Amos, Randal: Retribution ~ Northgate Bible Chpl-NY

It's good to be back with you, and we do appreciate your prayers and the many travels in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was handed a note right before I got up here. Uh, those involved, I guess, in the prayer breakfast, uh, realized it's the day after Christmas, Lord willing, and so here's the announcement I am asked to make. Is there any interest in prayer breakfast the day after Christmas? They'd like a show of hands now, and if there isn't, they just won't have a prayer breakfast next Saturday. So now we'll ask for a show of hands if there's an interest in a prayer breakfast the day after Christmas. That means you'll be there, right? Uh-oh. What? You, you saw the hands, whoever gave me this announcement, and I'm sure it'll be a follow-up from that. Thank you. Well, of course, we're here to open the Word of God together, and I'd like to begin this morning in Matthew chapter twenty, please. The Gospel according to Matthew in the chapter twenty. m Matthew chapter twenty, and we're just going to break into a one verse here. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, he's actually teaching a whole th- uh th- thought about servants and service, but uh taking one verse here in Matthew chapter twenty, and that would be verse twenty eight. verse twenty eight. Matthew twenty and verse twenty eight. m Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. And so in this verse, the Lord Jesus gave his purpose for coming into the world, to perform a service, but a service that he calls here in verse twenty eight, to give his life a ransom for many. Of course, the occupation this time of the year is indeed the Savior came into the world, and the reason given here is to give his life a ransom for many. You understand the word ransom has to do with a, a price being paid. You, you hear of a kidnapping, and they demand a ransom, or that is they demand a price and so on. So that when you think of the word ransom, you start to think of the word, uh, price and redemption and things like that. And so we see, uh, the Lord saying he came to give his life a ransom for many, not just an example for many, not just that his death on the cross was I'm going to show you how to love. I'm going to show you how far I'll go for love. Uh, it's an example of deep love. There's a love aspect to it, but he came to give his life as a price, a payment for many. Which then brings us, with that type of thinking, to a great biblical truth that runs right from Genesis to Revelation in understanding God and his program of salvation. And that is the truth of retribution, the truth of retribution. Simply put, retribution does mean, uh, repayment. We say payback today. W- where a wrong that is done, there's retaliation of a just penalty that, uh, uh, pays for that harm that is done. The great truth of a retribution, uh, i- is here in this word ransom, where a payment needed to be made. So, so let's study this. We're going to do a progressive study with the help of the Lord this morning on the great truth of retribate, uh, retribution, which will, uh, help us understand the whole program of God from Genesis to Revelation. So let's start in Genesis and go to chapter two, please. Genesis chapter two. Now in Genesis two, we're going to go down to, uh, verse sixteen. And in verse sixteen, you'll have the first communication of God to man. The first communication of God to man. Now, I understand there's communication in chapter one and verse twenty eight, but if you study it, that will be a later communication. You'll see that if you study it. Where the, the first communication, even before Eve was created, is actually recorded for you in chapter two here, and, and what is God saying in his first communication to man made in his image? Well, here it is in verse sixteen. Genesis chapter two and verse sixteen. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. And in the Lord's first communication to man, there is the truth of retribution. If you do what I say not to do, there will be a penalty. There'll be a retaliation for the harm that is done. There'll be a punishment, as it says elsewhere, there'll be a judgment. And so we come across the reason the Lord came into the world, to give his life a ransom, a payment for many. Uh, because there's, there's a retaliation, there's retribution for sin, there's punishment. In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. We live in a world that sometimes, rather than punish with a, with a due penalty, we go into reformation rather than retribution. And reformation is to improve the form of something, to improve something from the course of error to a rightful course, whether through therapy, uh, medications, whatever is chosen, chosen, it is looked at as, uh, reformation or sometimes rehabilitation. But even in the society we live in, what is becoming more common, and it certainly isn't retribution, it's toleration. Toleration. And that is simply this, the acceptance of peoples and situations without judging. The acceptance of peoples and situations without judging. The right for everyone to have dissenting opinions. That is the type of culture we live in, isn't it? Retribution is an end to thinking, but we have to give them the right to think differently, we have to accept them, and there is to be no judgment. That is interpreted as love and as grace. Is that the biblical doctrine of why the Lord Jesus came and of retribution? We did see right here, at least in the beginning in Genesis, the first communication of God to man had to do with retribution. In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. You know the rest of the story. Along comes the enemy, along comes Satan, and after the woman was created in communication with the woman, look what Satan says in his first communication to, uh, uh, what was created in the image of God. You look here at verse one, Genesis chapter three now, and verse one. Three one, Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat, or ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, uh, God has said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the woman said unto the, and the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die. And so in his first discourse with, uh, mankind, the serpent denies retribution from God. Ye shall not surely die. God says there's a payback, there's a retaliation, there, there, there's retribution in the day you sin, that is eat of it, thou shalt surely die. Along comes the serpent and says, thou shalt not surely die. You know, he's still saying that today. The world all about us doesn't really believe in coming judgment and, and retribution and punishment for the sin of which their sin deserves. And so they hear the whisper of the serpent, uh, you're okay, God's all love, thou shalt not surely die. A denial of the retribution, the judgment of God. And so we see in God's first communication, there is retribution, in the serpent's first discourse, there is denial of that rebu- retribution, thou shalt not surely die. Well, as God goes on, he gets this truth home in various ways. He chose the nation of Israel, didn't he, for special service, for witnesses unto him. And in their, uh, religious system, which God ordained, is the truth of retribution, of punishment for sin. Go with me to the Jewish system here, to Leviticus chapter four, please. Into the book of Leviticus in our little progressive study this morning, to Leviticus chapter four. And now the Jewish people are told what to do when they sin, as we find ourselves here in Leviticus chapter four, and this system of sacrificial offerings existed for at least, uh, fourteen hundred years, plus more. And so we break ourselves in here, and we would see this w- was to be a daily happening, that it would be portrayed over and over again i- i- in the eyes of God's people. Let's see what is portrayed here in Leviticus chapter four. Let's go down to verse twenty seven. Leviticus four and verse twenty seven Says, if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord, concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty. All right, somebody has sinned at a certain level here, and they're guilty, they're responsible for that sin. What is to be done about it? Are they to say God is a God of love and grace? I- I'll just say I'm sorry, and everything, I can just keep going on. Is that what God says? Or does he start to teach again retribution? Look what it is here. Look at the next verse, verse twenty eight. Verse twenty eight, Or if his sin which he hath sinned come to his knowledge, then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. Someone- suddenly we see something has to be provided and given for sin. Sin is so serious and so despicable in the eyes of God that a simple I'm sorry will not work here, that he has to get an offering from the flock for his sin, and then something has to happen to that offering. Look here at verse twenty nine. First, and it had to be an offering without blemish, no spots on it. It had to be perfect, no, no cuts, no bruises. Verse twenty nine now, and he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. So the one who sinned put his hand there saying, it's my fault, and that innocent little animal had a knife put in it, and the blood came out, and that was the offering for the sin offering. And so suddenly Israel was learning the ugliness of sin, the violence of sin, the harm of sin. And literally down through their history, thousands and thousands and thousands of times, this little object lesson would be portrayed that there's retribution for sin. There is retaliation for the harm that is done, and it was in the form of death. Something had to die. The knife went in, blood came out, and that little helpless victim fell over. And then the priest took the blood. Look at verse thirty, Leviticus 4 and verse 30. And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger and put it upon the horns of the altar of the burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor unto the Lord, and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. Before the sinner would ever hear the words, forgiven, covered, I don't see it, it shall be forgiven him, an atonement had to be made. And that word atonement simply means a compensation, a compensation that pacifies the one wrong, and therefore can be covered, therefore can be hid. Proper compensation for damages done. And because the wages of sin is death, thou shalt surely die. A death had to happen from a spotless victim, and only when the atonement was made by the priest, it shall be forgiven him. So that every time there was a sin, there had to be atonement, compensation made for the wrong that was done. The great truth of the retribution of God against sin, portrayed hundreds of times in Israel's economy. As they got away from God, God would send his prophets. Listen to their message in our progressive study as you go to the prophet Ezekiel, chapter eighteen, please. Ezekiel chapter eighteen. And he would bring this truth before them. Preaching to a backslidden nation in, uh, Ezekiel eighteen, he says this in verse 4. Ezekiel eighteen and verse four. He said, behold, all souls are mine. As the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. And he preaches a message of retribution. Yes, they were a religious people he's writing to. They had the temple, uh, they had the form, they had the generic belief in God, but the soul that sinneth, it shall die. There's the retribution of death. He goes on to say this in his message, if you look at verse twenty four, Ezekiel eighteen and verse twenty four. But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned. In his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, he shall die in them, he shall die. And so here's a Jewish person, and maybe for twenty or thirty years, he really lived righteously according to the law, but maybe reached some midlife crisis, sowed wild oats, and began living a life of sin. And he dies, his chariot hits a, goes over a cliff or something in those days, and the man dies. All the righteous he did will never be mentioned. In his sin, he will die. And suddenly we learn something, uh, that under the law, whatever good you did would not be the retribution that would take away your sin. God wouldn't say, well, you did enough good, so I can just forget about the sin. In his sin, that he has sinned, he shall die. A holy God, the soul that sinneth, that shall die. And so through preaching, through the temple system, through God's original command to Adam, the great truth of payment, the great truth of retribution, the great truth of retaliation for damages done before anything could be forgiven comes across in one way or another. And then we get to the New Testament, and the verse we read this morning, the Lord Jesus said, the Son of Man came to minister and to give his life a ransom for many, not just an example, but a payment, a price that will deal what is due for sin. The great reason he was born as a boy and grew up as a man and came to die on a cross. Now, with that in mind, we all know that story, I believe, here this morning. But let's go into the New Testament and see how it views this, this death of the Lord Jesus who came into the world. So let's go to the gospel now, the good news of salvation, and find ourselves in Romans chapter five. Romans chapter five, please. As we go to Romans five, you do know the beginning of Romans, the whole book in explaining the gospel of God that saves through Jesus Christ our Lord. The whole book started with retribution, didn't it? You do remember Romans one eighteen, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of them who hold the truth in unrighteousness. The, the wrath of God revealed, the anger of God. And then chapter one and verse thirty two of Romans ends with this. Who knowing the judgment of God, they which commit such things are worthy of death. A book that shows guilty sinners under the judgment of God, divine retribution, payback for sin that has offended him. And yet he's provided a savior, and that savior is none less than the Lord Jesus Christ who came, and the purpose he came was to give his life a payment, a ransom for many. Look how that is described now that that happened. Look, look at verse eight here. Romans chapter five and verse eight. But God commendeth his love toward us, and that while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. And we'll point you not so much to the birth of Christ, but to the death of Christ, for the whole reason of God drawing man back to himself was accomplished in the death of the Lord Jesus, the giving love of God to give his son. Well, it goes on to say to, to the ones who now put their faith in the Lord Jesus, look at verse nine, Romans five and verse nine, Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. And so the person who has trusted the Lord Jesus as the Son of God and the resurrected Savior who died on that cross, we're saved from retribution, we're saved from judgment, we're saved from the wrath of God, uh, through our church. No, no, no. Through your works? No, no, no. Through him. So the verse ten says this, Romans five and verse ten, for when we were enemies, we are reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Reconciled to God. On what basis can guilty, estranged sinners who deserve payback from God for our sin be reconciled to a holy God. Five words, the death of his son, the death of his son. For that was a payment of the sinless Christ, the only one who never sinned, bore the penalty of sin as our substitute, our savior, in dying for our sins. Goes on to say in verse eleven, look at verse eleven, Romans five, Not only so, but we also joy in God, our Lord, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement, and some will have the reconciliation, uh, the compensation that brings us back to God, uh, the compensation that was paid, the price that was paid to reconcile men back to God. The great reason the Lord Jesus came into the world. You know, thi- this is the gospel that is preached. Th- th- this is what it's all about. A payment for sin is why he became a man and was born as a baby, to to shed his precious blood for you and for me. You know, as the apostles would preach the gospel, they'd always go back to the death of Christ first. You remember in Corinthians, First Corinthians fifteen verse one, he reminds those believers, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, the good news of being saved. What was it? Verse three, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and so on was buried, rose again. Christ died for our sins. He would say in First Corinthians one twenty three, but we preach Christ crucified. There are people who preach Christ today. They preach him as a good teacher, a moral teacher, the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and that is good teaching. They teach him, they te- as a, as a baby, and the miracle of a, of his little birth as a baby. And he's popular in that area in some circles. Babies don't hurt anybody, do they? Babies are cuddly. Uh, but somebody on a cross is not so popular. The blood and the gore, the awfulness of sin. But we preach Christ crucified. He, he would say in First Corinthians two two, I determine not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. It's all about the tree, the death on that tree. You see, at this season, we we do see a lot of beautiful Christmas trees, don't we? And ornaments are hung on them and beautiful things, and they're quite pretty to look at, aren't they? With the lights and everything, and they might remind us of the joy and blessings that have come through the Lord Jesus. But but in the beginning here, in the gospel, I'll tell you what was hung on a tree. Nothing that was beautiful, but listen to Peter preach in Acts ten thirty nine, speaking of Jesus Christ, whom they slew and hanged on the tree. That's what was hanged on the tree, uh, the tree of the cross, Christ. It, it would teach in Galatians three thirteen uh, that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. And so he was made sin, the only one, the creator that we were hearing about from Brother Glenn. He was made sin, and there he was hung on a tree a- a- and answered the sin question. Divine retribution in the dark hours fell on the Lord Jesus Christ for you and for me. But because of the one who was hung on a tree, there is salvation through that blood. God is satisfied. God, the payment has been made. The w- thou shalt surely die. Christ died for our sins. And because that is true, what God promises you and I is not death anymore if we're saved. He promises us eternal life. You see, the first promise of God to man was thou shalt surely die, was retribution. Those who aren't saved are still hearing that lie, as we said, you know, uh, thou shalt not surely die. There's no judgment ahead for you, and God is all love, and so on. But once you see your need as a sinner, and by faith come to God's resurrected Son who died on that cross, and accept that ransom, that blood sacrifice, that that's the answer for my sin, as God says, you are saved from wrath, and the promise no longer is thou shalt not surely die. We could put it this way, thou shalt surely live. Listen to the gospel in John three sixteen: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It's life that he's now promising because the ransom has been paid. The cross has happened. Something was hung on the tree, nothing other than the eternal son of God, who was born as a baby and grew up as a man and shed his blood. And so all throughout the Bible, the Lord Jesus would say in, like John six forty seven, verily, verily, or surely, I'm saying it to you, know of a surety, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. We all know John ten twenty eight, speaking of his sheep. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. And then there's First John two twenty five. First John two twenty five, This is the promise that he has promised us. You say, what has he promised us? Even eternal life. And then there's Titus one two. I heard a preacher put it this way in light of Titus one two. He said, uh, what is the oldest promise in the Bible? What's the oldest promise in the Bible? And somebody quoted from Genesis, thou shalt not surely die. He said, no, that's not it. It's Titus one two. Here it is. In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. That's over. He is, this whole thing was planned by God, eternal life before the world began. So you know what Satan does today? Just like he did to Eve, he reversed the promise of God. God says, thou shalt surely die. Satan says, thou shalt not surely die. But once you come to the ransom, once you come to the Lord Jesus and his blood, which brings you back to God, and you have life now, you will not die, but have everlasting life. You know what he says to you now, that a believer? Thou shalt not surely live. Have you ever heard that? He's still reversing the promise of God, but now in the gospel. And your conscience will accuse you, and you'll say, yes, I've trusted Christ, but I failed over here. I wonder if he even knows me. Thou shalt not surely live, he says. But God says, thou shalt surely live. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. And so the gospel promises life. And so when it comes to the true Christian gospel, it is built on the very truth of retribution, that sin must be punished, but sin was punished in the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters and friends, however, this morning, not only is the gospel built on the doctrine, the truth of retribution, so is the main activity of the Church of God till the Lord Jesus comes. We're here as a church. There's a main activity the Bible views the church doing, and has everything to do with retribution. You say, well, what is that? Well, let's go to the epistle to the Christian church in First Corinthians chapter eleven. First Corinthians chapter eleven, please. Now these people are already saved here. They've trusted the Lord Jesus. There's not judgment ahead for the Corinthian believers, but but everlasting life. But he writes to them as they assemble together as a congregation until the Lord Jesus comes, and uh, look at verse eighteen, First Corinthians eleven and verse eighteen, please. He says, for first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it. Now, he's speaking of people coming together in the church in, in assembly capacity. He goes on to say, uh, in verse twenty, eleven twenty, when ye come there- together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper, for in eating everyone taketh before another his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunken. He says, you're coming together, and the implication is you think you're keeping the Lord's Supper, you turn it into your own supper. So he corrects it. He has to bring the focus back of what is the purpose of coming together to eat the Lord's Supper? Is it for my own needs to be fulfilled? He corrects it, and in those famous verses, here's how he corrects it. Look at verse twenty three of uh First Corinthians eleven. For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it and said, take eat, this is my body which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. And so the church, just as we did an hour or two, the Christian church breaks a loaf of bread. It shows the body of the Lord Jesus being given or broken, the spear that went into his skin, though a bone wasn't broken, the beard that was torn from his face, the body that the blood and water came out of it, a body that was broken, a violent death that was where he was hung on the tree. That's what we're portraying. Not, not some new Jerusalem yet. We're not portraying something beautiful. We're portraying a violent death. Christ died for our sins. Not only that, you look at the next verse in verse twenty five. In the same manner also, he took the cup when he had supped, saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as oft as you drink it in remembrance of me, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come. So when they came together, and chapter sixteen says it was on the first day of the week. When they came together, one of their primary purposes was to show the Lord's death till he come. Death is an ugly thing to us. It's repulsive to us. It's heartbreaking to us. It's dear to the heart of God, that is the death of his son. It is the very basis God can take boys and girls and men and women back to himself and cleanse them and transform them and save them from wrath and have them for all eternity with the promise of eternal life, because there's been a ransom for many. The proper payment, the proper retaliation in the sinless son of God has happened on the tree. That's why he came. And God never tires of that being done. And so you show forth the Lord's death till he come. The excitement of the death of his son to God. We draw nigh to God by the blood of Christ. It brings sinners back to be saints, reconciled to God. And so the main activity of the church is recorded here. One of the prime activities has to do with death, the truth of retribution. And every time you take that bread, believer, and drink that cup, you're saying there was a punishment for my sin. There was divine justice for my sin. I acknowledge that, and that fell on the Lord Jesus, not on me. And no wonder our heart is drawn out in love, isn't it? And adoration, uh, that he took what we deserve and hanging on a tree. The main central activity of the church. So it's the basis of the Christian gospel, uh, reconciled to God by the death of his son. It is the central activity of the Christian church, showing forth his death till he come. But also, there's a new world coming. He is coming, and the kingdom of God is coming, and we'll see it as the very basis for citizenship in this coming kingdom of God, where there's peace on earth and goodwill toward men. And, and it's the very basis of God setting up his new kingdom, the truth of retribution. It is not only demon- promised in the Old Testament, demonstrated in the law, preached by the prophets, fulfilled by the Lord Jesus in dying for our sins, portrayed in the church's breaking of bread, the central activity of the church when they came together here. It is also the ver- our this the citizenship to claim entrance into the kingdom of God. Uh, let's see what we mean. Let's progress to the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter five, please. Revelation chapter five. And John gets a preview of the future here in this revelation, and, uh, we'll break in at verse eight. Uh, Revelation chapter five and verse eight. John the Apostle saw this, and when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. So he has this vision in heaven, and he sees this group of people before the throne of the Lamb. The Lamb is the now the name of the Lord Jesus. Why is he called a lamb? Because he fulfilled those sacrifices, remember, where the person brought a lamb, laid their hand on it, put the knife in it, the blood came out. It shall be an atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. He was the reality of that, the sinless human being, the Son of God. So here we see a sin, or excuse me, a, a, a, a, a group here before the lamb. Now look at verse nine, Revelation five verse nine. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to open the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, and every kindred and tongue and people and nation, have made us under our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. We have a future. We're saved from the wrath of God, and we're going to reign as a kingdom of priests with the coming Lord Jesus Christ. What is our basis? What is our citizenship for it? What are they singing about? We have the biggest church. No, no, no. Thou art worthy. Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. The doctrine of retribution. The blood has been shed. My sin is gone. Divine justice. Retaliation fell on the Lord Jesus, and I am free because he's my savior, if you've trusted him. It's the song of eternity. It is my right to reign on the earth, not my theological education, which I don't have, or or any other thing we can say. Our, our right is the blood of the Lamb. Thou art worthy, not I am worthy. And so the whole basis for getting into the kingdom of God is the truth of, uh, retribution here, the ransom for many by thy blood. Show you another scene in heaven John saw. Look at chapter seven, please. Revelation chapter seven. He Sees a great multitude standing before the throne clothed in white, and here it is in verse nine, Revelation seven and verse nine. He says, after this, verse nine, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, and all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms of their hand. A multinational representation here from all over the world, different ethnic groups standing before the Lamb clothed in white, that is righteous before God. Wow, that's quite a scene here. And so John wants to know who they were, and uh, he gets an answer of who they were. Look at verse fourteen. One of the uh, elders say to him, uh, verse fourteen, and I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. John said that, and then, and he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sun light on them anymore, and so on. They came out of great tribulation. How did they get white? How did they get their sins forgiven? How did they get righteous? By the blood of the Lamb. And their very claim to the throne of God for all eternity is nothing less than retribution has happened on the blessed Lord Jesus, who shed his precious blood. Oh, it is the Christian gospel that saves you even now. It is the very central activity of the church. You show forth as death till he come. It's your very citizenship for the new world that's coming. And for those that don't have the Lord as their Savior, who haven't received the Lord Jesus, who have no Savior, they're still listening to the lie of the serpent, thou shalt not surely die. There, there is no retribution, and Eve believed that. You'll find there is, for when our blessed Lord comes back to set up the kingdom of God, his first official act is retribution on those who don't have a Savior, on those not under the blood, as we say. Let's see that as we progress to Revelation nineteen, The revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter nineteen. m Look what John sees now in verse eleven, Revelation nineteen and verse eleven. Nineteen eleven. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. Heaven is open. He sees the Lord Jesus coming now in glory on a white horse with all the armies of heaven, and the first official act, uh, uh, Christ has come into the world, but he's coming back, and people say he's coming to bring peace, not until he brings retribution on the unsaved and sin is punished. And he judges and makes war in righteousness. He declares war on unrepentant humanity. So the end product here in chapter nineteen anyway, is verse twenty one. You look at Revelation nineteen and verse twenty one, And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceedeth out of his mouth, and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. Retribution on those without a savior. Sin must be punished because God is holy. And for those who don't have the blood, who haven't been cleaned white by the blood of the Lamb, he comes and makes war, and the earth has a carnage of human flesh that the birds have to clean up the mess. And then there's the recalling of all the dead before the great white throne of God, and the dead there that have no covering for their sin, why they end up with eternal retribution. That's chapter twenty. Progress to chapter twenty to see what else John saw. As retribution continues in chapter twenty and verse twelve, Revelation twenty and verse twelve, And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. Now you say the books are open, are we going to see what prizes we get? Uh, uh, what are the books open for? Well, it tells you why the books are open for those that have no savior at the end of verse twelve, And the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works. Oh, God's going to look at your works if you don't have a savior, and all the sins that you've done, what you'll be judged for them. And look what it goes on to say in verse fourteen: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And so before the eternal kingdom comes, there is the once for all retribution, all the dead, those separated from God, those without a savior, cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. The great truth of retribution, Satan doesn't want you to believe it. He's been whispering that lie ever since. Thou shalt not surely die. This is the second death, the lake of fire, forever and ever in torment, separated from God. But there's the cross. There's the Lord Jesus. He'll tell you why he came into the world. And as you see things hanging on trees this season, never forget why he came, so he could hang on a tree and bear your curse and bear my curse, and there become a ransom, a payment for many that God is satisfied. So God raised him from the dead. You know, if God is satisfied, I am too. If he's good enough for God, he's good enough for me, that I have a payment for my sin. Look at, look at chapter twenty one. Look at the very basis for entrance into this eternal kingdom. There it is in verse twenty seven. Revelation twenty one and verse twenty seven. Twenty one twenty seven. And there shall in no wise enter into it. That's this New Jerusalem, the capital city of, of, of eternal peace where there's no death and, and disease, you know, what everybody longs for. Look, look at verse twenty seven. And there shall no wise enter into it, anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. The Lamb's book of life is that lamb, uh, the reality of that lamb that that Old Testament sinner had to put his knife into and watch the violence of blood came out so he could have an atonement for his sin, it could be forgiven. Now the Lamb, the reality has come in the Lord Jesus, who died for our sins and shed his blood. And if you're in the Lamb's book of life, it's your right to all eternity, it's everlasting life. From beginning to end, you can't get away from retribution. Our society is trying its best, it's shouting toleration, acceptance of all without judging. God is shouting righteousness, I do judge, but God is shouting love also. I've already judged in the Lord Jesus. If you take him as your savior, well, he's a savior. You shall be saved from wrath, and the very center of our activity will portray it until he comes. It's our citizenship to heaven. It's our right there to escape the judgment of God that's coming on everyone outside of Christ. We're going to ask God to bless his word. And this season, when the focus is he came into the world, may God give us good understanding of why he came in. Because of retribution, because of judgment, but he has met that as a ransom for many. Christ died for our sins. You can rejoice in that if you're saved. It'll help you understand how the church functions and how we deal with humanity. We can't escape retribution, and yet it'll help us understand the good news, the love of God, that he gave his son so we could draw near. It, it is finished, and our very right for all eternity, the song will be, worthy is the lamb that was slain. Let's ask God to work in our hearts. Our Father in heaven, our holy Father in heaven, we are in thy presence as believers, as the New Testament says, by the blood of Jesus. Not by education, not by professional ability, uh, but but by that our sin has been met and dealt with, not in ourselves, but in the Lord Jesus. There's any sitting here today, and as we'll be looking at beautiful trees that are very pleasing to the eye, may they never forget why he came to hang on a tree, for their sin deserves judgment. And outside of Christ, they'll be judged if they're that generation when he comes back, and the birds will eat their bodies. But if they just die of their own, they'll stand before the throne and hear those words of eternal banishment forever into the lake of fire, which is the second death. But it doesn't have to be that way, because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. There's a ransom for many. There's the blood that was shed that cleanses from all sin. We pray if there's any that need to repent and come to the Lord Jesus, they'll do it even now. And, and that the believers, those that are saved, will understand this central truth of all the Bible. Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. We rejoice then in our Lord Jesus Christ and can say with confidence to see him, even so, come, Lord Jesus. We just commit one another in the busyness of the day and the travels and, and, and those that have, uh, have to travel to see people and, and those that have suffering relatives, unsaved relatives, various needs, that even this time of year will be used for a little open door for the Lord Jesus Christ and why he came. Uh, and so we commit one another now in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.