WILL ALL MEN BE SAVED?

Photo taken by B Smith at Opryland Hotel

 

252 – WILL ALL MEN BE SAVED? 

November 11, 1962

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

 

I Timothy 2: 1 - 4 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

There is a teaching that is going around today that is a damnable heresy right out of the pit of hell, and I am surprised that folks can ever believe this teaching for there is not one Bible verse, taken in its context that would ever teach it.

1/ What is this teaching that seems to be growing today? It is universal reconciliation, known as Universalism, Universalist—the sect itself can be called Universalism, and the people who embrace it are Universalists. But it is generally known as Universal reconciliation.

2/ II Corinthians 11: 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Here the devil is pictured as being transformed into an angel of light, offering false hopes to Christ-rejectors, seeking if possible to keep them from ever hearing the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, and if he ever has appeared as an angel of light in the past or present, it is in the teaching of universal reconciliation, for here is something that sounds so sweet, so kind and gentle that folks just want to lap it up and embrace it. But it is the lie of the devil from start to finish.

3/ These folks use scripture such as I Timothy 2: 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

II Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

I John 2: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

To teach us that all men in the end will be saved—that Christ has died for all—for notice in I John 2: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

God is not willing that any should perish, and these folks get one Scripture after another that they present.

4/ God has never promised that all will be saved—let us give you a principle that runs through the entire Bible.

Matthew 7: 13, 14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Here on the sermon on the mount, Jesus Christ says enter ye into the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is—now notice—that leadeth to destruction—not to salvation. And then He uses the word, many there be that go in thereat.

Notice, Many, and destruction. Then in the 14th verse He says Because straight is the way and narrow the gate that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

How any one can find universal reconciliation in this passage is beyond me.

5/ Now you say what makes this teaching so horrible and makes it such a wicked blasphemy? It is because it attributes sin to God. This is the very basis of the teaching. Their philosophy says that sin originated in the heart and mind of God. And He conceived it and brought it to pass for our good and His glory. They tell us that sin entered into the world by God and He brought it to pass so that by His grace program He can save everyone. But what does God Himself say about this? Did He bring sin into the world? Did He conceive it in His own mind so that graciously later on you can be saved?

6/ There is a Scripture that these Universalists have a hard time with.

Genesis 6: 5, 6 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Now notice, And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart.

Does this sound like God planned sin, and introduced it into the world for some gracious purpose? What can universalists do with such with such a passage?

7/ There is another scripture that certainly embarrasses the Universalist.

Jeremiah 32: 35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

And He says, they have built the high places of Tophet, to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, which I commanded them not neither came it into my heart—God did not want sin to come to come into the world, He did not conceive sin in the heart and mind of God to bring about a gracious purpose.

8/ Universalism teaches that man is really absolved of his guilt of sin, and it places a responsibility for sin upon God. It argues that God deliberately set the tree of knowledge

of good and evil in the garden to tempt man and to cause him to sin so that God’s grace could later on save him. But they forget a portion of Scripture that is very clear.

James 1: 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

Where God says, let no man say when he is tempted—I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted He any man.

God, it is true, set the forbidden tree in the garden, not to tempt man to eat it, but to emphasize man’s relationship to Him as that of creature to his creator—to do what God told him to do.

9/ If God willed and caused men to commit sin, then did not Adam have a perfect alibi when he blamed his sin on the “woman whom thou gavest to be with me.” And was God not then unjust in condemning them? Oh, no, man had a choice and God did not cause man to take the choice of sin.

Genesis 3: 12  And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

10/ When I read these doctrines or hear someone set forth these doctrines, there is a portion of Scripture that comes to my mind immediately, Job 1: 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Beloved, to blame God for the sin that is in the world is a devilish thing. Job sinned not nor charged foolishly. This teaching charges God foolishly. He is not responsible for sin, He does not tempt men to sin.

11/ But now, let’s notice some of these Scriptures these folks use to prove that one day all men will be saved—that God’s Word proclaims universal reconciliation.

John 12: 32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

First of all, this passage does not teach that our Lord will draw all men unto Him in salvation. These folks who have universal reconciliation do not believe that Jesus is God—they deny the deity of Jesus Christ, and that makes their teaching even more blasphemous—you will notice here in this Scripture, if you will, that they like to use, that Christ has sublime egotism. He does not merely declare truth—He says, I am truth. For He says, If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.

12/ First of all, we have to consider and if I be lifted up—what is He talking about?

He is talking about His death on the cross of calvary. You will notice it is not the public or oral ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ which has drawing power—it is not His teaching— it is His death which is the magnet through which men are drawn unto Him.

13/ Now we want to look at the word, draw. It occurs five times in John, and once in the book of Acts. And each time the word, draw, is used it means drawing with force. It means a compelling power, the same word is used in John 21: 11 Simon Peter went

up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

Here we read of a net enclosing 153 great fishes and they came as we are told dragging the net to the land. The fish were helpless, they were dragged in the net to the land.

14/ Acts. 16:19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

Here we read of dragging Paul and Silas into the market place. They were helpless, they were driving by a compelling force—drawn by a compelling force. then we have it again in Acts 21: 30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.

Here we read of Paul and Silas into the market place. They were dragging Paul out of the temple. They were helpless, they were drawn by a compelling force. Then we have it again in Acts 21: 30 ...dragging Paul out of the temple.

Let us go back to John 12: 32 where we read, And I, if I be lifted up will draw all men unto Me. Now men may say—but I don’t want to come to Him—I don’t want to face Him —I don’t want to give an account to Him, but you will not be asked if you want to or not. You will have to face Him and stand in His presences, and answer to Him. The answer is to be drawn in love by grace in this age, rather than wait and be drawn to Him in judgement, when it will be too late to be saved.

15/ Now let’s go to one of their favorite Scriptures in Philippians 2: 9 - 11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The word, every, in each of the above verses is from the same Greek word, so often rendered, all, in other portions of the Scriptures, so the universalist are sure it teaches all finally will be saved, and then they like to quote, Romans 10: 9 That if thou shall confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, thou shalt be saved—and does not Philippians 2: 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Here, it teaches that one day every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? Oh no, the answer is NO.

Romans 10: 9,10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Confession is coupled with heart-faith.

Philippians 2: 9 -11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This is not so—here it is rather coupled with the bowing of all, including all people. Notice something—when this is brought to pass, believing with the heart that God has raised Christ from the dead will no longer be a factor, for His resurrection will then be a self-evident fact.

In Romans 10: 9, 10 it is clearly a proposition. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Philippians 2: 9 - 11 is a prediction. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Confess Christ as Lord in this age, right now, and you will be saved. Decline to do so, and according to Philippians 2: 9 - 11 you will someday be forced to do so. It teaches universal subjugation, not universal reconciliation.

You will notice God has given Jesus Christ a Name that is above every Name. That is the Name that is going to fill the universe, as I hope it is the Name you love—what a Name it is—sweetest Name on mortal tongue, sweetest carol ever sung. I hope you love to have your baby say that name first—you love to hear him say, Jesus Christ, before he says anything else, and when the aged die, you bend over them and you hope to hear them say, Jesus Christ before they die.

16/ The knee and the tongue—the knee is to be bended to Christ—even the millions of lost who have scoffed at Him, and the swearer who has taken His name in vain will confess that He is lord. Yes, God says to the stiff-kneed, you must bow your knee to that Name and your tongue must confess Him, but it will be a matter of subjugation.

17/ I Timothy 2: 4 - 6 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

The universalist argument here is that if God desires the salvation of all but cannot achieve it then He is not omnipotent, and Christ died a defeated person. This argument may sound convincing until we realize this is not so. Here we will compare it with other Scriptures as in Ezekiel 18: 20, 23 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not

bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

In verse 23 He says, Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord, No. But we know the wicked will die, for we are told so in the 20th verse.

18/ Special attention should be given to the position of I Timothy 2: 4 - 6 in its context. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

An exhortation to pray for all men is followed by the assertion that God would have all to be saved, and that Christ gave Himself a ransom for all, and so the thought is since God desires the salvation of all, and since Christ gave Himself a ransom for all—we, His people, should surely have a like desire, and should pray for all. We want all to be saved, but we know God can’t save anyone who will not come unto Him by Jesus Christ.

19/ Now let us turn to another Scripture that they love to use I Timothy 4: 10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

God who was the saviour of all men, especially of those that believe. It has been difficult to believe the universalist can use this Scripture to try to prove that eventually all will be saved. You will notice that the word, Saviour, is preserver. He is the preserver of all those that believe. There is no question here of Christ’s work in salvation. It is God pictured as Creator and preserver of all men.

Notice, Psalm 36: 6 O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast, and He does do just that, and you will also remember, Matthew 5: 45 where He says, He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Every good and perfect gift cometh from him and all men whether saved or unsaved, have God as a preserver of life. He is the one who has created this universe, has set up its governing laws, and notice, not only on man, but on beasts as well, but especially on the saved. He does care for us, because all things work together for good.

20/ Let me give you an illustration of what God did for Paul.

II Corinthians 11: 32, 33 And in Damascus the governor under Aretas, the king kept a city of Damacenes with a garrison to apprehend me, and through a window in a basket was let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.

Here God was the preserver, especially of Paul.

21/ Now let us look at a few verses, do they tell us that all will some day be saved?

Philippians 3: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Notice, they are enemies of the cross of Christ that he is talking about, and what is the end of those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ? It is destruction, it is damnation, it is perdition. This doesn’t sound like their end is salvation does it? No, their end is perdition, it is damnation.

22/ Now let’s carry this thought a little bit farther. If we have in Romans 8: 33 Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? If the Universalists’ argument is correct—it should read, Who shall lay anything to the charge of anybody, anyone? For all are going to be saved—NO—that would make this portion of scripture just sheer non- sense.

Then take Romans 8: 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

why does it not say—God is working all things together for good to all men? Why does it say to those who are in love with God?

23/ When we come to the fact that they think that even Satan will someday be saved. All the demons will be saved. This is a ridiculous teaching—let us look at

II Corinthians 11: 13 - 15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Notice what it says, Whose end shall be according to their works. They don’t deserve salvation. Their end will be according to their works.

AMEN

Ref: 11/11/1962 / 252 - WILL ALL MEN BE SAVED? / 05/22/2021

WHAT GOD THINKS OF YOUR RELIGIOUS PRIDE

Photo taken by B Smith from the kitchen window

249 - WHAT GOD THINKS OF YOUR RELIGIOUS PRIDE 

October 14, 1962

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

 

Romans 3: 23 - 27 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

The average person who has religion does not stop to think, but if he did, he would realize he has a God who is not a just God. The Social Gospel is not a just Gospel—it makes God wretch, not a just God who vindicates His name. This portion of Scripture that we want to study this morning, will show you that when God saves a soul through Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, God is a just God, and vindicates His name in the way that He saves a sinner.

1/ Then, Paul takes for example—the Old Testament saint. How did God ever vindicate His name, by saving man in the Old Testament and count him righteous before Jesus Christ’s shed blood? Take, for instance, Abraham—we read that he was a man justified by God—thousands of years before Jesus Christ came to shed His blood. What manner of man was Abraham? We know he was a coward. He was willing to sacrifice the honor of his wife, Sarah, in order to save his own skin. And yet God classified Abraham the “friend of God.” What kind of God is the God of the Bible, who has such friends as this dishonorable man?

2/ Then, Take Moses—He was a murderer, and a fugitive from justice when Jehovah appeared to him and sent him off to Egypt as His representative. Calling him His servant, and setting him up as the leader of a great people. And God put into His bloody hands, the Table of the Law, containing the commandments—thou shalt not kill. This is hypocrisy—what kind of God would take a murderer to deliver such a message?

3/ If we did not have the New Testament we would not know the answer—we would be completely in the dark—but praise God, we do have the New Testament, and we do have the writings of Paul that clarify this for us.

4/ You’ll notice in Verse 25—which God talks about the remission of sins. God, of course, is talking about the Old Testament Saints here. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; How is God just in calling Abraham the friend of God? How was He just in calling Moses to be the lawgiver, when he was guilty of that very sin of committing murder?

5/ You Say, Well Abraham And Moses Were Saved By The Shedding Of Blood of an innocent substitute, when they had their sacrifices and shed their blood. But let us take you for a moment to Hebrews 10: 4

Now, notice, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. Now, let me ask you a question in the light of this verse. How was it that God could pass over sin for 4,000 years when it was not taken away? And the words we want you to notice are “taken away.” The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin.In The Old Testament Sin Was Never Taken Away. I like to think of Psalms 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Here they were declared just— just what God did in the Old Testament. Notice, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

6/ Now compare that thought with Hebrews 10: 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. It is not sin taken away, but sin covered.

7/ Now, Again Compare That With Hebrews 9: 26 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

Perhaps some folks say, you keep us turning the pages of our Bible so much. Yes, I recognize that—but still it is good for you—it is good exercise. It will get you in the habit of knowing where different portions of the Bible happen to be, and get you into the habit of studying your Bible.

So now, notice in Hebrews 9:26 But now Jesus Christ has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

That isn’t covering sin. In the Old Testament sin was covered—that was all. God covered it up until Christ would come, and then God put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

8/ Romans 3: 26 That He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Christ.

When God justifies a person—that means it make’s him absolutely clear before God— not just a pardoned sinner, not just a sinner with his sins covered, but his sins put away, and he is made just, or just as righteous as God Almighty. And when God does that, He has to be just—He doesn’t just do it and not consider the consequences, but God says He is Just in doing what He did.

9/ Now, God is able to do here, what no court in the land can ever do—no earthly judge can ever do this, a judge can let a culprit go, and pronounce a guilty man righteous, yet that doesn’t make him so. Only God can take the sinner and make him just, and He does it through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

10/ There is a remarkable thing that I was reading the other day, and it is in II Samuel and I would like to have you turn to that Scripture. It is a well-known event in the Old Testament, but there is an angle here that most people miss. In this Scripture we have the story of Absalom the son of David. I am pretty sure you remember the story, Absalom had committed murder—there had been a murder in David’s family, and Absalom had come upon his brother and killed him, and then had fled. Absalom was the son that David loved very much. Absalom was very beautiful, and all Israel loved him, but he was in exile, and Joab the leader of the armies also wanted him back, but David did absolutely nothing to bring him back. So, Joab got a woman, a very wise woman, as a matter of fact, she is called that, to present a story to David, with the plea to bring Absalom back. Now, it was a story—it wasn’t a true story. She said, I am a widow and had two sons. My two sons fought, and one of them slew his brother. Now the whole populace is up against my son, the remaining son, and they want me to kill him. But if they kill him, I will be left alone—I will be a widow worth nothing. She made her plea so strong that David said her son would be spared, not killed.

Then she made this plea, and I want you to notice, II Samuel 14: 13, 14 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.

She said, David you have made a mistake in what you have said. You said my son would be spared—how about your son? He is banished, and you won’t bring him back. Not only that, you sin against the people, and against God, for God brings back those who sin against Him are driven out. David, said, all right I will bring Absalom back. But Absalom had no atonement for his sin. He was a murderer, and David tried to do what God did, and what God does, and what was the result? Absalom was brought back, and he drove David out of his kingdom. David became a man away from his kingdom, and Absalom ruled the kingdom, having driven his father away, and it wasn’t until after Absalom was dead that David got back on his throne.

Here is the thing I want you to see. No one else can do what God does. God is the only one who makes him right. David thought he could do what God did, but he suffered for it. When you try to do what God does, when you try to devise a plan of salvation and make people just, you find that you get into trouble for you are not God and you cannot do what God does.

16/ Now let us look at the nation Israel under law when God declared them righteous and covered their sins by the blood of the sacrifice. Let’s see how righteous God declared them to be. God had delivered them from Egypt, made a path for them through the Red Sea, and all the while, they were blaspheming god’s Name, and they had idols of Egypt packet in their baggage while eating the Passover sacrifice and they were now surrounded by nations which had given themselves over to the control of Satan and worshipped various demons. Then the day came when the children of Israel arrived at a certain place in the wilderness journey, and they were camped in the plains of Moab, not far from the Jericho crossing of the Jordan. They had just destroyed the Amorites, and the people of Moab were scared to death. They thought that the children of Israel would advance on them and just mop them up. The King of Moab, was then called Balak, and in this emergency he turned to a man by the name of Balaam. And this man Balaam had somewhat of a local reputation as a prophet. And so the king said to Balaam that he knew his reputation, and whosoever was cursed by Balaam was really cursed, and whosoever was blessed by Balaam was truly blessed. And so Balak offered riches and honor to Balaam if he would curse the people of God. And the Lord appeared to Balaam and told him not to do what he had been asked to do.

Now, we don’t want to spend time gong through the time when the ass spoke to Balaam and all the different things that happened. I want to take you right to the very heart of the story, the whole point of the story. You will find that the heart of the story is that the people of Israel was a sinful people, and God blessed them in grace instead of cursing them in righteousness. It was the failure to understand the reason for this that kept Balaam seeking after a word of curse upon them.

Numbers 23: 21 Here We Have An Astounding Statement By Balaam. He, meaning God—He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel, the Lord God is with him and the shout of a king is among them.

What an amazing verse! Of course, there was iniquity upon Jacob, but God refused to look at it, and, of course, there was perverseness in Israel, but God would not see it. As a matter of fact, He could not see it. It was impossible for Him to do it. God does not look upon the sins of those who put their trust in Him--He does not see sin in those who have been declared righteous by Him.

17/ Numbers 23: 19, 20 to get to the heart of what we are talking about. And he said God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Notice, I Balaam have received commandment to bless and the words from God to bless these people, and He, God, hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

God hath blessed Israel, God hath justified Israel. What a wonderful glorious fact is brought to our hearts here--God is the just and the justifier of them that believe in Him.

18/ Then Notice The End Of Romans 3: 26 that God is the justifier of them that believe in Jesus, it is all in believing in Jesus. Where is boasting, then, it is excluded. But you know men with their religion cannot get away from the fact that they think they must do something for God. You have people who tell the sinner to give his heart to God. Let me ask you. What would God do with the dirty thing anyway? The heart is incurable and desperately wicked. No, the believer is not told to give his heart to God. What is he told to do then? He is told to believe God’s Word about the blood of the cross, and about the death of Jesus Christ. Only the believer, the one who is now saved, is told to give his renewed heart to God. In other words, it is necessary that we believe in God, we are not saved by giving up our hearts to God--we are saved by believing God’s record about His Son, His death, burial and resurrection.

19/ Now let us show you this very same thing in another portion of Scripture in the Gospel of John.

John 3:14, 15, 16 You’ll read that Jesus Christ said, As Moses was lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever, now notice, believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

That verse precedes the statement probably best known in the Bible in John 3:16. But now the example of Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness, illustrates the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, being made just by believing, and only believing.

20/ The people had journeyed from the Red Sea to the border of Edom, they were much discouraged because of the way, and they began to murmur against God and against Moses, and God sent fiery serpents among them and they bit the people and many people died. The repentant people came to Moses, acknowledged their sins and ask him to intercede for them with the Lord, and Moses did so, and the Lord answered in a manner that seemed to be foolish, for Moses was told to make a serpent of brass and put it up on a pole, and God told him that it would come to pass that every man that was bitten by the serpent and he would look upon the serpent of brass, would be healed.

21/ Now let us notice something about this illustration—First of all, the people were not told to make for themselves any remedy. They weren’t to brew any potion, they weren’t to use any salves, they weren’t to get injections of any kind. There is nothing here that they had to do. They were to cease from home remedies and turn to the divine remedy. Men had been bitten by the serpent of sin. How are they going to be cured of its bite? There is nothing but death awaiting them as a result of their wound. Unless God Himself should furnish a remedy.

22/ Then in the second place—The men in the desert were not told to help each other —they were merely told to look at the serpent, fixed on the pole. In our day there would have been many recruits for social services to aid those who were bitten, but God didn’t say, you help one another. He didn’t say you form some sort of society to help each other—NO—they were merely to look on the brazen serpent.

23/ Then in the third place—the men in the desert dying of the snake bites were not told to fight the serpents, NO, they were merely to look at the brass serpent.

24/ Then the fourth place—the men on the borders of Edom, bitten by the serpents, were not told to pray to the serpent, we are not told to pray to the serpent on the pole. Nor is the sinner told to pray for salvation. Christ has died, and salvation is to be believed, not prayed for.

25/ Then in the fifth place—God did not tell them to get rid of the serpents, to go out and kill them all. He didn’t remove the serpents. He gave them a remedy in the midst of their dilemma, and it was the remedy that was theirs by just looking at the serpent on the pole--the brass serpent on the pole. You see, boasting is excluded. The men back in the days of Moses and the brass serpent had nothing to brag about, nothing to boast about. God hates boasting. What do you have to boast about anyway? He doesn’t want us to have any.

26/ There is a wonderful verse in Jeremiah—and I would like you to notice it. It is Jeremiah 9:23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

Now notice, Let not men glory, but men do in themselves. Let not a wise man glory in his wisdom, for what is human wisdom? It is soon gone, and it doesn’t solve very much, and let not mighty men glory in his might, we often have a spectacle of mighty men going down to defeat. We are not to glory in our might. Neither are we to glory in our riches. Of course, men do, but I am sure you only have to keep in mind 1929, the time of that awful crash. Where was boasting then? It is excluded.

All the work of salvation is by God, because He is the Just One and the justifier.

AMEN

Ref: 10/14/1962 / 249 - WHAT GOD THINKS OF YOUR RELIGIOUS PRIDE / 05/20/2021

DANGER IN THE CHURCH

Photo by B Smith from the kitchen door

239 – DANGER IN THE CHURCH

January 21, 1962

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

 

I Timothy 1: 1 - 11 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

Paul commissioned Timothy to go to Ephesus and charge some that were there that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies.  

1/  Then when we go to Revelations, we find in Revelations 2: 1 - 7 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Timothy was successful in guiding this church. These seven churches are churches which  did exist in the past. This is not the primary interpretation, but it does give us some facts about the church there. These facts will be in existence in the future as well.  But, verse 4 tells us, God says, nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hath left thy first love. Notice, this is less than a century later. Even though He said, verse 2 that thou has tried them which say that they are apostles and are not and found them liars, found them to be false.Yet in spite of all this there was something lacking. The church had left its first love. We should be careful not to mistake this for brotherly love—it refers to love for Jesus Christ. Now their works were wonderful, but God is a jealous God, and Jesus Christ is a jealous God. He wants to have our love first and foremost—He wants to be first in our hearts. And you know what finally happened in this church at Ephesus—they were suffering from heart-departure from Christ.Things that had come to occupy first place in their hearts that Christ alone should occupy.

2/  Now the word Ephesus, means desirable. It is the term that a Greek applied to the maiden of choice. But this desirable one had lost its first-love. It is true they were still saved—not lost, still had a message, still worked for God, but they didn’t  have  the joy in working for the Lord that they once did. Their work was a burden. Now they did these things, but they were things that they found hard to do, where before they did them with great ease, they had lost their first love for Jesus Christ.

3/  Whenever I think of this, about Ephesus losing its first love I always think of Jacob.  Remember he could work for seven years for the hand of Rachel because he loved her, and remember 

Genesis 29: 20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

The seven years seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had foe her. We can work real hard, but that work can be bitter unless it is soften and sweetened with love. We can work for God with clinched fists, and the gritting teeth, saying it’s got to be done, so we do it. But that is not the way God wants us to work for Him. He wants this work to be easy because of the love we have for Him. But God expects us to do hard things, and love enables us to work hard for Him. You can picture Timothy in the midst of that snarling pack of wolves, and you might say here at Ephesus, here there was disputing about this doctrine, or that doctrine, but he could trust Timothy.  He could leave Timothy there and Timothy was used of God in that church, or in those assemblies.

4/  Now notice what Timothy was to do there in this area. He was to charge some, there wasn’t too many here, but there were some, they weren’t to teach any other doctrine, they weren’t to give heed to fables or endless genealogies.There is one we must keep in mind here. This was easy to happen, because there was no Bible as we know it today.  There was not written scriptures as we know them today, that is on the New Testament.  It was easy for the heretics to gain credence with their doctrine by creating fables about the Lord Jesus Christ. Some Fantastic stories of His childhood, for instance some of them are still in existence. The word genealogies, quite often was translated with mystical history.  The word, fables, could be myths, so all this was the result of imagination. Somebody came inn and he wanted to gain a hearing and so he invented things about the Lord Jesus Christ.  Notice what Paul calls these things.

I Timothy 4: 7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

They are called profane, and old wives myths, or fables. So these teachers from without, and the teachers from within, they used to make up things and to push these off on the folks. So what did it do? It brought up questions—questions that couldn’t be answered.  Questions out of the word of God are fine because we can dig into the word of God and find the answer, but when we go outside the word of God we do not have the answer to our questions.  Whenever we have a question about something, we should keep digging into the word of God until we get the answer.  But naturally, with these myths, these things these men made up, you cannot find the answer in the word of God, because it is not in the word of God.

5/  Titus evidently had the same trouble, for in Titus 1: 10, 11 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.

where it says there are many unruly and vain talkers especially they of the circumcision—those who came in with empty things—things other than what the Word of God actually taught as Paul taught it.

6/  Then Paul tells Timothy in verse 5 that the end, or the goal of the charge is charity or love, the charge should produce love, and I am sure this meant among the brethren.  But the endless genealogies and the fables, they produced as vs. 6 tells us, vain jangling? Why it is arguing isn’t it? Of course it is. Here is a principle that everyone should recognize. Teaching should not produce arguing, but should produce love.  You will find as we go back to the law-keeper, that we talked about when we were studying Galatians, these folks who are always judging other people. They never really have love in what they teach—it does not produce love for one another, but rather vain jangling—the looking down the nose at other folks.

7/  Right doctrine, and right teaching should produce love, not enmity, not hatred. If what I teach is true, it should not cause me to despise those who do not agree with me, but it should cause me to love them anyway and try to help and to be kind to them—not to be finding fault with them constantly.

8/  I Timothy 1: 7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

Now he says, they desire to be teachers of the law. I do not think there are any good teachers of the law, I never knew anybody who tried to teach the law who did not get into trouble. And did not get folks who followed  them in trouble. God has not raised up teachers of the law. I don’t see why folks don’t get through with the law, when God says get through with it. There may be many of you listening to my voice this morning who say, we need the law, we have to have it—we know that grace saves, we still have to have it.

9/  Are you saved? Then you are righteous in Christ. Then the law is not for you. The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient. You see, if you cling to the law that is where you put yourself. You put yourself among the lawless and disobedient. The law is not made for the righteous man. God has made us righteous in Christ and the law is set aside, we have nothing to do with it.

10/  Now you will notice the things that are enumerated here—if you are in that class, then you better go to the law, for the law was written for you to show you the evil of your sin. But you show me a scripture that tells you that the law is teacher—it isn’t. The law is a schoolmaster, yes, to bring Israel to Christ, but it is the grace of God that teacheth.

Titus 2: 11, 12 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

12/  The answer to this law-keeping is the Gospel, the glorious Gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust, Verse 11 Notice, it is a glorious Gospel, and it is of a happy God, for that word blessed should be translated, happy. 

One day when I was reading G. Campbell Morgan, in his searchlights from the Word, I came across this and was thrilled by it—“A happy God has given us this glorious Gospel.”

13/  You may misunderstand this word, happy. We have folks who say—Happy New Year! Are you a happy person? Or so and so is a happy person. When the world says, happy, they have one thought in mind, for that word comes from the word, haphazard—it is something that depends upon happenings—in other words, you can be happy because certain things happen in your life—if you have happy things happen in your life, you have happiness, if you have bad thing in your life, you are unhappy. But this is not the word that Paul uses in writing to Timothy.

14/  The Bible many times uses the word, happy, and quite often it is translated, blessed, but in reality, its meaning is happy. Now the Greek language brings out the difference that I have been trying to talk to you about. First of all, there are two Greek words with distinct, different meaning, and they are both translated by either blessed or happy. The first one MUCK—KAR’—EE—OS. This was used by Greek writers when they were speaking of the happiness of deity, of the gods. Then the word  was U—DIE—MON and the Greek writers used this of human happiness. Now you will notice in that word, U-die-mon—you have the word, DIE—MON—E—OWN and right away you get the word, demon. Did demon is what Udiemon means. In other words they thought there were demons that brought good luck and good fortune. When you hear someone say, my, he is lucky, or he has good luck, it is going back to the thought of  the Greek days when the demons would bring good luck or good fortune. Now the Bible does not use this word. Because we do not have good luck or good fortune.

15/  True happiness comes only from God. I Timothy 6: 15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

Where we read, He is the blessed, the happy, and only Potentate. True happiness is an attribute of God, and God tries to put this attribute in those who believe in Him.

16/  God’s people should be happy people.  

Deuteronomy 33: 29 Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

And here we read, happy art thou, O Israel, these are the last words from the mouth of Moses before he ascended Mt. Nebo, that is where he died. God’s people are, and of course must be, a happy people, following Him. True happiness does not come from the world—the world knows nothing about it. But God’s people should be happy. Here Israel was God’s chosen people and they were meant to be a happy people.

17/  But how, what would cause the children of Israel to be a happy people? It is brought out to us in Romans 4: 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

Here we have Paul quoted from a person living under the Old Testament, he lived under the law, and here he described the happiness of a man whom the Lord imputed righteousness without works.  So you can see they were happy because they had this situation in God.

18/  Luke 11: 28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Here we have a principle that runs through the Bible. Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it. And that word, blessed is the same word, it should be happy are they who hear the Word of God and keep it. This runs through the Word. Let’s just get another example of it very quickly.  

Revelations 1: 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

We are happy when we heed the Word of God. I don’t have time to go into this more fully, but it is a truth, a man whose sins are forgiven, has been made righteous, is happy if he recognizes the situation—a man who heeds the Word of God is happy.

19/  Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Here we have the happy hope. The happy hope when Jesus Christ appears in the Heavens for us. This is the way God makes us happy today. He makes us happy through the Word. When you turn to the Word, and you find something that is wonderful there, it just thrills your heart and makes you happy, and then when you keep your eyes on the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, it brings happiness to you. You can be going through some horrible situation, you can be going through some testing, but you think, Jesus Christ could appear in the Heavens and catch me out of the world today. It is happy thought isn’t it? This happy God wants us to be happy, and happiness of this nature can only come from God.

20/ Then Paul says something in verse 11, that no one else has been able to say—The Gospel was committed unto him. Undoubtedly this grace gospel, the mystery was given to Paul and not to others.

21/  I would like to clear up some things that people say. They hear us speak about Paul, and they hear us say his name quite often, and they are those who seem to think we are putting Paul in a positon above Christ but this is not, in fact, in the last while back, there has been a movement called, “Back to Christ,” and that movement was started partly by those who believe that in talking about Paul and Pauline truths, we are getting away from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is not true. We only speak about Paul because Paul was given the distinctive truth that is for us in this age in which we live.

22/  There is a lot of misunderstanding by people who go into the Bible promiscuously, going to the Bible as though the entire Bible was for the church. Now, I frankly admit that the whole Bible was written for the church, but the whole Bible is not about the church. Most of the Bible was written about the Jews, but there is a distinctive part of the Bible that was written to and for the church of Jesus Christ, and that is that which was given directly to Paul.

AMEN

Ref: 01/21/1962 / 239 - DANGER IN THE CHURCH / 05/18/2021