Never grow old. Never grow old. Never grow old. In a land where we'll never grow old. never grow old never grow old in a land where we'll never grow old in that beautiful home where we'll never more roam we shall be in the sweet by. Happy praise to the King, through eternity sing, tis the land where we never shall die. Never grow old, never grow old, In a land where we'll never grow old Never grow old Never grow old In a land where we'll never grow old When our work here is done and their life crown is one, and their troubles and trials are o'er. All our sorrow will end, and their voices will blend with the loved ones who've gone on before. Never grow old, never grow old In a land where we'll never grow old Never grow old, never grow old In a land where we'll never grow old All right, now if you turn to hymn number 300, and I've got to find it before I give you the title. I forgot to put my bookmark there. It's He Included Me, I think. If not, that would be a good imitation. Yep, that's it. All right. And because of He Included Us, The first song we sung pertains to us. We'll never grow old. It's my two cents for this morning, so, or this afternoon. All right. Before the world began, God loved me then. He chose me for His own, that e'er I'd spend. His rich, eternal love Wrote my name above Thank God He included me Yes, He included me From eternity No room to burst a vibe The lost had died. But God, in wondrous grace, came and took my place. Thank God He included me. Christ paid my wet-born day the only way. He died upon the tree to set me free. His pure and sovereign grace, Jesus took my place. Thank God He included Yes, He included me from eternity. No room to boast of I, the lost and died, but gone in wondrous grace. came and took my place. Thank God He included me. In time the Spirit saw, and grace was wrought. He took the Word of God, the mighty rod. He broke my stony heart and did faith impart. Thank God He included me. Yes, He included me. from eternity. No room to burst thereby, the lost it died. But God, in wondrous grace, came and took my place. Thanks be to God, He included me. All right, thank you. We don't have a piano player very often. I want to thank Sammy for playing for us. It's good to see everybody here. And Brother Adam, you want to come ahead? And Brother Adam grew up here. He escaped at some point. Comes back to visit every once in a while. Well, we know who one of your Sunday school teachers were. I had a lot more hair back then. She already knows. She's the lady with the eyes in the back of her head back there. And the sides. Somehow in Cincinnati, I don't know how she sees everything I do in Cincinnati. I can't really go with that because I know her in technology. I know her a little too well. Ephesians chapter 6. Every time I come in here, it's a flood of memories. I spent 22 years growing up in this church, so it's always good and a privilege to be back. Here in Ephesians chapter 6, we're going to read verses 13 through 18, but then we're going to zero in on a particular piece of the armor here, and I'll explain what triggered the thought process of this particular topic here in just a moment when we introduce the particular armor, but you can't read this particular passage and just read one particular verse, I think you must start at least in verse 13. We're going to go back a couple of verses here in just a moment. But Ephesians chapter 6 and beginning in verse 13, wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your loin skirt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. These particular verses, and I'm sure everybody here in the auditorium are familiar with these verses and how they speak about spiritual warfare. They remind us that we are in the fight of our lives each and every day, that God wakes us up, gives us the breath to breathe, the ability to get out of bed, and to go about living our lives. We are involved in a war. It's not a war involving guns on the front line in a foreign field somewhere, it is a spiritual warfare that we are fighting each and every day. And as our loving and all-sufficient Savior, as our Lord, he has supplied us with all that we need for this combat in which we are fighting each and every day. We see here, particularly in verse number 13, as we start to lay out our thoughts, we see the importance of the whole armor. And I'm going to start by painting in broad strokes here to begin with, putting on the whole armor of God. This is not a bag of checks mix in which we get to pick and choose the items we are to prepare ourselves for this spiritual battle. You're going to need all of it. Just as with this Bible that we have, it's not a bag of checks mix that we get to pick and choose the doctrines in which we believe. We are to preach the whole counsel of God. It is our responsibility to do so. But we see the importance of putting on the whole armor of God. Why? What is the purpose? How is our day described? Even here with this letter to Ephesus, you fast forward a couple thousand years, And we see, I think we could use this phrase to describe our day and time, the evil day. Is that not the day in which we live today? Just the brief conversations we've had even before the service this afternoon, we can certainly see that it is an evil day. And we see the having done all, fighting with all of your might, using the armor that God has supplied us, having done all, leaving it. You talk about even athletes, for example, that at the end of the game, they'll say phrases like, we left it all on the court. We're to leave it all out. We're to give everything that we have, not even 100%, but 110%. been reading a lot this year. I've made it a point to try to read more books this year. It's difficult for me to sit down and just actually read books. And they're historical books, more specifically American history books, because I enjoy history, particularly American history. I'm almost finished with the second book in a series of three involving the American Revolution and the descriptions. It's a novel, but it's historically accurate. Newt Gingrich helped write it, and I love it, and the book I'm reading now particularly is called Valley Forge. The book before that is called To Try Men's Souls. The things that those soldiers in the Continental Army had to endure, most of them didn't have shoes Their weapons weren't of the best quality, especially if they had had them for very long, the conditions in which they had to march and to live. You had extreme cold in the wintertime, and I couldn't help but think of to try men's souls when they were crossing the Delaware in the dead of winter in the middle of an ice storm to battle the Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey, and it was told that you could follow the army and know which way they went even after they had already passed because the trail was bloody. Because of their feet, they didn't have shoes. And I thought about those soldiers and sure they were fighting a carnal, fleshly war against the Britons and the Empire of England and fighting for their independence, but you were involved in a fight as well. Would we put ourselves through those types of situations. How far would we be willing to go and fight for the cause of Christ? George Washington, when he would write, you would study his writings and letters and journal entries and things. He would always make reference to the cause. That's what he called the American Revolution. He called it the cause. We have a cause. And are we willing to fight for this cause? Having done all to stand. Think about our Baptist forefathers and what they had to endure. We studied the history of the church. I have the privilege of preaching on Wednesday evenings at our church there in Twimbrook Hills and we went through the history of the church and the things that our Baptist forefathers had to endure. Would we be willing to do that too? That's a valid question. There's so many protests, especially within the last few weeks. So many pro Hamas protests from our liberal college kids, um, that are multiplying, it seems. And it was funny. I saw a video of one of them, and I think she had purple hair or green hair or something very bright hair. And she had a list of demands, I guess they were, we need food and water and shelter, because we're protesting. I'm like, if you would at least show some kind of effort that you're willing to suffer for some kind of cause, but they don't even want to suffer for, they don't even know what cause they're fighting for. anyway. They're just told to be outraged and they're just going to be outraged and they have no idea because even then I saw a different interview with a different person, a different girl, and they were at a pro-Hamas demonstration at a college, I think it was Columbia, and this girl was from NYU and the guy said, why are you here? I don't know. And she looked over her friend and goes, what are we here protesting? And her friend goes, oh, I don't know. I wish I was a little more educated. They don't even have a clue what they're protesting. The day in which we live, pray for our kids. I'm telling you. But they don't even want to suffer for anything. We need to be prepared to suffer for the cause of Christ. Things are rapidly The Bible says it's going to wax worse and worse with people deceiving and being deceived. Well, guess what? We're here. It's happening. So the fight that we are fighting is of the utmost importance. But in 1 John 4, let's look at verse 4. Notice the God we serve. 1 John 4 and verse 4, you are of God, little children, and have Overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world Well, I'm thankful for that because we certainly have a very powerful enemy The descriptions that the Bible uses to describe the devil and what he is attempting to do is roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. Those are very intense words. Some pretty serious adjectives used to describe the devil. Satan, walking as a predator, seeking whom he not just may chew out or scare, but devour. Those are some harsh terms. No matter how powerful the devil is or thinks he is, God is far more powerful. God created him to begin with. In Revelation chapter 20, the Bible tells us very clearly that in the end, God's going to have the last word. I've heard it many times, even behind this pulpit over the years, that I've read the back of the book and we win. Revelation 20 and verse 10. The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Does that sound like a winner to you? Nah, sounds like a loser. Where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth And the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Again, some very harsh language, but I mean, truth is truth. I don't know if I've told this story here. I probably have, but I'm going to tell it again. But when I read this, talking about especially right here at the very end, whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. I can't help but think of when I moved to Charlottesville, Wednesday was mine and Rachel's 20th anniversary. She married down. And I married up. Every time I read a verse like this, I can't help but think we were, we got the phone book out when we were living in Charlottesville and her parents were a couple hours away and we would typically go there or we would come over here to go to church. But I was like, you know what? There might be a church there in Charlottesville. We got the phone book out when that was a thing. And to open the yellow pages to churches. And there was, I don't remember the name of the church, but it was a Baptist church. And it said KJV, I mean, just check box, check box, check box. And I'm like, all right, well, we'll go and give it a try. Maybe it's a church we just never heard of before. It's possible, extremely possible. Went there, and everything was going great. There's maybe about five minutes left. I knew it was starting to wind down. It was almost noon on a Sunday morning, and I figured he was going to start winding down. And he started preaching against election. And that's where he lost me. And if there wasn't five minutes left, and it wouldn't have embarrassed Rachel to death, I'd have gotten up and walked out in the middle of the service. But I'm like, it's not worth it. Let's just finish it out the last five minutes, and then we'll leave. But of course, they had to sign a visitor's card. And we didn't come back the next Sunday. And the pastor called me, and he's like, well, can I come and talk to you? And I'm like, well, I mean, yeah, sure. So I called Rachel, and she came over to my apartment at the time the pastor was going to come and meet with us. And I told him, I'm like, yeah, we just, election is biblical. The actual word is used in scripture. You don't have to ignore a whole plethora of scriptures to believe that way. And he goes, well, if I believed in elections, I wouldn't be a preacher. I'm like, oh, I don't quite understand that thought process. Well, he goes, well, if God has his elect and they're going to get saved, why do I need to preach? Well, because the Bible says we're told to go into all the world and preach the gospel. You don't know who they are. People aren't walking around with E's on their forehead saying, hey, preach to me. I'm one of the elect. You don't know who they are. Well, I just don't believe God sends anybody to hell. What about the rich man and Lazarus? What about what we just read here, verse 15? In Revelation 20, whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. It sounds pretty definitive to me. Well, I just don't think God hates anybody. Some real sound theology, I assume. And I was only 22, 23 years old. I'm like, oh boy. How can I get out of this? And the question was raised, well, what about Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated? Well, I don't know. I'm going to have to go home and study that, and I'll get back with you. You do that. You got my number. Two or three days went by. I don't recall. It might have been four. It was a few days later. He calls me on my lunch break when I was at work. And he said, I got that definition of hate for you. Lay it on me, man. It means intense dislike. Yes. That means hate. Yes. I'm fully aware. Then why did God create a hell is the question that was raised. There's punishment for those that do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, those who are his enemies. But we're not even through my introduction yet. I'm getting all riled up, people. So we see what we're dealing with. But the Lord is on our side, we should not fear what man can do unto us. It doesn't matter. He supplied everything we need, even when we are asked questions. Apologetics needs to be a thing. Because you never know when people are going to say things or ask questions, and you need to be prepared to give an answer. But our enemy here in Ephesians 6 is identified in verses 11 and 12, but on the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand against the wiles of the devil. But we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. So this passage tells us that our hope of victory is possessed from God in his armor that he has supplied to us, that we are to be adorned, to be clothed with the armor of God. In verse 13, as we read, it says, take unto you the whole armor of God. That literally means to take up, to pick it up, and put it on. This is the image of a soldier standing amid the pieces of the armor, and you need to put those pieces of armor on. The armor does no good in the armory. What good is it when you're in the midst of a battle and you're scrambling to put your armor on? You're vulnerable at that point. Your attention is you putting on the armor rather than fighting the enemy, and we should already have it all girt about us, ready to fight. But one particular piece that I want to focus in on is verse 14. Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth, the belt of truth. Without the truth, what do you have? I worked with a lady who says, I don't like to go to church because I don't want to hear about how bad of a sinner I am. Well, here's the thing. It's the truth. And it's the truth. It may be an uncomfortable truth. You may not particularly like it. But it is the truth. The Bible says the truth shall set you free. If you don't know that you are a sinner, you don't know that you need salvation. What does it mean to be saved? Well, you have to explain what sin is. People need to understand what it is. There aren't a whole lot of books, if you go to the Christian bookstore, there aren't a whole lot of books about sin. A lot of fluff, a lot of feel-good books. But there's a point to salvation. What are you saved from? You're saved from sin and the punishment that comes along with it. And as I think about the Belt of Truth, the reason I started thinking about it is because we bought a home last July there in Fairfield, Ohio. I've been doing a lot of yard work because I have my own yard to do yard work in now, and I can actually customize it and do what I want. And as I'm outside, I've noticed this young man, and he looks younger than me, and I see him walking. He must be walking to work or something down the sidewalk. I've seen him several times. And every time he's walked past me, I've wanted to say, your pants are about to fall down. They're barely hanging on. Word of advice, young man, a belt would be helpful. But I guess it's probably the style that he's trying to go for, why you would want to walk around. He has to walk real funny so his pants don't fall all the way down, when there's a remedy for that. But I guess it's a style. It's a stupid one, but it's a style nonetheless. And I got to thinking about the importance of a belt. My mind wandered to the belt of truth and the armor of God. So that's how we got here. You're welcome for that story there. Just so you know where my mind goes. Imagine living with me for 20 years. That's where my mind went. Stand therefore having your loins girt about. The standard garment for a Roman soldier was a loose-fitting tunic. It was really nothing more than a large square cloth with holes in it for your head and your arms. is usually worn loose, and as you can imagine, if you were a soldier and you were beginning to get into a hand-to-hand combat, and you had a loose bed sheet, basically, with holes for arms and a head, it's gonna swarp around all over the place, and you're gonna get caught in it, tripped up in it, maybe somebody else get tripped up in it, and is that a good fighting stance? No, it is not. So we see here, if left loose, it would hinder the soldier's freedom of movement. So before a battle began, a soldier would carefully gather up the tunic around his body, and then they would go and get a big leather belt to fasten the tunic to their body so it wouldn't be swarping around all over the place. You had to be able to move fast. You had to be able to perform a particular physical work, and the robe, as it was tightened, would give your body a freedom of movement, and it would be unhindered. We see in Ephesians or Exodus, I'm sorry, 12 verse 11, and thus shall you eat it with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. So we see, you know, when the Lord would bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, he gave them instructions to be ready to go, to be girded about so they could move very, very swiftly with very little resistance. In Luke 12 and verse 35, the Lord Jesus told His people to be ready as well when He said in Luke 12, 35, let your loins be girded about and your lights burning. So ready to go at all times. So our spiritual loins should be girded as we are to be looking for the coming of the Lord. In 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 13, Peter says in 1 Peter 1, 13, Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober and hope to the end for the grace, that is, to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So girding up with this belt for our spiritual battles is not a belt of leather, but it is the belt truth and truth means the content of that which is true. So if we're to stand in this evil day that we just read about, we must stand in truth. We don't get to pick our pet doctrine. We're to preach them all. What the Bible says, that's what we're to believe. Honestly, whether you believe it or not, the Bible is still true. But our beliefs should match up and align with scripture, not with the latest best-selling book by some cookie-cutter, non-denominational, I'm getting worked up again, author that may be nationally known, that maybe they have a podcast of some kind, and they're known maybe even worldwide. I honestly don't care what some dudes say. I'm really more concerned with what the Bible says. That's what anybody, what any child of God should be concerned about. So often people read books, and then all of a sudden they think they're smarter than everybody else. I'm gonna tell you, I'm just an idiot. You know, I'm okay with that. See, Ethan's shaking his head. The sooner we realize we're just nobodies, nothings, outside of the Lord, just don't have a high opinion of yourself. If we're worth anything, it's because Christ gave us something worthwhile. First, in John 17, in verse 17, we see the word truth here. There is the truth found in the word of God when Jesus said, sanctify them through thy truth. What is his truth? Where do we get it? How do we have it? How are we supposed to learn it, consume it, make it a part of our lives? It says right here, thy word is truth. Where do we get it from? It's right here, scripture. Without the working knowledge of the truths of scripture, the child of God, honestly, let's be honest, is easy prey for the enemy, the devil. Paul has already told us that there is a great danger if we don't know the truth. In Ephesians 4, verse 14, we see Paul state here that we henceforth be no more children, which means you got to grow up. You got to learn some things. And the more you learn from scripture, the more mature you're going to become as a Christian. So grow up, stop acting like a child, tossed to and fro. What does this mean? Tossed to and fro, just wherever the wind takes you, right? You're like, oh, there's a new doctrine. Oh, the wind's blowing me this direction. Now we're to stand, as we've read here. If we're to stand, having done all to stand, you've got to take root in something. Tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. By the slight of men and cunning craftiness, and trust me, there are a slew of very crafty speakers out there. They wear their skinny jeans. I've seen people, they're in their, like, 60s, and they're wearing their skinny jeans and their Michael Jordan sneakers and their skin-tight t-shirts and they're preachers. Even if they're saying something that's halfway good, I'm so distracted by their outfit. Let me just tell you, you're not going to catch me in a pair of skinny jeans. Grow up, I guess, is applicable. We just read that. If you're not children, grow up. You're 65 years old. Put a pair of slacks on, guy. There are so many crafty folks out there. They have personalities, and they're charismatic, and they attract a lot of people, and I get it. What are they saying? You look at actually what they're saying, what they're preaching, not just how they are presenting it. I know a church, well, air quotes. It's next door to the school, and they allow us to use their building for large events because we can fit enough people in it. And they have three giant video boards, humongous. And they cost about a million dollars. And they have lights all over the place, and it feels more like an event center rather than a church. And it just feels out of place to me. There are guys out there, they have their podcasts. There's a podcast out there, you ready for this? Bibles and beers. And people that we know are getting caught up in that kind of stuff. Inviting them to speak. I don't know what's happening. There's a little too much Reformed Baptist theology entering in. They call us fundamentals. I think that's supposed to be some kind of insult, but I've been called worse. I think that would be more of a badge of honor if you ask me. The Bible says, give me the old ways, the highways. And it's not just that we need to know the truth, we do. We need to know the truth that we might stand in that evil day. And it's important to have the firm foundation. That's my favorite hymn. I love that hymn. We just sang it at church just a couple of weeks ago. I mentioned it in Sunday school. And our song leader, who's 19, very faithful young man. I appreciate him, because if he wasn't leading the songs, I would have to do it. And I'm glad I don't have to do it. And I mentioned it in Sunday school. And then that Wednesday, we sang it. So I'm like, oh, if I were given gold stars, I'd give you a gold star. But I appreciate him. It's important for us to have this truth. but our minds to be girded up with it. It's holding us together. The truth should hold us together. Without the truth, the saints of God would have no foundation. We would just be easily led astray. It's called having a biblical worldview. We shouldn't let the world We shouldn't have a worldly view that causes us to interpret the Bible with that particular view. We need to interpret the world with the biblical worldview. Use the Bible for interpretation and not just our own whims. The only way to combat error is with truth. The devil's desire is to defeat us, to destroy us, and to distract us. He's pretty good at it. He's had a long time to perfect his craft, and he's getting better and better and better. And the only way to combat all of the error, and as time marches on and the Lord has not come back yet, and as technology advances, there is more and more and more mediums for people to access false doctrine. I just mentioned podcasts. There's television, there's phones, there's iPads, There's articles all over the place. I just saw a trailer for a documentary. And it was with a bunch of, I guess they're nationally known, I'm not familiar with most of the people that I saw in the trailer. I knew one of them. His name was Dr. Michael Brown. I don't know if anybody's ever heard of him. He has a radio show, I think. And I've read a couple of his books in regards to the LGBTQ agenda. And he comes at it from a biblical point of view. And I appreciate the stance he makes on that particular subject. I don't know much about him outside of that. But he was in this. And I recognized him. And it was all against the security of the believer, all of it. They didn't believe in it. They don't believe that once you're saved, you have that salvation, and you are always saved. It says it promotes laziness and so on and so forth, and I couldn't get all the way through the trailer. I should have, but just to know what we're dealing with, because we need to know. But here's the thing. I could see, just like these podcasts and people sit down and binge these podcasts and consume all of this media, I could see Churches and even churches have like watch parties to watch this documentary film and it influenced millions and millions and millions of Christians. I could see that happening. They have all these groups and not just youth groups, but they have small groups and where adults get together and all this. And I could see that, hey, we're going to watch this new documentary. And then all of a sudden, it's already out there, but it's spreading like wildfire. And people that may believe the way we do are going to be drawn away from it. This wind is going to blow them away. So it's important for us to preach the truth. What was the first temptation in the Garden of Eden? Well, God told us not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Are you sure? Are you sure God said that? It was to question God's word right from the very beginning. That's how it started. Questioning God and what he said in his word. And it hasn't changed much since then. 2 Timothy 3. The only way to know the truth is to be exposed to it. Therefore, if you're exposed to a lot of truth, you'll have a solid foundation of truth. If you're exposed to a bunch of false doctrines, and Bible, I love, and I use this phrase a lot because it's in the Bible, doctrines of devils. Again, more harsh terminology, but important terminology, scriptural terminology. you're surrounding yourself and consuming that much false doctrine, you're going to be influenced by it. That's just the way that we are as human beings. We have weaknesses. And the more we're around something, the more it just takes hold of us. But the more you're in truth, the more you're going to realize second Timothy three, starting in verse 16, all scripture. That's the most important part. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the Son of Man may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Well, what about the podcast I listen to? What about the new book that's out from, I don't know, I don't know their names, all these guys that are out there now writing their books. I don't, what about that? I don't care. Are there some good books out there? Sure, Tom Ross's books, Roy Mason's books, all these old guys that aren't with us anymore. I can't think of their names. Roy Mason's one of them. We're talking about E.G. Cook. He's written a few things before church. T.P. Simmons. Those guys that actually stick to scripture, have scripture accurately portrayed in their books. Yeah, read them. People twisting things, taking them out of context, changing the meaning of things, using different translations that don't translate things accurately, what Scripture actually says, because they want to change the meaning of Scripture to suit their fancies. You have to be careful what you're consuming. Consume Scripture, because it is God-breathed. It came from Him. That's what we are to have. 1st Timothy 4 and verse 1, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits. And here it is, I just referenced this, but I love it. Doctrines of devils. Some harsh terminology. And that's where we are today. We've been studying eschatology on Wednesdays. I took a little over a year to finish what I wanted to cover with the church, and we've been studying the end times. We're wanting to re... It's not that it's wrong, but it's a little vague, our statement of faith, and we want it to be a little more specific, I guess, in what we have in our statement of faith. And our pastor was throwing out all these pre-trib, pre-mill terminology things, and I'm like, you know what? Let's talk about it on Wednesday nights. Let's study it. Let's see what scripture has to say so people are familiar with it now that we're Approaching this subject and I know that we are pre trib and pre mill and all that we believe in the rapture before the tribulation period I know it Let's make sure everybody understands what scripture has to say so we've been still we've 14 weeks now and I'm have one more lesson on the rapture to get through and It's gonna be a long ride, but there's a lot to cover. And we see here, in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, and that's where we are currently. There are all sorts of seducing spirits and doctrines of devils that people are giving heed to, that we are warned about here in 1 Timothy 4.1. So the Bible is truth. It teaches all we need to know about life and death, heaven and hell, God and Satan, sin and salvation. It covers the whole gambit of any question you may have. It reveals our condition before God. In Romans chapter 3, you know I had to go here when we talk about our condition. Romans 3 beginning in verse 9. What then are we better than they? I think sometimes we can have that type of opinion of ourselves. I'm always reminded of a phrase my dad has used, and I've heard him say it a thousand times behind the pulpit, if not by the grace of God, there go I. If it wasn't for God's hand, we would be going down the path of false doctrines of devils. Are we better than they? No, and no wise, for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin. That's just the truth of it. Does it hurt your feelings? I mean, that doesn't really matter. It's the truth. I'm not here to hurt anybody's feelings. But if you love someone, you need to tell them the truth. Sugarcoating things is not helpful. Verse 10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. That's pretty plain, isn't it? If I didn't know any better, that sounds like total depravity. Hmm. They are all, verse 12, gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. So there is there a little good in everyone. Well, I mean, that's not scriptural, is it? Verse 13, their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. Underline this verse. This is like a perfect summation. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Because if there was, we wouldn't have all the preceding verses. No fear of God. No respect. No awe. No reverence. They don't love him. They don't want him. They don't want to know his truth. They don't want anything to do with him. They want him out of the public arena. They don't want him in their own personal private lives. They want nothing to do with God. There is no fear of God. Perfect summation of all of the verses leading up to verse 18. Verse 19, now we know that what things soever the law saith, is saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. See, the law is a mirror that we stand before and see that I can't keep that law. I've broken that law, and the Bible says you break one law, you're guilty of every one of them. You're guilty. It doesn't matter which one it was. Taking the Lord's name in vain, not honoring your father or mother, I don't care what one it is. Stealing something, it doesn't matter. You're guilty, you're just as guilty as if you broke all of them. Guilt is guilt is guilt. And the law shows us that we are guilty. Period. The end. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, as my mom would always used to say. You can't debate this. It's one of my phrases. I use it probably every day, would be my guess. It is what it is. Here's the truth. Let's keep reading. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Who's that cover? Everyone. Past, present, and if the Lord doesn't come back, future. Until he does come back. Everybody. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That is our But, of course, you have John 3.16, the solution to the problem. 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. Here's the thing I don't understand about those who believe you can lose your salvation. First of all, it's not scriptural and you would have to ignore so many scriptures. Brother Pyle always referenced this particular scripture. Saved to the uttermost. All the way. The whole way. You can't get any more saved than that. What kind of salvation is that if you have it and then you lose it? What kind of savior is that? Not a very good one. But that's not who our savior is. We see in Ephesians 2, verse 8 and 9, for by grace are ye saved. That's it. One time, it's done. You have it. It's yours. Jesus paid it all. It's yours. He gave it to you. He chose you for the foundation of the world. Through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Here's what I don't understand. I guess those guys assume, I don't know much about them, but I'm assuming they believe that God saves them, but he can't keep them saved? Their works unsaves them, then how do they get saved again? Math, the math doesn't add up. I'm no mathematician, but it just doesn't add up. How are we to go and to preach the gospel to all the earth and make disciples and baptize If we don't know we're safe from one minute to the next, we're going to be constantly worried about ourselves rather than worried about others and preaching the gospel to those that need to hear it. It just doesn't compute in my mind. We see here that you're not going to perish. It's a done deal here and you have everlasting life. In Acts 16, 31, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. It's pretty plain and simple. What's our final destiny? John 14, verse one, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me and my father's house or many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I love that phrase. I've told you everything you need to know. And if you needed to know something else, I'd have told you. I go and 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. I've read a lot of scripture in my 42 years, and I haven't read one reference to someone losing their salvation in scripture. But I've seen all kinds of scripture about having your salvation and saved to the uttermost, and what we have to look forward to in heaven. I've heard all of that, but I haven't heard, oh, you need to get saved again and again and again. It's just not there. But quickly here. 2 Timothy 2. Truth should just be interwoven into our lives. It should be our very attitude, I guess. We should have an attitude of truthfulness. In 2 Timothy 2, for no man that woreth and tangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. We tangle ourselves in so much nonsense on a day-to-day life. I mean, it's just the things that we bother ourselves with, that we just shouldn't bother ourselves with, we need to take up truth. It needs to guide our life, be interwoven into our life. How about entangling ourselves with the truth? Girding ourselves with the truth. First Corinthians 9.25 says, and every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. Refocus your thought onto the things of God and onto truth. Lay up treasures in heaven rather than treasures on earth, where rust and moth doth corrupt. Girt yourself up with truth. No, I'm not saying we shouldn't have jobs and earn a living and things like that. I'm not saying any of that. We're told to do that. We're specifically instructed to not be slothful. If you don't work, you don't eat. I get that. But whatever we do should be done to the glory of God. Truth. Matthew 16, 24, Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself. take up his cross and follow me. We're to present a living sacrifice. All of these are wrapping our lives in truth and interweaving, girding truth up in our life and making it all about God and not about our own comfort, not about our own pat on the back, our own wanting credit for something, but all glory should be given to God. So are your loins girt about with truth? Are you a faithful servant of the true Lord? Does your daily walk bring honor and glory to God? If you're saved, ask him to help you. Ask Him to help you take up that whole armor of God. Gird ourselves up, hold ourselves up, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all, to stand. Brother. You left some stuff here. I've been lost. I had a good Sunday school teacher. Yes you did. Thank you for that. There's much, a lot there that needs to be said. We've got lunch ready over at the library. Brother Roger worked all night making pizzas.