Moses, in the 90th Psalm, said,
Who knoweth the power of thine anger, and thy wrath according
to the fear that is due unto thee? In other words, as Moses
contemplated what he discerned of the wrath of God, he recognized
in so doing that he understood only a small measure of that
wrath, And so he asked the question, who really knows, as he ought
to know, the power of God's anger and His wrath in the degree that
that wrath demands fear and reverence according to the fear that is
due unto thee? Moses, who was acquainted with
the ways of God in a measure to which none of us are, still
felt with his intimate acquaintance with the ways of God that as
certainly as he could not plumb the depths of the mercy of God,
so he could not plumb the depths of the wrath of God. And this
is the text that has been going through my mind dozens of times,
both in the preparation and the delivery of these series of studies
concerning our Lord's teaching on the subject of hell or the
future of impenitent sinners. Though I am seeking to organize
the material in the teaching of our Lord, seeking to set it
forth clearly with an abundance of scriptural support, still
having done all of this, we cry out, Who knoweth the power of
thine anger and thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto
thee? I remind you that in our previous
studies I have emphasized again and again that there is but one
way to approach the subject of the future of the impenitent,
the only way to approach any subject concerning any facet
of life, That approach is of a mind that is utterly subject,
without reservation, to the plain and obvious sense of the statements
of Holy Scripture. As professed disciples of Jesus
Christ, our minds are subject to Him, to think His thoughts
after Him. And in our study, as we have
sought to consider the words of Christ in their plain and
obvious sense, we have discovered three things about the doctrine
of hell. First of all, hell is a place and a condition of unspeakable
and unalleviated torment, misery, and woe. Our Lord sets forth
this concept in the figures of outer darkness and of unquenchable
fire, both of which shall produce in all who are in hell, railing
the picture of intense agony and gnashing of teeth, the picture
of augmented hate and anger and frustration. Secondly, we have
seen that hell is a place and a condition where soul and body
shall suffer punishment for sin. Our Lord said, Fear not them
which kill the body, and after this have no more that they can
do, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and
body in hell. And then last week we considered
together the third principle in the teaching of our Lord on
this subject. that hell is a place and a condition of divine retribution,
that is, a place where God will mete out deserved punishment
for sin. This touches on the very issue
of the purpose of hell. And we saw in our study that
hell is not a sanctified ruse, God just telling us something
to scare us into heaven. It is not an extension of the
day of opportunity. It is not a means of grace, nor
is it primarily a place where God will display His power to
obliterate evil. This is the error of the annihilationist. He turns the purpose of hell
from that which our Lord clearly states that it is, namely a place
to display his anger against sin in punishment of the sin
of the sinner, and it's turned into a place where God displays
his power to obliterate evil. This is an upsetting of the whole
drift of the teaching of Holy Scripture. No, the purpose of
hell is that of divine retribution, and so as we saw in our study
the words punishment Wrath and vengeance are used in connection
with this doctrine. These shall go away into everlasting
punishment, tribulation and anger and wrath upon every soul of
man that doeth evil. Now this morning we come to the
fourth aspect of our Lord's teaching on the doctrine of hell, and
it is this. Hell is a place and a condition
of degrees of punishment for sin. a place and a condition
of degrees of punishment for sin. Now, to think our way through
the subject, I shall first of all set forth briefly the biblical
evidence for the concept of degrees of punishment. Secondly, I will
attempt to explain what is meant by degrees of punishment. Thirdly,
the reasons for degrees of punishment, and then what will be the backbone
of our message, the fourth point, the basis for the degrees of
punishment in hell. First of all then, what evidence
is there in the teaching of our Lord that there will be degrees
of punishment in hell? Will you turn to the Gospel according
to Matthew? Again this morning, as in our
previous studies, almost all of our biblical material is located
in the Gospel of Matthew. Not because this is the only
place, but because this is the greatest concentration of our
Lord's teaching on the subject, and what is taught in this Gospel
alone is sufficient to fill us with an accurate concept of the
basic doctrine of our Lord. Matthew chapter 10. Our Lord
is commissioning the twelve and sending them forth on their first
preaching tour. He is giving them instructions
as to how they are to conduct themselves, to whom they are
to go, only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, not into
the Samaritan or Gentile towns. He is telling them how they are
to react to a favorable reception. On the other hand, how dare to
react to an unfavorable reception. And I read now from chapter 10
and verse 13. It shall be more tolerable for
the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for
that city. As we have seen in previous studies,
the whole context of Scripture indicates that the Day of Judgment
is that point at which the eternal destinies of men will be finally
and forever fixed. So our Lord is saying, when we
come to that hour in history, the Day of Judgment, when men's
eternal destinies shall be fixed for eternal life and bliss, or
eternal punishment, eternal death, Some will find that hour more
tolerable than others. It shall be more tolerable for
the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city which, facing
the message of these commissioned apostles, rejects the message. All we're establishing is that
this passage clearly teaches, in the plain sense of its meaning,
that there will be degrees of punishment in the day of judgment. Turn over to Matthew chapter
11. verses 22 and 24. Our Lord is upraiding cities
where He performed many miracles because the end of those miracles
was not realized. Seeing the miracles, they should
have recognized who He was, and recognizing who He was, they
should have submitted to His claims in repentance and faith,
but they did not do so. So we pick up the narrative in
verse 20, Then began He to upraid the cities wherein most of His
mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee,
Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida, for
if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which
were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth
and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall
be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment
than for you. The same concept. More tolerable
for certain cities and their inhabitants in the day of judgment,
when the destinies of men shall be fixed and they shall be cast
into the lake of fire, or ushered into the presence of God, some
shall find it more tolerable than others. Verse 24. But I
say unto you, speaking of several other cities, It shall be more
tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for
you." Chapter 12 of Matthew, verses 36 and 37. And I say unto
you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give
account thereof in the day of judgment, for by thy words thou
shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Condemnation will be in terms
of idle words. Ten idle words will receive the
weight of the condemnation due to ten, twenty to twenty, thirty
to thirty, fifty to fifty. These words lose all meaning
unless there is a real sense in which more or fewer idle words
will bring a greater or lesser degree of punishment in the day
of judgment. Then you have that passage in
the twelfth chapter of Luke, and all we're seeking to do is
to set forth the evidence in the teaching of our Lord that
there will be degrees of punishment in that awful day. Our Lord has
given a parable beginning with verse 41 of Luke chapter 12. Or I should say, he's giving
an interpretation of a parable. And as he interprets that parable,
he says in verse 47, And that servant who knew his Lord's will,
and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten
with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did
things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given
of him shall much be required, and they to whom they commit
much of him will they ask the more. Now someone says, well,
that doesn't say anything about judgment, does it? Well, if you
look at the context, verse 46, the Lord of that servant shall
come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth
not, and shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with
the unfaithful. send them to that awful place
called hell, but in terms of degrees of punishment, some beaten
with many stripes, some beaten with few stripes. So the words
of our Lord in their plain sense do indeed teach that there will
be degrees of punishment. I quote just briefly two supporting
texts from the other writings of the New Testament. Romans
2 and verse 5, we have this word, But treasurest up unto thyself
wrath against the day of wrath. Here the apostle uses a vivid
picture and he says of certain people that every day they're
putting capital in the bank. They are treasuring up something
so that Tuesday they have more than they had Monday. Wednesday
they have more than they had Tuesday. And what are they treasuring
up? He says they're treasuring up a storehouse of rock that
shall break upon their heads in the day of judgment. Some
will have a bigger bank account than others. Degrees of punishment. The same concept is set forth
in Hebrews chapter 10. where we read in verses 29 to
31, concerning those who refused the full blazing light of the
gospel, contrasted with those who rejected the light that came
through Moses, of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing,
and hath done despot to the Spirit of grace. The little phrase of
how much sorer punishment. Now, I don't want to be tedious.
But I did want to set before you these five texts of scripture,
three from the ministry of our Lord, the supportive one in Romans
and again in Hebrews, that we might be firmly convinced that
there will be degrees of punishment in hell. Now, secondly, let me
attempt to explain this concept of degrees of punishment, negatively
and then positively. The Bible, in teaching that there
will be degrees of punishment, does not mean to suggest that
there shall be anything less than perfect misery for every
soul in hell. Whatever our Lord teaches about
degrees of punishment does not cancel out the first three things
we've seen in his teaching. All in hell shall be in the place
of whirling and gnashing of teeth. The wailing will not be turned
to laughter and the gnashing of teeth to the clicking of heels.
Though some shall find more tolerance or hell more tolerable than others,
all shall find it a place of perfect misery. Whatever our
Lord means, it is no negation of the first three things that
we have seen, nor of the fifth that we shall study next week,
namely that the duration of the sufferings of hell is eternal. And I say this because the devil
would take this truth and blind men in order to lead them to
say, well, since some will be better off in hell than others,
I'll just sort of trust God will go easy on me. No, no, my friend. If the devil would use the truth
preached this morning in that way, I want to expose him before
he gets to his miserable work. What does this concept convey? The best I know to describe it
in the light of the materials of the Bible is this. It means
either that some will have a greater capacity for suffering or will
actually bear a more fierce measure of the positive infliction of
the wrath of God upon them. Some of you who work with electricity
know that certain wires, in terms of their thickness and in terms
of the materials of which they are made, are able to carry more
electrical current than others. You may have one strand of wire
a certain thickness of a certain material that is, as it were,
perfectly charged with electricity. It's flowing through the entirety
of that wire. But another wire of greater thickness
and of a different material may be carrying ten times as much
electricity in terms of voltage. in terms of other measurements,
and yet we may say of both wires that they are perfectly charged
with electricity. One has a greater capacity to
bear a greater measure of electrical current. I know it's a human
illustration, but in some way it's this concept. You have the
parallel with the saints in heaven. It's obvious that if we will
be judged as God's people, there are going to be differences of
reward. This is taught in many of the parables of our Lord.
Some received two talents, some received five talents, and in
terms of what they did with the talents, reward was given commensurate
with their faithfulness and their productivity. What will it be
in heaven? Perfect bliss for every soul
that is in heaven. Perfect bliss. For it says of
all in that city of the redeemed, no sorrow, no crying, no tears,
the former things are passed away. But in some way there will
be degrees of blessedness. Therefore, we conclude that the
degrees of blessedness will either be in terms of some having a
greater capacity to enjoy the glory of God, or perhaps in some
way God will actually confer upon them a heightened measure
of the delights of that place. How He'll do this, I don't know.
The Bible doesn't tell me. How some shall find hell more
tolerable than others, I do not know, but it is revealed that
some shall find it so. and there we must let it rest,
so that the degrees of punishment does not mean that some will
be less than perfectly miserable. No, all shall wail and gnash
the teeth, but some shall have a greater capacity for suffering,
and there will be more positive infliction in measure of the
anger and wrath of God. What is the reason for this concept
of degrees of punishment in hell? Isn't hell hell enough? Mustn't
turn God into a fiend to say that he must meticulously weigh
the measure of guilt and need out different degrees of punishment?
Isn't hell hell enough? Why should there be degrees of
punishment? What is the reason for the degrees
of punishment in hell? And in answer to that question,
may I say it is all resolved on one basic issue, the justice
of God. The justice of God. Just as God has decreed that
justice demands punishment for law, and I'm not using an extra
word in there, I want you to follow closely. There's no such
thing as just plain blind justice to which God must conform, as
though justice were something sitting out here, and God looks
at justice and says, now justice, I'm your servant, what shall
I do? No, no. Whatever justice is, it's a created thing. God
has said, here are the standards of justice. Reflective in his
own character, yes, but not a master over him. Justice did not create
God in its image. I say it reverently, God created
justice in his image. God has decreed then that justice
as it works out in his government says, break the law and you'll
be punished. In the same way, God has decreed
that the justice of God demands that the degree of punishment
shall be measured by the nature of the offense. You say you left
me on that. All right, forget my little flight
into description. Just put it in the concrete.
In the Old Testament, when God set up the civil laws amongst
his people, what did he do? Well, he made a distinction in
many areas. Premeditated murder was to be
punished in a different way than what? Unpremeditated murder.
If you're out in the field and just through a little bit of
carelessness, your buddy loses a leg, you're not treated in
the same way as if you're jealous and angry with him and you plot
a way to get his leg taken off. What is this? But degrees of
punishment. The same crime. Murder. Or the
taking of a life. But because the motive was different,
The measure of the punishment is commensurate with the nature
of the crime. There was a difference in careless
possession of your neighbor's good. If his cow strayed over
into your backyard and you just got too busy to return it, when
your neighbor found out, there was a certain way you could make
it right. But if you looked at his big, fat old Bessie over
there, that is his cow, and you got all covetous for that cow
and said, I'd like to have that in my backyard, and she gives
a lot of milk, and you actually plotted to steal his bestie,
then when your neighbor found out, you had to restore it with
a greater measure of restitution. There were degrees of punishment,
degrees of restitution. Why? Because the nature of the
crime, considering motivation and circumstances, determines
the measure of the crime's punishment. Now this is not just a concept
found woven into the fabric of the Old Testament. Our Lord,
in what we might call the Manifesto of the Kingdom of God, the Sermon
on the Mount, enforces this very principle in the government of
God. For He says in the fifth chapter of Matthew, beginning
with verse 21, He hath heard that it was said to them of old
time, Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be
in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, that everyone
who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment,
whosoever shall say to his brother Rekha shall be in danger of the
counsel, and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger
of the hell of fire. Well, why should there be different
degrees of intensity of punishment for the crime? Because there
is something worthy of more judgment, of heavier judgment, in the actual
speaking of derisive, abusive words than the mere attitude
of despite or whatever else is in the heart towards your brother.
So we see, this principle of the justice of God not only demands
punishment for sin, but punishment must be in terms of the nature
of the offense. Now, follow closely. This is
why the issue in the Day of Judgment is not just a public roll call
to determine who is in the Book of Life and who is not. No, no. What is the issue in the Day
of Judgment according to Scriptures? Men should be judged according
to their position in the world? No. They should be judged according
to their works. Revelation 20 has this very clear.
The book of life is opened. But then it says, the books are
opened. And the people are judged not
out of the book of life. But it says they are judged out
of the books according to their work and whoever was not found
written in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire.
What's the purpose of this? May I suggest there is no answer
to that except the one we're dealing with this morning. The
answer is that the accumulated guilt of some people is greater
than the accumulated guilt of others. And the opening up of
the books will be the sum total of God's case against every sinner. And as a righteous judge, committed
to the standards of righteousness which he himself has set forth,
some will receive a heavier weight of judgment than others. And
there is no revealed reason Why God should have a judgment according
to words, according to the thoughts of men, Romans 2.16, according
to the words of men, Matthew 12.37, if it's not for the fact
that certain kinds of thoughts are worthy of more judgment than
other kinds of thoughts. Certain kinds of words are worthy
of heavier judgment than other kinds of words. And so the issue
in the day of judgment will not be merely a public roll call,
a judgment according to people's state in Christ or out of Christ,
but a judgment according to deeds. Do you see that? Have I made
that clear? I don't want to labor the point, but do you see the
distinction? I trust you do. Tell me afterward if you've captured
it. Now, and this is the heart of
the message this morning. Having considered the fact that
there will be degrees of punishment, trying to explain the concept
briefly, setting forth the reasons in the justice of God, what will
be the basis by which degrees of punishment will be determined? What will be the basis by which
degrees of punishment will be determined? And may I suggest
that scripture sets forth three. This has been a new revelation
to me. I haven't read this in any of the books that I've read
on the subject, the theologies that I've examined. But as I've
sought to scour the scriptures on our Lord's teaching, I believe
he sets forth very clearly at least three things that will
comprise the basis by which degrees of punishment will be determined.
A, or number one, the extent to which men have abandoned themselves
to their sin. Will you go back to the Matthew
5, 21 passage? The extent to which men have
abandoned themselves to sin will determine the degree of their
punishment. Is there anything worthy of more
punishment in foul language than in mere foul thoughts? Yes. Yes,
there is. Our Lord sets forth the principle
here. I read the words again, verse 22 of Matthew 5. Everyone
who is angry with his brother, anger is sin, it will bring a
certain form of judgment. Absolutely. Whosoever will say
to his brother Rekha shall be in danger of the council. Saying
something that is a term of abuse, oh yes, that will bring judgment.
But whosoever shall say thou fool, that's the highest expression
of contempt, he will be in danger of the hell of fire. You see
what our Lord is saying? If a man has the attitude of
anger in his heart, that's sin, and he'll be judged for it. But
if he abandons himself to that disposition of anger and he speaks
a derisive word, that will even bring heavier judgment. But if
he only gives himself over to that spirit and just spews out
these words, I, O fool, he'll even have a heavier judgment.
The judgment will be based upon the extent to which the sinner
abandons himself to the sin of his heart. Now, in every case,
the sin deserves judgment. In every case, our Lord says,
sin will be met with punishment. But the degrees, the intensity
of punishment will be determined by the measure to which abandonment
to sin has been marked. I've heard people say, well,
it's just as bad to think a mean thought as it is to say a mean
word. No, it isn't. It's just as bad to think an
adulterous thought as it is to commit adultery. Don't be foolish.
Of course it isn't. A man lost in his heart, he's guilty of
adultery before the law of God, but he hasn't taken a woman's
purity and wrecked her home. I believe the devil's done great
disservice by that kind of teaching, so that some people say, well,
if it's just as bad in the eyes of God, I might as well go ahead
and do it and get a little enjoyment out of it. That isn't true. Is it just the same to covet
a man's car as it is to steal it? Of course not. If I covet,
that's idolatry. God will judge it. But if my
coveting leads to stealing, That's thievery, God will judge that
too. And so I suggest to you on the basis of this passage
of scripture in the teaching of our Lord, and again it is
confirmed by the Romans 2.5 passage, speaking of these people who
abandon themselves to a course of sin, A course of insensitivity
to the goodness of God, Paul says, they're building up a stock
of judgment, treasuring up wrath, so that they would have had more
wrath on Friday if they died in their sins than had they died
on Monday in their sins. They've abandoned themselves
to their sin, and the extent of that abandonment will be the
measure of their judgment. May I say, by way of application,
beware of the reasoning that says, oh, since I'm going to
hell, I might as well Go in fun, have a good time while I'm going.
Listen, my friend. Every day you spend in giving
vent to the lust and passions of your own heart and your corrupt
flesh, you're putting stock in the bank of judgment. Putting
stock in the bank of judgment. If there were no other reason
to put a bridle upon the neck and a bit into the mouth of your
lust, if there's no higher motive than this, I don't want hell
to be as bad for me as it could be. If there is no higher motive
than that, I plead with you, don't abandon yourself to sin. If every idle word shall bring
a just measure of judgment, then, my friend, you better be careful
about the amount of idle words that you speak. One servant of
God has said, and this statement has caused me deep agitation
of mind, but I believe it's warranted. I believe it's an extraction
of the principle of Scripture. Listen, the differing degrees
of punishment in the world to come will be so terrible that
the sinner, were he able, would give the whole world that the
number of his sins would be one less. You got that? The sinner in hell, conscious
of the differing degrees of punishment in that world to come, would
give the whole world, if he could, to have the measure of his sins
one less. For he knows then as he cannot
know now. that his judgment would have
been less. The second basis upon which the degrees of punishment
will be determined is this, the extent to which men have led
others to sin by their example and influence. Now I ask you
to turn to the 18th chapter of Matthew. The degrees of punishment
in hell will be measured by one the extent to which men abandon
themselves to sin. Two, the extent to which men
have led others to sin by their example and influence. Our Lord,
in the 18th chapter of Matthew, setting a child in the midst
and saying that you must become childlike in your disposition
before you'll enter the kingdom of heaven, then says in verse
5, And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name
receiveth me. But whoso shall cause one of
these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable
for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck,
and he should be sunk in the sea. Woe unto the world because
of occasions of stumbling. In other words, those who are
an occasion of stumbling to others, a woe is pronounced upon them. It must needs be that occasions
come in a world full of sin, there will be enough to provoke
men to sin, but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh. And if thy hand causes thee to
stumble, cut it off and cast it from thee. It's good for thee
to enter into life, maimed or halt, but having two hands or
two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire." The whole context
of this warning against my being led to sin by my own hand, or
I is my influence upon others in terms of my own darling sins. So that our Lord says, it's bad
enough that sin shall come and it will, but woe upon the man
who is the occasion of sin unto others. This thought is repeated
in Mark 9, 38-47. I won't take time to read the
passage. It's a parallel passage, though it has some distinct differences. I have been reading John Bunyan's
works, the section in which he expounds Luke 16, and he calls
it, Sighs from Hell. And in commenting upon the words,
you remember the prayer of the man in hell was this, Father
Abraham, send someone to my brothers. lest they also come to this place
of torment. And Bunyan asked the question,
could the man in hell be activated and motivated by genuine love
for his brothers? He said, no, this is contrary
to the whole teaching of scripture. It's contrary to the whole teaching
of that man. He wasn't moved when he passed a beggar day after
day at the gate of his own place. He said there's one reason why
he prays that his brothers won't come. It's because he knows that
if they come, they will come in great measure because of the
influence and effect of his own life. And the thought of their
presence in hell, because of his influence, will intensify
his own suffering and his own agony. And out of pure self-love,
that the flames of hell be a little less intense for him, he says,
send somebody to them, lest they also come. I rather believe Mr. Bunyan is
right. But whether we adopt his interpretation of that passage
or not, the teaching of our Lord in Matthew 18 and in Mark 9 is
abundantly clear, that the extent to which you have led others
to sin by your example and influence will enter in to the degree of
your punishment. This is why there must be a day
of judgment at the end of time. Have you ever wondered why God
didn't fix men's eternal destiny when they died? Since death doesn't
change anything, why should God have a public judgment anyway?
Why didn't he just take the saints up to heaven and somehow give
them a new body or something else and send the saints into
the lake of fire? Why does he bring the souls of
the lost out of that interim state, Hades, Sheol? Why does
he bring them out of that, join them to a body, and bring them
to a public judgment at the end of time? I'll tell you why. Because
it's not until the end of time that the full effect of the influence
of any one life can be fully measured. And an infinite God will be able
to take every individual life and assess every aspect of its
influence, sometimes an influence which extends for millenniums.
And on the basis of the accumulated influence for evil, God will
mete out punishment upon the world. I tell you, friends, that's
enough to strike horror to the heart of any unconverted person
sitting in this place today. And it's enough to fill the heart
of a Christian with wonder that when Jesus Christ blotted out
my sins, He blotted out all of my wicked influence upon others,
the accountability of it. He may not have canceled the
influence. He leaves some of it to humble us. But when I think
of my companions in sin as a lad and the stories I told that to
this day, someone may be passing on to defile the years of others.
When I think of the lack of a positive influence upon some of my own
loved ones because of my own impenitence, I say, oh, God,
oh, God, forgive. And I have assurance that Jesus
Christ blots out even that sin. But, my friend, you go to that
judgment unwashed in the blood of Christ, and the degree of
your punishment will be determined by the accumulated influence
of your sinful life upon others as known by an infinite God. May I say by way of application
a word to you parents who are unconverted? Some of you trifling
with Christ and his salvation, by your example and influence,
you are like those of Matthew 23, 13. Jesus said, Woe unto
you, scribes, Pharisees, for you do not enter the kingdom
and you hinder those who would. An unconverted father, what does
a son want more in life than to be like his dad? It is dad's
half a man. A son is born with every ambition,
as it were, has cultivated, I want to be like my dad. And he sees
a dad who may be nice, who may be kind, who may be moral, who
may be upright, but he's impenitent. He doesn't put Christ in his
salvation central. And that son comes under the
influence of the gospel. And in the overtures of the gospel,
his heart is drawn to Christ and his salvation. But he wants
to be like dad. And he's torn. He's torn. He's
twisted. Woe unto those who do not enter,
and hinder those from entering who would. Oh, you say, but I
wouldn't do my kids from Christ, no. By your very example, you're
keeping them away from Him. That's to say nothing of the
one who positively hinders and positively seeks to discourage.
Oh, dear parent, be you father or mother who has trifled too
long with Christ in his claims, may I soberly exhort you to flee
to the Savior before you come to judgment and have God hold
you accountable for that influence of your life upon your own children. Let me say a word to you who
have come first or second in your families. You're the big
brother or the big sister in that family, and if there's any
kind of family cohesion, Whether you know it or not, you're the
pace setter in that family. That's an awful responsibility.
You don't need to stand up before the rest of the kids every morning
and say, look, I'm the standard bearer, I'm the pace setter around
here. You all be like, no, no. When you try that, they act like
they don't want you as big brother, big sister. But just the influence
of your life, in your attitude to mom and dad and their discipline,
in your attitude to the church and to the truth of God and to
Christ, You are exerting a powerful influence in that home. And listen
to me, older brother, older sister, if that influence is an occasion
of stumbling to your younger brothers and sisters, Jesus says,
Woe be unto you if it were better that a great millstone were hanged
around your neck and you were drowned in the sea. Serious, isn't it? And then may
I say a word to myself. I've preached this to my own
heart until I've trembled. Inwardly, I say to every elder,
every deacon, every aspirant to the Christian ministry in
this place this morning, this is the dread of the place of
leadership. If I fall into sin, I don't fall
alone. I drag a congregation with me. You, in a place of leadership,
you fall into sin. You crack a congregation with
you. I'd rather be accused of being
a little bit too strict, and a little bit too straight-laced,
and a little bit too serious, and a little bit too aloof, and
a little bit too austere. And open the door. to feed the
flesh, the world, and the devil, and end up giving the enemies
of God occasion to blaspheme. Any of you aspire to Christian
leadership, never forget this. Never forget it. Never forget
it. Then the third thing which will
determine the degree of punishment in hell is this, the extent to
which light and privilege were abused. The extent to which light
and privilege were abused. And now we turn to the Luke 12
passage, which is the pivotal passage in Scripture on this
subject. Will you notice in the first
place what was similar about these two servants? Verse 47. And that servant who knew his
Lord's will and made not ready, nor did according to his will,
shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not and did
things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. Now, what did these two individuals
have in common? Well, first of all, they were
both servants accountable to their master. Secondly, They
both did things worthy of stripes. Notice, the term is used in both
cases. The one who knew not, nor did
according to his will, shall be beaten. He that knew, did
not, did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten. Both are accountable
to their master. Both have done things worthy
of stripes. Thirdly, both will receive judgment. Ah, but the question is, what's
different about them? Two things. One had more light
than did the other. One knew his Lord's will. That's
light. Understanding. One knew not his
Lord's will. They were different in the measure
of their light, and secondly, as a consequence of that, they
were different in the measure of their judgment. One had few
stripes. One had many stripes. Both had
stripes. One many. What does this tell
us? Our Lord says it tells us something
that is operative in human society constantly. He takes this and
moves to a general principle, and to whomsoever much is given,
of him shall much be required, and to whom they commit much
of him they will ask the more. What is the measure of God's
judgment in that day? It is this, the extent of light
and of privilege. that was abused. You have an
exact parallel of this in Romans 2 and verse 12 where Paul speaks
of the heathen who don't have the written law of God. It says
they that they that are parish. Let me get the exact phrasing.
Romans 2 and verse 12. For as many as have sinned without
the law shall perish without the law. As many as have sinned
under the law shall be judged by the law. What do they have
in common? They both shall be judged because they both have
sinned. But the thing that is different is the measure by which
they are judged and consequently the extent of punishment incurred
upon them. People ask the question, will
God send the heathen to hell? The answer of scripture is clear.
All men sinned in Adam, including the heathen. All men violate
the law of God, whether that law has come in its written form
or whether it's there upon the conscience, as this passage teaches.
And therefore, since the wages of sin is death and death is
separation from God, all men out of Jesus Christ shall perish. But here's the issue. Will God
deal with the heathen whose light has been the light of conscience
and nature alone? Will He deal with him in the
same way He deals with someone from the Trinity Church who has
the light of conscience, the light of nature, the light of
the Bible, the light of example, the light of preaching, the light
of earnest entreaty, the light of the tears of God's servant?
Never. There shall be a much intenser
measure of judgment and a greater measure of wrath. This principle
is illustrated in the two passages. I won't take time to read them.
I read them earlier, Matthew 10, 15, and Matthew 11, 22, and
24. Why did the Lord say to these
cities, Woe unto you, Chorazin! Woe unto you, Bethsaida! It will
be better off in the day of judgment for Sodom than for you. Wait
a minute, what was Sodom? Remember why God sent fire out
of heaven on Sodom? Things got so bad there that
not only could not a decent woman walk through the streets, no
man dared walk through the streets. He'd be accosted by other men,
so given over to perversion, so that in our very law courts
today, that very perversion is named sodomy. Imagine a city
so wicked, so perverse, so given up to uncleanness, that God says,
the only way to deal with that city is burn it up. And he opens
up the heavens and sends down fire and brimstone. God says,
look, comparatively speaking, they'll have it easy in the day
of judgment compared to one of these Jewish cities. Synagogue
worship going on, people living, many of them externally, in the
light of God's holy law, a people bound up with a revealed religious
light, a people who carry on commerce. Things have not descended
to that depth of wickedness. No idle temples in any of those
Jewish cities. They got the lesson of the Babylonian
captivity, a people who, for the most part, are moral and
upright as far as the world judges it. You mean it'll be worse off
in the judgment for them than for those wicked sodomites? Exactly.
And what's the difference? because greater light and opportunity. The Son of Man has come. The
kingdom of God is at hand. And because of greater light
and greater privilege abused, judgment will be heavier. May
I say by way of application, this is true in our own day.
There are some societies and cultures living in total pagan
darkness. Did some of you see that Lowell
Thomas production of about a week and a half ago? Lowell Thomas
was able to get into a section of New Guinea by the auspices
of the Australian government to track down a tribe to which
no outsider has ever come in all the history, the millenniums
if possible, hundreds of years of the existence of that tribe.
Can't go into the details of the thing, it would be interesting
to do so, but it wouldn't serve the point of the message. But
here's a tribe utterly given over to those characteristics
of paganism, demon worship, demon possession. The witch doctor
there with his breathings, trying to get in tune with the spirit
world, absolute cruelty. They showed the head of a woman
whose skull had been bashed in without warning. Absolute cruelty,
no sensitivity. Women are treated like some kind
of common property as far as any dignity and any worth. And
we look at all of that and we say, my, the judgment of God
must be terrible upon a people like that. Listen, you take that
nice, cultured American who has behind him generations of opportunity,
Bibles in his store, twist the dial and he can get the gospel,
and yet still unconverted. Listen. He'd wish in that day
he could be one of those stone-age New Guinea people. In the day
of judgment, he'd give anything to trade places. Anything. Anything. Because all that light and opportunity
will rise up to condemn him. Now let's even narrow it down
further. Take in our own society. Picture that man who stayed up
all hours of the night last night watching the late, late, late,
late show. No thought that tomorrow was the Lord's Day. No preparation
of his heart and mind. He's still sound asleep. About
another half an hour, he's going to come out and shake himself
loose from his partial hibernation, go to the door and get his Sunday
paper, light up his pell-mells, kick his feet up and half asleep,
look at his paper during the commercials and watch his TV
all afternoon, have a few beers, watch his favorite Sunday night
programs, go to sleep, get up the next morning, curse and grumble
under his breath that he's got to go back into the slave shop
And he'll put in another week until next weekend when he can
go through the same routine. All right, there he is. You got
the picture of him? That's the description of many American
male this very hour. But you're not like that. You
got to bed at a decent hour last night. As you woke this morning,
you said, well, gotta go to church. You got yourself all showered
and shaved. Are you ladies hair all teased and sprayed or whatever
else you had to do? And you're all here, and you're
listening to the Word, and you're singing hymns, and you put your
money on the plate, but listen! You're not a true Christian!
You haven't gotten down to bedrock of repentance and true turning
from sin and laying hold of Christ! Listen. You've heard preaching
this morning. You've heard it for weeks and
months and years, some of you. That pagan who's there, Just
now, coming out of the land of Nod and waking up to the abuse
of this, the Lord's day, Mabee's never once had a preacher look
him in the eye and tell him about heaven and hell. Mabee never
once has he ever seen anyone whose eyes have been wet with
tears of concern. He's never heard a Bible preached
and expounded. Listen, my friend, you go to
the Day of Judgment and stand alongside that fellow, you'll
wish for anything you could trade places with him. You'd give anything
to trade places with him. beer breath and cigarette breath
and all, you'd give anything to trade places with him. Why?
Because the measure of your judgment will be the degree of light and
privilege abused. Though he abused the privilege
of getting himself out of bed and coming to hear the word,
you've abused the privilege of actually hearing it. And God will hold you accountable.
How about you young people? You think of some of those kids
at school, giving themselves over to dope, some of those girls,
then they'll do anything to get a fix, their body becomes common
property, if anybody will stick ten dollars in their pocketbook.
And there are girls in fourteen, fifteen years of age who are
doing this, probably some of them in your own high schools.
No moral standards, they've got the morals of alley cats. Their
mouths full of cursing and bitterness. They despise their parents, no
submission to authority, no sense of respect for constituted order. They call the cops pigs and they
do it with a venom. I wouldn't use the language in
church that they use of mom and dad and the principal and the
teacher, anything that symbolizes authority. You got the picture
in my mind? The perfect embodiment of all the rebellion and moral
looseness and lack of objective standards in our day. Perhaps
some of you know such kids. Maybe you know them. Maybe you've
rubbed shoulders with them. Listen. May I say, if you sit here with
the privilege of a mom and dad who pray for you and open the
word of God to you and bring you out to church, The privilege
of a preacher who tries to remember you in his sermons and have applications
for you and use language that's down where you can get it. Listen.
You go to the Day of Judgment unconverted, you'd give the world
to trade places with that girl. That fellow, you'd give the world
to trade places. Because you had greater light
and greater privilege. And you abused it. You abused
it. One of the greatest horrors of
the thought of the ministry, and I have literally this week
in my study cried out verbally, oh God can it be, the thought
is this, that all my ministry has done for some of you is increase
the measure of your judgment in hell. That's all. That's all
it's done. Not a thing more. I didn't minister
with that intention. I have ministered with the intention
of beseeching you to be reconciled to God. I have preached plainly
in order to secure a hearing for the gospel. I have pledged
that you might be saved. That wasn't my intention in preaching,
to increase the measure of your judgment in hell, but that will
be the fruit of it. And may I say it wasn't God's
intention in sending the gospel to you. The scripture tells us
that God's revealed intention in bringing the gospel is this,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Turn and live!
Turn ye, turn ye! Why will you die? My friend,
you abuse that privilege and that revealed intention. And
all the ministry of this place is done in all the prayers of
a wife or husband, mother and father, and all those influences
have just built up the stock of wrath in the judgment vault
of God. We're warranted in saying that
to come under the sphere of the message and influence of the
gospel, of Christ, of his word, of prayer, of real Christians,
is to come into the circle, follow closely now, which marks men
out for the greatest possible blessing or the greatest possible
curse. Can people be saved unless they
hear the gospel? No. Will people be saved generally
unless they see some real Christians? No. So to come into contact with
real Christians, with pure preaching, with the message of Christ, that's
to come into the circle that holds the greatest blessing.
But it's also to come into the circle that holds the possibility
of the greatest curse. Now, like it or not, you're all
in that circle. Because in a number of ways that
would take a hundred years to describe if we all gave our own
testimony of it. Some of it goes back for generations.
God's brought us into that sphere. We're here this morning where
the words bleed, where Christ is honored, where salvation is
proclaimed through the blood of the Son of God. You're in
that circle. Every one of you, fellas, girls,
men, women, I care not who you are. You're in that circle. Will
it be in your case unto blessing or will it be unto cursing? May God grant that you'll not
be cursed. with the curse which will come
in that degree of highest intensity because of life and privilege
abused. May the Lord help you if you
are not biblically sure of an interest in Jesus Christ, to
seek the Lord while he may be found, to call upon him while
he is near. Let us pray.