Gracious Heavenly Father, we bow in Thy holy, sacred presence in the worthy and precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee this evening hour for the joy that is in our hearts because we have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb. We thank Thee for every soul who can really sing, save by grace alone. We thank Thee for the mighty power of the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, being rich for our sakes, He became poor, that we, through His poverty, might be rich. We pray that Thy great blessing may rest upon the preaching of the Word of God tonight. We thank Thee, our God, that the Word of God is quick and powerful. It's sharper than any twedged sword. It is a hammer that smashes the rock in pieces. It is a sword that discerns between the thought and in tents of the heart. Lord, make veil that sword. Lord, strike with that hammer. Lord, burn with that fire tonight and grant that many shall be the slain of the Lord. Oh, we bless Thee that Jesus Christ is mighty to save and mighty to deliver. We bless Thee that His touch has lost none of its ancient power. Oh, make this an old-fashioned, God-blessed, soul-winning meeting. Make this a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Lord, send Thy blessing upon us. We thank Thee tonight for the souls that Thou hast saved in the past week. We thank Thee for the shout of newborn babes in our midst. We bless thee for the evident blessing upon the preaching of the word. But, O God, we long for revival. We remember our city tonight torn with strife and riot. We pray that God may intervene, raise us up then in our parliament with courage to stand in the gap, sweep out of office the traitors, and the compromisers, we pray. Lord, send us a great revival. Get the people back to God, back to the Bible, back to the preaching of the gospel, back to the old paths of truth and uprightness and righteousness. Lord, put your hand in the situation tonight in the Shankle Road. Restrain and constrain the people. And then remember that this is our day. May they leave the streets and return to their homes, and may the Spirit of God come mightily upon them. And, O God, as Thou didst do in the days of riot in this city many years ago, Thou didst turn it into revival victory. Do this to them again, we pray. O God, as these false leaders are turning to pop concerts and to folly for peace, we would turn to Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that Jesus Christ can bring peace. We thank Thee that the Gospel has lost none of its power. We thank Thee that the Old Testament message is as strong as ever to the salvation of souls. O God, visit us, we pray. Give us none of us a prey to culprit. Thou didst say to none of us that if she repented, thou would turn away the hand of judgment. Send repentance to Ulster. Turn them to God. Get the believers on their knees, we pray. And may we cry and cry to God until revival comes and there's sound of abundance of rain. Hear this, our prayer, for Christ's sake and the people of God's sake. Amen. I want to speak this evening upon the subject, How Pontius Pilate Lost His Soul. No name is better known next to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ than the name of Pilate. Since the writing of the Apostles' Creed, which probably took place at the beginning of the second century, those that believe the doctrines of the gospel have emphasized the fact that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate. In fact, the Bible has many things to tell us concerning Pilate. Four times outside the Gospels there are references to Pilate. Three of them you will find in the book of the Acts. If you have your Testament and consult Acts chapter 3, you will find that Peter, preaching at verse 13, says, The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. God of our fathers hath glorified his son Jesus, whom ye delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. You turn to Acts chapter 4 and verse 27, you have another reference. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, the ferret and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together." Acts chapter 13 and verse 28, Paul preaching at Antioch in Pisidia, in the synagogue there, It says in verse 28 of Acts 13, And though they found no cause of death in him, that is, in Jesus, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when Paul was giving his charge to young Timothy in the sixth chapter of the first book of Timothy, Paul says this in verse 13 of 1 Timothy 6, I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate, witnessed a good confession. So four times outside the gospel narratives, Pilate is mentioned and his part in the suffering and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ is underlined. So Pilate is a very important character in the Scripture and worthy of our consideration. Linked with Pilate in the betrayal and death of Christ was Herod. Herod is a despicable character. a vile, debauched, immoral man. The Scriptures tell us about his debauchery, how to please his mistress. He was prepared to cut off the head of John the Baptist, the great preacher of the gospel and the forerunner of crime. If there is one sin that will take us all to hell, It's the sin of impunity, the sin of adultery, the sin of fornication, and the sin of immorality. We are living in an unclean age. We're living in an age when morality is taboo, where Christian standards are mocked, when purity of the marriage vow is made the object of the pun and of the joke. when alas, even Christian young women are trying to model themselves by the standards of Paris and by the fashions of an evil adultery. This is an evil age, my brother. Let's face up to it. Let me tell you, friend, you can't have your uncleanness and have Jesus Christ. Let me tell you tonight, you can't have your sin and go to heaven. Let me tell you, young person, tonight, In this permissive society so called, launch your boat on the sea of sin, and one day you'll be a shipwreck in eternal hell forevermore. No sin will take you quicker to hell than uncleanness. But it wasn't uncleanness that damned Pilate. It damned Herod, but it didn't damn Pilate. Pilate has Christ before him. Don't you see those Jews? They're so religious and sanctimonious. They're so eager to keep the letter of the law that they wouldn't come into the judgment hall. You know why? Because Pilate was a Gentile. In the house of Pilate there was unleavened bread. And for a Jew to have any contact with leaven when he was going to eat the Passover put him beyond appeal. Of course, they did not mind pushing the Lord Jesus in through the door. They did not mind that Jesus Christ should be contaminated in the house of Pilate. But they, the religious hypocrites, the whitewashed sepulchers of the religious world, oh, they were too holy, too separated, too sanctimonious to be contaminated with the leaven of the house of Pilate. So Pilate has to go out to talk to them. And I see the proud dignitary, the representative of the imperial caesar, he goes out and he looks at those Jews and their throats are swelled with their cries against Jesus. And their faces are bloodshot with their hatred against the Christ. And he says to them, what accusation have you to bring against the prisoners? Of course, they had no accusation to bring. They had no charge that could stick to Jesus Christ. He was the sinless, flawless, harmless, crimeless Son of God. So they turned on Pilate and they said, Do you think we would have brought him if he wasn't a malefactor? Pilate says, What evil has he done? And they cried out, We want his blood. He must die. We reject him. Isn't that the cry of the religious world tonight? Isn't that the cry of many a heart, of many a man in this meeting? Rejecting Jesus Christ. My friend, Jesus Christ is the door to heaven. Reject him and you'll end in hell. Jesus Christ is the way to God. Reject him, and you'll end in darkness. Jesus Christ is the truth, the only one who can enlighten and bring God's truth to the heart. Reject him, and you'll die deceived. For the God of this world hath blinded the minds of those that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine into their heart. And here is Pilate, feast to feast with Jesus. And then they get Pilate on the sore spot. They say, Pilate, look you, this man says he's a king, and if I'll just let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Pilate was ambitious. He got his feet early in his career on the rungs of the political ladder. He was climbing up that ladder. He was now the representative in one of the most important territories that Rome controlled at that day of the imperial Caesar. And he wanted to climb farther and farther up the ladder of ambition and up the ladder of fame. And the Jews knew it from the Sabbath, you are not Caesar's friend if you let him go. And Pilate takes Jesus aside and he says to him, he says, art thou a king? Art thou a king? And I want you to notice the Lord's answer. It's a very important answer. It's one of the most important answers Jesus gave in all the record of His trial. And He says to Pilate, He says, Do you say this of yourself? Or did someone tell you to say it to me? And Pilate said, Am I a Jew? I'm reading at verse 35 of John 18. Thy own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done?" Jesus answered, "'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from him.'" Except the man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He's not talking about materialistic kingdom. He's not talking about a kingdom with an earthly throne or an earthly scepter or an earthly crown. He's talking about the mystical and spiritual kingdom of God. And the only way of entrance to that kingdom is by the mystical and spiritual rebirth. not by materialistic things, not by church worship, not by church membership, not by baptism, not by communion, but by almighty birth of the Holy Ghost. Thank God for people that are born again and that are members of that kingdom. And then he goes on. Thy that therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king? To this end was I born. Born to rule! Born to be the King! Born to wear not a crown of diadems, but a crown of thorns. We see Jesus made a little lower than the angels for the sufferings of death, crowned with glory and honor. And then he goes on and he says, To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." You know what Pilate said? Pilate said, What is truth? And before Jesus Christ could answer, he turned his heel and he went out again to the mob. You remember Lord Bacon, the poet, said, What is truth suggesting, Pilate? And wait it not for an answer. And there are many people who will come, and for a moment or two they will consider the gospel, and they will consider the words of Scripture, and they will ask a question. And before the question is answered, they will turn their heel, and they will become a Christ-rejecter, and the rejecter of the truth that alone can set them free and the truth that alone can save. How many men and women in this hall tonight, and you have asked the question, but before the Spirit of God could answer it, you have turned your heel and you have gone out again to the crowd. Because Pilate had the rungs of the ladder to climb, Because Pilate had his ambitions to be achieved. So he merely asks the question and then closes his ears and goes on down the road to hell. But friend, it's hard to get away from Jesus. You don't get away like that. Pilate said to himself, can I get out of this difficulty? Ah, he says, I'll offer them Barabbas for Jesus. Now, Barabbas was a robber. And he said, Will you have the robber for Christ? And they said, We'll have the robber. I wonder how many men and how many women in this meeting say the robber for me, the thing that robs you of your health, the thing that robs you of your soul, the thing that robs you of heaven, the thing that robs you of Christ. You'll have it, but you'll not have the Lord Jesus Christ, my is personified in the Barabbas. I wonder what Barabbas you are choosing to mind. I wonder what sin it is that is going to damn your soul. I wonder what evil companionship. I wonder what vile habit. I wonder what secret thought. I wonder what secret practice you're putting in the place of Jesus Christ. Let me ask you this question. What is it that's going to rob you of your soul? Men are being robbed in this hall of their soul by their sins. I wonder what sins are robbing you tonight. And then through the crowd there comes the slave boy. And he has a parchment in his hand, tied with a silken thread. And he hands it up to his master. And the master takes the parchment and pulls a dagger from his embroidered belt. And he cuts the silken thread. And I hear the crinkle of that parchment as it's rolled out. And he reads. It's a letter from his wife. From Claudia Coquiller, as Deceipus tells us was her name, she was a Christian. She associated herself with those that followed the lowly Christ of God. And his wife whom he loved, and there never was a mark, remember, of immortality in the life of Pilate. Never a suggestion that he was an unclean man, for he wasn't. He's visibly moved, and he reads. Have thou nothing to do with this just man? For I have suffered many things in a dream this day because of him. And I see the hand, the strong, sinuing hand of the brittle Caesar, and it's shaking. And he says to himself, I must get out of this. And he calls the slave back again, and he whispers something, and it's here. And the sleeve goes away, and in a few minutes the sleeve returns, and this time he has a fine porcelain bowl in his hand. And in it is the clear crystal water from the fountain, and he brings it up to Pilate. Pilate takes his hands, and he thrusts them under the water, and he rubs them under the water, and then he holds them up until the drop drips from his fingertips, and he shakes them. And he says something else to the slave, and the slave produces a towel, and he wipes his hands clean. And he says to the crowd, I am clear of his blood. I am washing my hands of Jesus. You can't wash your hands and put the blame on someone else, friend. You can't do it. And do you know the way I've ended? I'll tell you. What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? What shall I do? And he allowed someone else to make up his mind for it. Let me finish with a tragic story. It will live with me. in my ministry forever. Some years ago, eighteen years ago, I preached in Rutherfield. There are people in the meeting tonight, and we are seeing, thank God, in that mission, and they are going on with the Lord, and they are members of this church. We started in the Friends Hall on Eury Street. It became too small. The second Sunday night we moved to the Presbyterian Hall. And then we finished the mission in the large first church. And one night I was preaching in that church, and I made an appeal, and a big man stood to his feet. And I invited those that had stood to come forward and publicly declare that they were going to receive the Savior. And I saw that man make a move, and then I saw a hand coming up. and pulling him by the sleeve and pushing him back into the seat. And as the appeal went on, I went down the aisle. I had enthusiasm in those days. Please, God, I haven't lost that old fire. And I went down the aisle and I said to that man, Sir, you stood to your feet. And you made an effort to come, but something kept you. And a woman sitting beside him said, I'm his wife. and he's not getting to him. I'm his wife, and he's not getting to him." And that man tried again, but in vain, and she held him in the seat. My friend, the meeting's finished, and both of them went on their mad stampede to hell. Oh, the tragedy of it. I can see that ham now. What hand is it that is keeping you from Jesus? If it is the hand of a loved one, friend, it is the hand of a traitor. If it is the hand of a loved one, it is the kiss of a Judas. Let me say it lovingly. Let nothing keep you from Jesus Christ tonight. My friend, if your eye offends you, plug it out. It is better to enter into life blind. with only one eye, then go to hell with your sight all whole and seeing well. If your foot of envy cut it off, then to stagger him to life, then to go with both your limbs into hell fire forever. O friend, what will you do with Jesus? I will tell you something some day. Your soul will be asking, what will he do with me? God grant you'll come to Christ tonight. God grant you'll trust him. I've preached to you for many a year, friend. I've prayed for you. I've longed to lead you to Jesus. Please, God, tonight you'll respond. You'll say, I'm coming to Christ. I'm trusting the Savior. The Lord is just in His ways, O, and holy in His righteousness. He is near to all that on Him call, who call Him to something unknown. God will have justice and forgiveness, all such as do Him fear and dread. Let right be God, and He be with, and save them in the time of need. The Lord presents a war at last, a victory for the weak heart. The darkness of the wickedness, destroyed will be, and kings of earth. Therefore I know and wish I live to speak the praises of the Lord, to magnify His holy name forever let the praise accord.