Let me begin my message this
morning with three clear statements. God help you
to hear them. Soon, very soon, we must meet
God in judgment. You know it and I know it. Very soon, we will stand before
the holy Lord God in judgment. We're going to spend eternity
somewhere. You know that and I know that.
Now something I have to prove to you. You cannot disprove it
to yourself. You know we're going to spend
eternity somewhere. Either in the everlasting torments
of the damned in hell. or the everlasting bliss of God's
saints in heaven. Either with the wicked under
the infinite wrath of the Almighty, or with the saved in the indescribable
blessedness of God's goodness. But we will spend eternity somewhere. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ. that every one may receive the
things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether
it be good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men. When Christ ascends his judgment
throne and bids all worlds draw near, men's hearts shall melt
with sighs and groans and trembling souls shall fear. Then as the
solemn open books disclose the dreadful day, Jehovah's frowns
and angry looks will wicked souls dismay. Omniscience will with
truth expose their secret thoughts to view. Their crimes God's justice
will expose and conscience own them true. God's wrath shall
seize the guilty souls of unconverted men, while all God's books, the
judgment scrolls, accuse, convince, condemn. But there in Jesus'
gracious hand, the book of life is placed. The names of his elect
there stand, nor can they be erased. As he unfolds the sacred
seals with God's decrees all done, with one decisive word
he will welcome his ransomed home. We will spend eternity somewhere,
either in heaven or in hell. Here's the second statement.
If you're saved, if you go to heaven, If the Lord God receives
you into his kingdom, if you enter into everlasting bliss
in heaven's glory with Christ Jesus, it will be by the work
and by the grace of God alone and all together. Salvation is
of the Lord. By grace, we are saved. We're saved by the eternal purpose
and decree and will of God the Father. We're saved by the righteousness,
the redemption, and the intercession of God the Son. We're saved by
the regeneration, the calling, and the preservation of God the
Holy Spirit. By grace are you saved through
faith. That not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are God's workmanship. God's masterpieces created in
Christ Jesus unto good works. All right, here's the third statement. If you're saved, that's God's
doing. But if you perish, And some of you sitting here,
if right now you draw your last breath, you'll perish forever
under the wrath of God. Hell will be your portion forever. Oh, what a horrid thought. But
if that happens to you, it'll be your fault. Your fault alone. No one to blame but you. No excuse. It'll be your fault, altogether,
your doing. The wages of sin is death. That's what you earn. The gift
of God's eternal life, that's God's gift. But the wages of
sin is death. Now, turn with me, if you will,
to John chapter 12. My text is verses 35 through
43. Here's my subject. Responsibility, reprobation, ruin. Those three things are set before
us in this passage. Responsibility, reprobation,
ruin. And I'm going to talk as plainly
as God will enable me and as forcefully as God will permit. And I trust he'll make his word
effectual to you. I want you to know and see clearly
from the scriptures, particularly from this passage of scripture,
that it is your responsibility, your responsibility to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to show you from this
scripture as well that if you refuse to trust the Son of God,
your willful, obstinate unbelief will be the just cause of your
everlasting damnation. And it will be so manifestly
just that you perish under the wrath of God that you will spend
eternity acknowledging to the torment of your soul that God
is right to send you to hell. Responsibility, reprobation,
ruin. John 12, 35. Then Jesus said
unto them, yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while
you have the light, lest the darkness come upon you. For he
that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye
have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be children
of the light. These things spake Jesus, and
departed, and did hide himself from them. But though he had
done many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.
That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which
he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed? Therefore they could not believe
because that Isaiah said again He hath blinded their eyes and
hardened their heart That they should not see with their eyes
nor understand with their heart and be converted and I should
heal them These things said Isaiah when he saw his glory and spake
of him nevertheless among the chief rulers also Many believed
on him, but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest
they should be put out of the synagogue. And this is the reason,
for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. First, in verses 35 and 36, our
Savior shows us that it is our responsibility. I stress that word. I want you
to hear it and understand it. Our responsibility to believe
on his name. It is the responsibility of everyone
who hears the gospel to trust Christ as his only God, his only
Lord, and his only savior. I take a backseat to no one.
when it comes to declaring the gospel of God's free and sovereign
grace in Christ. Divine sovereignty, total depravity,
unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace,
the preservation of God's saints in this house of worship are
like salt and pepper. They're always on the table.
They're served up with every meal. I recall many years ago,
When I first met Brother D.J. Ward, he was pastoring down in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee then, he said, how often do you preach
the five points? I said, every time I preach.
And he looked kind of shocked. I said, every time I preach?
I don't ever talk about anything from the pulpit without talking
about God's free sovereign grace in Christ. This is a staple diet
here. We're not bashful about proclaiming
it. This is not something that I talk to the men back here in
the office about in secret, but don't tell in public. This is
something I preach here three times a week and everywhere I
go. Everywhere I go. First thing
out of my mouth is the message of God's free grace. And that's
the constant thing out of my mouth. I make no apology to anyone
for preaching God's free grace as it is set forth in this book.
The sooner Arminianism will worship and all forms of it are denounced,
I, the sooner it is, the better it is. The more frequent, the
better. The more boldly, the better.
Arminianism will worship. I don't care what name it wears.
I don't care what form it takes. I don't care how it's pronounced.
It's damning to anyone who believes it. I make that statement plainly
as I possibly can. Yet many many attempt to guard
the doctrine of God's sovereignty and to do so by completely denying
man's responsibility. Some time back, I was asked to
read a book that was written for reviewing purposes. Man made
this statement. If we preach that a sinner is
responsible to repent, we must declare that he is able to repent.
If we teach that sinners are responsible to believe on Christ,
we must also teach that they are able to believe on Christ.
Now that's logic in absurdity. It's logic totally contrary to
this book. Are all men responsible to obey
God's law? Nobody denies that. Is any man
able? No man is. Are all men responsible
to be holy before God and men? Nobody can deny this book teaches
that. Is any man able to be holy before
God or men? No man is able. Responsibility
does not in any way imply ability. Our responsibility is determined
by the revelation of God in His Word. That which God requires
of us, we are responsible for. Many deduce, in what they think
is very reasonable, logical manner, that responsibility implies ability. But the problem is, this reasoning
attempts to take the Word of God and push it into a mold of
a theological system. And we dare not do so. We dare
not do so. We must never try to make the
Word of God fit our way of thinking. We must never try to fit the
Word of God into any system of theology or religion, no matter
who wrote it, or who devised it, or who believes it, including
me. Including me. We must build our
doctrine on the plain statements of Holy Scripture. What does
that mean? That means if the Bible doesn't
state it, you don't have any right to believe it. That means
as far as religious things, spiritual things are concerned, if the
Bible doesn't state it, you don't have any right to do it. That
means if the Bible doesn't state it, you don't have any right
to enforce it on anyone, on anyone. Church these days makes all kinds
of rules and regulations. Bad enough folks try to put you
under Moses' law, but they want to put you under Moses' law and
then develop their own laws. Tell you what kind of clothes
to wear, where to buy your groceries or not buy your groceries, where
to eat, not to eat, what to eat, what to drink, what not to eat,
what not to drink, whether or not to wear makeup for the ladies.
These days, I guess, makeup for men, too. I don't know. But they
make all kinds of rules, all kinds of regulations. You've
got no right. not unless this book states it.
We dare not impose anything upon anyone spiritually, religiously,
theologically that's not stated in this book. If we have to throw
away every doctrinal creed, every confession of faith, every catechism
that's been written by men to be faithful to this book, I say
throw them away. And the fact is, if you're faithful
to this book, you've got to throw them away. You can't have both. There's never been one written
by any man that's in perfect consistency with this book. That
means if I accept the confession, I've got to deny the book. If
I accept the book, I've got to deny the confession. Doesn't
matter who wrote it. Doesn't matter who it was. Well,
that's not going to sit well with folks. I didn't intend for
it to. I intend to tell you what God teaches in this book. This
is the reason why in this place we don't require members to sign
a creed or agree to a covenant or a confession of faith. Our
creed, our confession, our covenant is what God says. To the law
and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word,
it's because there's no light in them. Now here are two facts
that simply cannot be denied. God Almighty is absolutely sovereign
in everything. Sovereign particularly in the
salvation of his people. The book says he has mercy on
whom he will have mercy. Is that what the book said, Mark? The book says he has compassion
on whom he will have compassion. The book says he's gracious to
whom he will be gracious. Well, I don't like that. Take
it up with God. Don't get mad at me. And the
book says, Whom he will, he hearteneth. The book says that, doesn't it?
You read it for yourself in Romans chapter 9. So this is the conclusion
of all that. Salvation is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Your running and your willing doesn't have anything to do with
God saving. God saves whom he will. Second,
all men are responsible unto God to walk in the light he gives
them. The Lord God has fixed it so
that those who perish in their sins, those who die in rebellion
and unbelief are all together without excuse. Nobody goes to
hell by accident. Nobody. Unbelief is not a passive
thing. Nowhere in this book is it set
forth as such. By unbelief you make God a liar. By unbelief
you say God's not fit to be trusted. Unbelief is a deliberate willful
choice on the part of men. If you go to hell, you'll have
to scratch and claw your way there, fighting your conscience,
fighting to your last breath against the light God's given
you, fighting everything this book has taught you. Men and
women don't go to hell because they're ignorant. Read the first
chapter of Romans. Nobody goes to hell because he's
ignorant. People go to hell because they're rebels. They go to hell
because they're rebels. The wages of sin is death. Our Lord says here in our text,
yet a little while, the light is with you. Christ is the light. The gospel of God's grace is
the light. The revelation of his person
and work is the light. But that light, he declared,
would be taken away from you. What a word. What a word. Certainly, he is speaking of
his own departure, his own death, resurrection, and ascension out
of this world bodily into the glory of heaven. Clearly, he's
talking about that. But that's not all he's talking
about. These words of our Lord have meaning for us as well.
He's telling us that the light he gives us in this world is
light that's given only for a specific space of time. He's given us
the light of His grace and glory revealed in the gospel, but the
light won't always shine before us. Yet a little while is the
light with you. Walk in the light while you have
the light, he says. Walk while you have the light.
That is, believe in the light while you have the light. That's
what it states in verse 36. To walk in the light is to believe
the light. This is to you the day of grace and salvation. Behold,
now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. The darkness of old age and sedility
and gospel hardness, and false religion, and false refuges,
leave people stumbling about in darkness and confusion. Moral sinners either got to walk
in the light while the light shines, or when God sends darkness,
there's no light. There's no light. Oh, what a privilege it is to
have the light of the gospel, to have a place to gather with
God's saints and hear the gospel, to have the gospel preached to
us. But don't presume it'll always
be that way. Don't presume it'll always be
that way. God has taken the light from
many, never to return it. Many. God has taken the light
for many only to leave them in darkness because they despised
the light. All right, read verse 36. While you have the light, believe
in the light that you may be children of the light. These
things fake Jesus and departed and did hide himself from them.
Our Lord departed from them and hid himself, leaving them to
their own thoughts and their own ways. Oh, how sad. He that hath ears
to hear, let him hear. The Lord departed and left them. And they didn't have a clue.
They didn't have a clue. When the light leaves, nothing
remains but darkness. This will be the torment of the
damned forever. They love darkness rather than
light. Therefore, they inherit the darkness
of hell. Oh, God, give me grace to walk
in the light, to walk in the light of Christ, his purpose,
his providence, his pardon, his presence, to walk ever in the
light before him. I don't have any doubt that the
galling, tormenting remembrance of lost and misspent opportunities
will be the very essence of hell's torment. I wish everybody here could hear
a sermon I heard as a young man preached by Brother Ralph Barnard,
title of it called The Hounds of Hell. As Barnard illustrated throughout
the sermon, look here, every word of it, now look at this
face, look at this face. If you go to hell, you're gonna
see this face and hear this voice hounding you forever. Hounding you forever. You'll be screaming forever,
my God, somebody shut his mouth. Somebody get him away from me!
Because the torments of hell, in its essence, will be your
screaming, guilty conscience, knowing that you are damned because
you refused to walk in the light. All right? Now let me talk to
you about reprobation. The scriptures clearly teach
both election and reprobation. I know there are a lot of folks
who squirm at this. Reprobation is the act of God
abandoning someone. Reprobation is the state of being
abandoned or cast off to eternal destruction even before destruction
comes. God cast off Israel. They were
reprobates. God cast off the nation. Reprobation
is applied both to God's eternal decree to punish all who die
in unbelief and to God's act of justice in punishing them.
The scriptures speak both of God eternally decreeing the everlasting
ruin of all the damned and of all the damned experiencing God
casting them off in absolute justice. Turn to Proverbs chapter
one. God gives men over to a reprobate
mind. This is God's act of judgment
and casting men off, shutting them up in unbelief because they
hardened their hearts against him. Proverbs chapter 1, verse 24, underscore the first
word, because. This is the reason, Bob. This
is the reason. Because I called and you refused. Because I stretched out my hand,
and no man regarded. But ye have said it not, all
my counsel, and with none of my reproof. I also will laugh
when your calamity cometh. I will mock when your fear cometh.
When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. We're
told in Romans 10, 20, this is exactly what happened to the
nation of Israel. They were cast off and blinded because of their
unbelief. They would not believe. They
would not submit to the righteousness of Christ. Therefore, God fixed
it so they can't. He said blindness, darkness,
confusion, and left them there. Romans or Proverbs 29, verse
1. He that being often reproved,
Often reproved. Some of you have been sitting
here listening to me preach and other men preach. You've heard
from various men I've had in here the very best preaching
there is in this world. You've heard faithful men declare
the word and you've been reproved all your life. And you keep saying to hell with
God, I won't have him. That's what unbelief is, Rod.
is what it is, to hell with God, I won't have it. You stick your
fingers in your ear, you harden your necks out, we're not back! Either being often reproved,
hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without
remedy. Like that, cut off. The scriptures also speak of
reprobation, as an eternal act of God and predestination. I
want you to read three passages with me. Romans chapter 9 first.
Romans chapter 9. It's high time we quit trying
to make the Word of God say what we want it to and bow to exactly
what it says. Romans 9 verse 11. Talking about
the birth of Jacob and Esau even before they were born. For the
children being not yet born, being not yet born. Now, underscore
the next words, neither having done any good or evil, they hadn't
done anything. And this is the reason God did
this this way, that the purpose of God, according to election,
might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto Rebecca, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written,
Jacob, I have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Well, that's not
right. Paul anticipated that. What shall
we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. Who are you to declare that what
God does is not right? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose
have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that
my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath
he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why
doth he yet find fault? Well, if God's purposed everything,
how can he blame anybody for anything? How can he find fault
with anybody? How do you hurt that? You take that from God
on the day of judgment. Try it. Dare you. Take it up with your conscience
right now. You can argue with me all you want to. You can argue
with these people here. Argue with other preachers all you
want to. Why? Why? I wouldn't do that. That'd mean that God
can't judge anybody. Why does he yet find fault? For
who hath resisted his will? Nay, but old man, potsherds of
the earth. Old man, you worm. Nay, but old
man, Who art thou that replies against God, how dare you defy
God? Shall the thing form, say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honor and another to dishonor? What if God, willing to show
his wrath and to make his power known, endure with much long-suffering
the vessels of wrath, look at it now, fitted Fitted by their
own evil deeds to destruction and that he might make known
the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy Look at the
difference which he had a fore prepared unto glory Even on us
whom he hath called not of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles
All right. Look at first Peter first Peter
2 first Peter 2 verse 7 Unto you therefore which believe
he is precious. We sang about it. He is so precious
to me. But unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word. Now watch this. Being
disobedient, whereunto also they were Appointed. Appointed. Jew. Verse what? Verse four.
Fourth verse of the book of Jew. For there are certain men crept
in unawares. Talking about false prophets. Who were before of old ordained
to this condemnation. Ungodly men. Turning the grace
of God, our God, into lasciviousness. and denying the only Lord God
and our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus then speaks both
of eternal reprobation by God's decree and judicial reprobation
by God's justice. Reprobation exactly according
to God's purpose. Reprobation exactly according
to man's deserts. Reprobation is both the decree
of God in eternity and the judicial act of God in time. All right,
look back here in John 12, verse 37. You remember in the book of Exodus,
God hardened Pharaoh's heart. God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
God hardened Pharaoh's heart. 16 times we're told God hardened
Pharaoh's heart. 16 times. I think the spirit
of God intended for us to understand God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
And then we're told three times that Pharaoh hardened his heart.
And in Exodus chapter 8, the last two verses, and the first
two or three verses of chapter 9, you read how that Pharaoh
hardened his heart, and as the result of Pharaoh hardening his
heart, God sent the horrible plagues upon the children of
Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh at last. John 12, verse 37, but
though he had done so many miracles before them, Yet they believed
not on him, that the saying of Isaiah, the prophet, might be
fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report?
Isaiah 53. Who believed our report? Those
to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed. To whom is the arm
of the Lord revealed? Therefore, they could not believe
Because that Isaiah said again, he hath blinded their eyes and
hardened their heart that they should not see with their eyes
nor understand with their heart and be converted and I should
heal them. These things said Isaiah when
he saw his glory and spake of him. Now be sure you get the
order in which these things are stated. The order is not accidental. It's very significant. First,
we're told that those before whom the Lord Jesus had performed
these mighty, mighty miracles. Lazarus was raised from the dead.
These folks saw that. This wasn't something that could
be, well, maybe that didn't really happen. Everybody around knew
it really happened. This was not like some of these
modern day fake healers that trying to get all the money they
can from you. The Lord didn't take a dime. He did this thing. He raised Lazarus from the dead.
He multiplied loaves and fishes to feed thousands, thousands. He called blind men to see and
deaf men to hear and lame men to walk. And he always did it
in such a public way that it could not be gainsaid. They saw
his miracles, yet they would not believe him. Second, the
Spirit of God refers us to Isaiah 53. and tells us that the unbelief
of these people is the fulfillment of divine prophecy. Their unbelief
didn't take God by surprise. Their unbelief didn't nullify
God's purpose. Their unbelief didn't change
anything. Rather, their unbelief was the
fulfillment of God's purpose. And I'm here to tell you, you
who believe not, If you perish in your unbelief, God's not going
to lose anything from you. You're not going to rob God of
anything. You just tried. You just tried. Third, because
they would not believe, we're told that the Lord God fixed
it so that they could not believe. Look at this. Therefore, therefore,
therefore, therefore, therefore, You see that, Larry? The therefore
is therefore. Therefore purpose. Because they
would not believe, therefore they could not believe. Because
Isaiah said again, he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their
hearts. How's that? He said you go preach
to them and preach to them and preach to them and preach to
them and preach to them till everybody except that elect remnant
is blinded and hardened. We are sweet saver of Christ
to them that perish and to them that are saved. To the one a
saver of death and to death, to the other a saver of life
and to life. God blinded their eyes and hardened
their hearts in retribution, just retribution and judgment
for their unbelief. Those Jews, well God predestinated
this. God predestined that the Jews
On the day of Passover, with their wicked hands, crucify the
Lord of glory. It was done by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. You ask those men in hell
now whether or not it's just for God to send them to hell.
They, with their wicked hands, did exactly what they wanted
to do. And God, in judgment, cast them
off. blinded their eyes, hardened
their hearts, stopped up their ears, and at last sent them to
hell because they earned eternal damnation. And then fourth, in
verse 41, John tells us that Isaiah had all this revealed
to him when he saw Christ in his glory, when he saw redemption accomplished
by Christ, when he saw Christ exalted to the throne of heaven,
when he saw forgiveness full and free by the sacrifice of
Christ, when he saw God acting in sovereign mercy, saving whom he would, and when
he saw God acting in strict justice, sending men to hell who would
not believe. How hardened in rebellion the
heart of man must be by nature. How deceitful. How desperately
wicked. These men saw the Lord perform
these miracles. You, you've seen and heard the
wondrous things of God's word. And you harden your hearts. You
harden your conscience screams and you harden your heart. You
try to go to bed and sleep at night and you harden your heart.
And you will not believe. You will not believe. Why? Because
the heart of man is hard as steel and dead. Hard and dead. You won't believe
because you can't believe. And you can't believe because
you won't. And that's what this book teaches. It's exactly what
it teaches. So if the Lord would let me,
I sure would like to believe. If you believe, he don't just
let you, he gave you faith. If you find yourself believing,
it's not because God's somehow changed anything. Oh, no, he's
accomplishing his purpose. Faith is the gift of God. It's
the operation of God. Miracles. or performed in front
of these folks that they didn't believe. One of the excuses for
the pretense of miracles in this day, and it is a pretense. So
I believe these folks are sincere. Maybe, but it's still a pretense.
I guess you can walk across the stage and be a play actor and
really think you take up the part and be sincere, but it's
a pretense. Nobody has the power to perform
such miracles. They don't have the apostolic
gifts. Those things ceased when the apostles ceased. It's fake.
Fake is a $3 bill. But one of the excuses is folks
say, well, if men see miracles, that'll help them to believe.
Did it? No. As a matter of fact, the
only time faith is attributed to the seeing of a miracle, it's
identified as false faith in this book. Don't time it. Don't time it. Men believed because
of the marriage feast, but our Lord didn't trust them. He knew
what was in them. They saw the water turn to wine.
They said they believed, but it was fake. It's fake. The fact
is dead men can't believe until God gives them life. And even
when God gives us life, as we are enabled to believe, it is
Christ in us, working in us, and we live by the faith of the
Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. I've said all
that to say this, all things that come to pass in time, even
rebellion and unbelief, even the everlasting ruin, of reprobate
sinners is according to the unalterable purpose of God Almighty in sovereign
predestination. What if some did not believe,
Paul says, shall their unbelief make the faith the faithfulness
of God without effect? Shall someone's unbelief mean
that God's changed? Someone's unbelief calls God
to be unfaithful to his purpose. Someone's unbelief calls God
to change his mind. Oh, no. Oh, no. Let God be true
and every man a liar. All right. One more thing. One
more thing. In this matter of reprobation,
it is always a matter of justice. Nobody goes to hell because of
Adam's transgression. Nobody. You're not going to hell
because of what happened in the garden. That was the start of
the mess. That's the reason we're in the
mess we're in. But you're not going to hell because of what
Adam did. Never happened. The book says the soul that sinneth,
it shall die. You go to hell and suffer the
wrath of God because you deliberately refuse to bow to the revelation
of God in Jesus Christ, his son. That's the reason folks suffer
the wrath of God in hell. And you will scream forever.
Amen. to God's judgment forever. Amen. Amen. It's right. My God, I'm here. I'm here in this awful place
because this is what I have earned. God's right. I hate him, but
God's right. God's right. Then in verses 42
and 43, I'll just state it. Scripture speaks about the ruin
of man. There were many, here the Lord said, by His Spirit,
among the Pharisees, the chief rulers, who believed on Him. They saw the miracles. They believed. They were convinced this is the
Christ. This is the Messiah. This is the Son of God. They
were convinced of all the facts. All the facts. They had a very
factual faith, but they had no faith in Christ. They didn't
commit themselves to Christ. They didn't confess Christ. They didn't identify with Christ
and his gospel. They didn't identify with Christ
and his people, because they feared being put out of the synagogue. And here's the reason for their
unbelief. Unbelief in the teeth of everything
they knew. Larry Crisp, anybody sitting
in this house this morning, goes to hell. Anybody, they're going
to hell in the teeth of everything they know. Oh, what a shock. What a shock for one reason. One reason. There ain't but one
reason why you refuse to believe. Because they love the praise
of men, more than the praise of God. You'd rather have your
buddies who are going to hell with you smile at you and say,
my, ain't Joe a fine fella, than have God accept you in Christ.
You'd rather be united with the wicked in rebellion, spitting
in God's face, than have God accept you. You'd rather You'd
rather have the approval of a mob of drunks, and thieves, and whoremongers,
and rapists, and murderers, than have the approval of God Almighty. Now you tell me, if you go to
hell, you don't deserve it. Oh no, oh no. Yet, God Almighty
delights in mercy. And He'll take any sinner, any
sinner, including you, including me, who comes to Him trusting
His Son. I bid you then believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Amen.