We have always been the minority. We've just had a reprieve in our little piece of human history. We are defined in the wonderful inspired words of Peter as a separate people. As a holy nation, Christ is our King. Scripture is our law.
Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson, and today we return to a new series that had a unique beginning. We ask each of our staff members which of John MacArthur's messages is your favorite. and we then compiled the lists and whittled it down to ten messages, and it's those ten messages that we're featuring in our current series called John MacArthur's Most Memorable Sermon.
Now the message you'll hear today was chosen by Kevin Finley, and Kevin joins me in the studio. Welcome, Kevin. Thanks, Phil. Glad to be here. Kevin works in the financial end of our operation.
He's Graced T U's controller. And the message he chose as his favorite by John is called, We Will Not Bow. That, I think, is a favorite of a lot of people. I remember when John first preached that, there was quite a response to it. But, Kevin, why did you pick that sermon?
I think you have to remember the context of what was occurring then. The Supreme Court decision, the Bergerfeld decision, was at the end of June, and that was kind of a shock to the Christian community. And John was on vacation during that time. And he didn't come back until this sermon, which I think was in August. And so, and it was pretty packed that night.
You know, not just because John was back, but I think because everybody knew that he was going to speak on this. And The thing that I'll never forget about it is when he got to the part where he just said, we will not bow down. Uh, to Caesar, uh, we bow to our king only, or something like that.
Well, when he said, We will not bow down to Caesar, I mean, everybody, there was just applause, and um, it was a very visceral reaction, I think, to so many people because. And it wasn't just like, you know, that um It was an us against them type of thing. I think, you know, John Howe was. Going through in that sermon, you know, that we're living in a Romans world right now. And, you know, you had the White House being illuminated with.
the rainbow flag after the announcement was made.
So I think that as Christians we were beginning to feel very marginalized. And um when John said that, he just simplified it. He just simplified what We were to do as Christians. The Lord's in control, but we're going to bow down to Christ and not the government. It's a powerful sermon.
And I think maybe more than any other single message by John MacArthur, it epitomizes what a man of conviction he was. And he states it so well.
So now let's listen to We Will Not Bow. chosen by Grace TU staff member Kevin Finley. as John MacArthur's most memorable sermon. A lot has happened in our country. A lot is happening at a very rapid rate.
And with all the discussion that's been going on, I've been kind of eager to get to you and maybe help to give you a perspective. This country talks a lot about terrorist attacks. And rightly so. Almost anybody in America can give you some kind of a listing of the. the most uh destructive acts of terror that have happened in our country.
But let me suggest to you this. The two greatest attacks of terror on America were perpetrated by the Supreme Court. The first one was the legalizing of abortion. Subsequent to that, there have been millions of babies slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers. It's incalculable to even comprehend that.
The the the blood of those lives cries out from the ground for divine vengeance on this nation. The second great act of terror perpetrated by the Supreme Court was the legalization of same-sex marriage. The destruction of human life in the womb. In a sense, the destruction of motherhood. And now the destruction of the family itself.
No bomb. No explosion. No attack and no assault. on people physically. can come anywhere near that kind of terrorism.
Our country is being terrorized by the people most responsible to protect it. Those who are to uphold the law. Since marriage is vital to God's design, For ordered society. Sensible Civilization, civilization able to enjoy common grace. Since marriage is by God's design his way to pass on order, to pass on peace, to pass on temporal blessing, and even to pass on righteousness from one generation to the next, family has always been under assault.
Under assault. It's in Genesis. God makes it very clear. He made them male and female. Male, female, nothing in the middle.
Male, female. He said, Marriage is when a male and a female come together and create a union for life and have children. That's marriage. But you don't get very far in Genesis. Until you run into Polygamy.
Incest. Prostitution. Rampant homosexuality by the 19th chapter of Genesis. All the deviations. All the perversions are in the book of Genesis.
After the fall. These have always been The corruptions that have marked human Society. Again, in America and in the Western world, we've had a bit of a reprieve because of the prevailing influence of Christian morality. The objective of Satan, the objective of demons. And consequently, the objective of all who are the subjects of Satan, the children of Satan, as they're called in Scripture.
is to destroy everything that God has made. They are the enemies of God and Christ. and the truth of Scripture and the gospel. The objective is not simply to redefine gender. The objective is not simply to redefine marriage.
The objective is to destroy what God has designed. Families provide a small sovereign unit. That acts as a small barrier against the corruption that seeks to dominate. Shatter the family, destroy the family. and the small sovereign barrier is disintegrated.
And by the way, The goal in all of this, you need to be reading to see this. The goal in all of this is not. Homosexual, same-sex marriage. The goal is the total elimination of all marriage. Which then means that You don't possess any privacy.
You don't have that small sovereign unit, and your children are not yours. They're public children. And they belong to the education system, and they belong to the country, and they belong to the village. But not to you. And so, when they're 15 in the state of Oregon, they can have a sex change without telling their parents, and the state will do it and pay for it.
This is not about same-sex marriage. This is about the total obliteration of the family.
So that there will be no more family, no more covenants. No more private sovereign units that stand up against the corruption. You go back to contraception. You go back to where this all began. It is the product, admittedly, of the feminist movement.
Go back. to contraception.
Now when contraception comes in You have sex without children. For the first time, The greatest restraint against having sex is eliminated. The greatest natural restraint against having sex with just anybody anytime was children will be produced. Possibly.
So contraception comes along and you can have Sex without children. But that's not enough. That doesn't cover enough ground because That's not complete enough, so you add abortion. And now you can have sex without children. And if it misses and you do have a child conceived, just kill it.
We've come all the way from Sex without children. To listen to this. Children without sex. You can manufacture a baby. The normal reason for marriage, a man and a woman coming together to produce children.
has been completely convoluted. Most people, it seems to me, would rather have a dog.
So now you can have sex. Without children and now you can have Children without sex. You can just make them. Why do you need a family? Why do you need a husband?
Why do you need a wife? We're at about 50% of children in America now are born. Without married parents. It's gonna get worse and worse and worse as Marriage. Disappears.
Why get married? Too many complications, too many questions. Too binding. People say, well, the government shouldn't even be in this. You're right, the government shouldn't be in this, and they'll get out of it fast enough.
And people will be able to make any kind of contract they want. Make any arrangement they want. Same sex, opposite sex. Polygamy? People will, you watch, marry their dogs.
They're horses. Because Satan just wants to completely obliterate marriage. It's not new. It's Genesis 19, homosexuality. And God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah over this sin.
They tried to rape angels in Sodom. Angels that took on human form to come to Sodom. The homosexuals in Sodom were blinded by God, and in their blindness, they tried. to rape the angels. The Old Testament is not Unclear.
On this issue. Let me just read something to you that maybe you don't know exists. It's in Deuteronomy Chapter 22, I'll just read it to you, verse 5. A woman shall not wear man's clothing. Is that hard to understand?
A woman shall not wear man's clothing. Nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God. Transvestism, as it used to be called, is not new. By the way, it is an abomination.
That abomination is the exact same word used in Leviticus 18 to refer to homosexuality. There were men who wanted to dress like women then. There were women who wanted to dress like men. Actually, Deuteronomy 22:5 is more general than clothing. The Hebrew actually says that it's not right to wear or to take on to oneself that which appertains to a man.
Anything that is male. A female should not adopt. Anything that is female, a male should not adopt. There were even people in ancient times referred to in the book of Deuteronomy who were emasculated. Who were deprived of their maleness.
Involuntarily or voluntarily? Deuteronomy 23, 1 says, Any emasculated man was forbidden to enter the assembly of the Lord. forbidden to enter the assembly of the Lord. These kinds of sins that blur the clear distinction between male and female are satanic. And by the way, no feature of pagan society, no feature of pagan society in ancient times filled the Jews with greater loathing than the toleration or admiration of homosexuality.
They understood what the Old Testament said. The Old Testament specifically prohibits it. Do not lie with a man as. A man lies with a woman. That is detestable.
Leviticus 18, 22. 1 Corinthians 6, 9 and 10, the New Testament says the same thing. Homosexuals and effeminate shall not Inherit the kingdom of God. It is not an alternate lifestyle, it is a deviation. It is a perversion.
It is a corruption. It happens in a fallen world, admittedly. This is a fallen world. Corruption is accumulative. Have you noticed that?
Evil men get worse and worse. Accumulated corruption leaves room for everything happening. You say, well, some of these people feel very strongly about same-sex attraction. Of course they do. It's a fallen world.
It's a corrupt and perverted world. And there are more and more feeling less and less guilty because we're making it possible for them to feel less and less guilty. In the Hellenistic literature of the Roman period around the New Testament, They knew what it meant. The word effeminate in 1 Corinthians 6 is the word in Greek malakos. Paul uses two words, arsena koitas.
which is homosexual. And effeminate. That's both sides of the homosexual behavior. From the classical period to Philo. And Philo, I think, lived 50 B C into say 25 A D From the classical period, De Philo, the Jewish scholar, Extreme distaste is expressed.
In all Greek and Hellenistic literature, as well as Jewish literature. Philo says, For the effeminate male who uses cosmetics and the coiffuring of the hair. And Philo sometimes takes a word and he uses that word of them, and it is this word: anragunas. Androgynous. Male-female.
Listen to a translation of Philo. Another evil, much greater than that which we have already mentioned, has made its way among and been let loose upon cities, namely the love of boys, which formerly was accounted a great infamy even to be spoken of, but which since is a subject of boasting, not only to those who practice it, but even to those who suffer it, and who, being accustomed to bearing the affliction of being treated like women, waste away as to their souls and bodies, not bearing about them a single spark of manly character to be kindled into a flame. But having even the hair of their heads conspicuously curled and adorned, and having their faces smeared with vermilion and paint. And things of That kind. and having their eyes penciled beneath.
and having their skin anointed with fragrant Perfumes. It is all a most seductive quality. And then being well appointed in everything that tends to beauty or elegance, and they are not ashamed to devote their constant study and endeavors to the task of changing their manly character into an effeminate one. Nothing new. Nothing new.
It was revulsion that was the ancient response to that.
Now, was this sin so horrible that forgiveness was not possible? Turn to Isaiah fifty-six. Isaiah 56. First one. Thus says the Lord: Preserve justice and do righteousness, for my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed.
How blessed is the man. Who does this? And the Son of Man who takes hold of it. who keeps from profaning the Sabbath. and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, The Lord will surely separate me from his people. Nor let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose what pleases me, and hold fast my covenant. To them I will give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters. And listen to this.
I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. Wow, what a word picture. Even the eunuchs who were forbidden to enter the The worship of God. The homosexuals who were Scorned. By people.
Find with God. Forgiveness. and an everlasting name. And then 1 Corinthians 6, we need also to look at that. 1 Corinthians 6.
Verse Nine Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators. Nor idolaters, nor adulterers. Nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And then this in verse 11.
Such were some of you. But you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. Both Isaiah speaking for God, Paul speaking for God.
offers salvation to sinners. Even those who have fallen to this vile perverted destructive sin.
Now, as I have been telling you, in America, we're seeing an aggressive expansion of this sin. I've been around a long time. It's always been there. It was spoken of this kind of behavior. Transvestism or Gender confusion or homosexuality was spoken of in whispers and hushes.
Not anymore. It's everywhere. The President, leaders of the nation, Supreme Court, All affirm The nobility of this, the morality of it. And that leads me to believe that we are now living in Romans 1. I've told you that.
How do you know when the wrath of God is released? How do you know when the wrath of God is unleashed against a society? First, Romans 1, 24, there's a sexual revolution. We've had that in the 60s. The last century.
Then there will be a homosexual revolution led by lesbians. The women are mentioned first in Romans 1.26. And then there will be the reprobate mind. And that's when the thinking is really the product of the sexual, homosexual revolutions. And the thinking is so corrupt we can't find our way back.
That's where we are. the people in our country tasked with the responsibility of thinking clearly for everybody else. The President, the leaders, the Supreme Court, those who are supposed to be the most clear minded, clear headed, who have the greatest responsibility to protect this nation, they literally can't think straight. The reprobate mind has ascended the bench. I received a letter from a judge.
A very significant judge in a very significant court. And he said in his letter, One of the duties of a judge. is to marry people. I am now under government mandate. to have to marry people of the same sex.
I cannot do that. I cannot do that. He will lose his position. Clerks, Christian clerks across the country who issue marriage license and can't Do that either? are losing their jobs.
The takeover is going to be massive. Christian people in high places are going to be replaced by people who will do what this court says you must do. I wrote him a letter back and I said, I honor you, sir. I honor you because you have ascended to that level of responsibility. You have shown common sense and wisdom and astuteness and brilliance in your field of law.
And you have been given the trust of the people because of what you have demonstrated. And now, Because of the quality and character of your virtue, you will be replaced essentially by someone with no virtue. Get ready, folks. The reprobate mind has now reached the highest levels. And that level will demand the reprobate mind everywhere else.
And where that mind dominates, the end of Romans 1. Where there is a depraved mind. Then everything that's improper begins to happen: all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful. And though they know the ordinance of God that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but they give hearty approval to those who practice them. There isn't a judge, there isn't a sitting judge on the Supreme Court who doesn't know what the Bible says about homosexuality.
But they affirm it anyway. That's the reprobate mind. And it's now going to dominate our society.
So we as Christians are the minority. But we have always been the minority. We've just had a reprieve in our little piece of human history. We are defined in the wonderful inspired words of Peter as a separate people. As a holy nation.
Christ is our King. Scripture is our law. And in ways that have not been true in the past, scripture and the laws of our country now collide head-on. Head on. We're going to feel it.
At the seminary, we put an article up on the seminary website about homosexuality. Within a matter of hours. We received a letter. Ordering us to cease and desist immediately or face A very severe lawsuit. Could we be sued for taking this position?
Absolutely. Insurance companies that provide liability insurances for churches so that we're protected against lawsuits are beginning to say, we will not. Except Responsibility for lawsuits on homosexual or same-sex marriage issues. The church is out there all on its own. Practical atheism.
Rejection of the truth, moral relativism. has always prevailed in Satan's kingdom. But here in America, we've been protected from that in its full fierceness. No more. And by the way, religious liberty isn't promised to Christians, is it?
Freedom isn't promised to Christians. Persecution is. I think we're going to feel it. They're going to come at us a lot of ways. There's already a movement to remove tax-exempt status from churches.
So that what you give to the church is no longer deductible, so that what you give to a Christian ministry is no longer deductible. The government provides student loans. for students at Christian colleges. If that school and that college doesn't affirm same-sex marriage, and have open enrollment to homosexuals. They can cut off all that funding.
This is going to come. We enjoy as a church, beautiful campus, large piece of property. We don't pay property tax. Because We're granted. Freedom from that tax.
How long will that remain? if we don't comply. We are the target now. We're in the bullseye. And there's no deception.
This is how It really is.
Now, just to make it clear. We don't bow down. To Caesar. We bow to our king. You're listening to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur.
Today's lesson, one of John's most compelling messages, showing you what it means to stand firm for Christ in a hostile culture. This was chosen by one of Grace to You's staff members as John MacArthur's most memorable sermon. That is the title of our current series.
Now, friend, know that we want to hear how God has used John's Bible teaching in your life. Along that line, I have a letter here from a listener named Cheryl, and here's what she told us: she writes, I need to express my thankfulness for John MacArthur's ministry through Grace to You on the radio. My husband was a truck driver, and for 35 years he listened to John's sermons for daily encouragement and spiritual growth while he drove his truck. He couldn't keep silent about what he heard, and it was in constant conversation with family and fellow workers and total strangers concerning God's Word. My husband went to be with the Lord two years ago after battling cancer.
His desire to share the Lord and sound doctrine during his final years convicted me to know God's Word more intimately and to pray for those with whom he shared the gospel. Please don't ever take John's sermons off the air. They are life giving, and we need John MacArthur's depth of knowledge desperately in these last days and she signs her name Cheryl. Thank you, Cheryl, for encouraging us. That is a great encouragement.
And, friend, know that grace to you is not going to change. We will always feature, and only feature, the Bible teaching of John MacArthur, and we will do that for as long as the Lord allows. God uses faithful friends like you to sustain our work, so thank you for your prayers and for your financial support, which is especially important as 2025 draws to a close. If you'd like to express your support, contact us today. You can send your tax-deductible gift to GraceTU.
Post Office Box 4000, Panorama City, California, 91412. or call us at 800-55 GRACE. or make a donation online at gty.org. Thanks for standing with us at year's end. About a quarter of our budget is met by the gifts we receive in the last few weeks of the year, and so it is important.
Again, if you'd like to partner with us, call 80055GRACE or go to gty.org. And if you've benefited from John's Bible teaching on grace to you, let us know about it. Email is great for that. That address is letters at gty.org. One more time, that's letters at gty.org.
Or you can send your note by regular mail addressed to PO Box4000POX. Panorama City, California. 91412.
Now for the entire Grace to U staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for making this broadcast part of your day and be back tomorrow for even more encouragement to help you stand strong for biblical truth in a hostile culture. We're continuing our study John MacArthur's most memorable sermon. With another 30 minutes of Unleashing God's Truth, one verse at a time. Odd grace to you.
