Knowing everything you know about
the human race and human history, if you were to honestly use one
word to describe the whole of humanity from beginning to right
now, what would it be? I'll tell you how the wisest
man who ever lived described it. Vanity. Just vanity. I think I'm beginning at last
to understand a little bit about what Solomon wrote in the book
of Ecclesiastes. The writings of Ecclesiastes
are not as Many have said the expressions
of a frustrated old man as he saw things and just frustration,
but rather they are the declarations of a wise, inspired man as he
described things as they really are. You see, the history of
mankind is a history that should be written in and read with tears. The slime of the serpent runs
through every page of human history. Ours is a history. I'm not talking
about ours in general. I'm talking about ours particularly
and ours collectively. The history of the entire human
race is a history of rebellion, sin, and apostasy. That's what it's all about, what
it's all about. Sin ruined man, and ruined man
ruins everything he touches, everything. Put him in the position
of highest dignity, he'll degrade himself every time. Endow him
with the greatest possible privileges, he'll abuse them every time.
shower blessings upon him without limit, and he'll show ingratitude,
base ingratitude, every time. Well, it gets done. He may at
first show otherwise. He'll show base ingratitude,
put him in the most impressive environment possible, and he'll
corrupt it every time. No exceptions. No exceptions.
I dare you to find me one anywhere. No exceptions. Honesty compels
anyone who reads the history of our race to acknowledge that
things I've just stated are so. Ainful, as shameful as it is,
that's just fact. Everything touched by these foul,
leprous hands is defiled. Everything. The nature of man
in its fairest forms, in its most impressive forms, And it's
time to go to beat and close. The nature of man is under utter,
utter, utter condemnation, cursed and is corrupt. Corruption and
sin is what we are, nothing else. That's the way it's been ever
since the fall of our father Adam. Ours is a history of failure,
constantly repeated failure. Rebellion, constantly repeated
rebellion. Apostasy, constantly repeated
apostasy. Let me remind you of a few facts
and you'll see what I'm saying. The Lord God put our father Adam
in the Garden of Eden. Everything was perfect until
Adam ruined it by revolting from God. When God had saved Noah,
from his horrible wrath, this man who was the object of his
electing love and sovereign mercy. Get in chapter nine, Noah's found
in a drunken stupor. Israel was brought by God's outstretched
arm out of Egypt, fed with manna from heaven as they went through
the wilderness, clothed with such clothes that their clothes
for 40 years never got moldy, never got any holes in them,
And they wore the same pair of shoes. And they lusted for the leaks
of darkness. God brought them into the land
of Canaan that he had promised to Abraham their father. And
no sooner had he brought them into that land and established
them in it, than the book of God says they forsook the Lord
and served Baal and Ashtaroth. Solomon, the wisest of our fallen
race, was placed at the very summit of earthly power and glory. Untold, incalculable wealth was
placed at his feet. God gave him everything. God
gave him everything. All the resources of the world
were at his command. All of them. I mean, this man
was given position and power and wealth an influence like
no man, no king in the world had ever had. And when he was
old, his heart was turned to serve other gods. The early church No sooner had
the Spirit of God been poured out on the day of Pentecost,
no sooner had the gospel began to spread through the four corners
of the earth, no sooner had God taken the light of truth into
the Gentile world that had been groping in darkness for thousands
of years, until there was warning that had to go out, that we should
guard against grievous wolves of freewill works religion. against
the apostasy of the professed church from the gospel of God's
grace and glory in Christ, and the corrupting of his word and
his worship, all done in the name of righteousness, all done
in the name of godliness, all done in the name of serving God. According to the revelation given
to John, the history of our race will be concluded in exactly
the same manner with shame and debauchery as when we first set
out in rebellion against God. Satan will be loosed from his
prison for a little season and he will wreak havoc in the world. You see, man is a fallen creature. Not only is it true that we fell
in the garden, but man is a fallen creature who continues to fall,
an apostate creature who continues to apostatize from God, a rebel
who continues to rebel, and it will never cease until he winds
up in hell unless God steps in. only thing on this earth going
to stop you from your fall. Only thing on this earth going
to stop you from your apostasy. Only thing on this earth going
to stop you from your rebellion. Only thing on this earth going
to keep you from falling headlong into hell. Even if you've got
the name of Jesus on your lips, the only thing going to keep
you from falling headlong into hell is that God Almighty stops
you by his omnipotence. I can't stop you. Mom and Daddy can't stop you. This church can't stop you. Religion
can't stop you. But God can. God can. Now, those reminders will prepare
us a little for what we see at the opening of Leviticus chapter
10. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of
Aaron, took either of them his censer,
and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered
strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.
And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them,
and they died before the Then Moses said to Aaron, This is
that the Lord spoke, saying, I will be sanctifying them that
come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron shut his mouth. Aaron held his What a contrast
to the scene at the close of chapter 9. There, everything
was done according as the Lord commanded. And the result was
God's manifest glory. Fire coming out from the presence
of the Lord to consume the sacrifice representing our Lord Jesus Christ
and his great sacrifice for sin. Here, something is done. Something is done which the Lord
commanded not. Something is done which God forbade
in his house, and the result is judgment that nobody can deny. The echo of the shout of victory
had hardly died away before the elements of apostasy and false
worship were prepared. No sooner were the sons of Aaron
consecrated as priests unto God than they deliberately, by willful
choice, abandoned the worship of God and the service of the
Almighty. No sooner were those priests
inaugurated than they grievously failed in the discharge of their
responsibilities. Nadab and Abihu offered strange
fire before the Lord and perished. in the house of God. Now before I proceed further,
there is a lesson just obvious there. It's a lesson that needs to be
stated and stated again in this generation. We live in this age
of Pentecostal nonsense. There was a day when Earl Roberts
and his kind, the whole world looked at him and just kind of
poo-pooed and laughed. What idiot would follow them?
And now the idiots are following them. The whole world is going
after them. We live in this age of charismatic
Pentecostal nonsense, when every Yehu under the sun gets up and
talks about you becoming like God, and talks about performing
miracles, and having wonders, and all those things. And they
say that these things are done not for a show, but to get men
to believe God. Will you hear me? Hear what this
book teaches. Miracles will never produce faith. They didn't back here. They didn't
during our Lord's earthly ministry. Even when true miracles are performed,
they don't produce faith. Miracles display things concerning
God. Miracles verify the claims of
Christ as Messiah. That's the reason they were given.
Miracles evidence that the apostles of Christ, who alone, who alone,
were given power to write the words of God with inspiration. That is, they, as they wrote
the scriptures, were divine messengers and the miracles they performed,
with whom the miracles ceased. Those miracles verified these
men were messengers of God. Those miracles, however, would
not produce faith. They cannot convince of sin,
of righteousness and judgment. Miracles get men and women excited,
get them pumped up, get them scared, but they don't produce
faith. Nadab and Abihu were present in the house of God, worshiping
God with Moses and Aaron. And they saw a miracle like nobody
has ever seen. They saw fire which was not prepared
come out from God and consume a sacrifice, verifying this is
what Christ shall do. He will satisfy the wrath and
judgment of God. And they that are by you perish
still. Now, I want to call your attention
this morning to three things in these three verses. Hold your
Bibles open here and follow closely. First I want to show you their
sin, then their judgment, and then their lesson. First their sin. It's described
in the first verse. What was it? What was the failure of these
two men? What was their crime? Were they fake priests? Were
they mere pretenders? Not at all. Nadab and Abihu were
the genuine sons of Aaron. They were true members of the
priestly family. They were duly appointed according
to God's oracle. Their vessels of ministry and
their priestly garments were exactly such as God required. So much for orthodoxy without
faith. What then was their sin? Did
they take human blood and stain the courts of the Lord's house?
Did they slaughter a hog and offer it on God's altar? No,
sir. Did they do something that was morally reprehensible? Were they like Eli's sons who
committed adultery with the children of Israel? Oh, no, no, no, not
at all. Well, what was their sin? Did
they do something that just, oh, this is just shocking. What
a shocking thing. What a shocking thing. How could
any man do that? Oh, no, no, no. This is their
sin. It's declared in the simplest
terms possible. They offered strange fire before
the Lord, which he commanded them not, which he forbade them. Nadab and Abihu offered the fire
of their own making before God. They offered that which God had
expressly forbidden, like the sacrifice of Cain. like the prayer
of the Pharisee. Their worship was nothing but
will worship. Their nothing was nothing but
an act of contempt for God. I lay that charge at the doorstep
of every church in the world of whatever name wherein the
gospel of God's free grace is despised. Their worship is like
the worship of kings. The prayer of the Pharisee. It
is nothing but will-worship. It is nothing but an act of contempt
for God Almighty. Oh, preacher, you can't say that.
I wish I could stand on the rooftop of the world and everybody in
the world hear what I just said. Nothing but contempt. But don't
you respect other men's religion? No, sir. I respect other men. I despise their religion. But
don't you think we ought to At least, you know, they're doing
some good. Oh, no, they're not. Oh, no,
they're not. No, they're not. I have more
respect for Hugh Hefner and Larry Flint. And you can't imagine
how little I have for them. It's just contempt for God. Just
contempt for God. You see, we'll worship these acts of self-conceit by
which men come before God in a show of humility, which is
really nothing but a strut of pride, is the trampling under
their feet of the blood of Jesus Christ, God's darling son. In offering the fire of their
own making, Nadab and Abihu displayed an utter abhorrence for God's
gift. Read Leviticus 16, the fire that
was on God's altar, was the fire that God had given. It was the
fire God had provided. It was the fire that displayed
God's acceptance of his sacrifice. That fire and the sacrifice was
a representation, a type, and a picture of Jesus Christ, God's
darling son, and the sacrifice he made for sin and God's acceptance
of it. and to offer some other fire. Oh, they didn't go over and put
the fire out that was on the Lord's altar. They didn't go
over and kick that fire off. No, no, no, no. They just brought
their own fire with it. And by doing so, they said that
sacrifice is useless. We'll come to God with ours.
And thus trampled underfoot the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, the gift of God. You see, God required the fire
that he provided. Nadab and Abihu thought their
own fire was good enough. God requires Christ. Only Christ. His blood. His righteousness. But they despised Christ and
they said, who needs a substitute? Who needs a toad? Who needs redemption? Who needs the righteousness of
another? Who needs somebody else to bring them to God? Look here,
we're good men. Look here, we know what kind
of men we are. Just ask anybody, they'll tell
you we're good men who come to God, and he'll accept us. Like the Jews of Paul's day,
and like all men of every age, except those in whom grace reigns
through righteousness. Nadab and Abihu followed their
own righteousness. They followed after righteousness.
They pursued righteousness. They wanted to find acceptance
with God. But they did so trying to establish
righteousness of their own. And so they never obtained it.
Hold your hands here in Leviticus 10 and turn to Romans chapter
9. Romans chapter 9. Watch carefully what the Spirit
of God tells you. Men say, well, preacher, we ought
to teach men and women to do good. We ought to teach men and
women to perform good works. We ought to teach men and women
to seek to live in righteousness. Yes, we ought to teach men and
women to do good morally, to seek to live in moral righteousness. It's a whole lot better to live
in a world of folks who have some sense of moral principle
than to live in this debauchery age in which moral principle
has been thrown out in the name of human reason and human compassion
and human understanding and independence. But to teach men and women to
imply in any way that you can, by what you do, make yourself
acceptable with God is to teach men and women that they are their
own saviors and thus their souls are damned. Is that what the
Romans 9 teaches? Look here, Romans 9 31. But Israel,
which followed after the law of righteousness, they followed
it, they pursued it, they lived by it, has not obtained the law
of righteousness. Why? Wherefore? Because they
sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.
For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. They stumbled at Christ.
As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and
a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed. But folks who don't believe,
he's a stumbling stone and rock of offense. Look at verse 3 of
chapter 10. for they being ignorant of God's
righteousness. Now here's the problem. The Jews
were totally ignorant of God's righteousness. They were ignorant
of God's righteous character. Oh, they had it in their theology
books. They had it on their list. But they had no idea what God's
righteousness is and what it requires. More than that, They
were ignorant of God's righteousness in a substitute. They did not
understand the righteousness of the law and the righteousness
God requires of men is not a good stab at being good. It is perfect,
meritorious righteousness of infinite worth in a divine substitute. They, being ignorant of God's
righteousness, going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves to Jesus Christ. That's exactly
what Paul's saying. They've not submitted themselves
to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end, the object,
the purpose, the fulfillment, and the termination of the law
to everyone that believes. He's the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believes. Now back here in Leviticus 10. You see, Nadab and Abihu went
into the great harlot Babylon. Babylon throughout the scriptures,
throughout the scriptures, is used as a symbol for false religion. Doesn't matter what kind it's
called. Babylon represents all freewill works religion of whatever
brand you choose. Nadab and Abihu went into the
great whore Babylon, presuming that they could come to God and
worship God as they pleased. Proverbs 7 describes this whore. And the Lord God says, hearken
unto me now, therefore, O ye children, attend to the words
of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to
her ways. Go not astray after her paths,
for she has cast down many wounded. Yea, many strong men have been
slain by her. Her house is the way to hell."
I didn't say that, I just read it. Her house, that one over yonder,
that down there, that one down there, is the way to hell. It's
the way to hell. You want to take your children
to hell, take them. That's where you go. You want to lead them
to hell? Take them down to their house.
Her house is the way to hell. Going down to the chambers of
death. The wise man said, stolen waters
are sweet. Bread eaten in secret is pleasant. I'll steal water for my soul
with my good works. And I'll eat the bread of my
goodness with great pleasure. But he knows not that the dead
are there. And her guests, every one of
them, are in the depths of hell. Every one of them. I won't attempt to tell other
folks how to lead their lives. You folks who know me well know
I don't have answers for you, but I'll tell you this. I'll
tell you this. As you care for your souls, as
you care for the souls of those under your influence, as you
care for the souls of any around you, have absolutely nothing
to do with the ways of Babylon. Don't go. Oh, but my granddaughter's
in a skier. I ain't going. Oh, but my son,
they're having their Christmas play. I ain't going. But my boy's
being Christian today. I ain't going. But my grandson,
he's going to be baptized over yonder. I know they don't believe
anything, but I ought to show some respect. I ain't going.
I ain't going. But the family will be mad. I've
got a sister who hasn't spoken to me in years, except when she
had to, because I refused to go while her babies went to get
sloshed in some water at a Baptist church, and they called it baptism.
But I still ain't going. I ain't going. How come? Because
I'm not going to imply in any way that Babylon's way is God's
way. I am not! God helping me, I am
not! going to contribute to the damnation
of your soul or anybody else's. Ain't going to do it. All right? Now, secondly, look at their
judgment. And there went out fire from
the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Oh,
how The Lord God dwelt in the midst of his people to govern,
to judge, to act according to the claims of his nature, in
mercy, in truth, in grace, in righteousness, in love, and in
justice. At the end of Leviticus 9, we're
told there came out a fire from the Lord and consumed upon the
altar the burnt offering with the fat. That was God's acceptance
of the true sacrifice, the Lord Jesus. But here, that very same
fire That very same fire is his wrath and judgment upon two self-righteous
priests who despised Christ's sacrifice. The burnt offering
went up as a sweet odor. Their strange fire was rejected
as an abomination. God was glorified in the burnt
offering. He was despised in their strange
fire. You see, holiness and justice,
righteousness and truth, accept and delight in Jesus Christ the
Lord. God accepts and delights in the
sacrifice of his darling son. God accepts and delights in all
who come to him by the merits of Christ. But that same holiness
and justice, that same righteousness and truth, looks upon all strange
fire as abominable. hideous and reprehensible and
will be rejected of God. Nadab and Abihu perished at the
hand of him whom they professed to serve. They were killed and
sent to hell by the very thing they despised. And so it shall
be with all men. Turn to Luke 20. I want you to
look at this text. Luke 20. Verse 17. The Lord Jesus is speaking. You remember we talked about
a stumbling stone back in Romans 9. Here in Luke 20, verse 17,
He beheld them and said, What is this then that is written?
The stone. There ain't but one foundation
stone. Just one. You can't build on any other.
Build anywhere else, it's just sand. There's just one stone.
One foundation. which the builders rejected.
They said, we won't have it. That's all right. It doesn't
change anything. He's still a foundation stone. God's made him the headstone. He's made him the head of the
corner. Now verse 18, I'm calling on you now to fall on this stone.
Fall flat down on this rock. But that'll hurt. You ever fell
on a rock? It sure will. It'll hurt. It'll break you.
It'll break you. If you fall on this rock, it'll
break you. But if you don't, this rock's going to fall on
you. Okay. Whosoever shall fall upon that
stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it
will grind him to powder. Nadab and Abihu died in church,
right where you're sitting, before the Lord. John tells us in Revelation
14, blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Those who die
in the Lord, it doesn't matter where they die. Those who die
in the Lord, in faith, in Christ, in grace, in righteousness, in
redemption, blessed are they forever. Oh, but cursed are those
who die before the Lord without grace, without Christ, without
faith, without redemption, without righteousness. And they were
carried out from the presence of God, carried out of the camp
of Israel, cast into darkness. They were made to eat the food
of their own way and filled with their own devices. You see, if you're taking notes,
write this down. If you're not, write it down
anyhow. I want you to hear it and remember it. God will always deal with you
on the ground you choose. That's exactly right. He'll always deal with you on
the ground you choose. Well, preacher, I thought you
said salvation is by God. Of course it is. God will always
deal with you on the ground you choose. You choose the ground
of your own righteousness, your own merit, your own worth. God
says you'll eat the fruit of your own ways and you'll be filled
with your own devices. Proverbs chapter one. He that being often reproved
and hardened at his neck shall be suddenly destroyed and that
without remedy. That's what God said. But I don't have any righteousness. God's made me to see there's
no goodness in me. And I can't produce any. I fall flat down on the rock,
Christ Jesus. God says, I'll receive you. That's it. God will always deal
with you on the ground you choose. Nadab and Abihu were carried
out from the presence of the Lord in their priestly coats. You see, their garments couldn't
protect them from the fire of God's wrath any more than your
religious profession, your refuge of lies will protect you from
the wrath of God. Solomon said this, I saw all
the wicked buried who had come and gone from the place of the
holy and they were forgotten in the city where they had done
for they had so done, this also is vanity. I'll write one more
thing. Look at verse three. The lesson God the Holy Spirit
teaches us here is written in bold, blazing letters. If we would be accepted of God,
if we would come to God, if we would live forever and not die,
we must come to God. through the merits of Christ's
blood and righteousness alone. We must come to him in a way
that sanctifies and glorifies him in all his attributes. Then
Moses said to Aaron, this is that the Lord spoke. This is
what God told me. This is what God said when he
gave his law. This is what God said when he
instituted worship. This is what God has been telling
us, Aaron. I will be sanctified. and them that come near me, and
before all the people, I will be glorified." If any man were permitted to
defile the sanctuary of God's presence with strange fire of
his own works, the very throne of God would be toppled. His
honor would be destroyed. His righteousness defiled. You
see, free will works religion. is nothing less than the attempt
of fallen man to creep up on God's backside, stab him in the
heart, and rape his righteousness. That's all it is. It is man's
attempt to take away from God what he is and impose himself
in the place of God. We cannot be allowed to introduce
our own devices in the worship of God. All such efforts are
strange Man's very best attempts at righteousness,
his very best attempts at atonement by his own works, by his own
hands, by his own will, are an absolute abomination to God.
You see, every sinner saved by free grace knows that free and
full forgiveness of sins through Christ, knows that it comes only
through the precious sin-atoning blood of God's darling Son. And
therefore, he worships God in the spirit. Truthfully, he rejoices
in Christ Jesus and has no confidence in the flesh. Oh, I call you
helpless, needy, weary, guilty sinner. Come to Christ. Come to God by Christ. Take your righteousness, all
of it. Throw it down. Trample on it. kick it around,
kiss it goodbye, strip it off! I turned to God in my naked sin,
helpless, and cast myself on the righteousness of His Son.
He's my only hope. This is what I'm saying. Oh,
magnify the Lord with me. Bow down before His throne, let
us exalt His name together. Oh, taste and see. The Lord's
good. This poor man cried and the Lord
heard me and delivered me out of all my fears. He'll do the
same for you. Blessed be God, the time is rapidly
approaching when the strange fire of free will works religion
will be quenched forever. The throne of God will soon cease
to be insulted by the incense of self-righteousness ascending
from the altar of man's free will. Soon all that is false
and spurious shall be abolished and the whole universe will be
made to be one magnificent temple of worship to God on his throne
through Christ the Lamb. To him every knee shall bow,
and every tongue shall confess, saying, He is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. Grateful incense this ascending! Ever to the Father's throne,
every knee to Jesus bending, and Christ confessed with every
tongue. Oh, the glory God receiving!
Equal honors to the Son! In the sun all glory beaming
makes the Godhead's glory known, by the Spirit's gracious calling.
Sinners ransomed by the Lamb, crammed with life and joy unfailing,
hail, hail, as the great I Am. We worship Him. That's all. How our hearts long for that
day. How we pant for that day. When God our Savior is honored
and worshiped. everywhere by everything when every breath
is breathed for his glory every thought ascribes praise to him
when we bow down before his throne and see the Lamb sitting on the throne And the
whole universe says your word is the half, your word. And when
it comes, man, we will say with Sheba's queen, the half has not
been told. Amen.