DEALING WITH LARRY DAVIS
Maurice M. Johnson
Los Angeles, California
July 1959So far as I recall Larry very positively, and, so far as I knew, very sincerely and easily, expressed gratitude to God, and to me personally, for the manner in which I dealt with those men -- four different preachers. He never faintly suggested that I was hasty, unloving, harsh, egotistical, or other than a brother, I mean a Christian brother (his anyway, of course), a Christian minister. But he met another preacher. He told me of meeting that preacher. Ted Cole, pastor of the First Baptist of Pomona. He told me that he was a wonderful fellow, pastor of a church of nearly 4,000 members, one of the largest Baptist churches in this part of the country. And he said that Cole treated him very warmly, that he gave him some truth about the one church (maybe water baptism, I've forgotten) and Cole treated him very warmly and invited him to come back.
I immediately thought what's going on here. It doesn't make sense that a man that's a pastor of a big denominational congregation like that (and a comparatively young man I believe he was). It doesn't make sense to me that a man of that denominational calibre will be kidding with a boy the age of Larry. It doesn't make sense that he ... because Larry didn't hear a thing that would suggest that he was disappointed with his job or was about to be fired and was more or less open to a change; and I thought Larry's in a very dangerous condition.
Larry told me again, I don't know how many days had elapsed, intervened between the next time Larry told me that he'd been to talk with Cole. And again he'd told me how gracious, and so forth. And sure as a brother in Christ, neither time, nor up to tonight, did Larry faintly hint that he'd like me to go with him to meet that preacher. That is most significant to me Larry. Very significant. Why didn't you want me to go with you to meet that preacher?
If you began to believe way back there, the last time you talked that way about him, that he was a dear man of God and began to lose confidence in me as a man of God, then why didn't you have enough of that love that I understand is now supposed to be motivating you. You want to show love to more saints I understand (you'll probably tell us about that directly). Why didn't you have some of that love for me and believe that this mighty man of God, pastor of such a big congregation, might be able to help me? if you didn't believe that I might be able to help him. To me, Larry, the reason you did not invite me to go with you to talk to that preacher is at the bottom of the beginning and explains some of the reasons for your departure from the simplicity that is in Christ.
I would like to suggest right now Larry that you try to get me an opportunity to speak in anybody's Baptist church as we are readily stepping aside (I don't mean the pulpit 'we' but I mean all of us here) in allowing you to speak. Though we know, from all we do know that's transpired in the last few weeks, from things you've said, that you are not walking endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. But since we have no overlords here, since we are endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (I don't mean every individual, I don't know each heart), but I mean so far as the leadership under God, and so far as those who are responsible for the meetings and all, we are endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Therefore we do not acknowledge any earthly, any human head.
By the grace of Almighty God, Larry, I believe what I preach; I believe it with my whole heart. And therefore, I would consider it not only the beginning of sectarianism but an ugly brand of sectarianism were we here to refuse to let you or anybody else speak that wants to, to speak. On the other hand, of course, we have a responsibility, I have a responsibility that I expect to bear trembling before God.
Because Larry, not only does God use weak and base instruments but the devil can use most anything he wants to use when allowed to. So you may be used tonight, very effectively, in the thinking of somebody that is weak and untaught or who has only head knowledge as you obviously had about some beautiful truths. I hope you're going to say that God has shown you what a fool you have been in the last few weeks and that you have been completely changed to where you now want to contend down to your feet for the truth, the unity of the Spirit, by your walk, that there's one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one hope and baptism, one God and Father of all.
After you have spoken, and of course you do not need to take a long time. More likely all of us here are fairly familiar with the arguments, many of them gotten out by far abler men than you, Larry. And some have heard them here when they use to be in denominationalism and since then; arguments that have been gotten out by men far more able than you (though you may not recognize it), men far more able than you, as to why Christians should become identified with some human invention in religion in order to do more good for God. So you'll be only presuming if you take a long time to state your conditions as to why you no longer are walking with us, if it is still true that you're no longer walking with us in the endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace as you professed to believe we were up to some short time ago.
One more verse before you speak and then I'll follow you. I Corinthians 11th chapter. "There must also be divisions that they which are approved" or heresies, I Corinthians 11;19, "For there must also be heresies among you," he's writing to the saints at Corinth, "There must also be heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." "There must also be heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest."
This is a meeting where heresies may crop out, and where we will not have police protection to keep them from cropping out. That's one of the surest evidences that we're not a sect. In the Baptist church organization, or the Methodist, Presbyterian, the Roman Catholic, or Lutheran, or any organization by men that own their own property or religious corporation, they have in this country and I suppose other countries, police protection, and they'll call on the police to arrest anybody that disturbs public worship. I do not believe that true worship can be disturbed by another being. No Roman emperor did disturb Paul's worship. The Philippian jailor didn't disturb Paul and Silas's worship though their hands and feet were tied in the stocks and their backs bruised and beaten. They worshipped.
Now I repeat, the very fact that you're allowed to speak here when we have every reason up to now to believe that you're going to speak against what is most precious to most of us, I hope. Though we're well aware, and expect you, unless God's been allowed to work a miracle in your thinking, we're well aware of the fact that you've intended to, and we expect you, to speak against the things that are most precious to us. Nevertheless, we are going to listen to you. I am. And I covet for all ... I ask all of you to prayerfully, who are Christians, give Larry an honest hearing, and [be] very prayerful as he speaks.
Larry...
[Larry Davis now speaks.]
I'm thankful for the opportunity that I have in being able to speak here. And I desire that each of you will listen very carefully to what I have to say. This to me is a very important issue. And when I leave, I want you to fully understand what I believe.
I've been influenced by some men who are not in this assembly here. And 'I would like to say that I will, by the Lord's grace, get a statement from brother Cole to see if I was the one he was talking about, if he made such a statement. And I hope I have the opportunity of having it played here. If it's me, I'm sure he will be quite happy to tell me that he said it concerning myself. But I have been influenced by him and by some other men who are not in this assembly. Now this inducement has only pernicious if it is not sent directly by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I'm convinced that the men who have persuaded me, the things that have persuaded me in their lives, has been what Christ has been allowed to do in and through them.
The book of Romans, the 14th chapter and verse 4, the Bible says, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant. But to his own master he standeth or falleth. He shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand." And I know that we have the opportunity and the obligation to judge righteous judgment according to the Word of God. If we see a brother who's walking disorderly, we have the privilege to go to such a one in meekness, considering ourselves lest we also are tempted.
Oh let's bear in mind that the prerogative to impugn the motives and incentives of our brothers and sisters in Christ has not been left to us, not to our discrimination or sagacity. Only God has the power to know and to see clearly enough, to see lucidly enough to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Bible says in ... I Corinthians the 4th chapter verses 3-5, the apostle says, "With me it is a small thing if I am judged of you or of man's judgment. Yea, I judge not my own self, for I know nothing by myself. But he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come. He shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and shall make manifest the counsels of men's hearts. And then shall every man have praise of God."
Remember what I said before. I'm not saying we have no right at all to judge what we see in our brothers' lives, but I'm saying only God can judge. Only God has the right and authority and the exclusive privilege to judge the thoughts and motivations of a person's heart. And the man that arrogates that position is in danger of the judgment of God. In Romans the 2nd chapter and verse I the Bible says, "Therefore thou art inexcusable oh man, whosoever thou art that judgest, for wherein thou judgest another, thou are condemned of thyself. For thou that judgest doest the same thing."
I've been grieved very much in the last few weeks by some things that many of you have believed concerning me. The other night, one fellow here, who I love very much in the Lord, quite thoroughly castigated me in the presence of other brethren with a relentless series of reprimands. And all of his criticism of me personally were based upon his own opinion of my motivations, of my thoughts, of what I felt and believed inside. And today I hope to God you can see that a person ... we have no right to judge the thoughts of ours brothers and sisters in Christ. We can tell if they're walking contrary to God's Word and we should go to them and endeavor to help them. But only God Himself, only God has the power to judge someone's heart. And thank God He's going to do it someday.
This fellow as he was talking about me even went as far as to explicitly declare in the last two years I have delighted in making contacts so I can have the benefit of brother Maurice's public commendations in the meeting. But I have revered brother Maurice very much. But in making a few of these contacts have suffered a prodigious amount of criticism from both the saved and the unsaved. And I'm not venerating him, or any other man that much you see, to do that, to suffer that for. But I believed then that I was suffering hardness for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. The other night as this fellow was talking about me and about my pride and seeing the utterance of a thing of pride in my life, and I knew when he was talking that the last three years I can say honestly that the utmost desire of my heart has been to bring glory to Christ.
But I began to think of things that I had done in my life, sins that my pleasure seeking self had led me into prior to three years ago. And I thought I certainly am glad that he doesn't know about them, he doesn't know the half of them. No, he could not have found the words to describe the wretchedness and the wickedness of my altogether deceitful heart. There's not a man here that is more aware of the peril of my potential pride as I am. I've seen its very bad effects before. I've seen how it has shamed the Lord Jesus Christ and I'm not claiming in the last three years to be insusceptible to any relapses or to any hangovers to my prior life. But I do believe that by the grace of God the tenor has been changed. And I know that my desire in coming here tonight has been because I love Christ and I love you people here.
In the book of I John the Bible gives the basis for Christian fellowship and co-Laboring. Starting at verse 5, please turn there in your Bibles, in verse 5 it says, "This is the message that we have declared unto you that in God there is: light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His San cleanses us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
And I say today that it is impossible, there is not a Christian on the face of the earth who is capable, they are all incapable, everyone of you who are saved are incapable, of living in darkness. Jesus Christ said in John 8 and verse 12, "I am the light of the world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of Life." The Bible says in Colossians 3:3 that "we are dead and our life is hid with Christ in God." In Ephesians 2:6 the Bible says, "He has raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." In Galatians 5:25 and Romans 8:9 says, "We live in the Spirit." That's all the time. That every Christian is quite competent to walk in darkness, that is what John is talking about. In verse 7 he said, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all unrighteousness." Only sin can break the fellowship with God. Only [that] a person is willful, perverse, when he knows he's going against God, he will continue to do so, that can break the fellowship of believers, and that can break the fellowship with God. Only sin can do that. And the bible says in I John I:9, that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The Bible says in I John 3:4 that "whosoever sinneth transgresseth the law, for sin is a transgression of the law." And all sin is contained in this verse, Now I don't believe it is like the Sabbatarians who claim that only the ten commandments of God, but I believe that comprised in that verse are all of the admonishments and commands that we find in the Bible that are applicable to the church which is Christ's body. And I believe too that the only time a person will willfully continue to disobey one of them is when he has a love for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in John 14 and verse 15, Christ said, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments," and I John 5:3 says, "This is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous." It is only when a person loves his lust and disobedience more than Jesus Christ, when he will walk continually in darkness and break the fellowship spoken of in I Corinthians the 1st chapter. And of course, with such a person who is content to walk in darkness, who is content to disobey the Word of God, that person should be marked and avoided, as the Word of God commands. But I say again, it is only when a person loves his own lusts more than the Lord Jesus Christ.
If denominationalism is contrary, if it alterates and supplants the Word of God, then at no time, under any circumstances, could a humble Bible Christian have fellowship or co-Labor with any man who is content to stay in denominational circles. At no time. But I do not believe that the Bible teaches denominationalism as being sin, a violation of God's law.
In John the 17th chapter and verse 17 the lord Jesus Christ is there praying for His disciples in His great high priestly supplication, and He says there, "As I have sent them into the world" ..."As you have sent Me into the world, so they also have been sent into the world." And Christ said for their sakes, "I sanctify Myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Thy word is truth." He said in verses 20 and 21, "I pray not for these alone, but for all them which shall believe on Me through their word that they may be one in Us as Thou are in Me and I in Thee that they may be one," enough that the world seeing "might believe that Thou hast sent Me." I believe that the first application to this scripture is given to the spiritual indivisibility of the body of Christ.
In Galatians the 3rd chapter and verse 28, the Bible says, "in Jesus Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, but ye are all one in Christ." Now if there is going to be any unity among believers, it has to be on the basis of that unity. But also Christ is praying here for something, a unity, a demonstrated unity, a unity that would be demonstrable in such a way that the world could see the work of the Father in His life and among His church. So He's calling, as you all believe, for an outward demonstration of this unity that would cause the world to believe.
A short time ago, a little more than a month I believe, brother Maurice on one Sunday evening had a meeting in which he publicly exposed J Vernon McGee from the Church of the Open Door in a tape that he had played on Romans the 7th chapter. Now I think of the possibilities of a person being in a meeting who is not a Christian, not saved, and hears the gospel of Christ being preached here, the following week he goes down to the Church of the Open Door, and he hears the same gospel of salvation, the same gospel message preached, and the following week he hears that we, this minister here, who preaches exactly the same gospel, tells exactly how a person can be saved, he's chiding the other preacher. My dear friends, that is not demonstrating the unity of God to the world.
On the other hand, brother Ted Cole, as mentioned before, told me of two weeks which he spent with a Lutheran preacher. He said during this time they had fellowship, they had prayer together, and they preached the word together in Christian Love. And I believe that a person in the world could see them walking together in Christian love, preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Any demonstration of this line, that person could be convinced that there is something more than simply a theory of man in bringing them together.
And here's why I'm sure that that is where the answer is at. I've heard brother Maurice and other ministers bring out, which I'm sure is true, that John 17 is one of God's ways of evangelizing. And of course it is a very essential part. And being as we believe that God would have the best ways, where John 17 is practiced that ought to be (and I believe it is) where souls are being saved. And the Bible says in Matthew 7 verses 16 and 20, "By their fruits ye shall know them." And I'm sure it is not talking about the fruit of the Spirit because that is a singular fruit. Matthew 7 is talking about fruits plural.
The Bible says in Proverbs 11 and verse 30, "That the tree of the righteous" ... "That the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise." And Daniel said in the 12th chapter of Daniel and verse 3, "That the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever."
Now I know that all the people that go forward in Billy Graham's meetings. and the meetings that other Fundamentalists hold that preach Christ as Savior, are not all saved. But yet there's a multitude in this number that are being saved, and I've met a number of them. And this is so obvious, it is so apparent, where John 17 is being demonstrated and obeyed that I can't see how anyone who looked objectively at it could fail to see it. Because, according to God's Word, where it is being obeyed the world is going to believe. And I've heard brother Maurice bring it out before that that was an essential part of evangelism. He has said that the Great Commission of Matthew 28 has been hurt because of the Great Omission of John 17. And I believe that. That winning souls to Jesus Christ has been hurt because of the omission of the Christians unity, walking in Christian love.
But I believe that as brother Ted Cole and this Lutheran minister walked together demonstrating the unity of believers, being agreed on the plan of salvation, Living and showing Christian love one toward another, there's where souls have been being saved, you see.
Now Matthew 7 is not talking about, it is not telling us how we can be cognizant of the woman who is home praying for the leaders in the body of Christ. I know that there are many women and men, personal workers, and also those who pray for Billy Graham, who play a very important part in the salvation of every soul. The Bible says in Ephesians the 4th chapter and verse 16, "In whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working of the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." So every single person in the body of Christ plays a very essential part in the salvation of every soul. But yet God used Billy Graham as a leader in those meetings and God is using other men today as leaders in the meeting. In Matthew 7, Jesus Christ is talking about how you can recognize prophets, whether they are false prophets or men of God. And Jesus Christ said concerning them, "By their fruits ye shall know them." And I believe that John 17 is being obeyed where there's fruits where men are leading souls to Jesus Christ. Now if that be true, why is Billy Graham, if he is the one who is doing the most to disobey John 17, why is he probably being used more than any man I know of today, in being a leader, a prophet, where souls are being brought to the Lord Jesus Christ? That’ll be showing that God Almighty doesn't know the best way of reaching souls. But I believe that He does.
I've heard it said that calling a building a church is false, it's wrong. I understand that the word 'church' as it was used in the Scriptures applied every single time, every time it was used it applied only to Christian people. Never did it apply to a building. I'm aware of that fact. Yet I also am aware of the fact that every time that the word 'synagogue' in its first use as the word 'church' came from the word 'ecclesia' "called out assembly" as James explained in Acts 15 and verse 14, "That God is now taking out of the Gentiles a people for His name." So being called out means God is calling people out of nations, not denominations, out of nations. Calling out of nations a people for His name, out of the Gentiles. But as the word 'church' first used was applied to the people, so the word 'synagogue' from the Greek word synagogue 'agog' was first applied to the Jewish assembly, and I can find nowhere in the Word of God where God ever told the Jews to call a building a synagogue. Therefore was it not injurious when the Jews did it? And Acts 13 verse 42, even Luke called a building a synagogue. And I cannot find it rebuked in the Word of God. If you can prove to me that calling a temple a synagogue is detrimental or inequitable, then I will believe that calling a building a church is also hurtful.
And you say how about calling it a Baptist Church, or a Methodist Church? I'm not at all opposed to being called a pre-millennialist. Now the word 'pre-millennium' is not found in the Word of God, nowhere. But the truth I believe is found in there. So when a person says; "Are you a pre-millennialist?" I would tell them I am, because I believe that Jesus Christ is going to come back for a thousand years, which is what it means you see. But the word is not found in the Bible, but it defines to him what I believe. It shows him what I believe. Also, I'm not opposed, when I'm not at school, when I'm going down Main Street around, I'm not opposed to being recognized as a Fundamentalist. And I heard brother Maurice when he was talking about Modernists, bring out that he himself, sometime ago when he was going over some Modernistic teaching on evolution, he referred to himself that they would talk to him as a Fundamentalist. Now he didn't mean by that that he believes that Billy Graham and those who we called Fundamentalists were right, but he did mean by that that he believed in the fundamental teachings of the Word of God. And that would show to a liberal, it would show to an infidel, it would show to an atheist that he believed in the cardinal doctrines of the Scriptures. And the liberal, who claimed to be a Christian, claimed to believe in the Bible, it would identify him and name him apart as being so. And that is exactly the same way the Baptist Church is being used, or Methodist Church.
Now there are some that say that the Bible in I Corinthians the 1st chapter speaks against Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. But turn there in your Bible. The apostle Paul commences his epistle in I Corinthians the 1st chapter by saying, "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, and to all them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all them that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, both theirs and ours." So Almighty God here tells us that in I Corinthians the 1st chapter he is writing to one assembly, Paul by divine inspiration is writing to one, not four different assemblies, but to one assembly. And then he goes on to say that it can be applied to anyone anywhere who will call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
He went on to say, "Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always in Jesus Christ for the grace of God which is given you in His behalf. And in all things ye are enriched in Him, and in all utterance, and in all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. That ye come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Now he goes on to say, "God is faithful by whom ye are called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord."
Now in verse 10, "Now I beseech you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all speak the same thing and that you have no divisions among you. But that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and same judgment." And I believe that the Christian who'll be complacent and go seeminglessly on his way to I Corinthians 1:10 shows a contempt for a beseech in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Paul elucidates in verses 11 and 12 of the nature of the dissimilarities in verse 10. "Such have been declared unto me of you brethren by the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say every one of you say I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, I am of Christ."
Now the assembly here asserts that the parallel today is Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, and so on. You see Paul was not writing there, he was not writing there to four different assemblies. He wasn't writing to some folks that were. going to a building called Apollos, the Apollos Church. No, and you know that too. They were not going to a building called the Paul Building, of course not. Or the Pauline Church, the Pauline Church.
But Paul here was censuring an attitude of mind. He was reproving the sectarian spirit. Well I believe today that I Corinthians I can apply to many, many Baptists, and it does, but not all. An example: I understand from a dear brother in Christ in Glendora, he told me of 500 Northern and Southern Baptists back east who would not so much as eat together at a dinner. That is a sectarian spirit that Paul is talking about in I Corinthians I, and by God's grace, I'm going to preach against that all of my life.
I went to that same brother, a man that was saved ten years ago as a public debater for the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism. As I’ve gone to him, he has received me in Christian love, not as a Baptist (I'm not a Baptist), but he has received me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And brother Ted Cole from Pomona has shown me the same consideration that I believe he would have shown me were I a member of his Baptist Church. He told me when I went to see him first of all, when a person came to him, he didn't say what do you believe on this or on that, he did not say what do you believe about this church or about that church, are you a Baptist, but he asked them what they believe about Jesus Christ. He said that "When a person shows me that he loves Jesus Christ, I receive him," you see. Well I don't believe that is applying to I Corinthians the 1st chapter, and I'm sure that it is not.
Now, I want you to give very close attention to another group here, the ones who said "I am of Christ", "I am of Christ." Now to use the name of Jesus Christ is not-wrong. Colossians 3:17 says, "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." Ephesians 5:20 says, "Giving thanks always for all things to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." You see the way they were using it in I Corinthians I were saying, "We are the ones of Christ." Now they were not ... now I use to say the equivalent today was the so-called "Church of Christ". That is not true, because the people at Corinth were not denying the salvation of their brethren. The Galatian Christians may have been mixed up, befuddled, on (?) works for salvation. But there's no reason here that the church at Corinth was. They understood that the one that had begun a good work in them was going to perform unto His own day. They were well aware of that. But they were saying, "We are the spiritual ones."
The other night, when a fellow who's right here, in the presence of other brethren, was referring to me, he said this, "When you," in a verbatim quotation, "When you were with us, in the Spirit, in the faith." And not one of the brethren who were there reprimanded him or reproved him for saying that. That's exactly what he said, "When you were with us, in the Spirit, in the faith."
And that my dear friend is exactly what Paul is talking about in I Corinthians the 1st chapter. People are saying we have arrived, we have attained, we are the ones of Christ. Now, it's not wrong to say we are of Christ. No. But in that sense it is.
The Bible says in Philippians the 3rd chapter and verse 12, Paul said, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after if by any means I might apprehend that for which also I am apprehended." Again he said in I Corinthians 8 and verse 2, "If a man think that he knoweth anything, let him acknowledge that he knoweth nothing as he ought to know it." Now Paul didn't say we couldn't know anything, but he knew this that he knew this, that he didn't know a single thing as he ought to know it. We can't have certainty on portions of scriptures. But you see we cannot say that we have arrived or come to the place that a person whose not with our group, he's not in the faith, he's not in the Spirit. Now there are no signs of immorality about my life, I know that, but all they heard was is that I say I could now have fellowship with all of those who prove to me that they love the Lord Jesus Christ. And because of saying that, I no longer was in the faith, no longer was in the Spirit, 'cause I said that you see. I'm not going to break, by the grace of God, fellowship with anyone who’s here tonight. If fellowship's broken, it's going to be those of you who break it because I know that I love you too much in the Lord. I know that in time past, in the last few years, I've been blessed, by the lives of those of you who are here.
But oh listen, it's so plain, I Corinthians I, why you ought to be able to see it's the attitude Paul is talking about, he is including the sectarian spirit. And I'm telling you that what this assembly upholds (now not every individual person, I've seen differently in some of your lives), but I'm talking about the teaching of the assembly, it epitomates, it culminates, the sectarian spirit. Just exactly what Paul was talking about in I Corinthians the 1st chapter, and is one of the most vicious and perverse teachings I know anything about, because it does more to divide Christians, and show confusion, and division, break unity, show discord, show disunity to a world that is dying in darkness outside of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the book of 2 Corinthians, the Bible says there, the apostle Paul there is talking about an unequal yoke. Verses 14-18 he says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion path light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the Living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters." Now the assembly teaches that the parallel today in that is churches, or churches like the Baptist Church or Methodist Church where a saved man can join it, have his name on a roll, and also ... an unsaved man have his name put on the roll too. You see Paul is not talking about having a name put on the roll. I'm going to secular school now and my name is on the roll with countless, innumerable, Unsaved people. I've met very [?] out there who I could possibly believe were really children of God.
In Philippians, the apostle Paul, in the 13th and 14th verses spoke of those who had waxed bold, in the home of ... the apostle Paul I meant to bring out there that in the household of the Caesar then that the people were waxing (that's not the right word is it?), ... that they were waxing bold because of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now these were men in there in the midst of untold unsaved people. They were with them, working them, being supported by the same people, ungodly men. He was not yoked together with them. You know why? Because 2 Corinthians the 6th chapter is talking about fellowship, it is talking about fellowship, concord, agreement, fellowship, walking together you see. And there a person can come to our meeting just as easily as he can go to the Baptist Church.
Paul is not talking about a name, but he's talking about fellowship. Where this applies today is where the gospel of Christ is not being preached. And here's why: because an unsaved person, he can't enjoy going to a place .. any unsaved man can enjoy going to a place that makes provision for the flesh. But I don't believe that it's possible for any man who does not know Jesus Christ to stay week after week after week, month after month after month and enjoy being told that he's a sinner, that if he's not received Jesus Christ he's on his way to a Christless, Godless eternity, and that he must deny himself and put faith in Christ to be saved. If he has not done that, no he's not going to enjoy it you see.Now it has been said that men like McGee are denying the power of God. In the book of 2 Timothy the 3rd chapter and verse 5, the Bible speaks of those who in the last days would deny the power of God, deny the power of God. And my dear friend the power of God is the gospel of Christ. Romans I:16, the Bible says, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." If you can show me a scripture where it says that not preaching denominations, not preaching denominations, that not preaching that, that that is denying the power of God then I'll believe it, but you can't do that you see. The power of God is the gospel of Christ.
And I say that the person who sees denominations in 2 Corinthians 6 has some ulterior, vainful motive for believing it. And here's why: because if it's talking about ... because what Paul is talking about the church at Corinth could belong to, they could be yoked up. Paul was advising them, us too because we're one of those who called upon Christ, but first of all he admonished them not to be yoked in there. Could the church at Corinth have belonged to a denomination? No. Paul was not being concerned about the church at Corinth so far as I know belonging to a denomination, but they could be yoked. See, 2 Corinthians 6 is not talking about denominationalism. But it is talking about fellowship as it says it is. And it is just as possible for a person to have fellowship in a Baptist Church with the unsaved if the Baptist people who are there if they're not Christians or if they're not walking in the Spirit. The same as it is possible for one to come here and also have fellowship here with someone who is not walking in the Spirit of God. And till you can show to me, or prove to me, that the church at Corinth, that Paul was concerned about them joining a denomination, belonging to a church, I'm not going to Listen a second to any of your reasons why 2 Corinthians 6 is talking about a denomination, because they could belong to that you see. The church at Corinth could belong to that.
Now, Ephesians the 4th chapter, the Bible says there, the apostle Paul said, "I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." And he says, "There is one body, one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all." Now the apostle Paul is talking about a unity of believers. Now notice first of all, Paul tells them to walk, he says to walk in this unity. Not to just believe in the theory, but walk in this unity. How? In a bond of bickering and fighting and fussing? No, but in a bond of peace.
When I went to brother Ted Cole a few weeks ago, he believed I was a member of the body of Christ. I was not a Baptist. But he believed I was a member of the one true body. And because of that, he received me in meekness and in lowliness of mind, he showed kindness and gentleness to me you see. And we had fellowship in a bond of peace. Why? Because he believed to the one body of Ephesians 4. And I'm saying that he, that such a one, is obeying the truth, is obeying what he is commanded ... what he is told to do in Ephesians 4. He is obeying the unity of the Spirit there. When I was a member of the body of Christ, he received me as such, and because of that he welcomes me, he dealt with me in all lowliness and meekness and with long-suffering, you see.
"There is one body, one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism." He believes as I do, and as most of you, that when a person is saved, he is indwelt by the Spirit of God. So because he believed I was saved, he believed I had the Spirit of God. And because of that fact, he was willing to come and walk with me in lowliness and in meekness and in longsuffering.
No, my friend, you've been a very hurtful paradox here. it grieves me to say it, but those who are not going to recognize the same thing you see. Ted Cole belongs to the one body, he's been baptized by the Spirit into Christ's church. But how many are going to welcome him here as a member? Or how many are going to go there and fellowship with him you see. Because that's all he wants you to do. He wants you to be ... if you're a Christian, you can come and fellowship with him. No, there's a very hurtful paradox here. It grieves me to say it, but those of you, who are not going to recognize simply a person and have fellowship with him because he belongs to the one body of Christ and because he's been baptized by the Spirit of God into the body of Christ, because you recognize that fact, and yet you still will not deal in lowliness of mind in meekness with him but instead will quarrel and bicker and fuss. That my dear friend is denying the unity of the Spirit in a bond of peace. And God help you to see it. It's very obvious to me. And I believe it should be to anyone here who will look at it objectively, too.
In the book of 2 Timothy the 2nd chapter the apostle Paul starts off in verse 14 saying, by telling Timothy, he put Timothy in remembrance, not to strive with words to no profit to the subverting of the hearers. "I believe in time past I have striven with too many words that have subverted many hearers that have heard me, and by God's grace I want it to stop: And then he says, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." And then he goes on to talk about Hymenaeus and Philetus, who Paul says concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past and overthrow the faith of some. Now, notice this, in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 19, nevertheless, "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." We're in a great house. Therein are only vessels of honor and dishonor, of some of gold and silver and also of wood and earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Then he says in verse 21, "if a man will purge himself from these, he will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use and prepared to every good work."
The assembly's position here is that the great house of 2 Timothy 2 is Christendom. Let's see. If it is, there's something you're going to have to answer to me here in 2 Timothy 2. The apostle Paul said in this great house, in this great house, there are some members who are of honor, and some to dishonor. Now if he's saying you purge yourself from this great house, here's what he's saying: you are a vessel of honor in this great house; now you purge yourself from the house, and you'll be a vessel of honor. You've got the same thing on the outside after he had purged as you got inside. Inside there are vessels of honor and some to dishonor, and he said if a man therefore will purge himself from these, he will be a vessel unto honor, you see.
No, it makes no sense at all. Why would Paul tell them to purge themselves from something when they'd be exactly when they were purged what they were on the inside. No, he isn't talking about that, here's what he's talking about. He's talking about false teaching, 2 Timothy 2, those who deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that false teaching, and that also he went on in verse 23 to talk about youthful lusts. And if a man would purge himself from these, he would be one of the vessels in this great house. I believe the great house is the body of Christ. There is some ... there are some salt that is seasoned and there is some that is not seasoned in the body of Christ.
In a parallel passage that makes it just as plain as it possibly can be, in Ephesians the 2nd chapter, verses 20-22. Now try and follow these two verses please. The Bible says there, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. In whom the whole building," now notice this, "in whom the whole building fitly framed together groweth to a holy temple in the Lord, among whom ye also are builded together for an habitation through the Spirit." Now in 2 Timothy 2:19, Paul says "the foundation of God standeth sure," and Ephesians 2:20 says "being built upon the foundation of God." Foundation: go to 2 Timothy 2:19 and Ephesians 2:20. And Ephesians 2:21 speaks of a great building in whom the entire body is fit in, and 2 Timothy 2:20 speaks, it speaks of the great house. And you see they're talking about the same thing, the great house, the body of Christ. And that was plain as day can be. That is very plain there. And to me ... to me, that is my opinion that is talking of ... that is talking about the great house, that the great house is the body of Christ. And it seems to fit with Ephesians the 2nd chapter.
Now, it does not say 'body of Christ' in the book of 2 Timothy. So if I can be proved it's something else, then I'll believe it's something else, but as far as I can see now ... if it is the body of Christ, it fits with everything that is given on the subject.
And here's why I know it could not possibly be Christendom. Because this great house ... now notice this again: Timothy was told to purge himself from the great house. Well Timothy couldn't purge himself from Christendom you see; it was quite a few years before Christendom was ever in being, while Timothy was alive. So he's not talking about purging youself from Christendom here, because Timothy was admonished to purge himself from this great house. He isn't talking about that. He's not talking about being purged from the great house, he's talking about being purged from false doctrine and from youthful lusts. And if you are, you are going to be a vessel of honor _in this great house. That is what the Bible is talking about in the book of 2 Timothy the 2nd chapter.
But I believe today that the basis for Christian fellowship and co-laboring is a love for Jesus Christ. Not only that, the men who are obeying John 17 that is where the gospel is being preached and souls are being won for Jesus Christ. We say that if you are going to have fellowship with those kind of people now, why you won't have time to argue and fuss and quarrel about equivocal passages of Scripture. I know I won't. You see the other night a fellow told me who is here, he told me that two teachings of two of the men who have influenced me are diabolical. They are awful teachings.. Yet I know of two people who are here right now tonight who take active parts in the street meetings who are not sure they are wrong. In the last two years brethren, I have seen ... I have seen various ... I have seen numbers of different opinions on different portions of Scripture, and you know it is true. You see, there are some Bible passages in the Bible, there are some portions of Scripture that are so plainly revealed, they are so lucidly taught, that a person would have to be an infidel not to believe it. You would have to be one who did not believe in God's Word not to believe them, you see. There are passages like that in the Bible. But there are also ones that are more ambiguous and the Bible does not so plainly speak on and you cannot be dogmatic on them, and you are well aware of that fact.
Now the Bible calls men like Billy Graham, men who are wise. He calls men like J Vernon McGee, where souls are being saved, men who are wise. The other night this fellow said to me, "Why look at what those men are doing. Why he hasn't got the answers to the Campbellites, he can't give the answer on water salvation, he hasn't got the answer to the cultists, the Mormons. Who has the answers like we have on that?" he asked me. About a year ago, I met a man, an ex-member, a former member of the church that calls themself the "Church of Christ", down at the Church of the Open Door. And he told me about nine of his brethren in that movement who had left without going to the Church of the Open Door. I don't know of a single time when J Vernon McGee has spoken on the subject of water baptism, but he has preached Christ. And you see it is the Lord Jesus Christ that is the magnet that draws the hungry broken hearted sinner. There are Mormons, there are Watchtowers there, they are leaving their cults and going there because Jesus Christ is being exalted. No, you can win arguments if you want to. I've seen a lot of arguments won in the last two years, but by God's grace, I would rather win people than arguments, you see. An argument is not going to matter very much in light of eternity, but people are going to matter. And men who are wise, where souls are being converted, those are men that the Bible proclaims as being wise, and teachings that those men are ? that God s Word proclaims as being wise, are teachings that I'm not going to make a prerequisite to Christian fellowship and co-laboring.
Now, as he refers to Acts, Acts the 20th chapter, verses 26-31. The apostle Paul said there, "I take you unto record this day that I am free from the blood of all men," free from the blood of all men, "for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." He told these Ephesian elders who were there, "Take heed to thyself," take heed to thyself, "and to the flock of God over whom the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers." And he went on to bring out to them that they were to feed this flock of God whom Jesus Christ and God Himself had purchased with His own blood. For he said, "Know that after my departure, grievous wolves shall enter in and men of your own selves," Paul said, "men of your own selves shall arise drawing away disciples after them," after themselves.
Now the assembly teaches here that Paul is saying there in verse 30, there are some men who are not saved, wolves, from the outside, who are going to come in, they are not saved. But there are some of you elders here who are going to arise. And you will do that to try and vindicate the position that the ministers there in the church of Jesus Christ are in the main apostate. We cannot fellowship with them because they are men who have arisen, taking away, teaching false things to draw away disciples after themselves. Well no, I believe both classes of people are unsaved and here's why: Paul said to these elders, "Grievous wolves shall come in not sparing the flock, and also men of your own selves." Now what's he talking about? Here are those of Ephesians, of Ephesus, and he is talking to them about the problems in their assemblies that are going to come.
So men in their assemblies are going to arise.
Now notice this. In I John 2:19, John said there are some who went out from us. Why did they go out? John said that it might be made manifest they were not of us. They were with us, but they left that it might be manifest that they were not of us. For if they were of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. But they left. Why? Because it might be manifest they were not all with us. John is talking about this: he is talking about people that can look at an assembly of Christians, see a number of Christians there, some saved possibly, some unsaved, and John is saying that the ones who leave will show you that they are not saved. The ones who leave will show you that they are not saved. The ones who leave are going to show they are not saved, so we're sure all are not saved in this assembly here. And that is what this passage is talking about, when it speaks of men of your own selves are going to arise.
Now I believe also of course there are going to be some of the elect of God who shall be deceived. But I do not believe it's going to be ... I do not believe it's going to be in the great quality (sic) that some of you believe it's going to be in, in the great quantity, in the great numbers that some of you believe it is going to be in. 'Cause I believe as I read in the Word of God how men who are saved today are going to be led on by the Lord Jesus Christ who has started their salvation and is going to finish their salvation.
Notice again here, the apostle Paul is talking about the whole counsel of God and he is telling them to proclaim ... to proclaim the entire counsel of God, the whole counsel of God. And it's true, if a man does not proclaim that, he's a man that [has] bloody hands. But what is the whole counsel of God? You know, I've not found a verse yet, I'm not saying there are none (if you can show me one I'll believe it), but I've not found a verse yet when I study the Word of God when Paul spoke of doctrine that I could be convinced he was talking about such things as the rapture, water baptism,, the Lord's supper, and so on. In Titus the 2nd chapter and verse 10 the apostle Paul talking about the relation of the servant and of the master said that a servant, "not purloining but showing all good fidelity that he might adorn the doctrine of God his. savior in all things." You see we are told we are to adorn the doctrine of God our savior. The things that make a Christian a Christian, the joy and the peace that Jesus Christ brings into a life, that is adorning my dear friend, that is adorning the doctrine of Christ.
And now, get this, in Hebrews the 8th chapter and verse I, the apostle Paul said, "Of all of the things of which we have spoken, this is the sum." Now, all of the components of something put together make the sum, it makes the whole. Paul said, "Of all of the things of which we have spoken, this is the sum, "We have such an high priest who is set at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens." Hallelujah, we have a savior the Lord Jesus Christ. And oh, if you could preach the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you could stop by saying, we have the Lord Jesus Christ, we've got a savior. We have a great high priest. I think there Paul is not primarily talking about, even preaching Christ to the unsaved. I believe in preaching Christ in His high priestly function to the believer, a day by day walk can be cleansed of their sins by a day by day walk. And also of course upholding Christ as the one who is the mediator, the only one between lost fallen man and God. And also preaching Christ in the way that Christ ? God ? and that a Christian can live a victorious life in his savior.
The times I've been most surely blessed, the times when I've heard messages when I have wanted most of all to a godly life, to live for the Lord Jesus Christ, is not when I've heard denominations preached against (and you haven't either), has not been times when you've heard this doctrine or that doctrine expounded as you call the word 'doctrine', but it's when (in my case), when the Lord Jesus Christ was exalted as my savior, when I thought of the great price it took to redeem a lost sinner like I was. Those are the times when I most surely wanted to live a victorious Christian life, and I tell you today that a man who has expatiated his ministry with the person of Christ is a man who is not denying the full counsel of God. But the ones who are the men who've become a hobbiest on some little point in the Scripture, a hobbyist on them. When a person comes to our meeting, you say, "Walk in the truth, you'll become a separated Christian." And boy, that's exactly what I Corinthians I is talking about. I've heard the leaders say it, I've heard the people say it, and you know you believe it, if you believe the teachings, the tenets, that are held here. They now become a separated Christian.
You know, the Nazarenes take the word 'sanctification', a word that can apply to the saving ... to a person being saved and also to a person's day by day walk, but instead they make this day by day walk a special act. They say now he's a sanctified Christian, he has become holy now. You see, you've done exactly the some thing with the word 'sanctified' and the word 'truth'. Christ said' in John 14 verse 6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.; no man cometh to the Father but by me." When a person comes in our meeting, you say, "Now he's beginning to walk in the truth." Are you meaning by that, now he's become saved? No. Then don't say beginning to walk in the truth because I believe every Christian is in the truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. Every single one, the truth, the Lord Jesus: Christ.
In the book of I Corinthians the 2nd chapter and verse 2, the apostle Paul said, "I have determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." And I have heard men here try to do away with that with verse 6 of the same chapter, when Paul went on to say, "But we preach wisdom to them that are perfect, not the wisdom of this world, nor the princes of this world which are brought to naught, but we preach wisdom." What's he talking about? What kind of wisdom? Do you think the wisdom on water baptism? No, I don't think so, I think he's talking about the ... you see in I Corinthians the 1st chapter and verse 24 he tells us what he's talking about. "To those who are both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." In the first two chapters Paul is contrasting the worldly wisdom, the wisdom of the world, with the wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he goes on to say, Christ, in I Corinthians I and verse 24, that Jesus Christ is his wisdom you see. "Those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God"' That is what Paul is talking about. And you see he's not saying there that when you become perfect you can know more truth than someone who is a very weak Christian. No, he's not talking about that. But he's talking there about how that he will preach. He will come in weakness, not the wisdom of the world, but he'll come preaching the Lord Jesus Christ. That which can enable a Christian to live a godly life, a victorious life, that which can bring the lost sinner back to his savior.
In the book of Galatians the 5th chapter verses 13-15, the apostle Paul said, "Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in this, in one word, even this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed lest be consumed one of another." And I've seen men who love the Lord Jesus Christ, like brother Cole, brother McGee, Jack MacArthur, men who love the Lord Jesus Christ, being derided, being chided, showing the world open division, open disunity, you see. That is where it is being ... that is where it is being demonstrated, the division among Christians today. And men who have proven by their very life that they love the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible does not say in I Corinthians 16:22 that "if a man does not see this doctrine, not the teaching of water baptism, or if he does not come out of his denomination, let him be accursed." But it says, "If a man loves not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed." And I believe we can allow the Word of God to tell us who loves Christ and who doesn't love Christ. We can allow the Word of God to show us. But how does it show us? Does God's Word say that a man loves Christ if he's in a denomination or he doesn't love Christ if he's there? No. But I'm sure the fruit of the Spirit shows us a love for Jesus Christ. When a person has love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. And you can see that daily in a person's life, and you can see him daily living the same way, not making provision for the flesh but yet living an exuberant, a victorious Christian life. There's a man that you can say by the grace of God he has something the world doesn't have. And ah, if you have joy, true joy, you have love for the Lord Jesus Christ, you see. And I've met men who've had to prove to me by their very life that they love my savior, and those men I can have fellowship with. And I'm desirous to everyone here that I love the Lord Jesus Christ too. By my life I'm going to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit.
Oh listen, we have a glorious calling that we're called as children of God. The sole desire of every child of God should be to glorify Christ. You know God isn't glorifying Christ today by calling a man down in a far off land, saying, "Come out here," walking by faith, not knowing where he's going. That isn't the way God is bringing glory to His dear Son today. God isn't bringing glory to the Lord Jesus Christ by having a man build an ark, and by condemning the entire world that way. No. I know that the gospel of Christ was promised afore according to Romans I and verse 2 by the prophets of God in the holy Scriptures. Yet you find me a place in the Bible where Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, David, Abraham, Lot, or Moses ever said as the apostle Paul in Romans I:15, "With all that in me is I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." You find me a place in the holy Word of God where any of those men, any of the Old Testament saints ever said as the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 8th chapter and verse 11 that he's ready to preach the gospel of Christ to the regions beyond. No. Moses was told to go down to Egypt and bring the Israelites out, working great miracles. And he did that, and God was glorified there. You show me a place where any of the Old Testament prophets ever told the saints of God then, the children of Israel who were God's physical people, as the Bible tells you and us, as Paul tells you and us, members of the body of Christ, 2 Corinthians the 5th chapter verses 18-20, "But now we are reconciled to God through Christ who has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses, and He has made us ambassadors for Christ." Hallelujah. And he, and Paul, went on to say, as God did beseech you about it, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God, who's given to us the word of reconciliation.
Oh listen, our calling today is to proclaim the word of reconciliation. To tell the world that God was amongst men, that God was ? such like unto ours, and that He carried our sins and carried ourselves, that God dwelt amongst men, and that He said, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you rest." All the world is feverish, restless today. The vacuum that God has planted in every human life, the world has no answer to; they're going here and there but they find no answer to that vacuum that God has placed in their life. And oh listen, water baptism isn't going to bring the answer. But only the Lord Jesus Christ brings the answer there my friend, only the glorious gospel of our savior. Christ died for that man's sins, and that by receiving Christ he can be saved. Oh, go and tell others of Christ your savior. Spread the news that God dwelt amongst men, God Himself. That the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us; we beheld His glory, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 2 Corinthians 4:7 says, "We have the treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power might be of God and not of us."
Now, the Bible says (these last three verses and I'm going to stop), the Bible says in the book of Romans the 12th chapter and verse 18, "That as much as lieth within you is, so live peaceably with all men," you see. Paul said in Romans the 14th chapter and verse 19, "That we are to live in ... That we are to seek after peace, things that edify one another." Seek after things that make for peace, things wherewith one may be edified by another.
And you see friends, those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm convinced that I can fellowship with Ted Cole and men who are proving that they love the Lord Jesus Christ in fulfillment of Philippians 1:27, where Paul said, "Whether I come unto you or else be absent, that I may hear of your affairs:, that ye stand fast with one spirit in one mind, striving together for the defense for the faith of the gospel.," Well that's a glorious thing. And that man shows me he loves Christ. And 1'm sure I can have fellowship with him, he preaches the gospel of my savior, souls are being saved, a man whom God calls wise, you see.
In Mark the 9th chapter verses 38-40, the Bible speaks there, the Lord is ... one day John came to Jesus Christ and said, "One was casting out devils, working miracles, but we forbade him because he followed not with us."And Jesus Christ said to him, "No man can do miracles in my name and lightly speak evil of me." And I know a greater miracle, as you do too, a greater miracle than they could perform. That miracle today is the miracle that takes place when one preaches God's dynamite, the Word of God, the power of salvation, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to an unsaved man. And that man works a miracle, the greatest miracle that can be wrought on the face of the earth. When a person is taken from his lost sinful condition and made a member of the body of Christ and is then saved for time and eternity, once for all. That is the greatest miracle one can perform. And Jesus Christ said, "He that is not against us, is in our part,"in verse 40. "No man can do these miracles ... no man can do a miracle in my name and lightly speak evil of me."
I'm not going to be open here tonight for questions. The meeting is over. I believe in the size of the crowd that is here it would gender just strifes of words. But I’ll be indeed happy to come and talk to any of you alone, answer any questions you want to have, or if you want to come and talk to me, I'll be happy to do that. But I believe in the size of the crowd tonight it would be better if you not ask questions when meeting is over, unless of course we have a chance to answer them from here.
[MMJ speaks now.]
There will be no necessity for that Larry, by the grace of God, I'll answer them...
I would like to ask you this question first. You've been speaking for about an hour. How much of the gospel of the grace of God have you preached? How surely have you been pleading with lost souls to be saved here tonight? Your practice Larry, to which I'm now referring, refutes your whole contention. May God help you to see it.
Please let me ... I want to refer to, lest I should forget it, to what Larry said ... oh first I want to bring this to Larry's attention and to the attention of several of you here. I gave this as most of my subject matter one entire long Sunday morning with Larry sitting here. Later after I heard that he was beginning to be swayed with this sophistry, I reminded him of what I’d given for he was sitting here then when I reminded him of what I’d preached. Now some of you who are here for the first or second or third time or something might not know but that the things he said about us, and remember what he said about my daring to criticize McGee who preaches the gospel. He did, in all fairness, refer to the specific thing, McGee's teaching on Romans 7. He did do that, I'm glad, because that was what I gave. And I acknowledge that McGee preaches the gospel and that I thank God for it, and I have said in his hearing over and over again, and to him privately, that I believe McGee preaches more truth than any man on the radio in Southern California that's on every day that I know anything about. And that I doubt not that God uses everything that He God in His infinite holiness can use. And I've said the same thing about Aimee McPherson when she was alive and her successors today. I’ve said the same thing about the Lutherans, and so-forth.
(I want to mention Ted Cole and the Lutheran preacher in a moment. What beautiful spiritual fellowship Ted Cole, his student, that he and the Lutheran preacher had. And Larry said it was a beautiful demonstration of Ephesians 4.)
But now watch. The other Sunday morning with Larry present, I took almost the entire time in exhorting and pleading and rebuking the audience here, bringing out these things: I said the deadest assembly that I know anything about, the deadest assembly that I can conceive of is an assembly of Christians who have repudiated denominational organizations and names, at least professedly, and have repudiated therefore membership in denomination organizations, and therefore do not have the soulish thrill that comes with advertising (like Larry told me twice he learned from Cole that he was the pastor of a church nearly 4,000 members; Larry told me that twice), so I said the people who cannot boast at all of being a member of this, that, or the other denomination because they've repudiated such relationship, and they cannot have the soulish thrill therefore of being in a beautiful steeplehouse or a new one or a nice one, they cannot have the soulish thrill of being and seeing Aunt Jemima's name on the stained glass window, or grandpa Perkins memorial pipe organ, they cannot have the thrill of a big fine well trained scholastic preacher, they cannot enjoy the ministerial cloth that (he might be married) -- a clerical cloth, you cannot enjoy the extra fine music of a highly trained expensive formal choir might give, they can't enjoy celebrating and helping celebrate: Christmas and Easter -- they've repudiated those things, they cannot enjoy the soulish thrill of witnessing a water baptismal ceremony or taking bread and grape juice (thinking it's of God), they cannot enjoy any of those things; and they don't, don't, don't, don't; don't, don't, don't, I said. But if they don't have the joy of the Lord, if they're not yielded to the Spirit of god, if they're not walking in the Spirit, I said they're the deadest of all dead sects.
And I repeated that in Larry's presence, reminding him that I've said that over and over again. Did Larry refer ... did he say one time that he's heard me plead with the people, and plead with Larry, and plead over again, and exhort and admonish and say, "May god help us to want to adorn the beautiful doctrine."?
Larry should have heard me, unless he was sitting here with his flesh and his mind over Ted Cole's place, or remembering how Ted Cole complimented him as he did the other Sunday when Joe said, and if Joe was wrong why you correct me, when Joe had promised Larry that he would go with him sometime to hear Ted Cole. And the other Sunday Larry invited him and so Joe went with Larry the other Sunday morning at the First Baptist. And as they walked in, the pastor of the First Baptist, big fine (I understand) looking fellow, said, "Young man's coming in, brother Larry Davis, a fine young man that's being wonderfully used in the Lord's vineyard." I imagine Larry felt awfully humble. I imagine Ted Cole didn't use any of the psychology that he used to get 3500-4000 members by that trick. Larry, I've never given you any of that tactic, boy, I love your soul too much. I haven't kidded you and flattered you, Larry. I've dealt with you as a father in the gospel. And I've plead with you and exhorted you. You got up here three weeks ago, two weeks ago Sunday morning, and weeping and said, "I'm ashamed that I've said some things that I've said," and so-forth.
You spoke awhile ago about for the last three years or so when you believed you were trying to honor the Lord Jesus Christ. What were you doing three years ago? What were you doing two years ago? You weren't flirting with Ted Cole then. You were studying the Word of God with us and you were going out and preaching and inviting me to go with you, making contacts with others, and you heard us preach the gospel of the grace of god, and you said you thanked god that you'd come to see the glorious doctrine of salvation by grace and the security of the believer as you'd never seen it before and you thanked god for that. Those are the days you see when you were being poisoned by us here who were teaching nothing but hate, nothing but a hobby sectarianism. Larry, you're going to answer to God boy, That was a well worked up talk you gave Larry. It was a well worked up ... I'll complement your flesh that way, but warn you that you're going to answer to God for the way you trifled and your dishonesty, Larry.
Listen to this. Brother Ted Cole and the Lutheran preacher. So Ted tells Larry, "Had a beautiful season of fellowship, and they didn't argue over water baptism." The only reason they didn't as because evidently, because Ted Cole, a smart sect builder, knows that if he got on the subject of water baptism with a Lutheran preacher, their beautiful fellowship would have been busted skyways and crooked. The Lutheran preacher teaches sprinkling, and Ted Cole as a Baptist says you do not love Jesus Christ if you don't follow Ham an the waters of Christian baptism. That's the Baptist position, and if Ted Cole doesn't preach that he's a crook, he's a hypocritical Baptist preacher because that's the Baptist position, that's the way they get members.
Now watch. The Baptists say that nothing as water baptism but immersion in water; the Lutherans say that sprinkling as water baptism. The Baptists say that water baptism is for an outward sign of an inward work that's already taken place; the Lutherans say that water baptism washes away original sin and that babies will not see God, they'll go to hell if they're not sprinkled by a Lutheran preacher or somebody. Just as a Lutheran preacher the other day when he heard that the Roman Catholic sweetheart, young lad, baptized her boy friend that was Lutheran, when the shark hat ham and he died on the beach, just before he died on the beach up yonder at San Francisco, the Roman Catholic girl got some salt water and baptized the poor boy, and her Lutheran preacher heard about it and said, "I'm glad because that was acceptable baptism, even though a Roman Catholic gave it. And baptism is necessary to salvation." And Larry knows the Lutherans teach that (I suppose he does). I don't thank he has remained ignorant deliberately on that score, that the Lutherans teach that.
And Ted Cole. I wish you'd get a date for me to meet Ted Cole, boy. And I would face the damnable crook. He's crookeder than that. I’d face him. I would say, "Ted, you're trafficking with young ... with souls. You can use young ... young pliable, gullible, fellows like Larry. You can use them and the world makes a big bid for energetic, enthusiastic, physically courageous young fellow like Larry. The sectarian public can use them." I would lake to face him with that and say, "Imagine, you pretended that you endorsed the walk of the Lutheran preacher and that you can agree on the plan of salvation. You're a liar Ted Cole, and you know you are."
There's a Baptist fellow about to get ... I forget has name, over in Phoenix, Arizona who has written tracts on, "Can We Support The Lutheran Hour?" and he sent them over here and had them put out around the Bible Institute when the Bible institute opened its auditorium for the Lutheran Hour rally. And this Baptist preacher, that's working with the Mormons over in the Salt River Valley, he's a Baptist preacher that seems to have some love for Christ and the gospel, and he's written a tract, "Can We Support The Lutheran Hour?" And an that he brought out that the Lutheran doctrine as quoted over and over and over again from various Lutheran theologians that the Lutheran position on water baptism is it's absolutely essential to salvation, and it's only sprinkling. And this Baptist had enough love for Christ and a love for the gospel of the grace of God that he exposed the Lutherans.
Now as to all the beautiful things he said about love and fellowshipping an the gospel, I want to read about a fellow that was one of the grandest rascals. He's worse, if possible, than Maurice Johnson and you put together. In Galatians the 2nd chapter. Because here's a fellow, he was really a contemptible ...oh, if he'd only had the love of God like Larry and Ted Cole have, if he'd only walked in love, if he hadn't made an issue ... Larry said we're not to make an issue over water baptism. He said what is the whole counsel of God, Acts the 20th chapter. He said it's not ... it's not water baptism and the rapture. I guess Ted may not be a premillennialists or something, but anyway now he's leaving out the subject of the rapture as being an equivocal text or something. He said the whole counsel of God doesn't include the rapture and water baptism, Larry said.All right, let's turn to the apostle Paul now, in Galatians 2nd chapter, Galatian 2nd chapter. We read in the book of Jude, "on some have ...making a difference, having compassion, snatching them out of the fire, hating the garment spotted by the flesh." And I certainly hate the garment that you are spotted with now Larry, cause when I think of the lies you told. For instance about my teaching and about us here. Did you say as hard things about us here as I said about McGee that night? I want to get back and copy down word for word you statements about what awful doctrine we have here. And yet you'd admit probably that I preach the gospel of the grace of God like McGee. You'd admit probably that I preach the deity of Christ like McGee. You'd admit probably that I preach the Bible is the Word of God like McGee. Well how did you get out of character so surely as to say those terrible things and that which is about me and us here. Along with saying that it is so horrible for me to play McGee's awful Mulligan stew that Larry himself said he didn't agree with, told me he didn't agree with McGee on that thank you very much, but he did forget all about it. Why? Brother Joe Rakusja said, I think about the most timely ... maybe the most timely observation that I've heard in connection with Larry and any of us talking to him, when the other week in Joe's pig's store, I was there with Larry and with Wayne, and Larry was giving some of these same arguments, and Joe, stepping aside a moment from customers, ? , "Larry, you been listening to too many big preachers. That's the trouble with you." Joe, with his wisdom from the world and being saved out of Romanism and Mormonism and experience now as a Christian, he sensed Larry's trouble. A novice lifted up with pride, falling into the condemnation of the devil.
Just imagine Larry's argument being directed at this man here. Not at me, or you Wilbur, any of us, or you brother Ed Stevens, or Bob: directed at the apostle Paul, because look what the apostle Paul did. There's a man that towers over McGee, and towers over Billy Graham. His name is the apostle Peter. He had preached the first spiritual sermon and three thousand had been saved, preached again and five thousand were saved. Marvelous. First man that God ever chose to go to the Gentiles with the gospel of salvation, and a younger apostle rebuked him before all.
Imagine (I'm going to put on Larry's tear sac and I'm going to empty it now), I imagine I can see some unsaved Jew, he heard Paul rebuke Peter before them all, and he said Peter was to be blamed walking in hypocrisy (dissimulation: hypocrisy). And the next day this unsaved Jew (and we don't read that Paul gave the gospel of salvation there at that particular time, he just rebuked Peter), and I imagine I could see this Jew the next day go over somewhere and he hears Peter preaching. And he says, "Well that's the same that that fellow Paul rebuked. Oh horrors (Larry would have it), oh horrors, Paul's rebuking Peter for his inconsistent hypocritical walk was to cut off the eternal life of some poor Jew that might have heard Paul rebuking Peter.
You just as well give the same chatter Larry about God recording in the Bible about the sins of the man after His own heart, David. When I first heard an infidel pop that off when I was dealing with him and he came out and said there's a man after God's own heart, the bible says he was, now look there, your own Bible says, he lusted after another man's wife, and laid with her, and plotted to have the man killed in the front line trenches so he could marry his wife, and be the father of the baby born, and he-he, now there's your David. According to Larry's psychology, which of course he just soaked up like a post office blotter from these smart fellows that he yielded his mind to, because it's the same damnable sophistry that I've heard of course thousands of times, and tried to warn against. But only by pride cometh contention. Only by pride cometh contention.
But now back to this. Well I want to read here in Ephesians, I'll come back maybe in a moment. Galatians the 2nd chapter. I want to read for you. Well I will start to say ... according to your sophistry, Larry, which is not yours of course, but you repeated it very nicely, the record was cut well for you, you played it without any scratches almost, that same sophistry that to call attention publicly to the sins of God's people means to not be faithful to the gospel of Christ and faithful to lost men's souls.. Exactly the opposite is the truth.
I've said it this way more than one time. I've said, for instance when my son Jim was a boy at home, just a lad. I said suppose I've been living next door to a rank atheist and he knows I'm a preacher, Bible teacher, claim to be a Christian. And just as I walk up the steps into my house, my boy throws rocks at somebody's car, and the infidel's sitting on his front porch, atheist, and I'm sure the devil's going to use that if possible (thank you), the devil's going to use that if possible to make him say, "Now there's a Christian for you." I said you know what I think I would do. I think I not only would take my boy in the house, I would say it loud enough for the infidel to hear, "Come here, son." And I would get a shelale, and I wouldn't take him in the back room or in the basement, I would take him in the room next door to the infidel's porch, and I would raise the window, and I would want to let him hear it -- me lay it on, you see. I would want that infidel to know I didn't endorse that sort of thing.
And what Larry has called a lot of fussing here (there's probably some fussing, there's probably some fussing, God knows), but Larry has witnessed here, discipline in this assembly that he'll never witness in a Baptist sect house. Never. You'll never build any 3500-4000 membership in a town today, Southern California, big boy, by preaching the gospel of the grace of God and carrying on Biblical discipline. Not in the last days of the church dispensation.
Galatians 2.
Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem by revelation,
skipping on down to the 11th verse, Galatians 2:19.
By the way, Larry, about your memorizing the Bible. I told you privately, that that may be very beautiful, may be very beautiful. But I saw an interesting thing the other day. The front page on the paper said that Khrushchev told a religious crowd in Poland the other day that he won a prize in Sunday School for memorizing the four books of the New Testament, I mean Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It isn't enough to memorize verses up here Larry, God wants to get them clear down in our feet.
Now he spoke a moment ago about those preachers, two, three of them manifesting the unity of the Spirit ... no, you didn't say that, you said manifesting the love and you quoted those about walk, "with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love," and you left out "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit" by the walk; you left that out. Imagine that Lutheran preacher and the Baptist preacher endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit as they were together in sweet fellowship. What kind of fellowship was it? Walking worthy wherewith the calling they were called as saved men? _No! One church? No, they didn't walk that way. One hope? The Lutheran probably isn't a pre-millennialist, I don't know whether Cole is. One baptism? No! One faith? No.The Lutheran faith and the Baptist faith are not the same _ if they are, then they're the same church exactly, identical. You see it's crookedness Larry, it's lies, it's hypocrisy. No lie is of the truth. In the church epistles Christians are told (Ephesians 4, Romans) don't lie one to another. Don't lie. Speak every man the truth one with another. Imagine a Lutheran preacher and Baptist preacher pretending, and Larry, pretending ...
You see, if Larry had never heard these things it wouldn't be so wicked for him. He could be just regarded as a poor ignorant boy that's all mixed up. But we can't regard him that way. He's an ignorant boy all right, ignorant of the spiritual walk of the believer, but he's willfully ignorant, sad to say. He's willfully ignorant. He knows better. We have to believe he knows better. That's why it's so terrible. That's why I'm speaking with such severity of heart and mind and thought and word and voice. By the grace of God I mean to be. But I'm not saying one word (haven't so far, by the grace of God) that I would retract, because I'm sure I've spoken in love. Christ spoke when He said, "Woe, woe, woe, woe, woe," eight times and then one "Oh". The woes come from a heart of infinite love just as surely as the 'oh'. Let's not forget that. The 23rd chapter of Matthew.
Galatians 2:19,
But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, Because he was to be blamed.
Well why, why wasn't Barnabas and Paul showing meekness and long-suffering in love, having fellowship with this marvelous soul-winner, whole lot bigger than Billy Graham, see, certainly in God's program a whole lot bigger. Why wasn't Paul ... why did he want to bring a slur, an accusation against this mighty man of God? Solomon said, "Like dead flies in an apothecary's ointment causeth to send forth a stinking savor, so doth a little folly in him that's had in reputation for wisdom and honor." It's ten thousand times worse for Peter to have done that than it was for one of those younger Jews that were carried away in the dissemination. I believe that's why Paul rebuked Peter publicly, and didn't rebuke the others by name. He said Barnabas was carried away with it.
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain did come from James he did eat with the Gentiles. But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Fearing them which were of the circumcision. Do you think there's any man that preaches the gospel of the grace of God today who would ever do a thing like that? Oh no, not if he preaches the gospel. Larry says if he preaches the gospel, that's enough. That's the whole counsel. Brother Earl, had he preached the whole counsel of God according to Larry's definition? Why certainly he has. So Paul gets after him. Paul's quibbling over nonessentials. My, if Larry had been there, wouldn't Larry have lined up with Peter, and said, "Why Peter you just remind me of Ted Cole, I declare to you." (comment from audience) Yes, I'm quite sure Peter would have rebuked him.
But let me continue here now.
Well, before that certain did come from James, he did eat with the Gentiles, because God had showed him he should do it.
And when they were come he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation.
Now why did the Spirit of God have Paul record this? Why didn't He just make him have a plea to lost souls? Just give the gospel in these epistles, just like Larry didn't you know in his hour talk to us. He tried to correct us. He tried to rebuke us. He did rebuke, I mean, and tried to do it, he thought, correctly and deservedly. But he didn't preach the gospel of salvation to us. He referred once or twice to the facts of the gospel, but he didn't preach the gospel for the whole hour. But you see I'm not preaching the gospel of salvation to the unsaved right now. But I'm not saying that's the whole counsel; I'm not saying that that's all we should preach, you see. Had I taken the position Larry took, then all I should do this afternoon in your hearing is just say John 3:16, John 5:24, John 3:36, Romans 5:6-8, I should just give gospel passages, I Corinthians 15:3-5. But I shouldn't give any church truth. I shouldn't reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all ... I shouldn't try to set things in order. Imagine if Ted Cole, instead of meeting the Lutheran preacher, had met Titus, "Titus, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith."
Back again please to this now, back again to Galatians 2.
And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him.
Because Peter was an influential man. He was bigger than J. Vernon McGee; certainly bigger in God's program. And when he did something that was false, he got the criticism of the younger apostle Paul, indicted by the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God had it recorded for saved and unsaved by the millions to read it for nineteen hundred years. But Larry dared to presume that he was so right in judgment and so experienced, that without coming to me, that night, before or after the meeting, he went to a young man and told him he didn't think I should have done it. And the young man went to his father and his father called me.
Now, I'm not contending for one second that I was 100% right in doing it. I believe I was. But I've never contended for 100% perfection in my walk. I've said over and over again in Larry's hearing, I wouldn't dare say that I have had one solid hour of a Spirit-filled life. And I've usually said later, I hope there's been several consecutive hours like that. But I wouldn't dare say it. If there have been, God has the records accurately of course. But I wouldn't claim that I've lived one single hour in my life 100% Spirit-filled.
Galatians 2.
And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas,
a younger apostle,
also was carried away with their hypocrisy.
Nothing like that happens today, according to Larry. If it does, whose going to say anything about it? You'll be a naughty fellow. Unless you find some poor little flea-bitten fellow Maurice Johnson size and then Larry called upon to ask for time, and ask for an audience to do all the rebuking that he's done here today. But not great man of God like Ted Cole or a ... don't you see isn't it pitiful, that Larry doesn't see what he's doing in his thinking?
Here we have the inspired record of David the man of God being rebuked by Nathan, "Thou art the man." And the Spirit of God had the whole story recorded for saved and unsaved by the millions to read, and similarly with these others I've mentioned here. Now back to the story of the apostle Peter. Just imagine Larry trying to tell us of any parallel to this today. A parallel to the apostle Peter whose gospel of salvation was glorious grace of God and whose ... and the way God used him (I've already touched it): 3,000 as result of one sermon, 3,000 saved, 5,000 as a result of next sermon saved, and the first to the Gentiles, multitudes in between, mighty man of God, the apostle Peter. And what would he do? He walked contrary to the truth of the gospel. He walked contrary to the truth of the gospel. He walked contrary to the truth of the gospel.
And when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel.
Why to believe the gospel that’s the whole counsel: professor Larry Davis is our authority for that. And go back and find his teachers. Larry I've heard that damnable juggling of Gods truth many, many thousands. of times.
I warned you privately about... Larry didn't tell you that I gave four hours to him, alone. And then later four hours again with him and Wayne. And when he said like some other things, I said, "All right Larry, I’ll meet you and Wayne here in front of Joe's store at 8:00 Saturday morning," and we sat in my car from 8:00 Saturday morning until about 12:15. All of those hours. He didn't say a word about that did he? Didn't say a word about that he had seen me in his own life. Now all the glory to God for that. I, why ... Larry ... you ... how long do you think I would have put up with you if I would been what you tried to make me believe? How long do you think I would have put up with you? You think I have anything to do to talk to you that I was sure was egotistical? Why do you think I put in all that time, if I was the kind of character you painted us here today? Because the love of God was in my heart.
I've got the letter that your father wrote Dalford Todd. I may read it directly. I’ve got it in my brief case. That your father wrote Dalford Todd. I don't know whether ... you read the letter Dalford wrote you. I've got the letter that Dalford wrote you too. And then the letter he wrote your father afterwards. Dalford sent them both in the air mail this last week. He called me on the phone and told me about it. He gave me about a couple letters that he wrote Larry pleading with him, showing love and exhortation. And Larry's dad wrote Dalford just dressing him up and down. And then Dalford sent me a copy of the letter he wrote back to Larry's father. That lawyer in Dallas has got a lot of business, a lot to do, but he had compassion and love and concern for Larry and for his father. Larry boy, go out and tell all the people that we're a bunch of unloving, severe, we...
He made it appear that if somebody comes in here and says, "I’m a Baptist", we say, "Pffffft" with you. And yet we put in hours and hours with him. By the grace of Almighty God, God saved me from that. Do you think that if I had that attitude of mind and heart that I would want to suffer for the position that I take on the whole counsel of God? Larry that's so contemptible it really doesn't deserve the dignity of my acknowledging what you said about the whole counsel of God. That was the most contemptible lot of tripe that I ever heard in my life on a thing like that. That the whole counsel of God is preaching the gospel. For salvation of the unsaved. According to that then all of the church epistles are not in the counsel of God. Now that's what you're up against with your silly, ridiculous, petty chatter. If the whole counsel of God is the gospel of salvation of the unsaved, then the church epistles are outside the counsel of God. They're not in the counsel of God; I guess they're in the counsel of the devil.
And then your story about the disciples coming and saying, "Master, we saw a man casting out demons in Thy name but he didn't follow us." And then He rebuked them. Christ said, "No man can do a miracle in My name and be against Me." Where does that apply to us? I have quoted that over and over again. And I said you show me anybody that's doing something in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and I'll say, "Well I'm glad to hear it." But when you show somebody that's doing something in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ plus, I would say that plus gave a lie to that other part. You can't plus Jesus Christ. ? the devil, now don't plus him.
You got some plus marks in your hat (not a lot of them). With your plus marks, go on to the cults! go on to the sects! and try to make a distinction between a denomination and a sect. Again you swallowed that junk that some of your smart guys have taught you Larry. It's like the difference between six and half-a-dozen, or a skunk and a polecat. The distinction between a sect and a denomination. What is a denomination if it isn't naming apart, naming apart? Let me read from one of the ablest Bible expositors recognized, almost universally, certainly among Fundamentalists, as being one of the ablest Bible expositors in the last hundred years, the late G. Campbell Morgan in his book "The True Estimate of Life".
"Then come to the church of God. Do you get any comfort out of the division in the church of God? I hope you don't. I hope you have never said that it is part of the divine plan that Christendom should be split into a thousand fragments. I tell you it isn't. He who prayed the great intercessory prayer which took hold of heaven in my behalf and your behalf for all time, said, "Father, I will that they may be one, that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me." We are not one, and that is why the world doesn't know that God sent Jesus."
Now if that were not true to the Word of God, as I understand it, I wouldn't have read it, except to criticize it adversely. Larry's heard me read this, and if he has Scofield Reference Bible, he's probably read it himself to others -- used to. Don't read it now Larry because it won't fit. It won't help you to get an assistant pastor job. One of the fellows from back Ft Worth told me that he ? you preaching down at Pershing Square and heard you tell about how, "I don't have to be preaching to you fellows, I've been given several calls to be assistant pastor, but I'm coming down here to preach to you fellows." And he said it sounded so egotistical, on Larry's part. We've seen that egotism oozing Larry, and what you gave today could have never been given by a Christian that wasn't swept off his feet by ? .
Listen to this in 2 Samuel. Scofield, and Scofield had as his co-laborer the late A C Gaebelein and James M Gray of Moody Bible Institute (president for years there), and so-forth, able Bible teachers, the outstanding men, men that McGee would say were the greatest men in the last ... among the very greatest men of God in the last 75 years. Scofield Bible, the notes on 2 Samuel 6, "The story of David's new cart and it's results is a striking illustration of the spiritual truth that blessing does not follow even the best intentions in the service of God except as that service is rendered in God's way."
Now, if the Lutheran way is God's way, then the Baptist way isn't. And all in the world it requires to think that Larry's story about the sweet fellowship that they had a demonstration of beautiful unity is just to be a liar, or so deceived that you can't see the truth at all. But then listen to what these men say. I read to you from G Campbell Morgan. Again now, if the Lutheran way, taking the Lutheran ... and the Baptist preacher knows that the Lutherans not only teach water salvation by sprinkling water, which is not baptism for the Baptists, but they teach that you can be lost any minute you want to.
And Spurgeon, that this Baptist preacher Ted Cole would probably say was one of the greatest gospel preachers since Paul's day. Every evangelical Baptist preacher that I ever heard comment would say that or agree with it, that the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon of London was probably the greatest gospel preacher since Paul's day. And Spurgeon used to refer to (I have it marked in one of his sermons), refer to the teaching of saved and lost as the most disgraceful doctrine in all Christendom. It's the doctrine that Paul ... concerning which Paul said, "I would that they were cut off which trouble you." Ted Cole said, "Larry, I met one of those fellows that Paul preached against in Galatia, one of those Judaizers that mixed sprinkling and saved and lost, law and grace, I met one of them, and Larry, I'm so big and loving and broad and so unlike those narrow folks you been with. I'm so broad and loving and believe in the love and deepest part of Ephesians 4 so surely, that Larry, I could meet one of those Galatian fellows. with the present ethics (Lutheran), I can meet him and have sweet fellowship. Larry, ain't I nice?" And Larry said, "'Oh brother Cole, I'm just being enlightened so wonderfully. I'm going to go back if I can and tell those folks what lowdown, narrow people they are that don't believe in the whole counsel of God." Don't believe in the gospel. And yet he'd admit that I preach the gospel of the grace of God probably as surely, on the subject and believe it, as surely as Ted Cole. He'd probably say that if we were both to have an examination, each not knowing the other was having it, on what is the gospel of the grace of God in five thousand words, Larry might say that my dissertation on what is the gospel of the grace of God would be as sound and true as Ted Cole's. He might say that. As far as I know he would.
But you wouldn't catch me getting with a Lutheran preacher and talking about sweet fellowship unless I was determined by the grace of God that as soon as I believe the opportunity was given I was going to say, "My dear brother, why are you a Lutheran (if I believe he was a brother), why are you a Lutheran? Martin Luther said, "Don't call yourselves Lutherans."" Hrmmmph. Ahhhhh. Hmmmmmh. "Who is Luther but dust and ashes. Call yourselves Christians for Him who died for you." I've said that to many a Lutheran preacher. And they've said, "I know Luther said that." Well I said, "You don't even follow Luther then, much less Paul and Christ. You don't even follow Luther."
Larry, I know (and I tried to warn you kid), I know what it costs, I know the terrible price a man has to pay to get the position that Ted Cole has. I would ten thousand times rather be a bartender the rest of my life, because I would be sinning against so much light. Such contemptible trifling. Telling you (and you fell for it), "I had sweet fellowship with a Lutheran preacher." How long? Did he say, "Hoping and praying that I could help him to see the awful delusion of sprinkling for washing away original sin, and saved and lost?" God help you Larry to see what a fool you've let the devil make out of you. What a fool you've let the devil make out of you.
2 Samuel 6. Don't forget my friend, that as I sat there listening to Larry, I realized that only the Spirit of God could help some of you from being swept off your feet by some of that subtle sophistry. And I'm taking the skin off of the real snake part of his doctrine, and letting you see what it is.
Back to 2 Samuel the 6th chapter, "The story of David's new ox cart and it's results is a striking illustration of the spiritual truth that blessing does not follow even the best intentions in the service of God except as that service is rendered in God's way. It is a constant point of failure. God had given explicit directions how the ark should be borne." Did God tell us to own a name to take in the work of Jesus Christ? Certainly He did! And do we have the only Catholic sprinkling, and I got them in here to follow Christ in real water baptism. And then wouldn't I have sweet fellowship?" It would have been like a snowflake in a furnace, boy. That sweet fellowship would really been melted, wouldn't it.
You know, I've seen those things for years, my friend. That's contemptible junk. I hate it Larry. I would rather hear that you'd had a drunken party. I would rather hear that you endorsed dope for getting dead drunk or hard liquor, than for you to get drunk like you've gotten drunk and stagger around here a while ago the way you came staggering some of the truths you gave and then vomited out contradictions and utterly ridiculous stuff. Listen to this, what Scofield and his co-laborers said about the church today. "it's a constant point of failure to try to do God's work mans way. God had given explicit directions how the ark should be borne. Numbers 4:1-15. But David adopted a Philistine expedient. I Samuel 6:7-8. The church," Scofield says, "the church is full of Philistine ways of doing service to Christ. Compare I Corinthians I:17-31; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; see also I Chronicles 15." Now, if Scofield were living today, I would like to ask him a question. "Brother Scofield, you believe what you wrote there, don't you?" "Why certainly, I'm not a liar, hypocrite." "You believe that the church today is full of Philistine methods?" "That's what I wrote. Yes, I believe it." "Do you believe that the God of today is like the Modernists say, He's a goodie-goodie sweet God but the God back in the days of David and Uzzah, that He was a naughty God? He just got real burnt up, and He killed that poor fellow for reaching his hand out to stay the ark, when the oxen had stumbled and the ark was about to fall over. And Uzzah reached his hand out to hold the ark and God struck him dead." Now, or Scofield, and or Gray, and or Erdman, and or Gaebelein, and or Pettingill, you men that labored together (those great Fundamentalists -- I believe they're brothers in Christ too). Now I want to ask you doctors a question. "You say the church is full of Philistine methods?" "Yes." "Does God hate it in the church which is Christ's body or in this present church program as bad as He hated it in this physical Israel program?" "Uhhhh, well, yes, but He doesn't want us to try to pick them out today and say, "Here's a Philistine method, here's a Philistine method, here's a Philistine method," not unless it's among some of us that are making some obvious effort to deal with all of them." And then Larry will be coached by sectarians to come and tell us how awful unloving and narrow we are.
The places that have all kinds of Philistine ox carts, why they major in them, and get Doctor of Divinity, like John the Baptist you know. They asked John the Baptist, "Who are you?" "I'm a voice." "What do you say of yourself?" "I'm a voice." "Are you the Messiah?" "No.""Are you Elijah?" "No." "Are you that Prophet?" "No." "Well what are you?" "Hrmmmph. I'm Pastor of a church of nearly 4,.000 members. I have sweet fellowship with Judas, and especially Herod, especially Herod. I have sweet fellowship with Herod."
The church is full of Philistine methods today. Let me say again, do you believe God is as holy today as He was in the days of Uzzah and David? This is the day of grace, but does that mean that there's not a judgment seat of Christ to which Christians like Uzzah are going to go? Aren't you going to go to the judgment seat of Christ? Larry. shall I tell, ask Christians to watch out for the judgment seat of Christ, how they build upon Christ, after they are saved by the gospel of the grace of God? Shall I plead with them, and warn them, and rebuke them when I believe I have Biblical authority for it, for the way they are walking/ walking! walking!? Whether it be another apostle Peter, if there was today, or the mighty Jack MacArthur.
Your father said to Dalford in the letter I have in the briefcase, I have the original sent by your father, now he said that Maurice (that's my name), that Maurice (I believe he said) condemns Moody, Ironside, Billy Graham, and Jack MacArthur. Jack MacArthur, that's where Larry's father goes, to Jack MacArthur's church. You know the name of that church? Harry MacArthur Memorial Church. Now that's not a denomination, and it's not anything remotely akin to that awful spirit shown in I Corinthians, "I'm of Paul". "Why we of Harry MacArthur Memorial Church, we would never say "I'm of Paul." Oh, Larry Davis and his father might not agree with us if we were to say "I'm of Paul" because they would say that was naughty. That was a spirit. But they didn't have a building back there with a name over it." No, Larry spoke, they didn't have a building back there, but his daddy and mother go to a place where they do have a building, and over that building they got the name Harry MacArthur Memorial Church. But that's all right. That's all right isn't it Larry, because he preaches the gospel to unsaved souls. What does he preach to the people inside there? Give honor to men that's due to Jesus Christ.Just like I asked Harlan Roper who’s been pastor for 25 years of the Scofield Memorial, more than that, of the Scofield Memorial Church in Dallas. I said, "Harlan," after I read this to him, I said, "Harlan, have you ever seen that in Scofield's own notes?" "I never noticed that." I said, "Listen, you and I never met C I Scofield but suppose he was alive and you and I were talking today, said, "Brother Scofield, did you know that the elders of the local church here have been talking to some of the members about changing this name from the First Congregational Church of Dallas to the Scofield Memorial?" I said, "Harlan, don't you think so far as what you and I know about Scofiled, he'd have said, "My God, brethren, don't do that. Don't do that!" He said, "I've thought about it often. I believe he would have." I said, "Have you told the congregation?" He said, "Listen Maurice, some of the elders here were elders when Scofiled was alive, and those men that knew Dr Scofield personally and were elected elders while he was here. What do you think they'd do with me if I were to criticize Dr Scofield?" He said, "As it is, I have an open door here in downtown Dallas to preach the Word of God. And the door would close if I were to say that I believe we shouldn't have any Scofield church." I said, "Harlan, you made a mistake awhile ago." He said, "What was that?" "You said you have an open door here to preach the word of God. You mean you have an open door to preach part of the word of God. To preach the part that these Scofield Memorial elders will let you preach."
Larry, I hope and pray that I don't live to hear of you being a "Pastor" over here in some denomination where you will be hired (and you'll be fired, kid, too). You'll be fired when you don't pay off, when you're not a going concern as a religious corporation manager. You'll be fired. And what little spiritual conviction you have now about the gospel of the grace of God, I mean as to walk now, can be twisted like Cole twisted it to have sweet fellowship with a man whose sworn theology is to deny the gospel of the grace of God. A Lutheran preacher. As well as the ordinance to build the Baptist Church. What happened?
And you talk about ... you take ... he gave us one case, that this ex-Mormon wasn't it? ... ex-atheist, that's right, ex-atheist in Glendora, he met, ex-atheist in Glendora, a Christian he said, and he said, "he told me of 400 Baptists," where was it? "400 Baptists, some North and some South that wouldn't eat together." And' Larry said, "Now that's naughty," or "that's not love" or something. Larry, did you know that the whole Southern Baptist denomination of over 9,000,000 members won't sit down and eat the Lord's Supper with anybody ... with a Lutheran preacher. Did you know that, Larry? Did you know that the largest organization of all the Baptists in the world, the Southern Baptists, that one of their doctrines is what is called 'closed Baptism'. (Some are ... they're accused of believing closed communion ... no, no, they're accused of calling it 'closed communion' but they say that's incorrect, it's 'closed baptism'.) If anybody hasn't obeyed the Lord in water baptism, then they're disobedient, and we won't eat with them. And so the whole Southern Baptist denomination, 9 million members, won't eat with the Northern Baptists. I saw an article in the paper the other day that the Northern Baptists say let's get together and try to get together with our southern Baptist Southern Baptists. So you say that is sectarianism when you won't eat together. Well you got the biggest denomination that preaches more gospel than any of the Baptists in this country, any big group, than the Southern Baptists. They preach the gospel of the grace of God as surely ... I've often said that I believe the Southern Baptists preach more saving gospel than any big denomination in Christendom. I've often said that. And one of their cardinal doctrines is that baptism but immersion in water, and you've got to obey the Lord in that, or you cannot partake of the Lord's Supper. So they refuse to eat. I brought that out on the radio one day. (I was naughty again, Larry. If you'd been with us then you'd have said, "Oh, I have liberty and burden to criticize Maurice severely for Biblically calling attention to inconsistency of Hyman Appleman, the big evangelist, converted Jew, held a meeting in the Church of the Open Door building down there.)
I don't think I have time to take up that cheap tawdle and tripe that he gave about the synagogue and church. Now he's convinced, he's convinced that this is correct, a beautiful little statement of truth; "Here's the church and here's the steeple; open the door and there's the people." Here's the church, and he gave some little sophistry or argument about the synagogue back there where a bunch of Jews, saved and unsaved (most of them unsaved) in the synagogue. Were they blood bought, Spirit baptized, members of the church which is Christ's body? But you see he brought in a little degree of truth to confuse beautiful truth, and identify a Mulligan stew with the truth of God.
Do we find anywhere in the church epistles, anything called the church, I think he even said that, and then turned right around to try to explain better than the Bible teaches. I think he said that nowhere in the New Testament do we find anything called the church in the way of a physical building, and then went right on to try to prove what it should have been, because they called synagogue something, they really should have called some building. That was the heart of his argument.
Now that's simply throwing dust. I’ve got a new meaning for the title 'Th D', Larry, 'Th D'. It's supposed to be Doctor of Theology. "Dust Thrower". I want to confer a degree on you tonight Larry, a Th D degree, Dust Thrower, or a Thrower of Dust, because that's what you did, Larry, in your main contention, nothing but dust.
Everywhere .. my friend, corrupted from the simplicity that's in Christ. We read about that in 2 Corinthians. What is the church spoken of in the church epistles? What church did Christ refer to when He said, "Upon this rock I'll build My church?" Was it Baptist Church? If it was, it wasn't the Lutheran then. Was it Lutheran? If it was, it wasn't Baptist. Was it Roman Catholic? What's the simplicity which is in Christ? Just imagine the arguments that Larry has built up to try to corrupt you from the simplicity that is in Christ. From the simplicity that's in Christ. Larry, the serpent hissed through your lips over and over again tonight, boy. All we're contending for is the church which is Christ's body, that every saved soul is a member of. And we say we'll meet you with godly honesty and openness, by the help of God. We know we should and that's what all we profess: we'll meet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you've been received by Christ, we will receive you as becometh saints, Romans the 16th chapter. But we will endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, walking worthy of the calling wherewith we're called, with all lowliness -- lowliness in the sight of a boy that’s swept off his feet by a big preacher complimenting him? No, not lowly in his eyes.
Do you think some of those people that are swept off their feet by Peter's dissimulation thought Paul was lowly when he withstood Peter before them all and he rebuked him publicly? I imagine they thought, "Who does Paul think he is? He's never seen the day when he's had as many people saved as the great apostle Peter." When Moses you remember pronounced the curse of God upon Nadab and Abihu, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and said, "if you die the natural death, then God didn't send me, didn't make me the leader here. But if something unusual happens, and the ground opens up and swallows you" ... that's where you're going Larry, you've already started down, boy, you're way down, down already now, you're going among the ground breakers, break ground and build us a church, break ground and build us a church.I haven't seen the building up there. Is it the main one that's on Hope? (from audience, "Yes.") I lid the singing and sang a solo years ago as a Christian ? up there. Sure ? there thin. Boy was I popping.
Why, they made more over me then than they have over you Larry. Yeah, because I was the soloist for the whole county seat convention. And that Baptist group was anything, they didn't have BYTU, they had the Christian Endeavor. And I led the singing and sang solo.
I remember in that very brick building by the way, we had a pantomime. I sang "There's a dear and precious book, though it's worn and faded now", mother's. Bible, "Precious Book". And we had a lady sitting over there, pre-maturely grey headed, and she had two children, maybe she wasn't gray, and two children: a little girl in her lap and a boy at her knees, and she had a Bible open, and we had the spotlight on her, turned the spotlight on her, and I stood over in the dark and sang "Precious Book". Oh, it was effective and I sang it prayerfully. I hadn't sinned against light thin. You can never, Larry, you can get out on the street and preach the gospel boy and if God blesses it it's because He overrules. Overrules. You no more have the blessing of God upon your life boy, if you're going to walk by sight. You're doing it already. Gain is godliness. Oh boy, look at Larry Davis. Look at Billy Graham. Gain is godliness. Gain is godliness. That's precisely what you're doing, walking by sight. If the Holy Spirit was wanting to lead you to go to Gaza and talk to somebody and you had to get down there, you'd say, "Well I want to preach the gospel. I want to preach the gospel. I’ve been talking to men that are directly used of God. I have in my eye maybe some day I'll be a Billy Graham. Some day I’ll be a McGee. Some day I'll be" ... what does, different ones to Larry have been, I'm the person that said in my hearing, others, I said, "Evidently Larry began to look around among us, and say what future have I got. It'll by years before they would respect me as a mature father in the gospel. What chance have I? And when you went over and met Ted Cole and some others you begin to say, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Where have I been?" "I rebuked him before them all when I saw that he walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel."
I want to refer, before I close, to a few more individual things he said. That about the great house. You read it for yourself carefully in 2 Timothy 2. You notice hi said, and that was a fairly clever Campbellite debater argument line he gave, when hi said, "Now we read in this great house there's not only a vessel to honor but to dishonor, and he said if that's what this assembly is taught that it means, if that's Christendom, then here is a vessel to honor already in the mixture but hi won't be a vessel to honor until hi gets out." And Larry thought he'd just scored a couple of home runs then, with the bases loaded. Well let's go back, Larry, to the vessel to dishonor. He said he believed that that great house is the body of Christ. That's what he said, I copied it down word for word; it's the body of Christ. So you got vessels to honor in the body of Christ and vessels to dishonor. I guess if they got out of the body they'd be vessels to honor, or something. Now was that throwing dust or not.Th D, Dr Dust Thrower, or Dust Thrower. Paul had just been rebuking, pointing to some false teachers, who said the resurrection was past already, and whose word doth eat as a canker. You say they were professing to preach Christ, buy they were false on the resurrection. And Paul said, "Shun them, shun them."
"The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every man that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Now about the only iniquity that Larry referred to tonight was the same kind of iniquity that a second blessing, camp meeting preacher talked about; immorality, getting drunk, open... But the sin that Satan put over on Eve and that's characteristic of Revelation 17th chapter, Larry was almost completely ignorant of tonight in his whole talk. He didn't present tonight a Satan that's transformed as an angel of light and wisdom and that his ministers are ministers of righteousness. He has the kind of devil that I was taught about as a Methodist boy in Texas. You know, I thought that if I would run across the devil (and I never did see them) because I was looking for a fellow that had hoofs, and wolf ears, and a Texas steer horn, and he snorted fire and brimstone, and his tongue was like a rattlesnake's fork, and he had a big pitchfork, and he was red. And you know Earl, I never did meet them. I never did meet the devil, I mean that kind of a devil. That's about Larry's devil, about Larry's devil this afternoon, this evening. That's the devil he's talking against. Be careful Larry, don't you run into that devil. You run right in boy, and sit on the lap of that whore Mystery Babylon, Mother of Harlots. Go ahead! until your soul (that I'm glad to believe has been washed in the blood of Christ), until you get like the prodigal son in the pigpen, you come to yourself! And say I'll go back to my Father.
What do you think he meant by 2 Corinthians 6, his supposed exposition of 2 Corinthians 6th chapter?
But now back again, before I forget, 2 Timothy 2, "In a great house, not only vessels to honor, some to dishonor, wood and earth, gold and silver." Now that's the body of Christ, you see. Vessels to honor and dishonor, wood and earth, gold and silver in the body of Christ. He didn't tell us just what all the various symbols there mean, what the wood and earth is. Not only the gold and silver ... but he said the body of Christ. He's doing that so there won't be any separation doctrine preached.
Now by the way, Larry said that here in this assembly this is the line of talk, that if you come out of a regular denomination and give up water baptism (something like that), we say you are separated. Larry, anybody here that has said that, not only merits, but by the grace of God, will get my rebuke in the name of Christ. And you've never heard me give anything remotely akin to that and you must know you haven't! You know that you've heard me preach over and over again that "Though I understand all mysteries and know all knowledge and have faith enough to move mountains and haven't love, I am nothing." You know you've heard-me preach that over and over and over again. And I defy you to ever give one single case or get anybody to witness with you that they've ever heard me say to any individual, "If you come out of a denominational membership and give up water baptism, you're walking in the truth, you're a separated Christian."
To the contrary, like I mentioned awhile ago, you sat here in this audience, whether you heard me or not I don't know, and heard me give at great length, and then repeat it weeks later, that I said, "The deadest of all assemblies that could possibly be is an assembly composed of people who have come out (and I won't go back over it again), but who haven't the joy of the Lord." How many times have you heard me quote from Nehemiah, "The joy of the Lord shall be your strength"?
Were you present the two different Sunday mornings Larry when I preached on "The Greatest Trip" ever taken? And again I preached that was when Jesus Christ came out of the highest down into the lowest part of the earth, and I preached the gospel of the grace of God (though there are probably few unsaved here). Were you there that morning Larry when I preached on "The Greatest Stoop", and when I preached on "The Most Amazing Gratitude"? And my own heart was melted as I preached about Jesus Christ taking bread at the last supper, and blessed it. And I brought out, I said it's recently gripped me -- think of it! He's thanking God for the prospect just ahead of being broken up in His heart, broken, and poured out like ? hyssop and dissolved. Do you remember my teaching that Larry? No! According to Larry's talk here, we're a little dried up, cynical cult, that have no love, and I take pleasure in damning men like McGee, and so forth.Larry, may God in His infinite grace (well I know He'll forgive you, He'll forgive you and cleanse you when you confess), but may God stop you before you go on in your folly.
"I do not believe denominationalism is sin according to the Bible." That's a verbatim statement from Larry. "To be named apart." What were they doing at Corinth? He said it's just the spirit. All right it was the spirit. "I'm of Paul." Another group of Christians "I'm of Apollos." Were they naming apart, Larry? The word 'denomination' Larry knows I'm sure means 'de' is apart and 'nominate' to name, to name apart. Larry, were members of the same body, Paul addressed them as the church of God out Corinth, were some of them naming themselves apart from other members of the body, and vice versa? Yes. Was that denominationalism? Was it denominationalism? They were naming themselves apart. I never read from a Bible teacher in my life or expositor on that subject or talked to one who didn't admit that that was the beginning of denominationalism. Because that was so specifically what it is 'de-nominarian', name apart. But professor Larry, professor Davis tells us tonight that denominationalism isn't sin. He's swallowed that from some of his text twisting, dust throwing teachers of recent vintage. May God deliver you from it.
Denominationalism my friend is essentially of the devil in religion. It's essentially of the devil.
Brother B D Johnson and his wife, before they went to be with the Lord, were riding in brother B D's car one night coming to Pasadena for some gospel meetings. They saw a lady just miss a bus on the edge of Pasadena I believe it was or maybe Eagle Rock. One of them said to the other, "She looked so disappointed, let's stop and ask her if she'd like a ride." Stop. "Are you going into Pasadena?" "Yes." "Would you like to ride with us?" "Well I certainly thank you so much. I just missed the bus. I was going to church." And brother B D said, "We're going too." She said, "Well where are you going?I'm going to the Nazarene." And brother B D said, "Well we're just going to an assembly of Christians." " Well what church?" "Well, just members of the body of Christ, the church which is Christ's body." "You mean you don't have any name?" "Well we have the name of the Lord Jesus." "Well how do you tell yourselves apart?" And he said, "We don't want to tell ourselves apart. We want to tell ourselves together."
Larry, that was awful wasn't it. Brother B D was so narrow, in telling that dear Christian (probably a Christian) that we want to tell ourselves together as blood bought souls. Larry, Ted Cole wouldn't do a thing like that. And McGee. Except when they're having one of their deliberately planned get-togethers with denominationalists and we're going to have sweet fellowship, and show how though we've been independent in taking any name we want: I take the name Baptist because I want to, you take the name Lutheran because you want to, you take the name Presbyterian because you want to, you take the name Methodist because you want to. Aren't we all fine independents, yes. But we're going to use the same right to choose, to choose now to have sweet fellowship. Aren't we lovely? We're independent. We can do what we want to (heady, high-minded), and when we want to we'll have an interdenominational meeting. Isn't that sweet? That's the junk you're now embracing Larry. May the Spirit of God not allow you Larry to go to sleep tonight patting yourself on the back. For the Christ denying and Bible muddling stuff you gave here tonight. Of course he gave some truth. All the truth he gave will help to build nothing but the church which is Christ's body. It'll never build the Baptists, Larry. Joe tells us that the other Sunday, Ted Cole said with you sitting by him (by Joe), that Ted Cole said the name Baptist is "nothing but a label and it won't be in heaven. "It’ll drop off" he said, "It won't be in heaven." You get an invitation for me to go with you to meet Ted Cole and I'll, listen I'll say, "Ted, you're a hypocrite. You're a contemptible coward. If the name Baptist is nothing but a label, doesn't mean anything, then drop it now. If it's not going to be in heaven, drop it now! It's not heavenly then. You're minding earthly things." That was conceded probably for your sake Joe and for Larry's sake. "The name Baptist doesn't mean a thing." I've said more than one time when they tell me that, "Well fine, then we're together." "But, just a minute." "Oh you don't want me to believe you're speaking the truth." Like I brought out this morning here in this Presbyterian Church folder here. On the front part, "Glendale Presbyterian Church. Evangelical, Premillennial, Fundamental." Front page it says, "Presbyterian Church Bulletin", and on the back a statement of their faith. "The Bible. We believe in the original Scriptures .., manuscripts to be verbally inspired and inerrant and sufficient rule of faith and practice. Christ. We believe in the deity of Christ," and so forth. "The Father. God. The Holy Spirit. Personality. Salvation by Grace. Security of the Believer. Punishment. Hell. Lake of Fire. The Church. The one and only true church is the body of Christ composed of all saved souls." The one and only true church. The one and only true church. I would write to them and I would say, "I believe that, that's fine, I believe that. That’s why I'm not a Presbyterian. I’ll get Larry Davis after you. I'll get Larry Davis after you. You agree with what we say." I hear Ted Cole [say] that the name Baptist is nothing but a label and won't be in heaven. So I say I want to walk worthy of the calling wherewith I'm called. What is it? A high calling. A high calling to take the name that's above every name that comprehends and perfectly describes every Christian act. What can you do in the way of a Christian act that's Methodist? Not a thing! What can you do in the way of a Christian act that's Presbyterian? Not a thing! What can you do that's a Christian act that the Baptist's name will accurately describe? Not a thing! What can you do to cause divisions in the family of God? "I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm a Lutheran, I'm a Baptist." And Larry swallowed the cheap chatter that some of his teachers gave him that there were not any buildings at Corinth. Therefore that's dead literature. That's the spirit (that you've heard me say more than one time Larry, in all probability you’ve been present anyway physically) that denominationalism and sectarianism isn't a steeplehouse, it exists in the minds and hearts of people before they ever build physical monuments to it. I've said that over and over and over again. And I've said over and over again, we can have a contemptible little sect here. I've said in your hearing over and over again, and say it again tonight, we can have a contemptible ... and maybe in individual cases. We even have it in the person of Larry Davis. Boy, we have a sectarian with a vengeance, pretending to believe and rejoicing in the things that were given here. And he said awhile ago that he suffered more for some of the things he gave. He said that he suffered, and it was for Christ's sake.Well that was when you were deluded Larry. That was when you were agreeing with what I'm preaching and teach. And yet when you were suffering for Christ you were under the delusion and with us bunch of narrow, unloving people.
I'm going to stop pretty soon, but I want to refer to one or two other things. I would like to take up every one, but I took up more time of course on Galatians 2 and some of those things.
He said, "A brother here castigated me the other night." I don't know if it's worthwhile to take up anything. You want to refer to some scripture that he gave.
(from audience "2 Corinthians 6")
2 Corinthians 6... let's read that please, 2 Corinthians 6. Larry's explanation of it, results it comes down to, it means nothing, except you mustn't play marbles for keeps with some dirty gambler if you're a Christian, and you shouldn't go into a road house. In other words, it's just exactly what I used to hear the Methodist preachers preach: morals, just morals. It's what all the preachers of righteousness referred to and described in 2 Corinthians 11, the devil's preachers, preach: righteousness. Righteous acts, keep out of the cops' way, keep out of jail. The "Christian Science" so-called preach exactly the same. Be moral, be moral. All the Modernists in the country preach it: morals. But there's no prince of the power of the air in this program at all according to Larry, unless the devil is trying to make all Christian drunks, unless the devil's main business is down on Skid Row in Los Angeles among the poor stumblebums and derelicts, see. He's not out in any church houses anywhere. He comes as a bartender and one of the B-girls in one of those places: that's what the devil is, see. Instead of the prince of the power of the air, the god of this age.
(from audience "Brother Maurice ...")
2 Corinthians 6.
(from audience "Can you also touch upon what Larry Davis was saying in the opening about no man had a right to judge?")
Well he seemed to draw back his spiritual fists or religious fists and get ready for a knockout punch, and then he got to petting it before he got through with that stuff. That's a typical way of people: just say enough about it doesn't mean that and what it does mean, and what ? , now you're all clear; don't you... It doesn't mean anything pungent.
He quoted there in I Corinthians 4, Paul said, "I don't judge even myself. Judge nothing before the time." He didn't tell us that in the 1st chapter .. the 2nd chapter Paul had already said, "He that is spiritual judgeth all things." I Corinthians 2:16. He didn't tell us that in the 5th chapter' Paul said, "Now judge concerning this man, this Christian that's been guilty of immorality. I've already judged concerning him in the name of Jesus Christ that he be delivered over to the devil for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." I Corinthians 5. (?) He didn't tell us in the 6th chapter Paul said, "Well why don't you judge. Here you are going to law brother against brother, and before the world even. Don't you know the saints shall judge the world and judge angels." Well he said, "It's a shame on you that you don't even take the weakest among you to judge." The 6th chapter. You'd as well gone to 3rd chapter ... 1st verse of Matthew 7, "Judge not."
And maybe that he's heard us gave that so many times and call his attention to it, that in that same discourse after Christ said "Judge not, for what judgment you judge you shall be judged," He goes on to say "Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing." Larry, tonight, virtually all we should be afraid of, according to Larry tonight, is wolves in heinous hide. Wolves that come with space helmets and say, "I’ve got an atomic bomb to drop on you." But not wolves in sheep's clothing, see."Judge not". He went on to say, and give quite a little discourse about that nobody on earth has the right to judge the heart and the individual motives of a person. Which means what? Which means what? "Mark those which walk as ye have me for an ensample, for many walk of whom I've told you often, and even now tell you weeping." Paul you should preach the gospel. What are you doing, talking to these saints instead of preaching the gospel to some of those unsaved buddies next to you in the cell there in the Roman jail. Here you are writing away to the Christians at Philippi and telling, "Mark those which walk so as ye have me for an ensample, for many walk of whom I've told you often, they're the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose god is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, they mind earthly things."
Any place for that in the church of Jesus Christ today? "Mark those, I beseech you brethren, mark those which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and avoid them, for they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." Larry, get you a good concordance and look up in the Greek the various occurrences of that adjective 'good' and 'fair'. I did it years ago and made careful notes of all the occurrences in the New Testament Scriptures of those adjectives translated in Romans the 16th chapter: 'good', 'good words and fair speeches'. You look up all those adjectives and see how many places you have the good and fair regarding spiritual things.
Now here's some men who've come with good words and fair speeches. What would the Spirit of God through Paul have called 'good words'. Blatant infidelity, I guess. Crass and crude infidelity and morality I guess. No, 'good words and fair speeches', but who serve not our Lord Jesus Christ. Larry, there isn't a denominational preacher on earth tonight who isn't sick of his denominationalism and saying, "Oh God, show me how I can get loose from this." There isn't a denominational preacher on earth tonight whose contending like you were that it's not a sin, denominationalism isn't sin. There isn't a person on the earth tonight, Larry, that contends that, that isn't serving his belly. And that means you. "Who serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly." You’ve been considering your papa and mama and these others have been saying to you, and your future, your belly future. You haven't been considering the unseen glorified head of the church, and your relationship, spiritual relationship to all God's people. You've gone to serving your own belly. And by good words and fair speeches you'll deceive nobody, thank God, but the simple. I mean the simple in the sense of gullible, as we're told in Proverbs:, "The simple believe every word." Not the simplicity that's in Christ.
Little bit more in 2 Corinthians 6 and I'll stop. Begin at the first verse. I want read it all, but look at the first verse.
We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
Just preach it, that's the whole counsel, whether it's received in vain or not. Larry said, "Don't preach anything else, that's the whole counsel." Imagine. saying that the whole counsel of God referred to in Acts. Look Paul goes ahead and says that and Larry jumps on that ... to the word counsel and 'wisdom', the wisdom of God from I Corinthians 2. (I want to deal with that, but I won't now.) But Larry jumps on the whole counsel of God and says it's just the gospel of salvation. Then Paul jumps on the counsel of God and it's a lot of chatter when he said, "I know that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock, even of your own selves shall men," that just means according to Larry, people from Ephesus, just people from Ephesus, not any elders, "arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves."
Larry, what did Peter do, according to Galatians 2? Was Peter an elder? He was an apostle and elder. He says so in his epistle; he said, "I'm also an elder." He was an apostle and elder. Did Peter arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after himself? He did precisely that. He did precisely that. And did Paul rebuke him publicly? Yes. Was. it recorded by divine inspiration? Yes. Is it possible for god-fearing people today? Yes. Is it possible for sectarians? I should say not. For denominationalists? I should say not. You better jump over that. Better jump over Paul's rebuking Peter in Galatians 2.
2 Corinthians,
Receive not the grace of God in vain.
Skipping for want of time to the 11th verse.
O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart's enlarged.
We've declared the whole counsel of God so therefore we don't dare preach anything else so we're going to give you the plan of salvation again, how you are saved. Nope. He goes on.
Ye are not straightened in us.
In other words, we haven't done anything to tie you up, put you in a sect or denomination, an unequal yoke,
you're not straightened in us, but ye are straightened in your bowels. Now for a recompense in the same (I speak as unto my children), Be ye also enlarged. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Just imagine! What's been going on in Larry's mind and heart that he would try to prove, that an organization into which the devil can get a counterfeit and call him a Christian and get him elected a deacon or get him elected a preacher (he can do it in any church organization in this country). The moment you have something a man can add you to, you have something the devil can get a counterfeit into, and Larry knows it. Unless he's so utterly blinded now that he doesn't care to even think of these obvious truths anymore. Imagine saying that isn't an unequal yoke. Is it a yoke at all? Is membership in the Baptist Church a yoke? It's either Christ's yoke or another yoke.
You tell a Baptist preacher and board of deacons at a session, you say, "You know, I've come to believe that membership in the Baptist Church isn't a thing. No, no ? to it at all, nothing at all." Larry Davis has been given to understand he can just come and never join and never partake of the supper. I understand he told some of the fellows he wasn't going to partake of the supper. How long do you think you can ... Larry, you fall easy, boy, and you think you're a big strong tough guy. You really fell easy for that. How long do you think you could stay in the Baptist Church, and not join, I mean as a worker, and not join, and not eat the bread and grape juice, and not get dunked (unless they accept your Campbellite dunking). Boy you see, well ...
[change tape]
...You've heard me say that a man could work in a butcher shop and serve fine meat, and you go in there, dinner time, and say, "When do you eat?" He says, "I'll eat now," and picks up some skim milk, or maybe a bottle with nipple on it, and you say, "Wait a minute! Why you only suck ... ?" "Yeah." "and you serve meat to other people?" "Yeah. But I'm on a milk diet. I can't take anything but milk." There's some Baptist preachers that can preach sound gospel salvation, and then go to flirting with a Lutheran preacher to have sweet fellowship.
The reason I can't have sweet fellowship with a man who teaches sprinkling is essential to salvation, and that after you are saved, of that sort of salvation you could lose any minute, is because I love Jesus Christ, Larry. It's not a doctrine, Larry, with my tongue. I believe in the gospel of salvation, Larry. It's not a preachment, Larry, help me get a job in a Baptist place, pretend to believe it. I believe it with my whole soul. And I started to say awhile ago, Paul said, "I would they were cut off which trouble you." Those that are teaching circumcision I wish that they themselves were cut off, that trouble you. What were they preaching? They didn't deny the virgin birth of Christ; they didn't deny His death on the cross; they didn't deny the resurrection; they didn't the necessity of faith in the shed blood of Christ. They taught that plus, like the Lutherans do. Paul said, "I would they were cut off." And Larry said brother Cole demonstrates the love ... the unity of the Spirit by having sweet fellowship with a Lutheran preacher. Paul wouldn't have had it. He said, "I would they were cut off." "If any man preach any other gospel let him be accursed." Ted Cole said, "Oh no, why that's kind of like that poor small time Maurice Johnson and those fellows around him up there. Larry, oh my dear young brother, you're a wonderful young fellow. All your knowledge and ability to quote Scripture and all. Brother Larry Davis is coming in, that young fellow that God's wonderfully using."
Why do you think he mentioned your name before ? there Larry? Larry told me one day when he was talking about it, "He's not interested in getting me as a member because he's already got near 4,000." I should have said to Larry right then what I thought, "Larry, you think he got them by not using foxy psychology on kids like you? You think he isn't smarter than you, Larry?"
Larry went in, you know ... he didn't ask any of us older men to go with him the second time to see with that clever Baptist preacher. No, because the Baptist preacher was cleverer than Larry. The Campbellite preachers weren't... that Larry met, and felt the need of asking an older brother to come and water the seed that Larry had given. But not so with Cole. Cole pulled the wool over Larry, and some other fellows, I don't know how many of them. It's immaterial because I know who was back of it, the devil.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness, and what concord hath Christ with Belial, or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel.
I'm going to go up to the Riverside Church now, up yonder New York City, on Riverside Drive, and I'm going to ask for membership, because I got a sermon by the preacher, and he preaches the deity of Christ he says and that Christ is the Savior and shed blood for us all. So I join it. Larry Davis hears about it and he says, "Why that man's an evolutionist and they don't preach the gospel." And Larry would say that's an unequal yoke. Oh, no, no, I don't mean that because I mustn't say that 2 Corinthians refers to a thing like that. Why that's a ... what would it be? What would it be to go in and join that organization? It wouldn't be an unequal yoke because it's not talking about that, Larry told us it wasn't. It's an unequal yoke that must be somewhere else where: there's no pretense of being Christian. The devil mustn't be smart and pretend it's a Christian yoke. Oh no, because Larry's devil doesn't do such crude things as that. Larry's devil would never ... I mean such smooth things as that. Larry's devil says, "Woof, woof, I'm the devil. I want you to get drunk. I want you to rob a bank. I want you to be naughty. I want you to have a fistfight (when they're taking the collection)." Larry's devil wouldn't say, "I want you to get in a nice church where the sinner's...".
Oh by the way, I must touch it. Larry said, "An unsaved person wouldn't go over and over again." An unequal yoke, yeah on this. "An unsaved person," he said, "wouldn't go into a church Sunday after Sunday after Sunday where the gospel is preached, where he's told that he's lost." You remember Larry saying that? Ask him to prove it. Larry, I've got it down, "What about a Roman Catholic church?" Do the unsaved go in there, I mean the non-Catholic Romans, go in there week after week after week and they're told they'll go to hell if they don't pray to Mary, and they keep on going and keep on going, Larry, and they keep on going. Do they go to the Lutheran church where they preach you’ve got to be sprinkled with water to be saved and then hold on faithful the rest of your life or you'll go to hell. Does the unsaved go in there? Does the unsaved, Larry, go into the Seventh Day Adventists where they're told if you don't keep the Ten Commandments., especially the latter part of the fourth and quit eating pork, you'll go to hell. The unsaved go there Sunday after Sabbath after Sabbath day after Sabbath day -- sure they do. Does any of the unsaved ever listen to (I mean according to Armstrong's plan of salvation), they ever listen to him on the radio? Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, now listening, pouring monies there, and he says, "You're all lost, and you're going to be annihilated if you don't quit eating pork and send your tithes to Box 111 Pasadena." And they keep on hearing him as he berates them and sends them to an eternal extinction; they keep on listening and listening and listening because they love it, Larry, because they're the sheep of the devil. Your argument there Larry was awfully ignorant chatter.
(Question from audience)
What?
(Question from audience)
That doesn't lessen because he's up here pretending to be a contender for the truth.
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
Now that couldn't have anything to do with the church of course. Larry said it doesn't. There couldn't be any agreement at all with the temple of God. Why, no. Well that's a Christian ... a believer shouldn't go in and shoot craps, in a back alley with an infidel, or something like that you see, Larry. Because it wouldn't be an infidel joining the Baptist church and a Christian joining. Larry said it doesn't mean that. No-o-o, it doesn't mean that. So we'll have to wait and hear Larry again sometime ... Larry, you send us an invitation when you get to preach. Larry told me that Cole said, "I go out in the desert occasionally and preach to a little place out there. I would like you to go out and preach." And Larry told me about that. Hmmmph.
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God.
Who is? Who is? The Baptist church? Presbyterian church? Who's the temple of the living God? God's people. Is there any value to that temple? Anything unique and beautiful about it? Anything efficient about that temple? Ephesians 2, the Christians compose that temple of God. Anything living and beautiful and vital about it? Larry said the name church could be applied to a building just as surely as the name synagogue, and so what? So, let's call that First Baptist Church building in ... if Larry calls it the temple of God, say "I went into the temple of God the other day." Well I never heard him talk just like that before but I knew he was on the way. That's the temple of God now, the temple of God.
And so mama Rome says, "Now boy, you're doing nice. You're coming back home nicely." That's Roman Catholicism. Larry's been flirting with a harlot and didn't realize it. Far worse that a painted doll down in Hollywood, somewhat like that drunk when she come up and kept hitting me on Hollywood and Vine Sunday night, last Sunday night. She said, "I'm a prostitute." She said it, and cursed over and over again. I admire her for her frankness, if I could admire anything about a woman like that. She said it! And Larry's guilty now of a far worse prostitution. Far worse. Prostituting the holy things of God, and his membership in the body of Christ, trying to make it appear that there's no rivalry between that membership and another secondary membership in something called a Baptist church. The moment you think there's any value to a secondary membership, you of course are giving the lie to the essential and beautiful value of the original membership. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so ..."
(chorus from audience, "walk ye in Him,")
When you walk in Christ Jesus the Lord, will you finally become a Methodist? (I gave that over the radio, made the tape day before yesterday and sent it out I forget where.) I said, "When you grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, will we ever grow into a Lutheran?" No! My son grew as a baby boy born into our family; we named him Jimmy. He's Jim Johnson, my son, Maurice Johnson's boy. As he grew, did he become a Perkins? According to Larry, certainly if he chose that, certainly all right, it wouldn't deny anything about the Johnson family. He could take an alias.. Alias: I'm a child of God alias Baptist. I'm a child of God alias Lutheran. What do you want to take that alias for? There's something rotten around here somewhere. Something dirty. It's that dirty desire to be somebody, Larry. That dirty desire to have a standing, Larry. It's that dirty desire to give the lie to I John 3, "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God." Therefore let's find some name that'll be more attractive, "because the world knew Him not," the world knew Him not. Let's get a name that's more attractive. Who wants to be a nobody. Larry, you're not with us nobodies anymore, according to your own profession and sad departure. You're not with us nobodies. I'm glad that you can't keep from being with us all for all eternity, a saved man.
I'll stop with three more verses here.
What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them.
I'll walk in them. Will that be while we're carrying on our Christian work down here? Why of course. I'll walk in them and walk in Him, Colossians 2:6.
And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.
Separate from what? Everything that will obscure the fact that we are members of the church which is Christ's body and, as such, can do everything that He wants us to do.
(from audience "Everything else is unclean.")
Everything else is unclean, yes. And the denial of the facts and the sufficiency of the original.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you.
How beautiful. Larry's gone now, to a Baptist orphanage, and he's got some of them that are soulish making him think that they love him more now. Larry, they love you for what they can get out of you, kid. don't let them fool you boy. May God help you. We love you because of what Christ has put in you boy, not what we can get out of you. We love you because of what Christ has put in you, and what He wants to do with you as a member of the body. If I had kidded you and confidented you and gotten, made more opportunities for you to speak on the radio, and things like that, it would have been a very different story Larry, I have every reason to believe.
But I saw when Larry rode with me and Wayne up to Sacramento, we were riding along and Larry said, "Brother Maurice, do you think there's anything wrong with (this is just a few weeks ago), do you think there's anything wrong in wanting to preach to as many people as possible?" I hesitated before I answered, because I thought I knew what was going on in his mind. I said, "Larry, it depends altogether on why you want to do it." And I won't go on to other things I gave along that line. But I thought I saw then, I would already seen signs before, but I saw the telltale signs. Just like I would seen him preaching on the street the other night in Hollywood weeks ago. I saw him standing on the corner there preaching and he was quoting Scripture, and giving very cleverly thought out (like some of his language here today, super-duper, sounded like a theological seminary orator, some of these things awhile ago, his adjectives and all), and I saw there wasn't a single soul in sight, and Larry just kept rolling out oratory, and quoting Scripture, and I thought, "Larry, are you just listening to yourself? There's not anybody listening to you; you'll say it solo. Why don't you stop and wait till somebody ... are you just enjoying the sound of your voice, and that well prepared little message?"
My friend, there are certain telltale ... my wife has been able to detect little things in the children because of the experience, and she loved them. "I think I see symptoms, I see symptoms, something is wrong." It's because I love you Larry that I watched you, just like I've admonished you about some of the way you speak, being too fast and all. I've tried to be a friend to you and a father to you, see. But you don't want to. You don't want "Faithful are the wounds of a friend"; you want a flatterer, the kisses of an enemy. "Hail, master." I haven’t done any of that with you Larry, and by God's grace, 11m not going to do that with anybody.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.
Unclean what? Unclean how?
And I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
My beloved Christian brethren who desire to be separated unto Jesus Christ, and who should never say that this person because he's seen or apparently seen some truth on some subject is therefore a separated Christian. We can speak of somebody being separated from that particular thing if they tell us they've left it, but to say they are separated in all the beautiful connotation of spiritual meaning of that (separated unto Jesus Christ), we should never say any more than "I believe or I hope they are, or I want to believe." Because I'm told to be. "Jesus, that he might sanctify the people, suffered outside the gate. Wherefore let us go unto him outside the camp, bearing his reproach." Can we say, by the grace of God, I want to do that? And to me to say that because we ... we profess to be and want to be separated unto Jesus Christ that therefore we are that little sect in Corinth that said "I'm of Christ." All of that adds up to what? That nobody can fail. According to Larry, nobody can fail from being either "I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Cephas, I'm of Christ," I'm a Baptist, or I'm Something in the ugly sense. Nobody can be actually what God wants us to be, like every babe in Christ is. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,"
(from audience "so walk ye in Him.")
Anything wrong with a babe in Christ? Can we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus? Can we fail to be corrupted from the simplicity in Christ? Or can we confess our sins when the Holy Spirit shows us, and come back? He quoted from I John I:9, for instance.
I'll close with this next verse now.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved,
that Almighty God wants His children to come to Him which will mean separated from everything that's against Him. Is God the author of confusion? I have quotations after quotations after quotations from Modernists and Evangelicals that denominationalism is of the devil.
I never did bring out what I said I was going to about Hyman Appleman holding a meeting at the C.O.D. I brought out on the radio right after he held a Bible series at the C.O.D. And I heard him say on the radio with Talbot that he had (Talbot was then pastor), that he had wonderful fellowship with Dr Talbot, mighty man of God. I came out on the radio and I said, "But he couldn't take what both of them call the most beautiful and sacred of all things in the present day church, the communion service. Because Hyman Appleman's a Southern Baptist and Talbot's a Presbyterian (he was then).
Now before I will carry on that kind of crookedness, I will renounce the Supper or stand by it. Stand by my Southern Baptist position. And I'll say, "Brother Talbot, you preach a lot of beautiful truth. While I thank God (I believe youºre saved), but why will you be disobedient?" Hear a Baptist preacher get up Sunday morning and preach on water baptism, following the Lord in water baptism. "Dearly beloved, are there some of you here this morning that have received Christ as your savior, but you were deluded into believing that to get a little water sprinkled on you was to be buried with Him in the waters of Christian baptism? Oh how can you fail to see the beautiful, most beautiful of all pictures, and how many here this morning that have never had anything
but sprinkling? While we sing, sing "Shall We Gather At the River?", while we sing, who here will walk down this aisle and say, "Dr Cole, I see that I have never had anything but a Roman Catholic, Lutheran sprinkling, and I want to follow my Lord in the waters of Christian baptism."
You hear Ted Cole on that sometime boy and you're liable to get dunked again. In your present condition you're liable to get dunked again. He's liable to empty your tear sac, and you're liable to get dunked. And you'd say, "Oh I believe ... I imagine if brother Cole ever met a Lutheran preacher (and he didn't know about that), I imagine if he ever met a Lutheran preacher who not only has just been sprinkled but he teaches people to get sprinkled, and sprinkled for salvation. Oh, I imagine if brother Cole, who's so loving, and so fine, and so genuine and true, I imagine if brother Cole would ever get to talk to a Lutheran preacher, he would sure try to get him out of that delusion." God have mercy. What a cheap trick you have been playing, and been tricked into.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.
And Spirit. Filthiness of the spirit. "Perfecting ...", oh no, that would make us hypocrites. Larry quoted from one part of Philippians, "Not that I am perfect." A little bit later Paul said, "As many as be perfect," and so on. Why didn't you go on and finish that, Larry? and show that there are two meanings of the word 'perfect' in the same chapter. Here he says let us come out from all these unequal yokes,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God...
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.Paul said, "My exhortation was not in guile nor uncleanness." Thank God. ‘I didn't mix the name Baptist, I didn't mix the name Lutheran, and didn't mix Christmas and Easter, I didn't mix law and grace, I didn't mix the kingdom ordinances with the church epistles' doctrine of pure grace, and I would they were cut off which trouble you.’ Paul said, and I say, "Amen."
Let's stand shall we and bow our heads. Brother Wayne, if you have liberty, will you close in prayer. Brother Wayne Allen...
. . . . . . . . .
Just remember this my dear friends, that I had a responsibility tonight, and that if someone were to empty a pint of tack in your gravel driveway, it would take you a whole lot longer to pick them up than it took them to throw them down. God bless you, good evening.
If you believe I was too severe, I do not at all. Remember not to be severe on me, unless you want to be. a hypocrite. Come up and tell me if you think I was wrong or too severe.