. When someone does something for God they puff up and think they have done God a favor, but we are saved to SERVE Him: "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are GOD'S" (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

But I want you to notice this: it is the Lord's harvest and He said, "Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that HE send forth labourers into his own harvest."

Then let us see if He did. The disciples prayed earnestly and diligently about it. Now in connection with Matthew 9:38 we find in the first verses of Matthew 10 that Jesus called His disciples and He sent THEM out. They were the ANSWER to their own PRAYER; they prayed about it, and the Lord sent them out.

Now prayer doesn't change the mind of God; it just gets you ready to receive the blessings of God. Read the 10th chapter of Matthew, the first seven verses. They prayed, and God gave them power and sent them out. God can use every boy, girl, man or woman in His service who will recognize His Lordship and is determined to follow Him. You start praying for labourers and you will BECOME one, just remember that. When you start to pray earnestly for labourers you will become one yourself.

One of the things that has worried me through all the years of my ministry is that I have been afraid to pray earnestly for foreign missionaries; it is because I was afraid I might become one myself. I was afraid that if I prayed hard enough the Lord might say to me, "YOU go." You listen to me now. We are getting down to the milk in the coconut. I haven t prayed too hard; for God might say, "You go over there yourself." If you pray for labourers God will make you one for sure. God will use you just as sure as you do it. The thing is, do you WANT to do it? Do you want to become obedient to Christ?

But first, I would ask you, are you SAVED? If not, I pray the Holy Spirit will make you conscious of your need, and that you will accept Christ as your personal Saviour. We never try to take the place of, or try to do the work of, the Holy Spirit. When God gets ready to save you He will reach in from among the masses and pluck you out. The Gospel wasn't designed to save the world anyway; it was designed to take out from among the masses "a people for his name" (Acts 15:14). But if you have been made to see your condition in the sight of God, may you accept Christ tonight. Amen.

Chapter 17-Ambassadors For Christ

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."- 2 Corinthians 5:19-21.

Verse 20 of 2 Corinthians 5 will suffice as the text for this evening's discussion. Paul said, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."

By way of introduction, I would like to point out two things: First, I am quite cognizant of the fact that Paul is speaking concerning the ministry in particular and the Lord's church in general, for, said he, "Unto us he hath committed the word of reconciliation," and secondly, Paul presents GOD as the One who is doing the BESEECHING.

You know we have people today that get the idea that it is the alien sinner who is admonished to beseech the Lord, but here in the text we are told that God does the beseeching. He said, "we are ambassadors for Christ, as though GOD did BESEECH you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." He said that God is the One who does the beseeching. The alien sinner doesn't believe in Christ. He does not have the BLOOD. He cannot approach the Throne of Divine Grace because he has no right. The only way whereby men can approach God and get into the Holiest of Holies is by the BLOOD of Jesus (Heb. 10:19-20). Let us keep the record straight then, and point out to men that it is GOD who beseeches the alien sinner to become reconciled to Himself.

It is said that God is PROPITIATED and man is RECONCILED. Certainly, the Bible does NOT teach that God becomes reconciled to man, but that MAN becomes reconciled to GOD, and in Christ's vicarious suffering upon the cross God is said to be propitiated. The word PROPITIATION has more than one meaning. It has been said by some that it means to appease God. However, I don't like that expression. I do not think of God as some avenging God waiting for someone to appease His wrath. It is used in the particular sense that Christ, in His death upon the cross, satisfied the justice of God, and in that respect God has been appeased, and only in that respect.

But tonight we are concerned primarily with the central thought of verse 20 of 2Corinthians 5. We are concerned with being "ambassadors for Christ." I know that the Divine Commission was given to Christ's church, I know that the preaching of the Gospel and the baptizing of the ones who hear and believe was given exclusively to Christ's church; but I do know, also, that there is such a thing as CHRISTIAN RADIATION, Christian WITNESS and Christian TESTIMONY.

This is presented in the last invitation found in the Word of God. Jesus said, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst say, Come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17).

In the first part of the text you will note that it is the church, the Spirit and the Bride. The Bride is the Lord's church (2 Cor. 11:2). And notice again in the text: "Let him that heareth say, Come." That is Christian radiation, individual Christian radiation.

Incumbent, therefore, upon every child of God is this solemn obligation to invite men to COME to Christ. And then he said, "Let him that is athirst say, Come. And whosoever will, let him come and take the water of life freely." So I am not doing violence to the Word of God when I use verse 20 in the sense I am going to use it this evening-INDIVIDUAL Christian radiation. We are "Ambassadors for Christ."

I think couched in this verse are three major thoughts: namely, an ambassador must represent and be a citizen of a certain country; second, how is it that one becomes a CITIZEN of a country; and third, what is the solemn obligation incumbent upon an ambassador? Those are the three thoughts that are suggested and taught in this marvelous verse.

First of all, let us notice that the Apostle Paul is suggesting in the text that in order for one to be an AMBASSADOR, he must be a citizen of the country he represents. Certainly, the United States would not employ some foreigner, someone who was not a citizen of this country, to represent it as an ambassador to another country. So in order for us to be ambassadors for Christ, we must be citizens of the country that we represent.

"Well," you say, "now, Brother Cox, of WHAT country are we citizens?"

In the third chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Philippian brethren and verse 20, the Apostle Paul makes it plain that we are citizens of HEAVEN. The word for CONVERSATION there means CITIZENSHIP. So Paul said, "For our citizenship is in HEAVEN." Therefore, we are citizens of Heaven. I said last Sunday morning, and I repeat again tonight, that the old songs that some of these hillbillies sing and call religious hymns, have more truth than poetry in them. You know the song that says we are strangers just passing through? There is a lot of truth in that. God's people ARE strangers upon the earth, inasmuch as they are NOT a part of the world in which they live. Jesus said repeatedly, in the prayer that is recorded in John 17-and certainly, it is a marvelous prayer because of the things taught therein - (talking about believers), "They are not OF the WORLD, even as I am not of the world."

However, He went on to pray that God would not take them out of the world, but that He should keep them from evil, or the evil one. Now Jesus said that His people, those for whom He was praying, were not OF the WORLD any more than He was of the world. And then second, He also said that He did not pray FOR the WORLD, but He prayed for those whom God had GIVEN Him OUT of the WORLD. God's people LIVE in the world, to be sure, but they are to remain aloof FROM and OF the world.

James said in the Epistle that bears his name, "If any man"-I want you to get this now- "If any man is the FRIEND of the world, he is an ENEMY of God" (Jam. 4:4). And in 1 John 2:15-16, the Apostle John points out that we are not to have anything to do with the world; that we are not to LOVE the world, and he goes on to say "The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."

So the child of God is a citizen of Heaven, and so being citizens of Heaven, then it is our duty to REPRESENT Heaven. We have something to tell. We are representatives of ANOTHER world. We have something to tell the people with whom we come in contact. We have a story to tell. If we would be ambassadors as we should, and the ambassadors that we OUGHT to be, we should tell others about the COUNTRY of which we as Christians are citizens.

You may say, "Brother Cox, how is it that men become citizens of Heaven?"

Well, that is a good question and it deserves an answer. We become citizens by the NEW BIRTH and by ADOPTION. Tonight, I want to point out to you the meaning of ADOPTION and its benefits, but first: we become citizens of the heavenly country by the NEW BIRTH. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3, "Except a man be born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God." In verse 5, "Except a man be born of water, even the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Then again in verse 6, "That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be BORN again."

From these passages one could pause and preach a lengthy sermon on the New Birth, but suffice it to say, Jesus points out the NECESSITY of the New Birth if one hopes to be a CITIZEN of the kingdom of God. It is absolutely necessary. If one is to enter the kingdom of God, he must first experience the New Birth. There are no if's, and's, or but's about it; he must be BORN AGAIN. It is the birth of the spirit. It is the spirit of man being born of the Spirit of God.

1 John 3:9 John points out that, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his SEED remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

That word SEED comes from the Greek word SPERMA, and it means the very LIFE of GOD. In the New Birth, therefore, God imparts His own LIFE in the believer's heart; then the believer becomes a CHILD of God by BIRTH, and he has the life of God imparted to him. I would like to throw this in for good measure: how in the name of common sense can one who has experienced the New Birth, one in whom God has imparted His own life, how can that one so sin as to be finally lost in Hell? HOW can that be?

So we become citizens first by the New Birth. Now the birth of the Spirit is NOT an act of REFORMATION on the part of the would-be religious fellow, but it IS actually a birth of the Spirit. Reformation of life, good works, nothing, takes the place of the New Birth. There is no substitute for it. If men would enter the kingdom of God, they must first experience that BIRTH that is from ABOVE. This is NECESSARY; this is a prerequisite. God said that men "must be born again."

Now, I want you to notice in John 1:11, 12, 13, the Apostle John said (talking about Jesus), "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

They were BORN by the WILL of GOD. So men actually are BORN into God's family, and by THAT they become citizens along, however, with experiencing the act of adoption. Now, WHAT is ADOPTION? Adoption is that free and sovereign act of God, by the which, He takes one that has been born of the Spirit and ADOPTS him into His family, giving unto him all the rights and privileges that belong to His mature sons and daughters. We are, then, prepared for the INHERITANCE. I said once before-and I think some people misunderstood, but it is true nonetheless-there is no way for a man to become UNBORN. We are born into this world and are the children of the Devil. Now you just might as well face up to that fact. No use hiding your head in the sand as the proverbial ostrich and say, "I just can't see that." Notice Psalm 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9, Genesis 6:5, 6, Romans 8:7, 8, Ephesians 2:1, 3. On and on I could multiply the Scriptures that teach specifically that men are born into the world CHILDREN of the DEVIL. You can't undo a BIRTH, whether it be spiritual, or whether it be physical. There is no way whereby that birth can be nullified or voided. Alright, that is the SECOND reason that ADOPTION is necessary. We experience the New Birth, we are born as children of God, but we are still-I want you to get this-there is still an affinity, a relationship to the Devil, so God ADOPTS us into His family and transfers us OUT of the kingdom of the DEVIL into the kingdom of His own dear Son. That is exactly WHY adoption is necessary. So we become citizens BOTH by BIRTH and by ADOPTION.

Paul said in Ephesians 1:5: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."

And in Galatians 4:4, 5: "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the ADOPTION of sons. And because ye are sons"-not shall be after awhile but "because ye ARE sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father.

Then, the third and last thought I want you to see tonight is this: to be a good AMBASSADOR, we have a message to tell. We should be concerned about the country that we REPRESENT, and at the same time, concerned about those with whom we come in contact. You know, you rub elbows every day with folk who are lost. I said last Sunday and I say it again tonight, for it will bear repeating over and over, that men without Christ are LOST. There is no use denying that; they ARE. The most pathetic person in this world, therefore, is the person who is lost, without hope, without God. One that is void of spiritual life, one that doesn't have Christ, one that is dead in trespasses and sins, one for whom the very flames of Hell is licking at all times, that is the most pathetic person in the world. For whenever a person dies without Christ, there is only one place to which he can go, and that is to Hell. He cannot go where CHRIST has gone, but he MUST go to Hell. The man, the woman, the boy and girl who dies without Christ, they die and go to Hell.

We are citizens of a BETTER world than Hell, and we should be so much in love with that OTHER world that we would be inviting other folk, those with whom we come in contact every day, we should invite them to go with us, and we will "do thee good." We ought to TELL them about the other world. Tell them about the Ruler of the other world. Tell them about the CHRIST we love and serve and believe in. We ought to become CONCERNED about people about us who are without Christ.

The average Christian doesn't give the lost a thought. He is contented to go his own way. He doesn't CARE whether the world goes to Hell or not. He is not concerned with anyone but himself and his own little private world. Well, I'll tell you the greatest Apostle that ever lived, the greatest preacher outside of the Lord Jesus, was Paul, and here is what he said in Romans 10:1, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved."

Paul had a DESIRE for Israel's SALVATION, and he PRAYED to that end, that they might be saved. And in 1 Corinthians 9:20, 21, 22, he further adds, "To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: To the strong, I became strong that I might gain the strong. To the Jew, I became as a Jew that I might gain the Jew, and was made all things to all men, that by all means, I might save some." Paul was determined, regardless of the cost, to represent Heaven as it ought to be represented. He was willing to go to any lengths to try to win people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I'll tell you the time has come when the average Christian cares nothing for it. He won't represent the country of which he is a citizen. He doesn't tell folk about his country. He doesn't talk about the heavenly country. He doesn't talk about the other world. He talks about THIS world, because the world has gotten INTO the Christian. It is bad enough for a child of God to have to live IN the world without the world getting INTO the Christian.

Let me tell you this in closing: if you are a Christian, a child of God, then it BEHOOVES you to become an AMBASSADOR for CHRIST, that we might beseech the lost to become reconciled to God; that we might do all that we possible can to get folk saved. THAT is our DUTY as Christians. Amen.

Index

The

Chapter 18-Walking In The Truth

"The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."-2 John 1:1-11.

I want you to notice that expression: "For there are many deceivers entered into the world, who confess not that Christ is come in the flesh." Actually, that expression means "many deceivers have come into the world, who confess not that Christ is COMING in the flesh; look to yourselves that you lose not those things which we have wrought, that we receive a full reward."

Tonight, I want us to examine carefully and prayerfully these eleven verses from the second Epistle of John; therefore, if I were to select a subject for this evening's discussion it would be simply "Walking in the Truth."

I will have to do expository preaching this evening; by that I mean I will have to take it verse by verse. I always enjoy listening to this type of preaching, and when the opportunity presents itself, I like to do expository preaching myself. Sometimes an entire epistle revolves around one or two verses or thoughts. Actually, the main thoughts in the lesson before us are TRUTH and DECEIVERS. One is standing opposed to the other.

Old D. L. Moody said one of the greatest sermons he had ever heard was one in which an old country preacher in Scotland read one of these entire epistles, and he spent 40 minutes doing it, only making a few words of comment. So this evening, those of you who have your Bibles keep them turned to II John, and let us examine to see what it teaches.

Now let us notice verse one.

What would the Apostle John have us to learn? First of all, I want you to notice the Apostle John speaks concerning an "elect lady and her children." In fact, the entire epistle is addressed to a woman and her children.

Back when I was a young preacher boy I used to read II John and reach the conclusion that the "elect lady" was a church, until one time I finally came face to face with the inevitable fact that, although the church is spoken of in the feminine gender, a church is NOT a MOTHER. A church cannot produce children; she doesn't have children at all; therefore, this epistle cannot refer to a church, but refers to a consecrated woman and her children. The last verse refers to her sister and her children.

I want you to notice in verse one what John actually has to say in the opening phrase to the elect lady and her children. He uses this particular expression, and if you don't notice it carefully you may overlook the meaning. It is speaking concerning the lady and her children: "Them I love in the truth." Not just love them, now, but "them 1 love in the TRUTH." Verse 2 says he "loved them for the truth's SAKE."

You, no doubt, hear quite often that a saved person is supposed to love all men alike. Now that isn't TRUE. In fact, such a thought as that is ridiculous, and can only have its birth in the brain of a heretic. Do you think for one moment that I can love YOUR children as much as I love MINE? Do you think that I love YOUR wife as much as I do my OWN? Do you think that I can love those NOT walking in the TRUTH as much as I love those who ARE walking in the TRUTH? Absolutely not. And John said he loved them for the truth's SAKE.

You may raise the question this evening: "Brother Pastor, WHAT is the TRUTH, anyway? The Bible has much to say concerning truth, so what is TRUTH?"

In John 18, Pilate asked Jesus the same question: "What is truth?" And Jesus did not even answer Pilate for the simple reason that Jesus, previous to this, had already said, "I am the TRUTH" (John 14:6). And in that immortal, memorable prayer in the Gospel according to John, Jesus speaking concerning believers had this to say: "Sanctify them through thy TRUTH: Thy WORD is TRUTH" (John 17:17).

Jesus prayed for believers, not unbelievers; He prayed for BELIEVERS. You know, some people get the idea that Jesus prayed for the world, but in John 17:9, "I pray for them (believers): I pray NOT for the world, but for them thou hast given me; for they are thine." Jesus never prayed for the world; for the simple reason that had Jesus prayed for the world, the whole world without exception would be saved, without the loss of a single one.

You might ask me WHY did not Jesus pray for the world? For the simple reason that had Jesus prayed for the world then everyone without exception would be saved: for God the Father always HEARS His Son.

"Then they took the stone away from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast HEARD me. And I knew that thou HEAREST me always; but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me."-John 11:41,42.

Had Jesus, therefore, prayed for the world in John 17 the whole world would be saved, but He didn't pray for the world. He only prayed for those composing the church and those who would be won to Christ thereafter by His church. "I pray NOT for the world," said Jesus, "but I pray for these thou hast GIVEN me OUT of the world, that they might be one as you and I are one." And He also said, "I pray not for these ALONE, but I pray for those who will believe through their word." Thus, Christ, the Lord, prayed for believers in every instance, and said, "Sanctify them through thy word; thy WORD is TRUTH."

The truth is therefore the Holy Word of God, the revealed Word of God, the Holy Scriptures-that is the TRUTH. The Bible that I hold in my hand this evening is the TRUTH. This is God's Word; thus, I love you who are in the truth, not OUT of it, but IN the truth. "I love you in the truth," said the Apostle John, "for the truth's sake, and all those who have known the truth, I love them." God didn't command, God didn't demand believers to love those OUT of the truth just as much as we love those who are walking IN the truth.

Notice again: He said, "I rejoice greatly (verse 4) when I saw (or heard, or found) thy children walking in the truth."

You know, there is nothing in the world that disturbs, upsets and causes a pastor more grief than finding members of the church of which he is pastor walking out of the truth.

I shall not soon forget several years ago the first church I ever pastored. We were doing fine and the Lord was blessing us. The membership was multiplying, and there came into the community one of those fly-by-night evangelists and got five or six of the more prominent members confused. He confused and misled them, causing no end of trouble. I went to each one personally and reasoned out of the Word of God, and showed them the error of their ways; I pleaded with them to denounce, renounce and divorce themselves from heresy and come back to the truth. No wonder old John said, "I REJOICE greatly when I found thy children walking in the TRUTH."

I tell you, beloved, we live in an age in which truth is despised and abhorred. If you want to make these half-baked Christians mad, and the world mad, if you want to make enemies right and left, just stand for the truth,and that is exactly what you will do when you stand by the truth of God's Word.

The Apostle Paul said to the young preacher boy Timothy, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."-2 Timothy 4:2-4.

Paul said to Timothy: "Preach the WORD; preach the Word; preach the WORD." That means preach the TRUTH; not something else, not untruth, but "preach the WORD; preach the TRUTH."

I say to the young preacher boys here tonight: regardless whether you are popular, regardless whether or not the world hates you, whether or not these half-baked Christians hate and despise you, stand for the TRUTH and PREACH it.Paul said to Timothy, "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke with longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound DOCTRINE, but will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and shall turn their ears AWAY from the truth."

Brother, you don't have to look far to see that today. People like to have their ears tickled with a doctrine that is good for nothing but to be cast out and trampled under foot by those who love the truth.

"I rejoiced," said John, "when I found thy children walking in the truth."

You know, I am just foolish and old fashioned enough to believe every word that I read in the Book of God. I believe it to be God's Word, God's revelation to mankind. When I read the Word of God, I say to my heart: "This is God's Word: this is God speaking to me, I must accept and believe it."

Now John said, "I rejoice greatly when I found thy children walking in the truth." You know, beloved, truth is that which PURGES men from iniquity. Some men get the idea that man can be saved under just ANY kind of preaching. Now that isn't so. He might THINK he was saved, but there is nothing in the world that purges men from iniquity but the TRUTH of God.

"By mercy and TRUTH iniquity is purged: and by fear of the Lord men depart from evil."-Proverbs 16:6. Now, the wise man Solomon said, "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged." And David said in Psalm 25:10, "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth."

You say that you are following Jesus. FINE! I hope you are. You may say that you are WALKING in the paths of the Lord. I hope you are because if you are not, then you are not walking in the paths of TRUTH. But let me tell you something: some people THINK they are walking in the paths of the Lord when they are not, because they are following MAN-MADE doctrines. Thus, the path of the Lord just DOESN'T run in that direction. David said, "ALL the paths of the Lord are mercy and TRUTH."

I tell you, beloved, it is a dangerous thing to trifle with the truth of God. It is a dangerous thing to ignore the plain teachings of God's Word. You are trifling with God when you trifle with His Word.

Notice in the 6th verse of the text how that LOVE and TRUTH go together. You LOVE those who are in the TRUTH and are walking in the truth. Now watch it in verse 6: "And this is LOVE, that we WALK after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it."

This is the truth now. The commandment spoken here does not mean the Ten Commandments, the Law given to Moses, but it means the commandment of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of Jesus, the things that Jesus commanded, Himself. Do you SEE? He said, "This is love: walking after his commandments."

You may say, "Oh! Brother Cox, I LOVE the Lord!"

Do you now? Do you know HOW you can prove whether or not you really LOVE the Lord? Sometimes the question is asked: how may I know whether or not I love the Lord? Well, I'll tell you: 1 John 5:2, 3, "By this we KNOW that we love the children of God, when we love God, and KEEP his commandments; For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments; and his COMMANDMENTS are not GRIEVOUS."

That is the test of love right there. You KNOW whether or not you love God. The Apostle John said, "This is the LOVE of God, that ye KEEP his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous at all." So you can know whether or not you love God by that.

You may say, "How does LOVE for God and for those walking in the truth come? Is it something that man can generate within himself?"

No! It is through the operation of the Spirit of God. I am going further and say that it is through the direct operation of the Spirit of God upon the human heart. That's what. It is the DIRECT operation of God's Spirit upon the human heart.

"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the LOVE of GOD is shed abroad in our hearts by the HOLY SPIRIT which is given unto us."-Romans 5:5.

THAT is how love comes to the human heart. That's how God implants LIFE to the human heart, and it emanates therefrom, and reaches out to those who are walking in the truth, NOT those who walk NOT in the truth. He speaks of the commandments He gave from the beginning that we should love one another. One of the distinguishing signs that the world can recognize and identify is the love that exists between those walking in the truth.

Do you think the disciples, the ones that composed the church that Jesus established-who were the first members, the first ordained preachers of it, and who formed the nucleus of the Lord's church-do you not think they loved each other? Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another."

I want you to notice this other thing: He said, "Many deceivers have entered into the world, but ye should not be moved nor shaken at all because you are builded on the proper foundation: and that foundation is Christ." He lays the proper foundation first, and then warns about false deceivers. Now let us see what the deceivers have to say: "Many deceivers have entered into the world who confess NOT that Jesus Christ is COMING in the flesh." Coming in the flesh, just as He went away.

One of the leading ministers in the city of Memphis told some women (thirty-one of them, to be exact), and all of you would know him if I called his name, he told these women that the Lord will never come back to this earth again. He said that Christ's feet would never touch the ground, that He is gone forever. Now, you know what GOD said-let us be fair with God's Word, beloved. The man who said that was a DECEIVER and an ANTICHRIST. Now I didn't say that, the Bible did. Let us read II John 1:7: "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."

Evidently, that preacher failed to read Zechariah 14:4, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."

And he goes on to give the description of the Battle of Armageddon and the judgment of the nations. He said that the Lord's feet would stand on Mount Olivet. Don't TAKE from me the hope of His SECOND coming. He that denies the second coming of Christ is an antichrist and a deceiver. The Lord IS coming back. I tell you He IS. It makes no DIFFERENCE whether or not you are LOOKING for Him, He is coming; and the man who isn't looking for Him to come back is going to be caught naked.

"For them must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that LOOK for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."-Hebrews 9:26-28.

Paul said that Jesus was coming the second time NOT to bear sins, but in JUDGMENT. "He is coming in flaming fire to take vengeance upon those who obey (believe) not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 1:8). Paul said that Christ was to appear the second time unto those that LOOK for Him. Are you LOOKING for Him? Do you BELIEVE He is coming? Or are you going to be taken in by the modernist, those who would destroy the rapture of the saints and the hope of the saved.

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world: LOOKING for that blessed hope and the glorious APPEARING of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."-Titus 2:11-13.

I tell you, beloved, He IS coming; it makes no difference whether or not you are ready, whether or not you are LOOKING for Him, He is coming. Let the modernist stand up and deceive their congregations, He is STILL coming. Let them hold out their hands and say, "No, He is not coming!" But He is STILL coming. The Bible, the Word of God, the Truth says that He is, and God brands everyone that denies that He is not, God brands him an antichrist and deceiver.

If you are here this evening, and you don't believe the Lord is going to come in the flesh, then you are an antichrist, a deceiver. I don't care who you are.You might be a member of this church or some other church or religious organization, but if you don't believe in the second coming of Christ, if you deny that He is coming back, God says that you are an ANTICHRIST and a DECEIVER. You may claim to be SOMETHING, but God's Word says that you are NOTHING.

Let us go on: John said that we are to "look to ourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward" (II John 1:8). Do you know HOW a man can lose his rewards? A child of God can become so befuddled, caught in the web of the modernist, and suddenly his belief in the second coming of Christ will be shaken. He listens to the fiery, eloquent appeal of the modernist as he destroys the very foundation upon which Christianity rests, the rapture of the saved and the saint's hope. Sometimes Christians sit there and listen intently, and before long they begin to think deep in their hearts, "That man may be right." That's the very moment that God reaches out and takes away that person's rewards, not his LIFE, not his SOUL, but his REWARDS.

Notice in the 9th verse that he is talking about false teachers and deceivers: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 1:9). That expression "abideth not" actually means to continue not onward, making up your own doctrine, failing to adhere to the truth of God's Word. "That person," said John, "hath not God."

I'll tell you one thing: I have seen folk that are supposed to be saved that didn't like doctrine. They will say, "I don't like DOCTRINE." We live in a world of doctrine. You know, I have my doubts about a man's salvation who doesn't love the doctrines which are based and founded on the Word of God. In fact, the Bible is a doctrinal Book. Thus, you may say, "Brother Cox, I don't like to hear the doctrine." Okay, then what you had BETTER hear is the Holy Spirit knocking on your door as He convicts of sin, because he that "goeth not onward in the doctrine of Christ hath not God." I didn't say that, God's Word did, and we agreed to BELIEVE God's Word-did we not?

Alright, notice something else: Baptists have slipped so far from the truth they can barely be recognized as Baptists, and believe me, this is a sin, a stench in the nostrils of God. You may say, "Why, Preacher!" But I am telling you the God's honest truth. PULPIT AFFILIATION, I despise it. I don't know of any practice more damaging, more hurtful, injurious to the cause of Christ than the practice of "pulpit affiliation." Get some great heretical preacher in your pulpit and let him preach! I don't believe in that.Knowingly, I wouldn't let a man get behind this sacred desk who didn't believe the truth of God. I am going further than that and tell you that I don't believe in Baptist preachers swapping pulpits with anybody. I'll tell you that for sure.

You may say, "Oh, Preacher, we are working for the same place." But I'll tell you: I am not WORKING to go anywhere. When God gets ready for me, He will take me. God will TAKE me; I am not working to go anywhere.

"All right," someone will say, "there are some GOOD folk." I am not talking about their "goodness," but about DOCTRINE. Do you think I would let a man who wasn't a Baptist stand in this pulpit and confuse and poison the minds of my people? I am a Baptist, woof, warp and filling, up one side and down the other, inside, outside, top side, and bottom side, too. I tell you I am a Baptist, and amen for that. I don't mean that derogatorily, that I am the only saved person in the world. There are lots of saved folk, but I am still a Baptist. I am a child of God first, and second, I am a Baptist.

You get it now: here comes a man preaching salvation by works, with just a little faith in it, and the preacher gets up and says, "Mr. So and So, preach us a sermon." And the man gets up there and preaches a sermon on salvation by works, the doctrine of apostasy, preaches open communion, denies the sovereignty of God, the independency of the local church. Why, I'd DRAG him from the pulpit if he started that!

One time I asked a man to assist me in a meeting although I hadn't heard him preach in sometime. I had a little talk with him, and asked him what he believed. I asked him, "Are you REALLY a Baptist, or are you just PLAYING at being a Baptist?" He replied that he THOUGHT he was a Baptist. I then told him that I heard he practiced a certain thing in evangelism. He said that he did. I told him then and there that he wasn't going to practice that in the church of which I was pastor. I didn't believe in it, and he was not going to be a deceiver of my people.

You may say, "Why, Preacher, I think you have gone off half-cracked." Well, let us see what the Apostle John had to say about the matter: "If there come any unto you, and bring NOT this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds"(2 John 1:10, 11).

Talk about loving a man who lived in error and heresy! They are not to be loved by those who love the truth. Get this now: He said, "Don't you RECEIVE them, regardless of how eloquent he might be; if he brings not the doctrine, receive him not in your house."

Not only is the "elect lady" not to invite him into her private home, but also into the Lord's house-in the pulpit. Don't let him get up there in the Lord's house and corrupt, corrode, contaminate God's people; for it is actually possible that even the kingdom of God, which is made up of saved people, can actually become a little contaminated with evil doctrine. Don't let him get in there; don't subject your children to it, neither the children of the kingdom.

You know what, my children are almost grown, but if certain doctrines were brought into my house, I would, just as politely as possible, take the bearer of such doctrines by the seat of the pants and the collar of his coat and show him the door. There are certain doctrines I will just not ALLOW in my house. I won't let them come into my home to contaminate my children; and also I will not let them get behind this sacred desk to corrupt the Lord's children here at this place-as long as I am overseer of the flock at this particular place.

One time I saw the evidence of that. I had a cousin who died and went to Hell because of a hellish, rotten doctrine that damned his soul to Hell. You ask me how I know he went to Hell? Well, anyone who doesn't believe in Christ, and is trusting in ANYTHING else or ANYONE else other than the finished work of Christ, will die and go to Hell. I know that. The Bible says as much:

"Then said Jesus again unto them, 1 go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither 1 go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither 1 go, ye cannot come."And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath: I am from above: Ye are of this world: I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe NOT that I am HE, ye shall DIE in your sins."-John 8:21-24.

This community in which my cousin lived was all right; folk were walking in the truth, and there came a rotten, hellish, doctrine. A certain man with a glib tongue got hold of it, and many believed that doctrine. He went from house to house contaminating, corrupting, corroding until finally eight or ten families in that community embraced that rotten stuff. They laughed at the truth of God's Word, and died and went to Hell.

Then you say, "Preacher, you ought not to say that about a doctrine." Oh, yes, I OUGHT. Jesus said through John, "Receive him NOT in your house. He's not sound in the doctrine; don't receive him in your house. Don't give him a cold drink of water, either, or a biscuit to carry away with him: don't bid him God speed." For to do so is to be a "partaker in his evil deeds." If you let him come into your home or pulpit, then you are a partaker of his evil deeds. DON'T SAY, "God bless you, fellow; may I wish you all the success in the world," when he is preaching rotten heresy.

Now in bringing the message to a close, I could go on and on, but I must close. Keep this in mind: if God's WORD means anything in the world, and you want to be freed from the shackles of sin, and you want to be set free, the ONLY thing that WILL set you free is the TRUTH. It will sever the chains, and will sever the fetters, setting you free, putting a song in your heart, a new song on your lips, and a glint in your eyes. Jesus said in John 8:32, 34, 36: "And ye shall know the truth, and the TRUTH shall make you FREE. Verily, verily I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. If the Son therefore shall make you FREE, ye shall be FREE indeed."

The TRUTH shall set you FREE: free from HERESY, free from SIN, free from the LAW. It will make you a free man-the TRUTH. Do you believe God's truth? Do you actually believe God's Word? Or are you holding to that which is NOT the truth-error? Are you saying, "O Lord, I just hate to violate TRADITIONAL law; I hate to violate the CUSTOM of tradition, I don't want to do this, that and so. I must STAY in and with these damnable heresies that damn the souls of men?"

I would say unto you, "Embrace the truth. Turn to Christ and be saved. Look to Jesus and be saved, and hide the truth in your heart. That is the best place for it." He said, "The 'truth dwells with us, and shall be in us forever."

Listen, beloved, let us BELIEVE the truth of God, and let us ACCEPT it. Above all, TRUST the Author of the truth, and that is JESUS. Wonderful Lord! Let us trust Him. Embrace the truth, be urged from INIQUITY, and follow in the paths of the Lord, which are mercy and truth. Amen.

Chapter 19-The Church

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said unto him, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood bath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."-Matthew 16:13-19.

It goes without saying that I believe the Bible is a Baptist book-that it was written by Baptists, for Baptists, and to Baptists; and it will make Baptists of any who will read it with an unbiased and unprejudiced heart.

A man asked me one time with regard to the church, "Brother Cox, if you had not been a Baptist, what would you have been?" I said, "I would have been ashamed."

Therefore, I am a Baptist, warf and woof, filling, inside, outside, upside, down-side, t'other side, too.

I believe that anybody who will take an open Bible and will prayerfully read it, will be driven irresistibly to the same conclusion. If I didn't believe that with all my heart, then I would not be a Baptist.

We are living in a modern and materialistic age in which we are being told that one church is as good as another and that all churches are working for the same place; that Heaven is like a giant hub in a giant wheel and all the spokes are the churches that Christ established. I tell you in the beginning that I don't believe that Christ established all these various and sundry religious denominations and organizations.

I take the position that Christ established His church during His personal ministry and that it was a Baptist church, and that she is the mother of us all in the sense that from her came the missionaries that spread throughout the earth and established other churches of like faith and order.

I say the Bible teaches us in no uncertain terms that not only did Christ establish His church, but even the name Baptist is Scriptural in every sense of the word. Why people shy away from the name Baptist and deny our own heritage is beyond me; why, when interrogated regarding their religion, they ashamedly finally say, as if apologetic, "I'm a Baptist."

I say we have the truth, and we only have the whole truth. I say that each Baptist church is a foundation, pillar and ground of the truth. We are under divine marching orders to propagate the truth to every nook and corner of this earth.

"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD, THE PILLAR AND GROUND OF THE TRUTH."-1 Timothy 3:15.

Certainly every man who visits a Baptist church has every right to expect to hear the truth, for unto her, and unto her only, has the truth been committed, and unto her only has the commission been committed. Therefore, a man who calls himself a Baptist preacher and will not preach the truth dishonors the name that he wears, and certainly dishonors the Christ whom he professes to serve. He compromises the truth and denies it.

We must, therefore, in this modernistic age lift high the banner of Christ. While we exalt and magnify His glorious, matchless Name, we must see to it that His church is on the march until her message is heard around the earth-until all the nations have heard the Baptist message and the clarion call of the Gospel of Christ.

With those things before us, let us examine the origin of the Lord's church.

I. The Origin of the Church

I take the position that Christ established His church when here in the flesh, and that it was not established on Pentecost, nor anytime since; and that any organization that had its beginning since, cannot be Christ's church. If a church were established on Pentecost, it couldn't be His church, for He wasn't there. You say that the Holy Spirit did it. I didn't know that the Holy Spirit had a church. What the Bible teaches is that the Holy Spirit is the administrator of the Lord's church-that He leads, guides, directs, energizes, and empowers the Lord's church in her activities. You ask me when and where did the church begin. May I direct your attention to the Gospel of Luke:

"And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."-Luke 1:17.

I want you to note two things: first, that John the Baptist was to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and second, that his mission was to make ready a people for the Lord. John preached, men believed and were baptized upon their profession of faith in Christ. John the Baptist demanded "fruits for repentance" before he would baptize them.

"Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance."-Matthew 3:8.

I say, therefore, that the material which Jesus used was material which had been prepared by a Baptist preacher.

Somebody said, "Brother Cox, there never was but one Baptist on this earth." Well, I say that there was one Baptist. You can't find a Methodist, a Presbyterian, a Holy Roller, a Campbellite, a Roman Catholic, or anything else, but you can find a Baptist.

The objector says, "Why, did you not know that Baptist was his name?" No, I did not know that. The angels, the devils, and the Holy Spirit did not know that. God did not know that. It took some heretic to start that.

The Gospel of John tells us that his name was John,and not "John the Baptist."

"There was a man sent from God, whose name was JOHN."-John 1:6.

In Luke 1, when the angel appeared to John's father, he did not at first believe. He was skeptical and asked for a sign. He was speechless until John was born. Notice that the angel said his name was to be John and his father said his name was to be John. His mother said, "Give him some paper to write upon," and he wrote "John," not Baptist.

Therefore, when God got ready for a Baptist, He made one, just as when He got ready for a man, He made Adam.

He or she that would deny that there have never been any Baptists since John would deny the law of reproduction. He might as well say that there has not been man upon the earth since Adam, because Adam died; but there have been billions since.

Thus we establish the fact that is undeniable and indisputable, that his name was John, that his title was Baptist, and that he baptized because he was a Baptist and not vice versa.

Sometimes even Baptists slip a cog right here. They say he was a Baptist because he baptized. That isn't so; in Matthew's Gospel he was called the Baptist before he ever baptized a single soul. We read:

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea."-Matthew 3:1.

I might add that the only baptism that Christ ever had was Baptist baptism, and that the only baptism that the apostles ever had was Baptist baptism.

"Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained a witness with us of his resurrection."-Acts1:21, 22.

No man, therefore, could be one of the original twelve unless he had first been baptized by John the Baptist. Christ required Baptist baptism before He ordained any of the apostles. We have nothing to be ashamed of; we have a wonderful heritage. We have something that we can be everlastingly humbly grateful for-our Baptist heritage.

It almost breaks my heart and drives me to my knees to think that there are folk who would for one moment deny the fact that they are Baptists, and be almost apologetic that they are Baptists. Let us, therefore, determine in our hearts that we will not only be grateful that we are Baptists, but that the world will hear from us the glorious message which is Jesus Christ the Lord.

Notice that one could not be an apostle without Baptist baptism.

But somebody has said, "Are you sure John's baptism was Christian baptism?"

Isn't that a "foolish" question?

We have enemies on every hand who take the erroneous and unenviable position that the baptism of John was not Christian. They are accusing Christ of having unscriptural baptism, the apostles of having unscriptural baptism, and every baptized person who has lived since then of having unscriptural baptism.

Let us examine the Word of God to see whether or not the baptism of John was Christian or Scriptural. When John baptized our Saviour, it was the only time that all three Persons of the blessed Trinity were in evidence. There was the Son being baptized, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father in thunderous tones saying:

"THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED."-Matthew 3:17.

It pleased God the Father for Christ to have Baptist baptism; it pleases God when you and I have Baptist baptism.

Acts 19:5 is the key text that Campbellites and others use to deny that Christ had Christian baptism, because of the fact that Paul baptized those twelve there at Ephesus. But let us examine to see whether John's baptism was Scriptural, or whether they had been baptized with proper authority.

No doubt they were baptized by Apollos (Acts 18:24-19:1) who did not have church authority. Apollos never met John the Baptist.

"Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."- Acts 19:4.

They had not heard about the Divine Spirit of God. How in the name of common sense can you preach the Gospel of Christ and men's hearts be opened and the Holy Spirit not be present or even mentioned? It is utterly ridiculous to assume that such could happen. Apollos baptized without Scriptural authority; that is to say, no church authorized him. Therefore John's baptism was Scriptural. Consequently, it was their lack of faith in Christ, and their ignorance of the Holy Spirit, and Apollos' lack of authority that rendered the baptism of the twelve at Ephesus null and void.

"The baptism of John whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?"-Matthew 21:25.

The Bible teaches that John's baptism was of Heavenly origin.

"And I knew him not: but he that SENT ME TO BAPTIZE (Greek: "in") WATER, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."-John 1:33.

In John 1:31, John said that he knew not Christ, but that Christ might be manifested to Israel as the Divine Son of God. Therefore, he came baptizing in water. Likewise, every believer is supposed to be baptized for the same purpose-that he might manifest unto the world that he is a son of God. Brother, if you are baptized for any other reason, then your baptism is not valid, and certainly not Scriptural.

May I say again: Anyone who denies or refuses Baptist baptism, rejects the counsel of God, and the judgment of God is upon him.

You say, "You are going too far." Listen: "But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him."-Luke 7:30.

It is evident that anyone who refuses Baptist baptism and by the authority of a Baptist church is open to scorn, and the anger of God is upon that person.

There is no need to sing, "Oh, how I love Jesus," if we don't do what He says.

"A good man out of the treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"-Luke 6:45, 46.

Now when did the church come into existence?

"And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and 1 will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him."-Matthew 4:18-22.

I understand that the word "ecclesia" is used 115 times in the New Testament, and that 112 times it is translated "church"-"a called out assembly."

Had these apostles been baptized of John? Certainly. They were the first members of His church-that is, Christ's church.

"Why, Brother Cox, I thought that when Christ prayed all night (Luke 6), that was when He started His church."

I do not accept that theory in the least. Baptists have been driven off of that by the cold hard facts of truth.

If you will go back and reappraise particular verses, you will notice that it was an ordination service. There were many members at this time. In Mark 3 we have an account of the same service as is recorded in Luke 6, and it is called an ordination service.

"And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach."-M ark 3:14.

Matthew 4:18-22 tells us when the church had its birth, for He called them out and said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Notice that on Pentecost three thousand people were added to the church. For those who take the Pentecostal theory of the church's birth, how can you add to something that does not exist? They were saved and "added to them." "Them" refers to the church. Therefore, the church was in existence then, and had 120 members. (Cf. Acts 1:15.) After that service was over, they had 3,120 members.

On the shores of Galilee Christ called men together and the church had its birth. But you say, "That's a mighty small number." In Matthew 18:20, we read:

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

I don't care how few in number the members of a church may be, Christ has never had a little church. Every church of the Lord Jesus is a great church, because it has a great Head-the Lord Jesus Christ.

"He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth because of the bridegroom's voice, this my joy therefore is fulfilled."-John 3:29.

Brother, how could a man have a bride if no such thing existed?

"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."-2Corinthians 11:2.

But you say, "What is the bride?" The bride is the church. Therefore, He had a bride. He has not married her yet because she is in her virgin state and will not be married until the Lord splits the skies asunder and calls for His own. Then the multiplied billions of earth, shall be caught up together to meet Him in the air. Then the church will be married to the Lord, and everyone who was not affiliated with the Lord's church on this earth will be on the sidelines at the wedding.

"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."-Revelation19:9.

Brother, the bride will not have to be invited; she will know her place.

Then I come to 1 Corinthians 12:28:

"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."

Now when were the apostles set in the church? They could not be set in a church that did not exist. Brother, He had a church, and He set them in as first officers and they were the apostles.

"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve whom also he named apostles."-Luke6:12, 15.

Thus we have established that the church had its birth during the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

II. Her Nature

One of the most dangerous and damaging doctrines is the unscriptural, heretical universal, invisible church theory.

When the word "ecclesia" comes from the word "ek kaleo," meaning "a called-out assembly," how can a universal, invisible thing ever assemble?

Somebody says, "Don't you know that the Holy Spirit by baptism puts you into that invisible body?" I want to show you the fallacy of such as that. Let me ask you, how many of you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit? You say, "All of us have." You have not.

Don't jump on the Holy Rollers if you claim for yourself baptism by the Holy Spirit. Don't you say that you were baptized in the Holy Spirit the day that you believed. Brother, there is not one word in the Scripture that teaches that.

There have been only two baptisms of the Holy Spirit: on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and when the household of Cornelius was .saved (Acts 10). From that day it has not been repeated. The idea that men are put into an invisible body by Holy Spirit baptism doesn't have a leg to stand on. It is rotten to the core. It will destroy the Lord's church. It will destroy true missions and it will destroy everything that we hold dear to our hearts. We need to rise up with all the force of heart and soul and expose this heretical thing and tell the people the truth about it.

"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." 1 Corinthians 12:27.

The church at Corinth was the body of Christ at that place.

The church that Christ established was a visible church. Even the word itself means that. In Romans 16:16, they have more than one, for it means "ownership." He bought His church, His blood washed His church, and He'll present His church, holy and unblameable, before God.

III. The Church Is Independent

I do not hesitate when I say that any church which becomes affiliated with any ultra-scriptural, anti-scriptural organization loses that much of her independency.

Secondly, she admits that the thing she joins is bigger than she is, else she couldn't have joined it. I hate to see these people of ultra-religious organizations stand up and say, "I'm an independent fellow," because they are not.

I'll tell you how much freedom you have if you belong to any other than the church. You have about as much freedom as a frog in a snake's belly. You can move around but you can't get out.

"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren."-Matthew23:8.

The Southern Baptist Convention has organized the clergy in one group and the laity in another. They are exercising authority over the heritage of the Lord. They and other organizations do this.

Where you have a head, a president, you do not have independency. You have somebody to come between you and the Head of your own church, which is Christ,

"Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church."-Ephesians 1:21, 22.

In Acts 1, independency was practiced. The church in conference that chose the deacons got the instructions from the church and not from headquarters (Acts 6). In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul said to exclude the man. In 2 Corinthians 2:6-8, he is talking about the same fellow. Punishment had been meted out by the majority. How can you get the consensus of the people without a vote. That's a democracy, the vote of the people.

A man said to me, "I'd belong to a Baptist church if they didn't vote on members." I said, "If I were to read that to you in the Bible, would you believe it?"

"Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations."-Romans14:1.

IV. The Church and Missions

I repeat, the Baptists are the only recognized missionaries. They are to do the work that the church is supposed to do. It doesn't have a board; the church does that.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."-Matthew 28:19, 20.

My argument has always been, and is now and shall always be, that the church has no right to re-delegate its power to any agency or board or committee, that the church and the church alone has the right to send out missionaries under the direction of the Holy Spirit. In the eleventh chapter of Acts and the nineteenth verse through the twenty-second verse we read:

"Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word unto the Jews only, (or to none but unto Jews only), and some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Crecians preaching the Lord Jesus and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem; and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch."

From these Scriptures we notice that the church there in Jerusalem sent Barnabas, and that no board or committee sent him out, but that the church and the church alone sent him to Antioch. We notice that word "they," they sent him. Now they who? The church in Jerusalem. They, that is the church, had heard how the Greeks had received the word of the Lord, and they sent out Barnabas.

The Antioch Church

In Acts 13:1, 2, 3, 4 we read:

"Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul for they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed unto Seleucia; and from ihence they sailed to Cyprus."

So we can readily see from these verses of Scripture that it was the church at Antioch that sent out these two missionaries under the leadership of the Spirit of God, and we notice further that even the church does not have a right to tell the missionaries where to go, that that is left entirely to the direction of the Holy Spirit. We notice that He said "for the work whereunto I have called them," and also the expression, "and they being sent by the Holy Spirit."

From these verses we can readily see that the church sent them out under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, that it was not a foreign mission board, neither was it a missionary committee but it was the local church. And when Paul and Barnabas had completed this particular missionary tour they returned to the church that sent them out and gave a detailed report of all that they had accomplished.

"And thence sailed to Antioch from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come and had gathered the church together they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles."-Acts14:26, 27.

They were genuine missionaries, and did as they should have, they made their report to the home church, the church that had sent them out, but this is not the procedure today. Oh, no, the missionaries of today are sent out by the foreign mission board, and this unscriptural board tells them where they can go and where they cannot. Now if that is taught in the Word of God, I am unable to find it. This is a direct violation of the Word of God, and also the destroying of the sovereignty, and independency of the local church.

The church exercising her God-given right in sending out and supporting missionaries under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Now let us notice Paul's second missionary tour. Who sent him out, and who accompanied him?

"And Paul chose Silas, and departed being recommended by the brethren to the grace of God."-Acts 15:40.

Thus we can see that it was the church there at Antioch that sent them out on this second missionary journey. Now the question will naturally arise as to how the Apostle Paul was supported? He was sent out by one church, but supported by others, especially those that he had organized. Paul with other missionaries was sent out by one church, and other churches accepted them as their missionaries, and supported them as such. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian brethren, states as much.

"I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service."-2Corinthians 11:8, 9.

In this particular verse we notice two things: first, Paul said that he had received wages from other churches, and second, he did the Corinthian church service, or that is, he labored among them while other churches supported him as we notice in the ninth verse:

"And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man; for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied."

And so we can see that other churches supported Paul. These brethren from Macedonia were sent by the churches of Macedonia with offerings to help the Apostle Paul. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul commends them for their help.

"Now ye Philippians know also that the beginning of the Gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only, for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity."-Philippians 4:15, 16.

In these Scriptures we find a church supporting Paul on the mission field. Now how did this church do this? Well, we find the answer in the second chapter of Philippians and the twenty-fifth verse:

"Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants."

There are two or three things that are brought out in this text: first, Paul said that he was his companion in labor, and also that he was the messenger of the church and that he ministered to Paul's wants. Here is that which is taught in this text. The church there at Philippi raised a monetary offering, and sent Epaphroditus as a messenger of the church with the offering to Paul.

Now let us notice how the churches determined to send relief to the poor saints in Jerusalem in 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2, 3:

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order (or instruction) to the churches of Galatia even so do ye, upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God has prospered him that there be no gatherings (or collections) when I come, and when I come whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem."

And thus we understand from these Scriptures that the church at Corinth with the churches of Galatia were to elect messengers and instruct them as to their message, and too, they sent letters of recommendation by them, so that the brethren at Jerusalem would know that they were bona fide messengers. We notice again in 2 Corinthians 8:19 something else along this line:

"And not that only but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind."

Now notice that they were chosen by their respective churches as messengers, and we have already seen what a messenger was; thus we see that even the brethren that carried the offerings of the churches to the poor saints in Jerusalem had to be chosen by the churches, and properly instructed by their respective churches. But someone will say that the word messenger is not used in 2 Corinthians 8:19. Granted, but Paul, in speaking in the same chapter in verse 23 uses the word messenger in discussing the same subject, and the same people:

"Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper concerning you; or our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ."

Now in this same manner were 'the missionaries elected, and sent out under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and also in this same manner they were supported.

Now let it be further noticed that it is the Holy Spirit that calls and sends missionaries, but not independent of the church, but the Holy Spirit sends through the church, as we have already seen in the thirteenth chapter of Acts.

We are hearing much about expediency; expedient means the best means to an end. In short, it means that the results justifies the means employed whether they are Scriptural or not. This I wish to deny, for the Lord gave the commission to the church, and the church has no right to change that which Christ has commanded, and that is this: "Co and make disciples of all nations." So it is the church and the church alone under the direction of the Holy Spirit that is to send out missionaries, the Holy Spirit does not use any other agency but the church in sending forth missionaries. He sends through the church.

The Lord told His church to go and make disciples, and baptize them and teach them the "all things" which He had commanded, and those all things which He commanded are found in the Word of God, and let us be careful to observe that which He has commanded, and cease trying to make the Bible say something that it does not say, such as expediency, or the end justifies the means employed whether they be Scriptural or not. No, no, the end does not justify the means employed unless the means are in harmony with the Word of God.

The greatest and grandest institution on earth is the church that Jesus established and commissioned, and this church and this church alone (and I mean a local congregation) has the right to send out missionaries under the direction of the Holy Spirit; this is what the New Testament teaches and what was practiced in New Testament times and what our forefathers believed and practiced; may the day hasten when we, as members of the church that Christ built, return to the plain teaching of the Word of God. Relative to this important matter, may we lay aside every pre-conceived idea and notion and gladly and courageously turn back to the "thus saith the Lord." The time has come for action and for much study, and thus may we search diligently the Word of the Lord that we may be fully equipped for the action that must inevitably come.

Who did God promise to be with throughout the ages? The church that was to preach, baptize, and indoctrinate-those who had been made disciples.

I say that a church that does not do something for missions is doomed to failure, everlasting destruction, and the removal of the last candlestick. No church can long survive who does not do something for missions or who loses the missionary vision.

So the church is, by its nature, visible, independent, missionary, and indestructible.

A man said to me, "The way things look, the church can't long survive." Brother, nearly two thousand years have passed and it's still here. Let communism overrun the world and Christ's church will still survive. Let all the forces of evil seek to destroy, but the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.

I praise God I am a member of His church. Amen.

Chapter 20-The City of God

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal."-Revelation 21:1-11.

We are now going to use a number of verses from this 21st chapter of Revelation; also some from the 22nd chapter. I would like, by way of introduction, to point out this one specific fact. John said two things, rather the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle John to record two things, about the city of God, the Holy City: first, it is designated as "the New Jerusalem," and secondly, it was "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Those are the two things I would like to introduce at the very beginning of this discussion.

The New Jerusalem, the city "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Someone asked me one time: "Brother Cox, is the City of God a prepared place for just anybody?" And of course I said "No," for the simple reason that the City of God is a PREPARED city for a PREPARED people.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 14, Jesus is talking to His disciples, and beginning with the first verse, said, "Let not your hearts be troubled: ye believe in God believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to PREPARE a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3).

There has been much controversy raged around the first three verses of this 14th chapter of John. There are two schools of thought concerning these Scriptures: one school of thought is that certainly Heaven cannot be improved upon-keep in mind that we are not talking about Heaven in this particular text; the other school of thought is that Jesus actually went into Heaven to improve Heaven itself.

I deny both for the simple reason that John, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Revelation 21 and 22, is not talking about Heaven, but he is talking about the City of God-the saints' final destiny and dwelling place.

Certainly I would not be so bold, or have the rank audacity, to say that Heaven isn't perfect, that it can be improved upon, certainly not. We are talking about the City of God, the city that even old Abraham looked and longed for. In Hebrews 11:10 Paul said, "Abraham looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

That's the city right here, the City of God, a PREPARED city-prepared. Certainly Jesus told the disciples He was going to prepare a place for them, and if He WASN'T going to prepare a place for them, then WHY would the Lord make such a statement? But Jesus said that He WAS going to prepare a place for them, and THAT place is the New Jerusalem, the City of God.

Then I want you to notice some things about the City of God. You know, I have never believed that ultimately we are going to dwell on some remote planet far removed from this earth, as some people would have you believe. I have always believed that the saints of God (believers), prepared by the power of an Almighty God, are going to dwell eternally upon this earth in the City of God, PREPARED by God for His prepared people.

God didn't waste His time creating earth, for in Isaiah 45:18 we see that God created the earth for a specific purpose, and that purpose was that earth should be inhabited by man; therefore, the earth will be my eternal home, when JESUS COMES.

In Revelation 21:10, the Apostle John said that he saw the New Jerusalem "DESCENDING from God." The city, therefore, will come to EARTH, a new city and a new earth. What will HAPPEN to the old earth? Turn to II Peter 3:10-13: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought i/e to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

The old earth will be cleansed by the power of God. God's purifying fire will burn upon the old earth and consume everything that is ugly, unwholesome, sinful, dirty and unholy. The earth will be regenerated and made like it was before Adam ever transgressed: and then the city will come down. What a fitting climax to the purpose of God!

Now notice some things about the SIZE of the City of God. It is tremendous in size. In Revelation 21:15-17, the angel measured the city and gave John the dimensions thereof, and it was a cube, over thirteen hundred (1300) square miles, the City of God-a tremendous city, because we have a tremendous GOD.

Several years ago I was reading some articles on the "Consummation of the Ages" and the "Second Coming of Christ," and the editor of the articles asked the question: Have you ever stopped to figure out the size, the actual dimensions of God's City and the materials He used? He went on to say, how for years he had labored to find the size of the city. So thinking about this, I got my pencil and paper to calculate the dimensions of the city. You know, the angel told John it was twelve thousand furlongs and the height and the breadth and length were the same. A furlong is 582 feet, so the city itself was over thirteen hundred (1300) miles square, and the walls going all the way around the city were 216 feet wide. Tonight when you get home read the 21st and 22nd chapters of Revelation concerning the City of God.

Now let's notice the MATERIALS used in the building of the City of God. In Revelation 21:18, John said the city itself, the city proper, was made of pure GOLD, Think about that, beloved, a city thirteen hundred square miles, and made of pure GOLD! Only GOD can do that, and God DID it.

In Haggai 2:8 God says, "the silver is mine, and the gold is mine.

For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills."-Psalm 50:10.

All the SILVER and GOLD, all the WEALTH of the universe belongs to God. Why then should it seem incredible that God, who made this old earth, created everything upon it, made the stars of the heavens and hung them out in space, why then, I say, should it seem incredible that God could make a city thirteen hundred square miles of pure gold? Why men should think so is beyond me.

Here is something else: Even the STREETS are pure GOLD. Just recently I was up town carrying my recording to the radio station. If you have been up town lately you know how crowded it is, how terrible the traffic gets sometimes. I stood there on Union Street trying to get across while the cars were coming in both directions (actually I was jaywalking, because I wasn't in the proper lane). When I made my way across the street and stepped upon the curb, a thought struck me: here is a city of some five hundred thousand people and about eighteen or twenty miles square, and the streets are concrete; but the God I love, the God I serve, has prepared a city that will descend upon this earth, a city that is thirteen hundred miles square and made of pure GOLD.

You know, beloved, I have not seen much gold in my lifetime. In fact, I don't recall having seen a gold piece in the last thirty years, but here is a whole CITY made of pure gold, a PREPARED city for a PREPARED people. It passes all human comprehension when you read the 21st and 22nd chapters of Revelation.

There will be no TEMPLE in the City of God. Notice in the 22nd verse of Revelation, there will be no temple in the City of God, because God's Word declares: "God and the Lamb are the TEMPLE thereof." It is almost inconceivable to think of living in a place where no temple spires can be seen, but you know, we will not think over there as we think here. We will have infinite minds like the mind of Christ. We will THINK as God wants us to think, and our minds will be cleansed and purified of all evil thoughts. We will have redeemed bodies, bodies fashioned like unto the glorious body of our Saviour. When we dwell in that city where there is no temple, we will recognize the fact that GOD is the ONLY temple we need. We are going to worship the Lord; therefore, there will be no TEMPLE in the City of God.

Not only that, there shall be no need of the SUN. You know, people's conception today of God is sometimes warped and twisted. In many instances, they fail to see the glory of God and fail to recognize the supremacy of God; but not in the BOOK of God, for John said, "There will be no NEED for the sun because God's GLORY shall lighten it, and JESUS shall be the LIGHT thereof" (Revelation 21:28).

The ONLY light we will ever need throughout a never-ending eternity will be the PRESENCE of God and the Lamb of God. Oh, I tell you, beloved, in the City of God, the home of the saved, the final destiny of every saint of God, we shall walk in the most radiant, brilliant light that one can imagine, because we shall be in the very presence of God. We shall walk in the light of our Lord Jesus Christ, and HIS light will be so much more brilliant than the moon or even the sun itself; therefore, there shall be no SUN.

God gave us a little preview of His glory in the Book of Exodus when He commanded Moses to come up to Mount Sinai to receive the Commandments and the Law. Old Moses climbed the Mount, and God showed him part of His glory and it blinded Moses. When he came down the Mount, the people of Israel could not look upon the face of Moses because the reflection of the glory of God shone upon his face: it had rubbed off on him. This is a little preview of what we may expect in the City of God. There God, Himself, will LIGHT the city, and the light of the city shall be the Son of God. You and I will walk up and down the streets of pure gold, seeing the light of Jesus every moment, all the while, throughout a never ending eternity.

Notice the CHARACTERISTICS of the City of God. "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."(Revelation 21:3).

Today the Lord dwells in His church by proxy of the Holy Spirit, and He dwells in the hearts of believers by proxy of the Spirit (Eph. 2:22). But listen to me, beloved, God is going to dwell with us NOT by PROXY of the Holy Spirit, but you and I are going to bask in the very PRESENCE of GOD, the presence of God, Himself, and we are going to be His people and He shall be our God.

Did you ever stop to think about living throughout all eternity with God? Think about that, living everlastingly in the presence and sunshine of the Light of glory, who redeemed us from sin! It is overwhelming to think of it. Dwelling everlastingly with God; living in Beulah Land, dwelling with God, dwelling with GOD-DWELLING with God.

But WHO is going to DWELL with Cod? Only those who KNOW the Lord in the free pardon and forgiveness of sins. THEY, and they alone, will DWELL with the Lord.

Now notice another thing-and get this: "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away"(Revelation 21:4). God shall wipe away every TEAR from every eye.

Someone said, "I didn't think there would be any tears in the other world." Right here there must be some, or else how could God wipe them AWAY? It has a twofold meaning: the very moment a tear appears in the eyes of a saint, God shall wipe it away; and not only that, it shall NEVER return. God shall wipe them away, every last one, and they shall be forgotten.

There have been enough tears shed in this old world to almost make a river flow. Old David went throughout life crying out to God and saying, "Night after night I water my couch with my tears." Jeremiah said, "Behold, come and see if there is a man anywhere that has tears like unto my tears." This life is filled with disappointments, burdens and sorrows that can only be expressed in tears, but in that city, the City of God, men shall not cry; God shall wipe away every tear from every eye, and they shall not return.

I stood one day at the side of a grave as they lowered the casket in which was the remains of a saint of God. The wife was standing there by the open grave crying, the tears running down her cheeks onto the ground itself. She said to me, "I don't see how I can go home without my husband; the children need him; I need him, and even the church needs him." I touched her on the shoulder and said to her, "There is coming a time when every saint will get HOME, and God will wipe away every tear from every eye, and no MORE will men cry as they walk up and down the streets; no MORE will we be burdened and bowed down with sorrow; no MORE will hearts break and bleed, for GOD will wipe away every tear from every eye." BUT only the SAINTS OF GOD shall experience this; only GOD'S CHILDREN will experience it.

Not only that, but there will be no more DEATH. As I said this morning, "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). There is no escaping death, the hard beaten pathway that can only end in the dark dungeon of the tomb. EVEN Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, went down the winding pathway to the dark dungeon of the tomb: but DEATH could not HOLD the Divine Son of God. He came forth victorious, triumphant over DEATH, HELL AND THE GRAVE, and said, "I am ALIVE forever more.

In that city of God there shall be no more death; death will be a thing of the past, and there shall be no more funeral processions. Death shall be swallowed up in VICTORY, the victory of the Lamb of God, who overcame for US.

Looking over my books the other day, I found that I have conducted between three hundred and four hundred funerals in the last ten or twelve years. I have held funerals until the heart grows sick. I have been asked, "Brother Cox, don't you get tired and weary holding funerals?" And I honestly do. I hate death above everything in this world. Death is an enemy of mankind, and EVEN an enemy of God. In I Corinthians 15:25-26, Paul said that Christ must reign until He had put all ENEMIES under His feet, and the last ENEMY to be destroyed shall be DEATH. Paul said that death is an enemy, but the enemy, DEATH, shall one day be destroyed. In the City of God there shall be no DEATH.

One of these days this preacher, or the remains of this preacher, shall be carried to the silent city of the dead; BUT I'm going to a city, I want you to know, where there will be no DEATH. I'm going to the City of God, and there will be no death. No longer will Wayne Cox be called upon to conduct a man's funeral; no longer, for death will be a thing of the past.

Then notice another thing about the City of God: No SORROW or PAIN there. You know, beloved, in these days when there is a constant threat of war, men and women have intense sorrow in their hearts because they have sons and daughters eligible for service, and we are not far removed from the threat of war. But did you know that in the City of God there will be no SORROW?

Back in the days when I was a little boy, I used to visit one set of grandparents and then the other. You know, I don't see how they lived in those days; they worked just about day and night. I used to visit my grandmother who had a large family, and she worked sometimes until two o'clock in the morning sewing and patching clothes for her family of twelve. Her hands were gnarled as a person with arthritis-although she didn't have it. I would sit at her feet and ask her, "What about it, grandmother, don't you get awful tired of this?"

She used to cry and say, with a smile on her face, "I do get tired and weary and sorrow fills my heart," and she would pray for her sons and daughters, trying to win 'them to Christ. "But," she said, "one of these days I'm going to the City of God, and there will be no sorrow and pain, nor toiling day and night; but we shall rest forever, rest in the presence of God."

Paul said, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Heb. 4:9). I tell you, beloved, those who have toiled here on this earth-those who belong to the family of God-shall someday lay down their working tools and go to be with the Lord Jesus Christ; and when the City of God comes down to this earth, they shall everlastingly live in a land where there will be no toiling, nothing but happiness and bliss.

Every day as you walk down the streets you see evidence of stark poverty. When we were on our vacation last year we went down to Mexico, and I saw something I cannot get away from: children on the streets, dirty, ragged, barefooted and filthy. Do you know what they were doing? They were robbing the garbage cans for food. I looked at this and I thought: "My God, my God! How much longer until this is all over?" Then I thought: one of these days we will live in a city where they will no longer roam the streets and eat from garbage cans. We will not see the ragged, barefooted little urchins of the streets, but they will be priests of God, robed in the righteousness of Christ-if they believe in Christ. No longer will they be hungry in the City of God. No longer will there be sorrow and pain.

Then notice one thing else about the City of God: No more CURSE on earth. "And there shall be no more CURSE: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" (Revelation 22:3).

What are you 'talking about, John? Go back to Genesis 3:17 and you will find what he is talking about. God said to Adam, "Because you have done this thing, CURSED is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth. . ." This is why the weeds and thorns spring up when you 'try to raise a little food. This is why weeds will grow where nothing else will come up. This old earth is under the curse of God, and only GOD can remove it; but in the City of God there will be no more curse.

In bringing this message to a close, let me answer these questions: (1) What will we be DOING in the City of God? Serving JESUS. John said in Revelation 22:3, 4, "And his servants shall SERVE him, and they shall see his face." We will serve the Lord-serve Jesus, we, His servants. (2) What is the most haunting thing about the City of God? It is our ETERNAL HOME; we are going home.

You know, there is something about the word "home" that always strikes a responsive, tender chord in our hearts, and that's what the City of God will be-HOME.

". . . and we will see his face . . ." (Rev 22:4). I ask you, beloved, what could be more thrilling than to look upon the brow that wore the crown of thorns for US, and to see the nail-prints in His hands, the wound in His side that was put there because of OUR sins? What could be more glorious than to see the precious face of JESUS?

Who, then, is going to SEE Him? Only those that are PREPARED. Prepared HOW? By faith in Jesus. Jesus said in John 17:24, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

Wonderful, isn't it? Wonderful to be with Jesus and see His glorious face, to bask in His marvelous presence and have the opportunity to serve Him everlastingly-everlastingly serve Jesus.

I ask you, beloved, what could be more of an incentive for living right NOW for the Lord? What could be a stronger incentive to get out and witness for Jesus than to know, one of these days, we are going to see Him, to live with Him, worship and adore Him. Home, home, HOME is where Jesus is, that's home.

Then let me ask you this: "Have you been prepared for the city that Jesus went to prepare?"

You might say, "Brother Cox, I am not quite ready."

Listen, beloved, you can be prepared tonight. Jesus said in John 3:16, "He that believeth on me HATH everlasting life . . ."

May the Spirit enable you to trust Him and confess Him as your Saviour, so that you may be prepared for the city that Jesus went to prepare. the city that some day will descend upon this earth, where ALL the saints of God (the redeemed) shall live throughout all eternity with Christ. Amen.

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Comfort in a Time of Sorrow

Comfort in a Time of Sorrow is a helpful reference for anyone who is experiencing a time of grief and sorrow. The gift book is filled with healing Bible scriptures, poetry and other writings which offer hope and comfort for the healing heart. Scriptures quoted are from the King James version of the Holy Bible. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

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