I've got a lot of ground that I intend to cover this morning, so I'm going to dig right in. If you'll follow me, we're going to begin in the book of Hebrews chapter 2 this morning. We're going to continue the series of studies that we've been pursuing together on what is awaiting this world at the end of history. What is God's plan to culminate all things? We've seen that the great event that awaits history, that awaits all of us, is the return of the Lord Jesus to this world, the second coming of Christ. And that when he does return, the very first thing he's going to do is he's going to raise everybody from the dead, everybody that's ever lived. In fact, everybody that's alive at that point will also be raised from the dead, even though they have not yet died yet at that point. They'll be part of the great resurrection. And in this resurrection event, He is going to establish His throne and He is going to cause all people that have ever lived to come before His throne and to be evaluated, to stand judgment before Him. And we've seen from our study of the Day of Judgment that there is a specific thing that the Lord is going to do in the sense of He's going to separate or divide all people into two groups or to two categories. He refers to them as the group of sheep and the group of goats. One on his right hand the sheep and the other group on his left hand the goats. We studied for a few weeks together what the Day of Judgment is going to be like for those that the Lord identifies as his sheep. And really all that's going to matter on that day is not so much whether we feel we deserve to be considered a sheep or whether we deserve to be considered a goat. All that's going to matter on that day, of course, is how the Lord identifies us, whether we are called by Him to be one of His sheep or whether we are identified by Him as being a goat. And he is going to, after evaluating the sheep and dealing with them, he's going to turn his attention to the goats. And as I mentioned last week, that's incumbent upon us to also turn our attention there at some point. And this is that point that we've reached. So I would like to look today at the day of judgment for the rest. for the unbeliever, for those who do not have a right relationship with God on this side of eternity, those that are not owned by Him as belonging to His sheep, what that day is going to be like for them. And in the week or two that follows this, I hope to also look in detail about what's going to follow that day and what the experience of that group is going to be for all of eternity. But as we start this morning, I want to start in Hebrews chapter 2 with more of a psychological perspective of what these people are going to experience on that day. The people that are going to be part of the group. What I mean by psychological perspective is, We're discussing, we're studying together what is considered to be an ultimate reality. That everybody's life is going to culminate in a day when they will individually stand before the throne of God. And even for the unbeliever, the person that denies all of these things, that says everything that I'm going to say to you this morning is just a fabrication or a Christian fairy tale, a made up thing, has no basis in reality. And you know how people convince themselves of those things. There are people that are basing their entire life on the fact in their own minds that they've convinced themselves that none of these things are what they're going to have to face on that day. Nevertheless, the Bible does address that they have an understanding of what is awaiting them on that day. Let's read from chapter 2 in the book of Hebrews. I'm going to start in verse 14. The focal point of what I want to address today is this, because we will look at the details of what follows the Day of Judgment, but I want to talk this morning about why it is that people are afraid to die. And I'm not talking here so much about believers, because, you know, like we sang in this one song, I brought the sheet up with me this morning. This is from the song, You Are In Control, that we were singing this morning, this line. You hold my hand and you guide my steps. I could walk through the valley of death and I won't be afraid." And of course this song was written based on the 23rd Psalm, the famous Shepherd Psalm, in which the psalmist David is testifying that even though he walks through the valley of death, He's not going to be afraid because he has a certain kind of relationship with the shepherd of his soul. And that relationship, and only the basis of that relationship, is what gives him confidence as he goes through this experience of death. But for the rest, whether they testify otherwise or not, they do not have that kind of confidence or that absence of fear. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14. Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, and here the writer is addressing all people as the children. Since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same. And this is of course describing when the Lord Jesus himself became a human being in what we call the incarnation. He partook of flesh and blood. that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. That is, when Christ died on the cross, there were many things that were accomplished on the cross. many things of eternal significance. And one of those things that Christ accomplished in his death on the cross was the rendering powerless of the devil in this area of what is called here the power of death. And what the power of death is, is described in verse 15, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Now, for those of us who have experienced what the Bible describes as salvation, we've undergone a new birth, a birth from above. We've been given new life. We have attached to that new life a new hope, as we were talking about earlier and singing about earlier. And our hope is in ultimate and final salvation. But for the rest, there is no hope of that nature. And there is instead what the Bible describes as the ever-present fear of death at the bottom line of every individual's heart that lives out their life in this world. I'll say it this way, everybody that is not in a saving relationship with the Lord is every day and every moment of every day of their lives subject to slavery of a specific kind. It's a spiritual slavery. They don't even necessarily know that they're enslaved in this way, but they are, and their slavery is to a specific well-founded fear, and that's the fear of dying. People are afraid to die. Now, there are some people in our culture in particular, and this is a more popular thing nowadays, that they go to great lengths to try and convince themselves that they're not afraid to die. How many of you have seen those t-shirts or hats that were pretty popular not that long ago? They're emblazoned on the hat or the t-shirt, No Fear. Have you seen those No Fear shirts? Why do you suppose that those folks made such a killing on selling those shirts and their hats trying to convince themselves, as they put the shirt and the hat on, that they didn't have any fear. Because they're living their whole life under slavery to fear. Everybody's afraid to die, whether they admit it or not. And I'm talking here again about those who are outside of right relationship with the Lord. People are afraid to die because there is, in their heart of hearts, there is an understanding that something is awaiting them after the moment of their death that they don't want to face, that they don't want to have to deal with, that they don't want to have to even think about or consider. And so people live out their entire lives here on this earth trying to suppress that perspective, that understanding, that certain knowledge at the core of who they are about what death is actually going to mean for them. Turn with me, if you would, from here. to the book of Hebrews chapter 9, just about seven chapters further into the book. Why is it that people are afraid to die? Hebrews chapter 2 just simply mentions that that's the reality. The truth is, every unbeliever is enslaved by the fear of death. Whole religions, of course, throughout the world are created and invented to try and avoid that fear. Various kinds of sin, sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit are indulged in, in order to suppress that fear. But the fear is an ever-present reality, so why is it that everyone is so afraid of dying? Hebrews chapter 9, we'll just read a single verse, you're probably familiar with it. Very powerful, blunt and direct statement about Hebrews 9.27 says this, Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment. Now, the phrasing, it is appointed for men, and men here, of course, I think we all understand this by now. We're not just describing that the Day of Judgment is an awesome reality for all males of the human race. The females get to skate. There's no problems for females. They don't have to deal with the Day of Judgment. When he says men, he's talking about men in terms of mankind, human beings. It is appointed, meaning God himself has made this appointment. God himself has determined this to be the case. He has declared that this is going to happen. It is appointed for men to die. Meaning no one is going to escape that. No one is going to get away from that. And when they die, It says this, after this, and there's a little word, I don't know if you have noticed this before, but look at the typeset in your Bible, it may be a little bit different. In mine it says, after this comes judgment. The word comes is actually in italics. Which simply means that that word is not there in the original text of the book of Hebrews. It's added by the translators to try and help us to understand what the writer is getting across. But let me just read it in the most direct way as it was actually written. It simply says this, it's appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment. which is the most direct and powerful way that the Lord can communicate to us, that there's only one thing awaiting every person that dies, one thing that follows the experience of death, and that is the next and inevitable experience, and that is judgment. There's no escaping that. There's no shortcuts around that, away from that. There's no other route into eternity other than passing through this experience of judgment. And judgment being, of course, this day of judgment that we've been describing. Now, what I want to ask you about is, you've probably all heard this statement before, not so much this statement, but about these kind of experiences. You've heard people describe these kind of things and talk about these things. How many of you have heard of what are called commonly near-death experiences that some people have had? I'm talking about, you can walk into any bookstore, Barnes & Noble or any of the other big bookstores, and ask, can I see your section on near-death experiences. And you're going to find dozens of books of people who claim to have died and in their experience of death have had an experience, of course, and have then apparently come back to life from death and have written about their experience. It's a very interesting phenomenon that people have had, some people have had. You know, some of the common ones are they were on the operating table and they died on the operating table, and suddenly they found themselves floating above their body and watching the doctors trying to revive them. And then the experience usually goes something along these lines, that they pass through some kind of a dark tunnel, they have some kind of tunnel experience, and then at the end of that tunnel they meet someone. Raise your hand if this is sounding at all familiar to what you've heard before. At the end of this tunnel they meet someone, who they generally meet in almost all of these experiences. There's an exception or two I've read, but I've read a lot of these near-death experiences, and in almost all the testimonies they're very similar. At the end of this tunnel is what is normally described as a being of light. which of course would relate to the presence of God or some very advanced spiritual being in some cases. And in some cases even identified with the Lord himself or is called Jesus by some people. Although some people meet other individuals at the end of their tunnel other than Jesus. They meet some other religious figure like Buddha or someone of that nature. But in this meeting with this being of light there is a testimony of having their life evaluated, that would tend to relate at some outer limit edge of what I'm calling a day of judgment, where their life is reviewed with this being of light, considering their life together. But at the end of the review, the inevitable result of the review in all of these testimonies that I've read is this, that yes, you made mistakes, yes, your life was not perfect, but the whole thing has been this giant spiritual training exercise. It's been this learning experience. And it's only to equip and prepare you for the next step in your spiritual evolution. And that this being of light that's evaluating their lives is invariably described using this one term, and I found this in every single testimony that I've read on near-death experiences, that the being of light was non-what? Non-judgmental. Non-judgmental. Meaning, this being of life exuded or emanated this perfect, non-judging kind of accepting love. And that the life that they lived was, you know, even in its... Worst imperfections was not a problem because the love that this being had for that person that was being evaluated was overcoming their mistakes and their failures. Now, there's something about that kind of testimony that's very, very appealing. Those kind of books sell a lot of books. That's why they have their own section at stores like Barnes & Noble. And it's very appealing to people. What's so appealing about that perspective that that's what's waiting us all at the end of our lives? What's appealing is, no matter what you've done, no matter how you've lived, no matter what you've said, thought, or done with your life, you're going to receive ultimate, final acceptance. And there's nothing to be afraid of at the end of your life. There's only the joy of acceptance into the presence of this non-judging being of light. Now, what's the problem with this? What's the problem with this? Let's turn to the book of First Timothy, chapter four. And by the way, books that describe what I'm about to describe to you, they don't tend to sell as much as the near death experience books. I'm just going to read the first couple of verses and then we're going to jump over to a passage in 2 Corinthians. But 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 2. But the Spirit explicitly says that in latter times, later times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron. Turn with me from there, if you would, to 2 Corinthians. The Spirit is expressly and explicitly warned that in the later times there is going to be an increase of what is identified as demonic doctrine. Second, Corinthians chapter 11. We'll read from verse 13. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. When you disguise yourself, you're attempting to convince someone, of course, that you are something that you're not. And here Paul is warning the church about false leaders who are disguising themselves as though they were apostles of Christ, but are not really. And then in verse 14 he says, no wonder that they're doing, these men are doing this, for even Satan disguises himself as a guy with a red union suit, with a tail and a pitchfork and horns. And of course not, no. I mean, he doesn't present himself to the world in this manner. He disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. And that end is not one of full acceptance by some non-judging being of light, by the way. So who is this being of light that people see in their near-death experiences? that have this testimony that their lives are not going to be judged at the end of their life. Who is this being of light, this non-judging, accepting being of light? This being of light is who Paul describes here. It's a disguise. It's not a reality. It's not a real experience. I mean, it's a real experience in the sense that these people have the experience, but it's not real in the sense that it's not an ultimate spiritual reality. They're not seeing the truth. They're not meeting the Lord. They're meeting someone else. And then in their return, they're sharing this testimony that is instrumental, along with the many other testimonies like it, in deceiving the masses to not be concerned about what's awaiting them at the end of their lives. So the truth is this, and let's dig into this at this point, Romans chapter 1. We know there is a day of judgment coming, and we know that people are living their whole lives on this side of the Day of Judgment in fear because they have an anticipation of something. This is a passage I want to use to confirm why it is or what's actually going on inside of people's hearts now that demonstrates that they do have some kind of anticipation of what's waiting for them on that day. I'll read from verse 18 through 22 in Romans chapter 1. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven Not the non-judgmental, totally accepting attitude of God toward all people, no matter what they're doing and how they're living. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven. against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." This idea of suppressing the truth, there's different ways to describe this. This is an activity that the unbeliever is participating in every moment of their lives. They're just not necessarily aware that they're doing this, but a good word picture to describe this that I heard once that stuck with me is, Have any of you ever been in a swimming pool and taken a ball with air in it and tried to place that ball underneath you and ride on the ball? Okay? You know how difficult that is. I mean, you can do it. You can accomplish it if you have a good sense of balance. You can actually push the ball full of air underwater, but it doesn't want to stay there. The ball is constantly seeking to come to the surface and it takes great effort in order to keep that ball underneath and you on top of that ball. And that's kind of what's happening with the unbeliever every day of their lives, every moment of their lives. The truth is in there. The knowledge, the understanding about what's waiting for them is in there. And we'll see that as we read on here. But they're constantly using any means at their disposal in their lives to suppress that reality because that reality is just too great for them to bear. They don't want to deal with it. They don't want to have to think about it. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which is known about God is evident within them. For God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen. being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools." Of course, the Book of Proverbs testifies that the greatest fool is the fool who says in his heart, there is no God. And going right along the lines of that is, you know, one of the reasons why people convince themselves that there's no God is because they have this sense that if God exists, that there's some ultimate accountability to God that they're going to have to face with their lives. So if I could just blink Him out of existence in my own perspective, I'm not going to be accountable to anyone or anything except myself. I can live any way I want and do whatever I deem to be right in my own eyes. Turn with me from here, if you would, to the book of Revelation now, chapter 20. And we'll reread the account of the actual event of the Day of Judgment that we've read before. Revelation, chapter 20. What I'm saying is that people in their hearts know what's coming. They don't know all the details. You know, the unbeliever doesn't know all the details that we're looking at today. They don't understand all of the... the moment-by-moment unfolding aspects of the Day of Judgment, that they have an overall sense that God does exist, and that because He exists, and He existed before them, and that He created them, and that He is Lord over all of creation, that they have an accountability to Him, and they will give an account to Him. There is that understanding going on in their hearts. But, as I said, they don't want to deal with that reality, and so they're attempting to suppress that truth. And this is the ultimate expression of what is waiting for them on that day. Revelation 20, verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it. from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and there was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small. standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. Now, we've seen already that there is this collection of books in heaven, and that God is going to be making the determinations that He makes on the Day of Judgment based on the things that are written in these books. There's one single book that's most important to us, and that is what is identified here as the Book of Life. And all that matters for us on that day is whether our names are found written in that book. But for the rest, That book does not apply to them. The other books do apply. And what are these other books? Let's read. And I saw the dead, verse 12, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. Then, and this is where we're heading in the next week or two, what results from this day of judgment? What is the sentencing and what is the execution of that sentence? Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Now, I am going to focus on what that's going to mean, what that's going to be like, what that actually is, and why it's a necessary, eternal solution to the problem of sinful and rebellious human beings. But I don't want to get there today. I just want to talk so far about what's actually happening on the Day of Judgment, as their lives are being evaluated from these books. And in this evaluation, what we have is a record, because they're judged, not just based on how God happens to be feeling that day, on the Day of Judgment. I mean, wouldn't that be something if the Day of Judgment was all about, you know, you happen to come before the Lord on a particular day, and you just caught God on one of His really bad days. You know, have you ever been crankier on one day than you've been on another? Grumpier on one day than another? And treated someone, even that you cared about, a little less well or respectfully or considerately than you would on an ordinarily good day? Thankfully, we're not catching the Lord on a bad day on the Day of Judgment. The Lord is not, you know, He's put these things in books. to testify to us that this is a formal thing that he's doing, this is a legal thing that he's doing. This is something where there's evidence and there's record of wrongdoing. Just like our courts convict people based on real, tangible evidence. That is, of course, when the courts are functioning in righteousness and the principles of justice. They convict people based on evidence, not on hearsay, not on people involved, but on tangible evidence. Well, you know, our courts are just a shadow of the courts of final justice, God's court, God's throne room in which he will judge all people. And so he's going to be judging people's lives based on evidence. And the evidence is what's in the books. And what's in the books is the record of, as we've described before, every thought, every word and every deed of their entire lives from the moment they were born until the last breath that they took. And that's going to be laying out. And they're going to be judged. They're going to be judged, as it says twice in this passage, according to their deeds. Now, I think this is an important point of emphasis because there is a well-intentioned misconception among some in the Christian community about what the Day of Judgment is going to be like for the unbeliever. And it goes something along these lines. There is a teaching, and if you would, turn over to this passage, because this teaching is based on a wrong interpretation of a passage in the Gospel of John. And I want to correct that before we go any further. John chapter 16. This is from the night that Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples, just before going to the cross. And the words that he shared with them in the upper room. John chapter 16, I'll start reading in verse 5. The teaching goes something along these lines. The only reason the unbeliever is going to be judged and condemned on the day of judgment is for one single sin, and that sin is the failure to believe in the salvation that's offered through the Lord Jesus. Now, the failure to believe in the salvation that's offered through the Lord Jesus is a serious sin. I mean, I wouldn't want to place any other sin that people commit over in the rating of sin, over that sin. That's a biggie. And for that reason alone, people deserve to be judged. But that's not why people are going to be condemned as the solo reason. And this idea came from a misunderstanding of this passage. We'll read in John 16, starting in verse 5. But now I am going to him who sent me. This is the Lord referring to his soon return to heaven. And none of you ask me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. The helper here is his reference to the coming presence of the Holy Spirit. But if I go, I will send him to you. And he, when he comes, will convict the world. And he's talking about a conviction not on the day of judgment, but a conviction in their present lives, anticipating the day of judgment. When he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. concerning sin, because they do not believe in me, and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see me, and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." Verse 9 is the verse that's taken with good intentions, I think, misunderstood and applied in a way that The Lord is not meaning us to understand it. It's taken to mean when the Lord says that the Holy Spirit is going to come and he's going to convict the world concerning sin because they do not believe in me. That the only thing that the Holy Spirit is concerned to convict the world of is the sin of unbelief. That's not the case here. What Jesus is saying is the Holy Spirit is only going to turn his convicting attention to those who don't believe in the Lord Jesus. So those who do belong to Him, they're called His sheep, they're His church, they're His family, they're His bride, and those have been cleansed of their sin. There's no need in this sense to convict the church of their sin. Their sin has been dealt with by the cross, by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus in His death on the cross. For the rest, because they do not believe in Him, the cross doesn't apply to them. The benefits of the salvation that is purchased on the cross do not apply to the unbeliever and to the world, because they refuse to believe that that is God's means of salvation. Therefore, He's going to turn His convicting attention upon them. And what is He going to convict them of? He's going to convict them of sin. Which sin is the unbeliever being presently, by the Holy Spirit's activity and influence, which sin is the unbeliever being presently convicted of? every single sin that they commit in thought, word, and deed. One of them is, of course, the sin of unbelief, not believing in God's salvation and His Son. But that's not the only sin that the Holy Spirit is concerned to convict the world of. And let's go on to look at another passage that will help us with this. Turn, if you would, to Matthew 19. Now, the Gospel of Matthew. It's kind of the best analogy maybe I could give is this. while you're turning to Matthew 19. The person that is not in a saving relationship with the Lord is a person like an individual that would be in the middle of the ocean. And salvation is like the ark, you know, the boat that God has ordained to save the person from what? If the ark is salvation, what is the ark saving someone from? From water. The water is going to kill them, eventually. I mean, they may swim for a while, but sooner or later the water is going to get every person that's adrift in the ocean. Unless they're rescued from the water and brought into the boat of safety, the ark of God's salvation. And that person can be right next to the ark, of course. And, you know, treading water with all their might. and at the same time trying to suppress that ball underneath them, you know, the truth of their sinfulness and their accountability to the Lord. And the Lord can, in the boat, throw out the lifeline that could potentially save them, you know, like those life preservers, those things you see on old cruise ships, you know. I don't even know what they call those. Yeah, life rings. Okay, let's say the Lord throws a life ring out to the person, and it's laying there right next to the person as they're treading water. To say that, to fail to believe in the Lord Jesus is the only thing that will kill that person is to say that the only reason that person dies is because they have not taken hold of the life ring. And there's a sense of truth in that, in that taking hold of the life ring is what will save them by being drawn into the boat. But, the failure to take hold of the life ring isn't what actually kills them. What actually kills them? The water. Drowning in the water is what actually kills them. It's a person's sin that is going to judge them on the day of judgment. It's going to be the source of their judgment on that day. Let's read from Matthew chapter 19. What we're talking about here now is... Well, let me just read the passage and then let me describe this. Matthew 19, starting in verse 26, that I'd like to read. A famous story of the rich young ruler. Someone came to him and said, Teacher, what good things shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? And he said to him, Why are you asking me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. Then he said to him, Which ones? Jesus said, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these things I have kept, what am I still lacking? Jesus said to him, if you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. When the young man heard the statement, he went away grieving for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to his disciples, truly, I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. When the disciples heard this, they were astonished and said, then who can be saved? And looking at them, Jesus said to them, with people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Now what I want us to see out of this interchange between Jesus and this rich young ruler, the rich young ruler being to all social observation apparently a very good young man. I mean, this is a man who, when he came to the Lord Jesus, was displaying spiritual interest. I mean, he wasn't ignoring Jesus. Jesus was passing through the area. Apparently this young ruler heard about him coming. So he sought to be close to Jesus. He wanted to talk to him. He wanted to learn information from him. And he had a specific question on his heart. What do I need to do? What good thing can I do in order to be saved? And the Lord confronted him about what? His concept of salvation and his concept of what it means to truly be good. And in addressing him and answering his question about salvation, Jesus could easily have said to him, the one thing you need to do to be saved is believe in me and you'll be saved. He didn't say that to this man, did he? Why not? Is that not a true statement? Believe in me and you'll be safe? Absolutely it is. But the problem wasn't the man's lack of willingness to believe something. The problem was the man was leaning on his own goodness to be the source and the foundation of his salvation on that day of judgment. In fact, when the Lord began to identify for him things that he will be held accountable for, remember, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. What was the young ruler's response? OK, I got that covered. I'm fine. I'm doing all those things properly. Now, the truth is the reality is he was falling short in every single one of those areas, because earlier in the in the Sermon on the Mount, you remember that the Lord Jesus took each one of these commandments and he explained the spiritual meaning of these as God's standards of righteousness. this man had convinced himself because he hadn't actually killed anyone recently, he wasn't guilty of the sin of murder. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, taught us that if you're angry with someone in your heart, you're already murdering them, and you're already guilty of the sin of murder. So, you know, is it likely that this man had lived his entire life up until this moment, never once being angry with someone in his heart? Not entirely likely. And yet in his own perspective, he was free and clear. He was a good man in his own eyes. And so the idea here is that the Holy Spirit first works, before he offers the lifeline of salvation, he first works to convince and convict the individual of their need for salvation. And the only way to do that is to expose to their hearts to pull back the covers, to alleviate the single worst problem that person has, which is spiritual self-deception, blindness, thinking that they're good when they're really not good, and showing them their need for a Savior, their need for salvation. And he does that by applying his standards all across the board. And his standards are revealed to us in his law, but not just the letter of the law, the spiritual intent that was in God's heart when he revealed the law to Moses to begin with, And then later the Lord Jesus came to fully explain it. Now there's another aspect of the Day of Judgment that's revealed to us in this same passage, and that is this. You've heard me talk before about grading on the curve. And it's important for us to be clear, on the Day of Judgment for the unbeliever, will God be judging the unbeliever on the curve? You know what the curve is, again, is in school, sometimes teachers will grade on the curve. Has anyone ever taken a test where you were graded on the curve? Okay, grading on the curve means there's a standard in judgment of the test in which we'll give you the test, and I know in advance, as I give you the test, you're all going to fail, right? I know I've created the test in such a way that the questions are too hard for you to answer entirely correct. But, because I don't want to discourage you, As the teacher, what I'm going to do is I'm going to gather up your tests, and I'm going to judge them all based upon a standard of absolute, correct, or incorrect, and then I'm going to pick the one test that gets closer to the right answers, and I'm going to use that test as the baseline and just arbitrarily call that test A+, 100%. That best performance becomes the baseline standard for judgment of all of the rest. So, some people are leaning on the idea that God is going to grade on the curve for the Day of Judgment, meaning that God is going to pick some individuals to be like a baseline in which, as long as I'm better than them in the way that God evaluates my life, I'll be okay. For instance, you know, hey, I'm no Adolf Hitler. You know, I'm a pretty good person. You know, I do this, I do this, I do this, I do this. So, you know, I'm going to be okay on that day. Even if there is such a day, I'm going to be okay on that day. And of course, you know, if Adolf Hitler is the baseline by which God judges all the rest, how many people are going to be lost? Not too many people. Because you know what, realistically and spiritually speaking, Hitler was as bad as they get. I mean, maybe in all of human history, there's one person that was worse than Hitler, but there's only a handful, maybe, that would even come that close. And so that's a very comforting idea. It's just a false idea. God's not going to grade on the curve in that way. There is a curve that God is grading on. Turn from here, if you would, to the book of Hebrews, again. Chapter 4. There is a curve that God grades on. It's just not... Hitler just doesn't establish the baseline for that curve. God has chosen a different individual as the baseline. Hebrews 4 verse 14, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Jesus came to this earth, born as a human being, live a life day in and day out, just like we live our lives. He was subjected to the same kind of pressures to veer off God's pathway for his life that we're subjected to. He was exposed to temptations greater than any temptation that we have ever faced in terms of magnitude and intensity, and yet he managed for every moment of his life to never once, not even to one degree, sin. He perfectly lived in righteousness. And so God, in a sense, is gradient on the curve. It's just the curve of Jesus. You know, He's the baseline. He's the standard. So the good news about that is this. There is another way of salvation. I don't know if you're familiar with this. We talk as Christians about there only being a single way of salvation. There are actually two ways for a person to be saved. One way is you believe that you're not able to stand before the throne of God on your own merit, that if your life is being evaluated based upon how good you were, there's no way that you're going to make it. And so you come before God's throne, leaning on the High Priest of God, who has provided Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. That is the first and ultimate way of salvation. But there is an alternative way to be saved on the Day of Judgment. And all you have to do is this. Just live your life as perfectly as Jesus did. If you do that, God will save you on the day of judgment. He will pronounce to you, you have earned salvation. You have earned your entrance into my kingdom. You have earned my acceptance. He'll say to you something similar to what he said about the Lord Jesus. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. He'll say about you, you have done perfectly. I find no fault in you. You've never failed, not even to a single degree for a single moment of your life. Therefore, you've earned your salvation. That's good news, right? Well, we all understand. We understand to such a degree that it's hard for us to stretch our minds around how Jesus could have managed to not sin. Because we all understand our own propensity to do so. And we all know, in our heart of hearts, how often we have fallen short of God's standard. So ultimately, on a practical level, there really is only one avenue of salvation available to us. And so what about the good man? What about the good person? What about the person that considers that, you know what, I'm going to be, I've lived a good enough life, I can't imagine that God would condemn me on the day of judgment because of how good a life I have lived. I have even met individuals that realistically believe that they have never committed any kind of serious sin in their entire life. and that they are going to be welcomed into the presence of God, not because they're leaning on the salvation in Christ, but because they're a good person that deserves salvation. Turn with me from there to Romans chapter 3. And we'll end in Romans this morning. There's two sections here I want to quickly address. Romans chapter 3, I'll read from verse 9. Paul is, by the way, in this context speaking about the Day of Judgment. He says, what then? Are we better than they? And he's comparing and contrasting the believer and the unbeliever. and the Jews and the Greeks as they fit into these various categories. What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. We have already charged that both Jews and Greeks, the Greeks here mean all the Gentile world outside of the Jewish people. We have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave. With their tongues they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips. whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God, because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin." Paul is here specifically addressing the perspective that is so prevalent among the unbeliever that And this is what people are leaning their entire lives on, is that, you know what, I may not be the best person, but I certainly am good enough to be welcomed into the presence of God when my life comes to an end. And what Paul wants us to understand and the world to understand, if they have ears to hear it, is that every mouth needs to be closed. And what he means by that is that there's no one that's going to be able to say on the day of judgment as they stand in the presence of God, God, I deserve for you to accept me into your eternal plans and purposes for your kingdom. I deserve for you to welcome me because of the way that I've lived my life. Paul says every mouth needs to be closed and needs to come to a recognition of their accountability to God. And that if we were to really see how God evaluates the conduct of human beings, what we would see is that, going back to verse 10, there is none righteous. No, not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. They have all turned aside together. They have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. There's just no more direct way for the Lord to say it. Which is, if it's a matter of your own goodness, if it's a matter of raiding salvation, there's not a single person that has ever lived in all of human history other than the Lord Jesus Himself. that has lived a life that's fully pleasing to the Lord, and that merits salvation on the basis of that life that's lived. And so what is the Day of Judgment going to be for those individuals that have convinced themselves that they're good enough, but in God's perspective they're not good enough? In fact, as he goes on to describe it, it's a very ugly picture that he paints in the rest of those verses about the words that come out of their throats and the deeds that are a result of their actions. What is waiting for them on that day? It's a day of what the Bible describes in terms of, it's a day of dread. It's a day of doom. It's a day of horrible anticipation. And that's why people do spend their whole lives trying to suppress that truth. because it's such a fearsome concept. It's like their worst fears compounded and realized, and yet can't be faced, can't deal with it. Because the bottom line is, if you face it and deal with it, that understanding will inevitably lead you to turn and to repent and to cry out to God for mercy and for salvation. But there's something in their hearts forbidding them from doing that, hindering them from doing that. And the baseline of that is the pride of their hearts, is holding them back from finally and fully admitting, I don't deserve salvation. I don't deserve to be welcomed in your presence. I don't deserve for you to say to me, you belong to me, you are pleasing in my eyes. That admission strikes right to the core of the unbeliever's heart, and they're unwilling to make it. And therefore, for them, the Day of Judgment is a day of dread and anticipation only of the doom that will follow. Now what we're going to do next week is we're going to take a look together at what the Bible actually describes as the sentence that they will face on the Day of Judgment, and what that experience is going to be like flowing out from that sentence, the execution of that sentence, what their experience is actually going to be like for all of eternity. And while that's an uncomfortable thought even for us to consider in detail, it's a necessary thought as I talked about last week, and it informs our hearts as a healthy warning for those moments where we're ever tempted to veer off the path, and as a healthy motivation for us to not be content with as long as I'm covered, it doesn't matter what's happening to everybody else. The focus on what is awaiting the world on that day is a necessary motivation to get us up out of our comfort zones and to be ready, willing and able to represent the Lord to them as He desires to be. Let's pray. Father God, as we're considering eternity together and as we're as we're thinking about that day, the Day of Judgment, and as you've privileged me, Lord, with the opportunity to share thoughts and portions of your Word with this group here this morning. I'm just very, very much aware, Lord, of how far short my own words and my own ability to communicate the depth and the significance and the importance of these things really is. So I'm asking, Lord, that you would make up all of the difference in what I fell short to communicate. I pray that you would, by your Spirit, Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, that you would instruct us about eternity, that you would inform our hearts about the day of judgment, that you would peel back the veil so that we would see, not only for ourselves, but for all of the people living out their lives around us, how they're living their lives in anticipation of that day, but the denial of that day at the same time. And I pray that you would make us more effective, Lord, in interacting with them in a way that truly matters, will truly impact them, and will make a difference according to your purpose for each one of their lives, as well as your purpose for us. And I thank you ultimately, and most importantly, Lord, for your salvation. I thank you for what you've accomplished in Jesus. I thank you for the cross. And I thank you, Lord, that you saw fit to open the eyes of our hearts and to grant us the gift to believe and to lean on him and to place all of our hope in him and him alone and to not trust in our own goodness and to trust only in you and your mercy and your grace. And I thank you for that in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. The copyrighted product of Tree of Life Christian Church of Canoga Park, California. You are welcome to pass this message along to others as long as it is not sold and it is passed along unaltered in its entirety with source credit given to Tree of Life Christian Church.