Kingdom of Darkness Bound — E.A. Johnston

In John's Gospel, in chapter 8 and verse 12, Jesus declares, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. I propose to you, friends, that to be a Christian is to live in the kingdom of light and life as followers of Christ who gives us life, and that the way of the lost sinner is to live in the kingdom of darkness as prisoners of Satan that are bound in his kingdom.

That's the title of my message today, Kingdom of Darkness Bound, and that's because a lost person will serve their loss as they live alienated from God, for there are indeed two kingdoms in opposition to one another, the kingdom of God, which is light, and the kingdom of Satan, which is darkness.

Satan's False Peace and Counterfeit Religion

A person dead in sin is blinded by Satan, and that person will have a false peace given to them from the devil who will guard his goods until the strong man is bound and the captive set free. In Matthew 12, 28 -29, Jesus speaks of this,.

But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else, how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house?

Listen to me, friends. Satan will do all he can to guard his goods, who are the souls that are captive by him, bound by him, and who serve him in the kingdom of darkness. Why, he can appear to you as an angel of light and give you a false religion.

Satan loves orthodox religion, as long as it is religion without Christ. Satan will give you a false assurance. He'll give you a feeling. He'll make you tingle all over to keep you in his dark kingdom.

And Satan will make you think God is with you by flooding your room while you're praying with a bright light, a shining light all around you, to make you think you're now a Christian, because that's what he does.

He poses as an angel of light. The apostle Paul warns us of this very thing in 2 Corinthians 11, 14. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Why, Satan can give you a vision of Jesus on the cross and say, look, there he is, believe him.

And Satan can give you a false peace that will keep you enslaved to his kingdom, as he jealously gourds his goods. And Satan loves the gospel invitation given by his lost religionists that will lead you to make amends with Santa Christ and give you an empty religious profession without Christ.

And Satan will even encourage you to wave your hand around above your head to the music and the worship service, so long as you really serve and worship him. Satan will make sure that you speak lies to others and see nothing wrong with lying as a course of life, because Satan is the father of lies.

But Satan cannot give you conviction of sin, nor sanctification and power over sin. But he will give you a zealous religion and keep you busy with religious works. But he cannot give you a disposition of holiness unto God and the godliness of a Christ-like life, because the devil is a devil of sin and rebellion to God and to all things holy.

Religious Works Cannot Save

Jesus speaks against the religious deceived hypocrite who mistakenly believes himself to be saved when he's still in the kingdom of darkness and dead in sin. We see this in Matthew 7 .21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Let me pause here, friends. Let me bring your attention to the very next word, which falls from the lips of Christ, because it describes the religious majority in our day. Listen, many, many, he says, will approach me in that day and defend their religious works by saying, Lord, Lord, have I not sung in the choir at church for you?

Have I not handed out tracts for you? Have I not taught Bible studies for you? Have I not given my money to you? And in thy name done many wonderful works. Now listen, friends, to what Jesus says. And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Listen to me, friends, and this is a solemn statement. One way of sin is enough to damn a man forever. Little sins are of a damning nature as well as great sins. For all sin is rebellion against God and deserves eternal damnation.

Proverbs warns those who think lightly of sin. In Proverbs 19 .16 we read, He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul, but he that despiseth his ways shall die. Did you ever stop to think, friends, that many of the prominent preachers we have today who are the darlings of many and preach that God is tolerant towards sin and that grace gives you liberty to sin because once saved always saved means you can sin all you want to and still go to heaven.

Why, that's a very lie from the pit of hell because godly men will walk in the light as they follow a crucified Christ and will walk in the course of holiness. Psalm 119 .1 states, Blessed are the undefiled in the way that walk in the law of the Lord.

But such men that live in ways of sin live in a way of disobedience for they do not love God. For love to God will make men keep God's commands. 1 John 5 .3 states,. Herein is love that would keep his commands and his commands are not grievous.

If men live in a way of disobedience they walk a darkened path and are not Christ's sheep for his sheep hear his voice and men who live in a way of disobedience are the servants of sin. John 8 .34 declares,.

He that committeth sin is the servant of sin. If men live in the practice of known evils and continue to walk the way of disobedience then sin will be their ruin and condemnation for it will be said of them as it was of the sons of Eli.

They are called sons of Belial that knew not the Lord. The foundation of all religious hypocrites will one day be washed away beneath them as they're exposed to the wrath of God for sin. If God had to look away from his beloved son on the cross who became sin for us and suffered and died for sin and rose again how much more, friends, will God punish all sinners exposed, being outside of Christ and who die in their sins?

The Peril of Dying in Sin

Jesus warned the Pharisees the religious leaders of his day. I said, therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins for if ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins. Listen, friends I tremble as I preach right now for I fear many will hear and remain unchanged.

Only God can open your eyes and give you saving faith. Only the Spirit of God can bring you under conviction of sin and get you lost for without the Holy Spirit conviction none can be saved. If you make a mental assent to Jesus and join the church without ever being awakened to your lost condition and you fail to exercise repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through the new birth then you will surely one day die in your sins and enter perdition's punishment for sin which is hell fire.

It is my concern and aim to now demonstrate to you the sinner's perilous position outside of Christ and the great danger of dying in their sins and one day going out of this world of reprobation into a world of retribution under the guilt of sin and unpardoned of sin.

Listen, Job 20 .11 states. His bones are full of the sin of his youth which shall lie down with him in the dust. Some folks have given it all to God except one thing which stands against God. They've put a stake in the ground if I may so speak which has a keep off the grass sign on it which means God, I'm coming to you because I want heaven but keep your hands off this area of my life.

And that area, friends, is a stake of rebellion and sin. They refuse to throw down their shotgun of rebellion and submit to the rule and reign of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their daily living. They are like the person spoken of in Ezekiel 32 .27 where the prophet Ezekiel speaks of the way of the wicked who die in their rebellion as he says which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war and they have laid their swords under their heads but their iniquities shall be upon their bones.

And in the book of Ecclesiastes in verse 11 .3 it declares. And if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be. Listen carefully, friends I want to read you what the Bible commentator John Gill had to say about this text.

He said. It's when a tree is cut down let it fall where it will there it abides and is no more fruitful. So when a man is cut off by death as he was then so he remains. If a gracious and good man and has done good he is like a tree that falls to the south he enters into the paradise of God the joys of heaven.

And if not a good man and has not done good he is like a tree that falls to the north he goes into a state of darkness misery and distress. In my Bible I see God describe the eternal turmoil of the wicked in Isaiah 57 and verses 20 to 21.

But the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God to the wicked. Oh, friends, how this doctrine of the death of the wicked should put terror into our hearts who are on false foundations of an empty religious profession.

Finality of Spiritual Condition

In the book of Revelation it speaks of this very thing about a man's life being fallen as a tree in verse 20 to 11. He that is unjust let him be unjust still. And he which is filthy let him be filthy still.

And he that is righteous let him be righteous still. And he that is holy let him be holy still. And in Isaiah it speaks of a will in God to save but a people in rebellion to him in sin. Listen, friends, to Isaiah chapter 59.

Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. Neither is ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have his face from you that he will not hear.

Listen to verse 7. Their feet run to evil and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Wasting and destruction are in their paths. Two kingdoms are described in my Bible, friends.

Salvation by Grace into the Kingdom of Light

The kingdom of God and that of Satan. As one walks, so is his course as he lives and operates in one or the other of these two kingdoms. Ephesians 2 tells of this kingdom of darkness and those who were once bound therein but who were released from Satan's kingdom and gripped by salvation through grace.

Listen. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein time passed ye walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind were by nature the children of wrath even as others but God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by grace you are saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

I believe, friends that a lost sinner operates in a kingdom of darkness bound by Satan he's like a blind man groping his way in the dark as he crawls over everybody's backs in an attempt to grab as much of this world as he can.

Only God can open the heart through the Holy Spirit and conviction of sin and awaken that person to their lost condition and great peril of dying in their sins outside the blood of Christ who is the only substitute for sin.

For as a tree falls there will lay a good opinion of yourself and a long track record of service won't be of any help to you in the grave. The apostle describes the sad condition of those who walk in the vanity of their mind as slaves in that kingdom of darkness.

Ephesians 4, 18 and 19 speaks of their peril having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Redemption through Christ and the Final Appeal

And I will close this solemn message friends with a picture of what true salvation is as speaking of those who walk in light as seen in Colossians 1 and verses 12 through 14 which states giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son in whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins.

Two different kingdoms two different destinies which kingdom are you in friend? Let us pray.