And it's found in chapter 20 of that book. And our subject this morning
is life or death. Which is it? We're either alive
to God through Jesus Christ at this moment, or we're still on
that road to hell. There is no in-between. There
is no other third method. There are two things before the
whole human race since the beginning of time, and if this Bible is
telling us the truth, and it is, to the end of time. If a
person is not in Christ, they are lost. As long as they are
alive, there is some hope that God would still call them and
save them. Our Lord died for every last
one of those people that God gave to him in old eternity.
And he promised his Father he would not lose a single one of
them. Every last one of his sheep will
be present when that day comes. Let's start at verse 1 in Revelation
chapter 20. Now before we read, may we pray
just a moment. If the Lord doesn't come and
do something for us and do something for this sorry preacher, ain't
nothing going to take place. You'll tell me it was a nice
sermon, but it ain't if God is not in it. Lord, we are helpless. apart from your spirit and your
grace, to show us who the Lord Jesus
Christ is and what he's done for poor, helpless, God-hating
sinners. This grace of yours in Christ is indeed all-powerful. It saves everybody it intends
to save. Oh, what a glorious gospel we
have. Oh, that I knew it better than
I do. But Lord, I know for sure You've taught me the difference
between what I used to believe and what I believe now. That religion wasn't any good
at all. All it did was fool us to thinking
that we were on our way to heaven, when instead we were on our way
to hell. I remember the discomfort. I
remember getting kicked out of several churches in a row, but
I couldn't understand why you'd put me through all of that, but
I do now. It is for what you've done in
this place. Most anything we have to do that
has any difficulty in it, we must have some experience along
that line. We must expect these things. Other people are just like we
used to be. But I thank God, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, that we've come to see what the message of this
book really is, and to sum it up, it is Christ and him crucified. We bless you and thank you in
his name, and we beg for your work in our midst this morning
and wherever this message might travel. We thank you in Jesus'
name. Amen. Alright, chapter 20 and
verse 1, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the
key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And
he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil,
who is also called Satan, and bound him a thousand years. Now, I can't explain that thousand
years. I don't think it is literally
talking about a thousand years. But I think it's talking about
forever and ever. But what do I know? Verse 3,
"...and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set
a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till
the thousand years should be fulfilled." Well, they sure ain't
fulfilled yet then, if that's what it takes. And after that,
he must be loose a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat
upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the sons
of them that were beheaded for the witness of the Lord Jesus,
and for the word of God, and which and which had not worshipped
the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark
upon their forehead or in their hands, and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived
not again until the thousand years were finished. This is
the first resurrection. blessed and holy is he that has
part in the first resurrection. On such people in the first resurrection,
on such, the second death has no power, but they shall be priests
of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are
expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go
out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the
earth. I've got a question I can't help but ask you. How come the
Lord gives the devil free reign in our day? Because it brings to pass his
purpose. If the devil were not on this
planet, we might have a much better place to live, don't you
think? But he's got a lot of littles. And in our native state, we were
one of them. Not his children by any means,
but we were his slaves. So our Lord loses the devil for
this thousand years. to deceive the nations which
are in the four quarters of the earth." Now, you mean to tell me that
God is the author of deceiving people on every spot on this
globe? It says he released him so he
could go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters
of the earth. Gog and Magog together them together
to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth
of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about and
the beloved city And fire came down from God out of heaven and
delivered them. And the devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false
prophet are and shall be tormented day and night without reprieve
forever and ever. And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw
the dead." Now, there are two kinds of dead. You can be dead
physically and still be alive spiritually, or you can be dead
spiritually and be dead again when you die physically. I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were
opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of
life. And the dead were judged out
of those things which were written in the books according to their
works." Alright, you've got one part of this statement in 12
and 13, and also down through 14. You've got one statement
that refers to people who before God are represented by the books
that were opened. You see that in verse 12. And
another book without an S was opened. This is the Lamb's Book
of Life, in which the soul of every one of Christ's people
that he redeemed is recorded in that book, and there ain't
never been an erasure. No erasing what God has put in
that book. And the dead were judged out
of those things which were written in the books. Now, what's in
those books? Here it is. Three words. Four
words. According to their works. Their
deeds. Aren't you glad? You ain't one
of them. I tell you, if we were judged
on what we have done and have not done, we wouldn't have a
Chinaman's chance. Thank God salvation is not by
chance. It's by Christ. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it. And death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Eternal, everlasting death. And yet they're not dead. They are in utter and absolute
misery forever and ever. Verse 15 reads, And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life, that's the singular
noun without the S. Whosoever was not found written
in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire. Now, there are plenty of people
in this earth who do not know Christ, who are generous and
kind and do all kinds of good deeds. But I'll tell you, when
the end comes, there's not but one thing that matters. Do I
know and love Jesus Christ? Preacher, that's awfully harsh.
Yeah, but it's right here in this book. And this ain't no comic book. This is God's book. And it's
all about Christ from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. So let's
look at this subject now. If you'll hang on, I don't know
if I'm going to come back to this passage, but I might. So
if you'll go with me now to the book of John. Chapter 5. John, Chapter 5. John 5.27. In the previous section of this
chapter, the Lord Jesus is said to have received a great
deal of things listed in this chapter that pretty much ends
in verse 27. But I'd like to pick up in verse 27. Speaking of the
Father has given him the Lord Jesus. authority to execute judgment. On judgment day, Christ is the
judge. He's the judge. Hath given him
authority to execute judgment also, because he is not the Son
of God, but the Son of Man. As the Son of God, you don't
have to tell us that this is his Everything is His. But this
is a special appointment by the God-man, Christ Jesus. Verse
29, "...and shall come forth," that is, these people on judgment
day will come forth before our Lord Jesus as the judge, "...marvel not at this, for the
hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall
hear his voice and shall come forth." We just read the same
thing in Revelation 20, I think, something like that. They that
have done good, unto the resurrection of life. And they that have done evil,
unto the resurrection of damnation. Now, what's the difference between
doing good and doing evil? What is this? What is it? What is it? If salvation were by works, people
would love this statement in verse 29. But it's not by works. It's by Christ. who purchased
salvation by his work, but not ours. If the truth were known,
we were standing in Jerusalem the day they crucified him and
hollered with the rest of that crowd, crucify him, crucify him,
give us Barabbas. We'd rather have a criminal than
to have the Son of God. That's human nature. That's a
man and a woman for whom, at least to that moment,
God has not given them grace in Christ. Because if he has,
you have a love for Christ. You rejoice in Christ. You know
unless he dies for us, we must die forever in that resurrection
based upon our works. And I sure hope you understand
that you don't want anything to do with that. They that have done good shall
come forth unto the resurrection of life. They that have done
evil, to the resurrection of damnation. Now, let me ask you
to look over in chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. If you're already at John chapter
5, that ought to be relatively easy. And let's pick up at verse
39. read about, let's see, two, four
verses out of this chapter. John 6, 39. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me, that of all which he has given me, talking
about his people, his church, his body, his bride, his elect,
his sheep, all of those referring to the same thing. That of all which he's given
me, I should lose nothing but raise it up again at the last
day. That's the resurrection of life,
dear friends. Because why? Because Christ is
our life. And verse 40, And this is the
will of Him that sent me, this is the will of God the Father,
that everyone which sees the Son and believes on Him may have
everlasting life. Now, this sight of seeing Christ
in such a fashion as this is not these physical eyes that
we have. This is the spiritual sight of
the soul. It is God revealing Christ to
the inner person in us. Everyone which sees the Son and
believes on Him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at
the last day." What day is that? The day of judgment. Look at verse 44. The Lord Jesus
is speaking. No man can come to me except
the Father which hath sent me draw him. No man can come to me except the Father
which hath sent me draw him. And then, our Lord says, and
I'll raise him up at the last day." Now, somebody is going
to get raised on the last day. Is it you and me? I sure hope
so. Look at verse 44. No, I just read you 44. Let's
go to verse 54. Now, there are plenty of people
who claim to be Bible scholars and love what's in the Bible, but they don't understand the
difference between physical and spiritual. Here's a case in point. Verse 54, the Lord Jesus is speaking
about himself. Who so eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life. And people stumble over this
eating his flesh and drinking his blood. This is spiritual
language. This is not cannibalism. This
is real Christianity. He tells us in verse 55, for
my flesh is different from anybody else's flesh. It's meat indeed. It's meat for the soul. And my blood is drink indeed. Now back in chapter 5 a moment,
we ran into an expression that I'd like to try to shed some
light on if I could. In verse 29 of John chapter 5, Those people that hear Christ's
voice in 28 are said in verse 29, and shall come forth, they
that have done good, good. Now, what is good? They that have done good, unto
the resurrection of life. Christ is the one who has done
good, and he did it in such a superb and superlative way as to earn
and merit for every last one of his people a perfect righteousness
and a perfect standing before God. You and I can't add one
single thing. Those people in Matthew 7 who
were telling Christ all that they had done in His name, and
He finally dismissed them by saying, Depart from Me, you workers
of iniquity. I never knew you. They were religious. They were zealous. They did a
lot of things. But they didn't know Christ. The resurrection of life. And
then it says, on the other hand, and they that have done evil be raised unto the resurrection
of damnation. Now, remember what we read in
Revelation 20 about the brooks and the book? Here it is, plain
as day, if we can see it. Let me just read you something,
and if I can remember to do so, I'll tell you where it is, and
you can jot it down and read it later. But I need to speed
up a little bit. In regard to this done good,
done good. You ought to associate what I'm
about to read to you with Romans 3, because that's where Paul
got it from and he expanded on it somewhat. The fool has said
in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt and have done
abominable works. There is none that doeth good.
Oh my! We're a member of that clan.
Do you know it? Any descendant of Adam simply
cannot do good. Yet the Lord Jesus said there
were some who did good. Who are they and how did they
get to such a place? The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand
and seek God. And Romans 3 says there are none. They are all gone aside They
are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one." So how are we going to be in this
resurrection of life? How on earth can we? It is through
the merit and blood and righteousness of our precious Redeemer. That's
the only way. It doesn't matter if you've preached
50 years. It doesn't matter if you've been
a believer forever. There's still no good in this
flesh. Alright, let's see what we can
do about this evil business. Those that have done evil. To be without Christ, to be without
the gospel, to be without God's grace, everything a sinner does
is tainted by what he is, a sinner. Therefore, that gift, that offering,
that labor, that work, whatever it is, is not acceptable to God,
because it doesn't come to him through our believing and resting
in the gospel of Christ. So let's try another look at
this subject of life and damnation. And the third question is, how
much good and how much evil do we have to do in order to fit
this description? And the first one Oh, by the
way, I was reading to you out of Psalm 14. Excuse me. My brain just doesn't hold on
to stuff like that. Let's go turn to this one. It's
right next door to where we are. Luke 10. Alright, let's look at verse
25 and following. And behold, a certain lawyer,
we would better understand that word if we use the word scribe,
a person who spent their life making copies of the scriptures
and looking at various things in the Old Testament. So this
man is not a lawyer in today's sense, though the vast majority
of those who are in the legal profession in our day and time,
I don't know if I ought to say this, but I surely believe it,
for the most part they're crooks. But this man comes to Christ
with an ulterior motive. It says he came and tempted him. He's trying to trick him to get
him to embarrass himself. His problem is he doesn't know
who he's talking to. Oh, if he knew that, he'd fall
flat of his face. Behold, a certain lawyer stood
up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life? Now, we have different characters.
in the four Gospels bring the same question to our Lord Jesus
Christ. The rich young ruler did the
same thing. He came running to Christ and fell on his knees
at the very beginning. And then when the Lord finished
admonishing him for calling him good, and yet not believing him
as his God and his Savior, You can find that in Luke 18 as well
as in a couple of other Gospels, I think. Probably Luke as well.
But the Lord said, well, what about the Ten Commandments? And
the rich young ruler said, Master, I've kept these from my youth
up. Hmm. This book says you can't
keep it, and yet he said he did. And the Lord Jesus just took
one out of the ten and put his finger on that spot. This man
was wealthy. He said, go give all your money
and your wealth and your goods to the poor and come be my disciple.
And the scripture says he went away sorrowful. So this lawyer is tempting the
Lord Jesus and he wants to know what he needs to do in order
to inherit eternal life. Our Lord said, what's written
in the law, how do you read it? He answered and said, you shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your
neighbor as yourself. And look what he says. Well now,
just who is my neighbor? Like that's the least offense
that he could, you know, that's the most he could be charged
with in his own mind. You know, who is my neighbor?
And that gave rise to that wonderful parable of the Good Samaritan. And do you know who that is?
That's none other than the Lord Jesus. He is the Good Samaritan
for sure. So how much evil? There you go, just take that
one statement in verse 27 out of Luke chapter 10, and you've
got it. That's exactly what we have to
do. Love God with a perfect love, without sin, and love our fellow
man better than ourselves. If the Lord Jesus is in any sense
our example, and I think He is, He loved his people better than
he loved himself. And that we should aspire to. One more question. How can anyone be raised to a
resurrection of life? seeing what we have seen in this
little brief time that we've had together. Now, if you'd care
to follow with me, I've been to this passage before, but it's
in Ecclesiastes, and it's chapter 9. And if you've got Harker's
Morning and Evening, he's got a devotional on that that will
just about knock your socks off. And you ought to read it several
times. Go to it often. Ecclesiastes
9, verse 7. Sounds like it's raining in here
or something. I hear all this pitter patter. Are you ready? Alright. Ecclesiastes 9.7. Go your way, eat your bread with
joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God now accepts
your works. Well, what happened for it to
change? What did we do? That's the whole problem. It
ain't what we do. What did Christ do? He died in
our room place instead. Therefore, we have all the benefits
that God has to offer belong to us. There are several words
in that one verse. Go your way. I think Mr. Hawker will tell you when you
read him, go your way if Christ is your way. Eat your bread, if Christ is
to you and me the bread of life. Eat your bread with joy and drink
your wine with a merry heart, if that wine is Christ and Him
crucified. For now that you're in Christ,
God will accept your works. But you do understand, don't
you, that before you can have them, He has to give them to
you. I don't know what time it is,
but I'm going to go to another verse. Ephesians chapter 2. When you sit and you study and
you try to get all these various parts of your message together,
sometimes you just draw a blank. You don't think of any place. I won't say what I was going
to say. Just awful, awful, awful. If
I can ever get out of Acts, I'm going to get to Ephesians here
in a minute. While I was looking at you turn,
I didn't even turn. Here we go. Ephesians chapter
2. Brother James, when he was here
a few years ago, preached on this verse. Ephesians 2. He called yesterday to see how
I was doing and said to give you his greetings. So I'm doing that now. For we are his workmanship, God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Now, that cannot be true until
you're in Christ. Created in Christ Jesus unto
good works. But listen, which God has before
ordained that we should walk. in them. Did you not know that
God knows who you are before you were ever a being? He's known our names, the time
that we'd be born on this globe, what continent, what island,
whatever this, that, or the other. Everything about us. And this thing ain't going to
wind up until all of his sheep are in the fold. So I don't care
what anybody says about the climate or about one nation annihilating
another. I don't think these people know
anything. All right.