We're going to be looking at
that passage that Randy just read, Revelation 15. The title
of the message is, Just and True are God's Ways. And I took that
title from this passage where it literally says that just and
true are the ways of God, thy ways. And that refers to anything
that God does. whether he saves us by his grace
or whether he condemns sinners. Without grace, God is always
just. That means he's always right
and he's always true. He never tells a lie, he never
deals deceitfully or deceptively. Now as you know, When we first
started studying the book of Revelation, we learned this,
that Revelation is made up of seven visions. And each vision
is a different view, not contradictory now. but just another different
view of the last days from the time of the incarnation and from
the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ all the
way to His second coming. And here in chapter 15 and chapter
16, we have the fifth vision. Seven visions, this is the fifth
one. And we learn about Christ here sending his angels, his
messengers, to pour out seven vials, some translations say
bowls, seven vials, seven bowls of God's wrath upon the earth. God's wrath. We love to hear
about God's mercy, don't we? Love to hear about God's love
and his grace. But many people, they don't want
to hear about and they don't understand God's wrath. But the
Bible says a lot about God's wrath. Let me read you just a
couple of passages. In John chapter three and verse
36, you know, and a lot of people have the misconception that the
God of the Old Testament, well, he was a God of wrath. But the
God of the New Testament, he's a God of love. And my friend,
that is a total lie. It's a misconception. The God
of the Old Testament is a God of wrath, but He's also a God
of mercy. Remember the mercy seat in the
tabernacle in the temple. That's a picture of Christ. God
has always saved His people by His grace through the blood and
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, which did not happen
until the time that God had appointed on the earth when Christ died
on that cross, but it was so sure and certain to happen that
he even saved a man named Abel from his sins based upon what
Christ would come in the future and do. Saved a man like Abraham. Saved a man like Jacob, Isaac
and Jacob. David, King David, and you could
go all the way through. But God also expressed his wrath
against the wicked. Those who were not saved by His
grace. And it's the same way in the
New Testament. The Lord Jesus, He spoke of the love of God for
His people based upon His death on the cross, His redemptive
work. But He said a lot about wrath too. Look at John chapter
3 and verse 36. You don't have to turn there,
I'll read it to you. But here's what He says. He says, He that
believeth on the Son The Son of God, the Lord our righteousness,
hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him. And he's speaking of people there
who live their lives in unbelief and die in their sins. The wrath
of God abides, continues upon them. Over in the book of Romans
chapter nine, listen to this, verse 21. Hath not the potter
power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honor and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show
his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted made up to destruction? Think about
that. In other words, What if God forbears
with them and allows them to live and even prosper sometimes
for a while before he brings down the full measure of his
wrath upon them? And then verse 23 says, and that
he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of
mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory. Isn't that the way
it is? You know, when Moses asked the
Lord, show me your glory. How did the Lord God respond?
Well, Paul recorded it. It's recorded in the book of
Exodus chapter 33, but Paul recorded it again in Romans chapter 9,
and it says, In verse 15, for he saith to Moses, I'll have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
It's God's prerogative. But what is this thing of God's
wrath? Most people don't understand it. First of all, the Bible teaches
that by nature, That is, as we are naturally born, fallen in
Adam, born in sin, spiritually dead and depraved, even in our
best efforts, even in our religious efforts, that we all deserve
and have earned God's wrath. If you don't believe that, you
don't believe the Bible. That's why salvation has to be
by grace. Grace is something you don't
earn and you don't deserve. You understand that? Grace is
brought about through another, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so
we all deserve God's, well, what is God's wrath? Well, it's not
God throwing a temper tantrum. It's not God, as one old boy
in West Virginia said, running a wheel off. It's not just God just deciding
arbitrarily. I'm mad at this guy. No. When
you think of God's wrath biblically, think of this, justice. Justice. And that's why the title
of this message, Just and True are God's Ways. When God expresses
his wrath against the wicked, He is expressing strict justice
against their sin. He's giving sinners what they
deserve and what they've earned. And when God expresses His mercy
towards His chosen people, His sheep, He's also just in doing
that. Because then His justice has
been poured out like out of a bow or a vow, upon a representative,
a substitute, a surety, a redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what Christ was doing on that cross. He was satisfying the
justice of God for the sins of His people. And so what does
that tell us? The only hope for us as sinners
is to be found in Christ, washed in His blood, clothed in His
righteousness, That's our only hope. Outside of Christ, there's
nothing but wrath. Even God's hatred. Somebody said,
God doesn't hate anybody. You better read your Bible. Bible
says he hates all workers of iniquity. Well, who are those
workers of iniquity? They're unbelievers, those who
live and die in unbelief, having their sins charged to them. That's
why the Bible says, blessed are those to whom the Lord does not
impute iniquity. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
can condemn us? It's Christ that died. Well,
look at this passage in Revelation 15. As I said, here Christ is
sending his angels, his messengers, that's what they are. true angels, the nature of angels,
don't know. They're messengers of God, though.
And whether they're angels or not, they're bringing a message,
and that's what we need to be concerned with. And he's sending
them to pour out seven vials, or seven bowls, of God's wrath
upon the earth. You recall before there were
seven angels with seven trumpets. You remember that? In one of
the visions? What were the trumpets for? The
trumpets were for warning. Get ready. And we see those trumpets
blowing all the time in different disasters and diseases and all
kinds of things that are brought about because of the consequence
of sin. And what it's telling us is that
we're all headed for death, we better prepare to meet God. That's
the trumpet warnings. In whatever form they come in,
whether it's an earthquake, or whether it's a COVID-19, or whether
it's a germ or whatever it is. It is appointed unto men once
to die and after that the judgment. Prepare to meet God. Well, how
do I prepare to meet God? Well, find out who God is in
his word. Find out what God does concerning
judgment, concerning salvation, concerning wrath. How does God
save sinners? It's not conditioned on you or
me, it's conditioned on Christ, who fulfilled those conditions.
And we can go on and on. But the trumpets were for warning,
warning of judgment. These vials in Revelation 15
are the actual judgments of God poured out on earth. Here they
come. Kind of reminds you of the 10
plagues that were in Egypt, doesn't it? Those were God's wrath being
poured out upon earth. And you remember, we could go
through all 10 of them, we don't have time, but you remember the
very last one was the death of the firstborn, and who survived
that and lived? Those who had the blood of the
lamb on their doorpost. What is it that shields me from
the wrath of God that I deserve? That I've earned? I'm a sinner. All have sinned and come short
of the glory. What shields a sinner from the wrath of God? The blood
of Jesus Christ. Brings forgiveness of all sins.
What is the blood of Jesus Christ? It's God's justice. God's wrath
satisfied. Christ in His death on the cross
for His sheep, not for everybody without exception, because there
are some who will die in their sins and perish. But Christ on
that cross for His sheep, He drank the cup of God's wrath
dry for His people. And so we can say, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them that are in Christ. God will not and
cannot impute or charge their sins to them. He charged them
to Christ. And Christ fulfilled the justice
of God. One of the things you need to
keep in mind as you go through the book of Revelation, and actually
through the whole Bible, is that even in these revelations
and the horror of God's judgments and wrath against the ungodly,
against unbelievers, that God brings down upon the wicked,
there are solid, basic, solid, simple assurances of peace and
safety and salvation for the people of God. Look at the first
verses, and I saw another sign in heaven. Great and marvelous. Everything God does is great
and marvelous. Seven angels having the seven
last plagues. The number seven means completeness
now. It's the number of a finished,
fulfilled, completed work. That's why Christ is the believer's
seven. Christ is the believer's Sabbath.
We rest in Him, we rest in His finished work. So here's seven
last plagues. In other words, this is it. This
is the fullness of the cup of wrath God pours out from the
bowl or the vial, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. Complete, final, full justice
against all who are found before God without Christ. having their sins charged to
them, having no righteousness, having no Savior. Most of you know this past week
O.J. Simpson died. I saw a little
cartoon on, and I'm not making fun of O.J., I mean, he died
in unbelief, I believe, as far as I know. But I saw a little
cartoon and he's standing before Peter And Peter told him, said,
O.J., you're going to be judged for your life's work here on
earth. And O.J. responded to him. He
said, is Johnny Cochran up here? Now, you know who Johnny Cochran
was. He was the slick lawyer that got O.J. off. Well, I got
news for you, O.J. Johnny Cochran is not slick enough
to get you off at the judgment of God. But what would we say
as a believer? Well, turn to 1 John 2. 1 John, you see there are no loopholes
in God's law. If you stand before God without
a perfect righteousness, now listen, without a perfect righteousness,
you'll be condemned forever and ever. How in the world can I, a sinner,
have a perfect righteousness? Not by my works. Not by my will. Only by the blood
of Jesus Christ to wash away my sins. What can wash away my
sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
You see what I'm saying? His righteousness. that he worked
out in his obedience unto death, charged to me. My debt is paid,
my sin debt is paid in full, not by what I've done or what
I chose, not by walking an aisle, not by getting baptized, not
by joining a church, not by giving a tithe, but by the blood of
Christ on that cross. Look at verse two, chapter two,
verse one. My little children, these things
write I unto you that you sin not. John is trying to encourage
us to fight sin, and we should. And if any man sin, or because
we sin, we have an advocate with the Father. We have an advocate
to stand in our place and speak for us. Who is it? Jesus Christ
the righteous. And He is the propitiation. What
is a propitiation? It's justice satisfied. Righteousness accomplished. He is the propitiation for our
sins, not for ours only, not for those among the Jewish people,
but for the sins of the whole world. That doesn't mean everybody
without exception. That means God's chosen people
all over this world out of every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation.
How do you know who they are? They're brought to faith in Christ
and repentance of dead works by the Holy Spirit under the
gospel. Look over at chapter four of 1 John. Listen to this.
This is beautiful. Look at verse 16 of 1 John 4. He says, we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. Now where is that love expressed?
In Christ on the cross. That's what John 3.16 is about.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son
that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting
life. The world there is not saying everybody without exception.
It's talking about this known world all over. God has a people
all over this world. And compared to the Unbelievers,
they're very few. They're called a remnant according
to the election of grace. And he says here, look here,
verse 16. He says, we have known the love
that God hath to us, God is love, and he that dwelleth in love
dwelleth in God and God in him. Look at verse 17. Herein is our
love. Now that should be literally
God's love with us, God's love for us, made perfect. What does that mean? Reaches
its goal. How? That we may have boldness
in the day of judgment. Boldness? You mean it's not like
what I heard when I was growing up that I'm gonna come to the
judgment and I'm gonna be shaking in my boots, either wondering
if I'm saved or wondering if I'm gonna get a reward or something?
No, that's mythology. Because, look at it, because
as he is, as Christ is, so are we in this world. We're like
Christ. Now how can we say that? I know
I'm not perfect. I'm a sinner saved by grace.
My love is still imperfect. Even my faith struggles. How
am I perfectly like Christ? Only by his righteousness imputed
to me. Like Paul said in Philippians
3, to be found in him not having mine own righteousness which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith or the faithfulness
of Christ. Now go back to Revelation 15. He says in verse 2, and I saw
as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire. What is that sea of
glass? That's our salvation. That's our justification. That
sea of glass is smooth. It's clear and pure. It's not
like the troubled sea of the world, the storms, the unknown. And it's mingled with fire. What
is fire? That's the judgment of God that
fell upon Christ, who calms the sea of our sins and our depravity. Dying for us in our place. Our surety. Our debt charged
to Him and He paid it in full. It's calm. It's peace. It's safety. But fire has to fall somewhere
because just and true are God's ways. When He saves a sinner,
he must be just. He must be both, as Isaiah said,
a just God and a Savior. He's not going to save you or
me or anybody. in mercy and grace and love,
apart from his justice being satisfied. He's a righteous judge
and a loving Savior, Father, in Christ. And it's all by grace. So as a sea of glass mingled
with fire, verse two says, and them that had gotten the victory
over the beast, that's the beast that follows Satan, remember
he talked about the two beasts, the one that come out of the
sea, the one that come out of the land, And this one, he's
talking about the one that come out of the land, which is false
religion. How do you know? Well, God, a victory over the
beast and over his image, that's idolatry, over his mark, remember
the mark on the forehead, 666, and on the hand, 666? That's
not a tattoo, it's not a computer chip. That's false doctrine and
dead works. The forehead means the mind.
And I refer back to the priest, the high priest of the old covenant,
he had on his miter, holiness under the Lord, that was what
was to be in his mind. 666 is less than perfect religion,
doctrine, false doctrine. And on the hand, that's man's
works, reaching for God by his works, that's dead works. And
those who have overcome that mark and over the number of his
name stand on the sea of glass having the harps of God." They
stand on Christ worshiping. That's what those harps mean.
Philippians 3, we are the circumcision, that's the new birth, circumcision
of the heart, which worship God in the spirit. And rejoice in
Christ, that means have confidence in Christ and no confidence in
the flesh. Believers, they're secure on
the sea of glass mingled with fire. There's no wrath for God's
people. Christ took it all. Jesus paid
it all, all the sin, all the dead I owe. Sin had left a crimson
stain, he washed it white as snow. For by one offering he
hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Hebrews 10, 14. Verse three, they worship, their
harps, they play those harps, they worship, and here's what
they do in worship. Look at it, they sing the song
of Moses, the servant of God. You can read the song of Moses
in Exodus chapter 15, we won't turn there. But you know what
it's about? It's giving all glory to God. for delivering the Hebrew children
out of Egypt and into their land. And then he says the same song,
the Song of the Lamb. The Song of the Lamb and the
Song of Moses are one and the same because the Song of the
Lamb is giving glory to God for our salvation. God gets all the
glory. No glory goes to us. No credit
goes to us. It's all God's grace in Christ. My righteousness, as I said as
I read that Psalm 7, I have a righteousness. It's mine, not because I worked
it out, not because I contributed to it, not because I made the
right decision, but because Christ accomplished it in His obedience
unto death. It's called the righteousness
of God. and God freely imputed it, charged
it to me. How do I know he did? Because
he gave me life from the dead in the new birth. He brought
me to see it, he revealed Christ to me, and he gave me the gift
of faith to believe it. And brought me to repent of all
else. The things which I thought used
to recommend me unto God, that's dumb, Paul said. And here's what
they said, verse three. Great and marvelous are thy works. Lord God Almighty, just and true
are thy ways. Thou King of saints. Some translations say the word
saints there should be translated nations or ages. But let me just say this. What
is a saint? A saint is a sinner saved by
grace. If you're a believer, If you've
been born again by the Spirit, if you believe in Christ and
rest in Him for all salvation, you're a saint. You've been sanctified,
set apart by God. And here's what they say, look
at verse four. Who shall not fear thee? Who shall not worship
God? O Lord, and glorify thy name,
for thou only art holy, there's only one God, and he's set apart
from everything else, or anyone else, for all nations shall come
and worship before thee. Now you know when it says all
nations, it's not talking about geographical nations on earth. In fact, there is no nation as
a whole that worships God. We even talk about America. This
country never was a Christian nation. There are some of the principles
that are in the Constitution that maybe came out from the
Bible, just the moral principles, but this nation has never been
a quote Christian unquote nation. So what does it mean all nations
shall come and worship before thee? It's God's chosen people,
his elect out of every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation.
It's not just for the elect among the Jews. That's what Romans
9 and 10 and 11 is about. For thy judgments are made manifest. God's judgment of wrath upon
the wicked is made manifest. I think last week somebody said
there was an earthquake in New York City. That's a manifestation
of God's wrath. It's not the fullness of it.
If it was the fullness of it, New York wouldn't be there. Any of these disasters, sicknesses,
ill, are manifestations of God's wrath. Now, do they come upon
the people of God here on earth? Yes, but not eternally. Any manifestation of God's wrath
that kills one of God's children, you know what that is? That's
that person's highway to heaven, as they say. to be saved eternal, to be with
Christ. Well, then here in chapter 15,
verse 5, he sort of changes his tone. Look at it. And after that
I looked and behold the temple, the tabernacle of the testimony
in heaven was open. You know what that tabernacle
of the testimony, that's Christ. Just as God's salvation proceeds
out of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven, The wrath
of God proceeds out of that. That's the gospel wherein Christ
is revealed. Not only as the savior of his
people, but as the judge of all. And the issue there is this.
Look at it. It says in verse five, or verse
six, and the seven angels came out of the temple having the
seven plagues, and they were clothed in pure and white linen,
and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. What is
that? typical of or symbolic of the righteousness of God.
Do you realize that the same righteousness that secures the
salvation of the people of God will be the ground and standard
and measure of condemnation for those who die in their sins?
I'm gonna quote it one more time. Acts 17 31. God has appointed
a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained, in that he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." That's the gospel. Because just
and true are God's ways. Think about it. The gospel is
the savor of life unto life for the people of God. but it's the
savor of death unto death to those who live and die in unbelief. This white linen, pure and white,
that's the righteousness that Christ worked out. The golden
girdle, that's his deity. The gospel is the revelation
of the righteousness of God in Christ. And it'll either be for
your salvation or for your damnation. What's the lesson here? Flee
to Christ. Run to Christ. Believe in Christ. Rest in Him. And if you do, you
know who will get the glory for that? Not you. God will. Because if you do, it's a sovereign
work of God who is just and true in all His ways. Even our faith
is not of ourselves. Our faith didn't come naturally
to us. It didn't come out of our choice.
It's the gift of God, the scripture says. The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, what I am by nature. I didn't make the difference.
God did. Look at verse seven. One of the
four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full
of the wrath of God who liveth forever and ever. You remember
the four beasts that we read about back in Revelation four? Come out of the north, south,
east, west, and they represented the lion and the bullock and
the different animals. You can read about it in Revelation
four, six through seven. Well, this is the first beast,
living creature, minister of God, who represents Christ, the
Lion of Judah, but not the Lamb. The Lion brings wrath. Christ, to his people, is both
the Lion, who is powerful, who suffers wrath, but he's also
the Lamb to his people. But here's the lion, and he gives
unto the angels these bowls, these vials of wrath from the
wrath of God, who's just and righteous and true in all his
ways. And look at verse 8, the temple was filled with smoke
from the glory of God. That smoke is symbolic of the
presence of God. Remember Isaiah, when he saw
the Lord high and lifted up, his train filled the temple and
smoke filled the temple. That's the glory of God. And
from his power. Now look at this last line. No
man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues
of the seven angels were fulfilled. Well, what does that mean? Well,
there's a couple of answers to that question. Some say that
it refers to the fact that no person, no sinner, is able to
come into the temple of God and worship except through Christ. In other words, the wrath of
God has to be filled up and established and finished in order for a sinner
to come to God and worship and be accepted. And for sinners
saved by grace, that was filled up and finished and established
by Christ on the cross. Some others say that it refers
to what David was speaking of in Psalm 73, when he could not
understand the providence of God in the lives of the heathen,
the wicked, how they prosper. How do the heathen prosper? And
he says in Psalm 73 verse 17, until I went into the sanctuary
of God, then I understood their end. And that's what God was
telling David. Don't look at how they're faring
here on earth. Look at how it's gonna end up.
The full wrath of God. Well, my view of it is the first
one. He's simply saying that nobody
is going to approach God and be accepted with him until the
full measure of his wrath is filled up and finished and gone. And for a believer, that's in
Christ. For an unbeliever, that's an
eternity of condemnation, which will never be filled, never be
full. And I hope and pray that the
Lord will bless us with the understanding that he's given us through his
word.