Following Living Suffering for Christ — Willie Mullan

Following Christ in Light of the Coming Judgment

Yes, yes. First Peter, chapter 4, and you can see from the notes prepared that we're looking at the first seven verses. Just seven verses this evening, and I have sung the whole depiction of the seven verses off my list.

I believe that Peter is exhorting the believers here to live, and follow, and suffer for Christ. I think he's exhorting them to go on following and to go on living for and suffering for Christ in the light of the judgment morning, and in the light that all things, that the end of all things is at hand.

I wish we could see poor lost sinners standing at the great white throne, and the books opened against them, and they're condemned by a holy God, and cast into the lake of fire to be doomed and damned for all eternity.

And I think if we could only get a heavy vision of that memorable morning, the judgment morning, I believe that we would live and suffer for Christ before unsaved men, like we have never done before. And this is what Peter does in these seven verses.

He's exhorting us to go on following closely, and living a hundred percent out and out for Christ, and suffering continually for his name in the light of the judgment morning, and in the light of that the end of all things is at hand.

It's a great portion, and it's got one or two problems in it. Some have argued over some of the phrases in this paragraph for years and years, and so we're going to take it very closely. You'll notice that Peter brings before these believers, and of course before us, the example of Christ as he suffered at the hands of men.

Verse one begins with these two words, for as much then, and Peter seems to think that he hath proved conclusively that Christ hath suffered at the hands of men in the chapters that have gone before. He's saying, for as much then.

Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh. Do you remember chapter two? Let's go back to chapter two. See verse 19. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endures grief, suffering wrongfully.

You remember how long we spent suffering wrongfully. That's not marching for your favorites at all. That's just suffering wrongfully. And then he begins to question them. It is the most glory as it is when you be buffeted for your faults.

You should take it patiently. But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even here on to where he called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that he should follow his steps who did no sin.

May there was guile found in his mouth, when he was revived, revived not again, when he suffered at the hands of men, he threatened not. And we must get this into our hearts this evening, that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered sore at the hands of men.

I wish I could do this properly. You know, these gospels of ours, they tell us that men buffeted him. And when I looked up the Greek word on the word buffeted, I found it meant to strike with a clothed fist.

Men punched Christ in the face. When he stood in silent judgment or some of the soldiers punched him in the face, he never said a word. They plucked at the crown of thorns, of course, the long, thin thorn, as long as my poor finger, and they extracted onto his lovely brow.

You remember how they tore the robe from his back and bent him over the scourging pole, and they ripped his back in sorrows with the Roman lash. It's getting into our heads tonight. Christ suffered at the hands of men.

I know quite well that he suffered at the hands of God, because as we waded through the sufferings that men ruined upon him, he was moving on to the spot where he would become our substitutionary sacrifice.

And when he was burying our sins in his own body on the tree, God struck him. Jehovah barbed his thorn away. Oh Christ, it woke against me. But we're not thinking just now on the substitutionary sufferings of Christ.

Let's get up. We're thinking of Christ's suffering at the hands of men. And people seem to come to the conclusion that he has got this over to us perfectly. So he says, for as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, then he comes to the point he wants to make.

Preparing to Suffer for Christ

And I've called this the expedient thing for all Christians, and this is the expedient thing. He says, I am in his hands likewise with the same mind. One does have to commend and to say that it does arm yourself.

Do you know what to be armed means? It means to be ready, doesn't it? To be prepared, I think. And what is changed in us is just this. Now Christ has suffered in the flesh. Now you be prepared to do the same thing for him.

We arm yourself with the same mind. I wonder do we understand that properly? Do we know that when we were called out of darkness into light, we were not only called to believe on Christ, which we certainly were, but we were not only called to believe on him, but to suffer for his name.

I wonder have we got that quite clear, because that's the expedient thing for all Christians in us. Of course, if we are going to follow Christ fully, then we'll be outside the caves of empty religion and, well, it's God's will, you know.

You bear Christ's reproach. People will think things about you. If you begin to live for Christ the way you should, if you're in the factory and you start on time and you won't steal your master's time, somebody will say something to you.

And if you absolutely trip up and down, rushes out and out to Christ, you suffer, this book says, all that will probably incite Jesus to suffer. Oh, yes, if you live for the Lord, tongues will wag and slander will come and critics will talk and reproach and scorn.

Sometimes when they give their lives to the Lord, their parents don't love them anymore. Oh, well, you've got to suffer. That may be what the Lord wants you to do for him. Have you armed yourself with this mind?

Are you ready for this? Are you prepared for this? Because this is an expedient thing for all Christians. You know, I think that no one in the Bible knew more about suffering for the Lord than Peter did.

In fact, I would go as far as to say this. Let's quote Peter. You see, five chapters is the most illuminating exposition on Christian suffering that's abroad today. In every chapter he does something about suffering.

Let me jot them out for you and then you'll remember. Other than chapter one, you remember he was talking about these people being re-elected and being sanctified and having great blessings from God.

He was talking in verse four about them having an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that status not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

And because that they were redeemed and sanctified and have this great inheritance, he says, wherein ye greatly rejoice. All the Christians plenty to rejoice about. But he put this phrase in, though now for a season it may be, ye are in happiness through manifold blessings, the word should be.

Let the toil of your faith be much more precious than the gold of heavenship. You see, if you have exercised faith in Christ, then that faith must be examined. God is going to test us. God is going to try us.

And when God tries your faith and the heaviness is on you for the season, I can tell you, you are suffering. Ah, but you are suffering at the hands of God. God's just test in your faith. God took Abraham out of one of the Chaldeans, brought him across the Syrian desert and brought him into the land of Palestine and said, this is the land I promised you, this is yours, given the dimensions of the land.

And the next famous test, there was a salmon in the land. God was testing him. Yes, you suffer under the test in hand of God. But look at the second chapter. Second chapter, that's where we were a moment ago, isn't it?

And I must read it over again. Verse 19, for it is faith-worthy if a man, for confidence toward God, endure grief, suffering wrongfully. You know, as you go through this world and keeping high the banner of the cross and following after the Lord, you know you're going to have to suffer wrongfully at times.

You just have to put up with it. If the gunner throws stones at me, you just have to let them throw stones. If you're following on after the Lord and you're arming yourself with the same mind, and then he will revile the...

He didn't say a thing. He reviled not again. When he suffered it, he suffered not. Oh, what a tight, wild group the Christian had to walk. Yes, Peter knew all about this. And in the third chapter, do you remember us doing this?

Verse 14, but and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake. Sometimes you have to suffer for righteousness' sake. You've got to tell the truth to me. In certain circumstances and situations of life, some folks, maybe even your neighbor, doesn't want you to tell the truth.

Your deans and your father wouldn't want you to tell the truth, had you got to tell the truth. And in those occasions you suffer for righteousness' sake. Sometimes you suffer because of your faith, for faith's sake.

Sometimes you suffer wrongfully and you say nothing. Sometimes you suffer for righteousness' sake. And here we are in chapter four, and if we go down to verse 16, we'll find this. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, oh, you've got to suffer as a Christian.

If even you're a Christian, you're different. In this old world tonight, the whole complete race is divided into three. There is the Jews. God keeps them different. There are the Gentile nations. There is the Christians, the new believers.

The Christian’s Distinctive Calling

You know, when I was in Palestine, I got very folly with an old Arab who took us about day after day with great character, used to go away the back ways up into the mountains where some of the tourists had never been.

It was very good for us that we could see many things. And one tap of the neck, we were going out to Calvary on Sunday morning to spread the table and remember the Lord. And I said to this Arab fellow, where can I get on fermented wine?

This is what he went on fermented wine for. I said, he wouldn't know. He said, you think I don't know? He says, I suppose you're going out to remember the Lord in the morning. And I smiled and said, what is the meaning of remembering the Lord?

He said, I'm Christian. I said, my I don't think you are. He said, but I am. He said, I was born a Mohammedan. I lived in my Bible days under the Mohammedan church. And then I was converted to become a Roman Catholic.

And I call myself a Christian. I don't think that I'm the same as you, if that's what you're talking about. It is the way I distinguish this, that I was a Mohammedan. He didn't know I'm a Roman Catholic, but you are a believer.

Now, he was speaking of different angelic things, all right, but he hadn't got the most proper list. And I tried to teach him on this. And I think he would tell me what a Christian was. That believers were Christian.

You have to settle as a Christian. It's because I believe certain things. Some drunk man tries to take me down a bit, you know. I was sent for yesterday, only yesterday, to the university, Coombs. Dr. Raphael was over.

He's a Jew. He just spent a week in Israel. And he was trying to tell me a lot of things. And, you know, he looked at me once and said, you know right well that I'm a Moses. I don't believe a thing about all these things.

I said, you know, you're terribly anxious to know what's going to happen to Israel. And you always ask me, show me in the book the things that are going to happen. What are you, what are you depending on the book for if you think it's no use?

But there are scoffing signs. Oh, but don't worry about the scoffing. You know, if you can arm yourself with this mind, it'll do you a lot of good. I said again, you'll be ready to suffer. If God wills that I must pass through a period of heaviness, if God wills that I must suffer wrongfully, if God wills that I must suffer for righteousness' sake, if I must suffer as a Christian.

Oh, I can tell you, Peter, knew a lot about this suffering business. In fact, I think this is the greatest exposition he's ever tried, because he does it in all the chapters. He says in verse 10 that the God of all grace who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that he has suffered a while, in which he perfected, published, strengthened, toppled.

So that will be the end of it, you know, there'll come the glory of the Lord. God will call unto eternal glory. I can tell you, Ken, that this is something that's excruciating for all Christians, to be armed with this mind of Christ, to be prepared, to be ready to suffer for righteousness, or suffer wrongfully, or suffer as a Christian.

It will come our way, all right. Now, I want you to get this very carefully, that he begins talking about the example of Christ, for as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, all of us have likewise with the same mind.

And he says, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath seen something. And I call that the exegete of some Christians. The exegete, of course, means going out or getting away from. You know, this is one of the debates in this chapter.

Somebody said to me once, you know, if you only knew the way to suffer, you would become sinlessly perfect. Ah, well, that's not what that is teaching, you know. It's just drunk to think it was. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath seen from sin.

You think that's what it says? Come now, I'm deaf in the glass. I mean, I'll look at it then. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath seen from sin. Is that what it says? You know, I had a great compliment given to me last Tuesday after the Episcopal passage, and it was given to me by one of our bishops.

Oh, I should say who it was. It was Albert. And Albert said to me just after the meeting, he came and said, Pastor, if you could only teach us to read the way you could read, it would help us. And I assure you that he was on the right line.

For some of you young boys coming up and some of you young girls that are getting a slapping of education, you think you can read, but I know you can't. And I found one or two of yours just by the things you say.

Now, let me tell you this. Here is what Peter is saying. He is saying, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath seen from sin, and the full stop is not there. And that's why the boys that get the argument put the full stop.

Ah, but that is not all that he said. He is saying, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath seen from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh through the lust of men, but through the will of God.

And that's what he says. He is saying, he hath seen from sin in that particular sense. That's what he says. There is a particular sense he is saying. You see, sometimes before we have said, you know, we run about with a bunch of men, let's put it like that, I know it better.

And you know, they want you to do certain things. This is what we call the lust of men, want me to go booze and go to the bookies and do this and that and the other thing. You know, I have got an old flesh way down inside me that wants to do the things that men want me to do.

Yes, that's before him said. Ah, but after him said, I have got a God who wants me to do things, it's the will of God that comes. And you know, the things that men want me to do and the things that this old flesh wants me to do, by the grace of God, because it is the will of God, I have got to get away from that.

And I'm teaching from that particular kind of sin. Just because I see that's quite clearly the will of God, but that doesn't make me sin looking perfect. I know there were things I used to do, before I would say, well I don't do them anymore Hudson, but now.

I don't do that now. And there's a thousand other things I used to do, I do them no more, but I am not sinfully perfect. I have sinned from ten, ten times. Yes, because you need to read the whole passage.

And I'd say to you, if you would read to the commons, and stop at the fanny coal, and go on to the full stop, and get the whole thing, maybe you would do a bit better at it. And I think that was a great compliment that was paid to me, by a fellow who's far cleverer and smarter than I am.

But he's got enough sense to see that. Now what I want you to see is this. I want you to see that some Christians have sinned from some particular kind of sin. And they're no more really by the lusts of men, or even of the flesh.

They're following on to know the Lord, in the will of the Lord. Now I want you to get this. We have the example of Christ, and the speaking and preaching of all Christians, and this excerpt of some Christians.

Baptism, Church Membership, and the Will of God

Now this is the exercise for real Christians. You know, the will of God is the thing that matters most to us. Mind you, this is something that all of you should think about very carefully. Because I can tell you that it is the will of God for every believer to be baptized by a merchant.

And if you would like me to prove that to you, it would be quite a pleasure. And if you are not baptized by a merchant, you are disobeying the ultimate will of God. I can tell you that God not only wants you to be baptized, but he wants you to be a member of a New Testament festoon.

Some folks, you know, go about laughing and smiling, say, I belong to nothing. Well, if everybody was like you, we'd have no meeting. And it wouldn't be heated, nor would there be life, nor would there be a pastor.

God must be seen. And you're again the order of God. Our will, the will of God, is a very important thing in many directions, isn't it? And I could go on for an hour now, couldn't I? I tell you, friend, that's something that real Christians attend to.

But I want to get down to this bit, you know. It's not only the example of Christ that he brings before them, and the expedient things for all Christians, and the exodus away from particular sins for some Christians, and the exercise of real Christians.

You know, there comes the exposure of these Christians. And by that I mean the exposure of their lives, it's not of the Christians at all, but of these particular Christians that he's about. Now watch it carefully.

For as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, are you so likewise with the same mind? For he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God.

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles. Now I must take a breath there to tell you that he's writing to Jews. Could you remember when we began the epistle, that Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and so on?

You see, he was writing to these Jews scattered throughout these different provinces. But Jews who were saved, who were redeemed by flesh and blood, born again by the word of the Lord. I mean before these Jews were saved, they were rushing to get the victory, because he put it in for you to get.

Watch it again. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles. These fellows have been running with the Gentiles. Watch this. When we walked, now here are the things.

In lasciviousness, in lusts, in excess of wine, in revelries, in banquetings, under formidable idolatry. All some of these Jews before they were saved had gone out to these feasts where idols were. You know, these were the things that they'd gone into with the Gentiles before they were saved.

Ah, but they have ceased from that now. Did you get that now? Because that's the sense he has used the phrase. They have ceased from these perpetual sins. More, more excess of wine, more abominable idolatry.

So now they're out from that. Or they're not doing what you don't have to know. They're just away from certain sins. There's a catalogue of them here. Let me give this to all the young preachers. If you meet somebody someday and they tell you that they're too bad to be saved, would you put them here and let them see that these boys who had done all these things had got saved?

Salvation from Former Sins

There are two great catalogues of sins in the Bible. Here's one of them here. These men before they were saved, they had been running with the Gentiles in lasciviousness, love, excess of wine, revelry, drunk with things, and abominable idolatry.

Just have a look at the other catalogue when you're there. It's just Corinthians, Paul writing in that first letter to the Corinthians. First Corinthians, chapter sixty-fifth. First letter to the Corinthians, chapter sixty-fifth.

Now here's what he said. I think everybody should mark this. Verse nine. He said to the Corinthians, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Mind you he meant that. The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

He said, Be not deceived, neither fornicators. Of course you know what fornication is, don't you? It's all excess of sexual things. That's what it is. There's a terrible lot of excess in sex. He said, Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters.

You don't need me to expound that. Nor adulterers, nor effeminate. That's young fellows running about like old women. And that didn't begin in Liverpool. Not a bit of it, it was away in Curran. Nor abusers of themselves with mankind.

That's all the factuality, in case you don't know. But this book doesn't mention matters, you know. And the British government under Wilson brought in a law that you can do this. There's a law and a license for men to run with men.

I'm telling you this, you'll never get into heaven. That's one thing sure. You may have your name on a church wall, but you'll not get into heaven if you're practicing that in the dark. Not a bitty chance.

Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor carpenters, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And you may say Amen. And then as good as it's like, he said, I'm touched with some of you. Oh, that's the crowd he was talking to. He says, but ye are washed. But ye are sanctified. But ye are justified.

And sanctified comes before justified man. For some of you. Well, the second lesson that time happens to be before justified. It's when you're washed by the blood of the Lamb, you're sanctified for God, and you're justified at the same moment, just like the pigs and the wheat, they're all together.

And if anybody tells you they're too bad to be saved, take them to that passage, and the one in Peter, and tell them that the curse of each case had got failed. Washed. Sanctified. Justified. Which is not stupid, will you see this?

It is just the exposure of these Christians, what they once were. But I want you to get the whole story. He says, for he that hath suffered in the flesh of feasts from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh through the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles. When we wrought in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings, banqueting, and abominable idolatries, wherein they think it strange that ye run not to this and to the same except of right.

You see, yet, not only had these Jews run with the Gentiles into their abominable banquets, but there were other Jews that ran with them. Of course, they hadn't got saved. And now they were thinking it very strange that these Jews wouldn't run any longer.

You know, he is extolling these separated Christians. Ye run not with them to the same except of right. You see, when you get saved, you know, it's wonderful. Some of the old chains that bind you fall off and you cease from standing in that place.

Because of all these people think you're mad. They can't understand it. They think it's strange. He's turned queer. What happened to him? Queer. Somebody said to me, once a U-square. I said, yes, no matter what way I fall, I always turn off the right side anyway.

I should always end up right. What's this now? I want you to get this. You know, this is extolling the separated Christians. I want you to see this. It says, I don't think it's strange that ye run not with them to the same except of right.

And then the next thing is, they speak evil of you. They always do. You'll always find people who will speak evil of you if you don't run with them the way you used to do. If you're prepared to suffer in the flesh and cease from these perpetual sins and rush to the will of God, there's nothing surer than they'll think you're strange and they'll speak evil of you.

You can be prepared for that. People have before to ridicule the real believer at every cut and stroke. You know, in my early days, a Baptist student of Ireland bought a great big fashionable caravan.

In those days, I'm talking over 25 years ago, it was a costly affair. It was about 1600 pounds. And in those days it meant a great caravan. There was every equipment in it for living. And the whole back of it dropped down and it became a stage in which you could set up the mic.

And I used to take it into a chair every morning. And I mean I did it. That was my job, and what a wonderful job it was. Every chair in the north of Ireland. And I knew the north. So in the five mile town, let the back end of the caravan down.

An entire mile square in many, many dozens of times. And I was wide awake for all the farmers. I knew they were there to buy and sell cattle. And you couldn't see them all day. So I got there early in the morning, got the old caravan opened up, and the record player going with all the beautiful hymns I could find.

And then I got out on the rake, clapped on, clapped my hands and said, hey boys, here, three to three minutes. And I'd get all the farmers in around me, and they knew me. They knew I wouldn't preach all day.

But in ten minutes, like thunder and lightning, I would give them the gospel. And I'd never miss a bar. One day I'd just finish it with all my arms, let the boys go to the dealing, that's what they were there for.

And the farmer was yellowed, which I can see him still, sticks below the arm, the hat on the back of the head. Said to me, that's the French caravan you have. I said, please, put some money in, thank you, sir, because if we're going to have a road, we may as well have it inside.

And I think that the man would have said, thank you, it was a road going all right. I wasn't shocked. Came in, looked round, I saw them everything in the caravan. I said, how much did it cost you? 1 ,600 pounds.

He said it was a shame, called on me like shit like that. It's a shame. Actually, he didn't say a shame, he used another word. I said, what's wrong with you? What do you want me to do with the money? He said, there are a thousand sheds in this country.

There's no clothes and no shoes. And you are setting this thing up and spending the money. I said, don't you think you've got your priorities all wrong, that you're not starting at the beginning? He says, where's the beginning?

I said, you're thinking about their bodies, aren't you? Yes. Well, do you know that they have a soul? Do you think that their bodies are worth more than their soul? I said, we're looking after the soul.

That's what our job is, you know. Social group, clerical group. And he was a good old cleric. He could see when I hit him hard where it meant. He could see the truth. He said, I'm sorry. We've got critics round the town, you know, who talk about social gospel, to evangelize the truth of books, of faith.

He doesn't please the social gospelers. They ought to know better. They ought to know the difference between socialism and evangelism. And if they don't, they should get saved and then they would know.

My job for Christ is to save the souls of men. Somebody else must look after their boots and socks. My job is big enough. You always get the critics, you know. I'm a critic, cripple some of them. I was going to say cripple some of them.

Judgment, the Gospel, and the End of All Things

Because I want you to get that, you know. I think you're getting the message. I'll put it very carefully for you. The example of Christ. And then the expediency for all Christians to be armed with the same mind that Christ was armed with.

The exodus, seeking from sin in a certain sense. The exodus of all real Christians was to live for the will of God. The exposure of some Christians. Paul and Peter let us know the kind of men of good faith.

And there's the extolling of these separated Christians. They're not running riot with these men anymore. And the experience of every man of God is that as you go all out for Christ the way he wants you to, he'll speak evil of you.

Now we come to a difficult part of the chapter, and I'm taking time with that. It says for the time past of our life might suffice us to have brought the will of the Gentiles. When we walk in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatry.

When in they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same extent of loyalty. Speaking evil of you. Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead? You know the people that throw stones by slander at the servants of God, have to stand in judgment.

Because when the books are opened at the great white throne, God will ask them one or two questions. And of course if they're Christians who have thrown stones, they'll have to stand at the judgment seat of Christ, won't they?

And there'll be judge for the wretched. God won't allow you to throw stones. You see, these were Jews who had run riot with the Gentiles into the banqueting idolatry of feasts. And some of them had got saved, but other ones were still stuck there in their sin.

But they were speaking evil of the Jews that had got saved and would run riot no more. Well they were going to give an account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. Now I want you to get that into your mind before we approach the next verse.

I want you to see that it's Jews who are not saved and who are running riot with the Gentiles to the banquets and idolatry of feasts. And they're speaking evil of Jews who have got saved and who will run riot with them no more.

Well, there's always enough to stand in judgment. You know, there's one thing that the Jew doesn't understand and doesn't properly understand, to make the young saved Jew, and that is he's accustomed only to the judgment of the living.

You know, the Jews in Ephrael, in the old economy, were judged immediately. If king were taken in adultery, they were stoned to death. If a boy should dare to take his father's wife, he was not only stoned, he was burned.

And he only needs to go through Leviticus 20 and so on, and you'll find that all the judgments came upon them, and they were accustomed to the judgment of God falling upon the living. But they knew precious little about the judgment of God on the dead.

So Peter's going to let these folks here see that these Jews who are speaking evil shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. And then he said, for this cause was the gospel preached to them that are dead.

You see, he's trying to prove to them that God is going to judge these men even after the dead. That's why the gospel was preached to them before they died. You see, some people try to take this phrase the gospel was preached to them that are dead and bring it up into the third chapter and say, there we told you that he went into the spirits in prison and preached the gospel.

That is not what Peter is saying. Peter is saying they're going to be judged whether they're alive or dead. And if they're dead, they're going to be judged on for this cause, so that God could judge them righteously.

The gospel was preached to them. Somebody yesterday who must have been looking at the passage said to me, Pastor, was the gospel ever preached to the Jews? Oh, I don't know where he was brought up. Somebody should buy a New Testament.

Have a look at this. This is Hebrews, letter to the Hebrews, and we're at chapter four. Hebrews chapter four. You remember that Hebrews chapter three ended, seeing Israel turning back and on beneath. You know, they came to a stop in the wilderness and they saw the promised land, and then they turned back in unbelief.

Verse one of chapter four says, let us, let us believers therefore fear. With the promise being lift up eventually into his breath, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them.

But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith and then that had had it. You see, the gospel was preached to them. And I'll tell you this, you can go through the Old Testament and you can find a thousand places where the gospel was preached to them, and it was preached to them for this purpose, that whether they were dead or alive, they'd be judged at the great white throne.