On Romans chapter 7, I want to preach on the famous part at the end of the chapter where
Paul talks about the struggle that's going on within him of wanting to do that which
is right, but then he ends up doing that which is wrong.
And I want to teach some important doctrine tonight about the subject that after we're
saved, it is still possible for us to continue in sin.
And we still have the flesh that dwelleth with us, and that if we walk in the flesh,
we're going to continue sinning.
And I also tonight want to just expose to you how the ESV version of scripture just
perverts the Bible in so many ways.
And a lot of people think that it's not really a big deal which translation of the Bible
that we use.
And it's funny how they'll just act like, oh, the King James is just one of many translations.
This is the way that it's presented today.
Well, there are a lot of translations out there, and the King James is just one of them.
Almost like those who are King James only just flipped a coin and just picked one and
just went with it.
But in reality, the King James Bible for a long time was the only English Bible.
That's what people are forgetting about because of the fact that all the Bibles leading up
to the King James agreed with the King James, whether you're talking about the Tyndale or
the Matthew Bible, the Coverdale, the Bishop's Bible, the Geneva Bible, all the Bibles leading
up to it agreed with it.
And when the King James came on the scene, it was just a perfection of that which came
before.
And over time, it replaced that which came before.
And those previous versions went out of print because the King James was the finished product.
It was the final draft in the English language of a modern English Bible.
And for a long time, that's just what everybody used.
It was only in the late 1800s when they started discovering all these phony manuscripts, and
then into the 1900s when they started producing all these phony Bibles that people started
to get away from the King James.
And even 50, 60, 70 years ago, the vast majority of people were still on the King James.
But today, we're told, oh, it's just another version.
No, the King James Bible has been the English Bible for centuries.
I believe that it is the perfect word of God and that it is without error.
And that it is the preservation of God's word into our modern English language.
Now, today we have all these other versions and people say, well, if you're using one
of these other versions, it's not that big of a deal.
But just in the couple of examples I'm going to show you tonight, I'm going to show you
how it just completely changes Bible doctrine.
And you wonder why there are so many people with so many goofed up doctrines, and it's
because they're not even reading from a real Bible.
And they're reading from the ESV, the NIV, the New American Standard, and these versions
are nowhere near what God actually said.
They just change it.
But let's get into the doctrine that I want to talk about tonight here.
First of all, look down at your Bible at Romans 7, verse 14.
It says in verse 14, for we know that the law is spiritual, and this is the Apostle
Paul speaking, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
So the Apostle Paul, who some people would even say is the greatest Christian who ever
lived, he's definitely right up there as being one of the great men.
Look how many books of the New Testament he was used by God to pen down, and he's saying,
I'm carnal.
He's admitting in this passage that he struggles with sin.
Even being the great man of God that he is, and the great transformation that he had in
his life, from being a Pharisee that persecuted Christians, to now being the one who's preaching
the faith that he once destroyed, he's admitting, I'm carnal.
And carnal has to do with walking in the flesh.
Now there's a false teacher out there, and his name's Paul Washer, and a lot of people
listen to this guy, and the guy is a liar and a fraud, and you say, well why would you
name the name?
Well, the Bible teaches us in the New Testament to name the names of false teachers.
That's why the Apostle Paul named names like Phygelus, Hermogenes, Alexander, Hymenaeus.
He called out the false prophets of his day, and he warned people about the dangerous doctrines
that they were teaching.
And this guy Paul Washer has one major emphasis of his ministry, one thing that he harps on
over and over again, and basically that is that if you're not living right, you're not
really saved.
I mean, that's the main thing that he just keeps coming back to, and well, if you haven't
had a dramatic change in your life, and if you're not living for God, and blah, blah,
blah, then you're not really saved.
And he has a famous quote that he harps on over and over again.
Paul Washer says this, there is no such thing as a carnal Christian.
That's what he says.
Many times he said it.
In many sermons he's repeated this theme of there is no such thing as a carnal Christian.
One time I heard him say it this way.
He said there's a doctrine today that is tailor made for American Christianity, the doctrine
of the carnal Christian.
American Christianity has invented this idea of the carnal Christian because they just
want to be carnal and everything.
You know, and he tries to act like, oh, everybody in these other countries are all just these
wonderful Christians, and everybody in America is a loser and whatever.
But anyway, there's no such thing as a carnal Christian.
Okay, well, what did the Apostle Paul say in verse 14?
I'm carnal.
So if there's no such thing as a carnal Christian, then why did the Apostle Paul say I'm carnal?
Now flip over, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
We're going to come back to Romans 7, but look over at 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
So I'm dealing with three things tonight, a false prophet, a false doctrine, and a false
Bible version, okay?
The false prophet is Paul Washer.
The false doctrine is the doctrine that anyone who is saved is going to automatically be
living a righteous life or they're not really saved.
And the false Bible version is the ESV.
So it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 1, and I, brethren, now right away, what's
he saying there in the third word there, brethren?
Who's he talking to?
The saved or the unsaved?
Yeah, because these people are not his physical relatives.
He's a Jew that was born of Tarsus, and these are people from Corinth.
He's calling them brethren because they're his brethren in Christ, because they're fellow
Christians.
He says, I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal.
So these people are brethren, but they're carnal.
And then he defines what he means by carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
So according to the Bible, those who are babes in Christ are new believers.
They're going to be carnal.
I mean, if you think about it, when a person just got saved, are they just going to be
just an amazing Christian overnight?
No.
I mean, if you get an unsaved person and they just get the gospel and they just believe
on Jesus Christ, they're a newborn babe in Christ.
They still have everything to learn, and it's going to take them time to grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to get the sin out of their
life.
Therefore, obviously, a babe in Christ is going to be carnal to some degree.
He's saying, you guys are carnal, even though you've been saved for a long time.
You guys are like babes in Christ, like you just got saved.
Now, it's okay for a babe to be a babe, but there's something wrong when adults are acting
like babes, okay?
For example, if you have a baby, you don't expect that baby to change its own diaper.
You don't expect it to feed itself.
You're going to do all that for it.
But if someone were to grow up and get to the point where they're 10, 11, 12 years old,
and they're basically using the restroom on themselves and they can't feed themselves
and you have to feed them, you would look at that person and say, you know what?
This person is developmentally disabled.
This person is handicapped.
This person may have Down syndrome or some other problem developmentally that's causing
them to not be growing as they should.
Now, does that mean they're not human?
Does it mean this person was never born?
Here we are.
We thought we gave birth to a baby.
Turns out it was never born.
No.
It just means that they're not developing properly, okay?
So it could be the same thing with a Christian.
If you see a Christian that's been saved for 20 years and it's still acting like a spiritual
baby, you wouldn't say, well, it was never born, never saved, or it's not human.
It's not a Christian.
No.
You just say, look, it's a handicapped, spiritually handicapped.
You're spiritually challenged today.
But the Bible says here, he spoke of them as babes in Christ.
He says in verse 2, I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able
to bear it.
Neither yet now are ye able, for ye are yet carnally, saying you're still carnal.
When you should have grown past the milk stage and gotten into the strong meat.
He says you're yet carnal, for as there is among you envying and strife and divisions,
are you not carnal?
How many times has he called them carnal so far?
Three times.
You're carnal, you're carnal, you're carnal.
But yet a person like Paul Washer just says, well, there's no such thing as a carnal Christian.
But Paul's talking to these brethren and saying you're carnal, you're carnal, you're carnal.
People say, well, maybe they weren't really saved.
Okay, let's keep reading.
He says in verse 4, for while one sayeth I am of Paul, and another I am of Apollos,
are you not carnal again?
He says in verse 5, who then is Paul and who is Apollos?
But ministers by whom ye what?
So these people believed.
He's calling them brethren.
He's saying they're like babes in Christ.
Now he says they've believed, and by the way, that's what you have to do to be saved.
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.
It says ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man.
I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
Let me ask this.
What kind of increase did God give?
A bunch of people who weren't really saved?
No.
If God gave this increase, if one planted and one watered and God gave the increase,
what's the increase?
He's talking about them.
He's saying ministers by whom ye believed, they planted, you believed, they watered,
you believed.
God gave the increase.
You're saved, but you're carnal, carnal, carnal, carnal.
Let's keep reading.
It says in verse number 8, now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man
shall receive his own reward according to his own labor, for we are laborers together
with God.
Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
Is he saying to these people, hey, you don't belong to Christ.
You're not really saved.
You're not of God's people.
No, he's saying you're God's building.
You're God's husbandry, but you're carnal.
You need to grow up.
You need to grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now let's go back to Romans, chapter 7.
So I think we've established pretty clearly that it's very possible for Christians to
be carnal or fleshly or walking in the flesh.
Now does God want us to walk in the flesh?
Of course not, but do we have the capability or the tendency to walk in the flesh?
And even if we've been saved for five years or ten years, we could be stuck as babes in
Christ.
Look, Paul rebuked others in Hebrews, chapter 5, when he said, for when for the time ye
ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles
of the oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat.
For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness for he is a babe,
but strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use
had their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
So again, he's telling them, you should be teachers.
You should be mature spiritually, but you're carnal.
You're still acting like a babe in Christ.
You need to grow.
Look at Romans, chapter 7.
Here's where the apostle Paul even admits the fact that to an extent, he's carnal.
He says, I'm carnal, sold under sin.
Look at verse 15, for that which I do, I allow not for what I would, that do I not, but what
I hate, that do I.
Now some people might read this and it might seem like kind of a tongue twister or what,
you know, what is it?
I do what I would not, I would do that I would not, and it can be confusing, but if you just
slow down and read what it's saying here, it's pretty easy to understand.
For that which I do, I allow not.
Now think about it.
We have things that we don't allow, right?
And that's things that we would say, hey, these things are wrong.
These are things that we shouldn't be doing, but you know what Paul is saying?
Sometimes I do the things that I allow not.
Things that I don't allow, but then I do them, okay?
What would we call that?
Hypocrisy, okay?
He's admitting that sometimes there's some hypocrisy there.
He says, but what I hate, that do I.
Okay, so there are things that Paul just hates.
Now what's something that the Bible tells us over and over again that we should hate?
Sin.
But he's saying, you know, I find myself doing things that I hate.
Then he says in verse 16, if then I do that which I would not, okay?
And when he says I would not, he means that which I don't want to do, okay?
So he's saying if I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me, and this is the key, watch this, for I know that in me, that is
in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.
For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
So he's saying in my flesh there doesn't dwell any good thing, and he's saying that I have
the will to do what's right.
To will is present with me.
I want to do good things.
I want to serve God.
I want to obey the commandments.
But he says how to perform that which is good I find not.
What's he saying?
Basically, he's saying what Jesus said.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
He's saying I want to do what's right.
I find myself wanting to get the sin out of my life and wanting to serve God, but then
I just fail at it, and I end up doing wrong things.
Now he says in verse number 18 at the end there, how to perform that which is good I
find not.
Verse 19, for the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that
I do.
He's saying it's great.
I want to do things that are good.
I end up not doing them, and then there are bad things I don't want to do, and I end up
doing them.
He says in verse 20, now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me.
I find then a law that when I would do good, when I want to do good, evil is present with
me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which
is in my members.
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Look what he says in that last verse there.
With the mind I myself serve the law of God.
He's saying in my mind, according to the inward man, I want to do what's right.
I hate sin.
I love to do right, and I delight in God's law, and I want to do all the right things,
but then because I'm in the flesh, I end up doing all these wrong things, and he says
at the end there that he serves the law of sin with his flesh.
Now if this is coming from the apostle Paul, do you think that you're above this and that
I'm above this struggle, this battle that's going on?
And by the way, another great man, and arguably, obviously the Bible said that John the Baptist
was the greatest man that was ever born of a woman, but outside of John the Baptist when
you think of just human beings, outside of course of our Lord Jesus Christ who was God
in the flesh, if you want to think about the great men of the New Testament, the two men
that would kind of stand out would be John, the apostle John who's known as the disciple
whom Jesus loved, the one who leaned upon his breast at the Last Supper, and the apostle
Paul, the great missionary that went out and he even said I labored more abundantly than
they all, I mean he did great works for God, and both of these men make admissions like
this, the apostle Paul says I'm carnal, I do stuff I don't want to do, I serve the law
of sin with my flesh, and then what did John say in 1 John chapter 1, if we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, so you have pretty much
the two great apostles of the New Testament, and they're both admitting, hey we sin, you
know we do wrong, and yet you have people today that act as if they're above sin, or
that if you're saved you're not going to continue in sin and all this stuff, but in reality
we as Christians have the capability to continue in sin, now a lot of people misunderstand
what it says in Romans 6 1, just back up one chapter, it says in Romans 6 1, what shall
we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound, God forbid, how shall we
that are dead to sin live any longer therein, so in Romans 5, and really in chapters 3 4
and 5, Paul has been saying over and over again, how our salvation is by grace through
faith and it's not by our works, it's not by keeping the law, so he's been hammering
that for three chapters straight, 3 4 and 5, that's what it's all about in Romans, so
then he asks the question that people will often ask, when you give them the gospel and
tell them it's all by grace, it's like, what do you say we just keep on sinning then, isn't
that what they say, so he knows that's what they're thinking, so he pulls out that question
himself and says, shall we continue, what is he saying, should we keep on sinning that
grace may abound, now a lot of people will look at this and say, see if you keep sinning
grace won't abound, is that what it says, back up two verses to Romans 5 verse 20, moreover
the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound, so if you get the context, he's saying, if we continue in sin, grace will abound,
meaning we're not going to lose our salvation, the more sins we commit, the more is forgiven
of God, but then he says, hey, should we do that, God forbid that anyone would take their
salvation and say, well now that I'm saved, and no matter what I do, I'm going to heaven,
I'm just going to go out and continue in sin, and of course if you do that, the Bible's
real clear, God's going to punish you on this earth, the Bible says whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth, so if we go out and live a life
of sin after we're saved, we will be chastised, we will be punished on this earth, we will
reap what we've sown, by the way, the unsaved, they go out and live a life of sin often with,
and they get away with it in this life, but they're going to hell, so they don't really
get away with it in the end, but the Bible says, if you be without chastisement, whereof
all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons, so the Bible's saying, the only
people who can live a life of sin without getting chastised are people that are not
saved, they're not the children of God, they're bastards, they're not sons of God, okay, so
the Bible's real clear here, that once we are God's sons and daughters, that we have
eternal life, we have everlasting life, if we continue in sin, grace will abound, but
should we continue in sin that grace may abound, God forbid, we should do what's right, we
should go to church, we should read our Bibles, we should serve him, but are we just automatically
going to? No way, there's no way that we're just going to automatically do it, that's
why the Bible is constantly preaching to us how we need to guard ourselves from sin and
grow and seek to please God, because it's not automatic, if it were automatic, he wouldn't
have to tell us about avoiding sin so much, and preach to us and warn us that we need
to abstain from fornication and live a clean life and all this, okay, now go to 1 John
chapter 3, because in 1 John chapter 3, there's a scripture that people will twist in order
to teach this doctrine that says, hey, if you're saved, you're not going to keep sinning,
and you've heard people teach this, haven't you? Hey, if you see somebody and they just
keep on sinning, well, that just proves that they're not saved, well, my answer to that
is, well, then nobody's saved, and the apostle Paul wasn't saved, then we're all doomed,
because nobody is without sin, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us, so whenever you say that to people, here's what they'll say,
well, I'm not saying that you have to stop sinning altogether, and then we enter just
this major gray area, you know what I mean? Because people say, hey, if you want to be
saved, you know, you have to repent of your sins, and you know, if you're still living
the same way, you're not really saved, and there needs to be a change, and you need to
live right and everything, but then you say to people like, wait a minute, are you saying
that you're just going to totally stop sinning? Well, not totally, you know, it's like, well,
you just have to kind of try, well, there has to be some change, or well, you know,
you're not going to have a habit of sin, or you're not going to sin lots, you know, or
you're not going to sin hard, you know, you're just going to do the light sinning, but see,
that's just such a gray area, and it's such confusion, I mean, are Christians capable
of sinning or not, or are they just above sin now, they're just delivered from sin,
and they say, well, you're delivered from the power of sin, right, God gives you the
power to overcome sin, if you want to, but what if you choose to go into temptation?
You will then, what if you get up in the morning and walk in the flesh, you're going to fulfill
the lust of the flesh, okay, and if people, and I want you to pay attention tonight, because
I want to lay down this doctrinally clear from the Bible, you know, we saw it in Romans
7, but I'm going to show you a bunch of other passages, I want to make this real clear to
you that when you get saved, God creates a new creature that is known as the new man,
and that is a biblical term, the new man and the old man, we're going to see it a little
later in Ephesians, that's the term the Bible uses, the new man and the old man, this is
also known as the spirit and the flesh, it's also known as the inward man and the carnal
mind, okay, and let me tell you something, these two things exist in all of us, so when
we get saved, God doesn't create a new creature, and then the old man's gone, the flesh is
gone, no, the flesh is still with us, the old man is still there, and the Bible says,
the flesh lusted against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary
the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would, and what did Paul
say, I can't do the things that I would, why? Well, in Galatians he said, it's because the
flesh and the spirit are at war with one another, and by the way, a lot of people misunderstand,
when the Bible's talking about the spirit, it's not always talking about the Holy Spirit,
a lot of times it's talking about our spirit, because when we get saved, because we are
a body, soul, and spirit, aren't we? And when we get saved, our spirit that was dead and
trespassed and sins is quickened, so when God created a new creature, the moment I got
saved, when I was six years old, and I was on my knees by my mother's bedside, and I
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and called upon the name of the Lord as a six year old
boy, God created a brand new Steven Anderson, completely new, not kind of new, mostly new,
sort of new, no, 100% new creature, Steven L. Anderson 2.0 was created when I was a six
year old boy and got saved. Okay, but, the old Steven Anderson is still here, he has
not died yet, he is still alive, in fact, he has to die every day if I'm going to live
for God. Paul said, I die daily, he's not talking about the spirit, you think he's talking
about the new man when he says I die daily? No, the Bible says we need to mortify the
members or body parts of our uncleanness, the old man has to die, that we might walk
a newness of life, and he said I die daily, it's not a one time thing where the old man
just dies, no, it's a daily thing. And so when I got, and here's the famous verse that
everybody knows, everybody's heard, where it says, therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. So
a lot of people will look at this and they'll say, well, you know, that verse right there
says there has to be some change. How do you get some change out of that verse? Well,
there should be some change, because it says right there, all things are, all is not some.
So if that were, just think with me now, if that verse were talking about the way we live
our life, then that would be saying you will live sinlessly perfect after you get saved.
But guess what, it's not talking about our lifestyle. When it says that if any man be
in Christ, he's a new creature, old things are passed away, behold, all things are become
new, he's talking about the new man, the new creature that God created, which is the spiritual
man, the inward man. Let me tell you something, the new man, the inward man, is incapable
of sinning. He cannot sin. He can't sin. He's perfect. All things are passed away. All the
old things are passed away. Everything's new. The Bible says that the new man is created
in righteousness and true holiness. That's the new man, the new Stephen Anderson, incapable
of sinning. Okay? And I'm going to prove that to you from the Bible, but let me tell you
something about the old man. He's incapable of pleasing God. The old man, the old Stephen
Anderson, Stephen Anderson 1.0, it is impossible to reform him. No matter how hard you try,
you cannot reform the old Stephen Anderson or, you know, insert your name here. You can't
fix the old man. You can't change. The Bible says the carnal mind is enmity with God. It
cannot be brought into subjection of the laws of God. The only way that you are going to
live a life that is pleasing to God is by putting off the old man and putting on the
new man. By walking in the spirit and not walking in the flesh. It's the only way to
please God. You can't just, and that's why people that are not saved and they try to
reform themselves, it's not pleasing to God. They cannot, because they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. Their spirit's as dead as a doornail. Now let me prove this
to you from the Bible, because the Bible teaches this very clearly. Look at 1 John
chapter 3 and verse 9. It says in 1 John 3, 9, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. In this
the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil, whosoever doeth not
righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. Now, go back just
a couple pages to 1 John chapter 1, and what does he say in 1 John chapter 1 verse 8? If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So hopefully before
you read chapter 3, hopefully you read chapter 1. Because in chapter 1 he admits, hey look,
we all sin. And if we say that we don't have sin, we deceive ourselves. And people will
say, well, in chapter 3 it's a contradiction because he says, whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born
of God. But listen, that's the new man. The new man is born of God. Listen to me, your
old man, your flesh is not born again. My flesh tonight is not born again. I mean, think
about it. When I got saved, did my flesh change? All of a sudden every blemish on my body disappeared
every imperfection disappeared, right? I started glowing because, you know, I was born again.
My flesh came back like that of a newborn child, like Naaman the Syrian. No, it didn't.
Because my flesh is still unsaved. That's why the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 that
we are still waiting for the redemption of our body. Our body has not yet been redeemed.
Has our spirit been redeemed? The moment that we believed on Jesus Christ, our spirit was
saved. Our spirit was born again. Our spirit was redeemed. But wait a minute, the flesh
wasn't. The flesh is still the same, unregenerate, unsaved, sinful flesh, which is why if you
walk in the flesh, you are capable of the same sins that you were capable of before
you got saved. And if you walk in the flesh, you're going to act the way you acted before
you got saved. And you know what the only difference is going to be? The difference
is going to be that God's going to punish you because you're his child now. And the
difference is going to be that because the Holy Spirit lives inside you, you're going
to have a conscience about it. You're going to have guilt. You know, you talk to people
who got saved and then they went out and lived a life of sin after they got saved and they
said there was a lot of guilt. Whenever you talk to people that are saved and out living
a wicked life, they are troubled by guilt because they're grieving the spirit and the
Holy Spirit of God is there grieved and they know that what they're doing is wrong and
so an unsaved person can enjoy sin more because they don't have the Holy Spirit bugging them
and they don't have God chasing them and so forth. But let me tell you something, as far
as what the flesh is capable of, it's capable of all the sins that it was capable of before
you got saved because nothing changed when you got saved in your flesh. There wasn't
some change in your little change. No. Zero change in the flesh, 100% change in the spirit.
Okay. So how godly of a life you live is determined by how much time you spend walking in the
spirit versus how much time you spend walking in the flesh. That's what's going to determine
what kind of life you live because the Bible is real clear in 1 John 3. It says whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin. Now a lot of people will use this to say, hey if
you're saved you'll never sin. Well that would contradict a lot of scripture, wouldn't it?
And is there anybody who actually thinks that they are perfect? Would anybody stand up tonight
and say, you know what, I never sinned Pastor Anderson. Ever since I got saved I just don't
sin anymore. And if they did we would all laugh at them and think that they're in our
hearts we'd think that they were a fool, wouldn't we? We'd think you are a fool, you're ridiculous,
you know you're a sinner. Everybody is a sinner. It's so obvious. And yet this passage
in 1 John 3, it troubles people, it confuses, and I can see why. I can see why people read
1 John 3 and it throws them for a loop because when you first read it, it kind of throws
you for a loop. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, what are you talking about?
But then once you compare it with Romans 7, what did Paul say twice in Romans 7? I'll
refresh your memory for you. In Romans 7 he said this, in verse 19, actually it was
verse 17, he says, now then, watch this, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. Listen to this, Romans 7 20, now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that
do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. What is Paul saying? He's saying when I do wrong,
it's not really me that's doing it, it's the sin that dwelleth in me. Now you might look
at that and say that sounds like kind of a convenient excuse. You know that sounds like
some of you tell your parents, it wasn't me that did it, it was the sin that dwelleth
in me, mom. It was not I that took the cookie out of the cookie jar. It was sin that dwelleth
in me. Oh wretched child that I am, you know, who shall deliver me from the body of this
death? You know, this is what kids are going to start saying to their parents. But here's
the thing about that though, okay, Paul is under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost here,
I mean this is Bible, this is truth. And what he's saying if we get the context, because
the whole chapter 8 is all about the spirit versus the flesh, so that's the context. And
so what he's saying is that when I do the wrong things, it's not the inward me, it's
not the new man, it's the old Paul, it's the flesh. And he basically doesn't really identify
with it, he's like it's not me, it's the old man, okay. Because he delights in the law
of God after the inward man. This guy who's doing all the wrong things is the old Paul
that has to die every day. Now this is why, and think about how much sense this makes
once you understand it, this is why when you die physically, you will never sin again.
I mean have you ever wondered about that? I mean why is it that when you get to heaven
you're not going to sin? When we get to heaven we're not going to be lying and stealing and
thinking wicked thoughts. We're going to be totally without sin, we're going to be like
unto him. And we're going to follow him whithersoever he goeth. And there will be no more sorrow
death, pain, everything will be great. And we're going to live a godly, righteous life.
Why? Because the only reason that we're sinning right now is because we're in the flesh. It's
the only reason. So when we die physically the flesh is gone. Therefore we'll never sin
again. Or, you know, if we are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, when Jesus Christ
comes in the clouds and the trumpet sounds, we will be changed in a moment and twink of
an eye. That is the redemption of our body. And at that point we will be saved, body saved
soul saved spirit, we will be 100% the new man in body, soul and spirit. And our body
will be perfect at that point. And that's why the Bible says that God shall change our
vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. According to the working
whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. That didn't happen when you
got saved. You still have a vile body my friend. You know, he did not change your body. And
think about it, we all have things that are wrong with our body, right? I mean everybody
has physical ailments and problems. And even people that you think are in perfect health,
I think pretty much everybody has something wrong with them physically, some physical
ailment or something. You say, what's wrong with you Pastor Anderson? Well, you know,
for one, I have my middle finger on my right hand is completely messed up. And if I make
a fist like this and then open my fist, it makes this painful popping. And it happens
to me like 30 times a day, click ouch, click ouch, you know, and I don't know if it's ever
going to go back to normal. It's been like that for about five or six years. But here's
the thing, over your lifetime, you start racking up these type of injuries and ailments. And
that's why people that are older, they've got all kinds of ailments injury. And you
know what, isn't it great to know that one day your body is going to be saved. You know,
one day you're gonna have a perfect body and the blind will see and the deaf will hear
and the crippled will be leaping and skipping and running and, and you know, we're one day
going to have perfect health. And all of our injuries and ailments and problems with our
body will all be fixed. Look, that is not where we're at right now though. And not only
does our body have physical ailments, but that sinful flesh of the carnal mind also
is sinful. And it actually leads us into sin and commits sin if we let it take over. That's
why we have to make sure the spirit's in control, not the flesh, okay? So 1 John 3 says, Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because
he's born of God. Now if you flip over to 1 John chapter 5, just a few pages to the
right in your Bible, 1 John chapter 5 verse 18, it says, We know that whosoever is born
of God sinneth not. Now I don't know how people can just ignore these scriptures. If you
believe that the Bible is God's word, you have to believe that this is true, that whosoever
is born of God sinneth not. And since he just finished telling us that we all have sin,
the clear answer is the fact that when we sin, it's not the person who's born of God
that's sinning, it's the unregenerate flesh that's sinning. Not Steven Anderson 2.0 that's
born of God, but Steven Anderson 1.0 that was born of sinful flesh and that continues
to be sinful flesh until physical death. He says, We know that whosoever is born of God
sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth
him not. So let me show you how the ESV just completely perverts and corrupts this doctrine.
And by the way, the ESV is not alone. The NIV, the HIV, you know, the New American Standard,
the Holman Christian Standard, you know, all these new versions corrupt scripture and they
usually all corrupted in the same way. They're all the same in so many ways. But the reason
I want to pick the ESV is because it seems that the people who are the most goofed up
on this particular doctrine, that seems to be their Bible of choice. So I've got the
ESV here tonight. I'm going to hand it off to Brother Garrett so that he can look up
some scriptures in the ESV. I'm going to show you how the ESV perverts scripture. Now go
ahead and go to 1 John chapter 3, Brother Garrett. Now what these new versions will
often do as a pattern, when they come across a verse that contradicts their doctrine or
that they don't agree with or that they don't understand, they'll just change it. Doesn't
make sense to them, just change it. Make it fit what we think it should say and it's really
not based on scholarship or evidence. A lot of times it's just based on their opinion.
A classic example of this is when the Bible says sons of God in the Old Testament, the
new versions will just change it to angels. And then they put a note at the bottom that
says well in the Hebrew it's sons of God. Well wait, aren't we translating from the
Hebrew? So what gives you, if the Hebrew says sons of God, why don't you make it say sons
of God in English? Well because we all know that it's angels, right? No we don't. So they're
doing your thinking for you and when they come across a passage that they think is a
contradiction, sometimes they'll come to numbers that they think contradict because they're
confused and then they'll just change them, just fix them for you. Thank you for fixing
all the mistakes in the Bible. No, sorry, the Bible doesn't have any mistakes. So when
they come to this passage they don't like it. They don't like this doctrine that I'm
teaching tonight. So what they do is they just change it. It's a problem, change it.
So what does it say? Everybody look down at your King James Bible. Well Brother Garrett
reads for you from the ESV. Read for us 1 John 3, 9 in the ESV, nice and loud.
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him and he cannot
keep on sinning because he has been born of God.
Okay, so you notice all the extra words that they're adding? So instead of saying what
the Bible says, whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, he that is born of God doesn't
make a practice of sinning. What is that supposed to mean? So I guess they don't set up an office
somewhere and put up a little tile outside the door that says, Stephen L. Anderson, you
know, practitioner of sin. Stephen L. Anderson, you know, professional sinner for hire. What
does it make a practice of sinning? Set up shop as a sinner. What in the world does that
supposed to mean? He doesn't make a practice of sinning. And then the next one they add,
in other words, he doesn't keep on sinning. So you can sin a little bit, just don't keep
on sinning. And you know, well, you can sin as long as you don't make a practice of sinning.
So basically, as long as your sins are isolated incidents and they're not coming up as a pattern.
I mean, isn't that just adding to God? Now, you say, well, wait a minute, Pastor Anderson,
the ESV is based on the best Greek scholarship and so on. Well, I'm going to debunk that
right now. But back up to verse 4, I just want to show you how weird the ESV is and
how it just destroys key doctrines. Because in 1 John chapter 3 verse 4, we have it, read
it Dominique in the King James 1st John 3 4 whosoever committed sin transgresseth also
the law for sin is the transgression of the law. Now, isn't that a great doctrinal verse
defining what sin is? It says whosoever committed sin transgresseth also the law and he defines
it. Sin is the transgression of the law. Doesn't that make perfect sense? And that's why whenever
I'm out soul winning and just explaining salvation to people, if they don't know what the word
sin means, here's what I always tell them. Hey, sin is when you break one of God's commandments.
Oh, okay. I know what that means. You know, God has rules and you break his commandments.
That's what sin is. Sin is the transgression of the law when you break God's law. Okay,
listen to what the ESV does the verse for. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also
practice lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. So it says everyone that practices sin is
sinning is also committing lawlessness. I mean, it sounds bizarre. It doesn't make sense
to and they say these are easier to understand. Oh, get rid of that. Read us something that's
really easy to understand. Read us verse four again. It's so easy to understand. Everyone
who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. I mean, imagine
walking up to somebody's door out soul winning. Hey, do you know what sin is? No, I don't
know what sin is. Oh, okay. Here's what sin is. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning
also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. I mean, now they know less what sin was than
when you started. But what the Bible says in the King James actually makes great sense.
When you read it, it says, whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is
the transgression of the law, right? Breaking the law, crossing the line of God's law. So
they've destroyed the definition of sin and then they've added all these words. Now you
say, well, Pastor Anderson, that stuff's all in the Greek. No, it isn't. You know, and
here's the thing. I'm not one of these pastors that goes back to the Greek. I don't get up
here and tell you, well, here's what the Bible really says. Let's go back to the Greek. Because
let me tell you something. You know what the Greek New Testament says? All the same stuff
that's in the King James. And look, I've learned a lot of Greek and I took it in college
and I've studied a lot more of it on my own. And especially when we were working on New
World Order Bible versions, I spent a lot of time reading the Greek New Testament every
day, just trying to understand the translation issues so that we could expose these modern
versions for the fraud that they are. And I never get up here and say, hey, if you go
back to the Greek, it says something different and all this. Because you know why? In all
the reading that I've done and in all the study that I've done, all it ever does is
just confirm that the King James is saying exactly the same thing in English what the
original New Testament was saying in Greek. It says the exact same thing. Okay? So this,
this, this adding of words of, well, practicing sin. You know why they put those words in
there is because here's what they want to say. There's got to be some change. You know,
I mean, well, you're still sinning, but at least you're not making a practice of sinning.
At least you don't just keep on sinning. And look, this is a lie and a false doctrine that
is created by that version. So if you have the ESV and you're like, oh, wow, the Bible
says if I keep on sinning, I'm not saved. That means I better stop sinning to get saved.
And then it's like a work salvation. Or, oh, well, if I make a practice of sin, I'm not
really saved. I bet, you know, I, I guess, I mean, I guess I have to live a pretty clean
life. I mean, doesn't that be perfect? But I have to live a pretty clean life. No, that's
not what the Bible is that you believe to be saved. It's faith alone. But this whole
new doctrine has been created by these false versions inserting this lying false teaching
of, oh, continuing to sin and practicing sin. That's not what the Bible says. You say, well,
how do you know the ESV is wrong? Well, listen to this. I looked up and get ready to turn
to some scripts in the ESV. So I looked up that word in the Greek that they're making
such a big, make a practice of, and, and the word in the Greek is basically the word that
just means to do, to do something. He's saying, you know, if you're born of God, you don't
do sin. But in English, we don't say do sin. We say commit sin, but it's the same meaning.
So I looked up, I looked up in the Greek New Testament all the other places where that
word is used in the exact same verb tense, the exact word in the exact way. And I'm going
to read for you some of the examples because it's funny how the ESV doesn't do that in
other places. To the identical word, they don't add all this weird make a practice of
and keep on doing it. They just translate it normal in a whole bunch of places. Then
when they get to 1 John 3, they take the identical word and add all that just for their
false doctrine. Well, there's no such thing as a continuously carnal Christian because
1 John 3 in the ESV. But listen to this. Okay, let's go to, and you turn to these in your
King James so that you can follow along in the real Bible. Look at Matthew chapter 8,
Matthew chapter 8. I just want to show you what a fraud these new versions are. Here's
the identical word, identical verb, identical verb tense that they're making a bit. Oh,
it's a continuous. And look, one of the biggest lies I ever heard when I'd be in these churches
where they're constantly going back to the Greek is this thing of, oh, it's continuous.
And they do this all the time. And look, Garrett is saying that's right because he went to
seminary and heard this stuff constantly in the Greek classes, right, about it's the ongoing
continuous making a habit of blah, blah, blah. Let's see if that jives with these other uses
of the identical word. Okay, listen to this from Matthew 8, 9. Okay, you're everybody
looking down at your King James. Read it for us from the ESV, brother Garrett. You got
it. Matthew 8, verse 9. For I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me. And
I say to one, go and he goes into another calm, and he comes into my servant, do this,
and he does it. Right. So it's pretty, pretty much the same thing as the King James, right?
For I am a man under authority having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, go and he
goes into another calm, and he cometh, and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. Now,
if the ESV were going to be consistent, then they'd be saying, I say unto my servant, make
a practice of habitually doing this, and then he makes a practice of habitually doing it.
Is that what it says? I say to my servant, keep on doing it, and he keeps on doing it.
I mean, isn't that what they're, that's what they're saying? If you go back to the Greek,
that's what that word means. Isn't that what they're saying? Liars. But you know what,
they prey upon the fact is that, you know, people don't know Greek, which I'm not saying
they should have to know Greek, because you got the perfect word of God right here, the
King James. This is all you need. But when you, you know, you better have a Greek New
Testament if you got an ESV, because it's garbage. You need to figure out what it really
says. But get a King James would be the right one. Go to John, chapter 3, verse 2. Actually
just go to John 13, 7. I'll just blow past that one real quick. Go to John 13, 7. But
in John 3, 2, this is the one where, you know, the man comes to Jesus by night and says unto
him, Rabbi, you know, Nicodemus, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man
can do these things that thou doest except God be with him. You know, so I guess in the
ESV, it basically just says no one can do these signs that you do unless God's with
him. But if they were going to translate it the way they did the other one, you know,
no one can habitually make a practice of the things that you do, Jesus, unless God with
him. Doesn't make any sense, right? Well, let's prove it further. John 13, 7 is the
verse where Jesus is washing the disciples feet. Now here's what's funny about this example.
How many times did Jesus wash the disciples feet? Once. He never did this before. He never
did this after. So was this some habitually thing that he made a practice of? Same word,
same Greek word. Okay, read it for us in the ESV. You look down at the real Bible. Okay,
so why didn't he say, what I am habitually making a practice of doing on an ongoing basis
repeatedly you don't understand because it was a one time thing. So isn't it a fraud
when they say, oh, well that verse is always that, that word, when you go back to the Greek,
that verb tense, you know, is referring to that which is ongoing. And by the way, who
here speaks fluent Spanish? You got a few people that speak fluent Spanish. Look, you
know the difference between the imperfect and the preterite past tense. You know, basically
it would be, you know, basically the difference between like comia and como or come, right?
That's the difference that we're talking about. And here's the thing. Anybody who speaks
Spanish knows that that's not always some habitual ongoing repeated action when you
use that imperfect, is it? Because for example, you could say, you know, I was eating, I was
eating breakfast when the phone rang. And how would you, how would you say, I was eating
breakfast when the phone rang? Did you hear that? Estaba comiendo. Ah, no one knows what
that means. But you know, oh, that was ongoing habitual. Look, that might've been the only
day he ate breakfast in his whole life, but he's going to use estaba because it was something
that was ongoing while the phone rang that one time. And Jesus used that verb of, you
know, hey, what I do now, you don't understand. Cause he was in the process of doing it. Not
because he habitually or repeatedly did it on an ongoing basis. And I know I'm going
too deep, but just realize that these versions are just making stuff up to fit their doctrine.
And when it's convenient for them, they translate it normal everywhere else. And then just,
they get to that one place in first John three and then they just go nuts with it and a few
other places to bolster this phony doctrine. You know, and I had a whole bunch of other
examples here, but I'm, I'm boring you. So let's go to Galatians chapter five. So don't
let anybody tell you, cause look, I've been at this thing for a long time, my friend,
and I've been preaching and soul winning for a long time. And every single time I bring
up first John three to one of these false prophets, they always correct me. Yeah, but
that means ongoing. Oh, that's habitual. No, no, no. That's repeated. No. If you go back
to the Greek, well, you know what? That's not how the King James translated it. So I
guess those 54 great scholars were all wrong and I'm wrong. And I guess the ESV was wrong
and all the other verses where they translated it normal. It's a fraud. My friend, the emperor
is not wearing any clothes friend. And these people are just repeating stuff and everybody
just believes it cause they heard it. Oh, it's ongoing. Oh, it's repeated. Listen to
me. If you're saved, you can see it on an ongoing basis and repeatedly. There are people
who do it. It's not right. They're going to be punished, but it's possible. But they're
teaching this doctrine that, well, everybody who's saved just only sends every once in
a while. It's a fraud. Okay, let's look at what the Bible teaches here in Galatians chapter
five verse 16. It says in verse 16, this, I say, then walk in the spirit and you shall
not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit
against the flesh. And these are contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do
the things that you would. But if you be led of the spirit, you're not under the law. Now
the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. Now that's a pretty broad list
of sins, isn't it? He lists a lot of sin. But then as if he didn't list enough, he said
and such like. Anything like any of those things. That's a pretty big list, isn't it?
And then he says this, of the which I tell you before as I've also told you in time past
that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And so people will take
this verse and you know the Paul washers of this world will say see if you do anything
on that list, you're not saved. And they'll say well you know if you're a drunkard or
if you have murdered or if you are you know hate anybody or if you have strife or sedition
or heresy, revelings, partying, envying, I mean envying. Envying. What's envying? You
wish you had something that belongs to someone else? Covetousness. No because again what
are we talking about here? Those are the works of the flesh. He said the works of the flesh
are manifest which are these, adultery, fornication. They will not inherit the kingdom of God.
That's because the Bible said flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God, my friend.
It's the new man there. That's why he said all liars shall have their part of the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone. Because when you go to heaven you're not going to
be a liar. You might be a liar on earth here but when you get to heaven you won't be a
liar anymore because the flesh will be gone. You won't be a drunk up there. You won't be
envious up there. You won't have strife and all these things up there. But he says but
the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance, against such there is no law and they that are Christ's have crucified
the flesh with the affections and lust. But watch verse 25. If we live in the spirit let
us also walk in the spirit. Why doesn't he say if we live in the spirit we'll automatically
walk in the spirit? No. He says look if we live in the spirit let's also walk in the
spirit. Meaning we need to make the decision that we're going to walk in the spirit. He
says you know we're debtors to live after the spirit not after the flesh. Flip over
to Ephesians chapter 4 verse 20. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 20. There's a lot of scripture
on this. I don't have time to go to all of it but I'm just trying to just lay out this
doctrine tonight and just help you to see this important teaching that when we are saved
we have two natures. The new nature and the old nature. The new man the old man. The inward
man and the carnal man. And these two guys are in opposition one to the other because
one of them can't sin and the other one can't please God. They cannot be brought into synthesis
my friend because they are at enmity. They are in opposition to one another. It says
in Ephesians 4 20 but ye have not so learned Christ if so be that ye have heard him and
have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus that ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man. Do you see that? He says put off the old man which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts. And look a corrupt tree can't bring forth good fruit.
The old man is corrupt. He is carnal. He cannot be brought into subjection of the laws of
God. He's a loser. He has to die. Kill him. Okay? But what does he say next? He says put
off the old man but verse 23 be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on
the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. So he says
wherefore putting away lying speak every man truth with his neighbor for we are members
one of another be ye angry and sin not let not the sun go down upon your wrath. You know
and on and on he lists all these things that we need to get rid of and all the good things
that we should start doing. So what is the moral of the sermon? First of all we need
to know that this teaching that says that if somebody isn't living a godly life they're
not saved that's a false doctrine. This thing of well we're saved by faith but if you're
not living right you're not saved. No all that is a back door to work salvation. It's
just a thinly veiled work salvation being disguised as well you don't have to do works
to get saved but if you don't do works you're not saved. I mean see how that works? Because
you know we're saying salvation is a by grace through faith not of works lest any man should
boast and they're saying well it's not the works that save you but it's just if you don't
do them you're not saved. I mean isn't that just the same way of saying it? It's six in
one half dozen the other of saying the same exact thing and it's deception to just switch
it around on you and it's the same way of well you don't have to do works to get saved
you just have to do works to stay saved. Or if I look at you and you don't have enough
works I'm just going to say that you never were saved in the first place. You know that
would be as foolish as looking at someone who has down syndrome and saying well you're
not really even human. You were never even born. It doesn't make any sense. You know
and you know we have some there are some spiritually retarded people out there. You know but that
doesn't mean that they're not saved. You know that doesn't mean that they're not of God's
people. You know and there are a lot of people out there who are carnal Christians just like
those Corinthians were. And when we see Christians who their whole life is wrapped up in the
things of this world and what they get excited about is TV and they get all excited about
Hollywood and their life is professional sports and partying and you know and then and they
don't have a big interest in church. That's carnal. But you know what there are people
that are saved that are like that. And there are people who are saved who've always been
like that. And then there are other people who are saved who got on fire for God and
started living for God and then they backslid and became like that. And look I could tell
you so many examples to illustrate these truths that I've seen this in real life. You know
one great example is brother Dave Burzins pastoring up in Prescott Valley Arizona. And
I mean here's a guy who loves the Lord. He's serving God pastoring a church. Independent
fundamental King James. He's out soul winning. He's doing great work for God. But here's
the thing. When he got saved he'll tell you his testimony. He got saved but it was nine
years later that he got baptized and in church and started living for God. And so during
those nine years people who that are messed up on this doctrine they would have looked
at him and said well there he's not saved. He's living the same way he did before he
got saved. But you know what he'll tell you that in his heart during those nine years
he knew he was saved. Because he knew he had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior.
And he'll tell you that he was chastened by God during that time that he wasn't living
for the Lord. And he'll tell you that he felt guilty during that time because of the fact
that you know he was grieved of his sins. He knew what he was doing was wrong. But people
would have looked at that and said he wasn't really saved. Now once he got into Faithful
Word Baptist Church, got baptized, got under the preaching of God's word, there was a dramatic
change in his life. Why? Because now he's putting on the new man. And the new man was
always there. Always in true righteousness and holiness. But he wasn't walking in the
new man. The flesh dominated. Now stop and think about this. Just think about this for
a minute. If a person believes on Jesus, right? Let's say somebody knocks on their
door and gives them the gospel and they believe on Jesus Christ and they don't go to church
and don't read the Bible and they just fill their mind with TV and their old unsaved friends
and partying and whatever. Why in the world would that person ever be walking in the Spirit?
Why are you surprised that they're not walking in the Spirit? I mean think about it. Does
walking in the Spirit just come naturally to you? Is it just automatic for you? Ever
since I got saved, I just roll out of bed. I literally just roll out of bed every morning.
When my alarm goes off, I throw back the covers. This is my story. This is my song. Praising
my Savior all the day long. I read the Bible for a few hours. I pray for a few hours. I
go out soul winning all day. I'm just out preaching and I just live right. I have no
desire to ever sin. Everything I eat is right. Everything I drink is right. What's wrong
with you you're still living in sin? You're not even saved. When I got saved, I never
had any desire to sin again. I live for God 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and it's automatic.
I mean, isn't that just ridiculous? Because you know and I know that every single day
we get out of bed and it's a war. It's a battle. The moment we wake up, there's a battle and
the devil's there to tempt us and the world's there to tempt us and our flesh is saying,
hey, I don't want to read the Bible and I don't feel like going to church and I don't
feel like praying. You just feel that way because you're not saved. No, that is the
flesh talking and you know there are a lot of liars out there that will lie to you. Don't
believe everything you hear. People that tell you, oh yeah, the moment I got saved, I never
desired a cigarette again. You know, I could ask for a raise of hands in here of people
that struggled with cigarettes long after they were saved. I've seen people live for
God and clean up their life majorly and still be smoking and I've seen people who got rid
of a whole bunch of other sin in their life and that was like the one thing that they
really struggled hard with. News flash, it's hard to quit smoking for some people and especially
by the way, it's harder for women than men. Men scientifically have an easier time quitting
smoking than women. So you know, it's a physical addiction but it's just, oh, the moment I
got saved, I never craved another cigarette. You know, I talked to a guy who was a Baptist
pastor and he talked about quitting smoking and here's what he said. You know, the first
three days were the hardest but he said the craving never totally goes away. In fact,
a cigarette sounds pretty good right now, he said. But he hadn't smoked in a decade.
That's real life. That's a preacher getting up and telling you the truth. That will get
up and tell you the truth and say, you know what, sin is always going to be a temptation.
That's why I let him to think that he stand to take heed lest he fall because we all have
the capability to fall back into old ways and especially if you lived a really sinful
life before you got saved. Because you know, some of us, you know, my life before I was
saved, I didn't really hit rock bottom at age six. You know what I mean? I didn't really
hit rock bottom. I was arrested and you know, I was strung out on drugs and I was a drunk
and I'd lost my marriage. I lost my job and you know, you know, I was filled with disease.
No, I was six years old. Okay, so not everybody's had that same experience. But you know, people
who did live a really sinful life and then got saved need to especially be really careful
because once it's easier to go back where you've already been than to go there for the
first time. And you know, this, this teaching that makes people doubt their salvation by
saying, you know, if you still crave cigarettes, you're not really saved. And if you still
find yourself struggling with sin, you're not really safe. And if you commit the same
sin over and over again, you're not really safe. You know what? It's a lie. Yeah, the
ESV teaches that. Well, go, go to ESV preaching churches then. This is a King James Bible
believing Baptist Church and the King James Bible does not teach that. Well, if you make
a practice of, you know, watching whatever or doing whatever or looking at what you're
not safe. No, you know what makes you not saved? That you don't believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. He that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God. But he that believeth is not condemned. Now look,
I'm not saying and again, in this sermon, I'm trying to get one point across only one.
Other sermons have other purposes. My purpose tonight is to get this point across that you
know what, it's possible for people to be saved and yet still continue living in sin.
That's the point I'm trying to get across, you know, so don't misconstrue the sermon
that you know, well, Pastor Anderson got up and said that, you know, it's fine if we keep
sitting. God forbid, God forbid, that's why I have plenty of other sermons where I get
up and tell you don't sin, don't commit sin, don't do sin. But you know what, doctrinally,
the reason we need to fight for this is because we need to fight for the teaching that salvation
is by grace through faith. And it's always been under attack and it always will be under
attack and the devil will repackage this so many different ways. He's, I mean, it's all,
I look at all of it as one thing, work salvation, work salvation, works, workspace, but he'll
package it so many different ways. Well, it's not works, but you can lose it if you don't
do the works. Huh? Shiny new packaging, right? So many different ways. Well, you don't have
to do good things, but you have to stop doing bad things. I mean, look at all, it comes
in all these different packages, but it's all the same thing. You earning your salvation
and it's no longer a free gift. We need to nail down this doctrine and be very secure
on this and firm on this. And also, I hope that tonight's sermon illustrated to you why
it's so important you have the right Bible. You're going to be all over the place doctrinally
if you're in one of these goofball versions, you're not even gonna know what sin is, you
know, let alone what it means to make a practice of continuing sinning. Let's bow our heads
and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for the free gift of salvation.
Eternal life purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. And although those who would scoff
at the truth would call this doctrine cheap grace, we know that cheap grace is what they're
selling. Because our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And if our righteousnesses would
purchase our salvation, then that would truly be cheap grace. But there's nothing cheap
about the blood that was shed on the cross. And so Lord, thank you for that free gift
that priceless gift that unspeakable gift of eternal life that was purchased not cheaply
with our righteousness, but rather with the precious blood of the lamb. And Lord help
us to preach that message unto the lost. Help us to preach to the unsaved and Lord help
us every day to kill the old man and to mortify and put to death the members of our uncleanness
on this earth and in Jesus name we pray. Amen. All right, let's sing one more song before
we go. How many do we have tonight? 125. So that means we have, uh, are we doing ice
cream or just barbecue? Who said, who says that barbecue is enough? Who says we need
ice cream also? All right. You know what? This is the first time our church has ever
voted on anything in the nine years that I've been pastor. All right. It's carried.
The eyes have it. We're having ice cream.