I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing, let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we ask thy blessing upon our evening worship, that ere we
leave thy house this day, that we might be able to raise further
praise to thy name, blessing received by our souls, and that
we might be instructed and taught in thy ways, that thou hast grant
us to be strengthened for this week, and that we might have
that blessing of the first day of the week, when thou didst
appear to thy disciples. We ask this through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 113. Tune, Mainzer 364. This evening I wish to read from
two portions of God's holy word. Firstly, the epistle of Paul
to the Romans, chapter 3. And we'll read from verse 9 through
to 23. If you have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 1046. Romans chapter 3 and from verse
9. What then? Are we better than
they? No, in no wise, for we have before
proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none
righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Their throat is
an open sepulchre. With their tongues they have
used deceit. The poison of asps is under their
lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. and the way of peace have they
not known. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. Now we know that what things
so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by
the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets. even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe. For there is no difference, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now let
us turn to the Gospel according to Matthew. Matthew chapter 24,
And we'll read from verse 34 through to the end of the chapter. That is page 912 in the Ruby
Bibles. Matthew 24 from verse 30. 4. Verily I say unto you, this generation
shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered
into the ark, and you not until the flood came and took them
all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall
two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other
left, Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be
taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for ye know
not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if
the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief
would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his
house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for
in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. Who then
is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler
over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is
that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he
shall make him ruler over all his goods. But, and if that evil
servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming,
and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and
drink with the drunken, The Lord of that servant shall come in
a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is
not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion
with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Lord, bless to us those solemn
portions of his holy word and help us in prayer. O Thou most merciful and gracious
Lord God, we seek, Lord, Thy blessing to be upon us as we
have read Thy word, that our eyes might be opened, that our
hearts might perceive the warnings that we have read, the testimony
of what the heart of man is and our position under the law. O Lord, do in mercy fasten upon
our hearts our need of redemption, saving, deliverance. O Lord,
do cause us to hear and understand what we read. We pray for faith,
the faith of Jesus Christ. that Thou hast grant each one
of us here this evening that blessing of faith that we might
receive the Word of God and it profit us. We read that the Word
did not profit them, being not mixed with faith in them that
heard it. Do grant then that Thy Word might
profit us, that we might hear its warnings. that we might hear
the alarms that are sounded, that our lives might reflect
the truth of what we have read and throughout Thy Word. O Lord,
do cause that we might truly take on board all that is said
before us of our danger and what lies between us and an eternity. either in hell or in heaven. Lord, do grant that the eternal
things might be real things to us, that our soul might be real
to us, that we might be delivered from the deceitfulness of sin,
from the hardness of our hearts, and that those cause us to not
be like those in Noah's day, but that we might be of those
that are, through the gospel, warned to flee from the wrath
to come. We do thank thee that we can
gather once more in thine earthly courts. Do bless us as a church
and people here, and do bless each gathered this evening. Bless
each in thy house, and remember those that are online also. And we do pray that thou hast
blessed the children, the young people, we thank thee for them
here. We pray thy work in their hearts
while they are young, and that they might know thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. You provide for
our dear friends to go before them in employments, in partners
in life, and especially in the things of God. Be thou their
teacher, instructor, and Lord, do we please to lead on to that
true knowledge of the Son of God and of assurance of our interest
in thee. O Lord, we do pray that thou
would work in each of our hearts, where it is begun, do continue,
where it is not, do begin. And, O Lord, that Thou hast grant
that spiritual reviving in our churches, in our land, O Lord,
in this locality, in this town, we would like a petition for
Thy blessing to be upon the meeting next Saturday. and Lord, that
there might be those constrained to come and hear thy word and
to be blessed and to be brought to, through these means, to enquire
after thee and seek after thy salvation. O Lord, do shine on
our churches and do grant, Lord, that we might be able to serve
our day and our generation, and that we might see thine offspring
come. We pray for many that are unwell
at this time, those that are recovering from operations, those
that have been taken into hospital today. Lord, do remember many
friends, especially as a man who has sores breathing and unwell,
and we do commit them lovingly unto thee. And now, Lord, do
be pleased to Help each that cares for the sick and those
that are sick. We pray for those in bereavement
as well, to comfort them and help them. O Lord, we do seek,
Lord, that as Thou dost take Thy people home, that Thou would
replenish the flocks below, and that there might be those that
are younger to take their place. We do seek Thy blessing on our
churches in Australia, in America and Canada, and dear brethren
in Holland. We pray for those hoping to come
to us in this week, We seek health and strength for them, thy blessing
on the proposed visit here. And Lord, we do pray that thou
would remember thy one church in every nation, kindred and
tongue. Remember the brethren in Mombasa,
we thank thee for thy servant raised up there to be able to
learn the language and preach fluently in their own language
and do be pleased to bless his ministry amongst them. We remember
those, thy servants, that have started pastures this year. We do commit them unto thee that
thy blessing might be upon those churches. And O Lord, do we please
to help those who are scattered and those who have no place of
worship near them. May they be enabled to move nearer
to one, or may they be able to have thy Blessing upon the means
that are supplied now, we do commit them unto Thee, Thou knowest
each individual case. We do thank Thee where Thou hast
called a people and made them to prize and value. The preached
word which once they saw no, need of or attractiveness in. We do plead thy promise that
it hath pleased thee through the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. And Lord, we mourn that so many
churches have gone away from even preaching, let alone faithful
preaching. And Lord, we do seek to be kept
and that thou has continued to bless That means that Thou hast
said that Thou wilt bless. Leave us not to put Thy Word,
put our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on a new cart, on something
other than that ordained by Thee. We do thank Thee for every temporal
blessing and favour and for Thy spiritual mercies and blessings. We pray for a closer walk with
Thee, the fear of the Lord, a love to Thee, a deliverance from those
things that make us so short at Thy throne and so easy to
be turned aside from Thy Word. Do grant us an appetite, a longing,
and a real delight in Thee and in Thy Word and in fellowship
with Thee. O Lord, do deliver us from this
present evil world and the deadening effect it has upon us, and deliver
us from those things that Thou hast said in Thy Word will bring
barrenness and the rod and darkness upon our souls. Help us to walk
in a watchful, prayerful, diligent ways spiritually and do leave
us not cumbered about with much serving even that we have no
time to sit at thy feet and hear thy word. We commit the week
that we've entered upon unto thee. Be thou our guide and bless
us in it. We thank thee for mercies of
the past week Thy kindness refrains in the last month. We pray Thy
blessing upon the Bibles distributed. We seek, Lord, that Thou has
worked through that means. May there be those that for the
first time read the creation account, for the first time read
about our state by nature and the Gospel. Whose eyes might
be opened, who might see it Lord, do grant thy blessing.
Thou hast given us an open door, thou hast kept it open. And Lord,
we do commit thy word unto thee, every one that has received a
copy of it. Now, Lord, do forgive our many
sins. We thank thee for our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ, for that which he hath accomplished at
Calvary. Lord, we do thank Thee for that
precious blood shed there, and we do thank Thee for Thy grace,
the mercy and promise to help in our Lord. Call upon me in
the day of trouble, I will deliver Thee, and Thou shalt glorify
me. Help laid upon one that is mighty,
and that Thou art exalted to give repentance and remission
of sins. O Lord, do grant us that great
and vital change at the beginning and all the way along the way,
ever turning unto Thee as oft as we turn away. O Lord, forsake
us not, leave us not, revive us again, bless us with Thy presence. We do ask, Lord, Thy help, the
aid of Thy Spirit, the power of God this evening hour. We
ask through Thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. The announcements, God willing,
I'm expected to preach here on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock
and next Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. The whole of the
Creation Ministries international meeting next Saturday at 4 o'clock
and 6 o'clock is not held here at the chapel. It's being held
at Vespry Hall in Cranbrook and the Information about that is
on our website. The Bible is distributed during
January 11 from our Bible boxes and 73 through the web offer. Total then of 84 Bibles distributed
and may the Lord be pleased to bless the words sent out. We thank thee for the giving
during January which amounted for the cause £787.11. The problem has been sorted or
realised what had happened with stewardship and we've had a lot
to do with them and with Plusnet and BT in the week. The note
is on our website and on the stewardship website, but it seems
to be a change in some of the settings. We did not realise
that Plusnet had a parental control hidden that was actually blocking
stewardship site. So we've had to overcome that. and there's directions on the
stewardship site. If you have any problem at all
getting on, not only on our site, but other sites, then look for
those hidden controls that may be blocking the sites on your
own router, so own broadband site. Hymn, 1104. Tune, St. Marie 835. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Paul's epistle to the Hebrews,
Hebrews chapter 11, and reading for our text, verse 7. Hebrews 11 and verse 7. By faith Noah, being warned of
God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an
ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the
world and became heir of the righteousness, which is by faith. Hebrews 11 verse 7, And specifically,
it is these words being warned of God. That is, when danger
is real to us. All of us will only take action,
avoidance, If when we read a warning sign, we actually believe that
there is a need for that warning. If we were to have a swimming
pool and at the end of it there was a sign saying, shallow water,
no diving, if we believed what that warned about, then we would
know that if we dived into that, especially head first, we're
likely to hit the bottom, we'd suffer injury, perhaps paralysis,
and then we would not jump into that water. We'd read the sign,
we'd believe it, we'd understand the consequences, and it would
affect what we do. All the time in our lives, have
signs in driving the road. We often come across warning
signs. There's often things to alert
us of things that are wrong. Many years ago there was very
deep fog on one of our motorways, and there was a major accident
in it. People were going full speed
into that fog, and smashing, and there was people trying to
flag people down, waving and trying to stop them, but they
just took no notice, and they just kept going straight in,
into often fatal accidents, because they didn't believe it, or didn't
see the warning, they just pushed through. And we have examples
of that many times in our lives. I wonder how many of us have,
and this is what I have felt so much of late, as we read the
Word of God, the Word of God is full of warnings. Full of warnings concerning our
state, eternity, what shall happen to us if we die unconverted,
and consequences for our actions. And I often feel amazed with
myself at how hardened often I am. I can read these warnings,
especially regarding our conduct or walk and things that we do,
and just as if I have not heard that warning, if there's anything
that really shows to me how fallen we are, hardened in sin, how
dead, is that we can read of most solemn things in the Word
of God, and it leaves us unmoved. We are reminded in our text,
it doesn't just say, Noah being warned of God, of things not
seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared and up. It says, by
faith, by faith. And we're told in the previous
verse, but without faith, it is impossible to please him,
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that
he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We read
right through the scriptures about God, his existence, his
power, his holiness, His all-seeing eye, His ever-present. But how
does that really affect our lives? How do we really understand that
and walk according to that? It is a vital matter. It is a vital matter of needing
faith and it should alarm us when we realize that we are heartened,
things are not moving us. One of the hymns speaks about
a heart unconcerned can look upon eternal misery without really
laying it to heart at all. And so it is that which is upon
my spirit this evening. Like I said, naturally, we might
have someone that has been diagnosed with a disease or a cancer, and
they understand, especially if they know someone else who's
had it and seen what happens, they understand the need of treatment,
they understand the danger, they feel it profoundly affects them. But when it comes to sin, when
it comes to the malady that the death sentence is written upon
it, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. And we're already
under that sentence. We're not moved by that. And
how many of us have thought, well, how is this? How can we
understand a sickness or illness in our body, which is but for
time, But when it comes to our soul and eternity, we don't. And there seems to be, and there
is, just a block, an inability to really comprehend it and enter
into it. And there are those that would
take the view, they have an inkling that the Word of God is warning
and is finding them guilty and so they'd rather just put the
word of God aside and don't want to read it, they don't want to
know the worst, they'd rather just be in ignorance and just
trust in their own works and that all will be well at the
end. But those of us who have been brought up under the sound
of the truth, we can read all of these things and it doesn't
the proportion of how much it should affect us, it doesn't. So I want to look this evening
firstly at those for whom the danger was real and the action
that they were moved to take, those in the word of God. And
I want to look secondly at man's danger in a state of nature. When we're born into this world,
we're already born in a state of danger. And then lastly, the
danger of various things to a Christian, or really to any, how we walk
and what we actually do. And mixed with all of this, we
hope to trace the gospel, to know something of the blessing
of the gospel. Well, we want to begin with Noah,
where our text is. By faith, Noah being warned of
God of things not seen as yet. God warned him that he was going
to destroy the world by a flood, 120 years before it happened. And Noah then believed that,
moved with fear. The reality of what God had told
him. And when we think of it, you
know, building a boat, large like the ark was, on dry land, And how many would have seen
that? Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He preached Christ. He preached
the way of salvation. He preached the judgment that
was coming. And yet when it came, there were
only eight persons that were saved by water. No doubt many during that time,
Methuselah, Lamech, Many that were in the line to Christ, in
the line to Noah, died before the flood. There's no doubt that
they also believed what was coming. But what a picture of the effect
of faith when no sign was there, nothing was there to give an
indication that there was any danger, any reason for Noah to
be doing as he was. I believe there is a great parallel
to what we read here of Noah and of the preaching of the gospel. They're told by our Lord that,
as we read, that as it was in the days of Noah, So it shall
be in the days at the end of the world, when the Lord shall
come and the world shall be burnt up, that men shall be marrying
and giving in marriage, buying and selling, just like they were
doing then, going about their ordinary work and lives. There's no indication of the
destruction that was coming. And we live in a day that is
like that. The gospel is preached. There's
the warning that there shall be the judgment to come. There
shall be an end to this world. It shall be burnt up. And with
Noah, by faith, he prepared an ark to the saving of his house.
And every believer, everyone that is brought to believe God's
message, to believe the report of the wrath to come, the need
for a sinner to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ, they will
also be moved by fear, and it will be moved to seek after the
Lord and to beg of Him for His salvation, really to know the
way of escape from the wrath to come. And so we see with Noah,
as one of the very first ones that is set before us, we have
Abel, he also saw the need of the blood offering, that with
Noah a real effect of what God told him profoundly affected
his life and moved him to walk as he did. So we follow that
example by that of Lot, Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah. God told
Abraham what he was going to do. The two angels, they came
to Sodom. They came to Lot's house. They saw firsthand the wickedness
of the city. They said to Lot to go out. to
warn, to get all that was in his house and to come out because
God was going to destroy that city. And we believe that Lot
did, did believe what they said. He went out, he said to those
who had married his daughters to flee, that God would destroy
the city. But we read that he was like
one that mocked. You wonder how little probably
Lot actually spoke of the things of God to those of his family
or those of his sons-in-law. Lot dwelling in a very wicked
city, which we're told that he vexed his righteous soul from
day to day with their unlawful deeds. But though he believed
that it would be destroyed, and we can understand his reluctance
to leave when he was leaving loved ones there, how the Lord
had to have mercy upon him, how those angels had to take him
by the hand and to bring him out of the city and his wife
and his daughters. What a reluctance, even though
he did believe. There were things that were holding
him back. And again, no sign, no evidence
of that destruction that was to come except the word of God,
except what was said. And then it suddenly came and
all those cities of the plain were destroyed. In each case
we have with Noah, we have with Lot, The only warning that was
given was the Word of God. Maybe remember that. No other signs. You might say,
yes, there was other signs. Because of the wickedness in
Noah's day and the wickedness in Lot's day. That was the destruction of that
world's and of the cities of the plain. God will judge sin,
he will visit upon it. We think then of the Passover, the signs that were in Egypt.
Sometimes before the Passover, there were signs like the hail,
and there were some of Pharaoh's servants that believed what God
was going to send. And we read that those that believed,
they brought their cattle in out of the field so they were
not destroyed. But those that did not believe,
they left their cattle out in the field to get killed by the
hail. Again, it was whether the word
of God was believed or not. Then when the Passover was given,
God said that he would send his angel throughout the land and
that all of the firstborn would be destroyed. The only way to
escape that was that the Israelites should take a lamb, a spotless
lamb, they should slay that lamb, they should put the blood on
the doorpost and on the lintel, they should shelter in that house
and eat that lamb roast with fire, their shoes on their feet,
staff in their hand, be ready to go immediately out of Egypt. Remember that the children of
Israel again were relying on the word of God as to what would
happen, what the remedy was, and yet we read that the children
of Israel went away and did as Moses commanded them, or God
through Moses commanded them. And the promise was, when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. Wherever the blood was, then
there was the sparing of the firstborn. Wherever it is not,
the firstborn was slain throughout all the land of Egypt. Again,
a warning a warning through the word, an action to be taken by
faith, they kept the Passover. We read of that and how that
in verse 28 of Hebrews 11, through faith he kept the Passover and
the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn
should touch them. Then we think when they came
40 years later to Jericho, the effect that the report of what
God had done in bringing the children of Israel through the
Red Sea 40 years before, and what had happened in Egypt, Rahab
knew that, she believed that, she even said that those in the
city were fearful and afraid of what would come. But numbered
amongst those by faith here in Hebrews 11 is Rahab. By faith the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believed not when she had received the spies
with peace and it sets forth there that there were those that
believed not, but with Rahab that she did believe, did believe
that God had given them the city and did believe that there was
mercy with the children of Israel and with God. And so she asked
for a sign, she was given a true token, what she asked for, which
was an equivalent like the blood, but instead of the blood, it
was the scarlet line in the window. And God honoured that, that part
of the wall, her house was on the wall, it did not fall. And
she was found amongst the faithful and amongst those in Israel. So there was a Gentile, that
believed the report, the warning, and acted according to that. The children of Israel, when
they came into the Promised Land, they were given cities of refuge,
and those cities of refuge were for those who had slain a man
unawares, and the families were pursuing after him to kill him,
and he had to then run to those cities of refuge so that his
case could be properly heard before a court, rather than just
being slain by angry relatives. Those that knew that danger,
they ran, they used those cities of refuge. Those that trusted
their own strength, those that didn't believe there were those
that were likely to kill them, wouldn't have fled there. and
then could easily have been slain. We think of the Jews in Jeremiah's
day. It must have been a most solemn
thing, a hard thing for Jeremiah to be continually warning them
of their sins, their idolatry, warning them of the coming of
Babylon, the Nebuchadnezzar, the city should be destroyed,
and the people not hearkening, the kings, one after another,
taking no notice at all, and in the end, Jeremiah, seeing
the destruction of the temple and seeing what had happened. Again, it is by the word, a warning
of what God would do in destruction because of sin. Then there is the account of
Esther, the book of Esther and Mordecai. There was the decree
that went forth that upon a certain day all the Jews would be destroyed. That was believed. All the wailing,
the crying, they took that letter of impending destruction in all
seriousness. To them, it was a sentence of
death, and how they reacted showed that they believed that. But
then we find the situation where Mordecai asked Esther to go in
to the king, and she is reluctant to do so, and saying that whoso
went before the king without being invited, then if he did
not hold out the golden scepter, they would be destroyed. But
Mordecai said to her, thinkest thou that thou wilt escape more
than others in the palace? And he convinced her that she
personally was in just as much danger as everyone else. and
that that danger then was to outweigh her own personal danger
in going before the king when she was uncalled. In one sense
you see a wrestling there. The danger of going in, and she
says after they'd had three days fasting and prayer, if I perish,
I perish, I'm gonna go in under the king. Mordecai says, who
knoweth, that thou art raised up to the kingdom for such a
time as this. And so she realizes the need
to go in and the danger to her, to her people, outweighs the
fear she had in venturing. And we have these cases that
are set before us in that way where the danger was clearly
seen. Think of one extra one. And this
is more in the line with what I want to look at at our third
point. Those things that can be very
dangerous for the people of God especially, but for any, to go
along with. And that is thinking of the martyrs. In the days of the persecution
of the Protestants by the Roman Catholics, then it often hinged
on whether the Protestants were willing to partake in the Mass. Now Mass, unlike the Lord's Supper,
the Lord's Supper is a remembrance service. We do show forth the
Lord's death till he come. But the Mass the Roman Catholics
teach is a sacrifice, that under the priest's blessing, the wafer
or the bread becomes the literal body of Christ, the wine becomes
the literal blood of Christ, and he is offered again. That's
why they have the altar, not the Lord's table, but an altar,
and solemnly some of the high church in England, they also
have the same. But the martyrs rather than deny
their faith, deny the one sacrifice for sin who was offered at Calvary,
and to go along with that error and the errors of the Roman Catholic
faith, especially teaching as well, that is salvation by works
rather than faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ, Martin Luther,
he came to that belief that it was faith only and not works. But rather than deny that, rather
than think, well, it doesn't matter, I'll lose my life if
I don't partake of Mass. They said, no, we cannot, and
rather than walk in that error and partake of the blasphemous
mass, they were burnt alive to death. They saw the danger of
casting away true faith, of saving their bodies but losing their
souls. They saw that danger. It is something
we should not forget and really think of. A generation before
us, the 1500s, 1600s, those that were martyred for their faith,
because of what they believed, rather than change their belief,
rather than say it didn't matter, they held to it. and it costs
them their lives. And in a day when it's almost
all, well, it's not worth standing for anything. Everyone's gonna
get to heaven. You go one way, I go another
way, and we can all have faith, and even from our king, is to
be the champion of all faiths, and is more the accepted thing. We've just got to allow that
everyone's God is equal, we have to be reminded of what those
martyrs suffered and how important they felt even one doctrine,
one teaching of the truth of God. The word says, buy the truth
and sell it not. And so we have this, and we've
only touched on a few, but long list of those in the word of
God. that relieved warnings. They
believed what God said would come and what would happen, and
it profoundly affected their lives. They took the directions,
they went in the way that God had set before them to deliver
them from that wrath to come. Now, before thinking of, and I want
to, in our second point, more present the gospel. But in our
second point, I want to look first at man's danger in a state
of nature. The word of God, and we try to
read those portions in Romans especially, where it is set before
us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And
he spoke of Jews and of Gentiles, that there is none righteous,
no not one. And it says before us that we
all come forth from the womb speaking lies, David says in
Psalm 51, in sin did my mother conceive me, all of the sons
of Adam come into this world already under the sentence of
death, already have sinned, already are under condemnation. If we read Romans 8 verse 1,
where it says, therefore there is now no condemnation to them
that are in Christ Jesus. We read that the other way, to
those that are not in Christ Jesus, we are under condemnation. We are already condemned. We're already condemned to death. We're already spiritually dead. We already, our bodies must die
in the grave, already we must stand before the judgment, and
we must be sentenced to eternal death and damnation. The state by nature is because
of sin. Sin entered into the world and
death by sin. And it is God's sentence, in
the day that thou eatest thereof was said to our first parents,
thou shalt surely die. In dying thou shalt die. And
so that sentence is God's sentence upon man. And we are to understand
that warning. Noah was warned of God. The warning
of the scriptures, all that you and I have to do To end up in
eternal torment, eternal fire, damnation, cast out from God
forever and ever, is for nothing to happen to us from being born
until we die. That we just go through this
life and there is no change, no faith, no belief, just continue. on ignorant of God's one way
of escape. One thing that we should really
be convinced of, many will just concentrate on the warning, the
condemnation. They may say, well, God is a
terrible God and view him as an angry God. Well, it is us
that have sinned. We have sinned. We have destroyed
ourselves. But it is God that has provided
the remedy. And right immediately as man
sinned, he gave the promise of the seed of the woman that should
bruise the serpent's head. In natural things, if we see
a warning about something, then often there will be either another
way round, a way of escape, or some remedy that is at hand. How effectual it always is, sometimes
I find it quite effectual. But often you find in the hedgerows,
you find two things that are growing together. There'll be
stinging nettles and there'll be dock leaves. And when we get
stung by the stinging nettle, often take a dock leaf, spit
on it, and then rub it on the sting, it takes the sting away.
How much it is the dock leaf, I'm not sure. It does seem to
work, does seem to take it away. But often the two together, there's
the malady, and then there's a remedy. And of course, in a
medical way, for many of the conditions that man can have,
there is something that is prescribed, whether a medicine or some course
of action to remedy what is wrong. And in the Gospel, that is so
as well. And wherever the warning is really
felt, wherever it is entered into, Remember our text, it says
by faith, Noah being warned of God. For the most part, most
of the human race, even if they come across the word of God and
read it, do not take the warning. It does not affect them, does
not trouble them. But it is a mark of grace, a
mark of faith given where we are, through that word, warned. We hear it. And it is a trouble
to us. It's a concern to us. It affects
us how we live. It is a very real thing to us. And I say it to the encouragement
of any here that feel that and maybe have seen and known the
difference. You've gone many years in your
life and not been troubled at all. In fact, probably rested
in the thought, well, my parents are Christians, and we've gone
to chapel all our lives, and we must be all right then. We're
better than others. But to remember a time when that
hope was taken away, for maybe the first time, there was parts
of scripture that left a deep impression upon us. and really
concerned us, and maybe even now greatly troubles us, so that
we cannot just brush it off, and cannot deceive ourselves
that it will be alright. You want to know that you do
know the way of escape, and you do want to know that it will
be well with you. And I would say to your encouragement,
it is only those whom the Lord will make known his salvation,
that are really convinced of sinners. Nebuchadnezzar, when
he had the dream, he knew he had a dream, but he couldn't
remember what the dream was. And he wanted his wise men to
tell him what that dream was. And they said that it was an
unreasonable thing to ask no one except the gods that are
not with men. Only they could show the thing. Well, Daniel was brought in to
the king. And the king said to him, or
he said to his own wise man, you show me the dream and I can tell that you will be able
to tell me the interpretation thereof." He accused these wise
men of just manufacturing up an interpretation if he told
them the dream until the times were perhaps a long time in advance
and he'd forget what the dream was and didn't realise that it
hadn't come to pass. But he saw through their deceits. So he said this, that It would
take the same God, the same wisdom, to show the dream as the interpretation. And I've often felt that it so
describes the truth. It is the same God that convinces
of sin. It's the same God that, like
with Noah, warns a person effectually, that then shows them the remedy. shows them the interpretation,
shows them in his time away, the saviour of sinners. He shall
save his people from their sins. But when his people first come
into the world, they don't know they're sinners. They don't want
saving from their sins. They see no danger now. But then
the Lord opens their eyes, opens their ears, they see their danger. and then they want saving from
their sins. As soon as those in Acts 2 were
pricked in their heart, convinced that they had crucified the Lord
of life and glory, ye have taken and by wicked hands crucified
and slain. They were pricked in their hearts. What shall we do? Repent and
be baptised. a change of heart, change from
the hate, the anger, the unbelief concerning Jesus of Nazareth,
and turning to believe in Him, to believe His teaching, to believe
the Gospel, and to be baptised. That was the command. The same
with the jailer, who was so convinced why he was to take his own life. Paul called out, we are all here,
do thyself no harm. His inquiry was, what must I
do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. There is one name given among
men whereby we must be saved, but bless God that there is one
name. that there is a name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow. Bless God that there is a covenant
of grace, not a covenant of works, but a covenant of grace, free,
sovereign grace. Mercy to sinners, not of works,
lest any man should boast. There is a way of escape. There
is hope. There's hope to those that hear
the warning, that fear and tremble that death is upon the road,
that know that they are lost, that know they need mercy. God be merciful to me, a sinner. Whether we feel it or not, the
danger is there. But when we feel it, there is
hope. And there is hope that it is
God that has given you that faith to feel it, to be warned of God,
that make you then seek for that salvation. Wait for Him, look
for Him, and in a way that in a way is painful to wait. You
can't be fatalistic, you can't be indifferent. You have a... We're like the Hemrida mines,
an urgent, pressing case. So may we know our danger by
nature, each one of us, and know the remedy in the gospel in the
Lord, that he himself came to this world to live a perfect
life, a life that we could not live, to die the death that we
could not die, to die that he did not have to die for himself,
but died to put away the sins of his people, and that in dying
he extinguished the wrath of God for those for whom he died,
that he redeemed them, he set them free by the payment of a
price, whereas the Lord demanded without the shedding of blood
there is no remission, He provided that blood. When I see the blood,
was the word of the Passover, I will pass over you. And this
is the sacrifice our Lord offered. And He's rising from the dead,
the empty tomb, proves it, accept it, proves that satisfaction. A risen Saviour, a Saviour in
heaven, a Saviour that makes intercession for His people.
a saviour that not only died for them, but also will call
them, call them by grace, bring them like Paul when he was Saul
of Tarsus, alive without the law once, but when the commandment
came, sin revived and I died, brought as a convinced sinner.
and then wrought to know the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in
him that he once hated and persecuted those who believed on his name. It is a revelation of the Lord
Jesus Christ as the saviour of sinners, as our only hope, that
he is a saving view to a poor sinner and to you which believe
He is precious. If ever, says the hymn writer,
my poor soul be saved, tis Christ must be the way. I want to look
then lastly at the danger of various things to a Christian. I can only just very briefly
go through these things and Maybe just as we read the Word of God
in our devotions, think how many times a course of action, a way
of life, is warned against, and then the consequences are given
of walking in that way. The Apostle Paul, as a preacher,
as an apostle, In 1 Corinthians 9, he says, I keep under my body,
lest when I preach to others, I myself become a cast away. And Paul, he had this view of
his old nature, his body, his flesh, his lust, the desires
of the corrupt old nature that he had to keep under all the
time. All the time it kept on bubbling
up, threatening, as it were, to walking ways of sin. And he says, I keep under my
body. He does not automatically, because
I'm an apostle, because I'm saved, that I have suppressed all the
sin in me. No, it's not. It just keeps bubbling
up. But I keep it under. And why? Why did he do that? lest he become
a castaway. We know that God's people can't
be cast away, but it doesn't leave them then just to sin that
grace might abound. In the Proverbs then, we have
a warning of not going with a furious man or even have a friendship
with an angry man. And it is, lest thou learn his
ways and get a snare to thy soul. And so there is a very warning
that we need to avoid such company. We are again concerning is like
Paul had with his body, but Peter, he takes up the same abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. We have this
warning of these things of our own nature that are warring against
our soul. and are told to abstain from
them. Our Lord spoke of those who have
their eye offend them, or hand offend them, and to cut it off,
rather to enter into life maimed than enter with hand or enter
into hellfire with a whole body. Now, of course, he does not mean
literally plucking out eyes or cutting off our hands. But what he means is, there are
some things, our old nature, our habits, our sins, things
we look at, things that we do, that if continued in, they lead
to hell, they lead to damnation. And though it is really hard
to stop them, yet, and maybe as hard as cutting off our hands
or pulling out eyes, If we really understood the danger, then we'd
make every effort and cry to the Lord to help us and to deliver
us, and why we have such little success in it. And I speak to
myself in this, how much do we realize the danger of some things
we look at or hear or do? We think of what Job did, he
said, made a covenant with mine eyes, why then should I think
upon a maid? Another thing, Peter warns about
false teachers. How easy it is just to think,
oh, this one is teaching this or that, it's not going to hurt
me. But if we viewed those that taught false things as being
so dangerous to us, Many people are taken up with false teaching
and go along their way. One sinner does much evil. We read the letters to the churches
in Asia. One church was reproved because
it had in that church those that worked evil or held false views. And the other one was that they
not only held them, but they were teaching them as well. And
the message was, here is a danger, and Jude mentions it as well,
those where there shall be false teachers among you, that that
is a great danger and warning to the people of God. Don't live
side by side, especially in the church of God, those who are
teaching false things. If we went back a few chapters
in Hebrews, in Hebrews 3, we have the warning of unbelief. Take heed, brethren, verse 12,
chapter 3, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief
in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily
while it is cool today, lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. So his warning against the hardening
of sin and the deceitfulness of that sin. We think of the
warnings that were set forth to the Colossians, and it was
on philosophy. There had been those who made
profession of faith, and then they'd been caught up with critical
inquiry, philosophy, reasoning things, a worldly way. And so Paul, in Colossians 2
and verse 8, he says, Beware, lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. And there's that
warning of going after those things that are not of Christ. I've just finished with one from
John's epistles in 1 John chapter 2. And this goes right back to
the very first temptation in the Garden of Eden. For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the
eyes, but is of the world. And there's
a warning of that, because Satan's temptation was, concern hath
God said. Is this really a warning? Is this really something that
if you break this and eat of this forbidden fruit, that you
will die? And our first parents went along
with Satan's lies and did not receive God's warning in the
day that thou eatest thereof. Thou shalt surely die. We read
then that when Eve, she saw that the fruit, it was good to the
flesh, it was pleasant to the eyes, and was to give one wisdom. There's the three, the flesh,
the lust, the pride of life. And we are surrounded with things
then, that are a danger to the people of God. There are poisons,
there are errors, there are dangers on every side. The way is a narrow
way, but it is a blessed thing we have the Lord's promise of
keeping us in the way and that God's people are kept by the
power of God through faith, ready to be revealed. at the last time. And may we trust in the keeping
of the Lord, but also have our ears open. This is what faith
is. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. If you and I are kept, it is
that the Lord has given us a hearing ear to listen to the warnings
and to take warning and to flee from the wrath to come, to do
like Lot did. escape out of the city. Well may the Lord bless the word
and may he be precious as the way of escape provided in the
gospel. Amen. Hymn, 238. Tune, Ombersley 385. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.