What We Believe and Why We Believe It, Part 4

Welcome to the Word of the Lord, the weekly television

broadcast of Living Word Christian Church, proclaiming

the good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus

Christ. Pastor Mark Clements, in -depth, relevant

biblical teachings will help you in life and

living in today's world. Now, let's join Pastor

Clements in the service already in progress.

Oh, I think a week or two ago, we looked at verse

15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you

in what kind of clothing? Yeah, not wolves clothing.

False prophets come in sheep's clothing. Inwardly,

they're ravening wolves. And you shall know them

by their fruits. You'll know them by their fruits.

Verse 20, by their fruits you shall know them.

But this morning I want to just go back two verses

and look at verses 13 and 14. Matthew 7, 13 and

14. Enter ye in at which gate? The straight gate.

For wide is the gate. And broad is the way that

leads to destruction. And if you don't have this

underlined in your Bible, make sure you underline

the next phrase, many. And many there be that

go on that way. Because straight is the gate

and narrow is the way. Which leads to life. And

few there be that find it. This is what our Bible

says. Our Bible says that there are going to

be a lot of people, many people, that take the

wide gate and go the broad way that leads to

destruction. Many there be, there'll be that

go that route. But then there's another way,

and it's straight and narrow. And it specifies

right there, few, few there be that find it.

I want to preface our time in God's Word this

morning with that verse, establishing this premise,

that just because something is popular, Just

because some doctrine or belief or series of

beliefs, some theology, is widely accepted does

not make it right and does not lead to everlasting

life. I'm reminded right now of the millions

and millions of people who, this is Bible vernacular,

whose carcasses fell dead in the desert over

the course of 40 years. And out of those millions

and millions and millions of people, only two

went into the promised land. Only two. Now, most

people, most theologians agree that the number

of Israelites in the desert was somewhere between

two and six million. Two and six million. Well,

two out of even the lowest number there, two

out of two million is not very great odds. But

all of the rest of them died and all of the rest

of them never walked into the promised land.

And they all thought they were right. They all

thought that they were accurate. They all thought

that they were correct. They all thought that

they were believing. In a right way, in a right

manner, in a right fashion. But they were wrong.

But they were wrong. Christianity as outlined

in the Holy Scriptures may very well not be the

most popular religion in the world. And may very

well not be. I'm talking about the Christianity

outlined in the Holy Bible. Not modern day Christianity.

Modern day Christianity says, go to the altar,

say one prayer, leave the altar, don't let it

impact or affect your life one bit. And you'll

be okay. Live self -seeking, live loving pleasure,

live doing your own thing and running your own

life. And at the end, you'll be accepted into

God's kingdom because you accepted his son. You

better read your Bible again. But that's the

most common theology embraced in this nation

that you and I are standing on the soil of right

now. Your Bible and mine says that at the end,

He's going to check out the fruit in everyone's

life. Whether or not it evidences that something

actually took place back there when you knelt

at that altar and accepted Christ. Because if

something did take place, there's going to be

evidence. There's going to be fruit that was

produced. If not, then your faith was dead. Many,

many people in America have responded to an altar

call while they played just as I am. You can

come just as you are, but then our God expects

from that moment forward that there be some change,

that there be adjustment, that there be growth,

that there be a humbling of oneself before our

God, that there be a willingness and an obedience

that reflects the life of the Savior. whose entire

life was given and devoted and dedicated and

ultimately committed to seeing the will of God

done. I did not come to do my own will, but the

will of Him that sent me. If you read Hebrews

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10, part of our Bible reading, just...

was it yesterday or whenever we were in the Hebrews,

before he ever left heaven, it was already about

the will of God. It wasn't about making heaven.

It was about the will of God. He said, prepare

for me a body that I might go and do your will.

It was all about doing God's will. When he was

12 years old and his family left without him,

He didn't fret. He stayed right there in church.

Got right up in the faces of the teachers and

the Pharisees and scribes and was talking to

them, asking them questions. They were listening

to him, marveling at his answers. And mom came

in and started chewing him out. He said, what's

the problem? Don't you realize I have to be about

my father's business? If I'm a Christian, that

means I'm a Christ -like one. And I'm not all

caught up in my business. Asking him to bless

me in what I do and be with me in whatever I

go. I'm caught up in his business. And I came

to do the will of him that sent me. Broad is

the way. Broad is the way, and wide is the gate

that leads to destruction, and many there be

that find it. But straight is the gate, and narrow

is the way that leads to life, and few there

be that find it. Few there be that find it. This

morning I have a rather extensive list. It is

not every scripture in the Bible. It's not every

verse in the Bible. But my intent is not to give

you every verse in the Bible. My intent is to

help you with your faith. To help you be firmly

rooted and firmly grounded and firmly established

in what you believe and know why you believe

it. And one of the things that we believe is

that there is only one way to heaven. There's

only one way to God. There's only one way to

life everlasting. And it's not up for discussion.

It's not up for a vote. It's not up for debate.

God doesn't care what I think, doesn't give any

attention whatsoever to what my opinion is in

the matter or what my culture or what my society

or what my generation believes about it. Other

cultures and other generations don't believe

that anyone who's wealthy or anyone who's rich

can make heaven. Other cultures and other societies

don't believe anyone of one particular gender

can make heaven. Because only men can make heaven.

And women can't make heaven. Well, since we don't

see that in our Bible, and our Bible is the base

of everything that we believe, then... Men and

women can make heaven. Young and old can make

heaven. Rich and poor can make heaven. Educated

and uneducated can make heaven. It's not based

on our genealogy. It's not based on our family

tree. It's based on the grace of God that sent

his only begotten son who took our place and

died as our substitute and bore the consequence

and the penalty for my sin. That's what put him

there. And my faith in what he did. And my acceptance

and receiving is Him as my Savior and then living

for Him as my Lord is the way to life everlasting.

And nothing short of it and nothing in addition

to it. The largest Christian church in the United

States of America. Right here in this century.

Not in this decade, in a previous decade. The

pastor of that church was called up to the largest,

most often watched and well -known talk show

in the United States of America and was sat right

on live camera and asked, Is it true that you

believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to

heaven and only people who embrace and accept

him and who are Christians are going to heaven

and all of these other people are going to hell

and all of these Muslims and all of these Hindus

and all of these and named all these different.

Are you telling all of those people that they

can't go to heaven because they embrace what

they believe? And he waffled and he wishy -washy

and he wouldn't answer the question. Because

popular theology is, well, the Lord is understanding,

the Lord's compassionate, and he's going to be

understanding. There's a lot of ways up. I heard

it again last week. Last week. Last week on national

television. There are many ways up the mountain.

And he doesn't care which path that you take.

No, there are many ways up the mountain. Only

one of them leads to the top. Only one of them

is going up. And well, pastor, you're just too

dogmatic. If I could be more dogmatic, I would

be. I'm as dogmatic as the word of God. That's

as dogmatic as I can get. And I won't change

it for modern day culture. It doesn't matter

to me if everybody gets mad at me, stands up

and walks out in mass. It doesn't matter to me

how many emails I get and how much hate mail

I get about being hateful about other religions

and other faiths and other denominations. I'm

not against anybody. I was just as lost as everybody

else. Lost and undone without God and on my way

to hell. With no hope. But a God, but God, but

God who's rich in mercy planned a plan of salvation

and he made it simple and it doesn't take, there's

not a lot of choices in it. There's one. And

I'm not about to change it for me. See, it'd

be so much easier as a preacher, be so much easier

as a minister to just get everybody around a

circle and say, well, you know, God loves everybody,

which is true. And then just take some modern

humanistic conversation like, well, how could

a loving God send anybody to hell? You're asking

the wrong question. Asking completely the wrong

question. How could a just God not send everybody

to hell? Ought to be the question. The same loving

God is just. And the same penalty is open for

all. Or the same eternal everlasting life, the

gift of salvation, is open to all just as well.

That's the just side of God. And that's the love

side of God as well. And then he leaves it up

to you. Whosoever will. Whosoever will, let him

come. Whosoever will. Now, why do we believe

there's only one way to heaven? Because of what

the Bible says. And let's start by seeing what

it says. Why don't we just start with the most.

Are you going to help me this morning? Are you

going to be my lovely assistant? My other lovely

assistant's home recovery. And this is my lovely

assistant, my daughter. I had to say that because

at some point I might just reach over and give

her a hug. And you need to know, she's mine and

I'm happy about it. John 3 .16, this is going

to be a long list, so you're going to have two

columns at least, and they might even be small.

Let's just start with the most well -known of

all Bible verses, and did I not say this will

not be an exhaustive list? So that means it's

not going to be? You can write me if you want

and say, well, here's a great verse, Pastor,

that you missed, or here's one that I thought

of, Pastor. That's fine. This isn't meant to

be. All of them. But this will be enough, bless

God, to put our hearts to shouting. This will

be enough to say, yeah, that is what I believe.

And this is why we believe it. Now, let me just

say this as well. Sometimes you can, if you know

your Bible. What was the first word of that sentence?

If. If you know your Bible, sometimes you can

learn just as much. By looking at what it doesn't

say. And it doesn't say anywhere from Genesis

1 -1 to Revelation 22 -21 that there's a second

way. It doesn't say in one single solitary place,

if you live a good life and intend to do right,

God's going to welcome you into heaven. You don't

find that anywhere in the Bible. That good intentions

will cause the gates of heaven to swing open

in your direction. You never read good intentions.

Ever. You never read living a good life. What

you read is Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. For by grace,

that's what God did through Christ. For by grace

are you saved. Through faith and that not of

yourself. That's a gift of God. Not of our own

works. Lest any of us should boast. It's not

by works of righteousness, Titus 3 .5. It's not

by works of righteousness which we have done.

But according to His mercy, He saved us. There's

no such thing as in our Bible. You don't read

one verse in your Bible. You can't find the term

co -redeemer anywhere in the Bible. You have

no reference to co -savior anywhere in the Bible.

Not one. Not even once. You don't have any verse

that says, and if you don't like plan A, here's

plan B. You have no verse whatsoever that there

are multiple choice, A, B, C, or D, or E, all

of the above. Or F, fill in the blank and choose

your own way. You don't find one verse that says

any of those things. But what you find in John

3, 16 through 18 is for God so loved the world.

And I'm going to emphasize a few words. For God

so loved the world that he gave his only. He

gave his one and only. Yeah, but pastor, there's

a lot of good people that have done a lot of

good things. And may there be continual. May

I be looking at them. May they be viewing this

morning. May I be addressing them. Wonderful,

great, good people that have done wonderful,

great, good things and will continue to do them.

That doesn't mean we follow them. That doesn't

mean they paid the price for us. That doesn't

mean they bore our sins in their own body when

they hung on a cross between heaven and hell,

between earth and heaven. No, no, no. No, only

one did that. I said only one did that. Thank

you for your enthusiasm this morning. Only one

did that. For God so loved the world, He gave

His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth

in Him Him should not perish, but have everlasting

life. For God sent not His Son to the world to

condemn the world, but that the world through

Him should be saved. Verse 18, He that believeth

in Him is not condemned, but he that believeth

not is condemned already, because he's not believed

in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

There's not two ways. There's only one. There's

only one Savior and one Redeemer and one Son

of God. John 1, verse 14, just a page or two

John 1:14

over to the left, and speaking about God's Son,

the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and

we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten

of the Father, full of grace and truth. He didn't

begat any others. He's the only. He's the only.

It's getting simpler all the time. The fog and

smog is clearing away and it's just getting crystal

clear again. There's only one. Say it to your

neighbor. Yeah, there's only one. Acts chapter

Acts 4 · chapter mention

4 and verse 12. I don't know why this one flips

my switch so. It lights my fuse. It blows my

whole dynamite up. I mean, there's one particular

verse. Neither is there salvation in any other,

for there is no other name. We just close it

up and say, go home. That's enough Bible right

there because you can't find any verse that contradicts

these. You can't find anything? Well, yeah, but

what about Elijah? Well, what about Mary? Well,

yeah, but what about Hindu Handurishi? What about

Mother Teresa? What about her? What about her?

What about the prophet? What about him? God had

one only begotten son, and whosoever believeth

in him. Whosoever believeth in him. should not

perish but have everlasting life. You believe

in who you want. You can lift up who you want.

You can honor and esteem who you want. You can

go ahead and just worship who you want. But there's

only one that leads to everlasting life, and

His name is Jesus. He is the Christ, Son of the

living God, the only Savior, and neither is there

salvation in any other. There is no other name

under heaven given among men whereby we must

be saved. There's any salvation, it's going to

come through Him. We must be saved through that

name. Now you'd think that was enough, but we

are barely scratching. We're just getting started

here. Romans 6 .23 For the wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life through whichever

means you choose. Through whichever plan you

determine is best for you. See, I'm going to

turn 65 in a couple of days. When they do that,

then they say, okay, now you're eligible for

Medicare. I don't know anything about Medicare.

I didn't know I was eligible. I didn't know anything

about it. All I know is a mail started coming

like six months ago. Did I ask for this? I started

throwing it away. I said, I didn't order this.

And I threw it away. I said, I didn't sign up

for this. And I threw it away. I said, why do

they keep sending me this stuff? And finally,

I called somebody. And they said, well, it's

automatic. You're going to be 65. And you go

on Medicare. It's automatic. And you just have

to pick which plan you want. And there's plan

A. And there's plan B. And there's plan C. And

now there's plan D. And I think one of them is

a combination of all the other ones. Listen,

salvation is a whole lot simpler than that. The

Bible was written. It's been printed for hundreds

and hundreds of years. It was there for you all

the time. And there's no plan A, plan B, plan

C, plan D, comp them together. There's only one

plan. Neither is there any salvation in any other

name given under heaven among men. And by the

wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is

eternal life through, through. Jesus Christ our

Lord. There is no salvation in any other. No

plan B, no plan C, no plan D. No, if you don't

get this one here, there's always one other way.

Somebody get me an offering envelope. Come on,

pick one out, somebody. I don't have one. Just

get me an offering envelope. Wave it around.

Just weave it around. Okay, here we go. Here

we go. Stand up. Stand up. All right. All right.

If you didn't like plan A, now we're going to

go to plan B. And if you got $5 ,000, I'm going

to have $5 ,000. $5 ,000 for salvation. Salvation

is $5 ,000. Here's $5 ,000 for salvation. Let

me hear it. You might as well sit down. Nobody's

buying it. You can't buy your salvation. I don't

care how much money you have. Stand up and make

that $5 ,000, $5 million. See who can buy it.

Stand up and make it $5 billion. See who can

make it. It doesn't matter if you have $5 billion.

You can't buy this salvation. You have $5 billion,

$5 trillion, $5 million, $5 ,000, or $5 measly

dollars in a moldy Lincoln. You cannot buy your

salvation. That's not the way salvation comes.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God

is eternal life through. The only one and only

Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we're going

to study a little bit. That means you're going

to have to open up that Bible. Romans chapter

Romans 10 · chapter mention

10. Romans chapter 10. I might be 10 % of the

Romans 10 · chapter mention

way through my scriptures, so pray for me and

turn quick. Romans 10. Romans 10, 1 through 11.

Now, he's talking here to Jews. See, now... I

know I'm going to open a can of worms when I

do this, but you know what? So be it. So be it.

There's only one salvation. Yes, there is only

one salvation. Just look it up on the screen

here. Romans chapter 3, 21 and 22 says, the righteousness

Romans 3 · chapter mention

or right standing with God, that's the result

of salvation. Without the law is manifested being

witnessed by the law and prophets, even the righteousness

of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ. Unto

ALL, unto all and upon all that believe, there

is no difference. There is no difference. Now

what he's talking about there is Jews and Gentiles.

There is no difference. Now Romans, now why do

I say that? Because there's a whole segment of

Christianity today that tells us not to witness

to the Jews. Oh yes, they're telling the Christian

church do not witness. to Jews, they don't need

to be saved. That's exactly what they say. That's

exactly what they say because they're God's chosen

people and they are already in. And they'll even

quote you a couple Bible verses. Except they

have to negate all the rest of the Bible. So

with that, just look with me at Romans chapter

Romans 10 · chapter mention

10. He's writing this to his own people. Romans

Romans 10:1

10 verse 1. My heart's desire and prayer for

Israel. In the margin of my Bible. Somebody who

can read, run up here. Run, quick, quick. Now,

my study Bible says my heart's desire and prayer

for Israel. See that reference? What does it

say? My own people. My own people. He said, my

heart's prayer for my own people is that they

might what? See, not realize that they're already

saved. There is not two ways. There's only one.

There's only one. He came to his own people because

they needed to be saved. And there's no difference.

There's only one Savior, Jew or Gentile. My prayer

for them is that they might be saved. But I bear

them record, they have a zeal for God, but not

according to knowledge. Boy, that can be said

about religious people all over our nation, all

over our continent. They believe in God and think

that's enough. Listen very carefully to me if

you're streaming right now. Because you believe

in God is not enough. James, the book of James,

right here in the New Testament, it says the

demons even believe in God. James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

The demons believe in God. That's not going to

get them saved. You have to accept the gift that

He sent. And that was His only Son. And it's

a free gift. Put your faith in Jesus Christ and

the work He did on the cross of Calvary and ask

Him to become your Savior and live for Him as

your Lord. Don't put your faith in yourself,

in your grandparents' prayers, in your parents

taking you to church, in your church membership,

in your giving or your service. That's not enough.

God loved the world so much He didn't give us

a place to serve or something to give to. He

gave us His only Son to die in our place and

we put our faith in Him and accept Him. It's

really a pretty simple exchange. God gave His

Son and if you'll accept His gift, God will accept

you. If you won't accept His gift and try to

come in some other way, John chapter 10 said

John 10 · chapter mention

you'll be found a thief and a robber. Except

Jesus today. I bear them record they have a zeal

for God, but not knowledgeably. They're ignorant

of God's righteousness. Look at verse 3. They

go about to establish their own righteousness.

You can't establish your own righteousness. That's

your works and your accomplishments. For Christ

is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone

that believes. Moses described the righteousness

which is of the law, that the man that does those

things must live by them. But the righteousness

which is of faith speaks on this wise. Don't

say in your heart, who shall ascend into heaven

to bring Christ down again from above? Or who

shall descend into the pit to bring Christ up

again from the dead? But what does it say? The

word is near you, even in your mouth and in your

heart. That's the word of faith which we preach.

That if you will confess with your mouth, not

a church, Not a denomination. If you'll confess

with your mouth, Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe

in your heart that God raised Him, Him, H -I

-M, Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For

with the heart man believes under righteousness,

with the mouth confessions made unto salvation.

For the Scripture said, whosoever believes on

Him, H -I -M, shall not be ashamed. There's only

one. And whosoever believeth on Him shall not

be ashamed. 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 5.

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

There is one God and one mediator between God

and man. The man, Christ Jesus. How many mediators?

There's only one. John 14 verse 6. Jesus said,

John 14:6

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man

comes to the Father except by Me. I'm the way,

the truth, and the life. No man comes to the

Father except through Him. John 17 and verse

3, For this is life eternal, that they may know

You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom

you have sent. How about this one? John 10 and

verse 9. John 10 and verse 9. I am the door.

I'm not one of the doors. I mean, how would you

like to walk up to a house? My first job was,

I was a paper boy. I guess that was my second

job. My first job was throwing hay bales for

my grandpa. Cleaning out calf pens. Worked for

a week for 50 cents. Think that was a lot of

money. And then that day it was. And my second

job, I'll put it that way then, because when

I was 11, I got a paper route. And some people

wanted the paper at their front door. Some people

wanted it at their side door. A couple of them

wanted it at their back door. And you just put

it at whatever door they wanted. I don't know

what it would be like to walk up to a house and

there have 27 different doors. and not know which

door I was supposed to go to to deliver my newspaper.

Well, I've got something that's a whole lot more

important for you to determine today, and that's

which door to go to. But the great thing is there's

not 27 of them. There's only one. I am the door.

I am the door. And if any man enter in, he shall

be saved. There's only one door. You don't read

anywhere in your Bible that there's multiple

doors. There's only one. His name is Jesus. He's

the way. No one comes to the Father except through

Him. Here's a great verse, John 3 .36. How can

anyone argue with this verse? John 3 .36, and

then the next one I give you. How's there going

to be any, you have to take your Bible, see why

we had to establish this first? Because if you

don't establish this, that what you believe is

based on this right here, the Holy Scriptures,

the written Word of God, chapter and verse. From

the Gospels, from the Epistles, from the major

prophets, from the Psalms and Proverbs, from

the Pentateuch, from Genesis 1 all the way to

Revelation 21. Nothing left out, nothing added

to it. If that is not your foundation, then you're

going to be wishy -washy. You're going to swallow

anything. You're going to never be certain, stable,

going to be unstable, going to be uncertain,

and you're going to be unsure about what you

believe. It's always going to be questionable.

You'll be susceptible to doubt. You'll be susceptible

to attack. But since the Word of God never changes,

see, I try to be calm. And Reverend Kimberling's

the only one who encourages me. He says, just

forget it. Just don't even try to be calm. Just

let it fly. I try to be calm, cool, and collected.

Keep my voice down. Don't get excited. How can

you not get excited about the eternal Word and

the promises of God and the reality of everlasting

life? How do you not get excited and enthused?

What's it feel like to be 65? I don't know. I'm

not 65 yet. I don't know. I've never been any

less excited. I'm more excited about God's truth

and about God's word and about God's promises

and about the reality of standing before him

and about the reality of being in his presence

than I've ever been. Than I've ever been. If

it offends you that I walk around and wave my

arms and get enthused about God's word, it'll

just have to be. I don't know how to be any other

way. When I can't talk anymore, we'll quit. He

that believeth on the Son has everlasting life.

He that believeth not on the Son shall not see

life. The wrath of God will remain upon him.

How about this? Your Honor, I rest my case. Oh,

excuse me, Your Honor. I don't rest my case.

I've got one other verse. 1 John chapter 5. That

1 John 5 · chapter mention

verse right there, John 3, 36 says, whoever has

a son has life, but he that doesn't have the

son has not eternal life. I'd sit right there.

I'd look at her right across her little table

in her little talk show, and I'd say, that's

exactly what I mean. They're all going to hell,

every one of them. I didn't determine that. That's

not my plan, and that's not God's wish. But he

sent his only begotten son. And there is no difference

in culture, in society, in race, in nation. There's

no difference. Well, that's just not what our

family believes. Well, your family better get

it straight really quick. That's not what our

church believes. I don't know what your church

believes. Now, I don't do this very often, but

I'm going to do it right now. I don't even want

to. But I'm good anyway. I'm going to share a

story with you. I don't embrace very many people's

stories or accounts of going to heaven or going

to hell. But there are just certain elements

of what some people share that are so in line

with the scriptures. that I find myself at least

considering them. And one of them was a Baptist

preacher by the name of Howard Pittman. Brother

Pittman died a year or two ago at 99. Howard

Pittman was a Baptist preacher. He was in his

car on the way down Louisiana or Mississippi,

one of the two, and he was on his way down to

file his papers to run for sheriff. He's a good

man. And on his way, the main body trunk aorta

in his body burst. He pulled over to the side

of the road and started to bleed out. And help

arrived, and they got him stabilized and transferred

to the hospital. This is his testimony. I've

heard it personally. I've also got it in writing.

And on the table, he died. Left his body. ascended

to heaven and was not allowed to go into heaven.

Talked about the voice of the Lord coming up

and over a wall that was so high you couldn't

see the top of. Well, 1 ,500 miles, Revelation

says, is the wall of that city. That'd be that

high. And how the voice of the Lord came over

that wall like all the water coming over Niagara

Falls and just crushed him. As he waited outside

that wall. And the Lord expressed to him. His

disappointment in him. And his anger with him.

Of his misrepresentation. To my people. And he

is a Baptist preacher. He said I don't understand.

Lord, I've only always served you. See, never,

ever, ever should you think that your assessment

of yourself is going to be what the Lord thinks

about you when you meet him on that day. Every

man proclaims his own goodness. He said it was

the power of his words. I had to admit every

single one was true. And it absolutely pressed

and squashed all of the life out of me. And he

said, when I did regain the strength to stand

up, I knew that I would have to stand up and

turn, accepting my judgment, and I'd have to

walk away from the gate of the holy city and

down and down and down to my eternal punishment

for the disappointment that I'd been of the eternal

Savior. But he said, instead, mercy stood me

up. The mercy of God. The mercy of God. Stood

him up and said, I'm going to send you back and

I'm going to give you another chance. And you're

going to go and you're going to preach the truth

about salvation. You're going to preach the truth

about the baptism with the Holy Spirit. You're

going to preach the truth about deliverance from

demons. And you're going to preach the truth

about healing and miracles. For the rest of your

life that I give you a second chance to. And

he argued with the Lord. Now listen, all of this

brings me to this one point for you. And for

all of you. He argued with the Lord. He said,

but Lord, you know my church. And we do believe

in salvation and I've preached salvation my whole

life. But you know the church that I pastor.

We don't believe in the baptism with the Holy

Spirit and speaking with other tongues and the

gifts of the Spirit. My church doesn't believe

that. And Lord, demons, I learned in seminary

that demons don't exist. That there is no literal

devil. All those are just principles to help

people and get them to make right choices and

live good lives. But we don't believe in that.

And I didn't learn that in my seminary. He said

that same voice came tumbling over the wall again.

And he said, I know exactly what Paul meant when

he said fire was flashing in his eyes. Because

what he said to me was, I don't care what your

church believes, what your church preaches, or

what your seminary taught you. You'll not be

judged on what your seminary taught you or what

your church believes. You will be judged by what

my word says. Along with every other human being.

Every single human will be judged by what the

Bible says. Not by what you think about it. Not

by what your pastor says about it. Not by what

your understanding of it is. We'll be judged

by what his word says. Read your Bible. It's

exactly what it says judgment day will be. It

is the only standard that every human being will

be compared to on that day. Now, not only did

the Lord send him back to preach. He's just got

one of the most outstanding testimonies. The

angel took him for a tour through the demon world.

And then got him back in his body. He was covered

up. He was dead. And they pulled everything,

shut everything off, and left the room. And I

don't know how many minutes, maybe somebody else

remembers, 37 minutes or whatever it was. He

pulled the sheet off and got off of the bed.

Went walking out, totally healed, went preaching.

Spent the rest of his days preaching to people.

Demons are real. Here's the way demons work.

Taught us a lot about the whole demon realm,

how temptation works, how you're never, ever,

ever cognizant of them pulling right up behind

you and whispering in your ear and projecting

thoughts in the forms of temptation and how some

demons are vile and ugly and smelly and repulsive

and others are dressed in fine suits and they

deal with things like covetousness and greed

and love of money and others are in the political

realm. and others are things like jealousy and

envy, and some of them are in churches, and people

are just... He said, I didn't believe in that.

I mean, when you do that, you might as well just

resign your Baptist church, and you might as

well just give all your papers back, and you

might as well just follow God, which is what

he did. I mean, it's an interesting story. I

don't expect you to believe it. I'll just tell

you that the statement that he made is accurate.

The Lord doesn't care what we believe. He doesn't

care what our statement of faith says. He doesn't

care what our guiding principles are. He doesn't

care what grandma and auntie taught us. We're

going to give an account based on what his word

says. It's the only thing that will never change.

Where did we turn? 1 John 5. Come on, smile.

Verse 11. 1 John 5, 11 and 12. How can you argue

with the word of God? Well, see, I've had people

do this. People call me on the telephone. Call

me on the telephone. Hey, can I talk to Pastor

Clements? Yeah, what do you want to talk about?

Well, I want to tell him I don't believe the

Bible. Oh, yeah. I mean, the staff. I don't know

why they put those calls through. I think they

all get outside my door. I'm not making it up.

They call me on the phone and say, well, I just

want you to know that our church doesn't believe

like you do. Well, that's okay. I don't care.

I really don't. I mean, I wish you embraced God's

word. Well, we believe that parts of it are true.

Well, I mean, that's your issue. I mean, go ahead

and... Take a chance. I mean, throw the dice.

Flip the coin. I don't really want to. Do you?

Do you want a chance your eternity on flipping

a coin? How many of you would go to heaven or

hell right now if I had the coin, and if you

called it in midair, you'd be willing to take

that chance? I'm not going there. Wouldn't you

rather accept the free gift of salvation purchased

for all, take it by faith, and live the whole

rest of your life persecuted, afflicted, tried,

tempted, having to stand, do spiritual warfare,

pray your heart out, burn your knees out on the

floor, pray. Wouldn't you rather fast? Wouldn't

you rather just have to battle through and love

the unloving and pray for those who hate you?

Wouldn't you rather just take a sure thing? No

matter what it costs, absolutely. There's no

chance that God's Word is true. It's true from

the beginning. And this is the record that God

has given to us eternal life. He provided it.

And this life is in His S -O -N. Singular, there

is only one. Take a deep breath. Look at verse

12. He that hath the Son hath life. And he that

hath not the Son of God hath not life. Pretty

simple. I said pretty simple. One way, no salvation

in any other. He's the door. He's the only one.

John 11, 25. You thought I was done? Oh, no,

no, no, no, no. I am the resurrection and the

life. He that believeth in M -E, though he were

dead, yet shall he live. There's only one. Acts

Acts 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16, 30 and 31. Acts 16. This is more

than two or three witnesses right here. And then

just coupled with the fact that there is no verse

anywhere in all of the Scriptures that contradicts

any one of these, there's not even one verse.

Acts 16, 30 and 31. And He brought them out and

says, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Hold

it, hold it, hold it. Wait, wait. The answer

to this question, whatever it is, If it's going

to conform to modern day, even Christianity,

even Christian believing churches, if it's going

to conform to the United States of America and

much of the world, the answer to this question

is going to have to have more than one choice.

If it's going to conform to what the broad way

and the wide gate is preaching today on the internet,

then it's going to have to have door number one,

number two, number three, and number four. It's

going to have to be multiple choice. It's going

to have to have many paths up the mountain. But

if the answer to this question in your Bible,

uncontradicted by any other scripture in any

other chapter and any other verse, if there's

only one answer to this question, then you better

be in the middle of that gate on the center of

that road. What must I do to be saved? Answer.

Next verse. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

and you shall be saved. Door number one. Choice

A. The only one. The only one. Colossians 1.

Colossians chapter 1. Verse 19 and 20. See, we

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

could go back, and this whole section is talking

about Jesus Christ. Verse 18 says He's the head

of the body. The beginning, the firstborn from

the dead, that in all things He might have the

preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in

Him should all fullness dwell, and having made

peace through the blood of His cross by Him to

reconcile all things to Himself, whether they

be things in earth or in heaven, by who? By Him.

By Him to reconcile all things to Himself. See,

there's only one. Him. Ephesians 2 and verse

18. Ephesians 2, 18. For through Him, H -I -M.

Through Him. Not through a variety of paths all

which lead up the mountain. No, through Him we

have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Romans

Romans 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. Do a little more study before we go.

Turn over to Romans 5 with me. This is a whole

sermon right here by itself. Romans 5, verses

Romans 5:6–21

6 through 21. Romans 5, 6 through 21. For when

we were without strength in due time, Christ

died for the ungodly. I'm sorry, whoever else,

whatever other religious heroes you have, they

didn't die for the ungodly. They all died because

it's appointed unto all men once to die. But

only one of them came out of his grave three

days later. Only one of them walked around preaching.

Only one of them was ascended into heaven. Only

one of them sat down at the right hand of God.

Only one. Only one. Christ died for the ungodly.

Verse 8, God commended His love toward us while

we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. Verse

9, much more than being justified by His blood.

H -I -S. His blood. We shall be saved from wrath

through H -I -M. Him. While we were enemies,

we were reconciled to God by the death of His

Son. Much more being reconciled, we shall be

saved by His life. Not only so, but we joy in

God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we

have now received the atonement. Wherefore, as

by one man sin entered the world, and death by

sin, so death passed upon all men, in that all

have sinned. Verse 14, nevertheless, death reigned

from Adam to Moses. Verse 15, not as the offense,

so also is the free gift. If the offense of one,

many were made dead, much more by the grace of

God and the gift of grace, which is by one man,

Jesus Christ has abounded unto many. Not as it

was one that sinned, so is the gift for the judgment

was one to condemnation, but the free gift. is

of many offenses to justification. For if by

one man's offense death reigned, much more they

which receive abundance of grace and the gift

of righteousness shall reign in life by one.

There's only one. Jesus Christ. Therefore, as

by the offense of one judgment it came to all

men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness

of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification

of life. For as by one man's disobedience many

remain sinners, by the obedience of one many

shall be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered

that the offense may abound, where sin abounded,

grace much more abounded, that as sin hath reigned

unto death, even so might grace reign through

righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ

the Lord. Romans 3, 24 -26. Being justified freely

by His grace through the redemption that is in

Jesus Christ. Whom God has set forth to be a

propitiation through faith in His blood. To declare

His righteousness for the remission of sins that

are past. Through the forbearance of God to declare,

I say at this time, His righteousness that He

might be just and the justifier of him that believes

in Jesus. We just came through the Christmas

season. Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21. Matthew

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

1, 21. The angel speaking to Joseph. And he says,

and she shall bring forth a son. A son. She didn't

have twins. It wasn't you have to believe in

Jesus and His cousin John. You don't have to

believe on His four brothers and we have them

listed in other Scriptures. She'll bring forth

a son and you'll call His name? Jesus. With a

little more authority, you'll call His name?

Jesus. Really loud so the entire TV audience

can hear you say it? Jesus. They'll call His

name Jesus for He, H -E, shall save His people

from their sins. He shall do that. He's the only

one. John 1 .21, when Jesus comes on the scene

and John the Baptist looks over there, And he

says, are you the one? And John the Baptist says,

uh -uh, no, I'm not. No, it's not me. It's not

me. I'm standing up here quoting John the Baptist

this morning. It's not me. I said, it's not me.

It's not me. There's only one. And in verse 29,

he sees him coming. They ask him, are you the

one? And he said, I'm not the one. But in verse

29, he sees Jesus coming and he says, Behold

the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the

world. 1 John 2, verses 1 and 2. 1 John 2, 1

1 John 2:1

and 2. My little children, these things I write

that you sin not. If any man sins, we have an

advocate. Not two advocates. Not three advocates,

not 12 advocates. We have an advocate with the

Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Verse 2.

He is the sacrifice for our sins, and not ours

only, but also the sins of the whole world. Well,

yeah, He's your Savior, but we've got another

Savior. No, no, no, no. There was only one sacrifice.

There was only one Savior, and His blood was

shed for the sins of the whole world. Whole world.

A little more Bible study before we leave. Hebrews

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. Right into chapter

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

10. Just a few verses here. Hebrews 9, 11 and

12. But Christ, being come a high priest of good

things to come, by a greater and more perfect

tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say,

not of this building, neither by the blood of

bulls and goats, but by His own blood, He entered...

Now say this next word with me. He entered in

once. Why is that important, Pastor? Because

there are places teaching today that every time

we repent, every time we ask forgiveness, every

time we appropriate the blood, He has to be punished

again. Absolute nonsense. He entered once into

the holy place having obtained an eternal redemption

for us. Verse 24, Christ has not entered into

a holy place made with hands, but He entered

into heaven itself to appear in the presence

of God for us. Verse 28 says it again, Christ

was once offered to bear the sins of many, that

unto them that look for Him He'll appear a second

time without sin unto salvation. Skip down to

chapter 10. Look at verse 10. For by the which

will we were sanctified through the offering

of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.

For every priest. Now watch this. Help you with

your Bible. Ready? I said, are you ready? For

every priest. What's the next word there? Does

what? Why is that? Why is that important? Why

is that important? Every priest stands. They

signify by remaining standing that their job

isn't done. Keep reading. For every priest stands

daily ministering and offering oft times the

same sacrifices which can never take away sins.

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice

for sins forever, sat down. He's the only priest

that ever sat down. He sat down. They all stood

and he sat down. You might have another priest,

but he's still standing up. His sacrifices are

still being offered. He's not been perfected.

Our priest sat down. He offered his blood and

he sat down. Every other priest stands. Signifying

they can't take away sin. But this man, after

he'd offered one sacrifice for sins forever,

sat down at the right hand of God. Henceforth

expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

And by one offering, he's perfected forever.

Them that are sanctified. Revelation chapter

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

1 and verse 5. Jesus, the only one. The door.

The only way. This Jesus Christ, the faithful

witness, the first begotten from the dead, the

prince of the kings of the earth, unto Him who

loved us and washed us from our sins in His own

blood. Isaiah 53, verse 6, the Lord has laid

Isaiah 53:6

upon Him. H -I -M, not your church, not your

doctrine, not your theology, not your favorite

translation. That's not going to get you to heaven,

your favorite translation. Jesus and his sacrifice

and his shed blood are the only thing taking

you to heaven. There is no other sacrifice. There's

no other name under heaven. There is no salvation

in any other. God laid on him the iniquity of

us all. On him. He bore, 1 Peter 2 .24, He bore

our sins in His own body on the tree that we

being dead to sin should live under righteousness.

By His stripes we were healed. And 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:21

5, verse 21, He who knew no sin became sin for

us. That we might become the righteousness of

God in Him. In Him. In Him. The way, the truth,

the life. The only way. The door. The Savior.

The only begotten Son of God. The only one in

whom is life. In Him. In Him alone. I said in

Him. In Him alone. The 17th verse of that chapter

says, if any man be in Christ, he's a brand new

creature. If any man be in Christ, the only faith,

the only religion that claims the new birth,

a brand new creation for anyone accepting Him.

Old things all completely pass away. You're past.

Expunged. Extinguished. You're pardoned. You're

cleansed. You're washed. You're purified. You're

justified. Just as if you'd never committed those

sins. You're pure in the sight of God. Cleaner

than freshly fallen snow. All right. If you want

to, you can close your notes. We're done. But

I've got a couple bonus ones I'm going to read

just for me. Isaiah. Three of them in Isaiah.

I love these verses. I just love these verses.

I just love them. Isaiah 43, verse 11. I just

Isaiah 43:11

love them. I was just relishing these last night.

I thought, I'm not going to. Oh, yes, I am. I

said, I am. I, even I, am the Lord. Beside me,

there is no Savior. I am the Lord and beside

me there is no Savior. See, it's not about what

we like. It's not about what we can reason in

our mind and make sense of. This is God's plan.

This is God's creation. This is God's human race.

This is God's plan of redemption. And He determined

and decided that the only one that would be glorified

in the end of all things would be His Son, who

His desire and heart is that He be exalted and

lifted up. He'll be the only one that people

will kneel and bow before and confess His Lordship.

He'll be the only one glorified and magnified

and exalted in eternity. He's the only Savior.

Isaiah 45, 21 and 22. Tell ye, bring them near.

Let them take counsel together. Who hath declared

this from ancient times? Who hath told it from

that time? Have not I the Lord? And there is

no God beside me. A just God and a Savior. There

is none beside me. In 44 verse 6. One of my life

verses. Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel,

the Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first.

I am the last. Beside me, there is no God. I

am the first. I am the last. Thank you. Beside

me. There is no God. There is no other Savior.

There is no other plan of redemption. Go ahead

and roll the dice and flip the coin and take

your chance if you want. But there's a lot better

way there. You don't have to take a chance. He

made a plan of salvation that is available for

every man, of every race, of every creed. Every

age group. Of every gender. Of every generation.

Of every society. No matter what your background,

religious or not. The only way to God. The only

way to eternal life. The only way to salvation.

The only way to heaven. No matter what we think

about it. Doesn't matter what our seminaries

teach and what our churches embrace. What our

well -meaning preachers communicate. The Bible

is absolute in its clarity and it never varies

whatsoever a little or a lot. It teaches there

is one way to everlasting life and His name is

the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not a creed. It's

not a pattern. It's not a set of steps. It's

not a doctrine. It's a person. God's Son is real.

God's Son is the Savior. You can accept and embrace

and receive Him today. You don't have to put

it off until tomorrow. It doesn't matter what

church you're from. It doesn't matter what denomination

you're a part of. It doesn't matter if you just

came home from your service and you are viewing

the last part of this one. Salvation is a gift

and it's offered to you. Across this sanctuary,

across this region, across this nation, and across

this globe, the free gift of God is salvation

through His Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, and it's

accepted by faith. And you don't need to make

a lot of promises that you most likely are going

to fail at anyway. All you need to do is humble

yourself and bow your heart and accept from the

great God of heaven the gift of everlasting life

that He made available to you through His Son.

Put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not

yourself. Not your works. Not your accomplishments.

Not the generations before you. Not your intent

to do better. Put your faith solely and 100 %

on Jesus Christ the Lord. And what He did for

you, dying in your place to pay for your sins.

Your sins are not the issue. He died to pay for

those. Accept that. Accept and receive that.

Pray to Him right now and ask Him. Ask Him. Ask

God the Father. Ask God the Father to save you

through the work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Believe that He died in your place. Believe that

God raised Him from the dead. And confess right

out loud with your mouth, today I make Jesus

Christ my Lord. Confess it out loud with your

mouth. Today Jesus Christ is my Lord. My faith

is in Him and in what He did. And just realize

this. Just realize this. It doesn't have to be

a religious prayer. It shouldn't be a memorized

prayer that somebody else wrote. Make it from

your heart. and confess Jesus Christ as your

Lord. That's the first step. That's just the

very first step. Then He wants you to grow. Then

He wants you to humble yourself. Then He wants

you to yield your life to His will. He wants

to really be your Lord. He'll walk with you.

He'll speak in the quiet chambers of your heart.

You're a candidate to be filled with His Holy

Spirit after that. But it all starts with recognizing

the Bible's right. The Bible's true. The Bible's

perfect. And the Bible says there's only one

way. Not two, not three, not four, not one and

a half. Not one with a few things added to it.

There's only one way. His name is Jesus. He's

the Christ. God's only begotten Son. He is Lord

of all. I hope you've enjoyed church this morning.

I'm very grateful for... A voice to share the

truth. Don't you love truth? Yeah, amen. Amen.

It's so clear. Isaiah said it's so clear not

even a wayfaring fool would err therein. It's

really crystal clear. Might not be popular, but

that's okay. I'm not looking for the wide gate.

I'm looking for heaven. Let's go together. Thank

you for watching The Word of the Lord. A weekly

television broadcast of Living Word Christian

Church. Living Word Christian Church welcomes

you to join us at 2015 Ward Avenue in La Crosse,

Wisconsin. And Wednesday evenings at 7. For more

information on Living Word Christian Church,

visit us on the web at lwcclax .com.