The title this morning is, God is Still Serious About Sin. You're going to hear a pin drop on that title. God is Still Serious About Sin. And I'm going to go in a direction not a lot of churches go in. Many do, of course. Anytime I say that, I want people to know there's a lot of great churches out there throughout the United States, of course, but most of the churches avoid this topic because Doesn't draw a crowd. Man, Shane, if I got a first-time guest, they might not return. They might not return anyway. You better tell them what God wants to tell them through His Word. And so remember that sin doesn't play games, it takes prisoners. God is still serious about sin, and we're picking up in Acts 5. I'll give you a quick recap from two weeks ago. Ananias fell down dead after he lied, and so great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. What happened? Well, they sold their property for a certain amount of money, let's say, you know, $100,000. Keep it simple, piece of land. I don't know where you're going to find that nowadays, but it's out there somewhere, maybe way out by the solar fields. And they said, we sold it for 50,000. Here's 50,000. Look how spiritual we are. Can we get some claps for how spiritual we are? Ananias, Sapphira, thank you guys. 50,000, I can't believe that. But really, they sold it for 100,000. And they lied. And because of that, he breathed his last breath. And it says, great fear. I bet it did. Well, hold on, it's gonna get better. Great fear fell upon those who heard these things. And I just want to remind all of us, the fear of God is actually a really good thing. A really good thing. The fear of God, that's what our nation needs. We need it in the White House. Lord knows we need it in Sacramento. We need it on conservative podcast platforms and liberal pod... We need the fear of God in this place. Respecting God, because then you live differently. And one of the founding fathers said, men either have to be controlled by the Bible or by the bayonet. Either by the Word of God or the strong arm of man. And that's why I believe I've written on this, I've talked about this with the increase in school shootings. we're gonna have to apologize for, God's gonna have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if he doesn't judge, right? I mean, we know God's grace, and I think the remnant's keeping the church alive, and God's grace on us still, but things have really, if you research how things were in the 60s and 50s, and I think some things are improving, thank God, the racism and things like that, there's definitely some highlights, but overall, there's no fear of God in this place. You remember Columbine. Well, how many have been since then? And so it does beg the question, what is going on? And I truly believe that when you drift from the fear of God, there is a covering that is removed. Every man doing what is right in his own eyes. Well, how has the fear of God been removed? Did you know that they used to teach kids the Bible in the public schools? that God was acknowledged openly. Even though people weren't Christians, they feared Him. There was a reverence, there was respect. And the deeper you go into depravity, the farther you go away from God, the more horrendous things are going to happen. Even in the Old Testament, if a king, if the leadership drew the people back and they feared God, even though all the people didn't fear God, they would go worship Molech or they would do these things, as long as the leadership and the majority of the people, they feared God, there was a covering there. In the same way that if a believing spouse stays with her unbelieving husband, the Bible says even the kids are sanctified. There's something about that relationship. Doesn't mean the husband's saved, doesn't mean the kids are automatically saved, but there's somebody in the house contending for what is right. And I truly believe that God said, I hear the cry of that mom who's contending for her family. I hear the cry of that father who's praying, and I'm gonna, despite the unbelieving spouse, I'm gonna have a covering over that home. Same thing happens to a nation. We see, I can't even believe we're talking about now, it's in the news, with sex trafficking. How is that even possible? I just can't grab my hands around the depravity of sin, but that's why there's no fear of God in this place. When Supreme Court justices fear God, they'll rule differently. They don't say, well, gay marriage, it's popular now, let's look at Europe's laws, we're changing, the Constitution is changing. No, it's not, what does God's Word say? And you can even look, if you want, the journals of the Supreme Court justices. John Jay was the first Supreme Court justice, and he wrote in his diary the foundation of his life on Jesus Christ. And you can see that they would actually, when they went to rule on something, they said, what does the Bible say? Now they say, what does other courts in other areas say? What is a European court voted? We want to be like them. And they don't look at what's called precedent. meaning how the courts used to rule for 150 years or so. And it was based on God's word. And I've shared this with you before. How would we define our legal system? Or how would we define laws? For decades and decades, it was something called William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. And all the laws had scripture references. They feared God. And of course, not all the founders were Christians and there were some unbelievers. Right. But the overall tempo. I'd rather be part of a community that at least fears God versus doesn't fear anything and thinks I can do whatever feels good to me. The Nike slogan, maybe it's great for marketing, but it's not good for living. If it feels good, just do it. How's that going to get you in a good spot later? It's not. And look at some of these, Job 28. And Job, behold, fear the Lord. That's wisdom. That's how you get wisdom. If you want to get wise, if you want to start making good decisions, then get wisdom, fear the Lord. Proverbs, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. and knowledge of the holiness of God, or knowledge of the Holy One, knowing who God is, is understanding. So if you're praying for wisdom, Lord, I need wisdom, I need discernment, maybe you're listening to this later, maybe you're driving on the freeway and you hear this, there's not going to be wisdom outside of knowing and fearing God. Because that's the gauge, that's the thermometer, that's the thermostat that keeps everything on track. When I don't have that, then I just want to do whatever I think is right. Whatever I feel is right. So you have to have that fear of the Lord. That's how we truly, truly gauge what is wise, what is good. Fear Him and live. The Bible will talk about often, fear Him and live. And I don't have this up on the screen, but I love Isaiah 66 too. God says that when God says something, I mean, I don't know about you, but sometimes I put down my Bible and just reflect on it. It's when God says, this is one who I will esteem. He who is humble and contrite, we talk about that. We talk about that often, it ran the heavens. God says, I will hear this person, I will esteem this person if they're humble and contrite. And sometimes we stop there, I've been guilty of this. But there's another little sentence after that. And he who trembles at my word. And maybe I need to clarify for the younger audience, this isn't kind of the trembling, you know, you're going to go before the principal, or you've got an angry this, or it's like you're walking around on eggshells. Anybody ever had to do that before in their home? This is actually you're walking in freedom because you trust in the living God. You trust in His sovereignty. I'm going to obey You. I'm going to respect You, Lord. And there's so much joy and freedom in that. when you understand what that really means. It's kind of like, you know, most of you want to stay on the right side of the road, I'm assuming, with the yellow. So we should fear, your kids should fear driving on the other side of the road. Who's going to say, oh, that stinks, that's no fun. We're like, no, that kind of fear is good. Tell your kids you're out in the desert, you hear a little rattle. hey, fear that, back up a little or look around. There's a good kind of fear that's very healthy. Many times people make better financial decisions because they fear what will happen later in life. They fear messing up in their marriage because they want to keep a strong marriage and influence their kids in the right direction. The right kind of fear is a wonderful thing. So Acts continues now. Now, three hours later, here comes his wife. Uh-oh. She doesn't know what has happened yet. And Peter said, tell me whether you sold the land for so much. And she said, yes, we sold it for 50,000. I paraphrase. And I find it interesting because it's almost like Peter gave her a chance. Doesn't it seem that way? Tell me. And she could have said, you know, I've been convicted all day. And supposedly, they're Christians. And a nice and sublime. I've been convicted all day, let me tell you. And she could have spared her life. And I think it's a good reminder for us. God often gives us a second chance, doesn't He? Or if you're like me, you're long past second. You're long past second. God's mercy, that's what it means by God's mercy and grace. Aren't you glad you're not on a sliding scale, like cats have nine lives? I'm close to that ninth spot there. No, God's mercy and grace. And it doesn't mean we abuse His mercy and grace. That's what Paul said, because of God's grace, should we sin even more? Absolutely not. but it's a very true fact that God consistently calls out to those who will listen. And then Peter said, how is it that you have both agreed to test the spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out as well. The pulpit commentary said this is to tempt the Spirit. They daringly put the Holy Ghost on trial, whether or not He is able to discern the thoughts of your evil hearts, to act as if the Spirit of the Lord could not detect the crime. Why did you test the Holy Spirit? And before we chuckle, don't we sometimes? I don't think God will see that one. Hopefully he was sleeping during that time. Then immediately she fell down. God doesn't play games. Then she fell down and died. And the young man came again, found her dead, and carried her out, bearing her by her husband. Now this is interesting. Last time it said, so great fear fell upon those who heard it. Now it not only says that, now it says, so great fear fell upon the entire church. and everybody who heard it. So my thought is when her husband died, oh, unbelievable, but it could be coincidence. We don't know for certain. Maybe it didn't get too far just yet. But after she dies, I mean, talk about setting in motion holiness and purity. I'm pretty sure the church is pretty pure and holy for a while after that one. No little, little fib. No little... I mean, can you imagine? I mean, there are people around in the church they saw, and they heard Peter say, oh no, you lied. Boom. Is this what you sold it for? No, you lied. Boom. I mean, pretty traumatic. But it's also a good reminder, like I said earlier, God is still serious about sin. hypocrisy is really what it was that's what that was hypocrisy and it's good for us to know because you'll hear people often saying you can use this if you like I don't go to church because there's it's all hypocrites and you should actually correct them and say no there's not a lot of hypocrites there's a lot of people who struggle What's the difference? A hypocrite intentionally deceives. And actually, if we had time to break down the word, it means it's like an actor changing a mask. So they're intentionally going to be this on Sunday, and intentionally going to be this on Monday. Intentionally, they're a hypocrite. The struggler is this on Sunday, and they don't want to be that on Monday. But something might happen. and they might fall. And now they're repentant, and they're, God help me, I don't know how that happened. The person looking from the outside will call that person a hypocrite. And that's not true. So call those people on it. Oh, there's just a bunch of hypocrites in church. Not really, there's hardly any. But there's a lot of people who struggle. And you're welcome, we welcome strugglers. Steve Schell said, hypocrisy corrupts the heart of many, and it lifts the presence of God's power out of a church. Doesn't it? That's one of our goals here. It's not an easy goal, but we want the power and presence of God here. And it's a very challenging balance to find. Because on one hand, you have to be full of grace, correct? Full of mercy. Striving for unity. Loving. You have to. Or the presence of God is going to lift. But on the other hand, we have to confront sin. We have to say things that are difficult. We have to lovingly challenge. We have to sometimes cause division in order for people to know who's right and who's not. Paul said there will be division among you. And this is the side where people get offended. Have you ever noticed that? We don't like constructive criticism. And that's why it's so hard. Lord, we want Your presence here, so focus on grace and love and mercy. But if you allow sin to go on, let's say, it's not the case, I hope, because I know everybody here, but on the front row, front row, Daring Dale brings his girlfriend but we know he's still married. Well, you know what? Let's just have grace and mercy, guys. Come on. I want to stir the pot. Del's a big giver. This is one reason we don't really know giving records. It's a good thing. But God's grace, and look at how Jesus treated the woman caught in the act of adultery. We want God's presence here. We don't want to be judgmental and Pharisees. Let me tell you, you just quenched the Spirit. Because you have an obligation to say, hey, maybe not right away, but I'm going to talk to Him after the service. There's going to be a way. I'm going to find that guy. I'm going to stick Tim or Abram on him. But see, we love you enough to tell you the truth. And you're breaking your wife's heart and your kids. We can't allow this. Are you telling me I can't come here? Yeah, that's what I'm telling you until you repent. Don't you see this? And that's why it's so hard. Because the church can also be overly critical. Have you ever been to any of those? You got the dress code police out there in the lobby? If she raises up her arms, you're gonna see her midsection. I don't know about those shorts. Do they meet the... And we're just walking around trying to get those people, because this is a holy place. How do you know she's not broken and hurting and has been abused? Now, of course, if it's over-the-top, no-brainer. Right? We've had to bring some sweaters out before, I think. And usually some of the wives are really good about finding that person ministering to them, and not just yet attacking them, but lovingly encouraging them. And see, boy, is it a hard balance. It's an incredibly hard balance to do that. But we want God's power and presence in a church. And I think He honors it. Because He doesn't honor perfection. He knows we're not going to handle everything perfectly. There are some things we probably should have handled quicker. But you kind of get exhausted, don't you? If I have one more meeting with someone, and they're going to lie about me and leave the church, I have had enough for a while. That happens. I will talk to them, and they go tell people, like, where did they get that from? That's a complete lie. Like, that's not even close on the truth radar. But right, they have to pull down the pastor because they themselves do not want to change. or others who confront them. And maybe that's a good lesson for some of you. Some of you, you have a lot of grace and mercy, but man, you need to get some toughness back. Some of you maybe are too tough. Any of my Type A toughies out there? Okay? Pray for some softness, grace, and mercy. Isn't that such a hard balance? But important. Important. I mean, Jesus was a perfect balance of this. And a lot of people don't understand, they use Jesus as a cop-out. Turn the other cheek, don't do this. The woman caught in the act of adultery, he actually told her to don't go and sin anymore. Oh, he did? Yeah, he did. He told the man he healed, hey, if you keep sinning, something worse is going to happen to you. And basically, I think God is using a form of church discipline here. What does that mean? An unrepentant man attends church while continuing a porn addiction. A wife leaves her husband for a boyfriend. A gossip continues belittling and slandering. The list goes on and on and on. And I'm praying about it. I'm actually going to throw it out there to the elders on maybe even next week. It's just a topic that we need to discuss at this point. What is church discipline? How does it work? It's been 10 years since I've talked about it. What's the restoration process? Maybe it'd be a good timing to do that. Just piggyback onto this. No matter how small, sin like cancer grows and destroys the whole body. And I know in our mind we think of the big sins. It's actually more often the little ones that cause a lot of Like many of you, you go to people and like, hey, this was gossip, this was slander. Just what's going on here? You talk to them, a month later, you're back at it again. Hey, this is not healthy. We can't have this attitude here. Man, we're praying for you. Is there any way we can help? You need some accountability here. Maybe just zip it here. And then here it goes happening again. You can't keep coming here if you're going to constantly be a problem to people. Well, I thought the church is for everyone. Yeah, but people want... So she's a believer. Because Paul actually said, again, if I get into it in more detail, to withdraw from those who call themselves a believer, but continue in rebellious, unrepentant sin. It's almost like mocking God. And because you're silent, you're actually enabling them. That's what we forget. Christians are not supposed to enable sin. We come alongside, we help, we encourage, but at some point you say, hey, hey, hey, come on. James 1.15 tells us that when a sinful desire is born, it grows until it consumes and overcomes. And this is what does happen in a church. we'll call this the legalistic right right the hard side the rigid side the ones that have a dress code where they call it policemen right they can quench and grieve the spirit because they're just too hard there's no love but the other side if they just allow sin to continue it's going to quench and grieve the spirit. And that's what you'll see in a lot of, I'm careful and I don't want to try to say names if I don't have to, but a lot of the churches, especially as they grow too, because the more, you know, tickling the ears, more people want to come because they're not being challenged. They're not being convicted really. No, I like this. It's not really convicting me. I can keep living how I want to live. And the church will know it. I've talked to pastors. where, let's say somebody who is openly homosexual, openly, not struggling, not repentant, and let them serve as an usher. And so, but Shane, it's not my job to convict them. Oh, yes it is. Through God's word. But they're just, man, we just gotta love them. Let God change them. That's not scriptural either. You'll quench and grieve the spirit. because you love, but you also have to address. I mean, the Bible, it's not even vague. It's crystal clear. You don't allow ongoing sin that you know about to continue. Now, of course, within that is tons of examples. You know, the person's struggling with an addiction. They're struggling. And, hey, man, I blew it again. It's been a month. Of course, you're welcome. We're praying for you. But if it's just a blatant, you know, I don't care. I'm going to drink and beat my wife up. Well, at some point, we're gonna encourage her to separate, take a break, let God wreck your heart, and you're gonna come in here with that spirit of rebellion, it's not healthy for the church. So see, in wanting to love others, it's actually, you know what, let's just be honest, it's actually much easier not to confront, if I were to just be honest. Hello? Boy, that's a no-brainer. So it's actually easier not to confront. So that would be fleshly, wanting to be liked by everyone. Paul even said, there's a man living with his father's wife while the church remained silent. He responded, remove this man from your midst. 1 Corinthians 5, with the goal, again, being repentance and restoration. And that's what you always have to remember about church discipline, or when we have to have hard conversations with people, the goal is not... Don't let that door hit you on the backside when you're out of here. Don't ever want to see your face again. What's the goal? Restoration and repentance. That's the goal. And so here's why it's so important is because if I'm not saying nothing or we're not saying anything in the church and we're enabling, the person actually is not convicted. My church welcomes me. They love me. I can continue my sin. They're not going to say anything. So we're actually an enabler to them. And again, there's so many different nuances to that. I mean, at some point, there is more grace with a person who's new in the faith and they're trying versus a seasoned veteran who just doesn't care. And I wish I could tell you that the success rate is very good for restoration and repentance. No, no, no, no, no. Not good at all. What happens? Why? Because bitter bear, he never wants to come back. Just bitter as can be. That church, they're disgruntled. They don't look in the mirror. Am I saying the church is always perfect? Of course not. Have we handled things perfectly? Of course not. But the difference is we want to work through it. We have to work through it. The person lovingly confronted doesn't. And what makes it even more challenging is in Jesus' day, Paul's day, should say, church discipline was a big deal because you lost your fellowship. Maybe where you work, people, I mean, it was like your whole life was, before that, TV, iPhones. I mean, it was like, if you're, if like, say, we can't fellowship with you, that hurt. That hurt. and it wasn't as easy to go from the church in Ephesus, I'd just go to Galatia. Oh, we can get real here for a minute, can't we? Oh, Galatia's onto me, I'm just gonna go to Antioch. Ha ha ha. It's funny, but guys, this is exactly what happens. Church hopping. Church hopping. And it's sad because we'll have a difficult conversation with somebody trying to help them, and the next church will put them on staff. Like, what are you thinking? Oh, we just need helpers. We need people. You just hurt this guy, actually. Or this woman. So it's really not as effective anymore as it used to be. We still do it, but they'll just bounce to a different church. Fortunately, there's some good churches we have relationships with, and they'll let us know if people are here that are under church discipline there, and that can get a little awkward. You know, you bring in, oh yeah, you don't know my side. Well, I don't know, but you can't just come here and act as if it's no big deal. You need to let us know what's going on. We have to twin body. And we'll quench and grieve the Spirit if we don't handle it correctly here. Because churches want numbers. More people. No, we want better people in this sense, better spiritually, more healthy spiritually. I'll take, and I'll say, I'll take this size church and consider it a large church by numbers. I'll take this over a lukewarm mega church any, any, any day of the week. It's not even an issue. Why is that? Because you want people who are like-minded. And there's nothing wrong with, I mean, there's some solid large churches. Most of them are in, you know, Dallas, Texas, or, no, I'm not thinking of Jolstein, don't worry. And, you know, Los Angeles, around MacArthur's area. If you guys haven't seen the video he just put out, it's pretty incredible. He says he thinks he's on his last lap and wasn't able to make the Shepherds Conference. It was really impactful. It's being shared everywhere. Jack Hibbs down in Chino. I mean, there's solid people in solid areas for sure. So it's not just that, but many times a church will grow when they're not as confrontational. And as a result, they got a lot of stuff going on. It's a mess. And I've talked to pastors who went into big churches like you would not believe the stuff they allowed. And no wonder that the spirit is being quenched in grief. So still praying about if I do that next Sunday or not, it would be called Sin in the Camp, How to Handle Church Discipline. I wrote an article on this 10 years ago, you can find it as well. But the key that I got from this is don't miss second chances and opportunities to repent. Don't miss, oh, there's the articles if you want to take a screenshot, you can look those up, and they should pop up if you want more information on this topic. Five keys to restoration after successful church discipline as well. And this was church discipline. God was setting the pattern for church discipline. But let's look at this next point before I come to a close here. Why do people lie? Do we really need to talk about this? Ananias the fire because you're thinking what what would possess a person? Why don't you say hey, here's what I sold it for Well lying to make you look better Lying to make you look better. And the reason I'm bringing all this up is so all of us can work on this. Amen You get that ever that? Check in your spirit like oh, oh Lying to make you look better. Scandals. We're reading a lot about scandals now in the news, aren't we, within the church? I see the same ones many of you do, and I know some of these people. I'm like, oh boy. But now you got social media, you got all kinds of, I mean, it's just, it's incredible. And scandals are usually worse than what the person confesses. They usually lie to make themselves look better. Many lie because of jealousy as well. Many lie to avoid conflict or trouble. Have you ever been there? Lying to get your way. You manipulate certain things. Teenagers listening? Tell the full truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God. Just lay it out there. Lay it out there. I mean, we all do a little bit of this, don't we? My wife, and we joke about this sometimes, okay, I'm gonna run a quick errand real quick, I gotta get some gas. Okay, well that means I'm going to Target. I'm gonna stop by Ross. Starbucks Frappuccino. Like, three hours to go, what happened? But we don't say the full thing because it's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. But man, you do that as well too. Come on. Lying to cover up someone or something else. We lie to cover up things. Or many people lie to impress. Lie to impress. Proverbs 6, 16-19, this is actually from a commentary, which is a thought for thought instead of a word for word on this Bible verse, but it's so good for us to hear. Look at this, Proverbs 6, 16-19. I don't know if we have this one up on the screen or available. Oh no, I think I had this actually new maybe. Here are six things God hates. I don't know about you, but when it says God hates something, you might want to sit up a little straighter. Put your phone down. The Lord hates? Oh, and there's one that He loathes with a passion. Number one, eyes that are arrogant. How are your eyes arrogant? Well, you know, how you look determines how you act. That's where they get the word uppity-ness from. Jesus would say stiff-necked. Can you tell pride in their eyes? Can't you? And then he says, a tongue that lies. A tongue that lies. Hands that murder the innocent. A heart that hatches evil plots. Feet that race down a wicked track. They just can't wait to get to wickedness. I saw that a lot this week when we went to Fort Lauderdale, Miami. They're just quick to run into evil. A mouth that lies under oath. So not only a tongue that lies, but a person, basically another translation says false witness. Have you seen that before? It happens in our political system all the time, making up all kinds of things. And you know why I watch some interviews why, in the political scope right now, why people lie? Is because, yes, I lied, but it was for the better good of America. Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian informant. We know that's not true, but it's better for America. The current president, any lies about him? I don't know. You guys tell me. Every time I mention his name, people leave the church. God forbid. But does that political party lie too? Has Trump said some wallops? What? Where do you get that stuff from? But that's why a lot of people do it, especially in politics. It's for the better of the nation. Has Newsom been up front about everything? This week you should watch his interview with Charlie Kirk. By the way, people say, oh, I'm surprised. No, he's just trying to run for president. So he's trying to get more center, Newsom is. That's the only reason he's saying some of what he said. But I respect it. I'm glad that happened. Because it's for the greater good, they believe. It's best not to maybe say anything. a mouth that lies under oath, and a troublemaker in the family." Your translation, if you're reading, probably says, one who sows... Let me plant some discord here. Let me plant some discord here. Rick, did you hear about the other men's ministry at that other church down the street? Oh my gosh. Wait till I tell you. Mike, last week, did you hear? Let me just tell you. Remember that church you came from? You're not going to believe what they did this week, let me tell you. What am I doing? Don't worry, I'm coming after somebody else next and see you. Dave, you know what one of the worship leaders at another church said about you? That's what it is. You're sowing discord among the brethren. And God hates it. Boy, that will make you... And of course, we all have to sometimes watch it because it just comes out. We want to share bad news. or the flesh wants to put others down. Especially if you're involved and you want to put others down because it makes you look better. It's amazing. God doesn't like a troublemaker in the family. And let me tell you, I'm pretty sure you know if that's you. Well, how would I know? Because there's always drama around your life. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, you are drama queen. Men too? Drama queens can be kings. But haven't you ever, you know like, on Monday I've got this issue going with my family, and then Tuesday this church issue, and then Wednesday this, and my wife is this, and I'm controlling, and I'm manipulating, and I'm just drama. But they excuse it. I'm just standing for the truth. I'm a truth speaker. I speak the truth in love, and they just don't like it. Be careful of your pot stirrer. Troublemaker. God doesn't like troublemakers in the family. But what's the good news? For all of these, repent! Repent! What a wonderful word. Don't you love that word? I know it's hard. It's a hard kind of pastoring too, because I've had many people over the years come up, like in a prayer room or laying, and say, Pastor, I got to apologize. Why? Because I've been gossiping about you. OK, thank you. I'm glad you feel better. Next time, just take it to the Lord. I don't need to know. I do not need to know. Anybody relate? And many times they're sincere, but I also know that person who's not sincere. They want to tell you, they want to shoot that fiery dart at you that the enemy's been planning in their heart. In the last days, they will be lovers of self. That's why they lie. Do you know lying has a lot to do with self-preservation? We lie. Lovers of self. In the last days. This is not even debatable, I should say, but we've never seen more lovers of self. I mean, not even close. Selfies. Right? Hey guys. Women, you're better at it sometimes, but Instagram, TikTok, why do we have to share everything with everybody? Don't believe the lies that all these people post are all happy all the time. They only post a happy moment. Not the rest of the week. Hey, let's just put this on live feed. Let's see the whole week. Let's see how this plays out. Lovers of self. I mean, just look at this. What's the debauchery? You haven't heard that word in a while, have you? But it's just, oh, it's kind of sickening. From hairstyle and what we wear and our clothes and lovers of self. It's in the last days. But one of the most important things is that lying leads to dying. Lying leads to dying. Revelation 21. Revelation 21, New American Standard Bible, probably one of the most literal translations out there. But for the cowardly and the unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars. How is lying compared to... murdering and sorcery and witchcraft, says their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. I'm sure most of you know, you've been coming here a while, but you die twice. Maybe somebody else needs to hear this. You die twice. It's horrific. You die physically and then you die spiritually. That's what the second death is. They don't call, the Bible doesn't call the second death, it doesn't apply to Christians at all. It actually refers to as life. You die physically, but you live spiritually. And so the second death is those who have rejected God. And of course, a good disclaimer right here, he's talking about the people who are unrepentant, You say, oh man, I lied last week, am I going to hell? Not if you're a believer. Repent, fix it, work on it, and move forward. We don't hang on to the old sins, thank God. Aren't you glad, anybody glad that you don't hang on to those old sins? Can you imagine, can you imagine if you had to carry around a box? And every sin was an ounce. And that box kept, oh my goodness, We wouldn't be able to come to church anymore. Our boxes would be too big. But because of the cross, we're free. We're free. Those who the Son sets free are free indeed. But when you're free, you don't go back and intentionally go back into bondage and lying. Some people, I mean, they are, you know, We all have different struggles, but they have a lying tongue. They're Christians, but that's how they get out of things. They've manipulated their parents, they've manipulated their spouse, and they justify because, well, it's not really lying, I'm just not telling quite all of it. Last I checked, manipulation is lying. And so this person is a person who, they lie. They are marked by lying because of their sinful nature. They're unrepentant. It's how I was. It's how I get through life. Many businessmen, too, have to lie on certain things and contracts and things. It's like who I am. It's how I make my living. It's how I keep my wife happy. You think I would tell her about this and that? No way, dude. I've had people tell me that. You're a liar. Yeah, but it keeps my wife happy. It keeps everything in sync. Happy wife, happy life. that person is going to experience a second death. Because see, lying marks him. For other people, sorcery and witchcraft marks them. For other people, adultery marks them. And if a person has a struggle with this, they keep falling. And I've talked to men in church, I thought, man, I just love women. What? And you're a believer? No, you're not probably a believer. You said a little quick little prayer, it didn't change your heart. And so that adultery marks that person. That's who they are. That's why when he says, nor drunkards. Man, I just love my fifth of vodka every night. Or homosexuals. See? All these things that marks them like this is who I am. And I'm proud, proud, proud, proud, proud. I'm gonna have a whole month named after my sin. See that marks them, that's who they are. That's why they will experience the second death. But all those people, Paul said, and such were some of you. Now a person's a believer, man, I drank last month, it's been months, and hey, get back on track. Don't beat yourself up. You're not gonna experience a second death if you're truly a believer and repentant. Man, I looked at porn, or I just, man, get back on track. Stop falling. Man, I was abused when I was a boy, and I still struggle with it. Hey, don't beat yourself up. Get healing, get health, let's pray that God would. But see, that's the struggler, is not the same as the person who blatantly disrespects, disobeys God's Word, and is an open rebellion to God. It's just the difference between night and day. I know I've clarified that a lot, but it's such an important point, because I don't want people left with the wrong impression. But remember this, good works cannot, will not save you. Good works cannot, will not save you. Just this week, and I don't think we have this verse, so this is amazing. I've read it hundreds of times like many of you, but Jesus actually said tax collectors and harlots will enter the kingdom of God before the self-righteous religious leaders who did good works. That might confuse people. Jesus said a tax collector was pretty much a he-then, IRS, unbelieving. Well, there's a lot of good people at IRS. Let me say. Let me rephrase that. Okay, extortionist. And then the prostitute. How in the world are they going to go to heaven before the religious leaders? Jesus, that makes no sense. Well, of course, as always, read everything in context, because they repented and believed in the Son of God. So they're going to heaven. So the good works will not, cannot save you ever, ever. You don't stand before God and weigh out the good with the bad. And I get this, this happens a lot, believe it or not, even at this church, even at this church, man just, and I know I can tell him, I just hope God sees all my good works when I die. No, he, I don't. I don't think that's how it works. Maybe on the behemoth seat of Christ when there's rewards and of course, but when you go, when there's judgment, there's no good works. It's like, what did you do with Jesus? That's it, that's it. I repented and I believed. Or I rejected him. And that's why the only two options are, well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord, or depart from me I don't even know you, because you practice, here's the key, you practice lawlessness. Practice lawlessness, that's this group. Unrepentant, living in sin. You've met those people, haven't you? They're happy about their sin. They have no desire to change. Preacher, don't try to change me. I am who I am. I'm German and Irish, I can drink all the time. My wife should be happy she married me. I can have a few other girlfriends." You don't hear this stuff sometimes from people who are going to die the second death, and they need to be lovingly challenged. So my point is, the devil is called the great deceiver. He is called the liar. So if you have not surrendered to God, you are being led astray by a liar. You are being deceived. Isn't it amazing? The spiritual blinders. And we know who experienced it. Remember when those spiritual blinders were on? Sometimes I have to laugh even though I want to cry. In my twenties, I thought I was closer to God than I am now. I'm a Christian. I'm a good guy. I thought I was so humble. The blinders, it's sad. You've had those conversations, people are like, I can't even have this conversation. They're just so puffed up because there's blinders on. Actually, the Bible says, pray that the blinders are removed. Even from Israel is what, that would be a whole nother scripture, a whole nother, but that the blinders, something happens where pride blinds. And you might not want to hear this from a pastor, but I think it's okay and healthy. And if we're honest, we can all relate, but the closer I draw to Christ, the more wretched I appear to myself. Isn't that true? The closer you seek for humility and want deeper prayer life, and when I'm studying the Psalms and getting ready for Wednesday, God, that mark, see the problem isn't that we raise the standard and we miss it, it's that we lower it and we hit it. And the closer, and here's the other thing, the farther you go from God when you drift, you ever know people who've drifted? The more spiritual they think they are. And when I call them out, they always say, oh, but pastor, I've never been better with the Lord. It's never been better with the Lord. I'm doing great with the Lord. I know you haven't seen me in a year and a half, and my wife is about ready to leave, but I've never been better with the Lord. Liar. Liar. The deceiver is deceiving you, and the blinders are on your eyes. Did you know it's not God's fault? It's not God's fault. He said to the prophets, I've stretched out my hands day and night to rebellious people. I've stretched out my hands. I mean, I wish people would just read the Bible, even rebels, because they get this idea of here comes the lightning bolt, this mean, vengeful God who doesn't want them to have fun. But the picture is this, I'm stretching out my hands. Even Israel, you committed adultery on me with the bells and the astros, and I still held out my hand. I called you back. I called you back, wayward nation. I called you back, wayward spouse. You've cheated on me. You've abused me. You've done all these, you spit in my face. But I stretched out my hands all day long to rebellious people. Remember, sin doesn't play games, it takes prisoners.