Address—D. Gorgas
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The 27th chapter of Acts.
The 27th chapter of Acts.
And I want to read verses 40.
And 41.
And having.
Cast and having taken up, they had taken up the anchors. They committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoisted up the main soil to the wind, and made towards shore.
And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground.
And the four part stuck fast and remained unmovable.
But the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
During recent.
Beloved brethren, I have meditated much on these two verses. I know that we have had ministry in writing.
I recall a very helpful little paper by our brother Gordon on the subject. That was a big help to me when I was first.
Looking into the truth concerning gathering.
I know that we have had ministry not too long ago, I think from our brother Ron Reeves, if I recall correctly on this chapter.
But I have before me not to either repeat or.
Say something particularly different.
To bring out from these two verses something that I feel is so very important.
We know the story the Apostle Paul was being taken.
To Rome as a prisoner.
Against his advice, they set out on the journey.
The hurricane came up.
And.
They were in a real bad situation.
The storm.
Was beating upon the ship for many days. They hadn't seen the light of day.
They were fearful.
They didn't know where they were headed, really.
And.
They do something very strange in verse 40.
They take up or I believe as I started to read. Having these two virgin bibles sometimes can be a disadvantage. I started to read from the other version from the J&D but it says they they.
Cast off the anchors.
And.
At the same time losing the lashes, loosening the lashings of the rudders.
And I believe, Beloved, that there is a very great danger.
In the distress of the present time.
And I don't just refer to.
Happenings among us as a company of Christians. But I'm thinking of the whole testimony of God.
There's a very great danger that we might.
Cast off the anchors.
And loosen the lashings of the rudders.
Now we don't have to be nautical people and people of the sea to.
Understand what an anchor is for. I think just about everybody knows it. We all sing very lustily. We have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure, while the billows roll fast into the rock, which cannot move. Grounded, firm, and deep in the Savior's love. That's a beautiful end.
I'd like to suggest, Beloved, that there are some anchors that are being cast off around us.
And we have to be careful what are what are really anchors. And I hope in the selection of some anchors that are on my heart this afternoon that I am not raising, as we would say, red herrings. I hope they're real issues. The very first one I'd like to bring to your attention.
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Is found in Timothy.
Might expect to find anchors in Timothy.
In chapter. I'm sorry, I should have said second Timothy.
Chapter.
3.
And verses 15 and 16.
And 17.
Perhaps I'll read verse 14, because it's hard to disconnect it from it. It really flows on. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith.
Which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect.
Thoroughly, or perhaps better, thoroughly, furnished unto all good works.
I suggest beloved.
That this is an anchor.
That we dare not cast off without the risk of awful shipwreck.
It's an anchor which has been cast off by many.
And the results are absolute confusion.
And uncertainty as to the truth of God.
This portion of the Word of God teaches.
The inspiration?
In its original manuscripts of the Word of God.
God breathed.
And distinguishes the word of God, the Bible, from any other book.
And establishes the basis.
All faiths and practice.
I think back to the time of the Reformation.
When they're.
Cry was against the superstition, tradition and.
And error that had come in and swept over the church for many years during the Dark Ages.
Sola Scriptura only the scriptures.
Are we maintaining that?
There is no other basis for our faith than the Written.
Word of God.
That we have in our hands. Oh, I think sometimes that we take it so lightly that we have in our hands the very.
Words that God by the Holy Spirit communicated through those servants over those many years.
Words which are life words which give instruction.
Words which, in the words of our portion here are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. The word of God is never separated from faith in Christ Jesus. They go together.
Sometimes we're accused of being worshippers of the Bible.
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May we never degenerate into that, But that is a red herring itself because.
We understand that the word of God is communicated to us.
And is made good to our souls by the Holy Spirit.
But we, I trust, do not make the mistake of talking about.
The leading of the Holy Spirit.
Apart from the word of God, they go hand in hand.
Let us look at another verse in.
Peters epistles.
And verse chapter one of the first epistle.
We had at our attention called to it earlier, but I'll just read it because it's important.
Chapter One and verse 23. Being born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever the living and abiding word of God. Oh, that's a wonderful expression.
How we ought to value the precious word of God.
And then it goes on to say in verse 25, the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
In the verses we read in Second Timothy.
Where it says is able to make thee wise unto salvation, I believe, Beloved, it takes us far beyond.
The simple and blessed truth of being saved from our sins by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because there is a perilous journey through which we pass on in this world.
And we need to be wise, and we need to be saved from many things that lie in our path that would trip us up. And there's one thing that's able to make us wise unto salvation. And that's the precious word of God. All that we might fill our hearts with it. I didn't say our heads. I said our hearts Thy word have I hid in my heart.
That I might not sin against thee, the scriptures are able to make us wise.
Unto Salvation Man has a lot of thoughts on how to avoid this problem and that problem.
And in sapphires, they're based on the word of God. I wouldn't in any way detract from their thoughts.
But when it comes down to the real meat of the matter, it's the word of God that makes us wise unto salvation.
And it isn't the thoughts and reasonings and philosophy of man.
And then the Blessed 16th verse. All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Lets us know that.
This book did not come to us by the will of man.
I know these are elementary things. I'm sure they're brethren here that hold these things precious and have held them for many years. But I believe we need to state them and state them clearly that we take our stand and believe and hold fast to that anchor where that anchor holds us fast, which is the truth of the plenary. What does that mean? Plenary? That means full, complete.
Inspiration of the scriptures. If we surrender that in any way, we've cut loose one of the anchors and there's nothing but shipwreck ahead.
And it's profitable.
The word of God is profitable.
First of all, for teaching.
For doctrine, I sometimes fear when I hear people despising doctrine. Everything that we have is, as Christians, is based on doctrine.
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It's based on Doctrine.
All the instructions in the word of God for our pathway are based on teaching.
So that's why God puts it first. I believe in this place.
For reproof, For correction. For instruction and righteousness. Perhaps our course has gone wrong. How do we get it corrected? By the word of God? How do we know it's wrong? Where does the reproof come from? From the word of God? How do we correct it? How do we know the right way to go for instruction and righteousness? It's by the blessed Word of God.
And that's the whole of Scripture, too. We cannot afford to lay aside one part of the Word of God, every part of it.
Is equally the word of God. It may not all apply to us in our present position, but it's all useful to us, every bit of it. And the Spirit of God would have us read it, meditate on it, occupy ourselves with it, saturate our minds with it.
So that the very form of our thinking is governed by the blessed Word of God.
Verse 17 says that the man of God may be perfect.
Thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
When I was a young man.
Before I, the grace of God, gathered me to the name of the Lord Jesus.
I shared with a servant of the Lord, whom I respected very highly, that I hoped that my life would account for the Lord and that I could be useful for him.
And his advice was, well, you better go and get some psychology courses, brother ****.
Because otherwise you won't be able to handle the responsibilities.
Of helping the Lord's people.
And I puzzled about that. And I went back home and I prayed about it. I got down on my knees and crossed my mind came this blessed verse that the man of God may be perfect.
Thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Needless to say, I didn't take the psychology courses.
In fact, if you read, you'll find that the Apostle Paul says you're competent to counsel. You're competent because, and he gives the conditions of it. We won't take time to look at that, but there isn't a good work that you can do for the Lord.
There is no.
There isn't one good work that the Word of God will not thoroughly furnish you, for you do not need the wisdom of man. Saul's armor will not do you any good in the battle.
You might as well take it off and not use it.
I suppose the second anchor might be referred to, at least in my own mind, as the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of Christ. And I've meditated on that expression that's found in the second epistle of John.
And it reads this way.
In verse 9, the second John in verse nine will you turn to it?
Whosoever transgress us.
And I'd like to call attention again to Mr. Darby's translation of that.
It says whosoever.
Goes forward.
And abides not in the doctrine of Christ hath.
Not God.
What is the doctrine of Christ?
Well, I've enjoyed various brothers comments on it, and I've gotten profit out of many of them, but for my own soul, the doctrine of Christ.
And especially in the context of the epistle, is all that is entailed in the truth of Christ in his person coming down and becoming a man.
And I wouldn't want to limit it to his sinlessness or his full humanity. Because as sure as we limit it to something less than what the Word of God gives us, the enemy will come along with something that will slightly pervert the doctrine of Christ. We need to maintain all of the doctrine of Christ and not go forward.
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I think it's very interesting that an offshoot of those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Teaches progress.
In the knowledge of Divine truth and going forward beyond.
What the Spirit of God brought out.
And I think it's an awful doctrine, a terrible thing.
Where men's opinions are put up ahead of the word of God, but it's not limited.
To them, and we need to be very careful that we stay within the confines of the truth as to the person of Christ. I've been so thankful as I've sat here and listened and enjoyed what has been given out in these readings that we've had. I've been so thankful that I didn't have a moment of alarm as to what was given out so precious when we stay within.
The confines of divine revelation when it comes to the person of the Lord Jesus. I believe that's what it is entailed in taking off our shoes.
When we're on holy ground.
To be careful not to use expressions. Oh, how the Church has erred over the years. Even in their best creeds, there are expressions that the intelligent child of God can't really say. Well, that's exactly what the Word teaches. We can't say it better than God has said it. And we ought to be satisfied with the very words that God communicates concerning the person.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, He hath both the Father and the Son. What a blessed thing it is to abide in the doctrine of Christ. Let's beware, because the Church as a whole has cast off these anchors.
And sometimes it's in the name of progress too.
I was driving down from Pella Thursday.
And saw some big dark clouds and I wondered about the weather forecast was and I punched the radio in the rented car I had and.
On came a preacher. I don't know who he was, somebody from Des Moines.
But what a bold statement a man made, he said. You know, we're talking about which is the best translation, But he says that isn't the question, he said. Anything you say, anything you say.
If the Holy Spirit is with you, will be the word of God.
What an awful statement.
And that's from a so-called evangelical preacher right here in the city of Des Moines.
That's what kind of casting off. And we need to be careful that we take our stand upon the blessed truth of the Word of God when it comes to the authority, the full authority in all matters of faith and doctrine concerning the Word of God concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's turn to the first chapter of Romans.
And let me just ask this brethren in referring to these that I have chosen as anchors.
Let me ask your indulgence if you see other anchors.
I'm happy for that and I'd be glad to hear about them. And I don't press this, Don't go home and say Brother **** says these are the four anchors or he goes, I I don't have that certainty. These are, however, anchors and we must hold them. If you see more than four, perhaps more 4 is only a symbolic number, but I just thought it might be well to confine my thoughts to four this afternoon as being what the word gives us as a number that perhaps we can take in.
And the first chapter of Romans.
Of the 16th verse.
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For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, or, as I think it should be here in the context of Romans. I'm not ashamed of the gospel, because the gospel in Romans is not the gospel of Christ. If you look up in the first verse, you'll see it's called the Gospel of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ.
It's the gospel of God, or in this verse it's the gospel. I'm not ashamed of it, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth to the Jew 1St and to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.
As it is written, the just shall live by faith, and I would say that the important anchor.
That is, being cast off is the blessed, simple truth of the gospel of the grace of God. I'm not saying that elements of the gospel are not being preached all around, and we thank God for that. We thank God that souls are being saved. That isn't the point. But there is what is referred to in Scripture as the gospel of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and that takes in so many thoughts that we really don't have time to.
To even begin to scratch the surface of it, but I'd just like to mention a few things One's mentioned here. The righteousness of God. What does that mean? There's a lot of confusion and christened him about what the righteousness of God is. The righteousness of God. I'll mention first what it's not. It's not the personal righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ as a man down here. Without that, there would not have been a gospel. But that's not what the righteousness of God is.
The righteousness of God is God acting consistently with his own nature in all that he does for the Sinner. He might put it another way, but that's always been helpful to me. God acting toward the Sinner consistent with all that he is in his own nature, and that is revealed in the gospel and if we do not set that forth clearly.
And insist upon it.
Then we are cutting loose an important anchor.
And shipwreck will be the result.
Perhaps we haven't, and I've said this to the young people in our area and I'd just like to say it to some of you too.
I speak for myself and perhaps maybe some of our other brothers.
Who have a few Gray hairs like I do, will join me in this confession. I sometimes think that we fail to clearly set forth the basis.
Of the gospel in our teaching to our young people.
Have been refreshing exceptions.
But I think of that solemn verse of the things that thou hast heard of Maine, in the presence of many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also, and as I look back upon my youth and.
The blessed years of God's grace to me being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, there are a lot of.
Dear brothers, some of them sitting right here who have communicated things that they learned.
From the word of God, from other men who had gone on before, And they faithfully communicated them to me, and I trembled to think of the responsibility, and how poorly.
We've carried it out of committing that to the generation that's coming along so that they can teach others less so if the Lord leaves us here.
That's real succession. It doesn't come out of some College of Cardinals.
It doesn't come out of theology books of schools of theology they've degenerated. Every school of theology that I've ever heard about has, over its history, degenerated in some way or another.
But if we communicate the living truth of God from one to another using the word of God.
Then we prepared another generation to carry that truth forward.
And dear young brothers and sisters who perhaps feel that you haven't gotten a good basis.
Here's one brother that would like to say I'm sorry.
And I've asked the Lord that whatever time He gives me left in this world, either till he comes or takes me, that I might be more faithful in making it so plain that you'll be able to tell others the same thing.
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And I want to say thanks to those brethren who have communicated that truth.
This brother over the years.
I thank God for it.
The righteousness of God is revealed.
From face to face, salvation is by faith.
In Christ and by faith in Christ alone.
And connected with the gospel of God is, of course the truth of the finished work of Christ.
I'm astonished as I talk to souls and deal with them, especially some that we work with in the jail. To find how many religious people, even brought up in an evangelical background, who do not know the truth of the finished work of Christ on the cross. That's an anchor. It's a blessed anchor.
It's not faith plus anything else. It's salvation by faith alone, not of works lest any man should boast and beloved, if we ever in any way depart from that will be casting off an important anchor for the Christian testimony.
The eternal security of the believer is encompassed in that.
One of the tragedies that I have noticed as I have worked with men who were Christians when they got into jail is that 99% of them.
Don't understand eternal security.
99% of them said, well, I lost my salvation by what I did. I might as well blow it. Good. I can't. I can't be saved. I've lost it.
Oh, what a blessed truth it is. You know, I think of that little pamphlet. Safety, certainty and enjoyment. I like the new version of it. Safe, sure, and happy. But.
I use hundreds and hundreds of them.
I like that blessed attraction. I want to tell you something I learned about it. Maybe you don't know that when Mr. Cutting wrote that that he and his wife prayed for a whole year before they published it.
Was it worth it? I think it was.
That tract has been presented to royalty in England.
It's been translated into.
Many, many, many languages gave it to a dear fellow in the jail a couple of weeks ago who was troubled and young, alcoholic, 20 years old. He looked at it and he said, I'll, I'll read this despair facing a big big charge in the jail and.
He said he called me up at home. He says. I read that paper. Oh, he says, what a wonderful paper it is. Give you have more, he said. I've got so many men. I have hope for the first time in my life.
And I remember when this fellow, this man right here was.
16 years old and doubting his salvation because the enemy came along, and insinuated doubts.
And I remember picking up that little tract and being so blessed with it.
Safe. Sure, and happy.
That's the gospel.
May we hold fast to those things, beloved brethren.
Now there's one more It was alluded to by our brother.
Clem this afternoon, and referring to the third of Hebrews.
I'd like to call it this the nature and destiny of the Church.
The nature and destiny of the Church.
You know, that's a distinctive line of things that has been given up.
In so many quarters.
It's almost incredible.
When I was a young man, somebody put in my hands a book called The Hopes of the Church.
I read that book and I just drank in that precious truth.
Beloved.
The Word of God teaches the heavenly calling of the Church.
And it's an anchor that we cannot cast off. We'll get into all sorts of confusion and much of our energies will be wasted with trying to better this world.
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And if we just understand that, we're called out by God as a heavenly people.
Oh, it'll just change our lives and make our lives productive for the Lord. We won't be wasting our energies with trying to change things down here, trying to campaign against this or that or the other thing. I'm against abortion. I don't. I hope there isn't a Christian that isn't against abortion, but I'm not leaving any campaign against it because I know that I'm a heavenly man.
And I'll speak out against it. I have and I will. But we've got a heavenly calling, Beloved brethren, May we not forget it. I'll never forget the pitiful sight down in the in Washington, DC, of one of the most capable preachers in New Jersey parading up and down in front of the White House.
Taking a group of his parishioners down there.
Conducting an anti communist rally and I had my children along with me. We were going to the White House that day.
And here was Carl McIntyre parading back and forth with his Bible in his hand and saying Christians ought to be opposing communism and and.
Very capable man, knew the word of God, but he had lost the heavenly calling of the Church or never had it, I don't know which.
Was a lesson to my children.
That we took the opportunity to point out all beloved.
The nature and destiny of the Church is something wonderful.
And if you haven't gotten into that, spend some time on it. That's the mystery.
And it's blessed for your souls to get ahold of. Well, now at one minute, and I just want to say this before I close the lashings of the rudders or the rudder bands, are the principles in the word of God that guide us.
And those principles have to be maintained, beloved. We cannot loosen them without danger.
There are you. You. You could tell me as well as I can what they are.
There's many of them. My mind went through a number of them and as I was thinking about this time together, but I just say this.
But there's a lot of loosening going on.
We cannot loosen.
The divine principles that are laid down in God's word. I'm not talking about tradition, and you know I'm not.
I'm not talking about form. You know. I'm not talking about form. I'm talking about divine principles that are laid down in the word of God. There are many of them. We cannot loosen them without disaster. Yes, it's true that it all got to shore. Praise God for that. There won't be a child of God that won't get safe to shore.
And the testimony is wrecked. It's ruined.
We not have thoughts of patching up the vessel at this point.
I don't mean that there isn't a corporate testimony. That truth does not work against the fact that there is a corporate testimony until the Lord comes. I believe it very definitely. But the public testimony of the Church is totally in ruins.
May we have grace, though, to keep on and not to give up personally those things that have been given to us by God.
May we stand for them. Hold them fast, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown, and we pray.
Our God and Father, we tremble as we think of Speaking of these things.
We think of the awful ruin that has come into the public testimony of Christians.
How the churches cast off 1 after another of these important things loosened the rudder bands and were in danger, our God, of being influenced by it, raising the forceful to the winds, being caught by the winds of public opinion and current vogue. But oh our God, we pray that thou will keep us faithful to thee.
We pray that we may encourage one another and Guan faithfully until we reach that shore.
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We thank you for the assurance that all will make it safely there, but we pray that we may come in with an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We ask it in His precious name. Amen.