in worship today in remembrance of the sacrifice of God's dear Son, Jesus Christ. And so let us rise to sing of that wondrous love of our Savior, of our God, which He gave for us in number 261. What wondrous love is this? O my soul, O my soul. Rising to sing the three verses of number 261. What wondrous love is this, O my soul? What wondrous love is this, O my soul? What wondrous love is this, O my soul? To be a friend of His for my soul, for my soul. To be a friend of His for my soul. I will sing, I will sing. To God and to the Lamb, I will sing. To God and to the Lamb, all is the great I am. Come now and join the theme, I will sing, I will sing. While good I enjoy the theme, I will sing. And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on. And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on. And, in promise that I'm free, I'll seek the joy of thee, And through eternity, I'll sing on, I'll sing on. And through eternity, I'll sing on, Let us bow before our Lord as we come before Him in our worship this morning. Let us pray. Indeed, O Lord, we come before You and rejoice in that wondrous sacrifice which You offered Your Son, Your only begotten Son. We rejoice because His death is to us eternal life. We come realizing and knowing in part, the wonder, the awesomeness of that sacrifice. And yet, O Lord, we barely begin to scratch the surface of what He gave for us. And so, O Lord, we come. We bow, knowing that we owe You everything that we are. We come, O Lord, in thanksgiving and praise to You. We pray, O Lord, in remembrance of His death, that we would worship You aright that You would open Your words to our hearts, that You would guide us by Your Holy Spirit, that we might worship You in spirit and in truth. And we pray, O Lord, that You would receive our worship for Christ's sake alone. For it is in His name that we come. Amen. Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us confess together our faith using the words of the Apostles' Creed, confessing with the Church of all ages, I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitted at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of sins, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Again, we turn in our hymnals to number 253. Number 253. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And we'll remain standing to sing the five verses of number 253. ♪ To hail our alma mater, Full Strong Columbia! And save us indeed, my God, for other guilty things. For other guilty things. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And there in the dead silence he washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away. I saw the streams, the rolling woods of gold. Redeeming love hath been my key, and shall be till I die. And shall be till I die. And shall be till I die. Redeeming love hath been my key, and shall be till I die. ♪ In an open secret zone ♪ ♪ The Savior God will save ♪ ♪ And His words be carried on ♪ ♪ Like silence in a dream ♪ ♪ Like silence in a dream ♪ ♪ Like silence in a dream ♪ We'll live forever in America, Our silence in our grave. ♪ And your precious blood shall never lose its power ♪ ♪ Till all the brethren of the Church of God ♪ ♪ Be saved to sin no more ♪ ♪ Be saved to sin no more ♪ ♪ Be saved to sin no more ♪ Again, O Lord, we bow before Your holy throne in thanksgiving and praise, in wonder for such a great salvation accomplished for us as we remember today the great grace that you have taught us in the sacrifice of your Son. Lord Jesus, we bow before you knowing that you have that name now above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on the earth and of those under the earth. And so, Lord, we prostrate ourselves before you in wonder, in praise, in glory, in thanksgiving, Words cannot express to us the wonders of the salvation which You worked, which You gave so freely on that cross. And so, Lord, we bow before Your throne. We bow to worship to praise You. We bow in thanksgiving. We come to You as our great God and Lord and King. We bow confessing that we continue to sin against You. that our sins rise up before You as a stench. And so, Lord, we come and pray, forgive us for our sins. Cleanse us in that blood of Your Son, in the blood of Christ. Wash us that we might be whiter than snow. We come before You, O Lord, praying that You would deliver us from temptation, deliver us from evil, for Your name's sake, O Lord, that we might glorify You and live our lives out of thanksgiving for all that You give us. We praise You, O Lord, and thank You for Your rich abundance in Christ Jesus in this world. We thank You, O Lord, much more so for the salvation which You provide so freely. We pray, O Lord, That You would bless and be with us in our own special needs. That You would bless and strengthen Your church. That You would guide her in wisdom. That You would build us up in knowledge and in truth. We pray, O Lord, that You would be with those who cannot be with us because of the infirmities of age. We pray, O Lord, that You would bless our shut-ins. We lift before You. Otto, and pray that You would strengthen him, provide healing, that he might be returned to full strength, if it be Your will. We pray, O Lord, that You would be with Olive, that You would be with Verna, that You would be with Louise. We pray for others who need You in a special way and pray that You would bless and strengthen them as well. We pray for those whose needs are known, those whose needs are unknown to us. We pray, O Lord, that You would send forth Your Word, the wondrous grace which You give us in Christ Jesus to the ends of the earth. And we pray, O Lord, that You would use us as a light set upon a hill to witness to that wondrous grace the sacrifice of Your Son as we remember it here this morning. We pray, O Lord, that You would bless the mission works of the RCS. We pray, O Lord, that You would be with the mission work through Rev. Eric Kayon as he preaches in the French language, through the Middle East Reform Fellowship as they preach in the Arabic language, that you would be with our fellow churches in Kenya, in Zaire, in the Philippines. We pray for other churches of like precious faith throughout the world. And we pray, send out Your Word with power and authority to the ends of the earth, that today may come quickly in which Christ shall come to judge the living and the dead. We look forward to and anticipate that day for the sake of your Son. And we pray, come quickly, Lord Jesus. We pray, open your words to our hearts this morning. Bless us by it. Be glorified as we worship you, for we ask it only for the sake of your Son. For it is in Christ's name that we pray, Amen. Let us turn in our hymnals now to sing together number 263, rising to sing. Number 263, lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore His sacred name. We'll sing number 263, the five verses, rising to sing. ♪ And by the cross the Lord has broken free ♪ ♪ All the world adore his sacred name ♪ ♪ Come, brethren, come and wear our Savior's crown ♪ ♪ Our dear victorious Christ, the Son of God ♪ Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ That on the day I with children sigh'd ♪ ♪ The Lord above me from great grace above ♪ ♪ Gave by the cross from all the pressure of pain ♪ ♪ The Word of the Lord be saved with me ♪ ♪ O Lord, with thine adorance be ♪ ♪ And sadness from death protect me ♪ ♪ Till all the world was born in sacred day. ♪ ♪ God keep the common man at his very place. ♪ ♪ Be he the shadow of his healing eyes. ♪ ♪ Till all the world adore His sacred name ♪ ♪ All I once watched, now the world's adored ♪ ♪ Creation's praises cry before my eyes ♪ Please be seated. And let us turn now in our Bibles to read together Matthew 25. beginning at verse 31 and reading through the end of the chapter, Matthew 25. We're skipping a little bit in our sermon series, but I thought this was very applicable as we consider the death of our Savior Christ having been judged in our place. We consider the judgment of God among all nations. looking at Matthew 25, beginning reading at verse 31, and reading through the end of the chapter. And so let us read together the Word of our God. Matthew 25, beginning reading at verse 31. When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. And before Him shall be gathered from all nations And he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come ye, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was a-hungered, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me in naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a-hungered, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee. And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say to ye, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me. He cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was a hungred, and he gave me no meat. I was thirsty, and he gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and he took me not in. Naked, and he clothed me not. Sick, and in prison, and he visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungred, or a thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer unto them, saying, Verily I say to you, inasmuch as ye didst not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Brothers and sisters, as we consider the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ today on Good Friday, we are reminded that He paid the penalty that we deserve because of our friends. That He lived perfectly so that we would be acceptable in the sight of God as if we had never committed nor had any sin. And so, brothers and sisters, the Catechism asks question answer 44, why is it added, He descended into hell? And the answer comes in that in my greatest temptations I may be assured that Christ my Lord, by His inexpressible anguish, pains, and terrors which He suffered in His soul on the cross and before, has redeemed me from anguish and torment of hell. I want to spend some time this morning looking at the anguish and the torment of hell which we deserve. Each one of us that Christ paid on our behalf on the cross and before Him. As we look at God's Word then this morning, the theme that we want to see is believers have eternal certainty in the righteousness and sacrifice of Christ. Believers have eternal certainty in the righteousness and sacrifice of Christ. And we'll see three points about this this morning. First of all, in verses 31-33, we see Christ's return and the final judgment coming. Second of all, in verses 34-40, we see that the saved in humility are judged in righteousness in Christ. And then third, we look at verses 41-46, and we see the lost in indignation receive everlasting punishment. So, Christ's return and the final judgment are what we look at in verses 31-33. Christ returns in glory. Our passage tells us, verse 31, when the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit upon the throne of His glory. Christ's full glory and power will be revealed at His return. We haven't seen it. The disciples got a little glimpse of it on the Transfiguration Mount. But, brothers and sisters, we shall not see that wondrous glory in its full until Christ returns. We read in Mark 8, verse 38, For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. The perfection of glory in which Christ shall return. And He is coming for a purpose. He is coming for the purpose of judgment. All people, everywhere, will be judged. Ecclesiastes 12.14, for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Notice He doesn't say, well, He's going to judge this whole thing called sin. He is going to bring every work into judgment. Because Christ paid for individual, actual sins that you and I commit. If there's any better reason to fight against sin in this world, I can't think of it. Christ pays for individual, actual sins that we commit. And so every work will be brought into judgment. All people everywhere will be judged. Verse 32, And before Him shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them from one another, as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. We will be judged, brothers and sisters. And by God's grace, we will be judged in the perfect righteousness of Christ. Christ will divide all people. Who is the judge? Christ is. Acts 17 and 31, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has ordained. He has given us assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Christ will be the judge. We read continually, "...and He shall set the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left." They are going to divide by an obvious difference. It doesn't take long to look at a sheep and a goat and figure out which one it is. In this world, we may have difficulty understanding and seeing whose sheep and whose goats. Jesus says in Matthew 13, 30, remember the parable of the wheat and the tares. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of harvest, I will save the reapers. First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn. Perhaps the difference is not visible easily today. But it will be before God's judgment as we saw Sunday, that Christ will judge and that He will judge and it will be visible by when He comes. So we see that Christ's return will come and He will finally judge all people everywhere. And in that judgment, believers have eternal certainty in the righteousness and the sacrifice of our Savior. That's what we see in verses 34-40. The saved in humility are judged righteousness in Christ. Notice where the declaration is for the righteous. Verse 34, Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come ye, blessed of My Father, and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. When is the final declaration of righteousness for the believer? It's a long time ago, actually. Before the foundation of the world. Despite the fact, and we will look at that in coming verses, despite the fact that we are sinners and deserve nothing but God's wrath and the righteousness of Christ, we are declared saved. to an inheritance prepared before the foundation of the world. 1 Peter 1, verse 2, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied. We are elect according to the foreknowledge of God. Elect, called out, called by name before the foundation of the world. And we must remember the wonders of that to which we have been elected. To that which we have been called. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 9, But as it is written, I have not seen, nor heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. An inheritance prepared before the foundation of the world. Beyond anything we can see, hear of, or even imagine. We are declared righteous in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. He says, then shall the king say unto them, For I was a hungred, verse 35, and He gave me meat. I was thirsty and He gave me drink. I was a stranger and He took me in naked and He clothed me. I was sick and He visited me. I was in prison and He came unto me. We are saved, Jesus says, according to imperfect righteousness. And alien righteousness is the theological term for how we are righteous. It's not our righteousness. It's Christ's righteousness. Romans 5, 18 and 19. Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one man's righteous acts. The free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. Adam was our federal head in sinning. For believers, Christ is our federal head in righteousness. And so we have this righteousness of Christ, but He's also talking about things they did, we did, by God's grace. I was a hungred and You gave me meat. I was thirsty and You gave me to drink naked and You clothed me sick in prison. Isaiah 53, verses 11 and 12, the righteousness of Christ. He shall see the labor of His soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoiled with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors. He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors." The righteousness, the fruit, that we have as Christians demonstrates the work of God in us. The faith that God works in us. Notice, he talks about caring for others. Hungry, sick, in prison, thirsty. Isaiah 58, verse 7, is it not to share your bread with the hungry? And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out. When you see the naked, that you cover him. Do not hide yourself from your own flesh. We have to realize, brothers and sisters, it's too easy for us to say, well, I'm saved. Okay, great. There's a lot of churches that preach the other. Do all these things and you're saved. Brothers and sisters, we are to do these things We must do them, not out of some altruistic way of being saved by them. But they are, brothers and sisters, the fruits of our faith. What comes from our faith. Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew 23, 23, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay the tithe of the mint and the anise and the cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. We might say, well, that's a small thing. Maybe it is. But that doesn't get us away from having to do it as Christians. We are, as Christians, to be involved in mercy, in justice, in faith, spreading forth the wondrous message of the salvation given to us in Jesus Christ. Philippians 1 verse 11, Paul says, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. And so we see the declaration of salvation, not according to how good I am, but according to faith. And yet, faith will produce works. according to God's law, according to His glorious salvation given to believers in Christ Jesus. But notice how Christians will respond when Jesus points to them and says, look what you all did. Verse 37, Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a-hungered, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked, and closed thee? When saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? We see a couple of things here. First of all, humility. The world around us says, get your best, make everybody show, and see how good you are, Christians are going to do the opposite. Christians are not going to be ready to say, look, all the righteous and the good things I do. Because we have to realize and we have to show to the world, we are sinners saved by grace. And the first thing Adam and Eve did after they sinned? Get out the whitewash brush. Look, I look pretty good. Brothers and sisters, we must know and we must confess our sins, James says, to one another. Be ready to say, you know, I'm a sinner too. This is how I fail. And it is only by the grace of God and Jesus Christ that He saved this. We need to know that. It's too easy to get out that whitewash brush. knowing our failures, knowing our sins. Isaiah 6, verse 5, So I said, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. How often do we think about what comes out of our mouth when we're living in this world? I've got to say, I'm not too proud of my mouth, what comes out of my heart that way. We are reminded that despite the fact that we know that we're going to fail, it doesn't give us a right to Continue in sin to forget about righteousness. Colossians 2 verse 20. Therefore, if you have died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations? Why do we live like the world? And saying, I've got to live like the world. Instead, we are to live in righteousness in Christ. We must have humility. What is our attitude toward ourselves? I'm pretty good. We'll be talking about that in the next point. Jesus says in Mark 2.17, but when Jesus heard it, He said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. We are sinners. Saved by grace, 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works. Ephesians 2 tells us we're dead in sin, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. Remember when that declaration was in Christ Jesus. Now, rightly so, the catechism tells us, that true believers begin in this world to live not only according to some, but according to all the commandments of God. The righteousness which God works in us, we must remember as well. Verse 39, Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? Verse 40, And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. By God's grace, we certainly do do works of righteousness. By God's grace working in us. Galatians 3, verses 2-5. This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, that you are now being made perfect in the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? Therefore, he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of law or by the hearing of faith?" Of course, it is by the hearing of faith. There are miracles done by God. The miracle of raising a dead sinner from the pathway to hell. That's a miracle. That is the giving of new life to one who is dead. And so God works in us. And we don't do it according to, somehow, the righteousness of the law, but according to God's mercy. According to God's Holy Spirit working in us through faith. These are truly our works, though. Matthew 10.42, whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. God will reward, not according to how good it is, because all of our works are stained with sin, but by God's grace. He will even reward our miserable, sinful works. But they are truly, by God's grace, our good works. And so the saved, in humility, are judged righteous in Christ. Not beating their chests saying, look how good I am. But by the grace of God. And now we turn in verses 41-46 to look at the lost in indignation who will receive everlasting punishment. Verse 41, Then shall he say unto them on his left hand, Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Depart from me! One of the aspects of hell that we have to realize, as we read from Psalm 2, is the forsakenness from God. Jesus cried out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? He fulfilled that. The everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Jesus said in Matthew 7.23, "...and I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." 2 Thessalonians 1, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God. And on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, today too many people have hell as just this vague idea. One of the things I would like to do as your minister is place it on the map as a very real place that those who do not believe in Jesus Christ are going. God declares their damnation according to self-centered righteousness, verses 42 and 43. For I was a hungred, and ye gave me no meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me not in naked, and ye clothed me not sick and in prison, and ye visited me not. Now there are those who do those sorts of things even, as unbelievers. But when it is self-centered, It is not righteousness. Proverbs 21, verse 13, whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard. It's pretty poetic justice. James 4, verse 17, Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. Jesus says to us, Matthew 5.20, for I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, the scribes and the Pharisees were out there all the time showing off how good they were, weren't they? That's not how we are to live. Christ lived perfectly. And they called Him a drunkard and a wine-digger. They called Him every name under the book. They called Him Beelzebub. Brothers and sisters, Christ received our declaration of damnation in our place that we deserve. Yet these unbelievers, Jesus says to them, in judgment, you didn't do any of these things. And they shall answer Him, verse 44, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee a-hungered, or a-thirst, or a-stranger, or a-naked, or a-sick, or a-imprisoned, and did not minister to Thee? Notice how it's self-centered. We did it. Look, we did all this. But it's not to the service of God. It's not to the glory of God. Phariseeism. Doing things to be seen, not from the heart. Hypocrisy. All the same idea. Play acting. Jesus said in Matthew 6, verses 1-2, "...take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in Heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites, that they may have glory for men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward." It's interesting, isn't it? They have their reward. The excitement, the praise from men, that's all you're getting. If we're doing that, it's to be seen by men. Sadly, there's so much of that today, it just makes a guy sick. Government, everybody around, well, I just want to look good. And it's easy for us. We've talked about that already. Get out the whitewashed brush. I can look pretty good. Jesus says to them, your whitewashed tombs outside your bright and white on the inside your dead man's bones. Matthew 7, verse 21-23, Jesus said, Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done wonders in your name? And I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Without conversion, their end is assured. Verse 46. All these shall go away into everlasting punishment. John 8.24, Jesus said, Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. Two verses after everybody's favorite verse. John 3.18, He who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Brothers and sisters, Christ paid this debt on our behalf. As we said, He was forsaken of God. Matthew 7.23, And I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. Jesus said, Matthew 27.46, At about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He paid our debt of hell being Almighty God. For he was able to do it being Almighty God and willing also being our faithful Father. Isaiah 66, verse 24. And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me, for their worm does not die and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." Christ paid that. 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 8, inflaming fire, taking vengeance on those who did not know God and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the gospel that which you and I deserve. Christ paid. He could take it in a short time, being Almighty God, and pay our penalty for each one of us. Eternal punishment. Revelation 14, verse 10, "...he himself shall also drink the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever." And they have no rest day or night who worship the beast and his image. who receives the mark of His name. That's what we deserve. That's what we deserve and Christ took for us. Revelation 21, verse 8, But cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexual immorals, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and burns stone, which is the second death. Why must ye be true, God? the catechism asks. Question and answer 17. That by the power of His Godhead He might bear in His manhood the burden of God's wrath and so obtain for and restore to us righteousness in life. Brothers and sisters, as we consider the judgment that we deserve, as we consider Good Friday, we must remember that it's just not some man on a cross. That his suffering cannot be symbolized by some dumb movie. Because His suffering, which He suffered, was inexpressible pains, anguish, and terrors which He suffered in His soul on the cross and before. And that Christ has redeemed us from the anguish and the torment of hell which we deserve. And so, brothers and sisters, our theme is the more glorious. Believers have eternal certainty in the righteousness and sacrifice of Christ. Amen. Let us rise and bow before our Lord in prayer, and we will close this prayer together with the Lord's Prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father, no words come, but thank You Our Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You. And we understand the more why we owe You everything that we are. For You have paid for us fully with Your life and death. We pray, O Lord, in thanksgiving and praise. We pray that we might offer our living sacrifices of thankfulness for the great salvation which You offer. And we pray, O Lord, strengthen us in that faith as we look forward to eternal life in Christ Jesus beyond anything we can imagine. We pray it in Christ's name alone, praying as he taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Let us turn now in our hymnals to sing together number 455. Number 455. And can it be that I should gain an interest in my Savior's blood? Died He for me. who caused his pain. We'll sing the five verses of number 455. ♪ That I should be his ♪ ♪ Curse me not with thy song ♪ ♪ I be for him who does his will ♪ ♪ For me who will to them pursue ♪ ♪ Amazing thou art, heaven-blessed ♪ That Thou, my God, shouldst adore me. Unleash me, Lord, Thou care in me, That Thou, my God, shouldst adore me. ♪ Tis the history of all the immortal lives ♪ ♪ And their names for fear and shame we've found ♪ ♪ How in vain have we yearned for the sacred skies ♪ ♪ To the humble abode of the Holy One ♪ Cursed be all that enter the door, and leave me to find it all I know. Amazing love, how fair it is, that thou, my God, shouldst find for me. He left his home, his throne, all alone, to take it in his grace. The Lord shall also break his own, and let all on all in chosen grace. His mercy on earth and heaven free. O my God, with love around me, Amazing love, how great Thee be! I want your son for me. Walk thy prison-spirit way, And have obedience in ev'ry sin's light. I like the infuse of victory red, the o'er the mountains with red light. I hear the hark, the hark of the free and the home of the brave. me. Thou gracing us, Thou sending me, when thou my conscience art poor. O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, to Bethlehem. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Praise God, O God, all-merciful. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, all God, the heavenly host. Praise God, who is one and only host. Amen.