We began last week looking at the subject that the Apostle Peter addresses in this chapter. The subject is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter is addressing this subject because there were those who were not only denying it, they were scoffing at the very possibility of the second coming of Christ. We read in in chapter 3, that the scoffers would come. He says in verse 3, knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, saying, Where is the promise of His coming? Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. They were saying that, look, everything just continues to happen, the world turns or they didn't perhaps understand that, but they understand that things just keep going along. Everything is the same as it ever was. Nothing has happened. Therefore, nothing will happen. There are many theories and philosophies about the history of the world and where history is heading. Some believe it's not heading anywhere, that it's all just a series of random Acts, there are acts of history. We can study history, but it's actually going nowhere, nowhere except randomly heading in no direction. There's the cyclical view of history as held by the ancient Greek philosophers, they regarded history as being a matter of cycles that you have the rise and the fall of civilizations, you have the rise and fall of great empires and leaders and so forth. But that just continues to happen. Here's the popular evolutionary view that sees mankind as inevitably progressing until it will bring in some type of glorious utopia. Everything is getting better and better. Don't you just see that everywhere? Of course not. Of course not. And there's the despairing view. The despairing view is, as it sounds, rather hopeless. It believes that man has a suicide pact with nature and will eventually exterminate himself. There will be an end to history, some say. The Big Bang Theory teaches that the universe began with this great explosion and it will end with a big crunch. It just all comes back into the nothingness where it came from. Well, that's not a very pleasant view. There's the view that as the law of thermodynamics takes its course, that everything will just eventually burn out. One star will burn out and then another and then another and the universe will get colder and colder and then there'll be nothing. The lights are out. Everything is gone. Matter will still exist, but there'll be no one around to notice. Well, there are many theories in contrast to all of these opinions, and that's really what they are. The biblical view is that the course of history is ever moving onward to a final consummation of all things. It's heading in a direction. There will be an end to history. God will bring it to an end. The Bible begins with God. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In the very end, the consummation of all things, God is there on the scene as well. Now, He's on the scene all the way through history, all the way throughout. Every movement, every act, every event, He's there. And He's working, the Bible says, all things after the counsel of His will. God is working these things, but He's going to bring it to a completion. He's going to bring it to a consummation. There is a redemption, a plan of redemption. God is a God who has a plan and a purpose, a purpose in redemption. We just mentioned that God created all things. And in the beginning, when he created everything, what did he say? It was very good. Everything that he made was very good. But something went horribly wrong. And I don't mean to say that it was not part of God's plan and purpose, that God didn't know about it, it took Him by surprise. No, not at all. But something did go wrong. This world is not the way God made it. The Bible teaches us how things got to be where they are. That sin entered the world. That our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed the Lord. They sinned against the Lord at the temptation of the serpent, at the temptation of Satan. They turned away from God. And because of that, we have what we have now. That the world is filled with the same kind of acts, multiplied by all the men and women and boys and girls of this world. We have sinners rebelling against God. It's not the way God created the world. But God had a plan of redemption that He was going to show the greatness of His love and mercy and His holiness. He was going to display to the whole universe just how great He was. He displayed in some ways how great He was when He said, let there be light, and when He created the whole world by His spoken word. But His great plan of redemption shows the greatness of God in a more brilliant way. He shows the love and the mercy and the greatness and the holiness of God. His power. All of these things are displayed before the world. He is redeeming men and women right now, and He has been since the beginning. Since man fell into sin, He has been saving them and redeeming them. But it's all going somewhere. So I know where it's going. It's going to heaven. When we die, we go to heaven. And that certainly is an emphasis that we should have. But there's something else that's happening as well. Jesus Christ is coming again. It's called by various names in the Scripture. Peter refers to it in verse 10. In fact, I'm sorry, I didn't read the passage of Scripture. Let's just read it and we'll see how he calls this day. Because here, first Peter is on the defensive against these scoffers. reminding them of what they're not thinking about or forgotten about or deliberately ignoring. But now in verse 10, he takes the offensive and he shows just what's going to happen when Christ comes. But the day of the Lord, verse 10, will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless, and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. But grow in grace, and in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. And so here we see that Peter refers to it as the day of the Lord in verse 10. And then he says in verse 12, he calls it the day of God. It's the day in which God alone will be exalted. God has been cast away in the minds and lives of people, but now everything is going to be drawn back to Him. He is going to have the preeminence in that day. Jesus said in Mark chapter 26 and verse 26, they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. It will be both a day of judgment And it will be a day of salvation, this coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It will be a day of judgment. We read that throughout this passage, but it's he says in verse seven, the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. It's going to be a day of judgment. It's a dreadful day. A dreadful day which will cause many to mourn and to cry out. It will be a day of inconceivable destruction and devastation. We think we've seen devastation in some of the events that have happened, the tornadoes and the floods and the tsunamis and all the things that we witness and volcanic eruptions. Well, this will be a far greater day than that. It will be a day of inconceivable destruction. It will cause the hearts of unbelievers to be filled with guilty fears. Their hearts, the Bible says, will fail in the presence of the One who sits upon the throne, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a day when everything that has been hidden will be brought to light. When God will judge the secrets of men Jesus Christ. That's what Paul says in Romans chapter two, verse 16. He's going to judge the world, the secret things, the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. He'll bring both to light, the Bible says, the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the heart. First Corinthians four, verse five. Paul says that it is a day in which the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God, on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. You might be thinking, I didn't want to come to church to hear about these things. This is awful. I want to hear something good and positive. Well, there are a lot of churches out there that will give you all of that and more. In fact, Paul says to Timothy, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season, for the time will come when men will turn away their ears from the truth, giving heed to fables. And they'll want to have their ears tickled. They're going to want to have their ears tickled. There are a lot of churches. They should put that out on their sign. Come here. We'll tickle your ears. We'll make you feel great. I don't enjoy talking about those things. Do something for me." Those are terrible things. They're awful. But if they're true, then we ought to listen. In fact, that's what he's saying in this whole thing. Since we know this, then we ought to do something. Since these things are going to happen, then we ought to have a certain attitude. We ought to be doing certain things or not doing other things. It ought to change our lives. And it's nothing wrong at all to change your actions because you know that things are going to happen like that. You don't want to just be negative and tell people the negative and have them be driven and work in their lives because of negative things that are going to happen. Well, we don't want that to be the only thing or even the predominant thing. We should want to do things out of love to God, love to Him and thankfulness for all that Christ has done for us. And yet the Bible tells us that there is another side that we need to keep in mind as well. And it is the negative side. Flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God, ought to get our attention. And if you don't know God, it ought to get your attention. And I know good and well what a lot of people do. What I did for many years, I just ignored that. Some people just deny it. Like these scoffers, they mock it. They make fun of it. You know, a little kid making fun of a big bully and calling him names isn't going to change the fact that he's little and the other guy's big. You can't just make fun of it and drive it away. It might drive it out of your mind, but it's still coming. It's still coming. Peter says the day of the Lord will come. It's going to come like a thief in the night. Not when you're expecting But when you're not expecting it and maybe you're thinking, well, I believe what you're saying, but, you know, I'll do it another time. I'll do it later in my life. I'll wait. Try that, if you will. He says is going to come like a thief in the night, so you don't know they're going to come tonight, tomorrow night. When's it going to come? When is he coming? taking flaming fire, taking vengeance on you might be denied. So you can do all kinds of things to deny it or ignore it or maybe party your way out of it and think you're just going to drown it out with partying. And that does work. You won't think about these things when you're partying, when you're living your life and thinking life's all about fun. Yeah, you can drive it away, but it's still coming. It's still coming. As R.G. Lee says, God's payday train is pulling in the station, and all the powers of hell and on earth can't put on the brakes or put out the steam. It's coming. It's coming. So we need to think about that. The Bible teaches it will be a day of wrath without mercy. Now, we read in two different places in the Scripture, called to worship in the Scripture reading, that God is a God of mercy, of great mercy. And there is forgiveness with with him that he might be feared. You know what that is, that's God's day of mercy. Right now, it's God's day of mercy. In fact, Peter says that why is he not coming? Well, just look at that. Verse 15, consider that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation, long suffering. That means he's taking a long time to get here. R.G. Lee again says God's judgment seemed to have leaded heels and travel slowly. And they do. God's not quick to judge. He's not quick to pour out his wrath. In fact, that's what these scoffers were doing. They were saying, well, look, he's not coming, obviously. Where's the promise of his coming? And Peter says. Don't forget this one thing in verse eight, that with the Lord, one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's why He's not coming. This is His day of mercy. He's extending His hand of mercy right now, today. Right now. But when He comes again, There will be no mercy extended. It will be a day of wrath and judgment. That's why Paul says, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation, right now. That's his mercy right now. You won't find mercy in that day. If you're not in Christ, you will not find mercy. It will be a day of wrath without mercy. Peter reminds them of the days of Noah. When God said He was going to send His judgment, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. God told him to build the ark. And he was preaching to his generation, telling them, warning them. What did they do? They ignored Him. They turned away. They laughed. They mocked. They just went on life as usual. Went on with life as usual until the day that the floods came. The scriptures pay a great deal of attention to this day, that day of wrath is one of those, I believe, is John Newton, who said this, that day of wrath, that dreadful day when heaven and earth shall pass away. Scriptures speak a lot of this. And we can ignore it at our peril, but we we as Christians should not shrink away from contemplating that awful day. And if you're not a Christian, you should think about it, the reality of it. the reality of the Day of Judgment. Please don't write it off. That's just what you say. I don't believe what you're saying. I'm talking about what the Bible says everywhere. It's not just tucked here and there in some strange language that we can't understand. No, it's there, clear. Now, having said all of that, we need to remember that there is a very, very positive side as well. Notice what Peter says here after he says in verse 12, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. But then he says in verse 13, nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth. in which righteousness dwells. There's a very positive side. This is what's been called in the Scriptures as the blessed hope of the Christian. The blessed hope. After Peter's been describing this indescribable destruction, he says, nevertheless, nevertheless, we're looking for this new heavens and new earth. There's something coming that's so glorious, too glorious for the mind of man to fully grasp or understand. Just as no one on earth can possibly begin to adequately describe the misery and woe of His coming, you know, I quote to you the Scriptures and all, but I can't really describe to you the judgments that are coming It'll be so great that we couldn't possibly understand it now. So also, no one could possibly imagine or adequately describe the blessedness of His coming for those who know Him and love Him. It will be a great day. It's not only a day of judgment, it will be a day of salvation. A day of salvation. That's what the Bible says. Your salvation is nearer now than when you first believed. because that's what it's called, a day of salvation. We look for His promise, He says. Now, there's a lot we don't know about the day of the Lord and we don't know about this blessed hope and this glorious sight. There's a lot we don't know exactly when He'll be here. We don't know what it will be like. John confessed his ignorance in 1 John 3, I believe. He said, it does not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that we will be like Him when He appears. We will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. I think of it like this. In the Old Testament, there are many promises throughout the Old Testament of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the first coming of Christ, that the Messiah would come. God promised it all the way back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve first sent against the Lord. He promised that the seed of the woman, that is her offspring, would crush the head of the serpent. How could they have possibly understood fully what that would mean as we see it now of the Lord Jesus Christ, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law? to come and to save, and to save in the manner in which He did. How would He crush the head of the serpent? Dying on a cross? Well, they couldn't have understood that, but they could see through a glass darkly, and they could see certain things about His coming. But then when He came, then the lights came on. The lights came on. Oh, now that's what that meant. That's what Isaiah meant. That's what Daniel meant. Look, now we understand. Yes, He clearly fulfilled those prophecies that back then they could see. And they could make out certain forms and shapes, but they couldn't see it. And it'll be the same way when Christ comes again. Oh, all those promises and prophecies. Ah, that's what that meant. That's what it meant when He said He would come in flaming fire, taking vengeance, when He would come in the glory of His Father. Now we see. Now we see. So there's so many things we can't understand. But here's something that we do see. Peter describes this new heavens and the new earth. He says it will be a new heavens and new earth, verse 13, in which righteousness dwells, in which righteousness dwells. This world as we know it, Peter says, is going to be purged by fire. and purified from all sin and every taint of sin, then everything will be perfect. It will be a place in which righteousness dwells and and only righteousness, only righteousness. Now, righteousness means godliness and holiness, perfection regarding the law of God. That's what righteousness is. I was at the teaching at the nursing home the other day and we're talking about about heaven, but I was trying to describe what heaven would be like. And I said, what would it be like if we if we kept if everyone here on Earth kept the Ten Commandments perfectly? Everybody worshiped the same God and worshiped him alone and No one took his name in vain. They kept his day holy and every child honored their father and mother. And there was no adultery and no murder and no lying and no stealing. And you didn't have to put locks on your doors. And what would that be like? And one of the ladies said, well, it'd be like heaven on earth. It would be like heaven on earth. That's what Peter is saying. It's a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Now, there is righteousness on the earth because God is saving people here on earth. But there is wickedness all over the place. And it's not getting better at all, as the evolutionists hope. No, it's getting worse. It's getting darker. Perilous times have come, as Paul said. Men are lovers of themselves and lovers of money and hateful and all of that. But there's coming a day in which there is a new heavens and a new earth in which Righteousness dwells. Now, when Peter describes this day of the Lord and the fire and all of that and the destruction, there's the debate of whether he's talking about is there going to be an annihilation of the present heavens and earth or is it going to be a renovation? An annihilation, that is when he completely destroys and takes away the present heavens and earth. And they're no more. And only God can annihilate something. I mean, we can destroy it and reduce it to ashes, but only God can annihilate something and take it away. He's the only one that brought it into existence. He's the only one who can take it out of existence. Every molecule is still here and maybe in a different form, but it's all still here as God created it. Yet. I believe that the Scriptures Well, we can't be dogmatic about it. I believe scriptures teach that there will be a restoration. Of the heavens and the earth. The present heavens and the present earth, there's going to be a restoration, he is going to reduce it to ashes in the sense, in a sense, he's going to reduce it to ashes, he's going to purge it completely from all sin and every taint of sin will be gone. So why would he destroy the earth? Listen to what Martin Lloyd-Jones said. He said, After the judgment and destruction of the ungodly, the world, as we know it, is burned with fervent heat. There will be this new heaven and new earth. What it means is that the fire will have burned out from the cosmos every taint of sin, thorns and briars, diseases, everything that causes pestilences, everything that leads to earthquakes and calamities. All will be removed. The earth will be purged of every such thing. That's the meaning of fire, he says. I believe he's right. You think about the Bible teaches that we'll have a new body, but it doesn't just say we're just going to receive a new body. I remember as a kid thinking about heaven and remember my Sunday school teacher or my mother or someone was trying to convey these things that you'll have a new body and and you can have anything you want and you can just pick out your own color of eyes and you can do all these things. Kind of strange, but you're trying to teach a kid about these things where you're trying to learn these things. And and but it's not that you're just going to pick out these things you're going to have. The Bible teaches that we're going to that God is going to redeem our body, our present body. He's going to redeem it, he's going to change it. As John said, we don't know what we'll be. Well, we know when He appears, we'll be like Him. We'll see Him as He is. We'll be like Him. Our bodies will be changed. Paul says that our bodies will be changed. This mortal will be changed into immortality. And He's going to rid us of every taint of sin. And our bodies that are weak now and subject to sickness and tiredness and weariness, that will be all gone. There'll be a new body in a sense, but He's going to redeem our body. Redemption is complete. He not only redeems our souls, he redeems our bodies. Some would try to teach that here on earth, we should be free from all of these things, free from all sickness. And I mean, no, no, that's coming. That's what the second coming of Christ is all about, when he will redeem our bodies. We don't have time to go into this. Maybe we'll do it next Sunday. But in Romans chapter eight, Paul says that the sufferings of this present time, aren't worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. And he's talking about the coming of the Lord, the day of redemption. And he says the whole creation is groaning together in pain until now. The whole creation is groaning in a sense, and we're groaning with it and we're looking forward to it with the whole of creation looking forward to the day of redemption. And he says, that is the redemption of our body. We will have a new body. It will be the same body, just like Christ's body. His resurrected body was the same Christ. And yet, it was a glorified body, wasn't it? It was Christ. His body was actually raised from the dead. And the Bible says that we'll all be actually raised from the dead. If your body has been scattered throughout the sea, it will all come together on the day of resurrection. But it will be a new body. It will be a glorified body, a resurrected body. And so also the whole of creation will be given a new renovation. All of the remnants of sin will be taken away. I read another writer who said that He believes that it's going to happen in this way because mankind, well not only man was under the curse, but the whole of creation was under the curse. You remember when God said, cursed is the ground for your sake. Thorns and thistles it will bring forth. But also because sinful man has used the world, God's creation, for his own lusts and pleasures. Even the great and glorious things of this earth, the things of great beauty, man has used that in an ungodly way. So how do they do that when they go out to these national parks and beautiful parks and they stand and they gaze on it all and then they suppress the knowledge of God? All of creation is screaming out that there's a God. And yet they suppress that. And they Paul says in Romans chapter one that they serve the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. They worship and serve the creator, the creation rather than the creator. They're enjoying God's creation and they're not giving glory to God. So they've used this earth for their own sinful ends. And so God is going to send fire and destroy. They're going to all of these beautiful buildings that man has built is going to be reduced to nothing, to ashes. And then there will be a new heavens and a new earth in which dwells righteousness. It will be paradise restored. So the Bible speaks of or what men have said about the Garden of Eden, before sin had entered the world. What was it called? It was called paradise. Paradise. Milton wrote that great poem and allegory about the fall of man. What did he call it? Paradise lost. Because of sin, paradise was lost. Now, sin had invaded all of God's creation. But what this new heavens and the new earth is, that's paradise regained. Paradise regained. A completion to God's unfolding plan of redemption began in the Garden of Eden when man fell. And it's been continuing ever since. Right now, God is saving a people for His own good pleasure. To be zealous for good works. To give Him honor and glory. But there's coming a day when everything will be restored again. There'll be a perfect earth and a perfect heaven. There'll be a place in which righteousness dwells. In Genesis, we see how communion and fellowship with God was broken, but then it will be completely restored. This righteousness in which dwells righteousness, we know so little about the new heavens and the new earth, as I said, much of what we Think we know is sometimes offensive. We have the idea that some have the idea that that this is going to be like this spiritual place in which we'll sit around on clouds and and play harps, that that's what it'll be like. No. But we know this, that there'll be no sin there. It'll be a place in which righteousness dwells. In Revelation 21, verse 27, it says there shall be by no means enter it, anything that defiles or causes an abomination or lie, it's not going to be allowed in this new heavens and new earth. This present world is becoming increasingly wicked and vile, but the new heavens will be nothing but righteousness. No more adultery or fornication or lust or homosexuality or pornography or stealing. or cheating or murders and fighting or strife, no more abortions or bitterness, holding a grudge or hot tempers, flaring, no more lying or selfishness, no greed or jealousy or self-pity, no backsliding, no hatred, no laziness, no drunkenness, no false religions, no false teaching, no false teachers, No more dishonoring God. All of these things will have passed away. Not only the absence of these sinful things, there will be the glorious presence of all that is righteous and holy. Paul says that the fruit of the Spirit is what? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such things. He says there is no law. Oh, that's what's going to dwell there. Righteousness. Righteousness. There will be a perfect love for God. Isn't that what you battle with continually? You love God, but you don't love Him as you ought. You fear God, but you don't fear Him as you ought. You serve God, but you don't serve Him as you ought. And you know this. I believe it was Charles Wesley who wrote about loving Him with an unsinning heart. That's what heaven will be like. To love God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your strength. And to love your neighbor as yourself. To worship God with distraction. We try to focus, we try to concentrate. We don't want to just be singing with our mouths and while our hearts are far from Him. Ah, but there we'll be able to worship Him perfectly. There'll be nothing but a joy and a delight to worship Him. It's a place in which righteousness dwells. Well, what do we learn from all of this about this new heavens and new earth, a place in which righteousness dwells? Well, we learn something about God, about the nature of God and that God is holy and He hates sin. His day of judgment shows how much he hates sin. It's a place where the new heavens and the new earth is a place in which righteousness dwells. And so this tells us something about God. Now, what does it say about you and me? If you just have the idea that you want to go to heaven because you don't want to go to the place called hell and you don't want to face the judgment of God, then you're not there yet. If all you want to go to heaven for is because you don't want to go to hell and you don't want to face the fiery judgment of God, then you don't know Him yet. Because if He saves you, it's a love for righteousness in your heart and a hatred for sin. You hate sin not only in the world, but especially in your own heart. In your own heart. So the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7, when he talked about the law, and I didn't know covetousness, so the law said, you shall not covet. And then it wrought in me all manner of covetousness. And now he says, the things I want to do, I don't do. The things I don't want to do, that I do. And he said, I have this war going on. Until he finally cries out, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank my God, he says, through Jesus Christ my Lord. He wanted to be delivered from this body of death, from this sin. And you see, that's a mark of a Christian. He wants to be delivered from sin. A mark of a Christian is not that he doesn't sin. But he doesn't sin and like it. He hates it. And he's looking forward to that coming of the Lord because He wants to be in that place in which righteousness dwells. So that's why some people who talk a lot about going to heaven and all of that, they wouldn't be comfortable if they got there, because it's a place of righteousness and they love their sin. They don't want to part with their sin. And so they would be completely uncomfortable being in a place of righteousness. But a Christian, you see, God has put something in his heart. It's a hatred for sin and a love for righteousness. He's put that in his heart. Jesus is a blesser to you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for you shall be filled. And when He comes again, you'll be filled to the top, satisfied completely. What do the hymn writers say? The streams on earth I've tasted, more fully I'll drink above. Be filled with righteousness. One of the old Puritans said, an unholy heart is no way desirous nor ambitious of such a heaven as will rid him of his darling sins and will make him conformable to a holy God. That's not even in his mind. He may not want to go to hell, but he doesn't really want to go to heaven either. That just sounds like the only alternative. But a Christian, he wants to. An unholy heart is not fit for heaven. Now, I want you to understand that only Jesus Christ can make us acceptable to God, and I've said that several times during our service. You're not made fit for heaven by even loving righteousness. You're only made fit for heaven by coming to Jesus Christ. This is a faithful saying, Paul said, and worthy of all acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Sinners. He came to save sinners. And if you come to Him, He'll save you completely. He'll justify you. He'll forgive all of your sins. But He also begins to work in your heart, changing that love for sin and changing it to a love for righteousness. and a love for Him, and a love for God's glory. So if you don't know Christ, that's the only way to be fit for heaven, is to come to Him, and come to Him without delay. The Apostle Paul says, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, oh, I wish I could persuade you today to come to Christ, to turn away from your life of sin, to turn away from the hopes of this world, and turn to Christ. I can give you the message of salvation, but I know only the Holy Spirit can do that work in your heart to make you love Him and to come to Him. May God do that to you today. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for the Word of God that is honest with us. It tells us where we came from and who made us. It tells us who will return to and who will return to us and come back to this world to judge it and to save it. Oh, Lord, thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ that you have appointed Him as the judge of the earth. Lord, we ask that you would help us to be ready for that day. that we would know and love the Lord Jesus Christ and that we would be living in a way that would find us waiting and ready when He comes. O Lord, help us. And I pray for all here who are strangers to God and to grace and strangers of Christ. We pray that the Word of God that's been preached today would prick their hearts and minds and show them their need of Christ, that they would come to Him without delay. O Lord, hear that prayer today. We ask this in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.