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The Warnings of God's Word

by L. R. Shelton, Jr.


These messages were delivered over
THE WORD OF TRUTH RADIO NETWORK


I.

In praying and waiting before God for His message for our hearts, I have been impressed by the Holy Spirit to bring a series of messages on THE WARNINGS OF GOD’S WORD to those who have not closed in with Christ and looked to Him as the object of true saving faith.

The Scriptures are full of these warnings; therefore I know of no better time to set the trumpet of Scripture to my lips and sound forth the clear warning, that if we miss Christ we have missed everything. Why? “For in Him are found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” Col. 2:3. In Him is found all that God holds dear for sinful man and because Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man can come unto the Father and heaven but by Him. (John 14:6)

Listen now! The Scriptures declare that IN CHRIST is found life eternal. IN CHRIST there is pardon for the vilest sinners. IN CHRIST there is sweet peace of conscience, the peace with God, for Christ made peace by the blood of His cross. IN CHRIST there is rest for the weary soul. IN CHRIST is found the way to our heavenly Father, and an open door to the fold of God. IN CHRIST is found a fountain of living water, unsearchable, spiritual riches and a full supply of grace and truth for weak and weary souls.

Only IN CHRIST is there cleansing from all sin. Only IN CHRIST is there to be found perfect righteousness, therefore a perfect standing before God. Only IN CHRIST is there found true light to light our pathway through this dark and dreary wilderness in which we walk. Only IN CHRIST is there to be acquittal at the judgment bar of God. Only those who are IN CHRIST will hear these gracious words, “Come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Mt. 25:34) Only IN CHRIST is there deliverance from the power and penalty of sin. Only IN CHRIST will there be joys forever more, when we shall stand before Him dressed in our new bodies and finally delivered from the very presence of sin.

You see, dear friends, to miss Christ is to miss all the riches of God and to abide under His wrath forever. No wonder the apostle Paul wrote saying, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” (Phil. 3:8-9)

The question I then ask every one of you is, DO YOU KNOW CHRIST JESUS THE LORD? Do you know Him in a true saving way? Do you find in Him your all in all? Is He a living reality to your heart? Do you walk with Him in that living union of life, because He is your Life, your Head, your Husband, your Lord? Do you know Him in that loving union of fellowship and worship, wherein He means more to you than all the world beside? Are you willing to part with all, that you might be found only in Him?

I ask again, DO YOU KNOW CHRIST? Oh, let me probe your heart; for this is the difference between heaven and hell, whether or not I, a poor hell-deserving sinner, have entered by grace through faith into this living salvation which is only in Christ.

Listen to me one more time! Do you have Christ or do you have a profession? Do you have Christ or do you have only the hope of baptism? Do you have Christ or do you have only the hope of church membership? Do you have Christ or do you have only the hope of good works, your prayers, your giving, your doing the best you can? Do you have Christ? Can you say, “I was crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20)

With these thoughts in mind, let us look at I Cor. 13:1-3 as our first Scripture that warns us that no matter what we have, if we do not have CHRIST AND HIS LOVE, we have nothing. Listen to God’s Word! “Though I speck with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not CHRIST AND HIS LOVE, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not CHRIST AND HIS LOVE, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not CHRIST AND HIS LOVE, it profiteth me nothing.”

We see in these Scriptures that we might possess all kinds of gifts; gifts that edify ourselves and others, benefit ourselves and them, but if we have not the greatest gift of them all, CHRIST AND HIS LOVE, then all the gifts that men ever possessed are of no value. You see, dear friends, these professed Corinthian believers made much of gifts, and from a study of the 14th chapter of I Cor. we understand that they had greatly abused them. So the Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul, warned them that though they could not speck with tongues; whether it be in the language of men or of angels, and not have CHRIST AND HIS LOVE, they were empty, hollow, void of saving grace and sounded as brass or a tinkling cymbal.

WHAT A WARNING! Oh, my friend, what a warning—God’s warning, not mine. Hear it! Here were professed believers putting their hopes in their gifts instead of the living God in Christ. Oh how many go astray right here! Their hope is founded upon a gift and not on Christ, the hope of glory. They are resting upon some experience and not on Christ, the sure and stedfast anchor of the soul. My friend, is this your hope? Is this what consumes your life, your conversation, your testimony; that you have been endowed with a gift? Then let God’s Word warn you. You are deceived as to your hope of heaven if you have not CHRIST AND HIS LOVE. Listen to me now! To every believer, it is Christ who is precious to his soul, not some gift. It is Christ who is his life, not some gift. It is Christ who is the subject of his conversation—what He has done for his never-dying soul— and not what gift or gifts he may be endowed with.

Listen to me now! This is God’s warning here, not mine. I am only to proclaim it; to get mad at me because I call your attention to this warning does not change the fact at all, but only reveals that your gift is more precious to you than Christ, and that you have not come to rest only in Him as the foundation of a good hope through grace.

In verse 2 of I Cor. 13 we are warned that there are those who may even possess the gift of prophecy; the gift of understanding all mysteries; the gift of special faith, so that they could even remove mountains, and have all knowledge of the Scriptures, but if they do not possess God’s greatest gift of CHRIST AND HIS LOVE, then they are nothing, have nothing and will miss all in heaven.

Oh what a warning: that a man or a woman or young person can have all of this and still miss Christ. This makes me tremble to know that people can come so close and yet miss heaven.

You ask, “Pastor, what does all this mean? Why are you warning us?” Oh, my friend, it means this: that a person may have the intellectual understanding of all truth; may be able to interpret the Prophets’ Word; may have an understanding of the mysteries of God’s Word, and yet miss Christ, because he has missed Holy Spirit conviction and the laying of Christ as the Chief Corner Stone in his heart and life by faith of the operation of God.

I am more and more convinced as I talk with people, as I attend Bible studies and meet with different groups; that the missing thing today is Holy Spirit conviction.

This is missing: the convicting power of God’s Holy Spirit in opening your heart to its plague of sin and guilt before God. This is missing: the opening of the heart to its rebellion against God and its hatred of God. This is missing: the opening of the heart to let one see the emptiness of one’s life apart from Christ. This is missing: the convicting power of the Holy Spirit in bringing a sinner to repentance toward God, and taking of the blame for your sinful condition, and confessing it and hating it before God. This is missing: the convicting power of the Holy Spirit in bringing you to true saving faith in Christ. This is missing: His showing you that you do not possess saving faith and that He, the Holy Spirit, must work in your heart, because salvation is of the Lord.

I said it before and I repeat it again today: if you miss Holy Spirit CONVICTION, you miss REPENTANCE, and if you miss REPENTANCE, you miss FAITH, and if you miss FAITH, you miss CHRIST, and if you miss CHRIST, you miss HEAVEN, and if you miss HEAVEN, you are bound for HELL and that for eternity, because of your sinful rebellion against God. (Romans 8:7-9)

Oh, dear friend, listen to me further. So much today is made of the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the believer, but where can you hear today anyone proclaiming loud and clear, the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the unbeliever? Pastor, did I hear you correctly? Did you say the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the unbeliever? Yes, that’s what I said, “Where can you hear today anyone proclaiming, loud and clear, the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the unbeliever?” You ask, “What are these gifts for the unbelievers?” I will answer you like this. First, the gift of the AWAKENING POWER of the Holy Spirit. Wherefore the Holy Spirit says, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” (Eph. 5:14) To me this is the greatest gift that God, the Holy Spirit, can give a man, to awaken him from his dead, sleeping state and bring him to Christ, the light of the world.

Second, the gift of the CONVICTING POWER of the Holy Spirit. “And when the Holy Spirit is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin because they believe not on me.” (Jn. 16:8-9) To me this is another great gift that the Holy Spirit gives to us, that is to convict and convince us of sin, the sin of unbelief, that we have not savingly closed in with Jesus Christ.

Third, the gift of REPENTANCE by the Holy Spirit. Listen to Acts 5:31, “It is Christ whom God hath exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” And how is this given to us? By the Holy Spirit working repentance in our hearts. (Acts 11:18) This then is a prized gift, because a real work of repentance is necessary to salvation. For our Lord said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)

Fourth, the gift of FAITH by the Holy Spirit. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8-9) You see, dear friend, since no other grace moves until the grace of faith moves, then what a precious gift this gift of faith is to our souls by the Holy Spirit.

So we see then that unless these four gifts are given to us by the Holy Spirit when we are yet unbelievers, then all other gifts are useless because they only build upon a foundation of sand.

I must close with a few words upon verse 3 of I Cor. 13 where we read, “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not CHRIST AND HIS LOVE, it profiteth me nothing.” Here we find that we can do and have all the outward acts of a Christian, but if we have not CHRIST AND HIS LOVE dwelling in us and we are not motivated by the love of Christ, it all profits us nothing. What a warning we then have in these three verses.

I have cried all week for this message so that I might deliver it in love and a broken heart, to warn all who will hear, of the danger of not having Christ within as our hope of glory. My heart goes out to you in love; for I understand your condition. I was there one day, and it was only by the grace and mercy of God that these gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to me as an unbeliever.

May the Holy Spirit be pleased to work in each and every heart of you who are outside of Christ these four precious gifts of AWAKENING, CONVICTING, REPENTANCE and FAITH; and that Christ may be precious to your heart and life in that living, loving and lasting union with Him.

II.

Last week we began a series of messages on THE WARNINGS OF GOD’S WORD to our hearts. I trust the Holy Spirit will teach us again today as we continue on this subject of the WARNINGS OF GOD’S WORD. Let us lay aside everything and listen to this most important subject.

There are two great basic truths which run through Scriptures, and are seen just about on every page: namely, that GOD IS SOVEREIGN, and that MAN IS A RESPONSIBLE CREATURE And it is only as the balance of truth is preserved between these two that we are delivered from error. The divine sovereignty should not be pressed to the exclusion of human responsibility, nor must human responsibility be so stressed that God’s sovereignty is either ignored or denied.

I believe that the Bible teaches divine sovereignty; the right for God to do as He pleases, what He pleases, how He pleases, and when He pleases because He is God. But to this statement we add that the sovereign God of the Bible only acts in accordance with His holy nature; therefore the Judge of all the earth can only do that which is right and righteous.

Being the sovereign God, He has in His sovereignty made us, His creatures, RESPONSIBLE to Him for all that we do, say or think. We are responsible to love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. As responsible creatures we are to repent and believe; to turn unto God from sin; to walk in the straight and narrow way of holiness; and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling; to pray and seek God’s face; worship Him in Spirit and in truth and to order our lives down here in the fear of the Lord.

On the other hand, we are to understand from Scriptures that God has promised to get us safely home at last: for it is He, Himself, by His Spirit, who works in us to do of His good will and pleasure. He has promised that He would present us faultless at that last day; that being in Him, there is nothing that is able to separate us from our Lord. Also that there is nobody who can pluck a child of God out of the hand of Christ.

Yet when we come to the blessed teaching of God’s Word concerning the eternal security of the believer, we find that there is much misunderstanding concerning this blessed truth today. This truth, like every other truth of Scripture has two sides to it; into it enters both God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. It is the failure to recognize and reckon upon this which has wrought such havoc and created so much confusion; therefore the need of God’s warnings to our hearts.

Listen now! There have been those who boldly insisted that, if God has eternally elected a certain man to be saved, that that man will be saved, no matter what he does or does not do. But this is not what the Word of God teaches. Scripture says in II Thes. 2:13 that God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and BELIEF of the TRUTH, and if a man does not believe the truth he will never be saved. in Luke 13:3 our Lord declares, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” therefore, if a sinner does not repent, he will not be saved.

In the same line of reasoning, there are those who have said, “If a man is a real Christian, no matter how he may live in the future, no matter how far or how long he may backslide, no matter what sins he may commit, he is sure of heaven. But this is not what God’s Word teaches. For a man to get to heaven he must walk in the only pathway that leads there and that is in the pathway of righteousness and true holiness. God did not save us to give us liberty to walk in the indulgencies of the flesh, but the liberty to walk in the pathway of holiness. (Heb. 12:14)

I have met many, so many, people who profess to be Christians, but whose daily lives differ in nothing from thousands of nonprofessors all around them. They rarely, if ever, are found at the prayer meetings; they have no family worship; they seldom read the Scriptures; they will not talk with you about the things of God; they know nothing of the preciousness of Christ; their walk is thoroughly ungodly, and yet they are quite sure they are bound for heaven. If you ask them the basis or ground of their confidence, they will tell you that so many years ago they accepted Christ as their Savior, and once saved, always saved is their comfort.

But I say it firmly and positively, based upon the Word of God, that if this is your life and your basis of heaven, then, my friend, you are on sinking sand. I say it in love, you are lost and need to repent. For God’s Word does not teach that a man can be saved and continue in his sins, his worldliness, and his self-will; for our God gives no such salvation. He saves us from our sins, not in them.

It is to combat this false doctrine which gives false hope of security, that the warning of God’s Word in so many places is directed. It is these warnings that we are looking at in this series of messages.

Let me repeat it again, Pick up your ear and hear it. The Scriptures abound in this gracious truth and teaching of eternal security of the believer; that if indeed we are in Christ, made bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh in that divine union by His Spirit, then we are truly saved and saved for evermore. This I firmly believe and rejoice in; but on the other hand, our living sovereign God has hedged this blessed truth around with the teaching of the perseverance of the saints, that is, that the believer is responsible to daily walk in the pathways of holiness which gives proof to the fact that he is indeed in Christ and indwelled by His Spirit.

To the law and to the testimony then is my plea. Let us listen to God’s Word! In II Tim. 2:19 we read, “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His.” That is eternal security. Yet the last part of that Scripture reads, “And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” That’s Christian perseverance. The proof that I am in Christ is that I am daily departing from sin, not wallowing in it and calling myself a carnal Christian.

In Heb. 3:6 we read, “Christ as a Son over his own house; whose house we are.” That’s a true statement of where God puts us when He saves us and that is in Christ, but to evidence this, we read in the last part of that verse, “If we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” The proof of our being in Christ is a daily holding fast our confidence and assurance in Christ firm unto the end, and also while we are doing this, rejoicing in that hope.

Verse 14 of Heb. 3 puts the wording a little stronger, “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.” Not only are we to start with Christ, but we are to end with Christ. By His grace we are to hold stedfast unto the end for it is written in Matt. 24:13, “He that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

My dear friend, if you think for one moment that I am wrong in urging believers to endure unto the end, then you have not read these verses in Acts. Listen to Acts 11:22-23 where we read, “They sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch, who when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad and EXORTED them all, that with purpose of heart they would CLEAVE unto the Lord.” Again in Acts 13:43 we read, “Paul and Barnabas who, specking to them, persuaded them to CONTINUE in the grace of God.” Once more in Acts 14:21-22 we are told, “And when they had taught many, they returned again to Lystra and Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples EXORTING THEM TO CONTINUE IN THE FAITH, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

In I Cor. 10:12 we are warned by what happened to Israel in the wilderness to “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” Also in Heb. 3:12, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”

Our blessed Lord in His earthly ministry never failed to warn men of the danger of stopping short, of not going on in the life of faith, of not counting the cost of perseverance in the faith. In Luke 9:62 He warns, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” In John 8:31 He says, “If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” Only as we continue in His Word and follow Him can we show that we are indeed indwelled by His Spirit.

Our Lord told His disciples in John 15:10, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.” Also 14 reads, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” He kept appealing to their responsibility. Neither our Lord nor His disciples in their epistles ever treated their listeners as robots or sticks or stones, but as responsible creatures. And so do the Scriptures appeal to us. We are to “Keep ourselves in the love of God.” (Jude 21) We are to “Make our calling and election sure,” (II Pet. 1:10) by seeing that we are “giving all diligence to add to our faith, virtue: and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love.” (I Pet. 1:5-6) We are to “flee fornication;” (I Cor. 6:18) we are to “flee idolatry;” (I Cor. 10:14) we are to “flee youthful lusts;” (II Tim. 2:22) we are to “Keep ourselves unspotted from the world;” (Rom. 13:14) we are to “Mortify the deeds of the body.” (Col. 3:5)

What a responsibility! Yet this is the only way we can prove that we are in Christ. For our Lord said, “By their fruits ye shall know them,” Matt. 7:20.

So what does the true child of God do when he is faced with this array of Scriptures which plead to his responsibility? He continually, day by day, casts himself upon the Lord by faith trusting Him to fight the good fight of faith. He cries unto his Lord and Savior to keep him, to give him promises and to work in him to will and to do according to His good pleasure.

He sees in Christ his only hope and rests in Him; thereby proving every day that he is in Christ by drawing from Him all that he needs for each day. He proves daily, by his continued looking to Christ that he is indeed more than conqueror through Him that loved him.

My friend, are you continuing in the love of God by His Spirit working in you? Do these warnings hedge you in and make you seek daily for Christ to provide all of your need?

My friend, the life of a true believer is far different than the average professing Christian thinks it is. It is a life of faith, daily drawing all from Christ and crying unto Him for His Spirit to work in him.
Is this your life?

III.

The Holy Spirit has laid on my heart a series of messages upon the WARNINGS OF GOD’S WORD, warnings that concern your soul and mine for we read in II Tim. 3:16 that, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

So we understand then that the warnings of God’s Word have been needful since Adam’s fall, because “the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” (Jer. 17:9) God warned Adam in Gen. 2:17 in these words, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” And die he did both spiritually and physically, when he disobeyed God and followed his own will.

God warned the children of Israel in Lev. 26:15-39 that if they kept not His Commandments and despised His Word: that He would punish them seven times for their sins and scatter them among the nations. And we know from the Bible and Jewish history that God can not lie, that He did scatter the Jew and turned every man’s heart against him even to this day.

God warned the people through John the Baptist in Matt. 3:8 that if they did not bring forth fruits suitable for repentance that the Great Judge would come, “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” This warning was not heeded by the religionist of His day, and they put our blessed Lord Jesus to death. But then in A.D. 70 the city of Jerusalem was put to the sword and a million and a half Jews died in judgment.

God warns the Gentiles in Rom. 11:21 that if He spared not the natural branches, the Jews, that we had better take heed lest He also spare us not. He warns us not to be highminded, but to fear, “For behold the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward us, goodness,” and then He qualifies it, “if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” Here He warns us of our responsibility to keep ourselves in the love of God.

Also God warns us in I Cor. 10:12 after giving the terrible picture of apostasy by the Israelites in the wilderness to, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” As we showed you in our message last week, the Scripture specks plainly and positively of the perseverance of the saints, yet it is a perseverance of SAINTS, not unregenerate professors. Therefore, these warnings are given to hedge us about that we might walk in a pathway of righteousness and true holiness. (Eph. 4:24)

You see, dear friends, God’s divine provision in Christ is a most blessed truth and comforting to the true child of God; but we only know this comfort as we walk in the pathway of righteousness and true holiness. It is in that pathway that we are kept by the power of God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we are kept by His Spirit working in us, a spirit of entire dependency upon Christ, renouncing our own wisdom and strength. For we see, the only place from which we cannot fall, is one which is down in the dust at the feet of our blessed Lord, crying unto Him for mercy. It is there that the Lord brings His own people. weaning them from all confidence in the flesh, and giving them to experience that, “When we are weak, then are we strong.” II Cor. 12:10

Therefore these warning messages on apostasy— the turning back to sin, Satan and the world— must be preached. (II Pet. 1:10, 12, 13) I hear someone asking, “Pastor, what is apostasy?” You listen closely and I will show you from God’s Word what it means. We find in I Tim. 1:19 that it is making shipwreck of faith, the abandoning of the life of faith in the person of Christ and not holding it stedfast unto the end. In Heb. 3:12 apostasy is spoken as the heart’s departure from the living God, because of an evil heart of unbelief. Yes, my dear friend, all apostasy from God, whether partial or total, originates in unbelief. Unbelief is a damning sin and causes the heart to depart from the living God.

Again II Peter tells us that apostasy is a returning to and being overcome by the world; after a previous escape from its pollutions through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My dear friend out there in radio land, I would like to read you all of the verses in II Pet. 2 that deals with the matter of apostasy. Oh, what a warning who has made a profession of faith in Christ. Listen! “If after we have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we are again entangled therein, and overcome, the ladder end is worse with us than the beginning. For it had been better for us not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after we have known it, to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered unto us. But it is happened unto us according to the true Proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

I tremble every time I read and meditate upon these Scriptures: to see how close a man or woman or young person can come to the Lord and yet not be savingly joined to Christ.

The apostle is not teaching here the false doctrine of falling from grace; but is warning us that a man can come so close and yet miss it all, because he turns back to: his jealousy, his hatred, his pride, his rebellion, his self-righteousness, his covetousness, his whoremongering, his drunkenness, turns back to the world at last, because he missed Christ. He has been overcome by the world and the last state of that man is worse than the first. (Mt. 12:43-45)

I have preached from this text in II Peter 2:20 two times in my life, and both times after given forth these warnings, I have seen precious souls turn the warnings aside and go back because sin in their lives of which they were not willing to let go. Oh, may I warn you today of what it means to go back to the world, or back to false religion and therefore to hell. (Heb. 10:26-29)

To give more light on this subject of apostasy I would like to show you the various steps which precede it. First, there is a looking back, Luke 9:62, like Lots wife, who though she had outwardly left Sodom, yet her heart was still there. Yes, looking back to the world, its pleasures, its joys, and its riches. Looking back to the former life of sin and longing again for the fleshpots of Egypt or the world. Looking back to old friends and remembering the good old days of the flesh when you had no trouble with the flesh and a guilty conscience; looking back to your former religion and wishing you were back there.

Then second, we find in Heb. 10:38 there is a drawing back. The requirements of Christ are too exacting to any longer appeal to your heart. The straight and narrow way no longer is the way that you find pleasant.

Then this leads to the third thing, according to John 6:66, a turning back. The path off godliness is to narrow to suit the lustings of the flesh, so there is the seeking of an easier way in which to walk.

The fourth, according to Isa. 28:13 is a falling back which is fatal. From this there is no return.

My dear friend, I speck in love to your never-dying soul; these warnings are for everyone who names the name of Christ. There can be no looking back; there can be no drawing back, there can be no turning back; there can be no falling back, or these will be apostasy. Oh let me warn you, cease from sin; cease from crying peace to your soul by saying you are a carnal Christian; cease from your bitterness and unforgiving spirit; cease from harboring hatred and resentment in your heart against anyone. For all of this will lead to a looking back, a drawing back, a turning back and then a falling back from which there is no salvation. For God said in Heb. 10:38 “If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

I want to stop right here and repeat a statement I made in last week’s message, pick up your ears and hear it. The Scriptures abound in the gracious truth and teaching of the eternal security of the believer; that if indeed we are in Christ, made bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh in that divine union by His Spirit; then we are truly saved and saved for ever. This I firmly believe and rejoice in, for Rom. 8:38-39 tells us that nothing is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. But, on the other hand, our living sovereign God has hedged this blessed truth around with the teaching of the perseverance of the saints, that is, that the believer is responsible to daily walk in the path of holiness which gives proof to the fact that he is indeed in Christ and indwelled by His Spirit. And one way He does this, is by giving us these warnings of apostasy so that we may make our calling and election sure and cry unto Him to hold us and keep us by His Spirit.

My dear friend, as we have thus brought God’s Word on apostasy, I must stir up your heart and mind with this last thought today out of Luke 17:37 in the words of warning from our Lord. “Remember Lot’s wife.” What a solemn warning our Lord gives us here. He was thinking of Gen. 19:17 and the words of the two angels who had been sent to take Lot, his wife and his two daughters out of the city of Sodom before judgment fell. Their words to these four were, “Escape for your life: look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain lest thou be consumed.” But verse 26 tells us that while they were fleeing, Lot’s wife “Looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” What a solemn warning to all of us not to look back, but to look straight on to Christ.

It is a solemn warning when we think of the person our Lord is specking of. He does not tell us to remember Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob, or Sarah, or Hannah, or Ruth. No! He singles out one whose soul was lost forever. He cries, “REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE” for she turned back and went to hell.

It is a solemn warning when we consider the subject our Lord was upon. He was specking of His own second coming to judge the world. He was describing the awful state of unreadiness in which many will be found. The last day is on His mind when he says, “Remember Lot’s Wife” for she turned back and went to hell.

It is a solemn warning when we think of the person who gave it, the Lord Jesus who is full of love, mercy and compassion: He who will not break a bruised reed nor quench a smoking flax; He who wept over unbelieving Jerusalem, and prayed for the men that crucified Him. Yet He deemed it full of wisdom to warn us and remind us of the awful judgment that awaits those that look back. He who loves us says, “Remember Lot’s wife” for she turned back and went to hell.

It is a solemn warning, when we think of the persons to whom it was first given. Watch it now! Listen! Pick up your ears and get this! The Lord Jesus was specking to His disciples. He was not addressing the scribes and Pharisees, who hated Him, but Peter, James and John and many others who loved Him. Yet even to them He thought it good to give such a warning. Even to them, and much more to us, He says, “Remember Lot’s wife” for she turned back and went to hell.

It is a solemn warning, when we consider the manner in which it was given. He does not say, “Beware of following; take heed of imitating; do not be like Lot’s wife.” No, He uses a different word; He says, REMEMBER. He specks as if we were all in danger of forgetting the subject. He stirs up our lazy memories. He bids us keep her lost state before our minds. He cries, “Remember Lot’s wife” for she turned back and went to hell.

So I cry across the ether waves today, REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE, for she turned back and lost her never-dying soul. Will you?

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” Heb. 3:12

IV.

It is by the Holy Spirit’s leading that we continue this series of messages on WARNINGS OF GOD’S WORD. With your Bible in hand please read with us from Heb. chapter 2 beginning with verse 1. “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward: how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”

Our subject today in this, the fourth message on the warnings of God’s Word, is THE DANGER OF NEGLECTING CHRIST AND HIS SO GREAT SALVATION. Listen now as we go into this subject. The opening word of this 2nd chapter of Hebrews begins with, therefore, which means for us to go back and look at what was given us in the preceding verses.

Therefore, since Christ has been set before us in chapter one verse 2 as the Son of God who was appointed heir of all things; then we had better give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard concerning His so great salvation.

Therefore, since Christ has been set before us in chapter one verse 2 as the Creator of all things; then we had better give the more earnest heed to Him who now specks to us from heaven concerning His so great salvation.

Therefore, since Christ has been set before us in Chapter 1:3 as the one who by Himself has purged our sins, that is, made atonement for them; then we had better give the more earnest heed to His so great salvation, for how shall we escape the damnation of hell if we be not in Christ?

Therefore, since Christ has been set before us in chapter 1:8 as God the Son who set upon the throne of the universe as King over His kingdom: then we had better give the more earnest heed to the eternal Word of God and His so great salvation, or we will hear the words of the King in the great day of judgment, “Depart from me, ye despisers of my so great salvation: depart into hell and everlasting darkness forever.”

Therefore, since Christ has been set before us in chapter 1:11 as the eternal Lord of glory who changes not; then we ought to give the more earnest heed to the living things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip, and neglect so great salvation and then not escape the wrath of God which is to come.

Oh, what a solemn warning here to the fact that the Gospel of the grace of God as revealed in the SO GREAT SALVATION as offered in Christ, is no light thing with God, but a weighty matter. Yes, what a solemn warning; that if we turn away, treat lightly, and scorn God’s so great salvation, we do it to the damnation of our never-dying souls.

Listen again. In this expression, “therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard” the Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul, is appealing to our responsibility. We are given an exhortation to the performing of a specific duty. The Greek here is very strong and emphatic. It means we must. It is a necessity that is laid upon us and we neglect doing it to the damnation of our never-dying souls. It is not an arbitrary matter as if we could take it or leave it, but we must do it. We must give heed and close in with Christ and His so great salvation or suffer the consequences.

Again the duty that we are called to perform is a serious one. It is a firm and fixed setting of the mind upon that which we hear, because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, Rom. 10:17. It is a BOWING and BENDING of the WILL TO YIELD unto God’s so great salvation, because only in Christ can we be delivered from the wrath to come. It is the applying of the hearts and affections unto the things revealed in God’s Word and bringing the whole man into search of the whole Christ, because He and His so great salvation shall be found when we search for Him with all our hearts.

The expression, “We aught to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip away” means also; that we are to give prayer meditation and personal appropriation to them, because these are the things that are made for our everlasting peace in Christ. We are to follow hard after Christ, believing His precious Word and trusting Him with all the faith He has given us.

To sum this verse up, we would say we are being warned of a grave danger, and that danger is to neglect God’s gracious invitation of mercy and grace given us in so great salvation in Christ. And if we do, then we shall not escape the judgment of God against sins.

Oh, hear me my dear friend, It is no light thing to be saved. The greatest thing that can ever happen in this life, is to know Christ as the Deliverer of your never-dying soul, by His power and blood, applied to our hearts by His Holy Spirit through faith.
 

Listen to me as I warn you! The deliverance of Noah from the destruction of the old world by the flood was wonderful, but the deliverance of our never-dying soul from the deluge of God’s wrath, by Gospel, is by far a greater deliverance.

The deliverance of Lot from destruction of Sodom was great, but the salvation we obtain for our never-dying soul by the gospel in Christ from the vengeance of eternal fire, is a far, far greater deliverance.

The deliverance of the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, from the fiery furnace was indeed a great deliverance, but the salvation of our never-dying souls in Christ from the second death in the lake of fire, is a far greater deliverance.

The deliverance of Daniel from the mouth of the lions was indeed a most gracious deliverance, but the deliverance of my never-dying soul from the power of sin and the dominion of Satan, through the great salvation of Christ in the Gospel, is to me a far, far greater deliverance.

So to neglect this salvation; to despise this salvation; to treat it as a thing not worthy of your notice or consideration, is to trod under foot the Son of God. It is to count His blood, the blood of the covenant, wherewith you have been sanctified, as an unholy thing, and doing despite, or spitting in the face of, the Holy Spirit of grace. Heb. 10:29

So we see then how great is this warning given here, for we are dealing with two things: the salvation of God in Christ, which cost Him His very life, and the salvation of our never-dying souls.

The question is asked then, “What is this so great salvation which was first preached by Christ Himself?” Why is it so important to give heed to it; embrace it; and seek it with all our hearts and affections? First of all, because it is salvation from the GUILT OF ALL OUR SINS. As Rom. 8:1 puts it, “There is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.” Why? Because Christ has been made sin for us who knew no sin that we would have in Him a perfect standing of righteousness before God the Father and His Holy Law. (II Cor. 5:21)

You see, dear friend, by nature we are criminals; guilty of breaking God’s holy law, rebelling against the government of the Holy and righteous Being who sits upon the throne of the universe, who commands love, affection and obedience. You see, we have turned every man to his own way and have made God our enemy. But Christ has come and satisfied, by His perfect obedience and substitutionary death, the law we have broken. Therefore when we come in repentance, hating sin, sorrowing over it, turning from it, laying down our arms of rebellion and look by faith away to the Lord Jesus Christ, then He applies by His Spirit, His merits to our account in heaven and then we stand delivered in Him from all the guilt and pollution of our sins.

Second, it is so great salvation because it is SALVATION FROM THE POWER OF SIN. Oh listen to one of the most gracious truths of God’s Word to my heart. That is, that in salvation, God not only delivered us in Christ from the penalty of sin, but also from its power. Listen to Rom. 6:6-7, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Also vs. 14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Also vs. 18, “Being made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Yes, it is a deliverance from the power of sin, and I praise the Lord for this.

Third, because it is a salvation from THE POLLUTION OF SIN. Praise the Lord, in salvation, He cleanses us from the pollution nature, whereby we desire holy things, and holy ways, and holy thoughts. Yes, he purges our conscience from dead works that we might serve the true and living God. (Heb. 9:14)

Fourth, it is a salvation from the FEAR OF DEATH AND DAMNATION; for we are told in Heb. 2:15 that “Christ came to deliver us who through fear of death were all our lifetime subject to bondage.” Again in II Tim. 1:7 we read, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Again we read in Rom. 8:15, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

Fifth, it is a salvation from the POWER OF THE GRAVE. For we read in I Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immorality.” And as Phil. 3:20-21 puts it, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

Sixth, it is salvation from THE WRATH TO COME, as we read in I Thess. 1:10. Yes, we have been delivered from the power of darkness, and have been translated by the power of God into the kingdom of His dear Son. (Col. 1:12-13) So we have then passed from death unto life, and the second death in hell shall have no dominion over us.

So we see then that a great salvation this is which God has prepared for sinners in Christ; and to neglect it, and count it not worthy of our searching for with all our heart, will bring the just wrath of God down upon us. For we have these words in Romans 2:4-6, “Despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.”

Oh, what a warning to your heart today not to neglect so great salvation which is given in Christ, but to seek Him with all your heart while He may be found.

I cannot close without giving a trumpet call to “seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon,” Isa. 55:6-7.

Listen again to Heb. 3:7, “Today” if ye will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit specking to you in this message “harden not your hearts,” but bow your knees to Christ and crown Him Lord of your life. Look to Him for His so great salvation; for He has promised, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth that Jesus is Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Rom. 10:9

V.

I want to continue the messages the Lord has laid upon my heart on the WARNINGS OF GOD’S WORD. Our message will be taken from Luke 16:19-31.

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day And there was a beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.

We find here our Lord’s vies of the future state of the dead; that it is a conscious state, and that there is life beyond the grave both for the righteous and the wicked.

Our Lord pulls back the veil and lets us look beyond death to see that Rev. 22:11 is true where we read, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”

Knowing then this warning of God’s Word, coming from the lips of Him who can not lie, let us ask the Holy Spirit to turn the words of this message into our hearts so that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ may shine in. Pray that He will.

First, the future state as shown in Luke 16:26 is the FINAL STATE. For we read that there is a great gulf fixed between the abode of the wicked and the abode of the righteous and that no man can pass between these two places. Our Lord again sets this forth in Mark 9:43 in these words, “If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.”

You see, my dear friend, the Scriptures do not teach a second chance after death. They teach that only in this life does a man have the gracious opportunity to be saved by the grace of God in Christ, based upon His cross- work for us. Where death finds us, there eternity will hold us forever and ever.

Therefore, all questions are settled and all doubts are resolved. There will be no arguing then as to whether the Bible is the Word of God; for then you shall know of a certainty that it is His Word. Also you shall know that the threatenings of God’s Word as well as the promises, carried out by Him who sits upon the throne.

All your arguments as to whether or not there is a hell will be over for you will find that the soul who dies outside of Christ must live forever beneath the wrath of a sin-avenging God. This we read in John 3:36, “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Second, I see in our Lord’s description of the life after death, that it is a CONSCIOUS STATE. Yes, the future state a CONSCIOUS STATE. We find here in Luke 16 that Abraham and the rich man were specking. We find the rich man being told to remember. We find the rich man being tormented with real pain. We find the rich man asking that someone be sent to warn his five brothers not to come to that place of torment.

Let me repeat again; it is a place of CONSCIOUSNESS, for the rich man in hell had knowledge that his unsaved brothers were sure to come there. He had memory, for he was told to remember his sinful life on earth. He had feeling, because he knew he was in pain. He had perception, for he could see the righteous Lazarus in peace and quietness in Paradise. He could hear, for he was answering Abraham. Yes, dear friend, he was in a conscious state in hell.

Third, we find here in Luke 16 that life after death is a world of KNOWLEDGE, that is CONSCIOUS KNOWLEDGE. Listen closely now as we go into this third point. The human spirit, be it holy or sinful, friend or enemy of God, in eternity will always and forever be aware of its condition. If you are made holy in Christ, washed in His precious blood, redeemed by His marvelous grace; you will always be conscious of this in the future state. Also, if you be sinful, unrepenting, God-hating, you can not for an instant lose the distressing consciousness of sin, as you are made to look upon the Holy God whom you hate, and this throughout eternity.

Listen now! If we enter eternity as the redeemed of the Lord, there shall be no change. For the same knowledge and experiences that we have had here in part, we shall have there in completeness and perfection; for heaven begins on earth. Here, God’s people learn to hate sin and to love holiness through the work of God’s grace by the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit works effectually in our hearts, we come to abhor that which God abhors; that is, our sinful will, our sinful ways, and the plague of our hearts, which is our damnable sin nature. Also, that which we long for, which is to be like Him, we shall be one day. But we learn to know somewhat of these things while we are here on earth, and praise the Lord, we shall one day know as we are known.

But, my friend, if you enter eternity without Christ, the same will be true. You shall know even as you are known. There ye shall know, clearly and accurately, your own wicked heart. You shall know then that the wages of sin is death. Down here on earth you did not like to retain God in your knowledge, but there you will have no choice. Down here on earth you did not want God’s holiness because you hated it, but there you shall know it without the capacity to love it. Yes, that which you hated in part, shall become full fruitage, and you shall know your own heart even as you have been known of God.

Oh, my dear friend, will you hear me today? If you could only have a clear understanding of the kind of knowledge which is awaiting you upon the other side of the grave, you would become the most thoughtful and the most anxious of men. If you, my unpardoned friend, should be haunted from this moment on with the thought when I die I shall enter into the light of God’s countenance and obtain a knowledge of my own character that is wicked, and that I must pay my own sin dept owed to God’s holy law if you had this knowledge in the light of the Holy Spirit’s convicting power, you would find no rest for your never dying soul until you had obtained an assurance of the living mercy which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But here lies the trouble. Hear me now! The natural man looks on the future state as being like this one, and therefore judges eternity by time. You feel that there is nothing to be concerned about; for if God has not cut me off by now, surely He will not cut me off in eternity. But my friend, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.” (Gal. 6:7-8)

Listen again. The human mind in eternity shall have a DISTANT AND UNVARING knowledge of the character of God. The one particular attribute that you shall know above all is His holiness. His divine holiness, as Hab. 1:13 tells us is thus, “He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.” Yes God is holy. God hates sin. His holiness and hatred of sin, like every other attribute of His, is living and active and must manifest itself. His Holy wrath must strike at your sin if it be found upon you, even as it struck at sin when it was found upon Christ Jesus, His Son, when He took the place of His sinful people.

Oh, what an awful day that will be, my friend, when you are ushered into His divine presence for eternity, to be encircled by a holy and just God whom you hate, and this for eternity. Surely your cry will be like those in Rev. 6:16, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” But, dear friend, OH, listen to me! You will not be able to get away from the knowledge of sin and God’s holiness. This is what will make hell what it is.

Listen again! Get it now! Let it sink down into your soul. Your future state outside of Christ will be an open and unavoidable view of God. For that is what is taught here in Luke 16. You will never be able to look in any direction in eternity without beholding the one whom you hate, and that one, the holy and just God. Because you hate holiness and love sin, you shall gaze at Him and gnaw your tongue for pain, and there will be no repentance in your heart: for there is no repentance in hell, No! Nothing but remorse, that sorrow of the world that worketh death. Rev. 16:10-11 brings this picture o t vividly, “They gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”

But on the other hand, those who love the Lord and die in the Lord, who have come to say like David, “We give thanks and rejoice at the remembrance of thy holiness” shall gaze upon Him and adore Him for His unspeakable gift, yes, He who gave Himself for us, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Oh what a blessing that will be to gaze upon Him whom my soul loves and delights in.

My friend, let me ask you a question.

Will you answer it deep in your soul? Have you ever been brought by the Holy Spirit to see the holiness of God over against your unholiness? Have you ever been made to see God’s holy righteousness over against your sinfulness? Oh, pray that the Lord will show you yourself, that He may show you Himself.

Listen again! Do not comfort yourself with the thoughts that there will be a second chance after death, or that there is an intermediate place between heaven and hell, where your soul can suffer a little while and then go into heaven. Do not comfort yourself with the thought that someone can pray your soul out of hell. This comforting doctrine, as the world loves to believe it to be comforting, is not taught in God’s Word. This is one of the many lies that your father, the devil, has taught you. God’s Word plainly declares that for the believer to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and this immediately after death. So also with the unbeliever, the Word plainly declares that in hell he shall lift up his eyes, being in torment, and this immediately after death.

Do not comfort yourself with the thought that just because some preacher or priest says some nice and wonderful things about you after you are dead, that all will be well. For Gal. 2:6 tells us that God accepteth no man’s person. And again we read in Romans 2:11, “For there is no respect for persons with God.” Also do not comfort your never-dying soul by believing that death ends it all. I don’t care how many false prophets and teachers twist Scripture to prove it otherwise; for surely our Lord did not lie in Luke 16 by telling us the future state of the righteous and the wicked.

Remember this one thing, dear friend, and never forget it: salvation is of the Lord and salvation is KNOWIING CHRIST, having Him revealed to your heart from His precious Word as your only Lord and Savior. Do you know Christ, my friend, in that living, loving and lasting union?

Listen now! To know Christ is, first to know yourself to be a lost, hell deserving sinner, and for God the Holy Spirit to work in you that inward work of regeneration, whereby you are made to sorrow for sin, your sin, because it is sin against the Holy Being whom you have hated and against whom you have rebelled. It is to be made to mourn over sin; turn to God from sin; and to cry unto God for its power to be broken in your heart and life.

Listen again! When the Holy Spirit works this work of repentance in you, then He will also give you faith to lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ as God’s remedy for your sins. Then when Christ is revealed to your heart out of the Word of God, you will be thankful and grateful that He, in love to your never dying soul, delivered you from the pit of corruption and cast all your sins behind His back, never to be remembered against you anymore.

My friend, for the Holy Spirit to so work in your heart is the greatest thing that can ever happen to you; to know yourself experientially and to know Christ in that living union of life.

Remember as we sum up our message today, the future state will be the final state. The future state after death will be a conscious state. The future state IN CHRIST will be a blessed state, while the future state outside of Christ will be an open and unavoidable view of the Holy God which will make hell what it is.


Obtained from Mt. Zion Bible Church (www.mountzion.org). Reformatted by Eternal Life Ministries.


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