How Abraham was Saved

Photo by B Smith from the patio

268 - How Abraham was Saved

April 5, 1964

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

 

Romans 4: 1 - 5 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

In the third chapter—a chapter that I am loath to leave, Paul tells us that we are justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus—that we are all sinners, having no good whatsoever in ourselves, and that Jesus Christ is the Mercy Seat, the meeting place of the sinner and God. And He is the only Meeting Place. He, alone, has paid the price of our sin.

1/  Then in the fourth chapter here, Paul brings out an illustration of salvation by faith plus nothing, and he points to Abraham, and Abraham is mentioned seven times in this chapter, so we better see just what type of man he was, and what this Scripture has to tell us. So, Paul says, what did Abraham as pertaining to the flesh find out? He found out he couldn’t boast before God. He found out that he had to be justified by faith. So, let us look at this man, Abraham, and salvation by grace through faith plus nothing.

2/  There was no good in Abraham—please remember that. Now, how do I know there was nothing good in Abraham? Let’s just start and study his life and find out about his personal goodness.

3/  Joshua 24: 2 And there we read, Joshua said unto all the people, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, your father dwelt on the other side of the flood in old times—and that means the other side of the Euphrates River—the fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old times, even Terrah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods. 

Abraham lived beyond the Euphrates in the Ur of Chaldees. His family was a family of idolators, and there is no reason to believe that Abraham was not an idolator. Abraham was a worshipper of idols, and he was a very wealthy man, for he had great flocks and herds when he left Ur of Chaldees. You know what God thinks of idolatry. He has brought it out in the first chapter of Romans. 

Romans 1: 21 - 24 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:

And here he is talking about Abraham and people just like him. They knew God, but they refused to glorify Him as God, they were not thankful and they made God like unto an image of man, birds, four-footed beasts and creeping things and God gave them up. God has a hatred of idolatry, but here is a man who is an idolator, and certainly he doesn’t have anything to offer God at this time.

4/  Now let us turn to Acts 7: 2  And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran.

And here we have Stephen beginning his remarkable address, just before he was stoned to death, and he said, Men and brethren, fathers, harken—the God of glory appeared unto our father, Abraham, while he was in Mesopotamia, and while he was an idolator living in this land, God appeared to him. 

And Abraham was convinced that it was God talking to him. Here was a world lying in darkness and idolatry and God appeared to Abraham and said, Abraham, come out of your country, I want to show you a land where I want you to be, and Abraham came out. Again, there was nothing good in Abraham.

5/  Then in Hebrews 11: 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he want out, not knowing whither he went.

Notice, the tenth verse. For he looked for a city which hath foundations—God showed him the Holy City, and you remember, in Revelations, it comes down out of Heaven from God. And God showed him that Holy City, and after Abraham saw that Holy City, he was willing to go anywhere. Who wouldn’t? I am sure if you had lived in that day, and God had appeared to you and given you a glimpse of the Holy City, you would have said, I am willing to go anywhere, do anything You want me to do. The Scripture tells us that Abraham lived in tents—he never bothered with a permanent residence. Why? Because he wasn’t satisfied with anything on earth, he wanted this Holy City, and he wanted to live in it.

6/  So, he was a terrible sinner, an idolator that God called and he obeyed. How did he get saved? And what happened when he was saved? These are two important questions.

7/  Romans 4: 4 - 6 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

I want you to notice some words that are used in this fourth chapter. You have to understand these words to understand the fourth chapter. Notice, in the fourth verse you have the word, “counted,” and in the sixth verse you have the word, “imputed.” You have these three words eleven times in this chapter, and the chapter is built upon these three words, but they are all the same word in the Greek—they are all translations of this one word, but yet there is another word because of our present-day culture that can be translated, and it would maybe help us even more—it is the word, credit.

8/  You have a bank account, and your bank account is overdrawn. The bank sends out a notice that says your account is overdrawn, you will have to bring in so much money to take care of the deficiency, and you do not have the money—you don’t know where you are going to get it—but a friend of yours hears about it, he goes to the bank, and he deposits just the amount that you need. He credits you with that amount. You know nothing about it. You know nothing about it, and your account is spared. That is salvation. God has credited something to you, something that you do not have, and something that you need if you want to go to Heaven, if you want to be a child of God. He saw that you had nothing but sin, and that, of course, brings death, and so He placed something to your account, and He credited us with something. What did He credit us with? 

Notice, in Romans 4: 3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Count it, or credit it to Him for righteousness. Now in the fourth verse Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. God reckons or credits to you what you do not have. 

There is a very beautiful verse in the little book of Philemon, and I would like to refer it to you—

Philemon 18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;” 

9/  When Paul was in Rome, a man found the Lord Jesus Christ, probably under the ministry of the Apostle Paul. This man was a runaway slave, who had robbed his master, taken everything that he could lay his hands on, and had fled as many evil doers and robbers do to a large city to lose themselves in the great multitudes of the city. So he went to Rome, and of course, Paul was there. It was a teaming city, with people speaking all languages—they were from all over the world. This man heard Paul preach and he was led to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then when he finally confessed to Paul what was wrong, what he had done, Paul said, you’ve got to go back, you’ve got to go back to your master and tell him you are sorry for what you have done. Then the man probably said to Paul, I haven’t any money—I took all the money and the jewelry that I could and I spent it all—I haven’t a thing—I’m just a tramp. Paul said, I’ll take care of that—you just let me take care of it. You go back and tell your master that you are sorry for what you did, and offer yourself to work for him again. 

And this verse says, as he wrote to Philemon, and incidentally, he had led Philemon to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Philemon and Paul were close intimate friends, so Paul, as he wrote the letter says, If he hath wrought thee or owed thee ought, put that on my account. In other words, he says, if he owes you anything, charge it to me—I’ll see that it is paid. That is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ said. When you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He saves you, Jesus Christ says to the Father—if he owes You anything, put that on My account. 

It is wonderful to know that the Lord Jesus Christ, straightens out our accounts in Heaven. I love that old hymn—“The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago.”

10/  Now notice, Romans 4: 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

And here in the fifth verse is a climax. Paul puts the whole truth in this verse—For to him that worketh not. Somebody will immediately, say, Don’t I have to be better than I am? Here is what the Scripture says—to him that worketh not. It is to the man who will fold his arms and do absolutely nothing. I know there are some preachers, some people who do not like this do-nothing salvation, but it is what the Bible teaches—to him that worketh not—and you say—why is that? It has all been done! Jesus Christ did it—He performed it! And He said, as far as your sin is concerned, Father, You, credit it to My account!

11/  Then notice the rest of that verse. But believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. 

Is that good people? No, God doesn’t justify good people, He justifies ungodly people. And notice, He justifies, we don’t justify ourselves. So, you must confess yourself ungodly.

12/  How do you get this righteousness? How does it become credited to your account? It is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, Abraham is an example. In the third verse. Abraham believed God. 

Notice the fifth verse…His faith is counted for righteousness. 

What does God want? If I were to ask you this morning, what would you tell me? What does God want from you? The answer is, God wants to be believed more than anything else. God wants you to believe Him. 

If you sand paper your life until you have taken off all the rough surfaces and yet you do not believe Him, He will cast you into Hell. If you fail to believe that you are a sinner, and you deserve Hell, you are slurring the character of God. But if you will believe that you are a terrible sinner, you are ungodly no matter what you do, and that Jesus Christ died for you and wants to credit to your account righteousness, if you believe on Him. God says that is salvation. He wants you to believe more than anything else in the world.

13/  What is righteousness? You ask almost anyone in the world what righteousness is, and they will tell you it is good works, but that is not so. Faith is righteousness with God. When you believe, He counts your belief, your faith, righteousness, and puts righteousness to your account.

14/  Romans 4: 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

This verse is explained very clearly in the Old Testament. As you know, there was a Day of Atonement once a year when the high priest took the blood from the altar and went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood over the Mercy Seat, and God came down and saw the blood and the sins of the people were covered for another year. Atonement was made for another year. 

Let us turn to Leviticus 23: 27 – 30 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 

And here it tells us about the Day of Atonement, and it says, ye shall afflict your souls, and then in the 28^th verse. And ye shall do no work in that same day. Why is that? For it is a Day of Atonement. To make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. 

Then notice the 30^th verse. And whatsoever shall it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul shall be destroyed from among his people.

Notice, on the Day of Atonement, no one was permitted to do any work at all—this was God’s work, it was the blood that made an atonement on that day. So, there is no work in this day for anyone who wants to be saved—the moment you work you are eternally lost.

15/  Now notice, Romans 4: 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

Now, he brings in David. He mentions David only once, but he mentions Abraham seven times. He brings in David only because he wants to quote from Psalms 32: 2 Blessed is the man that God does not charge with sin, or credit with sin. And if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God does not charge you with any sin. Can you believe that God doesn’t charge you with anything at all that is wrong? God hasn’t a single thing against you. He just loves you with all His heart and takes you into His bosom. He doesn’t charge you with a single sin. How can that be? Because He charged His Son with your sin, and Christ had to bear the punishment. How wonderful this is?

16/  Now I would like you to turn to another portion in Romans. 

Romans 8: 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

And here God says, Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 

If God justifies you who will be able to charge you with anything? If I do something that is wrong, if I sin and you know about it, and you want to point the finger at me for what I did wrong, you don’t have the right to do it—you have to point the finger at Christ, for He took that thing on Himself. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? You cannot charge a Christian with anything. You have to charge it to Jesus Christ.

17/  There is a translation of that 33^rd verse that I love, it goes like this—Who dares accuse us now?

The Judge Himself hath declared us free from sin. 

Notice, I Peter 2: 24 He bare our sins in His own body on the tree.

Who would dare to accuse Him? Yet He is the One to accuse. He paid the penalty, He washed it all away in His blood, and it is all gone. That is the finished work of Jesus Christ. There is no condemnation.

18/  Colossians 1: 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Notice, in the body of His flesh through death to present you holy and without sin, unblameable, unreproveable, where? In His sight! 

You don’t look that way in the sight of men, because you still sin. But in God’s sight, you are unreproveable, you are holy and unblameable. 

The only One Who can be blamed for our sin is the Lord Jesus Christ, because He was made sin for us.

AMEN

Ref: 04/05/1094 / 268 - HOW ABRAHAM WAS SAVED / 02/04/2021

HOW TO SERVE THE LORD

Photo by B Smith from the garden

259 - HOW TO SERVE THE LORD

October 13, 1963

Henry F. Kulp

 

Romans 1: 8, 9 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Last weeks we told you about the personality of Paul. We believe from the study of the Word of God that Paul was a cold man outwardly. He was warm inwardly and filled with love, but he had a hard time expressing it, and he was the type that was dogmatic and positive. He wasn’t liked by many people and I believe that God picked this type of man with a very specific reason in mind. It wasn’t Paul who was to be exalted. Paul was not the type that people took to naturally and loved and considered important and flocked about him. Paul was the type that repelled people rather than attracted people. But God chose this type of man because he didn’t want the man to be outstanding, He wanted his office to be outstanding. That is why in Romans 11: 13 Paul says, For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

I magnify my office. Not the man, Paul, but the position God called him to.  

1/  This church was known for its faith and a church should be known by its faith. Then, thirdly Paul said, I serve the Lord in my spirit. Now, what did we mean by this statement? Too few people really understand God’s teaching concerning man and salvation and what God does for man. 

2/  True service to God must be in the spirit, and in this case it does not mean the Holy Spirit, but in the renewed spirit of the individual. There is a great deal of difference between the two because we read in Romans 8: 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Notice this, this is the Holy Spirit that bears witness with the spirit of the individual. This proves that the human spirit is quite different from the Holy Spirit.  

3/  Perhaps the best way to get the meaning of what I am trying to teach you and what the Word of God teaches is to describe the general make-up of God’s being. Man is made up of body, soul and spirit. The body is world consciousness and through its five senses we are aware of all that is around us, and the soul is a self-consciousness, and the Spirit is God consciousness. But now, to better understand this, let’s go back to Adam and Eve before they sinned and after they sinned.

4/  Adam and Eve had bodies, which were created by God. They, themselves, are said to be souls, and they received spirits from the Creator. The body had five senses, and through these senses they had consciousness of the world around about them. They could see, hear, taste, touch and smell, and from all these different senses, man is able to tell about the world around him. Adam’s soul and spirit were in an unfallen state. We said the soul is self-consciousness and the spirit is God-consciousness. Adam’s spirit had a true consciousness of God without error. Adam’s soul was his ego, his self, and that he understood in a proper sense. But then Adam sinned and sin entered into the human race. But before he sinned, Adam’s soul was yielded to the spirit. In other words the spirit dominated the soul and the body, but when he sinned all this was destroyed. Before he sinned Adam was able to communicate with the Holy Spirit directly through his human spirit. But when the will of Adam turned and refused to permit the spirit to control the soul, then the great catastrophe took place.

5/  And man became soulish, rather than spiritual, and in the fallen state it is impossible to distinguish between soul and spirit. But after a person is saved, only then is the soul and spirited separated again. Let us understand that. Man is called in his unsaved state a natural man. What does this mean? It is unfortunate for our English language, we do not have an adjective for this word, soul. For body we have an adjective—it is the word, bodily. For the word, spirit we have an adjective, it is the word, spiritual. But for the word, soul, there is no corresponding adjective, and we really need one. In the Greek we have just such an adjective, and it is the word, natural—and it should be the word, soulish—the natural man is the soulish man. His soul controls him. 

6/  In the unsaved man, the spirit that should know God and be obedient to him is fallen and rebellious. The mind is part of the spirit, and this is clearly shown in Romans 8: 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

I Corinthians 2: 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

But the mind is distorted and the spirit is distorted, it no longer has any relationship with God—it is at enmity with God. 

Putting these two verses together, we realize that the mind is part of the spirit, and that the spirit and the mind are distorted, they know nothing about God. And then the soul becomes so self-centered and it controls this wrecked spirit so that all man can think about is self. When he thinks about God how does he think about God? He thinks about God in the way of philosophy, which is man trying to think his way to God with a distorted mind. 

7/   I Corinthians 2: 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Here it says that natural man—in other words, the soulish man, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them for they are spiritually discerned. 

How does God rectify this? When we are saved a miraculous transformation takes place. God puts into man’s being a new spirit. Not just the Holy Spirit, but a new spirit. Now when a person becomes a Christian God does not use anything that was in the old nature, because it is corrupt, and He puts this new spirit within man when he is saved, a spirit that can communicate with the Holy Spirit and understand the things of God. 

With this in mind, let us look at Galatians 2: 20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Paul says, I, that is the ego, the soul, am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I that is the new personality, the new spirit, the new human spirit, dominated by Christ, live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

8/  At death, the old body, the wreckage is put into the grave, and the old soul and the spirit are lost to us forever, they are put aside, they are gone. 

Than, we read in I Corinthians 15: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

The old body is sown a natural, that is a soulish, it is raised a spiritual body. We must never think of this spiritual body as something that can’t be seen—just spiritual. It doesn’t mean that at all. But it is still a material tangible body, like unto the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, but this body will now be spiritual, for it will be dominated by the spirit, not the soul as it is at the present time.   

9/  If one wants to serve God, he naturally serves Him through the Holy Spirit, but he serves Him through that new human spirit that God gives to the believer as it is in control of the Holy Spirit, but yet this old soul doesn’t want to remain dead, it raises out of the grave and tries to overcome this new human spirit that is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, and than we become a natural man, a soulish man, rather than a spiritual man.  

10/  We can see so much of this in the Apostle Peter. I would like to look into the Bible, and just study him for a few moments, and I want to show you three instances of Peter and how he acted. His course of life. 

First of all Peter was an effervescent man. Today, I believe we would call him an extrovert. He was always the first to talk on any occasion, and I am sure the disciples themselves must have learned to discount much that Peter said. He was just a big-mouthed fisherman. He talked first and thought afterward. And quite often it was the human spirit speaking through Peter—the soulish controlled by the soul. 

Let us turn to John 13: 4 - 9 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

Here we have the lesson of feet washing. It was the Lord Jesus Christ Who went to wash the feet of Peter, and Peter said, Thou shall never wash my feet. This was the soulish nature talking through him. This was Peter thinking that he knew more than his Lord. It was than that the Lord said, If I wash thee not, thou hath no part of me, Peter again with his big mouth, his soulish nature, spoke up and said, Not my feet only lord, but my hands and my head. In other words, wash me all over. This was the corrupt human spirit speaking in Peter. Rejecting the teaching that God had for him.

11/  Matthew 16: 21 - 23 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

When the Lord Jesus Christ, for the first time announced that He was to go to the cross of Calvary and die, Peter thought his chance had come to tell the Lord that this action was far from what it should be for Him. So he told the Lord, No, this is not going to be -- you are not going to die, and the Lord turned to him and said, Get thee behind me, Satan. 

Here we have the same human lips, the same human soulish nature, speaking, but this time through the devil, For the Lord turned to him and said, Satan, get thee behind me. This should cause us to pause and consider our speech carefully. It should make us see that we don’t always serve the Lord in the true spirit that God has given us, but rather we serve Him in the spirit that is dominated by the soul, and the devil controls it. 

12/  Matthew 16: 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

Then we remember the time when the Lord asked the disciples concerning public opinion about Himself. And when He asked them, Whom do you say that I am? It was Simon Peter who answered—Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus Christ immediately said something that was so important. He pointed out that Peter had not thought that up himself, and Jesus Christ said to him, Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, Peter, but my Father, which is in Heaven. In other words, because Peter was saved and had this new spirit, the Holy Spirit was able to witness to the human spirit, and say this was the Christ, the Messiah. This was not the soulish spirit under the direction of the devil speaking, but now the new spirit under the direction of the Holy Spirit saying, Thou art the Christ, thou art the Messiah, the Son of God. 

And so we see, three avenues of service in Peter, just his plain old soulish nature, dominated by self, and then we have the devil using the old nature, and finally we have the new nature being used by the Holy Spirit.  

13/  Now when we study our Bible, many times we see the word, spirit, with a small letter, and this is because it is distinguished from the Holy Spirit, even though it is the spirit born of God. 

Notice John 3: 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

That which is born of the Spirit, notice it is the capital letter—is spirit, the lower case letter. So we see that Paul served God with this new spirit, not with his soulish nature.        

14/  Notice, Verse 11 For I long to see you that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift to the end ye may be established. 

Now, Paul of course had some new truth to impart to these people, and he wanted to go to them and preach to them that they might be establish There is only one way to be established in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is through the Word of God, no other way.

15/  Then notice Verse 12 That is that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 

Paul was a busy man, as today most pastors are who teach the word. We don’t get much chance to hear others preach the Word. We don’t get much chance to hear others preach the Word of God, we have too much to do. It would be nice to be able to sit down, go to another meeting, and listen to someone else preach, but there is so many claims upon our time that it is almost impossible. How do we get spiritual refreshment? 

I want you to notice something that happened in the life of Paul that has happened in my life many, many times. Paul says I want to come to you to impart some truth to you, that I may be comforted together with you. 

You know a preacher can be comforted, he can be strengthened by the people he preaches to. First of all, when you are a preacher, you notice what is going on in the congregation. You notice folks who seem disinterested, folks are asleep, folks who are angry, but then you notice some folks who sit down there and they seemingly are drinking it all in. Just the expression on their face, the light in their eyes, their whole countenance says, here is something that I love and it is precious to me. And these folks are a real strengthening, comforting experience for a pastor—someone who imparts the Word.

16/  Also there can be times that you can be speaking to someone about the Gospel, and all of a sudden they realize the truth and what a refreshing thing that is. I can remember we were sitting on the church steps one time, another church that I was pastoring, and I was sitting there talking to about three men who were coming to the church. Two of them were saved and the one was not. The two men had been testifying to this other man about how to be saved, and this man had been a member of this church for many years. So I opened my Bible and I explained ever so carefully from the Word of God, God’s plan of salvation, Not of works, but faith in a Christ who had done the work of salvation, and all of a sudden this man leaped from the step and he turned to me with his eyes burning and he said, “Pastor, I now see, I now understand. Of course, I am saved by trusting Christ and I know it.” And then he took both of my hands in his and said, “Praise God for this truth.” What a comfort that was to my heart, what a time of refreshment that was.     

17/  As you read this Scripture there are other things that are so important. Paul talks about our mutual faith. Paul isn’t the type who would put himself above other people. Can you imagine this man who talks about a mutual faith, allowing anyone to bow before him or to confess before him allowing anyone to kiss his hand? Paul said he needed blessing from the people by their mutual faith. Yes Paul was a man who was blessed by others about him, he did not put himself above others.

Romans 12: 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

AMEN

Ref: 10/13/1963 / 259 - HOW TO SERVE THE LORD / 02/03/2021

When God Shall Judge a Hidden World

Photo of Congolese hearing the Gospel of God's Grace for the first time.

   264 - When God Shall Judge a Hidden World

   January 5, 1964

   Pastor Henry F. Kulp

Romans 2: 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Now when we come to this 16th verse we see God sets forth one more principle when He talks about the judgment of men. This will be a judgment according to the Gospel that God has given to Paul. To understand this verse and this principle, it must be realized that the three proceeding verses are in parenthesis. In order to understand our text, it is necessary to go back and read the whole message, omitting the three explanatory verses and bringing our text into connection with its context. For we read, for as many as have sinned without the law, shall also parish without the law. And as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged in the law. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel.

1/  So this point, this principle, is that men will be judged according to God’s Gospel, committed to Paul. They will not be judged according to law, but according to the grace Gospel. First of all, when we look at this verse to understand it, we find that God is going to judge the secrets of men. Then, secondly that judgment will be by Jesus Christ. Thirdly, it will take place on a certain day, and fourthly, it is in accordance with what God calls the Gospel of Paul.

2/  First, of all, the judgment is going to be according to the secrets of men. When we speak of the secrets of men, we enter into a hidden world, a secret world. This world is hidden to other men, but it is not hidden to God. Reputation is what men think you are. Character is what you are. Men can know you only by your reputation—God knows you by your true character. Man judges you according to your reputation because he judges you by your outward appearance. But God looks upon your heart, and therefore, He is able to know what you really are like by character.

3/  As I have been studying about the techniques of modern psychiatry, I understand they get the patient to talk and talk and talk until finally he brings out the hidden things he has in his heart, that he has not told anyone—many times, he hasn’t even faced them himself, and these hidden things—and they find, of course, fears and complexes, and they have affected the whole life. But what it takes a psychiatrist weeks and months of questioning to find out, you may be sure that God will bring them out in a second’s time. He knows all about them right now. He will not have to question a man to find out his secret world—He will question him, but God knows the secrets of men right now. He will not have to question a man to find out his secret world—He will question him, but God knows the secrets of men right now.

4/  The Bible teaches everywhere that God knows the secrets of men. He knows their hidden world. 

Psalms 94: 11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. They are emptiness, they are nothing.

Psalm 44: 20, 21 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Here God knows the secrets of the heart—He knows the things that are hidden from others.

5/  The story of Daniel is an illustration of the fact that God knows the hearts of men. He knows the secrets of men. He is able to enter into the hidden world of men. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that even he could not remember, but Daniel was able to tell the king’s dream and give the meaning of the dream and this he told Nebuchadnezzar had been done so that the king might know that there is a God in Heaven that revealed secrets. 

Daniel 2: 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

Later the Almighty God is called the Lord of kings and the Revealer of Secrets. This is in Daniel 2: 47  The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your god is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

This is a staggering thought—one that strikes fear into the heart of man, if he is sensible.

6/  Up until about fifty years ago, there might have been some men who could have honestly thought that the secrets of their hearts, their minds could never be unveiled. But with modern man’s inventions we know that this is entirely conceivable even to us with our mortal minds. For example a man can now take his radar and he can see into the distant clouds and into the depths of the sea. 

I remember when I was down in Florida and we used to turn the weather on TV every night at about 11:15, they used to bring their TV camera in and pan it in on a radar set, and there it would show up to 250 miles, if it were raining in any part of that area. This is amazing. Man probing into the skies, out into the distance of 250 miles. And they can tell if there is an airplane there, if it is raining there. Think of it, a plane that is invisible to man, can be picked up by radar and its course followed through the sky. Submarines, and even schools of fish in the sea can be followed by radar. 

Then take Geiger counters, we have all heard about them, haven’t we? And they can find minerals beneath the surface of the ground. They are hidden to the physical eye. Then powerful rays can penetrate steel beams to detect flaws. I know every year in Indianapolis before the 500 mile race, they use these beams, these rays to see whether the frame of the car and other parts are suffering from metal fatigue. 

Then X-rays can find broken bones in the body, reveal tuberculosis and cancer and other diseases. How can one with this knowledge ever doubt that an Almighty God can comprehend your thoughts? Lie detectors, although not perfected yet, are a step in the direction of revealing the hidden thoughts of men to man—also a truth serum which scientists are working on.

7/  Matthew 10: 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

This tells us there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known. Then God says, one day all these secrets will be brought out. All these secret thoughts will be revealed.

8/  Let us stop to think about the secret things being brought out. Let’s picture a scene down upon this earth. A man goes into court and gets a fine lawyer. Now, the lawyer is an honest lawyer, and he doesn’t want to lie. But the man he is defending lies to him and builds up a beautiful defense for himself. And when his lawyer puts him on the stand, he lies and then when he is cross-examined, he lies, and finally he has a great victory in court. He thinks he has won a great victory. Maybe, no one in this world knows he was lying. His lawyer, who is a very brilliant man does not realize he was lying. The judge doesn’t know he was lying. No one else knows, but God knows he was lying, and God is going to bring that lie out in the day of judgment. Every sin that has been hidden will be brought out to light, and it will be made known.

9/  But, praise God, this is not true of a believer. A believer’s sin will never be brought up, and you ask me—how can this be pastor, why is this true? Let me read for you 

Colossians 1: 20 - 22  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

…and here we have what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us when He died. Notice, the phrase, “having made peace through the blood of His cross.” That is a very remarkable statement—the blood of His cross. Not the blood of Gethsemane, for in Gethsemane, He was not bearing our sins. Not even the blood that trickled down from the crown of thorns when He was in the hands of His enemies being persecuted, for He was not bearing our sins. On the cross He became the sin-bearer, He became the Sacrifice, and it is the blood of His cross. 

Now let us go back to Colossians 1 again. In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight. 

To present you, how? Holy. Christ isn’t going to present you as a sinner, He is going to present you as holy, because your sin is gone—then, unblameable. 

Now, let’s look at the Book of Jude 24. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and present you how? Faultless in the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. You don’t have to be afraid of anything. If you are saved there is nothing but joy before you—absolutely nothing to fear. That is the work of the cross.

10/  Then notice, the secrets of men are to be tried by Christ and judged by Him. 

John 5: 21 - 23 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto his Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the father which hath sent him.

When He was on earth, He announced this great fact that He was to be the Judge. He is either your Saviour, your Redeemer, or else your Judge.

11/  The third point of our text is that the judgment of the secrets of men shall be by Christ on a certain day. A day is fixed in the plans of God. It is sure to come. These two facts are brought out by the Apostle Paul elsewhere. 

Acts 17: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness, by that man—by Jesus Christ. 

We just finished the season called Christmas, and everyone is talking about the Christ-Child. They talk about the birth of Jesus Christ, but I wonder how many of them realize that this One Who was born in a stable will one day sit on a Throne and judge all who have rejected Him and His death. He will no longer be that meek and lowly One, but now He will be the Judge of all who have rejected Him.

12/  This is a fearful thing to think about—Christ judging men. But then we come to the last point, in our text, and that men are to be judged by the Gospel that Paul preached. He calls it “my gospel.” Why does Paul call it his gospel—“my gospel?” 

For just a second let us go to Romans 16: 25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

Now to Him who has power to stablish you according to my gospel. You cannot be established, unless you are building upon the Gospel that Paul has. And then He says, the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, and this was given to Paul. You cannot be established unless it is according to Paul’s Gospel. And you must recognize that the world is going to be judged according to Paul’s Gospel. Now, please notice, they are not going to be judged by the law, but according to my Gospel, because the Gentiles have never had the law.

13/  Where did Paul get this Gospel? And this is important. 

Galatians 1: 11, 12 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul tells us here that the Gospel which is preached of me is not after man, neither did I receive it of man, neither was I taught it by man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now mark well, He did not receive his message by a revelation from Christ merely, but by the revelation of Christ to him, and this is important. Let us understand what it means when it says a revelation of Christ to him. 

Acts. 26: 16 But rise, and stand upon they feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou has seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

Here he gives an account of his conversion before Agrippa, and he tells how he heard a voice speaking to him, and how the Lord said unto him, I have appeared unto thee for this purpose to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things which I will appear unto them. In other words, Christ was going to appear unto him and teach him. The Lord appeared to Paul again and again and spoke to him face to face, and mouth to mouth and taught him.

14/  It would seem, it would be natural for him to consult with Peter, James and John up at Jerusalem, but notice what he did. 

Galatians 1: 16, 17 To reveal his son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again into Damascus.

But he said, I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me, notice what he did instead. He went into Arabia. What part of Arabia? It was there in the desert in Mount Sinai where the law was given. This is where Israel was and where Moses received the law from God, when God spoke to him face to face and mouth to mouth. 

Exodus 19: 1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

Then did you know who else was there? 

Luke 1: 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

It was John the Baptist. The story of John the Baptist’s early life—the whole story is given in one verse. “And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing unto Israel.” 

Only a little less than four lines in my Bible, but they cover perhaps 25 or 28 years of life. He was prepared for his ministry in the same spot.

15/  Matthew 4: 1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 

Here we have Jesus Christ, led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. This was the same spot. This spot on God’s earth was used by God over and over again. For the giving of the law—for the raising of John the Baptist to be the forerunner. For Jesus Christ to be tested of the devil, and then for Paul to receive his gospel.

16/  How long did Paul stay there? 

Galatians 1: 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

He spent three years in Arabia. And then the next thing we need to see—were the other apostles able to teach Paul after his seminary course with God in Arabia? Of course not. 

Galatians 2: 6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:

So remember, everything that Paul preached and wrote in his epistles, he received directly from the Lord. Not through any human channels whatsoever.

17/  God says men are to be judged by this Gospel, so you better know this gospel and be sure you are in accord with it. 

I Corinthians 15: 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

Paul says, his gospel he received, he received from the Lord. Even the Lord’s Supper. 

I Corinthians 11: 23 For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 

He received by special revelation from the Lord. Yes, this is the Gospel right here that you will be judged by. What have you done with this Gospel? Have you believed it? Have you received Christ as your Saviour. 

Romans 3: 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: …says, justified freely. 

Oh, that you might recognize that Paul says, everything is free from God. It is not something that you pay for. Except for Paul you would never know this. This is the Gospel. Everything is free, but if you spurn God’s gracious Gift, you must pay a price, and you will be judged by it and found wanting and condemned to hell.

AMEN

Ref: 01/05/1964 / WHEN GOD SHALL JUDGE A HIDDEN WORLD / 01/31/2021