Two Misguided Preachers - (Don Fortner)

            

Why, then, did the Lord Jesus respond to this man’s request the way he did? — “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”

            The Lord was simply saying this: — There are others who can and will take care of that matter. You have more important things to do. There are other people to bury your father. I have called you and sent you to preach the gospel.

            Many good men, men who know, believe, and preach the gospel spend far too much time and energy burying the dead instead of preaching the gospel. Without question, there are lots of dead people who need burying; but there are plenty of dead people to bury them. Those who have been called of God to preach the gospel must never be turned aside from their calling. Family, friends and neighbors may not (almost certainly will not) understand such devotion to Christ and his cause. But those who are called and sent of God to preach the gospel must not allow concern for the welfare of their families to interfere with obedience to God. If I am God’s servant, serving the interests of his Kingdom and his glory, he will take care of those things that concern me concerning my family and its welfare.

            No man can serve God on his terms. Sadly, there are many who attempt to do so, and pretend to do so; but the fact remains: — No man can serve God on his terms! There are many who attempt to serve Christ with divided loyalties, like the man in our text, attempting to be part time preachers, attempting to both follow Christ and pursue the cares of the world. They are willing to be preachers. They are willing to serve Christ. But they put off their service to Christ, dividing their time and energy between Christ and other matters of concern and responsibility. They fail to understand, or refuse to obey the Scriptures. Those who are called of God to preach the gospel must give themselves entirely to the work of the gospel ministry: to prayer, to study and to preaching (1 Timothy 4:12-16).

            If the Lord God has called me to preach the gospel, if Christ has sent me to serve his Kingdom, he will take care of my affairs. He is honor bound to do so (Exodus 34:23-24; Luke 22:35). Matthew Henry wrote, “The way of duty is the way of safety. If we serve God, he will preserve us; and those that venture for him shall never lose by him. While we are employed in God’s work, and are attending upon him, we are taken under special protection, as noblemen and members of parliament are privileged from arrests.” If I feed God’s family, he will feed mine. If I serve his house, he will serve mine. If I protect his children, he will protect mine. If I provide for his, he will provide for mine (2 Timothy 2:4).

Looking Back

            “And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (vv. 61-62). — Here is a preacher who put his hand to the plow and looked back.

            This man’s conduct stands here as a warning to all to whom God has given the privilege of preaching the gospel. Because of the context in which this is found, I am confident this man, like the one before him and those following in chapter 10, was a man sent out by the Lord Jesus to preach the gospel. The lesson taught in these two verses is to be applied in its strictest sense to all who are sent of God to this blessed work. The lesson is clear: —— We cannot serve Christ with divided hearts!

            This man appears to have had a divided heart. He wanted both the ease and joy of other men and the nobility of preaching the gospel. He seems to have looked upon the work of the ministry as a sacrifice rather than a privilege. He seems to have been willing to expose himself to the strongest temptation possible to turn him aside from the work to which he had been called.

            This man’s conduct stands as a warning to all who follow Christ. We cannot serve Christ with divided hearts! Those who look back to the world, like Lot’s wife looked back to Sodom, betray something in themselves that wants to go back! Be warned. Christ will not share his throne with anyone, not even with our dearest relatives. He requires our hearts. He must be first. Abraham had to leave his father and his father’s house, for Christ’s sake. When he tried to both follow Christ and stay with his father, God killed his father. Moses had to forsake the woman who raised him as her own son, for Christ’s sake. God forced him to choose between pleasing his wife, or obeying him (Exodus 4:24-26; Proverbs 4:20-23; 23:17-18, 23, 26). — We cannot serve Christ with divided hearts!

“Earthen Vessels” — 2 Corinthians 4:7 (Don Fortner)

We must face the fact that flesh is flesh. Though all who believe are saved by the grace of God, washed in the blood and clothed in the righteousness of Christ, so long as we are in this world, we are just “earthen vessels.” When Paul talks about that salvation which brings into our hearts “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” he reminds us that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

            The more we think of the utter weakness of our flesh, the more thankful we are that our security and preservation in Christ is not dependent upon our own weak nature, but upon God’s constant power and sustaining grace. We are so feeble that if the matter were left in our hands, we would all fall and perish very soon. Many cannot endure the teachings of Holy Scripture regarding this matter of our security and preservation in Christ, because it makes the whole of salvation a work of divine grace from beginning to end. It allows no room for human merit and works.

            We do not pretend to live above sin. Sin is a sadly common fact of life. You will never find one of those men who lived and walked with God in the Bible bragging about his righteousness or his perfection. In fact, they all struggled with sin in their flesh. All of God’s people are like Paul. We have two natures within us struggling for supremacy; the one is good, the other evil; the one is righteousness, the other sin; the one is spirit, the other flesh. If we could avoid it, we would never sin. We abhor our sin as an infinitely evil thing! We long for the day when we shall be totally free from sin. But, for now, we have the treasure of God’s saving grace in these earthen vessels, so that the excellency, the greatness, the power and the glory of our salvation may be attributed to him alone and not to us.

            Does this mean that God’s people are no different from the unbelieving of this world? Certainly not! The believer is like a man climbing up a hill. He does slip and fall; but his face is set toward the summit. The unregenerate man is always going down, because his face is set in that direction. The believer is like a man on a ship. He often slips and falls on the deck; but he never jumps over board. Our judgments may at times be wrong, like the bewitched Galatians (3:1). Our affections may cool like the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:4). Grace may at times seem to be lost to a child of God; but it never is really lost. The people of God, like the church in the Song of Solomon, do become slothful and negligent; but their hearts awake (5:2). The sun is sometimes eclipsed; but it regains its splendor. The trees lose all their fruit and leaves in the winter; but they have fresh buds in the spring. Israel may flee before her enemies at times; but she enters the land of promise triumphantly when her journey is over. So, too, the true believer falls many times; but the Lord raises him up, and he shall finally enter into heaven triumphantly through the blood, the righteousness and the grace of Christ. It is utterly unthinkable that one of God’s elect should fail to enter into eternal glory. Like Jonah, we all may at times flee from the will of God; but grace will pursue us, preserve us and cause our hearts to return to him who loved us and gave himself for us.

             I am like you, a man struggling with sin. At times, my sinful thoughts and my sinful deeds almost drive me to despair. But I am reminded by the gospel and by the Spirit of God that his grace is sufficient even for me. My salvation and my acceptance with God are not in myself, but in my Substitute. Like you, I am just an “earthen vessel;” but Christ is “The Lord our Righteousness.” He is all my Salvation, all my Desire and all my Assurance. I hang all my hope upon him. Do you?

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“The Way Which They Call Heresy…” (Acts 24:14-16) Don Fortner

         Paul was accused of heresy by all the religious world around him. The fundamentalists and the liberals, the Jews and the Gentiles, all with one voice said he was a pestilent thing, a mover of sedition, a cause of strife, division and anarchy and a heretic.

         When he stood before Felix to answer their charge, the apostle Paul boldly and plainly declared, “After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers.” I declare the same thing to you.

        “They” — They are the entire religious world which is set in opposition to the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ. It matters not what denominational name they take. Their religion is essentially the same. They all teach that to some degree salvation depends upon and is determined by man: his will, his works, his decision, his choice, his baptism, etc.

        “THE WAY” — There are just two ways of religion: the broad way and the narrow way, the way of Cain and the way of Abel, the way of Babel and the way of Noah, the way of works and the way of grace, the way of man and the way. — “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man.” It seems right to all men by nature that what a man is and does, by which he vainly imagines that he distinguishes himself from other men, must count for something with God. All the religions of this world, all the religions of “the great whore,” Babylon , adhere to this way. Arminian, freewill, works religion is the wine of Babylon ’s fornications, by which the nations of the world are intoxicated and deceived. “But the end thereof are the ways of death.” It does not matter which of Babylon ’s roads you take, all her ways are the ways of death.

        There is only one way to God, only one way to heaven, only one way to life, only one way of salvation. The Son of God, our all-glorious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ says, “I am THE WAY. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Christ is the way. He alone can put us in the way; and he alone can keep us in the way. If you would be saved, you must be saved in this way. You must trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone as all your Wisdom before God, all your Righteousness (imputed and imparted), all your Sanctification and all your Redemption (by blood at Calvary, by grace in regeneration and in resurrection glory). If you look to yourself, in any way, to any degree, for any of these things, you are not in THE WAY (Galatians 5:2, 4).

                “SO WORSHIP I THE GOD OF MY FATHERS.” — I do not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, my physical fathers (Philippians 3:4-8). Flesh and blood have nothing to do with the knowledge and worship of God. I worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, my spiritual fathers. Like them, I bow to, believe, worship, adore and praise the one true and living God. — “We are the circumcision, (the true Israel of God, his true covenant people), which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

Four Important Men (Luke 5:17-26) Don Fortner

“And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.” (Luke 5:17-26)

We have before us four of the most important men in the Bible. So far as I know, not one of them was a preacher. None of them wrote a word of inspiration. These four men were not prophets or apostles. They appear to have been insignificant, if not totally unknown among their peers. The names, ages and birth places of these four men are not mentioned anywhere in the Word of God. Yet, these four men rank among the most important men in the Bible, because these four, unknown nobodies were instruments by which God brought one of his elect sheep to Christ. These four men had a friend who was paralyzed, both physically and spiritually; and they brought their friend to Christ; and the Lord Jesus both healed their friend and forgave his sin. The story of their remarkable faith and zeal is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Never in all the world did any mortals perform a more important work than these four men. Because of their labors, a sinner was saved and God was glorified.

Try to get a picture in your mind of the scene before us in Luke 5:17-26. It is a very remarkable story. These four men knew who Christ is and they knew the power of his grace. They knew a man who needed their Savior. They knew where the Lord Jesus was to be found. They resolved together to bring their friend to the Savior. And by thoughtful planning, labor and perseverance, these four men succeeded in getting their friend to Christ.

The work required much time and effort; but they were in dead earnest. They knew that Christ had the power to save their friend; and they knew that their friend needed his grace. They were determined to let nothing stand in their way. They were determined to get their friend to Christ. They could not heal his disease. They could not save his soul. They could not forgive his sin. And they did not know whether or not the Lord would do these things for him. But they could get their friend to Christ. And what they could do they were determined to do. And as a direct result of their diligent labors, a sinner was saved and God was glorified. Nothing in all the world could be more important. When the Lord Jesus saw their faith, he forgave that man’s sin.

God the Holy Spirit holds these four men up before our eyes as examples for us to follow. They show us the importance and the necessity of personal evangelism.

Five Facts

We know that “salvation is of the Lord.” No man can save himself; and we cannot save other men. It is not possible for us to create a new heart in another person. We cannot give them repentance and faith in Christ. We cannot reveal Christ to a man’s heart. But there are some things that we can do. And what we can do, we must do. — Here are five facts plainly revealed in the Word of God.

1. All men by nature are totally depraved, helplessly lost and spiritually dead. No man will ever, of his own accord, by his own free-will, seek the Lord and come to Christ (Romans 3:10-12).
2. God has an elect people in this world whom he has chosen for himself in eternal love and determined to save (Romans 8:29-30).
3. The Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed those chosen of God by his own precious blood; and, by the merit and efficacy of his blood, he shall bring them into the bliss and glory of eternal life in heaven (Isaiah 53:9-11).
4. God the Holy Spirit shall effectually quicken, regenerate and preserve all of those who were chosen by God the Father and redeemed by God the Son, calling them to faith in Christ by irresistible grace (Psalms 65:4; 110:3).
5. And God uses men to reach the hearts of men with the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:21).

As he used the Hebrew maid to convince Naaman, used Andrew to find Peter, used the Samaritan woman to call his elect in Samaria, and used Philip to call the Ethiopian Eunuch, so the Lord God still uses saved sinners in his mighty operations of grace by which he saves chosen sinners.

It is God’s good pleasure to use sinful men to proclaim the gospel to sinful men. He could use angels. He could speak to men directly. But he has chosen to speak to men through us. What a privilege he has given us (2 Corinthians 4:7). This is no limitation to God’s sovereignty. It is the marvel of his sovereign grace that he is pleased to use us (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Five Questions

I pray that God the Holy Spirit will kindle a fire in our hearts and inspire us to zealously give ourselves to the business of bringing sinners to Christ.[1]

1. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of his grace?

I am not asking whether or not you are a religious person. I am not asking about your doctrinal beliefs, your denominational affiliation, or your works of morality. I am asking this one thing: — Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? Has he been revealed in your heart? Have you seen his face, heard his voice and followed him? If you are truly united to Christ by faith, if you do love him, surely you want others to know him (Romans 10:1).

Do you know the gospel of the grace of God? Do you know how it is that God saves sinners by the substitutionary sacrifice of his own dear Son? (John 3:14-16; Romans 3:24-26).

The universal testimony of Holy Scripture is, “By grace ye are saved!” Salvation is by grace, because sinners need grace (Ephesians2:1-4). Totally depraved, spiritually dead sinners must be saved by grace, because they are totally incapable of saving themselves, or of assisting in the salvation of their souls. Salvation by grace excludes all boasting on the part of man (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 4:7). — “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” Salvation by grace gives all the praise, honor and glory to the triune God for what he has done (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14): to God the Father for election and predestination, to God the Son for redemption and forgiveness, to God the Holy Spirit for regeneration and preservation. Salvation by grace is a door of hope for helpless, guilty sinners. If God required us to do something to be saved, none would ever be saved. But, since the whole of salvation is by grace, there is hope for sinners who are incapable of doing anything to please God. Salvation by grace is salvation from sin (Matthew 1:21). Grace saves us from both the penalty of sin and the dominion of sin. Grace is not a license to sin. Grace never justifies a life of sin. Grace makes sinners the servants of righteousness. But how does grace save?

Grace does not save us by overlooking our sins and pretending that they do not exist (Ezekiel 18:20), by enabling us to keep the law of God (Galatians 3:21), or by giving us religious ceremonies to observe (Galatians 5:2) and good works to perform (2 Timothy 1:9).

Grace saves by substitution, by transferring the sins of God’s elect to Christ and punishing him for them as our Substitute (Romans3:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians1:7; 1 Peter 2:24). Substitutionary redemption upholds and satisfies the justice of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ was made sin for his people so that our sins might be justly imputed and charged to him. When he was made sin for us, the Lord God poured out on him all the fury of his holy law and offended justice. Because he exhausted his wrath on our Substitute, the Lord Jesus, the Lord God declares, to all for whom Christ died, “Fury is not in me” (Isaiah 27:4). He is to every believing sinner both “a just God and a Savior” (Isaiah 45:20-22).

Grace saves us by making us the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), by imputing Christ’s righteousness to us and by making us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) in regeneration, giving us life and faith in Christ (Colossians 2:12). Grace saves by making Christ and his sin-atoning death precious to our hearts. The death of Christ is of absolutely no benefit to any sinner until he believes the gospel. — “Christ in you (is) the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). — “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned” (John 3:18).

Grace saves us by keeping and preserving us unto eternal glory (1 Peter 1:5). “The gifts and callings of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). That which grace begins, grace will complete (Philippians 1:6). Grace will not be frustrated. Grace can never fail!

If you know Christ, you ought to confess him. If you know the gospel, you ought to tell it. The Savior says, “Ye are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48; Acts 5:32; 10:39; 2 Timothy 2:2).

2. Do you know any place where sinners are sure to hear the gospel, any place where Christ is preached?

Do you know of a place where the power of God is present to heal the souls of men? Every gospel church is such a place. The church of Christ is to be a sounding board for the gospel. Our one purpose for existence in this world, our one business in life is to preach the gospel of Christ.

Every pastor, every gospel preacher is responsible to make it his business, every time he speaks to eternity bound sinners in God’s name, to preach the gospel to them (1 Corinthians 2:2; 9:16). The preacher must have but one real ambition in life; and that one ambition must be to hold Christ up and point men and women to him, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God.” He alone is the Substitute for sinners. He alone is the Savior of men. There is hope for sinners in him. There is redemption in him. There is righteousness in him. There is life in him. There is salvation in him. There is safety in him.

The preaching of the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24; 2:2-5). Bring sinners with you to the place where “the power of the Lord is present to heal them.” In that place where God speaks to your heart and reveals Christ to you, he may do the same for others.

3. Do you have any real love and concern for the glory of God and the souls of men?

Do you know anyone who needs healing? I know this: — That about which we are truly concerned, that which is really important to us is that about which we will be diligent and earnest. J.C. Ryle wrote…

"Why is it that so many people take no pains in religion? How is it that they can never find time for praying, Bible reading, and hearing the gospel? What is the secret of their continual string of excuses for neglecting the means of grace? How is it that the very same men who are full of zeal about money, business, pleasure or politics, will take no trouble about their souls? The answer to these questions is short and simple. These men are not in earnest about salvation.”

If the glory of Christ is important to you, the worship of Christ will be important to you. If the souls of your children are important to you, you will see to it that they hear the gospel. If the souls of men are important to you, you will do what you can to see to it that they hear the gospel.

Do you not know that this world is passing away? Do you not know that men are perishing? Do you not know that hell is real, heaven is real, eternal death is real, eternal life is real?

4. What can we do to bring sinners to Christ?

We cannot all become preachers and missionaries. We cannot all be Bible teachers. And I do not suggest that we all should be preachers, missionaries and teachers. But there are some things that you and I can and should do for the glory of God and the salvation of his elect.

We can adorn the gospel of the grace of God by our daily lives (Titus 2:10). Let us seek grace to live in accordance with what we profess, or it will be of no value to anyone for us to try to be witnesses of the gospel. See to it that your profession and your practice are in agreement.

We can all tell what we know. We do not have to be theologians to be faithful witnesses. A faithful witness is one who simply tells what he knows to be true. Do you know that Christ is precious? Tell it. Do you know that God forgives sin? Tell it. Do you know that salvation is by grace through faith? Tell it. Make it your business to talk to people about Christ and the gospel.

We can all distribute gospel literature to our friends and neighbors. We can all bring people with us to hear the gospel. We can give of our means for the furtherance of the gospel. We can all greet people who attend the house of worship with warmth and friendliness. We can all earnestly pray for the conversion of sinners.

5. Why should we all diligently give ourselves to this work?

I have been very plain and pointed in stating things we can and should do for the furtherance of the gospel and the conversion of sinners. May God the Holy Spirit give us grace to take these things to heart. We all have a terrible tendency to become slothful and negligent in the matter of witnessing to men. Let me make one last effort to stir our hearts and inspire our souls with zeal in this matter.

We should be faithful witnesses of the gospel, because men and women are perishing in unbelief and sin. Our Lord has commanded us to be his witnesses. The love of Christ constrains us to proclaim the good news of salvation and grace to others. This is the means which God has ordained for the conversion of sinners. And the work of evangelism is a glorious, soul-cheering work (James 5:20). Above all, let us give ourselves to this work for the glory of God. Nothing more glorifies God than the salvation of his elect.

So, let us dedicate ourselves to the glory of God. Let us be faithful in all that concerns the gospel of Christ. Let us give ourselves to the work of evangelism. Make it your business to be a faithful witness for Christ. Become Christ’s ambassador to your family. Be the Lord’s missionary in your community.


[1] The reader will find detailed studies on this event in my expositions of Matthew 9 and Mark 2.

Division (Don Fortner)

When the dust of division settles those who are true followers of Christ will be made manifest. They may waver in the confusion. But God's saints will not be moved away from the hope of the gospel. When the sowers of discord have had their last fling, the cause of Christ will not be hindered, and believers will still cling to Christ with stronger faith than ever before.

“Free From the Law — O Happy Condition!”

“Free From the Law — O Happy Condition!”
Romans 8:2

In Christ every believer is totally free from the law. — “We are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:15). We are not justified (Romans 3:19-24), sanctified (Galatians 3:1-3), motivated (2 Corinthians 5:14), ruled (Titus 2:11-12), or glorified (Jude 24-25) by the law, but by grace.

The End of the Law

“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Romans 10: 4). — Do you ask what that means? It means that Christ is the fulfillment of the law, the satisfaction of the law and the termination of the law to all who believe on him unto life everlasting. It means that there is no righteousness to be had, of any kind, to any degree, by our own works of obedience to the law. The only way anyone can have righteousness before God is by faith in Christ. He is “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:6); and we are the righteousness of God in him (Jeremiah 33:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Dead to the Law

“Ye are become dead to the law by the body of Christ” (Romans 7:4). — Do you ask what that means? It means that if you are a believer, if Christ died for you, insofar as the law of God is concerned you are dead. It can make no demands upon you. It can require nothing from you. It can do nothing to you. If you and I are in Christ by faith, we have no covenant with the law, no curse from the law, and no commitment to the law.

Not Against the Law

Because we repeat Paul’s frequently stated, inspired declaration that God’s people are “not under the law,” we are often denounced by prating legalists as people who are against the law; but those who make that accusation know that it is not true. God forbid! Every saved sinner delights in the law of God (Romans 7:22). It is the legalist, who pretends to keep the law, who is against the law. He lowers the standard of the law to the measure of his own obedience. Otherwise, he could find no comfort in his obedience. It is the legalist who is antinomian.

Necessary Dogmatism

Why are we so dogmatic in declaring the believer’s freedom from the law, as it is set forth in the Scriptures? Let me give you three reasons for our dogmatism: First, the legalist would rob Christ of the glory of his grace, making some part of salvation dependent upon the works of the law. — Second, the legalist would rob the believer of the joy of faith; the joy of assurance and the joy of service to Christ, making assurance to be based upon obedience and service to Christ mercenary service. — Third, the legalist would rob the world of the hope of salvation, for if salvation requires any good work from sinners, then there is no hope.

“Is the Church Under the Judgment of God?”

Matthew 16:18

I received a note yesterday from a man who has been confused by the teaching of a self-appointed, free-lance radio preacher, who urges people to quit “attending church,” asserting that “the Church Age is now over and the church is under the judgment of God.” So my confused correspondent asked me, “Is the church under the judgment of God?”

What an absurd thought! How can anyone imagine such a thing? Did not the Son of God assert, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”? It is written of him, “He shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it” (Zechariah 4:7). Of his church, the psalmist sang, “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early” (Psalm 46:5).

To declare that the church is under the judgment of God is to declare that those who make up the church, God’s elect, to whom no condemnation (judgment) can come (Romans 8:1), are under the judgment of God. It is to assert that the redeemed of the Lord, the church he purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28), are under the judgment of God. It is to insist that the Bride of Christ, loved by him with an everlasting love and espoused by him to himself from eternity, to whom the Son of God wed himself from everlasting, is under the judgment of God. And to teach that the church is under the judgment of God is to teach that the Lord Jesus Christ himself, (who is the Head of his body the church), is under the judgment of God!

No, the church is not under the judgment of God, never has been, and never can be. The church is redeemed, justified and sanctified in and by Christ Jesus. The church is the Family of God. The church is under the blessing of God from everlasting to everlasting!

Babylon is under the judgment of God. Babylon is the false church that is married to Satan, the great whore of freewill, works religion. She wears many names and dresses to suit her hired lovers. She may call herself Buddhist or Baptist, Mohammedan or Methodist, Papist or Protestant; but her doctrine is always the same. She asserts that salvation ultimately depends upon and ultimately is determined by man, not by God. All who dwell in her house and sleep in her bed are “will-worshippers,” not worshippers of Jehovah!

The Lord God speaks plainly to his people about Babylon. — “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). Compare this with Isaiah 48:20, 52:11, Jeremiah 50:8, 51:6, 45 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-71; and you will see that this is God’s command to his people in every age. If we would walk with God, worship and serve him, we must make an absolute, unmistakable, clean break with Babylon. If we would be Christ pure virgin, we must not identify ourselves with the great whore of the world.

Let us utterly abandon every form of false religion, giving no credibility to the will-worship religion of Babylon. But let none who seek the honor of God abandon the assembling of his saints for public worship (Hebrews 10:25).

Since God my Father Reigns — Don Fortner
(Tune: #46 — O for a Thousand Tongues — CM)

1. Who dares dispute Jehovah’s right
To universal sway?
It is our comfort and delight
To know God has His way.

2. Rejoice, my soul, my Father reigns!
Let all creation know
That what His sov’reign will ordains,
No pow’r can overthrow!

3. All worlds obey my Father’s nod,
And His decrees fulfil;
Our strong, eternal, cov’nant God,
Performs His sov’reign will!

4. Forgive, O Lord, my base complaints,
Of ignorance and pride!
I should, since God my Father reigns,
In joyful peace abide!