Now let's look back at Ecclesiastes
chapter 6. Once in a while you come across
a passage of scripture that really sets forth what I call a startling
reality. Something that man by nature
never thinks of and just flat goes against his grain. And that's
what this passage, and really it goes on into chapter 7, especially
the first part of chapter 7. And when I think about the disciples,
you know, when they heard and learned the gospel and came to
faith in Christ and began to go out and preach the gospel,
one of the accusations that the opposition made against them
was that they turned our world upside down. And this is what
this kind of passage is. Now, the title of the message
is this, A True View of Good and Evil. A True View of Good
and Evil. And what this passage teaches
us, by inspiration of the Spirit as Solomon was inspired to write
it, is simply this, things are not always as they seem or appear. And appearances can be, and most
of the time are, deceiving. Chapter 6 tells us this lesson
that prosperity and you know when you think of that word prosperity
By nature, we just don't see how prosperity can be bad for
anybody but what he's telling us here in chapter 6 is that
prosperity may not always be good and Then in the first verses
of chapter 7 which I'll get to next time. He tells us that adversity
trouble May not always be bad well, I remember when the Lord
told His disciples in John 7 and verse 24, He said, Judge not
according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
So again, He's telling them that outward things may deceive us. Things may not be always what
they appear to be. But let me just go back through
chapter 6 quickly and give you some thoughts here. He gives
five thoughts through this, and then I want to draw a conclusion
on the true view of good and evil. The first thing he brings
forth in the first two verses of chapter 6 is man's inability
to enjoy, truly enjoy, all that God gives him. He starts out,
there's an evil which I've seen under the sun. Remember when
he says under the sun, he's talking about a life here on earth without
God, without Christ, without grace. This is man in his sin,
in his fallen sinful nature. And he says, and it's common
among men. This is no exception to the rule. There may be exceptions
to the rule in some areas, but ultimately there are no exceptions
to the rule. This is common to men. And here's what he says,
a man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor so that he
lacketh nothing. This is a man who's got everything
he wants. And it says, he lacketh nothing for his soul of all that
he desires. He sees it, he gets it. And you
know people like that, basically. And it says, yet, now listen,
here's the evil under the sun that's common to men. Yet God
giveth him not power or the capacity to eat thereof, but a stranger
eateth it. This is a person who gets everything
he wants, but he cannot enjoy it. He cannot be satisfied. He said this is vanity, and it's
an evil disease. Now, as I said, this is common
among men. Now, there may be some exceptions, but the ultimate
enjoyment of the things of this life is not in man by nature. And you notice the key here is
this in verse 2, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof. God doesn't give him the power
to enjoy it, the capacity. You see, enjoyment is not in
increased possessions, but it's a gift that God must give, real
enjoyment. You see, all things the Scripture
tells us that we enjoy in this life, that we have in this life,
is to be enjoyed in light of God's glory, in light of God's
purpose, and in light of God's grace in Christ. Now, why would
God withhold this from anybody? Why would God withhold enjoyment
from a person? Give them everything that they
want. and then withhold enjoyment.
Why would he not give the power to enjoy if he gives the ability
to have? Well, turn back to Ecclesiastes
chapter 2. Look at verse 25. He says here in Ecclesiastes
2.25, he says, For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto
more than I? For God giveth to a man that
which is good, in his sight wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to
the sinner he giveth travail, trouble, to gather and to heap
up, that he may give to him that which is good before God. This
also is vanity and vexation of spirit." Literally what he is
saying here is that God gives the capacity to enjoy these things
to the one who pleases him. And who is it among men that
pleases God? Well, Hebrews chapter 11 and
verse 6 tells us this, without faith, it's impossible to please
God. And as far as I can tell in scripture,
when you look through these issues of pleasing God, it's always
in connection with God's grace in Christ. Now, you remember,
God said in a voice, an audible voice at the baptism of our Savior,
this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him.
It was said back in Enoch's time that Enoch pleased God for he
walked with God. How do you walk with God? By
His grace through Christ. That's the only way. And you
can't please God in any other way. But back over here in Ecclesiastes
chapter 5 and verse 18 through 20, it tells us that all these
things that we have and possess in this life, if we're going
to enjoy them, we have to enjoy them as they're the gift of God. For it's our portion. This is
the gift of God. God answereth us in the joy of
His heart. Brother Ken Flamin and I were
talking today in my study. We were talking about heart surgery. And he said, it's an amazing
thing that a doctor can go into your chest and pull out your
heart and hold it in his hand and you still be alive. And the
first thing Ken said about that, you know, he said, that's a gift
from God. Basically, that's what he said.
Now, most people say, well, boy, there's some pretty smart fellas
that figured that one out. Well, there were. But who gave
them their smartness? Who gave them the intelligence
and the skill? to figure that one out. God did. And when we
forget that, we can't really enjoy the good things of this
life that God gives. And it's all according to His
Word. You remember when the Lord was preaching on the parable
of the sower and the seed? Now what He's telling us here
in Ecclesiastes is that it's all enjoyed in light of God,
in light of His grace, in light of Christ, in light of His Word.
And in the parable of the sower and the seed, in Matthew chapter
13 and verse 22, he talks about the seed that fell among thorns. And here's what he said. He said,
he also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth
the word, just like you're hearing it now, just like I'm hearing
it, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches
choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. In other words, they
don't believe the word. There's no faith in Christ. Paul
wrote to the church at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5, verses
16-18, he said, Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything
give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. We've got to realize that everything
we have is a gift from God. Everything good and complete
is a gift from God, especially salvation. But now here's the
second thing that he tells us here. He tells us that long life
in a big family without the gift of enjoyment is really a burden.
It's a grievous thing. It's a hurtful thing. Look at
verse 3. He says, if a man begat a hundred children, and especially,
you know, now in our day, we might say, boy, he's going to
be miserable. But to the Jew of that culture, that would have
been success par excellence. That's exactly the way they would
think. He begat a hundred children, and lived many years, so that
the days of his years be many. His soul not be filled with good,
and also that he have no burial, nobody to bury him, nobody to
thank him. And I say that an untimely birth,
that's a stillborn child, is better than he. And he says,
verse 4, For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness,
and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover, he hath
not seen the sun, nor anything, this stillborn child. This hath
more rest than the other, than the one who's troubled in this
life, and lives a long life, and has all these children. Verse
6, he says, Yea, though he liveth a thousand years twice told,
two thousand years, yet hath he seen no good. Do not all go
to one place. They're going to die. You know,
when I read that, the first one I thought of is Abel. Cain and Abel. Abel died young. He was cut down in the prime
of life. But now compare him to Methuselah, who lived to be
999 years old. Now, Abel speaks to us today
of the grace of God in the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ. He
brought the blood of the Lamb as an offering. He pleased God.
And what little time he had on this earth, he enjoyed the good
things that God gave him in light of God's glory and grace in Christ. He was a believer. He was a justified
sinner. He was one who knew the Lord,
who rested in Christ, who was the promised Messiah to come. And you think about Enoch. He
was translated when he was pretty young. Because he walked with
the Lord and he pleased God. He again was a believer, a regenerate
sinner, a justified sinner. But what does it say about Methuselah?
Only that he lived 999 years and then what? He died. Doesn't
say anything about what God gave him or held back from him. Doesn't
say anything about him bringing the sacrifice or pleasing God
or seeking the Lord. Nothing. All it says, he had
a long life. They say he lived the longest
of any human being. And the only epitaph that's given
of Methuselah is, he died. And that's it. And that's what Solomon is saying,
hey, he can live 2,000 years, it doesn't matter. You don't
have Christ. If you don't have God's grace
in him, if you don't live your life to the praise of the glory
of God in thanksgiving, in everything given thanks, it's vanity and
vexation of spirit ultimately. Now, you may have moments, and
this is what I meant when I said there may be some exceptions
to the rule. You all know some people who have an abundance,
who are prosperous, and probably who don't give the Bible or the
Gospel or worshiping God a second thought, and they seem to be
having a good time. Just wait. It's only temporary. That's the
temporal fulfillment that this world gives, and it won't last.
But you see, it was said of Abel, and talking about good and evil
now, when you read about Cain and Abel back in Genesis chapter
4, it says that Abel brought the blood of the Lamb, which
pictured Christ and salvation by the mercy of God in him, And
Cain brought the works of his hands. Now there's a picture
of man coming before God seeking acceptance, seeking salvation
by his works. And what does the New Testament
tell us about Cain in 1 John 3 and verse 12? It says, Cain's
works were evil. Now that's an eye-opener, isn't
it? Here's a person doing their best, trying to worship God,
bringing their best, the best works of their hands, and God
calls it evil. And yet it says his brother's
works were righteous. That's evil. He brought the blood
of the Lamb. You see, where we find righteousness?
Not in our works, but in the work of Christ. Where we find
redemption and forgiveness? Not in our works, but in the
work of Christ. Look at the third thing here. Look at verse 7.
Now here he says, man is incapable of finding true joy by his own
effort. This puts to death any notion of salvation by works.
Look at verse 7. He says, all the labor of man
is for his mouth. That's literally appetite. And
yet the appetite, that's his soul, is not filled. So we read
like this. All the labor of man is for his
appetite, and yet his soul is not filled. Always wants more. He says, for what hath the wise
man more than the fool? What hath the poor that knoweth
to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes
to look on these things than the wandering of desire, to sit
and just think about them and desire them. But he says, this
is also vanity, vexation of spirit. Man is incapable of finding true,
eternal, lasting joy by his own efforts. He can't do it. And
that's one of the main themes of the whole book of Ecclesiastes.
That's why he says, vanity of vanities. Vexation of spirit. It's just a trouble. Solomon,
who goes through all these things in his life, the man who God
made king, who gave all worldly wisdom and all worldly riches,
he had moments of satisfaction, but it didn't last. Because man
cannot do it. And then look at the fourth thing
here. Look at verse 10. Here he tells us something That
man today just doesn't realize as a whole. And here's what it
says. The reason for all this, now
why is it like this? Well, we know man is a sinner.
We're fallen sinners. And that's why we've lost the
way. We're going to talk about that
in a little bit. But here's what he says in verse 10. God has
decreed that true enjoyment, cannot be found by effort, work,
and pursuit of pleasure. It must be taken as a gift from
God." That's what he means here in verse 10. That which hath
been is named already. It's already set down how things
are. Now, who did that? You reckon
Adam did it? No. He's the first one that rebelled
against God's standard of good and evil. When the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, you remember what the Lord told Adam
in Genesis chapter 2, in the day that you eat thereof, you
shall surely die, or dying thou shalt die. You know what that
tree, you know, I've heard a lot of explanations about that tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. Some say it's the conscience. And it says, you know, when Eve
ate of it and Adam ate of it, then they knew they were naked.
They had a conscience to accuse and excuse them. Well, that's
part of it. That's part of it. But I believe Adam had a conscience
before he ate. That it was a conscience that
was set on the glory of God. But you know what, I really believe
that tree of the knowledge, now the tree of life, that's a picture
of Christ. Because there's only life in
Christ. But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents God's
sovereign right to set the standard of what's good and what's evil. We can't do that. And when Adam
rebelled against God, he is, in essence, you remember what
Satan said? That the Lord knows that when you eat thereof you
shall be as gods. You'll be on an equal plane with
God. Well, Satan lied to him. You know that. He deceived Eve.
And Adam knew full well what he was doing. It was rebellion
on his part. And Adam, as the representative
of the whole human race, brought the whole human race into sin
and depravity. And it's shown forth in this
right here. Adam, when he ate of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, he was essentially saying,
I don't need God to set the standard for me. I can do it on my own. I'm declaring my independence
from God. I know what's good for me. I
know what's bad for me. Parents, does that remind you
of anybody? It's in the nature of all of us, isn't it? Mom and
Dad, I know what's good for me. I know what's bad for me. I don't
need you anymore to tell me that. That's our connection with Adam.
You see? And that's what Adam was saying,
and that's what brought the whole human... That's the rebellion,
the sin that brought the whole human race into sin and depravity. But God's the one who set the
standard. God's the one who set the boundaries. That which hath been is named
already, verse 10, and it's known that it is man, neither may he
contend with him that is mightier than he. Let me give you these
three things. First of all, what he's saying here is that this
situation that man cannot enjoy ultimately, eternally, and in
reality, the good things that God gives him, in this life because
God decreed it so. It's named already. And you know
what? Somebody said, well, why would God decree a thing like
that? I'll tell you exactly why. Because God created this world
for His glory. Not your glory. Not my glory,
but for God's glory. Now, that gives us a standard
to go by. What is good? Anything that glorifies God.
What's evil? anything that doesn't glorify
God. And then here's the second thing. He says here, he says,
and it is known that it is man. Literally, it says here, he knows
what man is. He knows what man is. And this
decree that God made was in view of what man is. Well, what is
man? Well, he's a creature. Jeremiah put it this way. God's
the potter. We're the what? Clay. Isn't that right? God's the potter. God's the creator.
We're the creature. We have to know our place. God's
all-powerful. We're weak. We're weak. And the thing about it is, even
man in his pristine, unfallen state was still a creature. Adam
had a righteousness. before he fell. But he was still
a creature of righteousness. That's why we're better off.
We who are saved by the grace of God. Now listen to this. We
who are saved by the grace of God in Christ are infinitely,
eternally better off than Adam was before the fall. Because
his righteousness was a creature of righteousness. Our righteousness
is the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believes. That verse. We
have a righteousness that's infinite, divine, everlasting, and will
never fail. Any creature righteousness, even
Adam's before the fall, could change. There was a possibility
of change, and not only a possibility, it did change, because he fell.
And he fell short. But here's the point. You see,
man is unable to dispute with God. It says in verse 10 here,
neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. Now
this is the problem. Man by nature wants to argue
with God. And that's why I'll never forget that time that Brother
Mayhem was telling us in the preacher school that when he
really came into knowledge of the sovereignty of God in Scripture,
he stood before a Sunday school class and just read Romans 9.
That's all he did. I think he read Romans 8 and
9. And he just started reading through it, and people started
objecting. And they were saying things like,
well, what you're saying is... And Brother Mahan looked up and
he said, I'm not saying anything. I'm just reading God's Word.
You're arguing with God. I think there was a play that
some fellow wrote, and the title of it was, Your Arms Are Too
Short to Box with God. That's true. Neither may he contend. Isaiah
said it this way, Woe unto him that striveth with his maker. Let the pot sherds strive with
the pot sherds of this. You know what a pot sherd is?
That's the broken pieces of a pot. Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, What makest thou or thy work? He hath no hands.
Romans 9 and verse 20, Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest
against God, arguing with God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, Why have you made me like this? God's in control. But now look
at the fifth thing here. None of these things that God
has given man in this life now These good things, you know,
that this evil under the sun. None of these things has made
man any better. You know, we thank God for the
good things that we enjoy, don't we? The modern conveniences. That's why I can't understand
people talking about going back to the good old days, you know.
We enjoy a lot of things. I mean, take like medicine. Some of you all have been the
beneficiaries of great strides in modern medicine. But as to
a relationship with God, as to salvation, and as to ultimate
enjoyment of these things in a way that glorifies God, man
has become no better. In fact, if you want to say it,
he's gotten worse. That's what he's talking about
in verses 11 and 12. Look at it. See, there be many things
that increase vanity. What is man the better? For who
knoweth what is good for man in this life? Not man. God does. All the days of his vain life
which he spendeth as a shadow, for who can tell a man what shall
be after him under the sun? You can't even tell the future.
That's right. That's how limited we are. Who
knows what's coming in the future? Who knows what's good for man?
You see, that's why we need a true view of good and evil. Because
man by nature doesn't know the true reality of good and evil.
What man sometimes calls a blessing, in many times is a curse. And
what other men call a curse is many times a blessing. Isaiah
said this to his religious generation in Isaiah 5 and verse 20. He
said, Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that
put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter
for sweet and sweet for bitter. Look at Psalm 73 that we read
the last verses of. What Solomon is saying here in
Ecclesiastes 6 is the same thing. that this psalm teaches. Look
at verse 1. We won't go through the whole
thing, but I want to just read up through part of it. Psalm
73. He says, Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are
of a clean heart. You know what a clean heart is?
That's a heart that's cleansed by the blood of Christ. He says,
But as for me, my feet were almost gone, tripping over these things.
My steps had well nigh slipped, for I was envious at the foolish
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Now, most people
would look at the prosperity of anybody and say, well, now
he must be doing something right or he must be doing something
good. You look at the rich man of Lazarus, the rich man, he
must be doing something right. Lazarus, he must be doing something
evil. Not so. Not so. Appearances are deceiving. And he says in verse 4, for there
are no bands, that means pain, in their death, but their strength
is firm. Now he's got it wrong, doesn't
he? But this is the way he sees it by his appearance. And he
says, they are not in trouble as other men, neither are they
plagued like other men, therefore pride compasseth them about as
a chain, violence covereth them as a garment, their eyes stand
out with fatness, that's fullness, they have more than the heart
could wish, They are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning
oppression. They speak loftily, proudly.
They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue
walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither,
and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. And they say,
How doth God know? And is their knowledge in the
Most High? Is God in on this thing any at all? I mean, what's
going on here? Behold, verse 12, these are the
ungodly who prosper in the world, they increase in riches. Verily
I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. Now that's how we reason by nature. He says in verse 14, for all
the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning.
And if I say I will speak thus, behold, I should offend against
the generation of thy children. And when I thought to know this,
it was too painful for me. When I tried to figure this one
out, I found it gave me a headache. That's what he's saying. Look
at verse 17. Until, you see this? Until I went into the sanctuary
of God, where God speaks. Where sinners commune with God
based on the sacrifice. Where you hear the Word of God.
Where you worship God. Then, understood I their end. How it's all going to end up.
You see that? You see, that's why we need the
Word of God to tell us the standard of good and evil. Turn over to
Jeremiah with me. Turn to Jeremiah 17. And you see, here's the thing,
what does the Bible tell us about good and evil? Sometimes when
you get an opportunity to read Romans chapter 3 again, again
at verse 10, it says there's none righteous, no not one, doesn't
it? It says there's none that seeketh after God. It says even
this, it says there's none good, no not one. What's he talking
about? He's talking about how God views
this fallen world. All goodness has to be measured
by God. And the goodness of God is revealed
in one, the ultimate goodness of God now, for eternity and
prosperity and ultimate enjoyment and satisfaction is revealed
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now where is it? Remember when the rich young
man came to the Lord, he said, good master, this is Matthew
19, beginning of verse 16, you can read it. He said, good master,
what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life? And this
young man, this rich young man, did not view Christ, Jesus of
Nazareth, as being God. He viewed him as just being a
good rabbi, a good teacher. And so Christ met him where he
was at. And here's what he asked him, or told him. He said, why
callest thou me good? For there's none good but God. In other words, Christ was saying
there, if you don't believe I'm God, then why are you calling
me good? There's none good but God. But then Christ told him,
he said, but if you want to have eternal life by your works, keep
the commandments. And the fellow said, this I've
done from my youth up. I've been a good boy. And then
Christ said, well, let's put it to the test then. If you think
you're saved or made righteous or holy or entitled to heaven
based upon your works and deeds under the law, then here's the
test. Go sell everything you have,
give it to the poor and follow me. Remember what happened? The young man turned away in
sorrow for he had much possessions. He loved his possessions more
than he did the Lord. You see the difference? Man didn't
know what good really was. Now I know we look around our
world, and even our town, and we see people who are kind, who
are generous, who are religious, outwardly they are sincere and
dedicated, good husbands, good wives, good fathers and mothers,
and listen, they ought to be. But when it comes to a relationship
with God, and here's the one that turns our world upside down
now, When it comes to a relationship with God, when it comes to salvation,
none of those things are good in the sight of God as to attaining
or maintaining salvation or making a person righteous before God.
You see, there's only one way, one truth, one life that is good
in the sight of God as far as salvation is concerned. Everything
else is evil. Religion is evil in the sight
of God when it doesn't exalt Christ. You mean to tell me that I've
gone to church all my life and I got baptized and I've given
my tithes and I've done all this and done all that, that that
doesn't count for anything? Listen, if it's fruit unto God,
it's the evidence of love for Him. But if you think it recommends
you unto God or saves you or earns your way into God's favor,
then it's evil because it's self-righteous. It denies the glory of God. It
gives glory to you, and not God. It denies the person and work
of Christ, you see. For by deeds of law shall no
flesh be justified in God's sight. Look at Jeremiah 17, verse 5.
Now listen to this. Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be
the man that trusteth in man. Now, he may be a religious man.
He may be a responsible family man. He may be a hard-working
man. He may be a generous man. He
may even be a praying man. But if He trusts us in man, what
does the Scripture say here? He's cursed. Isn't that right? That's easy. To trust in man,
no matter who you are or how you appear outwardly, is cursed. And He says He maketh flesh His
arm. That's His power. It's in His works. and whose
heart departeth from the Lord, for he shall be like a heath
in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh." When does
good come? When Christ is exalted. When
he's lifted up. "...but shall inhabit the parched
places in the wilderness in a salt land, and not inhabit it. Blessed
is the man that trusteth in the Lord. Now he may be sick, he
may be poor, He may not have a thing to call his own, just
like the Son of Man had no place to lay his head, didn't own a
thing, but he's blessed. How do you know? He trusts in
the Lord, Jehovah, our Savior. And whose hope the Lord is, for
he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth
out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh.
But her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful or anxious
in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
Now look what he says in verse 9. The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? The heart will
tell you that good is evil and evil is good. That's the heart
of man. So what's the answer? Verse 10,
I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the reins, your motives,
and what drives you, what turns you this way and that way, even
to give every man according to his ways and according to the
fruit of his doing. You see, just like the psalmist
in Psalm 73, these things will confuse us. They'll drive us
crazy. They'll give us headaches. We
can't figure them out until we go into the sanctuary of God.
And he tests and tries the reins and shows us the reality of good
and evil. One more scripture, Jeremiah
13, I want you to see this and then I'll close. Here's one that we quote quite
often. Now, I want you to understand
who Jeremiah is talking to. He's talking to the people of
Judah, the southern kingdom. who were worshiping at the Temple
of Solomon. But they had left out the truth,
the truth of God's grace, the truth of Christ, and their religion,
their worship had become just outward show of morality and
sincerity without truth. And here's what he says in verse
23 of Jeremiah 13. Now listen to this. And what
he's telling us here, can the Ethiopian change his skin Or
the leopard his spots? No. That's where they're born.
Well, how's man born? He's born in sin. And man can't
change it. But God can. So he says, then
may you also do good that are accustomed to do evil. Now, you
may have a concordance in your Bible. If you do, look at what
that word accustomed literally means. You see it? Then may you also do good that
are taught to do evil. Now what he's saying there is
this, not only is man by nature born in sin and can't change
it, he has no ability, but man by nature is taught to do evil. Now what are they being taught
here? You reckon the priests and the prophets were teaching
these people to go out and murder everybody they could get their
hands on? Steal everything they could get their hands on? Curse
God? No, they were teaching them to
approach God in a way that dishonored God. By the works of their hands. And their religion. And in their
self-righteousness. They were being taught to do
evil. Now that's an eye-opener. Think
about it. Think about that. How many times
do we see people today who are literally, and I, you know, listen
people, I'm not, I'm not just simply judging everybody, because
I want to judge, I'm just telling you what the Word of God says,
and you have, this is the standard right here, this is the measure,
I mean 12 inches makes a foot, and if you've got a group over
here that says 13 inches makes a foot, then you know they're
wrong. Now, you didn't set that measurement up to say 12 inches
equals a foot, somebody else did, I don't know who, but somebody
did. Well, God determines the true view of good and evil. And
if there's a religious group anywhere, and I'm not saying
we're the only ones saving everybody, I'm just simply saying those
who don't trust in Christ and Him alone for all righteousness
and life and glory, God says they're doing evil. You can argue
with me if you want to, but I'm just the messenger. Your argument's
with God, not with me. I want to see people come to
Christ. I don't relish saying that people are lost. And I'm
not saying I can see into the hearts of everybody. I'm not
saying that at all. But I know this, anybody who
approaches God like Cain, seeking salvation and acceptance and
blessing based on their words, God says that's evil. But those
who come to God through Christ, pleading the merits of His blood
and righteousness alone. God says that's good. And you
know whose goodness it is? Not mine, not yours. It's the
goodness of God. Because that's what leads a sinner
to repentance.