Are You a New Testament Christian?

Thank you very much, Peyton. Great job.

I am thrilled this morning to be able to introduce to you our guest preacher, Dr. John Blanchard.

A lot of you remember him. This is his third time to be with us.

For those of you who do not, Dr. Blanchard is an internationally known preacher, teacher, and author.

He and his wife Pam live just outside of London, England.

A little town named Banstead.

As much as I would like to think that he flew here just to preach in our church,

I have to say that he did not.

He comes to this country from time to time.

And since I have discovered that he does, I have given him an open invitation

to let me know whenever he's going to be here.

Because I would love for him to preach.

And I get a lot of positive feedback when I announce that you're going to be here.

I've had several, I won't say really how smart-alecky they are to let me know.

I'm really looking forward to this week's sermon.

I first heard Dr. Blanchard many years ago when I was in seminary at Fort Worth, Texas.

He came to our church, South Cliff Baptist Church, to lead a Bible conference.

That's when I first learned about him and his ministry and became familiar with his books.

He has written numerous books.

His specialty, I guess you might say, is evangelism and defending the Christian faith, apologetics.

Or, one way to think about it, he has been gifted by God to be able to answer a lot of questions

that not just unbelievers, but real skeptics, even atheists, ask.

Two that have stood out to me,

Ultimate Questions, is a book that I think there's over 14 million in print

in what, I read this 60 different languages.

It has been used by God probably more than any booklet tract

in these last 50 years than anything else.

It's still being used today.

He does not have them here today, but I would encourage you,

if you know people that you would like to engage in an evangelistic conversation,

talk to them about their relationship with the Lord.

And you know they've got a lot of questions, and you know they'll read.

Get a copy of this.

If you know that they really will read, if they really are interested,

get a copy of his book, Write with God.

I've given several of these away, and many of these over the years.

And God has truly blessed those efforts throughout the world.

Throughout the world.

Not just among English-speaking people.

Today, he is going to be, he has three books available.

These books are designed to really help us to be better prepared

to explain to people what we believe and why we believe,

especially people who are maybe antagonistic.

And I've asked him to share a little bit about them

before he preaches this morning,

because they are helpful small books for us to become better equipped

to live in this postmodern skeptical world

and really not just say what we believe,

to be able to defend it, articulate it well.

I want to read one quote from John MacArthur

as he was endorsing one of Dr. Blanchard's books.

For those of you who know John MacArthur,

you know that he doesn't say things he doesn't really believe.

He doesn't mean.

He says this,

John Blanchard is a master

when it comes to applying the timeless truths of the Bible

to these postmodern times.

And that's the real reason why I wanted him to come and preach,

why he has this open invitation.

God has gifted him

to communicate the truth of his word

in a very clear,

understandable,

applicable kind of way.

So hear him prayerfully and carefully this morning

with the intent

of hearing what the Lord is saying to you

so you can do it.

Dr. Blanchard?

Well, I will ask the Lord to forgive your pastor

for those generous words

and then to forgive me for enjoying them all.

Excuse this,

but those who were here for the first service

will know that I struggled for about five minutes

with an army of frogs in my throat,

so I'm trying to drown them before we begin.

But seriously, thank you for those very kind words.

And I do remember

preaching at Southcliffe

and at Southwestern Seminary

all those years ago.

Your pastor then was Paul Burleson,

and I've subsequently preached many times

for his son,

Wade Burleson,

in various places in Oklahoma.

So you and I, in a sense,

go back a long way

even though the link was

kind of a little tenuous.

I'm not sure about an invitation

to come back to Pickens.

I think it's an order.

My very good friends,

Trey and Cinder Lee,

over at Kiawee,

arranged some of my itinerary

in this part of the world.

And after I'd first preached here,

your pastor said to Trey,

whenever he comes here,

he will preach for me again.

That's not an invitation.

That's an order.

And I don't like to fall foul

of American pastor,

so I just do what I'm told.

You know, he's the head of the house,

but I just do whatever he asks me to do.

So he instructed me

to be here this morning,

and here I am.

Let me say just a word,

although he's stolen them from me now

about the three books that he mentioned.

That's okay.

He's got them here.

And this will be very brief

for one reason that you will discover.

Thank you.

Very, very shortly.

I had three books published last year

that were deliberately aimed

to help Christians

get the gospel across to other people.

For example,

your country and mine

have never been so invaded

by atheistic and agnostic thoughts.

Christianity is being pushed

into the background,

and it's widely suggested

that there is no God,

and if there is,

how in the world can we come to know him?

So I've written this little book called

Does Atheism Make Sense?

Does it make cosmic sense,

rational sense,

human sense,

moral sense?

And then having showed that it doesn't,

I go on to show that God does

answer all those questions

in a positive way.

One of the areas that people

will bring up to you

and may bring up to you

as you're seeking to witness to them

would be,

yes, but science now

has shown that we don't need God.

Science answers so many questions.

Why do we need God?

So this book is called Science Fiction.

Has science disposed of God?

And the other is,

and they're all so relevant today,

we now live,

your country and mine

and elsewhere in the world,

in such a pluralistic society,

religiously speaking.

And so Christianity is one of many faiths

that are pushing very hard

to make their case known.

Hinduism, Islam, of course,

Buddhism, and many others.

So the question we need to ask

as Christians is,

or that they may ask

and we need to answer,

is, well, why Jesus?

What makes Jesus so different

and exclusive from all the others?

That's what I've tried to address

in that book.

Now, all of that said,

there are these three titles.

One of them was so in such demand

we had to fly it over

literally within the past few days

from the UK to be here

for this morning,

and they're not going to be available

anywhere else

on this particular tour.

The good news is

that they're available

as a package of three

at a discounted price.

The bad news is this.

The first service was peopled

by a plague of locusts

with the result

there are ten sets left.

So I'm sure some of you thought

there was always an advantage

to be sitting

in the back rows of the church.

And this morning,

you're right

because you will get them

before the others.

And I am sorry about that,

but let me just say this

and quite seriously,

if at the end of this morning service,

when, of course,

they will all have gone

very quickly,

if your pastor feels

there is scope

to get some more in

so that more of you

may get the books,

I will arrange with him

that that can be done,

even if the discount

isn't quite as you see it here today,

but at least it will be

a very reasonable cost

and we can get them in for you.

At this morning service,

I want to ask you this question.

I want you to imagine

that it became an offense

in this country

to be a Christian.

I've never been more interested

in American politics

as I am at the moment.

Some of you have never been

less interested, I guess.

But it's simply fascinating

to see what's happening

in the United States

and then see what's happening

in the UK

and to see actually

a correlation between the two.

They're actually

in the same ballpark

and it really is fascinating

the way new laws

are being brought in

and in our country,

tragically,

I mean,

a conservative,

small c,

a conservative government

passing laws

that are pushing

biblical truth

further and further

into the margin.

Suppose you reach the stage

where here in the US

it was a federal offense

to be a Christian.

Now just imagine that.

Here's my question.

Would there be enough evidence

to convict you?

Now I know that's turning things

in an interesting direction,

but just use your imagination again.

It's a federal offense.

You know,

there's a tweet from,

I can't think of his name,

but anyway,

there's a tweet from somebody

who says it's now

a federal offense

to be a Christian

and you're holed up

before a local judge

or some kind of higher court

and you are charged

with being a Christian

and the evidence is called for.

So your husband

or your wife

or your children

or your parents

or all of the above,

the people with whom you work,

the people with whom you socialize

and they give evidence

as to the quality of your life,

the things you see and read,

the things you say,

the things you do,

the way you react

and you yourself

are called to the witness stand

and you give your own evidence

on your behalf.

And now the judge considers

his verdict.

And instead of having

all the statutes

of a couple hundred years

behind him

and law cases

that he can refer

and then link his judgment

to one that was given

by that judge here

or this judge over here,

what he has in front of him

is a New Testament.

And so all the evidence

that has been given

in your place

and by you yourself,

he now brings

alongside the teaching

of the New Testament.

And he has to decide

whether on the basis

of what he's heard

from them and from you,

whether you are

a New Testament Christian.

And my question remains,

would there be enough evidence

to convict you?

Now the obvious way

to find out

is to go to the New Testament.

And so that's what

we're going to do.

In fact,

the entire New Testament

from beginning to end.

So I'll just give you

a warning about that.

My plane doesn't leave

Greenville until early

on Tuesday afternoon,

so we have plenty of time.

We're going to go through

the entire New Testament

in this service.

The front doors are locked.

You can't get out.

We're fully ready

to settle down to this.

Let me put it this way,

and after a little while,

you'll begin to see

it's not going to be

quite as long

as you thought.

But we'll be finished

by three o'clock.

I'll guarantee you that.

Some of you look very pale.

And the turkey in the oven

is looking even paler.

The New Testament

begins with the Gospel.

It begins with the Gospel.

Now there's only one Gospel.

We say there are four Gospels,

and I know what we mean by that.

One written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

but they're all telling the same story

from a different perspective

in a different manner

with their own style of writing

and so forth.

But there is only one Gospel.

It is said that the first

of the four Gospel books

to be written

was the Gospel of Mark,

and it begins with these words,

the beginning of the Gospel

about Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

So here's my point.

The New Testament begins

with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

And the New Testament Christian

begins with the Gospel

of Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

I want you to imagine

that you had no religion at all,

and you decided the time had come

to pursue the religious idea.

Was there some kind of religion

that was the right one after all?

So you go into a library,

for example,

where you would find,

amongst other things,

the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics.

It runs to 13 enormous volumes.

And so there you are,

you're going to take some hours

and come back day after day

and take many more hours,

thumbing through these thousands of pages,

seeking to find the answer

to the question.

It's been said,

man is a religious animal.

He must and will have some religion.

And so you're looking for one.

And you would find it very easy

to dismiss some of the religions

you read about.

For example,

you'd come across something called animism,

which says that you can worship wood

and fire and stone

and trees and mountains.

And you say,

well, that sounds very interesting,

but that can't possibly be right.

Then you might come across

the religion of Hinduism.

And you say,

look, I'm looking for,

I'm looking for God,

a God,

the God,

whom I can worship.

But,

trouble about Hinduism,

it has 33 million gods.

So how about I know

which is the right one

and do I have to worship all of them

and in what way?

Well, you'd pretty soon

turn away from that,

I'm sure.

You might then turn to something

called Buddhism.

And you'd begin to study that

and then discover,

actually,

it has no deities at all.

So if I'm trying to find

the one true God,

I certainly won't find it

in a religion

that has no God.

You might study,

as well you might in these days,

Islam.

And when you did,

you would discover,

well,

this God

is remote.

I cannot have a personal

relationship with Him

and I really don't like

that idea at all.

you'd come across

something called

polytheism,

which simply says

there are many gods

and I need to spend time there.

Just many gods,

any of whom might be

the right one,

that gets you nowhere either.

You'd come across

something called

pantheism,

which says

everything is God

and God is everything.

And you say,

well,

that is ridiculous.

That means I could

worship the floor

I'm standing on

or the roof over my head

or a hot dog.

Everything is God

and God is everything.

Well,

that can't possibly

be right.

But then,

having dismissed

all of those,

you might then

turn to the Bible

and you would come across

this statement

by the Apostle Paul

without giving you time

to turn it up.

Let me read it to you.

So you would be saying,

now all of those others,

they would all still

leave me lost,

absolutely lost,

cut off from God,

unable to be in touch

with Him,

unable to have a living

relationship with Him,

unable to get all the blessings

that He could bring

into my life.

Now listen to this.

Here's the Apostle Paul.

Brothers,

my heart's desire

and prayer to God

for the Israelites

is that they may be saved.

Wait a minute.

we're not now talking

of animists,

Buddhists,

Muslims,

pantheists,

polytheists.

Paul is now referring

to Jewish people.

And when Paul wrote

those words,

the Jews were the only

people who believed

in there being

one God,

the one true God,

the creator of heaven

and earth,

the sustainer of everything,

of all reality,

outside of himself.

But here's the Apostle Paul

saying of these people

who had rejected

the Greek and the Roman

ideas of there being

many gods

and believed in there being

one sovereign creator

and sustainer of the universe

and Paul says

about them,

my heart's desire

for them,

my heart is breaking

for them

for this reason,

I want them to be saved.

So they're lost too.

So they believe

in one God,

the God,

the only true God,

and Paul says

they're lost.

He goes on,

I can testify about them,

they are jealous for God,

I mean they really

want to know God,

but their zeal

is not based

on knowledge

since they disregarded

the righteousness

that comes from God

and went about

to establish their own.

It's such a vivid word.

You can just imagine

if you read

the Old Testament,

all the rituals

and the rites

and the ceremonies

and the services

and the sacrifices.

All of this

that they went through,

you can just see them

scuttling around,

if I dare to say it,

like ants

trying to find

the answer to something.

So here they are

trying to fulfill

all of these rites

and rituals,

all these services

and ceremonies.

Paul says

this is their problem.

They are going about

to establish

their own righteousness,

build up their own

case before God,

and they have neglected,

which is the same

as rejected,

they have disregarded

the righteousness

that comes from God.

They sought

to establish their own.

They did not submit

to God's righteousness.

And then he adds,

Christ is the end

of the law

so that there may be

righteousness

for everyone

who believes.

And Paul knew

exactly what he was

talking about.

He says this

about the,

when writing

to the Philippians.

If anyone else

thinks he has reasons

to put confidence

in the flesh,

I have more.

Circumcised the eighth day

of the people of Israel,

of the tribe of Benjamin,

a Hebrew of the Hebrews,

in regard to the law,

a Pharisee,

as for zeal,

persecuting the church,

as for legalistic righteousness,

all the bits and pieces

of legalistic righteousness,

as for legalistic righteousness,

faultless.

So when Paul says,

look,

my heart is breaking,

not of course for people

who are atheists

and agnostics

and worshipping Greek

and Roman gods,

but my heart is also

breaking for people

who are ethnically Jews.

And they do believe

in the one true God.

So at least they're pointed

in the right direction.

But they're lost.

They're not saved.

And the reason

they're not saved

is this.

Instead of accepting

the righteousness

that God has provided,

they're going about

to establish

their own righteousness.

They're believing

that God grades on a curve

and if they check enough boxes,

as far as religion is concerned,

then God will accept them

and receive them

into His family,

giving them the forgiveness

of sins

and eternal life.

Now that was his great concern

about them.

I wonder if he would say

the same about you today.

One of the great advantages

of coming to a church

like this,

where I'm here only

once a year

or never more than that,

is that I simply don't know

who you are as individuals.

I see your face now

looking at me

and I don't know

where you stand,

so I can ask you

this question.

Is in any way

this true of you?

If I were to ask you

how can you be

or are you

absolutely sure

that you are

a New Testament Christian

because you have begun

not with rites

and rituals

and ceremonies

and walking to the front

and responding

to altar calls

and being baptized

and joining a Baptist church.

There'll be

countless numbers

of those

who will never be in heaven.

But are you sure

that you are

a New Testament Christian

because you have begun

in the only place

you can begin

which is

with Jesus Christ

as your own

personal Savior.

That is so hugely

important.

Let me put it this way

to you

and it may shock you.

Nobody becomes a Christian

by believing the Bible.

Nobody.

You say,

well I believe

this and this

and I believe the Bible.

Good.

Well I've got news for you.

So does the devil.

And James says that

in his epistle.

You believe in one God?

That's fine.

So do all the devils

in hell

and they shudder

in terror.

Nobody becomes

a Christian

without believing

the Bible

but nobody

becomes a Christian

merely by believing

that what the Bible

says is true.

Any profession

to be a Christian

without a personal

commitment to Christ

is a catastrophic

mistake.

You may know

the gospel

but do you know

the Savior?

So a New Testament

Christian

begins with

the gospel.

Let me ask that

last question again

and please think

seriously about it

as you sit there

facing me this morning.

You may know

the gospel

and if you worship

in a church

as sound as this one

with a pastor

as good as you have here

you should certainly

know the gospel

but do you know

the Savior?

Can you sing

the Lord is

my shepherd?

And if not

listen on

very carefully.

Well secondly

the gospel

is followed by

Acts

and you'll be relieved

to know

that already

we've got

through four books

of the Bible

and it is immediately

followed by Acts.

and that's made clear

if we read

from Ephesians

two verses

that some of you

will know

very well.

By grace

are you saved

through faith

and that not

of yourselves

it's the gift

of God

not of works

so no one

can boast

and then goes on

to say this

in verse 10

for we are

his workmanship

created in Christ

Jesus

to do good works

which he has prepared

in advance

for us

to do.

Or

2 Corinthians 5

if anyone

is in Christ

he is a new

creation.

The old

has gone

the new

has come.

Now

that doesn't mean

that when you

become a Christian

you become perfect.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

once said

he'd only met

one perfect man

and he was

a perfect nuisance

and some of you

ladies are saying

yeah I know

I married him.

Well let's

we'll pass over

that for the time being

the pastor will hold

marriage counseling

sessions if you need them

but

no

when you become

a person who becomes

a Christian

doesn't become

perfect

but hear me

carefully

he becomes

different.

The very word

conversion

could tell you that.

I've lived long enough

to know when in my

my house

in the tiny island

on which I live

just off the coast

of France

I can remember

when we converted

from gas

to electricity.

I mean

it's a conversion

from one

that is a change.

so the question

I have to ask you

this morning

in examining the question

are you a New Testament

Christian

is

what is different?

Think of the

Corinthian verse again

old things

the old has gone

the new has come.

How many things

have gone

in your life?

I don't mean

and I'm being careful here

I don't mean gone

permanently

and never again

do they rear

their sinful

ugly filthy head

but

essentially

they have gone.

What things

have gone

in your life?

And what things

are new

in your life?

Things that simply

as you look back

were never there before.

Your interest

in the gospel.

Your love

of God's word.

Your willingness

to read it

and study it.

Your prayer life.

Your concern

for people

you know

who are not

Christians.

you're interested

in mission

enterprise

throughout the world.

How many of those

things have come

and you can say

that's when

the change happened.

So

the New Testament

begins with the gospel

it is immediately

followed by Acts

and if the Acts

aren't there

if the change

is not there

then how can you know

that the gospel

has taken root

in your heart?

As someone put it

the problem is

that many people

come to church

just as they are

they sing

just as I am

and they go away

just as they were.

Now that's not

supposed to be

what happens.

Now it is possible

of course

to have good works

and I'm talking

of philanthropy

and social good works

now.

It's possible

to have good works

and not to be a Christian

but it is impossible

to be a true

New Testament Christian

and not to have

a measure of good works

that backs it up.

The Red Cross International

as it's now known

was founded by a man

called Jean-Henri Dunant

whose driving force

was the teaching

of scripture

and it does the most

staggering

almost unbelievable work

all around the world

so there are good works

there

but let me tell you

of another organization

that does amazing

good works

particularly in some

parts of the world

it's called

the Red Crescent

and it has no Christian

backing at all

it is exactly

the opposite

and if you were

to tell

a radical Muslim

that the work

of the Red Crescent

shows that they're Christian

you may need

the Red Cross

or worse

so again

it's possible

to have good work

to do good things

and not to be a Christian

it is impossible

to be a true

New Testament Christian

and not to do

good works

the change

certainly is there

and without it

all claims

are simply

not worth

the air they are

breathed into

and James

again

one of my favorite

authors in the New Testament

takes us exactly there

in his own

inimitable

and illustrative way

listen to him here

in chapter 2

what good is it

my brothers

if a man

claims to have faith

but has no deeds

can such faith

save him

well there's the

rhetorical question

here's the person

who says

I'm a Christian

you examine

their lives

to see

what changes

there are

and you

privately think

well I'm not sure

I see the kind

of difference

I would expect

there to be

in a genuine

Christian there

but James

doesn't leave it there

he gives us

an illustration

which he is so

good at

suppose a brother

or sister

is without clothes

and daily food

if one of you

says to him

go I wish you

well keep warm

and well fed

but does nothing

about his physical

needs

what good is it

and of course

the answer

is no good

at all

in the same

way faith

by itself

if it is not

accompanied by

action

is dead

I don't think

I need to

illustrate James'

illustration

it is so crystal

clear

and so

I won't

elaborate

he has done

the job

perfectly well

God never

does a saving

work in the

heart

without doing

a changing

work in the

life

and thirdly

and won't

you be glad

that that's

the gospel

and acts

over

we're now

into the

epistles

a new

testament

Christian

becomes

an epistle

listen to

these words

from Paul

to the

Corinthian

church

are we

beginning

to commend

ourselves

again

or do

we need

like some

people

letters

of recommendation

to you

or from

you

you

yourselves

are our

letter

written

on our

hearts

known

and read

by everybody

you show

that you

are a

letter

from

Christ

the result

of our

ministry

written

not with

ink

but with

the spirit

of the

living

God

not on

tablets

of stone

but on

tablets

of human

hearts

let me go

back over

that and read

one sentence

again

you are

our

letter

written

on our

hearts

known

and read

by

everybody

here's the

point

there was

an evangelist

in England

many years

ago

called

Gypsy

Smith

and he

used to

say

there are

five

gospels

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

and the

life

of the

Christian

and he

said

the trouble

is most

people

don't read

the first

four

and that's

true

most people

outside in

this wonderful

country of

yours

this wonderful

state of

yours

most people

don't read

the gospels

the four

gospels

Matthew

Mark

Luke

and John

but hear

me

carefully

if you

profess to

be a

Christian

and they

know that

you profess

to be a

Christian

they read

you

that was

Gypsy

Smith's

point

they read

you

they do

if you

profess to

be a

Christian

if they

know you

at first

Baptist

Pickens

every Sunday

and on

Monday

you're at

work with

them or at

home with

them or

socializing

with them

they are

reading you

and you

may say

something

do something

express an

opinion about

something

and privately

at least

privately

and maybe

more openly

than that

they say

well

if that's

what

Christianity

does for

you

I just

don't

need it

they are

reading

you

outside of

the Bible

you are

the only

visible

means

that God

has

of

demonstrating

the power

and the

relevance

of the

gospel

outside of

the Bible

you are

the only

if you're a

professing

Christian

you are

the only

visible

means

that God

has

of

expressing

the power

and the

relevance

of the

gospel

and you

say

no that

can't

be right

the heavens

declare the

glory of

God

the skies

proclaim the

work of

his hands

well of

course I've

heard of

that verse

I know

that verse

perfectly

well

but answer

me this

question

how much

of the

gospel do

you see

in the

sun

the moon

the stars

the clouds

the rivers

the trees

the flowers

how much

of the

I'm not

asking how

much of

the power

of God

or the

love of

God

or the

imagination

of God

or the

beauty

of God

my question

is specific

how much

of the

gospel

do you

see in

them

and the

answer

is

absolutely

nothing

the only

places

the gospel

is seen

is in

the word

of God

the living

and enduring

word

of God

and I'm

glad to be

preaching in a

church

the position

of whose

pastor

is this

what the

bible says

God

says

so the

only places

are the

written word

of God

and the

lives of

professing

Christians

doesn't that

bring to

your heart

as it

does to

mine

a tremendous

sense of

responsibility

I remember

the story

of two

college

students

who met

I guess

in seminary

and they

were discussing

various

translations

of the

bible

and one

said to

the other

what is

your

favorite

translation

he said

my

mother's

and the

other guy

was thrown

back a bit

and said

your mother's

I didn't

know she'd

written a

translation

of the

bible

does she

know

Hebrew

no

Greek

no

then what

is her

translation

his friend

said it's

a translation

into

action

now what

kind of

translation

are you

we have

a lot

of

translations

in the

world

today

and a

number

of

paraphrases

too

I hope

that you

don't

use a

paraphrase

as your

main

study

of the

bible

paraphrases

can be

of some

use

usually

by one

person

which

immediately

makes

them

slightly

more

dangerous

at least

slightly

more

dangerous

but

are you

a

paraphrase

in other

words

sure

you

touch

on the

general

meaning

of the

bible

here

and there

in your

life

or are

you

a good

translation

of what

the word

of god

says

jesus

said

i find

a most

searching

thing

he who

is with

me

he who is

not with

me

is against

me

well we

know that

and perhaps

when we're

thinking in

terms of

evangelism

we say

to someone

who may

say well

i'm not

i'm not a

committed

christian

but i'm

not against

it you

understand i'm

sort of sitting

on the fence

i'm in

between

and then we

pile in

with no

but jesus

said he

who is

not with

me

is against

me

there's

no

fence

on which

you

can

sit

if

you're

not

with

him

you're

against

him

so we're

happy

enough to

go along

with that

but why

don't we

complete the

sentence

which goes

like this

and he

who gathers

not with

me

scatters

so my

question to

you this

morning is

this

as people

you mix

with outside

of the

church

listen to

what you

say see

how you

react

watch how

you behave

are they

more likely

to be

gathered

towards

the gospel

or driven

from it

are they

more likely

perhaps

privately

to begin

with to

say

you know

they've got

something I

don't have

and it's not

just that they

go to church

because I know

other people

who go to

church and

their lives

aren't like

that

they've got

something I

haven't got

it's a great

moment when

that happens

because it

gives you a

chance to

say what

it is or

more accurately

who it

is you

have that

they don't

have but

he who

isn't gathering

with me I

mean not

dramatically

and consciously

and immediately

but he whose

life is not

steadily pointing

people in the

right direction

is scattering

them abroad

isn't that a

terrible thing

that as a

professing

Christian the

way you

live is

driving people

further away

from the

Savior you

love

and then

finally

we come

to the

book of

Revelation

so we

can catch

that plane

on Tuesday

after all

because we're

nearly through

the entire

New Testament

and the

opening words

in the book

of Revelation

are the

revelation

of Jesus

Christ

which God

gave him

to show

his servants

what must

soon

take

place

this

life is

not all

there is

there is

another

and there

is a day

which will

soon take

place

a day of

reckoning

a day

of

judgment

and in

my view

there are

two

major

errors

that are

being committed

and being

lived by

people

who are

not

committed

Christians

they both

have long

names but

they're easy

to explain

the first

is universalism

there are

millions of

people in

these United

States who

feel

well of

course I

realize I'm

not a

committed

Christian

I don't

go to

church

don't read

my Bible

but the

great thing

is that

God is

love

and

therefore at

the end of

the day

whatever failure

I've been

whatever failures

I've shown

God's love

will wrap

his arms

around me

and draw

me to

himself

with all

the rest

of humanity

forever

that is

called

universalism

and you

understand why

it has that

word

the other

is annihilationism

and annihilationism

says there

is no

God

and when

we die

we die

and that's

the end

of it

that's the

end of the

whole

story

but it's

not the

end of the

story

my question

is do

you know

where you

are going

there's a

lovely story

told of

Albert Einstein

the great

German

scientist

traveling in

a train

one day

a number

of years

ago of

course

in Germany

and the

ticket

inspector

came along

and found

Einstein

doing this

and goodness

me

and he

said

can I

help you

he said

well I've

lost my

ticket

and in the

course of

the inspector

being there

and looking

at it

suddenly realized

who he was

and said

oh professor

don't worry

about that

I know

you are

that's fine

so the

train went

on

stopped at

another

station

again the

inspector

comes around

looking for

tickets for

those who

just joined

the train

this time

found Einstein

on his

hands and

knees

looking under

the seat

and he

said can I