God's Greatest Enemy — Greg Locke

The Bible, please, the Romans, chapter number one tonight, if you would, please. The book of Romans, chapter number one in your New Testament Bible tonight. Good to see you. I hope that you've had a wonderful day.

I'm sure it's been very profitable. And I praise the Lord for the good day that He's given us to continue to pray for the Robertsons. They'll be going to their home in Beach Grove, which is about probably, oh, maybe 15, 20 miles from where we, based our ministry out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

They've got a home there. They'll be there tonight. And early in the morning, they'll leave. The funeral is in Birmingham, Alabama, two o 'clock tomorrow. And then Brother Doyle has to leave and even go to Mobile.

And those of you who go to Pensacola, you know that Mobile's way on down there. And so he's got a long ways to go to be back here. So you pray for them. Pray for Brother Duffy if he's sick. Let me say this about the message that I'm about to preach.

In just a moment, we'll stand and we'll be through. I'll just make a few thoughts. But if I were going to choose a message to preach at the 2001 Staff Training Revival, this would not be the message that I would choose to preach.

But since I'm not doing the choosing, and since I want to be a Holy Spirit-filled and a Holy Spirit-led preacher, I feel this is the direction He would have me go. I said the very same thing last year when I preached the message, some of you may remember, on What's Everybody Screaming About?

When I preached on Matthew 13, preached on the doctrine of hell. And I said the same thing then. The Lord used it in a wonderful way. And He's used that message many, many times around the country. But I do not understand why the Lord has directed me to this area.

I could preach some little old microwave sermon, just kind of pop it in, put it on 30 minutes, and just let the thing cook for a while, and just preach some message that I've preached all over the country.

But I don't want to do that. I want to be a preacher that's led by God's Spirit. And so I don't know what your needs are tonight. I know what mine are. But the Spirit of God, no doubt, has indelibly laid this portion of Scripture upon my heart.

And so I hope the Lord will use it in your heart tonight. Romans, chapter number one. Let's stand, please, out of respect for God's Word. Let your eyes please fall to verse number 16. Hope you got a pen handy.

Somebody said that a short pencil is better than a long memory. All right, so I'll give you just a few thoughts, and then we'll be through, and I'm going to my trailer and getting some ice cream. All right, Romans chapter number one and verse number 16.

The Gospel as the Power of God for Salvation

Paul is writing, he says,. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of crimes, for it, that's the gospel, is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first and also 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. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them. Verse 20,. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. Neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves to be wise. They became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like the corruptible man and the bird and four-footed beasts and creeping things.

Verse 24,. Wherefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness, to the loss of their own heart, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the creator who is blessed forevermore.

Amen. For this cause, God gave them up into vile affection, for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. Likewise, also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error, which was me.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient, being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents.

Without understanding covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable and merciful. Knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Tonight, I bring you the simple message, God's greatest enemy. Thank you very much. You may be seated, let's bow our heads and hearts, and let's pray and ask the Lord to bless our time together tonight.

Father, thank you for this privilege that you have afforded me for the next few moments as your servant, the preacher, to open my heart, to open my mouth and open the Word of God and preach the Bible.

And Father, I do not take that lightly, and I pray that you would empty me of myself. Dear God, help me to say all of thee and none of me. May I keep back everything that the Spirit of God would not have me say, and may I not keep back that which the Spirit of God would like me to say.

Father, speak to hearts tonight. I pray that you would work as only you can work. Convict, convince, comfort, console, have your will, have your way. And Lord, I claim the Word of God, that it is a sharp, two-edged sword.

Lord, my message is not used, not necessarily me tonight, but Lord, in spite of myself, I pray that you would use the Word of God through me in a very, very powerful way. And we'll thank you, dear God, for everything that you'll say and do, for we know that you'll do great things, for we pray it in faith, and we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen. If none of you are familiar with the book of Romans, and I'm sure you are, most of you being Bible college students, you will know that theologically, we would say that the book of Romans is a greatly doctrinal book when it comes to the issue of salvation.

We call that, as you know, the doctrine of soteriology. And the book of Romans, out of the 27 books of your New Testament Bible, is no doubt the most doctrinal book in all of those 27 books. Every single chapter has some part, parcel, and aspect of the doctrine of salvation.

In Romans 1, that we just read in our hearing, I'll have you to know that the Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Rome. Now, unless you misunderstand your Bible and misinterpret it, he's not writing to the Roman Catholic Church, he's writing to the saints which were scattered throughout the province of the Roman Empire.

In chapter 1, he condemns Gentile humanity. He condemns all of those people who are non-Jews, all of those depraved, disobedient, deplorable people about which we just read. So in chapter 1, he condemns Gentile humanity.

In chapter 2, just to make sure the Jew didn't think that he was off the hook, he condemned the Jew in chapter 2. He stripped them of their self-righteousness using the Mosaic Law and showed them that they needed to be saved by the grace of God.

But just to make sure that he didn't let anybody off the hook, in Romans 3, he said, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And then in Romans 4, we have the great doctrine of justification by faith using the faith of Abraham who we preached on shortly from Genesis 12 last night.

Romans 5, he deals with the doctrine of reconciliation. Now, please understand that God did not need to be reconciled to man, for God never failed. God never went anywhere. It was man who failed. It was man who went away from God.

And reconciliation is the doctrine of God re-bringing back or drawing back man to himself. Romans 6, verse 1, Paul begins to speak about death to self. I preached last year, the very first service as a matter of fact, on Romans 6, verses 1 and 2, when the Bible says, What shall we say then?

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? And last year I preached on the subject, Why don't you just drop dead? And he deals with that in Romans 6.

In Romans 7, and in Romans chapter number 8, we have two paramount yet parallel portions of Scripture. Paul says, When I want to do right, I end up doing wrong. He says, When I don't want to do wrong, I still do wrong.

Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And he talks about the struggles that he had with the flesh. Now, certainly, if Paul had struggles with the flesh, we're going to have struggles with the flesh.

Then in Romans chapter number 9, he dealt with Israel's past. In Romans chapter number 10, he deals with Israel's present. That is why in Romans chapter 10, verse 13, he said, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Because in this dispensation of grace, if you will, in this church age in which we live, they have the same, the Jew has the same responsibility as the rest of the world to call, to repent, and to turn to Jesus Christ.

Then in Romans chapter number 11, we have Israel's future. Romans chapter 11 has nothing to do with the church whatsoever. It has everything to do with the Jew being brought back to Christ during the tribulation period, the times of Jacob's trouble.

Then in Romans chapter number 12, we have a parenthetical portion of Scripture. Because in chapter 12, in verse 1, Paul says, I beseech you therefore. You've been in your Bibles long enough to know that when you see a therefore and a wherefore, you look and see what it's there for.

He's not referring to chapter 11. He's not referring to chapter 10. And he's not referring to chapter 9. Those are parenthetical portions of Scripture. He's referring back to the first eight chapters.

Because you've been saved, because you've been justified, because by faith you've been reconciled to Christ, he says, therefore, my beloved brethren, that you should surrender your lives completely, wholeheartedly, lock, stock, and barrel, and be not conformed to this world.

Then in Romans chapter 13, he deals with civil law and civil government. Romans chapter 14, he deals again with the subject of faith, and the Bible says he that doubteth is damned. In Romans chapter 15, he deals with the subject of God's people who are in the Word being a stumbling block to other people, and we know what Jesus said about that.

Put a millstone around your neck if you'll cause one of these little brothers and sisters in Christ to fall away. Then in Romans chapter 16, he commends the people and he has the great benediction. But in Romans chapter 1, we have no doubt the most doctrinal portion of Scripture when it comes to the issue of salvation.

The Wrath of God and the Controversial Subject of the Sermon

Now, what I'm going to preach on tonight is a very controversial subject, and please understand me, that is not why I preach on it. I'm not a confrontational person. If there needs to be a confrontation, I'm better at confrontation than the pulpit, than out of the pulpit.

You know, you can kind of be a bulldog, junkyard man in the pulpit, and I had a man come to me not long ago. I had my suit coat on, obviously. I had a suit on, and I just got through preaching. I was at my back at my tape table, and he came to me, he started patting me on the back, and I didn't know what in the wild world this guy was doing, you know, and I'm kind of thinking, what in the world is going on with this fella?

And so he takes his hand, lifts up my suit coat, puts it up the back of my suit coat, and I'm thinking to myself, now hold on just a minute, pal. And so I turned around, I said, excuse me. He said, I was looking to see where your wind-up mechanism was.

I said, my wind-up mechanism? He said, yeah, I was wondering if your wife wound you up before you got in the pulpit. I said, no, sir. I said, she sprinkled gunpowder all over my Cheerios. I eat that stuff.

I chew on a matchstick, drink gasoline, beat my head on the wall, jump on the pulpit, and preach the devil out of everybody. Amen? So I believe in being confrontational if you have to be confrontational.

But I do not preach this message tonight just to stir up a controversy. I guarantee you, simply because I never did when I was in Bible college. I never did when I was in camp, and I very rarely did when I was in church.

I never heard a full-fledged message on the subject that we are going to deal on tonight. But before I tell you who God's greatest enemy is, let's please go back to Romans 1, lay the groundwork. Verse 16, Paul is writing.

He says, for I, that's Paul, am not ashamed. He said, no matter who I'm with, it makes no difference. I'll not be ashamed of the gospel. Now, we hear a lot about social gospel. We hear a lot about medical gospel.

We hear a lot about all these gospels around the world. But I've got news for you, ladies and gentlemen. There's only one saving gospel. That is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If we add anything to that, we do not have the gospel. If we take anything away from that, we do not have the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15, the first four verses tells us that Christ died according to the Scriptures.

He was buried, and thank God, rose again according to the Scriptures. That is the gospel. And that is the gospel that Paul said, I'll not be ashamed of. So he said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it, the gospel obviously, is the power of God, the dunamis, the dynamicness of salvation.

It is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believes it, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Now, the thought continues into verse 17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.

God's righteousness is revealed through the gospel. For the just shall live by faith. Now look at verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth.

Literally means to suppress down or to hold down the truth. We hear a lot about the love of God. Now, I believe in the love of God. I believe in the grace of God. I believe in the mercy of God. But I want to just challenge you sometimes.

Son of the Bible, did you know that you will not find out that God loves humanity in so many words as far as Him saying it? You will not find out that God loves humanity until the book of Deuteronomy.

That's the fifth book of your Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Five books into your Bible before you ever find out God loves you. But the third chapter of the first book, you find out God's holy and God hates sin and something has to be done about it.

So yes, we should preach on love. Yes, we should preach on grace and on mercy. But my Bible says the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon disobedience, upon ungodliness and upon wickedness and wretchedness.

And I believe the wrath of God is something that needs to be preached and we've gotten far away from that in America. Hence, that's why we're in the mess that we are. But keep reading if you would please in verse number 20.

The Bible says, excuse me, verse 19. It says,. Because that which they be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them. Now here's a perplexing verse. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen.

So it's obvious. You can look around. You see the trees. You see the sky. You see the stars. You see all of this. And I've got enough sense to know that I could have had some kinfolk that swung by their necks, but I never had any that swung by their tails.

I'm not from a monkey. I'm not from an amoeba. I didn't come from the mud. Genesis 2, 7,. And the Lord God formed a man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

There's no real such thing as an infidel. There's no naturally born atheist. Every man is born with the light of Christ and every man has a sense to know that there is a God. So how do you know that? Keep reading the Bible, verse 20 to tell us.

It says, For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened professing themselves to be wise. So they thought they were a big shot.

God said, You become a fool. Verse 23,. And change the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds and to four-footed beasts and to creeping things. Notice what verse 24 says, Wherefore, or because of this, Wherefore, God also gave them up.

Would you look in your Bibles, please, verse 26 now. Skip down just one verse to verse 26. For this calls, God gave them up. Please look in verse number 28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient.

The Devil, the World, and the Reprobate Mind

Who is God's greatest enemy? You say the devil? Oh, the devil's a great enemy. Verse Peter 5, 8,. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he made of ours.

2 Corinthians 4, 4,. In whom the God of this world hath blamed in the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. John 8, 44,.

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not of the truth. Why? Because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Everybody here tonight has an assent to know that God's one great enemy is the devil. We also know that a great enemy of God is the world. 1 John 2, 15 -17,. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the plight of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lusts that are of, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. James 4, 4,. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Whosoever therefore is a friend of the world is the enemy of God. So we've got an assent to know the world is God's enemy and the devil is God's enemy. Did you know according to Romans 1, God's got one great enemy?

God has one great enemy in the book of Romans and this enemy is mentioned seven times in your Bible. One time in Jeremiah 6, 30 and the other six times are in your New Testament. One of them being right here in the book of Romans.

And tonight I preach the subject God's greatest enemy is the reprobate. I want you just to help me just for a moment for sake of illustration. How many of you have ever heard a full-fledged? I hope some of you have, but honestly, how many of you that you can remember you have heard a full-fledged message on what is a reprobate, who they are, and why God has turned them up?

How many of you in this room have ever heard a message on a reprobate before? Put your hand in the air, alright? Four of you. You may put your hands down. Now, some people have the idea that the word reprobate means incapable of rational thinking.

It does. But I got news for you. It goes further than meaning incapable of rational thinking. For example, God gives us an example in Jeremiah 6, verse 30. He's talking about these people who had been rejected.

He refers to them as silver. He refers to them as silver that has been rejected. And the Bible says, call them reprobate silver, for they had been refused of the Lord. The word reprobate not only means incapable of rational thinking, and we can obviously, by way of context, see that these people could not rationally think.

I mean, they couldn't put two and two together. I mean, they didn't know sign language much less the eight of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. I mean, these people were spiritually morons, if you will.

They couldn't even think rationally because they had been turned over to a wicked, depraved, and disobedient mind. And so, yes, that is a connotation. But I want you to understand the word reprobate literally means that you are incapable of ever being saved because God has already given you up.

Now, you hear me, and you hear me well. If Evangelist Greg Watt gives you up, whoopie-dee, there's still hope for you. If your church gives you up, that might be hard to swallow. You might have to get a new church, but there's still hope for you.

Hey, if your Bible college gives you up tonight, there's still hope for you. For you folks who go to Pensacola, if Pensacola gives up on you, there's still hope for you. For you folks who go to Bob Jones University, if Bob Jones University gives up on you, there's still hope for you.

For the one that goes to Ambassador, and that's my alma mater, and it says Ambassador to the Little Mafia, and God bless you, amen. That's my philosophy. Nonetheless, if Ambassador Baptist College gives up on you, big deal.

But I'm going to tell you something right now. If your parents give up on you, there's still hope. If the political system gives up on you, there's still hope. But friend, I got news for you. When God gives up on you, there's no hope whatsoever.

And my Bible tells me that although God is a God of long-suffering love and mercy and patience, that one day His patience, when we're out, one day His patience will wear thin, if you will, and there will come a time when people will step the line, they will go so far, and God will give them up.

And whenever God gives a person up, they can kick, preach, praise, fall, scream. They can jump on the Baptist street. They can shake a hand. They can pray a prayer. But when God gives you up, you'll go to hell, as sure as a martin to his gourd.

And there's not one thing some preacher can do for you. Now, if you hear me tonight, here is a portion of Scripture that proves that God will turn people over to a mind whereby they are completely incapable of ever being saved again.

Why God Gives People Over to a Reprobate Mind

I give you two thoughts tonight when we go home, all right? Number one, I give you the reasons why God turns them over. What are two reasons that God would give people up? By way of context, number one, they abuse Him.

Use or abuse, whatever you want to put. They use Him. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, at verse number 23. Verse 23, the Bible says,. And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and the birds and forfeited beasts and creeped things.

Wherefore, now remember, he's talking about rank sin. Wherefore, God also gave them up to the uncleanness through the loss of their own heart. These people persisted in their sin. They stayed in their sin.

They loved their sin. They wanted their sin. And God said, All right, you will only use my mercy. You will only use my grace. You will only use my love and my long suffering for so long. And God said, if you use me, if you abuse my grace, my Bible tells me that because they used Him and because they abused Him, the Bible says, Wherefore, because of this, that God gave them up to uncleanness, that they would defile their bodies.

And that's why these people live so depraved. That's why these people live so ungodly. That's why these people had a nonchalant, no care, doesn't matter if there's a heaven, doesn't matter if there's a hell attitude in Romans 1, because they used Him and God gave them over.

But let me give you the second reason that God will give a person over. Not only because you used Him, but number two, because you refused Him. These people would not heed to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

We'll talk about that in just a moment because our second point will be the duration of our message. But these people persisted in their sin. These people loved their sin. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, at verse number 26.

For this cause, what cause? Because they turned the truth of God into a lie. And for this cause, God gave them up unto vile affections. Now, if God said it's vile, I'll tell you what, friend, it's vile.

For even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. Now we're going to have the USA Today and World Report, if you will, right out of America. You're fixing to find it in verse 27.

And likewise, also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another. We're talking about perversion, satanites. Men with men, working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was me.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. Now look at me in the face just for a moment, all right?

These people used Him, He turned them over. These people refused Him, He turned them over to a reprobate mind. When they were turned over, when they had crossed the point of no return, look at the description that the Apostle Paul, through the inspiration of God's Spirit, gives to these people who the Bible says were just turned over to a reprobate mind.

Look in your Bibles, please, at verse 29. Being filled, I mean completely, thoroughly, through and through. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, even through the Gospels in for good measure.

Verse 30, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful... Hey, does it not sound like a world report to you? Does it not sound like reading the Time magazine, the U .S. Senate days, something like that? Despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things.

That's interesting. Disobedient to parents. Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful. Now get verse 32. To knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

And my Bible tells me because of their abuse of Him and because of their refusal of Him, those were the two reasons evident right here in the context that God gave them over. But here's my message tonight.

The Results of Being Turned Over: No Conviction

I do not necessarily want to spend the duration of my message on the reason God turned them over. I want to give you secondly, the results of being turned over. There are two results of being turned over to a reprobate mind.

There are two things that you will not have whenever God gives you up. By the way, you believe anything you want to. I believe there are people whose brainwaves are working, their heart is beating and their blood is pulsating through their veins 90 miles to nothing.

But they have already crossed the line. God has given them up and we can preach, scream, shout, kick and fall, but they will never be saved by the grace of God for God has already turned them over. I'll prove that to you.

First, result number one. Result number one, when a person has been given up is first and foremost, no conviction. You hear me? No conviction. And then if you're writing that down, if you write it down, then look this way.

Now, how many of you in this room tonight, just by a show of hands, help me by way of this illustration. How many of you believe not because your church says it, not because your Bible college says it, but because you believe in the Bible?

How many believe that we have, honestly, as a child of God, as a man, as a lady, how many think we have a responsibility to be faithful in the ministry of evangelism? We should knock on doors, pass out gospel tracts, pray for people, preach to people.

We should do what we can to see people saved. I'm not commanded to win the world. I'm commanded to tell the world. How many would agree with the fact that we are supposed to all be evangelists? Would you put your hand high in the air?

All right, now put your hands down. Did you know that we are living in a day, please, do not misquote me. I don't mind if you quote me, just don't misquote me. We got too much of that going on the tabloids already.

But you know what? I believe that we have a responsibility to personally evangelize people. I believe that. But we have so over-emphasized man responsibility and so de-emphasized the Holy Spirit's responsibility.

We don't even know what real biblical evangelism is anymore. Let me tell you what I mean. Did you know that you can go to a center? Hey, Big Joe, come to the door. So Big Joe comes to the door. And you can pull out your King James Bible and you can beat Big Joe's head with it.

And you can loosen your tie, fellas. And you can get red in the face. And you can sing a song of spring will batter. And you can quote Psalm 19, John 3, 16, the Romans' road, John's highway. And you can get red in the face, spit all over the place.

You can jump around, throw cold water in this man's face. You can preach on heaven. You can preach on hell. You can preach on everything in between. You can preach on it all. And you can beg that man to get saved by the grace of God.

But you know what the Bible truth is? If the Spirit of God does not first put him under old-fashioned conviction, he's not going to get saved no matter what you do. We can beat the doors down. We can beg them to get saved, walk an aisle, shake a hand, pay a prayer, get in a baptismal booth.