Goals of This Study

Luther at Worms: The Spirit of 'Here I Stand'

0:00 It is the month of April in the year 1521 A.D. A young monk of the Augustinian order of monks has been summoned to appear before a very august body of men. In that group of men there will be an emperor, there will be what we would call lords.

0:29 and dukes from the political realm, bishops and archbishops and prelates of the Church of Rome. And this young, solitary Augustinian monk is to be summoned before this very imposing body of men, at which time he is asked two questions. The man who asks the question rises and speaks first of all in Latin and then in German and asks in substance two things of the young Augustinian monk pointing to a pile of some twenty books and collection of pamphlets he says Are you the author of these works? And secondly, are you prepared to retract their contents?

1:18 the young Augustinian monk rises and responds to the first question and says yes first of all in Latin and then in German I am the author of those books and pamphlets and treatises but he says concerning the second question because it involves matters of such tremendous importance I do not want to answer rashly nor quickly but I should like time to contemplate the question and formulate a definitive answer. Permission is granted to do the same. The council dismisses. They reconvene the next day, the prior evening of which the young Augustinian monk is found

2:05 strengthening himself in his God. And on that day before these men of state and other onlookers, the young Augustinian monk, addressing himself to that second question, gives a rather lengthy answer which does not satisfy the one who has asked the question. And he says, in essence, we want a yes or no answer. Will you retract what you have written?

2:28 The answer of that young monk was, in essence,

2:32 since what is written is written out of a conscience submissive to the word of God, until I can be shown that what I have written is contrary to the word of God, I will not retract what I have written. And then his famous words, the translation into English varies, but the most famous, perhaps, translation goes something like this. My conscience is held captive to the Word of God. Here I stand.

3:06 I can do no other. So help me, God. Amen. If any of you have seen the film Martin Luther that was made popular some 15 years or so ago, you will never forget, at least I hope you never forget, when they zoomed in on the Augustinian monk Luther, when he says the words, Here I stand, so help me God, and the jowls of the man acting the part of Luther shake, and something happens to the soul of a child of God that leaves an indelible impression.

3:45 Here I stand. And what did those words mean? They meant that I'm committed to a definitive understanding of what is truth. You point to my books and ask me if I am author and I say yes.

4:01 You point to my books and ask me if I will retract them and I say no. because the books represent my understanding of what the Scriptures teach and my conscience is held captive to the Word of God. You see, for Luther, the Augustinian monk, the Bible was not a book which merely found residence in his intellect. He said, my conscience, the seat of my religious and moral being is held captive by the Word of God.

4:37 And so his words, here I stand, were an expression of the fact that he had a definitive understanding of truth. Secondly, that he had an unwavering commitment of the whole man to that truth. Here I stand. Not there my mind rests, as though he could separate his intellectual convictions from what he was as a whole person.

5:01 He said, here I stand in the totality of what makes Martin Luther Martin Luther. Here I stand expressing not only a definitive understanding of truth, but an unwavering commitment of the whole man to that truth. And when he said, so help me God, it manifested in the third place a humble confession of utter dependence upon God to be faithful to that truth in life or in death. Here I stand.

5:38 So help me God. In other words, the implications of understanding that truth and giving a whole-souled commitment to that truth in life or in death demands the help of God. Well, I trust in the spirit of Martin Luther, which was simply a very graphic expression of the Spirit of Christ working in one of his servants, that we will approach the series of messages which begins this morning and which will conclude, God willing, the Sunday before the family conference, a series of messages which I had entitled, Not Here I Stand, But Here We Stand. Well, you say, Pastor Martin, what in the world is behind such a title?

The Title, Nature, and Substance of the Series

6:29 Well, I hope to explain that, and what I propose to do this morning is to explain the title of the series, say something about the nature of that series, the substance of that series, and then we'll look at the goals that I have in mind in addressing myself to such a series of messages. The title, Here We Stand. Well, it's basically going to be a manifesto of the Trinity Church. You know what a manifesto is?

6:57 It is a formal declaration of the leading or governing principles of a given individual or group. The Communist Manifesto was a declaration of its leading ideas of political philosophy and political goals. So a manifesto is a formal declaration of the leading principles of an individual or group. And therefore this series of messages is to be precisely that.

7:25 Here we stand. It's to be a definitive declaration of what we are committed to as a body of God's people. A definitive declaration of what we understand the word of God to teach. and the truth to which I trust we are committed with whole-souled commitment, a truth which in humble dependence upon God we are willing to proclaim and defend in life, or if necessary, in death.

7:56 Now, what will the nature of the series be? Well, it will not be, as is the pattern here, a careful, painstaking, phrase-by-phrase, word-by-word study of one portion of the Word. For those of you who are visitors among us, the general manner or style of preaching and teaching in the morning and evening services is a careful attention to whole sections of the Word of God opened up with meticulous care week by week.

8:29 Example of that is verses 11 through 22 of Ephesians 2 took up some 20 some odd Lord's Days together. But this will be not in that ballpark of approach. Rather, the series is to be a broad overview in which there will be the citation of some of the leading texts of Scripture which speak to the various aspects of our manifesto, the various aspects of the leading principles of our life and worship together as the people of God. The substance then of this series will be comprised of five major divisions, and I hope to prepare and have presented to you some mimeographed outlines

9:15 so you can write in thoughts that you feel will be helpful in verses. First of all, beginning next week, we'll address ourselves to the heading, The Book We Believe and Obey, a study on the nature of Scripture. Secondly, the God whom we worship and confess. Thirdly, the salvation we receive and proclaim. Fourthly, the life we seek to live and share. And fifthly, the ministry we seek to discharge and multiply. And that in 13 weeks. You say, it'll never get done. Well, don't challenge me. I'm just stubborn enough to do it if it kills me. All right? This morning, then, the

10:01 substance of our study is to answer the question, why engage in such a study? What do you hope to accomplish? What goals do you and the other elders have in committing yourselves to this perspective? And I say without embarrassment, my being led to this particular area of concern has not been a unilateral decision.

10:21 That is all on my own, kids. Unilateral means all by your own self. But it's been done in conjunction with the prayers and counsel of my fellow elders for which I am indeed grateful as we meet Saturday by Saturday and seek to ascertain where we are as a congregation, what aspects of truth are needed. There's been a growing conviction that something of this nature was desperately needed and it is out of that mutual consultation and prayer that this series has been conceived.

10:51 Well, what I propose to do today is to set before you the goals of this series, which in its broad title is called Here We Stand, covering these five major areas. And there are six goals that I have, and I've gathered them under two heads. So every kid among us who can add up to ten ought to be able to hold the substance of this morning's study. The goals are, first of all, what I'm calling the categorized goals, and secondly, the generalized goals.

Biblical Warrant for Categorized Goals

11:25 The categorized goals and the generalized goals. All right? Area number one, the categorized goals. Let me explain the biblical warrant for the idea of different categories of the people of God being recognized and one's teaching being governed by the reality of those categories.

11:48 In the book of 1 John, John, writing to the Christians addressed in his letter, says in chapter 2 the following. 1 John 2, verse 12. I write unto you my little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I write unto you fathers, because you've known him who is from the beginning.

12:15 I write unto you young men, because ye have overcome the evil one. I have written unto you little children. You see the various categories, fathers, young men, little children. and the specific things that he writes have peculiar reference to the various categories of believers within the framework of the one church.

12:42 Again, in the book of Hebrews chapter 5, the writer to the Hebrews says, Some of you are little babies when you ought to be full grown men. And he says, as babies you need infant food, whereas full-grown men take adult food. And you see, the point that I'm making is that the writer to the Hebrews governed the substance of his teaching in terms of those specific categories of individuals, full-grown men and babes. Hebrews 5, verses 11 through 14.

13:22 And so in this congregation there are distinct categories of individuals. And for the sake of this series I shall divide those categories as follows. Old timers, newcomers, and onlookers. Now that's not an exhaustive as it is not an elegant classification.

13:46 issue. You may say legitimately the human body is comprised of a head, of a torso, and its limbs. Now you may break down any of those divisions. The head has ears, has eyes, has nose, has mouth.

14:03 You may divide even the mouth down to tongue, to teeth, to gums, to taste buds. So there are those major categories and then minor ones within those categories, and certainly when I suggest that the basic categories of this congregation to which I would address myself are old newcomers and onlookers That not an exhausted categorization That's not exhausted, nor is it elegant. But may I remind you that the purpose of preaching is not to titillate people's fancy with elegant language. It is not to impress with elegance, but to instruct with plain and forceful language.

14:50 and I want even the kids to be able to go home today and say the three basic categories the pastor has in mind are old-timers, newcomers, and onlookers. It's not elegant, but I hope it sticks.

Describing the Three Categories: Old-Timers, Newcomers, Onlookers

15:05 Now, having explained the biblical warrant for the idea of categories, let me describe those categories. Who are the old-timers? Well, it doesn't have reference to chronological age, though in some cases it does, much to the consternation of some who fit the category both spiritually and chronologically. Rather, it has reference to those regardless of age who have been with this assembly from its inception some nine years ago when we severed with a denomination that we were a part of and started from scratch.

15:40 the old timers are those who wrestled with the great issue nine years ago the issue shall we stand committed to denominational loyalties or shall we say with Luther our consciences are captive to the word of God here we stand so help us God now there's some who had to face that issue and you know what it involved It involved rupturing friendships that had been cultivated for 10, 15, 20 years. It meant bearing the onus of, quote, being a splinter group that meets in a school gymnasium.

16:27 Yes. And there are among us those old timers, some not so old in chronological age, some who are. but they've been with this thing may I use the analogy from its conception to its birth into now what we might call the adolescent stage of the Trinity Church now that's what I have in mind when I say old timers and then there's a second category is the newcomers those whom the Lord has been pleased to save and add to this assembly in the past few years many of whom come from a totally non-Christian background in which everything has hit you all at once.

17:14 The truths of the Word of God, the demands of the Word of God, and you're not only babes in knowledge in that sense and in experience, but in general savvy concerning the things of God. And when I speak of newcomers, it is to you that I refer. And then the onlookers, who are you? Well, there are two groups of you.

17:33 Some of you who are non-Christians. Some of you children are onlookers. Even though your moms and dads are old-timers, you're an onlooker. Because you're not a part of the people of God, you've not been born of the Spirit yet.

17:47 There are other onlookers who are adults. You're not Christians, but thank God you have enough concern for your soul to be under the sound of the Word. That's no virtue that you can parade before God. that at least, thank God, you have unhardened your conscience to act like a beast who has no soul that needs no preaching and needs no instruction from the Word of God.

18:09 Then there are believing onlookers, some of you who have never cast in your lot with us. You're a Christian, and you're looking in from the outside. What do you stand for? What are you committed to?

18:21 You're the onlooker, all right? Now, what is my purpose with reference to those three categories? Well, the purposes are these. First of all, to confirm the old-timers.

Goal 1: Confirm the Old-Timers (2 Peter 1 and Deuteronomy)

18:32 Did you know we're a Baptist church that believes in confirmation?

18:37 Yes, we do. Not confirmation as an unbiblical ecclesiastical ritual in which some dominee, some professional cleric, puts his hands on your head and pronounces some words and supposedly accomplishes something. No, the word confirm simply means to make firm or to strengthen. Now, we believe in confirmation.

18:59 And my prayer and the prayer of your elders is that this series of messages will serve under the blessing of God to confirm the old timers. Now, let me show you the biblical basis for that kind of confirmation. A key text in the New Testament, a key text in the Old Testament. First of all, 2 Peter.

19:18 Why do old timers need to be confirmed? I thought you confirmed people when they were 12 years of age. That's usually when you have confirmation. Some of us will be in our 40s and 50s and 60s for this confirmation.

19:34 Well, look at Peter's words in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 12. Wherefore I shall be ready always to put you in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and are established in the truth which is with you. and I think it right as long as I am with you in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly even as our Lord Jesus Christ signified unto me yea I will give diligence at every time that ye may be able after my decease to call these things to remembrance

20:21 notice three times I will put you in remembrance I think it neat to stir you up putting you in remembrance after my decease have these things in remembrance he says I want these truths made what? made firm I want them strengthened by conscious articulation that will serve as a vivid and perpetual reminder now to the Old Testament text Deuteronomy chapter 4 The book of Deuteronomy chapter 4.

21:02 In this setting forth of the terms of God's covenantal relationship with his people, God sounds this note again and again and again. Deuteronomy chapter 4, verse 9. only take heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life. Lest thou forget the things that thine eyes have seen, and they depart from thy heart.

21:51 Further down in this same chapter, verse 23, Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make you a graven image in the form of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, a jealous God, when thou shalt beget children and children's children. You see, the passing of time. And ye have been long in the land and shall corrupt yourselves.

22:20 You see what Moses is saying or God is saying through Moses? You will never be able to corrupt yourself in the making of false gods until you forget who the living God is. And he warns them against forgetfulness. Chapter 6 and verse 12.

22:37 6 and verse 12. Back up to verse 10. forget the Lord thy God. He says, when you're out of the wilderness and away from the constant reminders of your utter dependence upon me, and you settle in to God-given prosperity, beware,

23:24 lest you forget. You see, some of you don't realize there was a time when you took your reputation in your hands to even show up at this place. Now, that's still true with some. but when anything grows it gains respectability and when it gains respectability then we stand in the point or in the place of this danger that we shall forget that we shall forget and then in chapter 8 of the same book verses 11 to 14 and I read these passages not to fill up time but to show you how vital is this principle God repeats it again and again and again chapter 8 verse 11 beware lest thou forget the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments

24:12 and then the same emphasis when you've eaten and you are full and all of this blessing comes verse 17 lest thou say in thy heart my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth thou shalt remember the Lord thy God he it is that giveth thee power to get wealth that he may establish the covenant that he swear unto thy fathers at this day, and it shall be, if thou shalt forget. And God warns against the sin of forgetfulness. Now do you see the principle? Do you see it? You see, what is believed over a long period of time is then assumed to be true.

24:55 What is assumed to be true is then not articulated. What is not articulated is forgotten. And what is forgotten is no longer believed. And what is no longer believed is ultimately repudiated and rejected.

25:13 You see the process?

25:15 Let me give it to you again. What is believed over a long period of time is assumed. What is assumed is not articulated What is articulated is not remembered What is not remembered is no longer believed What is no longer believed is no longer cherished And what is no longer cherished is ultimately put in the junk heap of unbelief and utter rejection So Peter says I would stir up your minds By way of remembrance He says even though you know this truth And are established in it If it's beginning to slip out of the room

26:00 Of conscious articulation Into the limbo of forgetfulness I want to drag it up I want to stir up your mind By way of remembrance He said you haven't rejected the truth You know the truth You're established in it. But I want conscious remembrance.

26:21 That's why God says again and again to Israel, Lest ye forget, lest ye forget. For it's that which holds the mind as conscious religious conviction that molds the life with conscious religious power.

26:40 And so my concern is to confirm the old-timers. Some truths that perhaps once made you weep with joy Now you nod to With a bland acquiescence Principles for which you once laid your reputation Your friendships on the line Are now held well fine But I wouldn't lose much sweat over it Oh, may God confirm the old-timers among us. And as we are stirred up by way of remembrance, give to us a fresh note of sanctified militance

27:26 in our love of and commitment to the truths that will comprise the body of our confession when we say, Here we stand. But then in the second place, we hope, not only to confirm the old timers, but to initiate the newcomers.

Goal 2: Initiate the Newcomers

27:48 The kids say, uh-oh, initiation has always something bad with that. No, don't put that wrong connotation. You think of initiation, you think of somebody pouring rotten eggs down your back or putting it on your head. No, you see, to initiate simply means to acquaint someone with the fundamentals of a given subject.

28:07 If you initiate a man into chess, You teach him what to do with all those funny looking things on the chessboard. See?

28:17 And it's in that sense that I use the word initiate. And it's my purpose that the newcomers among us may be initiated into what? Into the broad fundamental principles of our life together as the people of God. Jesus said, feed not only my sheep, but feed my lambs.

28:40 feed my lambs Paul says I could not give you meat but I had to give you milk And the best way one of the best ways to learn any subject is first of all to back off from the details of that subject and catch the main pivots upon which the whole subject turns Do you read the table of contents in a book before you read it? Don't skip over the table of contents. Master it. That will tell you where the author is going and where he hopes to be when he's done with you.

29:16 And if you read some of the older books, such as Owen, Sibbes, and some of the others, where they give a synopsis at the head of each chapter, don't you pass over that fine print. If you've got to get a magnifying glass, read it. Master that fine print. Because you see, that's giving you the distilled essence.

29:37 And that will act like signposts along the way to think through all of the details that the author flushes out or fleshes out in the full treatise. Now that's what I hope to do. This series of messages is going to be like a table of contents to our total confession. It's not going to be an exhaustive treatment.

29:59 How could you in 13 messages cover the whole gamut from the doctrine of Scripture right through the doctrine of last things to the whole matter of evangelism and missions? You can't do it. but we're trying to give a distilled essence of what we believe. And my hope is that in so doing, all of you who are newcomers will have a sense of full initiation.

30:22 If someone comes up to you and says, look, I've got 20 minutes, tell me what you believe as a church, you'll be able to think right back through that five-point outline and say, well, let me tell you briefly something about the book, We Believe and Obey. we believe and then you'll be able to give them the main heads and the main scriptures and secondly let me tell you something about the God we worship and confess and give the main heads and thirdly let me tell you something about the salvation we receive and proclaim and you give them the main heads and fourthly let me tell you something about the life we seek to live and share and finally my time is running out only got two more minutes let me tell you a little bit about the ministry we seek to perform and they'll go away and say, hey, that people know what they were about.

31:12 And you'll have the sense, not of creature pride, I trust, but a sense of satisfaction that you've done what the Scripture says. You have given a reason of the hope that is in you. You've given an intelligent, well-thought-out structure of your faith and of your life in the Church of Christ. to use another illustration there are times when I take down my Rand McNally Atlas and all I do is I look at the first map at the beginning which is a map of all of the United States I want to see certain things in relationship I see the whole United States in front of me then some preacher writes me and says do you know of a good church out in any names of place I wouldn't hear of if I lived in America for

31:58 1322 years and 15 days so I have to look at the back under the particular state, and then it says C6, and then I blocked out C6, and I stoured, and there it is in the finest print, way off in a little bit of a corner, some little itsy-bitsy place. Well, you see, what we're going to do in this series of messages, and this has a particular burden or has a particular reference to the newcomers, is we're not going to look at the detail of each state, let alone look at the blow-ups of the bigger cities that you'll find on those maps. We're going to stay on the first page of the Ramon Alley Atlas. We're just going look at all the United States together.

32:34 All right? So you see that Route 80 starts at the George Washington Bridge and ends up at the Golden Gate Bridge, I think, doesn't it? You guys that went to California. So we're not going to look at Route 80 as it goes through Pennsylvania, as it goes through Ohio.

32:48 We're going to stand back and we'll see Route 80 from beginning to end. All right? We hope to initiate the newcomers. But then thirdly, we hope to inform the onlookers.

Goal 3: Inform the Onlookers

32:59 Confirm the old-timers. initiate the newcomers and inform the onlookers. What about that group of onlookers who are not children of God, unconverted? You see, it is the duty of the church to inform the unconverted concerning that which they believe.

33:22 The Apostle Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 1, 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 1, Therefore seeing we have this ministry Even as we've obtained mercy we faint not But we've renounced the hidden things of shame Not walking in craftiness Nor handling the word of God deceitfully But by the manifestation of the truth Commending ourselves to every man's conscience In the sight of God Well what about unconverted people? Do you do that with them? He says yes Verse 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it's veiled in them that are perishing. In other words, it's not veiled because we keep it under a bushel,

34:08 as though it were contraband goods, as though you had to say the password before we whisper the content of our gospel. He says, no, we manifest the truth.

34:20 And then we commend ourselves as living expressions of the power of that truth to every man. And I say to the unconverted among us, we have nothing of which to be ashamed. We point not to twenty books, as Luther did, but to this one book. And we say, here we stand.

34:42 So help us God. This is what we confess concerning God. Concerning His salvation. Concerning His church.

34:50 Concerning the nature of the life we are to share together. concerning our responsibilities to God and to His people and to the world. And so we desire, by the grace of God, to inform you who are unconverted onlookers. The second reason is not only because you may know what we are committed to, but oh, we would as Paul, we would seek to persuade you to become even as we are.

35:20 that earthly potentate said almost or with but little persuasion wouldst thou make me a Christian there could be some irony there it could be a confession with but little persuasion Paul you'd make me one of you and he said I would to God you were as I am and we say without embarrassment if you're an unconverted man or woman boy or girl an onlooker in that sense it's our desire to make you as we are we long that you become one of us not that you conform to our weaknesses and our sins and our failures but that you know our God that you come to love his book as we love it that you come to take your place in his church as we have found it to be a haven in the blessing of God

36:07 and then further the scripture says unconverted people are to count the cost they are to know what it is all about before they jump in and there is a sense in which this series of sermons will let you know what it will mean if you become one of us. So you can count the cost. You can weigh soberly what's going to be involved. Jesus commanded that exercise in Luke 14, 25-33.

36:33 There went out after him great multitudes and Jesus turned and said, Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I'm at the crust of my popularity now and the in thing is to be found in a crowd running after Jesus. He says you count the cost You count the cost And he gave the illustration of a general going to war And a builder about to build And he says each calculates before he acts You calculate and face what's involved What about the saved onlookers who are among us Well we long that some of you will no longer be onlookers We say in the language of the Bible come and join us and we will do thee good.

37:16 And I'm not at all embarrassed to say that I hope that one of the end results of this series will be that some of you who've been onlookers too long will say, I don't want to be in the outside looking in. If that's what those people believe, I find that there's an answer in my mind and in my spirit. That's what I understand the Scriptures to teach when they confess, here we stand. why in principle I stand with them and if I stand with them in principle why should I not stand with them in fact?

37:48 And we hope and I'm not embarrassed at all to say I hope that will be one of the end results of this. Where we'll put you I don't know. The Lord will take care of that.

38:00 But we want to see you among us. We hope your heart will leap within you and that you'll cast in your lot with us. Well, so much for the categorized goals. You've got them.

Generalized Goal 1: Compulsion to Praise and Worship

38:12 We want to confirm the old-timers, initiate the newcomers, and instruct the onlookers. Now, very quickly, three generalized goals. These goals apply to all the special categories without distinction. And it will be my prayer, and I trust your prayer, that as we move through this series of studies, these generalized goals will be realized.

38:36 Number one, we trust that this series will prove to be a compulsion to praise and to worship. In John 4 and verse 24 we read, God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God seeks intelligent worship. Worship that is according to truth.

39:08 God does not seek superstitious worship, in which we worship because we think there's some magical power in going through the mumbo-jumbo of worship. He does not seek ritualistic or formal worship, in which we simply engage in the acts of worship because of habit or to salve conscience. It says the Father seeks a people to worship Him in spirit and in truth. That is, worship which is the response of the heart to the revelation God has given of Himself.

39:44 Truth is reality. What is reality with reference to God? His book, His salvation, His church, His plan for the world. Those are the things we're going to be articulating.

39:56 Well, if that's so, then it would be downright wicked for that not to produce worship in us. How can we think of the nature of this blessed book which God has given to us, the book we believe and obey, without worshiping God?

40:14 That's why the psalmist had to say again and again, In God I will praise His Word. He moves from praising of God to praising His Word and back and forth. In Psalm 119 is the classic example of it. And I trust that this series will provide a compulsion to praise and to worship as we contemplate His Word and His works.

40:37 Oh, that our hearts will run out in the abandonment of intelligent and fervent praise, even the unconverted. Because Paul says when the unconverted come among the church there at Corinth and the Word of God is driven home to the conscience, He says in 1 Corinthians 14, the unconverted falling down on his face will cry out, God is of a truth among you. The God known in the word that attacked the conscience. He falling down will worship.

41:13 You see, until you're converted, my friend, you never truly worship God. and the first indication that God's brought new life is that your heart will run out to the God who's rescued you. So I trust the series will provide a compulsion to praise and worship. Secondly, I trust it will provide an immunization against error.

Generalized Goal 2: Immunization Against Error

41:37 An immunization against error. Do you know error is a dangerous and deadly thing? Did you know that? what you receive in your mind as true if it's not true may damn you the scripture teaches that some of us are accused of being a bit too nasty and too negative and too right angled be more tolerant, be more kind of deflections from truth my friends listen why did Luther stand and say here I stand I can do no other so help me God because he believed that the lies of Rome were damning the souls of multitudes and only truth could loose them from the grasp of the Prince of Darkness.

42:23 In 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 10 to 12, we read these sobering words concerning the influence of Antichrist. 2 Thessalonians 2, 10 to 12, with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. For this cause God sendeth them a working of error that they should believe a lie that they may all be judged who believe not the truth. My friends, this is serious business.

42:59 Unless you are immunized against error by a solid infusion of truth, you may be given up to believe a lie a lie that will damn and destroy with everlasting destruction But not only is error deadly in destroying unconverted people who are not a part of us but Peter warns in 2 Peter 3.17 that believers can be wrenched from a course of steadfastness because of error. 2 Peter 3.17 Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest ye being carried away with the error of the wicked, ye fall from your own steadfastness.

43:51 And how are we to be kept from that? Verse 18. Grow in the grace and knowledge. Be immunized against error by constant and deep exposure to and absorption of the truth.

44:04 for he says grow in grace and in the knowledge not bare knowledge epignosis experimental knowledge of the truth how would you say pastor there's no chance that any error will be taught in this place is there well I don't have more confidence in my ministry than the apostle Paul had in his do you remember what he said to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 look at it Acts 20 though this church had been blessed with what Warfield would call the dogmatic spirit. If you were in the class, you know what that means. The dogmatic spirit of the apostle putting its stamp upon that infant church as he labored there for some three years. Yet when he gathers the elders together

44:52 to give his final charge to them, he says in verse 28 of Acts 20, Take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers. to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood, I know, I know, not I surmise, it may be, there is some remote chance that, I know that after my departing grievous woe shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.

45:38 Wherefore, watch ye. You get the picture? As Paul contemplates leaving that assembly, knowing that he'll not be able to bear any direct influence, he pictures that assembly as a flock of sheep. And as he contemplates them as the flock of sheep, he said, I'll not be long gone when wolves will begin to seek to come and take that sheep that's broken just a little bit away from the safety of the pack of the whole flock of sheep.

46:09 Wolves will come from without, and then thinking of them no longer as sheep, but as a congregation of people. He says, perverse men shall begin to rise up from your own ranks to draw away disciples after them.

46:25 And my concern is that God would use this series of studies not only as a compulsion to praise and worship, but as a powerful immunization against error. And you see, error cannot exist in the presence of definitive understanding of the truth that has become a matter of religious and spiritual conviction. Error can stand or error can intrude Where men may have burning hearts and fuzzy heads Error can stand where men have clear heads but cold hearts But error cannot stand when there is a clear head and a burning heart

47:13 Error cannot stand

47:18 And there is a method in my madness not merely a penchant for neatness, when my first point under the generalized goals is that these may lead us to praise and worship the burning heart, and then the burning heart coupled with a clear head, that will be immunized against error.

47:41 So that when someone says, well, I believe in the authority and the inspiration of the Scriptures, I simply do not hold to inerrancy. You'll be able to say, Hey, look, buddy, you're talking double talk. You believe the Bible is the Word of God? Well, yeah, I said that.

48:00 I believe. They're inspired. It's authoritative. Who is God?

48:06 Is He the God of truth who cannot lie? Well, yes. Is the Bible His Word? Well, yes.

48:14 And if God is the God of truth, everything He speaks is truth. And therefore that word is inerrant. And I hope the humblest saint among us will be able to see through all this double talk going on in some of the best of evangelical circles that pays lip service to the authority and inspiration of the Scriptures, but balks at its inerrancy.

48:40 You see, you've got to be immunized, not just with a burning love for the book, but with a clear head concerning what the book is. You see? Same way with our salvation. It's one thing out of the heart that loves the Savior and runs out in praise to Him.

48:58 But we want to understand the nature of that salvation. Why did it come to me and not to others? Is the ultimate difference what I did or what God did? And if it's what God did, did He do it by accident or did He do it on purpose?

49:14 And if he did it on purpose, was the purpose an afterthought or was it rooted in his own eternal counsels? What are we talking about? We're talking about election. We're talking about the sovereignty of God in grace.

49:27 These are not obtuse themes, essential only for theologians to grasp who write their books and stroke their beards.

49:37 No, no, my friends. You, as the flock of God, need to be immunized against error. And that's the second overall or generalized goal that I trust will be realized. And then the final one, I hope it will be a provocation to love and to good works.

Generalized Goal 3: Provocation to Love and Good Works

49:58 You know, it's good to be provoked about some things in certain directions. It's bad to get provoked about other things and in certain directions. But in Hebrews 10, verses 23 and 24, we read, Hebrews 10, 23 and 24, let us hold fast the confession of our hope. Here we stand.

50:22 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope. Let it waver not, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works. and it is my concern as we see our glorious heritage in Christ as we look upon our beautiful Savior and His amazing grace as we see something of that to which He calls us in our life together and in our witness and service together I trust that all of us old timers, newcomers and onlookers that God will provoke us to love and to good works.

51:10 We stand, I believe I speak for my fellow elders, we stand at a very critical point in our life as a church. If nine years ago was the birth of our assembly, if up till five years ago was our infancy, we've entered the period of our adolescence, and we can do one of two things. We can become a responsible man or woman as an assembly of God's people. Or we can move in another direction in which there will be a dissipation of our vision, in which there will be a blurring of the distinctives to which we are called to bear witness in our generation.

51:54 And with all of my heart, as one of the under-shepherds, I plead with you as the people of God, apply yourself with diligence the likes of which you've never known in grasping the heart of what we seek to convey in these coming weeks. Get out your old London confession. That's the confessional standard of our church. And you'll notice that almost every major point in that confession will eventually be covered in these 13 weeks.

52:23 Let me encourage you Sunday afternoons to read through the statements in the confession that parallel the preaching in the morning and I'll give you what those chapters are week by week I desire under God that this become a family affair so that as the people of God if the Lord spares us and we come to the end of the 13 week period and I can count you say there are 14 weeks but one of those Sundays I'll not be here so there are 13 Sundays in which I'll have the opportunity of preaching on this theme may God grant that the title will not be a misnomer I didn't use Luther's words as he gave them to us Here I stand, first person singular Here we stand, first person plural

53:08 May God grant That that's what these things will be Here we stand Not by proxy because our elders stand there But here we stand In the depth of religious conviction Standing with Luther Saying We have a definitive understanding of the truth of God. There is much we do not know. There are mysteries we cannot penetrate. But we know these essential truths.

53:38 Here we stand, committed body, soul, and spirit to that truth. And in the health and strength of God to live, to die, if necessary, for that truth.

Closing Prayer

53:57 Let us pray.

54:09 O our Father, our hearts are stirred when we think of those who in past days have confessed Your name and proclaimed Your truth with clarity of understanding, with depth of religious conviction. We feel ashamed when we think of our laziness, of our willful ignorance.

54:39 We are confident that in a group this size there are many of your children who this past week have spent more time in front of their TVs than seeking to master the contents of the Bible. more time wasted in unprofitable pursuits than in the cultivation of the knowledge of Christ. O Lord, convict us of our willful ignorance, of our laziness, of our indolence. We would not be classified with those of whom your word speaks when it says lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

55:20 We do earnestly pray that by the Holy Spirit you will stir us all with renewed desire to apply ourselves in the areas that will be brought before us in the coming weeks. O God, we do not ask that you would give to any of us the place of prominence that you gave to a Martin Luther. Father, but oh, how we pray that you'd give us of the Spirit, and we know that His Spirit was but a faint reflection of the Spirit of our blessed Lord, who in dying the just for the unjust, demonstrated His unswerving commitment to the will of His Father. Oh, our Father, make us like your Son.

56:09 Help us to look beyond All who faintly reflect His likeness To that one in whom all of your fullness dwells bodily And grant that with open face Beholding as in a mirror His glory We may be transformed into that same image From one stage of glory to another Even by the Lord the Spirit Hear our cry and may the blessing of your grace rest upon us even as we leave this place this morning. Oh, Father, may we be enabled by the help of your Spirit to sanctify the hours of this day. May the heads of families go over the content

56:55 of Sunday school and lesson and sermon. Oh, that our families will look forward to the Lord's day, the day when mind and spirit are taken up in specific acts of worship, O our Father, come to us in our need. Be merciful to the unconverted who are among us, who have never worshipped because they do not know you. The veil of darkness is still over their minds.

57:20 O Lord, pierce that veil by your mighty power, and bring them out of darkness and into your marvelous light. Hear our cry, and receive our thanks for your presence with us. We ask through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.