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
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
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
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
help you
sir
he said
I'm
looking for
my
ticket
and the
inspector
said sir
I told
you
I don't
need your
ticket
I know
who you
are
and Einstein
said I
know who
I am
I don't
know where
I'm
going
now I'm
sure you
know who
you are
but do
you know
where you're
going
there's
going to
be a
great day
of judgment
of separation
and the
bible does
not teach
universalism
we'll all
be saved
nor does
it teach
annihilationism
there is
no god
there is
no heaven
there is
no hell
we'll just
be zapped
and that's
the end
of it
it does
teach that
we are
answerable
to the
lord
for the
lives
we live
no
christian
will be
lost
there's
no
condemnation
to those
who are
in christ
jesus
but the
bible does
speak of
rewards
and blessings
in heaven
that are
calibrated
in ways
beyond
our
reckoning
that are
related to
the kind
of lives
we live
as christians
true christians
new testament
christians
know that
life is
not trivial
nothing
in life
is trivial
because
for everything
in life
we are
accountable
so
I end
as I began
by asking
you the
question
are you
a new
testament
christian
have you
begun
with the
gospel
are there
acts in
your life
that show
that it
has taken
root
do you
recognize
realize
accept
that you
are an
epistle
and that
people are
reading you
that because
they don't
open this
book and
read it
they've got
your life
to read
is your
life likely
to draw
them towards
christ
or drive
them from
him
and are
you living
each day
conscious
that one
day there
will be an
account
and you
look and
long for
the day
when you
will hear
those
blessed
words
enter
into the
joy
of your
lord
well done
good
and faithful
servant
my responsibility
to be preaching
those truths
in these days
and as we
said earlier
in the realm
of apologetic
seeking to
equip
christians to
answer the
questions that
others will be
asking them
hence the
three books
that were
mentioned
earlier
and hence
I'm afraid
the bad
news
that are
only ten
sets
left
but you
will be
able to
talk to
your pastor
afterwards
if you
want them
beyond
this
morning's
service
let's
bow our
heads
in
prayer
together
our
heavenly
father
what we
know
not
teach
us
and what
we have
not
give
us
and what
we are
not
make
us
and we
pray in
the name
of your
son
our
savior
amen
mom
tenía
em
ale
신
man