which I talked about, that's kind of our brethren in the faith.
Obviously, we know there were some false Anabaptists out there,
but when we look at our lineage, those were the people 500 years ago being persecuted.
But what I want to do the last few weeks of this series is kind of look at the
false branches that are claiming they have the heritage today, okay?
And so among Baptists, there's kind of a couple different ones.
Next week, we'll talk about the Baptist writers, if you're familiar with that.
This week, I want to talk about the Reform Baptists.
Now, here's the thing.
In the U.S., we don't really have Bible Baptists.
We have Bible Baptists, but there are different Bible Baptists, okay?
Completely different.
There's no link whatsoever.
They're completely different, denomination, everything like that.
But I'll say this, about Reform Baptists, I would say that the Bible Baptists
is pretty similar to what I'm talking about here today.
Because when it comes to the Reform Baptists, basically you're thinking of Calvinism,
and you're also thinking about they claim to have this heritage,
and they kind of look good on the Protestant Reformation,
and that's pretty similar to the Bible Baptists.
Now, I will say this because I don't intentionally try to go extra extreme, okay?
Above what the Bible teaches.
I do not believe every single Bible Baptist pastor is unsaved, okay?
There are some that are saved, and I've heard people stand up and say,
every single one's of the devil.
I don't believe that because some do preach the right message of salvation.
But I will say a lot of them don't, okay?
A lot of them do preach Calvinism.
I don't come from a Bible Baptist background, so I don't know the exact number,
but a lot of them are preaching a false gospel.
They're preaching Calvinism.
And so, you know, for a lot of them, they are false prophets.
Not all of them though.
Now, I will also say this.
The last few weeks I've talked about how I grew up Protestant,
and I talked about last week how my dad's heritage is actually Mennonite,
but the majority of people in my family are Reform Baptists, okay?
So when I got saved in college,
they tried to bring me under that Reform Baptist wing, all right?
I read Calvinist books and things like that.
And look, so when it comes to this topic, you say,
why is it the last few weeks these sermons have been incredibly long?
Because it's pretty personal to me, okay?
Because the heritage of myself and my family and everything like that,
it's all mixed up in this Calvinism, Protestant Reformation, and all of this, okay?
So I will try not to be too long here today,
but, you know, obviously I'm very opinionated on this
because most of my family are Reform Baptists.
I will also say that I was actually going to preach this series a long time ago,
but there's a bit of a controversy in Reform Baptists in the US
between people that are good people,
and people have different opinions and that's fine,
but I didn't want to get involved in it at all because it has nothing to do with us.
So I actually delayed preaching this series, but I didn't cancel it either, okay?
Because we're going to let the Bible speak for itself,
and obviously I'm very opinionated because it is kind of personal to me, okay?
And so when it comes to Reform Baptists,
you might think a Reform Baptist is basically a Baptist that is a Calvinist.
That's not quite true, okay?
I actually went to a church, the second church after I got saved,
it was an independent Baptist church that was five-point Calvinist,
hardcore Calvinist church, but they were not Reform Baptists, okay?
And so not every Calvinistic Baptist is a Reform Baptist.
Technically what a Reform Baptist is,
is someone who adheres to the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689.
The Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, okay?
You say, what is the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689?
Well, if you look up things on this confession,
they will say it's kind of based in these three different confessions
of the Protestant Reformation, okay?
The three forms of unity they call it in the Protestant Reformation.
One of them is the Belgic Confession of 1559,
another is the Canons of Dort in 1618 and 1619,
and another is the Heidelberg Catechism in 1563.
So the confession of the Reform Baptists
is based on the confessions of the Protestants.
Now Protestants are Catholics, just a lesser version.
What's a Reform Baptist?
A Protestant, but a lesser version of Protestants,
because they base their confession on the confessions of the Protestants.
Really the only major change is the fact that they don't do infant baptism.
By and large everything else they hold to a lot of the same sorts of things
that the Protestants were teaching.
You say, what are those three confessions that the Protestant Reformation,
what are they based on?
They're based on the three forms of unity of the Catholic Church, okay?
The Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, okay?
Now you're here in Jeremiah chapter 6,
and as I said, the Reform Baptists are like Protestant lights, okay?
I watched some videos from Reform Baptists.
I listened to a whole sermon by James White on Reform Baptists,
why he's a Reform Baptist, and he used zero Bible verses, I'm pretty sure.
I realized that halfway through the sermon,
but I did a lot of research on this, okay?
What exactly do they believe, okay?
What does it say in Jeremiah chapter 6 verse 13?
For from the least of them, even onto the greatest of them,
every one is given to covetousness,
and from the prophet, even onto the priest,
every one dealeth falsely.
What the Bible is saying is all these preachers are false, okay?
Verse 14, they have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people,
slightly saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace.
And so it says, peace, peace, when there is no peace.
Not a little bit of peace, but no peace.
So when it says they have slightly healed,
it's not saying that they healed a little bit,
it's saying like a slight of hand, okay?
There's no healing, it's 100% lies, okay?
And so it says here in verse number 15,
were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush.
Therefore they shall fall among them that fall.
At the time that I visit them, they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths.
Where is the good way? And walk therein,
and ye shall find rest for your souls, but they said we will not walk therein.
The Bible says that we ought to look for the old paths, okay?
Now in Jeremiah chapter six, this was written a very long time ago.
And he's saying you got to go back and look in the past, okay?
Because what you have today is a bunch of Baptist pastors
that will tell you what somebody taught 1500 years ago in 500 AD or 600 AD.
That's not the old paths, that's after he mentions the old paths.
The old paths are before the book of Jeremiah.
What is he saying?
Hey, go back to the Bible, go back to the scriptures, and what does it teach, okay?
See, when we're trying to figure out what we believe, we go based on the Bible.
Now if you hear Reformed Baptists, they're always going to talk about their heritage
and the church fathers and things like that.
Now you say, Brother Stuckey, you've talked a lot about history during this series.
I have, but everything I've done I've proved with the Bible.
I'm not saying we believe this because in 500 AD such and such person taught this.
Augustine taught this in 300 AD or whatever.
That's not what we're basing our beliefs on.
We base it based on what the Bible says.
Now the Reformed Baptists, they'll go back to the history and look at the church fathers
and they think the Protestant Reformation was great.
It's like, man, they must not have heard the sermon series, right?
They think the Protestant Reformation was great because the Second London Baptist Confession
is based on the three forms of unity of the Protestants, okay?
And think of the name Reformed Baptist.
Where do you think they get that name, Reformed?
They believe in the Protestant Reformation.
They just don't think the Protestants were formed enough from the true church,
but they still generally believe in a true church and things like that.
So look, the Reformed Baptists, they claim they have this heritage,
but I'll tell you what, we can look at the beliefs that they have
and see whether they line up with the Bible.
Because if their beliefs line up with the Bible, hey, amen,
you know, you were persecuted just like us 500 years ago.
But if their beliefs do not line up with the Bible,
then they're not the same ones that go on back to the days of Jesus Christ
and the old paths as the Bible teaches, okay?
Now turn in your Bible to John 8, John chapter 8.
And so look, I listened to a whole sermon by James White
and I wouldn't recommend you listen to it, but you're welcome to if you want.
And the name of the sermon was Why I'm a Reformed Baptist, okay?
And I had it on in the background because I was working on something else
and I was just planning to take notes when he said something interesting.
And maybe I missed it, but it was like 30 minutes into the sermon
and I'm thinking, I don't think he's used a single Bible verse.
And he talked about how the Reformed Baptists are the ones that go back to the Bible,
they care about the Bible, they look at what the Bible says.
I don't think he used a single Bible verse in that sermon.
And he's talking about how we base what we believe on the Bible.
It's like, was there even a scripturette?
I mean, he just talked about how we are the ones that go back to the Bible.
We have the true faith.
We have the historical, you know, lineage and everything like that.
He didn't actually say what they believe, though, at all, okay?
But if we want to know what a Reformed Baptist believes,
they basically believe in the Second London Baptist Confession.
Now, here's the thing.
There are people that are in Reformed Baptist churches
and they have no idea what the Second London Baptist Confession is, right?
There's plenty of people that are saved in Reformed Baptist churches
and they have no idea what it means to be a Reformed Baptist, okay?
That's generally true with every religion.
You can go to any church in the world,
and if you were to try to ask some of the deep doctrines
from someone who's just a church member,
they probably never read their scriptures or anything.
They don't even know.
If you walked into a Lutheran church and you asked the members,
what does it mean to be a Lutheran?
They're gonna be like, I don't know.
What do you think of Martin Luther?
Who's Martin Luther, right?
I mean, that's the reality.
So look, I'm not saying everybody in a Reformed Baptist church is unsaved
because quite honestly, when you're a saved person,
you generally look for a Baptist church to go to
because they're the ones that do baptism by immersion after salvation
and generally believe in eternal security and things like that.
But here's what I'm saying though.
If a church says we're Reformed Baptist,
what they're saying is we believe in the Second London Baptist Confession.
So in this sermon, what we're going to do
is go through the Second London Baptist Confession
and we're going to see if what their beliefs line up with what the Bible says or not.
And if they line up with what the Bible says,
then they have that heritage from 500 years ago.
If it does not line up with what the Bible says,
then basically they're preaching something that's false.
And look, this is basically a hardcore Calvinist London Baptist Confession.
That's what it teaches.
Here's what it says about free will.
In Chapter 9 of the London Baptist Confession, it says,
Man, by his fall into a state of sin,
has wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation.
What it's saying is man cannot in his free will believe on Jesus Christ and get saved.
Isn't that what Calvinists teach?
That's what this is teaching, okay?
This is why you say Reformed Baptists are Calvinistic Baptists
because they do believe in Calvinism, the Reformed Baptists, okay?
Now they basically believe that everybody who's unsaved is a child of the devil,
a reprobate, incapable of believing on Jesus Christ, okay?
Notice what it says in John Chapter 8, verse 43.
Why do you not understand my speech, even because he cannot hear my word?
Verse 44, ye are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father you will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
And the Bible speaks about people that are of their father, the devil.
Now what we believe is that there's three groups of people in this world, okay?
Once you reach an age where you can understand the gospel,
you're expected to believe on Jesus Christ.
And there are three groups of people.
There are those that are a child of God.
They received eternal life.
And look, when you're born into a family, your parents are always your parents, okay?
You must be born again, the Bible says.
Then there's people that are just everyday normal people.
When I was a teenager, when I was 15 years old, I wasn't a terrible kid.
I did a lot of good things.
I was a nice person, and I would have died and gone to hell if I had died.
Why?
Because I had not received eternal life.
I had not heard the gospel and believed on Jesus Christ.
And so most people in this world are your everyday normal people.
When we go soul winning, 95 plus percent of people are just ordinary nice people.
And you know what?
If they believe the gospel, they get saved and become a child of God.
But then there's other people that actually become a child of the devil.
And just like when you become a child of God, it's forever.
If you have a son or daughter, they're your kids forever.
If you become a son of the devil or a daughter of the devil, he is your father forever, okay?
Now we've talked about this before, and we can preach sermons.
I don't have time to go into it for the sake of the sermon.
But here's what Calvinists believe, and here's what the Reformed Baptists believe.
They believe everybody's a child of the devil before they're saved.
They believe every single person is a child of the devil,
but you must become a child of God to go to heaven.
The Bible does not teach that.
We are all God's creation, but we're not all God's children, okay?
So people that are unsaved, they're not a child of the devil or a child of God.
They must believe on Jesus and get saved.
But the Bible says there are some people, wicked evil people with unnatural desires,
and they made a choice in their life and they became a child of the devil at some point.
We just talked about in the book of Revelation, those that take the mark of the beast.
Is the Bible not clear that everyone who takes the mark of the beast will go to hell?
Right?
I mean, it says they have no hope.
You say, why?
Because they became a child of the devil.
They sealed their fates when they took the mark of the beast, and it's done.
The devil will always be your father.
So look, I agree with the Calvinists that some people are children of the devil,
but not everybody, okay?
My daughter is not a child of the devil, my friend, okay?
My son is not a child of the devil.
That's what they teach, though, okay?
And it says in verse 45,
and because I tell you the truth, ye believe not.
And there are people, ye believe me not.
There are people that just cannot believe.
Because everybody who believes goes to heaven,
and once you believe, you're a child of God forever.
But some people make the other choice,
and they will never end up believing on Jesus and getting saved.
Now turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
1 Corinthians 2.
And so also in the section of free will, it says,
So as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good and dead in sin,
is not able by his own strength to convert himself,
or to prepare himself thereunto.
So they say a natural man is not able by his own strength to convert himself, okay?
Now here's what I'll say.
There's a shred of truth to what they're saying.
We're going to look at it in 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
I want you to notice, though, how they even said in their own writings,
the natural man.
See, the Bible says the person that's a child of the devil has unnatural desires.
And so when you're saying somebody's a natural man, guess what?
He still has natural desires, my friend, okay?
And they're talking about someone and claiming this is an unnatural person,
and yet it says the natural man, even in their own writings.
What does it say in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14?
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him,
neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.
Now an unsaved person, a natural man,
if they read this book, they would not understand it,
because it's spiritually discerned.
This is a spiritual book,
and you must have the Spirit of God inside of you to understand,
according to the Bible.
They're right about that.
So nobody in this world can believe on Jesus Christ on their own and get saved.
They don't convert themselves,
but when the Word of God is preached to them by a saved person,
they hear the Gospel,
they do have the ability and free will to believe on Jesus Christ and get saved, okay?
Notice what it says in verse 15,
but he that is spiritual judgeth all things,
yet he himself is judged of no man.
So the natural man does not understand the things of God.
The saved person does understand.
Go to Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 10.
And so what the Bible teaches is this.
Yeah, people don't read the Bible on their own and get saved.
They have to hear the Gospel from someone else.
I mean, if you're saved in this room,
you heard the Gospel from somebody else.
Somebody explained the Gospel and you got saved.
You didn't just wake up one day and boom, you're saved.
Or you wake up one day and then you just read the Scriptures on your own,
and then you got saved.
You had to hear the Gospel from someone.
You say, how do you know that?
Romans chapter 10 verse 13.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
So you're not going to be able to call unless you believe.
And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
You cannot believe unless you've heard, okay?
So look, people don't get saved on their own.
They must hear.
You say, can't that hearing come from me reading the Bible?
What does it say?
And how shall they hear without a preacher?
So according to the Bible, you cannot believe on your own and get saved,
but you can believe if a preacher explains and you understand, okay?
What's funny about this is when you look at Calvinists or Reformed Baptists,
most of their salvation testimonies are just,
they're reading the Bible on their own and they just believed.
Or they got into a big car accident and they didn't die and it's like,
God, I commit my life to you.
You say, Brother Stuckey, are you being serious?
Yeah, listen to John MacArthur.
Go ahead on YouTube and listen to their moments of when they got saved.
I'm sure a lot of the Bible Baptist pastors, the ones that are Calvinists,
their situation of how they got saved,
they're just reading the Bible on their own.
Or just as a kid, they were a drunk and they said,
you know what, I want to stop being a drunk.
I want to stop smoking.
I give my life to you.
That's not salvation.
Salvation is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.
It's by belief and the Bible's very clear here in Romans 10
that you call because you believe,
you believe because you've heard and you hear via a preacher.
You do not believe via hearing by reading it yourself.
There is a preacher and yet the vast majority of Calvinists,
their salvation testimony is not that they heard the gospel from someone.
Usually just on their own.
They were just reading and then they just believed it, right?
Turn in your Bible to Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8.
And so according to chapter 9 of the London Baptist Confession,
basically man has no free will to believe on Jesus and get saved.
That's Calvinism.
Okay, they believe in Calvinism.
In chapter 10, the chapter is on of effectual calling, effectual calling.
Effectual means like cause and effect.
It has an effect.
So this is on effectual calling.
And this is what it says in chapter 10.
Those whom God hath predestinated on to life,
he is pleased in his appointed and accepted time effectually to call.
Notice those whom he hath predestinated on to life.
What are they saying there?
We believe some people are predestined by God to go to heaven
and some are predestined to go to hell.
Is that not what they're saying?
Have predestinated on to life.
What does the Bible say though when you look up that word?
Notice what it says in Romans 8 verse 28.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Verse 29, for whom he did for know.
Okay, what does for know mean?
It's like having foreknowledge to know ahead of time,
to be aware ahead of time, okay?
To foreknow, okay?
And so it says, for whom he did foreknow.
These are the people that God foreknew.
Notice he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son.
Does that say predestinated on to eternal life or on to life or on to salvation?
No, it does not.
It says predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son.
What is the Bible saying?
God is saying that everybody who gets saved,
I want you and expect you to live a godly life after you get saved.
He does not say, I predestinated you to go to heaven.
It's like I've chosen brother Raffi, you get to go to heaven.
Brother Matthias, I have more glory for you burning in hell.
That would give me more enjoyment, okay?
That's what the Calvinist teaches.
God has chosen some people for life,
but he gets glory in some people burning in hell.
Now where is that in the Bible?
He says he's not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance, okay?
The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to some men or all men.
All men.
He died for everyone, the Bible says.
Whosoever believeth in him.
Look, God wants everybody to go to heaven, but according to this,
it's like he's predestinated some people on to life and some not to.
But what the Bible says,
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, okay?
Not predestinated onto salvation, okay?
Now go in your Bible to Romans 9.
Romans 9.
And look, that's a really in-depth passage.
And look, we're going through the book of Romans.
We're going to get to Romans chapter 8.
I'll spend a lot of time.
I don't have time in this sermon.
But look, when you look up predestinated or predestinate,
it's not to getting saved, okay?
It's to be conformed to the image of his son.
That's what the Bible teaches.
And so here also on the section of effectual calling, notice what it says.
By his word and spirit, out of that state of sin and death
in which they are by nature to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ,
enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God,
taking away their heart of stone and giving to them a heart of flesh,
renewing their wills, and by his almighty power,
determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ,
yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.
And the Bible talks about people that God, not the Bible.
This London Baptist confession talks about people that have been effectually drawn.
What they're saying is this.
Certain people, God has chosen to effectually draw and get to go to heaven and some don't.
Now look, if you're familiar with Calvinism,
you probably have heard of limited atonement.
Right?
That's the third point of Tulip.
And limited atonement is the teaching that Jesus only died for some people.
He only died for some people's sins.
If he died for you, you go to heaven.
If he didn't die for you, you go to hell.
That is what they teach.
Okay?
Now here's the thing about this.
When they teach limited atonement,
sometimes Calvinists don't like that term because it sounds pretty bad.
And it does sound bad when you say Jesus only died for some people.
Because look, 1 John 2 says he died not for our sins only,
but also for the sins of the whole world.
Not for ours only, us that are saved,
but also for the sins of the whole world, those that are unsaved.
Okay?
But what they'll say is this.
They're like, well, you know what?
Yeah, we don't believe Jesus died for everybody,
but we believe that everybody Jesus died for goes to heaven
because God's grace is effectual.
You independent Baptists, you don't believe God's grace is effectual.
You don't believe it has an effect on every single person.
You don't believe everybody got saved.
And they like to use these philosophical arguments.
And what they'll say is this.
If you believe that Jesus died for somebody and paid for their sins,
and that same person dies and goes to hell and pays for their own sins,
that means those sins were paid for twice and God is not just.
And what I would say to this is, yeah, I believe those sins are paid for twice.
I believe Jesus died and paid for the sins of people that reject it
and they have to pay for their own sins.
I believe it's like a guy who I give them a million dollars to buy a car
and I pay for it and they say, you know what?
I also want to pay a million dollars and pay for the same car.
That's what I believe because the Bible teaches that,
that Jesus died not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world and unsaved people die.
And they can use all these philosophical arguments,
but I thought they based what they believed on scripture, right?
I mean, I'm quoting to you scripture, 1 John 2, 2,
that he died not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
I don't care if it doesn't logically make sense to the Calvinists.
Yeah, those sins were paid for twice.
Jesus paid for those sins and some people rejected and paid for their own sins.
Okay, they'll call that effectual grace.
Okay, we believe it has an effect and you don't believe it has an effect.
Well, look, everything we believe we based in the Bible.
What does it say in Romans chapter 9?
Let's see who's right.
Because they say if it's effectual grace,
that means everybody's going to get saved that Jesus died for.
Romans 9 verse 6,
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect,
for they are not all Israel which are of Israel.
Do you know what that's saying?
God's word is effectual because some believe it.
Not all, right?
It's not that it's taken none effect.
It's taken some effect because some believe, okay?
Yeah, you know what?
God's promise is this.
His word does not return void and his promise is always
some will believe and some will reject, okay?
Look, as we go soul winning here today,
we're going to preach the gospel to 25 people and 10 of them are going to get saved.
Does that sound like it has an effect to you?
Certainly does to me, right?
I mean, 10 people getting saved.
That's effectual, my friend.
It's effectual because some believe it, not all.
See, they say, well, everybody Jesus died for goes to heaven.
It's effectual grace.
Well, look, my friend, the truth is that when we preach the gospel,
God's word promises some will believe and some will reject.
And you know what?
That is effective.
That is effectual.
And God's promise has always been that because people have free will
to determine what they believe.
Not everybody is going to get saved, okay?
People hear the gospel, they have their choice to believe it or reject it, okay?
Turn in your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 4.
Say, brother, what is this sermon?
It's I hate Calvinism part two.
It's similar.
I'm using different verses intentionally from a couple weeks ago,
but look, this is a big strand of people that claim to have the heritage
that goes all the way back to the time of Jesus Christ.
The Reformed Baptists say we're reforming what the Protestants didn't finish.
We're reforming the church.
We're the true lineage.
They believe they're the true successors, okay?
Well, what does the Bible say?
The Bible shows that the things they've taught so far about Calvinism,
those are false, okay?
This is what it says about of sanctification in chapter 13.
Of sanctification.
They who are united to Christ, affectionately called and regenerated,
so they're saying those that God chooses to save,
it says having a new heart and a new spirit created in them through the virtue of God,
Christ's death and resurrection,
are also further sanctified really and personally.
They're saying if you really get saved, you're going to be further sanctified, okay?
I, through the same virtue by his word and spirit dwelling in them,
the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed,
and the several lusts of it are more and more weakened and mortified.
So as you go on,
your flesh is more and more weakened and mortified automatically according to them.
Because if God has effectually chosen you,
he will also sanctify you as you live.
You will automatically become more Christ like according to them.
Okay, I'll finish this and I'll tell you what I think about that.
It says more and more weakened and mortified,
and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces.
Now, I don't understand more and more quickened,
because to be quickened means to be made alive,
and a birth happens at one time, my friend, okay?
There's a moment you're born again.
So look, I was already quickened.
What do you mean more and more quickened?
How many births do I need?
It's like how many times do I need to be born into God's family, right?
More and more quickened, I mean quickened means to make alive.
You get made alive one time, okay?
Look, I guess they don't know what the word quick means.
I mean, think about the movie The Quick and the Dead.
Say, what's the quick and the dead?
Does that mean, oh, it's...
No, the quick and the dead means alive and dead.
That's what the word to quicken means in the Bible.
It means to be made alive, okay?
You don't get more and more quickened.
You get made alive one time, my friend, okay?
It's like, man, my daughter is going to get born,
you know, another time in six months,
and she's more alive than the first time.
That's stupid.
It doesn't make any sense, okay?
More and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces
to the practice of all true holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.
So you're saying, you know what?
You will be more and more sanctified,
and if you're not, no one's going to see the Lord, okay?
So what they basically believe is,
if you're really saved, there's going to be worse.
Isn't that what it says?
If you're really saved, you're going to be more and more sanctified.
So explain to me if you get better and better as you go,
why David committed adultery after he was a child of God.
Explain that to me.
Explain to me how King Saul, after he was a great and mighty man of God,
how he tried to kill David.
And the Bible says today, I mean, the Bible says he will be with Samuel.
He's in heaven, King Saul, okay?
Explain to me how Solomon was the wisest person,
and then he married all of those women.
You say, well, that's Old Testament.
Well, look at what it says in 2 Timothy 4,
because I believe all scripture is given by inspiration of God.
I believe all scripture is useful,
but notice what it says in 2 Timothy 4, verse 10.
For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world,
and is departed unto Thessalonica, Cretans to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
Now in this verse, Cretans does not forsake Paul loving the present world.
Neither does Titus.
It's just they went somewhere else.
But Demas, the reason why he forsook Paul
is because he loved this present world.
Demas is mentioned in the Bible as a great man of God.
Demas was a great soul winner,
and later in his life he forsook Paul
because he got caught up with the things of the world.
Does that mean he's not saved because he started living a worldly life?
Look, if you're in this church and you love God and you're soul winning,
and a couple years from now you quit church
and you're living a worldly life and you start drinking,
that does not mean you're not saved.
It just means you chose in your free will to commit sins and to do wrong.
People do those things, okay?
Saved people live for God and they stop living for God.
It happens all the time.
And look, according to the Reformed Baptists,
well that means they were never saved then.
Because if you're really saved,
you're going to be more and more sanctified until the day you die.
Well show that to me in the Bible, okay?
I want you to understand something.
Why is it that when some people get saved,
they start living for God?
Is it just because when they got saved,
something magical happens and they never want to drink
and they never want to smoke?
It's like, man, I just want to read the Bible for four hours
and pray for two hours.
No, that doesn't happen instantaneously with anybody, okay?
People start living for God, not just because they got saved,
but because they start hearing the Word of God.
See, I want you to understand something,
that if we get a drunk saved today and he does not start coming to church,
in six months he's probably still going to be a drunk.
You say, why?
He's not hearing the preaching that's going to change his life.
Just simply having the Spirit of God inside of you
doesn't mean you automatically change,
because you still have the same flesh.
Your flesh does not change when you get saved, okay?
Not at all.
It doesn't change one bit.
So you see, some people get saved and they start living for God,
and some people get saved and they don't start living for God.
Now, one mistake Christians make when they're in a church like this,
they look at their own lives and say,
you know what, I'm living for God,
so that means anybody who gets saved is going to start living for God.
Look, just because you have that experience
does not mean it's that way for everybody.
Look, there are people that when they get saved, they cry.
They shed tears.
Does that mean you have to cry when you get saved?
Because I didn't shed a single tear, my friend.
I didn't cry at all.
Does that mean I'm not saved because no tears came out?
It's like, I'm trying to cry, God.
Just because you didn't do that, okay,
just because you did something doesn't mean they did it.
Just because you start reading the Bible when you get saved
doesn't mean that everybody does,
because we have free will,
and you have your choice to decide to start living for God
or not to live for God, okay?
There is no guarantee that you're going to be further sanctified
until the day you die.
The Bible does not teach that.
See Calvinists say,
we believe in the perseverance of the saints,
that you're going to persevere onto the very end.
That is not what the Bible teaches, okay?
You have your free will.
And look, if you read the Bible,
if you read through your Bible cover to cover every year,
it's because you made that choice.
It's not because God just forced you to do it.
He automatically sanctified you.
That's why you're reading the Bible.
No, it's because you chose to read the Bible, okay?
Turn to Romans chapter eight, Romans chapter eight.
And look, I mean, people take a lot of verses out of context
or say, well, you know, you're a new man in Christ.
Yeah, you're a new man, but you still got the old man.
Okay, the old man didn't change, my friend.
Your flesh is still there.
I mean, I see you, I see your bodies.
Your flesh is still there, okay?
And look, I'm not seeing people magically get taller
and better looking just because you're getting
further sanctified, okay?
Look, there's no guarantee of a change physically
or in your body or in your actions
just because you got saved.
You can commit and do the same exact things.
You say, why is this important?
Because look, you know, Calvinists and Reformed Baptists,
they will say somebody's not really saved
unless they get baptized.
It's like, I thought they claimed salvation
was all of God's grace, and now they're saying,
you know what, if you didn't get baptized,
I don't think they got saved.
I mean, you said you got somebody saved last week.
I didn't see him at church.
I guess they really didn't get saved.
I mean, the Reformed Baptists are really the ones
that fight against soul winners
because they say if you're really saved.
So look, when Jesus healed the 10 lepers
and one came back to give Jesus thanks,
does that mean Jesus was wrong and the Bible's wrong
and nine of them really didn't get healed, right?
Didn't only one out of 10 come to thank him?
I guess the other nine, I guess Jesus thought he healed them,
but he didn't because only one came,
because if you really got healed,
you'd come back to give God thanks.
No, only one chose to because you have free will
and the other nine, look, they weren't thankful enough.
They got healed just as much as the one guy.
And let me tell you something,
there are people that get just as saved as you do
and they don't make any changes.
Why?
We have free will, okay?
We have free will.
Notice what it says in Romans 8, verse 23.
Romans 8, verse 23,
because they're saying that there's an automatic change
in your flesh, in your body, in your actions
if you get saved.
But what does it say in Romans 8, verse 23?
This is Paul the Apostle speaking,
and not only they, but ourselves also,
which have the first fruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves grown within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body.
See, in a way, in a sense, salvation is a two-part process.
You say, I can't believe you said that, Brother Stuckey.
Spiritually speaking, salvation happens immediately
when you believe.
But the body does not change at all.
You don't get your glorified body when you get saved,
and it doesn't become partially glorified
or automatically sanctified,
because the Bible says we're waiting for the adoption
to wit the redemption of our body.
Look, nobody up in heaven is ever going to sin,
and the reason why,
they don't have to fight a sinful flesh anymore.
We still have to fight that sinful flesh, okay?
And there are people that get,
I mean, didn't Noah get drunk when he got off the ark?
I guess he wasn't really saved.
God specifically chose him,
but I guess he wasn't really saved because he got drunk.
It's like, that's ridiculous, okay?
People get saved, and they still fight the same battles,
and they make wrong choices sometimes.
Turn to 1 John 5, 1 John 5, 1 John chapter 5.
Look, I'm just pulling out highlights from this,
because there's plenty of stuff in here that they say that's right.
I mean, they believe in the Trinity and things like that,
but this is a pro-Calvinist belief.
Reform Baptists, they believe in Calvinism,
and it's based on the confessions,
the three forms of unity of the Protestants,
because look, largely Protestants are just Calvinist Catholics,
or Catholic Calvinists.
That's another sermon I will preach sometime, okay?
They're largely just Catholics that are Calvinists, okay?
It was, I mean, the Protestant Reformation,
if you really want to boil it down in just one little sentence,
it was like a big Calvinist coming out party.
Just all of a sudden it's like, hey, we're the Calvinists,
let's join together and just leave the Catholic Church, okay?
All of them believe in Calvinism.
Martin Luther, Orrix Wingly, John Calvin, all of them, okay?
Chapter 14, the title of saving faith.
The title of chapter 14 of saving faith.
Now, let me just say what my belief of saving faith is.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.
Believe and then you're saved.
But they have a different opinion on what saving faith means, okay?
By this faith, a Christian believes to be true
whatsoever is revealed in the word for the authority of God himself
and also apprehends in excellency there and above all other writings
and all things in the world.
Now, notice what they said.
And I understand this was written in 1689,
so sometimes the English can be a bit confusing.
But a Christian believes to be true whatsoever is revealed in the word.
So if you're saved, every single thing you learn from the word of God,
you will believe, every single thing.
So everybody who's saved, if you hear the preaching,
everyone automatically believes that, okay?
Which means that, you know, if I preach on something
and you have a different opinion, one of us isn't saved, my friend.
I mean, I preached to you a verse and explained a verse in the book of Ezekiel
and we have a different opinion.
It's like, well, one of us isn't saved.
Because according to what they're teaching,
a Christian will believe if it's revealed.
So if I tell you something and you don't believe it,
it means one of us isn't saved, my friend.
It's like, man, I mean, have they not realized
how many different things there are in the Bible?
People have different opinions on stuff, okay?
We could read a passage and come to a different conclusion on it.
There are things in the Bible I'm not sure about.
There are things I've heard preached from great men of God
and I still walk away and I'm just like,
I'm not sure if I believe that or not.
Sometimes I might disagree or sometimes I say,
I've got to study that for myself because I'm not sure if I believe that, okay?
People believe different things.
The second sermon today is how to take the Lord's Supper.
We're going to explain what we do as a church.
Did you realize there's a million different opinions on the Lord's Supper?
Does that mean that if you have a different opinion, you're not saved?
Well, according to this, everyone's going to believe the exact same thing
if it's revealed to them in the Word of God.
So it's if you have saving faith.
If you really got saved, if you have saving faith,
you will believe what the Bible says automatically no matter what it is, okay?
Why?
Well, it says this,
as it bears forth the glory of God and his attributes,
the excellency of Christ in his nature and offices,
and the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit in his workings and operations,
and so is enabled to cast his soul upon the truth constantly believed
and also acts differently upon that which each particular passage thereof contains,
yielding obedience to the commands, okay?
And so according to them, anytime you hear a truth,
you're going to cast your soul upon that truth, okay?
You'll cast your soul upon that truth,
you're going to act differently,
and there's going to be obedience automatically, okay?
And see, look, when you have these sorts of beliefs like the Calvinists have,
when you basically say if you're really saved, you're going to live a godly life,
you know what you find?
They basically don't think anything's a sin, right?
When you listen to preachers that are really hardcore and everything,
like if you're really saved, you're going to have a massive change,
they just lessen what sin is
because I'll stand up here and tell you it's a sin to get drunk,
it's a sin to drink, it's a sin to do drugs,
it's a sin to smoke, it's a sin to listen to rock music.
They won't say that.
You say, why?
Because if you think that you're being automatically saved,
you're automatically going to do everything,
you're just going to stop considering things sins
because you're still guilty in your flesh of doing those things.
So let's say it's not wrong to listen to this music or to do that.
I mean, look, show me a Calvinist that doesn't regularly drink alcohol.
They all talk about the glories of drinking wine and everything like that.
Why?
Because they're sinning.
It's just not a sin though because that's what they're doing, right?
This is what it says in verse 7 of their chapter 14 of Saving Faith.
You're in 1 John 5, we'll look at that in a second.
And it says in this part, in their chapter 14 of Saving Faith,
it says,
So if you're really saved, there's going to be a sanctification
and this automatically occurs.
If it does not occur, you might want to check your salvation at the door, my friend.
You say you believe, I don't see the evidence of that.
I mean, did you pray this morning?
You might want to check your salvation.
Did you read the Bible today?
You might want to check your salvation.
I mean, did you choose to eat potato chips instead of something healthy?
It's like, but they'll never say that.
They're not going to go all the way on living a healthy life.
Why?
Because they're obviously not going to do that.
Neither am I, right?
I mean, obviously I eat unhealthy food too.
Here's what I'm saying though.
If our lives are a living sacrifice, you would be doing everything the Bible says.
And they only pick and choose the things they preach.
Why?
Because they're guilty of plenty of things.
I mean, talk about being covetous.
A lot of these Baptist pastors, they're pretty covetous.
They're not going to preach about that, are they?
Now go to 1 John 5.
1 John 5, verse 13.
And I'll tell you what, I think it's a good time of year to be a church like ours,
because I'll tell you what, that first fruits doctrine doesn't sound quite as appealing
when people are struggling financially.
Right?
That they're going to preach in their churches.
Okay.
1 John 5, verse 13.
You say, what is saving faith according to the Bible?
Okay.
1 John 5, verse 13.
These things that are written on you that believe in the name of the Son of God,
that you may know that you have eternal life,
and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.
If you believe, you're going to know you're going to heaven.
How can you know that?
What do you have to believe?
Because everybody believes Jesus existed,
but there's specific things you have to believe about it.
Okay.
Notice what it says in 1 John 5, verse 10.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.
He that believeth not God hath made him a liar,
because he believeth not the record that God gave his son.
The Bible says you either believe God or you're calling him a liar.
You must believe the record or what is written about his son, Jesus Christ.
Okay.
What is written about Jesus Christ?
What do we have to believe?
Verse 11, and this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his son.
So three things mentioned here in verse 11,
and if you don't believe this, you're calling God a liar.
And if you do believe this, then you believe the record and you're saved.
One is this, at the end of verse 11, life is in his son.
Salvation is only in Jesus Christ.
Now, if you think that all roads lead to heaven,
or you think you can follow Islam and Hinduism to get to heaven,
then you're not saved.
You're not believing the right thing.
Because if you believe the record,
what the Bible teaches is the only way to heaven is Jesus Christ.
And so if somebody says, I believe there's multiple ways to get to heaven,
what they're saying is they're not saved.
Because understanding salvation,
one thing you must believe is salvation's in Jesus Christ.
Last I checked, Muhammad did not die on the cross for you.
Last I checked, Buddha did not die on the cross for you.
Last I checked, no priest or pope or no pastor died on the cross for you.
Jesus Christ died, and so life is in his son.
It also says, God hath given to us eternal life.
He's giving us eternal life.
What does it mean to be given something?
It means the gift of God is eternal life.
What it's saying is that salvation is a gift,
which means not of works.
It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
So you must believe salvation is a gift.
It's not your works.
So if somebody says, I think you've got to get baptized to go to heaven,
what they're saying is, I don't understand the gospel.
If somebody says, I think you've got to live a good life,
then they're not understanding the gospel.
You must believe salvation's in his son, you must believe it's a gift,
but you also must believe that that gift is what?
Eternal life.
Not conditional life.
Eternal life.
You say, Brother Stuckey, what do you have to believe about salvation to be saved?
You must believe salvation's in Jesus.
It's a gift and it lasts forever.
That is what eternal means.
And so look, when we go soul winning,
it's not trying to get people to pray a prayer.
It's trying to get people to believe the gospel.
If somebody believes, they're going to pray.
I've seen soul winning presentations, not at our church.
Our church, I believe, does a really good job.
I'm very pleased with how the soul winning is at our church.
People go in depth, they explain the gospel,
but I've been soul winning with people.
And it's like the biggest joke I've ever seen in my life.
And it's really frustrating when you're the silent partner, right?
I remember I was at a church one time
and, you know, you get paired with various people
and I was kind of new at the church.
And so I went soul winning with them
and I got paired with someone who was an older man at the church.
He was, you know, probably 70 years old or something like that.
And like everybody's like, man, this is great for you.
This guy always gets somebody saved.
Now, keep in mind, this is in the US.
Because here's the thing, if you always get somebody saved here,
I mean, it's receptive here.
I mean, that's very possible.
Okay. It's like, but he's like, he always gets somebody saved.
I'm thinking this is not good.
Because here's the thing, you rarely get somebody saved in the US.
And so then all of a sudden, you know, we're going
and then he knocks the door of the first person
and he talks to the person.
And, you know, the person's just not really interested.
And he goes through like three verses in the book of Romans
and he starts praying with a guy and gets him to say these words.
And the guy clearly didn't.
I mean, this was a two-minute gospel presentation.
Two minutes.
And he prays with a person and the person supposedly prays and gets saved.
I mean, I literally wrote down the house because I was thinking,
I'm going to go back to this house and try to talk to this guy this week.
Okay. And so then all of a sudden, it's just like, you know,
that I could live with.
It's like, all right, whatever.
It's like, you know, I'm not, I'm trying to get along.
You know, it's like, I'm not going to get in a fight out soul winning.
I'm trying to get along with my soul winning partner.
But here's what made me mad.
Because when I knocked the next door, as it was my turn,
and the person was not interested and I moved on the next door,
he starts telling me, well, this is what you did wrong.
And I'm just thinking, I'm not trying to get in a fight
and I'm trying to be respectful.
And it's just like, you know, I was very polite to him.
I said, well, you know, I know people have different methods.
You know, this is kind of the method I use because I'm,
you know, it's not my church.
I don't run the church. Okay.
I'm not trying to get in a fight with someone at church or whatever.
But it's just like, you know what?
That's sort of soul when he's out there,
where you don't explain the gospel and you just pray a prayer.
But did you notice anything in 1 John 5 about praying the prayer?
It's all about belief,
because the prayer is going to be automatic if somebody believes.
If somebody is drowning in water,
if they're drowning in water and then they see somebody right by the water,
you know what they're going to say? Help, save me.
It's automatic.
Nobody's going to believe and not call.
It's going to be automatic. Why?
Well, the Bible says everyone who believes goes to heaven, right?
But it's like, here's the thing.
We don't try to force people to pray if they don't believe,
because that comes as a result of them believing.
Okay.
And so, look, when it comes to how we preach the gospel,
we explain it's only in Jesus and it's a gift and lasts forever.
And look, if people believe that, then they get saved.
It's that simple.
So go to 2 Corinthians chapter 7.
I got to hurry for sake of time.
Actually, you know, the second sermon is shorter today.
I don't have to hurry.
Okay, don't worry.
The second sermon is shorter today.
I promise you we will get done on time,
but we will not get done on time with this sermon
because we're talking about Calvinism again.
All right.
And let me tell you something.
Calvinism is the most double tongued, subtle doctrine and false way of salvation out there.
Okay.
And look, this is this sort of sermon.
This happens to be in this series,
but I'll preach a sermon like this every six months just to make sure,
hey, we're not letting anything subtle get in.
Okay.
And so on the section of it's called of repentance on the life and salvation.
Chapter 15 of their book of their confession of repentance on the life and salvation.
Here's what it says.
This saving repentance is an evangelical grace.
Now let me tell you something.
That is flat out Calvinism.
It's a grace.
God gives you the repentance.
So what a lot of Calvinists will say is, no, no, no.
You don't have to repent of your sins because God's giving you the repentance.
Okay.
It's an evangelical grace.
If you've been chosen, God will give you the repentance,
but it's all based on just of God.
It's not your works at all.
It's not repentance at all.
But God's giving you that repentance.
They say this saving repentance is an evangelical grace whereby a person being by the Holy Spirit
made sensible of the manifold evils of his sins of his sin.
So when you get saved, you must understand the manifold evils of your sin.
Okay.
So when you get a six year old saved,
you better make sure they understand how evil and wicked they are.
Right?
Does by faith in Christ humble himself for it with godly sorrow,
detestation of it and self abhorrence,
praying for pardon and strength of grace with a purpose and endeavor by supplies of the Spirit
to walk before God unto all well pleasing in all things.
So when you get saved, you have godly sorrow, they say,
and you detest or hate it and self abhorrence.
You hate yourself.
Okay.
I'm such a miserable, wicked, wretch and terrible person.
That is what happens when you get saved according to them.
Okay.
Now look, me personally, when I got saved, I did feel very bad and I felt very guilty.
But just because I felt bad and wanted to change, that does not mean that's everybody.
You must remember just because you have an experience
does not mean that everybody has that same experience.
Some people get saved and it's just kind of a matter of fact.
Hey, I don't want to go to hell.
I believe that they get saved.
But it doesn't mean that they have this desire to change their life.
Okay.
Now it's very possible you did have that desire.
And that's probably a large reason why you're in church today.
But not everybody felt that way.
Okay.
And so they say godly sorrow.
And if you're familiar with this phrase, godly sorrow,
that's going to remind you of 2 Corinthians 7.
Now in 2 Corinthians 7, this is a letter to a church.
Right?
Now remember in 1 Corinthians, there's a man who was sleeping with his father's wife.
Right?
And basically Paul rebuked the church and said that person should have been thrown out of church.
Okay.
What happened in 1 Corinthians is people heard this message and they applied it.
And there was a change.
Now keep in mind, this was written to a church full of people that believe
that are living wickedly.
But they do believe.
It's a church, for one, it's not an individual.
And it's a church full of saved people.
Notice what it says in 2 Corinthians 7 verse 8.
For though I made you sorry with a letter.
How did he make them sorry with a letter in 2 Corinthians 7 verse 8?
The letter of 1 Corinthians is how he made them sorry.
I made you sorry with a letter.
I do not repent, though I did repent.
What is he saying there?
He's saying when I first wrote it, I was kind of like, I don't know if I want to write this.
I feel, you know, maybe I shouldn't do this.
And he kind of changed his mind.
It's like, it's kind of like you write that Facebook message on somebody's wall.
You type it out or everything.
Then you're like, oh, I didn't mean to do that.
Delete.
Okay.
But there is no delete here because the letter's been sent.
He's like, man, I do not repent, though I did repent.
He's saying when I first did it, it was kind of one of those things.
I didn't know if I made the right choice.
And he's saying, I don't repent.
And the reason why he doesn't change his mind about it now
is for the fact that they did change.
He made the right choice.
God led Paul by the Spirit to make the right choice.
Okay.
He says, I do not repent, though I did repent.
For I perceive that that same epistle, which is 1 Corinthians,
hath made you sorry, though were but for a season.
He's like, that letter made you sorry.
Verse 9.
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance.
For ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
Okay.
Remember, this is to save people.
I'll explain it here in a second.
For godly sorrow, verse 10, for godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation,
not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Now be honest with you.
I don't find this passage confusing, and I never really have, to be honest.
Okay.
But you might be, because you've heard this preached by various Baptist churches and things
like that, you say, well, wait a minute.
In verse 10, it says, godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation.
Now here's the thing.
These people are already saved.
Right?
It's a church full of believers.
So this godly sorrow he's talking about, this was from people that were already saved.
What does it mean, repentance to salvation?
Here's what it means.
When I preach about quit drinking alcohol, if you do change your mind and stop doing
that and change what you're doing, that will work repentance to salvation.
You say, what do you mean by that?
It saves you from destroying your life.
This is not spiritual salvation.
Look, the church of Corinth, do you know what would happen if they didn't change?
God would remove that candlestick.
Boy, it certainly saved that church, didn't it?
If they had not repented, if they had not changed what they were doing, you know what
would have happened?
That church would have been removed by God, my friend.
And here's the truth.
When sermons are preached and you hear the word of God thundered, if you don't make changes,
you know what?
Your life's going to be destroyed, my friend, in all areas.
But if you listen to the preaching and you change, you know what?
It's going to save you.
Now, you're already saved and on your way to heaven spiritually, but throughout the
Bible, the word saved is not always spiritual salvation on your way to heaven.
These people are already saved.
And look, there's a difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow.
Worldly sorrow and godly sorrow.
You say, what is that?
Here's what worldly sorrow is.
Your hand is caught in the cookie jar and your mom's like, I told you you couldn't have
any cookies.
I'm so sorry, mom.
I'll never do it again.
Later that day when your mom's not in the room, that's worldly sorrow.
What does that mean?
It means you're sorry you got caught, but you're not sorry you did it.
See, every single person that murders someone, they're crying in court.
They're sorry.
But the question is, was it worldly sorrow or godly sorrow?
The difference is godly sorrow means there's a change.
Okay?
And so look, when you, and here's what's foolish about older cults.
When a sermon's preached about how you need to read the Bible, I can pretty much guarantee
everybody's going to feel bad about it, right?
I mean, I've always, when I heard churches and they preach about how you need to read
the Bible or do this or this, I mean, I would always feel bad.
I'm like, man, I'm sorry.
But here's the proof of whether or not you have godly sorrow.
Did you make a change?
Because godly sorrow means there's going to be a change, a repentance, and it will work
salvation.
Why?
It will save you from destroying your life, my friend.
But that's not saving you from hell.
These people were already saved.
So when they're saying godly sorrow in their article, they're saying in 2 Corinthians 7,
this is a salvation passage here in verses 8 through 10.
How is this a spiritual salvation passage when it's written to a church full of believers?
How is that them believing on Jesus and getting saved?
That's ridiculous.
Okay.
Turn in your Bible to James 2.
James 2.
James chapter 2.
Now I would tell you we're almost done, but we're not.
So we still got probably 20 minutes.
The next sermon will be shorter.
Okay.
I planned it this way.
That's why the second sermon is just like, you know what?
It's going to be a shorter sermon.
I'm just kind of explaining how we do the Lord's Supper, but I got to get in that extra
time now.
Don't worry.
We will eat lunch on time.
Okay.
And so chapter 16, there's just too much heresy in their London Baptist confession.
I'm just showing you all of their work, salvation and Calvinism and repentance and all this
stuff.
Chapter 16 in the London Baptist confession of good works of good works is the title of
this.
These good works done in obedience to God's commandments are the fruits and evidences
of a true and lively faith.
Okay.
What they're saying is the evidence of your salvation, the evidence of saving faith is
that you have works.
Okay.
We don't believe that here.
Now I know you're hearing a lot of churches.
Well, if you're really saved, you're going to bear fruit.
Okay.
Look, in the Bible, the Bible says the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he
that win its souls is wise.
Your fruit means basically think of an apple tree.
If an apple falls off an apple tree, most of those apples don't produce other apples,
but some of them, the seeds come from that apple and they produce a tree.
They produce other apples.
Okay.
Just like you as a saved person, what is your fruit?
Well, look, if you're a Christian, your fruit is not going to be a Hindu.
Right.
I mean, an apple tree doesn't produce oranges.
Okay.
Not all apples produce apples, but every apple that produces fruit produces apples.
Right.
But most apples don't produce apple trees.
Right.
Most Christians don't produce other Christians.
But look, if you're a Christian, when you get done through the gospel, someone's not
going to be like, you know what, man, I believe Muhammad is the way to heaven now.
You convinced me.
I mean, it just all clicked together with Islam.
It's like, I believe in Islam now.
No.
I mean, as a saved person, you're going to produce other saved people.
You're going to produce a Christian.
Okay.
Not everybody produces that, though.
What they believe and teach is this, though.
If you really have faith, you're going to have works because that's the evidence.
Well, let's go to the famous passage they love to see if faith always is accompanied
by works.
James 2, verse 20.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Now, this is a very famous verse they quote, and they will quote this and say, well, see,
if you really have faith, you're going to have works.
Then why does it say faith without works?
Faith without works.
Meaning you can have faith with no works.
On the own verse, they quote, yes, faith without works.
You can have faith without works.
They'll say, well, you cannot have faith without works because the Bible says faith without
works is dead.
It's like, what in the world?
It says faith without works.
It says right there that you can have faith without works.
Okay, now notice this.
It does not say faith without works sends you to hell.
It says it's dead.
It's a dead faith.
What is a dead faith?
A faith that doesn't produce works.
Let me ask you a question.
Let's say, for example, you try to turn on your computer today after service, and it
won't turn on.
Try to get a fix, and it won't turn on and everything like that.
It's just not working.
When we say that's a dead computer, does the computer exist?
Yes, but we'd say it's a dead computer.
Why?
It's not producing anything.
Did you know that a dead faith exists?
Look, if I die right now, I have a dead body, and I'll be sitting right here, right?
I'll be lying right here.
Does that mean my body doesn't exist because it's dead?
Look, I mean, when you bury bodies because they're a dead body, they exist.
The bodies are there.
It's just a dead body because there's no life being produced, okay?
There's nothing being produced, but the body's still there.
A dead faith exists, and what a dead faith means is you don't have works accompanying
your faith, but that does not mean the faith doesn't exist, right?
People believe on Jesus Christ all the time and don't have works, and my proof that you
can have faith without works is the verse that they're going to quote to you.
Faith without works.
There you go.
It does not say faith without works sends you to hell.
You know, one thing I've noticed, and turn to Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11.
One thing I've noticed with unsafe people and false churches and things like that, they
try to make every verse in the Bible about salvation.
Like every single verse is about salvation.
So it's like spiritual salvation.
So when Paul said, except you abide in the boat, you cannot be saved.
I guess he's saying if you want to go to heaven, you got to just hang out in this boat.
No, he's saying there's a storm, and if you jump out of the boat into the water, you're
going to die physically, not spiritually, okay?
Throughout the Bible, you know, oftentimes it has nothing to do with spiritual salvation.
In fact, most of the Bible is not about spiritual salvation.
Most of it's about living a godly life.
Say why?
Because the people reading the Bible by and large are saved people.
So what do we need to hear?
We need, this is why I don't always preach about salvation at church.
Why?
Because most people here are saved.
Now we preach salvation door to door and preach the gospel, but you know what?
We need to learn a lot of things in the Bible, but you know, only a small part of that is
spiritual salvation because we're already saved, okay?
Hebrews 11 verse 1.
You say, but brother Stuckey, if works are not your evidence, what is your evidence?
Hebrews 11 verse 1.
Now faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
It's funny because Calvinists will say they believe the same.
We believe it's just by grace through faith.
Then why is there evidence based on works?
Because according to the Bible, your evidence is faith.
Okay?
Turn to Jude 1.
Jude 1.
We'll look at a few more places.
Jude 1.
Jude chapter 1.
And so in chapter 17, chapter 17 of their book, the London Baptist Confession, it's
called Of the Perseverance of the Saints.
Of the Perseverance of the Saints.
Now that is a Calvinist doctrine.
We do not believe in the perseverance of the saints here, and I'll show you why.
It says in chapter 17 of their Perseverance of the Saints, those whom God has accepted
in the beloved, affectionately called and sanctified by his spirit and given the precious
faith of his elect unto, can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace,
but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved, seeing the gifts
and calling of God are without repentance, from which source he still begets and nourishes
in them faith, repentance, love, joy, hope, and all the graces of the spirit onto immortality.
So according to them, if you're really saved, you will persevere onto the end with love
and joy and hope and all these things to the very end.
Now, look, aren't there a lot of Christians that kind of lose their joy along the way?
Aren't there a lot of Christians that kind of lose their love for Christ?
Because here's the thing.
Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments.
So the proof of whether or not you love God is your works of whether or not you love God.
You don't have to love God to go to heaven.
You got to believe on Jesus Christ to go to heaven.
Look, the proof of whether or not you love God is works.
That's not the proof of your salvation, though.
And so here's the thing.
Some people love God and they're obeying the rules of the Bible.
And then later on in life, they choose not to.
OK, that does not mean they're not saved.
And so what does it say in Jude one verse one?
You say, Brother Stuckey, I thought we believe in eternal security.
We do believe in eternal security because we believe God keeps us saved.
We don't keep ourselves saved by persevering onto the end.
OK, Jude one verse one, Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to them
that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called.
God preserves us.
God keeps us saved.
We don't persevere to the end.
Now, I hope you do persevere to the end.
I hope I hope I persevere to the end.
I hope when I'm 80 years old, if I'm too old to preach, I'm serving God in church,
doing whatever I can, going soul winning if I can,
being a blessing in whatever way I can to that church.
I hope all of us do that.
But you don't have to do that to go to heaven.
Look, you can walk out of here and get drunk,
and that's not going to affect your status in heaven.
Now, a lot of churches, they don't like to say this
because they want to scare you into living for God.
But here's the thing.
If you're going to live for God, it's going to come from the heart, my friend.
And so we preach hard against sin, but you need to put that in its proper place.
That is zero percent to do with salvation.
Okay, nothing to do with salvation.
We are preserved just like you preserve fruit or vegetables or whatever.
Turn to Acts 7, Acts chapter 7.
We will just look at two more places,
Acts 7 and one other place, Acts chapter 7 and one other place.
So look, this London Baptist confession, it's not all about Calvinism,
but they certainly do believe in every point in every bit of Calvinism,
every single bit of it.
So Reformed Baptists, yes, they believe in Calvinism.
And in chapter 20, the title is,
Of the Gospel and the Extent of Grace Thereof.
It says this in chapter 20,
Although the Gospel be the only outward means of revealing Christ and saving grace,
and is as such abundantly sufficient thereunto,
yet that men who are dead in trespasses may be born again,
quickened or regenerated,
there is moreover necessary an effectual and superb work of the Holy Spirit
upon the whole soul,
for the producing in them a new spiritual life
without which no other means will affect their conversion onto God.
It said an effectual, insuperable work of the Holy Spirit.
What it's saying is basically the Holy Spirit,
if He decides to get you saved,
it's going to have an effect automatically.
100% if you've been chosen,
the Holy Spirit will regenerate you against your will,
because you're a hater of God,
child of the devil according to them,
and it will regenerate you,
guaranteed it will have an effect,
and what they call it in TULIP is irresistible grace.
You cannot resist the grace.
If God's chosen you, you're going to heaven.
If God has not chosen you, you're going to hell.
That is what they teach, okay?
Well, what does it say in Acts 7 verse 51?
Let's see whether or not you can resist the Holy Ghost or not.
They say it's irresistible grace.
It cannot be resisted.
Acts 7 verse 51,
Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,
ye do always resist the Holy Ghost,
as your fathers did, so do ye.
It's funny, they use the exact terminology
where they're proved wrong.
Irresistible grace, that's the I.
It cannot be resisted.
The Holy Ghost, you cannot resist it.
Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.
What is the Bible saying?
He's saying, you know what, you're rejecting the Gospel.
Over and over and over again,
then you're killing Stephen who's preaching the Word of God.
You are resisting, but they say it's irresistible.
So look, biblically, which one's right?
They say it's irresistible, and yet this verse clearly says
that you do resist the Holy Ghost, okay?
Turn in your Bible to Matthew 28.
So look, when we preach the Gospel,
we explain the Gospel,
some people believe on it and get saved,
and when that happens, when we're preaching the Gospel,
we know the Bible says the Holy Spirit's working with us, right?
I mean, there's a spiritual battle we don't fully understand.
Sometimes you're preaching the Gospel,
and you're getting right to the meat and potatoes of the issue,
and all of a sudden their phone rings,
or the child starts crying,
and you know, oftentimes, that's the devil fighting against it,
because he doesn't want them to get saved.
We understand there's a spiritual battle out there,
so when we go soul winning,
we pray that God's Spirit will be upon us
and help us get people saved,
because we're not going soul winning in our own power.
God's working with us, the Bible says, okay?
But when we preach the Gospel,
and the Holy Spirit is trying to get them to believe this,
they can resist and choose not to believe it, right?
I mean, that happens all the time when you go soul winning, okay?
Now the problem is Calvinists don't go soul winning,
so they don't realize that when you preach the Gospel,
not everybody believes, right?
But look, when you're preaching the Gospel,
not everybody believes.
Look, I mean, if you tell me,
man, 99% of the time when I preach the Gospel to someone,
they get saved,
I'd say there's something wrong with your soul winning,
because sometimes people hear it and they don't believe it, right?
Sometimes they believe, sometimes they don't, okay?
And obviously, that depends on who the person is.
If they're like a hardcore cult member,
it's less likely to get saved, okay?
If they're just your ordinary Catholic,
then they're probably going to get saved,
if you explain the Gospel, okay?
But of chapter 26, only a few more things will be done,
chapter 26, and it says, of the church.
Here's what they say about of the church.
Now these are Reformed Baptists, they say they're Baptists, right?
The Catholic or Universal Church.
Now wait a minute, they believe in the Universal Church?
They believe in the Holy Catholic Church?
That's what they say.
The Catholic or Universal Church?
Look, they are Protestants, just changed a little bit.
Really, the only change is on that thing of infant baptism.
And from what I read online, there's some Reformed Baptists that,
you know, they still do infant baptism.
They just say, you know, this is just kind of ceremonial,
but it's not really, you know, salvation.
It's like, that's really the only change with them, okay?
The Catholic or Universal Church, which with respect to the internal work
of the Spirit and truth of grace may be called invisible,
consists of the whole number of the elect that have been, or are,
or shall be gathered into one under Christ, the head thereof,
and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of Him that fills all in all.
Here's the problem with that.
The church is referred to as the body, okay?
A body must be together.
Your body parts must be together, okay?
If part of your body, your left hand's in Europe,
your right hand's in Africa, your head's in the United States,
your feet are in, you know, I don't know, Thailand, wherever.
Look, it's not going to do you much good, is it?
Your feet don't operate unless it's with the rest of the body, okay?
And so look, when it comes to the body, the example God gives,
it must be together.
Look, we're not together with people in other countries, in other churches.
We're not congregated together with people that are five miles down the road.
If there's another church down the road preaching the gospel,
praise the Lord for it, it's a different church and a different body, okay?
And so there is no universal church, okay?
Chapter 29 of baptism, we'll be done here in a second.
Chapter 29 of baptism, those who do actually profess repentance toward God,
faith in and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ,
are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.
So they say, you know, we've got to make sure you're being obedient
before we baptize you, because their proof of salvation is not,
do you believe this?
Their proof of salvation is, do you have works?
So they'll only baptize you, generally,
if you've been at the church for a couple years.
It's like, all right, I mean, you've been reading the Bible for a few years,
you're going to church, all right, you're ready now, okay?
You're obedient, this is proof, you're saved.
It's like, look, if somebody says they believe, we'll baptize them, okay?
And so they say, well, you got to be obedient, okay?
It says this, the outward element to be used in this ordinance is water.
Where in the party is to be baptized?
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Now this was written in 1689, okay?
It's interesting that they don't say the Holy Ghost, okay?
You say, why?
Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them, verse 19,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Okay, that's what the Bible says.
The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
And they kind of change the wording.
You say, why?
Well, I mean, Reformed Baptists aren't King James only, right?
It's like, now look, I don't believe the Holy Ghost is different than the Holy Spirit, okay?
There's not, I mean, the Holy Ghost is the Holy Spirit.
I'm not saying they're different at all.
But I'm just saying, you know, we just follow the exact pattern that the Bible says.
You know, when we baptize people, we could say, I mean,
we baptize you in the name of the Father, and of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost.
You know why we don't do that?
Because we just follow exactly what the Bible says.
Now is the Son Jesus Christ?
Absolutely, right?
Nobody's denying them.
The Word is Jesus Christ.
But we don't substitute or change the words.
Why?
We're just going to follow exactly what the Bible says, okay?
But look, Reformed Baptists, they're not King James only, okay?
The words aren't really that important to them every single word like we believe.
So look, when it comes to the London Baptist Confession,
these are basically Protestants with very little change,
that are hardcore Calvinists that really want to claim they have the heritage, okay?
But I don't know about you, but as we went through all these points,
I didn't really find that I agreed with what they said, okay?
Now here's the thing about this.
When it comes to the London Baptist Confession,
everyone's allowed different opinions, and that's fine.
You know, here's the thing.
You're welcome to read it for yourself.
You know, I just read it online, the 1689 London Baptist Confession.
I just kind of went through it and picked the parts where I said,
we don't believe this, we don't believe this, we don't believe this, okay?
Now let me just clarify a few things real quickly.
I believe there's plenty of people that are at Reformed Baptists that are saved,
just like, you know what, many of you don't even think your old pastor was saved,
but you were saved at that church.
You say the only church I found was preaching a work of salvation.
That doesn't mean that you weren't saved though, right?
I mean, when I got saved, I'll tell you what,
when I first got saved and kind of realized a little bit about what I believed,
I figured out pretty soon I was a Baptist, okay?
Because I believed in eternal security,
and I believed in baptism by immersion after salvation, okay?
But I didn't realize, oh, I'm an independent fundamental Baptist
and everything like that.
I just knew I was a Baptist.
And then as you learn and grow, you learn things, and that's fine.
So look, there are plenty of people in Reformed Baptist churches,
there's plenty of people in Bible Baptist churches that are saved.
And look, not every Bible Baptist pastor is unsaved, okay?
But I'll tell you this, if you believe in all these points of Calvinism,
you inherently believe in work salvation.
They teach and believe a work salvation, and they're not saved.
Let's close in word prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today
and just getting to see this sermon and see all the passages in the Bible about this
and help us understand what we believe about salvation.
But help us walk away when we're done with this series
to understand the importance of being a Baptist and understand our heritage.
And though Reformed Baptist, they say they're Baptist,
they believe very different things in us.
They believe just like the Protestants do.
And so I'm not fully sure why they call themselves Baptist,
but we believe something differently than them, God.
We pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.