Several years ago, my friend,
Brother Ralph Barnard, said to me, Henry, God's preachers must
and should preach for a verdict. Like the judge says to the jury,
ladies and gentlemen, Have you reached a verdict? Do you have an opinion? Preaching is not debating. I
hear people debating the Church of Christ and other denominations. I'm not a debater, I'm a proclaimer
of truth. Preaching is not a lecture on
theology. Preaching is the proclamation
of God's truth. Our Lord said, the Spirit of
God is upon me. He has sent me to what? Argue,
debate, quarrel, to proclaim the gospel of his grace to sinners. That's what God called us to
do. And God's advocate, thank God we have an advocate, but
he deals only in truth. Are you guilty? Are you not guilty? That's what I'm talking about
tonight. Preaching for a verdict. Are you guilty of sin? Are you not guilty of sin against
God? Do you sincerely believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ? Or do you call him a liar? No
middle ground. Christ said, he that's not with
me is against me. Are you with the master? Are
you against him? Paul said to King Agrippa, Agrippa,
the death of Jesus Christ was not done in a corner. It wasn't performed in a remote
place. These things are not hidden from
you. What say you? Come on. Turn with me to 1 Kings chapter
18. 1 Kings chapter 18 and verse
21. 1 Kings 18 verse 21. And Elijah came unto all the
people, and he said, How long? How long? Halt ye between two
thoughts, two opinions. If the Lord be God, follow him. If Baal be God, follow him. And the people, what did they
do? didn't answer a word. Not a word. Not a word. They answered, not
a word. Well, I'll tell you, they answered,
they said Baal. With their silence, their refusal
to be committed to God, they were following Baal. In regard to religion, in regard
to religion, in regard to life and death. Most men and women
in this generation, most men and women in this generation
pretend to have this opinion about four things. Here's the
fourth thing. They think there's a God. They
think there's a God. Oh, they may call him the man
upstairs, and they may call him somebody up there likes me, and
John Wayne said one time, well, he or she or whoever it is, whoever
it is, that they think there's a God. How long halt ye between
one, between two things, thinking, opinion? The second thing, The
people of this generation think there's life after death. They
do. They think so. Every obituary that I read in
our Virginia paper starts out this way. So and so died, and
he's with the Lord. I looked over them one day, every
single one of them said that. He's with the Lord. There's life
after death. That's what they think. And most
people think that judgment, some kind of judgment, and eternity
follows death. They say, well, it's a part of
the man who wants to die, and after that, the judgment. They
agree with that. And most of them think that they
need some kind of refuge in the event that these things take
place. They think there's a God. They think there's life after
death. They think there's going to be a judgment and eternity.
And they've got to have some kind of refuge. They've got to
have some reason for a hope of eternal life. And many, Christ
said, will say unto me in that day, Lord, have we not preached
in your name? Have we not cast out devils in
your name? Have we not done many wonderful
works in your name? And then I will profess unto
them, I never knew you. I never knew you. I want you
to listen to the prophet Isaiah. Turn over to Isaiah chapter 28. Isaiah chapter 28. I want you to listen to these
two verses. Verse, I believe it's verse,
Isaiah 28, verse 14 and 15. I believe Isaiah is speaking
to people on that day and he's speaking to folks on this day,
in this day because they have the same, how long halt ye between
two opinions? The answer is not a word. All
right, what's this? Isaiah 28, 14. Wherefore, hear
the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which
is in Jerusalem, because you said, you think, we have a covenant
with death. We're not afraid of death. Let
it come. We have a covenant that word
hell is to the grave. They don't know anything about
death, they do know something about the grave. We have a covenant
with death and the grave. We are in accord. We are in accord. We are in agreement with the
grave. It's alright. It's alright. So and so died, he's with the
Lord. It's alright. And when the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, when God comes to this earth and judges
these people, The overflowing scourge shall pass through. It
won't come to us. It won't come to us. Why? For we have a refuge. We have
a hope. We have made lies our refuge. And under falsehood have we hid
ourselves. And I have five refuges. that these people hide in. I
hope nobody here is hiding in any of these. That there's some
refuge. We have a refuge. Yep. We're
not afraid of death. With the grave, we're in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge and judgment of God comes through,
it won't touch me. I've got a hope. I've got a refuge. It's a refuge of lies, God said,
but I've got a refuge. All right, here they are. Five
of them. Number one. This false refuge is a wrong
opinion of ourselves. The Pharisees said to our Lord,
we be not sinners. We be not sinners. One of them
said, Lord. He said, I thank you. I'm not
like other men. Well, my friends, I am like other
men. And you are like other men. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save one type of people. Sinners. And that's what we are. All sinners. And this generation
has a wrong opinion about themselves. We be not sinners. Turn with me to Romans chapter
3. Romans chapter 3. Listen to this.
Romans the third chapter verse 10. It's our obituary. It's our
biography. That's what it is. It's our biography. In Romans chapter 3 verse 10. Romans 3 verse 10. This is our
biography. As it's written, there's none
righteous. No, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. They're all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that do it good,
no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre.
With their tongues they've used to see. The portion of asthma
is under their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing
and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in their way. And the way
of peace they have not known. There's no fear of God before
their eyes. And here's the summary. Now we
know. Here's the right opinion. Now we know that what things
whoever the law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped. And all the world become guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty before
God. My friends, you'll never be found
till you're lost. The Lord came into the world
to save that which is lost. You'll never be clothed with
that righteous garment, that white robe, unless you're naked,
stripped naked, naked in the sight of Him with whom we have
to do. A wrong opinion of ourselves. The second false refuge is a
wrong idea about the love of God. The popular teaching today,
this is it, the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. And this teaching of the fatherhood
of God has led men to believe that every son of Adam is a son
of God. Every son of Adam is an object
of God's love, and that is not so. Every man is not an object
of God's love. No sir, that's right, it's just
not so. And this teaching that God loves
everybody, this teaching is three things that we've got to deal
with. Number one, this teaching encourages
people to continue in their rebellion against God. For they say, God,
smile, God loves you. Smile, God loves you. Well, if
God loves me, I don't have to be afraid of God. But Noah moved
with fear. Noah moved with fear. When God
appeared to Noah, he moved with fear. What kind of fear? Fear
of the Lord. The fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom. Come my children, I'll teach
you something. The fear of the Lord. Secondly,
this universal love of God encourages men to ignore Christ. If God loves me outside of Christ,
I don't need Christ. Isn't that true? If God loves me outside of Christ,
I don't need Christ. Who needs Christ? People who
are under the judgment of God because of sin. Thirdly, this
universal love of God brings God's character up for question. What's our nature? What are we?
We're evil. We're sinners. Does God love
evil? No, he doesn't. God doesn't love
evil. He said in Ephesians 2, at that
time, you were without Christ. Strangers from the covenant of
promise. You had no hope. And without
God in this world. And if you're without God, you're
without Christ. And you're without Christ, you're
without the love of God. The wrath of God The wrath of
God is upon the wicked. God's angry with the wicked.
The love of God is in Christ. That's where it is. The love
of God is in Christ Jesus. He said in John 3, listen, He
that believeth on the Son hath eternal life. He that believeth
not on the Son shall not see life. The wrath of God is upon
the wicked. The wrath of God doesn't abide
on the same people. It abides on evil people. He put a difference between Israel
and Egypt. There's a difference. God's love
is in Christ. You love Christ, you're in the
love of God. You believe Christ, you're in
the love of God. That's true. Fourth, thirdly,
another false refuge is this. Another false refuge is a profession
of religion that does not demand obedience. That's a false refuge. Any profession of religion, any
hope of eternal life that does not demand obedience and discipleship
is a false refuge. Now this is today's popular Christianity. I know this and you do too. people
profess to believe the Bible and then they make a profession
of faith and then they attend church they join a church and
attend church occasionally and they observe the regular religious
holidays, holy days, Christmas they sing Christmas carols and
give gifts and Easter and all these different holy days But
there's no particular sacrifice. There's no devotion. Devotion to God. There's no consecration. There's no love for God. There's
no love for his words. There's no love for Christ. There's
no love for others. There's no giving. No bearing
or forbearing. There's no forgiveness. There's
no faith. There's no godliness. So there's
no refuge. Turn to James chapter 2. Listen
to James here in James chapter 2. Verse 19 and 20. This is verse 19 and 20. James chapter 2. Now believe
there's one God. That's what we've been talking
about. You think there's one God? You do well. The devil believes there's one
God and trembles. But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that a faith without works is dead? A faith that doesn't obey
God, love God, love God's people, love God's Word, love God's way,
love God's truth, That's a phase. That phase is dead. Dead. Like we used to go hunting quail,
you know, and shoot one and the dogs would start trembling and
running and we'd say to the dogs, dead! Dead bird. Dead. And that kind of phase
is dead. You don't need to run to pick
that bird up. He's dead. Here's another false refuge.
False opinion of ourselves. And this fatherhood of God. God
loves everybody. And a religion, a profession
of religion that does not lead to obedience and discipleship
is false. And here's the fourth one. That
is an old experience that stays old. A fella said to me one time,
I'm saved, I was there when it happened. Is that the last account
you had? I was there when it happened.
That's the last time I thought about it, talked about it, said
anything about it. But here it is, Todd told us
a while ago, repentance and faith. Repentance and faith. And Paul
said, that's my whole message. Repentance toward God and faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith. Repentance
toward God and faith in Christ is not, I repeat, is not a once
for all experience. It is not. It is not. Repentance toward God and faith
in Christ is not a once-for-all experience and decision. Repentance
and faith is a continuing state. I have been saved. I am being
saved. And my salvation is dearer than
what I believe. That's right. That's right. Peter said that. It's a growth in grace. The person
comes to know Christ. The Lord talks about babes in
Christ, young men in Christ, and fathers in Christ. There's
a growth in grace. It's a continuous stay. Keep
on repenting. Keep on believing. Keep on coming
to Christ. Turn to 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter
1. 2 Peter chapter 1. Now listen to this. Here's what
I'm saying, a false profession, a refuge of lies, is an old experience
that stays old. Here's 2 Peter chapter 1 verse
4, listen, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises, great and precious promises, that by these you might
be a partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust, and besides this, partaker
of a new nature, having escaped the corruptions in the world,
besides this, giving all diligence and to your faith, virtue, and
to virtue, knowledge, And the knowledge, temperance. And the
temperance, patience. And the patience, godliness. And the godliness, brotherly
kindness. And the brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you
and abound in you, they make you that you shall not be barren,
idle, nor unfruitful, in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. An old experience that stays
old is dead. Anything that's alive grows. This pulpit is dead. And it will
never change. This man is not dead. He's alive. All right, here's the fifth false
refuge. Another false refuge is tomorrow. Tomorrow. What a pitfall is tomorrow. Let me show you something. Acts
24. Acts chapter 24. Acts 24, verse
24. And listen to it. And after certain days, when
Felix came with his wife Drusilla, she was a Jewish woman, he sent
for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as Paul
reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled. Can't you just imagine that old
ruler standing there, his knees knocking together and his arms
shaking. He trembled. Paul, that's one
of the greatest preachers ever lived. A man sent by God to preach
the gospel. And this old ruler was there
before him and he's shaking. He trembled. He trembled and
he said, go your way, Paul. Not forever, for a little while. Way to tomorrow. Way to tomorrow. Way to tomorrow. Tomorrow, tomorrow,
tomorrow. When I have a convenient season,
I'll call for you. He never did. He never did. Tomorrow. Felix trembled. It was real. It was real. That's a real sermon
he was hearing. Oh, what a sermon. child of God, witnessing to him
about the eternal mercy of God. He trembled. And he was impressed. But he said, tomorrow, I'm going
to do something about this tomorrow. But God said, boast not yourself
of tomorrow. You don't know what a day will
bring forward. You just don't know. A wise old
preacher once said this. Listen to it now. Some of these
old guys can think up some good things. He said every person
at least should repent and believe the gospel the day before he
dies. And some scoffer looked at him
and said, that's foolish. No man knows the day of his death. Could be tomorrow. And the old
preacher said, well, my friend, if you plan on dying tomorrow,
you better repent today. You better repent today. You
better lay hold of Christ today. Because God Almighty said, don't
you boast about tomorrow. You have today. You don't have
tomorrow. You just don't have tomorrow.
Turn to Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1, verse... That's the reason we preachers
need to preach for a verdict. We've got people dying. We've
got people out on the highways in danger of death. We've got
to urge and repent, believe the gospel, lay hold... Now is the
accepted time. This is a day of salvation. It's
right now. It's a day of salvation. Proverbs chapter 1 verse 24. Listen. The Lord says, Because
I have called and you refused, I stretched out my hand, no man
regarded. They answered him not a word.
Well, you said it not my counsel, all my counsel, and you would
none of my reproof. I'll laugh at your calamity. I'll mock when your fear cometh.
And when your fear cometh as the desolation, and your destruction
cometh as the whirlwind, and when distress and anguish come
upon you, then shall you call upon me, old Felix, then. But I'll not answer you, and
then you'll seek me early, but you'll never find me." But my
friends, I can't close this message without stating positively and
definitely, according to the Word of God, there is a refuge. There is a hiding place. It's
not under lies. It's not a refuge of lies. It's
a refuge of truth. It's a refuge of God's grace
and mercy in Christ Jesus. David said in the Psalms, Lord,
if thou should charge iniquity, who's going to stand? But there's
forgiveness with thee. God delights to show mercy today. God delights to show mercy today. Now's the accepted time. Today's
the salvation. I never will forget what David
Robinette said. And I preached up here some time
ago. He'd been hearing Brother Tom,
me, and others here. And he's sitting right there.
And I talked about loving Christ, believing on Christ, trusting
Christ. And David got up. Tom was sitting over here. David
got up, walked over here, sat beside Tom. And he said, I want
to be baptized today. Tom said, we don't have any water
in the pool. Well, he said, I'll wait. Fill
the pool. So we went downstairs and had
dinner. And the pastor filled the pool. And like the Ethiopian eunuch,
he said, when he heard Paul preach, he said, here's water. What does it mean to me to be
baptized? Paul said, well, you can if you believe with all your
heart. He said, I believe Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. Fill the pool. And that's what we did then with
David. Fill the pool. He didn't have
a change of clothes, he had to go home. Fill the pool. Listen to me. There was a flood,
but God provided an ark. There was a manslayer, but I
tell you that man to whom God provided the ark, he moved with
faith. He moved! He started driving navels right
to him. And there was a manslayer, but
there's a city of refuge, and the man ran to it. When the serpents
had bitten the people, there was a remedy, but they'd better
look. There was a thirst for water,
but God smote her out. that rock was Christ and they
drank there was food in the wilderness God sent manna from heaven there's a real genuine needy
sinner may be here tonight but I'm telling you this there's
a Savior who delights to save there's a Savior who delights
to show mercy that's right So what am I going to do? I'm going
to go to Jesus. I'm going to go to Jesus. Though
all my sins, as like a mountain raised, and I'm going to say
to Him, Lord, I'm a wretch undone without your sovereign grace.
And I can but perish if I go. But bless your heart, I'm resolved
to try. For if I stay away, I know I'll
forever die. preached for a verdict. And I'll
tell you this, if your tomorrows are all lived up, God have mercy,
but he won't. Our Father, we thank you that
as a refuge, the Lord Jesus Christ has provided
for us a refuge, a blessed hope, a living hope, an eternal hope
in Him. Take this message tonight, whomever hears it, I pray that
you'll bless it and make it real, understandable, make it effectual
to every heart. I pray for Christ's sake. Amen.