Let's go to Romans chapter 1. I want tonight especially, for
those here who have never believed on Christ, I want you to especially
pay attention tonight to the message. And I want everyone to pay attention,
but you who have never believed on Christ especially. Now, you
hear me speak often about the grace of God, the grace and mercy
of God by which He saves His people apart from our works. Tonight, we're going to be speaking
about the wrath of God by which He satisfies His justice upon
those who are guilty and condemned by their works. And I have a long passage here.
We're going to begin in Romans 1 and go into Romans 2 and so
I just want to take it a little bit at a time and just go verse
by verse. Now the wrath of God is against
men who reject the truth. It's against men who reject the
truth. When I say men, you know I'm
speaking of mankind. I'm talking about male and female
who reject the truth. Even if a person does not have
the Word of God. God's wrath is against those
who reject the truth. Even if they do not have the
Bible. Even if they don't have God's
Word. He says in Romans 1.18, the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. Now you notice there we're talking
here about men, men who had the truth. They had the truth, but
we're talking about men here who did not have the Word of
God. They didn't have the Bible. They
had truth. but they didn't have the Bible.
And he tells us here that all men by nature know God is. All men know this by nature.
He says there in verse 19, because that which may be known of God
is manifest in them or to them. That which may be known of God
is manifest to them, for God hath showed it unto them. For
the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Everywhere, no matter where you live on this planet, you see
God's creation. Everybody sees the things that
have been created by God. The psalmist said, the heavens
declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech. Every time the sun comes up and
runs its course and goes down, it's uttering the gospel. It's preaching some truth about
God. It says the firmament shows its
handiwork, night and a night shows knowledge. There's no speech
nor language where their voice is not heard. It doesn't matter
where you live, you hear the message of God's creation. By
nature, God's written on every man's conscience the truth that
God is. Every man knows this by nature
in his conscience. God's written it on his conscience.
And therefore, when men see creation, they know His eternal power and
Godhead. That's what God tells us right
here. God says right here in our text, all men know that God
is by creation. I don't care what men claim,
God says all men know. They know that the things that
are created did not come from nothing. Men know this in their
conscience. And they all know the Godhead
because they know God created it. They know His power because
they see these things and they know somebody created this. God created this. God has showed
it unto them in their conscience. And since you know all this was
created, that means you know God's eternal because He came
before all this. And this is what men know by
nature. So even though they don't have
a Bible, they don't have the Word of God, men are without
excuse because all men everywhere have the light of conscience
and the light of nature. When they see the things that
God has created, their conscience says to them, God made this. God made this. Eternal God made
this. And the way they hold the truth
in unrighteousness, the way men do this, He said there, they
hold the truth in unrighteousness. The way men do this is, is they
worship man rather than God. He says there in verse 21, this
is why His wrath is revealed. Verse 21, because that when they
knew God, when they beheld Him in the creation and they beheld
the light of nature and the light of conscience telling them God
is and God's eternal and this is the power of His Godhead that
made this creation. When they knew God, they glorified
Him not as God, neither were thankful. Men that didn't have
the Word of God, when they saw creation and they heard the voice
of the conscience saying, God Eternal created this, they went
against that light. And they glorified Him not as
God, neither were they thankful. But they became vain in their
imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened. They rejected
the light they had. And by rejecting the light they
had, their heart became dark, totally dark. How so? Look at verse 22. Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory
of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible
man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
Rather than professing God to be wise, they professed themselves
to be wise. And when you do that, you become
a fool. That's what they did. Rather than beholding God's creation
and professing God to be all wise, they professed themselves
to be wise and became fools. Rather than glorifying God, they
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God. and they changed him into
an image made like to corruptible man. They decided God was like
a man and made him into an image like a man. They first only imagined
this. It says they vainly imagined
this, that God was like a man. Then they made an image that
looked like a man and called it God. And then they made images
of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things, and called
them gods. And for these reasons now the
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against such men. He says there in verse 24, here's
the wrath, here's the wrath of God. Wherefore, God also gave
them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts
to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. And the only
thing God had to do to give them up to uncleanness was give them
up to the lusts of their own hearts. That's because we're
all depraved by nature. All God had to do to give them
up to uncleanness was just give them up to the lust of their
own hearts. Take the restraints off. That's
what God did. He took the restraints off and
let men do what was already in their heart. That's what He did. And the lust of a man's own heart
was this, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Now
again, he reminds us why God's wrath was against these men,
and he tells us here what God's wrath resulted in when He gave
them up. He says, verse 25, "...who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the
creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."
That's why, he reminds us again, this is why His wrath is against
them. They changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped
and served the creature more than the Creator, who's blessed
forever. Amen. For this cause, God gave
them up unto vile affections. He gave them up to do what was
in their heart. Here's what was in their heart.
Even their women did change the natural use into that which is
against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving
the natural use of the woman, burned in their lusts one toward
another. Men with men, working that which
is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of
their error which was meek. The reason for God's wrath is
because man changed the truth of God into a lie. What was that
lie? What was that lie? Man's free
will and man's works. That was the lie. That was the
lie. Man worshipped man. Man worshipped
his own will. Man served, worshipped and served
the creature. That means he worshipped and
served himself. Worshipped and served men more
than the Creator. I know it's common nowadays,
in our day, you hear homosexuals say, well I can't help it, I
was born this way. Well indeed, it was in the heart. It was in the sin nature. It
was already there. There's no doubt about that.
Just like a murderer, it's already in his heart. And a child abuser,
it's already in his heart. And any other sin, it's already
there in the heart. There's no doubt about that.
But the reason it came about is because God unrestrains it
on a mass scale. He unrestrains men and gives
them over to uncleanness through the lust of their own heart.
That's why you see a whole nation all of a sudden, the natural
man thinks we're making great progress and everybody's becoming
so... accepting of this. What it is,
is God is taking the restraints off men. And the cause of Him
taking the restraints off is He's turning men over to reprobation,
over to a reprobate mind. Because men have changed the
truth of God into a lie and they've worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator. It's because of that. You ever
wonder here lately, you look at things and the way they have
progressed more in about the past eight or nine years. Man's always been going away
from God ever since we fell in the garden. We've always been
becoming more and more corrupt and more and more sinful. as
a mankind, we've always done that. But here in the past nine,
ten years, you've seen it just on a quick scale and a large
scale just go so rapidly. Because in the past hundred years
in this nation, all we've done is preach man and his goodness
and his works and preach down God. And God's turned men over
in reprobation. It's judgment. It's the judgment
of God. And God gives men exactly what
they want in their ignorance. Look here in verse 28. And even
as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave
them over to a reprobate mind. They didn't want to think about
God and didn't want to have Him in their mind. God made it so
they can't. He made it so they can't. Turn
them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are
not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy,
murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters
of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient
to parents, without understanding. That means just plain old ignorance. Covenant breakers. Without natural
affection. Implacable, meaning men are going
to have their way no matter what. Unmerciful. Some of these murders
you see and parents killing their unborn
children and killing their children that are born. Unmerciful. We see now every other week on
the news, some child walks into a school and kills a bunch of
other children. Unmerciful. Unmerciful. Who knowing the judgment of God
that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only
do the same but have pleasure in them that do them. So if you've
asked yourself what's going on in our nation and in this world,
This right here is what's going on. This is exactly what's going
on right here. It's God's judgment. That's exactly
what it is. Now, all of that that we just
looked at is the wrath of God against men who did not have
the Word of God. These were men that did not have
the Word of God. These were men who were sinning
against the light of nature. That's all the light they had
was the light of God's creation. But what about us? What about
you and I who have the word of God? We've got the light of God's
word. What about us? Now when you heard
all of those wicked sins and knowing the judgment of God,
do you say in your heart that they which commit such vile and
wicked things are worthy of death? Do you say that in your heart
when you look at this catalog of vile sins? Look at Romans
2.1. And thou art inexcusable, O man,
whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest another,
thou condemnest thyself, because you that judge do the same things. What does he mean when he says
you do the same things? When it comes to that list of
ugly sins, that list of wicked, immoral, perverse sins, without
a doubt, all those sins are in your heart and they're in my
heart. All of them. Every one of them. All God has to do is take his
restraining hand off of you and off of me, and you will do anything
listed right there in that list of sin. Any one of them. If he took his hand off of somebody,
he'll say, well, I don't think I'm that bad. You are that bad. You are that bad. We're all guilty by nature. We're all inexcusable by nature. We're as vile and as wicked as
the most heathen barbarian there is. We call ourselves civilized. We live in a civilized nation
and try to look down our noses upon these heathen countries
and places. There's no difference between
us. In the heart, there is no difference. Go over to Romans
3. This is one of the points that Paul is making. Romans 3
and verse 9. What then? Are we better than
they? Who's he talking about, we and
they? He's talking about Jew and Gentile. He's talking about
are we who have the light of God's Word, are we better than
those that don't have it, that only have the light of nature,
that sinned against God and God turned them over to do the things
that you see going on in base nations where men do all these
vile and wicked things? Are we better than they? Look
at what he says. No and no wives. For we have
before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under
sin. As it is written, there's none
righteous, no not one. That means you've never had a
good thought. And neither have I. Much less
do anything good. Not anything. I'm not talking
about good compared to what your grandma thinks is good. I'm talking
about what God says is good. 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 doeth good,
no, not one. Look down at verse 23. For all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So when it
comes to all that list of immoral, wicked sins that we just read
about, they're in my heart and they're in your heart. That means
by nature we're guilty of every single one of those crimes. Every
one of them. But now, go back with me now,
but also when he talks about these same things, When he says
there in verse 1, he says, Thou that judgest, doest the same
things. He's talking about back up there
in verse 22, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools
and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like the corruptible man and to birds and four-footed
beasts and creeping things. He's talking about those same
things. Verse 25, "...who changed the truth of God into a lie,
and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator,
who is blessed forever." He's talking about those kinds of
sins. You know, in the Scriptures,
the leper came to Christ, bowed down, begging the Lord Jesus
Christ to have mercy on him. He came, bowed down, begging
the Lord Jesus Christ saying, if you will, you can make me
whole. But what is going on in most
so-called churches today in this land is we've turned that around. We've humanized God and we've
got it to where now Christ has to come to you and Christ has
to get your permission and He has to ask the sinner if you
will let me do this or that to help you out a little bit. That's
what's being preached to men. By telling men that you have
to let God into your heart and if you will give Him a place,
He'll come and do this and that for you. That's making Christ
to be in the position the lepers are in. That's putting Christ
in the place you and me are supposed to be in. That's worshiping and
serving the creature More than the Creator. Paul called that
will-worship. Worshipping a man's will. That's
exactly what that is. Religious people reject the righteousness
of God in Christ, and they look to their own religious works,
they look to their own commandment keeping, and these other things
that they think they're doing that's pleasing to God. And the
Scripture says, look at Romans 2 and verse 17. See, that's who
Paul's turned to now. Now he's turned from these folks,
the Gentiles, the barbarians. He mentioned up there in Romans
1, he said, I'm a debtor both to the learned and to the unlearned,
to the barbarians, to the wise and the unwise. Now he's turned
from the unwise, the barbarians, and he's turned to the civilized
religious folks. And he says here in Romans 2.17,
Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and make
your boasts of God. Verse 23, Thou that makest thy
boasts of the law through breaking the law, you dishonor God. And he's not saying that now
you just need to do a better job and start keeping the law
a little better and quit dishonoring God. He's saying even when you
think you're keeping the law, you're breaking the law. That's
what he's telling them. Everything you've done thinking
you're keeping the law, you're breaking the law of God. It's a paradox, really. People are always accusing us
of being anti-law or being without law because we preach the law
is fulfilled by Christ and not by us. But the man who claims
he's keeping the law and he's such a zealot for the law, he's
really without law because he's disobeying God, trying to come
to God by his law keeping rather than trusting Christ. He's got a lower view of the
law than God's people do. God's people see the law. We
see the law as holy, just, and good. And that you and I, who
are not holy, and not just, and not good, can't give the law
what it demands. And so we declare to sinners,
Christ has to do it. He's the only one who could.
If it wasn't necessary for Christ to uphold the law, God wouldn't
have sent His Son. And so we have more of a zeal
for the law than the man who claims to be zealous for the
law, but he brings it down to a man's level. That's not wanting
to see the law honored. We've never been able to keep
the law, not before or after. So that's who Paul is talking
to here. But now, even worse than what's going on in churches
today. This is why I said I want you
that never believed on Christ to listen to me. Even worse than
men preaching law and works and will worship, even worse than
that. You who are sitting here under the light of the gospel
of Christ, who have the gospel in truth and have never confessed
Christ, who've never cast your care on Christ, you're sitting
against a far greater light than what those in Romans 1 had and
even than what the Jews had. Christ has come. Christ has laid
down His life. Christ has redeemed His people.
Christ has arisen. Christ is at the right hand of
God. Christ has sent the Gospel to this place. And week in and
week out you hear the truth of God preached. And haven't believed
on Christ. Therefore thou art inexcusable,
O man, whosoever thou art that judges. For wherein thou judgest
another, thou condemnest thyself. For thou that judges, doest the
same thing. Every time a man hears the gospel
preached in truth, that Christ is the righteousness of God,
and he doesn't believe on Christ, he does the same as those who
sinned against the light of nature. He does the same thing as the
Jews who rejected Christ and knelt into the cursed tree. He's
sinning against a greater light. He's saying, I don't need the
righteousness of Christ. I'm righteous myself. I don't
need Him. That's worshipping and serving
the creature more than the Creator. Each time a sinner hears the
gospel preached that Christ is the sanctification of His people.
He's the sanctifier who separates out His people. He perfected
forever them that are sanctified by His one offering. He's the
sanctifier and He comes and takes up a boat in the heart of His
child and He is the sanctification of His people. And everybody
who hears that message and walks out without casting their care
upon Christ, They worship in serving the creature more than
the Creator. It's the same thing, doing the
same thing. Sinner, I want you to hear this.
I want you to hear everybody here hear this. You never know. You talk to people that never
cast their care on Christ, but maybe there's somebody that professed
to have done it that has never really done it. I don't know.
But to us all, I say this, the wrath of God turned those men
over to a reprobate mind. And every day that a person comes
under the sound of the gospel of Christ and does not cast their
care on Christ, lock, stock and barrel, put it all in his hands
and trust him alone to be everything you need to bring you to God.
Every day a sinner doesn't do that, he's flirting with the
wrath of God. He's flirting with God turning
him over to a reprobate mind. That's a dangerous game to play.
I'd rather see you playing with a cotton mouth than I would that.
It's dangerous. Look at Romans 2. We're 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? I pray God save you from any
sort of pretended goodness, any thought of thinking that you
are good enough, that God is going to receive you like you
are. Because He won't. He won't receive us like we are.
He won't. We don't even know the half of
how bad it is. We need Christ. And that's what
I pray. I pray He will bring you to believe
on Him. I pray He will make you willing in the day of His power.
And look at this next thing. God said of those men, He said,
when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were
they thankful. Now here's the question God asked
you and me. We're sitting here under the
light of the gospel of God. Verse 4, Romans 2, 4. He says,
Or is this it, that you despisest thou the riches of His goodness,
and forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness
of God leadeth thee to repentance? He said before, you just think
you're going to escape judgment? Now he says, or is it this? You
just despise God's goodness and despise the forbearance and the
long suffering of God not knowing that it's this very goodness
of God that brings sinners to repentance. Is this what it is? Is this why man has not cast
his care on Christ? What is the goodness of God?
The goodness of God is that He chose His Son in eternity to
work out the salvation of His people and to uphold His holy
law and He didn't leave it in my hand or your hand. He didn't
leave it in the hand of His people. The goodness of God is that He
sent forth His Son and He was made of a woman. Made under the
law. Made sin for us who knew no sin. Made a curse for His people.
all that He might make His people the righteousness of God in Him.
That's the goodness of God. The goodness of God is that He
sent His Son not to try to make salvation possible, but that
He sent His Son forth to accomplish the salvation of a particular
people that God gave Him before this world was made. That's the
goodness of God. And then He sent this Gospel
right here in our midst where it's being preached. Do you despise
the goodness of God? Is that it? Is that what's keeping
a sinner from casting his care on Christ? You despise the goodness
of God? That's what unbelief says. That's
what unbelief says. What's the forbearance and the
longsuffering of God? Look here in Romans 3. I'll show
you what the forbearance of God is. Look at Romans 3. He says,
Romans 3 verse 24, he says, "...were justified freely by God's grace
through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus, whom God set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare
His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through
the forbearance of God." You know, all those sinners who God
saved under the old covenant, they were all saved through faith
in Christ, just like sinners today are. And God was forbearing
until Christ came and put away their sin. And now He's forbearing. until Christ comes into the hearts
of His people and reveals Christ in our hearts. He's forbearing. That means to bear with us beforehand,
before we know Him. That's what He's doing. And what's
the longsuffering of God? Go to 2 Peter chapter 3. Here's the longsuffering of God. Verse 9, 2 Peter 3, 9, The Lord
is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness,
talking about Him returning, but He is longsuffering to us,
to His people, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. Let me tell you what that does
not mean. It does not mean that God just wishes and hopes that
all men will repent and believe on Christ. And he's just wringing
his hands and just hoping somebody will avail themselves of the
righteousness he's provided. That's not what it means. It
means everybody that God is willing to repent, they shall be brought
to repentance by God. Because He's not willing that
they perish. God does as He will. in heaven
and in earth. And no man can stay his hand.
No man can question Him. God works all things after the
counsel of His own will. What God wills, He does. And
you and I can't stop Him. So whoever God's willing to repent,
God's going to make them repent. How do you know that's true?
Because He says right here, He says, verse 15, you account that
the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation. That means everybody
He's long-suffering toward, they shall believe. God's forbearance
and His long-suffering is not towards the wicked. I know Romans
9 looks like that's what it says in one of the verses there. What
if God, willing to make His wrath known and He endured with...
make His mercy known, He endured with much long-suffering, the
vessels of wrath made up for destruction. But His long-suffering
and His forbearance is toward His people. is toward His people. The way He can forbear and suffer
long with us is because from before the world was made, He's
always looked at His people in the Lord Jesus Christ. And He
sees us in Christ, in the righteousness of the Lamb slain from before
the foundation of the world, and we've been accepted in Him
from then. That's how He can forbear and
be long-suffering. And everybody He forbears with
and is long-suffering with, He's going to bring them to repentance.
And so we ask us here now, are we just despised this goodness
of God? We despise His forbearance, despise
His long-suffering? Sinners, is that why you haven't
cast your care on Christ? Don't be like those who despise
the light God gave them and perished in their sins. Believe on Christ
today. Believe on Him today. This is
an urgent matter. I get a little bit put out when
I hear, you know, theologians who have all their I's dotted
and their T's crossed. And I understand God has to make
a man willing in the day of His power. I understand that a man
can't believe or even have life unless God the Holy Spirit gives
him life and God grants him faith and repentance. I understand
that. But we're talking about sinners perishing here and I
don't have a problem at all telling them, you need to believe today. You need to cast your care on
Christ. I don't have a problem telling
a sinner that. If my child was in a burning building, I know
God's sovereign and I know everybody he's going to save are going
to be saved and if it's not their time to die, they're not going
to die. But I'm going to scream out the top of my lungs, get
out of the building! It's burning! And I'm telling you, this is
a burning building. You need to get in Christ through
faith. Believe on Him today, because
this is urgent. And not only this, we saw how
those men who sinned against the light of nature treasured
up God's wrath until He poured it out on them and gave them
up. So listen to what God says to you here and to all men who
have the light of His Word. Look at verse 5, Romans 2.5.
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, that's a hard heart that
will not repent. After your hardness and impenitent
heart, you're treasuring open to thyself wrath against the
day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God
who will render to every man according to his deeds. Now get
this, what this says, God will render to every man according
to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance
in well-doing seek for glory and honor in immortality, God
shall give eternal life. But unto them that are contentious
and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, God shall
pour out indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon
every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also
of the Gentile. God shall give glory, honor,
and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also
to the Gentile, for there's no respect of persons with God.
For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without
law. And as many have sinned in the
law shall be judged by the law. Look at verse 16. In the day
when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according
to my gospel. In the day of judgment, God will
deal justly with every person according to our deeds. God will deal justly. He's a
just God. Every man's going to answer for
himself in all that he's thought, said, and done, and God's not
going to be partial to anybody. There won't be any respective
persons with God. Those who trust Christ are those
who do well. Those who believe on Christ.
We're seeking the glory of God in Christ Jesus. He said there to them who by
patient continuance and well-doing seek for glory, we're seeking
the glory of God in Christ Jesus. We're seeking the honor and immortality
that is in and by Jesus Christ our eternal Redeemer. And to
them, God says He is going to give eternal life. Why? Because
we are free from sin and condemnation. Because we have kept the law
perfectly and there is no record of our sin on God's books. Why? Because Christ came and
kept the law on our behalf and put away our sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. Scripture says, by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous. And the law entered that the
offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much
more abound. That by the grace of God we might
reign in life by Christ Jesus our Lord in perfect righteousness.
But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but
obey unrighteousness, that's those that despise the gospel
of Christ, reject Christ, refuse to trust Christ, he says, God
shall pour out indignation and wrath and tribulation and anguish
forever in hell. Because it will be what the man
earned. The man who sinned without the
law will be judged without the law, and the man who sinned with
the law, having the word of God, shall be judged by the law. Men
think that one day God's going to come in judgment, and there's
going to be a great scale, and God's going to put all your good
on one side, and He's going to put all your bad on the other
side. Well, let's just pretend there's
a scale, just for the sake of picturing this. God's going to
put all your wicked thoughts, words, and deeds on one side
of the scale, and God's going to take all your thoughts, words,
and deeds that are good, the very best you ever did, and He's
going to put them on the same side of the scale. And look here,
verse 16 says, and in that day God's going to judge the secrets
of men by Jesus Christ. On the other side of the scale
will be the Lord Jesus Christ. And you and I, if we're left
on that other side, our very best deeds are going to come
up short of the righteousness we will need to enter God's presence. You don't want to come that way.
God's not a respecter of persons. Men look on the outward appearance
and something outwardly about a man is what make men prefer
one over the other. God does not judge that way.
God judges looking on the heart. He looks on the heart. And His
judgments are true and they're righteous. Look at Romans 2.28.
He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh, but He is a Jew which is one
inwardly. Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit,
not in letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. This is
what I am trying to tell you. Except you trust the Lord Jesus
Christ, you are going to die under the wrath of God and perish
forever in outer darkness. where you'll weep and you'll
gnash your teeth all your days. I don't know what hell to be,
but I know it's going to have something to do with knowing
everything that you missed. It's going to have something
to do with knowing everything that can be known about God and
Christ and what He's given to His people and you knowing by
your own willful rebellion you don't have it. Trust Christ. Believe on Christ. Those that don't are going to
be cast out. Those that do. Those that trust
Him. Those that are cast out will
be cast out because it's just. And God's just. He gives men
just what they earn. Those that are in glory will
be there because it's just. Because we'll be given freely
what Christ earned for us. And gave to us freely. This is
the one thing, the one thing there is in a man's life. Anything
else he can get for free, he'll take it. But he won't take the
gospel. He won't take salvation. He won't
take eternal life. He won't take righteousness and
free justification. It's totally free. You can't
pay one thing. It's free. I pray God to make
all of us willing and cast our care on Him, and trust Him, and
especially you that have never done it. I pray for our young
people. I've already seen some get old
enough and leave. And I just pray God will save
some of you before you get so wise that you become a fool.
That's my prayer. Father, we thank You for Your
Word. We pray that You'll bless it tonight, that You'll make
it real and alive. We pray, Lord, that You would not let this just go by. We pray, Lord, that You'd plant
it in the heart, that You would make make it a tormenting thing
until you bring that lost sheep to the feet of Christ. Oh, Lord,
we pray that you would call out your lost sheep. Forgive us,
Lord, for being hypocritical. Forgive us for not mourning over
our own sin more. Lord, forgive us for not loving
and appreciating your goodness and forbearance and long-suffering
more than we do. Lord, make us to worship Christ.
Make us to honor you in everything we do in our lives. And how we
do thank you that you've given us this light, the light of the
gospel. Lord, don't ever, ever let us
take it for granted. Thank you for this place. Thank
you for this word. Thank you for this people, our
brothers and sisters. Thank you for using each of us
to provide one another with this gospel. Thank you for our visitors, Lord,
and pray that you'll be with us this weekend and we might
have a pleasant time of fellowship until we come again Sunday. Be with us, Lord. Keep us and
protect us. For your name's sake, for the
honor and glory of Christ our Redeemer, it's in His name we
ask these things. Amen. All right, buddy.