In Hebrews chapter number 10, there's kind of a balancing of two ideas that I want to show you.
The Bible makes it very clear throughout the Bible, and even in this chapter, that you cannot lose your salvation.
Of course, we believe in everlasting life, eternal life, and they shall never perish.
I mean, good night, it seems like we're kicking a dead horse on that, but you can't emphasize it enough
when you're preaching salvation that it's eternal life, it's everlasting life, and you cannot lose your salvation.
And the Bible even teaches that here in this chapter when he says in verse 14,
For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.
And how are we sanctified? The Bible says by the which will we are sanctified, verse 10.
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
What do we have to do to be saved? Look at verse 39.
For we are not of them who draw back his perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Right? We believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
But we know that we're saved, and God is making that very clear around verses 15, 16, 17,
where he says, you know, in verse 17, there's sins and iniquities. Will I remember no more?
The Bible says we've been washed from our sins in his own blood, in Revelation chapter 1.
It says, Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin,
having therefore brethren, verse 19, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
That's how we're going to get to heaven.
By a new living way which he has consecrated for us through the veil that is to save his flesh,
and having an eye preached over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water,
let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that comes.
We don't have to doubt our salvation. It's the promise of God.
We can hold fast to the hope that we have that we're going to heaven through the faith of Jesus Christ.
But listen, verse 24 is where the and begins.
And we're already saved. We're going to heaven no matter what we do. We're eternally secure.
But he says, And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, which is exactly what church is,
as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.
So much the more in 2009 is church necessary, is assembling not just at any old church,
but at a church of like-minded believers assembling together to provoke unto love and to good works.
You see, there's something about being in church that motivates you and encourages you to do more for God.
I mean, how many of us would have been out sowing, he has said, for eight straight hours
if we weren't motivated by the people around us?
It's true. We motivate each other. We provoke unto love and to good works.
We went there and did it as a team, and we kept going, we pushed ourselves,
and we went sowing from the morning until night. Why? Because we did it as a team.
Because we did it as a group. Because we assembled together and did something great for God.
Don't forsake the assembling of yourself together.
Watching TV preachers is not church. Listening to a preacher preach on the radio or the internet is not church.
Assembling with God's people that are doing great works for God. That's church.
And that's what's going to provoke you to love and to good works.
But he says this, after that admonition to stay in church, here's the part that I want to preach about tonight.
And the title of my sermon is this, Sinning Willfully.
I'm going to explain to you what it is. I'm going to explain to you what the consequences are for sinning willfully against God.
Look at this. It says in verse 26,
For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.
I'm going to get into what that means from the Old Testament.
Because the Bible taught the Old Testament about sinning willfully and the sacrifice, and I want to go back to that in a minute.
But it says, for if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.
He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,
and accounted the blood of the covenant wherewith ye was sanctified, an unholy thing, and had done despite under the spirit of grace.
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, say I will recompense sayeth the Lord, again the Lord shall judge his people.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Listen, it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Now, many people think that this is talking to unsaved people, and they could not be any more wrong.
Because look at the passage. He says, for if we sin willfully, who's speaking? The Apostle Paul.
If we as believers, he says, brethren, let's provoke one another to good works.
He says, if we sin willfully, after that we perceive the knowledge of truth.
Okay, he says, the Lord shall judge his people at the end of verse 30.
We're talking about God's people here.
We're talking about people who've been sanctified by the blood of the covenant.
Look at verse 29. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,
and accounted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified.
This is the saints. These are those who've been sanctified.
These are those who've been purchased with the blood of Christ.
Once for all, they're saved. They're the ones that this verse applies to.
Now, I don't know. There's a famous sermon by Jonathan Edwards.
They had to read it when I was in school, in public school.
Even the kids in public school had to read it. It was just part of literature.
Sinners in the hands of an angry God. It was all about salvation.
But, you know, I don't know if he was taking it from this scripture or a different scripture.
But this is not talking about lost people.
This is talking about saved people. You cannot deny that from three things I just pointed out to you in the passage.
God speaks to those that are saved.
Now, this isn't talking about losing your salvation.
This is not talking about going to hell.
This is talking about being punished by God in this world.
He said, look, in the Old Testament, God's people were punished in this world.
They were killed without mercy under two or three witnesses.
Two or three witnesses testified that they had committed murder or that they had committed adultery
or that they had committed other things that were worthy of death, like smiting their mother or their father.
If they were to attack their parents physically and beat them, that was the death penalty.
You go down the list. All the things in the Old Testament.
Kidnapping, whatever the case may be.
It was punishable by death and they died without mercy under two or three witnesses, the Bible says.
But he says, of how much sorrow or punishment, suppose ye shall he be thought worthy,
who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and accounted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified,
and done the only thing, and have done despite.
The word despite means hate, hatred, despise something.
He said, despite under the Spirit of grace.
Now, let me try to help you understand this concept of sinning locally.
What does it mean? What's God going to do?
How's he going to judge? How's he going to punish us?
Because he said, of how much sorrow or punishment, suppose ye shall he be thought worthy?
Now, listen to me. I punish my children.
I don't kick them out of the family.
God doesn't kick his children out of the family.
He gives them eternal life and they shall never perish. They're his children.
But, I punish my children.
And if you don't punish your children, then your children are going to grow up and be criminals and monsters.
The Bible says he that spared his wrath hated the Son.
And the Bible says that God chastises every son when he received it.
And so, it's biblical to punish your children and God punishes his children.
Does he punish them in the light to come? No, he punishes them right here in this world.
You see, he said that our sins would not even be mentioned to us when we get to heaven.
They're all washed away. They're all paid for.
But in this light, we reap what we sow according to the Bible.
God is not mocked. Be not deceived. God is not mocked.
But whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Let's try to understand this from the Bible. Look at Matthew 26, first of all.
Matthew 26, 41.
And we're going to try to understand what needs to sin woefully.
We're going to look at a lot of different scriptures tonight.
And study the Bible on this subject.
And I think if you would get the truth tonight, it will change your life.
Honestly, I mean, if you understand the sum of that...
Maybe I'm not going to explain it well enough and I pray to God that I will.
But if you understand the truth tonight, it will literally change your life as a Christian.
I'm serious. You've got to listen to this.
Matthew 26, 41.
The Bible says this. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples.
Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Now, why is it that we sin?
I mean, if you were to really get technical and look at all the rules in the Bible...
And everything that the Bible commands and tells us to do and tells us not to do...
None of us probably goes an entire day without committing some sin.
I'm sure that I sin on a daily basis.
None of us goes through a day perfect, living exactly like Jesus.
You know, I've heard people say there have been so many days since they sinned.
And that is a lie.
You are not perfect.
There are sins of commission. There are sins of omission.
I mean, we commit sin. Why?
Well, I think one reason is just the weakness of our flesh.
I think sometimes we intend to do what's right.
We really want to do what's right.
We really desire to do what's right.
We're trying to live for God.
But we're weak and so we fail and we sin.
The Spirit's willing.
Paul said, I delight in the law of God. I feel the inward man.
But I find another law warring in my members and bringing into captivity my mind.
You know, the Spirit, the Bible says, lusted against the flesh.
The flesh lusted against the Spirit.
And the two are contrary one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would,
the things that you want to do.
The Spirit is willing and the flesh is weak.
That's one reason why we sin.
Look at Numbers 15. I'll show you another reason why we sin.
Numbers 15, this is a subject that's dealt with a lot in the Bible.
And that's sinning through ignorance.
If you want to look at two chapters on this, Leviticus 4 and 5,
two chapters that go into great detail about sinning through ignorance.
And the Bible says that if you're completely ignorant of God's commandment
and sin against it, you're still in sin. You're still sin.
And there's a movement today among a lot of the new evangelicals saying,
well if the Holy Spirit doesn't convict you about it or if you don't think it's wrong, it's not wrong.
You know, what's wrong for me may not be wrong for you.
And what's wrong for you may not be wrong for me.
But I'm sorry, the Bible says in Leviticus 4 and 5,
if you sin through ignorance, you need to bring a sin offering to God's house.
And that'll, you know, and bring that offering for sin.
And that was the commandment.
So obviously God is still holding people accountable for sins that they commit in ignorance.
There are so many things.
When I was growing up, did I sin?
Never even dreamed that they would sin. Never even entered my mind.
Then I came to church, heard it preached upon, saw it in the Bible and said, ugh, I'm guilty of that.
I've done that. And the Bible says no.
And then at that point, I should have repented and said, you know what, I'm not going to do that anymore.
You know, I was wrong. I shouldn't have been doing that.
So that's one kind of sin that's very common, sinning through ignorance.
Number one, you sin because the flesh is weak.
You give in to sin when you don't want to, but in a weak moment you commit sin.
But here's another type of sin, sinning through ignorance.
It says in verse 15, 27 of Numbers,
And if any soul sinned through ignorance, then he shall bring a shego of the first year for a sin offering.
So what, it's still a sin. You've still got to have that sin offering, right?
And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly,
when he sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
Ye shall have one law for him that sinned it through ignorance,
both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sown German among them.
People who were from another country may not have been aware of God's laws.
Some people who were born in the country may not have been aware of God's laws.
He's saying the same thing.
But he says, But, verse 30,
The soul that doeth not presumptuously, whether he be born in the land or a stranger,
the same reproaches the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Because he hath despised, now look at that word despise.
Do you remember that word from Hebrews chapter 10?
Because in Hebrews chapter 10 it said,
He that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.
It said, Remember that hath done despite under the spirit of grace.
Those are the ones that are going to be counted worthy of a much slower punishment.
He says, The soul that reproaches the Lord,
because he has despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment,
that soul shall be utterly cut off. His iniquity shall be upon him.
Now, turn to Job chapter 2.
I'm sorry, don't go to Job chapter 2.
Go to 1 Corinthians 11.
Now, I'm going to tell you something.
There is a difference, my friend, between sinning,
and I'm going to prove this from the bottom, I'm not done.
I'm going to show you many scriptures.
There is a difference between sinning through ignorance,
or sinning because your flesh is weak, and in your weakness you commit sin,
and willfully, purposely, despising God's law and committing sin against that law.
You say, give me an example.
I'm going to give you a few examples, but I'm going to tell you something.
Just premeditated, are you listening to me?
I know it's wrong, but I'm going to do it anyway.
And I don't care what it is.
I mean, I don't care what it is.
I don't care if you think it's something small, something big,
but when you just premeditate and say, I know this is wrong,
I know the Bible says it's wrong, but I'm going to do it anyway,
that is very, very, very sore punishment that you're going to receive from God on that.
Now, many times we justify the things that we do,
and we try to talk ourselves into things, that they're okay, that they're not that bad.
Maybe we justify it, and we say, well, maybe this isn't really wrong,
and so we do it, or we're weak maybe, and we commit a sin because of our weakness,
or maybe we're ignorant and we didn't even know it was a sin.
But I'm talking about when you know this is a sin, you cannot even justify it.
I mean, you can't even find a way to reconcile it in your mind.
You say, I know God said it's wrong, I know he doesn't want me to do it,
I know the Bible says it, but I don't care, and I'm going to do it anyway.
That's wicked, my friend, and that's what the Bible is teaching about sinning locally.
Look, if you would, at Job chapter 2.
I'm sorry, where did I turn? 1 Corinthians 11, I'm playing musical 11.
1 Corinthians 11, look at verse 21.
It says, for in eating, everyone taketh before other his own supper,
and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
What? Had ye not houses to eat and to drink in,
or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not?
What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
Go down to verse 30, in the same subject, same context.
He says, for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
For if we should judge ourselves, we should not be judged,
but when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord,
that we should not be condemned with the world.
Who does God chasten? The world? No.
He chastens every son whom he receiveth.
He chastens us. He judges us.
And the Bible uses these exact same words that Hebrews 10.
You say, why are you turning these passages?
We're looking at passages that coincide with Hebrews 10,
where he said, you know, again, the Lord shall judge his people.
It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
He said, many are sickly among you, many sleep.
He's talking about death there. He's saying, why?
Because God is judging you. Verse 31.
If we should judge ourselves, we should not be judged,
but when we are judged, we're chastened of the Lord,
that we should not be condemned with the world.
And so God will judge his people. God will punish his people.
God will chastise you.
You say, all my sins are forgiven and forgotten.
Yes, they are. Praise be to God.
And when you get to heaven, you'll not hear about them.
They're forgotten. They're gone as far as the east is from the west.
But right now, God dealeth with you as with sons when he chastens you,
and you're his child, and you go through this life,
you go through the Christian life.
God is your father, and you're his son,
and when you sin willfully, you will get the sorest punishment that God hands out.
Now that's not to say you won't be punished for sinning through ignorance.
David sinned through ignorance.
Hebrew people throughout the Bible made a mistake.
They sinned through ignorance.
And you're going to receive punishment for it.
But how much sorer punishment the one who sins willfully, he said.
How much worse is it when we sin willfully?
Look at Acts chapter 5.
Let me give you an example that kind of goes hand in hand with 1st Corinthians 11.
He said, for this cause many are sick among you,
and many weak and sickly among you, and many sleep,
because they're being chastened by God.
Now we should never look at somebody who's sick
and say it's because God's judging them,
because we know of course Job was completely right.
We've got to return that a little later.
He was being tested and tried.
We don't know what God's doing in someone's life.
We should never assume the Word.
It should always give people the benefit of the doubt.
But many people do become sick, or do even die, because they're not right with God.
It's true.
You say, oh, why is it a punishment to die? They go to heaven.
You know, because they don't get to finish their life.
I want to finish the work that God gave me to do.
I need to do something so bad where God said,
you've lost the privilege, you've lost the right to even finish the work I gave you to do.
You're not going to get the rewards, you're not going to see the people saved,
you're not going to do the thing because I just had to take you out of commission.
You say, I don't believe God would do that.
He said it in 1 Corinthians 11, and look at Acts 5.
Here's another perfect example of Christians sinning willfully.
Look at Acts 5.1. This is premeditation.
They know it's wrong. They did it anyway.
It says, but a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife,
sold the possession and kept back part of the price,
his wife also being privy to it,
and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet.
But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost
and to keep back part of the price of the land?
What was it that remained? Was it not thine own?
And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?
He's saying, look, you could have done whatever you wanted with the money.
Nobody's saying you have to give it to church, Ananias.
Nobody's saying that it belonged to God or you had to give it to God.
But he's saying, why did you lie about it?
Why did you say that you gave all that the land was worth
when you know that you sold it for much more than that?
You kept it back and you lied.
He said, I'm giving all the money to God.
And he said, why have you conceived this thing in your heart?
You see that in verse 4?
Why has thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
He's premeditated. He thought it over.
He got together with his wife and planned this premeditated,
willful sin to lie about giving to God for the praise of man.
He says, thou hast not lied unto man, but unto God.
And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost.
Why? Man, this guy could not handle getting chewed out.
Some people just can't handle it.
You start chewing them out, they just fall over dead.
No, I mean, the guy was killed by God. It's clear.
It says, and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
But you know what?
Why doesn't great fear come on us? Because we're hearing it right now.
Did you really have to be there and watch Ananias' body hit the floor
to be afraid of the judgment of God for someone who willfully sins against God?
We ought to just take the warning here and say, you know what?
I do not want a willfully premeditated sin against God.
All that heard these things, they heard, I heard.
You know, when I heard this, first time I read it, it scared me too.
And it said, I'll scare you.
And it says in verse number 6,
And the young man arose, wound him up, and carried him out and buried him.
And it was about the space of three hours after when his wife,
not knowing what was happening to him, and he said,
Why has the wife come three hours after?
Women, take so long, get ready.
You know what I mean?
She was still getting ready for those three hours, that's what I believe.
No, I'm just kidding.
But anyway, it says, you know, three hours after,
when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in,
Peter answered under her, Tell me whether you sold the lamb for so much.
And she said, Yea, for so much.
And Peter said unto her, How is it that you have agreed together
to tempt the spirit of the Lord?
Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door,
and shall carry thee out.
Then fell sheep down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost.
And the young man came in and found her dead.
You know, they got back from it.
Oh, I guess we got another job to do.
You know, they just finished, I mean, they just finished burying him.
They walk in, there she is, dead.
They found her dead.
It says, and what verse are we in?
Number 10.
Found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
And great fear came upon all the church,
and upon as many as heard these things.
Turn, if you would, to 1 Kings 20.
It's giving you some examples of people who sin willfully against the word of God.
I'm going to tell you something.
By the fear of the Lord, men are evil.
You say, well, there's no fear in love.
The perfect love casteth out of fear.
He that fearth is not made perfect in love.
You know, fear hath torment.
You know what?
There's no fear in love.
The perfect love casts out of fear.
I don't have perfect love for God.
I mean, do you?
Are you that perfect?
Because I'm not.
And I'm going to tell you something.
The more that you live for God, you know,
you ought to be motivated by something other than fear.
You know, I don't go through, like, just, well, I'm not going to sin today
because I'm afraid that God's going to strike me dead like Ananias is a pirate.
OK?
I'm trying to get you to understand.
You know, why did I go solely against fear?
I was afraid if I didn't, God would kill me.
No.
I was afraid that God was going to punish me sorely.
No, I did it because I love God.
If you love me, keep my commandments, he said.
Yes, we should be growing toward being motivated by love rather than fear.
Right?
But let me tell you something.
The fear of the Lord is not the end.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding.
OK?
Now, let me tell you something.
When I was a child and a teenager, I was much less mature spiritually than I am right now.
I still have an ally.
Not as though I were already perfect, as Paul said, either had already attained,
but I follow after if that I might apprehend, that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I count on myself to have apprehended, but this is one thing I do.
Reaching forth unto those things that are before, you know, forgetting those things that are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things that are before, I press toward the mark of the high calling of God, Christ Jesus.
Let me tell you something.
I got saved as a six-year-old boy.
As a six-year-old boy, you know, I was shown the Bible by my mother's bedside.
She showed me many scriptures from the Bible.
One of them she showed me was John 5.24.
I remember it vividly.
Verily I say unto thee, hear of my word, and believeth on him that sent me has everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation, but is past from death unto life.
She showed me that.
There was this faith.
I just needed to believe on Jesus Christ.
And I got on my bedside and on my knees, and I bowed my head and prayed and told Jesus Christ,
I believe on you.
I'm only trusting you to save me, Jesus.
Please save me.
Give me eternal life.
And I knew I was saved.
I knew I was on my way to heaven.
I knew I could never lose it.
And I believed that, and I still believe that.
And that was when I was six years old.
You know, I grew up in church, and I read the Bible.
And I didn't grow up in a family.
We never read the Bible as a family.
You know, we went to church, but we never read the Bible as a family.
And I kind of just learned to read the Bible from hearing it preached in church
and from hearing it at Sunday school.
And, you know, I would read the Bible, but I was just a little kid.
So I didn't read as much as I should have, I'm sure.
But I'd sit down, and I'd pick up the Bible and read it.
I remember when I was about nine, ten years old, I had this idea.
I was going to read through the Bible in one summer, okay?
And I figured I had to read 15 chapters a day to do it.
And I laid it out every day.
Today I'm going to read Genesis 1 through 15.
Tomorrow 16 through 30.
You know, I was going to go through this.
And, you know, I stayed with it.
I was on summer vacation.
You're sitting around, and you've got time.
And so I would sit down and do this reading every day.
I got into Leviticus, and I was reading in Leviticus.
And what happened was I missed one day.
I looked at it.
I said, I have 30 chapters of Leviticus and Numbers.
You know, and I mean, the 15 was hard, but I mean, once you missed one day.
Now, what I should have done is just, what, tag the day on the end, maybe?
Right?
And just kept reading the 15th day.
But I wasn't smart enough to figure that out, so I looked at it, and I just said...
And I just gave up.
Other times I would pick certain books.
I'm going to read the book of Joshua.
You know, and I read the book of Joshua, cover to cover.
Other times I'd pick, I'm going to read through the New Testament.
I'd try.
I'd fail.
But I'd be a swimmer.
I'd do a lot of reading.
When I was a teenager, I remember I knew I was supposed to read the Bible every day.
And so I was a little bit pharisaical about it, because what I would do is just flip open
the Bible and read a few verses every day, just to say I read my Bible today.
You know, but I wasn't doing the serious reading.
I should have been doing it.
And you know what I read every day?
And this was for years.
This is all I read for years.
When I was a young teenager, I was immature.
I was not right with God.
But I just read either 1 2 Timothy or Titus, or Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I would
read the red letters.
It goes straight to the Jesus Christ preaching.
You know, that's what I like.
Those are my favorite parts of the Bible.
1 2 Timothy and Titus, because I knew I could get something quick that I could really meditate
upon, because it was so dense with doctrine in those books that I just mentioned.
I began, I just get a quick something and go, you know.
And it wasn't right, but that's what I was telling you what I did, okay, as a young teenager.
But I'll tell you something.
I'll tell you one thing.
You know, when I got married, I was a virgin when I got married.
I got married when I was 19 years old, and I'll tell you why I was a virgin.
And I wasn't the best Christian, you know, I wasn't doing a lot of Bible reading.
I'll tell you why I went to my marriage a virgin.
It's because of the fact I was scared to death.
Because of, and it's basically what I'm preaching to you tonight.
I knew that fornication was wrong.
I mean, I could justify other things in my mind, maybe.
I could justify the music I was listening to.
I could justify the movies I was watching.
But good night, I knew it was wrong to commit fornication.
And I was scared to death.
I literally thought that God would kill me, or that my whole life would be destroyed.
And that I would flush my whole life down the toilet, because I knew the truth.
I was saved, and I knew that it was wrong.
And I was scared to death to just trample underfoot the Son of God.
And you know what, I don't care whether you think that's what it is.
That's what the Bible says you're doing when you sin willfully.
I didn't write that in the Bible.
I'm going to read it to you again.
It says, if we sin willfully, after that we receive the knowledge of the truth.
There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.
It's not something where you take a lamb down, and you know, do that.
And then, okay, now you're right with God again.
We don't do that in the New Testament.
Jesus Christ has died for our sins.
He's paid for, we're saved.
But he says, no, the only thing for you to do is to just look for judgment and fire indignation from God when you sin willfully.
It's coming.
It's coming like a freight train, my friend, and you can't stop it.
That's why you've got to stop and think before you sin willfully against God.
I hope every child is listening to me right now.
I hope no kid is daydreaming or zoning out right now, and not listening to the fact that if you know what this Bible says,
and just purposely say, I know it's wrong for me to commit fornication,
I know it's wrong to sleep together before you're married, or whatever the case may be, but I'm going to do it anyway.
Hey, God will judge his people, and that's what the Bible teaches.
He said, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.
You see, when you're living in sin, you live in fear.
Yes, perfect love casts out fear.
But good night, when you've done something wicked, aren't you just afraid because you know that judgment's coming?
You know God's going to come.
I mean, think about a child.
A child is horsing around.
They break something.
They're horsing around, and they hurt their brother or sister, or injure them in some way.
They're just waiting for mom to get home, and they know that they're going to reap the world when mom gets home.
Right? They're scared.
And mom can walk in, and before she even sees what happened, before she even talks to them,
she sees their face, and what did you do wrong?
Because they look at her with that guilty, scared look on their face.
And that's what it's saying here.
Just that fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.
But look at 1 Kings 2035.
Here's another guy who just brazenly disobeyed God.
Now, you read this story, and you're almost looking at it, and it strikes you kind of strange when you read it,
You know, this guy really just boldly, brazenly disobeyed God.
And that's why what happened to him happened to him.
But look at verse 35 in 1 Kings 20.
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbor, in the word of the Lord,
Smite me, I crave you.
And the man refused to smite him.
Okay? That's kind of funny, isn't it?
This guy, he's the man of God.
He comes and says, hey, this is what God, in the word of the Lord, thus saith the Lord.
God is commanding you right now to smite me.
Come on, hit me.
That's not the idea.
Why?
But he's asking to be assaulted by this man, right?
Smite me, I crave you.
The man refused to smite him, then said unto him,
Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee.
And as soon as he was departed from, the lion found him and slew him.
And he found another man, and said, Smite me, I crave you.
Now, this guy was very jealous about obeying God.
He said, smite me, I crave you.
And the man smote him, so that in smiting him, he wounded him.
This guy was really serious about obeying God, right?
I mean, it's like, oh man, it didn't mean that hard.
But I mean, he's, I'm just kidding, of course.
But he, you know, he smote him hard.
He wounded him.
Now, I know that you, the reason why you don't understand this story is because if Pastor Anderson said, smite me,
you'd say, how hard, while he was fighting.
Yeah, you wouldn't have, you wouldn't hesitate, you would miss a beat.
Okay, great.
No, but, I don't know, maybe this guy was a little more positive of a preacher or something.
Maybe he's like Joel Osteen, he's smiling so big, the guy just couldn't bring himself to, you know,
socking him a good one, but this other guy had no problem smiting, and he wounded him.
So the prophet departed and waited for the king, by the way, and disguised himself in ashes upon his face.
And as the king passed by, he quieted the king, and he said, this is a parable that this man is telling.
Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle.
Behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, keep this man, and by any means he'll be missing.
Then shalt thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.
So this guy got distracted, he wasn't paying attention, he didn't do his job, and he left the area.
This is a parable, it's not a true story.
He's pretending that this is what happened.
He said, and as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone, and the king of Israel said unto him,
so shall thy judgment be, thyself hath decided it.
And he took the ashes away from his face, so he wiped away the blood from the wound that he received from being smitten.
He wiped away the blood, wiped away the ashes, cleaned himself up, and the guy recognized, wait a minute, this is one of God's prophets.
This is a preacher that's come to be.
And the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
Verse 42, and he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction.
Therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
Now look at Job chapter 2, so there's a man, why was he punished, why did a lion eat him?
Because he just brazenly, even though maybe he probably didn't understand it, or whatever,
whatever reason, he refused to obey God, and so he was killed.
Look at Job chapter 2.
Now remember that phrase in Hebrews 10 where God said,
It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Look at Job 2, 1, the Bible says, Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.
The same came also among them to present himself before the Lord.
Now, where are the sons of God in this story?
They're in heaven, because they're coming and presenting themselves before the Lord.
Say, how else do you know that they're in heaven?
Because it says in verse 2, And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou?
And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth.
So he came from the earth, he's not in the earth anymore, right? Satan.
He went from the earth to another location, where the sons of God are presenting themselves before God's throne,
that is in heaven.
But the Lord's throne is in heaven, and the Bible says that several times in the book of Psalms,
but in the back, the God's throne is located in heaven.
Now, why are the sons of God in heaven?
Because the sons of God, from Genesis to Revelation, are nothing other than a born-again-saved-believer.
You say, I think that the sons of God here is referring to the angels.
Well, if you have an NIV, they think you're thinking for it, you don't even have to think.
Because they took out sons of God and inserted the word angels,
and they put a footnote saying, well in Hebrew it says sons of God, but of course we know it's the angels,
so we change this to angels for you. No, it's the sons of God.
See, how do you know? But I'm the witch of the angels, said he at any time.
Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, and again I will be to him a father, he shall be to me a son.
God never said to any of the angels, Hebrews chapter 1, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.
But we've been begotten again unto a lively hope, the Bible says, 1 Peter chapter 1.
Hey, we are the sons of God, but as many as received him, to them gave you power to become the sons of God,
even to them that you leave on his name.
And I'm sorry, but you're not going to ever convince me that angels or demons or Satan are God's children.
You're not going to convince me of them.
The angels are created beings, they are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.
They are not God's children.
He never said to one of them, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.
By the way, being begotten is what makes you a son, okay?
And so, we're begotten.
It says, he's begotten us again, to a lively hope, born again, we're begotten again.
It's Bible.
And so, know the sons of God are in heaven, because guess what?
Everybody who's ever been saved, when they breathe their last breath, they go to heaven.
They go to heaven.
That's why Elijah went up in a whirlwind to heaven, right?
That's why Solomon said, the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast which goeth in the moon.
So, the sons of God are in heaven, because they're born again Christians who are in heaven, because they were saved.
Oh, Abraham's bosom.
What kind of place?
Let me tell you something.
Abraham's bosom is not a place, it's a body part.
I have a bosom, you have a bosom, okay?
And, you know, when Lazarus was at Abraham's bosom, guess what that means?
That means that Abraham had his arm around Lazarus, just like when John leaned on Jesus' bosom for the last supper.
Remember?
There's not, what, is this a new place too?
Jesus' bosom?
Oh, paradise.
The word paradise is never found in the Old Testament.
In reference to, or what's it called?
Paradise, let me think.
Yeah, you know, I'm given into the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God, caught up to paradise.
Everyone mentioned paradise in the New Testament.
Three thousands is mentioned.
Not the Old Testament.
And so I don't believe in all this strange doctrines about people going to the center of the earth to Paradiso next to hell.
All expense paid trip to paradise in hell, and I don't believe in that.
And the Bible doesn't teach that, and that's another sermon in itself.
But it says,
Behold, look at the next phrase.
He is in thine hand, but saved his life.
Now, we see here's a man who's put in the hand of Satan, right?
Satan is going to basically hurt him and harm him.
Satan is going, and as we read, look what he does.
Does thou still to retain thine integrity?
Curse God and die.
But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaking.
What, shall we receive good at the hand of God?
And shall we not receive evil?
And all this did not.
Job sinned with his lips.
By the way, it's not a sin to rebuke your wife.
Here's a man rebuking his wife, and he says,
You have not sinned.
Hello, is anybody out there?
You can tell your wife when she commits sin, you can rebuke your wife.
You rebuke your children, you can rebuke your wife, I can rebuke you.
And that's the right thing for authority figures to do.
Rebuke the follower, okay?
And you don't like that? Fine.
But that's what the Bible says.
He did not sin in rebuking his wife thus.
His wife did sin by commanding him to curse God and to die.
Okay, now, what's the difference between being in God's hand and in Satan's hand?
Well, when you're in the hand of Satan, God is restraining him.
God set a limit to what Satan could do.
I mean, God told Satan first, you cannot touch his body.
You can only touch his possessions.
Then, in chapter 2, he takes it to another level and says,
Okay, you can touch his body, but you must save his life.
God does not have to save your life.
God has no one restraining him.
That's why in 1 Corinthians 11, Acts 7,
God even caused Christians to be slain.
There's no restraint on being in the hands of the...
That's why I say it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
There's no limit to the punishment that you might receive from God in this life.
What's the worst thing that can happen? You know, death. That's the worst.
Not hell, because you're safe from hell.
You've been saved. You'll never see that second death.
You'll never go to hell.
But look at Psalm 19.
Psalm chapter 19.
Psalm 19, we're going to see again the difference between sinning through a weakness of the flesh,
sinning through ignorance, and sinning presumptuously, sinning willfully.
Look at Psalm 19 and 12.
The Bible reads in Psalm 19 and 12.
Who can understand his errors?
I mean, who really knows how many sins I do or what all I do wrong?
People say, oh, in order to go to heaven, you've got to ask forgiveness every time you sing.
And nobody's going to heaven because how in the world?
Who can even know his errors?
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
He's saying, there are faults in me that I don't even know about, God.
Please cleanse me of these secret faults.
He's saying, who can understand his errors?
Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Keep that guy's servant also.
So this is not a secret fault.
Keep that guy's servant also from presumptuous sins, right?
Sins where I just willfully do what's wrong even though I know it's wrong.
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then shall I be upright and shall be innocent from the what?
Great transgressions.
Say, oh, I don't believe in big sins and little sins.
You mean you don't believe in a great transgression and a small transgression?
You don't believe in a great sin and a small sin?
Oh, you say, all sins equal in the eyes of God.
There's no verse in the Bible that says that all sin is equal in the eyes of God.
Not one.
You say, well, if you keep the whole law and you've offended in one point, you're guilty of all.
For he that said, do not commit adultery, said also, do not kill not,
there will be no adultery yet if thou kill thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Yes, no matter which sin you commit, you're still a transgressor of the law.
You've still broken the law as a whole.
You're guilty of all.
But have you really, you know, you've committed these different sins,
but does that say that they're equal, though?
No.
Yes, you're still become a transgressor of the law.
But I heard somebody say that homosexuality is on par with stealing a pencil.
Whoever said that needs to be put in a straitjacket and taken to a mental institution.
I think, and I'm not going to apologize for saying this,
I think that believing that all sin is equal in the eyes of God is borderline insanity.
I mean that.
I'm serious.
I mean, to literally, I mean, you almost have to be partially insane.
It's almost like saying the sky is green, and the grass is yellow.
Oh yeah, we live in Arizona.
You know, the grass is red, or saying the world is flat.
I mean, it's almost that bizarre to think that it's equal to go out and take a gun and shoot an innocent person
and to look at a magazine that you're not going to look at.
To think that it's the same committing adultery with another man's wife
as to take a pencil from work and take it home and just keep it as your own pencil.
Unbelievable.
Somebody said, well, telling a lie is just as bad as being a sodomite.
Because all sin is equal.
I don't know who came up with that doctrine.
That's the stupidest doctrine that I've ever heard.
Say, why are you being so hard on me?
Why are you being so harsh?
Because I can't even believe I'm even bringing it up.
It's so weird to say that it's all equal.
I can't even understand how you can come up with a conclusion that murder,
I mean, killing my children, is the same as, you know, telling a lie.
Like, for example, somebody says, you know, what time did you get to the job?
Oh, we got there at 3.30, you know, and you really got there at 4.
That's just as bad as if you massacred, you know, Virginia Tech.
Don't, come on.
Unbelievable.
Who's preaching this stuff?
Who comes up with this stuff?
You know who comes up with it?
The devil.
Because he wants you to look at some filthy queer that God said to take out and kill,
and I'm not endorsing vigilantism, but God's law demanded the death penalty on homosexuality.
I'm not going to go kill him, but if we had any justice in this country,
they would be killed because they're pedophiles.
Because they're perverts.
And to sit there and look at them and say, well, they're not that bad.
They're just another sinner.
They're just like you and me.
Wrong!
And I'm going to cry against it.
Yes, I will blaspheme that doctrine, and yes, I will get angry about it,
because it's bizarre, it's anti-Bible.
Let me ask you something.
If all sins equal, why did God put different punishments on different sins?
Hey, the punishment, listen to me.
The definition of justice is the punishment fits the crime.
The scales of justice represent a punishment and a crime that are equal, that are balanced.
And to sit there and say that all sins equal,
well then why don't we give the death penalty for speeding, or running a red light,
or for throwing trash out of the window of your car?
It's all a shame.
Well, we see it as different.
That's why we have different punishments, but God sees it as equal.
God is not in the Bible.
God didn't rain fire on every city that what people told alive,
but he rained fire on Sodom and Gomorrah.
You have to stop and think about this.
And then, even just, okay, take aside logic.
Let's just read the Bible.
He said, if I'm free from presumptuous sins, then I'm innocent from the great transgression.
He said in verse 13, that's the big saying, my friend, when it's presumptuous.
When you know it's wrong and you do it anyway.
When you spit in the eye of God.
And when you sin willfully against God, you are spitting in God's face.
You are trampling the broken, bruised, bloodied body of Jesus under your feet.
When you say, I'm saved by grace, so I'm going to go out and sin anyway,
because I know I have eternal security, I don't care what God says,
I'm going to heaven, I'm going to trample on God's body,
because I don't care.
I know it's wrong to fornicate, I'm going to do it anyway.
And I've had people say to me, I know it's wrong, but I'm going to do it anyway.
I just thought to myself, man, how can you say that to me?
Don't you love Jesus?
What kind of an offense to Jesus, when you just say,
it's wrong, but I'm going to do it anyway.
It's terrible.
He says in verse 14, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
Look at John 19, 11.
You say, all sins equal.
Well, let's look at John 19, 11 and see if all sins equal.
John 19, 11 reads, Jesus answered, thou couldest have no power at all against me,
except it were given thee from above,
therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
Why?
Because the same people who shouted crucify him in John 19,
are the same people who back in John 11, saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.
Because the Bible says that after they saw Lazarus rise from the dead,
they went, seeking how they might put him to death.
They knew!
I mean, they looked and they said,
we've seen them do this miracle, but we're going to go put him to death anyway.
The Jews were the ones who should have known better.
And yet, they had a greater sin than Pilate, who's just hearing about this for the first time.
Now, was Pilate a sin?
Oh yeah, of course, Pilate was a sinner.
Who was the greater sin?
Okay, let me ask you this.
Who throughout the book of Acts does God blame for killing Jesus?
I mean, Pilate's not mentioned.
He said, if you have slain him with wicked hands and crucified him.
To the Jews, in Acts chapter 3.
In 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, all throughout the book of Acts.
The blood is put on their hands, they have the greater sin.
Matthew 23, 14, a verse that's left out.
Let me pull out the NIV here, just to illustrate this for you.
Turn to Matthew 23, 14 quickly.
Matthew 23, 14, I have a lot on my sermon, I'm trying to hurry.
But I want you to see these scriptures.
We saw, number one, that David defined presumptuous sins as the great transgression.
We saw that in the Old Testament there was a system of punishments and primes that fit one another.
It's known as equity, equilibrium, right?
The scale is balanced.
Whoso shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.
That is where the scale is balanced.
And so we see Matthew chapter 23 and verse 14.
In the King James Bible, the Bible reads,
Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you devourer widows houses, and for a pretense make long prayer.
Therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Brother Dave, read for me from the NIV, Matthew 23, 14.
What's the matter, you can't count?
What's the matter, cat got your tongue?
It's not there. I'm showing it because it says 12, 13, 15, 16.
Am I telling the truth?
Verse 14 is gone.
The NIV has removed this verse talking about the greater damnation.
For those who not only sin against God,
but for a pretense make long prayer.
Not only did they devour widows houses,
but they actually put God's name attached to it.
He said that's even worse, right?
He said it's worse because now you're making a long prayer
as you devour widows houses.
You're bringing God into it.
He said you're trying to be religious while you sin.
He said that's a greater damnation, greater transgression, greater sin.
Look at Nahum chapter 1.
Nahum chapter 1.
Put your finger in Nahum chapter 1 and turn back to Hebrews 10, our text.
I'm almost done, but turn to Hebrews 10 and Nahum chapter 1.
Nahum is toward the end of the Old Testament in the Minor Prophets.
It's all those little books right before the book of Matthew,
and you find it right in the middle of the Minor Prophets.
Nahum chapter 1, and Hebrews 10 is where we're turning.
Hebrews 10, 15. Let's read it again.
I'm sorry, verse number 25.
Hebrews 10, 25.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is,
but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
Why?
For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth.
And on and on and on.
What happens to those who willfully quit church?
Think about it.
I'm not saying quitting this church.
You know, somebody might leave this church and go to another church,
and it better be a scriptural church.
Just because it's called church doesn't mean that God recognizes that as a church.
Church is the pillar and ground of the truth.
They have the wrong Bible? The wrong salvation?
I mean, the wrong doctrine?
That's not church.
That's a rock concert.
That's a social club, whatever you want to call it.
But I'm going to tell you something.
If you leave this church and go to another church that's preaching the Bible,
that's winning souls, that believes the right salvation,
that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about just forsaking the assembly in general.
Not saying forsaking this assembly.
If you don't like this church, if you don't like my preaching,
if you don't like me, if you don't like the people here,
if you don't like our soul winning, if you don't like our crowd,
by all means, go to another church and I'll have no hard feelings against you at all.
In fact, if you come to me, I will recommend the best churches that I know in this area.
And I've done it before.
There are people who left this church and went exactly to the church that I recommended.
Praise God.
Thank God.
I heard they're going there and I said, hey, thank God.
Don't leave here to go to some messed up church.
You're insulting me like I didn't teach you anything.
At least get mad and go down the street to somewhere that's preaching the Bible, for crying out loud.
And to be honest with you, there will be no hard feelings.
This church isn't for everybody.
I don't think you're a bad person if you don't like this church.
This church isn't for everybody.
I mean, this church is a certain personality of the pastor, a certain personality of the people,
a certain style of church.
And I think there are good people who are not lesser of a Christian,
who just maybe have a different personality that would be happier in another church.
You know what? Great.
God bless them.
Praise the Lord.
As long as they're winning souls and reading the Bible, praise God.
And I'm not just saying that.
And anybody can tell you, I recommend people churches.
We have lists on our website of all the churches in Phoenix that are soul winning,
King James only churches that I know about.
If I find out about them more, I'll add them.
And it's on our website.
Listing them all.
Now, I put ours in bold.
You know what I mean?
This is my favorite.
But why did I list those other ones?
Because I want people to know about the other churches in town that are good,
so that if they don't want to come to this church, they can go to other ones.
People will come here and say, oh, we're just visiting, we're trying churches.
You know, you've heard me say, have you tried this one?
Have you tried this one?
I know if I want a Chandler, whatever.
And I list them all.
But when you just leave church, period, and just don't go to church,
oh, we're starting at home.
You're not assembling together with God's people at home.
You can kid yourself, you say, well, we're listening to your CD at home.
You know, hey, I think that's great that you listen to my CD,
but you're not right with God, and you're not in church,
and you better just look for God to cloud up and rain on you,
because you know you're supposed to.
Anybody who's sitting right here in church right now,
you know you're supposed to be in church.
You know church is God's command.
You know it's what God wants.
And so if you just abstain from church,
this is the context of where this morning's even coming from, right?
He says in the same breath, don't forsake these,
as the manner of some is.
Some people are like that.
They quit church.
They sit around.
They don't go to church.
But exhorting one another, and so much the more to see the day approaching,
for if we sin willfully, after that we receive the knowledge of the truth.
There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fire in the nation
which shall devour the adversaries.
He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses,
of how much sore punishment, suppose ye,
shall ye be thought worthy, who hath trodden,
I mean, let these words shake down into your ears, my friend,
who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God,
and accounted the blood of the covenant wherewith ye was sanctified,
and done holy thing, and hath done this fight under the spirit of grace.
For we know him that hath said, vengeance belongeth unto me,
I will recompense saith the Lord.
Again, the Lord shall judge his people, chasten them,
defined in 1 Corinthians 11, 30 and 31.
It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Did you know that the term contempt of court,
that comes from the Bible?
Did you know that?
Because back where we were reading in Numbers 15,
he said, and I'm sorry, it's not where we read,
we don't have time to turn there,
Deuteronomy 17 and 18.
He goes on again about sinning inherently,
or sinning presumptuously woefully.
In Deuteronomy 17 and 18, when he describes it,
he talks about somebody hearing God's judgment,
you know, they go to the Lord,
and the priests of the Lord open the Bible and judge them,
and people who refuse to obey that,
he said that they despise God's word,
and they should be cut off.
They despise God's court, God's justice.
You know what?
That's exactly what this is talking about here.
Contempt, C-O-N-T-E-M-N is the same word as despise.
Contempt, despise, despite.
He's saying, contempt of court.
What does it mean when a person has contempt of the court?
No respect.
That's what you get to find when you mouth off to the judge, right?
Your disrespect will do it.
Well, you know, $50, contempt of court, you know,
I'm sure it's an 8, it's a lot more than that.
$10,000 check out to the city or whatever, you know.
But anyway, the point is that, hey,
he really just despised God's laws so much,
to where you just say, you know what,
fornication's wrong, but I'm going to do it anyway.
You say, why are you using that example?
Because that's something that's really clear-cut in the Bible.
I mean, you know it's wrong.
Nobody thinks it's okay to just sleep with everybody that you're not married to.
I mean, what would be the point of even having marriage?
You know, you cling to your wife and become one flesh.
You don't become one flesh with a harlot, the Bible says.
You don't want to become one flesh with person after person after person.
And when you do, you can expect God's judgment.
That's what it says.
And you say, oh, you're condemning me because I've committed fornication.
No, I'm preaching to these young children.
I'm preaching to my boys, my girls, your boys, your girls,
so that they will not grow up and face the wrath of God for committing fornication.
He said God will never kill anybody for committing fornication.
God killed 23,000 people in one day for fornication.
Read 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
23,000 in one day because of fornication.
The only thing that stayed the fierceness of God's wrath
was when Phinehas took a javelin and went into the tent
and slew the man who had openly, brazenly, willfully, contemptuously
brought this woman into the side of all Israel that he was not married to
from the land of the heathen and brought her into his tent and began to fornicate with her.
He took a javelin, he went into the tent and stuck it through both of them.
And that's when God said, you know what, all his descendants are going to be the priests.
They carry on the high priest line from here on out.
Because he said he executed judgment. He took care of the problem.
And what happened when they saw that? They feared.
When Phinehas did that, others feared.
Look, the fear of God, let's not miss the fear of God.
Fear, you say God's not giving us the spirit of fear.
The only fear that's right for you to have is fear of God.
The Bible never tells you to fear the devil.
The Bible never tells you to fear terrorism.
The Bible never tells you to fear sickness.
I mean, not to fear the face of man. Fear not them which kill the body.
The Bible says, you know what, the only person more commanded to fear is fear God
and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
And before you keep his commandments, you fear God.
You fear God and keep his commandments.
And when you have no fear of God, when you go out and sin willfully,
that just shows that you don't have the fear of God.
I mean, look, you don't think that as a teenager I was tempted to fornicate?
You don't think I was tempted to be drunken with my friends who were drunken?
You don't think I was tempted to do the drugs or tempted to do this, tempted to do that,
tempted to look at the pornography tapes that were being passed around in Christian school?
Hey, the temptation was there, but what kept me straight?
What kept me pure? The fear of God.
The fear of God. And if your kids don't get it, they won't turn out right.
If your kids don't have the fear of God in them, they'll go out and commit the sin.
They'll go out and do these awful things.
And no, it's not all equal. There are things that are worse than others, my friend.
Yes, I sin every day. Yes, we all sin. But we don't all have to sin willfully.
Yes, we're weak. The Spirit's willing, the flesh is weak.
Yes, we're ignorant, we don't know all the rules, we're constantly learning, we're reading the Bible.
Yes, we sometimes can explain things away and justify them in our mind.
But you know what I'm talking about.
When you know what the Bible says, you know that it's wrong.
You can't even justify it in your mind. There's no way for you to try to make excuses for it.
I mean, it's just something obvious. You know it's wrong.
And you say, I'm going to do it anyway.
God says, not only are you being very disrespectful to Jesus, trying to underfoot the Son of God.
That's terrible.
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine. For thee all the follies of sin I reside.
I mean, I love Jesus, I don't want to trample on his dying carcass, but that's the illustration that he uses.
But not only that, he said, you have a fearful looking for of judgment, fiery indignation, fiery wrath of God.
He said, it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Notice it's a fearful looking for of judgment.
Look at Nahum chapter 1. It's a fearful looking for of judgment.
Now look, with Ananias and Sapphira, it happens straight away.
Sometimes it takes a while to reap what you sow.
There are people throughout the Bible who committed all the sin.
Think of David. David sinned willfully against God.
He knew it was wrong to commit adultery with another man's wife.
His friend, his close friend, Uriah his wife, one of David's mighty men, his right hand men,
he knew it was wrong to have him murdered.
You think he thought that murder and adultery was fine? He sinned willfully.
But you know what? Judgment came and it did not come all at once. It came over time.
Remember, he was told by Nathan that he should pay fourfold.
You know how he paid fourfold? His infant son died, his son Amnon died,
his son Absalom died, and his son Abnijah all died.
Because of the judgment that came upon David's house, four of his sons died.
And you can see, as soon as you finish that chapter where David is confronted
and then he repents of that sin and he moves on with his life,
you see the ball in the next verse, the first verse of the next chapter,
you see the balls start rolling on those four lambs.
They're going to be, you know, the four lambs, the fourfold punishment of David.
You see it. That's what pretty much the whole rest of the book is about.
You're just pretty much watching the judgments come upon him until the end of his life.
And that's pretty much what 2 Samuel is after that.
You're just watching that, you're watching David reap the world with him.
And I think it's explained well in Nahum chapter 1, verse 1.
The Bible says, the birth of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum, the Elko-shite,
God is jealous and the Lord revenges. Remember the word in Hebrews 10?
Vengeance, belongeth unto me, saith the Lord, I will recompense,
and again the Lord shall judge his people.
So here's the same comment, you know, the Lord revenges
and is curious, he's talking about anger.
The Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
But watch this, the Lord is slow to anger and great in power
and will not at all acquit the wicked.
The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds and the dust of his feet.
He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry and drieth up all the rivers.
Beishen languishes in Carmel and the flower of Lebanon languishes.
The mountains quake in him and the hills melt
and the earth is burned at his presence, he ate a world and all that dwell therein.
Remember this word, who can stand before his indignation?
Remember that fiery indignation from Hebrews 10?
And who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?
His fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him.
Sometimes we have the idea that we're getting by with stuff.
You know what I mean? We'll commit a wicked sin willfully
and then we'll wait to see if anything happens.
Nothing happens. We think we're getting by with it, but God is not mocked.
Whatsoever man soweth, that shall be all through.
I mean, if you like, if I took an apple seed and planted it in the ground,
went back a week later, nothing happened.
Come back a few years later, you got an apple tree, apples all over it.
A few years later. Doesn't happen right away.
God's judgment is coming on those who sin willfully.
And I'm using extreme examples, murder, adultery, fornication.
The man who does...let me check one thing out.
I think I know what the scripture is. I want to read it for you quickly, if I can find it.
Yes, Numbers 15. We were there earlier.
It said in verse number 30,
But the soul to do with God presumptuously, whether he be born of the land or a stranger.
This is number 1530.
The same reproaches the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from among his people,
because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment.
That soul shall utterly be cut off, as iniquity shall be upon him.
And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness,
they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.
And they found him gathering sticks, brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
And they put him in a war, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely be put to death.
All the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
And all the congregation brought him without the camp, stoned him with stones,
and he died as the Lord commanded Moses.
He sinned presumptuously. I mean, he knew that it was wrong.
It had been commanded, and yet he just brazenly, willfully, just went out and did it anyway.
I don't care what God says.
That's not, I wouldn't classify picking up sticks on the Sabbath day as the biggest thing.
Now I think part of what God's illustrating there, you know, the Sabbath day represents salvation, rest.
He, that has entered into his rest, he also had ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Hebrews chapter 4.
And so, we're talking about somebody working on the Sabbath day,
and the Sabbath day is basically defiling God's principle that there's no works involved in salvation.
Jesus paid it all. It's rest.
Resting on Jesus as our Savior.
But also, I think it was just because he did it presumptuously, because God just finished talking about it.
Not just willfully, presumptuously, brazenly sinning against God.
And here's the guy who did it, and he paid for it.
I mean, I think even if it were a very small thing.
But if you know it's wrong, you know it's wrong.
And God, I mean, God's telling you from God's Word that it's wrong.
You've seen it, you've heard it preached, you've known it, you do it anyway.
I mean, that's got to hurt God, to just watch it just trample on his Word.
Who cares? Who cares?
And so keep that in mind. Don't sin willfully.
We ought not sin, you know, but if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And we're going to sin.
But woe be unto us when we sin willfully.
You know, there are times when we do sin willfully.
And woe be unto us when we sin willfully.
Let's borrow his own word of prayer.
Father, please just, as David said, dear God, I want to pray right now to you.
God, I pray that you would cleanse me from secret faults.
God, I pray that you would please just help me to get the sin out of my life, dear God.
And especially to God, I don't want to be guilty of the great transgressions.
Of willfully, brazenly disobeying what I know the Bible says to be true.
God, please just help me.
And help everyone who's here, dear God.
Every person in this church.
God, I pray that you would give us a dose of the fear of God.
Help us not to have to experience it in our own lives.
Help us to just read Acts 5 and be like the people back then and say, everybody who heard it, fear fell upon them.
Help fear to fall upon us as we heard it.