Turn to the second chapter of Ephesians, verse 8: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." We are living in days when the gospel of the grace of God which is being preached in this world is adulterated. We are living in a day in which the holiness of God is being sidetracked. Men are not being called upon for repentance toward God, but a popularized version of the gospel is being presented. It tells man that he can stay where he is; it tells man that he can go on and enjoy the world and the things of the world, but he must give his heart to Jesus. May I say this: We never read in the Word of God of an unbeliever being called upon to give his heart to Jesus. The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurably wicked. God does not want man's wicked heart. He calls on all men to repent and to believe the gospel.
In the verse which we have read we find that we are saved "by grace." What is grace? What is the abounding grace of God that has reached down to us in our need? Some will answer, "It is something that we do not deserve." Certainly that definition is good. But the grace of God to man is not only something that we do not deserve, it is just exactly suited to our lost estate—the grace of God to man. "For by grace are ye saved." What wondrous grace it was for God to send His beloved Son down into this world, knowing in advance what men would do to Him; to prepare that body for Him, and have Him go through this world pleasing God and serving man year after year; and, after all this, to be nailed to Calvary's cross—to the heart of man told out in casting out His beloved Son! And yet, God allowed it; and, in those three hours of darkness on Calvary's cross, He made that blessed holy One to be a sacrifice for sin— allowed Him there to bear the wrath and judgment of a holy God against sin, in order to give God a righteous basis to come out and proclaim a free and full salvation to every one that would accept Jesus.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith." Where did you get the faith? You did not have it. It was, "through faith; and that not of yourselves." I said to a man one time, "Where did you get your faith?" He answered, "Oh I had it." I replied, "Then you do not believe the rest of the verse" "it is the gift of God." We who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior can thank God that He gave us faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. I cannot even boast of the faith that claimed Him as my own—"through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
I would like to read now the latter part of 1 Peter 5:1212By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. (1 Peter 5:12), "I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand." Dear young believer, never let us lose sight of the grace of God. The grace of God that brought salvation is the same grace in which we stand—"the true grace of God wherein ye stand." You and I not only need to be saved by grace, but we also need grace every day of our lives—grace and help from God on high. Sometimes people get the idea that, when they accept Christ as their Savior, everything is easy; that there will be no more difficulties. It is true that when one is saved, his destiny is sure. But, the Christian's path is beset with trials and testings. If we rest on our oars, we will drift—drift downstream.
We are in a world in which Satan is the god and prince. We live in a wicked scene, and the judgment of God is hanging over it today. Man forgets that God is going to judge this world for what it did to His Son. Everything around us indicates that the end is at hand. The judgment of God is about to break. But, while we live in this wicked world, you and I as individual believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will find grace for every need, for every step of the way—"the true grace of God wherein ye stand." The fifth chapter of Romans also speaks of standing in grace. Let us never lose the sense of the grace of God in our souls. Oh the favor, unmerited favor—the grace of God that has met us in our need; the grace of God that has borne us along year after year, day after day, and that bears with us in our weakness and failure—"this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.”
Now, my purpose this afternoon is not to dwell entirely on the grace of God. This is not a gospel meeting, but a meeting for the benefit of those young in years, and young in the faith. I would like to couple together with the grace of God that saved us and the grace of God that keeps us, one other thing which is always operating in this world. That is, the government of God. The two run side by side. I remember, some years ago, meeting a dear brother in Christ; he was stressing the fact to me of grace, and how we stand in need of grace. He read to me an article written by an esteemed, departed brother. When he had finished, he said, "What do you think of it?" I said, "It is wonderful; I enjoyed it. But, you should go on now and get an article written by the same brother on the government of God." The two run concurrently throughout this life.
Turn to another portion in 1 Peter 1, beginning with verse 14: "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation." That word conversation takes in our whole manner of life, our whole conduct down here. "So be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." Now, the gist of the words we have just read is this: Since you are saved, and know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, and are able to look up and address God as your Father, remember that the One whom you now address as your Father is a holy God. And, He says, "Be ye holy." Then, not "as I am holy"—that is not what is set before us, but—"for I am holy." Since the One who has called us by His grace, and who keeps us by His grace, is a holy God, and we now know Him as our Father, we should remember that this holy God, our Father, has a government in this world with His children.
The government of God is operating here day by day. We may forget, but these two things always run together—the grace of God, and the government of God. It says, in substance, Since you call God your Father, live down here in the sense that God is holy. He calls on you, and he calls on me, for holiness. "Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." Why fear? O dear young people, it is not a fear that you can be lost. No! We are saved by grace, and we stand in grace every day of our lives. But, there is such a thing as walking consciously in the sight of a holy God.
Turn to Heb. 4, beginning at verse 12: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, (or, "living and operative") and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit." That is something which man cannot do with all his knowledge, or all his wit—divide, or distinguish, between soul and spirit. We sometimes have to fall back on the Lord, and ask the Lord to understand us. "And of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Did you know, dear young people, that if you know God as your Father, the One whom you now address as your Father knows all about you? And, "the word of God is... sharper than any two-edged sword." Did you ever feel the point of it? When you read the Word of God, do you try to turn it away because it is too pointed?
Notice in the next verse (Heb. 4:1313Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13)) that it changes from the Word of God, to God Himself. The transition is easy and rapid. "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." There is not a thing which you or I do, in thought, in word, or deed, but what is known to this holy One—God, who is holy. So, we pass the time of our sojourning here in fear; not a fear of being lost, but, remembering that God is holy, and that He has called us to holiness. He expects a life that will be in consistency with Himself.
Now, concerning this word fear, turn back to Prov. 23:1717Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. (Proverbs 23:17), the latter part of the verse: "Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long." When we get up in the morning, are we consciously in the fear of the Lord? Do we get up in the morning to begin the day as before Him? Do we say, "Lord help me today; Lord, keep me today; help me to live to Thy glory today?" We hear of different ones who have had tremendous falls. We hear of some young Christians who have made a mistake, and who have missed the path. I dare say that not one of them would have done something to wreck their lives and their testimony, if they were walking in the fear of the Lord at that moment. "Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.”
May I tell you a story? I would like to tell you something about a brother that some of us in the room know. He is a colored man, and a dear Christian. He came to this country years ago from the West Indies. He has worked for a big department store in a city for many years, and he is now past the time for retirement; yet they keep him on. He is a valuable workman. Was it always so? Was he always so valued that they would have kept him after retirement age? No, that is the result of godliness. When he went there, he found that the companions, the fellow-workers around him, were guilty of telling filthy stories. They expected him to laugh with them. He did not do it. They got angry with him, not because he would not tell such things, but because he would not laugh with them. One day they got after him, and bore down on him—asked him why he would not laugh. He said, "Men, I live in the fear of God." Now, it was their turn to be defeated. It was their turn to slink away. "I live in the fear of God." That man is past retirement age now. He was a young man when this happened. But now he is known in the place where he works as a God-fearing man. I dare say it all started that day.
Dear young people, where you go to school, where you work—do they know you as a God-fearing young man or young woman? Don't be like a young Christian man who was taken into the army. His mother wrote and asked, "How are you getting along in the army; do you find it hard there being a Christian?" Sad to say, he wrote back, and said: "They have not guessed it yet." If you take that kind of path, you will end in trouble. "Have not guessed it yet." Have the people you work with guessed that you are a Christian, that you belong to Christ? They should be able to tell by your conversation; they should tell by your deportment. "Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.”
Turn back to an earlier verse in Proverbs, chapter 9, verse 10: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding." Do you feel that you lack understanding? Do you feel that you lack wisdom? "Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long." What a change that would make! Sometimes young men and women go to college to acquire knowledge. But, when they go there to acquire knowledge, they forget to take God with them—they forget to go there in the fear of the Lord. Remember this, dear young Christians, when you go to college, that the fear of the Lord is also "the beginning of knowledge." (Prov. 1:77The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7).)
You might say, "But the fear of the Lord is not in that place." I had a young man write to me recently from a large University in the mid-west. He is a dear young Christian. He said, "All they have said about this place is true." (It has a bad reputation.) Oh, it may have high scholastic standards, it may have been at the head of its class; but the fear of the Lord is not there, except as a few believers go about the place. And, they cannot change it. They cannot change the place, but they can be there individually in the fear of the Lord. How many young Christians have lost out in their souls during college life, because they did not make preparations for the fear of the Lord in those days. They neglected the reading of the Word of God and prayer; they forgot the sense of their own weakness; they forgot to cry out, "Lord, keep me." So, these are years of decline. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." They may know all about higher mathematics, and they may know all about physics; they may turn out to be some of the most noted scientists in the world. But, as for you, dear young Christian, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Do not forget it! That is the starting point.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." What is wisdom? It is knowing how to apply knowledge. Do you want to see a man who has godly discernment? Do you want to see a man who has wisdom, to whom you would like to go if you had a problem? Find one who is walking in the fear of the Lord. It will stand you in good service—stand you in good stead all through life. I have seen many dear young Christians bring sorrow into their lives; I have seen their tears; I have seen the tears of their parents, and also of their relatives. I have seen such cases this very week! Where did it begin? With neglecting the fear of the Lord—the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. Remember that the government of God is operating in this world. Remember that the One you now look up to, and address as your Father, is a holy God.
This world is filled with corruption. The Lord Jesus said when He was here that the world would go on until it became like it was in the days of Lot—the days of Sodom and Gomorrah—before Christ came back to reign. If you took all the real believers out of the world today, the rest would not have far to go to duplicate the conditions of Sodom and Gomorrah. This world is on a downhill course. It is like the swine we read about in the Gospels, that were possessed with demons. The Lord cast out the demons from the man, and they went into the swine with His permission. Then the whole herd ran violently down a steep place, and into the sea. Take the Christians out of the world, and the Spirit of God out of the world, and the rest will run downhill like the swine possessed with demons. That is coming—every day it is coming closer! And, if you fill your minds with the filthy print which is sold on every news stand, beware lest you follow the reading into the gutter yourself! God is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. I plead with you: be in the fear of the Lord all the day long. And, remember, if it is not holiness, it is not of God!
Please turn back now to Gen. 39. This is one of the saddest chapters in the book of Genesis. It comes in the middle of the life of Joseph, and Joseph's life was exemplary. He was a God-fearing man—a man who was in the fear of the Lord all the day long. He was not looking for temptation; he might easily have been one who would pray, "Lord, lead me not into temptation. Do not let me get caught in it, for I am weak." We do not know about that, but we see that he was caught in the way of temptation. Read the last clause of verse 9: "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Dear young people, moral evil is thought less and less of in the world today, and we get the backlash of it. I have heard young people say, "It does not make any difference any more." Remember this: God's standards have not changed! Holiness becomes His house, and His people. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Gal. 6:77Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7).
I have even heard some reports of young people saying, "Well, what if they put you away from the Meeting? You will soon be back, and everything will be like it was before." That is a lie! There are some things that leave a stain—a stigma. If there is one thing that I want to press this afternoon, it is that we are indebted to the grace of God—not only for salvation, but for every step of the way. Also, that there is a government in which God operates, and it operates surely and certainly. It cannot fail. O dear young people, "Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long." In Heb. 12:2929For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29), it says, "For our God is a consuming fire." People try to reason that away; but, we get away with nothing in this world. I know too, that there is a very great laxity abroad in this land concerning divorce and remarriage. But it is not of God. God's standards have not changed!
I trust that each one here knows the Lord—that you have been won by the grace of God, and that you enjoy the grace of God in your soul each day. Keep going on in the enjoyment of the grace of God! What does the Epistle of Jude say, in verse 21? "Keep yourselves in the love of God." What does that mean? Can we make God love us more that He does? No, that is not the thought. "Keep yourselves in the love of God," means to walk in the enjoyment of His love. If you and I are walking in the enjoyment of the love of God, the Father's face is beaming down upon us—it is precious to Him, because the Lord is precious to us. It will keep you from many a pitfall: to get up in the morning and read your Bible; to cast yourself on Him for the day; to ask God to keep you in thought, word and deed, and to keep you in spirit, soul and body. There are so many good prayers in Scripture. One is in Psa. 141:33Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3): "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." I have to pray that prayer; it is a good one. But it is really just to go on, day by day, seeking to please Him. I trust that every one of you dear young people who know the Lord will be able to go on faithfully until the moment He comes to take us home. It may not be long—He is coming soon!
There was a man by the name of Enoch who walked with God. He pleased God down here; and the world was very wicked at that time. It was going on to the flood, and he walked with God for three hundred years. He brought up a family in that kind of a world too. I feel sorry for young parents bringing up children today in this wicked world. But Enoch did it; he brought up a family, and he walked with God, and he pleased God. One day he was taken away. O may we walk with God and please God like Enoch. You say, "If Enoch thought he had to do it for three hundred years, he would have become weary." I do not doubt that. But, you know, he only had to do one day at a time. You may think of all the problems that beset you, and of all the difficulties in your path; but, remember, you only have to meet the ones for today. You can get up in the morning and say, "Lord, keep me today; Lord, help me today." You will not need to worry about tomorrow if you walk with Him today. And then, tomorrow, you say, "Lord, keep me today"—it is just today again.
May the Lord give us grace to walk down here to His glory, looking for "that blessed hope," that moment when the Lord will take us home. We will not have three hundred years to go, like Enoch. We may not even have three years. In fact, the Lord may come tonight; then the journey will be over—all at home in the Father's house—never anything more to tempt us; never anything more to distract us; never anything more to appeal to the lusts of the old nature which you and I carry with us as long as we are here. We will not take anything of the old nature with us then; all that will be left behind. And, it may be tonight. Wouldn't that be precious! Wouldn't that be a blessed thing! Nothing more to struggle against— all at home. All of the flesh, and all down here, left behind!
Dear fellow Christian, if we are left here another week, another seven days, we will need diligence for each day of the seven. If it is another year, we will need it for 365 days. But, remember: one at a time; and only one at a time. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." We do have to acquire a certain amount of the world's knowledge as we live down here; that is, for pursuits down here we have to acquire a certain amount of it. If you are going to be a doctor, you have to go to school to become one. But there is a way to do it in the fear of the Lord.
May the Lord keep the feet of His saints!
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