["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Welcome to Pay-For-Wear Baptist Church.
We'll be buying our seats and open up our song.
Let's do song number 30.
Song number 30.
Nothing but the blood that's song number 30.
["The Blood of Jesus"]
One can wash away my sin
Looking for the blood of Jesus
One can make me whole again
Looking for the blood of Jesus
Oh, precious is the Lord
That makes me fine as well
No water that I know
Looking for the blood of Jesus
All I want with this I see
Looking for the blood of Jesus
All I want with this I see
Looking for the blood of Jesus
Oh, precious is the Lord
That makes me fine as well
No water that I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Nothing can force it at all
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
All I feel that I have done
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Oh, precious is the blood
That makes me fine as well
No water that I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
This is all my hope and peace
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
This is all my righteousness
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Oh, precious is the Lord
That makes me fine as well
No water that I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
No water that I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
No water that I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
No water that I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
No water that I know
Jesus, Lord of bread for Savior
Jesus, Lord of all my soul
Friends may fail, he holds the spell
He, my Savior, makes me whole
Hallelujah, Lord of Savior
Hallelujah, Lord of all my soul
Jesus, Lord of all my soul
Hallelujah, what a friend
Save me, help me, keep me
Lord, he is living to the end
Amen. Amen. At this time we'll go to our announcements.
Alright, if you'd like to vote, then just go ahead and lift up your hand.
You can see everybody here this morning.
Please, I'd rather be. I can say that for sure.
There's been so much in the way of announcements this week. There's been a lot going on.
But if you want to remember to pray for some folks who are sick,
there's several in the church right now.
Mr. Stanley is coming along, and there's Andrew.
So keep them in prayer. Make sure they'll be back on the bench soon.
We've got a poet in there, a nice green screen on the front.
He's about as close to that as I want to get.
On the back there, we have the service time.
Every Sunday at 10 through the a.m. again at 5-3 p.m.
Thursdays at 7. We're still going to the book of Genesis.
We'll be getting there. We'll be in chapter 5.
We've got the churchwide soul name here at the church.
And then the regional soul name, which meets out in the field with Brother Gabriel.
If you ever want to attend those regional soul names, make sure you contact
them.
We have the first month of the new year, so we're rolling out the new numbers.
We're off to a great start.
That will do it for us.
Go ahead and sing one more song.
We'll open up the song.
It's song number 167.
Song number 167, I'll hail the power of Jesus' name.
Song number 167.
Hail the power of Jesus' name.
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem and crown
him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem
and crown him Lord of all.
He shows his scene of
Israel's race he ransomed from the fall.
Hail him who saves you by his
grace and crown him Lord of
all. Hail him who saves you by
his grace and crown him Lord
of all.
Great every tribe on this terrestrial
ball. To all your more majesty
ascribe and crown him Lord
of all. To him all
majesty ascribe and crown him
Lord of all.
With slingers sacred throng we
at his feet may fall. We'll join
the everlasting throne. Crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and
crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song and crown him
Lord of all.
We'll join the overenreat Methodists and law
d sighists bringing….
This morning in the book of Mark
in the great feast and when he went and sat down
with Levi to eat and we're picking up the story
in Mark 2 verse 16 that says
when the scribes saw him and they said
see Jesus at this great feast with Levi,
who invited these other publicans, such as himself,
to sit down and enjoy this meal.
And the Pharisees are looking in on this,
and they're not wondering at this
when they're asking that question there at their end.
They're not just curious about this.
They're actually leveling criticism, okay?
They're saying, how is it that he eateth
and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
You gotta kinda get the tone of what they're saying here.
They're sort of looking down their nose at Jesus.
They're criticizing him over the fact that he would sit
and eat with people that have maybe
a less than desirable reputation.
Not that these were the worst people in the world
or anything like that, these were simply publicans.
And it's interesting it says publicans and sinners,
because that really could be anybody.
We're all sinners.
That could be me, that could be you.
We would've been invited to this feast.
When you say, let's invite the sinners,
you're basically saying all are welcome, okay?
But the criticism here shows the hypocrisy of the Pharisees
because they're not seeing their own sinful nature.
They are looking down on them
and they are being self-righteous, okay?
It goes on and says in verse 17,
when Jesus heard it, heard this criticism
that they had of him and what he was doing
and eating and drinking with publicans and sinners,
he, Jesus saith unto them,
they that are whole have no need of a physician,
but they that are sick.
I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.
So don't get the wrong idea here in Jesus' response.
He's not saying that the Pharisees are righteous
or that they're whole or they don't need a physician,
but he's kind of pointing out their own hypocrisy,
pointing out their own self-righteousness.
He's saying, I'm not coming to call people
who think that they have no need of a savior.
I'm coming to call people who need to repent.
I'm coming to call sinners to repentance, okay?
And that would include the Pharisees,
whether they realize it or not.
The Pharisees here are being self-righteous.
Now, if you would, keep something in Mark.
If you'd like, we're gonna go back
to Romans chapter number 10, Romans chapter number 10.
When you get there, we're gonna come back to Romans
a little bit later this morning as well,
so you might wanna keep something there.
But again, the Pharisees here are being self-righteous,
and Jesus in his response is not confirming
that they are righteous, but rather kind of pointing out
that only those that are sick,
only those that need the physician.
And it's kinda up to them to figure out, well, that's us.
That's everybody.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Again, that's all of us.
We all need to be made whole through Christ.
If you look there in Romans chapter number 10,
look at verse one, he says,
brethren, my heart's desire and prayer for Israel
is that they might be saved,
for I bear them record that they have a zeal of God,
but not according to knowledge.
So they have a zeal, they have their religion,
they're really into it, they're excited,
they have all the staples of religion,
and they're very zealous about their religion,
but it's not according to knowledge.
They're kinda missing when Jesus said,
I came not to call the righteous.
They're thinking, well, that's us,
because we're the righteous, right?
Because they have that zeal,
but not according to knowledge.
They're missing the point,
that they themselves are sinners that need to repent.
And we'll talk about what the repentance is
here in a minute, but Paul is pointing out in Romans 10,
that these Pharisees, those that are practicing Judaism,
in Paul's day, they have a zeal of God,
they're zealous of the Bible, but they're missing it.
They're not understanding it.
Look at verse three,
for they being ignorant of God's righteousness.
What is it that they don't understand?
What is it they don't have according to knowledge?
What is it that their zeal lacks?
What is it they are ignorant of?
They are ignorant of God's righteousness.
They are not understanding
that they need to trust in Christ.
Why, because they feel like they're good enough.
And this isn't something that's unique to them.
This is something that's unique to mankind.
This is something that many people fall into a trap.
It's a trap that many people fall into, rather,
is this idea that we're already good enough,
that we're good people,
that we're gonna work our way to heaven,
that by our own merit,
we're gonna be allowed into heaven and into God's holiness.
The Bible's saying here
that they are ignorant of God's righteousness.
So often, people fail to see how.
And what's the result?
And going about to establish their own righteousness.
That's the problem.
That's what the Pharisees are doing.
And that's what Jesus is saying here in Mark 2.
I'm not here to call people
who are, in their own eyes, righteous.
I'm not coming to call people
who have gone about to establish their own righteousness.
A lot of times, you can't help
trusting in themselves.
He's saying, I'm coming to call sinners to repentance.
I'm coming to call people who know their sinful condition,
who see their need for a savior,
and I'm calling them to believe on me,
and to trust on me.
So again, Paul is saying,
they're going about to establish their own righteousness,
and they have what?
Not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
The righteousness.
There has to be an admission.
I'm a sinner.
I'm not good enough.
I deserve hell.
Christ is God.
Jesus is Lord.
I'm going to trust in his death, burial, and resurrection.
They haven't submitted themselves to that,
because they're going about.
That's what Jesus is saying there
at the end of verse 17 of Mark 2,
where he's saying, I'm not coming to call righteous people.
What need to have, they have a physician.
You know, if you're healthy,
you don't need to go see the doctor.
And he's saying, I'm coming to call sinners to repentance,
and that's everybody, okay?
The problem here with the Pharisees is,
is that they don't understand their own need to get saved.
Look at verse four,
for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth.
Not to everyone that practices the law,
not to everyone that keeps the law,
but to everyone that believes.
You believe on Christ, that's the end of the law.
The law hath no more dominion over us.
But again, these Pharisees here in our story this morning,
and if you would go over to Mark chapter number seven,
you can keep something in Romans if you'd like.
Go over to Mark chapter seven.
These Pharisees are missing the point.
They are self-righteous,
and this leads them to practicing unbiblical practices, okay?
That's kind of what's going on here in the story.
Like, what's the big deal about Jesus
sitting down with the publicans and sinners?
Well, you know, these Pharisees
were kind of segregationists, right?
They were those that were trying to distance themselves
from people that they deemed lesser than them,
unworthy to be in their presence.
It's an unbiblical practice.
You don't find that in scripture, okay?
Look at Mark chapter number seven, verse one.
Then came together unto him the Pharisees
and certain the scribes which came from Jerusalem,
so it's the same crowd from Mark two,
and when they saw some of his disciples
eat bread with defile, that is to say,
with unwashing hands, they found fault.
So first, so why are you eating with publicans and sinners,
and why don't you guys wash your hands before you eat?
Which is probably a good idea, by the way, okay?
But you know, sometimes, if you're out there working,
you know, you just gotta eat, right?
Little dirt never hurt, okay?
But they're finding fault with that, okay?
They're saying, this is not how we do things.
We don't eat, right?
Verse three, for the Pharisees and all the Jews,
except they wash their hands off, eat not,
holding the tradition of the elders,
does it say holding to the commandment of scripture?
No, it's the tradition of the elders.
It's a tradition that they have come up with
that unless we wash our hands off, we will not eat.
And so they have this tradition that they developed,
and that's what this tradition, you know,
lifts themselves up in their own eyes
and causes them to look down on others, okay?
Verse four, when they come from the market,
except they wash, they eat not.
And many other things there be,
in which they have received to hold
as the washing of cups and pots,
brazen vessels, and of tables.
Now, it's a good idea to wash your hands, obviously,
especially if you're coming from a public place,
but again, what's the problem here?
Is the problem that they're trying to be overly sanitary?
Or is the problem that because they have this,
although a good, you know, practice,
a good hygiene here, you know,
the problem is that they're holding other people
to a standard and looking down on other people.
Because, why?
Because they have established their own righteousness, right?
And it's such a silly thing to say,
oh, we're better than other people
because we wash our hands.
You know, what makes you so much better than us?
Well, we wash our hands off.
It's like, oh, excuse us, you know?
Didn't realize I was in the presence of such greatness, okay?
Look at verse five, then the Pharisees and the scribes
asked him, why walk not thy disciples
according to the tradition of the elders?
But eat bread with unwashing hands.
So they upset about the hygiene?
Or are they upset about the fact
that they're not following the tradition of the elders?
It's the tradition.
Why don't they follow the self-righteous,
self-established holiness that we've set up?
Why don't they follow us
in our established righteousness in the tradition?
He answered and said unto them,
well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites.
I can't believe Jesus would ever name call.
As it is written, this people honoreth me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
They honoreth me with their lips.
Oh, we're doing this, we're so holy, we're so righteous,
because we're following these traditions
that we've received of our elders,
but your heart is far from God.
Howbeit in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
And that's something that we really have to need
to be on guard about in our lives.
Is to not teach for doctrines the commandments of men.
Look at verse eight.
For laying aside the commandment of God,
he hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups
and many other such like things ye do.
So Jesus just comes out and says,
these practices that you have, they're just traditions,
but you treat them as though
they are the commandments of God.
So what's the problem here in this passage?
What's the problem?
Is it that they have these traditions?
No, because we all have traditions.
Don't walk out here and say,
well, I'm never washing my hands again.
We're gonna continue to wash our hands.
Maybe some of us will walk out and say,
I should probably do that a little more oft.
At least when I come from the market,
when I get home from church,
before I put my fingers in my mouth,
I'm gonna wash my hands after all that hand shaking.
Probably a good idea.
But is that the problem?
The problem is that not the tradition,
but that they teach it as a commandment of God.
Why?
Because that's how they establish their own righteousness.
And it's vain.
Jesus is saying, this is in vain.
You worship me in vain.
This is not going to save you.
See, they have their preferences,
but what we have, and that's fine to have preferences,
but we cannot mistake preferences for prescriptions.
Okay, we can't prescribe things to other people
and say, you must do this.
You must follow this practice
if you wanna be right with God,
if it's just the tradition of men.
And Jesus is telling them, hey,
you guys need to repent of these things.
You guys need to abandon these false traditions,
these things that will profit you nothing and trust in me.
Now, there in Mark, chapter number two, where we were,
he says, I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.
Now, what's the repentance there?
Well, that repentance is anything
that's keeping you from getting saved, right?
And if the Pharisees were wise,
they would have heard Jesus say that.
They would have understood that what they're trusting in
is something they needed to repent of.
They needed to repent of their vain tradition.
They needed to repent of their false religion.
I'm not gonna re-preach the whole sermon,
this whole topic on repentance.
We went over that in Mark, chapter one.
If you wanna go back there, you can, in verse 14.
This role of repentance that Jesus is talking about
is this repentance that brings salvation.
What is that, right?
When a sinner, he's calling sinners to repentance.
Well, if you look in Mark one, verse 15, it says,
and saying the time is fulfilled,
the kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye of your sins.
Is that what it says?
No, it says, repent ye and believe the gospel.
Go from not believing it to believing it.
That's what Jesus is saying here in Mark two.
Essentially, that's what he's kind of getting at.
Saying, I'm not here to call righteous people.
I'm not here to call a group of people
who've established their own righteousness
in a bunch of vain traditions
and just wanna look down their nose at other people
and think that they're better than them
because they wash their hands
or they don't sit with a certain group of people
or whatever it is.
I'm not calling them.
I'm here to call sinners to repentance.
And of course, in the role of salvation,
that repentance is going from unbelief to belief.
We all get that here, okay?
But what about when it comes to Christian living?
Because often, that's the criticism that's leveled at us
that preach salvation by grace through faith.
Repentance has nothing to do with salvation.
They'll say things like, well, Jesus preached repentance
and John the Baptist preached repentance
and Paul and Peter and all these others,
they preached repentance and of course, they did.
It's not that we're ignorant of the fact
that the Bible talks about repentance.
It's that you have to understand it in context, okay?
In a context of salvation,
the repentance that needs to takes place
is going from unbelief to belief in the gospel.
But that's not where repentance ends.
So when Jesus is saying,
I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance,
there's a couple ways we could look at that.
We could say, he's talking about people
needing to get saved
and that's probably the primary application
because he's addressing a group of unsaved individuals
who have established their own righteousness.
But what about when it comes to Christian living?
If you would go over to Colossians chapter number two,
Colossians chapter number two.
It's not that we don't believe in repentance here.
It's just that we understand it.
We put it in its proper context.
And when it comes to salvation, it's simple.
Go from unbelief to belief.
But that's not where repentance ends.
Repentance of course, has a role in Christian living.
We have to repent all the time of sins.
Well, you got to repent of your sin to be saved.
Well, good luck with that.
Because I don't know anybody that's done it.
And I've been saved for 20 some years now
and I haven't repented off all my sin.
I'm sure no one's shocked by that.
There's still sins of the heart,
sins of the mind, sins of the flesh.
So if you're gonna sit there and tell me
that I have to repent of my sins to be saved,
a term which is not found in scripture,
of a myriad number of scriptures
that tell us that's alone.
But it does have a role in Christian living.
Look at Colossians chapter number two, verse six.
Notice it says, as he have, that's past tense.
It's something that's happened.
As he have therefore received Christ.
You have received Christ, Jesus the Lord.
So walk ye in him.
He's saying because you've received Christ,
that's already happened, you've already believed.
Walk in him.
If we live in the spirit,
let us also then walk in the spirit, as Paul said.
Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith
as he have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy
and vain deceit after the tradition of men,
after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ.
You don't wanna be spoiled by these things,
these vain traditions.
If you would go back to Romans, go to chapter number 12.
So he's saying there in Colossians two
that as he have received Christ, walk in him.
So let me ask you this, if we do not walk in good works,
if we don't do these things, are we still saved?
Of course.
We are still his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus,
as it says in Ephesians chapter number two.
For we are his workmanship, created, past tense,
it's already happened, in Christ Jesus, unto good works.
Look, if you're saved, you are Christ's workmanship,
something that he built, something that he crafted,
something that he made, created, right?
You are his workmanship, created.
He created you, a new creature, in Christ.
Okay, that's salvation.
But we are created new creatures in Christ unto good works,
meaning that we should do those things,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Should, not must, big difference there.
If we're saved, there are things we ought to be doing
as God's people.
There ought to be sins that we should be getting
out of our lives, in fact, any sin.
It's not like it's an exclusive list here, okay?
But that's something that takes work,
that's something that takes effort,
that's something that takes a lifetime, often.
That's something that we will endeavor to do
all the days of our life if we decide to walk in the works
which God has foreordained for us to walk in.
But if we walk not in those good works,
we are still, what, his workmanship.
We are still created in Christ Jesus.
So we have this standing in Christ that we're saved.
Not about you, that makes me feel pretty good.
I'm glad that God's not looking down from heaven
and saying, well, you know, you're my son now,
but as soon as you mess up, you're out of the family.
That I am his workmanship created in Christ Jesus,
that he, you know, high rank, isn't it?
But what we don't, what I want to get at here in the story
is because this is what the Pharisees are doing.
They are thinking that they're really somebody, right?
Because they're trusting in themselves,
they're trusting in the traditions of the elders,
they're trusting in their own righteousness
which they have established,
being ignorant of God's righteousness,
and as a result, they've begun to look down on other people.
Now, it's true that we are Christ's workmanship,
and that's a very special thing.
Jesus called us his little flock.
He said, few there are that be saved.
We are in a very unique group.
We are a very small minority, spiritually, right?
But let's not get high-minded about that.
Let's not start looking down on other people,
and it's silly when you see Christians do this,
when they start to get a holier than thou attitude
towards other people, because first of all,
we had nothing to do with our salvation.
Well, you know, I'm better than other people
since I'm saved.
Well, what did you do to get saved?
What great work did you do to lift yourself up
above everybody else?
Nothing.
He did everything for us.
So let's not turn into spiritual elitists, quote unquote,
as the Pharisees are doing here.
That's their problem.
They have this elitist mentality,
like, well, you know, we're not like these publicans.
We're not like these sinners.
And can you believe this Jesus
is just sitting with these people?
Why does he sit with publicans and sinners, right?
You can hear that self-righteous, sanctimonious tone
in their voice when you read that,
when you realize that's what they're doing,
criticizing and looking down on Christ,
looking down on his disciples,
because they have a mentality
of being better than other people
because of the things they do, right?
You there in Romans, look at verse 12,
or excuse me, chapter 12.
Did you go to Romans 12, verse three?
He says, for I say through the grace given unto me
to every man that is among you not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think.
We shouldn't go around thinking more highly
than we ought to.
Look, let's think, let's not, you know,
have a self-deprecating attitude.
Let's not just drag ourselves down.
Let's not just have this defeatist mentality.
We are, his workmanship created Christ Jesus.
That is special.
I am a child of God, praise the Lord.
But let's not think more highly than that.
I think, well, you know, I'm really something
because I'm saved.
I'm really something because I've been in church for so long.
I'm really something because I've read the Bible.
I've really something because I go soul-willing.
I'm really something because I've done my life.
I've done the repentance.
The only reason we're able to do those things
is because of Christ, because he's made that way.
So let's not think more highly than we ought to, right?
He's not saying don't ever, you know, realize
the great standing that you have in Christ.
He's not trying to downplay the fact
that we are created in Christ Jesus,
that we are a new creature.
But what he's saying is don't think too highly.
Don't get a spiritual elitist mentality
that's gonna cause you to look down on other people.
He says not to think more highly than you ought to,
think the latter half of verse three,
but to think soberly, meaning seriously,
seeing things for what they are, not being delusional,
not lying to ourselves, think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every measure of man
in the faith.
Look at verse seven.
Find one toward another.
You know, don't come into church
and look down on a brother in Christ.
And sometimes people can do this.
They can have this pharisaical, spiritual elitist attitude
that criticizes other people, right?
Well, you know, I come to church
and I've been coming here for so many years
and who's this new guy, you know?
Look at him, you know, he doesn't even know
where the books of the Bible are.
People can get this kind of,
and I'm just using those as examples, okay?
There's other examples we could use,
but it's the mentality that's the problem.
Well, people will start to look down on other people
over just vain things, you know?
Just trivial things, just traditional things,
just things that aren't commandments of God.
That's why he's saying,
be in the same mind one toward another.
Don't have a division in the church, have unity.
Mind not high things, but of low estate.
You know, that's what's going on in Mark, chapter number two.
That's when he sat down with publicans and sinners.
In the story, Jesus didn't defend them.
He didn't say, well, these guys aren't so bad.
They're bad.
They're publicans, they're sinners.
Their reputation is earned, okay?
They are not the type of people,
you know, a lot of them were crooks.
They were men of low estate.
They were lightly esteemed, right?
But we are to condescend to those people,
meaning we're not to walk around
on some spiritual high horse looking down on everybody.
And if we really watch ourselves,
maybe some people struggle with this more than others,
but if we find that in our thing,
we're out in the world with sinful people, with the heathen,
you know, we wanna make sure that our first instinct
is always love, is what I'm trying to say.
That when we look at somebody,
we look on them with compassion and love and understanding.
And look, and I think sometimes
when you come to a church like this
where there's a lot of hard preaching
and there's a lot of hard things that are said,
and that's because the Bible has a lot of hard preaching
and the Bible has a lot of hard sayings in it,
that sometimes people hear that and they think,
well, let's just carry that same mentality
out into the world.
And you know, like we're gonna go talk to people
the way Deacon talks from the pulpit or something.
Don't do that, right?
There's a time and place for it.
And it might surprise you that that's not how I live my life.
I don't go out there and, you know,
I preach some hard sermons against, you know,
the vagrancy in our city.
But I still, when I see these people,
I'm looking at them with love,
I'm looking at their compassion.
I'm just not naive about the solutions
and I'm not gonna go off on that, okay?
I promise, all right?
I got it off my chest.
But I'm just using it as an example.
Anybody that heard that sermon might walk away and say,
man, he's really got a bone to pick with those people.
I have a problem with how it's not being addressed,
how it's not being taken care of,
but I'm still looking at those people
with love and compassion, if you get what I'm saying, okay?
We need a condescend to men of low estate
and not to be wise in our own conceits, as it says there.
Not to be a spiritual elitist.
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 13.
We all know the chapter.
You know, the charity chapter.
The chapter on love.
Charity is just some old-fashioned word for love.
Today has a different meaning, right?
Look at verse one.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels
and have not charity,
I am become a sounding brass or tinkling cymbal.
He says, I don't care how eloquent I am.
I don't care how well I speak.
I don't care how moving my speech is.
If I can bring people to tears through my preaching,
it doesn't matter if I don't have charity,
because it's not coming from a sincere place.
It's as useless as sounding brass or tinkling cymbal.
It can just be ignored if it's not outright in annoyance.
Look at verse two.
And though I have the gift of prophecy
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
oh, I know everything about end times prophecy.
I could tell you everything there is
about every cryptic passage.
I know everything there is about end times prophecy.
I understand all these mysteries
that people scratch their heads over.
And I have all this knowledge.
And though I have all faith
so that I can remove mountains,
and I have not charity, I am nothing.
So it sounds like charity's pretty important.
Love is pretty important.
Verse three, and though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned
and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Because charity, love, that's what's gonna compel us
to condescend the men of low estate,
and to not have that spiritual elitist mentality
that some people can get.
Look at verse four.
Charity suffereth long, it is kind.
Charity envieth not.
Charity vonteth not itself, it is not puffed up.
Doth not behave itself unseemly, sinketh not her own,
is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth,
beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity is not gonna allow us to become puffed up.
You know, knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
So as we grow in the grace and the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
as we know the Bible better, as we come to church
and learn things, as we repent of the sin in our lives,
and we clean up our lives, and we start to get our house
in order, let's not, you know, be careful,
don't let this mentality creep in that makes you think
you're better than other people.
You know, because you have some vain tradition,
even though maybe it's in a profitable thing,
maybe it's a good tradition, but if it's gonna cause us
to look down on other people to have an unloving attitude
towards others, well, it profits nothing.
Who does it profit?
You know, love is what's gonna compel us
to condescend to men of low estate
and preach them the gospel, to reach down
and try to lift other people up in Christ.
You know, that's gonna have profit, isn't it?
That's why there's, you know, joy in heaven
over one sinner that repenteth.
More than over 99 just persons that needeth no repentance.
And you know, if we're down here thinking,
oh, all heaven's rejoicing because I read my Bible
seven days a week this week.
All heaven's rejoicing because I made it out
to church on Sunday.
You've done those things which are your duty to do.
You're doing those things which you ought to have done
as God's child.
But you know, we'll really pat ourselves on the back
sometimes over the things we'll do in the Christian life.
Things that are just our duty to do.
And what that does is it gives us this puffed up,
vaunted, and we vaunted ourselves, as the Bible says,
we lift ourselves up with pride and look down on other
people and it profits no one.
So you know, we are spiritual elitists.
We are not spiritual elitists, rather, okay?
But also we are not spiritual commoners, okay?
You have the elitists and then you have the masses, right?
And the elitists always look down on the masses.
We are not spiritual commoners.
Go to First Peter chapter number two, okay?
So it's kind of this balancing act.
We don't want to think too highly of ourselves,
but we also don't want to be self-deprecating.
We don't want to think too low of ourselves.
We have to understand the standing that we have in Christ.
And when we understand that, what's that gonna do?
That's going to put the love of Christ in your heart.
You know, so many times we might find ourselves saying,
Lord, who am I?
You know, who am I to preach your word?
Who am I to preach the gospel?
Who am I, you know, and that causes us to love God more.
We realize the standing that we have in Christ,
that we are his workmanship, created unto good works.
You know, that might actually compel us
to do those good works.
You know, serving Christ.
It's not something you should have to just,
you know, it's a battle of the will to serve God.
It ought to be something that we are compelled to do
out of love for God and for other people.
We're not spiritual leanest,
but we are not spiritual commoners either.
Look at First Peter chapter number two, verse nine.
Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.
That's the only royal thing about me,
I can tell you how much, right?
You think about the royalty of this world.
I mean, they really, they really big it up, don't they?
Like, they still have the royal family, right, over there,
but they're just, and I don't know anything about it, really.
I couldn't tell you who those people are.
I know it's a thing, right?
They go down, up and down,
and they wave like this at people, you know?
But people really looked at them.
They really build them up,
and you know, they're probably very built up.
They've got all their pendants and swords
and halls and banquets, you know,
it's a big deal to be royalty to them, right?
But look, we're royalty.
We are a royal priesthood.
And remember, the priesthood was a very,
the Levites was, you know,
that was a very small group of people.
Not everybody got to participate in the priesthood.
We do through Christ.
Okay, he's made us kings and priests unto our God.
Ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
This is Peter talking to the Gentiles,
a peculiar people, not meaning you're weird or strange,
but you're peculiar in that you're rare.
You know, it's not something you find every day.
We are this chosen generation, this royal priesthood,
and look at the rest of the world and say,
you poor suckers, no.
The purpose of all this is that you should show forth
the praises, and when we realize
that we are not spiritual commoners,
that we are this royal priesthood, marvelous light,
the light that we walk in is not our own.
The glory that we
and when we realize that,
it should cause us to praise God, to bring forth praises.
Verse 10, which in time past were not a people,
but are now the people of God,
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims,
abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against their soul.
There's your repentance in the Christian life again.
We have a war to wage against our own flesh.
Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles.
You know, we ought to be careful
how we conduct ourselves in the world,
have a good reputation.
That whereas they speak against you as evildoers,
they may by your good works, which they shall behold,
glorify God in the day of salvation.
Saying, what is he saying here?
Although you're this holy nation, this peculiar priesthood,
or excuse me, this peculiar people, this royal priesthood,
make sure you have a good conversation among the Gentiles.
Why?
So that they will glorify God in the day of visitation.
Meaning when the gospel comes to them,
when the Holy Spirit ministers their heart,
when a Christian comes and preaches them the gospel,
they're open to it.
They don't go, oh, I worked with a Christian.
And you know, those Christians,
they always thought they were better than everybody,
or they're these massive hypocrites.
And look, Christians are massive hypocrites sometimes.
But so is everybody else.
Oh, the church is full of hypocrites.
The world is full of hypocrites.
Because people are hypocrites.
Because that's part of being in the flesh, right?
And what we have to do is we have to
abstain from these fleshly lusts,
which were against the soul, not be that way,
and have an honest conversation among the Gentiles
so that in the day of visitation,
they'll get saved and glorify God.
So does that sound like we're supposed to go around
in this world and just look down at the unsaved?
And just have this elitist mentality like,
well, this isn't for you.
I'm sorry, this marvelous light that I've been called into
isn't for you.
You just stay in darkness.
And I'll treat you however I want.
It's wrong.
Now, I gotta wrap up, but notice that, you know,
Jesus is sitting with Levi in the story, right?
So that's one take on this story,
is that Jesus sits with sinners, right?
And a group of people, the Pharisees come
and look down their nose at him and criticize him
because of their own self-righteousness,
because they are spiritual elitists, right?
They look down on other people
because they have their own vain traditions.
We don't wanna be like that.
That's one application.
Now, another way this gets misapplied,
this story and others like it,
is that people will say it's okay to just go
rub elbows with sinful people
and go into sinful situations
because after all, Jesus sat with sinners
and with publicans.
Who's ever heard anything like that, okay?
I mean, I've heard that several times, you know,
over the years.
People talkin' about, well, you know,
I go to the bar, but I don't drink.
I just shoot pool, and I try to witness for Jesus.
Stupid.
You know, why do you have to go,
first of all, why do you gotta go to the bar to do that?
You don't.
Or a church could get this mentality.
Well, we wanna be seeker-sensitive, right?
So we're gonna bring in the world.
You know, we're gonna drop the standards.
We're gonna get rid of the old hymns,
so we're gonna bring in some rock music.
We're gonna get the girls up here in their short skirts,
and we're gonna start illustrating the sermons
with Hollywood movies.
That's what's out there.
We'll get the purple light.
We'll just turn this into a show.
That way, the unsaved people, when they come in here,
they won't be able to tell whether or not
they're still in the club from Saturday night
or in church on Sunday morning.
They're like, hey, this is where I was a few hours ago.
This is a lot like the club I was just at.
A lot of the women are dressed the same way.
A lot of the guys are dressed the same way.
The music sounds pretty similar.
And now, I'm open to the gospel, right?
And they're probably gonna get a false gospel anyway.
No, we are, as God's people, to be separate, to be holy,
to not have this standoffish attitude or say,
you can't approach unto me, I'm holier than thou, okay?
Churches will get this attitude,
and people will have this attitude
that because Jesus sat with sinners,
it's okay for them to just go out
and hang out with wicked people.
And people will, here's the thing.
Publicans and sinners had a bad reputation.
But it's not the same as being a drunk.
It's not the same as being a sodomite.
It's worlds apart, okay?
All sin is not equal, period.
And that's another common teaching that's out there.
All sin's equal.
No, it's not.
Why are there varying degrees of punishment on earth
for different sins, for people who are more sinful
than others?
Because all sin is not equal.
Not shall be beaten with many stripes.
But he who did not know his Lord's will
shall be beaten with few stripes.
That's a difference in punishment, okay?
And Levi is a sinful person.
These are sinners.
They're not sodomites.
They're not drunks.
Not a bunch of fornicators.
This isn't Jesus going down to the club, okay?
And let me remind you in the story,
just a few verses previously,
Jesus just got done calling Levi to follow him,
and he forsook all.
He's leaving this old life behind
and making a feast to follow Jesus.
That's where Jesus found Levi.
He said, follow me.
And he left his, you know, whatever.
He's sitting down to have a meal.
There's a difference here.
We can't use this to who we're going to associate with
or who we're gonna spend our time with.
We are still called to separate from sinful situations
and sinful people, okay?
Go to First Corinthians, chapter number five.
And again, this is where it takes discernment.
And this is this kind of balancing act
where we don't wanna be closed off.
We wanna be open.
We wanna have a good testimony,
a good conversation among the Gentiles
so that they'll glorify God in the day of visitation.
We don't wanna look down on people.
We wanna be open, but that doesn't mean
we make unsaved, sinful people
our most inner circle in life, okay?
Look at First Corinthians, chapter number five, verse nine.
We'll see that we are to separate
from sinful people and situations.
He says, I wrote unto you in an epistle
not to company with fornicators, right?
So he's saying, look, Paul's saying,
I wrote you and told you not to company with fornicators,
yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world
or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters,
for then you must needs go out of the world.
But now I've written unto you not to company
with any man that is called a brother,
be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater
or a railer or a drunkard, okay?
Which is something that's fallen out of practice.
Rest assured, it's one we practice here.
You know, if a brother, I mean somebody
who's been coming to church,
and it's not just somebody safe,
somebody who has made themselves a member
of the local church, they're a brother or sister in Christ,
if they are guilty of these sins,
we are not to company with them,
which means they're not allowed to come in
and sit down on Sunday morning.
So that doesn't seem very nice.
Well, here's the thing, we have to consider
the message that sends to the rest of the congregation.
Why would you kick anybody out of church?
It isn't the whole point of church to grow.
We want to grow, but not at the expense
of letting sin creep in the door,
letting a little leaven in,
because a little leaven leavens the whole lump, okay?
If we let the fornicator in,
if we let the drunkard and the idolater
and all these other things, the railer,
the extortioner, the covetous,
if we let them just come in and call them brother,
there's no consequences for the sin that they're living in,
that's gonna spread.
And look, that's why a lot of these churches today
that don't practice this are dens of iniquity, okay?
They are filled with sin.
And I don't care how big, you know,
that's why they're that big.
That's why they're so popular.
Because you can go there and not have to change anything.
It's the path of least resistance Baptist church.
You know, you could just go there
and not have to make any changes.
Static Baptist church.
Just stay the same.
Come as you are and leave the same, right?
And because of that, you know,
these churches are filled with sin.
And that sends a message to a lot of other people.
What kind of message would we send
to the young people in this church?
You know, if we allowed some fornicating couple
to come down and sit down in the front row.
To let some drunk come in and just, you know,
be a member of the church.
Hey brother, how you doing?
Oh, still sleeping it off.
Well, Jesus loves you, I'm glad you're here.
You know, hopefully you can not die
of some horrible, you know, painful disease,
you know, liver disease.
You know, and it's for the good of the church
and it's good for the good of the individual
that's guilty of these things.
You know, and I've seen it over the years
where people have been kicked out of church
for being guilty of these sins.
They get it right and they come back.
And all is forgotten.
All is forgiven, all is forgotten.
And they actually go on and live good Christian lives.
And they're a benefit to their church.
But we are called to separate from sinful people
in sinful situations.
Even if it's among the brothers, right?
Even if it's among the brotherhood, fellow church members.
Okay?
I don't wanna spend the whole time on this.
But look at verse 12, he says,
For what have I to do to judge them also that are without?
Right, outside the church, those that are without the church
that are not saved, not Christians.
What have I to do to judge them that are without?
He's like, that's not my realm of authority.
I'm not gonna go out there and go up to some unsafe person
and say, you know, you shouldn't be living together.
It's wicked sin, right?
They're just following the course of this world.
And it is sin, and if they ask me, I'll tell them,
but it's not, I'm not gonna go around
and look down my nose at the rest of the world
and start calling all their sins into question,
because that'd keep me pretty busy, wouldn't it?
He's saying, what have I to do to judge them also without?
Do not ye judge them that are within?
That's the realm of our authority.
But them, and by the way, it doesn't mean that,
well, if you're out of church, you can live however you want
and you're off the hook.
Look at verse 13.
But them that are without, God judgeth.
Be not deceived, God is not mocked.
Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
If a man soweth to the flesh,
he shall of the flesh reap corruption.
Adult, you know, the whoremongers, God will judge.
That's what the Bible says.
Adulterers and whoremongers, God will judge.
God judges them that are without.
That's what he just said in verse 13.
Paul's saying, I don't have to go around
judging the rest of the world.
That's God's job.
You know, and I'd rather have to come to church
and live up to some standards and get some sin out of my life
than to just go out and live like the world
and have God come down on me.
I mean, who would you rather be judged by?
Who would you rather have judging you?
Notice he says in verse 13,
therefore, put away among yourselves that wicked person.
He's saying, you know, kick this fornicator out,
out of your church.
Why?
So that God can judge him.
So that God can judge him,
deliver such and one unto Satan
for the destruction of the flesh
that the spirit may be saved in the day of salvation.
That's what he, and that's the same passage.
That's what he's saying here.
Deliver such and one unto Satan
for the destruction of the flesh.
Take that fornicated Christian, that drunkard,
that extortioner, that covetous idolater,
and kick him out of church so God can judge him.
That's what he's saying, okay?
So my point is this, is that,
you know, we're not spiritual commoners,
but we're not spiritual elitists.
We don't have to go around looking down our nose
at other people, sinners in this world,
because they've, God's already got it covered.
God's already taken care of them.
We are just supposed to be a light unto them.
We're just supposed to shine forth that same light
that God has called us into.
That same marvelous light
of the glory of the gospel of God.
We're supposed to be that city that is set on a hill.
We don't have to put our light under a bushel.
We were to let it to shine, okay,
so that others would see it and get saved, okay?
Now go to 2 Corinthians chapter number six,
2 Corinthians chapter number six.
The Bible says, I'll begin reading in verse 14.
What's the point I'm making here,
is that we're not spiritual elitists.
We're not commoners, okay?
We are a peculiar people,
but we don't want to look down our nose at other people.
We also want to just assume that that means
we can just throw our arms wide open
and just let, and just rub elbows with the world.
We are still to separate, to some degree,
from sinful people in situations, okay?
Here's a great example of this,
2 Corinthians chapter six, verse 14.
Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
And a yoke would be that implement,
that harness that they would put upon a beast of burden,
right, like an ox or an ass.
And if you remember in the Old Testament,
that was an actual law that God had.
You should not put an ox and an ass together
in the same yoke.
You say, well, why is that?
Is God just being a stickler?
No, because it's a picture, right,
that two different animals that walk at different speeds,
that are of different heights, different girths,
different musculature, different attributes and abilities,
can't work together.
It's gonna make for very crooked furrows in the field.
Where if you have two animals that are the same,
they're gonna pull at the same speed,
they're not gonna go round in circles, right?
It's like if you were in a rowboat
and you had one paddle that was shorter than the other.
You'd end up going like this.
You wouldn't get to shore, you wouldn't go anywhere.
You just, you wouldn't go anywhere, right?
That's what he's saying here.
Don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Does that mean we should just never talk to an unbeliever?
Only safe people can bag my groceries?
I can only deposit a check if it's a Christian
that's across the counter at the bank.
You know, I'll only allow a fellow believer
to bring me my food at a restaurant.
No, that's when we're getting into that spiritual elitist,
and those are extreme examples.
I doubt anybody actually does that, right?
He's talking about not being in a yoke together
with them.
How about business dealings?
You know, I'm not saying, again,
having transactions with people is one thing,
but maybe getting into like a business
where you're gonna be spending a lot of time
and energy with an unbeliever,
they're not gonna have the same mentality
that you do as a Christian.
They might not have the same integrity.
I'm sure that's not gonna come as a shock to anybody.
People, some people, especially if they don't have
the Holy Spirit, they're not saved,
they're probably gonna, you know, maybe have,
at least it oughta be that way,
that the unbeliever is more,
I'm not saying they're all this way,
but it should be more readily said of the unbeliever
that they're more quick to be unethical than God's people.
You know, even if it's legal.
Oh, it's legal, though.
Well, yeah, but is it the right thing to do?
Is it ethical, okay?
So maybe in business dealings, we oughta be careful
just how yoked up we're gonna get with somebody, okay?
And again, I'm not talking about just your ordinary
day-to-day transactions.
How about marriage?
That's kind of a big one.
How about the person that you're going to spend
the rest of your life with?
Because that's what we believe.
That's what the Bible teaches.
That it's a sin to get divorced.
That it's till death do you part.
What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
That's kind of a big decision, right?
You can't just dip your toe in marriage.
Well, if it turns out that, you know,
we're unequally yoked, I'll just, whatever.
You know, some girl gets all, you know,
Twitter-pated, you know, with some unsaved guy,
the bad boy, you know, the unsaved bad boy,
and wants to just, you know, marry him and have his babies,
and, you know, and she's, well, I know what the Bible says,
but I'll change him.
You know, there's a really good chance you're not.
In fact, that's what you see throughout all scripture,
is that the bad make the good worse.
It never works the other way around.
Not in scripture, and that's human nature.
So before you want to marry somebody,
before you even begin to entertain the idea
of marrying an individual,
you ought to find out whether or not they're saved.
Okay?
Start there.
And by the way, this doesn't mean
that when you start dating somebody
that it turns into a job interview.
Okay, guys?
You know, I can't find a wife.
Well, maybe you shouldn't lead
with how many babies do you want to have?
Are you up for just staying at home
and having all my children?
You know, save that for later.
Let her see your other and more admirable qualities,
and maybe she'll want to do that, okay?
Maybe she'll actually say,
I actually wouldn't mind just staying at home
and let him bring home the bacon,
and I'll take care of the babies.
Don't lead with that, you know?
Lead with, hey, do you go to church anywhere?
Are you saved?
What do you think, someone's got to go to heaven?
They get that right?
Then it's like, okay, now let's find out
what you were like as a person, okay?
Because that's what marriage is.
It's a relationship between two people.
It's not this cold calculated business transaction
where if you check all the boxes,
then I'll let you marry me.
It doesn't work like that.
I don't want to go on and on about that,
but there's a lot that could be said about that.
But the point I'm making is,
hey, we are to separate from sinful people
and sinful situations.
There is to be a certain degree of separation there, right?
And we should be careful not to be
too unequally yoked together with them,
but we also don't want to look down on other people
or act like we're better than them or whatever,
because, you know, yeah, we're this royal priesthood
because of Christ and nothing else,
not through any works that we've done.
We walk among those of this world, but not as them.
If you would, I know I got to wrap up,
but just go to Ephesians chapter number four.
I'll just read through a few of these verses very quickly.
I'm not suggesting that we all, you know,
go buy a bunch of land somewhere and start a compound.
You know, and everyone that tries to come through the gate,
you know, will grill them and make sure they're saved.
And they, you know, they believe,
they use the King James Bible
and they have these standards
and they believe this and, you know,
that's not what I'm saying, okay?
But we don't want to make our closest relationships in life
with those of the unsaved world.
We're all gonna have work relationships.
We're all gonna have business dealings.
We're all gonna have people that we associate with,
and maybe even to a certain degree
are even loosely friends with.
But our closest companions ought to be
those that we would consider brothers and sisters.
Especially when it comes to marriage,
you got to make sure that that's a safe place
and you're in the same yoke.
And they had hated them because they are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world.
His disciples are not, we're not of this world.
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world.
They just don't, they want to,
they take this idea of separation way too far.
You know, who's gonna, you know,
show forth that marvelous light of the gospel
if we're not here to do it?
Nobody, okay?
Being it clean to us, okay?
And being careful that we don't get too entangled
with the affairs of this life.
Vanity of their mind.
Did he say that you'd walk not with Gentiles?
He said that you don't walk with,
look to the world and say,
oh, that's how you have a marriage.
Okay, because they don't, they're not doing it God's way.
And that's putting God through the ignorance
that is in them because of the blindness of their heart.
They have given themselves over to lasciviousness,
to work on cleanness and with greediness.
So yeah, the blessed man doesn't walk in the counsel
of the ungodly, excuse me,
he does not stand in the way of sinners
and he does not sit in the way of sinners.
He'll sit with the squirter, he'll sit with the sinner,
that's not the seat I'm taking.
You know, I'll pull up my own chair,
a chair that's, you know, they sit.
I'm not gonna take their spot in the world.
I'll be in the world, right?
Not gonna be in their way.
We all walk in this world to our side,
we want them to get saved
because we all walk in the front destination, okay?
Yeah, Jesus was willing to sit down
and eat with these sinners.
You know, and he was not someone,
he was trying to get people saved,
he was trying to bring sinners to repentance.
He was walking amongst them, but not as one of them.
So let's go ahead and close in the word of prayer.
The Lord, again, thank you for the new creature
that we are in Christ, Lord, I pray you help us to walk
in newness of life, Lord, to walk in the fullness
of the Spirit, and Lord, help us to be a testimony
to those around us, those that we share this world with,
Lord, those that work, those that we communicate with,
or those that we have interactions with, Lord,
that we would be open and kind and loving
and showing them the love of Christ, Lord,
but also help us understand, Lord,
that we are a peculiar people, we are a royal priesthood,
we are a holy people, Lord, you've called us to be holy,
and Lord, help us to not yoke up with the unsaved, Lord,
but help us to be an example and a light to them,
look down on them, but help us to love them
and win them to you so that they can know
the joy of salvation, by grace, through faith.
We ask these things in Christ's name, amen.
All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song
before we are dismissed this morning.
If we could open up our song,
what's the song number 404?
The song number 404, when the band is over.
Song number 404.
["The Star-Spangled Banner"]
Sing it out on the first.
The royal soldier goes across the far-earth away,
and in the place you go, the stars will be shining,
the stars will be breathing,
and when the light is over, we shall wear a crown,
yes, we shall wear a crown, yes, we shall wear a crown,
and when the light is over, we shall wear a crown
in the new Jerusalem.
Wear a crown, wear a crown, wear a bright and shiny crown,
and when the light is over, we shall wear a crown
in the new Jerusalem.
A spiny can be too, the skies won't fly,
the reds won't leave it here.
Our fathers fought to pay the price
and sent the money to live,
and when the battle's over, we shall wear a crown,
yes, we shall wear a crown, we shall wear a crown,
and when the battle's over, we shall wear a crown
in the new Jerusalem.
Wear a crown, wear a crown, wear a crown, wear a crown,
wear a bright and shiny crown,
and when the battle's over, we shall wear a crown
in the new Jerusalem.
By the spiny fire of the wind, increase my courage more,
raise more, out there the toil and door,
the peace afforded by the Lord,
and when the battle's over, we shall wear a crown,
yes, we shall wear a crown, yes, we shall wear a crown,
and when the battle's over, we shall wear a crown
in the new Jerusalem.
Wear a crown, wear a crown, wear a bright and shiny crown,
and when the battle's over, we shall wear a crown
in the new Jerusalem.
And if you're singing, the artist is.
["The Star-Spangled Banner"]