just listening to our church services at Aberdeen. We use live stream over there, and we stream live broadcast to Russia and to other places. Some folks out in Arizona listen in, and I don't know who all might listen in. Just so that you might know if ever you're sick, unable to attend services here, you might tune in to live stream Aberdeen Printed Baptist Church. and you can listen to our services there live. Good to be with you here again, during the time of fellowship, of course, with the Spicers. Good to see all y'all. And we are mindful to pray for you in your search for a pastor. God will guide you, and God will help you in the meantime to be faithful here to the Lord in attendance and praying for the work. It's easy to become discouraged in the work of the Lord. It's easy to question, you know, what's God doing? I want to speak to you from this first chapter of Luke. And I want to ask the question, answer the question, try to, who is John the Baptist? Now, you have to understand the setting. Israel had been without a speaking prophet. We refer to them as being the 400 silent years. Israel had returned from the Babylon captivity. The temple had been restored. under the ministry of Ezra and Nehemiah, and then you have the prophecies of some minor prophets going on, Haggai, Zephaniah, Malachi, and Malachi is the last book in our Bible, the Old Testament. It is not the last book in the Jewish Talmud Bible, Their books run not like ours. The last book in their Bible is 2 Chronicles, which would conclude with the history of Israel, as I said, returning from the Babylon captivity. 400 silent years, no prophet. What a time of drought, spiritually speaking. The Lord had said that there would come a famine in the land, a famine of the hearing of the Word of God. Well, this is a severe drought, famine. I was speaking to Brother David Piles the other day, and he said his father told him, Brother Sonny Piles, he was rejoicing because the cattle ponds on his farm, which had been dry for years, are now running over with water. Drought is a severe thing. We have several areas of our country right now that's under a drought. One of the things that man cannot make is water. We can't make oxygen. created, we cannot make water. We know what its composition is, but we cannot create water, make water. We can't make it rain. We've tried. Many different tricks have been used to try to make it rain and get it to rain in certain areas, but we've learned that rain comes somewhat by the will of God. In fact, it always comes by the will of God. And the Word of God says he hath his way in the whirlwind. So, the Book of Job, God answers Job and tells him, he sends forth the frost, he sends forth do in the snow upon the earth. 400 silent years, how would you feel that you're living in a time when there would go from one captivity to another captivity, primarily under the suppression of the Roman Empire? There were times when there were revolts, uprisings, that they had some degree of relief, but for the most part, always under the rule of Rome, severe rule. Rome was a very cruel government. form of government. Caesar had the power of life and death in his hand, and Herod, who now rules in Israel, was a very cruel man himself. He put to death two or three of his sons because he thought that they were trying to take over his reign. So it's a dismal time. The man Zacharias was a priest in Israel. As he served in his course in the temple, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him. He is in his latter years, aged, his wife is also, and they are without child. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and we read, When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. I'm reading verse 13, But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer was heard. I don't know how long Zacharias had been praying for a child, but I imagine it began somewhere after It became obvious that the natural course of childbearing, Elizabeth was not going to have a child. It was a disgrace for a woman in those days to be without a child. And it was also a disgrace for a man not to have a son or child. It was a great humiliation, and it was taken as a token of God's chastening or judgment. And so Zacharias had been praying, no doubt, for several years about this matter, that God would give him a child. these latter years now, so it appears like that God's not going to give him what he wants, his desire. And as he goes about serving the Lord there in the temple, the angel of the Lord appears to him and says, My prayer is heard. Take note of that, that God hears our prayers. Maybe he does not always answer them as immediately and in the exact way that we would like for him to answer them, but the prayers of God's people are noted. In fact, in my book of Revelation, we read that they are in a censure, as it were, before the throne of God, and their prayer is unto God. We are taught to pray. God's sovereignty does not violate or does in any way nullify us from praying. A great example of that is our Lord praying there in the garden before His crucifixion when He knew very well what was before Him because He had been part of the plan from before the foundational world and knew exactly what the will of God was and had agreed to it and submitted himself to it. And yet, we read that three times he besought the Father and said, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me. And yet, not my will, but thy will be done. So, the sovereignty of God does not interfere, nor does it nullify our need for praise. But it is always on the premise that God's will is what we submit to, what we ask for. That's the characteristic of biblical praise. So Zacharias is praying and his prayer is heard but not answered as soon as he thought it would be. And so he is going about his activities. And the angel of the Lord said, Thou shalt thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. Now there are several Johns in the New Testament. There is John the Beloved who wrote the Gospel of John and who also wrote the three epistles of John and who wrote the book of Revelation. There is another John in the Scriptures, and you'll just know him because Scripture sometimes refers to him as being that other John. So, John was a common name. His name shall be called John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. And then the angel says, For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. John the Baptist John was a unique person. 400 silent years and now God is going to send to the nation of Israel a preaching prophet. He is unique in that, first of all, he would be a Nazarite from his mother's womb, meaning that he would take no strong drink, he would not touch a dead body, nor would his hair be cut. He would also be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. This is unique indeed. We all believe in the doctrine of depravity. The Bible teaches it, that we're all conceived, as David said, in sin. From the very time of our conception, because of our earthly father, Adam, we are all sinners. And we can go astray from the womb, speaking lies. That's the characteristic of all of us, apart from God's regenerating, saving grace. If that does not intervene in our lives, we continue to pursue that course of action. But here is a unique person who we're told will be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. whether there was ever anyone before or afterwards, we are not told exactly, except for Jeremiah, the prophet, whom God said that I have sanctified thee from the womb. He was separated unto the call of being a prophet. But here's a man that's uniquely filled with the Holy Ghost, and when he hears the glad tidings of the birth of Messiah, we're told that he'll leap for joy in his mother's womb. We're told he's to be great in the sight of the Lord, Verse 16, And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the LORD their God, and he shall go before him." That him is referring to the Lord. John was a forerunner. John was prophesied in the book of Isaiah, the 40th chapter, that he would come preaching a voice in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. He is prophesied also in the book of Malachi, the 4th chapter. He is called the messenger that would go before the messenger of the covenant. So he is prophesied and Isaiah some 700 years before he ever exists. And he shall go before him, that's the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elias, that's Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. That's his ministry. So time passes on, and we've read now in the 57th chapter, verse, the time nine months have passed, Elizabeth's time has come, and so Zacharias, because of his doubting, he is struck with dumbness. He can't speak. Mutinous, I should say. He can't speak. And so they ask Elizabeth, what's his name going to be called? And she said, he shall be called John. Well, they thought, first of all, to call him Zacharias, after his father. And she said, no, his name is to be John. Evidently and obviously, Zacharias had communicated to Elizabeth what the angel had said and what his name was to be. And so she said, his name is John. Well, when they protested and said, you know, there's none of your family like that by that name. So they speak or turn to Zacharias, what's his name going to be called? Zacharias took a tablet and wrote on it and said, his name is John. And immediately his mouth was open immediately and his tongue loose and he spake and praised God. So he begins through this great exaltation of God, and there is a question in verse 66. The question is, what manner of child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him. Who is John the Baptist? There is a lot of controversy about John the Baptist. A lot of people said that he was an Old Testament prophet. Some say that John's ministry was only for a time period prior to Christ, and some say prior to Pentecost, and that his work terminated and his ministry terminated with Pentecost. John's baptism was for that time period only, and fact of the matter, Peter came preaching a different baptism, a baptism for the remission of sins. Well, John preached a baptism. Now, in the King James you have the baptism. But the Greek article is not there before the word baptism, so it is a baptism for repentance, or in view of repentance. And the fact of the matter is, when there came those who wanted to be baptized, those Pharisees and Sadducees, he rebuked them and said, O generation of liars, who have warned you to flee the wrath to come, bring forth fruit unto repentance. Repentance was a prerequisite for John to accept a candidate for baptism. Who is John? How should we look at John? Well, in the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, our Lord talks about John. John is going to say much about Christ. John, when they came to him and asked him, Art thou the Christ? Art thou the Messiah? He denied it and said, I'm not. When they asked him, Art thou Elijah? He said, I'm not. Who art thou then? He said, I'm but a voice crying in the wilderness. And when referenced, he said, there comes one after me whose shoe latches I'm not worthy to unloose. And he said, he must increase and I must decrease. I've said that that's the mark of a truly God-called minister, is that he would seek to exalt Christ and he himself would be decreased. But in the 11th chapter of Matthew, the Lord speaks about John the Baptist. And I invite your attention there, please. Matthew chapter 11. John is in prison. He later will be beheaded. I hear it. In verse 2 of the 11th chapter, when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? And there is much question as to what this means. Did John deny or question or doubt that Christ is the Messiah? I don't think that is so. What I think is that he wanted confirmation to his disciples. He knows that his time period is coming to an end and he wants his disciples to be strengthened in what he has been teaching. Whatever it is, he sends them to inquire. Jesus said to them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitude concerning John, What went you out in the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? Just a bush out there, wind, that's all he is, just a reed. But what went you out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment. Soft raiment was the garments of the rich, those politicians. That would be their garment. Costly apparel. Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went you out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto thee, more than a prophet. Note verse 10, This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verse 11 is a very unique verse. The Lord never spake this wise about any mortal being. Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. You go back and think about all the Old Testament prophets and saints, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. The two most outstanding prophets that Israel esteemed was Moses and Elijah, the lawgiver and the miracle worker. We have no record of John ever doing any miracles at all. He may have, but we have no record of that. But Jesus Christ said, among them born of women, there is not risen a greater than John the Baptist. That puts him on a pretty high plateau for Christ to say this about him. Notwithstanding, He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Now, there's again some controversy about what does that statement say. Someone says it means that the least person in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist. I cannot imagine our Lord making such contradictory statements. That's an oxymoron. It's ridiculous. The word least has reference to age or later. I mean, not to age, but to later, coming later. He that is later in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Christ was referring to himself. He is later in the Kingdom of God. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffered violence, and the violence taketh it by force. They would try to overrun it. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. That brings you a time frame of a dispensation, economy, I like that word better, up until John. John is the initiator of a new economy. The fact of the matter is, you go over to the Gospel of Mark with me, if you would please. First chapter. Verse 1, the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What's the next verse? Who is it being talked about? John the Baptist. And the prophets, Behold, I send my message before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight. John did baptize in the wilderness and preach a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. So the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ begins with John the Baptist. So Christ said, For all the prophets and the law prophesied unto John. And if you can receive it, this is Elias which was to come." Now, the next statement would tell you who can receive it. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. What the Lord is saying, if you are given understanding to know this, this is the prophesied Elias who has come in the fulfillment of the prophecy of Elias. Not that it is a resurrected Elias, but he is in the same spirit by the same anointing to preach. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is likened to the children sitting in the markets, calling unto their fathers, saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced. We have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking." Now, we do know he ate and drank. He ate locusts and wild honey, and obviously he had to drink water. What is he talking about? He is talking about eating, particularly eating with common people. And they say he had the devil. Then a man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous and a wine-beggar, a friend of publicans and sinners, but wisdom is justified of her children." So they accuse Christ of being a gluttonous man because he was there to sit with common people and eat their food and drink their wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. And the Lord then gives this summary and says, Wisdom is justified in her children. Now, turn with me, if you would, please, over to the Gospel of Luke again. I want to go to the 11th chapter of Luke. You have the Lord speaking almost the same words, verse 31, Verse 31, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? And what are they? And they are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling one to another, saying, We have piped on you, and you have not danced. We have mourned on you, and you have not sweat. What the Lord was saying is, and He is ridiculing and condemning the nation of Israel because God has sent various prophets with various ministries, and Israel, for the most part of them, had totally rejected it. And he compares here, the Lord John the Baptist came eating and drinking, and they said he had a devil, and now the Son of Man comes eating and drinking, and you say that he is a friend of sinners, a wine-bibber. But wisdom is justified of all her children. Now, what does the Lord mean there? We'll go back to verse 28 of this 7th chapter. I'm sorry, did I say 11th chapter? I meant 7th chapter. The 7th chapter is where I'm reading the Gospel of Luke. Verse 27, again, Verse 27, Again, Behold, I send my message before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. But he that is least, or later in the kingdom of God, is greater than he. All the people that heard him and the providence justified God being baptized with the baptism of John. Now, did you ever read and hear such words before? Justified God. You'll not find that phrase anywhere in the Bible. We all hear about God justifying us, but justifying God? Why does God need to be justified? What's going on here? What's Christ saying or what the Holy Spirit given us, what we have us to believe? Well, here comes this man, John the Baptist. And I'll call him John. God calls him John the Baptist. But I'll call him John temporarily. And he's preaching, prepare your way of the Lord. And he does something that never before had been done in Israel. He is immersing common people. Now, there are those who will say that this was common practice among the Jews to immerse people. And they'll talk about the Estates. I believe that's what the group is called. But they came, they were a separate minority group, and they came not at the same time of Christ, nor at the same time as John the Baptist. They're a few years later. But they try to belittle, make light of this thing that John is doing. Why is John baptizing? Well, back to John Luke chapter 1. He is to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And, John chapter 1 he says, This was the way by which it was to be made known to me who the Messiah was, who the Anointed One was. So he is baptizing those who do make repentance, and he is immersing them in Jordan River. John's ministry is coming to an end. John has suffered much ridicule, scorned by the rabbis and by the Levitical priests, so As John's ministry is coming to an end and as Christ's ministry begins to expand, the Lord has some words of honor to give about John. I say unto you that among them born of women there is not risen a greater than John the Baptist. Later on, the Lord is asked the question, by what authority did you do these things? Pharisees came to him and asked him. They understood this issue of authority very much. And he answered them and said, I'll answer you this way, by what authority Was John sent by man, or was he sent from God? They couldn't answer that question because they knew how the people esteemed John, the common people, and so they answered him not. And the answer was from God, of course, and by what authority did Christ do what he did? From the authority of God, most certainly. In John, the fourth chapter, there is an interesting little note here. John, chapter 4. When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples, he left Judea and departed again into Galilee. What is going on is that there was an attempt on the part of the Pharisees and Sadducees to introduce jealousy between the disciples of John and the disciples of Christ and the followers of Christ. John has said, I'm not worthy to loosen the shoes. He must increase and I must decrease. In fact, let's go back to verse 22 of the 3rd chapter. And after these things came Jesus and his disciples in the land of Judah. And there he tarried with them, and baptized. John also was baptizing in Enon, near to Solom, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized, or they were immersed. So we are told both of these ministries are going on in close parallel to each other. But the Pharisees, Jesus hears that the Pharisees are using this. In fact, I'll read in verse 25 of the 3rd chapter. Verse 25, And there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying him. They came to John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all come to him. So you see what he's doing, they're trying. And John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it be given him from heaven. In other words, whatever is being done, God is doing it. And a man can receive nothing from spiritual good unless it be given him from heaven. He believed in the sovereign God. Verse 28, "...ye yourselves bear me witness that I, I said, I am not the Messiah, but that I am sent before him. And he that hath the bride of the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth his voice, heareth him, rejoiceth greatly, because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, and I decrease." So John puts things in the right perspective. Now our Lord is talking about John and he says here in the 7th chapter of Luke, those who heard him justified God. How did they justify God? Being baptized with the baptism of John. That's an interesting question to me. How does anybody justify God? A friend of mine who used to pastor down in Birmingham had a church member at one time that came to him He said she was a young lady that had been reared in the church, and she was a member of the church, and she was in her twenties, thirties, maybe early thirties. But she came to him and she said, Pastor, I want my name removed off the road. And he asked, Why? She said, Well, I have been thinking about this thing, and I don't believe it's just for God to put an innocent man to death with a guilty. He tried to explain to her that, but she had come under the influence of some other teachers, and she wouldn't hear to what he had to say. They did have to remove her name from the robe because she didn't believe that God was right in putting Christ, the innocent man to death, for the guilty persons. These people who heard John justified God. And what way did they justify God? Well, John came preaching, prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. He came preaching repentance. The nation of Israel needed to hear about repentance. And people were moved by the Holy Spirit of God to repent. and to acknowledge the errors of their way and of the ordinances and the practices of which they had put so much confidence in, John says to them, there cometh one after me whose shoes I am not worthy to unclothe. He must increase. He is the Messiah. And John points to the coming Messiah and points people to confess and acknowledge their faith in that coming Messiah by being immersed in water. John was pointing to the coming death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. That's what baptism is all about. It points to something. It declares something. Death, burial, and resurrection. Christ, when he was immersed by John in the Jordan River, he said, Behoove us to fulfill all righteousness. And he was pointing to what he himself would experience. That baptism of the judgment of God upon him for sin. Him being immersed in the judgment of God. And we today who are baptized, immersed, we look back to what God did for us on the cross of Calvary. We were guilty. God's people were guilty of sin. All of the sins of all of God's elect people were laid upon Jesus Christ. Now, up until the death of Christ, God had been dealing with people in a, and I'll use this word, in a tolerant way. Go with me to the book of Romans, the third chapter, and let's see if I can Romans 3, verse 24, being justified freely by his grace, you note Paul was talking about us, for all sinning comes short of the glory of God, and being justified freely by his grace through the redemptions in Christ Jesus, in whom God has set forth to be a propitiation. That's the first time that word is used in the New Testament. We have it here, to be a satisfaction through faith in his blood. to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God." What in the world is Paul talking here about? Well, it was God dealing with his elect people and their sins, beginning with Adam and Eve all the way through the Old Testament, because Paul says in Romans, it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. So what was God doing? And all those Old Testament sacrifices, he was pointing to the coming death of the Messiah, the death of the Lamb of God. That great question that Isaac asked, here is fire and where is wood? Where is the Lamb? Where is the sacrifice? And Abraham answered prophetically, God himself shall provide the Lamb. And John the Baptist, when Jesus Christ came walking, John the Baptist said, behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. That's the only time and the only sacrifice that will ever satisfy God. the law of God, and God puts Christ to death in a just way. The world wants to talk to us about the love of God, how God loves everybody. Well, God, who is holy, can only love us in a holy way. God is not a Santa Claus. God is not just a good daddy who is tolerant of things. God is holy, and God must deal with sin in a holy way. so that sinneth it shall die. God is just in dealing with us. How is it possible that a loving, gracious, merciful God can be merciful to hell-deserving sinners? There's only one way. And here is the glory and the beauty of the death of Christ, in that Christ was made to be sin. All of the sins of all of God's elect people were laid upon Christ. Why? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Here's the very reason why Christ must die. Not for His sin, but because God loved His elect people. And because He loved His elect people, He must love them in a holy way and deal with their sins in a holy way by putting His Son to death on behalf of His people. Just as the Son agreed to. This would satisfy the law. That a mortal being, or a human being, who would be our substitute, would be put to death for all of God's elect people. And God does it, and God's justified His people. When Christ has died on the cross of Calvary, as Paul says in Romans, the third chapter, we've been freely justified by the grace of God. Through the remission, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, through His propitiation, God is satisfied concerning our sins. And God has declared all of His elect people to be just. We are not just because we come to faith, because we believe God. We are justified because of the finished work of Christ on the cross, and faith is the evidence of having been justified. some error and problems. In the 4th and 5th chapter of Romans, you'll note, when the last part of the 4th chapter of Romans says that he was raised, he was delivered for our offences and was raised for our justification. Did Christ come forth from the grave? Most certainly. What's the purpose of it? It was a signifying and proof that God was satisfied concerning the sins of His elect people and God then, He is raised for our justification. He is the evident token that God is satisfied concerning our sins. The Old Testament priest, when he went into the Holy of Holies, if God is not satisfied with the sacrifice he made, he never comes back out again. But he did come back out because God was temporarily satisfied. But year after year, he must do it over and over again. And in those sacrifices, Paul says, there is a remembrance of our sins. But Christ, when he has made one sacrifice for our sins, he is raised for our justification, and now is seated at the right hand of the Father, signifying that the finished work of Christ is accomplished and we are justified. So Romans 4 says he is raised for our justification. And then chapter 5, verse 1 begins, therefore being justified. Now, one of the rules of Bible interpretation is always when you see a wherefore or therefore, you always look to see what's therefore. And so, it's therefore, therefore being justified, how? By the resurrection of Christ, therefore being justified. Here's where a comment should be, a comment. By faith, we have peace and thought through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We're not justified by faith, we're justified by the principle of the cross. Now, peace. His divinity has come to us by faith. God creates faith within us and gives it to us. Good works that James talks about, good works with confirmation that we have been justified. Now back to the subject. And so God is satisfied concerning our sins by the death, burial, resurrection of Christ. That's how He's satisfied. And that's how we're justified, by the pinch-work of Christ. So how can it be said here, what is the meaning, verse 29, all the people, Luke 7, all the people that heard him, and the public, justified God? Is God ever unjust? But how is it that they're justifying God? Number one, they're saying, God, you're right, and we've been wrong. Your ways are right. Our ways have been wrong. And what you do about our sins, and what you require us to do about our sins, is right. What's God going to do about their sins? Ignore them? No. He would deal with their sins on the cross of Calvary. I think there's no greater proof of this and manifestation of this than the woman taking an adultery. They bring her to Christ and say, this woman has taken the very act of adultery. And the law says that she is to be put to death. What do you say? And of course, you know the story. How the Lord stooped down to get into rites. And when he stands up, suddenly all the men have gone. And the Lord said to the woman, pour out an accuser. And she said, no man accuses me, Lord. Now she said, man. And he said, God. So she devoured him, the law of God. Well, now here stands this guilty person. before the lawgiver, the holy and righteous Son of God. What will happen to this woman now? Will he violate the law? Will he ignore the law? No, God is holy. He cannot. But he says to her, go thy way. I send you forgiveness. Neither do I condemn you. Go thy way. Said no more. How can it possibly be that Christ, the very Son of God, the holy and righteous lawgiver who will honor the law in every detail, how can he say to this woman, neither do I condemn you? I don't know. According to the righteous Trump thought, he knew that he was in a bad regime when he talked about it. He knew that she was going to be in the right too. And so he says to the girl, I think you're right. He would die in her stead. So, These people who hear John the Baptist come preaching and saying, Repent! Repent! God, by the Spirit of God, works in their hearts, and they acknowledge and are made to repent of their sins, and God, by John, is pointing to the Lamb that will bear their sins. Behold, the Lamb of God hath taken away the sins of the world. So, John is pointing to the coming death of Christ. and his baptism signified their faith in the coming death of Jesus Christ, that he would die and be buried and rise again for their salvation. And thereby they were saying, we acknowledge that God is just in what he does. We acknowledge that God deals with our sins in a just way. And we acknowledge that we deserve death and that we in Christ died and was buried and rose again. We acknowledge that our sins are laid upon Christ, and we acknowledge that God is just in doing so. And so by doing, they are justified. They were baptized with the baptism of Jesus. That's the divine statement if I interpret this right, which I think I do. But if I'm right here, there's a serious issue. What about those who defuse that vision? What about those who deny that vision? Now I did not believe at all that baptism was the way to get to heaven. How did I believe that baptism saved me? I didn't believe that at all. It was a spiritual issue to deny the baptism of John. Now, the baptism of John was honored by Christ and recognized by Christ. He was baptized by Christ. I therefore submit to you that no one can be a true follower of Christ who doesn't have the baptism of John or the baptism of Christ. That's bad, isn't it? The fact of the matter is that the baptism involves the apostles. And so no one can be a true follower of Christ and the apostles unless you are baptized by the baptism of Saint Sebastian. Well, God's now dead. Well, we're told in 4th chapter of John that I just read to you that Jesus' disciples baptized more than what John's disciples baptized. So, he sent his disciples out baptized. In fact, now you have 28th chapter going all over the world. He's normally baptized more immersed in them than the Father and the Son. And we read in the Book of Acts, and we read, that's what they did. Then you come to the 19th chapter of John. Turn there a little bit, please. Here again is a very controversial portion of Scripture. I want to start reading the 18th chapter of the book. Acts 18, verse 24. A certain Jew named Apollos, born as Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty of the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the Spirit, diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard." Now, Aquila and Priscilla were disciples, followers after Paul. He had brought them to Ephesus as he traveled And so they had heard Paul. When Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly, or more fully, or more completely. When he was supposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote to the Lord's disciples to receive him. Hmm. The right of the Christian to receive a policy, who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace. And he mightily convinced the Jews of that policy, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Now, we have no problem here. Here comes the next chapter. Paul, having passed through the upper coast, came to Ephesus and finding certain disciples. He said to them, did you, and I'm putting this in Greek text tense, did you receive the Holy Ghost when you believed? Now, there's something about these men that Paul detects discerning that they don't have the inward or outward manifestation of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Can't you receive the Holy Ghost when you believe? They said to him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. There's something wrong here. Because, think back and I'll show you this. John the Baptist preached about the Holy Ghost. I'll read to you one verse where he said that no man can receive nothing until he's given to him above. And he obviously was full of the Holy Spirit and I can show you in So these men were not disciples, truly, of John the Baptist. But they had been baptized by someone who had been a disciple of John. Some believe it was a plowman. We are told he was a disciple of John because knowing only the baptism of John. So evidently he was a disciple of John the Baptist. Maybe in his zeal, he was a very zealous man, maybe in his zeal he had also baptized these men. I don't know. That's a supposition. But Paul detects a deficiency. He said to them, under what were you baptized? They said to John's baptism. Then said Paul, John's barely baptized, with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him which hath come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." Now, I just told you earlier that John's baptism was pointing to the coming Messiah. Here's what Paul here confirms, then. John's baptism was pointing to the coming Messiah, and that what he would be, the sin bearer. Then says Paul, John, going back to that baptism of repentance, saying that unto the people that they should believe on him which hath come after him, that is, Christ Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake the psalms and prophesied, and all the men were rocked away." Now, first of all, here is a portion of Scripture unique like no other part of Scripture is. Because this is the only time in the Bible you have the insurrection of anybody ever being re-immersed. But it's done. What's the problem? Is it John's baptism? No, it's not John's baptism. Paulus has John's baptism. And if Paulus receives letters, as he goes after his other brothers, they write to him to receive him. There's no deficiency in Paul. John's baptism. The fact of the matter is, later on, Paulus goes up to Corinth, And Paul follows him, and Paul makes no reference in any rebuke about anything that Apollos had been teaching. And we're told in the last part, in verse 28 of the 18th chapter, and he's mildly convinced the Jews that publicly, and that publicly, showing by the Scripture that Jesus was the Messiah, the Word of Christ, the anointing. So there's no problem with John with Apollos, nor John's baptism. The deficiency lies in whoever it was that immersed these people. That's the problem. And the problem is also with them. Because there's no inward evidence of inward work in the whole spirit of God. There's no evidence that they've been born again. So there's two problems here. Their personal problems and their baptism is deficient. And so Paul does something that there's never any other record of anyone ever doing before. That is, he reads that passage. But before he does so, he preaches it in Jesus Christ. And when they heard this, heard, when they heard, just with the hearing ears, their ears are opened, they are given by the Holy Spirit knowledge of what Paul was preaching about, the truth of it. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now, the reason why I'm bringing you to this scripture is because we need to understand the validity and the ministry of John the Baptist. John the Baptist's ministry was the preparing of people for the Lord. This portion of scripture that I've just read to you tonight, we've had to review by many to show and try to make and to say that John's baptism was the theme. And that John's baptism was something totally different from what Jesus' baptism was. And that Paul's baptism is different from what that of John the Baptist. Well, if there's any deficiency in John's baptism, then there's a deficiency in the baptism of Jesus Christ and all the other apostles. Because that's the same baptism they had. So there's no deficiency in the baptism of John. But what was John's baptism all about? Well, number one, He was to prepare a people for the Lord. Back to Luke chapter 1. He was to prepare a people for the Lord. To get ready a people that the Lord would use to build and to establish His New Testament Church with. And so it must be those who have been born again by the Spirit of God, and those who have been scripturally immersed. And those who were baptized by John, they justified God. receiving the baptism of John. They said, God is right. We are sinners. We have no merit. We are our only hope is in the coming Lamb of God, who would bear our sins, who would die on our behalf, and whose death would be a means of our justification before God. And so they justified God at acknowledging their own sins, and God being just to put Christ to death on the cross on their behalf. And they confessed that by submitting to the baptism of John the Baptist. Now, I draw the conclusion to say that this is how we prepare God to be just and good to us. By submitting to the baptism of John the Baptist. You say, John's dead. Well, we follow in His, those who follow after Him, Christ and the apostles. There has been a succession of men called to God in a church established by God since the days of Jesus Christ who has declared the same gospel and the same message of Christ's apostasy and who has administered the ordinances and has taught the same things of Christ's apostasy since the days of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28 is very critical and very important to all of us. It's very important to Christianity. I drove around through Gathin while I was over there. at the left of Herman's house. And Gadsden is like all, many churches, many towns in America, like our own little Aberdeen. Aberdeen is smaller than Gadsden. And yet, I don't know how many churches we've got. We've got every denomination in the city. Except, I don't think there's a Jewish synagogue. You've got a Jewish synagogue. You're high class and all that. But you've got, you know, I don't know how many churches there are in Gadsden. There's a lot of churches in Abilene. America does not want war with religious church groups. I mean, there's all kinds of denominations, even Muslims are here in America. Hindus are here in America. I mean, any kind of religion you think about in the world, we have it in America. But especially among what we call under-Christian denominations. They're all over America. And here in Gadsden, we've done all we can. Now, if I didn't know anything about the Bible, and I just came to Gadsden, and I started to sit down and think about the whole church. What am I going to do? There's the Methodist, there's the Church of Christ, there's the Presbyterian, there's... Well, you've got Mormons here in this town, and you've got Jewish in this town, and there's a Catholic Church. Which one of these things am I? And if you went and sat down in certain buildings, you might hear some good singing. You might hear a very eloquent man up at the feet. You might find a very large congregation there. You go over to another place and find something similar. I like both these places. Which one's right? And you go to a third place. Simple thing. The only thing that's different, maybe they might have more lively services and more musical instruments and everything. Why did you come here? They don't have all that music going on. They don't have a big crowd. They don't have this elegant, handsome, good-looking creature of treatment. They might be some kind of political. Matthew 28, Lord in all the world teaching all nations, the mercy of men and the father of the Son of the Holy Ghost. Teaching men to observe all things what they are commanded. Right there in this boot to the issue, a couple of verses I have for you, Christ puts an aphrodisiac on all denominations and all religious orders. Go into all the world and preach the gospel. What is the gospel? Well, you can get that all shades and varieties of what the gospel is. Paul warns us in Galatians chapter 1 about those who have come to preach another gospel, which is not another gospel. The gospel is the truth about God's sovereign grace, how the king has sent his son to die for the evil of his people. When you begin preaching universalism, when you begin preaching that Christ died to save all people, you have to live in the death of Christ. When you begin to tell people that they have to make a decision, they have to accept Christ, you have to live in the work of Christ. You see, the gospel is not what you do, what you accept, but the gospel is what God has done. Salvation is for all. From beginning to end, it is God's marvelous work of saving His people from their sins. That's the good news. It's not that you can do something of it or you must do something of it, but it's what God wants. And so when you preach something else other than that, you violate the very first principle of Biblical evangelism and the words that our Lord says, preaching the gospel. Second thing is baptizing, immersing them, those who believe, immersing them. Second thing, those who don't immerse in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. By that I mean by the Biblical authority, by the authority of Christ. Because they're violated, they're no longer needless for them. The third thing is, teaching them to observe all things what they're recommended. Right there is the final rule. Teaching them to observe all things what they're recommended. No more, no any less. In this book. It's not in the creeds that men give. It's not in the Apostle's Creed. It's not in John Gill's writings. I've been to the little John Gill writings, but that's not it. I like reading Gill. I like reading Spurgeon. That's not what the Lord is talking about. What's in this book? That's reading what we have. That's reading what God deserves down through the years. Teach men to live all things. So why is that important? Why is that important to you? Why is it important to me? You see, I wasn't really a printed Baptist. I became a printed Baptist by conviction because of what I read in the next statement. I don't care what men say to me. I don't care how improper they pretend. I don't care what it costs me, personally. But one day I will own something. I don't care what they say to me. I want to be identified with the people that the Lord says I'm different from all of them. There's no proof this side of that text. There's no proof this side of the New Testament doesn't say that the Lord made that promise to him. He made a promise to a particular kind of people. I envision all these people in the future. I believe that's a lot of time. The Lord promised his church, his church, his church, that he would do it. Now, I don't think that's going to be the end. It might be, in the world condition, it might be tomorrow. But I can say, even though it's done quickly, Lord Jesus, I hope and pray that this world that we now live in, with all its corruption, and all its violence, and all its sin, I would hope and pray that the day coming day of the Lord would be soon at hand. And the world, as we read in 2 Peter chapter 3, would be a world, the works that are in it, would be destroyed by fire, burned up, purged by fire. which we will see a new heaven and new earth come out of it. I can pray and hope that might be tomorrow or the day after. But, whenever it is, that I'm alive, I want to be identified with that truth, that kind of peace that the Lord can come to all these people in need. The 18th chapter of Matthew, the Lord says there are two of three little babies in my hand, and they're in my hand. The problem with groups like this, and the problem that all of us in times like this have to deal with, is small stuff. One of the problems is that we make space for something like this, size them up to be a small thing. I heard David Powell sing an excellent message and it thrilled my heart to hear that message where it emphasized this very idea about the old prophecies about the cave and the burning of the desert and the bright sun and there came a whirlwind through the prophecy of the New World Order and there came a fall of fire and the prophecy of the New World Order The world would never be impressed by the Lord's churches. The world would never admire our cathedral. The world will never sanction our doctrines, for that which is highly esteemed among men is the abomination of God, and by virtue of it, whatever the God of our Lord is willing to do. The Jewish people who took John to baptism, they justified God, saying, God is right. And I submit to you today that you, and the kind of churches that you identify with, are the kind of people that justify violence, and justify crime. And we submit to the kind of baptism that God has asked us to do in the call to Christ. And the Lord says to you, I love you.