Clean Transcript

What Did He Believe? Part 2

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• Matthew chapter 8, and we're reading verses 5 through 13. The title of the message is, "What Did He Believe?" And we're certainly talking about this Roman soldier that our Lord said had the greatest faith. Matthew chapter 8, beginning with verse 5: "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed."

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• "For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness."

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• "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." This message that I'm preaching today is emphasizing how important it is to believe rightly. I pointed out last week, sincerity does not mean anything. You may be sincere, but you may be sincerely wrong. Certainly, we must believe the Word of God. Doesn't matter how sincere anyone is in their false religion. If they do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, they're simply lost. But the truth of the matter is this: what we genuinely believe also is evidenced by our conduct.

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• By our words, by our actions as well. Our Lord enunciated a tremendous principle to this Roman centurion. He said, "As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." Do you realize we do reap rewards of our faith? If we have a small faith, we reap small rewards. If we have a great faith like this centurion, then we reap great rewards as well. Our Lord said it like this in Matthew 9:29, He said, "According to your faith be it unto you," or "so be it," period. So this is a principle. And I pointed out last week, if you and I are going to be blessed, if we are going to be honored by our Lord the way this man was, we have to at least believe at a minimum what this individual believed. Our Lord not only granted the Roman centurion's prayer request, but if you look in verse 10 again, "When Jesus heard it," that is, heard what the centurion said, "he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

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• So our Lord then is praising this man's faith. And you must remember, he was a Roman, not an Israelite. He was a soldier. He was not a citizen, not a scholar, not a scribe, and yet he's praised here for his great faith. So we had to ask last week, what did he believe? And I gave you three things last week. I showed you where, first of all, he believed in the Lordship of Christ because in verse 6 he came and said, "Lord." You remember I told you the word "Lord" means boss, owner, sovereign, master. So he is acknowledging Jesus Christ as sovereign. And the important thing is, to demonstrate this man's great faith, it was only the resurrection from the dead that demonstrated our Lord's Lordship, according to Romans 1:3-4 and Acts 2. And here this man was acknowledging and confessing that Jesus Christ was Lord before Christ was ever crucified. So very obviously, he believed in the Lordship of Christ. Secondly, he believed that Christ was omnipotent.

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• That is, He had all power. And I showed you last week how the Scripture says, "Power belongeth unto God." And since he was ascribing omnipotence to Christ, he was also ascribing Godhood to Christ. In other words, he was confessing that Jesus Christ was and is indeed very God, a very God. And then thirdly, I pointed out last week where the centurion said in verse 8 that he was not worthy for Christ to come under his roof. In other words, here was a man who acknowledged and understood that he was a sinner.

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• And that he was vile, and he was corrupt, and he was undone. And he said, "Lord, I'm just not worthy." And truly, without Christ, we are indeed totally and absolutely unworthy. However, it is Christ that makes us worthy. Remember, I quoted from 1 Timothy 1 where the Apostle Paul said, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." And I pointed out that every genuinely convicted sinner would almost be willing to fight the Apostle Paul for that position because each of us understands, once we've been convicted by the Holy Spirit, how wicked and wrong we are.

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• So we can see things then from this Roman centurion's faith that not only affected his life but it also should affect our lives as well. So what are we going to learn and what should we learn from this passage then to apply to our lives today so that we can at least believe at a minimum—we should believe far more—but at least believe what this man believed. And let me just repeat this that I emphasized several times last week: in reality, our faith should be greater than this Roman soldier's faith. Why?

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• Because we have the completed Word of God. We have the full and final revelation, not only revealed in Jesus Christ, but in the written Word as well. He did not have that. We do. So what are we to learn today? First of all, I want you to understand, fourthly, that this Roman centurion believed that Christ had all authority and all power, and it was sufficient for Christ simply to speak.

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• Now, I hinted at this last week under my second point. I did not develop it. I hinted at it. I want to develop it. But I also want to tell you this.

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• The next point that I'm going to give you, point five—point four and point five are very intimately connected. So I want you to listen very carefully. The very formal thing I'm pointing out: this man believed that Christ had all authority and all power and it was sufficient for Christ just simply to speak the word.

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• Now I want you to note that this centurion did not ask Christ to pray to the Father, although Christ, as the Son and as the Servant, did on occasion pray to His Heavenly Father. But no, the centurion did not ask Him to do that. Why? Because the centurion simply recognized Him as God. I want you to note the centurion did not ask Christ to send medication. He did not ask Christ to send someone to lay his hands on his servant. No. He just simply said to Christ, "Speak the word and my servant shall be healed." So he understood then that distance was no barrier to the Son of God. Now, think about this. Jesus Christ is not physically present with us in this room. He is not physically present anywhere on this earth right now.

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• Certainly the Holy Spirit is omnipresent. God is omnipresent. He's everywhere at one time in the totality of His being. But Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father, the Bible tells us. So here's my question: Do you think for one instant that Christ being seated at the right hand of God the Father creates any problem for Him hearing and answering our prayers? If you think that, you think wrongly. Certainly, you do not understand the sovereignty of God. You do not understand the omnipresence of God. Christ is God. He's everywhere at once in the totality of His person, although bodily speaking, He's now seated at the right hand of God the Father.

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• Now, let me distinguish for you two things, and you will understand the request of this Roman centurion. He said, "Speak the word and my servant shall be healed." He understood that Christ was not bound or tied to what you and I would call the use of means. Let me distinguish between two words for you. They are theological words. The words are "immediately" and "mediately." When you and I use the word "immediately," we mean like right now. But that is not the way the word is used theologically. Theologically, the word "mediately" means that God works through means. Oftentimes you read, not only in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament as well, that God does use secondary causes or secondary agents and God does indeed work through means.

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• For instance, you remember when Hezekiah got sick and was about to die, he cried to the Lord and God told Isaiah to take a poultice of figs and put it on his boil and Hezekiah was recovered. So that was the use of means. What the figs did, I don't know particularly, but he was healed through the use of laying those figs on that boil. You remember it was Naaman the leper who was cleansed by washing in the Jordan River. That's means. God used the Jordan River there to cleanse Naaman the leper. In Luke 4:40, Christ heals some by laying his hands upon them. That is the use of means. You remember it was in Luke 22 that our Lord touched Malchus' ear, the ear that Peter had cut off with his sword. Our Lord touched his ear and healed it. That's simply the use of means. So when you use the word "mediately," theologically, it means that God oftentimes works through means. When you use the word "immediately," it means that God does not necessarily use means.

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• He is not bound to means. God may simply speak the word and it happens. That is the way the worlds were created. Psalm 33:6, let me just read it: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." What did God do? God just spoke the worlds into existence. There was nothing. Nothing. No dust, no matter, nothing. God created everything out of nothing. So when He created the worlds, He created them immediately. But when God created man, He created man mediately. For the Bible says in Genesis 2:7, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." So what did God do when He created Adam? He used means. He took the matter that He had created immediately and He used it mediately and made man, and then breathed into man, and man became a living soul. So, the point I'm simply trying to make is this.

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• God may bless, He may heal, He may touch, He may answer prayer either mediately through the use of means, or He may do so immediately without any use of means whatsoever. It is totally and absolutely and completely up to God how He moves. Whatever He does, He is not limited to means. He is not bound to do things in a certain way. He may act however He chooses. Now, I want you to understand that it is God and God alone who is able to accomplish by a word whatsoever He pleases. We're told in the book of Ecclesiastes 8:4, "Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?" Now think about that. "Where the word of a king is, there is power."

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• Now if this was true concerning earthly kings in those days, and certainly it was, how much truer is it in regard to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ? In Isaiah 55:11, God said it like this: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." What did God say? God said the word that goes out of my mouth, it's going to accomplish whatever I send it to do. It's going to prosper in whatever I please it to do. Certainly, where the word of a king is, there is power. And where the word of the King of kings is, there is power as well. Now, this Roman centurion, then, believed that Christ had all power. He believed that Christ had all authority and that all Christ needed to do was to speak the word.

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• He did not have to use means. He didn't have to send medicine. He didn't have to send a servant to lay his hands. No, all Christ had to do was just speak the word.

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• Now, let me point this out again. This is still an amazing thing to show you this man's faith. It was after the resurrection of Jesus Christ that our Lord said in Matthew 28:18, listen carefully, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." And do you realize this Roman centurion believed that before Christ even said that? He believed that Christ had all power in heaven and earth.

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• Now the word "power" refers there to authority, jurisdiction, strength, power. So every jurisdiction, every power, every bit of strength, every bit of authority is given to Jesus Christ and this Roman soldier believed that. Since he believed that, now listen carefully, he believed that Christ could do whatever He was pleased to do.

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• Now let me point something out. Do you realize only God can do as He pleases? We can't. We say that, "Well, I'll do as I please." No, you don't. And you can't do as you please. Ed was pleased to try to go up a rope today, but he couldn't do it. You can't do what you please to do. Only God can do as He pleases. In Isaiah 46:10, He said, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." How much of God's pleasure will He perform? All of it. Whatever God is pleased to do, that's what He's going to do. God is the only one who does as He pleases, only as He pleases, and always as He pleases. None can thwart Him. None can stop Him. None can hinder Him. He's God.

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• And so when this Roman centurion comes to Christ, and he just simply says, "Speak the word," he was recognizing the fact that Christ had all authority and all power in heaven and on earth. Now, here's the fifth point, and I want you to think with me because these two things are tied together. The Roman centurion believed in a theocentric universe. You say, "What in the world is that?" Well, you remember the word "theos" is the Greek word for God. Theology, the study of God. Theocentric just simply means God-centered. It means that everything revolves around God. Now, in contrast to that is the anthropocentric universe. "Anthropos" is the Greek word for man. I want you to look at this. There are really and truly only two philosophies. Only two theologies. One is God-centered and one is man-centered. If you really want to know the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism, that's the answer. One is God-centered, one is man-centered. When you talk about a theocentric universe, you're saying that God is the center of everything.

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• And that everything revolves around God. It is God's will that is paramount. When you say that you believe in an anthropocentric universe, you're saying that you believe that man is the center of everything and that man's will should be supreme. May I point out that man is not the center of anything but sin and rebellion and wickedness. Man cannot do as he pleases. The world does not revolve around man. It doesn't.

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• And the fact is, there's evidence of that. Because each one of us are going to die and the world keeps on going. It can't just revolve around man. No. He believed that everything was theocentric. That is, that God was at the center.

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• Now, let me show you. I want you to hold Matthew 8, but look in your Bibles first to the book of Revelation chapter 4 and verse 11. Revelation 4:11. I want you to see the Bible clearly teaches what is known as a theocentric universe. Watch carefully. Revelation 4:11. We're going back to the book of Romans in just a moment. But look in Revelation chapter 4 and verse 11. Look what the Word of God says.

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• "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Now let me ask you, do you know why God created the world? Because it pleased Him to do it. He did it for His pleasure. Do you know why God created you? It pleased Him to do it. Everything revolves around God. It is for His pleasure. It is for His honor. It is for His glory. It's not for man's honor.

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• And don't hand me that—I get so upset. "Why did God create the world?" "Well, because He was lonely and He needed fellowship." That's hogwash. If you say that God was lonely, then there's a deficiency in God. He is not all-sufficient. He is not independent. He is not the self-existent One. God created the world and everything in it for His pleasure. Period. If you'll go back in your Bibles to Romans chapter 11 and look, if you would please, at verse 36. Romans 11:36. And then we're going to go back to Matthew 8, but look in Romans 11:36. Look what the Apostle Paul says. Romans 11:36, in talking about God once again, showing you this is a theocentric universe. Everything centers around God. Romans 11:36, the Bible says, "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

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• "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

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• Now, let's look at that just for a moment. "For of him," that is originally, "and through him," that is providentially, "and to him," that is ultimately, "are all things." Well, who does the universe revolve around? It revolves around God. For everything is of Him originally. It is through Him providentially and it's going to be to Him ultimately. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

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• Now, let's go back in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 8 because I want you to grasp the reasoning of this Roman soldier. You see, he believed that Christ had all authority and all power. And intimately connected with that, he believed in a theocentric universe. Notice if you would, he said this, verse 8: "The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." Wow. Now I want you to see the reasoning. The Roman soldier was comparing his position with the position of Christ.

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• However, he is not claiming equality by any stretch of the imagination. What he is doing, he is reasoning from the lesser to the greater. Let me say that again. He is reasoning from the lesser to the greater. In other words, if something was true in his life as a soldier, how much truer it would have to be in the life of Christ. So here's what the Roman soldier reasoned.

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• "I am a man under authority." What's that mean? That means there's someone above him. And that someone above him tells him what to do. But he said, "Wait a minute. I'm also a man with authority. I have people under me. And I tell them what to do. So when my superior tells me what to do, I must obey. When those who are under me receive an order from me, then they must obey."

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• So here's the Roman soldier. He's reasoning, "I am in subjection to others. I'm under authority. I have others in subjection to me. I have authority over them." Now watch. "Those who are above me," reasoned the Roman soldier, "have limited authority. Because they tell me what to do, they don't tell my soldiers what to do. I am a man with authority, but my authority is limited as well. I tell my soldiers what to do, but I don't tell those above me what to do." So here's his reasoning: "I am subject to man. And man is subject to me. But Christ—You are God. You're not subject to any man. You have all authority. You have all power."

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• "You are the center of this universe. Everything centers around You. And just like when I speak the word to my servants, I tell one go and he goes, I tell one to come and he comes. They have to obey because I am their authority. Now," he said, "how much more You who have all power and all authority in heaven and earth, since You are God and everything revolves around You. Nothing and no one can withstand Your word. So, Lord, You just speak and it will be done."

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• Now, I want you to hold Matthew 8, but look in your Bibles very quickly to Ephesians 1 and then we'll go into the book of Colossians. Galatians, Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 21, and what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. And this is certainly true. The Roman soldier was reasoning correctly. He was reasoning biblically. Because in Ephesians chapter 1, the Bible tells us very plainly in verse 21—in fact, let's read verse 20, just so you can see that Christ is in the context. Ephesians 1:20, talking about "his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places."

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• Now watch, "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." Does Christ have all power and authority? Yes. Is He over and above everyone and everything? Yes. Does the universe revolve around Him? Yes. Look in the book of Colossians chapter 2 and verse 10. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Look in Colossians 2:10 and you'll read it again. The Bible says in Colossians 2:10, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." Jesus Christ is the head of everything. He has all authority. He has all power. And the universe revolves around Him. Now, I like this.

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• Here's what that Roman soldier said: "Lord, I'm not worthy to have You come under my roof. I understand authority. I'm a man under authority. I have authority over others. They're subject to me. And Lord, I don't have to do any servile work. I'm a commander. If I want a fire started, I tell one of my soldiers to start a fire. If I want water drawn, I tell one of my soldiers to draw the water. I don't have to do any servile work. Lord, if I'm a commander, and I have that authority and that power, how much greater is Your authority and Your power? And Lord, I know You don't have to go and lay Your hands on my servant."

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• "You just simply speak the word because You're Christ, the Son of God." And he realized that Christ only needed to speak the word. Why? Because Christ was and is the original source of power and has control over all things. Isn't it amazing how this man reasoned? Let me give you a quote by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Spurgeon said on this: "He would not put the Lord Jesus to so much trouble as to come to his house. He felt unworthy to be served at such a cost by such a Lord. He argues that a word will do it. He was under authority himself and hence his power to exercise authority over others. He believed that the Lord Jesus had a commission also from God and that this would gird him with a command over all the minor forces of the universe, a command which he could exercise from a distance with a single word. If soldiers would come and go at a centurion's bidding, much more would diseases fly at the word of the Lord Jesus."

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• "It was a thoughtful argument, but it was fair and conclusive. May we know Jesus under authority, Jesus with authority, and ourselves under the authority to Jesus. May we also believe in the omnipotence of the divine word and go forth and prove its power in the hearts of men. O thou who art King, display thy royal power." Uncertainly, the centurion believed in a theocentric universe, that everything revolved around our sovereign Lord.

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• Let me show you something else. Look in Matthew chapter 8. After our Lord—and I'll deal with this just a minute, I'll deal with verse 10 just a minute—but look in verses 11 and 12. We're talking about this Roman centurion's faith. And there's an application to our faith as well, I'll show you. In verse 11 of Matthew chapter 8, our Lord said, "And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Now, are you listening? His faith, the faith of the Roman centurion, condemned those who refused to believe. His faith condemned those who refused to believe. What did our Lord say? "Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom"—that is, those who refuse the Lord there, those unbelieving Jews—"shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

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• Now here is an aspect of faith that is rarely considered. Has it ever dawned upon you that the very fact that you believe in Jesus Christ, and you believe in the Word of God, that your belief, your faith, condemns those who do not believe? Wow. The Bible speaks about a ministry of condemnation as well as a ministry of reconciliation. Most people hear about a ministry of reconciliation all the time, but very seldom do we ever hear about a ministry of condemnation. But the ministry of condemnation is equally important. And it's equally an aspect of our faith.

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• I want you to hold Matthew 8, but look back in your Bibles to Isaiah 54. We're going to be looking at some passages that will demonstrate again that those who believe, those who have faith, condemn those who do not. And you stop and think about this. Look at your family. Look at your friends who are around you constantly and consistently and refuse to believe. They have opportunity to talk with you. They have opportunity to ask you questions about Christ. They have opportunity to ask you questions about the Word of God. They see your faith. They see your obedience. And yet they refuse. By the very virtue of the fact that you believe, you condemn their unbelief. That's what he's saying in Matthew 8. Now look in Isaiah 54 and verse 17. Look what our Lord says, Isaiah 54:17. Our Lord says, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn." Now watch. "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." What? "Every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn"? Then he says, "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me."

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• "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord."

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• Now, let me ask you, how then do we condemn those who are wicked and wrong and ungodly? And the answer is by our faith and our obedience. All who condemn the children of God with their lies and slanders and rumors, and refusals to believe, shall be condemned by the very ones that they're condemning. Look in your Bibles, Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. And notice, if you would please, verse 7. Hebrews 11:7. Here's an aspect of faith that is not very well thought and understood, but it's still very clearly taught in the Scriptures. Notice Hebrews 11:7. Watch it again. Hebrews 11:7: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." Now, how did Noah condemn the world? By his faith and obedience. He believed God. He acted upon that faith. And the very fact that he believed God, the very fact that he obeyed God, the very fact that he walked with God condemned those who did not.

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• Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12. Let me show you two very prominent excuses that are usually given by people for refusing to come to Christ and refusing to hear the Word of God. Look in Matthew 12, and let's begin reading there with verse 41. What our Lord says. Matthew 12:41: "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here."

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• "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." Now, let me deal with verse 42 to begin with. "The queen of the south," that is, the Queen of Sheba, "shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it." How? Why? Here's the answer: "for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." This woman traveled on a camel across the desert for days and weeks to get to Solomon to find out the truth.

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• You know, I hear people say, "Well, there's just not a Bible-preaching church near me." But I've got news for you. If there's not a Bible-preaching church near you, drive. Ride a camel. Get there. What did this woman do? She crossed the desert just to hear the truth. And our Lord said, "A greater than Jonas is here, and a greater than Solomon is here." So some people say, "Well, I just don't have anything near me." You need to travel. You need to get where there's the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Period. You know, it's always been strange to me how people will drive from South Georgia to Atlanta to see a ballgame.

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• Or to go to a movie. Or to go to some play. But they won't walk across the street to hear the truth. Our Lord said the Queen of Sheba is going to condemn this generation. Why? She came across the desert. She wanted the truth. She traveled for the truth. And she'll condemn those who refuse it. Then I want you to look at verse 41. Here's the second one. "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it." Why?

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• "Because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here." Here's the second great excuse. "Well, it was only so far away, but I didn't hear it often enough. I should have heard it more frequently." How many times did Jonah preach to Nineveh? Once, as he was running through? Because he really didn't want the Ninevites converted anyhow. And all he did was preach one time. And they repented. And how many times have you heard the gospel? How many times have you heard the Word of God and you failed to repent?

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• So our Lord said, "The men of this generation is going to rise up and condemn." Why? The men of Nineveh will condemn this generation. Why? Because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. Heard it one time, that was sufficient. And you look at the people that refuse after they've heard the truth over and over and over. I've got news for you. When you stand before God, no excuse will be accepted. None whatsoever. If you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 13, I want you to see what people actually do when they refuse the gospel and when they refuse the Word of God, and when they refuse to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Notice Acts chapter 13. Paul had been preaching to these Jews. If you look in verse 45, Acts 13:45: "But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said," Watch, "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles."

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• You don't want it? You don't want to hear it? You don't want to travel to get it? You don't want to believe it when you hear it? What are you doing? You're judging yourselves unworthy of everlasting life. You're saying, "I'd just rather not have it. I refuse it. I don't want it." Our Lord said, if you'll go back to Matthew chapter 8, our Lord said this, look at it again. Matthew 8:11.

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• "And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." They refuse to believe and judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life. Very quickly, here's what Albert Barnes said on verse 12. I think this is a very good illustration. Albert Barnes commented, he said, "It is not improbable that the image was taken from Roman dungeons or prisons."

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• "They were commonly constructed underground. They were shut out from the light of the sun. They were, of course, dark, damp and unhealthy and probably the most filthy. Masters were in the habit of constructing such prisons for their slaves, where the unhappy prisoner, without light or company or comfort, spent his days and nights in weeping from grief and in vainly gnashing their teeth from indignation. The image expresses the fact that the wicked who are lost will be shut out from the light of heaven and from peace and joy and hope and will be confined in gloomy darkness, will weep in hopeless grief and gnash their teeth in indignation against God and murmur against His justice. What a striking image of future woe. Go to a dark, damp, solitary and squalid dungeon, see a miserable and enraged victim, add to his sufferings the idea of eternity and then remember that this, after all, is but an image. A faint image of hell." Hmm.

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• So I said the children of the kingdom shall be cast out. Now, I want to show you one final passage on this one point. I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. 2 Corinthians chapter 2. And then we'll go back to Matthew 8, but we're talking about the fact that the faith of this Roman centurion condemned those who did not believe. Notice 2 Corinthians chapter 2.

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• And let's begin reading there verse 14. Watch carefully. Here we go. 2 Corinthians 2:14. Paul writes, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ," note that, we always triumph in Christ, never a failure, never defeat. You say, "Well, preacher, folks don't necessarily get saved every time you preach." No, they don't. But folks do get condemned every time I preach. What are you talking about? Watch. "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?"

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• Now let me show you what he's talking about. He said in verse 15, "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ." It's like those sacrifices in the Old Testament. When they offered them, that sweet smell went up and especially when they put the incense and everything there. It was a sweet smell. It's kind of like when you go out in your backyard and your neighbor is out in his backyard grilling steaks. You know, you get that little smell. And they do smell good. That's a sweet savour.

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• Now, look what he said. He says, "We are a sweet savour unto God in them that are saved and in them that perish." Then he says, "To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" So here we go. Here's the illustration. Here's exactly what the Apostle Paul is saying. The Apostle Paul is saying:

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• Here he is or here I am or here any preacher of the Word is, and let's say we're preaching to a room that's got 300 sinners in it, all of them unconverted, all of them unsaved. And Jesus Christ is preached. And let's say that every man, woman, boy, girl in that room, all 300 are converted by the grace of God. God sends His power. God sends His Spirit. God convicts. God converts. Let's say all 300 of them are saved. God does this. That's a sweet smell. My Son is preached. See, we understand that. But let's suppose I stand and preach to those 300 people, and at the end of my sermon, they clench their fists, they grit their teeth, and they say, "Get out of here or we'll kill you."

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• "We don't want to hear this." And none are convicted and none are converted, and they run me out of town. You know what God says? That's a sweet smell. My Son is preached. That's what he said. We are the savour of life unto life to those that believe, and death unto death to those who do not believe. There is a ministry of condemnation. And the very fact that you believe and obey condemns those who disbelieve and disobey.

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• One last thing, if you look in Matthew 8, and verse 13. Seventhly, I want you to know that this man's faith was recognized and rewarded. In fact, it was recognized in verse 10. If you look in verse 10, "When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Now, verse 13.

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• "And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." This man's faith was not only recognized, it was indeed rewarded. Why? Because he came to Christ in deep humility, in a sense of unworthiness, recognizing the position and the person and the power of Jesus Christ. Folks, here it is. As plainly as I can say it: we have great needs. And we are unworthy to have any of those needs met.

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• And the very fact that our Lord condescends to grant us any blessing is a marvelous, miraculous work of His grace and His mercy. He does not owe us anything but justice. And I don't want any of that, I can assure you. I want grace. I want mercy. When we come to Him, we must realize we're unworthy in and of ourselves. We have nothing in and of ourselves. But He is the God of all grace and the God of all mercy. And whatever He gives us, He gives us from the freeness of His grace and the richness of His mercy and the sovereignty of His power. He's God. And He needs to receive all honor, all power, and all glory.

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• Now, let me very quickly make a couple of applications. The first one is this: if we believe as the centurion believed, we must believe that Christ has all authority and all power. And that should make us bow in submission to Him. You stop and think about that. Some of us were in the military. When that sergeant spoke, we jumped. When that lieutenant or that captain commanded, we moved. Why? They had limited power. They had limited authority. If Christ has unlimited power and unlimited authority, we must submit to Him and be willing, ready, and eager to obey what He speaks.

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• Secondly, it should make us trust Him even more since we understand that nothing is impossible to Him. Nothing. You know what the Bible says in Jeremiah 32:17? Listen, Jeremiah said, "Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." In Jeremiah 32:27, God spoke it: "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" The answer is no. And our Lord said in Mark 10:27, He said, "With God all things are possible." How can we not trust such a God?

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• How can we not go to Him and beg Him for the salvation of our children, the salvation of our friends, our family? Nothing is too hard for Him.

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• Secondly, we should study, pray, obey and exercise the faith that we have. And ask God to make it into a great faith. However tiny, however small, however minute, however seemingly insignificant our faith is, if we have any faith at all, it needs to be exercised. It needs to be used. It needs to be developed. And at the same time, we need to beseech our Lord, as the one man did saying, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." And how the disciples prayed, "Lord, increase our faith."

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• And then thirdly, we have to realize that we not only have a ministry of reconciliation, but we also have a ministry of condemnation. And those who refuse to hear and believe in Jesus Christ, the sovereign God of heaven and earth, and those who refuse to hear and obey His Word shall be condemned. And they will and are condemned by our testimony. And do you realize, if we remain faithful and obedient, God's going to use us. Either in reconciliation or condemnation, but He will use us because His Word will not return unto Him void. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask You for Your grace and Your mercy and Your help today.

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• Lord, there are great implications to faith, some we've never seen before. And yet, Lord, Thou art sovereign, guard and control. And the first thing that we should be thankful for is that Thou hast revealed Thyself to us. For Lord, if it had not been for Your grace, we would be just like every other unbeliever who despises Thee and Thy Word. And Lord, we are thankful for life, so great salvation that has purchased and brought.

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• In order, we do pray for our families, we pray for our children, we pray for our friends. Lord, help them to see the importance, the absolute necessity of bowing to Jesus Christ. And we pray, Father, for repentance and faith to be given to them. We ask, Father, for Your grace and help in their lives. Lord, give us grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

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• This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weaver's sermons, you may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N Street, Suite 705, PMD 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406. Or give us a call at 912-... You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:29:38Z