The Exclusiveness of the Gospel, Part 2 B

Whether or not we preach the gospel is a very critical matter and if Satan can trivialize a clear understanding of the theology of the gospel and trivialize our understanding of the necessity to preach the gospel and he has achieved an immense victory something to fight back and make it very clear from the Scripture as to whether or not people can be saved without the gospel in the middle of the Pacific Ocean whale rammed of the American ship Essex forcing the crew to set adrift in a small boat. Incredibly their first officer in two crewmen kept themselves alive for 89 days until a British ship rescued the drifting sailors hard to imagine anyone being rescued from a worse predicament. And yet if you're Christian you already experienced a far greater deliverance than even the crew of the Essex you been rescued from spiritual death and eternal separation from God, and even more than that helping you understand those truths is what John MacArthur's current study is all about. Follow along. Now, as he continues his series called delivered by God, the subject at hand is, can the heathen be saved without the gospel, whether or not we preach the gospel is a very critical matter and if Satan can trivialize a clear understanding of the theology of the gospel and trivialize our understanding of the necessity to preach the gospel, then he has achieved an immense victory something to fight back. In this series and will make it very clear from the Scripture as to whether or not heathen people can be saved without the gospel. Jesus himself said that the door into the eternal kingdom is narrow, narrow Matthew seven and few there be that find it. Those who advocate this sort of universal salvation through many means and many religions are hard-pressed to fit that into Matthew seven where Jesus clearly says that the door is very very obscure. It's hard to find and it's very narrow so that you find it, and few enter it, of course, the New Testament goes on to say the only people who do enter it, do so because they believe in and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. They must know about God. They must know about Christ. They must know what he did and must believe that and embrace that. But there is this a new wave of theology today or I guess the resuscitation of an old wave of theology that wants to remove this duty to remove the necessity for the great commission by stating the people don't need the Bible and it may not even need to know about Jesus Christ or the gospel to be saved.

This ideology some of label. It is natural theology that man by natural means. That is, human intuition, human reason can ascend to the knowledge of God doesn't need this supernatural revelation coming down natural reason going up is enough and he can with his natural reason and is natural religious inclination ascend to a saving knowledge of God in without the Bible and without the gospel and without any knowledge of Jesus Christ that says people can be saved in many contexts of religion, or in no religion at all. If they will just do the best they can with the information they have and with their natural inclination. This is also labeled by some evangelicals as the wider mercy view that says that mercy is wider than we think we think God's mercy may be confined to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But there is a wider mercy that includes those who don't know anything about the Bible or Jesus Christ they just do the best they can with what they've got.

They'll be all right. Here's the problem.

A natural man that is unaided by supernatural revelation, unaided by Scripture. Unnatural man cannot know the things that only the spirit of God knows he can't know the deep things day to him. They are foolishness. They are completely nonsense he can't comprehend them. He can't understand them. He can't grasp them because they are spiritually appraised.

They are not rationally appraise the can't be examined by a rational mind that can't be examined by any empirical study.

They can't be attained by any human intuition is not available so word is natural theology lead you here is the is the natural theologians verse natural theology gets you nowhere. You can't accept the things of the spirit of God.

Their absolute folly. They there there just nonsense. You can understand them because they can only be appraised through the power and the revelation of the Holy Spirit very important verse. But for those of us who know the Scripture, who have been taught by the Holy Spirit through the Scripture the end of verse 16 says we have the mind of Christ and that really is critical because that completes the Trinity, the father is God, the Spirit of God knows exactly the deep things of God the things that are not visible on the surface by the senses. The five senses and by our human reason he the spirit knows the full depth of the spiritual truths which constitute the mind of Christ. What is a minor crisis. The way he thinks we know how Christ thinks say how do we know how Christ thinks because it's revealed here, right we know how he thinks we know God's thoughts on salvation. We know Christ's thoughts on salvation because the Holy Spirit has revealed them to us here in Scripture.

Natural man unaided by the mind of Christ revealed through the spirit gets nowhere. He ends up with no understanding natural man is ignorant natural man is idolatrous.

That's where he is. That's you see and what you see in Romans one, is there ignorant and idolatrous. You see them in first Corinthians 1, and what is he he's foolish and he thinks he's wise, but his wisdom is folly with God and here he again is the wisest of the wise, the little illiterate that the elite, the brain trust of Athens, the most religious and most rational and most erudite groping around trying to find God end up as idolaters who better repent or be judged eternally by the one who offers them salvation through his death and resurrection natural man is ignorant natural man is idolatrous natural man cannot, by virtue of any natural effort know God. But it's not just that he's left in limbo or some neutral position turn first Corinthians chapter 10. This is this is really shattering to this heresy.

First Corinthians chapter 10 we give you little scenario you're a Christian, you're living in current even convert a false religion, and you get married.

Of course your your wife is a maybe a Christian. Let's say two of you come to Christ during the church but your mother-in-law still worshiping Dionysus or somebody some false God in your mother-in-law says you know they're having a big banquet at the temple and really important that you come because they're going to honor your father in law and the whole family is going to be there and it's really important for you to come in so your wife, you know, as well-intentioned as she is as a Christian feels the pressure of mom and you say what you know I want to go, but also I don't want to make things worse with my mother-in-law or my going to do so. You go drift over the temple of Dionysus and you go in there and it's an orgy to a false God, and it's a big eating thing in the you eat part of the food part of the food is offered as a sacrifice to the false God and you feel really badly about that but you know, after all, you get a lot of heat from your mother-in-law makes it difficult because your wife feels that in that she makes it difficult and you know if she's not happy you're not happy and so you do, you can imagine the pressure that's just one possible scenario, there could be many more. And then you come to the Lord's table next time and you take the Lord's table and you're sitting there in your taking the bread and the cup and honoring the Lord, and you just come out of a place where you work at a feast that was honoring a false God. Now somebody might say, well, you know, those people don't know any better.

Boy it's a good attempt to find the true God. It's a it's a nice effort, and if they try to live a cut above the rest of the folks in their community may know, maybe God will except that I want you to get the picture here. Verse 20.

This is exactly the scenario here in Corinth. Verse 20 know he says an idol isn't really anything an idol itself. A stone idol isn't anything but I say the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God you get that sent a sacrifice to God.

By the way, Gentiles water Gentiles. Anybody is not Jewish. The nations at the us the nations.

Everybody the pagans the heathens the whole even the whole world. All of them and everything they sacrifice to their supposedly stone and silver and gold idols and wood idols, and whatever it isn't offered to God. It is offered to being there, not engaging the true God there gauging the forces of hell there linked with Satan and demons don't ever misunderstand that you say will is for well-intentioned pagans. You know they're just gonna work in their way toward God the best way they know how the fact of the matter is there working their way toward hell there connecting with demonic forces that are impersonating the idols that don't exist. There are no other gods in the true God. Right people believe there are.

Because demons impersonate the gods they worship and do enough stuff to keep those people connected to those deities, false deities, though they be this not just neutral. It's not just too bad there ignorant is not just too bad they're sort of in limbo. They're not natural reason, trying to find God, ends up ignorant natural reason, trying to find God, ends up idolatrous natural reason. Try to find God, ends up demonic demons are behind all false religions, they are behind all philosophical and religious systems. They are behind in that marvelous passage. Second Corinthians 10 3 to 5.

They are behind every lofty thing lifted up against the knowledge of God.

Any anti-God idea is demonic demonic. Any anything it's untrue about God anything that's on biblical it's demonic. Satan is disguised along with his demons as angels or ministers of light. It's all demonic as this goes way back to Deuteronomy the Pentateuch, the old law. Deuteronomy 3217 Moses wrote of those who sacrificed to demons who were not God. You can also compare Psalm 106 37 not going to God they're going to Satan and demons would illustrate this is in second John three verses 910 11 and second John 910 11 John writes that if you deviate from what the Bible teaches about Christ. If you deviate from what the Bible teaches about Christ were not saying that you deny Christ that you deny that he lived that you deny that he died. But if you deviate about what the Bible says concerning Christ. It says this, anybody who does that does not have God point being you can believe in the Trinity you can believe in them the birth of Christ. You can believe in the life of Christ. You can believe in the death of Christ. But if you say he's not God that detail if you say he didn't live a sinless life. If you say well he didn't really die a substitutionary death. If you say he didn't literally raise from the dead.

If you deny anything that is biblically revealed about Christ. You don't have God so listen to this. If you're even wrong about Jesus you don't know God, the say nothing if you don't even know about Jesus. You just engaging with demons, the people of asked me deserve a lot of satanic religion in our society. Yes, everything but the truth everything the true Christianity is satanic to 1° or another and in one manifestation or another is not that everybody like some worship Satan or some people just worship Satan. As such, but anybody who doesn't worship the true living God through Jesus Christ. In effect, worship Satan, you want to do that. I don't think of because God gets very jealous. Verse 22. You want to provoke the Lord's jealousy. You can go to the table of demons in the table of the Lord says in verse 21 verse 22. You want to provoke the Lord jealousy Deuteronomy 3221 God said Israel made me jealous with what is not God and they provoke me to anger with her idols.

God.

God doesn't look at an idol and say all that's a good try. I think that's a good enough. Try to get you in. God looks tried looks at an idol and says that makes me jealous that provokes me to anger. You don't want to provoke the Lord anger why because you're not stronger than he is. I don't think you want to engage God. Do you the only way you would want to got on as if you were stronger than he is and you're not pretty serious so the best that man can do. The best religion is best reason he comes up with foolishness, ignorance, idolatry, and engages the forces of hell and pulls them into his life. One more passage of a very great importance. Romans three I don't have time to fully develop it but II just need to make a few comments. Romans 310 in number to give you one more will be done.

Romans three verse 10. Here is the universal indictment of humanity. Romans 310. There is none righteous, how many not even one somebody if that hadn't been there would've said except me and so I said no, not you.

There is none righteous, no not one. Nobody there is not as interesting to understand. We saw that in second.

The first printed 214. There is no seeks for God. They they don't go that way you don't get there on the natural path and instead all of turned aside. They all go the wrong way.

They all become useless. There is none who does good. There's not even one. They don't do good. It's not good it does John Gerstner used to say it's bad. Good.

It may be good on a human level it's kindness or not being nice to somebody or charitable, but it's bad. Good because the motive is not to glorify God, and anything less than that is a wrong motive don't do good in fact the truth the matter is there wretched on the inside their throats like an open grave or they open their mouth and out comes the stench of death with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood destruction and misery in their past, and the path of peace they have not known. There's no fear of God before their eyes. That is a description of humanity wonders what is this verse 19. In the end of the verse. It stops every mouth every mouth is closed on open your mouth and try to defend yourself notes a but. But God I I I tried I and a pretty good person.

I'm surely better than the people are here, and I'm a lot better than some folks that I know and you known to you, stop your mouth disclosure mouth.

You're just accountable to God all the natural revelation does for you is make you accountable to God and inexcusable and it shut your mouth, you have nothing to say because in verse 20 by your deeds, your works of the law. Meeting your good deeds, your religious deeds.

Nobody's going to be justified in God's sight. You can't get there from the standpoint of works and listen to me if you can be saved without the gospel then salvation is by works.

Nobody's going to justify that way. There's only one way to be justified, and he goes on to describe in verse 22 the righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe you have to come to Christ. You have to believe in Christ. The only way of salvation.

Verse 23, all of sin and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift of his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. The only way to be saved is by faith in Jesus Christ. Okay, one more passage. Second Thessalonians 1. Eight this is brief but very potent second Thessalonians, 18 actually, we probably should start in verse seven verse seven talks about the middle of the verse in the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire. This is the second coming. This is when the this is the day remember the day of act 17 this is the day which he is appointed in which the man Jesus is going to be the judge.

When that day comes that the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire is coming in furious final judgment not notice verse eight.

Very very important.

He will deal out. Retribution retribution means judgment means payment punishment to whom to those who do not know God and who are they, those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, that is designed in the Greek language to be an explanation of those who do not know God. The word, and it would be better translated even because it's a further description of the same people. This flaming final judgment falls on those who do not know God by virtue of the fact that they do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, and these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.

You don't believe the gospel.

You don't know God. If you don't know God is going to be judged.

You can read the book of Revelation in the unfolding of this judgment in great detail, see these these heretical views of inclusive is unmanned, wider mercy, or as one writer called it leader light or natural theology later light, referring to when you die and go to heaven.

What you don't know get straightened out up there. All of that is frightening in its implications.

It is a damning and deadly heresy because we must reach people with the gospel so they can hear and be saved.

God himself.

Agusta strong said this in his theology, not in these words, many, many years ago, God himself is the only source of knowledge with regard to his own being and a relationship with him and God as the only source must disclose it to us and he has by the Holy Spirit who knows the deep things of God revealing it to the writers who wrote it down and thus we have the mind of God in the mind of Christ. Natural theology reduces you to an ignorant idol worshiper engage with demons and headed for divine judgment.

It is sufficient to damn, that natural revelation that natural theology but not to save it makes man without excuse, but not without condemnation. Our command and duty as responsible Christians and is still in place, going to all the world and do what is the gospel to every creature. And that is a good place to close with the words of Jesus at the end of Mark's gospel, 15 and 16 of the 16 chapter going to all the world preach the gospel to every creature.

He who has believed and been baptized shall be saved.

He who has disbelieved a shell be condemned. That is our commission. It stands and were responsible to do that so that people can hear the saving truth father, thank you again for the clarity with which the word speaks to these things.

There are many other passages that we can address many others that weigh in on this important issue. But this is sufficient for us to know that you have left no doubt and no question to any legitimate mind concerning this matter. The reason we are sent to the ends of the earth with the gospel. The reason we go with such passion and conviction sacrifice because it is necessary that they here to be saved and would you use a sword to do that if you make a sensitive and eager to present the gospel faithfully at all times to all people. This is our calling our commission command.

This is our duty.

This is our great privilege in which you exalt the truth and put down all the lies and confusion protect your people, they might know you, which is revealed in your thank you for pricing that's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary with his study here on grace to you titled delivered by God is focused today the exclusiveness of the gospel and what it means to follow Christ and you know if you simply take an honest look at Scripture. It's hard to understand how there can be so much confusion about what a Christian is and what is not. John you been writing about this for years. Where does all that confusion come from well it comes ultimately from the strategies of the enemy and you go back to Matthew 13 where you see all of it.

Jesus gives all those parables said he he says the kingdom of God is going to be like a dragnet door said it's like a it says like a tree that salutes out of proportion. It's huge in large and full of birds and this another way to say that the kingdom is a lot of things, but maybe the most definitive one is the story he told about the farmer who sows wheat and an enemy comes in so's tears, and there are so there there so intertwined and indistinguishable that the Lord says you Q can't tell till the harvest, who's real and who's not. And that is a picture all that is a picture of the kingdom. All that is a picture of the church. There are always going to be false believers. Why because the enemy sows them in the field. Satan strategy is not always to work against the church. That's one of his strategies. Of course, to work against the true church, but his more clever strategy is to is to create a false church that that is what Paul says when he says that Satan appears as an angel of light and his ministers are angels of light. In other words, they come declaring themselves as representatives of God and true teachers.

That's why false teachers are so hard to to unmask in there so much in the Bible about how we should unmask them so Satan strategy always is to create confusion among the people of God so that they can't distinguish the real from the false. That's the enemy strategy, but there are distinctions with regard to those who are truly converted and what we've been looking at in this series on delivered by God are the distinctions that define a true Christian is over against the false one. And what a great and significant series. This has been. We've looked at important questions like what is it mean to be saved and what does God save you from and how do you know you're saved and what truth is necessary for salvation and what is the real definition of a Christian and one of the signs and what are the marks of a true believer.

All of this.

So very, very important. The series delivered by God is available on eight CDs in a beautiful album you can order it from Grace to you or by phone or from our website. And of course you can always download the messages both the audio and the written transcript free of charge. Anytime. Just go to the website Jide TY.org that's right. And again, this study is called delivered by God in a day when so many pastors and churches have stretched the gospel beyond biblical bounds.

This study gives you the clarity you need to purchase your copy or download all the messages for free when you contact us today. You can call our toll-free number anytime 855 grace or go to our website Jide TY.org where you can order the HCD album.

Our website is also where you go to download each lesson free of charge. So again, take advantage of the free MP3s and transcript Jide TY.org and if you're looking to understand the doctrine of deliverance in all of Scripture with greater clarity pick up the MacArthur study Bible with 25,000 footnotes by John. The study Bible will help you interpret and apply virtually every passage of God's word. It makes a great gift for any serious student of Scripture to order the MacArthur study Bible available in the English standard new King James and new American Standard version you can call us toll-free 855 grace shop online@tty.org. That's our website one more time. Jide TY.org now for John MacArthur. I'm your host Phil Johnson be watching for grace to you television this Sunday and then tune in next week and John shows you what to do when you're tempted to question God's word and his promises. John is starting a new series titled when believers doubt with another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you