A couple of months ago, I spoke to you from the twenty-eighth chapter in the book of Matthew concerning the second gospel commission of the Lord Jesus Christ, where the Lord said, Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things which I have commanded you, and, lo, I will go with you all the way, even into the end of the world. to observe all things, to show that Christ was teaching them that they should hold fast to that which they had been taught, and that the apostles did not have liberty to preach more than what Jesus commanded. Neither did the apostles have liberty to preach less than Jesus commanded, and that remains true for us today. We believe that the scriptures, according to 2 Timothy 3.16, are given by inspiration of God and are profitable. As Paul said, all scriptures give them the inspiration of God, and as a result of the doctrine, for we approve, for correction, for instruction and license, the man of God might be perfect, truly furnished, and all good works. Use that to show biblically why we worship as we worship, why we do not bring in certain things that perhaps many other religious groups might. But I was just trying to declare to the Church why we didn't, and the importance of following the New Testament pattern. And we have a blueprint for New Testament worship. It's found in the New Testament. It's important that we recognize the authority of the Word of God. It's important that we recognize that we are to follow the Word of God to the very best of our ability, and that we're not to be conformed to the world here in which we live, but we're to be steadfast concerning these things that are contained in the Scriptures. This morning, with that thought in mind, I'd like to present to you three different answers that you might give somebody if they were to ask you what is the difference between primitive Baptists and other religious groups or other churches in the denominational world. Hopefully, you have that question asked you from time to time, and we're told in the book of 1 Peter 3 and 15 that we're to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts and be ready on every occasion to give an answer to all men who ask you for a reason of hope that lieth within you with meekness and fear." We notice here the first thing we're to do is to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, which means we need to be trying to live close to the Lord, and we have set apart the Lord in our heart in an experiential-type way, where he is first and foremost in our lives. And then we're to be ready, be ready to give an answer to every man, always to give an answer to every man that asks you for reasons of hope that lieth within you. And that word, hope, is a strong word in scripture. That word, hope, means that you have the earnest expectation that the word of God is true and the promises of God you can depend on and count on. And whatever God has declared in his word, we can depend on that and believe it's going to come to pass. We can embrace the promises of God. It's described in the last part of Hebrews chapter six as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. It will stabilize you here in a troubled world. It will stabilize you throughout your adversities and your trials and tribulations that will come upon you here in this world. Jesus made it very clear in John 16, 33, when he said, In this world ye shall have tribulation. And then the apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, declared that all that live in God and in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. To those who live godly, persecution will be their lot to some extent, and those who walk in the true pathway of discipleship can expect trials and tribulations to come their way. That shouldn't surprise us if we study the Bible. That shouldn't surprise us if we study the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if we study the lives of the apostles and the disciples in their early days and know something about the history of the Lord's Church. If you have Foxe's Book of Martyrs, it will give you a very accurate, detailed history of the trials and the troubles that God's people have had down through the centuries that were trying to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in a biblical manner, in a biblical way. We find that contained in the Scriptures is what many people refer to as the doctrines of grace. Now, that word grace is used pretty liberally out here in the world. That's a very familiar word, but you'll find out real soon in talking to people that they don't always mean the same thing that you mean. But nevertheless, we're told that we're to give an answer once again to every man that asks us for reasons of hope that life has been us. And that hope is placed within you when you're born of the Spirit of God. Prior to the new birth, you don't have that hope, and you don't have faith because you're dead in trespasses and in sins. But being born again, being quickened in divine life, You now have faith, because faith is the gift of God that's given to you, and you have that hope that comes along with the divine nature that God has placed within you. And then, you should be very interested in knowing the truth about man, the truth about God, the truth about sin and salvation, and that truth is going to be revealed to us in the Scriptures in God's Word. Now, in the 1700s and early 1800s, This nation here pretty much believed, the Baptists of this country pretty much believed the same thing, and they believed what we call the doctrines of grace, pretty much what our Articles of Faith state. But in the late 1700s and early 1800s, William Carey and Andrew Fuller over in England began to promote certain ideas, certain aspects of theology. that began to take root there and spread over here to America and caused great problems in this land. And part of that was they began to promote the idea that lest the gospel is preached on foreign soil, those on foreign soil could not be saved. The only way they could be saved eternally was to hear the gospel and believe the gospel and obey the gospel. But the Baptists in America had never believed that. They called on, to some extent, to cause problems to finally brought about a division in the early 1800s. We usually mark that division in 1832, where a formal declaration was made in Black Rock, Maryland, against these things, and a division took place. And from that division, we have what developed was the Old School Baptist and New School Baptist, Missionary Baptist, the New School Baptist, and Old School Baptist. The word primitive was coined. And the word primitive means original, it means first. And that's where the name came from, about the time it came into existence. And so that name has been with our people ever since. And as time has gone on, the differences have widened and widened and widened. And sometimes, well, let's put it this way, as time has gone on, the system of free will has been very, very popular and has increased a great deal. Those who have held on to the doctrine of grace, as we do believe the Bible teaches, has remained about the same down through the years. Now, historically and biblically, the Lord's Church has always been a few or a remnant or small in number compared to the great multitudes out here in the world. But this morning, if someone is to ask you, you know, in conversation, that you're a primitive Baptist, then what is the difference between what you believe and what other people believe? You need to have some type of answer. and hopefully the right answer. You would not want the answer of the man one time who was asked the question, what do you believe? He said, well, I believe what my church believes. He said, and what does your church believe? He said, my church believes what I believe. And then he said, well, what do you and your church believe? He said, we believe the same thing. Now, that's not the answer that you want to give, okay? That's not going to be very impressive or very effective to give that kind of answer. And then, of course, there is the five-minute answer, and there is the five-hour answer. And most people are not looking for the five-hour answer. Maybe you'll have opportunity after giving the five-minute answer that you can give a five-hour answer somewhere down the road. But somebody's going to ask you that this morning, and how would you reply to that? Well, most people reply and say, well, we believe we're saved by grace. And then say, well, that's what we believe, too. We believe we're saved by grace. But if you continue to probe and ask questions and go a little further along, you'll find out that they don't mean exactly the same. Now, I want to present three different ways this morning, biblically, I trust, to give you some information as to how you might be able to answer somebody. Remember, you're to answer in meekness and in fear. You're to have the right kind of spirit, the right kind of attitude. You're to have an attitude of humility about yourself as you engage in conversation with our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the first I want to talk to you is concerning the subject of cause and effect. That's one of the main differences that separate us from many other people. Many other people believe that certain things cause eternal life, and we believe those things are the results of eternal life, or the effects of eternal life. Again, cause and effect. For example, in the subject of belief, we read in 1 John chapter 5 and verse 1 where the Apostle John said that whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Now, the question that needs to be answered is, does a person believe to be born of God, or does a person believe because they've been born of God? Now, that text is not an imitation, but a proclamation or a declaration of fact that whosoever believeth, that's with a th, they're already in the state of belief. They're not potential believers. They are present believers. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. That is his state. He's been born of God, and that's why he believes that Jesus is the Christ. John 6 and 47, the Lord Jesus Christ said, he that believeth in me, Again, we've got to notice the THs on these words, because it shows people that are presently in this state, not potential believers, but present believers. Christ, in he that believeth on me, or in me, hath already is in possession now of everlasting life. So, we believe that belief is the effect of the new birth. You don't believe in order to become born again. You believe because you are born again. 1 Corinthians 2 and 14, Paul says, "...the natural man, the one who has not been born again, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are fully sent to him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." That text alone will let you know that the natural man simply cannot receive the things of the Spirit. If he can't receive the things of the Spirit, then he's certainly not going to believe the things of the Spirit. Psalm 14 says, "...the fool is said in his fright that there is no God." So when you find a believer, you have found somebody already born of the Spirit of God. They didn't believe become born, they believed because they were born. In John chapter 10 verse 26, the Lord Jesus Christ is presented here as the good shepherd of sheep, which lays down his life for the sheep. And he tells a group of Jews that he was speaking to, he says, you believe not because you're not of my sheep. Now notice the order of what the Lord here said. He did not say you're not of my sheep because you don't believe. He said, you believe not because, here's the cause, you believe not because you're not of my sheep. That's why you don't believe. He said, but my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no man can pluck them out of my hand. And my Father which gave them to me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand, for I am the Father, or one. We look in John, the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 11 through 13. And here we find where it says, "...the Lord Jesus Christ came to his own, and his own received him not. But as many as did receive him, gave him power," which means authority, "...to become the sons of God." He says, "...and as many as received him, gave him power to become the sons of God, who were born, not of the flesh, nor the will of man, nor of blood, but of God." Now, the 13th verse is the key to understanding verses 11 and 12. Oftentimes, verses 11 and 12 are quoted and verse 13 is never mentioned, but chapter 13 is the key. Excuse me, verse 13 is the key. It's the key to unlock those two verses. Notice again what he says. He says, he came to his own, talking about the Jewish people, the nation of Jews, he came to his own, his own received him not. And we know by studying the four Gospels that was the case. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and a quaint of grief. He came as though his own received him not, but as many as did receive him, such as Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus, and a few of the disciples, as many as did receive him, gave he power, which means authority here, to become the sons of God in a manifest way. You say, well, now how do you know that means a manifest way? Well, the next verse is going to show you. to become the sons of God who were born. These people were born. He's going to tell you how they were not born and how they were born. They were not born of blood. In other words, they did not get this just from a natural generation, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. It didn't come of man's will or their will, but they were born of God, and that's why they received him. Remember 1 Corinthians 2.14, that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God? Here's some that received him. They received him because they were born of God. They were not born of blood. They were not born according to the will of man or the will of the flesh, but they were born of God. So belief is the evidence that one has been born of the Spirit. In Romans 8 and 14, the Apostle Paul said, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Again, we notice it's not those who are led by the Spirit of God could be the sons of God, but they are the sons of God. And it reminds me of an experience I had many, many years ago when I went to the hospital to see this lady that was dying, and she had been an alcoholic, and her liver was about gone. And I went to see her, and her daughter was waiting outside. And her daughter came to me. She says, I would appreciate very much when you wanted to see her if you would talk to her and if you can find out if you think that she has been saved or not. And if she's not, whatever you can do." I said, well you just wait here and let me talk to you when I come back out. So I went in there and had a very nice conversation with her and she expressed her belief in the Lord and she asked me to have prayer. It was just a very sweet experience. And I went back out there and I sat down with her daughter and I said, let me just tell you something about Romans 8.14. For as many as are lamb of the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. The Spirit of God is what leads one to pray. The Spirit of God is what leads one to confess the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God is what leads one to try to walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan will try to keep you from doing that. It's the Spirit of God that leads you. I said, your mother gave a very beautiful testimony and evidence while I was in there that the Lord had made himself acquainted with her, that she was accepted with the Lord. And I believe that she is a child of God. and she didn't live long after that and passed away and preached her funeral, but the truth brought comfort to her daughter. The truth set her daughter free. Her daughter was in bondage to fear prior to me going in there and visiting with the mother and coming out and talking to her. I just tried to explain to her the things that I witnessed in there gave me the evidence that she had been born of the Spirit of God. that God had touched her heart, and the Spirit of God was leading her in her thoughts, in her expressions, etc. So, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. When it comes to the subject of confession, we find in the book of 1 John chapter 5 and verse 15 that whosoever confesses that Jesus is the Christ, God abideth in him, and he, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Now, why does one confess that Jesus is the Christ? The natural man would never do that. The unregenerate man would never do that. See, confession doesn't come from an unregenerate heart. Confession comes from a born-again heart. Whosoever confesses that Jesus is the Christ, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. When you find somebody that confesses that Jesus has come in the flesh, then you're finding somebody that God is already dwelling on the inside. They don't confess to bring Christ in. They confess because Christ is in, you see. You come to Romans chapter 10, verse 9, and Paul said, "...whoso confesseth with their mouth and believeth in their heart that Jesus is the Christ shall be saved." Well, who is going to confess and who's going to believe from the heart except one who's already been born of the Spirit of God? And I hope that you're understanding that this morning, the difference of cause and effect. If you break out, you know, in red spots, and you're running a fever, and feeling all kind of aches and pains, and you go to the doctor, and you go in there, and you tell him how you feel, and he examines you, and he says, well, you know, I think you're just about ready to get the measles. Now, I'm not going back to that doctor. Those spots and that fever and those aches and pains is a result of me already having the measles. I've got the measles. That's the evidence. I've got the measles. That's not what's going to cause me to get the measles. That's the effect that I already have the measles, you see. Understand what I'm saying? And you could apply that to anything. You go to the doctor and you explain to him all your symptoms, and he finally diagnoses what the problem is. He's not going to tell you that, you know, you need to be careful because you're not far away from, you know, getting the flu. No, you've already got the flu, and now here's the symptoms of the flu. and so belief and confession with the mouth and belief from the heart are evidences of a born-again child of God. So, we get down to the subject of cause and effect. What most people say is the cause of salvation, we say is the effect of salvation when it comes to evidences such as praying and studying the scriptures and having an interest in the house of God and having an interest in spiritual conversations and believing and exercising faith. All these are very wonderful things that need to be taught from the Word of God, but all these are evidences that you've been born of the Spirit of God. They're not conditions to be met to be born. They're evidences you have been born. So, we have here the doctrine, you might say, of cause and effect. Let's take a look at the subject of faith just for a moment. A lot of times people are told, you know, all you've got to do is just have faith and everybody has that ability, but that's not true. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica. And he said in chapter 3, he says, Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of God might be hath precourse, and that we might be delivered from ungodly and unreasonable men, for all men hath not faith. He says here, there are some men that do not have faith, and we are praying, and I want you to pray, he says, that God will deliver us from those kind of people. Well, he didn't want to be delivered into their hands, he wanted to be delivered away from them, because they are wicked men and evil men, they do not have faith. But I find ninefold proof of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 and 22, and number seven of that nine is the word faith. Now, the proof of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, love, suffering, etc. Number seven is faith. Faith does not produce the spirit, rather the spirit produces the faith. Where does the faith come from? We're told in Hebrews chapter 12 that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith, and that word author means to be the causer of. It's causative. He's the causer of your faith. Your human nature does not have faith within it. Your human nature cannot believe in God or trust in God because it is dead in trespasses and in sins. but faith is a fruit of the Spirit. You find somebody exercising faith and you found somebody that's been born in the Spirit of God, they're heaven-bought and they're heaven-bound. Find somebody that will confess the Lord and Jesus Christ with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, you found somebody already born again, heaven-bought, and heaven-bound. These are not conditions to be met in order to be born again or be saved. They're evidences that a person is producing in their life that God has already quickened them and brought them from a state of death and sin to a state of life in the Lord Jesus Christ. We look at John chapter 5 verse 24, and the Lord Jesus Christ said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and is passed from death to life, and shall not commend the condemnation. Now, notice this verse once again, "...whosoever heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, has passed from death unto life, and shall not come into condemnation." Again, we've got the word hear and the word believe with a th on it here, which means that you have found somebody that's not a potential believer, but you have found a present believer, and somebody has ears that can hear. Why do you think the Lord closed off many of his teachings like this? He said, "...let him that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Why do you think he made that statement? Those that he was preaching to had physical, natural ears just like you and I do, and they could hear the audible sound just like you and I can, but they couldn't understand spiritually what the Lord was saying. They couldn't understand it. So, he says, let them have ears to hear, let them hear. So, a hearing ear is the result of one already being born of the Spirit of God, so we're dealing here with a subject of cause and effect. What caused a person to hear? What caused a person to believe? What caused a person to have faith? Well, God is the cause of that. He's the one who must warn one of the Spirit, and then the Lord in the very next verse there in John 5 and 25, saying, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Now, notice who's going to hear here? The dead here. Now, we know the dead can't hear physical sounds, natural sounds. But the dead in sins can hear the voice of the Son of God, because that voice is a life-giving voice, and Christ speaks life, and life is given. And Christ has never had to speak more than one time to give eternal life to that person or object of his love. He just simply speaks, and life is given. Life's not offered, life is given. And so we could take a lot more time on this subject of cause and effect, but I hope that you can understand so far basically what I've been telling you here, and grasp that, and we'll move on to number two. One of the things that separates primitive actists from many other people here is the subject of eternal salvation and time salvation, or salvation here in time as a result of following the word of God, the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We look up here in Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21, and we find where the angel tells Mary, excuse me, Joseph, fear not to take unto Mary to be thy wife, for that which conceiveth of her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now, here we got a text that's very clear that Jesus does the saving here, that he shall save his people from their sins. That verse says he has a people referred to as his people, and he shall save his people from their sins. But just hold that there for a little while, because over here we're going to find some other verses that show other people can also do some saving. In the last verse of James, chapter 5, we find where the writer here tells us, if any man do err from the truth, If any man do err from the truth, and one go and convert him from the error that he is in to truth, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sin." Now, here we find a soul can be saved from death by the labors of another person. If any err from the truth. Now, here's a person that was walking in the truth. If they were walking in the truth, that's the indication, evidence, that they've been born of the Spirit of God, and they had heard the truth, and now they had applied the truth, and they were walking in the truth. if any man, any brother, err from the truth, and one go and convert him." Now, we talk about conversion, not regeneration, converting somebody. "...and one convert him, let him know that he which hath converted the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sin." Here's somebody that can be influential in the life of somebody else. If you know somebody that you feel like has shown forth the evidences of grace and being born of the Spirit, and you have had good fellowship, and then you see them begin to go in the wrong direction, and you see them begin to stray away, and God would bless you to go and talk to that individual in meekness and in fear and in kindness, and the Lord would bless your efforts, and you would save that person from a death that's under consideration. The word death means separation. And when they begin to walk away from truth, they're separating themselves from the fellowship of God and from the fellowship of the Lord's church, perhaps, and the Lord's people. And that within itself is a death. But you might be blessed in God to recover a person like that and save them from that death and also hide a multitude of sin in the process. I look over here in the eighth chapter in the book of Matthew and disciples on a ship in a storm. And as they're in that ship on a storm, the Lord Jesus Christ is behind the part of the ship and the Lord is asleep. And the disciples are greatly afraid, and they come and wake up the Lord Jesus Christ and ask him this question. He said, Cherish not that we perish. And the Lord Jesus Christ rebuked the wind. He stilled the storm. The wind quit blowing, and the waves just became immediately calm. You're going to find here in this storm, as you read the other accounts of it, the disciples are going to say, Lord, save us. Now, what do they have under consideration here? They're asking the Lord to save them from the storm. They're asking the Lord to save them from destruction or from losing their lives in the storm. I look in Matthew 14 of a second storm, the disciples ran on the sea, and the Lord Jesus Christ is not in the ship, but he comes to the disciples walking on the water. And as he gets rather close, the apostle Peter cries out, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come. And the Lord said, come. And the apostle Peter got out of the ship and started walking on the water to the Lord Jesus Christ. And as long as he kept his eyes on the Lord, of course, he was okay, and he walked on those waves. But when he took his eyes off the Lord, he began to sink beneath the waves, and he cried out, Lord, save me. What did Peter want to be saved from right there? Peter wanted to be saved from drowning right there. He's asking the Lord to deliver him from drowning in that raging sea on that occasion. I come over here to the book of 1 Timothy, chapter 4, verses 15 and 16. And the apostle Paul writes to this young minister, tells him to meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly unto them, that thy property might appear to all." Talking about the doctrines of the Word of God, etc. Then he says, "...continue in them, give thyself wholly to them, and continue in them, and take heed unto thyself, and thou shalt both save thyself and them that fear thee." Now the apostle Paul is telling Timothy that he can actually save himself. How's he going to save himself? By taking heed to the word of God himself personally, by taking heed to the things to which he studies, taking heed to the things which he's been proclaiming to God's children, he will save himself. He will deliver himself from any pitfalls in this world here. He will save himself from any heartaches that he otherwise might experience by walking away from the word of God. And not only will he save himself, but he will also save those that hear him. Now, obviously, Timothy's a born-again child of God here. Paul is not telling Timothy he can save himself from hell to heaven, not telling Timothy he can save himself from sin to righteousness, but he is telling Timothy that if you will apply the Word of God in your life and take heed of yourself, Timothy, then you will save or deliver yourself, you know, from this ungodly world in which we're living. And then those that are seeing you and hearing you and seeing your example, you can likewise save them here also. So, Timothy was able to save people in a gospel sense, and that takes place in time. That takes place in our earthly journey. That's why it's sometimes referred to as time salvation, or salvation in time, from error to truth, from ungodliness to godliness, from unrighteousness to righteousness, from disobedience to obedience. The Lord Jesus Christ himself, in John chapter 20, verse 27, you've got to find where the Lord said, My soul is sore troubled. My soul is in trouble, what shall I say?" He says, Father, save me from this hour. Christ is asking the Father to save him. Anybody here this morning thinking Jesus wasn't saved eternally? I mean, he had eternal salvation under consideration here? Obviously not. He is God manifest in the flesh. He is the God-man. He's the Son of Man. He's the Son of God. He's God's beloved Son in this world here, but he came into this world to do a work that we couldn't do. He came into this work and carried the burdens and the weight of the sins of God's people upon his shoulders during his thirty-three and a half years, and now he's getting close to going here to the cross. He's just a short way from Gethsemane. He says, My soul is sore troubled. He says, What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this hour I came out here into this world. Peter asked the Lord to save him. The disciples asked the Lord to save him. The Lord Jesus Christ is crying out to the Father to save him. Paul tells Timothy he can save himself and those that hear him. Over in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, the opening verses, Paul said, Well, my brother, I declare unto you the gospel wherein you stand, wherein you believe, wherein you stand, whereby you shall be saved if you keep in memory what I preach to you. Now, Paul here is writing to a church. A church is a band of baptized believers who have confessed that Jesus is the Christ. They have made a profession of faith. They've denied themselves, taken up their cross, and followed Jesus Christ in water or gospel baptism. That's who Paul is writing to here. These are some of God's people in this life here, and Paul tells them as he starts this chapter out, moreover, brethren. Notice how he addresses them as brethren. These are not unregenerate people. These are regenerated people. These are his brothers and sisters in Christ. Moreover, brethren, he says, I have declared unto you the gospel wherein you have belief, wherein you stand, whereby you shall be saved if you keep in memory The salvation consideration here is based upon them keeping in memory what he preached to them. And what had he preached to them? He said, remember, first of all, how I preached unto you how Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, how he also was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures. In the strictest sense, in the biblical sense, here's the definition of the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, if you keep in memory the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ and what it accomplished, which I hope to speak on just a little bit later on this morning, and what it accomplished, it will save you, it'll bring you peace, it'll bring you comfort, it'll bring you rest of your soul that otherwise you would not have. It'll save you from a lot of trouble and trials in this world because the truth the Lord said shall make you free. I'm telling you, there's nothing any more important in this life here than knowing and understanding and believing the truth of God's sovereignty and God's grace. It will help you get through some of the most severe storms of life. It'll help stabilize you when you're facing your own personal trials, when you're facing trials as a family, when you're facing trials as a church, when you're facing trials as a nation, to believe that there's a God in heaven that rules and reigns in the universe, that there's a God in heaven that's sovereign in everything that He does. There's a God in heaven, again, that sits upon this throne there, and He rules, and He looks down upon this earth here as His footstool, that He's the Omnipotent God, the Omnipresent God, the Omniscient God, and that He cares for His people. He's a God of great compassion. He's always intervening and overriding many things in this life here. He cares for you to the greatest and smallest detail. Having that information and believing the promises of God will stabilize you and free you from many things in this world which God's people are in great bondage to. I declare unto you the gospel." Here's a church that was going to be saved if they kept in memory what the Apostle Paul had preached unto them. I've come to the book of Acts, Chapter 2. In Acts, Chapter 2, the Apostle Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost, and the Lord is blessing him immeasurably on this occasion here. And the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the Apostle Peter, and there's a great multitude of people that hears the proclamation of the gospel coming from the lips of this wonderful man of God. And when the apostle Peter gets through preaching, there are those, the Bible says, who were pricked in their hearts, and they cried out, men and brethren, what shall we do? Now, their heart was in such a condition that the gospel could prick it. I come up a little bit further, Acts chapter 7, and you'll find where Stephen spoke to a people that were cut to the heart. Their heart was not prepared, like the people in Acts chapter 2. But in Acts chapter 2, they are pricked in the heart, and they cry out, men and brethren. Notice how they express themselves, men and brethren. They felt like they had kinship here. Men and brethren, what shall we do? And the apostle Peter, that oftentimes did not have the right answer, had it on this occasion. He says, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to many is as far off as the Lord thy God shall call. Therefore, save yourselves from this untoward generation. He says you can save yourselves here from this untoward generation of Jewish people who crucify the Lord of glory. the nation of the Jews that rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and cried out, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him, and in charge with a national crime, you might say, of crucifying the Son of God, he says you need to save yourself from this untoward generation here. These salvations I'm talking to you about over here are all in time. and they're all dependent upon hearing the gospel and responding to the gospel and being obedient to the gospel or to the teachings of God's word. As you apply this in your life here, it brings many wonderful and sweet deliverances to you as you're here on an earthly journey as a pilgrim and a stranger. Most people out here, every time they see the word saved or salvation, they believe it means eternal salvation. But I've given you already a number of texts that has the word saved in it that has nowhere near has eternal salvation anywhere close to it. but it is a deliverance and a salvation from something to something else. That's what salvation is. It's a deliverance from one thing to another thing. It may be from ignorance to truth, from sin to righteousness, from light or from darkness to light, but it's always salvation from something to something. So, here we're talking about the difference in eternal salvation and time salvation associated with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's get back over to this side of the ledger just for a moment. We're going to add on to Matthew 121 right here. In the book of Titus chapter 3 and verse 5, Paul says, according as he has saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, that he here is God. Who does the saving here? God does the saving, separate and apart from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. 2 Timothy 1 and 9 says, "...who has saved us," talking about God, "...who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which he has given us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world." Here we're told that God has saved us and God has called us. Over here in Ephesians 2, verse 8, Paul says, For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, lest the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Here Paul tells you how it's not, and then he tells you how it is. For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, the grace is not of you, the faith is not of you, it comes from God. For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, it's not the offer of God, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Read over here in Acts, Chapter 15, where some brethren come down to Jerusalem, and they were bringing forth the message, except if you keep the law of Moses, you cannot be saved. Except if you be circumcised according to the law of Moses, you cannot be saved. Except if you keep and abstain from the law of Moses, you cannot be saved. It caused great controversy. And the Apostle Peter and others were on that occasion there, and finally the Apostle Peter spoke up and came out in verse 11. And he makes this, asking this question, makes this declaration of fact. He says, why put you in this shell to fight our next that our forefathers were not able to bear? He's telling right here, our forefathers were not saved by keeping Moses' law. Our forefathers were not saved eternally by being circumcised. Yes, that was an act of obedience that God gave unto them, you know, commandments God gave unto them for them to obey all right. But he says, why put you this yoke upon our necks that our forefathers were not able to bear? Here's a burden that they could not bear. He said, but we believe we are saved by grace even as they were. What he's saying here is that God saved his people by grace in the Old Testament, he saved by grace in the New Testament. God's people are all saved the same way, from Adam all the way to the end of time, to the last air promises born in this world, will get to heaven the exact same way, through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's by God's wonderful grace. Over here we got a lot of text saying God has done some saving. Over here we got some text where he says that ministers are involved in saving. Look in 1 Corinthians 1.21, and the apostle says, "...the world by wisdom knew not God, and it pleased God by the foolish of preaching to save them that believe." Well, who is this going to be saved here? Believers once again. Who are believers? They're born-again children of God. But there's a salvation in the gospel. There's a wonderful, sweet influence in the gospel when God blesses you to hear the gospel. When God blesses you to understand what really happened on Calvary nearly 2,000 years ago, when Jesus Christ laid down his life on behalf of those the Father gave him, when you understand that that was a secured work back there, that Jesus Christ didn't make something possible, but he actually obtained it and secured it, and you can see that and understand that, it'll bring you great relief, great rest, great peace and great comfort in your heart, and will bring a saving influence into your life. Going to move on. First of all, we differ concerning the subject of cause and effect. Second of all, we make a sharp distinction between eternal salvation and salvation that comes through the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Two different types of salvation. This here is from hell to heaven. This over here is from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from walking around in bondage to untruth, to having the freedom and liberty of the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what the gospel does. It brings light, and you get more attached to the light through the gospel, you see. The third thing I'd like to talk to you about this morning is the fact that we believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was totally victorious in what it was designed to accomplish. in contrast to the death, burn, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ over here, which saves nobody unless something is added to it. Over here, you've got the death, burn, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but yet that within itself doesn't save anybody. Something has to be added to it. Something has to be connected to it. Something like your faith or your belief or the preaching of the gospel. If you just think about it this morning, since the beginning of time until this present day, Only a very, very small percentage of people who've ever lived here in this world have ever read the Word of God or heard what we call the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Only a very small, small percentage for various reasons. But the doctrine of grace is not hindered by that. Over here, you've got the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet nobody is saved by that work of Christ, and that something has been added to it. If it's not added to it, that death will not be effective on any individual. Over here, we believe that the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ saved all that was designed to save, which is a multitude of people that no man can number, out of every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people upon the face of this earth. Let's notice a few expressions here concerning the death of Christ. I look at Romans chapter 5 and verse 6, and Paul says, "...for when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly." He said, "...for scarcity for a righteous man in one die, yet for adventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God committed his love toward us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Now, based upon those statements, here's what he's going to say. He says, "...then much more being justified by his life, we shall be justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath to come through him." He says, rapture's coming, but we've been saved from that rapture come through the Lord Jesus Christ who justified us by his blood, who died for sinners, who died for the ungodly when they were yet without strength. And in the next verse, verse 10 says, for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. That tells me the death of the Lord Jesus Christ reconciles somebody to God, that the death of the Lord Jesus Christ has saved somebody from the wrath that is to come. It's an accomplished fact. He secured the salvation of those the Father gave him. Therefore, when the wrath of God comes at the end of time, it shall not be poured out upon those whom Christ died for, because they've been saved from the wrath to come. Galatians 1.4, who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world. That text tells me this world I'm living in is present, is temporary, and it's also very evil, but through the death, birth, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have a deliverance from this present evil world. Now, I'm living in this world right now, but when I draw my last breath, I'll leave this world. You know, I draw my last breath, I'll leave this world. within our hearts, and we miss those that we've loved so dearly here in this life. But I'm going to tell you, there's a great consolation in my heart as I recently experienced, you know, the death of my own father. As we were going through the house there and looking at different things, and every time I just couldn't say anything to anybody else. I just got all choked up, and the tears was, you know, about to flow. But then I turned my attention to heaven itself. And I thought about where he's at in the present time. And I thought, my father's not having any trouble walking up there. My father's not having any trouble breathing up there. My father is basking in the glory of the Son of God and basking, my friends, in the presence of Almighty God that he left to hear so much about while he lived here in this world. And that brought great comfort into my heart and does as I'm speaking to you this morning. It brings a peace into my soul that passes all understanding. that God of peace can give you the peace, my friend, that passeth all understanding. I'm telling you, when a child of God leaves this world, we don't need to mourn for them, mourn for ourselves, but rejoice, my friends, on behalf of those who've left this world to go into another world where they'll never again be bothered by pain or trials or tribulations or enemies or the Satan or temptations in this life. If we take a look at Romans chapter 8 and verse 33 and 34, And the apostle Paul writes over here, and he says, "...who shall lay a thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies." When did that take place? On the cross. He says, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, that is risen again, that's on the right hand of the majesty on high. He's been based on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not one of the elect of God can be charged with anything because Jesus Christ has paid the debt. And nobody can condemn one whom Christ died for because Christ did die for him. He arose for him, and he's on the right hand of God. Make an intercession for him. Now, you get those two verses and go home and just meditate them on the rest of the day. And let's go back one verse to verse 32 when Paul asks the question, if God spared not his own son, has he not also free to give us all things? He says here, if he did not spare his own son, and he did not, I have never heard in my life, I have never read, where somebody gave the life of one of their children to die in the flesh of somebody else. Maybe it's happened. I've never read about it, never heard about it, except in the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ. Because here, brother, God Almighty gave His only begotten Son. God Almighty did not spare His only begotten Son, but He delivered Him for our offenses and raised Him again for our justification. Which simply means this. through the life and death and burrowing resurrection of Jesus Christ, God sees you as his children, as if you had never committed a sin. Isn't that wonderful? To imagine that God sees you and God sees me. I don't just say me. That God sees me through Jesus Christ as if I had never committed a sin in this world. That's just too good to be true, brother. But I'm telling you this morning, it's true. That's what justification is. You stand just before God, just before Christ, holy God, because God sees you through his Son. 1 Peter 3.18, the Apostle Peter says, For the Lord Jesus Christ was once offered for the sins of his children, and he was a just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh and quickened by the Spirit. He was a just who died in the place of the unjust. I'm telling you, Jesus Christ, when He died on Calvary, He did not make salvation just a possibility. Once again, He secured the salvation of all whom the Father gave Him, out of every nation, and tenor, and tongue, and people, from the no man can number here in this world. He represented them all the way to Calvary. He made the offering to God the Almighty, and Almighty God received the offering, and therefore the offering was accepted on behalf of all the elect of God, and Christ is risen. The firstfruits, my friends, that makes the entire family of God sure to go into glory someday. Hebrews chapter 9, verses 15, 16, and 17. He said, for there is a testament. It is not in force as long as the testator liveth. In order for a testament to be put into force, the testator must die. Now, we know that just from common knowledge. You can draw off a wheel and change that wheel 50 times if you want to. As long as you're living and breathing, you can change that wheel on a daily basis. But when you die, that wheel goes into effect. And I'm going to tell you, God Almighty had a wheel. And he's the testator who drew up the will, and the will was put into effect when he died on Calvary nearly 2,000 years ago. That will is expressed over here in John 6, 38 and 39, when the Lord Jesus Christ said, I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me, and this is the Father's will, all he hath given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. That will is in effect. There's a number of other verses we can give you concerning the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and what really took place and what really happened there nearly 2,000 years ago. We believe in the death, burn, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that salvation was secured and obtained, and the work of Jesus Christ was victorious in every sense of the word, and the Lord's people have a victory through the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's what this hope, once again, is all about. My hope, brothers, when I leave this world, I'll go right into heaven itself instantaneously. When I die, just immediately, my soul and spirit will take its flight and be with the Father and with the Son and the Holy Spirit. That's my hope, and it encourages me and saves me from many things here in this world. When I'm going through the valley of despair, when I'm going through discouragement, when I'm going through some of the trials of this world here, when I get cast down and I'm very low, and I can begin to think and keep my right mind and say, you know, this is soon going to pass. It's temporary. The day is coming when the Lord's going to come from glory. He's going to come with all His holy angels with Him. and he's going to speak, and those in the graves are going to hear his voice, and they're going to come forth, and the entire family of God's going to be reunited together and go to be with the Lord in glory without the loss of one eternally forever and forevermore. There's nowhere in this world, my friends, you can ever hear a message any sweeter and better than that. I'm talking the message in the Scriptures. Cause and effect, eternal salvation, and many salvations here in time, And what did the death of the Lord Jesus Christ really accomplish? Over here, it accomplishes nothing unless man obeys certain commandments, unless man keeps certain conditions. Over here, we believe that that death, burn, and resurrection is not depending upon man. It's depending upon God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the three-in-one Godhead that Paul talked about in Romans 8, 29 and 30, when he said, For whom God did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whomever he did predestinate, then he also called, and whomever he called, then he also justified, and whomever he justified, then he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? God before us, who can be against us?"