Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Equipping the Bride Podcast. I'm your host Jason DeMars, and thank you for listening in. It's my calling and my desire to teach the message rightly dividing the word of truth in order to equip the bride to live the very life of Christ by the Holy Ghost. You can direct any questions, prayer requests or testimonies to me@jasondemars.com. Get free resources and materials shipped to your home as well. I pray you'll be equipped by the word today.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Good morning everyone. May the Lord richly bless you. Thank you so much for tuning in, I'm sure appreciate that. And this morning I'm going to be speaking about, uh, understanding the gospel. So what we're looking at with understanding the gospel is in our day and age, I think many times what the gospel is, is lost on the world and a, a good real understanding is not there. So just remind everybody, if you're listening on YouTube, make sure to subscribe and click the little bell to get notified when I go live. And also, if you're on Facebook, make sure to like and share and comment. If you're listening in, send your greetings. I'd like to greet you at a couple different junctures of this video. So we have a few saying good morning, um, brother Kenny and Sister Janelle. Good morning and God bless you Sister Chantel. Good morning and God bless you. Um, brother Louie, God bless you, uh, pastor Vara, God bless you. Thank you all for listening in. And so we'll get right into our subject. What does the Bible, what status does the Bible say that we're born with? What position are we in with God? Romans chapter three, let's read verses nine through 23 and comment on that. What then, are we better than they? No in no whys for we have before approved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Jews are no exception to that just because they have a, a special status as the chosen people of God. They're actually no better than the Gentiles. They are also under sin. As the apostle writes that, what does he mean by they're all under sin? Well, he's gonna enumerate on that. He has enumerated on that up to this point. But he is going to further enumerate on that chapter. Half of chapter one is examining how Gentiles are under sin. Chapter two, uh, and portions of chapter three is showing how the Jews are under sin. So now he's really bringing it to its head. And what is, what is, what is that implication to us as it is written and how he's gonna refer to scripture? This is a combination of the Psalms. There is none righteous, no, not one. So there we start, there, there is no human being born of a woman that is righteous. No, not one. Jesus of course is the exception. He is virgin born son of God. But outside of him, there is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that understands. There is none that seeks after God.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
None. Let that sink in. Now you people say, well, someone could live a good life. Someone could, uh, by, by by observing nature, come to faith in God. Certainly people live a good life. Certainly people come to believe in something about God. So then why does Paul say there is none that understands? There's none that seeks after God because there's none that do. There's none that truly understand who God is. There is none that seeks after God. It will talk about this later. But with the nature that we're born with, we will not see, seek and find the true and living God. We'll find many gods of our own imagination. But the true and living God will never be found by a person. He finds us again. We'll speak more about this.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
12. They're all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that do with good. No, not one. So in God's sight, no one does good, no one understands and no one truly seeks them. Their throat is an open seker with their tongues. They have used deceit. The poison of ass is under their lips whose mouth verse 14 is full of cursing and bitterness. Verse 15, their feet are swift to shed blood destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace. Have they not known there? Verse 18, there is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things, however the law sayeth, it's sayeth to them who are under the law 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.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
For by the law is the knowledge of sin. So the law is given to show forth the knowledge of sin. Why it? Why does it show the knowledge of sin? Because the holy God with his righteous law reveals the nature of man that there is none righteous, no, not one for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets, prophets even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith, by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So here we have Paul speaking of multiple things. First, he's starting with the nature of man. The nature of man is sinful. The nature of man does not seek after God. The nature of man is not good. The nature of man is evil. Then he begins and turns and says the law is given so that every mouth can be stopped and all the world becomes guilty before God.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
So the law is given to reveal our nature and our sinfulness and our need for a savior. So then he says, the righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets. In other words, the righteousness that God is going to give the gospel for. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for his for in it. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. So the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. So that's why he says without the law or separate from the law and through the gospel, is the righteousness of God manifested. And he says it was foretold by the law and the prophets. And how does that righteousness of God come and how is it put on display by faith of Jesus Christ? So it's literally the faith that Jesus Christ had perfect faith imputed to all. And upon all that believe in him, for there is no difference. George Gentile, no difference. We've all, we're all, we've all sinned. Verse 23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That is the condition we are in. So that when we come before God, we can only do as Isaiah said, woe is me. For I am undone. For I am a man of uncleaned lips and I dwell amongst the people of unclean lips.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Woe is me for I'm undone. Undone. Woe is is the word in Hebrew [inaudible]. It's, it's uh, an exclamation of extreme, uh, pain and mourning. So here Isaiah comes in the presence of God and what is his response? Extreme mourning when he says I'm undone. It's the opposite of when you say a person has it together, he's saying, I am broken in pieces. That is our condition before a just and holy and righteous God coming to his presence. We have to recognize we are dead and there is nothing good within us. We are unrighteous, unholy, we are wicked. That is the nature with born. We are born with. Brother Brandom says this in the sermon, you must be born again. First we reckon ourselves, sinners and worthy of condemnation.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And we are all born in sin and shaped and iniquity. There's not a sound parcel of us. Our minds are bad. Our soul is corruptible. Our constant thinking is evil. Every imaginary thought of a man's mind is evil, a sinner and also that our body is weak. Our spirit is no good and we're just full of corruption. And how could one corruptible thing bring another good thing out of corruptible? Let me say this, that in Joe 14 chapter, he said, seeing that man is born of a woman is full of sorrow and trouble. Yet he come with fourth of flower like a flower. He fadeth away and on as the prophet goes on speaking, he said, who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean clean? Not one. You stick your bucket down into the well and put, pull out a bucket of water and it's stagnant. It stinks. You look in it and it's muddy and little worms in there, water. There's no way at all to put your bucket back in and get a clean bucket. The whole well is contaminated and the whole soul, my mind and body of man is contaminated with sin and born in sin, physically shaped in iniquity and come of the world to the world speaking lies so that his own soul is com contaminated. Nothing good.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
And unless we can really recognize what shape our soul is in what shape we are in before God, we can never really experience true and genuine salvation. You know, when we speak about understanding the gospel, some people limit the gospel to merely well the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. And if we believe in him, we're saved. But the truth is the gospel goes way beyond that. The gospel speaks of election. The gospel speaks of our condition before him. The gospel speaks of the perseverance that we have to have until the end. The gospel speaks of who Christ died for. The gospel speaks of God's power to save the wicked. The gospel speaks of all of these things and unless we have an understanding of this, we don't understand the purpose and uh, uh, of the gospel itself.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Are we able to choose and salvation on our own? This is a key point. Can we of our own volition say Yes, I choose to serve God. I choose to live for God because this has a huge impact. If we can choose to serve him, then later on we can choose to not serve him. I've had people tell me in conversations, I have to choose to serve God every day. Okay? In one sense, we have choices to make. Absolutely. We do need to make choices on a daily basis. No one is denying that that isn't getting to the question. The question is this, can I bring to pass my own salvation by saying yes to the gospel or does it need to be a work of God to actually open my heart and mind to believe the gospel, to bring me to that place where I actually do, uh, receive what God speaks through the gospel.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
And this, that's a key point with without answering that question, then we can't talk about how can you, how can you speak about God keeping us un and being sealed until the day of redemption unsealed unto the day of redemption? How can we speak about that if salvation is our own choice and own choosing? So John, John 6 44 says this, no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me. Draw him and I will raise him up at the last day. Jesus speaking, saying, no one can come to, no man can come to me.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
But then he gives an exception to that. If the Father draws him, then he will come. The word draw him literally means to drag him. So the ones that have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, those are the ones that the Father by his own will chooses to draw them to Christ. Otherwise no one would come to Christ. Romans nine 15 and 16 before he say at the Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that will, if will speaks of choice, nor of whom that runneth, but of God, that showeth mercy.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
We certainly have to make a choice to believe, but we have to understand what is behind that choice. Behind the choice to believe is God choosing to have mercy upon us. When God shows mercy upon someone, they will come to true faith and res and and and the new birth and transformation in Christ, but on on our own, by our own will, by our own choosing. We cannot come to Christ. Say what about people that choose to serve him but they're actually not even saved at all. God has not drawn them. We have thorns and we have wheat in the field and the rain falls on the just and the unjust and the rain causes both the wheat and the weeds to grow. Eventually the weed will declare himself. Eventually the wheat will declare himself. But the point being is that the true elected of God chosen by by him before the foundation of the world are the ones that he draws to himself, that he gives his Holy Spirit that he has mercy on. We cannot do that and achieve that ourselves.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
In Jehovah Gyra, brother Banham says this, they probably, he was a farmer, lived in the valley of Shinar there speaking of Abraham and lived an ordinary life. He probably went out in the daytime and got his meat from the bush and picked berries and lived that sort of a life, just an ordinary man. There was nothing special about him, but one day God called him. That's what made the difference. When God made the call. And that's the way it is to any life, it takes God. It isn't what you do, it's what God does see. You say, I sought God, I sought God. You're mistaken. No man seeks God. God seeks the man. See, it's nothing. It's not you seeking God. It's God seeking you. Jesus said, you haven't chosen me but I chose you. See, so you're chose before the foundation of the world where you wasn't chose at all.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
He just come to redeem that name and all whose names are not on the lamb's book of life before the foundation of the worlds, uh, is the only ones going to be there anyhow. See, you were chosen him before the foundation of the world when the lamb was chosen, then you were chosen with him before the foundation. There we go. Can we choose the good and the right things with the nature that we're born with? No, we cannot. It's God who calls us. It's God who chooses us before the foundation of the world. No man seeks God. God is seeking man. But you say the Bible says in John three 16 that whosoever believes in him should not perish. Absolutely right. It also says in Act 1348 and when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed So who are the ones that believe? Who is the whosoever that believes that is
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Those who were ordained to eternal life? People say that. I've heard people say that John three 16 doesn't apply to the bride. That's nonsense. It's a misunderstanding of the verse there. They're not understanding the context, they're not understanding the context of the scripture. It's a misapplication of the Bible. Whosoever will believes it's those who are ordained to eternal life. Those are the ones that believe that is the bride. So there's one means one way of salvation. God is just in condemning sinners and God is just in making the gospel the only means of salvation. If a man could recognize God in creation and follow his conscience, which shows the works of the law giver creator in it, then he could receive glory and honor and ultimate salvation because he would be just no. In fact, he's showing the complete total opposite of that. He is showing that regardless, regardless of whether a man recognizes God in creation, there must be a blood sacrifice to bring forgiveness of sins.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
As in Adam all die. Even so in Christ shall all who believe be made alive, our will is in bondage to sin. We're unable to choose Christ. No man can come to him unless the Father draws him, opens his mind, opens his heart, and fills him with the Holy Ghost. It's not of him that wills nor of him that Rudd runs. It is of God who shows mercy. Remember, no one seeks after God. No one does good. No, not one. The gospel only is the power of God unto, unto salvation. For all who believe there's no other way, means there's no other way of salvation. Only through the blood of Jesus Christ and through faith in His name. And and when that blood is applied, it's the token. It's when the Holy Ghost is applied. It's not us humanly believing, but it's God by spiritual revelation giving to us the new birth men sin because they're of their own choice.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
God does not force men to sin. Men choose to sin because they love darkness rather than light. God indeed has placed a conscience within men that gives them the knowledge between good and evil. But men still choose evil and in fact always blur the lines between good and evil. From our birth, we are worthy of condemnation. We don't have to do anything to deserve condemnation. We are born under condemnation. For Corinthians 1522 says, for as an Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. All who believe a as an Adam all die. Every single person that is born on planet earth from Adam die. Why? Because they have the corruption of the sin. Nature imputed to them. The corruption of the sin nature in them produces death. But not only that, men, everyone that is born of a woman has sin.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Adam's sin imputed to them. That is original sin. It's not merely the sin nature, but it is Adam's sin that is placed upon us. Romans five 12 says, therefore, as by one man, sin entered in the world and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Verse 16, of Romans five, and not as it was by one that sinned. So as the gift for the judgment was by one to condemnation. But the free gift is of many offenses unto condemnation. For if by one man's offense, death reigned by one much more they, they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall life reign by one Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offensive of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation. Even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
All right, let's continue. First by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. From Adam, we inherit death and we inherit our sinful nature. Adam was the head of the human race and as such, he represented all that would come after him. When Adam was sin and judged and was condemned, we sinned, were judged and condemned. So again, what if we recognize God in creation? What if we follow our conscience? We still have original sin upon us. We still need you to be washed by the blood. Hebrews tells us, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. That my friends, my brothers, and my sisters. That is why we need the gospel. We are born with a sinful nature. We are born with sin. Adam's sin imputed to us. We need the blood applied.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
We need the transforming power of that blood. And apart from that, we cannot be saved and apart from God's work to choose us before the foundation of the world, to draw us to faith, to open our hearts, to hear the word, to orain us to eternal life. We would never believe. Why do you believe the word? Because God opened your heart by spiritual revelation. Apart from God doing that, no one can rightly believe God. Many people will come to him and say, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied and done many wonderful works? But I'll say depart from me. You that work at worketh iniquity, I never knew you. It's, it's he that doth the will of the Father. How do we do the will of the Father? Not on our own, not by our own power, but by his power working in us. He has to put that in us. We cannot do that. Well, we'll close with that. We sure appreciate you listening in for the day. May the Lord richly bless you. Have a wonderful weekend. Make sure to be in church. All right, thank you. Thank you for listening to Equipping the Bride podcast. New episodes are posted every Tuesday and Friday. If you have any questions, prayer requests or testimonies, please contact me@jasondemars.com. Free books and tracks are available there and shipping is free as well. May the Lord richly bless you.