Amen. Please be seated. And as we return once again this evening to our mini-series entitled, Nine Foundations for Biblical Evangelism, to take up the matter of its motive, I ask you please to turn with me in your copy of the scriptures to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 at verse 31. 1 Corinthians 10 at verse 31. Here is the Apostle Paul in this context, gives us really the golden rule for all that we do as the people of God. He writes saying in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 31, he says, therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Brethren, let's once again pray and ask the Lord's blessings upon our time. Let's pray together. Our great and glorious God, how we bless your name for the wonderful mercy which you have shown to the sons of men. So thankful, Lord, that you have called the people for yourself. So grateful, Lord, that many in this room have been called to you through the gospel. We are grateful, Lord, that we have been made the recipients of so great a salvation. We bless you, God. We thank you. Because we know, according to Paul in Romans chapter 9, that salvation is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God who shows mercy. Thank you, Lord, for showing mercy to the likes of us. Thank you, Lord, for marking us out before the foundation of the world. And so we worship you this night, O God. We bless your name. And we ask that as we draw near, you would draw near to us. And that, in fact, you would help us to be strong and to be of good courage especially as we consider our theme tonight of biblical evangelism. Give us help, we pray, therefore. And for all of these things, we will praise and bless your most holy name. We ask them in and through that exalted name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Now, the online dictionary defines motive as, quote, a reason for doing something or something that causes a person to act. Motive is a driving power behind what we do in life, prompting us to behave or to act in a certain way. Having said this, as we think about the whole matter of biblical evangelism, again our theme this night as we continue our mini-series, it's vital that you and I, brethren, have the right motive for all that we do in this regard. It's crucial that we have a proper reason, a proper cause, and a proper intent when we go to tell others about our Lord Jesus Christ, who in love gave his life as the just one for the unjust ones that he might bring us to God. And so having seen in recent weeks the need and scope for a biblical evangelism, we ask for tonight what is to be our main motive for doing this. In other words, what should compel us to witness to the lost, especially since this is not always an easy thing to do? Well, in grasping the motive for biblical evangelism, we are addressing two main matters. And the first is vertical, which is the glory of God. And the second is horizontal, which is to say, the good of man. Now, Church, it's important that whenever we start thinking about evangelizing the lost, that we always have these two matters before us. What are they again? They are the glory of God and the good of man. Ah, but Church, having said this, we must also always remember that the primary, the main focus of all of our evangelism must firstly be the glory of God, out of which is to flow a concern for the good of man. This is the case, for as Mr. Spurgeon rightly says, quote, the salvation of man is a grand aim, but it must always be in subordination to the glory of the Lord, that his arm may be revealed and that all flesh may see it altogether. Now, it's unfortunate, it's sad that some people in our day and their Evangelistic efforts get this whole matter wrong or inverted. And this often leads to the use of gimmicks or pragmatism or a compromise, watered down, Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life type of gospel message. You see church in this horizontal or man-centered model. Our evangelism becomes that which caters best to the unsaved as opposed to that which is biblical and most pleasing to the Lord our God. Well, this then, dear ones, is why this vertical dimension of God's glory must always be paramount, must always be first and foremost in all of our evangelistic efforts. This is why it must always be this way or else we will most surely go astray at this crucial time. points now having said this We need of course to ask the all-important question, which is what is God's glory all about I mean what exactly is the Apostle Paul speaking of in our opening passage for this evening in the first Corinthians chapter 10 concerning God himself. Well dear ones as you have it there in your bulletins for this evening Here's my definition God's glory speaks of the intrinsic value, honor, and supreme worth that is associated with and manifested by his divine person and presence. And it includes all that is connected to his names, his titles, his character, his attributes, his word and works, which flow from all that he is and all that he does. Brethren, here this evening, I say that God's glory refers to such essential aspects of his being as his excellency, his dignity, his greatness, and his beauty, just as one writer correctly notes. Now, the chronicler, and that's how you say it, the chronicler, spoke about all of this when he said, for example, if you're taking notes, 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 14 that quote the glory of the Lord filled the house and then the psalmist himself also speaks about this in Psalm 19 in verse 1 when he writes they're saying that the heavens are declaring what And that's the good way to understand the verbs in the passage. The heavens are declaring what? Well, he says the heavens are declaring, quote, the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. Now, perhaps it was the great Dutch theologian named Herman Bavink who stated the matter most succinctly. when in writing in his excellent Reformed Dogmatics, said that, quote, the glory of the Lord is the splendor and brilliance that is inseparably associated with all of God's attributes and his self-revelation in nature and grace. It is the glorious form. in which he everywhere appears to his creatures. Bavinck says that this glory and majesty appeared to Israel. He says it filled the tabernacle and the temple, and he says it was communicated to all the people. Brethren, here this night, given this understanding of the glory of the Lord, it becomes quite clear, I trust, why it is that this vertical dimension concerning our great God must always be paramount in all of our evangelism. I mean, again, church, since in our catch-all passage for this evening in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, we are taught that all that we do in life is to be done for God's glory. Whatever you do, Paul says, then when our evangelism is carried out for this primary reason, we see what? We see that it perfectly aligns with this biblical principle. Additionally, since evangelism is one of the main means through which God's redemptive plan for humanity comes to pass when people come to faith in Christ, the end result of it in this regard is that of doing what? Well, it is that of praising, quote, the glory of God's grace shown to them, just as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 6, the passage that we considered together this morning. Well, Summarily speaking, then, having God's glory, His honor, and His majesty as our main motivation in our evangelistic efforts ensures us that all of our gospel labors will remain centered on Him. That's what it does. All of our gospel labors, therefore, will be centered on Him and His eternal purposes rather than on ourselves or anything else for that matter. It helps us, brethren, long story short, to always focus on God, to whom alone belongs all the glory. Can anyone say amen? Ah, but having said this, brethren, please note with me that even if no one is ever saved through our evangelistic efforts, God is still glorious nonetheless. He is still glorious, nonetheless. Whether he saves a person or not, none of this detracts from who he is, not even one bit. The point is, our God is glorious all the time, on all occasions, throughout all eternity. Blessed be his name. Now, in considering this particular perspective at hand for a moment from church history, It's interesting to see what William Carey said about this matter. As you may know, William Carey labored for years in India. And yet for a very long while, he saw very little fruit from his evangelistic efforts. Thus, he said, quote, I am very fruitless and almost useless. Ah, but then he went on to say, quote, but the word and the attributes of God are my hope and my confidence and my joy. And I trust that his glorious designs will undoubtedly be answered. And so you see, Church, if Cary's motives were man-centered, If they were rooted in getting so-called decisions for Christ, then he would have either left the mission field due to discouragement, or he would have changed his methods and message altogether in order to accommodate such difficult soil. Well, thankfully, he didn't do this. And why? Well, it's because of what he believed, right? Thankfully, his theology was good, it was proper, it was biblical. It was reformed. Packer highlights the essence of that theology in his excellent book entitled Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, and if you don't have it, get it, when Packer says that many Christians would quit evangelizing. if not motivated by this vertical dimension of God's glory. For, quote, it is the only thing, he says, that gives us the resilience that we need if we are to evangelize boldly and persistently and not be daunted by temporary setbacks. Now, of course, The greatest example of this matter concerning God's glory being the central motivating factor, the impetus for our seeking the lost, is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord, right? I mean, church as you know, our Lord Jesus Christ labored for at least three years, and yet at the end of his ministry, he only had a handful of disciples to show for it. In fact, when we read the Gospel records, we almost get the impression that at least half of Judea thought that our Lord was a madman, as seen in John 10 in verse 20. Well, even though this was the case, our Lord's ministry, nonetheless, was always spurred on, ultimately, by this vertical perspective of God's glory. Hence, he kept going in it. Now, this is the case. This is why, for example, during his turbulent ministry, Jesus could say, if you're taking notes, in John 6 and verse 38, that he did not come from heaven to do his own will. No, but rather, he said, he came from heaven to do the will of him who sent him. Additionally, in this regard, Our Lord could say to his disciples in John 4 in verse 34, that his food was what? What was his food? His food was to do the will of him who sent him and to finish that work. And then thirdly, in his high priestly prayer to his father in heaven, before our Lord went to the cross, he prayed to his father in heaven in John 17 in verse four, saying, I have what? Well, he said, I have, quote, glorified you on the earth. Father, I have finished the work which you have given me to do. Well, clearly then, dear ones here this evening, all of us, all of this rather, shows us what was motivating, spurring on, our Lord's earthly ministry. I mean, while of course he was concerned for the souls of men and women, as we'll see in a few minutes, I say, brethren, that above all else, he was most concerned with his Father's glory and honor, just as we should be as well. Now, having said all of these things, we must never forget that this idea of evangelizing for God's glory is also inseparably joined to our love for Him. Right? Our love for Him. I mean, brethren, our love for God can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, but one of the main ways is by our obedience to Him. It's by obeying Him and what He calls us to do. Thus the apostle John could say in 1 John 5 and verse 3, for this is the love of God. What is it, John? He says, this is the love of God, quote, that we keep His commandments. Well, church, guess what? As you and I seek to glorify our great God, One of the chief ways that we do this is by doing the work which he's called, yes, commanded us to do. This is the case, and what is the work that he's called us, commanded us to do? It is, as we've seen in recent weeks, the work of evangelism. It is the work of going to the highways, the byways, and the hedges, and telling others about our lovely and living Lord Jesus Christ. And so you see, church, as our society becomes more and more pagan, if you and I are going to be motivated to evangelize, then we must have more than just a passion for evangelism and a love for lost souls and a desire to see lost souls, et cetera. Yes, above all else, you and I must be fueled by the vertical dimension of seeing God's glory advanced in the earth, which is done in part through our obedience to him. It's done in part when we obey our Lord Jesus Christ when he said to us for example in Mark 16 in verse 15 that we are to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Well this then brethren is what we must do. This is to be a very high priority on our spiritual Listen then to Ernie Reisinger in this regard in his helpful book entitled Today's Evangelism. Again, another book that I encourage you all to get. In that book, Ernie writes saying, quote, how do we glorify God? Well, he says we glorify God by doing his will. And it is his will that we spread his name and his message of salvation. For he has given us the work of taking his message to all the world. Thus, our first motive must be love to God and a concern for his glory." Reisinger says, and all of this, quote, is expressed in obedience to his revealed will. Therefore, If we are obedient to spreading God's message, he will be glorified regardless of the results. Well, our dear ones here this night, Mr. Reisinger is absolutely correct. He's spot on. And so having seen this first motive for this evening concerning our evangelistic efforts, come with me now to note its second motive, which is, as I said in the outset of the message, the good of man. Now, dear ones, please understand that all true biblical Evangelism must also have this component in it as well. I mean, if you and I claim to love God and his glory, but we don't have a genuine care and concern for the lost, especially concerning their never-dying souls, then we are nothing more than noisy gongs and clanging cymbals. I mean, at this point, we are no better than the Pharisees who with all of their religiosity, didn't have much true love for the lost. For as our Lord Jesus Christ said concerning them in Matthew chapter 23 in verse 13, he said that they, quote, do what? They shut up the kingdom of God. They shut it up. They shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. For they neither went in themselves nor Did they allow those who were entering to go in? Now, once again, as with the vertical motive for evangelism, the most outstanding, the most excellent example of this horizontal concern for souls is our Lord Jesus Christ as well, right? This is the case, thus when our Lord was criticized, for hanging out with sinners. He eats and drinks with sinners. What did Jesus say to his detractors? Well, he said to them, for example, in Mark chapter 2 and verse 17, that those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. For, Jesus said, I did not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. Additionally, in Luke chapter 19 and verse 10, He said that he came into the world, quote, to seek and to save that which was lost. And then when he thought about the impenitence, which is to say the hard heartedness of his own countrymen, he wept. saying in Matthew chapter 23 in verse 37, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. Our Lord says how often I would have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you, Jesus says, you were not willing. So, you see, dear ones, Jesus coming to this earth as the great physician was definitely centered in his concern for diseased, sin-sick souls. His purpose in coming to this world was to give his life a ransom for many, just as he says in Mark chapter 10. Well, in view of this, It makes perfect, it makes complete sense that the Apostle Paul, his great follower, had this same compassion for souls as well, right? I mean, this is the case, and Paul states this matter plainly in Romans chapter 9, and I ask you please to turn with me there in your Bibles. Romans chapter 9, picking up at verse 1. And I'll read to verse 3 in your hearing. Romans 9, here as Paul puts forth his great passionate heart for his people, he writes saying, Romans 9, at verse 1, Paul says, I tell you the truth in Christ. which is to say he's speaking as a Christian man who is in saving union with Jesus the Messiah. He says, I tell you the truth in Christ, I am not lying or being dishonest. My conscience, that is his God-given inner sense of right and wrong, also bearing me witness or testifying to him concerning the truthfulness of the matter, In, or we might say, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, that, the word that giving us the content of the burden of his heart, I have great sorrow, quite literally pain, and continual grief or anguish, where? the prepositional phrase answering the question, in my heart, which is to say deep within, and why? Well, he tells us when he says next, for, the Greek word explaining the previous words, I could wish or strongly desire, if it were proper and permissible in the will of God, that I myself were accursed, literally cut off by God. from Christ for, or more literally, on behalf of my brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh, or those from his own ethnicity. Now, brethren here this evening, Paul's words before us now are quite moving, to be sure. Indeed, they're very moving. And in them we see that he was willing to do whatever it took if it meant that his unsaved fellow Jews, his countrymen according to the flesh, he's willing to do whatever it would take if his fellow Jewish brethren could escape the judgment of God. Do them because of their sins against him. Here we see, as Spurgeon says, Paul was, quote, willing to lose anything and everything if they but be saved. Now, while at first glance, Paul's love for his countrymen, according to the flesh, might seem entirely normal. For who doesn't have affection for his own people, right? Ah, but Church, having said this, upon closer examination, such a love for his countrymen is anything but normal, is anything but natural, considering the horrible treatment that he received from their hands. Right? I mean, remember with me, dear ones, that these were people who had Paul stoned, Acts chapter 14. These were people who had him beaten with rods. These are people who had Paul whipped and on several occasions tried to condemn him through the legal system of the time. I mean, church, think with me. How many restless nights did Paul have because of his countrymen according to the flesh? How many close calls with death did Paul have because of them? There were numerous. Consequently, if anyone had a real reason to wish that these people were not saved, it would have been Paul, right? It totally would have been Paul because of their horrible treatment of him. Ah, but church, far from being jaded, or resentful towards such ones, Paul says, however, that he wished that he could be cut off from God, rather than see his countrymen cut off from him. And so you see, and listen to me carefully, although Paul plainly knew that he could never actually atone for the sins of others, nor be cut off for them, et cetera. Nonetheless, out of his great heart of compassion for them, he would have gladly changed places with them if he could, even these people who had made his life a storm of heartache and controversy wherever he went. Now, why was this ultimately The case, well, ultimately, I believe that this is the case because he knew that these people were headed to hell, right? It's because he knew that they presently were under the wrath of God for rejecting God's Messiah, even Jesus. Thus he longed to see them reconcile with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Well, I say then, dear ones, that with the apostle, you and I must also have the same desire for our countrymen according to the flesh. I say that along with being nice to our neighbors, mowing their lawn, maybe taking in their garbage cans when they're left empty, and showing hospitality, et cetera, that along with all these things, the most loving thing that we can do for them is to tell them about Jesus. That's the most loving thing we can do. In fact, church, this is how we love them the most. Never forget it. And this is because in sharing Christ with them, we address their greatest need in life, namely their deliverance from the wrath of God. which they absolutely deserve, since they are lawbreakers before Him." Oh, but having said this, what happens if our neighbors reject our gospel pleas? What if they ridicule us and begin to look at us strangely, thinking that we are fundamentalist, Bible-bashing individuals? And I use the term fundamentalist there in the bad sense. There is a good sense, but that's the bad sense. Well, Church, if this is the case, then remember it's nothing new. Nothing new at all. For as our Lord tells us in John 15 and verse 18, if the world hates you, guess what? It hated me first. before it hated you. Of course, in another place, Jesus says, if they call you, you know, the devil or your works, whatever, they said the same of me. Don't be surprised. If they say things of you, they said things of me. And so, as my followers, you will experience the same. Ah, but having said this, church, even better, even better, what if the people we witnessed to get converted? Forget about They ridicule us, they call us Bible bashing individuals, et cetera, et cetera. Okay, the world hated you, remember it hated me first. Jesus told us that, we already have the heads up about the whole matter. But even better, what if they get converted? What if our efforts are used by God Almighty to bring them to salvation? As we've seen happen time and again in this place. through the faithful witness of one to another. Well, church, if this happens, then we have done them the greatest good. Then the angels in heaven rejoice. Then God is glorified. And the lost sinner is brought into Jesus' fold and adopted into God's family. Praise be to his name. And so this, then, is what we must always keep before us. Since the ungodly, the lost, those who are not converted, are on their way to the tribunal of tribunal, known in scripture as the judgment seat of Christ, for what, well, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, in order to give an account to God for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or whether they be evil. Since this is where the lost are headed, brethren, we must seek to reach out to them. We must, and this is because God's glory is involved, and we must because their good is also involved. Thus I say that biblical evangelism, our subject for this evening, is the fusion of both the vertical and the horizontal dimensions as I've set them forth before you this evening And when these two dimensions come together, they create a very powerful incentive that can overcome any obstacle. They create a powerful reason which should greatly encourage us to do all that God calls us to do in this regard. And so, having said these things as I begin to wind down for this night, I want to do so by putting forth two things, firstly. Two things for you who are believers here this evening by way of application. And the first is, if in fact you want to be motivated to evangelize, then you are to think much about glorifying God through your obedience to him in your evangelizing of the lost, just as he calls you to do. And then second, if in fact you want to be motivated to evangelize, then I say that you are to think much about the eternal nature of hell and condemnation that the lost will experience days without end. Until you can say with the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. And so let's look at those applications just one at a time. Again, we're on our third point in our mini-series. With reference to what? Biblical evangelism. We've seen different aspects of it. Tonight, its motive. Its impetus. It's spur. How can we be motivated to do this more and more? Well, we're going to do it firstly. Then we are to think much about glorifying God through our obedience to Him. In our evangelizing of the lost, just as He calls us to do. Brethren, long story short, God is glorified when we obey Him. When we obey Him. And so, as we've seen in previous messages, we're called to be God's mouthpieces in this regard. Go forth and speak. Open your mouths for me. God uses human instrumentality to bring the gospel to others. We are God's means, if you can believe it, He has committed the gospel to earthen vessels. We're it. And if you think about your own life as a Christian, I doubt you would tell me that an angel appeared to you and shared the gospel. If you did, you probably would not be a member of this, our church. I'm sure you would probably not say that one day the cloud formations became such a way that they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. No. one of God's people came to you, or you were reading the Bible, or you were reading a gospel tract. Means, and we are God's means. And so, when we obey God, we glorify him. When we don't obey God, we're not doing that which glorifies his name. Long story short, we're not honoring him. We honor Him when we obey Him. When, for example, husbands love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her, we honor God. When wives submit to their husbands as unto the Lord and respect their husbands, they honor God. Many ways to honor God. Many ways to glorify His name. One way we do that is by obeying Him when He gave the Great Commission to His Church for all generations. The Great Commission, not the Great Omission. The Great Commission. Go. Quite literally, going therefore. make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We considered it in the last message. And Jesus says, and lo, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age. Jesus says, go, and then he says, lo, go and lo. Great sermon little outline there. Go, for lo, I am with you. And so by God's grace, we seek to do what we can in this regard. We are God's means of bringing the gospel to the lost, as though, Paul says, God was pleading through us to you be reconciled to him. And so if you want to see God glorified in your life, along with all the other things that he asked you to do that you seek to be conscientious about as a Christian, remember that on that whole table of things, Loving my wife if I'm married, or submitting to my husband, doing all the rest, children obeying their parents and the Lord for this is right, Ephesians 6. I mean, all those things move some of the things aside. There it is. Preach the gospel in season and out of season. Share the good things that God has done for you. Go tell! Others, all that the Lord has done for you. Isn't that what Jesus says when he heals the man? Go and tell all that the Lord has done for you. And so brethren again, if you're zealous for God being glorified in your life, then obey him by opening your mouth for him. In all the various ways that this might come to pass, Again, for moms at home, it could happen with your children. For us who have homes or an apartment or whatever we might be in, our neighbors. At restaurants, again, as I spoke of last time, taking opportunity, leaving gospel tracks, speaking to our neighbors. Seeking, again, to be a good neighbor, having the two tables of the law, God and man. God's glory, man's good before us, being kind and gracious again toward our neighbors, doing all that we can to be good Christians, but then also and always directing the conversation toward Christ as we are able, praying, oh God, Give me an opportunity. As Paul says, pray that a door may be open. This is one way that we bring glory to God. And so may that be true for us individually and also corporately as a church. We have a great commission as a church also. So may we keep being evangelistic Keep praying for those who go out. That's one way to do it. Those who do it in other ways, inviting neighbors to come to the church, as someone did just recently. And that neighbor came to church this day, and we had a good opportunity to speak with her about the things of God this afternoon. But secondly, brethren, if in fact you want to be motivated to evangelize, then I say you ought to think much about the eternal nature of hell. Edwards called it in something he wrote, the eternality of hell's torments. And I can recall when I was a newly converted many, many years ago, over 30 now, when I would go up to 125th Street in New York City, up on the subway platform there. I could say down on the subway platform in that case. And I would be there with my Bible and just all kind of religious nonsense on every side. And I would think, But one main thing, and it would be the whole matter that these people have never dying souls, which are headed for hell. Their souls will spend eternity in one of two places. This is why we need to have, as one famous preacher has rightly said, eternity stamped on our eyeballs. Or we might say in this case, our eyelids. But maybe our eyeballs is better for When we're awake, we could look out and see eternity. Or maybe when we're sleeping, we could see eternity before us. We really need this, brethren. And I think that hell is a great motivator for us to open our mouths for the lost. Again, the text is 2 Corinthians 5, 11. Paul says, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. What do we do? We persuade men. One famous preacher said once that if we could just take a telescope and stick it into hell and look down and hear the screechings and the weeping and wailing and the gnashing of teeth to use the biblical language, for the worm dies not and the smoke of their torment ascendeth forever and ever. Brethren, it should break our hearts. we witness to people because souls are at stake. Think about your unsaved children, your unsaved spouses, those who you work with. You've taken the path of being a nice Christian person for many years. They know this about you. They know you're different. They know You're not going to be lusting after them or stealing their wallets or taking their keys and driving away with their cars. They get it. You're a Christian. And they're happy with that because they can trust you. But what if they died yesterday? Where would they be today? Where would they be? They'd be under the wrath of God. They'd be in hell. While what? You demonstrated yourself to be a good Christian to them? That's good. But it won't get them to heaven. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. And so let me just lovingly nudge you a little bit, brethren. Just nudge you a little bit in this direction. Open your mouth. for Christ. Spurgeon once said, he who knows what he's been saved from knows what he's been saved for. What have we been saved from? The wrath of God. Hell! He who knows what he's been saved from, the judgment of God, knows what he's been saved for, namely to open his mouth and tell others to flee from the wrath to come. Don't just say, I'm saved, I'm going to heaven, all's well with me. No. I mean, that would be like a house on fire, an inferno happening. People screaming out, burning to death, and just walking by. Well, isn't this just a lovely sunny day? House is on fire. It's going up. People are going to be destroyed forever. Well, I think the eternal nature of hell Where the flames will never be quenched Should motivate us to open our mouths Again, there I was on the subway platform. I'm in my early 20s. I'm thinking oh lord. This is gonna be tough This is gonna be a rough situation. I just thought just remember where these people are going if tonight they die they stand before God the book shall be open and Oh Lord, how can I but not speak? I've got to speak. How can I speak? Knowing that these people are on the precipice of eternity. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. And so my dear brothers and sisters here this night, be motivated. to evangelize. Through your obeying of God, God is glorified in your life. That's basic Christianity. And through your witness, God often wins people to himself. Others snatch with fear, says Jude. Others, reach out even though you might be fearful to do so. Snatch them, as it were, from hell. As it were, through your witness to them. May God help us to think long and hard about the eternality of hell's torments. And may godly compassion swallow our fears. So that we'll just do something, something to be a faithful witness to them concerning the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. I close then with a word to any here this evening who are not true Christians, you're not saved. Children among us, teens, adults, what can I say to you but simply this, you must be saved. That's it, you must be saved. You must flee from the wrath to come. You see, right now, if you're not a Christian, you're not in a safe place. There's no neutrality when it comes to God. Jesus says, he who is not with me is against me. There's no neutral ground. And so you see, it's not just that God's wrath is coming, but God's wrath is already here. John 3, 36, he that believes not, the wrath of God abides upon him. So think about that. I see again, a good handful of children here this night. Think about that. God is not pleased with you while you are not a Christian. No, he's angry with you all the day long. You say, that's not too nice. Well, The fault doesn't fall on God, it falls on you. Because God can only view us as acceptable in his son, in his beloved one, as we considered it this morning. And if we are outside of Christ, if you're outside of Christ, which means you're not a true Christian, then God is not pleased with you. Some of you children will go home tonight and say, pastor said that God's not pleased with me. Parents, I hope you say, he's right. Don't soft pedal it, don't say, well, he was just being a little rough. He's not being rough, he was being a little gentle. God's not happy with you, but I'm raising a Christian home. Who cares? That makes you more accountable. God's not happy with me? No, because you're still in your sins before God. You haven't closed with Christ, his son, which is what he commands you to do. And so, my dear young person here this night, become a Christian. Go to Christ by faith. Oh Lord, cleanse me. Oh Lord, wash me. Take out my heart of stone. Give me a heart of flesh that I may love you, that I may honor you, that I may serve you all of my days. Oh children, be saved this night. You are in a dangerous place. Don't let anyone kid you. Don't let anyone deceive you. Older folks, whoever you are, some of you have got to stop playing games with God. If you're not truly born again, God's not happy with you. You must be saved. You must close with Christ. Repent of your sins. Turn to Him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Don't take the goodness of God for granted. That He hasn't cut you off in your sins as of yet. Don't take it for granted. No. Paul says in Romans 2 that the goodness of the Lord leadeth thee to repentance. But the Bible also says, do not boast thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. And so my dear unsaved person here this night, whoever you are, whatever your age, today if you hear God's voice, don't harden your heart. Today is the day of salvation. Today, this night, is the day when you must be reconciled to your God. Your sins have separated you from Him. Your dishonoring of your parents, your lies, your theft, your lust, your pride, your anger. All of your immoralities. God is holy, you are not. God's wrath abides upon you. God must punish you for your sins. That is all bad news. But the good news is this same God who must do all these things is this God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. What an amazing God He is. Thank God He's not like us. We might remain angry at people for their sins against us for a very long time. God is a God who's full of grace, full of love. He so loved the world that He did something about it. He gave His Son to be the substitute for sinners. And that's what Jesus did. He came into the world on a mission that the Father gave Him from before the foundation of the world to be the sinner's substitute. God's judgment has to be meted out on the guilty. God knows this. God provides the answer for this. What is it? His son. His son. My son will act as the representative of the guilty. He will live the life that they didn't live and then he'll die the death that they deserve to die so that they don't have to. What a gospel! And that's what Christ did on the cross. My opening text, He gave His life as the just one for the unjust ones that He might bring us to God. That's what the cross is all about. God made Him who knew no sin, Jesus, to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. At the cross, Jesus took the sins of the guilty upon himself and according to Isaiah 53, he made his soul an offering for sin. At the cross, Jesus was punished in the room and in the stead of guilty sinners. And there he accomplished their redemption. Fully and finally, thus he can cry out saying, it's done! It stands accomplished! I did it! He made atonement for the guilty there 2,000 years ago on Calvary's hill. You say, well, I never knew that's what Jesus did. I'll be honest with you, for most of my life as a non-Christian, I didn't know that's what Jesus did on the cross. I had no idea. In fact, when I first started thinking about my sin and God's holiness and Jesus on the cross, I was wondering what he was doing on the cross. I thought, he must have done something really bad. only to find out that he did nothing bad, but that he was there in my place, dying for all the bad things I had done. And when I understood that, in my place condemned he stood, sealed my pardon with his blood, I could only say with the hymn writer, hallelujah, what a savior. I understood the gospel, that while I was yet a sinner, Jesus died for me. I couldn't believe it. Overwhelmed. That's what Jesus did for people like us. What a glorious thing it is. Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? And so if you're not a Christian here this night, become a Christian. You say, how do I become a Christian? Answer the Bible simple. Turn from your sins, trust in Christ to be your Savior. Repent toward God, whom you've sinned against. You've broken his laws. And turn to Christ, who died as your substitute, your surety, and your sin-bearer. And say, oh, Lord, I put all my hope and confidence in who you are and what you've done for people like me. trust in you who accomplished my redemption on the cross 2,000 years ago and then rose from the dead three days later as a validation of your finished work. Lord, I trust in you, and I ask you to save me. That's what you need to do. My dear non-Christian friend that's here this night, if you would be saved. And so be saved. Become a Christian. Know what it is. You have the forgiveness of sins. Adoption into God's family. Joy in the Holy Spirit. Reconciliation with your Creator. Help in the midst of difficulty. And God's smile upon you because He now sees you in His Son. And so may God be merciful to you here this night if you're not a true Christian. Mighty grant that you would come to know him in truth through his Son, his wonderful Son, who came into the world to save sinners. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you for who you are and what you've done in the lives of many here this night. So thankful for your son and the gospel. And we pray, O God, that as we think about the motivating factor of our evangelistic efforts, O God, that we would be motivated by your glory and the good of souls. O God, help us, we pray, to see both of these things brought forth through us by the help of the Spirit who works in us, both to do and to will of your good pleasure. We pray and we ask all of these things in that wonderful name. of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.