I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this morning. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing, let us pray. Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we gather in thy house on the first day of the week, the day
that thou didst set apart in rising from the dead and appearing
unto thy dear disciples. Lord, do so for us and help us
to worship thee in spirit and in truth this day. Lord, we ask
this thy blessing through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 895. Tune, Ingham 473. This morning I wish to read from
two portions of God's holy word. Firstly, the book of Romans,
Romans chapter 5. If you have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 1047. Romans 5, we will read from verse
12 through to the end. Romans 5 from verse 12. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned. For until the law, sin was in
the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless,
death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned
after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure
of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also
is the free gift. For if through the offence of
one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by
grace which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that
sinned, so is the gift, for the judgment was by one to condemnation,
but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if, by one man's offence,
death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance
of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in
life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence
of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, Even so,
by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that
the offence might abound, But where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even
so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now let us turn to Paul's first
epistle to the Corinthians. and chapter 15, page 1071 in
our Bible Box Bibles. We'll read from verse 50 through
to the end. The whole chapter is a chapter
on the resurrection of the dead. But we will read from verse 50. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 from
verse 50. Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. Eyes behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump, For the trumpet shall sound and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality. And so when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that
is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth
us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord. For as much as ye know that your
labour is not in vain in the Lord. The Lord bless to us that
reading of his holy word and help us as we come before him
in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we come to thee through thy beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. We see to reverence thy great
and thy holy name. O Lord, thou only art worthy
of such reverence and such adoration as being the one that hath made
all things. Thou hast made them for thyself
and by thee doth all things consist. O Lord, we know that thou art
the supreme ruler in this world and in every world. Lord, there
is none greater than Thee. And Lord, we do seek to bow before
Thy throne, in whose hand is our life, our breath, our eternal
destiny. Our hope is in Thy provision
as in Thee. Lord, we think of Thee. Psalmist
cast down, why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art
thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall
yet praise him for the help of his countenance. And Lord, if
there are those that gather this day in thy house, or we would
remember those joining with us online that have that need, of
a hope that that is their only hope in thy provision, in thy
way of salvation, in what thou hast done. Lord, may we be strengthened
and encouraged this morning and this day as we gather around
thy word. To grant, Lord, faith mixed with
what we hear. To grant that faith might come
through what we hear. and be based upon what thy word
doth say. O Lord, do make this to be a
mark of difference between us and the world, the world that
does not hear thy voice, that will not hear thy voice, that
does not want to hear thy voice. Lord, that we might be those
that are of thy sheep that hear thy voice, that want to hear
it, that when they hear it, they follow thee. and that it is in
thy word that hath formed the heavens and the earth, that lies
our hope. Speak, Lord, and thy servant
heareth. Lord, that it might be, speak
the word only, and my servant shall be healed. That it might
be, the word comes to us today, not in word only, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. Lord, it is that power of God
that accompanies salvation that we do beseech Thee for, ask Thee
for today. O Lord, do grant also that Thou
hast helped us day by day in the ministry or those that hear
and gather to wet our swords, to sharpen our swords through
prayer. O leave us not to have much religious
activity much preaching, much hearing, much gathering, but
that it is as it were with a dull axe, with a weapon that is blunt,
that we are not coming to Thee and seeking of Thee Thy blessing,
Thy power, Thy life, that we are living a life that does not
have a close communion with Thee. And so, Lord, we do beseech Thee
that Thou has worked this in us, and through thy word and
in our lives, that we each might live with a close communion and
fellowship with thee. Lord, many of us, we would confess
before thee how we feel so poor in prayer, so often we are drawn
aside in our thoughts, our affections. We cannot stay long in prayer,
and we do pray that that might be changed for each one of us. And also thy word, Lord, we read
in. But Lord, do grant there might
be those times that it is very sweet to us. We are drawn to
it. We love it. We are attracted
to it. We see the Lord Jesus Christ
there. It is our meat and our drink. And we pray for this for each
one. that thou shalt revive the sweet
sacred savour of thy word in our hearts. Lord, thou hast said,
he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches. So, Lord, do thou this as well,
not just in prayer, not just in reading, but when we gather
for public assembly, that thou hast be pleased to give us that
hearing ear, and cause that we might listen to the message that
thou hast chosen for thy servant to bring, that it might be to
us an answer to prayer, that it might be to us that we shall
settle our doubts and our fears, and be the means of grace to
our souls. Do remember, O Lord our God,
that thou hast bid us to not forsake assembling of ourselves
together. Lord, thou hast bid us to gather
unto thee. Thou hast bid us to hearken and
to hear unto thy word, and thou hast said that it hath pleased
thee through the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. So, O Lord, do bless the preaching
of thy word today and every day, and, Lord, do raise up servants
to go and proclaim thy word. We pray that thou wouldst draw
many to come under the sound of the truth here, those in Cranbrook
and the surrounding area, O Lord, do work by thy spirit, through
the Bible, through thy word, through providence, and do bring
a people hungering and thirsting to hear the word of the Lord.
We pray for a real spiritual revival in this land, and do
begin at us and do begin here in Cranbrook and at the chapel
here. We do seek, Lord, to humble ourselves
before thee, on account of the bill that was passed into further
process in our parliaments on Friday, the assisted dying bill. Lord, we are sorry that it was
passed, but Lord, we own thy sovereign hand, and we do pray
that those bring good even out of this, that we are prayed might
not happen. Lord, that there might be through
this process, than highlighting the need for better palliative
care for the living, that there might also be raised to an awareness
in this nation of death. Lord, it was noted in our parliament
that it is a subject that many shy away from, don't think of,
and would not rather speak of at all. But Lord, it has been
forced unto our attention and brought to the attention of many.
We do pray that they would use this to bring many into concern
for their souls and to consider what death actually is, and what
is beyond death, and what they are and the worth of their souls.
Lord, thou art able, as thou didst in the case of Balaam,
who was brought to curse the children of Israel, to turn the
curse into a blessing. Thou art able to do, as in the
case of Joseph, whose brothers meant it for evil, to bring it
for good. And thou didst bring from those
that wickedly crucified thee the salvation that thou hast
foreordained. O Lord, do be pleased then to
remember that thou hast also said that all things work together
for good. to them that love God, to them
that are the called according to thy purpose. Do thou be pleased
to work this then for good in the hearts and lives of thy hidden
ones, thy people that are not yet made manifest, and even thy
people that are, that they might be strengthened and helped in
their faith and strengthened through this time. Help us in
the ministry today and from day to day and time to time to clearly
set forth thy word. We do mourn that in our parliament
thy word was not lifted up, was not clearly stated, and Lord,
do have mercy upon us as a nation who have cast thy word behind
our backs. I was reminded also of legislation
passed in recent years and every one of that legislation that
was set before us were things contrary to thy word. And so,
O Lord, we do mourn on account of this. We thank thee that we
do have a parliament. We thank thee that the debate
was very reasoned and kind one to another and done in an orderly
fashion. And we pray for those in authority
over us. We thank thee for our own representative
who voted against this bill, and we pray thy blessing upon
her, and that she might be blessed in her own soul as well. And
O Lord, be pleased to give wisdom to her and to others that profess
to be Christians, that they might be unashamed of their faith,
unashamed of thy word upon their hope rests, and that they might
be able to speak thy word in a public way. O Lord, do have
mercy upon us and grant again that the secret of Great Britain
might be the Word of God. We thank Thee for remembrance
in former years of what we have heard of our sovereigns and those
in authority over us have done, especially during the war years.
We thank Thee for many calls to prayer and answers to prayer
during that time. that thy word in this nation
at that time was prominent and that prayer to thee was unashamedly
made and encouraged. And we pray that this again might
be so in our land. Help us to be salt and to be
lined. We do beg of thee that thou should
remember this nation in her religious assemblies. Lord, we mourn that
so many have taken upon the spirit of the world in how they act,
how they dress, and the doctrine that they preach. O Lord, do
grant again that the fear of God might be before our eyes
and in our assemblies and in our hearts. O Lord, do again
appear in this land. And those, O Lord, that really
are betraying the truth while they maintain to be upholding
it, to open their eyes and turn them away from walking in such
a worldly way with a name of religion in it. O Lord, we do
pray for deliverance from Satan and all his wiles and all his
snares and also from our own wicked, evil, deceitful heart. Do grant us grace to resist the
devil. Do grant us grace to mortify
the deeds of the body through the spirit and do grant unto
us a delight in the things of God and a hatred of the things
of evil. We do pray then that Thou hast
be pleased to bless us here, do remember each one. We pray
for our young people and children, that Thou hast work in their
hearts while young, We do pray for our dear aged friends to
help them and bless them in the even tide of life. And as we
minister to those at Pilgrim Home this afternoon, may thy
blessing be upon the dear aged pilgrims there and that there
might be that help given as we meet with them. O Lord, we do
pray for each of thy servants to remember those that are trying
to sell their homes and to move to take up pastorates in the
next month, Lord, to appear for them, to answer their prayers
and the prayers of their flocks. May we be pleased to establish
the flocks throughout this land, revive us as a denomination,
as a people, and all of the Reformed brethren, many that we love throughout
this land, we seek thy blessing to be upon them. We with our
churches in Australia, we thank thee for one hoping to put thee
on in open profession there in Melbourne. The Lord do bless
her and do bless others. Also, Lord, may there be others
wrought upon there. And Lord, we do pray that those
be with those in America and Canada as well. My dear friends
in Holland, we pray for them, some in their afflictions to
grant blessing on medication, Thy kind lengthening of days,
healing if it could please Thee, and that Thou dost comfort those
that are in bereavement. O Lord, Thou knowest the needs
of each of Thy people, and Lord, do remember those that feel lonely,
isolated and troubled, those afflicted not just in their body,
but have afflictions of mind or afflictions of soul. Remember
all that truly are in need, that have the life of God within and
feel condemnation and feel to have a real need for their souls,
those that are real seekers. Lord, do bless them, lead them
gently on, feed them and instruct them through thy word and do
bring them to liberty in the gospel. Lord, we do pray for
that assurance and that hope that triumphs over death, we
do pray, Lord, for that faith that triumphs over sin through
this world and causes us to walk in the Spirit. Save us, Lord,
from sin in all of its forms and subtleness, where it has
become a habit or where things have been in such a way that
we're in a snare or a slough of despond, or in a low place
and cannot extricate ourselves, O do come and lift us up, deliver
us and save us, and set us on high from those that puff at
us. Lord, the impossible cases, the
difficulties in our lives, be pleased to give grace to bear
them, and be pleased to come and save us and lift us out of
them. We thank Thee for all Thy many
mercies. We do not deserve anything at
Thy hand, nothing out of a deserved hell, but Thou art good and gracious
and has not dealt with us as our sins have deserved. We thank
Thee for our homes, our food, our raiment, every measure of
health and strength. We thank Thee for Thy word in
our own tongue, for Thy people and for the blessings that we
have in this land. We pray for others in other lands
that do not have these things, or even in our land that are
poor, homeless and needy. O Lord, help us to go through
life with a thankful heart, from every murmur free. Do grant us
thankfulness in all that we do and all that we say. Do grant
unto us that blessing of eternal life and thanks for that. We ask now thy help and blessing
as we turn to thy word, and we thank thee for thy kind provision
to us as a church and people, kindness through thy people,
and their support of us here. We ask through thy name, Lord
Jesus. Amen. Announcements, God willing, I'm
expected to preach here this evening at 6.30 p.m. on Thursday at seven o'clock
and next Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. The collections
for the cause during November, for which we sincerely thank
you or bless you in your giving, amounted to £1,120.40. There is no giving for the Bible
Fund this month, but we are very thankful that we have been given
that provision through a charity to be able to continue the distribution
of the Word of God. Hymn, 470. Tune, Mitton 374. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We'll read for our text verse
57. But thanks be to God which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15
verse 57, and this victory is the victory over death. In verse 55, or verse 54, you
read from there, So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death
is swallowed up in victory. Referring back to the prophet
Isaiah. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. Then the words of our text. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. If you and I are
to have victory over death, it can only be through our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He can only be in the way described
by our Lord, by God, who has inspired his word in the Bible
and all that is said in the Word of God about death, about life
to come, about ourselves, if we cast away and reject the Word
of God and reject the Lord's counsel, then how can we expect
to have victory over death through our Lord Jesus Christ, when we
have cast his word behind our backs, when we have gone our
own way and sought to overcome it in our own way. Now, why this has been brought
to my attention, you would have gathered from the prayers concerning
the assisted dying debate in the bill that was passed on its
second reading in our parliaments here in England on Friday, a
55 majority in favour of passing the bill to allow assisted suicide
or assisted dying, as the bill said. But, as we are thankful,
some of the MPs clearly stated they were going to use the term
suicide, because that is exactly what it is. We're thankful for
much very sober debate and many good points raised. Nevertheless,
we are very sad that while one MP could stand up and say that
she was a humanist and that what she was saying was because of
what she believed, there was none that stood up and said,
I am a Christian or not to my knowledge there wasn't, and stood
up and said that what they were saying was according to the word
of God and what they believed as a Christian. It's a very solemn
thing in our country that has been nominal Christian that the
word of God is not consulted, its wisdom is not set before
our lawmakers, and those laws are made without having recourse
to the counsel of God. What a solemn thing also that
it is thought that by taking a life that somehow there is
a victory over death. Or what is thought is a victory
over a painful death, to make death as nice and comfortable
as can be. But in this there is that ignorance
of what is beyond death and what we must face before a holy God. We know there have been those
that, criminals that have sought by suicide to escape justice
in this life, or a punishment in this life, and they have thought
that through taking their own lives they can escape that. They may indeed have escaped
what they did not want to face in this life, but they have still
gone through death. Their life has still been terminated
here, and they have entered irreversibly into eternity, their sole presence
before God. So, I know that this is a very
emotive subject. It was certainly in our parliaments
and many were bringing stories, harrowing stories, of how their
loved ones died. But the issue is not that. Death
itself is a terror, as we have sung, of the whole human race
and it is an enemy. It is the last enemy and we can
never escape that or change that. But what I wanted to do this
morning was to very clearly set forth the scriptural position
and to consider death and the victory over it through our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. So I want to look with the Lord's
help first at how death came into the world. Begin right there. And then secondly, God's word
on human life. What does God say about the life
that he has given? How are we to preserve it? How
are we to deal with it? And then lastly, the victory
over death only in God's way. But firstly, how death came into
the world. We know that God created man,
and he created him in his own image, And all was good, all
was perfect. As the Word of God begins, as
God created the world, there was no death. Not of animals, plants, anything
at all. There was no death. Everything
was good. Everything was of life. That didn't last long. We don't
know how long, but it didn't. And we would remember this, those
that think of, well, we can reconcile the word of God and the science
falsely so called, that would say that the world has been in
existence for millions of years. And especially those who say
that they are Christians should always remember this, that if
there was existence before Genesis 3, where we read that man fell
and death first entered into the world, then death didn't
come as the Word of God declares it did, but was in existence
before the world was created, or before man fell. And that cannot be the origin
of death. is through sin entering into
the world and death by sin. That is what we read in our portion
in Romans 5. Our Lord, when he created man,
gave him a command that he could eat of all of the fruit of the
trees of the garden, but not of the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and of evil. In the day that thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely die. That was the prescribed sentence
upon disobedience, rebellion, and doing what had been forbidden. Adam and Eve, in innocency, without
being tainted by sin, listened to Satan, they saw that that
tree was good for food, They saw it was pleasant to the eyes,
and to be desired to make one wise, they did, as what is told
us in 1 John 2, they saw the lust of the eyes, the lust of
the flesh, and the pride of life. And they followed after that,
that is what Satan set before them. And in doing that, their
eyes were opened, They did now know not only good, but good
and evil, and the sentence of God came upon them. And as we read in Romans 5, it
also passed upon all men in that all have sinned. And it is important
for us to remember that, that in our first parents' disobedience,
by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So then death
passed upon all men in that all have sinned. We all are sinners. The sentence is already upon
us all. None can deny that all men must
die. Of course, unless when the Lord
comes, then there is a change. But it is appointed unto man
once to die, then after that the judgment. And we are to remember
it is God that has passed the sentence of death upon us for
our sin. You must never forget that. That's
why I begin here. How did death come into the world? Did God have anything to do with
it? And if he did, how can we deal
with it apart from God and apart from His way. We may then ask,
what form did death enter into the world? And that is why we
must also know how man was created in the image of God. In a wider sense, man was given
a rationality, he was given an eternal soul, and a position
over the animals, over the creation, and given dominion over them. And since the Fall, these are
retained, but then when they're not influenced by grace, they
are very perverted. The one thing that is not retained,
and after the flood, man was still put over or in charge in
the world over creation, but it is left off that he then had
dominion. Every animal that rises up against
man, it proves, it sets forth that man does not now have that
dominion over, an animal can have dominion over a man. In a narrower sense, we think
of that which is in the image of God, a true knowledge of God,
of righteousness, of holiness, that fellowship and communion
with God, when Adam was created, The Lord came into the garden
and he walked in the cool of the day. And that was when Adam
had fallen. He was fearful. He clothed himself
with fig leaves. He tried to hide from God. But
before the fall, he had that fellowship and communion. There
was no bar between man and between his God. So these things They
have been lost in the fall and the only way that they are reclaimed
is by those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and
have the image of God as they stand in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Colossians we read, And have
put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image
of him that created him. So, man is created in the image
of God, and he has a soul. He does not just have a flesh
and spirit that dies. In Ecclesiastes, we're told of
the spirit of the beast that goeth downward into the earth,
and the spirit of man that goeth upward. Then shall they flesh
return to the dust, and the spirit shall return to God that gave
it. The soul of man resides in his
body. The body is a tabernacle. If we'd have had time, we could
read the whole of 1 Corinthians 15, which speaks of the soul,
of its mortal tabernacle, of its celestial tabernacle, The
soul exists separate from the body, and indeed death is the
separation of soul and spirit. With the beast, death is the
extinction of its life, it ceases to exist. And so when we think
of the fall, when we think of the sentence of death, it comes
in effect in three different ways. The first way is to die
spiritually. Adam and Eve did not die physically
straight away, but spiritually they did. The communion between
them and their God was severed, and we read that the natural
man receiveth not the things of God, neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. Man is dead in trespasses
and sins, and that deadness, that death, is part of the sentence
of God. There are many, even, that have
a name of Christ, that will undermine that death. They will say, no,
man is not so spiritually dead that he cannot respond of himself
to the Gospel, that he cannot obey it. But that is saying that
really what God did when he passed the sentence of death was he
made him not quite dead. He was semi-conscious, or perhaps
just capable of responding just a little bit. He's almost saying,
put it in a natural way, that when we have a dead body, that
body is not quite dead. It might just respond if one
speaks loud enough, and be able to respond to that person, but
the scriptures are not like that. They're very clear that the natural
man, he cannot know the things of God, he cannot respond. The
first thing that he needs to be given is spiritual life. And so that sentence of death,
we must be very clear, is a complete separation between the soul and
God, a complete deadness spiritually, so though he has a soul, that
soul, as regards to God, is severed from God. He cannot enjoy God,
he cannot hear his voice, he cannot know God. It exists, but
it exists separate from God, at enmity with God, at peace
with hell, and with God at war. And it's God's sentence that
man is so separated from him, banished from him. The second
way that man died was in the death of the body. In dying thou
shalt die. We know those first ones, Adam,
Eve, Methuselah, they lived for many hundreds of years. But if
we read Genesis 5, After every one of them we read, and he died,
and he died. They must, and you and I, must
die physically one day because of sin, because of death. Sin entered into the world, and
death by sin. Death, not just because we sinned,
but because God enacted a sentence against man. It is like if someone
does something wrong, if they steal, if they commit some crime
worthy of being put into prison, they don't go into prison automatically
because they have committed that crime. They go to the judge first,
and the judge says, this is the prescription the law for the
crime that you have committed, you will go into prison. That is what God has said. You
have sinned. You have taken that which you
should not have done. You have rebelled against me.
That is the crime. The sentence is, you shall have
spiritual death, you shall have physical death. And so all men
must die. We have a grave outside this
chapel. Many chapels have the graveyards. A solemn reminder,
we've been reminded in our parliament, of the presence of death, that
man must die. He puts it off. He imagines that
it won't happen to him, that he won't have to go that way.
Dear friend, do not put it off. It will come. We must die. The
third way in the sentence is eternal death. Because after
the death of the body and the soul returns to God, then there
is the judgment. And then there is to be cast
into hell and into those torments which are forever and ever. The scripture is very, very clear
on that, that there is life after death, there is the judgment,
and heaven is a real place, hell is a real place, and the torments
of hell are a real place for the damned and those outside
of Christ. So, our first point, how death
came into the world, it came through sin, it came through
the fall, it came because of the judgment of God upon man,
And it comes in these three forms, spiritual death, physical death,
and eternal death, after the judgment. May we remember that. If we're trying to escape death,
if we're trying to soften it, if we're trying to avoid it,
may we remember those three aspects of death. And if you and I are
delivered from it, it will be in this order, delivered from
spiritual death through our Lord Jesus Christ, and delivered from
physical death, being made death, a way that we are brought from
this sin-cursed world to be with Christ forever and ever, and
in Christ we escape the eternal death as well. I give unto them
eternal life, they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of mine hand. So, That was a quick summary
also of the victory over death. I want to now look at God's Word
on human life. How are we to look upon human
life? Are we to just say, well, man
must die anyway, so it doesn't matter whether he dies earlier
or later? Or how he dies. Does it, does
it matter? Well, if we can put animals down,
why can't we put a human being down? How are we to preserve
life? Well, again, let us begin right
at the beginning. Who is it that gives life? Right
through scripture, we read these words, and the Lord gave her
conception. Life begins at conception, in
the womb. This is one of those laws that
was mooted on Friday as being something the Parliament could
be proud of, that they'd passed the abortion laws allowing the
murder of children, that they'd passed these laws to make homosexuality
to be something that is paraded as worthy of praise in this land. those things that are so contrary
to the Word of God, but maybe remember that God gives life. Now remember that when Mary came
to visit Elizabeth, that the babe leapt, John Baptist leapt
in the womb at the salutation of Mary. The child was alive, a real child
in the womb. Everyone really knows that. Psalm 139 speaks of being in
the womb and in the process of time, all the members, though
they were not, yet they're fashioned and they're brought forth. You
read that Psalm. Life begins there. Life is a
sacred thing. The authority over animals is given us by God
as man, and animals do not have a soul. And so in that way, animals
after the flood were given also for food, really at the fall
of man. Animals were slain, their blood
shed for clothing of man. They are for men. But for a person, the vast difference
is the soul, the soul that lives. Then shall the dust return to
the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God
who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12 and verse 7. Israel were given laws which
give us the pattern of how killing should be treated. They were
given cities of refuge, six on one side, Jordan, six on the
other. If a person committed premeditated
murder or took someone's life, in a deliberate, premeditated
way, knowing what they were doing, they could flee to these places,
cities of refuge, to escape the vengeance of the relatives. But
when their case was heard, then they were to be put to death. Premeditated killing was murder. Then we have killing by accident. If someone's axe head flew off,
if someone did something that they did not have any hatred,
any malice, and someone got killed, then they could flee to those
cities of refuge, and then their case was heard. And if it was
found it was not murder, but it was manslaughter, then they
were in effect shut up in that city. They couldn't go home to
their wife, their family, their house. They had to stay there
until the high priest died. If the high priest was young,
they could be there for many years. If he was old, not many
years. But that was the law. In effect,
they had a life sentence. They had a sentence upon them. Then there was judicial killings. And, of course, those that had
committed murder, the state or Israel, when the case was heard,
and it had to be done in the mouth of witnesses. Numbers 35, you can read these
cases in that chapter. Whoso killeth any person, the
murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses. It's
another thing that is very strange in our country again. Capital
punishment has been abolished. There was even mention of that
on Friday. How is it that in the past we
have legislated to stop judicial killing, but now we are legislating
to allow for killing by a doctor? These scriptures are clear though,
that where there is a murderer, one witness shall not testify
against any person who caused him to die, but moreover thou
shalt take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer which
is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. The sentence of death enacted
by a court of law must be two or three witnesses. And after
the flood, this is the word of God then. Surely your blood of
your lives will I require. At the hand of every beast will
I require it, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every
man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth
man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. for in the image
of God made he man. And then in Proverbs we read
as well, a man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall
flee to the pit, let no man stay him. Proverbs 28, verse 17. You might say, well, didn't David
commit murder? Didn't Moses commit murder? Yes, they did. And they were
shown mercy. for that murder, but it doesn't
take away the value of human life and that sentence that is
to be enacted when murder is committed. You might say, well,
what about war then? Well, we read King David speaking
about Joab, the son of Zeruiah, his sister's son. And he speaks
about what he did to him and to the two captains of Israel. That is, he killed Avner, the
son of Ner, and he killed Emesa, the son of Jetha. And he makes
this point. He says, whom he slew and shed
the blood of war in peace. put the blood of war upon his
girdle that was about his loins and in his shoes that were on
his feet." He charged Solomon, his son, to execute judgment
upon Joab because of what he'd done. But we have a clear teaching
there. There is a difference between
blood shed in a time of war and bloodshed in a time of peace. So God has given directions concerning
life, and really all of us have an instinct given, it is with
the animals as well, to preserve our lives. If we see something
threatening our life, we don't need to think, well what shall
I do to avoid this? We naturally will try and preserve
our life. This is the only life we actually
know. But then we have the situation
that people feel, well, their quality of life is so bad, their
pain is so strong, and that it would be better for them that
they might die. Well, we also should consider
that with the eternal nature of the soul and the reality of
hell, and the only way of deliverance, while there is life, there is
hope. If you and I are to obtain the
victory in our text through our Lord Jesus Christ, it must be
while we have life. Where the tree falls, there it
shall lie. If we die as an unbeliever, we
are lost forever. If we die as a believer and trusting
in the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. We should not
cut off life, remove the opportunity of hearing the Word of God. While
we have life, there is hope. Our bodies are the temple of
God. The Spirit dwells in us. We have the soul within us. We are told, he that destroys
the temple of God, him will God destroy. We think of some of
the examples of the people of God. We think of Job in his great
affliction. One of the utterances he makes,
oh that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou wouldst
keep me in secret until thy wrath be passed. But then he says that
thou wouldst appoint me a set time and remember me. And he makes this comment as
well, that all the appointed days, he says, if a man dies,
shall he live again? All the days of my appointed
time will I wait till my change come. He wouldn't put his hand
to take away his life. He'd wait to the appointed time,
the time the Lord had appointed him. And the word of God is very
clear then of how we should be. caring for one another, looking
after one another, treating the life that God has given as a
valuable life, treating this day as a day of grace and the
time that we have upon this earth as a time of grace. Because it
is only in this time that we shall find the victory in our
text. The word of God is very clear.
The sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill. And as we have spoken
of the only ways in which that killing can be right and the
different ways of killing and how it's viewed in the word of
God. God speaks on human life, that it is a precious life. It
has worth, has worth above animals. and it is the Word of God alone
that decrees how we should treat it and the only way that we may
obtain the victory over death in God's way. I want to then
look at our last point, that victory over death. In Hebrews chapter 2, we read
of those that through fear of death all their lifetime, subject
to bondage. And it is through the Lord Jesus
Christ alone that there is to be a deliverance. For as much,
then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He, that
is the Lord Jesus Christ, also himself likewise took part of
the same, that through death he might destroy him that had
the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
And it's speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Hebrews 2.15,
as then taking on him, Not the nature of angels, but the seed
of Abraham. The seed of Abraham is body and
soul. Angels are just spirit. Animals
are just flesh. But the Lord took a real body
and a real soul. And it was then that he should
die. He could die, not because he
had to die, but because he would lay down his life as a substitutionary
offering in the place of his people, in the place of those
that sinned. That is the only way that death
is overcome. It must be, it must come to pass,
but in God's way, there is the substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the victory. This
is our text. but thanks be to God which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now ever much more
I might say, may this word seal upon your heart, seal upon mine,
and that we view the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of escape
from death, and it was through His coming into this world, entering
into this world, as a babe, born of a virgin, born of the Holy
Spirit, truly God, truly man, that He would then be capable
of laying down that life as a ransom for His people. If we were to
escape death, may we think of our Lord Jesus Christ and His
sufferings and His death. and why he came into this world
to suffer, bleed and die. What a solemn thing, to really
think of death and think of handling it in our way to escape it, while
at the same time in effect saying to God, I despise your word,
I despise your plan and way of salvation, I don't want anything
to do with that, But I think that by my device and my way,
I am going to escape death and its consequences. You will not. The Word of God is so very, very
clear. You may escape out of this world
quicker than what you would have done otherwise. But you will
not escape the judgment. You will not escape hell and
eternal vengeance and justice forever. You will not obtain
victory, not the victory that is set forth here in this text. Never, ever take or touch your
own life. Never allow someone else to do
it for you. Never step in before God and
take things into your own hand in thinking that in that way,
yes, you may relieve some suffering here, You may make death come
quicker and think it is a relief, but beyond that grave, what a
solemn thing, what awaits. I read to you what is in Psalm
73. In Psalm 73, the psalmist was
very perplexed because there were those that were going on
in this world that had no bands in their death. They had no troubles. Everything seemed to go well
in their life, they had everything, whereas God's people were troubled,
they were fearful, but these were, the ungodly, were not. You see, God's people, they know
they have a soul, they know the worth of a soul, they know what
is at stake. But these are those that don't,
and don't want to know what is at stake. And so the psalmist,
he says in Psalm 73, when I thought to know this, it was too painful
for me. How can this be? I've cleansed
my heart in vain. I've followed these things in
vain. No, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood
I their end. And may everyone that thinks
nothing of beyond this life, beyond the grave, you read, you
think of what is set forth here. Surely thou didst set them in
slippery places, thou castest them down into destruction, how
they are brought into desolation, as in a moment they are utterly
consumed with terrors, as a dream when one awaketh. So, O Lord,
when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. And you
see death as like that veil, and as they take that medicine,
as a person passes through death outside of Christ, and they close
their eyes to this world, and they open their eyes to that
which is to come, then, to read this, are brought into desolation
as in a moment, utterly consumed with terrors. What a fearful
thing, to fall into the hands of the living God. But what a
blessed thing to have this victory. Our Lord Jesus Christ, upon Calvary's
tree, shed his precious blood. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. He laid down his life freely
as a freewill offering. He took it again, the empty tomb
bearing witness that he had put away the sins that he was bearing. that has laid on him the iniquity
of us all, and laid down his life to take it again, a ransom,
a substitutionary offering, like with Abraham, who took Isaac
off the altar and put the ram in his place, and received Isaac,
as it were, from the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary
has Settled the debt, He has paid justice. Justice now cannot
demand two prices. It cannot demand at the Lord
Jesus Christ a payment for my sin and then demand at me payment
for that same sin. Those for whom Christ died will
most surely be saved, will most surely never know eternal death. How do we know that we are those
for whom Christ died? We know from the Word of God
that he laid down his life for a people chosen in him from eternity. It was love specifically to them
that he laid down his life and took it again, and because of
that, his sacrifice is effectual for that people. It will not
be wasted. It will not be done as if it
was paid for the whole of mankind and some avail themselves of
it and some not. And this comes in the idea that
men are not quite so dead that they can accept of themselves. The truth is that the Lord Jesus
Christ died for his people. He shall save his people from
their sins. The way that they are saved is
that the gospel is proclaimed throughout all the world. We
do not know who God's people are. He does. And so the Word
of God, as we do this morning, is proclaimed to everyone, irrespective
of race, of who they are, however wicked they are, whatever their
lifestyle is. The Word of God is set before
them, the way of escape, is through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is
through believing in Him, through believing that He is God's only
begotten Son, He did come to this world, He did lay down His
life, He did pay for our sins and rose again. God commendeth
His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. How is it that God's people are
saved? The Lord said, that none can
come unto me except the Father which sent me draw him, and I
will raise him up at the last day. As we speak the word, as
we preach the word, though there will be those that are drawn
to it, and may each that hear the word this morning, each of
you, and each that may hear it later, that you may be drawn
to this word, drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ, attracted to this
way of victory through his death and suffering, instead of thinking,
well, all this about Christ and all this about Calvary, what's
that to do with me? Why did he come into the world?
This is why the Lord came into the world. Did he come for nothing? Did he suffer for nothing? Was
there no purpose, no reason? Maybe raised up in our heart,
there is a reason. It's to save me, to save my soul. to deliver me from wrath, deliver
me from the destruction to come. You know, it's a blessed thing
to be drawn to the Lord, to believe in Him, to trust in Him, to see
in Him the only hope for sinners. Our Lord said that I, if I be
lifted up above the earth, will draw all men unto me. And it
will be the people of God that are drawn to Him. drawn to the
Lord as that way of escape. If you feel your guilt, your
sin, if you feel the terror of death, the fear of death, if
you tremble at what is before you, if you tremble at how dead,
how cold, how lifeless, how unspiritual, how sinful you are, before you,
I set forth the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on Him and trust in Him. lean on him, rest solely upon
him. There is none other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. It is the only name and
only way. And it is a way. It is a way. It is given by God, designed
by God for sinners, commended to us in the gospel and in the
word and in the word of our text. A cause of great thanksgiving,
but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Years ago, over in Australia,
the deacon at Geelong Chapel, he told me of when his mother
died, a believer. And on her deathbed, she was
very weak, but she suddenly raised herself up in the bed. And she
took hold of the covers and she moved them. She said, victory,
victory, victory. And then she lied down and she
died. She sung victory with her last
breath, as if one foot was one side of the grave and one the
other. And she realized she was out
of reach of sin, of Satan, She was safely landed, safely brought
above. So always remain with me. What a wonderful thing, on a
deathbed, to be able to sing of victory. To be able to have
the language of this verse, but thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear friends, do
not turn away from the word of God. from the way of salvation
set before us in it. Many will think, well, you can
go up this way, and you can believe this, and you can believe that.
You cannot. There is only one way of salvation,
and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. And one way, that
is through believing, through faith in his name, and through
repentance, and a life that will reflect a life of following the
Lord Jesus Christ. love to Him and His people, obedience
to Him and to His ordinances and to His ways. May we have
this witness. May we realise the victory and
realise it really day by day as we deal with sin in us, as
we wrestle with it, as we fight against it, as we see not yet
all things put under Him, but we see Jesus. And in the Lord
Jesus Christ, we realise we have victory. He is in heaven. He is already there. The Apostle
says, let us run the race set before us, looking unto Jesus. Thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 412. Tune, Cambridge 16. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.