Taming the Untameable Tongue: Part 2

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Taming the Untameable Tongue: Part 3

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So we look to the Scriptures, go to the Word of God, James chapter 3, and I just want to read two verses, and that's what we're going to focus on today, is these two verses of the tongue.
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Hear the Word of the Living God. Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment for we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man able to bridle the whole body as well.
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Amen. To the reading of God's Word. May God bless the reading of His Word from our ears to our hearts this morning as we take heed in how we hear
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God's Word. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven,
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I think about how your Son, the Lord Jesus, taught the disciples to pray, hallowed be thy name.
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Your kingdom come, your will be done in earth as it is in heaven. So Father, now we ask that we would hallow your name, your holy name.
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May we focus on your great kingdom to come. And Father, we pray that your will be done, and for your will to be done, our will must be undone.
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And it must happen in earth, because your will is not always happening on earth, but is always happening in heaven.
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But Father, we desire to see your will done in earth as it is in heaven. So be this to us today,
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Lord, for this is your holy Word, and your will is being done here this morning and across America and across this globe where your people meet.
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Your will is being done in the sense of where your people meet as they hear your
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Word. Father, I would pray, sanctify our hearts with your truth this morning. That's the only way we can have sanctified hearts.
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May we all take heed to the warnings, the loving warnings,
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I should say, Lord, because we're so grateful that you do warn us. You put your finger on our sins specifically.
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What a loving Father that chastens your sons and daughters. And Father, only by your
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Holy Spirit, only by your Holy Spirit can we set a guard over our mouth and keep watch over our tongue.
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Lord, we need your blessed Holy Spirit to teach us, but not only to teach us, to help us to live this life that would be in the likeness of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. We pray this for your glory, in your name's sake, in Jesus' name, amen.
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We live in a world today that is very obstinate against the truth.
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You speak about truth, you speak about the judgment to come, people turn a deaf ear.
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This is nothing new to God's people, is it? Because as you read Jeremiah and the prophets and Ezekiel, God gave a command to these
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God -called men to speak His Word, and God even warned them that they will be obstinate, they will be hard -hearted.
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But continue to keep speaking. We speak God's Word because God has commanded us.
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It is a very sobering truth, and it's a truth our flesh, or any flesh within our own selves, does not like to hear of the judgment to come.
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But aren't you grateful that God warns us? He warns us that there is a hell.
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He warns us of the wrath of Himself, that we can flee from the wrath to come, but the same
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God that has wrath is the same God that has mercy. It's sad to say that in many circles today among us, no specific name, but there is another
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God that's being preached. There is another gospel that's being preached. I like what
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R .C. Sproul said, if someone were to ask him, such as the truth of who
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God is and the kingdom of God, we don't present a
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Mr. Rogers type of God. If you go to the Bible, as you well know and as I well know, the
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God that is in Scripture is a God that is absolutely holy. He's a threat to the people and to all of us that do not know or have refuge to go to.
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You think about Noah's day, the refuge to flee to at that time when the storm was on the horizon of God's wrath and Noah had hundreds of years, well technically 120 years, and the book of Hebrews says that Noah was a man that was a preacher of righteousness and he preached the righteousness of God and he preached of the wrath.
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There's a storm coming. There's a judgment coming. How many people came into the ark?
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There was a generation there that there's no telling how many people, there was many people on the face of the earth, but they did not take heed to his warnings, right?
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The judgment was real. I'm sure it was very dry in that day and here was this elderly man building this ark in which
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God commanded him to. The ark, as we know, is the refuge and the shelter that we can flee to from the wrath to come.
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And as the Scripture says, the storm came and it was too late for the people that probably left him to scorn, but I'm sure
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Noah was so thankful that his conscience was clear and he warned the people as he built that boat, the ark, as a refuge, but he did get his family in and that's something, that's a message to us.
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We long to have our family in the ark away from the wrath to come.
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There's a judgment to come and that's what I want to speak to you about today. Scripture says that God's throne was made for judgment as well and, you know, people want to deny this truth.
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It's not that they're ignorant of this truth. They know. They know. There is a judgment to come and it's very, very real of what's going to happen and it's threatening.
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The holiness of God, the judgment to come is threatening to people which are lost sinners that are under the wrath of God.
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Children by nature are rebellious. I want you to think of this.
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There's a story of a windswept hill in England.
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In England churchyard stands a drab, gray slab tombstone and the faint etchings read, quote, beneath this stone is a lump of clay lies
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Arbaella Young who on the 24th of May, the day of her death, began to hold her tongue, end quote.
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Very sobering, isn't it? The day she started to hold her tongue was the day she died.
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Let's hope and pray that we learn what that woman never did learn, to tame the tongue by the help of God.
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A wise old sage saint said and observed, as you go through life, quote, you're going to have many opportunities to keep your mouth shut.
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So true. And he goes on to say, take advantage of all of them, end quote.
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How? How true. Well, if you notice, as we've been studying these 12 verses, we looked at an overview and now we're looking at verse 1 and 2 today.
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The first 12 verses of chapter 3 deal with the tongue. It's interesting in that, that just as an old fashioned doctor examined a patient's tongue to assist the diagnosis,
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James is given a test of a person's spiritual health. By his or her conversation, a self -diagnosis begins with the sense of speech.
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And it's important. And as I said, there's a judgment to come and Scripture, we're going to look at verses here in a few minutes as we look into the
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Bible and we're going to go to these verses, that we're all going to stand before the judgment of God. There's no exception to that.
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There's no escape from that. And we take shelter in the Rock of Ages, who is
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Jesus Christ, but still, even that, believers will give an account to the deeds done, whether it's good or bad.
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Even the believers. Now, think of that. We're going to look at those verses. Our deeds, we will give an account before God, whether it be good or bad.
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But Scripture also says that we're going to give an account before God by every careless word that we speak.
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That is sobering, beloved. So as we move into chapter three, James has gone from preaching to meddling.
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And it's really tough, but we need to hear this great truth.
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And real love is tough love, and real love is in truth, always. Actually, not to love someone's souls is to withhold the truth.
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To let a person go. That would not be loving. We must warn people.
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So James has just made it clear that the genuine faith, as we looked in the previous verses, genuine faith works.
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Living faith works. There's action. There's deeds that follow it. Good deeds don't save us.
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If God has changed our hearts through the new birth, the saving faith that He's granted to us will inevitably show itself in a life of good deeds.
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Of course. Good deeds follow. Good deeds don't save us.
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But now James moves from the generality of good deeds to the specifics of the words that you and I speak.
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He's meddling. And it is convicting. I will say this.
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So genuine faith always yields. Let me say this. Genuine faith always yields to Christ as Lordship.
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Always. Over our tongue. That's convicting, but it's true.
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Jesus is Lord, and as a believer, as Christ is Lord of all, He is
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Lord over our tongue. He's Lord over our thoughts. He's Lord over our life. And with David, all the true believers will pray.
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And as I read this verse before from Psalms, David prayed, Set a guard,
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O Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. The monster.
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The tongue. It's a tattletale. It gives away to who we really are.
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And there's no escaping it. So the monster may never be totally tamed, but if we know
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Christ as Lord and Savior, you and I are engaged on an ongoing battle to tame the terrible tongue, aren't we?
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It is a battle. Let's admit it. It's very difficult, and that's why we seek
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God continually to help us, Lord, to tame this little terrible monster that can so easily get out of control.
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It's set on fire from hell, as James says. A world of iniquity.
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Well, James opens up chapter 3 with a very sober warning, doesn't he? Against the hasty desire to be a teacher of the
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Word of God that so many people would love to teach and be in a place of prominence, and there is something of all the ambition and all the people see from the outskirts of it, but they don't realize what they really are getting into.
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Although the tongue is not specifically mentioned in verse 1, let me say this.
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The underlying thought is that one who uses his tongue in teaching the Word of God assumes added responsibility, and let me say great responsibility, before God and man because those who teach the
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Word of God will give not only an account before the judgment, but a stricter account.
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That's the Word of God. So as I said before, I'm going to preach to myself and step on my own toes first, and then we're going to go to verse 2, and then it'll be your turn.
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So I'm going to hit me first, and whoever teaches the Word of God. This has sobered me.
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I shared this with Brother Keith yesterday as I was meditating and studying these Scriptures. I said this just reminds me
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I need to go before God in prayer and always be very sober -minded and fear and tremble before the
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Word of God and think very carefully of what
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I am to say as I represent the Lord and give His Word and even interpretation that it is correct to the text and not just giving my opinion because I will give an account of every detailed word.
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So with that being said, I only really have two simple points for us this morning as we look at the tongue and its potential to condemn.
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And next we're going to look at its power to control, Lord willing. My first point is this, it's from verse 1.
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Taken from the text, not many should be teachers. Not many should be teachers. That simple.
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My second point is verse 2, why should we not teach?
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Because Scripture says we, we all stumble. So let's look at this, let's begin in verse 1, chapter 3.
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The Word of God says this, James is saying not many, not many should be teachers.
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Not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
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Commentator Daniel Doran says paradoxically, quote, every time a teacher rises to explain this verse, he invites judgment on himself.
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Wow. As I spoke, just quoted that, I'm thinking,
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God is taking account right now. He's taking inventory. Right now.
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As I speak to you. That sobers me. Notice the words here in the context.
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Not, let, let not many of you become teachers.
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He does not say let not any of you become teachers. But he says not many.
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And that would be those that would fall in the categories as teachers, preachers, missionaries altogether.
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If he said any, let not any of you, it would eliminate everyone.
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So God desires for people to hear the truth. And you think of this,
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God uses instruments. He's used men, holy men of God down through the ages, down through the years, prophets, to speak
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His Word. Apostles, missionaries, you could go on, teachers, elders,
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Sunday school teachers. And the mouthpiece is a powerful thing.
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That's why I believe, why James takes an account on this, and why it's so important.
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Because it has such a power to influence spiritually. Do not, he said, become unduly ambitious to be a teacher.
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That's what he's saying, if you were to paraphrase it. This text should not be, again, as interpreted as a prohibition against the use of this gift by one who has actually been called of God to teach.
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It's a simple warning, really. It's a warning right from the cuff that this ministry should not be undertaken lightly.
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That's what he's saying. Those who teach the Word of Truth will receive a heavier judgment, a stricter judgment.
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If they fail to practice what they teach, that is even more severe.
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This actually gives me calls to tremble before God's Word. It's just not in the teaching of it, but it's the practicing of it.
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And what I teach, I believe I should practice as well. Paul said that, he said, we not only preach the gospel, we live the gospel.
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So apparently the churches to which James was writing had to, there had to be many men,
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I would think, who were self -appointed teachers, I would think. Keep in mind, and the reason
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I say that, that the audience, let's look at James' audience very quickly. His audience he is addressing, who's he addressing?
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Well, if you go back to James 1 .1, he gives a statement.
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First of all, he introduces himself, right? James, a bond slave. He's a bond slave.
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Some translation says a bond servant, but we know he's a bond slave of Christ, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And look at what it says. To the twelve tribes, twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.
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Now what does that tell us? It tells us a lot about his audience. Who are the twelve tribes? In the
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Greek, in the original Greek, the twelve tribes can be interpreted as Jacob.
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Jacob. And you know who the descendants of Jacob are. And the dispersion, they're scattered abroad.
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They're persecuted Jews. That's who they are. It's a Jewish audience. And this was a common
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New Testament title for the Jews in the sense of the twelve tribes or Jacob in dispersion.
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Jews living outside of the land of the Palestine, Palestine, I'm sorry. And James primarily, his primary audience was those
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Jews who were scattered and dispersed abroad. And here in this text, I would think and I believe according to the context of what he is addressing to the
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Jews, there were Jews who had an ambition to teach the Word of God as rabbis in the synagogues.
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It was a prominent position in that day. A rabbi is another term for teacher.
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It was a very prominent place and a high place and were highly respected in that office.
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And the office was often one that parents in that day coveted for their sons to fill.
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And you can rightly see why. It was a very respected position. It was proper to respect the rabbis because of the sacred scriptures.
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And because of the scriptures. And that they expounded on. But it was wrong, wrong to give men the honor that God alone deserved.
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And that was the danger. That the men would gather the honor and still rob
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God of His glory. And we see that today, don't we? So prevalent.
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Jesus confronted the Jewish leaders in His day on the account. You can go with me there, but this is a very good verse.
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In Matthew chapter 23, look at verse 6 -11.
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This is a very strong verse that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is giving warning in chapter 23.
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Verses 6 -11. Now think of this. This is over roughly 2 ,000 years ago that Jesus is speaking to the scribes, the
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Pharisees. And that day, the theologians of the day. And you could pretty much, if you want to put it in our day, these theologians.
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Jesus says this. They love, they love the place of honor.
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At banquets. Wow. They love the place of honor at banquets.
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Notice honor. That's what they wanted. The respect. And the chief seats, they wanted chief seats.
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They wanted to sit in a high place. Another place Jesus mentioned the seat of Moses. Seats in the synagogues.
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And respectful greetings in the market places. And being called rabbi, teacher, by men.
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But do not be called rabbi, he says. Do not be called teacher. For one is your father. Teacher, I'm sorry.
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And you are all brothers. And then he says, do not call anyone on earth your father.
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For one is your father, he who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders.
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For one is your leader. And that is Christ. And then he says this.
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But the greatest among you shall be called, shall be your servant.
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Shall be your servant. And then he gives that wonderful verse in verse 12.
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I cannot leave that out. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled. And whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
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That's the pattern that Jesus is looking for. So there you have the words of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. So by giving the caution, James says, let not many of you become teachers.
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James does not, of course, mean to discourage such people from communicating the gospel and the word of God and their scriptural insights.
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Nor does he want to hinder us in any way to those who are genuinely called to God. And I say genuinely called to God.
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Not those who are self -appointed to be official teachers of the word of God within his church.
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But he is saying, rather, that those who believe that they have such a divine call of God upon them, they should first have their faith tested.
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To be sure that, number one, that they're born again and saved. I believe that's the most important.
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You don't want a person that's just a professor behind the pulpit without the spirit of God dwelling in him and the spirit of God teaching him or just somebody that professes to be in the faith and they're not really in the faith.
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I believe being born again of the spirit of God is first and foremost, as always.
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Why is this important? Go back to James. We're going to be jumping around quite a bit here.
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I'm hoping we can get to a lot of verses. But look at James 1 .26. Notice what he says.
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If we back up in chapter 1. You notice I'm doing this to the context of chapter 3 because everything that James says leads up to this.
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Because this is what I believe is in his mind. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, thinks, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain or worthless.
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He gets right to it, doesn't he? What a great responsibility to teach the word of God. So why?
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Why this? First of all, it's the word of God. There's no word that's higher than God's word.
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It's not the words of man. It's the word of God. And the church in Thessalonica received it as the word of God, not as the word of man.
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The man's just an instrument. He's a delivery boy. He delivers it.
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This is what God said. I'm bringing it to you. I'm serving it to you. So it's
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God's word. And the reason I say that, and these are my thoughts on it, it's our attitude toward the word of God.
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That's what matters. So in order to have a right attitude toward God, we must be born again.
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There's no way one's going to have a right attitude toward God and His word unless he's born of the Spirit of God.
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How can he? So one must be in great awe and fear and respect and reverence before a holy
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God, yet loving God. An attitude that causes him to tremble before God's word.
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Secondly, I would think that the teacher must be prepared to obey the word of God in which he sees in the word.
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Why did I say that? Well, look at, again, James chapter 1. Go back. Let's read verses 22 through 25.
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We've already covered these grounds, but I believe it ties into what he's saying in chapter 3.
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What does he say? He says in verse 23, For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror.
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For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
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But one who looks intently, don't you love that? Intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it.
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You know what he's saying? Practices it. He continues in it. Not having become a forgetful hearer, he doesn't forget, but an effectual doer.
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This man would be blessed in what he does. He does it.
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He practices it. And he shows it. He obeys it.
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And as we looked at, it is better to obey than to sacrifice. This is James' point.
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Actually, in verse 1 of chapter 3, this is his point. And this is that no believer should begin any form of teaching
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God's word without a deep sense of seriousness of the responsibility that it holds.
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To sin with the tongue alone or with one or two persons is bad enough, beloved.
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But to sin with the tongue in public, especially while acting or performing as God's speaker and speaking
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God's word, beloved, is immeasurably worse. Speaking for God carries with it the great implications both for good and ill.
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There are examples throughout the word of God. I've chosen just a few. Go with me to Ezekiel 3.
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We're going to look at two repeated verses here. So if you go to Ezekiel, we'll look at these warnings that are given.
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Chapter 3. Look at verse 17.
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Beginning at 17. 16, I'm sorry. 16 through 19.
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Look at this. At the end of the seven days, the word of the Lord came to me. God's word comes to the prophet.
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The prophet basically is a spokesman for God, right? To a sinful people, to the people of God, to Israel.
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Saying, son of man, I've appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel.
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Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, warn them from me. When I say to the wicked, you shall surely die.
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And you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live.
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That wicked man shall die in his iniquity. But his blood I will require at your hand. Yet. Very sobering here.
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Very sobering. And in verse 19. Yet, if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered yourself.
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In other words, your conscience is clear. You have delivered yourself. You have warned. You did your part.
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You've done all you could do. You have given warning. You have delivered the word of God. Even if that person does not repent.
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So it is a responsibility for God's messenger to deliver that word of truth.
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That they may turn from their wicked ways. But the main thing is what he's saying. That word must be delivered.
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Now notice and jump with me. That's chapter 3. Notice in chapter 33. It's almost verbatim as it's repeated.
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This great charge upon God's messenger is as a watchman.
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Notice in verse 7. Almost the same identical language.
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Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you. Again, notice he's reminding him. He's appointed.
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He's a God called man. He's appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. So you will hear a message from my mouth and give them warning from me.
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And then he says, when I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you will surely die.
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And you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way. That wicked man shall die in his iniquity.
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But his blood I will require from your hand. This is sobering. Specifically for those who deliver
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God's word to God's people. I believe it applies to all of God's people to warn people of the truth.
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But specifically to those who teach and preach the word of God. But it's to all.
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But notice in verse 9. But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity.
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But you have delivered your life. Very strong words. But I believe it's fitting to say this because the writer, you think of what the writer of Hebrews speaks to preachers, to teachers, and to church leaders in Hebrews 13, 17.
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There's a warning there. Keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.
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They keep watch over your soul. And the minister also must guard his own soul as well.
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His own vineyard. Okay, with godly satisfaction, what about the
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Apostle Paul? I love to go to the Apostle Paul. I'm just giving one in the Old Testament. And you know, Jeremiah, we can go there too as well.
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But our time is limited. But Paul the Apostle was able to tell the Ephesian elders in chapter 20 of Acts.
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You could go there if you like. Acts chapter 20, notice in verse 26 and 27.
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Acts 20, 26 and 27. This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. I love the charge that he gives the elders to the churches here.
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And then he says, who met with Paul and Miletus, he says this,
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I testify to you that this day, listen to what he says, this day I am innocent of the blood of all men.
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He said he was innocent. Why? And then he tells us, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
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The whole counsel of God. I told you all the truth. I just didn't choose and pick what
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I wanted to pick. I gave you all the truth. If it was the wrath of God, I told you to flee from the wrath to come.
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If it was the goodness of God to take shelter in, I told you of the goodness of God. If it was, no matter what it was, if it was from the word of God and God commanded it, then he taught it.
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And that was the Apostle Paul. I'm sure he could go to sleep at night in his day with a clear conscience and knowing that he did his duty faithfully before God.
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The teaching of erroneous misleading confusion of theology was a problem in the church of Ephesus while Timothy ministered.
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Jump with me to 1 Timothy. We're going to look around here in 1
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Timothy chapter 1. Look at this. Brother Keith reminded me of this verse. Thank you,
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Brother Keith. This is a very good one. Verses 3 through 7.
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He's talking to Timothy, the Apostle Paul, as a father in the faith to young Timothy. I urge you upon my departure from Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines nor to pay attention to the myths and endless genealogies which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.
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Verse 5, notice, but the goal of our instruction, the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
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For some men straying from these things have turned aside to fruitless discussion wanting, notice what he says here, wanting to be teachers of the law even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
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They desire to teach the word of God, the law of God, and yet they don't even know what they're talking about.
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False teachers and heretics right in the church. Now, some were even teaching outright blasphemy and had suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.
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If you notice and go to the same chapter, notice verse 19 and 20.
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Notice this. Let me back up a little bit. Look at verse 18. This command I entrust to you,
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Timothy, my son. Don't you love those words? So warm, so concerned about the truth as the
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Apostle Paul as he gives charge to young Timothy in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you.
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Be careful what he's saying. That by them you fight the good fight. This is a fight about the truth.
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There's a truth war going on here. Verse 19, keeping faith and a good conscience which some have rejected, notice what he says, and suffered shipwrecked in regard to their faith.
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That word, actually, shipwrecked is another term of being disqualified.
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You know, the warnings, they continue. Peter and Jude, let's go to them real quick.
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That's the Apostle Paul. I'm just giving you some examples. There's so many verses we can go to. But let's look at how
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Peter warns against false teachers. Go with me to 2 Peter. Look at 2
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Peter chapter 2. Notice in verse 1 through 3, he is warning against heretical teachers in the church.
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This is the Apostle Peter. But false prophets also arose among the people just as there will, not maybe, there will also be false teachers among you who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the
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Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. This is love.
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This is love. Verse 2, many will follow their sensuality.
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Listen to that. And because of them, because of them, the way of the truth will be maligned, maligned.
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And in their greed, listen to that, their greedy, in their greed, they will exploit you with false words.
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How do they do that? With the tongue and what they teach. Their judgment from long ago is not idle.
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And their destruction is not asleep. That's a very sober warning.
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Go with me to Jude. Oh my goodness, Jude really lays it down. The Apostle Peter does as well, but Jude, look at, there's only one chapter,
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Jude. You know, you can read this book here in just a few minutes. But if you really want to meditate and study a great book, this is a good book to study.
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And notice in verse 8 through 16, I want you to notice here, as we go through these verses,
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I want you to notice how many times he says the word ungodly. I want you to pay attention to that. Ungodly men.
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Notice in verse 8. Yet in the same way these men, he's talking about heretics, false teachers, also by dreaming, they're dreamers.
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They defile the flesh, reject authority. They reject authority. There's a good one right there that tells you they're heretics.
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And revile angelic majesties. And then he speaks about the angel
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Michael, the archangel, when disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment and said, the
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Lord rebuke you. In verse 10. But these men revile the things which they do not understand.
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Almost the same language as Paul says. They do not understand it. Why? Because they don't have the spirit of God.
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And the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
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What does he say? Well, let's go love them and hug them.
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I don't see that. Look at this. Woe to them. You know what woe means? That's a curse.
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Paul says, let them be anathema, be damned. Hard on false teachers.
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Woe to them, woe to them. They have gone the way of Cain. A very religious man, by the way, that wanted to do things the way he wanted to do, not
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God's way. And for pay, listen to this, for pay, for money, they have rushed headlong into the air of Balaam.
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For greed, for money, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
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Notice what he says. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feast, when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves, that's all they really care about, clouds without water, carried along by winds, autumn trees without fruits, doubly dead, one translation says twice dead, uprooted, wild waves of the sea, goes to nature as an illustration, they're like wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam, wandering stars, for whom the blackness,
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I'm sorry, the black darkness has been reserved forever. And let me go a little further.
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Notice what it says. And it was about these men that Enoch and the seventh generation from Adam prophesied,
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God saying, behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all.
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There's the word judgment. God executed judgment and to convict all the ungodly, notice the word ungodly, all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds, and they have done in an ungodly way, and all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
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These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their lust, they speak, there it is, they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
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Don't we see this today? Yes, we do. Some things under the sun, Solomon's so right, nothing new is under the sun.
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Well, you could go on and on, and Paul charges, you see this also in Paul's writings as well.
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I've got one more from Paul. I can't leave this out, maybe two more. 1 Timothy chapter 6, again,
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Paul is charging Timothy about this, but notice in chapter 6, verse 3, chapter 6, notice in verse 3 through 5, if anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words, those of our
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Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing.
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He has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of a depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain, but godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
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He gives us the remedy here. How can you be content? Well, for we have brought nothing into the world.
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We cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering with these, we shall be content.
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Jesus taught this. But those who want to get rich fall into a temptation and a snare, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
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For the love of money, the love of money, is root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
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Don't we see this everywhere today? There are two things you can mark down from a false teacher that they love.
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They love their greed, they love their money, and they love the praises of men. Those two things you can mark down.
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And you see this. They are greedy, and they justify it in the name of God, and actually that is blasphemy in God.
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And then you see, and they do it in the name of the one that didn't have a place to lay
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His head. And the Scripture says that Jesus Himself didn't have...
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He said, "...the foxes have holes and the birds have nests, but the Son of Man does not have a place to lay His head."
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He was homeless. You see? And they do it in the name of the
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Holy One. There's going to be a judgment for those. Now let's carry on. There's a lot to go here. Not only false teachers also, but false teachers will be judged severely, but also those who ignorantly and carelessly interpret the
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Word of God to impress others of their great knowledge and their great understanding are in danger of judgment, and they endanger the church as well.
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They endanger themselves. I've got a quote here. John MacArthur says really good about this. And you know MacArthur.
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He's going to nail it. It gives us some insight concerning those who do this. Quote, "...many teachers in the church today are poorly grounded in Scripture and ill -equipped to teach it.
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Such teachers who misrepresent God's Word can do more spiritual and moral damage to God's people than a hundred atheists or secularists attacking from outside.
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This is why it is so foolish and spiritually dangerous to have newly converted celebrities or any other new convert as well as untrained and unaccountable preachers speaking and teaching the
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Word of God." Paul warned, as MacArthur goes on to say,
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Paul warned that any overseer should not be a new convert so that he would not become conceited and fall into the condemnations incurred by the devil.
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End quote. So true. So you see this in James, right? But notice these two words given to them.
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My brethren. Now, I love that. He's speaking to God's people. He's speaking to the leaders.
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My brethren. Indicates that James is addressing those who name the name of Christ to depart from iniquity.
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That's what he's saying. Including those who in the faith is genuine, beyond question, of course.
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He's admonishing them to make sure that their desire to teach is truly according to the will of God and not merely just their own whim or will.
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You know, it's so important to make your calling and election sure if God has called one to the ministry and must not take it lightly of the great responsibility.
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I like what, first of all, when one is called to God, what Spurgeon says, first of all, first and foremost, he's called to holiness.
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He's called to holiness. It's a lifestyle. It's just not a whim to get up and just in a place of prominence to show people how great a teacher you are.
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It's not about the person. It's not about the teacher. It's about the word of God. He's just a messenger to deliver the message of the
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King and say, here, here's God's word. Actually, to those who were called of God, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel and those great men, even
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John the Baptist, being messengers of God, they were really called to suffer. The calling they had was a calling to suffer.
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Just read their lives. Jeremiah was tortured and tormented and shackled and brutally beaten.
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And look at John the Baptist in the backside of a desert. He wasn't popular. He was well known in a sense, but in a sense of suffering, the suffering was there.
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Jesus himself. You look at Ezekiel. Isaiah. Look at them.
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Suffering, constant suffering. But they were very faithful in teaching and bringing
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God's word. Well, you know, there's so much to be said, but the right speech is what James is talking about here is such a critical mark of the true faith.
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Teachers are held at a higher standard in what they say for the obvious reason that what they say exerts a very powerful spiritual influence upon others.
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Teachers are in a special danger of misusing their tongues and thereby they incur a stricter judgment upon themselves.
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Well, I've got to hurry up. James says what? That's why he says, be quick to hear, slow to speak.
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So we can actually say in that context he's referring especially to hearing God's word, speaking
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God's word, carefully, very carefully. It's also important to note that James includes himself.
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We? We. That's a comfort. But those who are subject to that stricter judgment, not even the apostles, the prophets, the writers of the
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Holy Scriptures were exempt from this, beloved. Think of that. Before the
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Almighty God, every one, every word, everything that's spoken, God holds them accountable.
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Especially God's word. Oh my. In the light of eternity, every teacher without inception is to be diligent to present himself approved unto
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God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed that rightly divides the word of truth.
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It's a serious thing. Well, I need to close here. I'm not going to be able to get to my second point.
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Would you forgive me here? Let's pick that up next week. But the word judgment here is very critical.
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Let me bore in on this. It could be either positive or negative.
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But you know as well as I do, in the New Testament, even in the Old Testament, but the
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New Testament here is often used negatively as a warning. And it's clearly the kind of judgment that James has in mind.
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It is. Because he speaks about knowing that such we, he includes himself, we encourage stricter judgment, a greater condemnation, some translation says.
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Expresses that negative verdict of the judgment to come. And he says first of all, it's basically,
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I believe he has in mind, it's for all the unbelieving false teachers. We covered the tracks on that, right?
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And at the second coming of Jesus Christ, as Jude speaks of in Jude 14 and 15, we looked at that.
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And next I believe is for the believer, not only for the false teachers that will give an account of each word that they speak in the name of God, but for the true believer when he is before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.
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We all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ. I don't have a lot of time left, but I do want to take you to 1
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Corinthians 3 very quickly. There's a lot here.
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And then I want to try to focus in on a conclusion. But notice right quickly, 1
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Corinthians 3, I think this is very important. Interesting that the
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Corinthian Christians were very carnal. They wanted to be prominent in baptism and if you read chapter 1, they brag about who baptized them.
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They go on about that. You notice that? And Paul even brings up in chapter 1, and Paul says, now
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I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am a Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, I am of Peter, and I of Christ.
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And then he goes on and says, has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he?
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Does it, Paul? Don't you love Paul with those questions? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
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And then he says, I thank God I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, there's only two he can name, so that no one would say, you were baptized in my name.
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So notice what he's saying. He's basically saying that you're bragging about this. There's boasting who's baptized.
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Now he brings here in verse 5, he says, when then is
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Apollos? What is Paul? Servants, that's all, through whom you believed, even as the
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Lord gave opportunity to each one. And notice what he says, I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.
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God gave the increase. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything.
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But what does he say? But God who causes the growth. You know what Paul's saying?
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He's saying basically, God's the one that's worthy of all the glory. God is all in all. That's what he's saying.
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All glory goes to God. Don't look at Paul. Now he who plants and he who waters are one.
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We're together in this. But each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. Now he's talking, he's getting to the judgment seat.
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And real very quickly, for we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
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According to the grace of God, by any special ability within themselves.
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Paul even said it, I am what I am by the grace of God. Nothing else. God's grace which was given to me.
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Then he says this, like a wise master builder, I laid the foundation and another building on it.
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Another is building on it. But each man must be careful. I love the way he says this.
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Must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is
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Jesus Christ. That's the foundation. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold and silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident.
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For the day, he's talking about the judgment day, will show it because it will be revealed by with fire.
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And the fire itself would test the quality of each man's work.
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Wow. Just not the work, but the tongue too. What has been said, to what
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Jesus said, if any man's work which has been built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
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If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved yet so as through fire.
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So much here. But he's talking about the judgment to come. That the judgment and the fire, and you know as well as I do, that the scripture says that our
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God is a living fire, is a consuming fire. So we have it.
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There's so much that could be said, but there, the judgment.
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And I want to speak more about that tomorrow and pick up, tomorrow listen to me, next Lord's Day on this.
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Where do we go to on this? Jesus said it. Jesus said it. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, notice what he says, not maybe, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
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For by your words you will be justified, by your words you will be condemned. Now I want to say this very quickly.
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Jesus was not teaching justification by works was he? Like James he was teaching that our works reveal whether our faith is living or it's dead.
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That's what he's saying. Genuine faith. Our words either validate that we are true believers or reveal that we do not know
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God. If we sin with our speech, we will need to ask God's forgiveness and also forgiveness for the one who we sinned against.
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And genuine believers have this sense of being accountable for their speech.
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Luther had it right when he spoke about he lives by a two day calendar. Today and judgment day.
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Lord give us that kind of focus. Let me conclude with this. Ecclesiastes 12, 13 and 14.
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The conclusion when all has been heard is this. Fear God and keep his commandments.
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Because this applies to every person. This applies to every person.
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For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
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So this is Solomon's final word on the issues raised in the book of Ecclesiastes.
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As well as life itself, the focus is on one's relationship with God. I got one more quote from MacArthur.
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All of the concern for life under the sun with its pleasures, its uncertainties was behind Solomon.
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Think about Solomon here. He goes on to say this. Such things seemed comparatively irrelevant to him as he faced the end of his life.
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But death, in spite of the focused attention he had given to it in Ecclesiastes, was not the greatest equalizer.
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Death is not the greatest equalizer. This is good. But judgment and retribution is the real equalizer.
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Judgment and retribution is the real equalizer as Solomon saw it. For God will bring every person's every act to judgment.
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Unbelievers stand before the great white throne. Judgment and the believers before Jesus Christ at the bema seat will give an account.
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When all is said and done, MacArthur says, the certainty and finality of retribution give life the meaning for which
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David's all -time foolish son, Solomon, had been searching.
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Whatever may be one's portion in life, accountability to God, whose ways are often mysterious, is both eternal and irrevocable.
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That is so good. So what do we do, beloved? We keep flying to the cross.
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There's no escaping the judgment. I like what Ravenhill said. Even when the believer gets to heaven, he wants to sing,
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Oh what a day of rejoicing that will be when we all get to heaven. He said, but before you sing that, you've got to go through the judgment seat.
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That's true. In other words, even the believer is going to face the judgment.
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The wonderful thing about the believer is he's not going to face eternal judgment and hellfire. We're saved from the wrath to come, right?
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That's the kind of judgment Jesus himself took upon himself. Therefore, there's no condemnation to those in Jesus Christ, right?
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So don't get confused about that kind of judgment. There is going to be a judgment. Every person is going to give an account of every deed and every thought and why we did it.
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Not just what we did, but why we did it. God takes into inventory and account of everything.
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So we're thankful that we can go to the rock of ages and knowing that we are safe from the forever condemnation that the unbeliever will face in eternal hell.
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We will still have to face what we have done for Jesus Christ.
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And I like what Tozer said, he said this to Ravenhill, he said, I don't want to go to the judgment seat as a believer, as a pauper.
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I want to take something with me. And you know what he said, it's not just the things I did, but it's the things
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I didn't do. Doesn't that stand before you? And I'm thinking,
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Lord, we don't have much time. And I know Sister Lillian's thinking this, you know, she's thinking more and more about heaven and seeing
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Jesus, and she's thinking, hey, we need to see God. Let's get busy, let's go.
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So, amen, amen. We're going to do everything we can by God's help and strength. So we still go to Jesus Christ, right?
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Ask for cleansing, ask for forgiveness, the perfect Lamb of God. John Newton had penned a hymn and he said this,
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Day of Judgment, Day of Wonders. Boy, you don't sing songs like that anymore, do we? Sing about the judgment of God?
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Listen to what he says, Day of Judgment, Day of Wonders, Hark the trumpet's awful sound, Louder than a thousand thunders,
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Shakes the vast creation round. How the sinner's heart confound.
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You know, people used to sing this. See the Judge, it's in our hymn book, by the way, See the
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Judge, Our nature wearing, Clothed in majesty divine,
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You who long for His appearing, Then shall say, This God is mine,
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Gracious Savior, On me in that day is thine. Verse 3,
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At His call the dead awaken, Rise to life from earth to sea, All the powers of nature shaken
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By His looks prepare to flee. Careless sinner, What will then become of thee?
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Verse, stanza 4, But to those who have confessed, Loved and served the
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Lord below, He will say, Come near you, blessed, See the kingdom I bestow,
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You forever shall my love and glory know. Isn't that great? We can know this.
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We can know this. Let's pray. Father, we do thank You for our time together.
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Heavenly Father, this is the only safe place we can go to, and it's to take refuge in the Rock of Ages, the haven of rest for our souls.
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As the wonderful hymn says, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.
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And only in Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ alone, can we have this kind of refuge and protection in the haven of rest.
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And it's at the cross, our Father, where the Lord Jesus, Your one and only
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Son, took those hot embers of Your wrath upon Himself and cooled them, satisfied
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Your holiness, Your justice forever, once and for all, right at the cross.
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So that's where we go, Father, to help us to be more sober -minded as we walk this life, to be more like Jesus, to be careful and not let our tongue outrun our brains, to be careful, to be slow to speak and quick to listen.
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Father, help us in this, we pray. And Lord, we thank
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You again for Jesus that took our place in that great and awful act, and yet wonderful, paid the sin debt once and for all in full, and made a way for the sinner to be reconciled and justified and cleansed and forgiven.
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So, Father, we thank You, Lord, for this time we've had together, and to Your Word of this great sobering reminder.
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And Lord, help us to always know that there's hope for those that have breath, as we continue to pray for our lost loved ones,
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Lord, that they will come to faith and repentance. Lord, we grant to see that happen, and Lord, we know that You do.
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Your heart is so large and eternal to see them come and turn from their wicked ways, come to repentance and believe the gospel.
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Lord, use us, we pray. Use us for Your glory, that You would be glorified in all we say and do.