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you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you I am to go to the Savior be He is the true one He is the just one He has the words of life I will pace Him to Him Pace Him so glad and free Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus The word shall not fail you he promised Believe him and all will be well Then go to a world that is dying His perfect salvation to tell Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will prostrately fill In the light of His glory and grace Amen. Wonderful singing. At this time the ushers will come forth to collect the offering. And you can turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter number 2. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Good evening. Tonight we are in 2 Timothy chapter number 2. And the Bible reads, Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou, therefore, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth must first be partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say, and the Lord give the understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was born. Consider what I say, and the Lord give the understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead, according to my gospel. Wherein I suffered trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in the great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts, but allow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who hath taken captive by him at his will. Let's pray. Dear Lord God, we thank you for this church you've given us, Lord. We thank you for the word of God that you've given us, the King James Bible, Lord. We pray that you bless Pastor now as he preaches your word. Fill him with the Spirit, Lord, and pray that we're edified by the preaching, and we take new truths from your word, Lord, and apply them to our lives, Lord. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, we're in 2 Timothy chapter number 2 this evening. Look down at your Bibles in verse 14. It says, Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord, that they strive not about to words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, but shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And the title of my sermon this evening is Reconciling Seeming Dichotomies in the Bible. I want to reconcile some dichotomies, seeming dichotomies in the word of God. Of course, what I'm referring to is the fact that, you know, sometimes when you read the word of God, you're going to see two thoughts that are exclusively opposite one to another. And sometimes people have a hard time reconciling both of these thoughts. And sometimes even atheists and non-believers and people who hate the word of God will often use these dichotomies to try to say there's contradictions in the Bible. How is it that God says this in one area, but he completely shares this opposing thought in another area? It's just contradicting one, you know, itself, and therefore it's not the word of God. This is the kind of claim that they'll make. But you know what? The fact of the matter is, is that the Bible is spiritually understood, right? We have to be saved in order to understand the Bible, to discern the word of God. And the Bible actually tells us here that aside from salvation, we have to study to show ourself, approve them to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. Listen to this, rightly dividing the word of truth. Turn with me if you would to 1 Peter, excuse me, 2 Peter chapter number 1. 2 Peter chapter number 1, I'm going to read to you from 1 Corinthians chapter 2, it says in verse number 12, Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things we also speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth. Listen to this, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. So in order for us to understand the word of God, we have to take the concepts that we don't understand and shed light on them based upon the things that we do understand. We take the clear scriptures and use that to interpret the difficult obscure scriptures in the Bible. That's how we understand the word of God, by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. He goes on to say, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God. So you shouldn't get frustrated or upset or discouraged when you find out that these atheists and agnostics and unsafe people don't understand the Bible. The Bible tells us that they won't understand it. Because they're natural men, they can't understand. They are deficient of the main element that's needed to understand the Bible, which is salvation. He says, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them. Why? Because they are spiritually discerned. You don't need a biblical encyclopedia to understand the word of God. You don't need to know Hebrew and Greek. You don't need some teacher at some university to try to help you divide the word of truth. The Bible says that they are spiritually discerned. You're taught the word of God by men of God, but also by the spirit of God that dwells within you that leads you into all truth. Look at 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 19. This is all introduction here. He says in verse 19, We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, unto the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came down in old time by the will of man, but holy man of God spake as they were removed by the Holy Ghost. This is simply emphasizing the fact that we can't understand the Bible because the Bible is not just some private interpretation. Now, it is private in the sense that God's people understand it, but it's open for anybody to understand if they have access to Jesus Christ and they have access to salvation. And he says there, look, anybody can understand the word of God. Every Christian has access to understanding the deep things of God, to understanding every portion of scripture. Obviously, there's times that it takes years. It takes a lot of study to understand the deep things of God, but it's available to every single person. And the reason I started off with these verses is to let us know and to remind us that when we run into, you know, seeming contradictions in the Bible or seeming dichotomies in the Bible, don't get discouraged. Don't think, oh, man, is there something wrong here? What's going on here? First and foremost, we need to accept the Bible by faith, right? Approach the Bible with faith and saying, I believe every single word that this Bible says, every single concept, every single doctrine. I believe it by faith. And when I run into something that I don't understand, I'm going to believe it anyways. And maybe it's going to take years. Maybe it'll take months. Maybe it'll just take days or maybe just a few minutes to understand this. But I'm going to approach the word of God with faith first. And typically when you approach the word of God with faith first, just believing it, God will open your understanding. He'll open the eyes of your understanding and give you enlightenment of what the word of God is actually trying to say. You know, the Bible is very layered, OK, and it's very deep and it'll take a lifetime to understand it. And the reality is even a lifetime is not enough. OK. And so go to James Chapter 2, if you would, James Chapter 2. This evening I'm going to go through a couple of dichotomies in the Bible and we're going to start off with the most basic one that people have a tendency to attack. OK. And that is James Chapter 2. And it's appalling sometimes. You can teach on this. You can make videos about this. You can mention it in sermons. You can do everything you can to explain what James Chapter 2 means. But there's always going to be people out there. What about faith and works, though? Faith without works is dead being alone. I mean, if I had a dime for every time I've heard that, even within the last month, we'd have a new building. Because, I mean, it's not surprising, obviously, because natural men gravitate towards portions of scriptures like this. Because the natural man, you know, just because of their sin nature, they think they have to partake in their salvation somehow, way or another. They feel like they have to put some effort on their part to be a part of their salvation, that it's not just by Jesus Christ alone. They have to put in their works or repent of their sin or something of that nature in order to be saved. But obviously that's complete opposite of what the Bible actually teaches. Now, they won't take you to John 3.16. They're not going to take you to John Chapter 3, John Chapter 5. They're not going to go to Ephesians Chapter 2. They're not going to go to Romans Chapter 10. They're not going to go to the portions of scripture that clearly tell you how to be saved. They're not going to go to Acts Chapter 16, 30 and 31, because it's too clear. That's too obvious. They want to go to James Chapter 2. So let's talk about first and foremost. And by the way, you say, well, I already know this. Why are you teaching this? Well, you know, it's important to relearn certain things and reemphasize certain things. And there could be someone here that, you know, believes that there's no works involved in salvation, but they still have a hard time explaining and interpreting James Chapter 2. And as our church grows, we're going to get more people like that. And so it's important to cover it. So the dichotomy of faith and works. First and foremost, I want you to notice all the way down in verse 24. Actually, no, I'm sorry. Go down to, let's start in verse 14, actually. We're going to read almost the entire chapter here, OK? First and foremost, let me just say this, is that James 2 has nothing to do with salvation. And I'm talking about the salvation of the soul. And here's what most people make the mistake. They make the mistake of thinking that every time the Bible talks about salvation, or every time the Bible talks about, you know, being delivered or being redeemed, that it's automatically referring to the justification of the soul. That's the mistake they make, number one, because the entire Bible is not all about salvation. Now, that is the prime message of the Bible, because Jesus Christ is the prime person of the Bible, and he brings salvation to this world. But, folks, there's 66 books in the Bible, and not everything is talking about salvation. There's other things in the Bible, and you know what? God has every right to use salvation in different contexts, and in different ways, and different stories, and not be referring to the justification of the soul. Give me an example. We're right here. Now, look at James 2, verse 14. He says in verse 14, What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works, can faith save him? Now, automatically, people think, well, there you go. Can faith save him? Well, first and foremost, who is he talking about when he says, can faith save him? It's not referring to the person who has faith, okay? Who's it referring to? The recipient of that man's faith. Look what it says in verse 15. If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding he give not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? So, we need to tie that into verse 14, where it says, what doth it profit? Who is it referring to? The person, the recipient of the individual who is naked and destitute of food. How is it going to profit them if you have faith but you don't have works? That's what it's saying. Verse 17, even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being nonexistent. Is that what it says? It says being alone. So, if something is alone, it means it's there. That's the reason why it's alone. If something did not exist or was never there to begin with, it wouldn't use the term alone. Alone means there's something there that does not have something pairing it. You understand? It's not accompanied with anything. Meaning there's something present, but there's nothing on the left hand nor on the right to accompany it. You understand? So, when he says there, even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Well, in order for something to be dead, it means it was alive at one time. You understand? For example, babies, according to the Bible, Romans chapter 7, they're born alive, folks. Spiritually speaking. They're actually born with the living spirit. How do you know that? Because Romans chapter 7 says that they're slain by the law. And in fact, the apostle Paul said, I was alive once before the law came. The law came and I was slain and he died. Why? Because the law helps us to recognize that we fall short of God's glory. We fall short of his standard and thereby we need a savior. Okay? So here it says, even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Doesn't say it's non-existent. We wouldn't say, if we were to attend a funeral of some sort and look at a person, we would not say, oh, this person does not exist. We would say this person existed at one point and was alive at one point, but now they are dead. But we would not say the body is not really there. You understand? Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works and I will show thee my faith by my works. So again, he's saying, you have faith, the other person has works. He says, show me thy faith without thy works and I will show thee my faith by my works. And look, the point that this is driving is the fact that people can say they have faith, but if you're not exercising your faith, it's not going to profit anybody else. It's not going to profit your brethren who's naked and destitute of daily food. It's not going to profit the people who need the gospel out there. If you're not exercising your faith and putting it into action, it's not going to profit anybody in this world. In order for it to be profitable, in order for it to be alive, you have to put it into practice. Thou believeth that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. Oh man, if I had another dime for every time I heard this. The devils believe, right? They'll tell you that one day. And this is my response, yeah but devils can't get saved, so what's the point? What are you trying to drive at? Devils can't be saved. What this is saying is that devils have the knowledge of the Bible and that they tremble. He's saying mental knowledge of God's word doesn't save anybody outside of you, you understand? You know we know God's word, we know what the Bible says about salvation, that's how we came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But us having the knowledge of salvation saves no one else unless we actually tell them about it, you understand? Unless we open our mouths boldly to make known the mysteries of the gospel. So when it says, you know, when it says there, thou believeth that there is one God, thou doest well, the devils also believe and tremble, it's basically saying just having a knowledge of anything doesn't help anybody else. Verse 20, But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Now here is the key verse to understanding this portion of scripture probably more than anything else in this chapter. Verse 21, Was not Abraham our father justified by works? Oh man, checkmate, he was justified by works. But here's the problem with people who quote the scripture, they know jack squat about the timeline of Abraham's life. Because it says there, When he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar, which by the way came before Genesis 15 and Genesis 12 where he believed God and was counted unto him for righteousness. So people want to always cut these verses in half, the devils believe and tremble. Yeah, but faith without works is dead. Yeah, being alone. Yeah, Abraham was justified by works. Yeah, when he offered Isaac upon the altar. So why don't you actually quote the entire verse? Why don't we look at the entire chapter? I'll tell you why. Because people like to cherry pick. This is a classic example of people cherry picking, not just the Bible, cherry picking parts of verses. So yeah, Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar. Now the question is this, who was he justified before? Well, in the context of the passage, it's referring to other people. So he was justified before other people because of his works. Because people can't see our heart. I mean these people who love to talk about faith and works and you have to have both, they're always talking about, you don't know my heart. Oh yeah, you're right. And you don't know mine either. Right? So therefore I have to do works to show you that I'm a safe person, that I'm a Christian. Now if I don't do those works, I just have a dead faith and I'm not being a testimony of Jesus Christ. I have a bad testimony if I don't have works, right? So it's important for us to exercise our faith and do works because God says, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your what? Good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Folks, the Bible says we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. Over and over, you know, it tells us to maintain good works, to do works, but it's never in conjunction with salvation. It's always something that happens after salvation to be justified before the world because the world cannot see our hearts. Okay? They can only see the works that we do. Verse 22, Seeest thou how faith wrought with his works and by works was man made perfect? Now let me ask you this, is there anybody in this world that is sinless? No. Here it says that faith coupled with his works is made perfect. Now perfect does not mean sinless. Perfect means complete. So in order for us to be complete Christians, God expects us to do works after salvation. If you choose not to do works, it has nothing to do with your salvation, but you are an incomplete Christian. Because the Bible tells us if any man come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me. Deny himself to take up his cross and follow me. Now not everyone who believed on Jesus Christ in the gospels took up their cross and followed the Lord. They are very much incomplete. So in order to be a complete Christian, a mature Christian, you have to add works to your faith, not for salvation, but to profit this world. To be a profitable Christian, you have to do works. Verse 23, And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he was called a friend of God. You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Now go to Romans chapter number four, because here's another thing that people fail to do when they use the scripture. Remember we read in the beginning, rightly divide the word of truth. Right? What does that mean? This is why your King James Bible should have a little tassel in it every once in a while. It helps you to divide the word of truth. You get one scripture, you get a little bookmark, get a little pen, you put one in James chapter two, and you flip it over to Romans chapter four, and you put a bookmark there, and you compare scripture with scripture. You don't just take James chapter two and base all of your doctrine off of the book of James. You're missing 65 other books, buddy. Look at Romans four verse one. What shall we say then that Abraham, oh there goes Abraham again. Okay, alright. What shall we say then that Abraham our father is pertaining to the flesh hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. So he says, look, if Abraham was justified by works, he can boast and he can glory, but not before God. Why? Because no flesh can glory in his presence. The Bible says that if any man glory, let him glory in the what? Cross. Let him glory in the cross, let him glory in the Lord, let him glory in the fact that they're saved by grace through faith. How is somebody, this is why the Bible says, not of works lest any man should boast. That's what the Bible says, right? For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. Because if your works justified you in the eyes of God, you have room to glory in his presence. Because when you get to heaven you can say, I got myself here. I played a part in my salvation. But no, we glory in the Lord. Because he's the one that God is there, not us. It's prideful, arrogant, and pompous to say that you did something to earn your salvation. He says he has whereof to glory but not before God. So if he has whereof to glory but not before God, he's glorying before man because of his works. He says here in verse 3, for what sayeth the scripture? Now that's a question that a lot of these people need to ask themselves. I just think you have to do works. Okay, but what sayeth the scripture though? Well I just think that, you know, I think it's arrogant to say that you're just saved by believing in Jesus Christ. I get what you're saying but I don't get what you're saying. But what sayeth the scripture? Forget your opinion. Forget your interpretation. Forget your Bible of the month and your false prophet teacher that you have teaching you God's word. You know, what sayeth the scripture my friends? Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now let me ask you something. Is this a contradiction in the Bible? No. How do we reconcile this seeming dichotomy of the fact that Abraham was justified by works in James 2 but he was justified by faith in Romans 4? This is how we reconcile it. One is talking about salvation in Romans 4 and one is talking about the salvation of a brother or sister because they're naked and destitute of daily food. That's what it's referring to. But here's the thing, the people who only want to cling on to James chapter 2, are they saying that Romans 4 is not inspired? Are they saying that that's not God's word, that it has no authority? Why is it that they always want to cling on to the portions of scripture that may seem to indicate that you have to do works but they never want to compare it to other clear scriptures? Folks, we love all the Bible. All scripture is given by inspiration of God's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, instruction, and righteousness. What we have to do is compare scripture with scripture and say let's reconcile James 2 and Romans 4. And look, when people say, oh look, he didn't even mention James chapter 2. What about faith and works? No, we love James 2. I could talk about James 2 all day long because it's God's word. He says here that Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. By the way, Abraham was in the Old Testament. And that means that faith, salvation was by faith in the Old Testament. That's to those dispensationalists out there who want to claim that there's different ways of getting saved throughout biblical history. Look at verse 4. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. Verse 5, beautiful verse. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Show me faith alone in the Bible. There's no faith alone in the Bible. His faith is counted for righteousness. I know you want me to pull out a verse that says you're saved by faith alone but I didn't write the Bible. So God is the author of the Bible. He can word things however he wants. And our summation of Romans 4 verse 5 is that you're saved by faith alone. Because he doesn't say his faith and his work is counted for righteousness. He just says his faith is counted for righteousness. Verse 6, even as David, oh another Old Testament character. Also describe it the blessedness of the man unto whom God impudeth righteousness without works. What does it mean to impute? He puts it to his account. Saying blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven. Forgiven is a past tense term there. Whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Future tense. And here's the thing, people have this misconception that salvation requires for you to confess your sins every single day to be saved. Folks, it requires for you to believe on Jesus Christ so you can receive the forgiveness of all your sins. To receive the forgiveness of the totality of your sins you have to believe on Jesus Christ. Go with me if you would to Romans chapter 3. So no, sorry, you're not saved by works. You're not justified, your spirit is not justified by works. Now it's justified by the work of Christ, but not your works. Are you saying we don't have to keep the law? Yeah, because you can put works and put everything else under that category that requires your effort for salvation. Look what the Bible says in Romans 3 verse 19, this is another crowd. No, you have to keep the law of God. You've got to keep the Ten Commandments. You've got to obey the law in order to be saved, but they've never kept the law perfectly to be saved. I guarantee you the vast majority of people who say that don't even know what the law sayeth. They want to say Ten Commandments all day but not recognize that there's hundreds of commandments. Look at Romans 3 verse 19, Now we know that what thing soever the law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may be justified before God. You know the law is given so you can be justified before God. That every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. But apparently there's just this one exception to the rule, isn't there? The people who actually keep God's laws and they're observing the Sabbath, they're doing all these things that the Old Testament requires for them to do. No folks, it says no flesh shall be justified in his sight by the deeds of the law. Listen to this, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. And the salvation of the soul. So according to this verse, what was the purpose of the law? The purpose of the law was to show you that you needed a savior. It's to show you that you are a sinner, that you fall short of God's standard of perfection. Right? Because when it says thou shall not bear false witness, I mean that's a pretty high standard. Because everyone in this world has told a lie. Born false witness against another person or told a lie, they've all done it. And the person who says they've never done that, well, welcome to the club now. Because you just did. The Bible says by the law is the knowledge of sin. This is why the law of God is written in our hearts. Because we know what is wrong and you know what? We do what is wrong in spite of the fact that we know that it's wrong. Look at verse 28, if that's not enough. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. No, you need the law. No, you need to read the Bible. You need to read verse 28. That you're justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Go to Galatians chapter number 3, Galatians chapter 3. We're reconciling seeming dichotomies in the Bible. I believe that you have to have faith in order to be saved. And I believe you have to have works after salvation. But you don't have to have them both to be saved. Because if you try to put both together, you actually can't be saved. According to Romans chapter 11 verse 6. It's exclusively by faith for salvation. And God requires, well, you know, some people will say, well, that's what we mean. We're just saying that you have to have some works. You should desire, okay, that's fine. If that's what you want to believe, that's fine. But don't use this wording that if someone doesn't have works, then that means they're not saved. Because at that point, if you're saying you need works to validate your salvation before God, you're adding works to salvation at that point. Look what the Bible says in Galatians chapter 3 verse 20. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily, righteousness should have been by the law. What is he saying? Do you think God made a mistake here? If righteousness, salvation, justification could have given you eternal life, then there should have been righteousness by the law. The Bible should have told us to keep the law in order to have salvation. Righteousness should, why even change anything then from the Old and New Testament? If the law saves people in the Old Testament, why change anything in the New Testament? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But you know what? Because it was never meant to save anybody. Look at verse 22. But the scripture has concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Not that do good works. Verse 22, verse 23. But before faith came we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. Too many people in this world place an emphasis on the law and not enough on Christ. They want to follow the law not recognizing that the law was simply a teacher to show you that you needed Jesus. Looking at the law should bring you to the foot of the cross. Looking at the commandments should show you I can't keep all this, in fact I already broke them all today. And then the word of God tells you yeah well there's someone who already kept all those commandments for you. Jesus did. Well I thought I was supposed to be like a good person. Well no actually the Bible says that your righteousness are as filthy rags. I thought I was righteous. Oh no no the Bible says there's none righteous known on one. Yeah but I do good. Well there's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. Let's say it's the scripture. Let's say it's the scripture. So what do I do then? Well that means if you can't get into heaven by your own righteousness that means you need someone else's righteousness who's perfect. And there's only one who qualifies and that's Jesus Christ. That's why the Bible says that it has to be imputed unto us, it has to be given to us. That's why the Bible refers to salvation as a gift. Because we don't earn the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We ask for it and he based upon his grace and mercy gives it to us because we believe on him. It's beautiful. I get upset you know when these people want to say oh yeah you're not saved because you don't have works. Well let's say it's the scripture. Romans 8 33 says who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Thank God that I don't have to go according to your standard to be saved. Thank God that it's God that justifieth. You want to lay that to my charge and lay anything to the charge of God's elect but at the end of the day it's God who justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yea rather that is risen again. Who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercessions for us. So these false prophets and these fake Christians out there who want to condemn people for not having works for salvation. Well you didn't die for me. You didn't resurrect for me. So your opinion is but done. Because it's God that justifieth. Go to Hebrews chapter 2. We're talking about reconciling seeming dichotomies in the Bible. And the reconciliation of this dichotomy is that we're saved by faith alone. In Christ alone plus nothing minus nothing. Do you need works for salvation? No. Should you have works after salvation? Yes. To prove that you are saved before God? No. To profit others in this world? Yes. To earn a reward when you get to heaven? Yes. If you don't have works are you still saved? Yes. And the problem with a lot of churches today is they want to kind of blend both of those together. They put salvation a little too close to doing service for God. And then you get a bunch of Christians in these churches who can't seem to separate the two. They turn them into like Siamese twins or something. Like a spiritual Siamese twin where they just kind of go hand in hand. They don't go hand in hand for salvation. Salvation is a complete different issue that has nothing to do with your works. Let's talk about the dichotomy of the humanity of Jesus Christ. We're going to switch gears here. The dichotomy of the humanity of Jesus Christ. Now what am I referring to? Well we know according to the Bible that Jesus Christ is 100% God but he's also 100% man. And that is somewhat of a dichotomy is it not? Right. Because you think to yourself well man is sinful. Yeah but Jesus Christ is not. But he's still 100% man even though he's 100% God. The Bible tells us in John chapter 1 and verse number 1 it talks about that the word of God was made flesh. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. And it talks about how he created all things and it validates his deity. By stating that he is the creator. That's why John 1 begins with in the beginning just as Genesis 1,1 begins with in the beginning. Signifying that he is the creator from the beginning. The word of God was made flesh. Now let's reconcile this because people want to say well how can this be him being 100% God, 100% man, if man is sinful how can this be? He's made of a woman the Bible says how can it be that he's 100% God, 100% man? Well let's read a couple of verses here. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14 says here For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself had suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. Turn with me if you would to Romans chapter number 8, Romans chapter number 8. I'm going to stay in the book of Hebrews, I'm going to read to you from chapter 5 and verse number 5. It says, So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art my son today, have I begotten thee. As saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cryings and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard and that he feared, though he were a son, listen to this, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. So let me explain a couple things here. Jesus Christ is God himself from eternity past, he is the eternal son of God according to the Bible. But the Bible says that when he was made flesh he actually had to learn obedience. That doesn't mean that he was disobedient, it just means he had to learn obedience by the things that he allowed. So when he became flesh, when he became a physical man in this world, he subjected himself to the limitations of mankind. This is why throughout the Gospels you see him getting hungry, he gets tired, he's not teleporting places, he kind of forfeited certain qualities, omniscient qualities of the Godhead in order to be likened to man. Why is that? Because the Bible tells us that he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. We have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, the Bible says. So he was made likened to man to suffer like man because he wanted to be acquainted with our griefs and our sorrows. This is why the Bible also says that Jesus wept. When Lazarus died, the Bible tells us that Jesus wept. Now it's not because Lazarus went to hell, it's not because he wasn't going to be able to resurrect him in the last days, he wept for him because he missed him. He wept for him because he loved Lazarus. So he subjected himself to the emotions of man as well. So a side note here, when you are in despair and you're just crying yourself to sleep, you're going through a difficult time, don't think that God doesn't know what you're feeling or what you're going through. Because Jesus Christ himself went through those nights as well. Jesus wept my friends. He was touched with your infirmities. He knows what it's like to be rejected. He knows what it's like to feel pain and emotional sorrow and anguish of his soul. He knows how that feels like and so he is acquainted with your grief. Why? Because he was 100% man. And the Bible says that he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. And when you read the gospels you see that Jesus Christ, the Bible says that he grew in stature and in wisdom and in favor with God and man. So even though he was God right off the bat, he had to actually learn these things. And it's actually a pretty interesting concept if you think about it. I've had this conversation with my wife many times where it's like what was the moment that Jesus Christ actually knew like I'm God? Because he had to actually come to that knowledge at some point or another in his physical growth as a human being. And obviously he had to come either at the age of 12 or before that because at the age of 12 he was kind of going back and forth with the doctors and the Pharisees and the lawyers there. But there had to come a point where he had to know like I'm God. So he subjected himself to the growth of man, the responsibility of growing in wisdom and growing in favor with God and man because he was 100% man even though he was 100% God. He had to learn obedience by the things which he suffered. And it goes on to say in being made perfect he became the author of eternal salvation unto them that obey him. Look at Romans chapter 8. So here's the thing is that when the Bible talks about the flesh, it often has this negative connotation does it not? We automatically associate the flesh with what? Sin, corruption, that which is wicked. You know we often think of the flesh lusteth against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh. These are contrary to one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would. So we often associate the flesh with that which is sinful and wicked and bad and you know the Bible tells us that flesh and blush shall not inherit the kingdom of God, right? So how is it that Jesus Christ can take on this flesh and still be 100% God? I mean has anybody ever thought of that or it's just my thinking here? I've always thought like how is it that he can take on the mortal clothing of man so to speak known as the flesh and still retain his deity as God? Be 100% man, 100% God. Well look at what the Bible says in Romans 8 and verse number 1 it says There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. So the first thing I want to point out is the fact that the Bible tells us that he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. Now every single flesh that you've ever seen, every single human being that you've ever looked upon is sinful flesh. We've actually never seen an adult that is not sinful, right? Now let me take that back because children are in a sense innocent and in a sense they are sinless because of the fact they haven't been slain by the law. But here he says that he took on the likeness of sinful flesh. Now what is this referring to? Well the physical flesh of our body is not inherently sinful. This thing we call the flesh, the members of our body, there's not anything innately sinful about it. It becomes sinful because of our sin nature when we're slain by the law. Like for example, you have Adam and Eve, right? When they were created they were perfect. When Adam and Eve were created they were perfect, when they fell they became sinners. Now did their bodies go through some sort of, it's like alright give me that body back, let me give you something more corrupt than this. No they retained their same body. But now that body is subject to the influence of their sin nature. Because the members of our body carry out the sinfulness of our sin nature. This is why Romans chapter 6 tells us, Likewise, reckon yourselves also to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves as instruments of righteousness unto God, the Bible tells us. So it's telling us that we shouldn't yield our physical members unto the desires of the flesh and of the mind, okay? Well a child is born innocent in this world until they're slain by the law. And at that point their physical bodies are subject to the influence of their sin nature. I know we're going deep today, tonight, but you got yourself a practical sermon this morning, okay? You're inspired for the rest of the week and all that, alright? Now we're going to discuss the boring things of God that I like to talk about, okay? Just kidding. I don't think it's boring. So when it says that he's made in the likeness of sinful flesh, he wasn't made with sinful flesh, he just made in the likeness of it. So just as a child, as he grows, he's innocent, but then he commits sin, takes on a sin nature, his spirit dies, and now his body is subject to the influence of a sin nature. Well Jesus Christ on the other hand never broke God's law. And because he never broke God's law, because what? He's 100% God. Therefore his flesh was never subject unto any type of sin nature because he has no sin nature. You understand? And so the reason he can be 100% God, 100% man is because he kept all of God's laws perfectly. Now let's think about this concept here, because the Bible tells us that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God. We understand that, right? Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God. We often talk about that when discussing the resurrection. We talk about that when discussing the fight between the flesh and the spirit. And people often bring up that they which commit such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And we'll reference 1 Corinthians 15, 50, flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Now it's kind of like playing with this thought here, and I was just thinking about some things. Because think about Jesus Christ taking on the likeness of sinful flesh, but he's not a sinner because he's kept God's laws perfectly. But what about like Elijah and Enoch? Because Elijah and Enoch are both in heaven and they never died. Elijah and Enoch, Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind and chariots of fire, first class. He got the red carpet, right? I mean that's a way to go right there. But you know what? To this day, he's in heaven in his body that he had when he was here on this earth. And the same thing with Enoch, because they didn't die. The Bible tells us of Enoch that he was translated that he should not see death. So now you see the dichotomy here. Oh yeah, what's up with that? I never thought about that. How can that be? If flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God, how is it that someone like Elijah and Enoch are in heaven even though they still retain their physical bodies? You know, how can that be? Well let me give you the answer, and this is not a deep answer at all. 1 Corinthians 15 50 says this, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Now what is that saying? It's saying your corruptible body doesn't naturally just become incorruption. So the flesh, the blood is what gives life to your body, but your blood is not going to be able to make you live forever. This is why it's corruptible. It'll one day die. You understand? Now first before I even get into that, let me just say this, because people have this misconception of heaven where it's just like, well nothing dirty goes into heaven. Right? Haven't you heard that before? Nothing unclean goes into heaven. Well, that's not necessarily true. So what? Yeah, because Satan goes there all the time. Devils are there accusing us before the brethren all the time. Right? What the Bible actually says is that no man may see the face of the Father and live. That's what it actually says. So what about flesh and blood not inherit the kingdom of God? What that's referring to is the fact that your flesh and your blood can't make you live forever. Because the corruptible body cannot transform into incorruption. Therefore when you get saved, you will be redeemed later because God needs to give you a body that can actually live forever. Well that still doesn't answer the fact that flesh and blood should not inherit the kingdom of God and you have Elijah and Enoch in heaven. How does that work? Well here's the thing. Did you know you could be in the presence of God without actually looking at his face? Let me give you an example. Moses was the closest that probably any human being in history has ever been to God. And he still didn't see his face. Why? Because if he did, he would die. So just because people are in heaven doesn't mean they're beholding the face of the Father as of yet. They're in his presence. They're in heaven. But it doesn't mean that they're in the presence of God as of yet. So when it says that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God, it's referring to the fact that your flesh and your blood cannot extend your warranty. It's not going to extend your life. You're not going to transition into eternal life. It doesn't matter how healthy you eat or how much exercise you do. That's why the incorruptible body is powered, not by the blood, but what? The Spirit. Because it is the Spirit that quickened the flesh. Listen to this. The prophet is nothing, the Bible says. Does that make sense to everyone? See I told you it was simple. I was talking to some of the people before church and they thought I was going to give them some really deep answer. I was like no, it's just really simple. And so that's why Elijah and Enoch are in heaven right now. Now you say well, couldn't it just make more sense that Elijah and Enoch just already have their resurrected bodies? No, couldn't. It's impossible for them to have their resurrected bodies. Do you know why? Because Jesus Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection. And because he's the first fruits of the resurrection, that means he's the first person to receive a glorified body. And the Bible says that he's the first fruits then they that are his at his coming. No one gets a free early ticket to their glorified body before the rapture takes place. Everyone receives their raptured glorified body at the rapture. The dead in Christ shall rise first and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds. In the twinkling of an eye we shall all be changed and transform and receive our glorified bodies. He said well that doesn't explain Elijah then. Well Elijah is going to die one day. Because according to biblical prophecy it seems as though he's going to come back to this earth as one of the two witnesses along with Moses and he's going to physically die. So actually Moses and Elijah, listen to this, are the first legitimate time travelers. Anybody want to argue that? I mean it's true. They were here thousands of years ago and they're literally going to be transported to the future. And then they'll die. And it's at that point that they will receive their resurrected bodies. And in fact, I actually made a doctrinal mistake there. There's actually 146,000 people who are time travelers. Because you have the 144,000 as well. Right? You have the 144,000 who come to this earth in Revelation chapter 7 and then they get their resurrected bodies. Later you say well how do you know they get their resurrected bodies later? Well because they have to receive a mark so that they're not hurt by the locusts that are led by Apollyon. Well if you had your glorified body you would not need a mark. This is boring to you. Okay. Anyways. Back to the sermon. Go to Luke chapter 14. I'm joking about the time traveling thing. Okay? Sort of. What I'm saying is that there's people who've lived in the past who aren't going to be there in the future. You have Elijah, you have Enoch, you have, well Enoch's not going to be there, but Elijah and Moses. You have John who wrote the book of Revelation who got to see the future and then you have the 144,000. All right. Whatever. Anyways. Luke chapter 14. So the economy of the humanity of Christ is simply this. Jesus Christ is 100% God. He's 100% man because of the fact that he never broke God's law at all. He fulfilled all the law and the prophets. Therefore his spirit was never slain. He retained the innocency and the righteousness and his justice because, you know, he never sinned. And the Bible says that he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. Okay. Now let's look at another dichotomy here before we finish up. This will be probably the last one. I had some other ones that I have to go through but we'll run out of time because I'm talking about time traveling. The dichotomy of hating father and mother. Look at verse 26. If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Now what is the dichotomy here? Well, I thought we were supposed to honor our father and mother. I thought we were supposed to love our father and mother. Here it's saying if I don't hate my father and mother and, you know, my wife and my children, my brother and my sisters, my own life also, I can't be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Now the danger with some people is that they don't know the Bible and so sometimes what they'll do is they'll pervert the scriptures and say, you know, they don't get along with their parents. They'll use something like this to try to justify their hatred for their parents. It's out there. Well I'm supposed to hate my parents because it says it right here. Well rightly divide the word of truth. Turn with me if you would to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. The Bible does say, honor thy father and thy mother that the days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20 verse 12. So what is up with that portion of scripture? How do we reconcile the fact that he tells us to honor our parents but it also says that we, you know, if we don't hate them, we can't be a disciple. Well here's a secondary application to that, okay. I do believe that this can be applied to if your parents are just full blown reprobates. Because, you know, people have this loyalty to their parents and they have a hard time coming to grips where they would have to disassociate with someone who's like a pervert, pedophile, reprobate, even though the Bible says it. And at that point they have to choose between God and their parents. But that's very rare, okay. It doesn't happen very often. The main interpretation of this is simply this. Our loyalty to Jesus Christ can almost seem like a hatred for everyone else. And sometimes family members, parents, friends could almost think like you hate me or something because you never want to be around me anymore. But here's the thing, it's not that we hate them because we love them, it's that we love Jesus that much the more. And so our love for Christ can almost seem as though we're turning our backs on everyone else, which is exactly what we're doing. But let's compare scripture with scripture because we have to rightly divide the word of truth. It says in verse 36, or let's read from verse 34 of Matthew 10. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace but a sword. For I am come to set a man of variance against his father, the daughter against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. So when we're to compare these scriptures together, it's basically saying where does your loyalty lie? Who do you love more? Now thankfully, most of the time we don't have to choose between our parents and the Lord. Because sometimes their parents either follow us or we still maintain a good relationship with them. But he's basically saying in order to be worthy of me, you have to love me more than anybody, not just your parents. More than your children, more than your husband, more than your wife, more than your brethren, more than your sisters. Your love for me should be greater than any love that you share with any individual in this world. Like man, that seems kind of like a lot. Yeah, that's what he wants. That's what he wants. Jesus wants you to love him more than any human being in this world. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. I want to be worthy of Jesus. Jesus says, okay, you got to love me more than anybody else. He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me, the Bible says. Now again, we're not all going to be faced with the decision to choose. Because, you know, maybe some of you in here, you have your families in here. I'm thinking, well, I don't have to choose between Jesus and my wife. My wife's here. Jesus and my sons and my daughters, because they're here. They're following me as I follow Christ. But you know, that's not the case for everyone. Sometimes people do have to choose. And when you love Jesus more than you love anybody else, everybody else is going to think, it's not because you love Jesus, it's because you hate me. Because if you love me, you'd be with me. If you love me, you'd spend time with me. You know, you wouldn't be at church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Thursday night, going to all these so many things and all these activities. It's like you live at the church or something. You're always doing the church thing. We never hang out anymore. We don't go to the bars anymore. We don't go clubbing anymore. We don't go play bingo anymore. I don't know what people do. We don't go golfing anymore. We don't do anything anymore. Well, it's because I love the Lord, but you can, hey, if you really love me that much though, if you really want to be around me that much, why don't you come with me to church? And that happens. I remember when I first got saved, I had a meeting with all my friends. I have this thing for meetings. It's just easier to kind of just get it all out there all at once. We went to Norm's. Oh no, it wasn't Norm's. It was Spire's. I don't even know if Spire's exists anymore. We went to Spire's and I told them, actually you guys were there when I came back. I told Albert and Susie, I was like, I just got rid of all my friends. But I told them, I said, we had a meeting and I'd gotten saved and I'd gotten baptized and I started serving God. And I said, I can't hang out with you guys anymore unless you come with me to church. I said, because I want to serve God now and one day I want to be a pastor and I want to read the Bible. And you know, I really love my church and I feel like this is where the truth's at. And I told them, I was like, why don't you guys just follow me to this thing called Christianity? I said, you know, you followed me when we did jiu-jitsu. You followed me when we did kickboxing. You followed me when we did all these things. What about this? And they told me, they're like, we can't follow you to that. They're like, but we still want to be your friend. We still want to hang out. And I said, if you want to hang out with me, you got to do it on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Thursday night. Because that's where you'll find me. And you know, they came to church. Some of them got saved. A lot of people got saved and they came for a little bit, but after a while they just started kind of disappearing and fading away. And after a while, it was just me. And the life that I had before with all my friends, they just completely disappeared. Though no one joined me, still I will follow though. And it kind of showed me, like, I came into Christianity with like no one with me. I had no one with me. But you know what the Bible says? If you love me, if you love me. And you know, my friends took it like, you hate us or something. Like, why do you hate us so much? I thought we were homies. We're like brothers. And you know, I'll be honest with you, I was a little bit heartbroken. I remember I came back to church because there was something going on on that Friday. And Brother Albert was there. Missouzi was there. And I told them, like, man, I just kind of broke it off with my friends. And I know I probably will never see them again. Like, that was like the only family that I had. And I was just kind of pouring out my heart, but it was like a new chapter for me in my life because I understood, like, God wants my loyalty. He wants my loyalty. He wants my love. And you know what? I love my friends, but I love the Lord more. And thankfully some of them got saved, but you know, this is just the way it is. And so the dichotomy is not, hey, just make it your agenda to just hate everyone in this world who's not going to follow you. It's just like, oh, you're not coming to church? I hate you. I hate you, Mom. Oh, you're not going to support me, Mom? I hate you. Don't be a little brat. What this means is your love for Christ should almost seem like a rejection for everyone else sometimes. And it's not something you have to actually flesh out with your words. It's just with your life it seems that way. And this is more often than not, that's what they tell you. It just almost seems like you don't like us anymore. And when they say that, just mark it down, it's an indicator that you have a love for Christ. The dichotomy of hating mother and father and sisters and brothers. I'm going to stop there. So what we looked at this evening is simply things that people would want to rub in our faces and say, oh, you know, look at all these contradictions in the Bible. But the reality is this, they don't know the Bible. They pick and choose little portions of the Bible here and there, but the Bible has to be read completely. It needs to be compared entirely to understand the thoughts that God is driving home here. Amen? And look, God is not interested, let me just say this, God is not interested in justifying himself to this world. He's not interested in giving the atheist, oh, I'm so sorry, do you feel that way? What I really meant was this. What he wants, though, is his people to know what he meant. That's what he wants. Because people out there have to accept this by faith. I'm not going to pull out some archaeological discovery to prove to you that the Bible is God's word. We have to accept it by faith. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the Bible and how deep it is, Lord. We're so thankful that it's so exhaustive and there's so many ideas, thoughts and precepts and statutes, Lord. And we're so thankful that you never leave us in obscurity regarding the important things in the Bible. We understand that everything is important, but some things are more important than others such as salvation. Salvation is not an obscure subject in the Bible. We can go to passages that are clearly written out for us to let us know what the truth really is so that we are not confused, those of us who love the truth and are seeking for the truth. And I pray, God, that you'd help us to continue to open the eyes of our understanding. Bless us as we go on our way. In Jesus' name, amen. Please turn to your song books. It's song number 135. Song number 135 is our last song, I Know I Am Saved. Song number 135. It's only one verse, so we'll sing it twice over, all together on that first verse. I know I am saved, for Christ set me free. He ransomed my poor soul on the cross of Calvary. And now I can sing, for Christ is my King. I'll see His face in glory by and by. I know I am saved, for Christ set me free. He ransomed my poor soul on the cross of Calvary. And now I can sing, for Christ is my King. I'll see His face in glory by and by. Amen. Wonderful singing. You are dismissed.