In this sermon, the speaker discusses the concept of inspiration in relation to the writing of the Bible. He emphasizes that the Apostle Paul did not simply give a summary or his own interpretation of what the Lord revealed to him, but rather wrote down the exact words given to him. The speaker also highlights the importance of using one's talents for the glory of God and not for self-promotion. Additionally, he encourages Christian parents to guide their children towards the work of the Lord and to present it as a desirable way of life. The sermon also touches on the topics of revelation and illumination, explaining how the Spirit of God revealed the truths of the New Testament to the Apostles and Prophets.

Two questions on repentance. With God, is it ever too late to repent? Show scriptures, please. Answer, yes. There are situations in life where it's too late to repent. Hebrews chapter 6, verse 4. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gifts and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame. Difficult passage of scripture, passage of scripture that the devil often uses to unsettle the minds of true believers who might be going through nervous or emotional problems. Maybe I can just comment on it. All of the things that are listed here can be true of an unsaved person. I'll go over them. Actually, the person described in this passage is an apostate like Judas. Once enlightened, can you be enlightened without being saved? Of course. You can hear the message of salvation and know all about it. Have tasted of the heavenly gifts. The heavenly gifts, they tasted of the gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a difference between tasting and eating, the difference between tasting and drinking. These people tasted, but they didn't accept it. Were made partakers of the Holy Ghost. Well, we've already mentioned that unsaved people are partakers of the ministries of the Holy Ghost. It doesn't mean they were indwelt, but the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. And we read too that the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife. The spirit of God has a pre, has a work in the lives of unbelievers as well as in believers. Otherwise we never would be saved. Have tasted the good word of God. They've heard the gospel, the message of salvation and the powers of the world to come. That means the miracles, the miracles that were performed in the early days of the church will be performed again in the millennium. That's what the age to come here is the millennium, not heaven. And the powers of the age to come are miracles that will be performed in the millennium. They tasted them in the early days of the church. What happened? They fall away. They profess to be saved. Maybe they were baptized. Maybe they were received into fellowship in a local church and they abandoned Christianity. And I want to tell you when a person does that, it's impossible to renew them again unto repentance. Some years ago, there was a man in charge of Youth for Christ in Toronto. Carried on for years Youth for Christ and people said to him, Chuck, you're good, but you'd be better if you went to seminary. So he did. He went back to Princeton seminary and when he came out, he had nothing. He ditched the Christian faith. He's in television entertaining today, but wants nothing to do with Christ or the things of God. He's an apostate. I've known too many such and I've never known one ever to be restored. In fact, if I understand 1 John 5, you don't even pray for a person to be restored, you just commit them to the Lord. I hope that doesn't sound too harsh. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 17. Verses showing that it's possible, that it is possible in some cases to be too late for repentance. This is about Esau, verse 16. Hebrews 12, 16. Lest there be any fornicator or a profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. He found no place of repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. That's the answer to the question, with God is it ever too late to repent? The answer is yes. And for unsaved people too, I believe there is such a thing as redemption point. That I believe that in some cases a person passes redemption point. He hears the gospel for the last time. The Spirit of God knocks on his heart for the last time. That's it. Terrible thing, isn't it? If anybody here is unsaved, they should think seriously about that. Here are some other questions about repentance. These were passed in previously, but they've been clarified. Having been raised in a Christian home, I knew I was a sinner because God said so. I was not taught that repentance is essential to salvation. When I put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior, believing God had raised him from the dead, was I not and am I not born of the Spirit of God? Luke chapter 13, verse 3. Luke chapter 13, verse 3, the words of the Lord Jesus. He says, I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. I mentioned the other day that salvation is like a coin. It has two sides to it. One side is repentance. The other side is faith. That doesn't mean that repentance is a work. People are afraid of repentance. They think that you're adding works to faith. But repentance isn't. When we say work, we mean a meritorious work. We mean that there's nothing you can do of a meritorious nature to win or earn salvation. Faith itself is a work, but it's not a meritorious work. People don't make these depictions. The Jews came to Jesus and they said, what good thing, what good work must we work that we might work the works of God? And he said, this is the work of God that keeps what? Believe. Faith is a work, but it's not a meritorious work. When it says we're not saved by works, it means by something meritorious that we do. There's nothing we can do or be to earn or gain God's salvation. Faith is a work. And repentance in that sense is a work, but it's not a meritorious work. I don't approve merit to myself by repenting of my sins. John 3, 16, so often used, does not mention repentance. No, that's true. And it doesn't mention the blood of Christ either. I mean, no one work presents every aspect of salvation. No one verse presents every aspect of salvation any more than any one gospel message does. You can't get everything in one message. That is why I wonder if repentance is something of which we may not be aware. In Luke chapter 15, verse seven, I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents it, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Isn't the awareness of being lost and the desire to be saved, knowing that he is the way, the truth, and the life, evidence that repentance has taken place? Fine. If it is, I think that's just great. Some time ago I was out in a meeting in Southern California and a couple came up to me after the meeting. It was a gospel meeting and they wanted to be saved. And I sat down with them and I went over the way of salvation and I asked them, would they like to receive the Lord Jesus as Savior? They said yes. And they both bowed their heads and they both prayed and they seemed to pray intelligently. So I said, when they got through, I said, now I'd like to get your names and addresses because I want to send you some gospel, some good literature. I want to keep in touch with you. So she gave me her name and address. And when she finished, she said, his is the same. They didn't have the same last name. They were living together without the formality of marriage. They were living in sin. They wanted to be saved. Can you be saved? Can you have Christ and have sin too? Repent. There was no evidence of repentance in their lives. There was no salvation either. They never came back. That was it. When they were told, it couldn't be. In fact, isn't the need for repentance particularly addressed to the Jewish people who had proved they could not measure up to God's holiness and after rejected Jesus as the Messiah? Well, I think that's answered in Acts chapter 20, verse 21. Acts chapter 20, verse 21, where the apostle Paul is speaking to the elders of Ephesus at Miletum. He says in verse 20, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, the Gentiles, not just to the Jews. Repentance isn't just for the Jews. Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. So repentance is for all people, Jews as well as Gentiles. Here's a different type of a question. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11, we have four gifts that are mentioned, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Four or five. On addressing these gifts are not those men who are gifts to the whole universal church worldwide. Well, let's just read Ephesians chapter 4. I really don't know what's in back of this question. That's one of the problems that oftentimes people have a real problem, but it's not clear to the person who's trying to answer it. Ephesians 4 and 11, and he gave some apostles, some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. It doesn't say that these gifts were given to the church. I suppose to be accurate, it's better to say that they were gifts given to men because this passage that's quoted from the Psalms, notice in verse eight says, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Why does it say unto men and not under the church? Well, I think, for instance, evangelists. The evangelist's parish is the world, isn't it? Rather than the church. The evangelist is not sent forth into the church, but he's sent forth to the world. And so to be scripturally accurate, you'd say these men that are listed here are the gifts and they're given to men, rather than I would say to the whole universal church. And I mentioned before, I think these are special service gifts that God raised up and that we have the last three of them still today. Maybe whoever asked that, if it's not satisfactory, can come ask me privately. Could you explain Acts 19? We went over this before, but I'll just go over it again. It's apparently causing trouble to people. Acts chapter 19 verses one through seven. This passage of scripture has to do with a group of men whom we call disciples of John the Baptist. You remember how John the Baptist came on the scene and preached repentance. He was a forerunner of the Messiah. And he was saying in effect, look, the Messiah is coming, but he can only rule over a repentant people. And so people did flock out to the Jordan river, some of them genuine and some of them spurious to be baptized. And this was a group of men who had come out and were baptized of John Baptist. And what they were saying is, look, we are sinful and we take our place as sinful Israelites waiting for the Messiah to come. We recognize that. Now let's read it. It came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coast, came to Ephesus and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe? And they said unto him, no, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given. He said unto them, unto what were you baptized? They said unto John Baptist. That was a baptism of repentance. It was not the same as believers baptism. It was not the same as Christian baptism. Then said Paul, John Gurley baptized with a baptism of repentance saying unto the people that they should believe on him, which should come after him. That is on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied and all the men were about 12. Question, could you explain Acts 19, 1 through 7 a little further where these men, Christians yet, are only ready to believe, having been convicted of sin. They were not believers as yet until you get down to verse five. There they accepted the Lord Jesus and were baptized with Christian baptism. I hope that clarifies that. And the final question, self-esteem has been wrongly manipulated by motivationalists. Do you consider it wrong to encourage a person regarding those talents given him by the Lord in an effort to motivate him to develop and use those talents? Well, certainly it's not wrong, for instance, for Christian parents to encourage their boys and girls. I think in some ways that's what that verse means, train up a child in the way he should go, and when he's old he will not depart from it. The verse has many different applications, and one of the applications is this, watch your child. See, try to see what the Lord has prepared him for and encourage him along that line. And while I say that, let me just say this, that it's a very good thing for Christian parents to hold the work of the Lord before their children as a desirable way to spend their lives, and not many Christian parents do it. I was brought up in a wonderful Christian home, I thank God for my mother and father. But they were immigrants, they came over from Scotland, and they had tremendous drive. They wanted us to be successful in business and have a nice home in suburbia with hot and cold clothing, doors, and expensive cars, and all the rest. And I don't remember ever in our home having the work of the Lord suggested to me as a desirable way to spend my life. Which really means that a lot of Christian parents, a lot of Christian parents, when they hold worldly ambitions before their children, they're really raising them for the world and for health. Something for Christian parents to think about. So watch your child and see what God has done in that child and try to encourage him along that line. However, in encouraging him to develop his talents, you don't want to cater to pride or egotism either, do you? And so there's a delicate balance there. You want him to use his talents for the glory of God and for the good of others, but not in any manner of exhibitionism or trying to attract attention to himself. Okay, I think for the benefit of those who've come in in the last couple of days, we'll just review some of the material we've been over. If you want to pull that down just a little, Randy, I think that's good. We've been going over the person and work of the Holy Spirit and we came to his ministries and we mentioned, first of all, that he convicts the unsaved of sin and then he points them to the Lord Jesus and when they receive Christ as Lord and Savior, he regenerates them. And then at the same time that he regenerates them, he baptizes them into the body of Christ. We mentioned the baptism of the Spirit. It takes place at the moment a person is saved and all believers have been baptized into the body of Christ. He indwells believers. All believers are indwelt by the Spirit of God and he gives the believer a consciousness of sonship so that he looks up into the face of God and says, Abba, Father. Other ministries of the Holy Spirit, the seal. The Holy Spirit is the seal, speaking of security and also of destination and ownership. He's the earnest. He's the engagement ring, the guarantee that the whole inheritance will be ours. He's spoken of as another comforter, another of the same kind as the Lord Jesus himself. He's the anointing and that's the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, enabling a believer to discern between truth and error. And we mentioned that up to that point in our little outline, all of that belongs to every believer, every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. But then when you come to the filling, that's a command. Be ye continually filled with the Spirit. That's something that imposes an obligation on us. There are conditions we must meet in order to be filled with the Spirit. He guides believers. Many of us are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God. He prays for believers with groanings which cannot be uttered. He gives gifts to believers and we spent quite a time going over that whole subject of gifts. And then he produces a fruit of holiness. Maybe we can just move it up a bit, probably quite a bit. Yeah, will it stay? That's good. He produces a fruit of holiness, a fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter 5. He glorifies Christ. And that's the subject we ended on last night, I think. That wonderful ministry of the Lord Jesus by which he hounds himself, as it were, and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. The true servant of the Lord wants to be hidden behind the cross. Okay, that brings us to the next point and that is he gives his witness. The witness, we read about the witness of the Spirit. Let me just read the passages first and then we'll comment on them. Romans chapter 8 and verse 16. Romans 8 and verse 16. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Hebrews chapter 10 verses 15 through 18. Says whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us for after that he had said before this is a covenant that I will make with them after those days set the Lord I will put my laws into their hearts their minds will I write them and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is there is no more offering for sin. Notice whereof the Holy Spirit also is a witness to us. First John chapter 5 verses 6 through 12. First John chapter 5. This is in the NASB. Jim, do you have the NASB there? Any brother have the NASB? Would you read it please? So first John 5, 6 through 12. Thank you very much. It says that the one who believes of the Son of God has a witness in himself. Supposing I would ask you today do you have the witness of the Spirit? Those of you who are saved do you have the witness of the Spirit today? What would you say? If you say yes I'll ask you what is the witness of the Spirit? I remember years ago at the end of a gospel meeting a young lady came to me and she was in tears and and she wanted to be saved and she wanted to know that she was saved and and she was willing to trust Christ as her Savior but every time she would go home after the gospel meeting her mother would say to her well Shirley do you have the witness of the Spirit? Shirley would look in to see whether she had the witness of the Spirit or not and her mother never explained to her what the witness of the Spirit was. How could she know was she had it or not? I guess a lot of people think the witness of the Spirit is kind of a warm fuzzy feeling that you get when you believe in Jesus. But I've told you already watch out for feelings. Only one man in the Bible trusted his feelings and he was deceived. What is the witness of the Spirit? Well I would like to suggest to you today and really I hope this sinks in. The witness of the Spirit comes first and foremost through the Word of God. That's how the Spirit witnesses. Not by feelings, God forbid. The Spirit of God witnesses to us through the Word of God. Let me give you an illustration. How does the witness, how does the Spirit of God witness to me that I am a believer? First and foremost okay I turn to John chapter 5 and verse 24 which is so familiar to all of you. I'm just going to turn to it anyway because this is how the Spirit witnesses to me. John 5 24. Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my word. Jesus is speaking. Jesus who cannot lie. Jesus who cannot deceive. Jesus who cannot be deceived. He is the speaker. I say unto you, you that's me. This is the Spirit of God driving at home to my house. He that heareth my word. He says to me, have you heard his word? And that doesn't mean just hear with the ear. It means hear and receive. It means hear and accept. It means hear and believe. Have you heard his word? Yes I say. The best way I know how. I have heard his word receptively. And believeth on him that sent me. Who sent the Lord? God sent him. Why wouldn't he send him? To send him to be my savior. He sent him because I was lost in sin. And he sent him to die on the cross of Calvary for me. You believe that? Yes I believe that. What does it say? Have everlasting life. The Spirit of God witnesses to me because I have fulfilled the conditions I have everlasting life. What else? Shall not come into judgment. Never be brought before God for judgment because Christ bore the judgment on the cross of Calvary. But is passed from death unto life. Have you passed from death? Yes I passed from death unto life. How do you know it? Because Jesus said it. And when I go through that little routine, the Spirit of God witnesses to me that I am a child of God. First and foremost, there are other ways in which he witnesses. I told you about that before. After I was saved, I had a new love for holiness. I had a new hatred of sin. I had a new love for the brethren. I began to practice righteousness and all the other tests of life that you have in 1 John. But this is how the Spirit of God witnesses, not through some mysterious feeling. I don't deny that there is an inner peace that the Holy Spirit gives to us. But just remember, your feelings are variable. They change from day to day, and we want to base our faith on the infallible word of God. But I believe that's how the Spirit of God witnesses to us. Then the Spirit of God also restrains the full development of evil. 2 Thessalonians 2.7. There is someone in the world today who is restraining evil in the world. Let's just get it and read it. 2 Thessalonians 2.7. And I'll read it in the revised version because some of these words have changed their meaning over the years, haven't they? 2 Thessalonians. My pages are all sticking together here. 2.7. For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work. Only there is one that restraineth now until he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless one whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to naught by the manifestation of his coming. Even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that are perishing, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Now, I know it doesn't say here that this is the Holy Spirit. As far as I'm concerned, the Holy Spirit is the only one that satisfactorily answers to the description, he that restraineth now. At the time of the rapture, he will be taken out of the world. He will be taken out of the world as the permanent indweller of believers and as the permanent indweller of the church. And when he's taken out of the world, corruption will spread rapidly. All the salt will be gone, won't it? Christians are the salt of the earth and we dwelt by the Spirit of God, they will be taken out. Then the Holy Spirit is the one who inspired the scriptures. This is a very wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit. I'd like you to turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 in this regard. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Okay, I'm going to begin reading in verse 6 and I'm going to read through to the end of the chapter. Don't want to hurry over this because it's really important. How be it we, we here means the apostles, we here means the apostles to whom the New Testament revelation was given. We speak wisdom among them that are perfect. Perfect means mature, doesn't mean sinless, does it? If it meant sinless, they wouldn't have any audience to speak to. We speak wisdom among the them that are spiritually mature, yet a wisdom not of this world nor of the rulers of this world which are come to not, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. What does that all mean? Is that just a holy jumble of words? No, it's not. When you come to that word mystery in the New Testament, it doesn't mean what we think it means today. It doesn't mean a murder story with a surprising end. A mystery in the New Testament is a truth never hitherto known, but now it has been revealed by the apostles and prophets of the New Testament to God's people. For instance, I quoted before, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Now there's nothing mysterious about that. It's just that it was a truth that had never been known before. Now it's revealed. And incidentally, it's a truth that never could have been known by man's intellect alone. It's a truth that can only be known by divine revelation. We have a lot of mysteries in the New Testament, not that they're mysterious at all, just that nobody ever knew them before. And so that's what the apostle Paul is saying here. We, the apostles, are speaking the wisdom of God in a mystery. And what he's really referring to is the truths that are found in the New Testament that were never known before. It says, verse 8, which none of the rulers of this world know, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. They did it in ignorance. But as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit, us, the apostles and prophets of the New Testament period. For the spirit search of all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God, which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. Now see if I can simplify this for you. There are three subjects in this passage of scripture I have just read. Revelation, inspiration, illumination. Revelation, this is 6 through 12. I'll go over this and explain. Revelation, verses 6 through 12. Illumination, verse 13. No, wait a minute. Revelation, inspiration, verse 13. I'm sorry. Inspiration, verse 13. Illumination, verses 14 through 16. Now, when we speak of revelation, that means those verses, verses 6 through 12, are describing how the Spirit of God revealed the truths of the New Testament to the apostles and prophets. Revelation. You have it again, for instance, in 1 Thessalonians 4. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven, and shall be the voice of the archangel with the trump of God. Yet in Christ shall rise first. We which are alive and remain shall be product. Nobody ever knew that before. That was revealed to the apostle Paul. And he's describing that revelation, the process, in verses 6 through 12, right? Okay. Verse 13 has to do with inspiration. He took a pen in his hand to write it down. Now, how did he write it down? Did he say, did the Lord say to him, now Paul, just give the gist of what I told you? Is that what he did? You give your own Paul Harvey commentary on what I've just told you. Is that what he did? No. Inspiration, verse 13, I'll go over it. And then illumination. Illumination means, how do we understand it? The Word of God. The Spirit of God illuminates it to our hearts. Revelation, verses 6 through 12. Inspiration, verse 13. Illumination, verses 14 through 16. Revelation. In verse 9, Paul is quoting from Isaiah 64, 4. I have not seen or ear heard neither avenger to the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. Paul is saying here, when Isaiah wrote that, he wasn't thinking about the heavenly state, although it's a lovely verse to apply to the heavenly state. Isaiah, by inspiration of the Spirit of God, was saying, no man living in my time, Isaiah's time, could possibly conceive of the truths that are going to be revealed when the Lord Jesus comes to the earth. That's really what it means. I have not seen, you have not. You say, how do you know that's what it means? Because the next verse says, God has revealed them unto us. Revelation. God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit. Are you with me? They've been revealed. It's not something you have to wait until you get to heaven. These are the truths of the New Testament. And God has revealed them to us, us, the apostles and prophets who gave us the New Testament. Then he goes on to elaborate on that. What man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him, even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. What he's saying is that only the Spirit of God could reveal those things. We could have gone to all the seminaries that the world had to offer at that time. We never got these truths. They were directly revealed to us, Paul says, by the Holy Spirit of God. We have received not the Spirit of the world. We'll kind of enter into that. But the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Read, don't read yourself into that. Read the writers of the New Testament. So much for revelation. What he's saying in those verses is all of those wonderful truths that Isaiah prophesied about have now been revealed. They were unknown in the Old Testament period, but they've been revealed now by the Holy Spirit of God. Inspiration. How did they, when they came time to write it down, how did they write it down? Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth. They say, we didn't depend on our own wisdom when we wrote it down, but words which the Holy Spirit teacheth. You have to supply the word words, but words is the antecedent of that word which has to be. So it's really not doing any violence to the verse at all to say, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but words which the Holy Spirit teacheth. And that's what we mean when we say that we believe in the verbal inspiration of the scriptures. We believe that the very words that Paul wrote were the words of God. Not the general idea. Not Paul using his best judgment on the matter. No, sir. The words which the Holy Spirit teacheth. The verbal inspiration of scripture. People don't like that. They say, oh, mechanical dictation, you know. And the scholars and the intellectuals all go into a tizzy over mechanical dictation. Why? Well, they say, they say, Paul has his personality in the Pauline writings, and Peter has his personality. Their personalities come through in the writing. And I grant that. I grant there's a style with Paul and Peter. But God harnessed those styles. I don't have any trouble with that. I don't have any trouble with mechanical dictation. If you have a secretary, you dictate a letter, what do you want her to do? Just use her own best judgment? I don't think so. I think you want her to type it the way you give it to her, don't you? Especially if it's a legal letter that Jim's going to put out. You don't want her to use her judgment. You could really foul it up. So I don't think it's mechanical dictation. Or even if it was, I wouldn't object to it. But what it means is that when the word of God, and here especially the New Testament was written, it was written in the very words of God. Words which the Holy Spirit teaches. Compare, it says comparing spiritual things with spiritual. That's a very difficult expression, and it's capable of many different interpretations. I think it means conveying spiritual truth with spiritual means. Because it is the conveying of spiritual truth, and the words that were used were spiritual words. Then we come to illumination. We know how the Bible, we know how the New Testament was revealed to Paul and the others. We know how they were, the words that they wrote were God-breathed inspired. That's what inspired means. God-breathed verbally inspired. Yeah, but how do you understand the Bible after you get it? It's not like any other book in the world, is it? It really isn't. I've read Shakespeare and a lot of other books, but I've never read any book like the Bible. It's different. It stands out alone. He says, but the natural man, now the natural man, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. In other words, this book is written in such a way that an unsaved man, apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit, he can't understand it. And I'd like to emphasize that to our beloved young people who are here, because you go off to colleges, you go off to graduate schools, and you hear these professors get up, and you hear them rail against the Bible. You hear them talk about all the discrepancies in the Bible and all the rest. And sometimes you get shaken by it, you know. You think, well, these guys wouldn't be where they are if they didn't know what they were talking about. Let me tell you, when they stay in biology, it's okay. When they stay in anthropology, it's okay. But when they get into the Bible, they don't know what they're talking about. It's not that they don't want to know, it's that they can't know. Don't ever forget that. When you sit in front of those professors and they talk like that against the Lord and against the Lord's Word, just sit there and say, well, I understand. I understand you. You do not have the ability to understand the Word of God. Why? Because they don't have the Spirit of God. Where does it say that? It says that right here. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Notice, underline this. If you underline your Bible, underline this. Neither can he know them. That's it. Neither can he know. I don't care how many degrees he has after his name. If he doesn't have the Spirit of God, he can't understand the Bible. My father came over from Scotland. I doubt, I wish he were alive, I could ask him some questions, but I doubt he went through eight grades of school. But he brought me up with the Word of God. And I went off to a very liberal college. It was what you call a modernistic college. They had compulsory chapel and all the rest, and all the great modernists were brought to speak to us. Reinhold Niebuhr. I'm sorry to say that that is all there is of this recording.