Luke chapter 18, and you know, when you preach sermons, you kind of have to have a balance of everything.
There are definitely sermons where you try to just help people with their personalities and character traits, and it's a real practical sermon.
I think everyone would agree my sermon last Sunday about doubts in the family was a very practical sermon.
You know, there's also a time to preach against false religion. That's something we're called to do.
And the name of this sermon is the Calvinist versus the Christian.
The Calvinist versus the Christian. And you can tell from the name of the sermon that I'm saying the Calvinists aren't Christians.
And that's what we're going to see very clearly today.
Let me say this, that when it comes to my personality and my personal pet peeve, Calvinism is my biggest pet peeve.
That's the doctrine that really makes me mad. It suggests that Jesus didn't die for everyone.
But at the same time, you know, we're going to be starting a series on the Pentecostal agenda next week.
And then not this Wednesday, but the Wednesday after that, we're preaching a whole sermon against the Eucharist when we go through John 6.
Which is obviously against the Catholic Church. So I'm not just preaching on one thing.
But, you know, at the same time, this is a big doctrine. And a lot of people from our church who used to go to churches like this.
So let's see what it says in Luke chapter 18. And let me just say this right off the bat about, you say, well, what is Calvinism?
You know, some of you in this room, maybe you're very familiar with this doctrine. Some of you might not be.
You know, Calvinism is named after John Calvin.
John Calvin was one of the Protestant Reformers. And what he is famous for is not believing in free will.
Basically, if a person ends up believing on Jesus and getting saved, it's not because they chose to believe, but God forced them to believe.
And so people do not end up believing and go to hell. It's not really their fault. I mean, God forced them to not believe.
God did not want them to go to heaven, according to Calvinism, according to John Calvin. That's ridiculous.
He's not willing that any should perish, the Bible says. It says the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men.
The Bible is very clear. Jesus died for everybody. He wants us saved. He wants us in heaven. He wants us to preach to everybody.
Then they have their choice. If they're going to accept it, if they're going to receive Jesus Christ, or if they're going to reject it.
The sad thing is most people do reject it. It doesn't mean, though, that God wanted them to go to hell.
He wanted them to go to heaven. He wanted them to believe. That's the reason why He died for the sins of the whole world, the Bible says.
So He did die for their sins. They chose not to believe. So Calvinism is a complete heresy to suggest that Jesus only died for some people.
And He didn't die for most people. He only died for a small percentage of people. That's ridiculous. He came to die and pay for everybody's sins.
Now in Luke chapter 18, in verses 11 through 14, we see a story between two different people. We see the publican and we see the Pharisee.
Now, the Calvinist fits exactly with the Pharisee in this story. We're going to see five points. They line up perfectly.
The Pharisee is basically like a Calvinist. Everything that the Pharisee says and believes, it lines up just like Calvinism.
Whereas the publican is like the Christian, like the person who's believed on Jesus Christ and gotten saved.
So in Luke chapter 18, verse 11, let's first look at the Calvinist here.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
And see, the first point we have is this, that the Calvinist does not feel like they deserve hell, whereas the Christian realizes they do deserve hell.
See, notice in Luke 18, verse 11, where it says, I'm not like other men. I'm not bad like other people. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not as this publican.
I'm actually a pretty good person. I don't deserve to go to hell. Now this guy over here, this guy deserves to go to hell, not me. I'm a pretty good guy. I am not as other men are, is what he says.
Now turn to Romans 3. Now let me ask you a question. When we preach the gospel, what is the first thing that we're showing people?
We're showing them they are just like everybody else, aren't we? First thing we show them is, hey, for all have sinned, Romans 3, verse 23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
See, that Pharisee sinned just like we have. The Calvinist has sinned just like we have. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
So why is it that the Calvinists will do the exact same thing as the Pharisees and they say we're not as other men are? That is what their whole religion is about. They say we are not as other men are because God has chosen us.
That's why we're so good. We're such great people. Why? Because we're not as other men are. God has chosen us. We've been elected. We're different than everybody else.
No, the first point of salvation is you're not different than everybody else. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That's the first thing we show people.
Is that, hey, you know what, you're guilty and you need a Savior. Did you realize that over 90% of people get that?
90% of people will admit, you know what, I've broken God's rules. If I'm honest, you know, I do deserve help.
And they're willing to go, we can keep going through the gospel, but not with Calvinists because they missed the first point. They don't think that they are as other men are.
Look at Romans 3.10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. None righteous. There's not a single person who's righteous and has not sinned and broken God's rules.
Every single one of us has broken God's rules before. None of us are even close to being righteous. I mean, you know, if we were to lay down every single sin we've ever done,
everything we've done wrong in our lives, even if nobody saw it, but God knows, look, we've done a lot of things back. We're not even close to deserving to get to heaven.
To suggest that we are holy enough or righteous enough to get to heaven, that's ridiculous. There is none righteous. Not a single person is righteous.
Not a single person is a just man that doeth good and never sins and sin if not, as the Bible says. Look at Romans 3.20. It says, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.
For by the law is the knowledge of sin. So what the Bible says in verse 20 is, by the deeds of the law. Now it says, therefore, in Romans 3.20, because it's recapping all the verses from Romans 3.10 up to verse 20.
And when you look at those verses, which starts out as there is none righteous, no, not one, what it's showing you is that when you look at the law and you look at how we've sinned and broken God's rules,
look, by the deeds of the law, no flesh is going to be justified. Not a single person in this room, not a single person in this world is going to be justified by their deeds or their works or their actions.
Why? We've broken God's rules. We're not perfect. We're not righteous. We're not even close to perfect. And so no flesh is going to be justified by their deeds.
Why? Because the law is the knowledge of sin. By the law is the knowledge of sin. You know, we know what the law says. We know it's wrong to steal. We know it's wrong to lie. And you know what? Every single person breaks God's rules, even knowing that they're wrong. Now turn to Revelation 21.
And so to start out with your soul, you're going to say, man, I'm pretty familiar with the verses you're showing us. And you say, you know, why are we using such basic verses? Well, you have to understand with the Calvinists, they don't get the first step of salvation.
So that's what we're talking about right now, because they don't get the first step. This is very applicable to them, to the James Whites in this world, because they don't get the first step of salvation that we all sinned and come to the glory of God.
Now to us, this is very basic. Why? Because when we got saved, we realize this right off the bat that we're guilty and we need a Savior. But they still get that. They still think that they're innocent. They don't think that they're guilty, just like this Pharisee.
Revelation 21, but the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and hormones and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the language part of the fire and brimstone, which is the second death. See, the Bible says all liars shall have their part.
We say, well, how many lies do you need to commit to be a liar? Well, let me ask you a question. How many murders do you have to commit to be a murderer? If somebody kills one person, what do you call them? You call them a murderer, just for one murder. So how many lies does it take to be a liar? Just takes one.
And later on, the chapter makes it really clear when it says whosoever make it, a lie, a lie, one lie. So for just one lie, we're liars. Look, all of us at times were liars. We choose to just lie because we want to either protect ourselves or make ourselves look good. I mean, every single kid in the world, they lie to their parents sometimes. They get caught doing something wrong and they say, no, it wasn't me. I have no idea how that whole God was all over there.
It just kind of happened. And you say, why are you using that as an example? Because that's an example for my life. I remember when, you know, there's this big hole in the wall and then all of a sudden my parents blame me and it's like, I don't know how it took place. You know, but why? Because kids choose to lie. And even as adults, we choose to lie at times. And for just one lie, you would be a liar. And if we're honest with ourselves, we're going to say, yeah, you know what? Sometimes I am a liar. Sometimes I choose to say what's wrong or do what's wrong.
And look, all of us have done worse than hell with one lie. See, it only takes one lie to be condemned to hell where you need a savior. All of us have done far worse than that. But see, when you talk to a Calvinist, they believe they are chosen by God specifically to be great people and they're his children. And God doesn't like these people over here. So it makes sense with what they believe that if God specifically chose them, they're going to be really good people.
See, that's not the way it works. The way it works is we've all broken God's rules and we have to decide if we believe or not. I'll turn back to Luke 18.
And so we saw the Calvinist here in this passage. Let's look at the Christian though. Let's look at us. Because in this room, hopefully everybody, but at least the vast majority of people in this room are believers.
You believe in Jesus Christ. You put your faith in him. You know you're on your way to heaven and nothing can ever change that. So let's look at the Christian here in Luke 18 verse 13. And the Christian lines up with the publican.
Luke 18 verse 13. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.
Now does this publican sound like he realizes he's guilty? He realizes, doesn't he? He's like, man, he won't even look up to heaven. He smokes upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.
And so when we get saved, that's kind of our reaction. When we hear the gospel, we realize, you know what? I've broken gospels. God be saved. God be merciful to me. Why? We realize we can't save ourselves.
It's like if somebody is drowning in water, their natural reaction is to cry out for help because they realize I can't save myself.
And it's the same way when we get saved. When we realize we're drowning in water, that we're on our way to hell, we believe that Jesus died and paid for our sins, our natural thing to do is to call on him and ask him to save us.
As the Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's not those words that you're saying. It's the fact that you actually believe that you're drowning on your way to hell.
And naturally, if you believe that, what are you going to do? You're going to call on him to save you, as the Bible says.
Now Luke 18 verse 13, he realizes he's on his way to hell very clearly. Now I want you to look at starting at verse number 18 in Luke 18.
And so when it comes to getting people saved, I think any of us that are soul owners would say that Catholics aren't that hard to get saved here.
By and large, most Catholics realize their religion is wrong. The vast majority of them. They don't necessarily know what the right religion is, but they know that their religion is wrong.
That's why Catholics are the easiest people in the Philippines to get saved. Unfortunately, we're going to talk about this next week, but some people join churches like the Pentecostal church.
They realize their Catholic church is wrong, and so they grasp onto something else, but unfortunately they don't realize what you just grasped to hold them is a correct demon.
Which is sad. And so the Catholics are the easiest people to get saved. But if you try to preach the gospel and get a calendar saved, a five-point calendar that believes everything they do,
that says, no, Jesus did not die for everybody. If you're really saved, you're going to walk the walk and live a good life. Those people are very difficult to get saved.
You say, why are they so hard to get saved? Because they don't understand the first point of salvation. The first point of salvation is just for all of sin and for the glory of God.
But they said, I'm not as other men are. That's exactly what they say. They literally say, we are not as other men are. Why? Because God has chosen us.
So you say, is there a purpose to argue and debate with the Calvinist over theology? No, there's not. Because they don't understand the first point of salvation.
So what's the purpose of debating them over all these different things? I don't care what Calvinist it is. Actually, I have been challenged to debates by Calvinists because we do those videos on our channel.
And you know what? I say, hey, you're welcome to watch the videos, but I'm not interested in debate. Why? Because of the fact that when we go soloing, we're not out there debating.
If we knock on the door and we talk to someone and they want to just argue with us back and forth, we just move on to the next door.
Because there's millions of people here in the Philippines that just want to listen to the gospel. So why would we waste an hour arguing with people? That's not what God's given us here.
I mean, when he sent them out two by two, you know, he made it very clear, you just shake off the dust of your feet, right? If they don't want to listen, you just move on. And so we don't try to waste our time to debate with anybody.
Now, let me turn to myself in Book 18, because this was not originally in my notes, but it's right here in the passage, so I want to talk about it. And notice what it says in verse 18.
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Now, that's a great question. Very similar to what must I do to be saved, as it says in Acts 16.
That's a great question. Now, notice the response of Jesus in verse 19. And Jesus said of them, Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one. That is God.
Now, I'm going to explain this passage here, because a lot of people are confused on what's going on. Because if you just kind of quickly read over it, it looks like Jesus is the worst sower in the world.
When we actually read it though, we're going to see he's actually the greatest sower of all time. Because in verse 19, it almost sounds like he's saying he's not God. He's like, Why do you call me good? Because the only one that's good is God.
Now, this passage is in other gospels as well. Here's what you have to understand. This person does not believe that Jesus is the Savior. He calls him good master.
What he believes is it's possible to be very, very good, but he doesn't believe that Jesus is the Savior. This guy has two problems. Remember when I talked about our salvation series?
There's basically two things you must believe. You have to understand who's giving you the gift, and you have to understand what the gift is.
This guy does not understand who Jesus is, and he also doesn't understand how to get the gift. He doesn't understand what the gift is. Does that make sense?
And so he's saying good master? No. It's impossible for Jesus to be a good teacher or a good master. Either he's the real deal or he's a phony, because the only one that's good is God.
So Jesus is not saying he's not God. He's like, Wait a minute. The only one that's good is God. Now, he is basically saying he is God as a gift. He doesn't say he's not good.
He's saying, Look, there's no man that's good. Why? Because the Bible says, For all of sin comes short of the glory of God.
Now, in verse number 20, it says, Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Out of thy father and my mother.
And so he goes through the commandments, because just like when we preach to gospel people, a lot of people think that they're good, and we show them, Hey, you know if you make just one lie, you're guilty.
And he goes through these things. I mean, he mentions honoring your parents. Look, none of us have always honored our parents. Sometimes we quote their rules, we're disobedient, we're rebellious.
And so it's very clear when you look at this that, Hey, you know what? We're guilty. But notice what this guy's response is in verse 21.
And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. It's like, Really? You've kept these from your youth up? You've never broken the rules at all?
You've never had one time where you wore false witness or dishonored your parents? But this guy says, You know what? I've kept all these things from my youth up.
Now, does this person understand the first point of salvation? No. What is he saying? I am not as other men are, just like the Calvinist or the Pharisee in Luke 18.
And so notice what the response is of Jesus. Now, when Jesus heard these things, he said, I'm going, Yet lack thou one thing. Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.
And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. He said, Why is it that Jesus basically tells him, Hey, live a good life, and that's gonna that's gonna work out for you getting to heaven?
Because he's trying to show this guy that you don't understand the first point of salvation. See, when we preach the gospel with someone, if they do not believe they need a savior, we don't move on with the gospel presentation.
You say, Why? Because Jesus didn't move on with the gospel presentation. He's basically at the point of showing you, Hey, you know what? You're not good enough.
And he's like, If you really want to be good, if you want to earn your way to heaven, why don't you sell everything you have? If you're perfect, as you say, that you kept these from your youth up, then go sell everything.
Because there's two ways to heaven. One is living a perfect life. The other way is just believing on Jesus Christ. Now Jesus, he lived a perfect life.
All of us, though, we haven't lived a perfect life. And so he's trying to show this guy, Hey, you know what? Go ahead and live the perfect life if you want to try to make it that way.
Good luck, buddy. And the guy doesn't understand this. It's not that Jesus is being rude to him. He's trying to help this guy out.
I think another place says, Beholding in love. It says something that's kind of a harsh statement. Basically saying, Hey, you know what? If you want to earn your way to heaven, you got to be perfect.
And this guy is trying to earn his way to heaven. He doesn't understand the first point of salvation.
So when it comes to running into these Calvinists that want to debate us and argue with us, look, if they want to hear the gospel, we'll preach the gospel to them.
But if they don't understand the first point of salvation, we don't debate with them about whether or not free will exists.
If they choose to believe that there is no free will, go ahead and choose to believe there's no free will.
Because I'm going to choose to believe that there is free will. Because it's a choice you're making.
I mean, what's the point of you even arguing with me if I have no free will, no matter whether or not I believe or reject?
It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. So the first one we have here are the Calvinists versus the Christian.
It's just that the Pharisees or the Calvinists, they don't even understand that they need a Savior.
Whereas the publican or the Christian, they understand very clearly, yeah, you know what? I am this other man.
I have broken God's rules. I do need a Savior. So in Luke chapter 18, I want you to know this verse 11.
And so the first one we see is this, that the Calvinist doesn't understand they need a Savior.
But the second thing I want you to look at is this, that the Calvinist focuses on big sins,
whereas the Christian will focus on whatever sins they have in their life and realize they're guilty.
What do I mean by that? Well, notice what it says in Luke 18 verse 11 with the Calvinists.
The Pharisees stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I want you to stop and think about the sins he's mentioning. He mentions extortion.
Now turn to 1 Corinthians 5.
You say, what is extortion? Extortion is not just stealing.
Extortion is basically when you steal through force or violence or threats, okay?
I mean, look at the government we live in, whether it's here in the U.S. or whatever government,
they're basically a bunch of extortioners. They basically steal your money and you can't do anything about it.
They take it by force, hey, if you don't obey this, you're going to go to jail for the rest of your life.
It's like, okay, so if I murder someone, I get one year in jail, but if I don't give you my money, I get like 20 years.
It's like that makes a lot of sense. That's the way the government works.
But I want you to notice the sin. Extortion, this is a big sin.
In 1 Corinthians 5 verses 9 through 11, I wrote on to an epistle not to company with fornicators.
Get not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters,
for then must the needs go out of the world.
But I have written on to not keep company of any man that is called brother, be it a fornicator, or a covetous, or an idolater,
or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner with such and one known not to eat.
See, extortion is one of the sins specifically listed that will get you kicked out of church.
You say, is it possible to be kicked out of church? Yes, it is possible to be kicked out of church.
You know, if you choose to be a fornicator, and you're just going out and just doing whatever,
you know what, you're not welcome in this church. You say, why?
Because of the fact we have kids at this church that we're trying to teach the ways of God.
And if we just say, you know, that we approve of this sin, you know what, that's basically to show the kids it's not that big of a deal.
Now obviously, you know, we're long-suffering with people.
If you go to the book of Revelation, it talks about how this woman seduced the people to commit fornication.
And she's not immediately kicked out of the church because it says it gave her space to repent of her fornication.
It gave her a chance to get rid of that sin.
So we don't lay down the hammer immediately on people if they have an issue.
But eventually it comes to the point where it's like, hey, you know what, it's not a free-for-all deal.
This is a church. It's meant to be a holy place, okay?
Obviously we all have sins, but there's certain sins that are grievous sins.
And extortion is one of those sins that will get you kicked out of church.
Turn back to Luke 18.
So there's somebody at this church who just came here, and they were basically threatening to beat people up unless they gave them money.
Look, you know what, they wouldn't be welcome here.
You say, why? Because that's extortion.
That is taking money by force or violence, okay?
And so that is the sin mentioned that will get you kicked out of church.
Notice the other things he mentioned in Luke 18, verse 11.
He says unjust.
If you look up unjust throughout the Bible, it has an extremely negative connotation.
And then it says adultery.
Now is adultery, is that a small sin?
Or is that a pretty big sin?
It's a pretty big sin, isn't it?
So he mentions adultery.
He mentions extortion, unjust.
These are big sins.
Now turn to 2 Corinthians 5.
2 Corinthians 5.
I mean, adultery is a sin that in the Old Testament, the death penalty was attached to it.
Look, you know, you don't get the death penalty for every sin you commit,
but there's certain sins that are so bad that God says, you know what?
If you cheat on your spouse, there's the death penalty.
That was God's law.
And so I want you to notice that this Calvinist, this Pharisee,
he's focusing on these big sins that he does not do.
Now isn't it true when you talk to a Calvinist
that they look at themselves as being such good people
and they focus on these really bad sins they don't do?
They'll say, hey, I'm not an extortioner.
I don't commit adultery.
But look, you know, if you've been to churches with Calvinists or if you know a lot,
most of them don't live that Godly life, do they?
I mean, look, it's not that here in Luke 18,
the Pharisee is saying, you know what?
I don't live a worldly life at all.
I never lust. I never have bad thoughts.
No, he's focusing on these big sins he doesn't commit.
It's like, good job.
You've never cheated on your spouse.
Wow, you're such a great person.
You're not as other men are.
That's not impressive that you haven't cheated on your spouse.
Wow, you've never killed anyone.
Good job, buddy.
You're not an extortioner.
You don't steal people for money by violence or force.
That's not impressive.
And look, the Calvinists will always say how they're changed and they're better than other people,
but they don't even focus on things that are impressive.
They focus on these really bad sins they don't commit.
It's like, well, that's not impressive.
Look what it says in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17.
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.
Now, a lot of people are confused on 2 Corinthians 5, 17
because they think that what this is saying is
that if you really get saved, you'll start to be a very good person.
That's what the Calvinists believe.
What this is actually saying is all things are become new
because when you get saved, you're in dwell with the Holy Ghost.
Right.
And so you have your flesh and you have your spirit.
Look, your flesh does not change when you get saved.
If a person is a drunk before they get saved, they're a drunk after they get saved.
Nothing's changed.
They have to obviously work on facing that problem.
Look, if somebody's a drug dealer before they get saved,
they don't magically quit being a drug dealer.
If somebody is a bad person before they're saved,
that doesn't change when they get saved.
What it does mean, though, is that they have their flesh
and they have their spirit and they're going to have basically two things.
Part of them wants to fulfill the spirit.
Part of them wants to fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And so Calvinists look at this verse and they say,
you know what, we're such great people.
We don't do wicked things like adulterate or murder
or commit these wicked sins, but look, that's not impressive.
It's not impressive that you're not a really bad person.
Most people are not extortioners and adulterous.
So the fact that they're focusing on that, that's not impressive.
Now turn back to Luke 18.
And see, this is what the world typically likes to do.
They like to focus on sins that they're not guilty of.
We preach the gospel to people and it's not just the Calvinists.
It's other religions as well.
And the ones that don't receive the message we present to them,
they look at their lives and they think they're pretty good people.
And they focus on things that they're not guilty of.
Most people think that if you commit a sin like murder or suicide,
then you're going to end up going to hell.
A lot of people mention that because they know they would never commit murder
because that's a really bad sin.
They'll never tell you, though, well, yeah, if you commit just one lie,
you'll lose your salvation. Why?
Because of the fact that they know they are going to tell the lies in the future.
So they focus on things that they're not guilty of.
That's exactly what the Calvinist says.
That's exactly what the Pharisee did.
That's not what the Christian does, though.
Because notice what it says in verse 13 where it says,
And the publican standing far off will not lift up so much his eyes into heaven,
but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
It says, God be merciful. What is that saying?
It's saying, I need mercy. I need forgiveness from God.
Why? Because I wrote me God's rules.
And so, you know, they don't focus on the big sins.
I mean, we don't really know much about this publican.
His job was not a Godly job, being a publican.
You know, outside of that, we don't know much about his life.
Us as individuals, even after salvation.
Look, we shouldn't look at other people and say, you know what,
I'm better than them because I don't commit these wicked sins.
Why? Because all of us have things we want to face in our lives.
I mean, don't focus on the big sins of other people.
Focus on the sins that you struggle with and say, you know what,
I need to make changes in my life.
Because we're not all the same people in this room.
There might be certain things that I struggle with that you don't struggle with.
And there might be certain things that you struggle with that I don't struggle with.
But the thing we have in common is we all struggle with certain things.
So we all need to not focus on other people,
but we need to see what the Bible says and say this.
Hey, I'm going to apply what God says.
I'm going to make changes in my life.
I'm going to fix the problems that I have.
I don't care about this Pharisee over here
because I realize I need God's mercy in my life.
Now look at Luke 18, verse 11.
I want you to notice another difference between the Calvinist and the Christian here.
I want you to notice the Calvinist always says,
I, I, I.
They claim to give credit to God,
but then when you actually hear them praying,
it's just I, I, I, I.
Whereas us as believers,
look, when we pray, I hope you don't do that when you pray.
I hope you don't just say when you pray,
I am so good.
I went soul winning this week, God.
I read the Bible this week.
I hope you're actually asking God for forgiveness when you make me say it.
That's how the Christian is.
That's how the Republican is.
That's how we ought to be.
But I want you to notice what it says in Luke 18, verse 11.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank you.
That's not a bad start to a prayer.
God, I thank you.
But I want you to notice verse number 11 later on where it says,
that I am not, as other men are,
extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even as a Republican,
I fast twice in the week.
I get tithes of all that I possess.
Now, the prayer started good.
He says, God, I thank thee.
But then you hear what he says after that.
He says, I'm not as other men are.
I fast twice in the week.
I get tithes of all that I possess.
Now, what he's saying might be true.
But let me ask you a question.
Do you think this guy's an humble guy?
Does he sound very humble?
He sounds like a very arrogant fool.
Okay?
And look, you know, when it comes to Calvinists,
they're some of the most arrogant and conceited people in their life.
Why?
Because what they believe is going to make them arrogant.
They literally believe that they are better than other people.
That is what their theology teaches,
that I am a better person than the other people,
that God did not die.
That's what they believe.
So it makes sense that they're going to be arrogant and lifted up with pride.
But this Pharisee, he probably doesn't even realize he's arrogant.
But notice how he says,
I, I, I.
Now turn to Matthew 7.
Matthew 7.
So it's interesting that he's claiming to give credit to God.
But when you actually hear his words,
it doesn't really seem like there's a whole lot of credit
that's actually being given to God.
It sounds like he's giving credit just to himself.
Now, sometimes I say this when I hear someone,
when I'm in Acts 16,
where it says,
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
And I'll explain to people that it's not just believing Jesus existed.
It's when you're putting your trust in him.
I'll use an example.
If I said I believe in my wife,
I don't mean that I believe she exists.
I mean that I trust her if I say I believe her.
To be saved, we must put our trust in Jesus Christ.
And so I'll say,
Let's say I told you something different today.
Let's say I told you,
I think I'm going to heaven because I'm a good person.
I read the Bible.
I go to church.
Then who am I trusting to get to heaven?
Am I trusting Jesus or am I trusting myself?
And they're going to say,
Well, you're trusting yourself.
And I'm like, well, yeah.
That's what most people do.
They go to church.
They think that they're a good person.
And they go to church.
And they read the Bible and go to heaven.
They're not really believing in what Jesus did.
They would say they're believing in what Jesus did,
but out of their own mouth they say,
I think I'm a good person and that's why I'm going to heaven.
That's exactly what the Calvinist does.
They think they're going to heaven because of the fact
I am not as other men are.
I fast twice in a week.
I get tired of all that I possess.
Well, I want you to notice Matthew 7 verse 22
where it says this,
Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
Here's people that get cast into hell
and they don't understand why they're going to hell.
Now, let's say, for example, just hypothetically,
let's say, for example, you were thrown into hell.
Now, as a believer, that's not possible.
But let's say you didn't get thrown into hell.
What would your response be?
Lord, I believe, right?
Isn't that what you say?
Because that's what I'm trusting to get to heaven.
So if I ended up going to hell, I'd be like, Lord, I believe.
You said believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and now,
I do believe.
I believe you died and paid for my sins.
I believe you did all the work.
I believe I can't earn my way to heaven
because that's what we believe gets us to heaven.
But out of his own mouth, in Matthew 7, verse 22,
these people say, have we not prophesied in thy name
or preached in thy name?
They say, wait a minute.
We preached in your name.
And then later on says, it done many wonderful works.
What are they trusting to get to heaven?
They're trusting their wonderful works.
Now, these are people that would have claimed
they're believing in what Jesus did.
But in reality, they're not believing what Jesus did.
They're believing in themselves.
You see, when you're in situations of pressure,
it kind of reveals what's actually inside your heart.
See, we talk to people one on one.
We talk to them in the park.
We talk to them at the door.
And oftentimes, they're going to tell us,
yes, I'm trusting in Jesus alone.
But then when the situation actually comes up in Matthew 7,
all of a sudden, you actually see what's inside their heart.
Well, there's no way I could go to hell because I preached
in Jesus' name.
I must be saved because I live a good life.
I'm a good person, OK?
That's exactly what the calendar says.
I'll turn back to Luke 18.
And look, you know, it's kind of a scary thought.
But in Matthew 7, verse 22, it says,
many will save me in that day.
This is not just a few people that are going to say, hey,
I can't believe I went to hell because I'm
such a good person.
Many are going to say that, OK?
And when it comes to people of false religions,
there are a lot more of them than there are of us.
I believe there's going to be a lot more people that end up
in hell that are shocked because of the fact
they thought they lived a good enough life.
They said, I preached in your name.
These are people in Matthew 7, verse 22.
They're claiming to do this in the name of Jesus
because it says, in thy name.
These are not other religions like Muslims.
These are Christians.
You say, why is it that you preach against Christian
denominations a lot?
Because of the fact these Christians are just
like the ones in Matthew 7.
Yeah, all right.
See, but the Catholics say they believe in Jesus.
They might say they believe in Jesus.
But what's actually in their heart
is the fact that they lived a good life.
And that's why they might only spend a few years of courage
for it.
What's actually inside their heart
is the fact that they're really good people.
That's what you see in Matthew 7.
That's what you see in Luke 18.
But let's notice what it says with the Christian here,
in Luke 18, verse 13.
And the publican, standing afar off,
would not lift up so much as his eyes into heaven,
but smote upon his breast.
So basically, he hits his chest, saying,
God be merciful to me, et cetera.
Now, I want you to understand, this is not some guy standing
in the middle of the street in front of thousands of people
to be seen of men.
This isn't a guy who's just intentionally kneeling down
in front of lots of people and hitting his chest
to show about how great he is.
Sometimes you'll see with pro athletes
that say they believe in Jesus and everything,
they're so over the top about it, they're really arrogant.
They do works to be seen of men.
They make it a point.
Guys who are fighters, before they beat the guy,
or right after they beat the guy unconscious,
then all of a sudden they'll just get down on one knee
and just pray to God and just act like they're real spirits.
Why?
Because it's an act.
It's not real.
This guy in Luke 18, he's not intentionally doing this
to be seen of men, which you saw with the Pharisees
throughout the Bible.
They're intentionally doing things to be seen of men.
He's not doing that.
He just actually, in his heart, realizes, I'm guilty.
I need a savior.
And you know what?
He says, God be merciful to me.
Now, notice what it says here in Luke 18, verse 11.
I want you to notice another thing.
See, when it comes to the Calvinist or the Pharisee,
the Pharisee compares himself to other people,
whereas the Christian or the publican
does not compare himself to other people.
See, in Luke 18, verse 11, the Pharisees
do have to pray less for themselves.
God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are.
Man, how humble you are.
You're so humble.
What a great man.
I'd love to meet this guy.
This guy's so humble, such a great, nice guy.
I'm not as other men are.
But notice how he's comparing himself to someone else.
And he says, or even as this publican,
he's specifically pointing out an individual.
Now, is being a publican a godly job?
No, it's not.
In the Bible, that wasn't a godly job.
But you know, at the same time, you know,
Matthew's a tax collector.
And God chose him and used him.
And so somebody can be living not the greatest life,
and God can still use them.
Because just because you have a certain job
that maybe you're involved in some sort of a godliness,
it doesn't mean you're an ungodly person.
It just might mean that's kind of how you ended up with work.
However, that ended up happening.
Obviously, we should try to choose to pick jobs
where we can serve God and that we're not sinning.
But you know, some people happen to get various jobs
for various reasons.
And Jesus doesn't make it a point to look down on them.
But there's various things that make
some points to look down on this guy.
He's making a point to look down on this publican.
And look, you know, the publican might have had a lot of things
he needed to work on.
And he might have had a lot of things on the surface
that were obvious that he was guilty of.
But I'll tell you what.
He had a much better heart on the inside
than that Pharisee had.
I don't care how much that Pharisee fasted or gave tithes.
Because of the fact that there's nothing more obnoxious
than an arrogant and conceited person.
Nobody likes arrogant.
Nobody likes it when you just lift yourself up
and talk about how great you are.
Look, everybody in this room,
we have certain things we're good at.
All of us could make it a point to talk about
the things we're good at all the time.
We also have a lot of things we're bad at as well.
People like to talk about the things they're great at.
Why don't you tell us what you're bad at?
I get the fact that you're great at this and this and this.
Tell us what you're bad at.
I'd rather hear that than you just lifting yourself up
like this Pharisee's doing.
Because the Pharisee doesn't bring up anything
that he's guilty of.
Obviously he's guilty of things.
Why don't you tell us what you're bad at?
Why don't you tell us what you're guilty of
rather than talk about how great you are?
Turn to 2 Corinthians 10.
And when it comes to comparing yourself to other people,
there's a few reasons why this is foolish.
One reason why it's foolish to compare yourself to other people
is that, you know what, let's say, for example,
you've been safe for a couple months.
Isn't it foolish to compare yourself to someone
who's been safe for 25 years and been stolen for 20 years
and expect to be living the same life as them?
If you look at that, you're going to say,
man, I'm never going to be as good as that person.
And he might just throw in the towel and just say,
I can't do it.
But at the same time, if you compare yourself to other people,
you might be someone who's been safe for a while
and you compare yourself to someone who's safe
but has a lot of problems in their life.
That's foolish as well. Why?
Because of the fact they have a lot that you wouldn't.
And so just because you're doing better than them,
that doesn't mean you're doing a good job.
So what do we need to do?
We need to just focus on ourselves
and not compare ourselves versus other people,
whether they're better than us or whether they're worse than us.
That's just the foolish thing to do.
And you know, that's one reason why,
is we have preaching on Sunday afternoons.
I think this is a great thing.
And you might say, I only preached one time
or I've never preached before.
Here's the reason why that's so great, though.
Because of the fact certain people will look at me
and think I can never preach like that.
That's the same way they work faster than they think.
I can never preach like that.
But you know what?
They look at someone who's newly preaching
and they think if that person has the boldness,
then I can do it as well.
They use that as motivation.
Oftentimes people will look at the person,
like Pastor Minnis, and think I can never be like that.
But look, Pastor Minnis has been saved for 25 years.
He's been sowing for 25 years.
He was sowing before he even got saved.
Isn't that kind of a foolish comparison
if you've been saved for a couple months?
And he's been preaching probably thousands of sermons.
Wouldn't it be kind of foolish to try to compare yourself
for something like that?
And see, I've never tried to compare myself
with people like that
because I know I'm not going to measure up to that standard.
And there's certain people that if you're new in this room,
you might say, you know, I have a desire to preach one day.
But you say, I don't know if I can preach sermons like this.
Well, look, all of us start at the bottom of the practice.
You don't have to impair yourself.
Because we're not trying to impress, you know,
other people in this room.
We're just trying to ourselves be spiritual and godly people.
And so all of us, we need to get better at everything.
And so 2 Corinthians 10, verse 12, it says,
for we dare not make ourselves with a number
or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves.
But they measuring themselves by themselves
and comparing themselves among themselves
are not wise.
So according to the Bible,
the person that would compare themselves to other people,
that is not a wise person.
Basically, that's a nice way to say
that's a foolish person.
That's a fool.
If you're not wise, you're ignorant, you're foolish.
Look, you're very foolish
if you're going to compare yourselves to other people
and try to measure how spiritual you are versus other people.
Because all of us have our certain sins
and certain things we need to work on.
Turn to Romans 2.
Romans 2.
Now, when it comes to the Calvinists,
the Calvinists literally believe
they've been created to be better than other people.
Okay?
They for sure compare themselves to other people.
They say, well, you know, we're the elapsed
and they're not.
You'll never find a Calvinist
who says, I believe God chooses people for salvation
but I don't think He chose me.
Has anyone ever met a person like that
that says, you know what, I just wasn't chosen for salvation?
No.
Why?
Because everybody wants to think they were chosen by God.
And so everyone who says they believe in this,
they say what?
And you know what, if you say that you disagree
with what they believe and you show verses on why,
this is what Charles Spurgeon said.
Now, let me say that Charles Spurgeon
is revered and respected by most Baptists.
He's not respected by these Baptists, though.
Amen.
I'll tell you why.
Because Charles Spurgeon was a phony.
Yeah.
Nice.
Charles Spurgeon had a mega church in his day.
Do you think our church will ever be a mega church?
No.
I don't think so.
Now, I believe this church can grow
when you get church plans started.
I don't think this is ever going to be a mega church.
You say, why?
Because I say things that are going to offend people.
I don't just pat people on the back
but I actually preach to you what the Bible says.
Why?
Because I actually care about the people in this room
and I want to see people fix their lives.
And that's what God tells you to do.
But Charles Spurgeon had a mega church, okay?
Now, Charles Spurgeon said that salvation is like this.
Salvation is like it in the world.
Now, so far, that's good.
Salvation is like it in the world.
I talked about that last week.
This is what he says.
On one side, it says, whosoever will or whosoever may.
That's what we believe.
And he says on the other side,
it says predestined from the foundation of the world.
What is he saying?
He's saying if you're not saved,
it looks like Jesus died for everybody.
But once you get to the other door of salvation,
once you're on the other side and you're saved,
you're going to say, wow,
I was a predestined from the foundation of the world.
Well, I'm sorry,
but I'm still on the other side of the door, I guess,
because I believe Jesus died for everybody.
I believe that the grace of God and great salvation
have appeared to all men.
Amen.
All men.
That's not complicated.
He's the savior of all men,
especially of those that believe.
That's what the Bible says.
So you know what?
I guess I'm on the other side.
I believe Jesus died for everybody.
I believe he's not willing that any should perish,
as it says in the book of Peter.
Look, God wants everybody to be saved.
He doesn't want people to go to heaven.
To suggest that we serve a God
who just wants people to burn in hell
and who desires that,
and he's like, man, I'm creating these people.
I need to throw them in hell one day.
What kind of a person would that be?
That's wicked.
That's what the Calvinist believes.
Amen.
Look at what it says in Romans 2, verses 11 and 12.
For there is no respect of persons with God,
for as many as have sinned without law
shall also perish without law,
and as many have sinned in their law
shall be judged by the law.
Notice in verse 11 it says
there is no respect of persons with God.
What does that mean?
God doesn't look down at an individual
and say, I'm going to treat this person
differently than someone else
who does the exact same thing.
There's no respect of persons with God.
Now, the belief in Calvinism
is completely being a respecter of persons,
because God is taking people
that have done no good and no bad
and just says, I'm going to create you
to go to heaven.
I'm going to create you to burn in hell forever.
Isn't that being a respecter of persons?
Yeah.
But see, when it comes down to the fact
that all of us are guilty
and that when we hear the Gospel
we must decide if we believe or not
God's not a respecter of persons,
because it works the same way with everybody.
We all have our free will and choice.
Now, in Luke 18, turn back to Luke 18,
so the whole religion of Calvinism
is comparing yourself to other people.
Now, I want you to understand something.
When it comes to being a Christian,
what is it that makes us a Christian?
It's if we believe on Jesus Christ.
Now, look at other religions in the world.
They do not believe on Jesus Christ.
They believe something different.
We believe on Jesus Christ.
That's what separates us.
I want you to think about what Calvinism teaches.
Calvinism is not really about believing on Jesus.
It's about being chosen by God.
Some are chosen, some aren't.
That could be in any religion.
There could be Muslim Calvinists that say,
you know what, I've been a chosen one,
but these other ones, they weren't chosen,
so they go to hell.
Someone could be a Buddhist and say,
you know what, I've been chosen
and those haven't been chosen.
Someone could be a Hindu and say,
I've been chosen and they haven't.
Someone could be a Jew and say,
I've been chosen and other Jews weren't chosen.
See, this idea of Calvinism or free will,
this has nothing to do with Christianity.
Christianity is about whether or not
you believe on Jesus Christ.
This is outside of Christian religion.
This is just a matter of whether or not God's chosen.
That has nothing to do with believing on Jesus Christ.
This could be in any religion.
You could have Muslim Calvinists or Buddhist Calvinists.
What sets us apart is whether or not
we believe on Jesus Christ.
That's what separates us apart.
This idea of Calvinism,
this isn't even in the scope of Christianity
because I'm sure that there are Muslim Calvinists out there
that believe they were specifically chosen.
Why would they believe that?
Because it makes them look really good.
It really lifts them up full of pride
and so you know what,
I'm sure there are Muslim Calvinists
and Buddhist Calvinists
and all these other religions out there.
I'm sure that they have their version of Calvinism
where they are special
and others in their own religion are not special.
This has nothing to do with Christianity.
This Calvinism thing is outside of the scope.
I mean, we're talking about a Pharisee
who would say he believes differently than Christianity
but he has the same religion as the Calvinists do today.
Now look at what it says in Luke 18 verse 13.
Let's notice what the Christian says though.
Luke 18 verse 13.
And the publican standing afar off
would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven
but smoke upon his breast saying,
God be merciful to me.
Notice how he's not comparing himself with others.
He just says, I want your mercy, God.
God be merciful to me.
Why?
He's worried about himself.
He's looking at the sins that he's committed.
Now this publican is a good example
of someone both before they're saved and after.
Because to be saved you must humble yourself
and believe in Jesus Christ.
But even after we're saved,
when we hear sermons preached,
we need to look at me.
Myself.
And not other people.
And that's what the publican is doing.
He's looking at himself and saying,
you know what, God be merciful to me.
Because he realizes I've done wrong.
I'm guilty.
Now let's look at the last thing here
between the Calvinist and the Christian.
And I want you to see that there's a difference
between the Calvinist and the Christian.
And the Calvinist has no shame in their sin.
Whereas the Christian does have shame over sin.
The Pharisee has no shame in the things he's done wrong.
He's never even mentioned anything he's done wrong.
Whereas the publican certainly does have shame.
Now turn to Proverbs 23.
And so obviously there are a lot of sins
that we can focus on.
One of the sins I want to focus on though,
actually let me read to you something.
Now when I was in college,
this was a while back,
actually this was 2006.
And so I pulled this up on the internet yesterday
and printed this off.
I went to West Virginia University
and I remember I went to class one day
and I had class, I think my Spanish class
was Tuesdays and Thursdays.
So I had Thursday Spanish class.
And I remember we did this group activity.
And there was a guy who was sitting
one seat behind me and to the side.
And so we were grouped together.
It was a group of five people.
And so we were in the same group for this Spanish project.
Just a couple of days before this happened.
Over the weekend he ended up dying.
At least when we came to class on a Tuesday desk
and the teacher told us that so and so passed away.
Well let me read to you more about the story
about how this guy passed away.
How this guy died.
I'm not going to name the names here
just for sake of, you know,
I don't think there's any reason to.
This happened a while ago.
But I do have the article.
If you're interested in looking at this.
But it says, this was a big murder case
of West Virginia University.
This person that I knew that was killed
was a huge case that went on for several years
about how he was killed and whether or not
it was self-defense or whether or not,
you know, it was just cold blooded murder.
But it says the Virginia man has been sentenced
to a year in jail.
This is after everything's happened.
After the since had been brought forward.
Has been sentenced to a year in jail
in the death of a fellow West Virginia student
who was stabbed after a snowball fight.
Okay, now, that seems pretty strange, doesn't it?
To be stabbed because of a snowball.
I mean, we're not talking about little kids.
These are grown men in college.
And because of a snowball fight,
eventually a knife comes out and someone gets killed, okay?
Now, I'm not going to name the name here,
but so and so was sentenced yesterday
in Montgomery County Circuit Court
to the maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter
which he was convicted of in October.
Prosecutors say that so and so went to a friend's kitchen
for the knife he used to stab 21-year-old
Washington, PA resident, not going to name his name,
in February of 2006.
The stabbing followed a fight sparked by a well-aimed snowball.
So and so's attorney said it was so and so
who went to the kitchen for the knife and the stab
and so and so wrestled it from him in self-defense.
So basically, a guy gets stabbed to death
and the big argument is who had the knife originally.
Was it the guy who got killed?
Did he bring out the knife
and ended up getting stabbed himself and dying?
Or was he trying to kill the other guy who got killed himself?
Or did the other guy just have the knife again?
Now, if you're like me, if you read this story,
this doesn't take a whole lot of sense, does it?
I mean, a snowball fight?
See, there's one thing that they left out here.
Why don't you mention the fact that both these people
were drunk out of their minds?
Nobody gets stabbed to death because of a snowball fight.
That's the thing you kind of didn't bring up in this story,
that both these people are out in the town,
drunk out of their minds.
And you know what?
More of the story is basically one guy yelled and then saw
and it was like his group versus another group.
Then the other guy threw a snowball.
Eventually, they fought and then one guy gets stabbed to death.
Look, nobody gets stabbed to death because of the snowball.
You say, why?
Because of the fact, when you're not drunk,
when you're not on drugs,
you have clarity of mind.
You don't have foolish sleep.
But you know when you are drunk,
you might do something stupid like this.
You say, why would I never do that?
You would never do it now because you're not drunk, right?
Right.
Okay.
I've drank two times in my life.
I've been drunk one time in my life.
And you know what?
When I was drunk, I remember doing something really stupid
and foolish, not obviously to this level,
but I was like, whoa.
I was like, man, I've never drank it again.
Because it's like, you know, that's dangerous.
Because when you're drunk,
you don't have control over your own mind.
Yeah.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Now, in Proverbs 23,
let me show you what the Bible says here in verse 29.
Who hath woe, who hath sorrow,
who have contentions, who have badness,
who have wounds without cause,
who have redness of eyes,
they that tarry long at the line,
they that go to sea, mixed wine.
And so it goes through sense here in Proverbs 23,
verse 29 and 35.
It talks about who hath woe, who hath sorrow.
Did you know that people that drink and get drunk,
they're not happy.
Yeah, right.
They don't even enjoy doing it.
It's just kind of what they do.
You know, most people in college,
the reason why they drink in the United States
is because their friends drink.
It's not that they enjoy it.
It's just, well, my friends do this,
so I want to hang out with them.
They get drunk, so I just go to them,
go with them and drink.
Well, I mean, maybe you just need to find friends
in a good local church and forsake those friends.
And then it says, who hath contentions,
who hath badly, who hath wounds without cause.
Bible talks about contentions or fighting,
wounds without cause.
Basically, you get in fights when you're drunk.
You know, I saw that on a college campus all the time,
just people out on the streets just fighting with one another.
Why?
Because of the fact they're drunk
and they're not thinking clearly.
Who hath wounds without cause.
What's a wound?
It means when you've been hurt, you have a wound.
Like, this is an extreme example in this story.
This guy who was stabbed, that's a pretty big wound.
He was killed because of that knife.
But I'll tell you what, people get in fights all the time.
I mean, if you, and I don't know how much
they talk about it in the news here,
but in America where sports is, like, really big
and everyone's obsessed with sports,
look, you know, athletes get in trouble
all the time with the law.
And the reason why is they're out at 2 in the morning
getting drunk, and then somebody pulls out a gun.
And it's like, you know what, you probably
wouldn't have done that if it was just noon time
and you just went out to watch.
You probably wouldn't have pulled that gun.
But then once you add alcohol in the mist
and you're not thinking clearly, guess what?
You can do stupid things.
The Bible says, wound without cause.
Say verse 31, say, why are you bringing up alcohol
when it comes to no shame in their sin?
Because of the fact that Calvinists have no shame
in the fact that there are a bunch of drugs.
Because almost every Calvinist, John MacArthur,
go to YouTube, and John MacArthur
is asked about smoking weed.
And this is what he compares it to.
He's like, what about weed being compared to alcohol?
John MacArthur's like, that's a stupid comparison.
His own words were this.
Alcohol doesn't inhibit you at all.
It doesn't affect you at all.
It's like, are you a fool?
I mean, all of us know stories about people
that died as a result of alcohol.
I know lots of stories.
People I went to school with that died drunk and driving.
It's like, are you a fool?
It doesn't inhibit your judgment at all?
I mean, that kind of might be the most famous Calvinist
that people really respect as this conservative hero.
And he's like, you know, so weed and alcohol,
he's like, weed and wine, they're not the same thing at all.
He's like, drinking wine doesn't inhibit you at all.
It's like, are you a fool?
I mean, even people that get drunk every single night
that live out on the streets would say, yeah, you know what?
Alcohol does affect you.
To say it doesn't inhibit you at all.
But you know, Calvinists, none of them are against drinking.
None of them think it's a sin to drink.
And it's like, you know,
I don't know what Bible you're reading.
You're claiming you believe in the God of the Bible,
and then you're seeing all these passages,
like in Proverbs 23, and then you're saying,
you know what, it's okay to drink.
It's not a big deal.
I don't know what Bible you're reading.
Because the Bible I'm reading says,
who hath blow, who hath sorrow?
Verse 31, look not thou upon the wine when it is red.
Looks like they're being commanded,
don't look on the wine when it is red.
Don't even look on it.
Doesn't say don't drink it.
Don't even look on the wine.
You say, well, if I can just hang out with my friends
and get drunk as long as I can drink.
No, because you're gonna,
unless you wanna come blindfolded.
I mean, you wanna come blindfolded,
then go hang out with your friends
and then you won't look on the wine.
But you know what, if you go hang out with your friends
that are getting drunk,
you're gonna actually see the alcohol.
You're gonna see them acting foolishly.
Yeah, that's the truth.
You're gonna look upon it.
When it giveth its color to the cup
and then moved itself aright,
at the last it biteth like a serpent
and stingeth like an adder.
You say, why is it that it uses that example?
Because you know what, sometimes you do get bit
as if by a serpent.
Like this man who died as a young guy.
And I tried to find his obituary online.
I couldn't find it.
He's got a common name.
But I think, if I remember correctly, the guy was hacked.
This happened more than a decade ago.
It's a story I'm pretty concerned with
because it's something I'm familiar with.
I talked to the guy a couple days.
I can't even remember the exact date.
It might have just been a couple days
or even a day that he got stabbed.
I just remember coming to school the next week
and the teacher told us that he had passed away.
And at first I felt really,
and I do feel bad that the guy died,
but at first I felt really bad.
Like, oh wow, something tragic happened.
And he's like, no, you didn't die
with something tragic happen.
You died because of your choices.
And people don't like preaching like that.
You know that's the truth.
If you die in a way like this,
it's not like it was a complete accident.
You had your choices.
You made your choice.
And that's what ended up happening.
It says in verse 33,
Thine eyes shall behold strange women,
and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
What does that mean?
It means you'll look upon women you're not married to.
Now, as a husband,
now obviously the same would apply for women as well.
Okay?
I don't want my wife to lust after other men.
I'm sure my wife doesn't want me to lust after other women.
But you know, you had alcohol in the mix.
Guess what?
Adultery doesn't seem that bad of a sin anymore.
Why?
Because you lose your sense of judgment
when you drink alcohol.
People make foolish mistakes they've never made
if they were stoked.
People say,
Well, is it wrong to drink one drink?
Well, I mean,
doesn't the Bible say over and over and over again
to be sober?
Amen.
You say,
Well, I'm not drunk.
But you're not sober.
Yeah.
Right?
You had one drink of wine,
you might not be drunk,
but you're not sober.
Yeah, right.
So, yeah, I would say it is wrong.
Verse 34,
Thou shalt be a sea that lieth down in the mist of the sea,
or a sea that lieth upon the top of the mass.
They have stricken me,
shall not say,
I was not sick.
They have beat me,
and I felt it not.
And the part of this passage
that makes even the least sense of all,
When shall I await?
I will seek it yet.
Again,
why would you seek it
if it's destroying your life?
It's keeping you poor,
it's causing you problems,
and you seek it yet again.
Why?
Because people get addicted to things,
and even though it destroys their life,
they're still attached to that.
Okay?
And so,
why do I mention this with Calvinists?
Because this is something that Calvinists are guilty of.
But I want you to understand something that,
if you listen to this,
I do not suggest anyone listen to sermons for Calvinists.
Okay?
I've made a lot of clips in the past
in the Verity channel from Calvinists,
so yeah, I heard a lot of what they said.
Every single sermon is about the same thing.
Say, what's that about?
About the fact that they were chosen by God
and other people weren't.
That's every sermon.
They don't preach against any sins.
We'll never hear them,
unless it's a really obvious sin
that hardly anyone's going to hear.
See, it's okay to preach against smoking weed
because of the fact
it's considered bad in America already,
whereas drinking is considered normal.
Most people drink,
so it's considered normal,
so they won't preach against that.
But they'll preach
just about how they were chosen by God.
They'll never preach against sin.
Why?
For one, because they're guilty
of most of those things
that you're preaching about.
Yeah.
But their whole religion
is just based on the fact
that they were chosen.
They're special.
You know what?
As people that are preachers,
and turn back to Luke 18,
as people that are preachers,
one thing my job is
is to preach and cry aloud against sin.
That's a large part of what I need to do.
Amen.
Hey, look.
There's definitely times
where you're trying to
build people up in faith,
and you preach various sermons.
You have to have a balance of everything.
But one of the big jobs
is being willing to say things
that, you know what,
can hurt people's feelings,
and can cause them something.
This is why this church
will never be a main church
because of what I just preached
in the last five minutes.
It will never be a main church.
But you know what?
75% of our church
was solely last week.
30 out of 40.
Show me the Baptist churches
that have 75% of the church solely.
You're not gonna find to.
Look, we don't need a huge church
to turn the world upside down.
We need people that are devoted
and love the things of God.
And a more important job
than for me to bring people into this place
and get them to sit around
is the fact that I actually help
the people that are already here.
Because in this room,
we're filled full of people
that do love the world.
Now, obviously all of us
have certain things
to be struggling.
I have certain things
that I need to change in my life.
I have things I struggle with.
All of us have things
that we individually
need to struggle with.
You know what?
We're not upset that
we preach against those things.
You say, why?
Because we want to fix our problems,
and we especially want the young kids
to never have those problems.
We want the truth to be preached.
I'm guilty of things in the past
that I've known for what I've said.
You know, I have drank
a couple times in my life.
But you know what?
If I was just sitting
in this congregation,
I would want people,
I would want the pastor
to preach against it.
Why?
Because of the fact,
I realized just from drinking
two times that I couldn't
destroy my life.
And I don't want people
to destroy their lives.
And you guys don't want people
to destroy their lives.
Now, Luke 18, verse 13,
let's look at the Christian here
as we finish up.
And it says,
in the publican standing
afar off,
he would not lift up so much
as his eyes onto heaven.
What does it sound like
with this publican?
It sounds like this publican
is ashamed of himself.
Yes, sir.
Hello, I'll be honest with you
that oftentimes when I pray to God,
I'm ashamed of sins,
I do not.
I'm thinking, man,
I'm sorry, God.
It's wrong to me.
I don't know why I did that.
Please forgive me.
I'm ashamed at things
I do not want.
And I'm sure in this room
that even if there's certain
things that you struggle with,
you're ashamed of that.
You're like, man,
I want to get this right.
I'm trying to work on this.
You know, but man,
I'm struggling with this.
And so, look,
I'm not doubting you.
If I preach against something
and you're guilty of that,
that doesn't make you
a bad person.
You know, it's something
that we want to work with.
That's one reason
why I preach,
because preaching hard
gets sin out of your body.
That's the truth.
Hard preaching
changes your life.
Reading the Bible,
we just finished
Bible reading month, right?
31 day challenge.
The next 11 months,
we need to keep reading the Bible.
Because reading the Bible
will help you change.
It makes you become
a different person.
You say,
why would it make you
become a different person?
Because there's two of you.
There's the flesh
and there's the spirit.
And see,
when you first get saved,
you're walking in the flesh.
And as time goes by,
the goal is that you walk
in the spirit more and more.
And you say,
right now,
I can't get rid of the sin.
Maybe you can't get rid
of it right now,
but as time goes on
and you read the Bible
and you go sowing,
and you hear
preaching like this,
then you can get
rid of those sins.
So all of us said,
yeah, we need to work
on these things.
Let's look at the conclusion
here in Luke 18 and 14.
Sometimes I get people
this passage,
not really recently,
but I used to
when I was sowing,
and I would ask people,
which one of these people
do you think went to heaven?
And they'd say,
which one of these people
do you think went to heaven?
You know what almost
everybody says?
The Pharisee.
When you read over this,
because I think,
man, the Pharisee's a good guy,
the other guy's not a good guy.
You say,
why would they think that?
Because they're an unsaved person
and logically it makes sense
that the Pharisee
would go to heaven
and he's a good guy.
That's what they think.
And when you actually
break down this story,
you can see he's not
really a good guy.
He's an arrogant,
arrogant person.
But on the surface,
it looks like maybe
he's not committing
these big sins,
that's not what the prophet
says.
See, that's what
95 plus percent,
99 percent of the world thinks,
that they're good works
will go to heaven.
They think just like
this Pharisee.
You know what,
if I'm a good person,
I'm going to go to heaven.
But that's what it says
in Luke 18 verse 14.
I tell you,
this man went down
to his house justified
rather than the other.
Talk about the public
who went down
to his house justified.
For everyone that exalteth
himself shall be amazed.
And he that humbled
himself shall be exalted.
You see,
salvation starts
with you humbling yourself.
Amen.
Yes.
Amen.
And you know what,
God will exalt you.
And you know what,
in this life,
if we're going to be
successful,
the way up
is
down.
That's the way it works.
The way up
is down.
Every single day,
you know what,
it's called you getting
on your knees
and praying to God,
being humbled
every single day.
Every single day
it starts with you being
humbled and God's
going to exalt you.
But you know,
this is not a good thing
But you know, if you choose to be like this Pharisee, even as a believer, if you choose
to just lift yourself up, you know, you preach some sermon, let's say, and everyone's like,
man, that was such a great sermon, and you say, yeah, it was.
Alright, Mr. Pharisee, don't insult yourself about how great you are, but you will be amazed.
And I'll be honest with you, I've heard people that were pretty talented preachers before.
I've been IFB for a long time.
Before Faith Forward Baptist Church existed, I was at so many independent fundamental Baptists.
And you know what, I listened to people that were good at preaching.
And when I say good at preaching, I'm not saying the sermons were good, I'm saying they were good speakers.
They were talented people.
You know, I can specifically think of one of the most famous independent fundamental Baptists,
and every single person that met this guy said the same thing.
What an arrogant guy he was.
And I have plenty of stories. I have my own stories.
I know other people that have stories too.
The guy was so arrogant.
And you know what, he was used greatly by God early in his life.
But you know what, you look at his life now, and it just went to shambles.
You know, I'm not going to get into it for the sermon.
Maybe I'll tell you individually outside in the fall of some other time or whatever.
But this guy's life was a story, he's saying why was it a story?
Because he exalted himself.
He looked at himself and thought he was so great.
But all of us, we need to focus on just ourselves.
Let's not be like the Calvinists or the Pharisees.
Say, man, I'm so much better than everybody else.
Look, I don't know why she would have a lot of content for this.
And we need to never become arrogant people.
But in Luke 18, this is a passage with two people.
And one of these people goes to heaven and one goes to hell.
The Calvinists will claim that they've been chosen by God and they're going to heaven.
You know, when you look at the story of Luke 18, verse 10 through 14,
I don't know about you, but it looks like you fit in with this Pharisee that ends up in hell pretty closely.
I mean, it's like, you know, the glove fits, my friend.
I mean, it's a perfect match.
It looks like you're just like that Pharisee that ends up going to hell.
That's what it looks like. Let's go to the word prayer.
If you're having a father's day for a lounge, be here in your house.