Theological Implications of the Resurrection #4

Introduction: The Fact of the Resurrection and its Cosmic Implications

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, August 5th, 1990, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:15 Now let us turn once again in our Bibles to the Gospel according to Mark and the 16th chapter, Mark chapter 16, and I shall read as I have done for several Lord's Days the first eight verses of this chapter, Mark 16, beginning with verse 1.

0:43 And when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. They were saying among themselves, who shall roll away the stone from the door of the tomb? And looking up, they see that the stone is rolled.

1:14 And they pulled back, for it was exceeding great. And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe. And they were amazed. And he saith unto them, Be not amazed.

1:33 Ye seek Jesus the Nazarene, who hath been crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.

1:44 But go. Tell his disciples, and Peter, he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come upon them.

2:04 And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. The word of one described in our passage as a young man. A word spoken to three devout women was a word that was simple, straightforward, and unmistakably clear.

2:32 These women, having come to the garden tomb in order to put more aromatic oils upon the cloth which wound the limbs and the torso of the Lord Jesus, were shocked to find the great stone which... They had seen just a few hours before, sealing that tomb, now rolled to one side, and the entrance standing open to them, inviting them to enter.

3:04 And while their minds are staggering from the impression of these facts, the young man, in fact, according to Matthew 28, 2, an angel of the Lord, this angel speaks the words of verse 6. Do not be amazed. You seek Jesus the Nazarene, who hath been crucified. He is risen.

3:28 He is not here. Behold the place where they lay. Now, in the course of our expositions of the Gospel of Mark, we came a few weeks ago to this passage read in your hearing. And as I sought to open up the facts as they are given to us by Mark, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we entitled our study of that exposition, The Fact of the Resurrection and the Empty Tomb.

4:03 But then I had occasion to demonstrate from the Scriptures that that fact of the resurrection so clearly established in this passage, the substance of which is captured in the words of that angel of the Lord. He is risen. He is not here. That resurrection has tremendous, nothing short of cosmic implications.

4:32 And so we have been studying together the implications of the resurrection and the empty tomb. We saw first of all this very vital category of the implications of the resurrection for our Lord himself. He is not here. He is not here.

4:51 He is not here. He is not here. He is not here. He is not here.

4:51 He is not here. He is not here. He is not here. Then secondly, we consider the implications of the resurrection for us and our salvation.

4:59 And then last Lord's Day, we began a study of this third and final category of concern, namely the resurrection and its implications for the entire world at large. We have seen what the implications of the resurrection are to the Lord Jesus, what they are to us. We have seen what the implications of the resurrection are to us and our salvation. And it is equally vital for us to understand the implications of the resurrection and that empty tomb with reference to the world at large.

The Resurrection and the Present Government of the World

5:37 And I told you in our first study that we would have just two simple headings under which we would seek to open up the biblical material. Last week we took the first heading. The resurrection of Christ. With resurrection.

5:52 With reverence to the present government of the world. In other words, as we look about and see this world that seems to be a contradiction of realities, many aspects reflecting order symmetry, discipline, progression, on the other hand many things that seem to be utterly disorderly, have no rhyme or reason to them. We may. Well ask the question.

6:21 Who, if anyone, is in charge around here? And the answer that comes thundering from the empty tomb of our Lord Jesus is that the risen, exalted Christ, as the Messianic King, He is in charge around here. According to His own words, all authority in every realm of created reality, even in heaven and upon the earth, has been given unto Him. According to Ephesians 1, God the Father has placed all things under His feet and given to Him the right and the power to reign with peculiar concern to the well-being of His own church, to the calling, to the preservation, and the ultimate glorification, of His elect. Now this morning we take up the second and final aspect of this third category of the implications of the resurrection. Having seen that its first implication with reference to the world at large is one in which the question is answered, who is in charge around here? Or, stated in a different way,

7:48 the world is... given to understand that the empty tomb declares Christ's present rule over the entire world.

The Resurrection and the Future Destiny of the World: Affirmation

8:01 But now we ask a second and equally vital question, a question which any thoughtful person must eventually ask. And that question is, where is it all going? It's one thing to know that it is all presently under Christ's control. But is it going anywhere?

8:25 Will it at any point in human history? Or will there simply be one cycle after another of generations that are born and live and die, nations that are formed and rise to power and sink into oblivion? Is this to go on forever and forever? Is it to simply run out of sight, run out of steam and peter out and know certainty as to what point it will thus run out of steam and come to nothing?

9:01 So we must wrestle with the question, not only is anyone in charge around here, but where will it all end? And the answer again comes to us from Joseph's empty garden tomb, that indeed there is an end, a terminus, a glorious and in the one sense of frightening conclusion to human history. And so we take up as our subject this morning the resurrection of Christ in relationship to the future destiny of the world. Having seen the resurrection in relationship to the present government of the world, we now focus our attention upon the resurrection of Jesus in relationship to the future destiny of the world. And in opening up the subject, I have three very simple heads, affirmation, demonstration and application. First of all, I begin with an affirmation, and this is the affirmation. The resurrection of Jesus and the empty tomb declare to all the world

10:21 That human history, bounded by time, will culminate in a day of universal judgment resulting in all men ushered into heaven or consigned to eternal punishment in hell. That is my simple affirmation. Now in this affirmation, three things are central. Number one, human history lived out in its cycle of days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, and millennia will not go on forever.

11:06 I have affirmed that the resurrection and the empty tomb declare to all the world history bounded by will to a day of consummation. And so the first strand of this affirmation that is vital, and we learn from the empty tomb as we shall see, is that human history as we know it, lived out in these segments of time as we understand it, will not go on. There is an end. In 1 Corinthians 15, 24, we read, then comes an end.

12:04 It tells us the consummation of human history as we know it. The second strand of my affirmation is that human history lived out in time will end in a day of judgment. I have stated that human history will culminate in a day of universal judgment. Now these words of affirmation assert that the end of human history will not go on forever.

12:38 It tells us that human history will not be a gradual or sudden explosion of our planet, thus making all that has ever been upon this planet and exists upon this planet so much cosmic dust and debris to float around for unknown reason. No. Human history lived out in time a day of judgment. As surely as there is an end.

13:14 1 Corinthians 15, 24, the scripture tells us that the end of human history as we know it is the day of judgment. Hebrews 9, 27, and as it is appointed unto men once to die and after this cometh judgment. In our reading in 2 Peter today, Peter the inspired apostle speaks of the day of judgment. And the third element in my affirmation is this.

13:49 And may God help us not to be lulled to sleep by the familiarity of the words. Human history lived out in time ending in the day of judgment will result in all men being ushered into heaven or consigned to everlasting. And these parts of my affirmation assert that. that the end of human history will not be the end of human existence.

14:22 Rather, the day of judgment will result in all men being ushered into a timeless body-soul existence in a real new heavens and new earth, or in a place called Gehenna, darkness, the lake of fire. And here I could rest my case, though there are dozens of texts to assert it and support it, I rested upon the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 25, 34, 41, and 46. Here our Lord himself says an hour is coming in which he will say to men and to women, the king shall say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye believers. Be blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Here are people ushered into heaven.

15:26 In verse 41, Then shall he say to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. Some are consigned to me. To an everlasting hell. And when he ushers some into heaven and consigns others to hell.

15:54 Verse 46. And these eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. In summary then, I begin our study today with this affirmation. As we contemplate what are the implications of, the empty tomb and the resurrection of Christ to the world at large.

16:27 And in particular to the question, what is the future of this world and of human history as we now experience it. And as we look back over our shoulder and see that others experience it. Is it going anywhere? Will it end anywhere?

16:46 I affirm in your presence based upon the word of God, that the resurrection of Jesus, Jesus in the empty tomb, declare to all the world, that human history bounded by time, will culminate in a day of universal judgment. Resulting in all men of all ages being ushered into heaven. Or consigned to eternal punishment in hell. Now while I have each of these strands of the affirmation into a text or two of scripture.

Demonstration: The Resurrection Validates Universal Judgment

17:24 We come now in the second place to demonstration. That is I want to open up from the scriptures and prove what is asserted. And in particular to show that this affirmation is validated by the empty tomb and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Now if God told us these things without any reference to the resurrection.

17:53 We would be bound to accept them on the basis of the authority of God. And so I am not saying in no resurrection that these truths would not be revealed. Or should not be accepted as valid if revealed. But what I am saying is that Joseph's empty tomb is the great validation of these assertions.

18:23 And we cannot rid ourselves of these realities. Unless we are prepared to find a tomb somewhere in Palestine. And demonstrate that the fragmented bones left in it are the remains of Jesus of Nazareth. Eyewitnesses saw the empty tomb.

18:47 They looked at the place where he had been laid. They listened to the words of the angel. He is not here. He is risen from the dead.

18:59 And it is the realities of Mark 16, 1 to 8. That underscore and validate and declare with thundering voice to the world. The answer to the question, where is it all going? Now there are two crucial passages that I would bring to your attention.

19:21 As I seek to lay before you a bible. The biblical demonstration. The evidence that there is a direct link between the resurrection and the awesome day. Which consummates human history and ushers in eternity.

19:39 And both of them are found in instances of apostolic preaching. And though again I would accept them no matter where they were found. I am particularly delighted that they are found in preaching. Found racks of sermons.

19:55 In which apostles were preaching to real live needy sinners. Who needed to know of God's salvation. And in the midst of that preaching. They tie together in the most intimate way.

20:11 The affirmation I have made that all of human history is heading and culminating in a day of judgment. In which time ends. Eternity begins. And all men will be in heaven or in hell.

20:25 And this shows us you see that this link is not something for the theologians to talk about. When they sip coffee in the faculty lounge in their seminaries. It is not something for men to write about and to sell their books to intellectuals. This is stuff that comes out of real live apostolic preaching.

Apostolic Witness 1: Peter's Sermon in Acts 10

20:50 To real live needy sinners. In the real live first century world. Turn to the first instance in Acts chapter 10. If you will please.

21:02 Acts chapter 10. Now remember the setting. God has made known his will for the apostle Peter. That he should go to a place called Joppa.

21:13 And that he should there preach the gospel. And God has also prepared a man in his household. To receive the servant of God. So that when they gather.

21:23 They gather with the disposition of verse 33 of Acts 10. Cornelius speaking to Peter says. Forthwith therefore I sent to you. And you have well done that you are come.

21:36 Now therefore we are all here present. In the sight of God. To hear all things that have been commanded thee of the Lord. Would to God every congregation could say that every Lord's day.

21:54 We are gathered in the sight of God. To hear all things that have been commanded. God's servants of Peter opened his mouth and said. And he begins to preach.

22:14 And the part of his sermon that I want you to notice with me in particular. Is verses 39 to 42. And we are witnesses of all things which he did. Speaking of Christ.

22:27 Both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. Whom also they slew. Hanging him on a tree. Him God raised up the third day.

22:38 And gave him to be made manifest. Up to all the people. But unto witnesses that were chosen before of God. Even to us who ate and drank.

22:49 With him after he rose from the dead. And he charged us to preach unto the people. And to testify. That this is he who is ordained of God.

23:05 To be the judge of the living and the dead. Now will you notice with me several of the dominant elements. In this part of Peter's sermon. Particularly three elements.

23:19 Number one. Peter and the other apostles were eyewitnesses of all that Jesus did. 34a. They are witnesses of all that Jesus did.

23:34 39a. I'm sorry. And we are witnesses of all things which he did. Both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

23:47 When I speak to you of Jesus of Nazareth. I am not speaking based on the testimony of another. Peter says. Nor do I speak these things simply as the only one who saw them.

24:00 But I speak with the other apostles as eyewitnesses of all that he did. In the broader regions up in Galilee. And there in the center of Judaism. There at Jerusalem.

24:15 We are witnesses. The things I say to you. I do not spin them out of my own religiously inclined intellect. They are not mystic impressions received while I was at prayer.

24:28 They are things I saw. Things to which I and my fellow apostles are witnesses. Second element in the sermon that is vital. Peter says that he and his fellow apostles were witnesses of his death.

24:45 And of his resurrection. We are not only witnesses of all things. That he both did. In the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

24:54 But he says here is another fact. Known to all of these. Whom also they slew. Hanging him on a tree.

25:03 Him God raised up the third day. And gave him to be made manifest. Not to all the people. But unto witnesses that were chosen before of God.

25:16 Even to us. Who ate and drank with him. After he rose from the dead. You will notice he makes but a passing reference to the fact of his death.

25:31 Whom they slew. Hanging him on a tree. This was a matter of a public act. The most ungodly.

25:40 The most unsympathetic. The most vile and vicious haters of Christ. Saw that he had been hung upon a tree. They cast the mockery into his teeth.

25:53 And they cheered him. If thou be the Christ come down from the cross. Prove your stuff. And then we will believe upon you.

26:02 But when it comes to the resurrection. Peter amplifies the element of witnesses. And he says they were select witnesses. Divinely selected witnesses.

26:15 God gave him to be made manifest. That is the risen Christ appeared to men. But not to all the people indiscriminately. But unto witnesses chosen before of God.

26:34 There were peculiar witnesses previously chosen of God. And then Peter identifies them to us. And then he brings in a marvelous little stroke. Describing the us.

26:47 Of all the things he could have said about the us. He says who ate and drank with him. After he rose from the dead. Now why in the world of all the things Jesus did.

27:01 In his post resurrection appearances. Why does he single out. He ate and he drank with us. Didn't he give them the great commission.

27:11 Didn't he give them marvelous teaching. Wasn't he with them forever. Wasn't he with them 40 days after the resurrection. Speaking of the kingdom of God.

27:19 Yes he did many things. And spoke many things. But when Peter is focusing on the fact. That we were divinely selected.

27:28 Witnesses of the risen Christ. He says even those of us who ate. And who drank with him. And what is he referring to?

27:38 Well he could be referring to the incident. In the post script of John's gospel. John 21. That seaside experience.

27:46 Where Jesus prepared fish upon a bed of coals. And while they had labored all night. And caught nothing. At the Lord's bidding.

27:54 They catch a great draft of fishes. And come ashore. And Jesus has a breakfast prepared for them. But there is no explicit statement.

28:02 That Jesus ate with them on that occasion. He may have. But if you will turn to Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24.

28:12 Here is the great significance of Peter. Highlighting this apparently mundane incident. He ate and he drank with us. But look at the setting.

28:25 Luke 24, 36. And as they spake these things. He himself stood in the midst of them. And said unto them.

28:33 Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and afraid. Supposed that they had beheld the spirit. When the Lord Jesus at that time.

28:42 When the Lord Jesus appeared in their midst. He had the form of a man. He had the features of the one whom they had known. When they were witnesses of all things that he did.

28:55 They had slept with him. Eaten with him. Traveled with him. For three and a half years.

29:01 They were his intimate associates. They knew him at a glance. And it was none other than Jesus. But he appeared not coming through the door.

29:11 So they said. It must be an apparition. It must be a spirit. That is taking some kind of materialization.

29:19 But it must not be the resurrected Christ. They were frightened. The Lord was conscious of this. And so taking notice of it.

29:28 He says. Verse 38. And he said unto them. Why are you troubled?

29:32 Wherefore do questionings arise in your heart? My hands and my feet. It is I myself. I do its work.

29:45 Take in the scarred wounds I received upon the cross. My hands. But then not only use your sense of sight. Use your sense of touch.

30:00 Hand me and see. For a spirit has not flesh and bones. As you behold me having. You see if someone sees an apparition.

30:14 If someone is merely having a vision. And you take your finger. And a hand is held forth in that apparition. Your finger can go straight through the apparition.

30:26 It has no physical substance. But Jesus said. Not only look upon me. Use your sense of touch.

30:36 So that when one of them would stretch out of hand. To touch him. The moment his hand touched the hand of Jesus. It could go no further.

30:46 Physical hand. That would stop the motion. They could grasp it. And he could clasp it in return.

30:53 Handle me. He makes an open invitation for them. To validate. Not only with the eye gate.

31:01 But with the sense of touch. That this is not an apparition. He negates that. He says a spirit has not flesh and bones.

31:09 As you behold. Not only with your eyes. But with your sense of touch. Said this.

31:19 He showed them his hands and his feet. And one of the most interesting verses in all of the bible. And while they still disbelieved for joy. Isn't that a strange thing.

31:33 Happy. They didn't come to settle faith. I can't explain it. But that's what it says.

31:41 And it's a good translation. While they still disbelieved for joy. And wondered. He said I've got to help.

31:48 They still haven't grasped. As a matter of a conviction. That I have risen Christ. So he says I've got to go a step further.

32:03 This will be the clincher. He said unto them. While they were still disbelieving. You see the Lord's ministering to them.

32:12 At the point of their need. He says have you here anything to eat. Any grub around the house. And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish.

32:25 Before them. Now whoever heard of a spirit. That when you touch it with your hands. Your hand stops.

32:37 And when you hand him a hunk of broiled fish. He eats it. And it's gone. You see if it was just an apparition.

32:44 He might go through some slight of hand. And you might find the undigested piece of fish. Filmerly seen through the apparition. But he takes it.

32:53 And what is I say it reverently. What is one of the human activities. In which we are most carnal. Most sensual.

33:01 Most like even the beast of the field. It's in eating and drinking. And our Lord says any grub around here. Yes Lord here's a piece of broiled fish.

33:10 The Lord Jesus takes the piece of fish. And I can only imagine. How their mouths dropped open. Wider and wider in their eyes.

33:18 This is our Lord. He is indeed risen from the dead. And now Peter's preaching to a bunch of Gentiles. And he says look.

33:33 I'm not bringing you fairy stories. When I carry Jesus. Who was slain and hung upon a tree. Has been raised from the dead.

33:45 And we are witnesses. It was not only that we saw him. And we touched him. But he accommodated himself to our weak faith.

33:54 And he ate a piece of fish. In our presence. We ate. And we drank with him.

34:03 Now what is Peter doing. In that statement. He is validating the reality. Of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

34:14 From the dead. Now then. This is what's crucial. Having done that.

34:21 Look at verse 42. And he the risen Christ. Charged us to preach unto the people. And testify.

34:33 This is he. Who is ordained of God. To be the judge of the living. And the dead.

34:43 Once he has validated the truth. In the true section. Specific reference to his. Eating and drinking with these witnesses.

34:58 He says this Christ. Has charged us. That is to perform. With a message of his sovereign.

35:09 And must have a hearing. He charged us to preach. In the function and manner of a herald. And solemnly to testify.

35:20 As a witness under oath in a courtroom. He charged us to herald. And solemnly to testify. That this resurrect.

35:31 Is God's. Judge of the world. And Peter then draws this direct. Link.

35:43 Between Joseph's. Empty tomb. And the great. White throne.

35:51 Before which the living. And the dead. Shall stand. In the last days.

35:57 The empty tomb. And the coming. And the judge. Shall sit upon it.

36:06 Even. Lord Jesus Christ. So for Peter and the other apostles. There is this direct line.

36:14 From the empty tomb. To the great white throne. From Easter Sunday. To resurrection morning.

36:23 From the Lord's day. Of the Lord. That's our first witness. In demonstration.

36:31 Of the assertion I've made. In answer to the question. Where is human history going. If anywhere.

36:36 I've asserted. That time as we know it. Is all going to. In that.

36:40 Day of judgment. And eternity. Will be ushered in. And the empty tomb.

36:45 Is God's. Founding validation. Of that reality. That was Peter's emphasis.

Apostolic Witness 2: Paul's Sermon in Acts 17

36:49 In Acts chapter 10. Turn over to Acts 17. And as we read. In Acts chapter 10.

36:54 And as we read. In Acts chapter 10. And as we read. In Acts chapter 10.

36:58 And as we read. In Acts chapter 10. Turn over to Acts 17. And as we read.

37:02 In Acts chapter 10. Turn over to Acts 17. Turn over to Acts 17. There's time were.

37:07 And we'll see. At the mouth. Of a second witness. This was Paul's emphasis.

37:12 Again many of us. We are familiar with the setting. Paul is in Athens. Great Center of learning in the ancient world.

37:17 And He's at a particular place. Where philosophers gathered. And spun out the latest philosophical. Gossips.

37:27 And insights. And debates. And as He is there in the Areopagus. He sees their ignorance, he sees the idols, and he begins to preach to them.

37:40 And the first thing he does is he preaches that there's one true and living God. Look at verse 23b. What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you, the God that made the world and all things therein. He begins to preach to them that there is one true and living God.

38:04 Then secondly, he tells them that there is one essentially same human race. Verse 26. And he, this one God, has made of every nation of men, he has made of one every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth. He says there is but one God.

38:26 Secondly, there is but one essentially the same human race. He has made of one all men. And for to dwell upon the face of the earth. Then he goes on to say there is one way of salvation.

38:42 Verse 30. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands men that they should all everywhere repent. One God, one human race, one way of salvation. But now the great question is, why should we philosophers take all of this seriously, Paul?

39:04 How do we know? How do we know? How do we know? How do we know?

39:05 You haven't spun this out of your own head. How do we know that this is in philosophy? You talk about there being one God and one human race and one way of salvation. What do you set before us to convince us we ought to take this seriously?

39:27 He answers that in verse 31. Inasmuch, in the light of the fact appointed a day in which he will judge the world, in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. You see what Paul is doing? He's saying to these men, I am not coming to you with my religious philosophy.

40:03 I'm not coming to you with my own opinions. I am coming to you with a message that calls you to repent and to enter in, to the possession of the one way of salvation. Because you are all part of one human race that is lost and contend in Adam and by its own sin and answerable to one true and living God. You better take me seriously because this God, number one, has appointed a day in which he'll judge the world.

40:35 The God who made the world is going to judge the world. He says you better take me seriously. You're ultimately not. You're not dealing with me, you Athenian philosophers.

40:46 You're dealing with the God who made you. The God in whom you need to draw your life and who'll determine when you breathe your last. That God, he says, is going to judge the world. Secondly, he says he's going to judge the world in righteousness.

41:05 He's going to judge not by man's standard with a sliding scale and respect of persons, greasing the palm of the judge or the witnesses under the table. Oh no, in his judgment hall. Righteousness is stamped upon every board that makes up his bench, upon every brick that makes its walls, upon every tile that comprises its ceiling. He will judge in a context of pure, undiminished, undiluted righteousness by an absolutely righteous standard.

41:42 And he says he'll not only judge the world, he'll judge the world in righteousness. But now notice, he'll judge it by the man whom he, as ordained, a man, is going to judge men.

41:56 A man will judge men. I did not say not only a man, but a man. And the emphasis falls. And you can imagine how this would have shocked them.

42:15 Here they would come to discuss each other's philosophy and the philosophers of other men. And as men, they were in the habit of sitting in judgment on the thoughts of other men. And they themselves were constantly playing the judge of ultimate truth. By their philosophical discussions.

42:34 Now he says, a man will be your judge. In the day appointed by God, in a context of righteousness. And it is as though he anticipates their question and says, what man will judge us? What do you bring forward for such an assertion, Paul?

42:56 And he says, whereof he has given assurance unto all men. In that. He raised him from the dead. He says, in answer to the question, what is the crowning validation?

43:13 That all of human history is heading to a point called the day of judgment. And that Jesus Christ himself will be the judge. And that perfect righteousness will be the context of that judgment. What proof do you bring forward, Paul?

43:30 He says, go back to Mark 16. And there stand with those women. And look up and see that young man, that angel.

43:45 Listen to his words. He is not. He is risen.

43:56 Behold the place where they laid him.

44:03 Given evidence.

44:11 Witnesses who saw him after he was raised from the dead. But to. He has given assurance that the concept of a coming culmination of human history. In the day of judgment.

44:29 When righteously God will welcome some to heaven. And consign others to hell. This is no fable. This is no notion concocted by people that want to spoil our fun.

44:45 And put a worm in the core of human licentiousness and sensuality. And the pursuit of passions and lust. Embedded in carnal unregenerate human nature. No.

45:00 God has given assurance unto all men. In that Joseph's tomb is empty. That he is not there. He has been raised from the dead.

45:16 Now, with the witness of Paul and the witness of Peter before us. You see why I made the assertion I did? I hope the demonstration has convinced your judgment as it convinces mine. That the implications of the resurrection.

45:32 Of Christ to the world at large. Are not only. That Jesus Christ presently rules in messianic sovereignty. But Jesus Christ will judge in righteousness the entire race of humanity.

Application to Unbelievers: Repent and Believe

45:51 In the culmination of human history. At the last day called the day of judgment. Now having made an affirmation. Having set forth demonstration.

46:04 Now finally application. In what way does this message from the empty tomb impact upon me? In what way ought it to impact upon you? Well let me address first of all those of you who are here this morning.

46:23 Who are strangers to the saving grace of God in Christ. Now be honest with me. Young or old. I don't care how old you are.

46:32 Will you be honest with me? Will you try to imagine that there are not several hundreds of people here. And you and I are just sitting talking eyeball to eyeball. And I ask you now be honest with me my friend.

46:45 Young man, young woman, older man or woman in between. It matters not. In your conscience you know there's a day of judgment. Don't you?

46:55 You've spent all of your life. Whether three or four or five years of moral consciousness. Or whether fifty or sixty years. You've spent all your life trying to argue down.

47:05 On the native dictates of your conscience. That what you do in this life is going to meet you. Somewhere out there. In a climactic day.

47:15 And you really, you really got a haunting gnawing consciousness. That that's true don't you? Say Pastor how come you're so dogmatic about asserting that? Because the Bible says in Romans 1.32.

47:29 Of those who are most deeply engaged in the grossest forms of iniquity. And on bowels. Founded sinfulness. And who have never seen the pages of a Bible.

47:42 Whom the judgment of God. The day who commits such things are worthy of death. How do they know it? It is stamped upon our consciousness.

47:54 And registers in conscience. Every time conscience smites for any sin. Whether it's a sin of the heart. Of the mind.

48:04 Of the hands. Of the feet. Of the tongue. That is for an echo.

48:08 That is coming from that throne upon which the Lord Jesus sits. And to which he will call you someday. But my friend listen. That haunting voice of conscience.

48:22 That presses in upon you concerning the coming day of judgment. Listen. Listen. You have a far clearer witness in the scriptures.

48:31 Go stand by Joseph's empty tomb. Listen to the voice of that angel of God. God. Saying to you my friend.

48:40 He is not here. He is risen from the dead. And that resurrection. Peter says.

48:50 Paul says. By divine inspiration. This is God's ultimate pledge. That human history will culminate.

49:01 In a day of judgment. Jesus Christ will be the judge upon the throne. You will stand. Before him.

49:09 As really as you sit before me this morning. And you will be either ushered into his presence. And the new heavens and the new earth. Or God forbid.

49:23 You shall be forever banished. To a place of outer darkness. A place described as characterized by weeping and wailing. And the gnashing of teeth.

49:35 A place described in scripture. As the blackness. Of darkness. Forever.

49:41 Where you in a body soul existence. Will consciously experience the wrath of God. Poured out upon you. Through the endless eons of eternity.

49:56 This is why God commands you to repent. He's appointed a day. In which he will judge the world. In a man whom he has ordained.

50:08 And he's given. Assurance unto us all. In that he raised him. From the dead.

50:15 Don't play with your soul. Unless you're prepared to produce. The dust and the ashes. Of the body of Jesus.

50:24 And prove beyond the shadow of a doubt. That all of the apostolic witnesses were liars. They never saw him eat a piece of flesh. They never saw him drink.

50:36 They never touched him. They never felt him. Oh my friend. You don't want that task.

50:43 And as you don't want that task. You don't want to stand before that Christ. In the last day. Without his righteousness on your side.

50:51 Without the cleansing of his blood. As the only purgative of your sin. Without the credit of his perfect life. Being put to your account.

51:03 In that day. It will be strict. Inflexible righteousness. And none will be welcomed into heaven.

51:11 But those. Those whose sins have been righteously forgiven. Those who have the credit of a perfect righteousness. Before the law of God.

51:22 And it is in Jesus. That the perfect atonement has been made. It is in Jesus. That the perfect righteousness has been wrought.

51:30 And therefore God.

51:36 Turn from your own righteousness. Turn all that would keep you from Christ. Because in that passage in Acts 10. Some of you may have asked.

51:47 Why did you stop at verse 14. Because I wanted to read verse 43. At the appropriate place. For Peter not only preached by divine mandate.

51:58 Having been charged the Lord Jesus to do so. Verse 42. He is the one ordained of God. To be the judge of the living and the dead.

52:10 But now look at verse 43. To him. Bear all its witness. That through his name.

52:18 Everyone that believeth on him. Shall receive remission of sins. The very one appointed to be the judge. Is the one through whom we receive remission of sins.

52:34 The one to whom all the prophets bear witness. Isaiah depicting him as the suffering lamb. Who was bruised. Who was passed off.

52:46 Upon whom our iniquities were made to light. Whom the father was pleased. To bruise for our iniquities. And to chastise for our sins.

52:59 My unconverted friend listen. As surely as Joseph's empty tomb declares. You and I are heading to judgment. It declares that the judge yet sits.

53:14 As the savior who welcomes every penitent believing sinner. To himself. And to his salvation. As long as this human history is still unfolding.

53:28 Your watch and mine still ticking off its seconds and its minutes. And the calendar ticking off its days and its weeks and its months. This is the day of salvation. The door of mercy is open.

53:43 The empty tomb declares as we saw several weeks ago. A full atonement has been made. A living savior stands ready. To make good every promise to sinners.

53:55 If they will but come to him. My friend I have no warrant to tell you. That door of mercy will be forever open.

54:06 It will be shut. And there are multitudes. Who would choose rather to be damned. And forsake their sins and flee to the savior.

54:17 And in perfect righteousness he will say to them. Depart from me ye cursed. Into everlasting life. As I contemplated even quoting those words.

54:34 I said oh God do I really really believe them. If I did how could I quote them. Without sobbing. But I do not make the measure of my felt experience.

54:48 The measure of my preaching. I am solemnly charged to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God. And God's counsel to you is. Repent.

55:00 Believe. He's appointed a day. And you'll stand. And you'll hear depart.

55:07 For well to all hinge on what you do. With the resurrected Christ. He will determine your destiny. You see if your destiny could be determined by your own.

55:21 Well wishes about yourself. Or the well wishes of others. Then you could ignore the son of God. But the judge is the savior.

55:31 And he infallibly knows everyone in whom his salvation has been wrought. And he will not. If in that day he does not say I know him. But says I do not know you.

Application to Believers: Comfort in Christ's Rule and Future Judgment

55:43 There will be no words but depart from me. But blessed be God this truth. Also speaks to us as the people of God. Those who by grace have been brought into the way of faith and repentance.

56:00 We ask the question. Is anybody in charge around here. And we sought to. Suck some sweetness last week from the truth.

56:10 Yes somebody is in charge. In charge over there in the Middle East. In charge even when that heartless man Hussein. Can move in and rape a whole country.

56:25 And as we've begun some of us to become aware of his past actions. Who can have people executed by the dozens. And not lose apparently a wink of sleep. My friend Hussein.

56:38 Couldn't lift his pinkie. Without the sovereign will of King Jesus. There isn't a barrel of oil that can go anywhere. Without King Jesus determining it shall go.

56:53 And go at that price. That's a comfort to us. But my dear friend it all also to comfort us to know when we ask the question. Not only is anybody in charge but is it going anywhere.

57:07 What a wonderful thing to know that all of human history is indeed going somewhere. It's going to that day of culmination and the teaching of the word of God is that Christians in the midst of seeing the suffering all around them experiencing their own sufferings feeling as lot did vexation of soul as he beheld the filthy conversation of the wicked his righteous soul vexed from day to day. What is our comfort? Look at 2 Thessalonians 1.

57:42 Verses 7 and 8. This is the comfort Paul gave to that infant church there in the midst of the sea of immorality and pagan worship at Thessalonica. He says this. And you that are afflicted rest with us.

58:00 When? At the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power. In flaming fire rendering vengeance to them that knoweth. Know not God and them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

58:17 Who shall suffer punishment even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and the glory of his might when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and be marveled at in all them that believe. You see what Paul is saying? He's saying children of God who feel the pressure and the affliction coming from seeking. To live a righteous life in an unrighteous age and world.

58:46 Rest with us here the day when the Lord Jesus will come to glorify his saints and to be glorified in them. To bring down his righteous and final judgment upon the ungodly. He says Christian draw comfort. Human history is going somewhere.

59:09 And it's going to that point that we heard about last Lord's Day night. There was the then world. From creation to the flood. There is the now world.

59:21 From the flood until the second coming. And there is the new world. Ushered in new heavens, new earth. When he returns again.

59:33 And it is not wrong. It is not sadistic. For the child of God to draw consolation. That wickedness will not always stop and stop through the land.

59:45 Apparently unchecked. With no blush of wickedness stops through our own on every hand. We sigh and cry for the abominations on every hand. What is our comfort?

60:07 It ain't always going to be this way. The day is coming. The day is God's. In the midst and in the humanity of manliness.

60:44 Ere you exit from it. Yet we are left here to be light and salt. Yet we are left here to be light and salt. Yet we are left here to be light and salt.

60:56 And our consolation in the midst of it. And our consolation in the midst of it. In the language that was brought before us so powerfully last Lord's day evening. Is that we according to his promise.

61:06 Look for on tiptoes. Eagerly awaiting. What? A new heavens and a new earth.

61:15 Wherein dwells righteousness. When the righteous judge is finished judging in righteousness. He will banish from. His own water.

61:29 All that is unrighteous. And that place of banishment is hell. And the place where there will be nothing but righteousness is the new heavens and the new earth. And you and I are marked out for that glorious reality.

61:46 And we are exhorted to rest in that assurance. We can afford to buck against the prevailing tide. Why? Because God has appointed a day.

62:00 And when I begin to wonder. Is there really such a day? I need to go back with those three devout women. Stand by that tomb.

62:10 Hear again the word of the angel. He is not here. He is risen. And that resurrection is God's assurance unto all men.

62:22 That he has indeed appointed a day. In which he will judge the world. In righteousness. Blessed be God for the resurrection and the empty tomb.

62:34 Blessed more be God for the biblical unfolding of the implications of that empty tomb. For it answers the two great haunting questions. Is anyone in charge around here? And is what's going on around here going anywhere?

62:56 He is in charge. The risen Christ. And all is moving to the hour. When he will judge in righteousness.

63:04 The empty tomb is God's plan. Don't bank on proving God a liar. It's losing business. For the scripture says let God be true.

Prayer

63:22 And every man a liar. Let us pray. Our Father how we thank you for the message of the empty tomb. We bless and praise you.

63:35 That you have given assurance unto all men. That human history is moving to that point when your son will come again. He will then sit in judgment. And while some of us can remember when the very word and thought terrified us.

63:55 We thank you that we now rejoice in the knowledge that there is no condemnation. To those of us who are in Christ Jesus. But oh Father for those who sit here this morning. Utterly totally unprepared for that day.

64:12 May the proclamation of that coming day. And the affirmations based upon the word. And the entreaty and exhortations to come to the Savior. Oh may they not prove to be vain.

64:26 But in this very place in this hour. May some run to Christ. And find in him the forgiveness of all of their sins. And acceptance in the beloved.

64:39 Seal then your word to our hearts. May it bear fruit in all of our lives to your praise. We ask through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.