Romans chapter 2. Two weeks ago today we began the
study of Romans chapter 2. The principal subject of this
chapter is the righteous judgment of God. We have already given to you
the outline of the chapter. We'll repeat it again this morning
before we begin our exposition of verses 6 through 10. Two weeks ago today we studied
the first five verses. The judgment of God is not only
sure, but it is according to truth. Today the subject is entitled,
The Judgment of God is According to Work, verses 6 through 10. Lord willing, next Sunday we
will study the 11th verse, the judgment of God is without respect
of person. The entire chapter deals with
the subject of God's righteous judgment. I'd like us to read
the first five verses and then, of course, the passage which
we will be studying together today. Therefore, thou art inexcusable,
O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest
another, thou condemnest thyself, how that judgest doest the same
thing. but we are sure that the judgment of God is according
to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou
this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest
the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest
thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering,
not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
but after thy hardness and impenitent heart praisest up unto thyself
wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God." Now for the passage which we will be studying
today, who will render to every man according to his deeds. Unless you have spent some time
studying these next verses, I'm sure that questions have come
to your mind that you have not answered thus far. To them who by patient continuance
in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality are
better translated in corruption, eternal life. but unto them that are contentious,
or factious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,
indignation, and wrath, tribulation, and anguish upon every soul of
man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentiles. But glory, honor, and peace to
every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also to
the Gentiles. We'll go ahead and complete the
thought with verse 11. For there is no respect of persons
with God. You will notice in verses 9 and
10 references made not only to the Jews, the religious Jews,
but also to the Gentiles, that is, the pagans. That's why he
makes the statement that he does in verse 11, for there is no
respect of persons with God. I want to begin this morning
by relating to you one of the best arguments I have ever read
by any man in reputation to the concept of a general judgment. There is no such thing as a general
judgment any more than there is such a thing as a general
resurrection. Many good and sincere people,
yes even Christians, do believe that there is going to be a general
resurrection and a general judgment. I do not believe that because
I do not believe the scriptures teach either a general resurrection
or a general judgment. Donald Gray Barnhouse, in his
work on Romans, makes one of the finest statements I have
ever read by any man in reputation of the idea or the concept of
a general judgment. This is what he says, quote,
Suppose you met a man stupid enough to tell you that he was
going down to court to listen to a trial and that the case involved counterfeiting,
murder, arson, embezzlement, and parking a car by a fireplace. I hope you're listening carefully. You ask him where the trial is
to be held, and he answers that it is at the federal, state,
county, municipal police court. You ask him if he is not a little
confused, he answers, moronically, or is there more than one trial? End of quote. And if you will weigh that, that
is the greatest reputation of a general judgment that you will
read anywhere by any person. You see, he made the statement,
suppose you met a man, stupid or foolish enough, to tell you
that he's going to court to hear a trial, a trial, and that the
trial is going to be held at, as he says here, at the federal,
the state, the county, the municipal, and police force. And the things
that are involved in this trial, the singular, are counterfeiting,
murder, arson, embezzlement, and parking a car by a fireplace. All of us know that if a person
is given a ticket for parking his car by a fireplug that he's
not going to be taken to federal court. He'll go down to the police
station. He'll go before the police force.
You can see by this simple statement given by Dr. Barnhouse the foolishness
of a general judgment. Two weeks ago today, I did not
complete some things that I wanted to give from verse 5, and I will
give those things this morning to tie in with our discussion
of verses 6 through 10. God is righteous. No Christian
questions that. The Scriptures prove the righteousness
of God from Genesis to Revelation. Isaiah speaks of the justness
of God in Isaiah 45 verse 21. According to Genesis 18 verse
25, God is righteous in his judgment. It is foolish for people to think
that God, who is just and righteous in his judgment, will consign
all sinners to a common punishment in hell. God will not consign
all sinners to a common punishment in hell. Some sinners deserve
greater punishment than other sinners. It isn't enough for
me to make this statement without proving it for the scripture.
So I will prove what I have just said by the word of the eternal
God. There are degrees of punishment
in hell just as there are degrees of rewards in heaven for the
righteous. All Christians will not experience
the same heaven, so to speak. Are you following me? the same
heaven. There is a sense in which they
will experience the same heaven, but some Christians are going
to have greater rewards in heaven because of their faithfulness
to the Lord while they live for him on the
earth. This is why there are many references in the church
epistles, in the general epistles, that we are to look to ourselves
lest we lose our reward. You see, we do not look to ourselves
for salvation. A man must look to the Lord for
salvation. But after salvation, the Christian
is to look to himself as to the manner of life he is living. In Colossians 2.18, Paul warned
the Colossian Christians, lest they be beguiled of their reward. In 2 John verse 8, and this is
a text you should read, you will find that it is possible for
a person to gain reward and yet by his unfaithfulness to lose
the very things that he has gained. There are degrees of rewards
in heaven for the saved. There are degrees of punishment
in hell for the unsaved. I want to give to you two examples
from the scriptures of what I have just said. Turn with me first
of all to Matthew chapter 11, the gospel of Matthew chapter
11. I'd like for us to read beginning
with verse 20. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein
most of his mighty works were done. You'll notice where most
of Christ's mighty works were done. Because they repented not. Now verse 21. Woe unto thee,
Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida, for
if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in
Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth
and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall
be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment
than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell. For if
the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in
Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. But I say unto
you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the
day of judgment than for thee. That is, for the persons who
were in the place where the most mighty works of our blessed Lord
were performed. The performance of His mighty
works in the presence of those people made them more responsible
because they were subjected to more light. I said they were subjected to
more light. Now I want you to turn with me
to the 12th chapter of the gospel according to Luke. Our Lord gave
a parable and after he had given the parable, Peter raised a question
to which our Lord did not give a direct answer. And there is
a reason why he did not give a direct answer. I'd like for
us to begin with verse 31. He said, but rather seek ye the
kingdom of God, and all these things should be added unto you.
This statement in the Gospel of Luke should be compared with
a similar statement in Matthew 6, verse 33. This passage has
reference to seeking an interest in the kingdom of God. The question is raised, when
will the kingdom be given the little flock? Now you will notice
in verse 32 that the believers who are considered to be a little
flock by the Lord himself gives to the little flock a promise
that should give to them great comfort as a result of what they
were being subjected to in their Christian lives. The application
of this is for you and me today. Here it is, fear not, little
flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom. Christians have a glorious kingdom
awaiting them, and that's what we're preaching on in our Sunday
evening services. It is the father's good pleasure
to give to you and me the kingdom. Christ, as a result of the things
that Christians were going through during his personal ministry,
gave great comfort to the little flock. He answered the many fears
that the Christians of his day had in one single sentence. Fear not. It doesn't make any
difference whatever has prompted your fear. Fear not. It doesn't make any difference
if it's poverty, if it's tribulation, whatever it might be, fear not,
little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give
to you the kingdom. The kingdom, therefore, will
be bestowed upon the people of God when Jesus Christ comes the
second time. The people of God are represented
as, first of all, called of the Lord. This is a heavenly calling. 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 12,
having been called to this kingdom, we are to patiently wait for
the coming of Jesus Christ, who will establish the kingdom when
he comes, according to 2 Timothy 4 and verse 1. And he goes on
to say that through much suffering we might be counted worthy of
the kingdom of God. You will notice in verse 33,
sell that you have. Now don't misinterpret that. This is not to be taken absolutely. This does not mean that the Christian
is to sell everything he has. and give alms? This is not even
taught in the first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.
There's no admonition that the Christian is to sell everything
that he has. But what is he talking about
here? This was a figurative statement our Lord used, a statement that
proves beyond a shadow of a doubt. that as Christians we should
live self-denying lives. That's what he's talking about.
So sell what you have and give on. It was a figurative exhortation
to self-denial. Now he goes on. Provide yourselves
bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that paid it not,
where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupted. For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also." You and I understand
that. If a person is living for the
things of this earth, that's where his treasure is. If he's
living for heaven, realizing his citizenship is there, and
everything worthwhile is there, being preserved for him, and
he is being preserved for him, Where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. It doesn't take long to find
out where a man's heart is. Then he says in verse 35, let
your lungs be girded about. That means to be ready for action. The Christian life is an active
life. It is not slow full indulgence. It's an active life. So let your
loins be girded about, your lights burning. Now let's read on. He's speaking in a parable. Notice
verse 37. Blessed are those servants whom
the Lord when he cometh shall find watching. Verily I say unto
you that he shall gird himself and make them to sit down to
meet and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come
in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them
so blessed, So blessed are those servants. And this knows that
if the good man of the house had known what hour the thief
would come, he would have watched and not have suffered his house
to be broken through. Now he ends this parable by saying,
be ye therefore ready also for the Son of Man cometh at an hour
when ye think not. Now let's look at verse 41. I
want us to see the lesson. This has an important application
in connection with what we're discussing in Romans chapter
2, verses 6 through 10. Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest
thou this parable unto us, that is, unto the disciples, or even to all? Does this parable
refer just to the disciples or does it refer to all men? You will notice that our blessed
Lord compared his disciples to servants waiting for their master's
return. In view of this, each person
has his own responsibility during the master's absence. Now the interesting thing about
this is our Lord did not give Peter a direct answer to his
question. Please observe that. The lesson
before us is not justification, it is sanctification. The lesson
before us in this passage of Scripture is not faith, but holiness
of life. The point is not what a man should
do to be saved, but what a saved man should do, realizing what
his responsibility is to the Lord. All right, let's read verse 42.
And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and wise student? Who is it? Whom his Lord shall
make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of
me in due season. Blessed is that servant whom
his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Beloved, don't
forget that statement. This harmonizes, you see, with
what we're studying in Romans 2, 6 through 10. The last three
words of verse 43, fine so doing. Great gifts are to be used with
great diligence. Now you'll notice a contrast in verse 45, but and if. He's not talking about that servant
that is found doing good during the absence of his master. Now
he says in verse 45, but and if that servant say in his heart,
my Lord the laity is coming and shall begin to beat the menservant
and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunk. The Lord of
that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him,
and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder,
and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers." Even though
he is a professor, you see, if he is a professor, he may profess. But when he knows that the Lord
is delaying his return, or his master is delaying his return,
then he'll say, well, I'll do this and I'll do that. He'll
begin to eat, he'll begin to drink, and act like heathen because
he is one by nature. Dr. Talmadge has told an interesting
story that I want to share with you at this point by way of illustration.
Dr. Talmadge has given us an incident
that took place in London, England many years ago. In fact, this
happened during his lifetime. It was announced by some preachers
in London that the world was coming to an end on a certain
Friday of a certain month. He said the word spread throughout
London. People were flocking to the church
building. There was much weeping and praying. He said that Friday came And
the world did not come to an end on that Friday as had been
predicted by the preacher. You can see how that persons
without knowledge of the scriptures can become greatly disturbed
over statements given by a false preacher. The churches, however,
were filled with people. a great amount of weeping and
praying. But as soon as the Friday had arrived and passed without
the world coming to an end, and I'll give to you now his statement,
he said, and I quote, after the day passed, there was riot, drunkenness,
and debauchery such as had never been witnessed in London before. End of quote. Now what's the
answer to that? You want me to give you a scripture
for it? When I read this, there was a text of scripture which
I memorized many years ago that came to my mind. Will you turn
with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 11? Here is a text you
may want to memorize. It's easy to remember. Because
sentence against an evil word is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons
of men is fully set in them to do evil." There it is. There is the word
of our Lord through his servant Solomon. Because sentence against
an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart
of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Now go back
to Luke chapter 12. Let's read a little further. Verse 46, the Lord of that servant
will come in a day when he looketh not for him. Verse 47, and that
servant which knew his Lord's will. Notice the word Lord is
spelled with a little L. This is a parable our blessed
Lord gave. And that servant which knew his
Lord's will. You see, knowledge unimproved
will become a perilous possession. That ought to shake them. and prepared not," the word himself
is italicized, just forget it, neither did according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes. Many stripes. Now this person shall be beaten
with many stripes in God's righteous judgment because of the light
that he had. And he did not live up to the
light he had. Now, verse 48, by way of contrast, but he that
knew not, now you need to contrast the statement knew not with which
knew of the preceding verse. But he that knew not and did
commit things worthy of scribes shall be beat with few scribes. Does this not teach the righteous
judgment of God? God is just, beloved. All sinners
are not going to be treated the same way. Now the last part of verse 48.
For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required. That's why I said knowledge unimproved
will become a perilous possession. Knowledge not applied and light
not followed adds to one's condemnation. For unto whomsoever much is given
of him shall be much required. And to whom men have committed
much of him they will ask the more. Do you see the connection
this has with what we are studying in Romans chapter 2? Go back,
please, now to Romans 2. Yes, there are degrees of punishment
in hell, just as there are degrees of rewards for the righteous. Our subject this morning, after
this lengthy introduction, is entitled, God's Judgment is According
to Work. There are some things that I
gave at the close of the message last Sunday that I must repeat
again to make the proper connection between the first five verses,
the first division of Romans 2, and verses 6 through 10, the
second division of the chapter. according to truth that is emphasized
in verses 1 through 5, and according to works, the phrase that is
emphasized in verses 6 through 10, harmonize in the unity of
their meaning. Look at them if you will, please.
According to truth in the first five verses is the subjective
reality. According to works in verses
6 through 10 is the objective manifestation of the subjective
reality. Thus it can be said what a man
is determines what he does, but what he does well doing shall be rewarded. This is the first thing I want
us to study. We will see how that evildoing shall be punished
in contrast to well-doing being rewarded. Well, let's take the
first. Well-doing in this text means
good work. Now notice what I'm saying. Good
work. That's a better translation. Paul is not talking about works,
plural. I want you to think about this
now for a moment. He is not thinking about works, plural, but the
lifelong work of a Christian. You see what I'm talking about? Look at it again. who will render to every man
according to his deeds, to them who by patient continuance in
well-doing." The statement well-doing means good work, not works plural,
but a lifelong work. Now I want to illustrate that.
You see, you miss a lot by just the casual reading of the Scriptures.
Let's take this statement and break it up. Negatively speaking, good work
is not well-knowing, well-promising, well-professing, well-abstaining,
or well-wishing. He says well-doing, and that
means good work. The lifelong work, work that
starts with salvation and does not end until the Lord calls
us home. For he who has begun a good work
in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ Philippians
1 says. You see what I'm talking about? So good work here, this lifelong
work. is not well-knowing or well-wishing
or well-promising. There are too many people today
who give lip service to Christianity and they say, well, I want to do this and I want
to do that. But you see, this good work is
not well-promising, it's well-doing. Not well-wishing. Oh, I wish
I had the opportunity that so-and-so has. I won't get the job done.
That's not well doing. There are too many people who
put themselves or seek to put themselves in someone else's
shoes. Oh, if I just had the opportunity
he had, I'd do thus and so. Well, you don't have that opportunity.
You're in your own shoes. What are you doing in your own
shoes? You see, that's the question. Now, positively speaking, good
work is, first of all, as to matter prescribed by God and
according to His will. A good work is a work according
to the will of God. He works in us to will and to
do of His good pleasure. Philippians 2.12. Positively speaking, good work
as to motive is done for God's glory. I said for God's glory, not for
yours, but for God's. Positively speaking, good work
as to manner is done carefully, earnestly, and heartily. You're earnest about what you
do, and you do it heartily. You count it a great privilege
to be able to do it. As to its essential element,
as to its essential element, love. The love of Christ constrains
2 Corinthians 5.14. As to example, Jesus Christ himself. He is our example. I'm not your
example. No human being is the example
of a Christian. Christ is the example for the
Christian. 1 Peter 2, 21 and 23. Well-doing
is the fruit of grace. Man is renewed in Jesus Christ
for the purpose of well-doing. Now let's notice, secondly, we're
talking about well-doing should be rewarded. And we have seen,
first of all, what well-doing means. It's not works, plural. It's a lifelong work that begins
in salvation and is not consummated until that one is called home
to be with the Lord. Number two, Christians persevere
in good work. What does he say? Let's look
at the seventh verse again. To them who by patient continuance. Let me hear some practical things
for you. To them who by patient continuance. Well that's far
as I want to go for a moment. Let's study that statement, patient
continuance. It is not enough for you to begin
well, except you end well. It isn't enough for one to say,
oh I've had an experience with the Lord and make a bright profession
and just jump here and there and after a while you don't see
them anymore. It isn't enough to begin well,
except we end well. The wholeness consists not, someone
has said, in the rushing of intense resolve like a comet streaking
across the sky, but like a thick star that with calm radiance
shines on through the darkness of a corrupt age." Oh, what a
great illustration. What a great illustration. Listen
to that. Holiness consists not in the
rushing of intense resolve like a comet streaking across the
sky, but like a thick star that with calm radiance shines on
to the darkness of a corrupt age. Beloved, this is why we're
seeing a great manifestation of genuine salvation in our day.
There is a lot today that gives lip service to salvation, but
there is no grace. And I'm grateful for the things
that are taking place today because these things are reflecting where
there is grace and where there is not grace. If a person is
always making some resolve and he's like a comet streaking across
the sky, He arises but is soon out of
sight, soon gone. But what value is that to a corrupt
and chaotic age? This is why our Lord in that
parable going back to Luke chapter 12 made the statement to sell
a child. There must be a willingness,
a desire of self-sacrifice Don't count the cost if you please. And then he said, gird up the
loin and let your light shine. And this is what we're to do
in this dark age in which we live. We're not to be like a chameleon,
reflect the surroundings around us. We have a lot of these lizards
around our house, and I'm sure you do too. Our house is trimmed
with a dark brown, as most of you know. When I see one of those
lizards on that brown, he's just as brown as the brown. I can
chase him off of the side of the house, off of the soffit
or the fascia board, and they're harboring underneath the, raising
their young, I guess, underneath the gutter. But when he runs
across the green grass or something, he turns green. Well, there are
a lot of people like that. They just reflect whatever surroundings
they're around. You're to stand up wherever you
are, wherever you are. Then look at the statement, patient
continuum. Patient continuance and well-doing
is not the feverish ambition which must see its name in the
news and be congratulated in public meetings. Such ambition
as that exhausts itself before the day of God's righteous judgment.
You know what our Lord said about people like that? In Matthew
chapter 10, they have their reward. In other words, the persons who
will stand out on the street corners to make broad their phylacteries
and pray long prayers to be heard of men, our Lord said they have
their reward. So they will exhaust their reward
before the day of the revelation of God's righteous judgment.
The only reward that people will ever have, people like that,
will be what they get down here from the lips of men. But patient
continuance and well-doing. Let's tear that a little further.
Spasmodic effort wins no enduring honor either in this world or
the next. Patient endurance. like love,
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things, and never faileth." 1 Corinthians chapter
13. The love of the Christian path is
not brilliant doing, but well doing. It is the life work of
a willing mind and a loving heart. A mind that has the mind of Christ
and a heart that is overflowing with the love of God that has
been shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit. Now let's look thirdly. Good
work has a future crown. All right, let's look at the
verses again. To them who by patient continuance and well-doing
seek for glory and honor and immortality or incorruption,
eternal life. Drop down to verse 10. But glory,
honor, and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew
first and also to the Greek. The future crown comes not in
payment of a certain kind of conduct. but as the effect of
a certain kind of character. The character is the result of
a certain kind of life, and the life is the fruit of a certain
kind of operation, the operation of the Holy Spirit in regeneration,
when the redemptive work of Jesus Christ has been applied to the
heart of the individual. Don't get the idea from reading
these verses that Paul is talking about works for salvation. He's not talking about that at
all. So the future crown consists
in three things. Oh yes, there is present peace.
But there are three things, let's look at them. They are glory,
honor, and incorruption. Now there is a word that gives
us the key to the real meaning of the passage. Look once again
at verse 7. To them who by patient continuance
and well-doing seek. There it is. Seek. Don't forget
the word seek. What does he seek? He seeks glory,
he seeks honor, and he seeks incorruption. Now to prove to
you that Paul is not teaching works for salvation, You see,
the person who seeks is a person who has been sought and found. There is none who seeketh after
God in his natural condition, but when he has been sought and
found by the sovereign God, then he seeks to please the Lord. And so his seeking is the evidence,
it is the proof of his salvation in Christ. What does he seek? First of all, he seeks glory.
Glory is the distinguishing characteristic of the eternal state. On earth the righteous may have
their lot in the midst of poverty, but in heaven all around, as
well as within, shall be glorious. Now, within you and me there
is something glorious. It's the grace of God. while
around us there is everything but glorious. But when we get
to heaven, everything not only within but around will be glorious. And this is what the person who
already experiences the glorious grace within, he seeks for what? Glory. He longs, he looks forward
to the time. when he will be with Christ,
when he shall see Christ as he is. Secondly, honor. Honor is something one has when
esteemed and praised by another. A lot of men live for earthly
praise, for earthly honor. Beloved, you and I as Christians
live for heavenly praise, for heavenly honor. It's a real tragedy today, but
there are so many people who give lip service to the things
of the Lord, but when they are confronted with the revelation
of divine truth, they would rather destroy the
truth than to be exposed. My wife and I had several unusual
experiences this last week, but I'll share one with you by way
of illustration at this point. I'll not tell you the name of
the store where we do most of our trading. That isn't necessary.
I'm not advertising any store. But we do most of our trading
at a certain store. But she watches the specials
more than I do. She looks at the ads in the paper
on Thursday morning, I think it is, when they come out. So
we went to the store on Friday of this past week. And there were some things that
were on special. That was some frozen Hawaiian
fruit juice, a punch. It was on special. Ordinarily
sold for 33 cents a can. It was on for 26. So she got
several cans of it. We drank quite a bit of fruit
juices. So when I started to check out, she was standing where
she could see the cash register. I wasn't. I was just ready to
get out my billfold and pay for it. So she was watching as the
person was ringing up the groceries. So when she came to these cans,
well, she started ringing them up 33 cents, so Juanita called
her attention to the fact that they were on special. Woman looked,
made her mad. She didn't apologize, she just
got mad. She said, they're not supposed to be on special. Juanita
said, well, they're on special. So Juanita wanted to check, be
sure, because a Christian is always willing to admit he's
mistaken, he's made a mistake. So Juanita walked back and right
down the aisle, almost, where the cash register So she just
walked down the aisle, she looked, sure enough, there was a red
tag, and ordinarily sold for 33, on special for 26 cents.
One of you came back and said, yes, it's on special for 26 cents. And it didn't either. She just bowed up. With one look
at the woman, you could tell she wasn't a Christian. Really,
you could just tell that by looking at her. I'm not going to describe
her to you. But anyway, she just left the
cash register and she went back there. She looked. She saw the sign. Then she started
picking up the cans. Well, I got amused about that
time. And I don't like to cause trouble everywhere I go, you
know. So she started picking up the cans. Well, naturally,
they didn't change the price on all those cans. Because if
they took the special off the next day, would they have to
go back and change the price on all the cans again? She's
supposed to know what's on special, you know. She has a chart of
that. So she just ripped the sign off where it was stuck on
with some Scotch tape. She came back to the cash register
tearing it up. I wanted to say, are you the manager of the store?
A lot of things I wanted to say, but I didn't say. And so she
said, it's not supposed to be on special. She just tore it
up. I sat in one of the men in our church about it and he said,
you know, it's like a lot of so-called Christians said she
got mad because she was exposed. She wasn't willing to admit that
she'd made a mistake and there's no apology forthcoming. So a
lot of people today, when the preacher preaches the truth and
people have been exposed, they'd rather just tear that out of
the Bible, you know. Just get rid of that than to admit one's
mistake. Well, I first thought, of course,
that she got several cans of it. I thought, well, I first
thought I'd go by the manager's desk, ask him if she was running
the store. I thought, well, I won't do that. I'll just go on. So I went on,
but I caused enough trouble. Caused enough trouble just preaching
the word. But you see, this is what you're
subjected to today. And beloved, it goes back to
what this man said this morning. No morals in this country. Moral
poverty. Moral poverty. The only honor that some people
want is the honor they can get from me. That's not the honor
that I want. I want the honor that comes from
the Lord Jesus when I stand before the judgment seat of Christ,
the beamer of Christ. I want to hear him say, well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Because you've been
faithful over a few things, I'll make you ruler over me. That's
what I want to hear. What about you? Then, lastly,
immortality or incorruption. What does this denote? Incorruption
contrasts the permanence of the celestial with the fleeting shadows
of the terrestrial. Everything that you and I see
is fast passing away. So the believer seeks incorruption
and the contrast is between that which is permanent and that which
is passing away. Then fourthly, the future crown
is assured by the present spiritual life. The word deeds in verse
six, go back to verse six for a moment, The word deeds is sometimes
applied to external conduct, but here it denotes everything
connected with conduct. It includes the acts of the mind,
the motives of the heart, the principles as well as the external
conduct. Don't forget that please. All those things are wrapped
up in the word deeds. Then the word seeking. Seeking
for glory, honor, and incorruption is the manifestation of life. No one seeks the spiritual thing
until he has been sought and found. Finally, the believer,
according to verse 10, has present peace in his heart. But he has
tribulation in his life. Peace in its widest scope will
be the enjoyment of the Christian throughout the ceaseless ages
of eternity when the peace of Jesus Christ shall be established
on the earth. And the knowledge of the Lord
will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Men will beat
their swords, their instruments of warfare, into instruments
of peace. We enjoy inward peace now, but
peace in its widest scope will be enjoyed in its fullest in
the kingdom. Now let's look at the other side
of the picture. Really our time is gone. I'll just start it and
then I will complete it later. But I must give this as a warning
to all the unsaved evil doing shall be punished. Look at the
verses again. Verse 7, to them who by patient
continuance and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality
eternal life, life in its fullest. But unto them that are contentious
and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth
evil, of the Jew first and also. of the Gentile. The word contentious means factious. I shared a little bit of this
with you last Lorsday morning in closing. Now let's go into
it a little deeper. It refers to those who electioneer,
who plot to obtain some office, those who seek distinction, The
word refers to a hireling, not to one who is a day laborer,
as it has been expressed. The verb means to wrangle, to
engage in strife. It was used of those who were
paid to campaign. It was used to promote party
spirit. to disturb harmony, to oppose
single-mindedness. Do you see the application it
has? So the word means given to, promoted
by, or promoting faction. Thus when Paul said them that
are contentious, the statement them that are contentious is
parallel to other expressions such as those who are of the
circumcision, those who are of faith. Now when we look at this
by way of contrast to those who are of faith, what do we have?
The man who is of faith is in the current of God's will, but
the person who is contentious is in the current of Satan's
will. Secondly, the factious person
is a contender against God. Look at the context. The factious
person, while disobedient to truth, is obedient to unrighteousness,
indignation, and wrath. Opposition against the Word of
God is a heinous crime. It is a heinous sin for the simple
reason that the psalmist said that God has magnified his word
even above his name. Psalm 138 verse 2. You'll notice the statement, do not
obey. This literally means not to be persuaded. A contentious
person or a factious person cannot be persuaded. He cannot be induced
by winning words. Beloved, I'm giving you the truth
as it is. Truth has no persuasive power
over a factuous person. The grace of God must come into
his life and enable him to be influenced by truth. So the factuous person revolts
against what is good. He becomes a slave to what is
evil. The word carries both the idea
of rebellion and the persuasion to act. I've never seen rebellion
as it exists today. Rebellion everywhere. Rebellion
in the home. Rebellion in government. Rebellion
in society in general. Rebellion in school. Rebellion
everywhere you go. Rebellion. Rebellion. Another
sign of the last time. So the factious person, he's not only a rebellious person,
but he's a person who is persuaded to continue to act in his rebellion. Notice wrath and indignation. Wrath is God's anger held somewhat
in subjection. Indignation is the outburst of
God's wrath in execution. God's wrath is being revealed
from heaven now. Romans 118, we've already discussed
this. The tragedy is people are blind to the wrath of God that's
already being revealed. So wrath is God's anger. Hell
is somewhat in subjection. Indignation is the outburst in
execution. Wrath is within. Indignation
denotes wrath as it overflows. I conclude with this. You and
I as Christians shall never know the glory of heaven. We shall
never know the glory of the kingdom until experience strips the bandages
from our eyes and the veils of flesh in which we live, the various
senses to which we are subjected. All of these things shall drop
away before we shall ever know the glory of heaven as it really
is. Let's turn it around. As horrible
as it is, we must face it. Sinners shall never know the
horrors of hell until experience strips them of life on earth. There is a difference between
Hades and Gehenna. I can't go into that in detail
this morning. Hades is not limbo, the Catholic
doctrine of the place where all the Old Testament Christians
went before the coming of Christ and all babies go when they die
in infancy. Hades is not purgatory, that
place between hell and heaven where people
must be purged before they enter heaven. Hades is a real place
of torment, but it is not the final abode of the wicked. All
the unsaved who have died, they're now in Hades. One day Hades is going to give
up the dead. And when Hades gives up the dead,
Revelation 20 verses 11 through 15, The unsaved shall stand before
the great white throne judgment. The books will be opened. The
Book of Life will first be opened to show them that their names
are not recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life. Secondly, the books,
plural, shall be opened which will record all that these