Sermon #1346 Miscellaneous Notes

Title: “The Simplicity That Is In Christ”

Text: 2 Corinthians 11:3

Readings: Psalms 32:1-5; 51:1-5; 130:1-8

Subject: Simple facts revealed in the Gospel

Date: Sunday Morning - May 30, 1993

Tape # V-30a

Introduction:

2 Corinthians 11:3 “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

My subject today is “The Simplicity That Is In Christ.” Like Paul, I am fearful for you, lest Satan should corrupt your minds, or turn your minds from “the simplicity that is in Christ.” There is no substitute for simplicity and sincerity, especially in the preaching of the gospel.

NOTE: God’s preachers do not strive for soaring eloquence, flowery oratory, moving illustrations, or impressive words of man’s wisdom, education, and intelligence (1 Cor. 2:4-5). God’s preacher’s seek to be understood, they strive for simplicity and sincerity.

1 Corinthians 2:4-5 "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

When the Lord Jesus preached, he spoke in language that people understood. No one ever had to go home, get out a dictionary, and look up the words he used! Our Lord spoke with simplicity and sincerity. There were no hidden meanings to his words. Everyone who heard him understood what he said.

· They may not have believed him, but they understood him.

· He certainly crossed their traditions, offended their pride, and showed contempt for their customs; but they did understand him.

· They were unwilling to bow to his claims as Lord and Savior, but they understood him.

Matthew 15:12 - “The Pharisees were offended, after they heard his doctrine.” – But they heard his doctrine!

Luke 4:28-29 - “When they heard these things, (they) were filled with wrath!” -- But they did hear him.

John 10:30-33 - When our Lord said, “I and my Father are one, Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him,” because he made himself God. – They understood exactly what e was saying.

It is essential that those who preach the gospel do so with great plainness of speech. “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (1 Cor. 14:8). Paul wrote, “I do not frustrate the grace of God” (Gal. 2:21). I do not confuse, complicate, distort, and make void, or nullify the gospel of God’s grace. He was saying, “I sound a clear, unmistakable note regarding salvation by grace!”

· I cannot force men to turn from their idols.

· I cannot compel sinners to bow to Christ as Lord.

· I cannot make you believe the gospel of Christ.

· But I can warn you in plain language and exhort you in words that are easy to understand.

You may not believe my message this morning, but you will understand my words. There is absolutely no reason for all the confusion there is in the religious world today. “If,” as Bro. Scott Richardson puts it, “preachers would just stand up on their hind legs and tell the truth,” God just might use them. And there is no reason for not telling the truth. It is as plain as the nose on your face. The Word of God is perfectly clear about...

· What happened in the Garden (Rom. 5:12; Psa. 14:2-3).

· What happened at Calvary (Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:12; 2 Cor. 5:21).

· What happens in a sinner’s heart when God saves him by his almighty grace. When God saves a sinner...

1. There is a work of regeneration, a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).

2. There is a work of conviction (John 16:7-11).

3. There is a divine revelation (Gal. 1:15).

4. There is a reconciliation made - surrender! (Col. 1:20-21).

Proposition: The gospel of God is a profound mystery, so great, so deep, so wondrous that no man can comprehend it; yet, it is a mystery revealed and preached with such great simplicity that any sinner who will can see it and believe it.

If you will give me your attention for just a little while, I want, by the grace of God, to shoot 9 sharp, straight arrows right at your heart.

I. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU WILL EVER REPENT, BUT I DO KNOW THAT “EXCEPT YE REPENT YE SHALL PERISH” (Lk. 13:1-5).

Luke 13:1-5 "There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:6-7).

I cannot give you repentance, or make you repent. But it is my responsibility to tell you what repentance is. Repentance is...

· A Change Of Mind!

· A Change Of Masters!

· A Change Of Manners!

· A Change Of Motives!

II. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU WILL EVER BE BORN AGAIN, BUT I DO KNOW THAT “EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE, OR ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” -- “Ye must be born again!” (John 3:3-7).

The new birth is more than a reformation. It is a regeneration. It is more than a decision. It is a creation. It is more than a renewal. It is a resurrection (John 5:25; Eph. 2:1-4).

Illustration: -- Ezekiel’s infant (Ezek. 16).

-- The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezek. 37).

-- Lazarus (John 11).

A. The New Birth is the work of God the Holy Spirit (John 6:63).

B. The New Birth is by the Word of God (James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23).

C. The New Birth is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) - “Behold, I make all things new!” (Rev. 20:5).

III. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU WILL EVER SEEK THE LORD, BUT I DO KNOW THAT ALL WHO SEEK HIM ARE SOUGHT OF HIM AND SHALL FIND HIM (Jer. 29:13. “I will be found of you, saith the Lord!”

Jeremiah 29:13 "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

Illustration: The Farmer Who Lost His Check.

· Salvation is a heart work (Rom. 10:9-10).

· Repentance is a heart work.

· Faith is a heart work.

A. Those who seek the Lord know their need of him.

B. They seek him in his Word and in his house.

C. They seek him diligently, with all their hearts.

D. They seek him always (Phil. 3:11-15).

E. They find him.

IV. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU WILL EVER BE WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, BUT I DO KNOW THAT “THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S SON, CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN” (1 John 1:9).

I know that through the blood, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (John 1:9).

Illustration: Barnard at Old Faithful

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,

And sinners plunged beneath that flood

Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away.

How I rejoice in and give thanks to God for the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! His blood is “precious blood” indeed, because...

· It’s divine blood!

· It’s eternal blood!

· It’s atoning blood!

· It’s effectual blood!

· It’s cleansing blood!

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood

Shall never lose its’ power,

‘Til all the ransomed church of God

Be saved to sin no more!

V. I DON’T KNOW WHETHER YOU WILL EVER BE ROBED IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST OR NOT; BUT I DO KNOW THAT “CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO EVERYONE THAT BELIEVETH” (Rom. 10:4).

His name is the “Lord our Righteousness!”

A. Multitudes, like the Jews, stumble over and miss Christ’s righteousness, because they seek to establish righteousness for themselves (Rom. 9:32-10:3).

B. Our Lord said, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). (5 things about righteousness!)

1. Righteousness lost in the Garden.

2. Righteousness required by a Holy God.

3. Righteousness established by Christ.

4. Righteousness imputed in justification.

5. Righteousness imparted in regeneration.

VI. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU WILL EVER BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, TRUSTING HIM ALONE AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR; BUT I DO KNOW THAT “HE THAT BELIEVETH ON THE SON HATH EVERLASTING LIFE!” (John 3:36).

A. The foundation of faith is the Word of God.

B. The object of faith is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Read John 3:14-16.

John 3:14-16 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 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."

1. The Remedy For Sin (v. 14).

2. The Result Of Christ’s Death (v. 15; John 12:32).

3. The Reason For Grace (v. 16).

VII. I DON’T KNOW WHEN YOU WILL DIE AND MEET GOD IN JUDGMENT; BUT I DO KNOW THAT YOU WILL DIE AT GOD’S APPOINTED TIME, AND WHEN YOU DO YOU WILL MEET THE HOLY LORD GOD IN JUDGMENT (Heb. 9:27).

Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

Illustration: Rowland Hill’s Dream.

VIII. I DON’T KNOW WHETHER YOUR NAME IS WRITTEN IN THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE OR NOT; BUT I DO KNOW THAT “WHOSOEVER WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE (SHALL BE) CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE” (Rev. 20:15).

A. There is a Book of Life.

B. It is the Lamb’s Book of Life - Substitution, Suretyship.

C. It was written before the world began - Election, Predestination.

D. All whose names are in that Book must be saved.

E. Only those whose names are in that Book shall be saved.

F. If you trust Christ, your name is in that Book!

IX. I DON’T KNOW WHEN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST SHALL COME AGAIN; BUT I DO KNOW THAT HE IS COMING AGAIN TO THIS EARTH IN POWER AND GREAT GLORY! (1 John 14:1-3).

John 14:1-3 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 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. 3 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."

· “This same Jesus” (Acts 1:11).

· “Behold, he cometh! And every eye shall see him!” (Rev. 17).

· “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess” (Phil. 2:9-11).

· “Then cometh the end!” (1 Cor. 15:24-28).

Application:

The gospel of God’s grace has been preached, is being preached, and shall be preached in this place. When gospel issues are clearly laid down, lines are drawn - Men and women choose up and take sides, just like they did long ago - “Who is on the Lord’s side?” That division is hard to bear. But only when the gospel is preached, will God be glorified and sinners saved.

1. Men sometimes tell me, “It is difficult to find God’s salvation.” But it is not. It is only difficult when you look in the wrong place. God’s salvation is in Christ.

2. Men may be baffled as to “why” God saves sinners, but it is no mystery “how” God saves (Eph. 2:8-9).

3. It may indeed be difficult for proud sinners to bow to the royal claims of king Jesus, but bow they shall.

4. Salvation is not difficult at all, except to you who are working for it - Rest is easy!

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Psalms 32:1-5 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah."

Psalms 51:1-5 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."

Psalms 130 "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. 7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities."