WEBVTT 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:04.080 We find ourselves in the same text we were in 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:08.460 last week. I typically don't do that, but I think 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:10.580 there are two primary applications to this text. 00:00:10.660 --> 00:00:14.599 We covered one last week, so we will look at 00:00:14.599 --> 00:00:18.160 the other Lord willing this morning. I'm not 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.640 going to read the text. It will come up within 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:24.940 the sermon. But as we should always do before 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:28.260 we begin to hear from heaven, we should ask God 00:00:28.260 --> 00:00:31.199 for His help. And that he would show us Jesus. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:38.579 So would you pray with me? Father, we have opened 00:00:38.579 --> 00:00:41.020 your word, the word that is settled in heaven. 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:47.560 The word that gives light and direction. Lord, 00:00:47.579 --> 00:00:50.039 the one that gives conviction and can split us 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:54.079 open. Father, Lord, we understand that, Lord, 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:57.659 your word is given to us from you, Lord. It's 00:00:57.659 --> 00:00:59.840 given to your people. It is the rock on which 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:02.759 we stand, but it points us to the ultimate rock, 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.359 which is your son. Lord, I pray this morning 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:09.420 that you would help us to see something of the 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:11.859 glory of Christ. Lord, I pray that you would 00:01:11.859 --> 00:01:15.879 help us to find our hope, our joy, and the satisfaction 00:01:15.879 --> 00:01:21.040 of our soul in Jesus, Lord. God, open our eyes 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:24.659 and our hearts to receive this manna from heaven, 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:29.540 we pray in Christ's name. Amen. I remember back 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:32.659 in the day, there were, well, really I said back 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:34.939 in the day, let's say back in the 80s, which 00:01:34.939 --> 00:01:37.359 is back in the day, there were several things 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:40.180 that were signs of success and wealth. And one 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:41.819 of them, if you were alive during that decade, 00:01:42.019 --> 00:01:44.980 I mean, you knew that if you owned a real Rolex, 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:49.340 to own a real one was a sign that you had made 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:52.379 it. It was a sign of success or wealth. And I 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:55.700 had an uncle who had retired during that time. 00:01:56.219 --> 00:01:58.379 And for his many years of service, he was gifted 00:01:58.379 --> 00:02:01.379 by his employer a real Rolex, and he showed it 00:02:01.379 --> 00:02:03.900 to me. And I remember being surprised at how 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:08.280 heavy the watch was. And since it was a status 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:11.780 symbol, there were many counterfeits and knockoffs. 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:14.520 But after he showed me the real one, the fake 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:17.180 ones were pretty easy to spot because, first 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:18.919 of all, the real one's much heavier, and the 00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:21.460 fake ones are lighter because the genuines are 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:25.680 made of... High grade steel, 18 karat gold or 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:28.580 even platinum. And of course a knockoff is going 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:31.560 to use much cheaper and lighter metals. The other 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:33.080 thing I remember being real impressed with was 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:37.379 that smooth, quiet, sweeping second hands. It 00:02:37.379 --> 00:02:39.979 didn't tick. It was just smooth. It was continuous 00:02:39.979 --> 00:02:42.800 and it was very quiet. Fake ones of course tick 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:45.219 and are much louder. Now you may be wondering, 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:49.000 what's your point in talking about a Rolex? The 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:52.090 point that I want to make this morning, is that 00:02:52.090 --> 00:02:55.849 anything that has value is going to be counterfeited. 00:02:56.449 --> 00:02:59.930 If it is valuable, there will be a fake one out 00:02:59.930 --> 00:03:03.270 there somewhere. You see this in currency. It's 00:03:03.270 --> 00:03:07.069 counterfeited all the time. Clothing, purses, 00:03:07.110 --> 00:03:13.389 jewelry, perfume, you name it. If it has value 00:03:13.389 --> 00:03:16.849 or status, there's a counterfeit to it. But the 00:03:16.849 --> 00:03:18.830 real ones are always going to be distinct from 00:03:18.830 --> 00:03:22.990 the fake. They're never exactly alike, regardless 00:03:22.990 --> 00:03:26.750 of how much that fake may resemble the genuine. 00:03:27.590 --> 00:03:30.849 And this dynamic is also true in the church. 00:03:31.729 --> 00:03:36.270 There are authentic Christians, and at the same 00:03:36.270 --> 00:03:39.689 time, Satan has planted his counterfeits. He 00:03:39.689 --> 00:03:42.830 has planted his knockoff version in the church, 00:03:42.990 --> 00:03:45.310 and the Lord told us a parable about this very 00:03:45.310 --> 00:03:48.219 phenomena. So in Matthew 13, which is where we 00:03:48.219 --> 00:03:51.159 are, there are seven parables in this one chapter, 00:03:51.300 --> 00:03:54.060 and each of the parables is related to the kingdom 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:58.259 of God. Each of the parables sheds some light 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:03.379 or gives correction to the false assumption that 00:04:03.379 --> 00:04:05.560 the disciples would have had about the kingdom 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:08.199 of God. So in the parable we're looking at again 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:10.340 today, it's known as the parable of the wheat 00:04:10.340 --> 00:04:12.599 and the tares, or sometimes you might hear it 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:15.569 as the wheat and the weeds. And last week we 00:04:15.569 --> 00:04:18.449 looked at it, and the application we gained from 00:04:18.449 --> 00:04:21.810 it was the application to the world. And my basic 00:04:21.810 --> 00:04:24.470 premise last week was that the wicked and the 00:04:24.470 --> 00:04:28.149 righteous will exist alongside one another as 00:04:28.149 --> 00:04:31.230 long as this current age continues to exist. 00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:36.029 But a day is coming when God will rid the world 00:04:36.029 --> 00:04:40.129 of all wickedness. But as long as we live now, 00:04:40.189 --> 00:04:42.589 in this current epoch, this current age, the 00:04:42.589 --> 00:04:45.689 sons of the kingdom, Jesus said, will live alongside 00:04:45.689 --> 00:04:49.329 the sons of the devil. And we had several applications. 00:04:50.069 --> 00:04:53.589 So what does that mean for us as believers? Well, 00:04:53.709 --> 00:04:57.310 since we're living alongside the wicked, Christians 00:04:57.310 --> 00:05:00.670 should expect opposition. We share the world 00:05:00.670 --> 00:05:04.110 with the wicked. So that means in this age, Christians 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:06.750 will encounter tribulation. We will encounter 00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:09.860 suffering. And you and I are not to be surprised 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:13.459 or thrown off guard by that. Yes, the kingdom 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:15.480 of God has come. That is a very true statement. 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:20.000 But it's not yet come in its fullness. So we 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.699 live in the already but not yet. Jesus Christ. 00:05:25.139 --> 00:05:29.579 He has already defeated sin and evil and death 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:34.879 through his life, death, and resurrection. Yet, 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:38.779 not yet, that victory has not been... fully realized 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:43.180 in the world. So we use words like the kingdom 00:05:43.180 --> 00:05:47.060 is inaugurated, but it's not yet consummated. 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:50.740 Therefore, you and I as Christians, we should 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:56.500 not expect a fully restored world yet. Which 00:05:56.500 --> 00:05:59.759 means believers are still going to be tempted 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:03.120 and we're still going to sin and we're still 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:05.300 going to get sick and they're still going to 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:08.019 suffer. And they're still going to die. Why? 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:10.519 Because the kingdom of God has not yet arrived 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:14.500 in its full, final, consummated state. So life 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:16.959 in this age, as much as we may think life is 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:19.920 precious, it's not as we would want it to be. 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:23.579 We can all say that. Injustice is still present. 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:26.860 But when the kingdom does arrive in its fullness, 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:32.060 then, and only then, there will be no more suffering. 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.779 Believers will no longer be tempted. We won't 00:06:35.779 --> 00:06:38.399 still sin. No one's going to get sick and no 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:41.399 one will ever die in the consummated kingdom 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:44.180 of God. Now that teaching would have been a surprise 00:06:44.180 --> 00:06:47.759 to the disciples of Jesus because they had been 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:51.639 taught that when the kingdom of God came, it 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:54.199 would come in its final form. They did not have 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:56.800 a place in their thinking for a two -tiered system, 00:06:56.879 --> 00:06:59.980 if you will. So the Lord Jesus and John the Baptist, 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:02.199 remember both of them came on the scene and they 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:05.079 were preaching, the kingdom of God has come. 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:07.980 It's at hand. And you're thinking, well, that's 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:11.000 great. But the disciples are looking around and 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:14.300 said, but Rome is still here. Rome is still occupying 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:17.060 Israel. By the way, people are still getting 00:07:17.060 --> 00:07:21.040 sick and dying. The righteous are still suffering 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:25.379 at the hands of the unjust. So Jesus' disciples, 00:07:25.540 --> 00:07:27.579 they couldn't understand, how is it possible 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:29.759 that Jesus, you keep saying the kingdom has come? 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:33.399 See, his teaching did not line up with what they 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:36.019 had always been taught. So the Lord gave this 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:39.279 parable. He's correcting some of their faulty 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:42.420 understanding. But this parable, as I said, applies 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:45.639 to the world, which we looked at last week. There 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:48.759 is also a genuine application to the church. 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:53.480 In the church of the Lord Jesus. there will be 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:58.500 both wheat and tares, genuine Christians and 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:02.279 hypocrites. Now I use that term hypocrite. Oftentimes 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:05.279 we hear unbelievers slander the bride of Christ 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:08.439 by saying, oh, it's just a bunch of hypocrites. 00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:11.800 Now what they normally mean, I'm going to be 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:15.040 very charitable to them, what they normally mean 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:17.240 is that the church is full of people who still 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:21.040 sin. Guilty. The church is full of less than 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:24.180 perfect people. Absolutely. And that is true. 00:08:24.740 --> 00:08:27.720 And that will always be true. But that's not 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:32.379 hypocrisy. What is a true hypocrite? A hypocrite 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:35.500 is an unsaved person. It's not someone who's 00:08:35.500 --> 00:08:37.980 less than perfect, someone still struggling with 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:40.379 sin. That describes every Christian. That describes 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:44.399 every one of us in here this morning. But a hypocrite, 00:08:44.419 --> 00:08:48.440 in the classical sense, is someone who's wearing 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.120 a mask. That's where the word came from. It actually 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:54.080 brought in from the Greeks and those actors. 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:56.620 They would come on stage wearing a mask, pretending 00:08:56.620 --> 00:08:58.899 to be someone they weren't. So when we talk about 00:08:58.899 --> 00:09:01.320 hypocrites in the church, these are people who 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:04.139 are pretending to be something they are not. 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:09.460 It's a game. They're playing a part. They are 00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:14.659 a counterfeit. Now, they may look the part. They 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:17.039 may even talk the part. They may say the right 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:22.039 words. But it doesn't match their heart. There's 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:24.539 no corresponding inner reality. Their hearts 00:09:24.539 --> 00:09:26.460 have never been changed by the Spirit of God. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.000 They're members of the church because they can 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:31.779 deceive us. But they've never bowed their knee 00:09:31.779 --> 00:09:35.360 to Christ. They honor God, as Isaiah said, with 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.879 their lips. But their hearts are far from him. 00:09:39.539 --> 00:09:43.000 Now with that in mind, let's reread this parable. 00:09:44.500 --> 00:09:47.620 Another parable. He put forth to them, saying, 00:09:47.779 --> 00:09:51.419 The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed 00:09:51.419 --> 00:09:54.460 good seed in his field. But while men slept, 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:56.799 his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:00.600 and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:02.320 and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 00:10:03.220 --> 00:10:05.379 So the servants of the owner came and said to 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:07.779 him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:11.379 How then does it have tares? He said to them, 00:10:11.500 --> 00:10:15.100 An enemy has done this. The servant said to him, 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:16.899 well, do you want us then to go and gather them 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:21.500 up? But he said, no. Lest while you gather up 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:25.539 the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:31.080 Let both grow together until the harvest. And 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:33.379 at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, 00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:38.879 first gather together the tares and bind them 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:42.539 in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat. 00:10:43.859 --> 00:10:46.440 Now, we talked about this last week quickly. 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:49.019 The tares that Jesus spoke of were most likely 00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:51.779 darnel seeds or bearded darnel seeds. They produced 00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:56.519 a weed that originally started off looking like 00:10:56.519 --> 00:11:00.039 wheat. So in the beginning, wheat and tares were 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:02.820 almost indistinguishable. But once they're fully 00:11:02.820 --> 00:11:06.559 grown, the difference becomes obvious. So as 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:09.340 they grow and mature, the tares will remain upright. 00:11:10.539 --> 00:11:13.200 But the wheat will begin to bend over, loaded 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:16.720 down with heavy grain. Now that in itself is 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:19.620 a very fitting object lesson. If you saw nothing 00:11:19.620 --> 00:11:26.700 else, the tares do not bow. The wheat bows down 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:30.419 bearing fruit, bearing grain. Now how does this 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:33.299 apply to the church? As I said last week, you 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:35.419 and I are very privileged because Jesus gave 00:11:35.419 --> 00:11:38.320 us the interpretation. He gave us the key, the 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.940 answer key, to unlock. what he was talking about. 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:44.019 So let's go to the next part. Let's look at verses 00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:48.960 36 to verse 43. Then Jesus sent the multitude 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:52.240 away and he went into the house. His disciples 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.360 came to him. So this is only given to the disciples. 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:57.539 They said, explain to us the parable of the tares. 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:01.299 He answered and said to them, okay, he who shows 00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:04.379 the good seed is a son of man. The field is the 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:07.759 world. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom. 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:10.600 But the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:13.779 The enemy who sowed those tares is the devil, 00:12:13.820 --> 00:12:15.559 and the harvest, well, that's the end of the 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:18.559 age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore, 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:21.700 as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:27.120 so it will be at the end of this age. The Son 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:31.360 of Man will send out his angels, and they will 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:35.600 gather out of all his kingdom all the things 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.110 that offend, And those who practice lawlessness 00:12:39.110 --> 00:12:42.490 and the angels will cast them into the furnace 00:12:42.490 --> 00:12:46.970 of fire. And there will be wailing and gnashing 00:12:46.970 --> 00:12:52.070 of teeth. Then, and only then, the righteous 00:12:52.070 --> 00:12:55.610 will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of 00:12:55.610 --> 00:12:59.070 their father. And as he normally does, he said, 00:12:59.090 --> 00:13:03.250 he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Real quickly, 00:13:03.450 --> 00:13:07.740 the sower, it's Jesus. Good seed, the church, 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:12.960 sons of the kingdom. Enemy, it's the devil. The 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:15.259 tares that are sown amongst the wheat, sons of 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:18.480 the wicked one. The final harvest is the end 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:21.139 of this age in which we live. Who's going to 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:23.360 do the reaping with the angels sent by Christ? 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:26.779 He said the burning of the tares, well that represents 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:29.019 the judgment of the wicked. They'll be tossed 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:32.480 into hellfire. But the gathering of wheat is 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:34.759 the righteous entering the kingdom of God. So 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:36.340 what's the key? What can we say if there's one 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:38.899 key that we can look at this morning? There's 00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:41.659 one key takeaway. For all of our best efforts, 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:46.200 this church on this earth will always be a mixture 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:50.159 of both Christians and hypocrites. Counterfeits. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:54.519 There will never be a completely pure church 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:58.320 on this side of heaven. It does not exist. Now 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:02.450 we fight for that. We try for that. But we should 00:14:02.450 --> 00:14:05.309 not despair because Jesus said at the end of 00:14:05.309 --> 00:14:07.870 the age, this age is going to end, folks. This 00:14:07.870 --> 00:14:09.549 world in which we currently live will not always 00:14:09.549 --> 00:14:13.629 be the one in which we live. He said then the 00:14:13.629 --> 00:14:17.909 hypocrites will be separated and terribly they 00:14:17.909 --> 00:14:19.990 will be made to face the awful judgment of God. 00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:23.210 Now Jesus began the parable by saying the kingdom 00:14:23.210 --> 00:14:28.230 of heaven is like. He's given a metaphor. Obviously, 00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:30.409 he's shedding some light on the nature of his 00:14:30.409 --> 00:14:33.490 kingdom. He's giving us some intel on what you 00:14:33.490 --> 00:14:36.750 and I should expect right now concerning his 00:14:36.750 --> 00:14:40.450 kingdom. Now, oftentimes we equate the kingdom 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:42.269 of God and the church. I do this all the time. 00:14:42.529 --> 00:14:46.450 And they are very close, but they're not perfect 00:14:46.450 --> 00:14:50.649 synonyms. The kingdom of God, again, if we're 00:14:50.649 --> 00:14:53.570 talking about classical sense, refers to God's 00:14:53.570 --> 00:14:57.070 universal rule, heaven and earth. But the church 00:14:57.070 --> 00:15:00.330 is tasked with bearing witness to that rule on 00:15:00.330 --> 00:15:03.049 earth. So the church is the place where the kingdom 00:15:03.049 --> 00:15:05.730 of God is made known in the world. Someone wants 00:15:05.730 --> 00:15:07.169 to know what's the kingdom of God look like, 00:15:07.169 --> 00:15:09.549 they ought to look at the church. But the kingdom 00:15:09.549 --> 00:15:12.830 of God is actually broader, bigger. It's not 00:15:12.830 --> 00:15:14.850 just God's rule on the earth, it's God's rule 00:15:14.850 --> 00:15:18.210 universally in heaven and on earth. But the church, 00:15:18.269 --> 00:15:22.789 by word and sacrament, bears witness to that 00:15:22.789 --> 00:15:26.580 reign here on the earth. Aaron Armstrong was 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:28.799 writing an article. He said, the church is the 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:31.580 people of God who live under Jesus's loving rule 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:34.299 right now. You've been baptized in the name of 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:36.460 the triune God. You live under his lordship. 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:39.279 Yet you're waiting for the realization of God's 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:41.539 kingdom in the future. That's why we keep praying 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:44.649 your kingdom come. As a church, we are called 00:15:44.649 --> 00:15:47.970 to be witnesses to his kingdom. We proclaim God's 00:15:47.970 --> 00:15:50.889 message of salvation through Christ and we demonstrate 00:15:50.889 --> 00:15:53.090 the power of the gospel through our good works 00:15:53.090 --> 00:15:57.309 so that others may be brought to live under God's 00:15:57.309 --> 00:16:02.289 glorious reign. Now in the kingdom of God, everyone 00:16:02.289 --> 00:16:07.549 confesses that Jesus is Lord. But in Matthew 00:16:07.549 --> 00:16:10.289 chapter 7, Jesus said not everyone who calls 00:16:10.289 --> 00:16:12.529 him Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven. 00:16:14.190 --> 00:16:17.169 Matthew 7, 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, 00:16:17.250 --> 00:16:19.149 Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, 00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:21.450 but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:24.470 So that means, now this is the scary part to 00:16:24.470 --> 00:16:29.450 me. There are some who call Jesus Lord, and yet 00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:31.629 at the end of the age will not enter into that 00:16:31.629 --> 00:16:35.590 full, final, eschatological kingdom of God. So 00:16:35.590 --> 00:16:37.690 you're saying, why? Or you should be asking that. 00:16:38.509 --> 00:16:41.250 If they confess Christ, why are they denied entrance 00:16:41.250 --> 00:16:45.590 into the kingdom? Because their confession, or 00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:50.750 we say profession, is empty. Calling Jesus Lord 00:16:50.750 --> 00:16:55.330 must be matched by a life that is being conformed 00:16:55.330 --> 00:17:00.029 to God's will. If he's Lord, he's master, he's 00:17:00.029 --> 00:17:03.529 boss. Currently in their church, there are some, 00:17:04.369 --> 00:17:07.529 and we're talking about the church, big, whose 00:17:07.529 --> 00:17:12.099 faith does nothing. It's a dead faith. It's not 00:17:12.099 --> 00:17:14.380 a saving faith. And I don't like the word saving 00:17:14.380 --> 00:17:16.140 faith, by the way. We hear it all the time. It's 00:17:16.140 --> 00:17:18.400 a phrase, I'll use it, but I don't like it. It's 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:23.019 misleading. Because faith saves no one. It can't. 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:27.839 Jesus is the one who saves. And faith is the 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:32.339 instrument by which we are united to Jesus. Now 00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:33.960 that's an important distinction because a lot 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:36.099 of people have faith and tremendous faith and 00:17:36.099 --> 00:17:39.059 they're unsaved. It's only the faith that connects 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:43.059 us to Jesus. So that means everyone who is united 00:17:43.059 --> 00:17:46.680 to Christ, we ought to demonstrate that union, 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:50.519 that connection, that faith connection by producing 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:56.259 good works and obedience to Christ, although 00:17:56.259 --> 00:17:59.559 we will do that imperfectly. There is obedience, 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:02.980 there's love, there's good works, but none of 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:05.940 those are perfect this side of heaven. That's 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:08.019 why when we're looking at this, we see it's a 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:10.920 mixed bag. St. Augustine, he was writing in the 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:15.599 4th century. He called the church a corpus permixum, 00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:20.460 Latin phrase, a mixed body. So what he meant 00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:23.420 is the church on earth is comprised of true believers 00:18:23.420 --> 00:18:25.680 and counterfeits. You and I are not privy to 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:27.579 know who those are. So that means there are both 00:18:27.579 --> 00:18:31.599 saints and sinners within the church. And you 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:34.660 may be thinking, but I'm a sinner. Yes, you are. 00:18:35.660 --> 00:18:40.910 Even as saints. We still wrestle with sin. Martin 00:18:40.910 --> 00:18:43.930 Luther had that famous Latin phrase describing 00:18:43.930 --> 00:18:47.730 the Christian. He said, Simul justus et peccator. 00:18:47.829 --> 00:18:52.609 Latin. Simultaneously just or righteous and sinner. 00:18:53.170 --> 00:18:56.089 So what he meant by that is all saints. Listen, 00:18:56.230 --> 00:18:59.109 I want to make sure we understand this. All saints 00:18:59.109 --> 00:19:03.829 still sin because we're not yet glorified. Yes, 00:19:03.829 --> 00:19:06.309 we're just. We're righteous in the sight of God. 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:10.259 yet still sinners. But when Augustine was referring 00:19:10.259 --> 00:19:12.779 to sinners, he was talking about those who are 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:17.099 unregenerate in the church. The hypocrites, the 00:19:17.099 --> 00:19:20.740 tares. And the Lord Jesus referred to hypocrites 00:19:20.740 --> 00:19:23.460 in that great sermon that he preached, the Sermon 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:26.160 on the Mount. In Matthew chapter 7, I already 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:29.400 alluded to it once, but look at verse 21. Jesus 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:31.759 said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:35.259 shall enter in the kingdom of heaven. But he 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:37.019 who does the will of my Father in heaven, look 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:41.220 down at verse 26. But everyone who hears these 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:46.619 sayings of mine and does not do them will be 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:49.579 like a foolish man. He built his house on the 00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:53.920 sand. The storm came, folks. The rain descended. 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:59.259 The floods rose. The wind blew and beat upon 00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:04.359 that house and it fell. And Jesus said, and great 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:10.900 was its fall. If your faith produces no obedience 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:15.660 to Christ, you are in trouble. These are not 00:20:15.660 --> 00:20:19.599 my words. If your faith is not causing you to 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:23.740 love and obey Christ, albeit imperfectly, it 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:27.250 is a dead faith. there could be nothing more 00:20:27.250 --> 00:20:29.549 devastating than to come to the end of your life 00:20:29.549 --> 00:20:31.789 and find out that you have been denied entrance 00:20:31.789 --> 00:20:35.789 into the kingdom of God. In this same sermon, 00:20:35.849 --> 00:20:37.130 the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said there's two 00:20:37.130 --> 00:20:40.789 types of trees. And they represent two groups 00:20:40.789 --> 00:20:44.710 of people. You have good trees and you have bad 00:20:44.710 --> 00:20:48.329 trees. Good tree bears good fruit. Bad tree bears 00:20:48.329 --> 00:20:52.549 rotten fruit. The bad tree, though, it can look 00:20:52.549 --> 00:20:56.299 good for a while. But in the end, its fruit will 00:20:56.299 --> 00:20:59.359 always reveal what type of tree it really is. 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:02.059 He said, look at Matthew 7 again, verses 18. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:07.759 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:12.839 bad tree bear good fruit. Therefore, by your 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:14.799 fruits, their fruits, excuse me, you will know 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:18.460 them. As we think about hypocrites in the church, 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:23.200 the classic example is Judas Iscariot. He started 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.789 out well. He began well. He looked like a true 00:21:25.789 --> 00:21:28.349 disciple of Christ. I mean, think about Judas. 00:21:28.470 --> 00:21:32.230 He enjoyed proximity to Jesus. Judas was part 00:21:32.230 --> 00:21:36.369 of that coveted inner 12. He had a very special 00:21:36.369 --> 00:21:40.390 place. He spent significant time working closely 00:21:40.390 --> 00:21:44.789 with Jesus for three years, side by side. Here's 00:21:44.789 --> 00:21:46.819 the thing about Judas. He preached in the name 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:49.480 of Jesus. He cast out demons in the name of Jesus. 00:21:49.619 --> 00:21:51.980 He did signs and wonders in the name of Jesus. 00:21:52.140 --> 00:21:55.440 And yet, in the end, Judas proved to be a hypocrite, 00:21:55.500 --> 00:22:00.079 a counterfeit, a tear. He was a tear among wheat. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:04.619 See, Judas tried to capitalize off of Jesus. 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:07.539 Jesus was very popular. Remember, Judas was a 00:22:07.539 --> 00:22:11.059 treasure. Jesus was very popular and Judas was 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:14.500 able to line his own pockets off the back of 00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:18.640 Jesus' popularity. But when Judas saw that Jesus 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:21.799 kept talking about his impending death and he 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:24.099 saw that he would no longer be able to profit 00:22:24.099 --> 00:22:28.920 from Jesus, he even still betrayed him for money. 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:33.180 30 pieces of silver. And eventually Judas took 00:22:33.180 --> 00:22:38.930 his own life. His fruit revealed. He was a bad 00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:41.450 tree. And the Bible speaks of them. He's a son 00:22:41.450 --> 00:22:44.470 of perdition. Now in this parable of Matthew 00:22:44.470 --> 00:22:47.230 13, remember the servants, they go to their master 00:22:47.230 --> 00:22:49.049 and they say, hey, do you want us to go gather, 00:22:49.170 --> 00:22:50.789 do you want us to get rid of these tares right 00:22:50.789 --> 00:22:53.710 now? Do you want us to pluck them up? The master 00:22:53.710 --> 00:22:55.750 said, no, don't do that. That'd be a big mistake. 00:22:55.990 --> 00:22:58.029 Because inevitably, when you start to pluck up 00:22:58.029 --> 00:22:59.990 the tares, you're going to uproot some of the 00:22:59.990 --> 00:23:04.230 wheat. Don't do it. Now here's a question I ask 00:23:04.230 --> 00:23:07.390 myself, I oppose to you. Does that mean we are 00:23:07.390 --> 00:23:11.230 to ignore overt sin in the church? Are we never 00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:15.009 to make any judgment calls on anyone? Aren't 00:23:15.009 --> 00:23:18.690 we called to practice church discipline? Yes. 00:23:19.309 --> 00:23:21.750 Knowing there will be tears among wheat does 00:23:21.750 --> 00:23:24.650 not mean that we simply ignore and overlook sin 00:23:24.650 --> 00:23:29.410 in God's church. Gross sin in the church of Christ 00:23:29.410 --> 00:23:32.670 is not to be ignored. It is to be disciplined. 00:23:33.610 --> 00:23:35.650 Now again, I want to say, this side of heaven, 00:23:35.670 --> 00:23:37.549 the church will never be completely pure. But 00:23:37.549 --> 00:23:39.609 that doesn't stop us from moving toward that 00:23:39.609 --> 00:23:42.289 goal. Because I want you to look at one passage 00:23:42.289 --> 00:23:45.289 in 1 Corinthians 5. We talked about this before, 00:23:45.509 --> 00:23:48.569 but there's a man in the church in Corinth. And 00:23:48.569 --> 00:23:50.130 he's committing gross immorality. Everyone knows 00:23:50.130 --> 00:23:51.529 about it. It's an open scandal in the church. 00:23:51.630 --> 00:23:53.450 He's sleeping, it says, with his father's wife. 00:23:54.069 --> 00:23:56.650 Not his mother, but his stepmother. So here's 00:23:56.650 --> 00:23:58.750 a man, claims to be a Christian, in the church, 00:23:58.809 --> 00:24:02.089 and having an affair with his stepmom. Read the 00:24:02.089 --> 00:24:06.119 words of Paul. Read the words of God. It is actually 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:08.059 reported that there is sexual immorality among 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:10.920 you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:12.880 among pagans. Listen, pagan people don't even 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:16.960 do this. For a man has his father's wife, and 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:20.039 you are arrogant. Ought you not rather to mourn? 00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:24.759 Let him who has done this thing be removed from 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:27.740 among you. For though absent in body, Paul said, 00:24:27.819 --> 00:24:30.960 I'm not with you. I'm present in spirit, and 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:33.259 as if present. I've already pronounced judgment 00:24:33.259 --> 00:24:35.059 on the one who did such a thing. I don't need 00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:36.640 to hear anymore. I just know the truth here. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:39.200 When you are assembled, you come together as 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:41.380 a church in the name of the Lord Jesus, and my 00:24:41.380 --> 00:24:43.559 spirit is present with the power of our Lord 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:47.240 Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:49.740 the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:55.200 may be saved in the day of the Lord. Okay. Apostle 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:57.000 Paul's upset. He's not mincing words here, is 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:00.460 he? There's an immoral man. And he's upset that 00:25:00.460 --> 00:25:02.039 you've not already removed him. You guys are 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:04.599 being arrogant. Why is the guy coming to the 00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:07.799 Lord's table? So the expectation that Paul had 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:10.819 was that this man, who is unrepentant, would 00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:13.220 be excommunicated from the church. You don't 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:15.660 tolerate his gross immorality. So we don't want 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:18.559 to hear, well, we're all sinners. Yes, we know 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:21.420 that. But that's not the excuse for allowing 00:25:21.420 --> 00:25:25.059 this type of sin to exist. So the man's presence 00:25:25.059 --> 00:25:29.019 in the church was a scandal. to the gospel of 00:25:29.019 --> 00:25:31.960 the Lord Jesus. And that's what happens. Gross 00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:35.759 sin in the church is like a cancer. It just grows. 00:25:36.339 --> 00:25:38.920 Paul said that in 1 Corinthians 5. He said, do 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:41.400 you not know that a little leaven, just a little, 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:45.140 leavens the whole lump? Do you not know that? 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:48.920 Therefore, purge out the old leaven. Sin that 00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:51.740 is tolerated in the church brings harm to the 00:25:51.740 --> 00:25:54.259 whole body, which is why church discipline is 00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:58.160 mandatory. You must do it. But the goal, the 00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:02.240 reason we do it is restorative, not merely punitive. 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:05.599 See, when the church has to discipline someone, 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:08.599 we desire their repentance and we desire that 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:11.640 that person be restored to fellowship. We don't 00:26:11.640 --> 00:26:15.039 want to merely punish them. Now, what about this 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:17.440 guy? Had he been repentant, the church would 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:19.740 have forgiven him and restored him. And that's 00:26:19.740 --> 00:26:22.619 exactly what they did in 2 Corinthians. In 2 00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:26.589 Corinthians chapter 2. Paul writing again, same 00:26:26.589 --> 00:26:29.910 church. Now if anyone has caused pain, he has 00:26:29.910 --> 00:26:32.410 caused it not to me, but in some measure, not 00:26:32.410 --> 00:26:34.130 to put it too severely, to all of you. Hey, I'm 00:26:34.130 --> 00:26:35.970 not a part of your church. He's caused problems 00:26:35.970 --> 00:26:39.210 for you all. For such a one, now notice, this 00:26:39.210 --> 00:26:43.009 punishment by the majority is enough. So you 00:26:43.009 --> 00:26:46.390 should rather turn to forgive and comfort him. 00:26:46.470 --> 00:26:49.730 The man apparently repented. Forgive him, comfort 00:26:49.730 --> 00:26:52.609 him, or else he may be overwhelmed by excessive 00:26:52.609 --> 00:26:57.839 sorrow. So I beg you, reaffirm your love for 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:03.579 him. That's the church. The man's repented. Paul 00:27:03.579 --> 00:27:06.240 said, all right, first you were arrogant and 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:07.619 didn't do anything, and now you're being too 00:27:07.619 --> 00:27:13.099 harsh. Forgive that man. Even for his scandalous 00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:16.579 sin, forgive him. Restore and defile. It doesn't 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:18.759 matter what he did. He's repented. You restore 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:22.019 him. The discipline has achieved its desired 00:27:22.019 --> 00:27:25.599 result. So yes, it's proper that we as a church 00:27:25.599 --> 00:27:28.880 work to have a pure church, but we do so realizing 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:31.619 that perfection will be impossible this side 00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:33.779 of heaven. There's always going to be some tares 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:35.759 living among wheat. It's always going to happen. 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:38.220 But we don't despair. I may not know who the 00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:40.559 tares are. You may not know who the tares are, 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:44.279 but the Lord knows his own. In 2 Timothy chapter 00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:47.670 2, nevertheless, The solid foundation of God 00:27:47.670 --> 00:27:51.410 stands having this seal. The Lord knows those 00:27:51.410 --> 00:27:55.009 who are his. Yeah. Jesus in John 10, that great 00:27:55.009 --> 00:27:57.109 chapter of the good shepherd, he said, I am the 00:27:57.109 --> 00:27:59.829 good shepherd and I know my sheep. I know them. 00:28:00.910 --> 00:28:03.950 And I'm known by them. See, God's never confused 00:28:03.950 --> 00:28:08.059 as to who are wheat and who are tares. He's never 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:10.740 in doubt about who belongs to him. He always 00:28:10.740 --> 00:28:14.299 knows. Now Satan, if you go back to the parable, 00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:18.920 he has sown the bad seed. He's trying to undermine 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:22.539 the church of Christ. Why? How? By infiltrating 00:28:22.539 --> 00:28:26.059 the church. He's planting his own weeds in there. 00:28:26.900 --> 00:28:29.859 And we shouldn't be surprised by it. 2 Corinthians 00:28:29.859 --> 00:28:33.339 11. Paul, again, right into the same church. 00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:39.210 For such are... False apostles. Deceitful workers. 00:28:40.490 --> 00:28:43.170 Transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 00:28:43.269 --> 00:28:46.349 They look like it. They talk like it. For Satan 00:28:46.349 --> 00:28:50.089 himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 00:28:50.150 --> 00:28:52.390 He's not in the red suit with the pitchfork and 00:28:52.390 --> 00:28:56.490 the big forked tail. No. Therefore, it's no great 00:28:56.490 --> 00:28:59.029 thing, church, if his ministers, Satan has his 00:28:59.029 --> 00:29:03.009 ministers, they also transform themselves into 00:29:03.009 --> 00:29:05.950 ministers of righteousness. Notice that ministers 00:29:05.950 --> 00:29:09.349 of righteousness, whose end will be according 00:29:09.349 --> 00:29:12.069 to the works. They're hypocrites, folks. They're 00:29:12.069 --> 00:29:14.589 not righteous. They're ministers of Satan. They're 00:29:14.589 --> 00:29:17.490 pretending. Sometimes the tares, though, that 00:29:17.490 --> 00:29:20.650 have been sown in the church are the ones preaching 00:29:20.650 --> 00:29:24.390 from the pulpit. Everything must be weighed by 00:29:24.390 --> 00:29:27.910 the word of God. Everything. My ministry, Kyle's 00:29:27.910 --> 00:29:30.410 ministry, you don't just, we're nothing. It's 00:29:30.410 --> 00:29:33.670 the word of God that will stand in judgment over 00:29:33.670 --> 00:29:36.299 us. See, there are counterfeits. There's other 00:29:36.299 --> 00:29:37.759 counterfeits. You're like, how do you know? There 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:39.819 are some who start out well, but they don't finish 00:29:39.819 --> 00:29:43.420 well. They quit. They fall away. John wrote about 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:45.319 this, 1 John 2. This is something that helps 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:47.880 me as a pastor. He says, little children, it 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:49.559 is the last hour. It's been the last hour since 00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:51.720 the time of Christ's ascension. And as you have 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:54.319 heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:57.880 many Antichrists have come. That's how we know 00:29:57.880 --> 00:29:59.940 it's the last hour. It's been the last hour for 00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:04.339 2 ,000 years now. They went out from us. But 00:30:04.339 --> 00:30:08.480 they were not of us. Four. Now notice this. Notice 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:12.940 the logic of John. If they had been of us, they 00:30:12.940 --> 00:30:16.440 would have continued with us. But they went out. 00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:19.079 That they might be made manifest. It might be 00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:22.500 obvious. It might be known that none of them 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:27.680 were of us. John says there were people who were 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:29.599 once part of the church and then they left the 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:31.880 church. And John said they left because they 00:30:31.880 --> 00:30:35.329 were not of us. He said, had they been authentic, 00:30:35.549 --> 00:30:37.789 had they been genuine, they would have continued 00:30:37.789 --> 00:30:41.369 with us. One of the hallmarks of God's people 00:30:41.369 --> 00:30:45.890 is that they persevere in the faith. Counterfeit 00:30:45.890 --> 00:30:49.630 Christians don't do that. They quit. They apostatize. 00:30:49.630 --> 00:30:52.009 They fall away. Now, again, I want to stress 00:30:52.009 --> 00:30:55.269 this. Our judgment is never 100%. Some people 00:30:55.269 --> 00:30:56.910 in the church can deceive me. You may be a terror 00:30:56.910 --> 00:30:58.609 and deceive me, but you will never deceive the 00:30:58.609 --> 00:31:01.150 Lord. And, by the way, there is a great day of 00:31:01.150 --> 00:31:03.920 separation coming. The day of separation between 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:06.940 wheat and tares will come not until the day of 00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:11.019 final judgment. But when that judgment comes, 00:31:11.160 --> 00:31:17.279 it's too late for those who play the game. I 00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:20.240 remind you of the words of Jesus. As the tares 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:22.119 are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will 00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:25.039 be in the end of this age. The Son of Man will 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:26.579 send out his angels and they will gather out 00:31:26.579 --> 00:31:29.980 of his kingdom all things that offend and those 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:33.490 who practice lawlessness. And he will cast them 00:31:33.490 --> 00:31:37.109 into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing 00:31:37.109 --> 00:31:41.170 and gnashing of teeth. Those aren't my words. 00:31:42.470 --> 00:31:45.589 They're the words of the Son of God. So what 00:31:45.589 --> 00:31:49.410 do we do as we begin to close? What's the only 00:31:49.410 --> 00:31:52.509 thing we can do? Peter told us in 2 Peter 1, 00:31:52.650 --> 00:31:56.069 he said, Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent. 00:31:56.089 --> 00:31:59.569 Friends, you can't be lax in this. Be even more 00:31:59.569 --> 00:32:01.789 diligent to make your call and election sure. 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:04.680 For if you do these things, you will never stumble. 00:32:05.819 --> 00:32:08.240 For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:10.400 into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:13.299 Savior, Jesus Christ. Here's a question when 00:32:13.299 --> 00:32:15.099 reading this. How do we make your call and election 00:32:15.099 --> 00:32:18.660 sure? How do we make something sure that God 00:32:18.660 --> 00:32:23.460 has already decreed? We do so not by changing 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:27.839 God's decision. Rather, we confirm it in our 00:32:27.839 --> 00:32:32.490 own lives. We confirm it to ourselves by seeing 00:32:32.490 --> 00:32:39.529 genuine fruit in our lives. Good works are never 00:32:39.529 --> 00:32:45.869 the cause or the source of election. Never. But 00:32:45.869 --> 00:32:49.750 they are the evidence of it. That's all throughout 00:32:49.750 --> 00:32:52.589 the New Testament. We love Ephesians 2, 8, and 00:32:52.589 --> 00:32:54.490 9. For by grace are you saved through faith. 00:32:54.910 --> 00:32:57.569 And that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, 00:32:57.630 --> 00:33:00.240 not of works. Lest any man should boast. Amen. 00:33:00.299 --> 00:33:03.019 I love all that. Verse 10. For we are his workmanship 00:33:03.019 --> 00:33:07.259 created in Christ Jesus unto good works. You 00:33:07.259 --> 00:33:12.160 can't separate it. So we confirm our calling. 00:33:12.220 --> 00:33:15.539 We confirm our election by the fruit that's being 00:33:15.539 --> 00:33:17.559 produced. And you go back and read 2 Peter. Look 00:33:17.559 --> 00:33:20.279 at 1. Peter lists a list of virtues. Add your 00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:22.799 faith virtue to virtue knowledge. And he keeps 00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:26.819 going on. But what about those who may be terrors 00:33:26.819 --> 00:33:30.190 in the church this morning? What about those 00:33:30.190 --> 00:33:33.329 who may be unconverted? I know I have no power 00:33:33.329 --> 00:33:37.569 at all to change the heart. I pray. I pray that 00:33:37.569 --> 00:33:40.970 God will open eyes. I want to read this thing 00:33:40.970 --> 00:33:44.390 from Ligon Duncan, a quote from him. I thought 00:33:44.390 --> 00:33:48.109 he said it much better than I could. God's patience 00:33:48.109 --> 00:33:51.089 is not an opportunity to be apathetic about the 00:33:51.089 --> 00:33:53.509 final judgment. Do you ever think about that 00:33:53.509 --> 00:33:58.009 final judgment? We ought to. It's an opportunity 00:33:58.009 --> 00:34:02.190 for today and for today only to realize our sins, 00:34:02.369 --> 00:34:08.349 to flee from them, and to run to Christ. And 00:34:08.349 --> 00:34:10.309 if we will run there, we will not only be spared 00:34:10.309 --> 00:34:14.130 the final judgment of the ungodly, we will find 00:34:14.130 --> 00:34:17.429 for ourselves a shining glory in the kingdom 00:34:17.429 --> 00:34:21.289 of our Father. How do you know? Jesus promised 00:34:21.289 --> 00:34:26.550 it. Flee from the wrath to come. by running into 00:34:26.550 --> 00:34:30.710 the saving arms of Jesus. Today you come and 00:34:30.710 --> 00:34:35.570 you take, as a believer, you take the broken 00:34:35.570 --> 00:34:37.550 body and shed blood of the Son of God, which 00:34:37.550 --> 00:34:40.730 was given for sinners. We hold those elements 00:34:40.730 --> 00:34:42.610 in our hands and we're reminded of our salvation. 00:34:42.610 --> 00:34:45.849 What's your hope? My hope is built on nothing 00:34:45.849 --> 00:34:49.909 less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. That's 00:34:49.909 --> 00:34:54.130 it. That's the only plea. It is enough that Jesus 00:34:54.130 --> 00:34:59.300 died. and that he died for me. If you're undone 00:34:59.300 --> 00:35:02.400 this morning, you're away from Christ, come, 00:35:02.619 --> 00:35:05.719 repent of your sins, confess him, confess that 00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:07.880 you're only hope and believe and trust in Christ 00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:10.639 that his atoning work was enough and then be 00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:14.860 baptized, given testimony to that hope. Friends, 00:35:14.900 --> 00:35:16.579 the day of judgment is coming and we all ought 00:35:16.579 --> 00:35:19.059 to be thinking about it. Nothing else will matter 00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:22.800 on that day. Be diligent to make your call and 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:27.179 election sure. To the believer whose conscience 00:35:27.179 --> 00:35:32.059 may be sensitive, come renew your faith. Take 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:35.340 of the elements. Praise God for grace that saved 00:35:35.340 --> 00:35:36.980 you through the broken body and shed blood of 00:35:36.980 --> 00:35:43.760 his son. Let's pray. Lord, I'm thankful, God, 00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:46.880 for your word. Lord, it is truly enlightening, 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:55.599 instructive. Lord, let us live our lives, not 00:35:55.599 --> 00:35:59.179 in perpetual fear, but certainly with the knowledge 00:35:59.179 --> 00:36:01.300 of a day of final judgment. Lord, we're all going 00:36:01.300 --> 00:36:04.780 to stand before you, Lord. Every single one of 00:36:04.780 --> 00:36:07.400 us in here, we will stand before you and give 00:36:07.400 --> 00:36:10.559 an account of our lives. May we not be numbered 00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:14.679 with the hypocrites or the goats. Father, Lord, 00:36:14.739 --> 00:36:16.900 I pray, Lord, our only hope, we come to you. 00:36:17.179 --> 00:36:19.360 It's through Jesus, Lord, it's through him, through 00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:22.400 what he's done on the cross. It's the grace of 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:26.679 God that has received us. But Lord, let us, as 00:36:26.679 --> 00:36:29.119 your word calls us to do, to be diligent to make 00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:32.539 that calling and election sure. Lord, this is 00:36:32.539 --> 00:36:34.579 what your word tells us to do. And Father, I 00:36:34.579 --> 00:36:36.780 pray that we'd be diligent to do so. And those 00:36:36.780 --> 00:36:39.440 who have ears to hear will do so. Lord, open 00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:42.599 blind eyes, open deaf ears. And Lord, remove 00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:45.840 stony hearts this morning. I ask in the name 00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:49.860 of Jesus, your son. Amen. We're going to come 00:36:49.860 --> 00:36:53.070 to the table of the Lord. and commune with the 00:36:53.070 --> 00:36:55.150 one who gave his life for us. Deacons, if you 00:36:55.150 --> 00:36:56.210 would come and uncover the elements.