Smith, Daniel H: Ozark Camp-Turkey Hill-1994-06 ~ Maranatha-O Lord Come

This evening, before we begin our studies in the scripture, I want to do two things. First of all, to mention that in our earlier session this afternoon, I laid some literature regarding several of the ministries of Emmaus out on the table here in front, and I've left it there in case there may be some of you that might have a curiosity about or an interest in some of the dimensions of the ministries of Emmaus Bible College, both in the resident school and the correspondence school, and I hope that if you do, you'll feel free to come up here after the meeting and pick up some or any of this literature that's on the table, and if you have questions about these ministries, I'd be glad to try to answer them. Second thing I want to do tonight is call your attention to three books up in the bookstore. One of them relates to our morning theme of the person of Christ, and it's a book that is really a classic, J. I. Packer's Knowing God. I'm almost tempted to ask how many of you have read it, and I suppose a good number of hands would go up. But if you have not read through this volume that has a lot to do with attributes, the nature, the character of our God, you've missed a classic, and I would highly recommend that for your own spiritual good and for your worship life and for your spiritual health and strength, a volume like this would be tremendously helpful. Knowing God by J. I. Packer. And then two books relating to our subject for this evening. Uh, one of these by a man who, in an earlier generation, really gave us some very classic things. His name is not well known, I find, among a lot of people right now, but Andrew Murray has given some very excellent things in print, and this is a volume entitled The Believer's Secret of a Perfect Heart, and it's really an expository discussion of the passages in the New Testament that speak about perfection in the Christian's life. Uh, closely related to that is another volume by a very dear personal friend, I'm sure whom many of you know, a recent work by Mr. Bill McDonald entitled The Forgotten Command, Be Holy. A very helpful volume on the holy life, on the life of purity. I've heard Bill minister on this subject. I deeply appreciate the work that he's given us here. These are not expensive books. They are books that I think will help you a great deal because they're biblically oriented and will be a blessing to your heart. Be Holy, The Forgotten Command by Bill McDonald, and by Andrew Murray, The Believer's Secret of a Perfect Heart. I would highly recommend these also to you. Now, this evening, we'd like to read from First John. And again, look at another one of those passages of scripture that talks about practical implications of the doctrine of the rapture. Reminding you again that we're not so much doing a doctrinal study on the teaching of the scripture about the rapture itself, although that's certainly a valid and a thrilling study. But we're looking in this evening series more at the scriptures that tell us, okay, I believe this truth. I believe that Christ promised that he would come again. I believe the scriptures that say he may come at any time, that Christians should be waiting up for his return. Okay, now, says the Word of God, that belief, that conviction should make a difference in your life. And in our evenings, we're trying to answer the question, in what ways will that make a difference in my life, if I really believe the truth concerning the coming of Christ for his church? And certainly this is one of those passages you would expect us to consider. First John chapter two, We're going to start in verse twenty six and read on into the opening verses of chapter three. First John two twenty six, These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. And as for you, the anointing which you receive from him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you, but as his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone al- also practices righteousness is born of him. See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us because it did not know him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him just as he is. Notice this verse, and everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself just as he, Christ, is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. We'll pause again to seek God's blessing. Father, help us now, again, as we turn to the scriptures, to think carefully, to handle your word accurately, and to stand in awe at that which you've te- taught us about a life of purity in your sight. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. The obvious teaching of First John three three is that if you really believe that Christ is coming again, it will have a purifying effect on your life. The New Testament makes it crystal clear that there is no substitute for purity of life, for holiness among the people of God. I think it's very interesting, some of the things that come to my mind when I think of the holy life and a life of purity. For example, I recall one occasion after we had moved from one farm to another and we're in a different community, and I'm walking down the street one day while a piece of equipment was getting welded at the shop in the little town near where our farm was, and I saw a man coming down the street that I had never met before, but as he came, I realized that he was the pastor of one of the churches in town. I had heard about him, very tall, lanky man, always wore a black suit, a very impressive figure, and while I had never seen him, people had said he's a very tall man, he always wears a black suit, and when he, in the middle of the summer in Missouri, when a man walks down the street of a little town like that in a black suit, uh, he pretty stands out pretty well. And as he came toward me and I was going toward him, he stopped and kindly nodded, and and we exchanged a few little words of greeting. We'd never met before, and uh, I'm not sure really what in that little bit of conversation on the street triggered it, but the first thing I really recall about that conversation is that he rocked back on his heels, and he stuck his thumbs under the straps in his suspenders, said, yep, young man, been saved and sanctified and haven't sinned for thirty five years. Well, I had heard there were people that really thought that, but I must admit it was the first time I had ever met a fellow human being who would say that. Saved, sanctified, and hadn't sinned for thirty five years. And I suppose it was the look on my face, because I don't think I said anything, but the look on my face must have been so shocking that his thumbs dropped down into his pants pockets, and he kind of bent over gratuitously and said to me, now mind you, young man, I've made my mistakes. And at that point, I relaxed a little bit, and I said, okay, I guess we can keep talking. I guess it's a matter of what you call it. There are people who believe that they arrive at sinlessness. As I read my Bible, I have a problem with that, folks. The question of personal purity and holiness, the question of sin in the believer's life is a very valid one. And sometimes there are instances which tie this in with the issue of the hope of Christ's return. Another quick story, in the same period of my life, when we moved to another farm and we're meeting new people, one of the people we met was a fellow who was a teacher in the school in the area, and his name was Jim Cornelius. We called him the Centurion. And, uh, this fellow was a very friendly guy. He was very outgoing, and, um, he, he just really became a family friend. I often suspected because he liked my mother's cooking, and as a single man, he was probably tired of his own cooking. But at any rate, he became a family friend, and there were many discussions of spiritual things, as there were in our home. And we always pondered, wondered whether Jim was really a believer or not. Because while he readily talked about biblical things, for some reason or other, we weren't getting the kind of reading that led us with the confidence. I don't know, who are we? We're not the judge, God is the judge, but you know how you, when you relate to people, you wonder if they've really come to a right relationship with God through faith in Christ, and we were wondering. And, uh, he often would come various times for, usually for a meal, and, uh, one day, to our surprise, when we got home from meeting in the morning, uh, Jim's car was sitting in our driveway, and it was strange because he had taken a job playing the organ in one of the churches in the nearby town, and he never did show up at that time on Sunday morning, but there he was. He had gotten back to the farm before we were there. And, uh, as we came into the house, he was sitting there on the back porch, sort of with a sheepish smile on his face, and the conversation soon led to, how did you get here so early? And so he told us. He said, you know, I took this job playing the organ at such and such a church. And he said, you know, I've been listening to what they've been saying from the pulpit there, and I've really increasingly had a problem. I don't hear the gospel. I don't hear anything about Christ. He said, I think that place is what you people would call apostate. And he said, I was sitting there this morning on the organ bench, and he said, I had just finished playing the last opening hymn, and he said, the first few words that the preacher said so troubled me that I said to myself, what if the Lord would come and find me in this place? Now, he said, it may seem strange to you that I wouldn't want to be found in a church when the Lord comes, but he said, I don't think I want to be found in that church because Christ is not honored. And so he said, I just slipped out the back door and I came here. I said, what did they do when it came to the closing hymn? He said, I don't know, really. I don't know. But he said, I couldn't help but think what would happen if the Lord would come and find me in this place? Now, I don't advocate running out on the job. When you've made a commitment, you better see it through. But I do think this story, which is a true one, illustrates the purifying effect that a hope in the return of Christ will have on your life. And I am convinced that there are many times when if we had spiritual sense, and if we really believed that Christ may come at any moment, when most any of us might have those times in the week when we should validly say, ooh, what would I be like if the Lord would come and find me here? Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go. John says, and he who has this hope in him, the hope of Christ's return, the hope of his appearing, the hope of seeing him, the hope of being translated and transformed into his likeness in that moment. That hope, John says, will have a purifying effect on your life. I hope it has had and will continue to have on your life. Now, the issue of sin in the believer's life is one that's very significant. John has already said a lot about this in this first epistle. Let me just call your attention very quickly to some of the things in the first chapter, in which, in verses seven through nine, John talks about this matter of sin in the believer's life. He says, of course, that it's important to walk in the light, as Christ is in the light. And if we do, he says, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, continually cleanses us from all sin. One of the great promises of the scripture, the continual activity, the continual effectiveness of the blood of Christ in cleansing in the believer's life. It's one great truth that I have come to appreciate so deep. In fact, there is a kind of a spiritual song that often comes to my mind, sometimes at the Lord's Supper and sometimes in other contexts. And when the strains of that song come to my mind, the blood will never lose its power. The blood that Jesus shed for me on the cross of Calvary. And that's where the believer lives. And John says, if we walk in the light as Christ is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ continually cleanses us from all sin. It is the purpose of God to keep us clean. That's one of the great reasons why he saved us. John goes on to say in verse eight that if we say that we have no sin, that is, if we say that we do not sin from time to time, the imperfect tense, we're just kidding ourselves, and we don't know the truth. That's why I was so shocked when this man told me he hadn't sinned for thirty five years, because the Bible says if we say that we do not sin from time to time, we are just kidding ourselves. And then, of course, in verse ten he says, and if we say we have never sinned, that sin has never touched my life, then we're just calling God a liar. Which is pretty serious business, by the way. And so here are two possibilities in regard to this matter of sin in a person's life. One is, if I say sin has never touched my life, that sin has never tainted me, that I've never been a sinner, I'm really calling God a liar. And if I say, as a believer, that I do not sin from time to time, I'm just deceiving myself, and I really don't know the truth. And sandwiched in between those important statements is a wonderful promise that if we confess our sins, our God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We'll come back to that in a minute. And then, of course, in chapter two he talks about the advocacy of Christ. If any man sin, we have an advocate, we have a lawyer, we have a representative there at the throne, and he is there to speak on our behalf, he who died for us, he who bears the marks of suffering in his hands and side is there to plead for us if we sin. Now notice in the text, John says, anyone who has this hope, the hope of the return of Christ, purifies himself even as he is pure. Interesting, isn't it? He purifies himself, which simply means that in matter of walking before God in a holy life, in a pure life, there is a ele- an element of personal responsibility in this. And the believer is expected to exercise that spiritual discipline of purifying oneself. And notice you go back to chapter one and verse nine, and John says, if we confess our sins, and that's conditional, you see. Unfortunately, not every believer is careful to do this. Not every believer is concerned about walking before the Lord in a pure and a clean life. Not every believer is consistent in confessing known sin, but there is that element of personal moral responsibility to purify ourselves. Now, to be sure, the basis of forgiveness is not found within us. Please, let us make sure of that. The scriptures make abundantly clear here and all through the book that the basis for forgiveness is found in two important ingredients. First of all, in the finished work of Christ. It is the blood of Jesus Christ, the scriptures say, that cleanses us from all sin. The reason why God can and will forgive the sinner who comes in faith for salvation, the reason why God can forgive the believer when he comes in dealing with family matters and confesses known sin to God, the basis for that is Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. It is the finished work of Christ. It is the blood of Christ that is the basis for our forgiveness. The one and only basis. Not because you comb your hair right, not because you're born in the right family or right country, not because you've joined the right church. You know that. The basis for forgiveness, if forgiveness is real, if forgiveness is from God, is the finished work of Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses from all sin. The same passage tells us that there is another ingredient which forms the basis for our salva- our forgiveness, and that is the very character of our God. He is faithful, John says, and he is righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. An important verse. A couple of thoughts about verse nine. uh First of all, John says, if we confess our sins. There is a religious concept of confession which is far from the scriptures. And some religious groups have built a lot of theory and mishmash, uh, relating to confession. The biblical concept of confession is a very important and a very simple one. The New Testament word homologeo means to say the same word. Literally, that's what it means, to say the same word. Confession involves saying the same word to God. In what sense? Well, you go back, for example, in the Old Testament to the law, uh, to the offering, the the sin, the trespass offering, and the bearer brought the animal, laid their hand, and the scriptures say, and he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing, and he shall confess he has sinned in that thing, in that thing. You see, biblically speaking, confession isn't just dropping on my knees before I crawl to blade and say, Lord, if I've sinned today, forgive me, amen, boom, jump into bed. No, no, that's not confession. That's an affront to God. What do you mean if you've sinned today? I think we would be appalled if we knew how much of our very existence falls short of the glory of God. I'm gonna come off of this if I've sinned. What John really is saying here when he says confession is you name your sin to God. You say the same thing. It works sort of like this. If I, to get myself out of a hot spot, tell a man a lie, and the Spirit of God says, Dan, that was a lie. Now, how do I confess? I say the same thing. I say, yes, Lord, that was a lie. You say the same thing. You name your sin. You identify your sin. Without apology, without excuse. Lord, I lied. That's sin. And John says, if we confess our sin, then he takes over. Our God takes over. And he is faithful and he's just, John says, to forgive us, cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And I submit to you that if you get into heaven, stand at the judgment seat of Christ, and find that he's still holding against you some of the sins that you confessed, then you will know that he is neither faithful nor just. Uh, don't lose sleep over that, folks. You don't lose the sleep over that. He's laid his own character on the line, you see, because of the perfection of what Christ did in bearing our sins in his body on the tree and putting them away by the shedding of his blood. The faithfulness of God, the character of God is laid on the line. He is faithful, he is just to forgive us and cleanse us. His own character is laid on the line, and you can be sure he is not going to default. And because he is faithful, and because he is just, he will forgive the sin that we confess biblically. The fact of the matter is, if you understand the work of Christ rightly, you realize that if I, as a believer, confess my sin to God, and he doesn't forgive me and cleanse me, he is unrighteous. God would be unrighteous to fail to forgive. Such is the perfection of the work of Christ. He's laid his own character on the line. Notice he also says, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now hold on here a minute. That's an important word, ALL. The reason why I say this is because I know a lot of believers who struggle with that, so keep that in mind. The promise is categorical. Nothing is excluded. He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And somebody says, what about this forgiveness and cleansing? Uh, let me just illustrate this a little bit. Go back in our family experience when our kids were little. I remember vividly occasions, there were a number of them. Uh, we get John ready, we're going to meeting that morning, get him all dressed up, and Sunday go to meeting clothes, and you turn around to get the sisters ready or to make sure this is what, or whatever, and the next thing you know, John's in the mud. In the mud puddle, and here he comes. He, he just jumped up and hit me. I was innocently standing on the sidewalk, and the mud jumped up and hit me, or something like that. Now, what do you do as a parent, you're furious. You're going to be late for meeting, this child that you got all dressed up to go to the meeting, and here he's standing there with mud on him. And suppose I find it in my heart to forgive him. Okay, he's just a child. I scold him, he cries, and I forgive him, but he needs something else. He needs cleansing. See? But the good news here is that God's promised to do both. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all righteousness. Praise God. The blood will never lose its power. I hope you appreciate that. I hope you appreciate how often you need for him to clean you up. Certainly, I do. The scriptures also teach us, of course, that we have the advocacy of Christ. He represents us at the throne. The scriptures teach us that the word of God is involved in this. How shall a young man cleanse his way, says the psalmist, by taking heed to the word. The washing of the water, the New Testament commentary, by the word. We must be in the word. That's where the cleansing comes. Now, we also recognize that there is judicial guilt and judicial forgiveness. There is family guilt and family forgiveness. You see, you go to Colossians thirteen where Paul describes our salvation, and he says he's forgiven you all trespasses, categorically, once for all, done, sealed, settled. That's judicial guilt and judicial forgiveness. But you come to a family epistle, and there's family guilt. And that's why John says, in the family, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all righteousness. Family guilt, family forgiveness. Now, there's some problem areas, and I want to review these very, very quickly, because as I talk to people in a private setting and in trying to shepherd people along, I realize that a lot of Christians have trouble with the issue of a purity of life and, and the question of sin. I just want to mention three very quickly that concern me. Whether these bother you or not, I don't know, but I know many believers that have struggled with these problems. First of all, is what I would call the no conscience problem. Christian psychopaths. Now, we live in a psychopathic society, no conscience. People can do flagrant things and not feel at all guilty about it. And it disillusions me because it seems to me that there ought to be, even if we're just a human being, have some measure of conscience about sin. But the fact of the matter is, the Bible talks about people with a seared conscience and with a defiled conscience. An unfortunate problem for believers to so identify with the world, as we see in First Corinthians fifteen, that it corrupts our ethics. And believers can do some of the most flagrant things with seemingly no conscience, because we have so identified with the world, rather than living separate from the world. We find that the relativism and the uniformitarianism and the existentialism and all the other wretched isms in the world leave us with conscience that doesn't function or scarcely functions. The conscience is not equivalent to the voice of God. Jiminy Cricket was not right when he told Pinocchio to let your conscience be your guide. But the, the Bible does say, however, that God wants to cleanse and sanctify our conscience and use it. As Paul says in first in 1st Corinthians nine, he says, uh, my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit. Paul saw his conscience as engulfed by the Spirit of God, and we need to learn to be sensitive to the probings of the Spirit of God when we have sinned. The Christian psychopath does not honor God. The second concern I have is I think of people struggling with the question of sin in their life, is what Hebrews ten calls the evil conscience, or the conscience of evil. He said we should have hearts sprinkled clean, which, by the way, is the language of the application of the blood. Having hearts sprinkled clean from a conscience of evil is literally what it means. And I used to think that meant a conscience that didn't work right. But the statement is not that it's a conscience of evil that doesn't work right. It's a conscience that, like a broken record, keeps screaming, you're evil, you're evil, you're evil, you're evil, you're evil, you're evil, won't shut up. I see some nervous laughs. I don't know if any of you had that kind of problem, but I know Christians that have had that kind of problem, usually because there's some pet sin, you know, way back there that's still like bones in the closet, and every time a little something happens, this or this, this conscience start, you're evil, you're evil, you're evil. Well, obviously, if your conscience is screaming at you, you're evil, you're evil, you're not going to come very boldly to the throne of grace. You'd be stupid if you did. See? And for all practical purposes, their Bibles read something like this. Check your Bible. Follow me in First John one nine. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from most unrighteousness. Everything except that thing you did back when you're sixteen years old, and God's going to hound you till the day of your death and exact every ounce of penance out of your hide for that one. Is that the way your Bible reads? I know, Christians, that for all practical purposes, might as well have a Bible that reads that way. There's some old sin, uh, that, like bones in the closet, uh, still hangs over their head. I've heard people say in a counseling setting, Dad, I've confessed that sin a thousand times, and I still feel as guilty as the day I did it. The conscience of evil that won't let you go, that won't let you go. The Bible says, wait a minute. What about the faithfulness and righteousness of God? Can't you believe his word? He is faithful, and he is just to forgive us and cleanse us from, what's the next word? Say it, will you? Say it out loud. All unrighteousness. None is excluded. And when we carry those old bones and keep that pet sin that we beat ourselves over the head with once in a while, we dishonor God. It's unbelief, folks. It's sheer unbelief, because God says if you confess your sins, he is faithful, he is righteous to forgive and to cleanse from all. A-L-L. Even that thing you did back when you were sixteen years old. The third problem that I see is a confused conscience. A confused conscience, I believe, because people do not make a distinction between the spiritual consequences of sin and the natural consequences of sin. See, when I sin as a believer, two different things happen. Spiritually, I grieve the heart of God. I grieve the spirit of God. I end up with a measure of spiritual defilement. I may lose my spiritual sensitivity, and the longer I fight it and struggle with it, the more critically it affects my spiritual life. The spiritual consequences of sin in the believer's life. Uh, there is another category of cons- uh, of consequence of sin, and I would call these the natural consequences of sin. The kind of thing spoken of in Galatians chapter six, What you sow, you will reap. Okay? And if you sow to your own flesh, from the flesh you will reap corruption. Now, when you confuse these kinds of consequences, you will have trouble, I assure you, in dealing with sin in your life as a believer. You see, the spiritual consequences of sin can be cleared in a moment of honest confession to God from a heart that's willing to forgive others. Doesn't take time. God can do it immediately, and he will do it immediately because he is faithful and he is just. But there may be natural consequences of sin that may stay with you the rest of your life. Let me illustrate that. King David was a man who was a man after God's own heart. You recall that tragic series of events in his life that began with a lustful look and went on to adultery, plotting murder, succeeding in the murder of Uriah, grieving the, you know, offending the nation, and the whole tragic thing. You remember, uncommon to David, because usually he was quick to turn to God when he was in trouble, but uncommonly David fought that conviction, and eventually God sent the prophet Nathan. You remember Nathan came and told him the story about the men with the sheep and got David's ire up, and then he said, David, you're the man, you're the man. You're the one that ought to die. You see, there was no sacrifice for adultery, only stoning. There was no sacrifice for murder, only stoning. David should have been twice stoned. You, the man, should die, Nathan said. And then there was David's confession. We have the record of it in Psalm fifty one. I've sinned. And immediately Nathan said, you're forgiven, you will not die. Sheer mercy, sheer grace. But Nathan also said something else. But he said, David, the sword will never depart from your house. David, you've started some things in the natural realm of things in motion here that are going to hang with you the rest of your life. Now let's talk about forgiveness first. Take, for example, a psalm of David's old age. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me blesses. Psalm one hundred. Do you think David was a forgiven man when he penned that? Sure he was. Nathan said, you're forgiven, you will not die. You're forgiven. And he went on to be the sweet psalmist of Israel. But when David's son took up the sword and drove his father off the throne, all that tragic event in David's life, where did that young man get the idea that if you wanted something bad enough, you take the sword and head for a world, you're going to get it? Where'd he get that idea? He got it from his father. That's how his father got his late wife. And even on David's deathbed, the problem with Adonijah and Solomon, where did all that start? Right back there. You see, David had set in motion in the natural world, natural consequences. And the Bible says, what you sow, you will reap. That's one of the reasons why it's not funny to sow your wild oats. Because the Bible says we're going to reap the harvest. And you may be forgiven, and the Lord will stand weeping with you while you reap that harvest. But the Bible tells us that there are natural consequences to sin. By the way, memory is one of those natural consequences. When God forgives, he forgets more than that. He says, their sins and transgressions I will remember no more. He puts them out of his mind, and they can never come back. But we can't manipulate our minds like that. And you will find that sometimes, even in the most sacred moments of life, some old event will pop into your mind that almost makes you sick, and you wonder, where did that come from? It pops out of memory, you know. Memory is not only that yours, but somebody else's. And others will remember your sin, and God has never promised to blot out their memories. Memory is a natural consequence to sin. The point I'm making is this: if you confuse the natural with the spiritual consequences, you may assume that as long as you're feeling the natural consequences, you're still spiritually guilty, and that would be a tragic mistake if you've really dealt with that sin. And we need to learn the lesson that great men and women of God like David learned, that they can be truly forgiven by God, even though they're still feeling some of the natural consequences of their sin. The classic illustration is Paul. He ravaged, he persecuted the church, and God saved him. But he never forgot that he did that, right? In fact, twice over in the book of Acts, David recalls the days of he was persecuting the church, not because he was still guilty, but he had turned it into a testimony of the grace of God. But David never forgot that period of his li- I, Paul never forgot. You see, memory may be a natural cut, but it doesn't mean he was still guilty. And if you assume that if you can still remember, you're still guilty, you may live a defeated spiritual life the rest of your life. And I urge you to take God at his word and deal with sin as he says to deal with it, confess it out of a sensitive, contrite heart, and then go on for God. And don't assume wrongly that because the natural consequences are still there, that you're still guilty. That would be tragic. That would be tragic. God has made every provision for us to live a life of purity, a life of cleanness. And one of the things I urge you, I urge you as a believer to learn to deal with your sin in a biblical way, to confess known sin to God, to keep short accounts with God, and to take him at his word, and let God be God. He has promised to forgive and to cleanse because he is faithful and he is righteous, and that includes every and all category of human sin. And I'm going to take just another minute of your time and conclude this brief message about the purity of life that God would like to accomplish by getting the last point of my last night message that I didn't give you in the last. Because, you see, when the Lord talked about the days of Noah, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, the Luke account says he also talked about the days of Lot. And in the approach, in the time of the coming of the Lord, Advent, of course, but we properly interpolate that. We'll no doubt see some of these ingredients prior to the rapture. It'll be just like the days of Lot also. Now, let me ask you, what was that like? In the city of Sodom. Where do we get our word sodomy? Hm? From the name of that licentious city. Sodomy. That perversion. We've got a number of contemporary words like lesbian and so on. It's sodomy, folks. It's sin, it's corruption, it's wretched in God's eyes. And that's what the world was like in the days of Lot, and Jesus said it'll be like that just before he's coming. Makes me sick to think about some of the things that comes to my mind when I think, for example, of a country like Malawi in Africa is about to be wiped out. There are people who predict that within fifteen years there won't be anybody left in the country. Such a high percentage of the population have the virus or AIDS already. A licentious society. Sodomy. Sodomy. And who can describe what has happened in our country? Rampant sodomy, publicly approved sodomy. Sodomites have become one of the most powerful political forces in our nation. We would make Sodom blush. But let me remind you that our Lord in that same passage gave two responses in telling us that sodomy would characterize the world before his return, like it did in the days of Lot. He said two things. One, the judgment of God is certain. Remember what God did to Sodom. And anytime you're inclined to be politically correct and believe the lies of our present society, that this is a valid alternate lifestyle, I want to call you back to the scriptures. God burned that place to a crisp in his judgment. If you have any doubts as to whether sodomy is sin, open your book, and God will leave no doubt in your mind. The judgment of God was sure, and it will be again. When? I don't know. I'm not a date setter, but the judgment of God was sure then, and Jesus said the judgment of God will be sure again in his. The second thing that the Lord Jesus responded to when he told us that as we approach the coming of his, his coming again, that the world would be like it was in the days of Sodom, the second thing he said was, remember Lot's That's wife. life. What does that tell us? Although I'm transgressing on your time, let me just give you three or four quick answers. Listen to the Lord Jesus say, in the face of a world that is going to be ravaged by sodomy, as we approach his advent, he said, remember Lot's wife. First of all, Lot demonstrates the folly of being so enamored with a licentious world that you end up disobeying God. The second thing I see in our Lord's solemn statement, remember watch life, is that God expects obedience even in a decadent society. Right? God expects obedience even in a corrupt, licentious, decadent society. God expects obedience. And when Lot's wife disobeyed, his judgment came. The third thing I see is this. You need to keep the focus of your life on the word of God and the deliverance of God, not on the world. You see, God had promised for deliverance to this family. In fact, the, the deliverance was already in process. And we need to keep our minds focused upon the deliverance of God, not on the corruption of our world. And the fourth thing I see in our Lord's solemn warning, remember Lot's wife. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I will. Lot's wife, wherever she ends, as a solemn illustration of a person who had heard the word of God, who had lived in an intimate relationship with a spouse that was going to heaven, but she died under God's judgment. Let me say that again. Lot's wife stands forever as a solemn warning that it's possible to hear the word of God, live in a close relationship with somebody who's going to heaven, but still die under the judgment of God. Remember Bob's voice. Father. Father, we've looked at some sound scriptures this evening. We have contemplated some awesome realities. Oh yes, to be reminded of our deep need to deal with sin in our lives. Of your great desire and your marvelous provision to help us live holy lives, even in a corrupt and degenerate world. But above all, Father, we want again to come back to the great provision of God and the finished work of Christ, and to praise you that it is your purpose with the blood of Jesus Christ, would continually cleanse us from all sin. Oh Father, teach us your great and glorious purpose to work in our lives, that we might live lives of purity and holiness before you. And Father, we pray that you will cause us to realize that because you are faithful and because you are righteous, you will do what you have said. And when we deal with sin in our lives, as you've told us we should, in honest confession and contrition of heart, that you will surely meet us in our need and cleanse us and forgive us. Pick us up, clean us up, and keep walking along the way with us. Oh Father, we grant you that you are a pardoning God. We hear Isaiah say to your ancient people, let us return to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Maybe some of you tonight feel that you need that pardon of flesh. Who live where things accumulate and clutter their lives, who've been careless about dealing with sin in their lives in a biblical way, who've become defiled in the way and haven't really dealt with it biblically. Oh, I pray, Father, that you will speak to them this evening. That you'll magnify the Lord Jesus before them. That you will speak to them about the one who bore our sins in his body on the tree, in order that we might die to sin and live unto righteousness. By those stripes, we were. Show us again the effective power of the blood of Christ, day by day, in the life of the believer. Remind us again of the glorious truth that the blood will never lose its color. Help us to live clean lives before you, as we anticipate the return of our Savior. We pray in Jesus' name.