Revelation chapter 15, and don't get too excited. It's a short chapter, but that does not mean it's going to be a short story.
So we're here in Revelation chapter 15, and there's kind of a common theme in this chapter,
and you see the word missing in Revelation 15, but that's on the holiness of the Lord.
It's a common theme here about the holiness of the Lord. And this is only a two-point sermon, which is kind of rare, at least for me.
But point number one is regarding salvation.
Salvation is by grace through faith because of the holiness of the Lord.
If God was not so holy, it would be different, because you look at all the religions in the world, and salvation is by works.
It would never work that way with the real God, though, because God is more holy.
The Bible says, you know, thou alone art holy. It talks about God being more holy, more righteous.
There's no rock but the Lord our God.
And so God's method of salvation is based on grace through faith because of His holiness.
Notice what it says in verse number one.
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled off the wrath of God.
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and notice this,
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name,
stand in the sea of glass, having the hearts of God.
Notice how it talks about how we get the victory over the beast, and over the image, and over his mark,
so that's referring to, you know, the big image, worshipping the antichrist, the mark of the beast, 666,
and over the number of his name, okay?
Now go to Ephesians chapter six, Ephesians chapter six in your Bible.
So how do we get the victory over the beast?
Because, you know, sometimes you hear people say kind of foolish things, and it's usually the Pentecostal crowd,
and they'll say something like, going, I want to go toe-to-toe with the devil.
You know, if I were to encounter the devil, and I mean, at Pentecostal churches, they teach about how you can cast demons out of people,
and things like that, where you can rebuke demons, rebuke devils, and all this nonsense,
and yet Michael the archangel, he didn't rebuke the devil, right?
I mean, when he encountered him, even though he was stronger, and he said, you know, the Lord will never do me.
And so you hear this nonsense from people about how you're going to get the victory over the beast,
you're going to take him out, you're going to curse him in the name of God, or something weird, bizarre like that,
but you never see anything like that in your Bible. Notice what it says here in Ephesians six, verse 12.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, okay?
This spiritual wickedness, it comes from the devil. He promotes wicked people into power,
you know, this whole world is run off, the devil is the god of this world, but how do we get victory over the devil?
Because getting victory over the beast is pretty much synonymous with getting victory over the devil,
because the devil is the one at that point in the beast, okay?
Go in your Bible to 1 John chapter two, 1 John chapter two.
And so in Revelation, what it said was getting victory over the beast,
and there's a little bit different wording here in other parts, but it's pretty similar, okay?
Here in 1 John chapter two, 1 John chapter two.
And what it says in 1 John chapter two, verse 12, 1 John two, verse 12.
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
I write unto you, fathers, because he hath known him that is from the beginning.
I write unto you, young men, because he hath overcome the wicked one.
He hath overcome the wicked. Well, that's pretty similar to getting victory over the beast,
overcoming the wicked one, overcoming the devil, getting victory over the beast.
Well, how do we get victory over the beast, okay? Notice what it says in verse 14.
We'll say this again. I have written unto you, fathers, because he hath known him that is from the beginning.
I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you,
and ye have overcome the wicked one.
So how do we get victory over the beast? How do we get victory over his heart?
How do we get victory over his name? How do we overcome the wicked one?
1 John chapter five, 1 John chapter five.
Because you see, many people point to verses like that and will say,
well, see, you've got to repent of your sins when you say it.
It's like, I didn't notice the word repent, you know, when it said overcoming the wicked one.
They say, well, see, you've got to live a good life and obey his rules.
Otherwise, you're not going to go into heaven. You've got to overcome the wicked one.
Never said anything about repenting of your sins.
It never said anything about quitting drinking or quitting smoking.
All it says is overcoming the wicked one.
So how do we know what that's talking about?
How do we know what it means to get victory over the beast?
You compare spiritual things to spiritual things. 1 John chapter five, verse four.
For whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world.
You see how that's like overcoming the wicked one or getting victory over the beast?
Overcoming the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
So if I was to say we overcome the world, we get victory over the beast, we get victory over his mark,
we overcome, you know, the devil, how do we do that? By faith.
He that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.
The reason why is because of God's holiness.
That is the only way we're going to be able to do that.
That's why salvation is the way it is.
Go to Revelation chapter two. Revelation chapter two. Revelation chapter two.
See, I mean, the Bible says in the book of Galatians, if there had been a law given which could have given life,
barely righteousness should have been by the law.
If there was a way to go to heaven, by worse, that's how salvation would have been.
You know, I've gone soloing before and I've asked people and they're kind of confused.
I'll ask them, you know, if getting to heaven is based on your worst, then what was the purpose of Jesus dying on the cross?
And the reaction is kind of like, man, that's a good question. I've never thought that happens.
Because there's no purpose of Jesus dying if your worst gets you to heaven.
But what saves us is the fact that Jesus died for us and shed his blood and he put your faith in that.
Why? Because God is holy. If God was not so holy, then guess what? Your worst would save you.
If God was not so holy, then guess what? Most of the world would not be going to hell.
But God is holy and the holiness of the Lord demands the fact that salvation is by grace through faith.
It cannot be by worse. Notice what it says in Revelation chapter two, verse seven.
So when it talks about getting victory over the beast, there's not that exact wording over or earlier in the book of Revelation,
but there's similar wording as it talks about overcoming. Notice what it says in Revelation two, verse seven.
He then happened here, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh
will I give to thee in the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Once again, how do you overcome? Well, by leaning on Jesus Christ. That's how you overcome the wicked one.
That's how you get victory over the beast. And the result is this, you'll be in the midst of the paradise of God.
So that makes sense if you're saying you'll be in the midst of the paradise of God, right?
So overcoming the world, overcoming the wicked one, that lines up with the leaning on Jesus Christ. You see them in heaven then.
Verse 11, verse 11. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
He that overcometh shall not be birthed of the second death.
And so what is the second death? Well, death in hell or cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death.
And if you overcome, you will not be going to the second death. You say, why? You have eternal life.
But this does not say anything about turning from your sins or living a good life.
It lines up with what is said in 1 John 5 where it talks about believing on Jesus Christ.
Go to Revelation 2, verse 17. So what I'm showing you here is all these times where it says he that overcometh,
people try to add to the Bible and sometimes you'll have these cute little things they'll say where,
yeah, salvation is by grace through faith now, but during the end times it's going to be hard.
You're going to have to work and work and work. You're going to have to overcome and overcome and overcome and live a good life.
And they'll point to verses like this to try to tell you salvation is by works.
But there's nothing in any of these verses that talk about salvation being by works.
What we saw is that if you overcome, you'll be in the midst of the paradise of God.
You won't go to the second death. Nothing about living a good life.
Verse 17, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone,
and the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saith he that receiveth it.
So the Bible says here in verse 17 that as a saved person, someone who overcomes the wicked one, overcomes the world,
gets victory over the beast, believes on Jesus Christ, he will have a new name written in this stone, a new name written.
Now the question you have to ask yourself is what do you want written in that stone?
Because you're going to determine what's written. I don't think it's going to be anything negative.
I don't think it's going to be like, you know, lazy Christian, you know, up in heaven or anything like that.
You have to ask yourself, you know, what do you want written about you?
If you read the Bible a lot, then maybe you could say something, be a name that would signify that you love reading the Bible,
or you love sowing, okay? You want it to be a name that's actually special,
but there's nothing in this verse when it talks about overcoming that talks about living a good life at all.
It just says you get a new name written. Verse 26, verse number 26.
And so as I mentioned as we talked about this a long time ago, when it's talking about this,
it's kind of like an aside between as it's described in the churches, okay?
It has the same wording and the same phrases and something, so it's kind of something that's written to all, to everybody.
Verse 26.
And he that overcometh, and keepeth by works unto the end,
to him I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron,
as the vessels of a cotter shall they be broken shivers, even as I have received of my father.
And so, look, notice what it says here, because people are going to turn here and say,
well see, you've got to keep the works unto the end to be saved.
Okay, now wait a minute. In this verse when it talks about it, do not say you're not going to be heard of the second death.
What it said is if you keep the works unto the end, notice this, to him I give power over the nations.
This is in reference to ruling and reigning with Christ.
And how you're going to rule and reign is going to be determined based on what you did.
Just being saved does not mean you're going to be one of the highest people in heaven, okay?
So look, sometimes the Bible mentions stuff, like we'll say, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
It doesn't mean you have to be baptized to be saved.
You do both those things, you will be saved.
And if you really want to rule and reign over the nations, it's believing, which is overcoming,
and keeping the works unto the end, okay?
If you want to have power over the nations and really be ruling and reigning with Christ.
Now if you're saved, you're going to go to heaven.
But if you want to actually be greatly used by God, then it's going to be based on how much work you did, okay?
So there is the link there. But look, being saved alone, you know, believing alone, that's going to save you, okay?
Now realize, this says this, you might say, well I don't know if I agree with that interpretation.
Well, notice what it says here in verse 26.
He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, right?
Actually, go to Mark 16 real quick and I'll show this to you.
I'll show this to you.
Because I want you to understand something, that just because two things are mentioned, doesn't mean they both have to be done, okay?
I'll show you this in Mark chapter 16. Mark 16.
Because how do we get saved?
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, right?
That's all you have to do is believe on Jesus Christ. Put your faith in Jesus Christ, okay?
But then in Mark chapter 16, in verse number 16, notice what it says.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.
It says if you believe and you get baptized, you're going to be saved.
Is that a true statement? Absolutely, it's in the Bible.
And look, I want you to realize something.
If it said he that believeth and is baptized and drinks a glass of water and works out and, you know, reads a book, shall be saved, that's true.
Because believing will save, if it mentions a million other things, that doesn't mean all those things are required to be saved.
We have hundreds of verses that say you do not have to be baptized to be saved. Believing alone gets you saved, okay?
And so just because it says if you do these things, you're going to be saved, that doesn't mean all those things are required to be done.
Okay? Because the end of this verse says he that believeth not shall be damned.
So what damns you? What sends you to hell? Not believing, okay?
You say why does it mention baptism? Because these are instructions from Jesus.
He's dealing with them and he's letting them know, hey, I want you to go solely and get people saved, but bringing the church to get baptized also.
They already know salvation by grace and faith. They're not going to be confused by this, okay?
So yeah, it's true if you believe and you get baptized, you'll be saved.
It's also true that if you believe and you read the Bible for an hour, you're going to be saved.
Does that mean you have to read the Bible for an hour and be saved? No.
All you have to do to be saved is believe, okay?
So go back to Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2.
Revelation chapter 2. I mean, you could look at it with anything.
If I said tonight here, you know, the person who, you know, opens the doorknob and walks in church and drinks a glass of water,
and I've mentioned 50 other things, will be in church tonight. Well, that's true.
It doesn't mean you have to drink a glass of water to be in church.
So walking through the door gots you in church.
The person who walks through this door and drinks a glass of water and, you know, I don't know, you know,
stacks chairs, opens a hymnal, will be in church. Well, yeah, you know, that's true.
The only thing you have to do to be in church is actually walk in.
It doesn't mean all those things are required to do that.
It's just something God's mentioning, like in Mark 16.
But in Revelation chapter 2, I believe in talking about keeping the works done in the end,
because I believe that's in reference to how you're going to rule the brain.
But here's the thing. Just because it says two things does not mean they're both required, okay?
For example, with salvation, believe alone gets you saved.
We have hundreds of verses. And so people who turn to other verses will say we've got to do this and this.
It doesn't say you have to do both of those things.
It says if you do both of those things, you'll be saved.
Believe alone gets you saved, okay?
Now here it talks about overcoming and keepeth my works done in the end.
It's in him who I give power over the nations.
Then it says that he shall rule them with a rod of iron,
as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken of sugars, even as I receive of my Father.
So I think the reason why he's mentioning overcoming and also keeping the works done in the end,
you see it's in reference to ruling and reign, okay?
So he's trying to let you know how powerful you're going to be,
how much you rule and reign is based on the works you do.
It's not just based on believing.
Believing alone means you're going to be there for the thousand years,
but how high you're going to be is, well, I mean, are you keeping the works?
Are you living a good life? Are you doing what's right?
Okay, so that would be my interpretation there.
But it doesn't say anything about how you got to repent of your sins or anything like that.
Go to Revelation 3. Revelation chapter 3.
And look, I'm just showing you all the reference when it talks about overcoming and things like that.
And let me just say this, that when you're reading the Bible,
you'll run into some verses that can be taken in multiple different ways by people.
They can interpret them differently or verses that are confusing.
And look, there are plenty of verses about salvation that, you know what,
can be a bit confusing, and I might explain them and you might say,
I kind of look at it differently. That's fine, because we still look at John 3.16 the same way.
Because that's clear as day, my friends. Okay?
Whenever it comes to things we believe in the Bible or things that you believe,
we base what you believe on very clear scriptures.
When there's clear scriptures that say salvation is by faith alone,
don't let yourself get rattled when somebody throws out a verse in your life,
and say, I don't know how to interpret this verse.
Because look, there's plenty of verses in the Bible I know how to interpret.
We're never going to be able to interpret everything in the Bible.
Sometimes there's things we read, and realize this,
the Bible is written for saved people, not unsaved people.
So if you're saved, you understand salvation by grace and faith.
So there might be a verse where like, man, it's kind of tricky,
but look, you already know what you believe about salvation.
So it's not going to shape what you believe.
Yeah, the unbelieving world can use that verse and say, well, it sounds like this to me,
but look, he's trying to talk to you as a believer.
For example, in James 2, people love to go to some of these verses and say,
you've got to live a good life to go to heaven, you've got to do works or whatever.
People that are saved, though, we already know what salvation is.
So we're not going to get tripped up on some of those verses. Okay?
And realize this, yes, I think we should answer everything we can in the Bible,
but if someone's trying to drag you into a debate about some random verses,
they're not going to get saved. Okay?
People get saved when you're going soloing by showing clear verses and you explain them.
And they're going to deny John 3.16 and John 3.36 and Acts chapter 16 and Romans 6.23,
but even if you give them the best explanation or you know exactly what you're talking about on these verses,
they're not going to get saved if they're rejecting God's new system. Okay?
That's what it says in Revelation 3 verse 5. Revelation chapter 3 verse 5.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white rain, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life,
but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Okay?
So they'll like the poem from this verse and say, well Steve, you've got to get overcome
or your name's going to be blotted out of the book of life.
Well, realize this, overcoming gets you saved, and a saved person can never lose their salvation,
and being blotted out of the book of life, that's what happens to a rep or mate when they become a child of the devil,
or if you die unsaved, your name's blotted out, and you go to hell. Okay?
As a saved person, yeah, your name's never going to be blotted out of the book of life.
Why? You have eternal life. You're saved. Okay?
This is not a reference to physically being alive. Okay?
It's a reference to spiritual, and you know what?
If you have eternal life, your name's not going to be blotted out of the book of life. Okay?
Turn to Revelation 3 verse 12. Revelation 3 verse 12.
By the way, the verse we just looked at, it talks about being clothed in white raiment, and look, we're still sinners.
We still do things wrong, but you're 100% in white clothing, white raiment.
You say, why? Because you're imbued with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and so you have no sins on the record.
It's not a gray raiment. It's like, oh man, my raiment's a little bit gray.
No, it's white raiment because you have the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
No sins. Okay?
Revelation 3 verse 12.
So if you overcome, you're going to be a pillar in the temple of my God. Okay?
Revelation 3 verse 21. Revelation 3 verse 21.
We'll look at one more verse here in Revelation 3, then we'll go to Revelation 21 here in a second.
It says in Revelation 3 verse 21,
So when it comes to what salvation is, it's by grace through faith because of the holiness of God, and the Bible uses the terminology of overcoming.
You don't overcome the devil, or the beast, or this world by, I live such a good life.
That's not what the Bible says. You overcome by putting your faith in Jesus Christ.
That is the victory. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
That psalm is a very scriptural psalm. Okay?
It's not the repentance of sins is a victory that overcomes the world.
Why? Because the Bible says it's bleeding.
That's what makes you overcome.
Notice this in Revelation 21, verse 7.
Now we go to Revelation 21a all the time, but you might not have paid attention to verse 7 here,
because you know, oftentimes we quote verses outsoleting or things like that,
but sometimes in our Bible reading we're kind of just fading in and out, you know, I'm guilty of that myself with my mistakes.
Notice what it says at the beginning of verse number 7.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
So notice it uses that terminology, he that overcometh.
We just looked at lots of verses about overcoming the world, overcoming the devil, and all these things.
He that overcometh, like Grant, he that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
You overcome by faith, but why is it by faith? It's because of the holiness of God.
Because when you go to verse number 8, we have a list where it says that the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
If you're guilty of any of those things, the Bible says, you know what, if you've done any of those things, you're guilty of those things.
Remember, the verse before talked about overcoming. Well, how do we overcome the fact that we lie from time to time?
By believing on Jesus Christ. It's not by quitting lying, because we see throughout the Bible, overcoming is believing on Jesus Christ, okay?
Because you're never going to look at this list and say, I no longer lie. I'm perfect.
See, in this list you see a lot of different things, and I always say that we're all guilty of a lot more than just lying, it's just that's the one that's really obvious.
But realize this, people are like, you know, I've never murdered anyone. I'm not a sorcerer. But notice how it does not say all murderers.
It does not say all sorcerers. You say, why? Because the world thinks murderers are going to help.
The world thinks a really bad sin goes to hell. But notice what it keys in on, it says all liars.
Now, why does it say all liars? Well, it says all liars because people will say, well, yeah, I lie from time to time, but I'm not a liar.
That's my pattern of life or something like that. It's funny because with murder, if you ask people, how many people do you have to tell to be a murderer?
What are they going to say? One. Right? I ask this solely all the time. How many people do you have to tell to be a murderer?
They'll say, what? Or I'll say, you know, if you killed somebody, what would people call you? I'm a murderer.
So how many lies do you have to tell to be a liar? Oh, like a thousand. It's ten lies.
The definition of a murderer is someone who's murdered one person. The definition of a liar is someone who's lied one time.
And if there's any gray area there for you, that's why it says all liars. So he's saying, hey, you know, even if it's just one.
I'm not saying they're really bad liars. No, no, no. I'm saying all liars. It's like, me too? It's like, I don't lie that much.
Yeah, you too. Because if you lied one time, and I don't have it written in front of me, but verse 27 where it says,
And there shall no lies enter into it. Anything that the Father, neither whatsoever, will confound the nation.
Notice this. We're making a lie. OK? A lie means you're a liar and you will not enter into heaven.
You say, does that mean we have to be perfect? You're never going to be perfect. That's why you must overcome.
How do you overcome? Be the believer that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That's how you overcome.
Why? Because of the holiness of God, we are all damned to hell unless we believe on Jesus.
We cannot work our way to heaven because according to God, all liars, one lie means you deserve hell.
Now we understand that people that are really young, people that are children, below the age that they can comprehend these things,
they are safe, they're on their way to heaven. But once they reach the age they can understand, it's like,
yeah, God would send you to hell for just one lie and that's the only sin you ever made.
Now, in reality, we've almost done a lot of things worse than just tell a lie.
Yes, theoretically, one lie and that alone will send you to hell, that's true.
But don't tell me that you haven't done things worse than hell a lot.
And don't say that you've only told one lie in your life. We've all lied plenty of times in our lives.
Now go back to Revelation chapter 15.
So when it comes to the holiness of God, we see that with salvation because the Bible says you must overcome,
you must get the victory over the beast. And look, it's not going to be by your works,
it's not going to be based on your lifestyle or what you do.
The reason why you're not going to take the mark of the beast, if that happens in our lifetime,
is not because of the fact you're just such a great Christian and you're such a good person.
The reason why you would not take the mark of the beast is because you're saved.
And when you believe on Jesus Christ, you've gotten the victory over the beast.
You're never going to take his mark. You're never going to take the mark of the beast.
You've already gotten the victory over the beast. You've already gotten the victory over the devil.
Now realize that in this life, sometimes we do things that are wrong, we commit sins and things like that.
But the context there, what it's referring to, is basically going to heaven.
Getting victory over the beast, overcoming the world, overcoming the wicked one, is by the leading on Jesus Christ.
So we see the holiness of God in reference to salvation.
For the rest of this chapter, we see the holiness of God in reference to God's character.
So it's salvation and his character. Notice what it says in verse 3.
And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying,
Great and marvelous are thy works. Great and marvelous are thy works.
Lord God Almighty, just and sure are thy ways, thou King of saints.
So great and marvelous are thy works. So according to the Bible,
the works of God basically show how great and powerful and how holy God is.
What is an example of that? Go to Genesis chapter 6.
Later on in this chapter, it's going to talk about how thou only art holy.
And so we see the holiness of God is pretty much throughout this entire chapter.
And so one thing that's mentioned is the marvelous and great works of the Lord.
That showed the fact that the Lord is holy. Genesis chapter 6, verse 11.
Genesis 6, verse 11. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me,
for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
So God says he looks down at the world, and it's filled full of violence.
It's a wicked place. It's a terrible place. And you know what God says?
I will start over with one man, and basically Noah scares his whole family because he's righteous, the Bible says.
Which means he's not going to save, but he's actually trying to do what's right.
And his family say there's only eight people that go on the earth.
They say why would God destroy the entire world? Because he's holy.
And the proof of that are his works. The proof of that are his judgments.
I mean look at all the false gods that are out there, of all these different religions.
They wouldn't flood the entire earth because of sin.
They say oh, we've got to give people another chance.
Right, I mean in today's world, people murder someone, but they're not put to death.
Right, I mean they're given more chances, they spend ten years in jail usually, things like that.
It's just like that's not the holiness of the Lord.
The holiness of the Lord looked down on Genesis chapter 6 and says you know what, it's so wicked, I'm going to kill everybody alive.
Say why would God do that? Because he's holy.
Say I thought God was loving. Yeah, he's loving, but he's also holy.
And if I were to think of a word that describes who God is, when I look at the Bible, it's the holiness of God more than anything.
Yes, God is love. I mean sin is only God's son that died and gave her a sentence.
You know God is holy. Turn to Genesis 19, Genesis 19, Genesis 19.
And it's funny because people know these stories in the Old Testament, but they somehow think that you know what,
it's like you know once the New Testament rolls around, God's like you know what, I feel bad about always you know being judgmental
and people being put to death and everything. I'm just going to be all love, love, love. No judgment at all, nothing's wrong.
People seem to think that God changed them. Okay, as if God is a human being who basically when he's young,
he's really zealous and everything and then he just kind of mellows out when he gets old. That's not God.
I am the Lord, I change time, the Bible says. Okay, it says here in Genesis 19 verse 11.
And they smoke the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they weary themselves and find the door.
And the man said unto God, hast thou hear any besides? Actually let me just show you here verse 11 real quick.
So here's the story where a lot of his family, they're surrounded by these sodomites. Okay, and they want to molest them.
And so notice what it says, they want to molest the angels. Okay, lots of families surrounded, they want to molest the angels.
And notice how it says they smoke the men that were at the door of the house with blindness. Okay, they struck them blind, they couldn't see.
But notice this, both small and great, small and great would include people that are both young and older.
But notice, they're struck blind, both small and great, so that they weary themselves to find the door. Pay attention very closely to the Lord.
Here are these people surrounding the house, they want to molest these angels. They're struck blind, they cannot see.
Now a normal person, when they're struck blind, would basically be like, you know, what am I, they get out of there, they pray to God or whatever.
That's what a normal person would do. When they get struck blind, what happens? They still try to find the door.
I mean, what kind of a weirdo and pervert and person, how sick in the head do you have to be?
You get struck blind and they still want to find that door to molest those angels, molest those men.
It's like, what in the world? That's what it's saying here, Genesis, they are struck blind, meaning they cannot see, and they're still trying to find the door.
Why? They're sick, they're perverted, they have no conscience, they're disgusted, they're filthy.
Well, how does God feel about that? Because God's holy.
Now first off, God's the reason why they got struck blind in the end.
Let me tell you something, that's a pretty big curse, that your eyesight is taken away.
I can't really think of something, you know, in terms of what my body is more precious than the eyes.
Obviously, all of our body is important to us, but losing your eyesight, I mean, man, I can't imagine just going from being able to see and just all of a sudden, you know, I can't see.
It's like when I take out my contacts at night, that's the way I am.
It's like I can't see more than a couple feet in front of my face, but you know, I can still see colors and stuff like that.
It's like sometimes my wife will say, you know, oh, look at this, like she'll show me on her phone or something, and it's just like it's at night, so my contacts are out, and I'm like, I can't see that.
I don't have my contacts, and it has to be like, you know, I'm nearsighted, so it has to be like this close to my face.
I'm like, oh, okay, I see what you're saying. Yeah, it's a little picture, right?
But it's like these people, they're struck blind, and yet they still try to find people, okay?
Verse 12, and the men said unto God, Hast thou here any besides, son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever that hath to the city?
Bring them out of this place, for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxed and great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
Why does God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Because he's holy. He is a God that's loving, he's also holy, he's righteous, he's just.
Turn to Joshua 2, Joshua 2, Joshua 2.
I mean, I mean, try to put yourself in that situation, like in your mind, okay?
Wouldn't you think that if somebody gets struck blind, that they would eat? Right? I mean, wouldn't you think that?
But they still want to molest who they think are men, which are actually angels. They still want to molest them.
It's like, what in the world? It's like, think if you were somewhere, and you know, you got struck down, you got struck blind immediately.
I mean, wouldn't you just leave and get out of there, or be like, I was wrong, or whatever, but not them?
That's how blurred they are. That's why God had to destroy it, okay?
Joshua chapter 2, verse 9. Joshua 2, verse 9.
And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
Okay, this is Rahab the harlot. She's saved, okay? She understands who the true God is.
For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when we came out of Egypt.
And what he did unto the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side, Jordan, Sihon, and Og, who he utterly destroyed.
And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts didn't know, neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you.
For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and in earth beneath.
See, the works of God showed her that that was the true God.
And the works of God destroying, you know, all of these kings, that shows the holiness of God.
Now people have this idea that the type of preaching that we do here and that I do here, oh, you're going to turn people away from Christianity.
I mean, haven't you heard people say that before? I mean, if you preach like this, it's going to turn people away from Christianity.
Let me explain something to you. It will turn some people away from this church, no question about it.
It doesn't turn anyone away from Christianity.
Because throughout the Bible, what you see is the judgment of God actually leaves people getting saved.
You say, why? Because when people understand there's a holy, righteous God that will judge, it's like, oh man, I don't want to be judged by God.
People have this idea, man, I'll just, people that do not go soul winning, a lot of these churches that are out there,
we need to just reach people with love and say, man, God loves you so much.
You've got this God-shaped hole in your heart.
You've got a God-shaped hole in your heart and the Lord just wants to fill it and everything like that.
And it's like, you know, if someone's at a church for like 10 months, what are we still working on?
We'll show them God's love, His understanding and everything like that.
That's not why people get saved. You know why I got saved? I was scared to go to hell.
Because you know what you hear when you're a kid? Everybody knows God is the public, right?
Is there anyone out there that's going to say, I believe in God, but I do not believe God's love?
Not someone who would believe in the God of my life.
Because here's the thing, somebody might say I believe in God and they might hate the God of the Bible
because they say this God is not love. But you're never going to find someone who says,
I believe there's a true God out there and it's just like, you know, but He's not love.
Everybody thinks God is love. They hear that at a young age.
Almost everybody believes God is love. Whatever God they believe in, God is love.
But you know what they don't hear? God's also a God of wrath and judgment.
So they'll tell them, hey, you know what, God loves you. Hey, you know what, they already believe that.
You know what, they don't believe that God was sent into hell because of your sin.
That's why they need to understand the holiness of God. So it helps in a few different ways.
It helps because people that are at a church like this, you know what a sermon does like this?
It causes us to get sin out of our lives. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, my friend.
As a saved person as well, because in this life, who knows what's going to happen to you when you only arrive with Him.
Believe myself, I go out and live a sinful life, only just like God in this life. You reap what you sow.
Turn to Nahum chapter 1, Nahum 1. What you realize is this sort of preaching does not turn people away from Christianity.
Not at all. It's not what you see in the Bible actually turning people to Christianity.
Now, people have this idea though. It's like, oh man, I got this unsaved friend. They want to visit church.
I want him to come, but brother second, what are you going to be preaching on this Sunday?
Because I'm afraid, like man, he might just have this sermon and they're going to hate me. They're never going to come to church.
Look, I'm telling you, the truth is not going to turn people away. The truth of God's word will not turn people away.
Now you say, well it does turn some people away and they get mad. People either get turned away and not saved.
They would have not gotten saved anyway. Do you understand that? It's like people either believe the word of God or they don't.
Now I understand people hear messages and sermons and sometimes they get mad. And I get that because sometimes they're like, oh man, I'm guilty of that.
We'll try to justify our actions and things like that. But don't be worried about bringing people to church because this might turn them away from Christianity.
Because look, this is who God is. Yes, God is loving, but more than loving, he's holy. So if you want them to know who God is, this is who God is.
He's a loving God who also judges. Okay?
Name chapter one, verse three. Name one, verse three. Name one, verse three.
The Lord is slow to aim and great in power. I mean, aren't we glad the Lord is slow to aim?
I mean, realize this, that when God judges, it's justified. When God lays down the hammer, it's justified.
Why? Because God is slow to aim. God doesn't just like, oh man, you know, I made a mistake, so now I'm like, no, I mean, God's pretty merciful.
I mean, think of King Saul. God gave King Saul a lot of opportunity to get right with him.
But sometimes we make a mistake because we think, because we see that God is long suffering and patient.
We need to be involved in a certain sin in life and you're like, well, God hasn't judged me yet, so it's going to be okay.
I mean, realize that God did not judge David for adultery and murder until after the child was born.
We're talking at least nine months. Okay? So look, God might wait.
So look, if you're involved in some sin, say, well, God hasn't judged me yet. Oh, he will judge you.
And look, even if you get rid of the sin now, the judgment's going to come, but how big do you want that judgment to be?
It's like, get rid of it now and say, why? When God is holy.
The Lord is slow to anger and great power and will not at all acquit the wicked.
The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds of the dust of his feet.
He's going to go on to describe all these natural disasters, the whirlwind and in the storm.
You think of a tornado or a hurricane, things like that.
He rebuked the sea and making it dry and dried up all the rivers.
There's a patient language in Carmel, in the flower of Lebanon language.
The mountains quake at him, an earthquake, right?
The mountains quake at him and the hills melt, referring to a volcano, right?
And the earth is burned in his presence, yet the world and all that dwell are in.
Who can stand before his indignation and who can abide the fierceness of his anger?
His fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him.
So you're seeing these natural disasters and when you have a natural disaster that kills 150,000 people,
you know what the Bible's telling you? That was sent by God because of God's holiness.
Look, if you have a natural disaster here that kills like 100,000 people, you know what?
That was sent by God because of his holiness, okay?
It wasn't just, I mean, even in the secular world, don't they call these things an act of God?
Right? I mean, it used to be believed that when there was a natural disaster, it's like, man, obviously God's angry with this.
But now it just seems like Christians feel like, well, no, you know, it's just a coincidence or whatever, you know what I mean?
He had his way in the world in the historic Protestants.
The works of the Lord show his holiness.
Go back to Revelation 15.
The works of the Lord show his holiness.
The works of the Lord.
So we're talking about the works of the Lord.
We're talking about pouring out judgment.
The works that he does, they show that God is holy, okay?
And it helps turn people to the Lord.
This is part of the character of God, his works.
But it also says in Revelation 15, 3, pick up the middle of the verse,
Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints.
So we know God is holy because of his works, the actions he performs, but also because of his ways, okay?
Go to Ezekiel chapter 18.
Ezekiel chapter 18.
Say, what are you talking about?
Ezekiel chapter 18.
Well, here's the thing.
I mean, his works signify the actions he performed, you know, drying up the Red Sea, things such as that, destroying all the Egyptians.
He pours out judgment.
He destroys cities.
Those are his works.
But then you look throughout the entire Bible, and he has commandments and rules, and you see the way, okay, the truth of God's word.
That shows the holiness of God.
God has strict standards, okay?
Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 25.
Yet he say, the way of the Lord is not equal.
Here now, O house of Israel, is not my way equal?
Are not your ways unequal?
I mean, people look at the rules of the Bible, and they say, wow, it's not fair.
You know, I mean, for example, that there's a difference between men and men.
Last I checked, men and women are different.
Amen.
Right?
I mean, isn't that pretty obvious?
I mean, the Bible speaks about our heroin.
And the Bible says men have short hair, and women have long hair.
And when I look in this room, there's nobody guilty of this.
You should be offended, you know, all the men have short hair, all the women have long hair.
Right?
The Bible speaks about it.
Those are the rules on the Bible.
You say, well, it says men have short hair, and women have long hair.
And people ask, well, what's the middle hair?
Well, the Bible is trying to say is this, that men make your hair short enough
where no one could accuse you of having long hair,
and women make your hair long enough where no one could accuse you of having short hair.
The gray area you're not supposed to go into.
Men have short hair, women have long hair.
Right?
The Bible speaks about that.
See, the ways of God show His holiness.
Okay?
Now, the world says, hey, the ways of the Lord are not equal.
That's not fair.
I need to have long hair.
Or that's not fair.
And what's funny about this is, you know, in today's world,
you see a bunch of men running around with long hair.
Right?
Now, isn't it more comfortable to have, like, short hair?
Right?
Now, obviously, all the women here have long hair.
And, you know, God put that in your heart.
I mean, we talked about it before.
God actually put that in your heart where you know, hey, you know what?
And we, I mean, nature itself reflects to us.
Right.
You know?
We see this.
It's part of our nation.
We realize this.
And look, the truth is this.
That, you know, women are more attractive with long hair.
I mean, does anybody get to deny that?
That women are more attractive with long hair than if they're bald.
Right.
Okay?
It's like, men that are married, do you want your wife to just shave her head?
No.
I mean, you're like, wow.
It's like, hey, honey, what do you think of my new haircut?
Yeah.
It's like, no.
I mean, obviously, you know, women, and look, God shows us this.
It's very clear.
Right?
I mean, women look better with long hair.
This is the way God designed it.
But, you know, people just want to fight against God.
Because now, you know, men say, why can't I have long hair?
Why would you want to have long hair?
Right.
It's a pain.
It's a hassle.
It's like, man, you know what?
And look, my hair gets curly.
At this length, I wake up, and I'm like, no.
No.
But instead, they say, no, the way of the Lord is not equal.
This isn't fair.
This isn't right.
Well, God's ways are equal.
Turn to Revelation 15, Revelation 15, Revelation 15,
Revelation chapter 15.
And look, once you realize that sometimes when
we read the Bible and we see things in the Bible,
sometimes things don't seem right to us.
I mean, if we're honest, there are times
things don't seem right, right?
For example, Moses didn't enter the promised land.
I think many of us, definitely me, when I read that,
seems kind of harsh, right?
I mean, because Moses was a great leader for 40 years.
And then he had a bunch of annoying, obnoxious people
he had to put up with, right?
I mean, the Bible speaks about if you're married to an obnoxious
woman, it's better to dwell in the wilderness.
But he had a whole group of people
that were obnoxious and complaining and annoying.
And it's like, you know what, Moses, man, what a great
and merciful leader he was.
Great for them, he stepped in for them
and everything like that.
And then he makes one mistake.
And God says, you can't enter the promised land.
Look, to this day when I read that, it seems harsh to me.
You're saying, I'm wrong and God's right.
Amen.
There are things that do not seem right sometimes,
but what you must realize is you are wrong and God is right.
Here's what's funny about this.
When we learn more about the Bible,
and sometimes as we get older and we age
and see things happen, some things that didn't seem right
to us before were like, you know what,
God was right all along.
I was wrong about that.
There have been many things in my life that being saved
and reading the Bible, I read it and I'm like,
man, that seems harsh.
But then as you learn more, you become more educated,
you see things happen in life, you realize, you know what,
I was wrong about that.
I can see why God was right, okay?
But the Bible says this, there's a way to see
the right of no man, but the end thereof of the ways of death.
I mean, just think about salvation for a second.
We know that God's holiness demands salvation
by grace and faith, amen.
But when you stop and think of this world,
90 something percent of people are gonna spend
forever in hell, right?
When you go so many, I don't think there's any question.
Not over 90%, we can debate about what the exact percentage
is, over 90% in any country.
And when you hear that, it's like, man, that's harsh.
That's a scary problem.
You stop and think about hell, that's a scary thought.
Over 90% of people go to hell.
And you know what, even in our minds, even the same people,
kind of the things flooded in your head, like damn,
but they didn't get as many chances.
But they were a really nice person,
even though we know salvation by grace through faith.
It's like, we're wrong and God's right.
God says, you know what, do not believe in good hell.
Even if they grow up in a Muslim country,
even if they grow up in a Hindu country,
even if they grow up in a Buddhist country
and they don't hear the gospel over and over again,
like, we get a chance to.
Even if they don't grow up in a Christian country,
but you know why that is, because of God's holiness.
That is what the Bible teaches.
And look, God is always right.
And we might not understand everything about him.
And look, I'm being honest with you.
There are things I read in the Bible,
and you know, being a human being,
it's just like, yeah, you have your flesh there.
It will sometimes say, yeah, you know what,
I don't fully agree with God,
or it doesn't quite seem right.
But you know what, you're wrong.
God is always right.
And his ways are equal and right and just and fair.
That's what the Bible says.
And realize something, when it comes to us sinning,
when you commit a sin,
you are never just harming yourself.
You're never just harming yourself.
You harm other people around you.
No matter what the sin is,
you do harm other people.
So you know what, it didn't make sense that,
yeah, you're gonna pay for it,
because you're harming other people by your own sin.
Turn to Revelation 15, listen to verse four.
Revelation 15, verse four.
I told you it wasn't gonna be a short sermon.
Revelation 15, verse four.
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?
For thou only art holy.
For all nations shall profoundly worship before thee,
for thy judgments are made manifest.
So it says, thou only art holy.
God is the only one who is perfectly holy.
He's also the only one who is perfectly loving
and things like that.
But thou only art holy.
So the Bible speaks about him being holy.
And this shows both his works and his ways.
Go back to Leviticus 20, look at a few things.
Leviticus chapter 20, look at a few verses
that talk about the holiness of God.
And this is the defining thing in the Bible about God.
The thing that comes up over and over again
when you're reading is God is holy,
God is holy, God is holy.
Leviticus chapter 20, God is holy.
You realize this, God's not gonna change.
This is who God is.
Now salvation comes by believing on Jesus Christ.
You overcome the wicked one, you overcome the devil,
you get victory over the beast.
But here's the thing, if you wanna get close to God,
it's based on living a holy life, okay?
Why was Moses close to God?
Because he was holy, more holy than anybody else.
That's why he was close to God.
Leviticus 20 verse seven, sanctify yourselves therefore
and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.
And you shall keep my statutes and do them.
I am the Lord who sanctify you.
So what it says here is, you know what?
I expect you to be holy, for I am the Lord your God, okay?
God is holy, so he expects us to be holy.
Look at verse 25, verse 25.
What you need to understand is,
you look at religions around the world
and they claim that, you know,
we believe in living a good life and doing what's right.
But then you look at the God they worship
or the gods they worship,
and the gods they worship are terrible, right?
The gods they worship are doing,
driving in, not just in Hinduism, but in other times, okay?
We'll see this here in a second.
You look at all these other religions
and other religions are not defined by the holiness of God,
okay?
God is defined by his holiness,
first and foremost, more than anything.
Leviticus 20, verse 25.
He shall therefore put a difference
between clean peace and unclean,
and between unclean vows and clean.
And he shall not make your souls abominable by peace,
by vow, or by any manner of living being
that creep around the ground
which I have separated from you as unclean.
And he shall be holy unto me,
for I am Lord of holy
and have severed you from other people
that you should be mine.
He says, I want you to be holy because I'm holy.
I want you to be like me, okay?
Turn to first Peter one, first Peter one.
First Peter one.
See, God cannot ask you to be holy if he's not holy, right?
I mean, this is kind of like pastors do.
It's like, I want you to go sowing, but they never go.
You know what the result's gonna be?
Well, your memory aren't gonna go.
It's common sense.
Or how about a father or mother who,
it's like, hey, look, I'll tell you this.
Many people here are gonna eventually be parents.
And here's the thing, when you're having kids,
it's something weird that switches,
because before you have kids,
it's like you wanna be the best at everything.
You wanna be better than anybody else.
When you have kids,
I want my son to be a better Christian than me.
And it's not just something I say, but I mean it in my heart.
I want him to be a better Christian.
I hope he's smarter or athletic.
I want him to be better than me, okay?
But here's the thing.
If I want my son to not smoke, not drink,
and live a good life, and go slow when he can read the Bible,
I need to read the Bible, amen.
I need to not smoke.
I need to not drink.
And here's what a lot of times people say,
because people that are addicted to cigarettes,
they'll always tell their kids,
it's like, Dad, this is a bad habit.
You shouldn't do it.
You know what ends up happening?
Their kids smoke.
Why?
Because kids will pattern themselves after their parents.
It's a scary thing.
Not really a scary thing, but it's an interesting thing
that you really stop to think about.
When your kids reach an age,
like my son's way past his age,
where all of a sudden you start seeing,
hey, they're doing everything they see me doing.
You start seeing them do various actions,
and then you start seeing them do the exact same things
that you're doing.
It's like if my son sees me playing with a ball,
I guess what he wants to do is play with the same ball.
Kids will model themselves after their parents.
So here's the thing, if you're a parent
that's doing all these things that are wrong,
your kids will go down that same road.
No matter what you say,
they're probably gonna do the same actions you do.
Look, if God was not holy, he wouldn't be holy.
But since God is holy, he can say,
I want you to be holy, and here's the example
I'm setting for, okay?
First Peter 1, verse 15,
but it's he which hath called you as holy,
so be ye holy in all manner of conversation,
because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy.
This is not just an Old Testament thing,
the holiness of God, it's a New Testament thing.
Be ye holy, for I am holy.
Go to Revelation chapter four.
Revelation chapter four.
Verse eight, and the four beasts had each of them
six wings of album, and they were full of eyes of men,
and they rest not day and night, saying,
loving, loving, loving, is that what it says?
Patient, patient, patient, grace, grace, grace,
mercy, mercy, mercy, right?
No, holy, holy, holy, right?
That's why the closing song we're gonna sing
is called, I'm not gonna sing, I'm not gonna sing.
Right, that's why the closing song we're gonna sing,
you know, holy, holy, holy.
Why, because that's the defining characteristic
in the Bible.
Look, when you're reading it,
if you're thinking of one character,
because look, God is not just holy,
he's also loving, do we understand that?
But the number one thing I would describe God as is holy,
and you know what, that is really the thing
that makes the difference between the God of the Bible
and all of the other gods,
because the God of the Bible is holy,
because all the gods are loving,
at least according to what they say,
oh, you know, it's a loving God,
you know what, even though God's the one
who showed him his own actions, he was loving.
Look, the defining characteristic of God,
he said he's holy, okay?
Go to Revelation chapter six, Revelation six,
Revelation chapter six.
Revelation chapter six, we're only four verses through eight,
okay, we're almost done, I promise you.
We're more than halfway through,
we're halfway through the chapter,
but we're almost done with the sermon, okay?
Revelation chapter six, the shorter the chapters,
the longer the sermons, right?
If we get to Psalm 119, it's gonna be like five minutes.
Then there's that other chapter, I can't remember,
it was 117, it's like two verses,
well, that's gonna be a couple hours, okay?
And so, Revelation chapter six, verse nine.
And when he had opened the fifth seal,
I saw at the altar the souls of men
that were slain for the word of God,
and the testimony of which they held.
They cried with a loud voice, saying,
how long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost thou not judge and avenge
our blood, and none that dwell in the earth?
God is holy above anything else.
Go to Revelation 15, Revelation 15.
Let me give you some examples to turn to Revelation 15,
we'll close up here in a second,
of the gods of other religions,
and how they're not holy at all, okay?
You look at Zeus, the main Greek god,
and in the Greek scriptures, he seduces women,
you know, he tricks them into sleeping with them,
or he tries to get them to sleep with them,
he commits adultery many times.
Zeus rapes a lot of women in the Greek scriptures.
It's just like, is it any surprise
that the Greek culture became a pedophile-filled,
disgusting place?
Because even the secular world is gonna say
a large reason why the Greek empire fell
is due to like sodomy and pedophilia and all this wickedness.
They will say that in their own words, okay?
The secular world will say that.
But is it really surprising that the main god
they worship in their scriptures is breathing?
It shouldn't be surprising at all, right?
In the end of the scriptures,
their gods are raping men, women, animals,
they're drinking, they're gambling.
Is it any surprise that you look at that religion
and you see the result of it,
and boy, they're a pretty young god, right?
Why?
Because look, they're gonna model themselves
after the gods they worship.
And you're saying, well, this,
the Christian god is holy, amen.
The Christian god is righteous.
So what's gonna be the result?
Well, I mean, people that are born by the Christians
that are really serving God,
they're gonna live more holy than they have to worship.
Right, because the god they worship says don't drink.
So guess what?
A large percentage of saved people
are gonna not drink in the world.
The god they worship says don't do drugs, right?
Don't sleep around, don't fornicate.
And the people that actually believe in this god,
they're more likely to actually follow those things.
Why?
Because if the god they worship is holy,
it's gonna result in us at least finding people.
It's not a guarantee because we sell the sinful flesh,
but we're gonna say, hey, I wanna be like God.
And if you wanna get close to God,
that's the way you do it by being holy.
Okay, Revelation chapter 15.
And look, it's not just those,
there's all these mythologies out there.
It's like their gods are like raving
and sleeping with all these different people.
And it's bizarre to me.
And maybe it wouldn't have been bizarre to me
like 20 years ago before I was saved.
But being saved now and knowing the character of God,
I don't get it.
But that is what the difference is
because the Bible talks about how God or God
is the one who's holy.
And there is a big difference when you compare
the god of the Bible to these other so-called gods
that are out there, how God is holy,
and they're not holy, okay?
Revelation 15, verse five.
And after that, I looked and behold,
the temple of the tabernacle,
the testimony of the heaven was opened.
And the seven angels came out of the temple
having seven legs, clothed in pure white linen,
and having a respite with golden girders.
And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels
seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God
who liveth forever and ever.
We see the wrath of God.
We see these plagues mentioned.
And that also speaks to the holiness of God,
that God would pour out his wrath,
that he would have these plagues.
And the temple was filled with smoke
from the glory of God and from his power.
And no man was able to enter the temple
till the seven plagues, seven angels were fulfilled.
Why does God have these seven plagues?
Because he's holy, amen, right?
The holiness of God demands that salvation
is by faith alone.
And as easy as that is, the easiest,
it's like drinking a glass of water on the high seas.
As easy as it is, very few of people end up being saved
because they want to trust in the Lord.
The holiness of God demands that salvation
is by grace through faith.
And we can also see the holiness of God through his care,
through his ways, and through his works.
Let's go to the word of prayer.
And apparently, Father, thank you for allowing me
here in your house.
And even if I see your word, it's a short chapter,
but getting to understand your holiness
and help us as safe people that love you,
that have already overcome the wicked one,
you've already overcome the devil.
We understand salvation by grace through faith.
That's settled.
We have eternal life.
But help us try to lead the holy life
and get closer to you and know you
and live our lives, not for ourselves,
but to follow your rules and describe me
that way, in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.