Clean Transcript

It Takes More Than a Profession of Faith

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• All right, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Isaiah, chapter 48. Isaiah 48, and we're going to read verses 1 and 2. Isaiah 48, beginning there with verse 1: "Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, that are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is His name."

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• The title of the message today is, "It Takes More Than a Profession of Faith." The subtitle is, "Talk is Cheap," which you will find the Scripture states very clearly. I'm sure that every one of you have heard the age-old expression, "Everyone that's talking about heaven ain't going there." And that certainly is true, because it takes more than talk. And it even takes more than a profession of faith. And when I tell you the title of this message is "It Takes More Than a Profession of Faith," I want you to understand from the outset that I am not teaching, nor am I talking about or referring to salvation by works. No man is saved by his works. In fact, Scripture is exceedingly clear, and everyone in this room can quote the verses from Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works." And of course, it's only, totally, completely by God's grace. So it's not of works, lest any man should boast.

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• So salvation isn't only by Christ; it is in Christ alone. He is our substitute. He is our sacrifice and our salvation. And apart from Jesus Christ, no one would be saved. No one is saved or can be saved apart from Jesus Christ, and neither can anything be added to His perfect work. It is not Christ plus our works. No, it is Christ and Christ alone. The Bible teaches in Hebrews 9:28, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." Notice He was offered once. He totally and completely perfected salvation. And our Lord made it exceedingly clear that salvation is impossible with men.

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• We cannot save ourselves, and we cannot help save ourselves. I want you to hold Isaiah 48. We're coming back there. But I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, very quickly to the book of Mark chapter 10. And let me show you this very specifically. Mark chapter 10. And notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 24, to show you how clear our Lord made it that salvation is totally, absolutely impossible with man. Notice Mark 10:24. Our Lord has just sent away the rich young ruler who was sorrowful because he had great riches and he did not want to give them up. Notice, if you would, in verse 24, "And the disciples were astonished at his words." What words? We'll go back to verse 23: "And Jesus looked round about and said unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered and said unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God?"

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• "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Now watch verse 26: "And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?"

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• Now I want you to note very carefully, the question is, "Who then can be saved?" So the subject deals with salvation. Watch what our Lord answers. Verse 27: "And Jesus looking upon them, saith, With men it is impossible!" Salvation is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible. So the Bible teaches very clearly, with man, salvation is impossible. So that's why I said earlier, it's impossible to be saved without Christ, because Christ alone is salvation.

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• It was Horatius Bonar who said this: "Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die, another's life, another's death, I stake my whole eternity." And that is true. We stake our whole eternity on the life and death of Jesus Christ.

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• Now, the subtitle of this message, "Talk is Cheap," exposes not only the problem with professors in the Old Testament, but also the same problem in the New Testament and the exact same problem that we have today. A profession of faith that is not evidenced or backed up by a life of obedience is worthless. I want you to look back in your Bibles to Isaiah 48 again at verses 1 and 2. I want you to watch very closely at what our Lord says: "Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city and stay themselves upon the God of Israel. The Lord of hosts is his name." Now, I want you to note in our text, we see a people that are called by the name of Israel, which implies that they were God's covenant people.

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• They swore by the name of the Lord and they liked to make mention of His name. They used His name freely and openly and seemingly were unashamed. They professed that they were God's people and they purportedly stayed themselves upon Him. Yet God states that their profession was not in truth nor in righteousness. So let me just put it to you very plainly: they were a people in name only, with a worthless, useless lip profession.

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• So how many are like that today? How many profess Jesus Christ and yet live absolutely opposite to His word and to His will? I want you to go back in Isaiah 29 and look at verse 13 at what our Lord says about these people. Isaiah 29:13. I can assure you this passage applies very clearly today. Look at Isaiah 29:13. God says, "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of man." Notice, if you would, they honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. And then He says this: that their fear toward me is taught by the precept of man. I'm afraid that there are many today that are in the same exact boat as these Old Testament professors. Many have been raised in church, taught in church, educated in church, and yet they have never been regenerated or converted by the power of God.

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• They may be able to quote Scripture, sing hymns, and even converse in theological language, yet they know absolutely nothing of the power of God in their lives. All they have is what they have been taught by the precept of man. And they're absolutely, totally ignorant of the truths of covenantal faithfulness.

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• Now, I want to show you the extent of the false profession. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 5, and look at verses 1 and 2. Jeremiah 5:1-2. This is absolutely amazing. God is talking about an entire people that profess to be His people, and yet they were totally unregenerate. God tells Jeremiah in Jeremiah 5:1, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it."

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• "And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely." So what did God tell Jeremiah? Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem. Find me just one man, just one man that executes judgment, that seeks the truth. And He said, I will pardon the entire city. Just find me one man. And God says, yes, you're going to find some that will say, "Surely the Lord liveth." But He swears absolutely falsely. His heart is far from the Lord. Over and over in Scripture, Israel was judged and chastened by the Lord for their overt acts of treason, rebellion, and all of their provocations against Him. Yet, in all of this, they continued still in their rebellion, and still in their outward profession of being the people of God.

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• Now, I'm giving you this to show that this is exactly where we are today. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 10. Here's a passage that has been greatly misused, I should say, taken out of context, and not understood at all. But in Romans chapter 10, if you will begin reading there at verse 9, Romans 10:9, look what the Scripture says.

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

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• Now I want you to understand. The verbal confession of the mouth is useless without the converting faith in the heart. It's with the heart man believes unto righteousness. With the mouth, he says, confession is made, but it's with the heart. So if there is nothing in the heart, the profession of the mouth is absolutely useless.

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• Now, it is true that we must confess Christ publicly and privately. However, listen carefully. Confession, that is real confession, is the result of salvation and not salvation itself. Are you listening? We confess because we have been saved. It is not our confession that saves us. It is Jesus Christ that saves us. OK, now let me show it to you in the context. Let's skip down to verse 13. Romans 10:13. He says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And that is true. Now, we must define and we must understand what calling upon the name of the Lord is. I don't think calling upon the name of the Lord is mouthing some little simple prayer that somebody tells you that you need to pray. I think calling upon the name of the Lord is kind of like Peter when he was going under, he cried out and screamed, "Help, Lord!" Because Peter understood that if the Lord didn't save him, he was a goner. I think that's what really calling on the Lord is.

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• But let me show you something. He said, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Now, here's my question. Who is going to call upon the Lord savingly? Watch Romans 10:13: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Verse 14: "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" What must transpire before you can call? You must believe. Here's my question: is it calling that saves you, or is it believing in Jesus Christ that saves you? Is calling an evidence that you have believed in Christ?

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• You see what I'm saying? Now watch. He says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" So in order to call, you must believe. Watch. "And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" In order to believe, you must hear Jesus Christ. Watch what else he says in verse 14: "And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"

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• "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

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• Now, I want you to note, if you would, he said the calling is the result of believing. Believing is the result of hearing Christ. Christ normally speaks to His sheep during the preaching of His word. And a preacher cannot really preach His word accurately and truthfully unless he has been sent by God. Which means this: the real voice that you need to listen for is not the preacher's voice, but the voice of Jesus Christ speaking through him as the Word of God is really and truly preached. You remember what our Lord said in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me." It's the voice of Christ, and so He asks, how can you call unless you believe? How can you believe unless you hear Christ? It is Christ calling that saves us. He speaks to our hearts. We believe, we call upon Him, we confess Him. But confession is not that which saves us; it is Christ. Calling is not that which saves us; it is Christ. And we can only believe in Him savingly as He speaks to our heart.

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• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. As you turn there, it is true that real, genuine, regenerated, and converted Christians confess Christ. But they confess Him because they have been saved by Him. It is not our confession that saves us. It is Christ who has made our confession real and genuine that saves us. Now, look what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:3. Watch, this is a very powerful verse. The Apostle Paul says, "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." Now, first of all, I want you to note, no man speaking by the Spirit of God is going to curse Jesus Christ. If you hear anyone cursing Jesus Christ, you can mark it down: he does not have the Spirit of God. But look at the latter part of this verse. He said, "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man"—there's the negative—"no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed"—here's the positive—"and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."

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• It is only by the power of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in regeneration and conversion that allows us to savingly confess Jesus Christ is Lord. Now I want you to look again at the latter part of verse 3: "and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."

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• Now let me tell you, I can go out on the street right now, find multitudes of men and women who have the ability to speak, and I can ask them, "Can you mouth these words? Can you say 'Jesus Christ is Lord'?" If they have the ability to speak, they can mouth those words. Mouthing those words does not save. Man may imitate, but only the Holy Spirit of God can authenticate. And that's why I said no man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. In other words, it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to savingly acknowledge and confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And remember, "can" is a term of ability. He says no man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost.

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• You see, the truth is that many have been deluded in joining a church and openly professing that Christ is their Savior, yet their lives have never been changed. There is no understanding of the Word of God, much less obedience to the commands of Christ or the principles of His Word in their lives. They never read the Word of God, and they certainly never study the Word of God. Their lives are basically empty and hollow and meaningless. And what many of them do is they rest in and trust in their confession for salvation more than they trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. Mouthing words and repeating empty phrases does not save, by the way.

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• You may even use Scripture in your profession of faith. But may I tell you that Scripture in itself does not save. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and notice what the Apostle Paul says in verse 6. 2 Corinthians 3:6. He talks about how the Holy Spirit has enabled them and he says, "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Do you realize that even Scripture, without the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, is worthless? It's a dead letter without the power of God upon it. As important as Scripture is, it requires the ministry of the Holy Spirit to make it effectual in our lives. Now I'm talking about people who are in church, who've made a profession of faith, and yet their lives are totally, completely unchanged. Do you realize we are also told in the Scripture that when the Lord saves individuals, He does add them to the church.

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• For instance, in Acts 2:47, the Bible says that the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. I've always been suspicious of those who claim to be saved and yet never darken the doorway of a Bible-believing church or Bible-preaching church. If the old adage is true, "Birds of a feather flock together," and it is true that those who are genuinely Christian will desire to be with others who are genuinely Christian. It's an amazing thing that when God saves us, He puts us together.

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• On the other hand, there are those who are members of churches who frequently and habitually attend church, who claim to be Christians, and all they have to show for it is a profession of faith, and I might add, an empty one at that. They live as they please, even if their life is completely and totally contrary to the Word of God. They have no regard for God. They have no regard for His commands. They have no regard for His truth. And when they hear truth, they reject it. They refuse it. That can't be so.

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• "I'm not going to do that." I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Jeremiah chapter 32. Let me show you the absolute insult this is to God. Notice Jeremiah chapter 32, if you would, and we'll begin reading there at verse 30. Jeremiah 32:30. Look what God says. We're going to read through verse 33. Jeremiah 32:30. He says, "For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord. For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury, from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face."

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• "Though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive my instruction."

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• Now, let me ask you a question. Is it not, and would it not be an insult to you if, while you were talking with me and speaking to me, I just simply turned my back to you and walked off? What would the implication be if I just turned my back to you and walked off while you were speaking to me? The implication would be very clear: I have no regard for your thoughts. I have no regard for your wishes. I have no regard for your desires. I have no regard for your fellowship, for your company. In fact, I have no regard for you.

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• You're not worth listening to, nor do I have any pleasure in your presence. And so, therefore, I'm leaving. Would you regard that as an insult? Well, of course you would. Well, let me ask you, how much more of a blasphemous insult is it for individuals to turn their back on the holy, righteous, sovereign God of heaven and earth? And what did God say? God said, "I taught you, I sent my word and you refused to hear it."

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• You would not pay any attention to my word, to my preachers; you wouldn't pay any attention to me. It is indeed an insult, a blasphemous insult. I want to show you something. Since you're in Jeremiah, let's turn over to Jeremiah chapter 35. I want to read a rather lengthy passage and you're going to see why I'm going to read this passage. In fact, I'm going to use this passage in a future message in several weeks because there's another truth here as well. But let's read the first 19 verses of the book of Jeremiah chapter 35. Now I want you to see the difference between the children of Jonadab and the professing children of the Lord. Jeremiah 35:1: "The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: and I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: but we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us."

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• "But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem. Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the Lord."

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• "The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them."

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• "And ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers; but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me: therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered."

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• "And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever."

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• Now, I want you to listen very carefully to the whole principle that is given to us here. Before I give you the principle, let me ask you some questions. How would you like to live without a garden, without a home, without property, and without a vineyard? Would you like to dwell in a tent continually?

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• Now, if you think living in a tent is kind of cool, wait until about January, December, January, February, and make sure that you stay in that tent for about 30 days during the rain and the cold. And let's just see how cool it really is. Here's the contrast. In Jeremiah chapter 35, the contrast is between Jonadab, who is nothing but a man, and the one true and the living God. Here are Jonadab's words versus God's words. Here, Jonadab's instructions versus God's instruction. Now, when you stop and think, Jonadab was a man.

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• He had no real authority, he had no real power, with the exception that he was a husband and a father. Everything that he said and everything that he commanded his children to do, in one sense of the word, was not only illogical, but it was very inconvenient. And yet, the truth of the matter is, everything that he asked of his children to do, they did. They obeyed.

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• And when Jeremiah set those pots of wine in front of them and said, "Drink, have at it," they said, "No. Our father Jonadab commanded us to never drink any, and we're not going to do it. He commanded us not to have gardens, not to have houses, not to have property, but just live in tents and be nomads. And that's exactly what we're going to do." So Jonadab was a human. He was a man with no authority over and above that which he had as a husband and a father.

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• And yet here is a holy, sovereign God of heaven and earth who is issuing commands and giving instructions for their good and their benefit, with all authority and all power. And no one listens to Him. They turn to Him the back and not the face. They insult God. They blaspheme God. And God said, "You claim to be my people, but you won't listen. You won't obey. It does no good to swear by the name of the Lord."

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• If all we have is an empty profession, it does no good to say that we are the people of God if all we have is a lip profession and our hearts and our lives are far from Him. When you look at Isaiah 48 verses 1 and 2, I want to give you what John Calvin said, but let's go over it one more time, just so you can see Calvin's comments. In verse 1, God says, "Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is his name." Now, I want you to note they swear by the name of the Lord. Calvin says this: "Now, as swearing is a kind of worship of God, he here puts one department for the whole class by a figure of speech in which a part is taken for the whole."

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• "As idolaters offer an insult to God when they swear by their idols, in like manner do sincere worshipers of God render honor to God by employing His name in oaths, for they acknowledge that they have but one God in whose name they glory. But here he attacks hypocrites with open mouth, loudly boasting the name of God and frequently mentioning His name, and yet in their hearts were greatly opposed to Him. On this account, he says, 'not in truth nor in righteousness.' He employs the word 'righteousness' to denote integrity and sincerity of heart, without which nothing can be acceptable to God. Or rather, righteousness and truth are synonymous terms, as if he had said it was a mere pretense and hypocrisy to profess that they were the very people of God, because their treachery openly proclaimed their falsehood." Notice he used the word "treachery." And it is treason. But it's more than treason.

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• I want you to see in Deuteronomy chapter 6. Go there. We've got just a few verses to cover. But look in Deuteronomy 6:13. The Bible said they swore by the name of the Lord. Calvin pointed out that swearing is a type of worship, and it is. Look in Deuteronomy 6:13. God says, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name." Swearing by His name indicates that He is the one true and the living God. Look in Deuteronomy 10:20. Deuteronomy 10:20. Again, He says this: "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name." I want you to see the importance of swearing by His name. These people swore by His name, but not in truth and not in righteousness. I want you to turn back to the book of Leviticus. And let's begin in Leviticus chapter 19. And I want you to see how swearing falsely is connected with profaning the name of the Lord.

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• Notice, if you would, Leviticus 19:12. Look what God says. Leviticus 19:12: "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord." Note: "Thou shalt not swear by my name falsely." What were these people doing when they were professing to be God's people and living in total, absolute rebellion to Him and His law? They were profaning the name of the Lord. They were swearing by His name falsely and they were profaning the name of the Lord.

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• He said, "You shall not do that." Look in Leviticus 21:6. Leviticus 21:6. Again He said, "They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy." But note, they shall be holy and not profane the name of their God. Skip over to Leviticus 22:32. Here it is again, Leviticus 22:32: "Neither shall ye profane my holy name."

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• "But I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the Lord which hallow you." I want you to understand that swearing falsely is a type of profanation of the name of God. It must be understood that those who profess Christ but do not possess Christ are swearing falsely by His name. And in so doing, they're profaning the name of Christ. It takes more than a profession of Christ to save. It takes a possession of Christ. Those who profess Him but do not possess Him are swearing falsely by His name. I want you to turn in your Bible to the book of Luke chapter 6.

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• I could quote this verse. I've done it hundreds of times. But I want you to see how our Lord Himself makes it clear that talk is cheap. OK, look in Luke 6:46. Luke 6:46. Look at what our Lord says. He asked a question: "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Talk is cheap. That's what He said. Don't you dare be calling me Lord if you're not going to obey me. May I remind you that the word "Lord" in the Greek is the word kyrios, which literally means boss, owner, master, sovereign. So our Lord is saying, "Why are you calling me boss? Why are you calling me master? Why are you calling me sovereign if you're not going to obey me? If you are mine and you acknowledge my Lordship, you will obey me. If you just simply call me Lord and disobey me, you're profaning my name."

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• You have an empty profession. Let me tell you, a profession of Christ is useless unless it is backed up by a life of obedience to Christ and His Word. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 7. I want to show you the warning that our Lord gave. Matthew chapter 7, and let's begin reading there with verse 21. Matthew 7:21. Our Lord says, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?"

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• "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

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• Now, here are some individuals that had works and had a profession. But their profession was not real. They had never, ever been regenerated or converted by the power of God. Do you realize there are people like that all in our churches today? Some of the hardest workers oftentimes are in reality trying to earn their salvation and work their way into heaven, which is impossible. You can have an empty profession and have an empty, hollow, meaningless life. Or you can have a profession with a lot of works and still never, ever be savingly regenerated.

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• The Bible says in the book of Titus chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, and let me just quote it: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." It's the power of the Holy Spirit that regenerates and that converts.

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• Our Lord said it very plainly in John 14:15. He said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." If we confess Christ, if we claim to be His people, our lives must evidence that claim by obeying His Word. For He said, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say unto you?" If I'm your Lord, you'll obey me. What is the real test? Obedience. Is your life brought in conformity to the Word of God? Is it continually being brought in conformity to the Word of God?

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• None of us are perfect. But when we see areas in our lives that are unbiblical, unscriptural, we change them. We repent of our sins. And we obey. Let's not be like those people in Isaiah 48 and like multitudes of others who have a profession, but it's empty. It's meaningless. Our profession of faith must be backed up by a holy, obedient life, which will evidence and demonstrate the fact that God has worked in our lives.

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• Have you ever stopped to think about this? If God had not already done something in you, you would never have the desire to be holy or godly or obedient to begin with. It's only His grace that enables us to persevere because of His divine preservation. It takes more than a mere profession of faith. Talk is cheap. We must live an obedient life. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day.

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• We thank You for Your love and Your truth. Lord, we do want to be Thy people. We do want to be holy and godly. We do, Father, love Thee with all of our hearts. Make us, Father, what we should be for Your honor and Your glory. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

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• You may contact Freedom Ministries by mail at 7400 Abercorn Street, Suite 705, PMB 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406. Or give us a call at 912-925-0995.

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• You can also visit our website at www.freedomministry.com

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• You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T12:19:36Z