road, don't you? Don't get high-centered on it. Turning your Bibles, if you will, please, to the 19th chapter of the book of Matthew. The 19th chapter of the book of Matthew, and I would like to read for your hearing verses 23 through 26 for our study this morning. Matthew chapter 19, verses 23 through 26. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. In the context of these verses, It records on one occasion, a rich man came to see the Lord Jesus Christ and said unto him, good master, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life? And the Lord began to question him on his commandments. He said, well, if you're gonna enter into life, know the commandments and obey the commandments of God. He said, well, which one? There were several groups of commandments. And the Lord began with the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery. At the conclusion of that list, the man responded by saying, I've kept all these from my child up. What good thing is left for me to do? And so as a result of that, Christ made these stern remarks concerning rich men. In verse number 23, notice he said to his disciples, I say unto you, now he's been talking to the rich man, but now he's talking to his disciples, he wants them to get a lesson out of the conversation he had with the rich man. Verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. Another way to say that is that it's going to be a very difficult thing for rich people to be saved. Doesn't mean they cannot be saved. But it's very difficult to find classic illustrations where rich men were saved. You see, the reason why it's so difficult for rich people to be saved is because they trust in their wealth. And as long as the wealth is there, they're content and they're happy. As long as the money is present, they're not concerned about any malady or any wrong thing that might come their way. As long as they have wealth, that's really all they need to have happiness. But a man will never be saved trusting something else other than the Lord. Some people trust in their good works. You go back and actually pick up the text enlarged with verse 16, Behold, one came and said unto him, Good master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? I don't know, what good thing must I do? What me as an individual, what I must do? And some trust their good works in order to get to heaven. And you'll never get to heaven by what you do. the good deeds that you do, or the charitable exercises you may experience, or what other good things you have, and your high moral standard of living, and that's to be commended, but you'll never get to heaven because of that. Some people trust their good works. Some people trust their baptism. The fact that they have been baptized, and they remember of one of the Lord's churches that that's all that's necessary, in order to get to heaven. Some people trust their religion, the way they've always been brought up. Maybe they were not Baptist, they were not Methodist, they were not Episcopalian and so forth, but somewhere they have a strain of religion in them to believe, I'm hanging on to what mama dad and dad said and what my family has always believed. Well, you can't get to heaven by that. And verse 24, how difficult it is. Our Lord said, I say unto you, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Now that sounds pretty difficult, doesn't it? I was taught on one occasion and since then I've had to discard what I was taught. that over in Jerusalem, when it came time at the temple, for the people to come to the temple, they had a gate through which they passed. And the gate was called the Needle's Eye. And it had to be only that one gate. They could get in no other way. And if they were a mount, And on top of a camel, it would be totally impossible. A camel could not go through the eye of... I don't believe that. I believe it's a real needle. And I believe most needles I've ever seen have an eye to them. And I've seen camels before, but I've never seen a camel able to go through the eye of a needle. You either got to reduce the size of the camel, or you got to enlarge the hole in the needle. or both if that takes place. The point being, it is almost impossible for rich people to go to heaven because their trust is in something else, namely in wealth. Now in verse number 25, that's making salvation pretty strict. When his disciples heard it, They were exceedingly amazed saying, who then can be saved? Salvation is more than an uplifted hand. Salvation is more than just a decision. I tell you, sometimes I get quite vexed at some of the preachers on television, and especially during the Yuletide season called Christmas, of making salvation so simple and so easy. I could give you the names of two of them, but I won't do that. I'll just simply give you what they said. One of them said, all you gotta do, just believe in Jesus and you'll be saved for the rest of your life. He'll never forsake you, Norley. Where'd he get that from? You don't find that in the Bible. A little simple approach. Just fill out the blank on the back of my book and we'll write you down as a child of God. Salvation's not simple. As a matter of fact, it is a very difficult thing. For in order to be saved, honey, you got to die. Did you know that? Self has got to die. And that turns the page, doesn't it? Not many people are too interested in dying to self, but nonetheless, who then can be saved? And in verse 26, Jesus beheld them and said, with men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. I would that everybody could see this truth. It is impossible with man. It is impossible with man. It is impossible for man to be saved by and of himself. He cannot do it regardless of what he does. Only God can save a sinner because all things are possible with Him. This statement is made in respect to the nature and the will of God. Everything that God does, He does within His nature and His will. He cannot go outside of his nature. God cannot go outside of his nature. And God cannot go outside of his will. Which leads to the subject this morning. Some things that God cannot do. Some things that God cannot do. God is sovereign. We believe that in this church because the Bible teaches that. God is absolutely sovereign and can do all things that are within his nature and his will. What is God's nature? Spirit. God is spirit. And they that worship him must worship him in spirit And in truth, what is God's will? Absolute sovereignty. God always does what he wants to do. God is sovereign and can do all things that are within his nature to do them and are within his will to them, to do them. God told Abram that his wife was going to have a baby real soon. Well, there's a little hook up there because Sarah began to count her birthdays and she's 90 years old. And she said, that's a total impossibility. And she was inside the house when God told Abraham that and she laughed and God rebuked her for it. He said, why did you laugh? Why did you laugh? Why did you do that? She laughed at God and God said to her, is there anything too hard for God? Psalm 115 verse 3, our God is in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Whatever God pleases to do, that's exactly what God does. He never works displeasure against what he's pleased to do. The Bible says in Daniel 4.35, God according, he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? We're not doubting the sovereignty of God this morning, but we're simply saying that whatever God does, he does always within his nature and according to his will to be done. God cannot do, however, that which is outside. of His nature. I won't repeat that because it lays the groundwork for the study. God cannot do that which is outside of His nature, nor can He do that which is against His will. Cannot do that. Couple of good illustrations. Number one, God cannot sin. God cannot sin. If he sinned, he could not be God. In 1 Samuel 2 verse 2, there is none holy as the Lord. God is absolutely holy and if he ever sinned, he would no longer be holy. He would work against who he is. Another thing that God cannot do, God cannot be tempted. In James 1, verse 13, teaches us that God cannot be entertained by temptation. We can, but God cannot be entertained by temptation. God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. However, the Bible makes it clear there are some things because they're outside of the nature of God and outside of the will of God that it is impossible for God to do. You say, all right, what are they? Number one, it's impossible for God to lie. God cannot lie. Titus chapter 1 verse 2 says, In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, didn't say he would not lie, it said he cannot lie, promised before the world began. Men lie, but God always speaks the truth. In Romans 3, 4, Yea, let God be true, And every man a liar. Now whether we like this next statement or not, it's so. All men are liars. And that's not just generically, my dear friends, it includes a few women along the way too. Because it was Eve who came to Adam and said, go ahead and eat. It's perfectly all right. I thought it was going to kill us, but God's not going to kill us because I've got some information. Sometimes women lie, and boys and girls lie. In Psalm 58 verse 3, the Bible says, the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. They never have to be taught how to lie. Young children have to be taught how to eat, and what to eat, and the clothes to wear, and the things to do, and the things not to do. But you don't ever have to teach your children, don't lie. They do it naturally. And they start doing it as soon as they be born, and they continue doing it until the day they die. Have you ever lied? You say never, well you just did. Has there ever been a time when you told something and you knew when you told it, it's not so? God never lies. Now you grab hold of that in year 2021. God never, I've never heard of so many lies in all of my life as the presidential election of this past year. Never in my life have I heard people such bold face, just plain old downright lying. One time? No. Over and over and over again. But God never lies. His Word is always true. Whatever you read in the Bible is so because the Bible is the Word of God. God cannot lie. Jehovah is a God to be believed. You can believe what God says. You can always believe what God says. When you read it in your Bible, you might say, well, you know, I never knew that was in the Bible. Well, that's all right. We're all ignorant when it comes to knowing what's in the Bible and what's not. But I tell you, whatever's in the Bible is truth. because God is truth and God cannot lie. He is to be believed in his promises. For instance, in John chapter 3 verses 14 through 15, this is what the Bible says, And 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. I believe that with all of my heart. That's so. That's a promise of God. And God gives us some other promises. For instance, in John 6, 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. That's so. That's true. In Matthew 11, 28, coming to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. And another one is this, Romans 9,15. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom. God not lying, my dear friend. God tells the truth. God cannot lie. He is to be believed in his promises. He's also to be believed in his threats. God gives us some threats in the scripture. For instance, in Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 20, the soul that sinneth shall surely die. That's a statement and it's a true statement. God cannot lie in his threats. The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. In Psalm 917, the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God. That's a true statement. God cannot lie in his threats. Another threat in Romans 12, 19, vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. My dear friends, people today have an idea that they can get by the law enforcement officers and the moral governments of our society. But you can't get by with God. I can't get by. Vengeance is mine. I will repay. You can put that down. God's going to pick up the tab on that and he's going to charge us for it. It's impossible for God to lie. Number two, it is impossible for God to change. To change. Now many of us have been here a while. Some have been here longer than others. But none of us have been here as long as Methuselah was here. Methuselah lived a long, long time. Longer, recordedly speaking, than any other man who ever lived. But my dear friends, regardless of how old we think about God, and we think of God as being old in that He's always been, God never changes. He never changes. Malachi chapter three, verse number six, I am the Lord, I change not. Now you need to hear this because there is an attack to be made on who God is today. That he's not the God of the Bible, he's changed a lot. Listen to this. Whatever God was, he is. Whatever he was, He is and he always will be. I believe one of the purposes in so many Bible translations, I won't repeat that. I believe one of the purposes in so many Bible translations is that people are trying to find a God who will change with the times. God changes not. God cannot change. He does not change in his attributes. The attributes are those characteristics that make God, God. Attributes like love, justice, grace, faithfulness, truth, eternal. God's attributes, whatever God is, He's always been and He always will be. And my dear friends, He'll never change because He's absolute God. God still loves today what He has always loved. And God still hates today what He has always hated. Now you let that one slip by you, didn't you? Whatever God hated in the Old Testament, God hates today because God doesn't change. His standards and his convictions do not change as they do with men. God does not change in his judgments. The God who destroyed Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea is the same God today that we have. The same God who destroyed the earth with water in Noah's day is the same God that we have today. The God who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness is the very same God today. He doesn't change. We change, but God does not change. Number three, it is impossible for God to save a sinner without a sacrifice. It is impossible for God to save a sinner without a sacrifice. The Bible says in Hebrews 9, 22, And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness. And where there is no forgiveness, there is no salvation. The sinner must have a substitute to die in his place. Without the shedding of blood, you can't be saved. So the sinner must have a substitute to die in his place. Church membership. Baptism, reformation, morality, good intentions are not enough. Blood must be shed if we're to be saved. And without the shedding of blood, there can never be forgiveness of sins. So it is impossible for God to save a sinner unless there is a sacrifice. The sinner must have a substitute to die. in his place. Church membership, those things, blood must be shed. Angels could not do this. Angels could not die because angels are spirits and they don't have any blood. Even if you could kill an angel, which you cannot, but even if you could, there'd be no blood shed. They don't have blood. Animals could not do this. Look in Hebrews chapter number 10, the first four verses, for the law having a shadow of good things to come. and not the very image of those things which can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers there unto perfect. Didn't make any difference how many animal sacrifices they offered. It didn't do a thing for them spiritually. It could not make them perfect, could not save them. If it could have saved them, he explains in verse number two, for then would they not have ceased to be offered because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. If the animals could take away sin by their blood, then why did they have to do it year after year after year? Because it didn't work. It would not expunge, it would not take away sin. But in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. That's the purpose of the Day of Atonement. Every year, the priest would take an animal, kill that animal, take the blood of that animal, go into the Holy of Holies and put that blood on the mercy seat. It acted as a covering for sin. But it never could take away sin. Verse 4, it's not possible. Are you listening? It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. So angels couldn't do it. Animals couldn't do it. It took the sacrifice of God's Lamb. The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Look at these verses in chapter 10 of Hebrews, verses 5 through 7. Wherefore, that means based on what has been said, animals' blood could not take away sin. Wherefore, when he cometh, that is when Christ comes into the world, When Jesus Christ is born and comes into this world, he saith, sacrifice an offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me. The son is speaking with the father. When you sent me into the world, you sent me into the world with a body because there must be the shedding of blood in order for redemption to take place. In verse number six, in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. God took no delight in satisfaction in that. In verse seven, then said I, this is the son speaking, lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will, O God, and I'm gonna do it with my body, the body that you prepared for me. This is why Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. Only the Holy Spirit of God could produce that body in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This is the body that God, the Father, prepared for the Son to send Him into the world. Why? Because without the shedding of blood, you cannot have the forgiveness of sin. Gotta have it. Gotta have it. It's impossible for God to save a sinner without a sacrifice. Now if you would look in verses 9 through 14 of that 10th chapter, Then said he, this is Christ speaking, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that is the offering of animal sacrifices, that he may establish the second, which is the offering of the body that God gave his son when he put him into the world. By the witch will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Why so much emphasis on body? Because a spirit can't bleed. It takes a body to believe and there must be a sacrifice or God cannot save sinners. There must be a sacrifice. Every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins, but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." It is impossible for God to save a sinner without a sacrifice. Now there's a precious passage in Romans chapter 3 I want to share with you along this same line in Romans 3 verses 24 through 28. He is just enumerated through the man by the name of Paul who was saved on the road to Damascus. What's wrong with the human race? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's none righteous, no not one, so forth and so on. And you come on down to verse number 24 of Romans chapter 3. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. "...whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation..." That word means satisfaction. "...whom God hath set forth to be a satisfaction through faith in His blood..." Why in His blood? Because without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness. "...to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past." He talks about sins that are passed through the forbearance or the long-suffering of God. When was God long-suffering? He was long-suffering on the Day of Atonement when the animal's blood was offered after being slain on the brazen altar, taken into the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled on the mercy seat, God postponed killing them. They had sinned. The blood of the animal could not take away sin, but it acted as a covering until, until what? Until the body thou hast prepared for me would hang on Calvary's cross and pay their sin debt, which he did when he died on the cross. Don't ever think just because you're the elect of God, nobody else is. My dear friends, God has always had his people from before the foundation of the world. And these people acted under an economy where the animal sacrifices acted as a covering for sin until the sacrifice of sacrifices, the Lord Jesus Christ would die and make atonement for their sins. That's Romans 3 verses 24 through 28. Number four, it is impossible for God to take a man to heaven without a perfect sacrifice. It is impossible for God to take a man to heaven. Why is that so? Because all men are sinners. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And so it becomes impossible for God to take a man to heaven without a perfect righteousness. The day that Jesus Christ died on the cross, there was a thief on either side. They also died, but one of those thieves, before he died, said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And what did Christ say? Today, this day. Thou shalt be with me in paradise. You say, well, the Lord took him, but before he took him, he gave him a perfect righteousness. And that sinner did not die a sinner. He died a saint who was trusting in the Lord, who died for his sins on the cross of Calvary. It's impossible for God to take a man to heaven without a perfect righteousness, even in the Old Testament economy. In the book of Leviticus chapter number 22, my dear friends, God makes it clear that if there was anything defiled with that which is offered to the Lord, God would reject it. In verse 20, but whatsoever hath a blemish, That shall you not offer, for it shall not be acceptable for you. Now, they would go out and they would take certain animals and they would offer them to the Lord, but he said, if anything's wrong with that animal, you don't offer it because I won't accept it. And whosoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord to accomplish his vow, or a free will offering in thieves or sheep, Now, I tell you what, the beefs, that's what threw me for a curve. The beefs, do you know what a beefs is? It shall be perfect and be accepted. Offering a free will offering in beefs or sheep. Do you know what beef is? Now, if you got more than one beef, you got beefs. Cows as well as sheep. Boy, that's something to learn, isn't it? It shall be perfect and accepted. There shall be no blemish therein. Watch it again now in verse 22. Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wind, or scurvy, or scabbed, you shall not offer these things unto the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar of the Lord. God said, if you do, I will not accept it. It is impossible for God to take a man to heaven without a perfect righteousness. Man's righteousness is full of scabs and sores. Is it not? God accepts only that which is holy and righteous. Psalm 24. Three through four. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? That's a good question to think about. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? And He gives the answer. He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. Oh, but Brother Cozart, my hands are not clean. And my heart is not clean. who hath not lifted up his soul under vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Do you see the only righteous one is Christ Jesus? And we must be accepted in Him or we will not be accepted at all. Ephesians chapter 1, we've been accepted in the Beloved. That is our righteousness. He is our righteousness. So it is impossible for God to take a man to heaven without a perfect righteousness. And the only way you and I will spend eternity in heaven is not based on our righteousness, but based on His imputed righteousness to our account. And number five, and this is it for the morning, it is impossible for God to send any man to hell for whom Christ died. It is impossible for God to send any man to hell for whom Christ died. If Christ died in the place of everybody in the world, then everybody in the world has got to go to heaven. Some believe that there are many people in hell and many more will join them, that Christ actually died for them also. They simply just wouldn't accept what Christ did for them. The truth about the atonement, three things. Number one, Christ paid a debt on the cross. It was a debt that I owed It was a debt that I could not pay, but he paid my debt on the cross. Christ paid a debt on the cross. Very quickly, Isaiah 53, 6, all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the crimes, the iniquities of us all. And that precious verse in 2 Corinthians 5.21, God made him, that is Christ, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Christ paid a debt on the cross. Second thing, I said three things. in regards to being impossible for God to send any man to hell for whom Christ died. Christ paid a debt. He paid the debt. Number two, God was satisfied with the payment. God the Father was satisfied with the payment. In Isaiah chapter number 53, verse number 11, he, God, shall see the travail of his soul. God the Father viewed and observed what his son was going through on the cross. He was paying a debt for somebody. He shall see the travail of his soul and he shall be satisfied. The father was satisfied what the son did for his elect on the cross of Calvary. That's the reason elect people don't go to hell because he paid our sin debt and God said it's paid in full. If you ever get a hold of that, I'll make a shouting Baptist out of you. He'll see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. He shall bear their iniquities." Not everybody's iniquity, but the sheep, all we like sheep have gone astray. He shall bear their iniquities. So Christ paid a debt on the cross and God was satisfied with the payment. And the third and final thing is this, if he paid the sin debt for his sheep, then all charges are dropped. That is because it cannot be paid twice. In Romans chapter number 8, verses 31 through 35. Romans 8, 31 through 35. The Bible says, What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? And then the very important question here, verse 33, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. 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. Watch this carefully. The same God in his son Jesus Christ died and paid the debt for our sins also are the same people he is in heaven interceding for their sins. You can't have one without the other. Not only did he die for our sins, but he intercedes for our sins in heaven. If Christ died for you and it did no good And if he intercedes for you and it does no good, then he failed. But he didn't fail because it's impossible for God to fail. Cannot fail. These things God cannot do. And I'm glad that he can't. Let's stand please for prayer.