A Matter of Life and Death

Sing about, would we?

I mean, stop and think about it.

The truth of the matter is, I've only been to one Ohio State game,

and I sat where I needed an oxygen mask.

! I mean, it was really high.

I did bring 10 power binoculars so I could see what was happening on the field.

And my takeaway from that is,

why sit on cold aluminum benches where you have to use binoculars and you...

By the way, to buy water there was like $3 for a bottle.

I can get it in my kitchen for free.

And a hot dog.

I mean, I don't even think it was made by who knows who.

But it was, you know, like $5 for one of those things.

Forget it!

And the thing that really kind of, I thought, what is this all about?

When the game was all over, they sang that Carmen Ohio.

You know, it's like, big deal.

I mean, you know, I mean...

Gary, forgive me, brother.

Okay.

For some of you who don't know, Gary is a lifelong usher at the OSU games,

and he does get fired up.

You can ask him in July how many days to starting,

but, you know, listening to you sing,

I love that.

But then I love being able to say this.

Let's just open the book.

I want you to turn your Bibles this morning to John chapter 8, verse 21.

John 8:21

So he said to them again,

I am going away, you will seek me,

and you will die in your sin.

For I'm going, you cannot come.

Let's pray.

Father God, for us, prayer is not at all just an exercise

or an expression of habit.

But it is our life.

It is a clear indication of our glad dependence upon your sufficiency.

And I can't help but think this morning of the passage in Zechariah chapter 4

Zechariah 4 · chapter mention

where the prophet uttered these words,

not by power nor by might, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.

And I am thankful that you have given to us,

who are your children, the spirit who indwells us.

And it is by the spirit's power that I trust to preach the glory of Christ this morning

and by the spirit's power that your people would receive it

and allow the sweetness of the word to lift their hearts away

from being self-focused and gloomy in the midst of the world

that you've placed us to be candles.

And by your spirit's power that those that are here that do not know Christ

to be drawn to see that the darkness and the despair

and the ugliness of their life has no remedy

apart from repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus

who came to be the Savior of the world.

And Lord, I'm thankful that as I preach

that I fully know that your people will pray for me

that you might be lifted up.

And we pray this because of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Well,

every day that I sit in my office,

across my office is on the east,

my desk is on the east side,

and on the west side is the wall that faces out on the parking lot,

and there are two signs that I look at every time I look up.

One sign says this,

how does this testify to Christ?

And I think it's fair to say that really at the heart of what Bible preaching is,

is the responsibility and the privilege of lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ

that He alone might have preeminence.

Never should a pastor long to hear you say,

wow, that was really good.

What He should long to hear you say is,

thank you for exalting Jesus this morning.

Because here's the truth,

everyone who ever stands in this place

to minister the Word of God to you who are His people

is at best an earthen vessel.

You know why it's that way?

Well, here's what it says in the Bible,

and we have nothing else to rely upon for absolute clarity

other than the Bible.

Amen?

You know, you guys are moving a little bit

towards being a little best, a little stalling, you know.

But not everybody's going to be like me.

I admit it.

You know, I'm thankful.

But, you know, every now and then, just let it rip.

I mean, not now.

Just hold on.

Look at me!

I don't want you to be any more passionate

and zealous for the glory of Christ.

Well, I do.

But at least kind of do this.

If you get kind of fired up about a basketball game

or a football game,

what is holding you back in the presence of God's people

in relationship to the glory of Christ?

You did better.

Okay.

But anyway, here we go.

The goal of preaching is the glory in the person of Christ.

And so, the faithful preaching of the Word

means making Jesus clear.

It means relying upon the Spirit of God

to take the revealed Word

and press it into the hearts of people

so that, for one, they may come to know Christ

and that they may grow to be like Him.

I have to explain,

and bear with me as we kind of wind into this,

but we'll get there.

biblical preaching is not really the mind,

the work of a witty mind,

nor is it the ability to repackage what the world thinks

regarding how to live happier lives

or be more self-satisfied or self-focused

or wrapped up in your pets and your projects.

It is really about helping you understand the glory

and the supremacy of Christ

who will inhabit all of eternity,

and you and I, when we are in His presence,

will join the throng with unbelievable enthusiasm,

rejoicing in His person.

Right?

And the goal of preaching is to lift up Jesus

so that instead of being here unhappy and moody

because we're focused on ourself,

we lift up our eyes and see Jesus and say,

Lord, thank you for what you've done in saving me,

and till you draw me home,

I want to be a candle for your glory.

Amen.

Amen.

I say this because this morning's sermon is a hard one,

but it comes from the mouth of Jesus.

I want you to take just a moment

and put your finger on one little statement

that Jesus repeats three times.

Verse 21,

Verse 24,

You will die in your sin.

Verse 24,

You will die in your sin.

The phrase is stunning.

It's a sobering reminder

of eternal judgment and hell

and the terrible everlasting consequences

of rejecting Christ.

So if I were to give you a one-sentence summary

of what this morning's sermon is all about,

let me tell you this.

Jesus came to save us from our sins

and deliver us from the holy wrath of God

against our sin.

That being said, let's look at the text

and recognize that what we are being told here

is that the offer of salvation ends at death.

Let me read the verse.

So he said to them again,

I'm going away

and you will seek me

and you will die in your sin.

Where I am going,

you cannot come.

We should understand that by this point

in John's gospel,

what we have seen is that

Christ's ministry had come fully to the forefront

and people who were listening to him preach

understood what he was saying.

There was a growing hatred

for what Jesus had to say.

There was grudging admission

that his miracles were authentic

and there was nothing,

nothing that people could do

to deny the truth

of what his ministry was.

And I want you to understand

that every step

of Christ's public ministry

and gospel offer

was resisted

as you work your way through the book.

He fed the throng

on the Sea of Galilee.

Following that,

he took advantage

of that great crowd of people

to preach a clear gospel message

in which he made it clear

that faith in him

was the only way to heaven.

And what was the result

of the clear preaching of the gospel?

We understand that what happened was this,

is that the vast majority of people

walked away and left him.

They said,

this is a hard saying.

If you think hearing the news

that there is no salvation

through any means

except in Jesus is hard,

it's far harder to hear

the rest of the sentence

where Jesus says this,

and those who do not believe me

will spend eternity in hell.

We see not only that he preached there

by the shore of Galilee,

we also see that

in the Feast of Tabernacles

he came up

and he said,

listen,

I am the bread of life

in six and in seven

and eight

we find there

that he comes in

and he says,

I'm the light of the world.

And instead of receiving

that statement,

understanding it

in the biblical

and messianic context

of the scriptures,

the response that the crowd had,

in particular the religious leaders had,

was that they accused him

of petty self-deception

and dishonesty.

And it is in that frame

that we hear this

very chilling announcement,

I am going away

and you will seek me

and you will die in your sin.

There are several things

that deserve our attention

as we think about this statement.

For one,

the offer of salvation

will end at some point

for every man.

The offer of salvation

will end

for every man.

One,

when Jesus spoke

of going away

he wasn't speaking

about going to another town.

He was speaking

about his own death

but in a larger sense

he was also speaking

of the fact

that his purpose

for being there

as the savior of the world

and the offer of salvation

that he made

through believing

in his finished work

on the cross

would someday

come to an end.

And this ending

happens in a sense,

in a present sense

when individuals

repeatedly refuse

to respond

to the sweetness

of the gospel.

Let me have you look

at a passage

where we see

how God kind of

lets people go

the path they want.

turn over in your Bible

if you will

to Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

You're there

in John chapter 8

John 8 · chapter mention

but just skip ahead.

Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

The apostle writes this

in verse 21.

He says,

For although they knew God

they did not honor him

as God

or give thanks to him

for they became

but they became futile

in their thinking

and their foolish hearts

were darkened.

See,

make no mistake,

recognize that the truth

of the word of God

is that every man

receives ample insight

and light

with which to come

to grips with the reality

of their own dark soul.

Friday,

as I had

an extended opportunity

to share the gospel

with an individual,

it was very interesting,

this individual

was clear

in his own thinking

of how dark

the world was

around him.

He was also

clear in his own thinking

of just how dark

and deceitful

his own heart was.

And I said to him

over and over again,

you really don't need

any more evidence

of just how desperately

you need the work

of Christ in your life

because things are a mess.

And here's the truth

that we need to recognize.

when men repeatedly

refuse to listen

to the word

that God gives them,

calling them

out of darkness

into his marvelous light,

God says,

go ahead,

go your way.

Look at Romans 1,

Romans 1:24

verse 24.

It says this,

therefore God gave them up

in the lusts

of their heart

to impurity.

In verse 26,

for this reason,

God gave them up

to dishonorable passions.

And in 28,

and since they did not

see fit to acknowledge God,

God gave them up

to a debased mind

to do what

ought not to be done.

I want you to understand

this morning

as we look at this passage

that it tells us

that what happens

is individuals

can turn their back

on the sweetness

of the gospel

and God says,

go ahead,

you go,

you go.

And I don't know

as I preach this morning

and I'm going to

make an appeal to you,

if you're sitting here

and you do not know Christ,

I would plead with you

in Christ's stead,

do not refuse

the offer of salvation

that he makes to you.

Why?

Because he may just say,

hey, go ahead.

But in a more certain way,

I want you to understand

that the final offer

of salvation

ends forever at death.

It says in Hebrews 9,

Hebrews 9:27

verse 27,

it is appointed

for man once to die

and after that

comes judgment.

Can I tell you something

if you're sitting here

thinking,

well,

there'll be another time,

there'll be a later moment

and maybe after I've lived

my life,

I'll kind of step in

and grab the brass ring

at the very moment

when I'm ready to pass.

I don't know

if you know this,

but in the theology

of the Middle Ages,

particularly affected

by Catholic thinking,

the best way to die,

are you listening to me

so you understand this?

The best way to die

was to be baptized

moments before you

slipped into eternity.

Why is that?

Their thinking was

the baptism washed away sins.

We're going to have

four people baptized

this morning

and I've got to tell you

not one of them

is getting their sins

washed away.

That was done

by the blood of Christ.

That was done

by their faith

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But anyway,

in that old Middle Ages

thinking,

the best time

to be baptized,

in fact,

many, many people

just kind of delayed it

to the last minute

and they're like,

whoop,

get a bath

and off you go,

right?

So,

that's not true.

What is true,

though,

is that at death

it's over.

As it says here

in the scriptures,

after that,

the judgment.

Now let's come back again

to that passage

in John

because I want you

to look at it

just for a moment

and recognize

that Jesus is speaking

to people

whose hardened hearts

had resisted

every gospel appeal

that had been made

and here's what he says,

you will die

in your sin.

He was speaking

of the fact

in broad terms

there are two ways

to die.

How many of you

thought about that?

I remember

when Tom Parsons,

bear with me,

Linda,

if I may speak

of your dear husband,

Tom Parsons

wrote eloquently

about how he would die,

I mean not that he would die

but he,

I remember Kathy,

where is Kathy?

Is she in here

this morning, Kathy?

Oh yeah,

well you know,

Mandy you're here,

I'll blame you.

I don't know

how Kathy read

the chapter

from the book

that Tom had written

during his lifetime

about dying.

He talked about dying

in a fiery car wreck

or dying just

you know

at home

and truth of the matter

is if anybody

gets to choose

how they go,

I want Tom's way.

Kind of raised up in bed,

took a gasp

and he was gone.

That's me,

I want that one.

Here's the deal,

we only get to die

two ways.

What do you mean?

Well you may die

in the Lord.

You may die

in the Lord.

It was my privilege

last week

to do

Barbara Armstrong,

her name is Friday

in case you're wondering,

do Barbara Armstrong's funeral

and I talked about

the fact that

in the scripture

it says,

blessed are all they

who die in the Lord.

It's not a bad thing

to die in Jesus,

do you understand that?

I love here,

I like being around you,

I love my bride,

but I have no hesitation

about when the call comes,

I'm going.

You know why?

It says this,

absent in the body,

present with the Lord,

it will get better.

This is not as good

as it gets.

And in Revelation chapter 14

Revelation 14:13

verse 13 it says,

blessed are they

who die in the Lord Jesus.

That's the one way.

You may die in your sin.

John chapter 8

John 8:21

verse 21,

he said to them,

I'm going away

and you will seek me

and you will die

in your sin.

Verse 24,

I told you

that you would die

in your sins

for unless you believe

that I am he,

you will die

in your sin.

What is the significance

of that?

Well, I want you

to understand this.

Hell is the permanent

home of sinners.

Look at the passage.

Here's what he says.

Verse 21,

you will die

in your sins

where I am going

you cannot come.

The person who dies

in their sin

will not spend

eternity

in the presence

of Christ.

It is the reality

of hell.

It is the certainty

of the holy judgment

of God

that makes

gospel issues

so profoundly

significant

that we

who by God's

grace

have been

delivered

from darkness

and drawn

into his kingdom

have an unrelenting

interest in seeing

other people

come to Christ.

Isn't that true?

I want you

to understand

that

what Jesus

was saying

here

is that

those who die

without faith

in Christ

will spend

eternity

in hell.

those who die

in their sin

will spend

forever

in that state.

And how can I

say this?

Well,

here's the truth

and I want you

to get this

very clearly

in your mind.

I have no

basis

on which

to say that

other than

the word

of God

and the clear

words of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Do you

understand that?

I am not

up here

reciting

some psychologist

that kind of

tells you

about an

afterlife

or talking

about Tibetan

prayer flags

or something

else like that.

I am telling

you on the

basis of

the word

of God

that there

is heaven

and there

is hell

and those

who have

faith in

Christ

spend

eternity

with him

and those

who reject

the Lord

Jesus

will suffer

forever.

I want you

to understand

that the

Bible is clear

that the

sinner will

spend

forever

in a place

that Christ

describes

in terrible

terms.

For starters,

most of what

we know

about hell

comes from

information

Jesus gave

us.

John MacArthur

comments that

though every

New Testament

author writes

about hell,

Jesus has the

most to say

about it and I

suppose that's

appropriate because

he was the one

who came to

save us from

our sin and

deliver us from

the certainty

of hell.

Do you

understand that?

The one who

is willing to

die for my

sins is the

one who tells

me undeniably

what the future

is and what

the consequences

of not

believing and

not repenting

are going to

be.

I mean,

why?

Listen to me.

Why would

Jesus die on

the cross if

everybody went

to a better

place?

Do you follow

that?

Does that make

sense?

Why do that?

Let me read

to you several

of the things

that are clear

about hell.

For one,

it will be a

place of permanent

separation from the

glory and presence

of Christ.

What he said

there in verse

21 is this,

where I'm going

you cannot come.

It will be a

place of permanent

separation from the

glory of Christ.

It will also be a

place of weeping

and of gnashing of

teeth.

Over in Matthew

Matthew 8:12

chapter 8 verse

12, and we're not

going to look at

that, but he

talks about the

fact that hell

will be a place

where there is

weeping and

gnashing of teeth.

And those words

express,

extreme heartache

and discomfort.

It will also be a

place of outer

darkness.

Matthew chapter 22

Matthew 22:13

verse 13 says,

it will be a

place of outer

darkness.

Furthermore, in

Mark chapter 9

Mark 9:48

verse 48, it

says it will be a

place of unquenchable

fire.

Now stop and think

about that.

I have heard people

get kind of up in

my face about the

fact, well how can

hell be a place of

unquenchable fire?

Well, I don't know.

But here's what I

know.

The God who created

everything that exists

out of nothing,

let's go slow, out of

nothing will not have a

problem with doing

something with

unquenchable fire.

Do you follow that?

And if he tells me

that's the way it's

going to be, I would

be unwise to not take

him at his word.

It will also be a

place of eternal

torment.

Over in Luke chapter

Luke 16:23

16 verse 23 and 24,

it talks about the

fact that hell will be

a place of eternal

torment.

And I want you to

think with me just for

a moment that some of

the torment of hell

will not just be

physical.

Are you paying

attention?

It will not just be

physical.

It will also be the

unrelenting replay in

your mind of the

bitterness and the

anguish and the

heartache and the

irritation of your

soul.

How many of you have

ever laid awake at

night really been

irritated with somebody

else?

Raise your hands.

There's only four or

five of you.

I'm impressed.

Okay, let's try it

this way.

How many of you have

ever laid awake at

night really been

irritated with yourself?

Oh.

Hey, we've all done

both.

I got to tell you one

of the nice things

about doing so is

that eventually sleep

overtakes you and you

slip into that senseless

oblivion where you get

a little bit of a

break from that.

Can you imagine

staying awake forever

to be bitter at other

people and bitter at

yourself and regretting

all the bad decisions

that you've made and

the wickedness of your

soul and the hardship

of other people's

lives and still having

no relief?

I want you to

understand when Jesus

said, where I'm going

you will not come.

The thing that is

striking about this is

that some will

willingly, willfully

reject the truth.

Look at verse 25.

Just listen to this.

So they said to him,

who are you?

Now, how many of you

understand that tone of

voice is really big?

Do you follow what I'm

saying?

I see Judith is sitting

back there and after 46

years of marriage we

still have those tone of

voice issues, don't we

honey?

It's more me because I'm

more emotional, you know,

what do you mean with

that?

Tone of voice is like, I

mean, let's try it this

way.

Who are you?

You know.

But when you say, who

are you?

And I was like, get out of

my space.

Who are you to tell me

I'm going to hell?

And here were the Jews

actually challenging

Jesus when he told them,

hey, where I'm going,

you're not coming.

Now listen to what they

say because this is

actually a little

interesting.

In the passage, he said

in verse 24, he said,

who are you?

And they said, he will

kill himself since he

says where I'm going you

cannot come.

Listen to me carefully.

A little bit of Jewish

theology helps you at this

point, right?

You can take this home and

try it around the dinner

table.

The Jews believed that

anybody who committed

suicide went to the

lowest part of hell.

Low.

Worst.

And here he said, where

I'm going you can't

not come.

They're saying, oh yeah?

You're thinking about

committing suicide, right?

Yeah, that's what they

were.

No, that's not what he

was saying at all.

You guys are going to

hell.

You've rejected me and

you're not going to be

where I am.

So let's come back around

because there's a very

interesting statement

Jesus makes in verse 21.

I'm going away and you

will seek me.

Oh.

Does that mean that

people get a second

chance in heaven or in

hell?

Everybody look at me.

I'm going like this.

No, no, no.

Nor is the false

doctrine of purgatory

ever found in scripture.

The idea that I can drop

money in an offering plate

or I can burn candles to

have a friend kind of move

up the food chain and out

is not true.

I want you to understand

what it is saying when it

says they will seek me.

Turn over in your Bibles

if you would please to the

passage that we just touched

on briefly earlier just in

passing.

Turn to Luke chapter 16

Luke 16:24

verse 24 and 27.

Luke chapter 16 verse 24 and 27

Luke 16:24

actually begins there in verse 19

where Jesus tells an account of a

rich man in Lazarus.

The rich man incredibly

financially endowed.

He had everything you wanted.

You know he had a motor home.

He had a retirement place in

you know southern Ohio and he had

property in Canada for the summer

and he had property in Florida.

Well actually in Jamaica for the

winter.

You know I mean bring the

missionaries in while we're at it.

You know it says hey he had it all.

He died and he went to what?

He went to hell.

And you look there in verse 24.

He called out Father Abraham have

mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip

the end of his finger in water and

cool my tongue.

And that doesn't happen.

Verse 28.

I have five brothers.

He says send someone to my father's

house.

I've got brothers.

I don't want them to come here.

I want you to understand that one

of the bitternesses of eternity will

not be.

I want you to think with me

carefully.

Follow me.

Oh by the way.

This evening I am going to preach on

how can a loving God send people to

hell forever.

Huh?

One of the hardships of eternity.

will not just be that there is no

second chance.

It will be that people who are in

hell will not want a second chance.

Hey if you spent your life rejecting

Christ while you're alive and you've

resisted every indication of the glory

and wisdom of God and all of his

goodness in this brief life.

Why would you want to have it full bore

in heaven forever?

The unrepentant will remain unrepentant.

In fact hardened in his state.

And we'll look at that a little bit more

later.

So here we understand

that those who go to hell will remain

there in all of eternity under God's

judgment resenting his holiness.

Resenting the marvelous offer of salvation

through the atonement.

Resenting all and everyone and everything

just in a bitter, angry, hateful, sorry,

painful mess.

Can God be loving and also just?

That's the practical question that comes to us

as we look at this passage here in Matthew

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

And let me just kind of touch on several

thoughts in relationship to that.

For one I want you to know that when Jesus

came back into Jerusalem in the week

preceding his crucifixion it tells us that

as he looked upon Jerusalem that holy city

that was going to refuse his offer and

crucify him it says this that he looked

upon them and he says oh Jerusalem,

Jerusalem his heart was broken by the

hardness that sin had produced in them

and he grieved over that city's abject

rejection of the sweetness of the gospel.

And here's something stunning.

When Jesus marched with resolute determination

to the cross there were many women who moaned

moaned and groaned at the physical evidence

of his suffering.

Do you know what he said to them?

Don't cry for me.

Cry for those who will suffer in the coming

judgment that is going to come on the city

of Jerusalem.

Do you wonder what the heart of Christ is like

towards sinners?

It is compassionate.

It is tender.

It is sympathetic.

One of the things it says in the book of Ezekiel

it says this.

It says God takes no pleasure in the death

of the wicked.

If you ever wonder about how deeply Jesus

cares about sinners and how seriously takes

the matter of hell, you stop and realize that

he was willing to go to the cross to keep you

from that place.

And so when we preach John chapter 8 and we hear

John 8 · chapter mention

Jesus say that where I'm going you cannot come.

You will die in your sin.

The practical question that a pastor should ask

when he preaches a passage like this

will you die

as one who has come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

or will you die in your sin?

That's it.

Will you die as one who's come to faith in Christ

or will you die in your sin?

There are some of you thinking, well it looks like he's

coming to the end and I'd like to go out and have dinner.

I'm not.

The purpose of preaching

is to put people on the spot

of saying yes

or no

to God.

Let's pray.

Father God, this morning heaven and hell

is what is before us.

when we stop and consider

we who know the Lord Jesus Christ

of the unbelievable blessing

that you have given us

in delivering us from the kingdom of darkness

and bringing us into the kingdom

of your dear son

we understand why our lives

should amount to more.

And there's some of us here this morning

that need to repent

for being so self-consumed

in the reality

in the face

of the truth

of the darkness

and suffering

of eternity.

We want to live holy

winsome

joyful

sweet

humble

lives

in the presence

of an unbelieving world

that is staggering

towards hell.

We want the things

that we are remembered

for

not to be

the substance

of our possessions

but the glory

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are some here today

that do not know

the Lord Jesus

and it has been my prayer

and it is the prayer

of every one of God's people

this morning

that today

the spirit of God

would bring conviction

and repentance

that sinners

confessing

the darkness

of their soul

and their complete inability

to save themselves

would be drawn

to understand

that there is no hope

apart from Christ

that today

where they sit

with broken humility

they would confess

Father God

I stand

justly condemned

and yet

you have sent

the Lord Jesus Christ

to bear

my sin

upon the cross

and you have

offered me

salvation

through

believing

in

his

finished work

and I claim

your promise

salvation

and forgiveness

in the Lord Jesus Christ

Amen

Amen

Ask thee

holy