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Okay, we're in the book of Habakkuk. Look at Habakkuk chapter number two. It's good to be back home, amen. Been in West Virginia two weeks ago and then Houston, Texas last week, but there's no place like Los Angeles, amen. I know the traffic's bad, I know. I know the smog is bad, I know. It's still better. The weather's better. I know it's raining, I know, but this is not normal necessarily for Southern California. But it's good to be home. It's good to be back with the church family. I'm glad to see all of you guys. Happy to see you guys here. Look at Habakkuk chapter number two, verse number four. It says, Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith, yea, also because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people. The title of this sermon this morning is Figurative Uses of Hell in the Bible. Figurative uses of the word hell in the Bible. Now it goes without saying that the doctrine of hell is a very biblical doctrine. Hell is a literal place. This is not some symbolic thing that doesn't really exist that God just placed in the Bible so we can just use it as figurative. No, it's a literal place that exists in the center of the earth, the Bible says. And the Bible talks about hell multiple times. It's a real place. You say, well, I don't know. I read it and I just don't think that a place like that could really exist where people burn forever and ever. But you know what, at the end of the day, we need to go with what God says within his word and lean not into our own understanding and all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct our paths and our understanding and our knowledge. And we could clearly look at the Bible and recognize that hell is a literal place that exists. The Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 14, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever and they have no rest day or night. You see, when something burns, it creates smoke. And the Bible says that when a soul goes to hell, their smoke shall rise, shall ascend forever and ever. Why? Because a soul cannot be annihilated. A soul cannot be destroyed in the sense that it ceases to exist. The Bible says that the person who rejects Christ, who rejects the free gift of salvation, when they die, their soul will go to a place called hell and their smoke shall ascend forever and ever. And look, the Bible tells us multiple times. For example, in Revelation 21, 8, the famous verse that we use when we go out and preach the gospel. But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable 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. This is not figurative. This is a literal statement. Not only that, the Bible gives us an example in Luke chapter 16 of a man who went to hell, the rich man who died, who went to hell, and the Bible says that he lifted up his eyes in hell being in torment. Jesus Christ talked more about hell than he did about heaven. In fact, he described it as a place where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. The Bible tells us how people will be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. This is literal. This is not figurative. Over and over again, the Bible tells us these things. Now, that's not to say that there are times in the Bible where God will use hell figuratively to express or to teach a certain principle, to have a certain application for a specific doctrine, for a specific teaching. And we see that example in Habakkuk chapter number 2. Because he says there in Habakkuk chapter number 2, verse number 5, yea also because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell and is as death. You see, some people, they kind of wince at the fact or sometimes they'll, they cringe when people, pastors in our movement, myself included, say, well that person is wicked as hell. They're like, whoa, whoa, that's kind of, that's a little rough there. Yeah, but you know what God just said, that this guy actually enlarges his desires as hell. Now, it's not referring to the fact that his desires are in hell or anything, he's comparing the motives and how he's increasing his wicked desires to an attribute of hell. He said, well, what is enlarging his desires as hell have anything to do with hell? Well, the Bible tells us in Isaiah 5, verse 14, speaking of the literal hell, therefore hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure and their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he that rejoiceth shall descend into it. You see, the Bible teaches us that hell is constantly enlarging itself. Why is that? Because people are always going to hell. You know, I hate to break it to you, but the fact remains is that more people will go to hell than will go to heaven. More people will die, will reject Christ, will die and they'll go to hell than those who actually accept the free gift of salvation. That's a sad statement, isn't it? And that's why we as a church, we are a soul-winning Baptist church that places a heavy emphasis on preaching the gospel and being part of the ministry of reconciliation so we can see them saved, so we can rescue them from the flames of fire so that they're not tormented, you know, for all of eternity. We love people and we want to see them saved. But the Bible tells us that when people go to hell, hell hath enlarged itself. And why is that? Well, the Bible tells us that white is the gate, broad is the way that leaded to destruction and many there be which go in there at. And you say, well, what does that have to do with the guy's desire? Well, this is a wicked person that Habakkuk chapter 2 is referring to. And the reason he's saying that his desire hath enlarged as hell, it would be like stating from the book of Proverbs where it says that hell and destruction are never full, so the eyes of a man are never satisfied. So someone who's involved in sin will not be satisfied with sin. They will continue to enlarge their desire for wicked vices and wicked things, so on and so forth, and that's the comparison that we see there. Now why should we teach on this, about the figurative statements in the Bible in regards to hell? Well, there's many people who teach a false doctrine and they'll use scriptures from the Bible that are meant to be figurative rather than literal. They'll use scriptures from the New Testament where it may seem if you don't compare scripture with scripture, then maybe like a saved person can go to hell. Obviously, we understand that's not true. Saved people cannot lose their salvation. Once saved, you're always saved. The Bible says that he that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the sun shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. You see, the only stipulation in order to escape hell and to have everlasting life is what? To believe. And those who believe, the Bible says, have everlasting life. They shall not come into condemnation, the Bible tells us. But there are people who will take these scriptures, pervert these scriptures, and teach a false gospel based upon those texts. They'll use that to say, see, you can lose your salvation. A key group would be the Pentecostals who believe you can lose your salvation for anything. You step on an ant, you lose, I mean, you think wrong. You can just lose your salvation, like, very quickly, okay? And that is a false doctrine. The Bible says, in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. You see, God promises us eternal life. What is that? A life that never ends. Now, is that referring to our physical bodies? Obviously not, because we're gonna die. So that's obviously referring to the salvation of the soul. Now we obviously understand that we're waiting to with the redemption of our bodies, and one day we'll have a glorified body that will never die, that will be, you know, Bruce me, he had 2.0, where it's no sin and all these things. But we have salvation, and our souls are saved. Our soul is justified. But they'll teach, well, you know, you can lose that salvation if you commit adultery. You can lose your salvation if you commit fornication. If you do some sort of sin, you can lose it. And here are the scriptures to prove that, okay? And that's why we need to teach on this, because more often than not, when the Bible talks about hell, yes, it's referring to the literal hell where there's fire and brimstone, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. But there are also other aspects in the Bible when it refers to hell, and it's not talking about a person literally going there. It's using the attributes and the characteristics of that place called hell to illustrate a specific point, to teach a specific application. Now, go to Psalm 139. I'm gonna give you six examples. We'll see if I can go through all six. For sure, I'm gonna go through all five. I'll see if I'll get to the last one, depending on the time. But I'm gonna start with the two most simple ones. And obviously, when you read these, you will not think that you can, that a saved person can go to hell. We obviously understand that. But we need to explain them, in case you don't know what it means, okay? These are very simple. And in my opinion, they're very self-explanatory, right? Look at Psalm 139, verse 1. It says, O Lord, Thou has searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and my uprising. Thou understandest my thoughts afar off. Thou compasses my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it all together. Thou has beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. Now, the person penning these words is King David. King David is a saved man. Now, here he is talking about the literal hell. But the concept and the doctrine that he's teaching is not that he's gonna go there, or that a saved person can go there. Because if we were to take such a literal interpretation of this, we would say that you can bring your futon to hell, along with your pillows and your blankets, and make your bed in hell. He's being facetious here is what he's doing. Now, we obviously understand that he's gonna go to heaven, but he's not gonna go to hell. Why? Because he's saved, and he's not gonna make his bed in hell, because no one makes their bed in hell. There's nothing like that in the Bible, and if you think that, then you're weird, okay? It says, verse nine, if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Now, what is this talking about? What is it the chapter's trying to emphasize? Well, if you read the entire chapter, you see that he's referring to, this speaks to the omnipresence of God. Because he says, you're before me, you're behind me, if I go to heaven, you're there, if I even make my bed in hell, you're there, you're everywhere. That's what he's talking about here. So he's saying, if I make my bed in hell, thou art there. Why? Because the eyes of the Lord are in every place. The doctrine that is being taught here is that God is omnipresent. The Bible tells us that hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. You see, we think of hell, which the Bible tells us is at the center of the earth, that's pretty far down. I mean, miles and miles and miles. People have tried to dig their way down to hell, impossible. Never will be able to do it. There's not one pair of eyes on this earth who has ever seen the reality of hell, regardless of what people claim that they dreamed about or whatever, you know. The only one who's been able to see this is God, because the Bible tells us that hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. He sees everyone who's burning in hell today. The only thing that the Bible tells us, hell and destruction are before the Lord, how much more than the hearts of the children of men. That is a very profound statement. What is he telling us there? He said, look, if hell that's thousands of feet and miles down to the center of the earth can be seen of God, how much more can he see your heart? Because no man can see our heart, you know. No man can view what our heart is like. That's what the Bible says, that man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh upon the heart. He's the one who can see the inner recesses of our thoughts, of our imaginations. You say, oh man, how is that possible? Well, look, he's able to see hell. It hath no covering. It's naked before him. That's why he says, if I make my bed in hell, you know, doesn't matter if you can put a blanket over your face in hell, God can still see you. Why? Because he's omnipresent, he sees all things at all times. And really, what this should do to us, specifically in this scripture, is give us comfort. Because there are times in our life that we fear, don't we? There's times in our life that we are afraid. There's times in our life that we feel lonely, where we feel forsaken. We feel like we don't have a friend in the world, you know. We don't have an acquaintance that can help us out during a difficult period. But you know, during that time, God is there. You know, he's there at all times. He's before us. He's behind us. If you go to heaven, he's there. If you can make your bed in hell, he's there. He's everywhere. He's omnipresent. He's always there, especially for Christians. Especially for brothers in Christ, et cetera. So this is now referring to the fact that David's going to hell, okay. He's not like questioning like, man, I hope I don't go to hell, but if I'm there, I know you're there, you know. Now go to Psalm 18. So that's a very easy one, but we should mention it, because the Bible talks about it. Now keep in mind that David in the Old Testament is a figure of who? Jesus, right? He's a picture of Jesus. And in fact, many of his statements that he made in the Old Testament did have application to him, an immediate application to him. Maybe it was a difficulty that he was going through, but ultimately, it had a future prophetic meaning as well of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we're going to look at one of them right now. Look at Psalm 18, verse 1. It says, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God my strength, and whom I will trust, my buckler, the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. The snares of death prevented me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth devoured. Colds were kindled by it. Notice verse number 5. He says, the sorrows of hell compassed me about. Now this is a prophetic scripture talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is that? Because the Bible teaches us that when Jesus Christ died, his soul descended into the lower parts of the earth. He went to hell. Like, oh, that's heresy. No, it's not. Because if you were to die for your sins, you would go to hell. And in order for him to be our propitiation, in order for him to be our substitute, the Bible tells us that he would have to go to hell to pay for our sins. We see examples in the Old Testament. We obviously understand that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who should take away the sins of the world. Well, if you were to look at the Old Testament examples of the lambs, the sheep, the bullocks, they were all burned. They were burned. They were a sacrifice unto the Lord, and they were considered to be a burnt offering, which is exactly what Jesus Christ was. He was a burnt offering. And the Bible says that when he went into hell, three days and three nights later, he resurrected from the grave. He said, well, then what does this have to do with that, as far as David is concerned? Well, if you read it, he says the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. So you can say David was going to hell in a figurative sense. And people use that term today all the time, that they feel like the sorrows of hell can pass them about, the snares of death prevented me. Why? Because people were seeking his life. This is what this is referring to here, is the fact that he's running from people who are desiring to take his life away. Now, obviously, he's referring to the literal hell in regards to Jesus Christ, but he's not referring to hell about himself, because he's alive during this time. He's saved, and hell is not compassing him about. Now, there are people today that believe that we're like, this is hell. Yeah, I'm sure you've heard of people say it like that, like, do you believe in hell? Look, I believe hell is right here. I can't pay my bills and, you know, all this crazy stuff that's going around in the news. This is hell. It's like, no, it's not. You know, if you think this is hell, you're in for a big surprise. You know, you're in for a culture shock when you die, okay? Because the reality is that this is not hell, but to be quite honest with you, people can use that when they're going through a tough time. You know, David did. He says, the snares of death prevented me. The sorrows of death compassed me. The floods of ungodly men made me afraid. Hell compassed me about. He's going through, destruction is what he's going through there. And he says in verse number eight, there went up a smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it. This is speaking to the literal hell, because the Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 32, verse 22, for a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn into the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains, the Bible says. Now, go with me if you would to, go to Psalm 16, if you would. I'm gonna read to you from Psalm 116, verse one, it says, I love the Lord, because he had heard my voice and my supplication, because he had inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me, I found trouble and sorrow. Again, he's using hell in a figurative way, but it is a prophetic statement regarding Jesus Christ and something that he would experience in a literal sense. Why? Because the pains of hell did get a hold of Jesus Christ when he went down into hell. The sorrows of death did compass him when he was in hell for three days and three nights. This was literal in regards to Jesus Christ, but it was not literal according to David. This is something that he was using in a figurative sense about himself. Look at Psalm 16, verse seven, it says, I will bless the Lord who hath given me counsel, my reigns also instruct me in the ninth seasons. I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou will not leave my soul in hell, neither will thou suffer thine holy ones to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life in thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Now did David go to hell? No. This again is speaking to the prophetic event that's going to take place in Christ's life. When he dies, he goes to hell. In fact, the Bible says in Acts chapter two, verse 31, he's seeing this, speaking of David, before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell, neither's flesh did see corruption. So we understand that according to the Bible, go to Psalm 86, David is speaking figuratively about himself, events that are taking place in his personal life, and just read his life. Read about the dark times that he went through when he's running from Absalom, when he's running from Saul. When Saul is trying to take his life and he's just in distress, he's going through difficult times, these are the words that he penned during those times. And it goes to show you that God used it in a great way because it ended up being prophetic in regards to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Psalm 86, verse 12. I will praise thee, O my Lord, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name forevermore. For great is thy mercy toward me, and thou has delivered my soul from the lowest hell. Now here's one portion of scripture that David can say is literal about him. Why? Because he's saved, he was delivered from the lowest hell. Because he trusted in Christ, he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, he was delivered from the lowest hell. But guess what? This is also in reference to Jesus Christ because his soul was not left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption. Now if you're in a question that's like, man, I just don't know about Jesus going to hell, the Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 4, he that ascended it, what is it but that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth. And no, it's not talking about Abraham's bosom. This is not some compartment that's right next to hell and they're there for a thousand years as people are burning right next to them, it's just like, ask things for them, man. Hey, good thing we're in Abraham's bosom waiting for Jesus Christ to come preach unto us so we can believe again and then he can take us to heaven. That's a foolish doctrine that holds no water in the Bible. So those are the simple ones. I think those are pretty self-explanatory. Go to Proverbs chapter number 5, we're going to look at another one. This is one that I've mentioned in times past when we were going through, I think I preached a sermon on the strange woman and this is one that we've gone through right here but this is important also to talk about and to expound upon. Look at Proverbs chapter 5 and verse number 1. So Proverbs chapter 1, parts of Proverbs chapter 1, 5, 6, 7, and 9 have this theme about the whorish woman and before you get mad about that word, God used it so he put it in the Bible and the Bible says that the words of the Lord are pure words. So we can't say that's a dirty word because God put that in the Bible. It's a pure word and it holds a lot of, it's a very intense word but it's meant to be intense. It's even meant to be offensive at times. Why? Because we want to steer our children clear from ever having characteristics of the strange woman who's a whore or even a man who is a whoremonger. We want our children to live pure holy lives, to not be involved in fornication, not ever get involved in adultery but to live pure and holy lives that are pleasing unto their parents and unto the Lord. Now Proverbs chapter 5 verse 1 says, my son, attend unto my wisdom and bow down, bow thine ear to my understanding that thou mayest regard discretion and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as in honeycomb and her mouth is smoother than oil but her end is bitter as wormwood and sharp as a two-edged sword. Okay, so you see the contrast there. It's like honey, smoother than oil but the end is as wormwood which is poison and sharp as a two-edged sword. Look at verse 5. Her feet go down to death. Her steps take hold on hell lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life. Her ways are movable that thou canst not know them. Now this does not literally mean that when she walks she's just going to hell. Her feet take hold on hell like she has some secret passageway to hell. You know the hollow earthers believe something to this extent where they can go through the hole in our entire, in the North Pole and they can make it to the center of the earth and there's a whole entire civilization there. This is not what that's talking about. I should cut that out of the sermon so if someone doesn't watch that and say, oh yeah, see, it's in the Bible. You can. They take hold on hell. It says there her feet go down to death. Her steps take hold on hell. Now again, this is figurative. It's not talking about a literal, that she's literally going to go to hell though it's possible but this is figurative because it says in verse number 6, lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life. Her ways are movable. Now hold your place there and go to Isaiah 14. Hold your place there in Proverbs chapter 5 and go to Isaiah 14 and look at verse number 9. This is speaking of the literal hell. Look what it states. Hell from beneath, Isaiah 14 and verse 9, hell from beneath is what? Moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming. It stirreth up the dead for thee. Even all the chief ones of the earth, it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. What is the Bible saying here of hell? It moves. It's stirring up. So when the Bible talks about the strange woman in Proverbs chapter 5, it says her steps take hold on hell. Why is that? Because her ways are movable. What does that mean? She's unstable. That thou canst not know them. She's unpredictable. So he's comparing the attribute of hell to the characteristics of a strange woman and her ways. They're movable. She doesn't have consistency. She's unpredictable. That's what he's stating here in Proverbs chapter number 5. Go back to Proverbs and go to chapter number 7. That's why her feet go down to death. That's why her steps take hold on hell because they're movable. You can't rely on a strange woman to be honest with you. You can't rely on a loose woman to tell you the truth, to be faithful to you. Why? Because her ways are movable. Look at Proverbs chapter 7. This is a concept that we see over and over again in the book of Proverbs in regards to the strange woman. Look at verse 21. With her much fairer speech, he caused them to yield. With the flattering of her lips, she forced him. He goeth after her straightway as an ox goeth to the slaughter or as a fool to the correction of the stocks. Now, is he an ox? No. He's acting like one because he's not paying attention here. He's not using wisdom. Verse 23, till a dart strike through his liver. That doesn't mean that she's going to shank him. As a bird hasteth to the snare, knoweth not that it is for his life. Harken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways. Go not astray in her paths, for she hath cast down many wounded, yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. Figurative. No one's going to look at it and say, like, as soon as you open that door, you know, there's two ways to go to hell. Reject Christ and go through that woman's door. You know what I mean? Like, you're just going to fall right down and just, that's it. You know, Hotel California, if anybody knows what that is. You know, that's probably where they got that from, okay? Now, but it says her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. Let's look at it, another scripture, Proverbs chapter 9. Keep that one in mind. Proverbs chapter 9 and go to verse 13. Look at verse 13. It says, a foolish woman is clamorous. She is simple and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house on a seat in the high places of the city to call passengers who go right on their ways. Whoso is simple, let him turn and hither and ask for him that wanteth to understand. She saith to him, stolen waters are sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there and that her guests are in the depths of hell. Again, it's using that. So you say, okay, so what's the deal with that? Why is her house the way to hell? Why are her guests abiding in hell? What is that referencing? Go to Proverbs chapter number 6. Proverbs chapter number 6, again, in reference to adultery, uncleanness, being unfaithful with a strange woman. Look what it says in verse 32. But whoso committeth adultery with the woman lacketh understanding. He that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and a dishonor shall he get, and his reproach shall not be wiped away. Now, what is the attribute of hell that Solomon is trying to convey to his son? The attribute is this. When someone goes to hell, they never come back. When someone dies and they go to hell, they never come back from that. You can't pray them out. You can't say 50 Hail Marys to get them out. You can't be baptized for the dead. They're there forever. Their faith is sealed once they go to hell. Once they go to hell, there's no coming back from that. So what is the teaching that Solomon is trying to teach his son? Is that once you commit adultery with a strange woman, your reproach shall not be wiped away. You will carry the stigma of committing adultery, doing something that's displeasing unto the Lord and you'll carry it for the rest of your life. Now, you say, well, I know someone who committed adultery and they're restored, or I committed adultery and I'm restored. Amen to that. Amen if you've moved on for that. But guess what? This is being written to a son who has not yet gotten married. And you know what we want to convey to our children? Hey, don't ever commit adultery. Don't ever commit uncleanness. Why? Because you, just like a person who goes to hell and never comes back, your reproach shall never be wiped away. But we never use so-and-so as an example who was restored. Hey, you know what? The exception proves the rule. And we want to teach the generation to come, hey, be married to one woman, one man only, and stay with them for the rest of your life. You be faithful to that person for the rest of your life. Why? Because if you go down the path of Proverbs 1, 5, 6, 7, and 9, guess what? Your reproach shall not be wiped away. Just as the person who goes to hell and never comes back, the person who commits adultery, the person who gets involved in his sin, their reproach shall not be wiped away, the Bible says. That is the statement that we see there. Go to Matthew chapter number 5. Matthew chapter number 5. Hey, it's important that we preach purity. It's important that we preach faithfulness to your spouse. Love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Love your husband and reverence him. You know, have a fruitful marriage. Rejoice with the wife of thy youth, the Bible says. It's important that we talk about faithfulness and marriage. That's important. And if it wasn't important, then you know what? Solomon would have dedicated like five chapters to talking about it, to say, hey, this is how bad it is right here. Don't do it. And let's not be like Solomon who preached it but didn't do it too, because Solomon's life doesn't quite match up to what we read here either in his latter end, obviously. Look at Matthew 5, 27. It says here, ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shall not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. So what is the context here? Adultery. Adultery in the heart. Verse 29. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Now does this teach that if someone commits adultery, they're going to be cast into hell? Now if you talk to the dispensationalist, they'll tell you, hey, if you take the mark of the beast on your right hand, you know, verse 30, if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, you know, you're damned. You're going to go to hell. But here's the thing, there's hope. Just cut your right hand off. It's easy. Just carry a good pocket knife. If you're hungry, get the chip, go get the food that you need to get, and you can just chop off your right hand. If you don't believe me, watch the Dispensation of Heresy where we highlight Robert Breaker saying that. And then he says, you know, if you put, if you get it in your forehead, just cut off your head. Oh, okay. Why didn't I think of that? Now Gene Kim's, you know, is a little more civil, I guess. He says if you get a chip in your forehead, you can just gouge out your eye and just take it out. You guys are geniuses, amazing. Exegesis of the scriptures there. Is that what that's talking about? No. This is, if you compare this with Proverbs 6, 5, or excuse me, Proverbs 1, 5, 6, 7, and 9, you can see where he's going with this, okay. The danger is the destruction that your life will experience if you get involved in adultery. That's what that's referring to there, okay. Now go to Matthew, you're in Matthew, go to Matthew chapter 18. So we see that the examples that we see in the book of Proverbs are figurative. They're not literal, okay. It's using the attributes of hell to express and teach a different principle within the Bible. Now look at Matthew 18. This concept of cutting off your right hand or plucking out your eye is not only found in the book of Matthew, it's found in the other gospels as well. And in fact, it's not only found in regards to adultery, it's found in different aspects. Jesus Christ actually uses this to basically teach many principles. And I'm gonna explain to you what this one means primarily in Matthew chapter 18. Verse number eight says, wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee, it is better for thee to enter into life, halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye offend thee, pluck it out, cast it from thee, it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hellfire. Now this obviously is not teaching what I just mentioned as far as losing your salvation or it's like man, if your eye is just like offending you, pluck it out, because once you go to heaven, hey, at least you got one eye in heaven. That's not the way it works. Okay, first of all, you're a soul in heaven. Second of all, when we get our resurrected bodies, it's not like, yeah, I got rid of this part in my previous life and it didn't get resurrected. I can't wait to whip the redemption of that part. I made a mistake. That's not what that's referring to. Now some people would say that Matthew 18, verse 8 through 9, is speaking to unsafe people. And they'll say that it's speaking to unsafe people, basically showing them that they can't keep the law. They'll say that Matthew chapter 5 is also saying the same thing. They can't keep the law of not committing adultery. They violated that because if thou keepest the whole law, yet offended one point, they are guilty of all. And it's speaking to people who are not saved and basically telling them, hey, you can't keep the law. Therefore, that's why you're deserving of that condemnation you're deserving of hell. And to that I say, amen. I agree with that. I agree with it because it works in conjunction with every other verse in the Bible. I believe that to be true. I believe it's doctrinal and I don't have anything against anybody who would teach that. But I'm going to give you my interpretation of this. And what I'm going to teach this morning, along with what other people may teach in regards to this, both of these doctrines are found in the Bible. We're just using Matthew 18 to basically illustrate that specific doctrine. Now, this is not in reference to adultery. Look at verse 7. It says, woe unto the world because of what? Offenses. For it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh. Then he goes into verse 8, wherefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off. Okay? And so on and so forth. Now, what is this talking about? Look down at verse 15. Verse 15 says, moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou wast against thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more than in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church. But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and as a publican. Barely I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. So what is the teaching that we see here in this passage of scripture? It's teaching us the concept of church discipline, or what we would recall excommunicating someone out of the church. Excommunication. Okay? The Bible teaches that there are certain people that are not allowed in church. This is not a popular teaching, it's not a popular concept, subject, but it's biblical. Specifically in Matthew chapter 18, it's saying if a brother has trespassed against another brother, okay, and the brother who has been trespassed against goes to that brother and said, hey, you've wronged me, X, Y, and Z, and the man or the woman refuses to take heed to that, this man is instructed to go and bring two or three witnesses to confront that person again. If that person refuses to adhere to the admonishments of his brethren, then they take it before the church. At that point, the church, if he still refuses to repent, he's like, I don't care, I'm not, you know, gonna reconcile this, I'm unwilling to adhere to this, I'm not willing to reconcile this, then at that point the Bible says, let that man be as a heathen man and as a publican. What does that mean? There to be cast out of the church. That's what that means. Okay? He's not a publican. What he's saying is, treat him as though he's like an unsaved guy, get him out of the church. This is not popular, but it's biblical, and this can save a church from a lot of turmoil, a lot of disaster, if this is just simply practice, okay? Now, this is not the only reason why people are excommunicated out of the church. Go with me if you would to 1 Corinthians chapter number five. 1 Corinthians five is a specific teaching, it's a chapter that really clearly teaches the concept of why someone is thrown out of the church, okay? Why that wicked person shall be put away from among them, as it says at the end of the chapter. And it gives us a list of sins that will qualify you to be thrown out. excuse me, railing, you have extortion, you have idolatry, you have covetousness, you have drunkenness, but primarily the sin that's being highlighted in 1 Corinthians chapter five is fornication. So he uses the fact that someone is involved in fornication at the church of Corinth as an opportunity to teach this doctrine. That's why the entire chapter deals with this, but it's primarily dealing with the person who's involved in fornication, okay? Now, before we get into 1 Corinthians five, I'm going to read to you from 1 Corinthians 12, because keep in mind, we haven't forgotten, Matthew 18 is talking about the limb being cut off, the member being cut off, the eye being cut off, the foot being cut off. Why is he using that as an example of church discipline? 1 Corinthians 12, if you want to write it down, you can, verse 14 says this, for the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, it is therefore not of the body. If the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, it is therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole hearing were, excuse me, if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members, every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. So what is the teaching there in 1 Corinthians chapter 12? It's likening the members of a church to the members of a body. The eye, the ear, the foot, you know, the nose, all these members that we have in our body, he's comparing them to the members of a church, okay? Now look at 1 Corinthians chapter 5, you say, yeah, but you know, in Matthew 18, it says to cut it off and to be cast into hell. You know, does that mean that when we like throw someone out, that like, they're gonna go to hell or something? Not necessarily, unless there's some infiltrator who was never saved in the first place, amen? What does it talk about when it talks about being cast into hell? Well, keep in mind that in the Bible, hell and destruction are used synonymously. We looked at a couple verses in the Bible in the Old Testament that says hell and destruction are before the Lord. Apollyon in the book of Revelation means destruction, he comes from hell. So often, hell and destruction are used synonymously in the Bible. Now look at 1 Corinthians 5 verse 3, speaking of the person who's involved in fornication, it says in verse 3, for I barely, as absent in the body but present in spirit, have judged already as though I were present concerning him to have so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together in my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for what? The destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus, your glory is not good. So what do we see there? The reason someone gets excommunicated out of the church is not so we can just say, see you later, don't ever come back. It's more like, see you later, I hope you repent so that when you're destroyed, you will repent and come back to church. You could be restored as a brother. You know, someone who's involved in fornication, they're thrown out of church, they come back and they say, hey, I'm not involved in that, I want to be part of church again. It's like, welcome back, brother. Let's go to arts after church. Let's go to internet, let's go hang out, you know, it's restored, it's forgiven, let's confirm your love, our love toward him and let's move on with our lives, let's let him move on with his life as well. But we can't skip the excommunication. Why? Because it's meant to destroy him, according to the Bible, for the destruction of the flesh. Now that would make perfect sense, what will we see in Matthew chapter 18? Because if a brother offends, cut it off. You say, well, hold on a second, but it says not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Well, the reason it says that is because a little leavened it the whole lump. So if you tolerate a little bit of sin in church, that little sin will permeate throughout the whole congregation and it will destroy the church. It will bring the congregation into destruction when we tolerate sin. Look, we're all sinners. We don't believe in sinless perfection, other than the sinless perfection of our soul. Our body is not perfect. We understand that we're always gonna sin, but God specifically highlights certain sins that qualify a person to be cast out, okay, of church. And look, we need to adhere to God's ways rather than our ways. His ways are much greater than our ways. We need to not lean into our own understanding. Just trust God what he says, apply it, and believe that what he's saying is true, okay? So he said the teaching in Matthew chapter 18 is that, you know, if someone offends and not willing to adhere to this, you have to cut off that person, that member, okay, so that the whole church is not destroyed. You say, man, I just don't know. You know, it just still seems a little weird. But keep in mind, he uses leaven as an example to illustrate this point. And in Exodus chapter 12, you don't have to turn there, verse 15 says, seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread, even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses. For whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day up until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. So even in the Old Testament, people were cut off from the congregation of Israel if they were not adhering to the commandments of the Lord, which he specifically stated in the Bible. Verse 19 says, seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses. For whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land. The concept there is excommunication out of the church. People will look at this and say, man, you're out to lunch with that. But here's the thing, can you really deny the scriptures that we just looked at? Comparing them together, can we really deny what it's really saying there? Obviously we know, and look, anybody who teaches differently than this and says, well, this is referring to unsafe people, amen to that. As long as we both know, and we're in agreement, that this is not talking about believers going to hell. We understand that's not true, okay? Now look at 1 Corinthians 3. You're in 1 Corinthians 5. Now look at 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16. Coincidentally, chapter three comes before five, amen? Look at verse 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. God destroys, you know? And that should strike fear in our hearts. Why would I love the Lord? Keep his commandments. And keep his commandments and understand that God is a God of justice, he's a God of wrath, he's a God of destruction. He said, him will, I mean, was Paul lying? He said, him will God destroy, okay? Now go to Matthew chapter five. I'm gonna see if we can get through this entire list. So I think that's pretty clear there, that that's figurative. It's not talking about literal, okay? But let's look at another one, Matthew chapter five, verse 21, it says here, ye have heard, Matthew chapter five, verse 21, says ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, thou shall not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Sorry, I cut off my notes here. Be patient with me. 22, it says, therefore, if thou, oh, excuse me, verse 22, but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment, and whosoever shall say to his brother, Rekha, shall be in danger of counsel, but whosoever shall say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. Now, I know a lot of people who struggle with this passage of scripture because it's like, whoa, man, you know, so if I call my brother a fool, I'm in danger of hellfire? Why is it saying that? Well, in my opinion, this is still figurative. Again, we understand that brethren cannot go to hell, they cannot lose their salvation. This is figurative. And I'm gonna compare scripture with scripture. Go to James chapter three. Because, again, what is hell likened unto? Destruction. Okay, that's what it's likened unto. Hell and destruction are before the Lord. And here it says that if a brother say, thou fool, he's in danger of hellfire. So he's speaking with his mouth and he's calling his brother a fool, okay? Now, look at James chapter three, verse number one. My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same as a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horse's mouth, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold, also the ships, which though they be so great, are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so, the tongue is a little member, and boasts with great things. Behold how a great matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and seteth on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell. So what is it saying? You can destroy people with your tongue, because it's set on course the fire of hell. So it says, you're in danger of hellfire if you call your brother a fool, he's right. You can destroy relationships with your tongue. I don't know, that's a stretch. A stretch would be to say that that means that you're gonna go to hell if you're a believer. That's more than a stretch, that's a terror. Because you're ripping it completely out of the context of the Bible. Verse seven, for every kind of beast and birds of serpents of things in the sea is tamed and has been tamed of mankind, but the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith we bless God, even the Father, and therewith we curse men. What is he saying there? You know, thou fool. When you call someone a fool, you're cursing them. Curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God, out of the same mouth proceedeth blessings and cursings, my brethren, these things ought not so to be. So the teaching there is that, yeah, you are in danger of hellfire, because you're in danger of destroying key relationships in our life. According to James chapter three, it can cause a world of iniquity, a massive amount of destruction. The Bible says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Now let's do one last one, go to Matthew 23. So we see that that's figurative. It's not literal, it's figurative. Let's look at the last one, this is kind of like a fun one, amen. Matthew 23, verse 14, speaking to the Pharisees. Says here in verse 14, it says, won't you scribes and Pharisees, this is Jesus Christ speaking, hypocrites, for you devour Rudo's houses and for a pretense make long prayer, therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. Won't you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Now this is figurative, but it also has a literal interpretation to it, because a child of hell doesn't mean like they were born in hell. And Calvinists would say that some people are just going to hell from birth, from their mother's womb, that God chooses certain people to go to hell, a child of hell, right? Because that's not what that's teaching. This is referring to the fact that they become almost like a son of perdition, right? You know, the Bible refers to Judas Iscariot, and it refers to the Antichrist as the son of perdition. Now he had an earthly father, but the Bible calls him the son of perdition, why? Because he's reprobate, okay? And someone who is reprobate is far from the hope of salvation according to the Bible. You say, well, how come their converts become reprobate? Because you bring forth after your own kind. And they're compassing sea and land, these false teachers and false prophets known as the Pharisees and the scribes. And notice it doesn't say that they win them to Christ. Notice it doesn't say anything. It says they make proselytes. They convert them to their way of teaching, and in doing so, they make them twofold more a child of hell. In other words, these people are hell bound, okay? Now a child of hell, you know, you ask anybody, give me a word that comes to mind when you think of hell. They'll say the devil. You know, some people ironically think that the devil's in hell today. Obviously, he's not. That's where he's going to go. But you think of hell, you automatically think of Satan. You think of hell, because the Bible tells us that hell is reserved for the devil and his angels, okay? And the Bible tells us in John 844, speaking to the Pharisees, ye are of your father, ye are the devil, and the lust of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh of the lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. So he's using hell as an example to say, look, I mean, it would be biblical for us to say that we're children of heaven, amen? Because that's where we're going to go. Now were we born in heaven? No. You know, Mormons believe something like that, right? Even, what is his name, the dispensational guy, Sam Gibb, right? Believed that he, you know, Jesus' soul as a baby was like going in hell and in heaven and then coming down, and he was going to be a baby, and he was like choosing this. This is weird, these are weird teachings, okay? What this is saying is that people, you know, they can get to a point where they're beyond the hope of salvation, and at that point, they're made a proselyte, they're actually made two-fold more of a child of hell than those who actually won them over. So I hope that helped. You know, looking at these figurative statements in the Bible in regards to hell, we obviously understand that the vast majority of the time when the Bible mentions hell, it's talking about the literal place, but we always got to read it in context, okay? Read it in context, know what it's saying, know the stories, compare scripture with scripture so we can rightly divide the word of truth, amen? Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you, Lord, for teaching us regarding hell, Lord, and we fled from the wrath to come when we heard of hell, recognize that that was where we were going to go. We're thankful for the soul winners that came to us and gave us the gospel, and we're thankful that we got saved, Lord, and thank you so much for the word of God and that the words of the Lord are pure words. Thank you that the word of God is so deep, it's so deep, and sometimes we think that we've arrived in knowing the Bible, but in actuality, we have not. There's so many other things within the word of God, so many deep truths that we can dig into and learn from and increase our appreciation of, and thank you for the Holy Spirit that resides within us, that teaches us all things and brings these things into our remembrance. Pray that you bless us as we go on our way, the soul winning, and all the ways to follow. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.