Address—R. Thonney
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Let's sing number 99.
We were in South America, we would be singing four or five or six hymns, and that gives a chance for everybody. Sit down. But we don't have exactly that amount of time here. So we're going to sing number 99 on Christ. Salvation, rest, secure. The Rock of Ages must endure, nor can that faith be overthrown, which rests upon the living stone.
On Christ's salvation.
Like to start with a verse in Psalm 11?
And verse 3.
Psalm 11.
Verse 3.
If the foundations be destroyed.
What can the righteous do?
My desire is to speak today about foundations.
Extremely important part of any building.
Is the foundation. But you know, it's interesting that foundations are not very visible.
You would look for the foundations of this building. You probably might see some evidence of them, but.
They majorly are under the ground where you can't see them.
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But they are extremely important the.
The other day, my boy, my son Dave and I were at Ground Zero in New York City. You're probably aware of the fact that they have decided to rebuild another office building there.
About 60 stories, if I am correct, but they are in the business of starting that building and they are several stories under the ground right now.
And it's interesting, I think they're still digging out some rubble down there.
But what they are occupied in doing is setting some good foundations and I noticed on one side of the area foundations that have been set and they have these big rods that go down into the earth.
Sure, you know more about that Brother Bernie than I do, but those evidently are to give extra strength to the foundations now.
I don't suppose once the building is built that those will ever be visible.
But they are extremely important.
Here is a question in this Psalm that says, If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?
Foundations of our faith are also extremely important, and what comes across as such a tremendous challenge to me, and I speak not only to those who are older, but to you who are younger, is that we are living in a country where foundations of faith are being undermined at a rapid rate.
You know, you'd go down underneath this building and somehow destroy the foundations of it. It may not be immediately very apparent what's going on because it would be out of sight, but it wouldn't be too long when you would start to see huge cracks form in the wall because there is no foundation work there.
And it really impresses me, dear young brother and sister in the Lord Jesus.
We live in difficult times, they are not easy. Anywhere you go, the enemy is trying to destroy the foundations because if he he knows if he destroys the foundations, then there will be collapse in the end and some young people that used to gather to the Lord's name.
Have gone in other directions.
Some have given up.
Their faith completely say what has happened and I don't think we're aware of the fact that the system, the educational system.
Is many times a force that the enemy is using to undermine the faith. It is interesting the debate that there has been about intelligent design.
In the school system it has been pretty well rejected the fact that everything that is created shows such order.
That there must have been an intelligent designer.
They say it's religious and we can't have religion in the schools.
And so they revert to evolution.
But I want to point out the fact that if evolution is true, if there is no God who has designed this world, this universe has designed your body that.
Complicated. A machine that you and I live in.
Then there is at the same time absolutely no purpose to life.
No purpose to your existence. It follows because we know as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that there is a designer, there is a Creator, and you might be a little bit different than the rest of your friends, but remember, He made you just like you are. Maybe you don't like your face when you look in the mirror. Remember He made you that way.
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With a very specific purpose of blessing, Remember that it gives tremendous meaning to life when you realize you have been made in the image and likeness of God. Wonderful. That's one of the foundations that is being undermined. No wonder kids take their lives when they realize.
There is no purpose at all to life. Why prolong the agony, the struggle down here? You can see why they do that. But what comes as such a challenge to me is that we do have a foundation, work that stands sure in our days when there's so much confusion. Dear young people, we have something we can base our lives on. We have something we can count on. Thank you.
God for it, you know in the Old Testament, Solomon.
Built a very impressive building. Let's go to the Book of First Kings.
And.
Chapter 5 and verse.
17 It's not my purpose to dwell long.
On these Old Testament scriptures.
But just to point out.
That there was a building built in Jerusalem by King Solomon and it says in the 17th verse of First Kings chapter 5 the king commanded and they brought great stones.
Costly stones and huge stones.
To lay the foundation of the house.
Next chapter goes into details as to the house, but my purpose is only to read that.
To show that this house that he built, it was the House of the Lord, what we call the temple.
In those Old Testament times.
Had real well laid foundations.
Important. It was an impressive place. Great. Costly.
Stones covered with and gold and precious stones and fine wood.
I don't suppose there's ever been a building quite like it. What happened to that house?
We know that in the course of Israel's history, their kings began to turn away from the Lord.
And the result was.
That the Lord allowed enemies to come in.
And finally, in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, it was completely destroyed.
And evidently the foundations were destroyed as well.
Sad for that people. No more House of the Lord.
No more foundations. Look at Ezra chapter.
I think it's chapter 3.
Verse six from the first day of the 7th month began they to offer burnt offerings.
Unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet.
Laid further down in the chapter.
Verse 9 Then stood Joshua with his sons and his brother, and Cadmiel and his sons.
And the sons of Judah together to set forward the workmen in the House of God.
The sons of Hina, Dad, with their sons and their brethren, the Levites.
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When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites and the sons of asaf with symbols to praise the Lord after the ordinance of David, King of Israel.
And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord, because He is good for his mercy endureth forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men.
That had seen the 1St house when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes wept with a loud voice and many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people. For the people shouted with a loud shout and the noise was heard afar off.
Some were weeping, some were shouting for joy. Why? Because they foundations of that house were laid again. Oh, how important it is to have right foundations, I suppose the older ones who had seen the temple in its glory.
Knew that there wasn't going to be anything that would compare with the time of Solomon, and they wept when they thought of the ruin that had come in. But the younger ones shouted for joy. There's something so important about laying down foundation work. And dear young people, my desire for you is that you would have a good foundation.
For your own faith, you know I was brought up in the meeting.
As we talk about it.
I was brought up where?
We got together for reading meetings.
And I can remember.
Many times as I sat there in those meetings, I didn't seem to get very much.
But I'm so thankful that as a child, as a young person, I sat in those meetings to get.
Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. In the end, it has been a tremendous blessing to my soul. It has given me a foundation work for my faith.
But I want to say to you, dear young people, you have got.
To exercise your own faith. I can remember specific times.
In my soul's experience.
Where there were things that I had learned by listening to older brethren minister the Word.
In the meeting.
And I never doubted it, but I had never really set my feet down.
On the ground of what scripture said by my own faith.
I remember.
When the time of the Vietnam War.
There was a brother that used to be instrumental amongst those gathered the Lord's name. His name was Paul Wilson.
He helped me a lot in understanding our position as believers in the Lord Jesus.
And at that time there was a draft so that all young men had to serve two years for the government.
But he helped me to understand that the Constitution of the United States provides.
For those who have conscientious objection about going to war.
To kill others.
And you can serve an alternate fashions.
And I remember taking, I took that stand and I was finally granted by the government one all classification that meant that I could do alternative service, which I did in downtown Chicago for two years.
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But I remember when I was down there in Chicago, at that hospital, serving my time, there were others who were peace activists, and they had taken that stand not for any.
Reason of relation to God. But just simply they didn't like war and they asked me.
Why in the world are you a conscience is objector, and I told them that Jesus had said my Kingdom is not of this world, my Kingdom were of this world than would my servants fight, but now as my Kingdom not from. Hence you know what they did. They laughed in my face and I have to confess I was shaken.
And you know what it made me do? It made me go right back to the scriptures.
Hey, I've been taught this is it real will this teaching that I have received hold and give me a firm basis to stand and you know what young people I found it did it gave me a firm basis to stand. Thank God for sound teaching of the word of God. So I'm just saying that that it's not enough to sit in meetings and listen that's.
Very important part of it, but you have to exercise your faith and laying hold of it for yourself. Why do you say you believe certain things?
Is that just what you've been taught, or is that your personal conviction of faith? Faith is a very individual thing.
So they relayed the foundations, because evidently the foundations.
Had been broken up. Now I want to go to the New Testament to talk about foundations.
Let's go first to Matthew's Gospel. It's interesting that of the four Gospels.
The only gospel that speaks about the church is Matthews Gospel.
Twice it mentions the church. How fitting, because it is the introduction to the New Testament.
And the main theme of the New Testament is the church.
Church wasn't formed until the book of the Acts. After the Lord's life down here, His death, His resurrection, His ascension to glory, He sent down the Holy Spirit to form the church. Dear young people, we need to learn these things to understand them because you're going to be challenged sooner or later as to where you stand on these things. It's not just that brethren have taught this.
Is it the word of God? That's why when we have reading meetings.
I hope you're with your Bible open in front of you and when there are brethren that are talking.
Just because they said it doesn't make it true. What makes it true is it's written in this book. And if it's written in this book, it will stand forever. It cannot be corrupted. The foundation will never be destroyed.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Oh what comfort those words give us in a world where everything is changing, things are being corrupted, even young people that associate sometimes with us.
I hear things that make me shake my head. Is it possible that there is no foundation there? Is it possible giving what they are doing?
Dear young people, let me say to you, if you have the faith that is of God in your soul, God will test that faith. But I want you to get back into the scriptures.
And get it for yourself and as you sit in the meetings and listen to what's said.
Look at the verses that are being explained.
See if you can see it there, the value of the reading of the word.
Is that it makes clear what Scripture is saying, so that what mandates in your life and mine is not what brethren say, but is what God says in His Word. And if you can say I believe this because God says it clearly in His Word, you have a foundation that cannot be moved.
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Oh, how important that is.
Matthew 16, verse 13.
When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi.
He asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, AM?
And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias.
And others. Jeremias are one of the prophets, he saith unto them. But whom say ye that I am? Notice there was a lot of human opinion about who Jesus is. That's the same as it is today.
Who is Jesus? If I would ask you who is Jesus, what kind of an answer would you give me?
This is very important. Notice Peter's answer verse 16. And Simon Peter answered and said.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
What a beautiful confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus didn't come in power and glory when he came, but Peter.
Recognized by faith who he was, He was the Christ.
The Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and bloodeth not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. You don't get the revelation of the Son of God, the Christ, the Son of the living God, from human wisdom, from human opinion. You get it from divine revelation, from the Father.
That's where it comes from.
And then he says no. Verse 18. Such an important verse.
And I say unto thee that thou art Peter.
The name Peter means a little stone.
And upon this rock, it's another word. It's a related word.
But it means an immense stone.
I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Where is the church to be built? What is the foundation upon which this church?
Is built. It is the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Oh, how important it is to be clear in your soul as to who Jesus is. Who is he?
Make sure you understand that clearly, because that's where we rest as believers.
And he says the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I love that.
They can persecute God's people, and they do in many parts of the world.
We have relative freedom in our country, thank God for it.
But in other parts of the world they are severely persecuted.
For faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I don't know.
If that would happen here, how many of us would still be here?
I don't even know about myself. You can't trust your own heart.
But it certainly does make you stop and think.
How much does that truth mean that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Some years ago in Bolivia.
I was visiting the home of a nice Christian family. They're not gathered with us, but they're nice believers.
But the sister of the house says to me, surely, Brother Robert, it would be right.
That we would vote against the Communist Party because it's.
Atheistic.
I said, Sister, do you know something?
That God is using the Communist Party in China.
To make his church grow as in hardly any other part of the world.
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It is growing by leaps and bounds because of the persecution of the Communist Party.
God is over ruling the persecution and making it grow.
The gates of hell cannot prevail against his church. Isn't that a wonderful thing to know?
Do you believe it?
It's awful easy to say, yeah, sure, I believe it. That's what we've been taught.
The dear young people, we need to make it our own. These are very real things.
We're living in days when the enemy wants to undermine.
The place that Jesus only should have.
You know, one of the things that I think has undermined this truth in our country here is the idea of human rights and doing what you like, and nobody should judge me because this is the way I see it.
I like Burger Kings.
But one of the sayings of Burger King is have it your own way.
You don't want onions on there. Have it your own way.
OK, that's fine as far as it goes. But young person, is that the character of your life? To have it your own way? Do what you want to do, not want anybody else to judge you for what you're doing.
That is undermining the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
May we be challenged. These things are real. May we be challenged.
As to how much?
These foundation, this foundation work has been undermined in our own soul because in God's book it can never be undermined. It's there forever.
I'd like to go to another verse now in Ephesians chapter 2 That speaks of the foundation.
Ephesians chapter 2.
And we'll start with verse 19.
Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints.
And of the household of God.
And are built. Notice this.
Upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.
Jesus Christ himself being.
The chief cornerstone, in whom all the buildings fitly framed together.
Groweth unto an holy temple.
In the Lord, in whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God.
Through the Spirit.
Here the foundation that's mentioned in verse 20.
Is called the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Interesting, I thought the foundation was the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
It is.
But it is the foundation that the apostles and prophets laid out for us in the Scriptures of the New Testament. That's what we rest upon as this building is talked about, the foundation of the apostles and prophets. We have those who are apostles in Scripture.
In the New Testament, we've already talked about Matthew. He was an apostle. Mark was not an apostle.
But he was used to write the Gospel of Mark. Luke was not an apostle that I know about.
But he wrote Luke's Gospel and he wrote the book of the Acts. He certainly could be called a prophet.
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And it's these scriptures that are laid out for us in the New Testament that.
Is our foundation work? What program should we have?
As gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus as members of the body of Christ.
You better have something in Scripture if you're going to do it. You know, it says in Acts chapter 2, maybe we should just look at that. Don't leave this place because I want to come back to it. But Acts chapter 2 and verse 42 Says they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. There's the program.
That is valid.
Right up till now.
They continued steadfastly. What does that mean to you?
Doesn't mean that they did it for a while, then they kind of left off and they did it some more and then they left off again. That doesn't mean steadfast. Steadfast is continually.
How are you in your attendance at the meetings, dear young brother and sister and the Lord Jesus?
If I would ask some of your local brethren, would they say it's steadfast?
His continuance, that's what we're encouraged to do.
In Scripture, what did they continue steadfastly in? The first thing mentioned is the apostles.
Doctrine. Doctrine is just a word that means the apostles teaching.
And so we have not only the Gospels, we have the book of the Acts, we have the Epistles.
That tell us what the apostles teaching is about. Remember when I was younger?
Wondered why we don't go back in our reading meetings, take up Old Testament scriptures very much.
It's not that we don't recognize that the Old Testament is the word of God.
And that all scripture is profitable, but it's because.
It's important that we be grounded in the doctrine of the Apostles.
The New Testament, that's what applies directly to us. Yes, the word of God is one.
Glorious.
Whole and we should read it all.
Because it's all profitable. But when it comes to being grounded as to where we stand, what practice we carry out in assembly meetings, there should be understanding of the doctrine of the apostles, the apostles teaching.
And the second thing is the Apostles fellowship, the teaching.
And the fellowship go together. The fellowship or the teaching is the is the basis of the fellowship.
How are you and I going to be in agreement on things? Maybe I have one opinion, you have another.
It's not a matter of my opinion and your opinion.
It's a matter of seeking to get into the Lord's presence to see what the Word.
Of God is really saying to us and bowing mutually.
Bowing there, that will bring us into unity, unity of the Spirit.
And the breaking of bread. What is the breaking of bread for?
It's to show the fellowship that we enjoy.
As members of the body of Christ, we have that one loaf on the table and Lords the morning. That one loaf represents every member of the body of Christ on the face of the whole earth, not just those of us who are there. No every single believer is represented in that loaf.
And when that loaf is broken and passed, those who partake.
Are saying in effect I am a member in part of one body that includes all believers on the face of the earth. Oh what a privilege that is. Maybe you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, but you are not partaking of the Lord's Supper.
You should. That's the privilege that belongs to every believer.
That's the scriptural way of showing publicly that you are a member of one body by partaking of that one loaf. And the last thing that they persevered in was prayers. Wonderful to be not only at the reading meeting, but at the prayer meeting, wonderful privilege. I don't think we understand sufficiently the privilege it is.
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Of going collectively before the throne of grace. Brethren, where are we going? Just into a meeting room. Well, that's a convenient place for us to get together, Yes, but it's not the meeting room where we're going.
By faith, we are going into the holiest of all, into heaven itself. You ever stop to think about that? We're going before the throne of God.
In heaven itself there are millions upon millions of angels there.
Yes, even Satan sometimes appears there to accuse the brethren, as it tells us in the Book of Job.
And here I come, or here we come collectively. What right do we have there?
Brethren, we have a right that is extremely precious. We are the redeemed ones of the Lord.
Oh, to realize the privilege of coming boldly into the throne of grace.
I want to encourage you, young brothers. There were a lot of pauses in the prayer meeting this morning. I was glad for those who had the courage to just simply pray. You don't have to be gifted to pray.
There's something the Lord has laid on your heart. Express it. Be encouraged to participate in the prayer meeting, young brother. Young sisters, participate too.
Not inaudible form.
But you follow those who are praying, and at the end, if you're in agreement, you say Amen.
You are participating just as much as the brothers, even though your voice.
Is not heard. So those are things that we ought to be persevering in. Are we young brothers and sisters? Do you want a foundation for your own soul that is going to stand the test of the difficult times that we're going through in our world, in our particular time allotment here in this world? These are very important matters.
Going back to Ephesians chapter 2.
I just want to point out the fact that I think it is clear now that the foundation of the apostles and prophets is what has been laid out in Scriptures. The Apostle Paul wrote a number of epistles. Apostle Peter, Apostle John, James and Jude, who evidently were the Lord's brothers, also wrote as prophets. Perhaps we could consider them.
Because they didn't come to faith in the Lord while the Lord was here on earth in his lifetime. It must have been afterwards, but they wrote and what they say is helpful to. But these things we need to read. And I want to ask you, dear young brother, especially the young brothers, to get a solid grasp of the outline of Scripture while you're young.
I came to Chicago when I was 18.
To work at Bible Truth Publishers.
And in time I got called to do my two years of service while I was here.
Which I did in downtown Chicago, but I must say, even though it was stressful.
I set aside a time in the morning to be quiet with the Lord.
To read the scriptures and to read some of the good ministry about the scriptures.
Essay has been a tremendous blessing to my own soul. I want to encourage you to seriously get into the word. Understand it. We all grow and understand. You're not going to understand much at the beginning, but you can make the effort in that direction and you'll find in later days it will really stand you. Instead, there will be a foundation there.
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Well, here it says that Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.
We don't build this way, perhaps today, but we build.
With reference points.
But in Bolivia, when we were going to build the meeting room that we have in Cochabamba, there happened to be the people that owned the lot before happened to leave on the lot a lot of huge piles of stone. So we decided we wouldn't build it with brick, we'd build it with stone.
And in one place there was a particularly large stone, and we brought it up to the front of the building, what was going to be the corner of the building. And we dug down and we laid that stone in there. It had kind of a flat top, and they made markings on the top of that stone. And all the measurements were made from that stone. How long was this building going to be? How wide, how high every measurement was made?
From that stone, what do we learn here in the fact that the Lord Jesus?
Is the chief cornerstone simply this, dear young people, that he is the only reference point in this building that we are talking about the church?
Oh, how easy it is in our days of humanism to make ourselves a reference point, to say, I don't see it that way. I don't think the brethren should do it because I'm not in agreement. What is that doing? It's making myself a reference point.
That's not right. There's only one reference point. It's.
The Lord Jesus Christ, how easy it is in our conversations, in our expressions.
To lose that.
You know, he wants me to tell you about something that I think we need to be thinking about young people. Somebody came up to me after a recent time of trouble amongst the Lord's people.
And they said to me, you people think you have the Lord's Table.
I said to him.
The Lord has.
His table. It's not ours to have, but my desire.
Is to be there and my exercise of heart is to be there but you see sometimes people make the statement we have the Lord's table. What is that That's humanism that has infected our thinking. It's not us the reference point, it's Christ. It has to be that way. Dear young people, He is the chief cornerstone and then it says verse 21 upon.
In whom all the building fitly framed together.
Groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. It's growing towards an holy temple in the Lord. I love those those words fitly framed together.
And it is a beautiful experience to go from 1 Country to another amongst those who have been saved by the grace of God.
And who the Lord has LED along, so that they meet in simplicity as members of the body of Christ.
To meet with them and to see how the Lord is working with them as He's working with us.
To fitly framus together all God's people.
Are being prepared for that day of glory when we see what God has done.
From every tongue, every nationality, every people.
He's gathered in those he's saved by his grace to make this holy temple in the Lord. What a day of glory it's going to be. But notice verse 22, in whom ye also are builded. This is present tense together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. This is what is true today. We are in habitation of God through the Spirit.
The Spirit of God dwells in US collectively. You know, what happens so often is that we tend to start looking at certain brethren as leading brethren.
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And there are our leading brethren. Not going to deny that. There are brethren that were a real help and blessing to me. I owe a lot to the Lord for their help.
But, brethren, it's not leading, brethren, that we are to look to.
We are to look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those leading brethren may be there.
To call attention to something that needs to be corrected or to help us.
To understand a certain Scripture. But it's the Lord we are to look about too. It's the Holy Spirit that is to be active in our midst. You know, it's something that the brethren in Bolivia speak a lot about is the liberty of the Spirit, how important it is. What do we mean when we talk about the liberty of the Spirit? It doesn't mean that there's liberty for anybody who wants to say something to say it.
That's not what it means. It means that when you sit down in this room.
And when I sit down in what we call an assembly meeting where there is no one appointed to take a meeting like I've been asked to this time, but it's like a reading meeting where we wait on the Lord, Then each person, your young brothers, just as much as anybody else, should sit down in the attitude of heart. Lord, I'm a vessel if you want to use me.
I want to be ready to be used, but if you sit down and say in effect.
Boy, there's a lot of.
Brethren here, I don't think I'm going to open my mouth today if you say that you're quenching the Spirit of God. And we are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. And it is so beautiful when there is a sense of that in our souls and a delivering from the fear of men, whoever they might be.
If you learn to live in the fear of God, you will be delivered from the fear of men. There's one more place I want to go before we finish up our time here.
Since Two Timothy, chapter 2.
It speaks about the foundation as well.
And we're really living in Second Timothy times.
Was evidently the last epistle that the apostle Paul wrote.
He speaks in chapter 3, verse one of the last days.
And that there be there were to be perilous times.
Difficult times, I think we're there.
Difficult times, you know, Everywhere I go, life is just not easy. It's hard.
There's hard problems, I just don't have the answer for majority of them. Sometimes you can point out a scripture that may be a help, but there are hard times.
We're living in these days, and it was perhaps discouraging time because Timothy.
Was evidently a young man thank God for you young men here tonight, this afternoon. I'm sorry this morning isn't it usually I haven't addressed in the afternoon but.
Thank God for you anyhow, you brothers, young brothers.
Timothy was probably timid.
Paul had to say to him in the first chapter, God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.
But in the end of chapter one he speaks about all those in Asia had turned away from the apostle Paul.
The apostle Paul, Timothy's spiritual father, was in prison.
He was to be executed at any time. According to secular history, he was taken out of that prison cell, taken outside the city of Rome and beheaded.
How would you feel if you were Timothy?
Your spiritual father taken away that way, kind of discouraged.
Kind of tough for a timid young brother.
But what I want to point out to you, dear young brother and sister and the Lord Jesus, because this includes the sisters too. Chapter 2.
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There's a little statement here that is extremely.
Comforting to my own soul.
There was bad teaching being circulated.
Speaks about verse 17 of chapter 2.
I'm an ES and Philetus who concerning the truth of heirs, saying that the resurrection is passed already and overthrow the faith of some.
Now notice the next verse.
Nevertheless, and this is what I'd like to leave with you, dear young people.
Has been such a tremendous consolation to my own soul nevertheless.
The foundation of God standeth sure.
Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameeth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
You know in the Old Testament when the temple was destroyed in the time of Nebuchadnezzar.
Evidently.
The foundations were broken up to.
In the New Testament time we have a temple being built. It is not of stones, I shouldn't say of dead stones. It's of living stones. These people that are sitting in this room, if they're believers in the Lord Jesus, are the living stones that God is building into his building. It's a very real temple as well.
But there's been a lot of ruin in the public testimony, not ruin necessarily of the church as God sees it.
But ruining the public testimony? Who would ever guess if they would go out to interview here?
In this city, those who are called Christians, who had ever guessed that there is one body?
Who wouldn't guess that? So there's numerous bodies of Christians.
Why? Because the public testimony is in ruins.
What are we going to do when there's so much ruin, so much false teaching?
Go back to this verse again, dear young person. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. In other words, it's not for you and I to go out and decide who's real and who's false. We don't have to do that. We can leave that with the Lord. The Lord knows, but there is a side of our responsibility, and it's that second part.
Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.
If you name that name, don't connect that name with iniquity.
Our time is gone.
But I just want to encourage you, dear young people. There is a foundation that stands firm even in our day. Maybe you'll have to dig down through the rubble of your own thinking, through the rubble of human thoughts to get to that foundation. But it's there, and it's firm. You'll find this word will stand. God's truth will stand forever.
Says in one John chapter 2.
That this world passes away and it's lusts, but he that does the will of God.
Abides forever. Maybe you encouraged dear young people.
To stand on the truth of Holy Scripture.