Alright, tonight let me direct
your attention to the book of Revelation chapter 14. Revelation chapter 14. It has been said that the saints
in glory are much, much happier than the saints here on earth.
And I believe that's true. where they no longer have to
struggle with the flesh, with the world, with the devil, with
themselves as we still do here on earth. That being said, we
realize that the saints in heaven, and listen to this very carefully,
though they are happier, they are no more secure than the saints
here on earth. That song that Ryan sang, I never
get tired of hearing it. It is well with my soul. I can
say that just as much tonight as I will be able to say it in
glory. Now, why is that? Why is that? How can someone be that certain?
Well, let me show you why. Look at Revelation 14 and verse
6. John writes, And I saw another
angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel
to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation,
and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice,
Fear God, and give glory to for the hour of his judgment is come,
and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the
fountains of waters." Now, the reason that we can stand so secure
in the assurance of faith is because of the everlasting gospel. That is why I have entitled this
message, The Everlasting Gospel. Now, when we go to be with our
Savior permanently in glory, we shall all be changed, the
scripture says, all of us, because this corruptible must put on
incorruption. But the gospel will be the same. It will stay the same. The same
gospel that I believe today. will be the same gospel that
I'll believe in glory and proclaim. It is the everlasting gospel. The gospel we know, the one we
preach and believe and live by, is the everlasting message of
God's free and sovereign grace in Christ Jesus. And he's the
same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. The same Savior
that saves me here on earth is the one who keeps me and will
keep me eternally in glory. Our God is an immutable God,
and that is a comfort and a ground of assurance to Jacob's like
us. Am I right? For I am the Lord,
I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob,
you sinners, are not consumed. His judgments are always the
same. That psalm that was read at the
opening, Psalm 75, you may have wondered about that. Some interesting
language there. When he says, for in the hand
of the Lord, there is a cup and the wine is red. And I believe
what he's talking about is the clear message of grace in the
gospel. And it's full of mixture, not
not confusion now, but it's full of blessings for God's people.
And he poureth out of the same, but the dregs thereof all the
wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them." The
gospel that is the savor of life unto life to Christ's sheep is
the savor of death unto death to those who don't believe it.
And they'll wring it out, and it'll be their damnation. But
you know what? It's the exact same gospel. It's
the everlasting gospel. But he says in verse 9 of Psalm
75, I will declare forever. I'm going to preach this gospel
forever. Here on earth and in glory as we sing of it, as we
look to Christ. And he says, I will sing praises
to the God of Jacob. The God who saves sinners, the
God of grace. And all the horns of the wicked
also will I cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall
be exalted. That's the division there. It's
the everlasting gospel. It's good news for needy, helpless,
wretched sinners. It's a glorious message in that
it displays the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,
how God can be just and justify the ungodly. And this gospel
is the declaration of Christ, who he is, his glorious person
as God and man, and him crucified, his powerful, redeeming, finished
work on Calvary to put away our sins and justify us before God. This gospel is the declaration
of Christ and Him crucified. It's the everlasting or the eternal
gospel because it's the product of the eternal mind and purpose
of God in Christ. The Bible preaches and tells
us that the salvation declared in this gospel was given us in
Christ Jesus before the world began. That is, in the mind and
purpose of God, it reveals everlasting things. It reveals the everlasting
love of God towards His people, unconditional love. It reveals
God's eternal electing grace that God chose a people before
the foundation of the world and gave them to His Son. It reveals
the eternal purpose of grace. What is God's purpose in grace?
It is to glorify Himself in the salvation of a sinner through
Jesus Christ, His Son. That's God's purpose. Somebody
says, well, we want to be called according to His purpose. Well,
what is His purpose? It's to glorify Himself. It's
to honor Himself. It's to identify Himself as the
one true and living God in the salvation of a sinner. through
Jesus Christ, His Son. That's amazing, isn't it? It's
the revelation of the everlasting covenant of grace. For not only
did God choose a people and give them to His Son, but His Son,
the Alpha and the Omega, received them readily, willingly, and
lovingly, and agreed to be our mediator and our surety. He agreed
to be our Savior before this world was ever created. Isn't
that amazing? I'm telling you, this is a message now, isn't
it? I'm not talking about my prayer, I'm talking about this
gospel. I mean, this is a message, folks. We just don't realize it sometimes.
We take it for granted too often. But this is something now. I
mean, the Son of God stepped in with His Father to save a
wretch like me and like you. That's something. This is the
everlasting gospel in that it reveals Christ as our eternal
surety and mediator. For as He always was, He always
is and always will be. This is the everlasting gospel
because it reveals everlasting promises and blessings of grace. We're going to look at a few
of them. It's the everlasting gospel because it's the revelation
of an everlasting righteousness of infinite value whereby God
can be just and justify the ungodly. Now, that may sound a little
theological, but it's really simple. You know what it simply
says? We've got something better than
Adam had before the fall. I'm telling you, think about
that. You see, Adam had a righteousness before the fall, but it was the
righteousness of a man. even a perfect man. And it was
volatile, it was changeable, it was mutable. And because of
that, Adam lost it. But see, we stand before God
in a righteousness that is everlasting and cannot change. We can't lose it. My soul, we
ought to sing, it is well with our soul every day. It cannot
change. I don't stand before God in the
righteousness of man. It's the very righteousness of
God, and it cannot change. And then it's the everlasting
gospel because it reveals everlasting life, life that cannot be lost,
eternal life, because we know Christ in whom life eternal is. He is eternal life. He is our
salvation. It will all abide forever in
Christ. and we can no more lose it, and
it can no more be changed, then our sovereign Savior can be thrown
off of His throne in glory. He cannot happen. It was accomplished
in time by our Redeemer, when He redeemed and justified us
at the cross. That was the pivotal point in
redemptive history, that time that God appointed to accomplish
His eternal purpose on earth, to save His people from their
sins. and reveal himself in all his
glory, in his majesty. And in time, the Holy Spirit
comes to us and opens up that knowledge to our finite, puny
minds. And he can, listen, he's such
a master teacher and his power is so great that he can teach
it just as well to a Ph.D. as he could to an imbecile. When I was a teacher, I strived
to teach those who had the high IQs and those who had the low
IQs, but God is successful. I failed in a lot of ways, but
God never fails. All whom Christ redeemed and
justified at Calvary must be given life by the Holy Spirit
and must hear and believe the truth. That's what the Scripture
teaches. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out." Those whom God chose before the foundation of the
world, the Bible teaches that they will be saved. They will
come to sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth
until He calls us by the gospel, this everlasting gospel. Now
why? The reason is is mentioned in
Romans 5, verse 21, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even
so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ our Lord. Folks, do you realize that God
has made us stewards of the greatest blessings, everlasting eternal
blessings, and the greatest message in the world? What a responsibility! Let's not ever take it lightly.
Let's not ever treat it with disrespect and dishonor. Let's
not ever seek our own way and our own desires and our own purposes. Let's be good stewards of the
grace of God. Let me show you this. I want
us to back up here just for a moment. I dealt with this part of this
last week. But I want to go back up to verses
4 and 5 in Revelation 14 because It fits right in with this everlasting
gospel. The everlasting gospel is the
declaration of eternal blessings. And I want you to see these eternal
blessings. Don't just read over this quickly. Look at them. The first thing
I want you to see is that these are great blessings that will
be fully realized and perfected in glory. What we're seeing here
in Revelation 14, in the first few verses, is the church in
glory. The church in glory. And he gives
descriptions here of the saints in glory, perfected, glorified
with Christ. And he says, here they are. He
said in verse 3, they were redeemed from the earth. They'd been bought,
and he's going to mention that again. But look at verse 4. The
first thing he says is this. These are they which were not
defiled with women. Now, he's not speaking of physical
chastity or physical virginity. He says, for they are virgins.
He's not talking, as some say, about those who take a vow of
chastity and not be married. That's not what he's talking
about at all. What he's talking about here is the spiritual purity
of God's people as they are washed in the blood of Christ and clothed
in his righteousness. All who enter heaven have been
preserved by the grace of God from the defilement and adultery
and corruption of false religion. That's what this is talking about.
It's the same thing Paul mentioned over here in 2 Corinthians chapter
11. Turn there with me. Paul spoke of it when in this
church at Corinth, this church that God had used him as the
pioneer missionary. And when Paul left it, false
preachers began to come in and entice the people to adulterate
themselves unto another God, another Jesus, another gospel
by another spirit. And that's what he's talking
about. Those who enter heaven are those who do not spiritually
adulterate themselves unto another Savior. another gospel. He says in verse 1 of 2 Corinthians
chapter 11, look at it with me. He says, would to God you could
bear with me a little of my folly and indeed bear with me. Now
what Paul's talking about there is that one of the things these
false preachers did is they attacked Paul. You see, they want to draw
the people off to another way of thinking, another way of seeking,
another way of worship, another way of going about in their religion. And so what do they do? They
attack God's minister. And Paul was being forced to
defend himself. And that's what he says, my folly.
No preacher wants to stand up and defend themselves, but sometimes
you're forced to do so. But here's the reason Paul did
it. Look at verse two. He says, for I'm jealous over
you with godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one
husband. that I may present you as a chaste
virgin to Christ." That's what he's talking about. He says,
but I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent begot Eve through
his subtleties, so your minds should be corrupted from the
simplicity or the singleness that is in Christ. For if he
that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached,
Or if you receive another spirit which you've not received, or
another gospel which you've not accepted, you might well bear
with, and that should be me. You bear with me. He's not saying
bear with these false preachers. Later on he says don't give them
an hour. He says you might bear with me.
What he's talking about here and what the book of Revelation
is speaking of when it describes God's people in glory as those
who have not defiled themselves with women who are virgins, he's
talking about they are chaste virgins in Christ. That grace
has made them so in the sight of God. They were betrothed and
espoused to Christ. They are married to Christ. They
are to love and to cleave to Christ alone. He's the husband,
the church is his bride. He's the head, we're the body.
And they have been adorned for the wedding in the righteous
robe that Christ made. And that's the issue. They've
not been defiled, spiritually speaking. They've not committed
spiritual adultery. They've kept their eyes upon
the one of their love. God, the Holy Spirit, has shed
abroad in their hearts the love of God, and they look to Him. He is the object of their love. He's the object of their loyalty. He's the object of their faith.
He's the object of their worship. And that's a good analogy, isn't
it? Just like you husbands and wives. Together. What does the Bible say? You leave your mother and your
father, and you cleave to one another. as one flesh. And that's
the way Christ in his church is. You see, he is our hope,
our stay. And it's like a good husband
who takes all the responsibility of his wife to care for, to pay
her debts, to make sure that she's taken care of. Christ has
done all of that for us in salvation, hasn't he? And he's not, I'll
tell you what, he's not left anything undone that's to be
done. I mean, I'm telling you, he's
paid it all, hasn't he? And he's, he's furnished us with
the blessings of his responsibility towards his father, the blessings
of grace to which we are the richest brides in the world.
What a dowry. I mean, we've got it in him. Look back here, Revelation 14. The next thing he says about
them is that these are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever
he goeth. The wife follows the husband
wherever he goes. That's what the Scripture says.
And we follow the Lamb. Christ said that in John chapter
10. He said, My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. He
said, I know them, they know me. Another they won't follow,
he said in John 10. He said, they won't follow the
hireling. And listen to me, they don't follow the wind. They're
not tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. And they don't
follow the crowd. The crowd will do you no good.
They don't follow a man. They don't follow their own opinions.
And listen to me, they don't even follow their own heart.
I want you to hear that well. Somebody says, well, I need to
follow my heart. Oh, no, you don't. You need to
follow the Lamb. Now, I hope and pray He's in
your heart. Somebody said, well, how am I
going to know if I'm following my heart or the Lamb? To follow
the Lamb is to follow His Word. You see, your heart can deceive
you. Your heart can accuse you. But the Bible says our Lord,
our Savior, our Redeemer is greater than our hearts. 1 John chapter
5. See, there's greater than our
heart. There's someone greater than my heart. Somebody said,
you know yourself better than anybody else. Oh no, you don't.
Christ knows you better than you know yourself. He knows me
better than I know myself. Isn't that right? He knows things
about me that I haven't even admitted to. And you too. So what do we do? We follow the
Lamb. We follow Him in His doctrine. That's right. What he says goes. If he doesn't say it, we don't
say it. All right? If he didn't reveal it, we have
no business preaching it or witnessing it. We follow him in his way
of worship when he tells us, how he tells us, in spirit and
in truth. We follow him in his life. He's
our example wherever he goes. And we follow him in suffering.
The Bible teaches that. Look over at Matthew chapter
16. We looked at that this morning
when Paul was speaking in Philippians chapter 3, he said, I want to
know the fellowship of his sufferings. Well, here's what he means by
that. Matthew 16, look at verse 24, then it says, Then said Jesus
unto his disciples, If any will come after me, let him deny himself,
deny his own works, deny his own desires, deny his own ways,
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. The scripture
says it. The fellowship of his suffering.
He told his disciples, he said, don't be amazed if the world
hates you. It hated me before it hated you. You're my disciple.
I'm the master and the disciple is no greater than the master.
It's spoken of in Romans chapter 8. where it says that one of
the main evidences of being a child of God is if we suffer with Him,
the contempt and the reproach of this world. Well, back here,
they follow the Lamb wherever He goes. And if He says, go here,
they go there. They go there. Here's the next
thing. It says in verse 4 of Revelation
14, it says, These were redeemed. That means bought, bought and
paid for, lock, stock and barrel. They were redeemed from among
men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." Now, the
reason they're in heaven is because we've been redeemed. That's why
they're in heaven. They're not in heaven because
they were such good people. They're not in heaven because
they made great strides spiritually. And although we all should be
growing in grace and knowledge, we're not going to make it to
heaven because we grow in grace and knowledge. They're not going
to be in heaven based on anything but the fact that they've been
bought and paid for and they belong to the Lord. That's what
the first verse here represents. You see, all men were fallen
in Adam, but all weren't redeemed. That's what the scripture teaches.
These who follow the Lamb were redeemed. How do I know I've
been redeemed by the Lamb? You'll follow the Lamb. That's
right. Their redemption and justification
at the cross is the basis and the reason of their conversion
by the Spirit, evidenced by it. And the firstfruits, the redeemed,
that means the complete number of Christ's sheep, the complete
number of God's elect, the 144,000. They are for the Lord. They belong to Him. They're the
firstfruits. You know, back in the Old Testament, during the
time of harvest, the feast of firstfruits, the firstfruits
were to be given to God. They belong to God. Well, my
friend, that's what the redeemed are. They belong to Him. They don't belong to the world.
They don't belong to the preacher. They belong to God. They've been
redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Now, the rest is for Satan.
Now, he's going to teach that on in to Revelation 14. These
firstfruits are not a select group of believers in heaven
separated from other believers on an inner circle. They're not
some group of super-Christians who have made great strides,
and they are not those who are rewarded the most based on their
deeds. That would be contrary to grace.
That would be contrary to redemption. Do you know that? They're the
opposite of what's spoken of up here in Revelation 13, those
who serve and worship and follow the beast. They are the same
sealed multitude that was revealed back in Revelation chapter 7.
The only difference is in chapter 7 they were portrayed as being
still on earth, but here in Revelation 14 they are in glory, perfected, rejoicing, enjoying the blessings
of heaven after final judgment. You know, all believers, without
exception, are sealed with the name of God and of the And all
who harden themselves in unbelief are marked or branded with the
number of men. Look back here, Revelation 14.
Here's the next thing it said of them in verse 5. Now listen
to this. It says, And in their mouth was
found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne
of God. This is the redeemed, glorified
multitude, perfected Already perfect in Christ, but here they
stand perfected in themselves, perfectly conformed to Christ.
You see here, it says, in their mouth was found no guile. What is guile? It's craft. It's deceit. It's dishonesty. That's right. Let me show you
something. Turn over to 1 Peter 2. And this is one reason we know
he's speaking of the saints in glory and not the saints here
on earth, because here on earth, listen to what the Bible teaches
us. In 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 1, now this is speaking
to saints. Now what is a saint? A sinner
saved by the grace of God. One who's washed in the blood
of Christ, clothed in his righteousness, redeemed, justified at Calvary. One who's been regenerated by
the Spirit. And here's what he says to regenerated people. He says, wherefore laying aside
all malice and all guile. You see, here on earth, we still
have to deal with this issue of guile, don't we? Deception. Like I said, our own hearts can
deceive us. Like the Bible says back in Jeremiah 17, that's the
most deceptive thing in us. All right? That's why it has
to be cleansed by the Word of God. That's why it has to be
purified in Christ. That's why we have to be enlightened,
regenerate. That's why we must be born again.
That's why we must have a spiritual life imparted within, because
we have to fight guile, deception. We have the flesh that will go
after, that will motivate us to go after that which exalts
the flesh. And that's what happened when
these believers back in Corinth were deceived. The believers
at Galatia were deceived. But here in Revelation 14 it
says they have no guile. There is no deception. Look over
at 1 Peter 3 and verse 10. Here again he says the same thing. He says in verse 10 of 1 Peter
3, for he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain
his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile.
Now why would a born again person have to be told that? because
he's not yet perfected in himself. He still has to fight it. He
still has a struggle. He's in a warfare. But here in
Revelation 14 and verse 5, in their mouth was found no God,
no deception. Perfected before the Lord, he
says, for they are without fault before the throne of God, perfectly
righteous in Christ and perfectly righteous within themselves,
without blemish, for then will be made like him. without even
the presence, the influence, and power of sin within. Now,
those are great blessings. And every time we preach the
gospel, those are blessings of grace, aren't they? Oh, I'm telling
you, that's our only hope. But look here, look at verse
6 now of Revelation 14. Now, here we're stewards of a
great message to preach here on earth. Remember what he said
here in verse 6, I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach. This is not a message
to be concealed or hidden. This is not guesswork ministry. This is an open ministry. It's an open proclamation. And it's to preach unto them
that dwell on the earth. Someone said that should be translated,
sit on the earth. In other words, these are people
who are at peace right now. And I've had people say this,
and you may have too, when you try to talk to them about the
gospel and they get mad and they say, why do you want to come
around here with that stuff upsetting everybody? You ever had that
happen? Why do you just want to upset
everybody? I'm okay. Why do you want... I had a fella
come to me one time. He was mad. And he said, he said,
he said, a fella asked me about my salvation. And he said, what
business is it of his? I said, well, turn over 1 Peter
3 and verse 15. That's what I asked him to do.
Turn over there. 1 Peter 3 and verse 15. Now, here's what I'm going to
tell you. When somebody challenges your salvation. When somebody
challenges your gospel. Don't get upset. Here's what
you do. Look at verse 15. But sanctify
the Lord God in your hearts. First thing you want to do is
you want to worship God. That's what that means. That
means you want to set God apart in your heart. It's almost like
this. When somebody challenges you
or asks you to prove what you say, say, Lord, help me. Lord,
give me the words to say. And then it says, and be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason
of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." Now, there's
the biblical answer. You say, well, that's a tall
order. Well, sometimes it is. But I'm going to tell you something.
Most people just complicate things. If we just tell what we know
of Christ and just let it go at that, we'd be up well off,
wouldn't we? But don't get mad when people challenge you. Take
that as an opportunity to preach the everlasting gospel to one
who's sitting on the earth, one who dwells on the earth. They
may be at peace, but I'll tell you what, it's like I told a
fellow a long time ago, I said, look, if you can rock my boat,
rock it now. I'd rather have it rocked now
and turned over than I would at judgment, wouldn't you? I
don't want to be amongst that number that stands before the
judgment saying, Lord, Lord, and then find out then Depart
from me ye that work iniquity." I want to know now. Well, how
do you know? Preach the everlasting gospel.
That's what he's talking about. And this gospel must be preached
all over the world before the Lord comes back. That's what
Brother Ron read here in Matthew chapter 24, verse 14. When the disciples ask him, he
says, what is the sign of your second coming? And he says several
things here, talking about, I believe, both the destruction of Jerusalem
and the second coming of Christ. And he says in verse 14, and
this gospel of the kingdom, this everlasting gospel, shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and
then shall the end come. Now, why is that? Well, look
back at Revelation 14, it says, this everlasting gospel, is to
be preached unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation,
every kindred, every tongue, and people." Now, why is that?
Because God has an elect people out of every tribe, kindred,
tongue, and nation. And he's going to get the gospel
to them. I know there are certain people who say, well, God's going
to save them no matter what. That's not what the book says.
The book says that they're going to hear the gospel. How they
hear it, how God gets it to them, I don't know, but he's going
to do it. That's what he says right here. Faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. Christ said it, my sheep hear
my voice. He's going to get the gospel, this everlasting gospel
to them. This everlasting gospel is the
power of God unto salvation. It's the message by which the
Spirit gives life from Christ to spiritually dead sinners,
the Bible says, of his own will begat he us with the word of
truth, James 1.18. Peter said it's the words of
eternal life, this everlasting gospel. You remember when he
said that when the multitude left our Lord and the Lord turned
to his disciples and he said, will you go away also? Peter
said, to whom shall we go? Now that's the words of eternal
life. Paul called it the word of life. John called it the word
of life. God has a people out of every
tribe and nation. Christ must bring them in. He
told his disciples in John chapter 10, he said, other sheep I have
which are not of this fold, them also I must bring and they shall
hear my voice. And there will be one fold and
one shepherd. Now how are they going to hear his voice? In the
everlasting gospel. that reveals him and identifies
him and distinguishes him. Look back at verse 7 now of Revelation
14. Now, this message, the everlasting
gospel, it's a message of salvation, it's a message of grace, it's
a message of love, it's a message of comfort and assurance and
peace, but it's also a message of judgment. He says in verse
7, saying with a loud voice, fear God. That means to worship
God. That means to believe God. That
means to trust Him and rest in Him and bow to Him. That doesn't
mean run away from God. That doesn't mean run scared.
When you see that fear of God, that gospel message, commanding
sinners to fear God, that doesn't mean run scared and hide. That
doesn't mean get busy and work or else you're going to be damned.
It means worship Him, respect Him, honor Him, trust Him, listen
to Him, bow to Him. and give glory to him. Give unto
the Lord the glory due unto his name. Now, how are you going
to do that? Come to Christ. Look to Christ. I'm going to
tell you something. You have never begun to commence
to get started to give God glory until you've seen the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ, you can't
give glory to God. Apart from Christ, you can't
worship God. Apart from Christ, you cannot
be accepted of God. Apart from Christ, you cannot
have faith in God. Apart from Christ, you cannot
serve God. Apart from Christ, all things
are wicked and evil. Without Him, you can do nothing.
And then he says, for the hour of His judgment is come. Now,
the hour of His judgment refers to His second coming to judge
the world. But the gospel reveals the judgment of God. Now let
me show you that. Look at Acts chapter 17. Now
this is not a time, this hour of judgment is not a time when
God's people are going to have to stand at the judgment seat
and then it will be determined whether they're going to heaven
or hell, whether or not they're going to get a mansion or a cabin. That's not what that's talking
about. The judgment is not a determinate thing at all, it's a declarative
thing. The great white throne judgment, at that judgment it
will be declared throughout all the universe, the glory of God
and the salvation of His people through Christ. And those who
die in unbelief will find out then, and when it's too late,
that they'll be eternally damned, eternally perished. But God's
people, Christ and his church, will be vindicated before this
whole universe. Every nail bound, every tongue
will confess that he's Lord. But this judgment is revealed
right now to God's people in the everlasting gospel. Now let
me show you that. Here in Acts 17, he's talking to the Greek
philosophers on Mars Hill. And he goes down through, he
starts with the God of creation. And he says in verse 30, now
he says, now God left during the Old Testament times, he left
nations to themselves in their ignorance. It says in verse 30,
the times of this ignorance God went at, what he means is that
God just let them go their own way. But now in the everlasting
gospel that's to be preached to every tribe, kindred, tongue
and nation going in all the world, he says God commands all men
everywhere to repent. Now why? Look at verse 31. Because
he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised
him from the dead. Now that's the issue. How righteous do you have to
be? As righteous as this man whom God hath ordained. and given
assurance unto all men, and that he had raised him from the dead."
That's how righteous you and I have to be, as righteous as
Christ. How is that possible? Turn to
Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2. Speaking of
God as judge, and here it is, verse 11. How in the world can a sinner
like me be as righteous as the Son of God incarnate? Well, first
of all, I've got to understand this. Verse 11, there's no respect
of persons with God. So who you are and what you've
done has nothing to do with it. You say, well, now, I'm a member
of 13th Street Baptist Church. Now, that may mean something
to somebody else, but it doesn't mean anything to God. Is that
an insult? I don't mean it to be. So what
I'm telling you is that just doesn't matter at judgment. That's
not the issue. Somebody might be impressed with
that here on earth, but God's not impressed. Now, he's impressed
with the gospel that's being preached at 13th Street Baptist
Church. He's impressed with the Christ
that's exalted here. See what I'm saying? Somebody
says, well, my name is Rockefeller. Well, whoop-dee-doo. Yeah, doesn't
mean anything to God. In fact, I'd just assume my name
not be Rockefeller when I go to heaven. But that's not the
issue. God's no respecter of persons.
He says in verse 12, now here it is, for as many as have sinned
without law shall also perish without law. That's the Gentiles.
He says, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged
by the law. That's the Jews. For not the
hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law
shall be justified." That's how it is. You have to be a doer
of the law. Well, that's a problem with us
because we're sinners and we can't be doers of the law. We
start off this whole mess behind, don't we? Born spiritually dead
in Adam, totally depraved under the sentence of condemnation
in Adam. He says, For when the Gentiles which have not the law
do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not
the law are a law unto themselves which show the work of the law
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,
their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one
another. Just because the Gentiles didn't have the Ten Commandments
don't think that they are excusable because they have the law of
conscience. And that's enough for God to hold them responsible.
But here, look at verse 16. Now, go back. Let me read verse
12, and then we come down and read verse 16. He says, For as
many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law,
and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the
law, verse 16, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Now, what's he
saying there? He's simply saying this, my friend,
the everlasting gospel, which is to be preached to every creature,
is the revelation of Christ and Him crucified. And that's the
only way a sinner can be made righteous before a holy God.
Christ bearing our sins away at the cross and justifying us
by His righteousness imbued. That's it. And if you don't have
that righteousness when you appear at judgment, Christ and Him crucified,
the Lord Jesus Christ, what's going to happen? You'll perish.
If you don't have Christ, you'll perish. That's what he's saying.
That's the issue. What does that mean to us who
have fled to Christ? It means this, folks. We've already
been judged. We've already been judged. When? 2,000 years ago on the cross
of Calvary when He bore our sins away and justified us and gave
us His righteousness. We have nothing to fear in Him,
in Him, the everlasting. Now what a responsibility we
have to tell others of this message of grace.