What He Will Do with the Wicked, Part 2

Introduction: Christ's Return and Judgment on the Wicked

0:01 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday evening, August 12, 2001, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now may I urge you to turn with me in your Bibles to another of those watershed passages in the New Testament that speak specifically of the coming of our Lord Jesus. And this is one of the many that focuses not so much upon that which the Lord will do with his own at his coming, but that which he will surely do with all of his and his people's enemies at his glorious return. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, and I shall read verses 3 through 10. 2 Thessalonians 1 and verse 3. We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another abounds, so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you endure, which is a manifestation of the love of God for you. We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another abounds, so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you endure, which is a manifestation of the righteous judgment of God,

1:29 to the end that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer. If so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you, and to you that are afflicted, rest with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power, in flaming fire rendering vengeance to them that know not God and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus who shall suffer punishment even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at in all them that believed because our testimony unto you was believed in that day now let us again ask for God's help in the ministry of his word our father we have already sought your face and your servant as our mouthpiece at the throne of grace has confessed how difficult it is for us to think hard and long upon the great issues of eternity

2:56 and so we come again asking the help of your Holy Spirit that as I seek to open up portions of your word you will help me to do so accurately to do so in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit and that you would enable each one who sits before you and your word to receive that word in faith and to render every appropriate response by your grace to the prophet of their own souls Lord we ask that your word would not be only a savor of death unto death this night but oh God we beg of you for Christ's glory and the good of the souls of men and women and boys and girls make your word a savor of life unto life we plead in Jesus name Amen Amen

The Second Coming: Dealing with the Wicked

4:00 We have seen in recent weeks a major strand of biblical teaching is the truth that the very same Jesus who appeared the first time as the suffering servant of Jehovah fulfilling every prophecy concerning the ministry of Messiah the suffering, the death, the resurrection and the subsequent pouring forth of the Spirit from Messiah this same Jesus who appeared for the first time in the life of Jesus shall come a second time as the triumphant King of grace in order to fulfill every prophetic word relating to the consummation of the work of redemption both in mercy and in judgement We come tonight to message number 13 in a series of sermons I have been preaching this summer entitled The Return of Christ in New Testament Belief and Experience Having established as a foundational point from the Scriptures the dominant place afforded the truth of the return of Christ in the understanding and experience of ordinary Christians in the era of the Apostolic Church,

5:18 I then sought to answer the question, why do true believers in a healthy spiritual state eagerly await and love the return of Christ? And then we have moved on, seeking to get a firm grasp upon some of those events which Scripture tells us will be connected with our Lord's return. And I've used the analogy of a pie. And I am not...

5:49 I'm not embarrassed to remind you of it. We have visitors who've not been here for any of the previous sermons, who may have been exposed to all kinds of nonsensical, foolish, and imbalanced teaching in connection with the Lord's return. God has nowhere given us a clearly, mathematically precise, sequential unfolding of all the events connected with the coming of Christ. Rather, various aspects...

6:19 His second coming are set before us in differing pastoral context in which there is a highlighting of the various events that will transpire. And in any given context, the Spirit of God highlights that aspect of an event connected with the coming of Christ that has peculiar relevance to that particular pastoral concern. And so using the analogy of the pie, the circle of the pie, meaning all of the events connected with the coming of Christ, we've looked at the first major slice in that pie, namely the events that Scripture says will occur as the Lord deals graciously with His own people at His return. And then this morning, we began to consider the second major slice in the pie, namely what the Scriptures tell us Christ will do at His second coming, with reference to those who are not in Christ, those who are strangers to His grace, those who are still in solidarity with Adam in a state of sin and condemnation.

7:34 And what we discovered this morning was that when the shout of Christ is given that wakes the dead, and when the voice of the archangel splits the air and the trump of God reverberates, in our eardrums, that at this return of Christ, the bodies of those who are not in Christ shall be raised by the voice and power of Christ to be rejoined to their departed spirits in order to appear in judgment before Christ along with all of the unbelievers who are alive at the coming of Christ. And then we focused upon a second piece, a second statement that collates a number of lines of Biblical truth. At the return of Christ, all who are not in Christ shall at the judgment throne of Christ be openly identified, tried and condemned by Christ, and banished to a place of horrifying torment. And in the opening up of the Scriptures this morning, we got through those two, statements that gather together many strands of Biblical teaching up to these words, that at the return of Christ,

Banishment from Christ: The First Element of Wrath

8:58 those who are not in Christ shall at the judgment throne of Christ be openly identified, justly and righteously tried and condemned by Christ. Tonight we focus our attention upon the Scriptures that warrant this additional statement, and then they shall be banished by Christ to a place of horrifying torment. And I want to open up just those two lines of Biblical truth in our study of the Scriptures tonight. First of all, consider with me the fact of these who are not in Christ having been justly and righteously tried, tried and condemned, will be banished from Christ. The word banish means to send into exile, to send or to put away someone or something. And in no fewer than three passages, each of which we looked at this morning, Christ Himself is speaking, and having made a righteous, irreversible judgment upon those who are not in Christ,

10:20 He emphasizes that the first element of the wrath of God coming down upon them is their banishment from Christ. Look with me now at these three texts. First of all, Matthew 7 and verse 23. We looked at the entire, the broader context this morning, verses 21 to 23.

10:46 And those who had the cheek to argue with the Lord Jesus concerning His identification and condemnation of them as workers of iniquity, notice what He will say to them, verse 23. Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from Me, you that work iniquity. Nothing follows of depart in two, but the simple words depart from Me.

11:24 A present imperative of one of the verbs used in the New Testament that simply means to go away from someone, to leave the company of a given individual or individuals. It's the word used of John Mark, departing from Paul in that first missionary journey. He departs from Paul, goes back to Jerusalem. That's the verb that is used.

11:53 And the Lord Jesus says that when He sits upon the throne of judgment and there are gathered before Him, in this case, those who had religious profession, had ministerial gifts and great ministerial success, that He does not recognize them as His own. That the first element of His judgment, the judgment pronounced upon them, is banishment. Depart from Me. And now over to Matthew chapter 25.

12:25 Matthew chapter 25. And here in this very graphic description of the last day of judgment, spoken again by the Lord Jesus Himself, we now read in verse 41. Then shall He, that is the returning Christ, seated upon the throne of judgment, then shall He say also to them on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. Another present imperative of a word that is a synonym to the word used in Matthew 7, 23, more frequently used in the New Testament, often translated to go or to depart. So it is again the word of the enthroned Christ who says to these, infallibly identified as goats, righteously tried and judged as unworthy of entrance into His kingdom. His first words are depart from Me. Depart from Me.

13:44 Banishment from My presence. And then again in Luke 13, another passage which we looked at in another connection this morning. Another incident in which our Lord says in the day of judgment some will object to His identification of them, His sentence with respect to them. And what does He say to these?

14:08 Luke chapter 13 and verse 27. And He shall say, I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. Another imperative.

14:28 This time an aorist imperative. And another verb. The very verb translated in other contexts to apostatize, to fall away from the faith, to depart from the death grip of faith to Christ in Christ and attachment to the truth of Christ. So in these three different contexts, each one of which brings us to the day of judgment, our Lord Jesus is clearly emphasizing that the first dimension of the implementation of judgment upon those who are infallibly identified as the wicked, they are not in Christ.

15:09 They are not His sheep. They are not the righteous ones. They are not those who have done good and been raised to a resurrection of life. The first element of the administration of the sentence of that judgment is banishment.

The Horrifying Nature of Banishment: Utter Darkness

15:27 Depart from Me. Now think with me for a minute. Please think with me. If the devil can keep you from thinking seriously about these words, he will go far to hold you in the grip of his lie.

15:43 If you will only think of these words, think of them enough that you come to the place where you say, Oh God, whatever other words I ever hear in my never-dying existence, may I never never hear the words of banishment. Depart from Me. This is the incarnate Word, Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God speaking. The One of whom Scripture speaks when it says, In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge.

16:19 The One of whom John spoke when He said, We beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Jesus whom we see in the Gospel records, friend of sinners, moved with compassion in the face of human suffering and need. Jesus with His whole being stirred within Him so that He convulses in wailing when He beholds the city of Jerusalem and knows that it is slated for God's judgment and destruction. The Jesus who gave Himself to those who came to the garden and apprehended Him.

17:04 The Jesus who allowed His very creatures to buffet Him, to bruise Him, to cuff Him, to spit upon Him, to mock Him, to hang Him upon a cross. The very Jesus who died under the shrouded heavens and the abandonment of His Father. That Jesus who now lives and comes to men, comes to you with His reconciling Word through His servants. And in the language of Ephesians 2.17 He comes and He preaches peace to you. He preaches to you in the only way you'll hear Christ preach. This side of the consummation. When His servants come in His name and they hold out the terms of peace and reconciliation that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing unto them their trespasses and now gives this word of reconciliation and commissions His ambassadors in Christ's stead to say be reconciled to God.

18:16 The Christ who graciously promises all who come unto Me I will cast none of them out. Come to Me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. This Jesus, this very Jesus seated upon His throne will speak these words of banishment. Depart from Me, from Me in whom all the mercy and grace and love of God is manifested to sinners.

18:52 From Me, I who am the water of life to the thirsty, the bread of life to the hungry, the light of the world to those in darkness, resurrection and the life to those dead in sin. Friend of sinners to those who are rejected and cast off by the world. I ask you, my dear friend, do you want to hear words of banishment from that Jesus, from that very Jesus to have Him say to you depart from Me. Utter, irreversible, eternal banishment.

19:37 From all that is light to the soul. From all that is water of life to the thirsty soul. All that is bread of life to the hungry. And I believe that one of the most terrifying images of this banishment is found in the language of Peter and of Jude.

19:58 In 2 Peter chapter 2, Peter gives us a more abbreviated statement of it and Jude then enlarges upon it. In 2 Peter 2 and verse 17, speaking of the ultimate destiny of these false teachers and those who follow their ways, this is what Peter says, 2 Peter 2, 17, These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved. The blackness of darkness has been reserved. Listen to the words of Jude as he expands in a more horrific way upon those very words in Jude verses 14, Jude verse 13, I'm sorry. Wild waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. Do you feel something of the horrible nature of those words? Our astronomers talk about black holes.

21:25 Some recent discoveries have caused them to readjust. They're thinking about some black holes. But when they speak of a black hole, what are they speaking about? They're speaking about that which they presently discern to be.

21:41 That space in space tens of thousands and millions of light years away in which there is nothing but the blackness of darkness. And God says that's the state of those who are banished by Christ into the black hole. Utter, unmitigated darkness forever. Some of you who say, in a cavalier way, well, hell doesn't scare me.

22:19 My friends will all be there. Whatever you know of the slightest satisfaction of soul as a social being in your most godless friends will be totally absent in hell. The devil himself will mock you and jeer at you and your friends will curse and damn you for your influence upon them. The blackness, of darkness forever.

22:50 If God the Holy Spirit would take those few words and press them deeply upon the heart of every man, woman, boy or girl out of Christ this night, I don't see how one of you could keep your sanity through this night without crying to God for mercy to be banished by Christ the light of the world into the blackness of darkness forever to be like a wandering star, in no constellation, in no galaxy out there by itself, shut in with the horrific darkness of a soul devoid of all light and all grace. Jesus says, depart from me, banishment. If you will not embrace him in the day of salvation, he will not own you in the day of judgment. In the day of judgment, listen to me carefully now, Christ will do to you in that day, the day of judgment, what you do to him in the day of salvation. Think of that.

24:07 What are you doing with Christ in this day of salvation? Despising him, keeping yourself at a distance from him in your unbelief and rebellion, saying, I will not have this one to reign over me. I will not reject the lie of the devil that true satisfaction is to be found in serving sin and lust and self. I refuse to believe him who is the truth, who says in me there is life, in me and in my salvation there is all that the human soul could ever rightly desire.

24:44 You say to Christ, I want to keep my distance. He will say to you, you'll have your distance. He will say and do to you, in the day of judgment, what you are saying and doing to him in the day of salvation. Welcome him now!

25:06 He will welcome you then. Keep distance now! And he'll give you your distance, a wandering star, for whom the blackness of darkness will be reserved forever. It's so frightening, but it's rooted in the scriptures.

Banishment to Horrifying Torment: Eternal Fire

25:32 And that would be hell enough. But the scriptures not only tell us that those who come to the judgment of Christ and are not in Christ will be openly identified, righteously tried and judged and condemned by Christ and then banished from Christ. But secondly, they shall be banished from Christ to a place of horrifying torment. They shall be banished from Christ to a place of horrifying torment.

26:11 Perhaps the most succinct statement of this solemn reality is found in Matthew 25, 41, a text we already looked at again tonight. Then the king shall say to those on his left hand, depart from me, banishment, in two. Depart from me, in two. And what is the object of the into?

26:37 Into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. From Christ into the eternal fire in the presence of the devil and his angels. And here I read with very little comment several passages that underscore the horrifying torment of that place to which the banished will go. Mark chapter 9 verse 43 The very Lord Jesus of whom it is said they wondered at the words of grace that proceeded out of his mouth. The very Jesus who said I am meek and lowly of heart. That Jesus speaks these words. Mark chapter 9 in verse 43.

27:36 And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is good for you to enter into life maimed rather than having two hands to go into hell into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is good for you to enter into life halt rather than having your two feet to be cast into hell.

28:05 And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is good for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell. Where? In which place?

28:17 All who are in hell where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. As worms feed upon dead flesh as long as there's flesh on which to feed, the worm deprived of its nourishment dies. Jesus is using a gruesome, a grotesque illustration. You'll be like a carcass upon which the worms can continually feed because the carcass is never consumed.

28:53 Going to worship your bodily lust? Lust of eye? Lust of touch? Lust served by your foot?

29:03 Then look at that hand and look at that eye and look at that foot and say to yourself, the place where the worm never dies. Where God's judgment will be poured out upon the body and the soul of all who are not in Christ. And in this grotesque and in this shocking imagery, Jesus said that place is the place of the undying worm. And the unquenchable fire, as long as fire has something combustionable to feed upon, so the process of oxidation goes on, the fire burns. Jesus is saying, unquenchable fire, fire that never consumes, fire that is unquenchable because that on which it feeds continues to feed it. It's the very last thing that John the Baptist used in Mark chapter 3 when pointing to Christ as the long-promised Messiah. He says in verse 11 of Matthew 3 at the baptism of Jesus, or as Jesus is coming to his baptism, I baptize you in water unto repentance.

30:27 There comes after me one who is mightier than I. His shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire whose fan is in his hand. He will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor.

30:42 He will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. We read tonight in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 where Paul comforts believers and says, look, rest with all of us who share in your afflictions and opposition and persecution. The Lord Jesus is coming and when he comes it will not only be with gracious purposes for his own to be admired at among all that believe, but he comes to take vengeance. He comes to get even with all those who know not God and obey not the gospel, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction, notice, from the presence of the Lord, punished with banishment, punished in a place of horrifying torment. The final passage, Revelation chapter 14, underscoring again the unendingness, the haunting, haunting, frightening reality of the interminable nature of that place. Revelation 14, verse 9, And another angel, a third, followed them,

32:11 saying with a great voice, If any man worships the beast in his image and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. God's anger in the last day is likened to undiluted wine, and he will force all who deserve it to drink of it, undiluted. And what will that mean? And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

32:50 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day and night. They have no rest day and night. It does not say the smoke of their extinction. And there is a wretched, horrible deflection from the biblical teaching of the eternality of hell by even some so-called respected evangelical leaders in our day.

33:22 How they can, with good conscience, read a text like this? The smoke produced by their torment ascends up. If the fire of torment is gone, there's no more smoke to ascend. Where there's smoke, there's fire, we say.

33:39 And God has as much horse sense as we do. And he tells us that a smoke from their torment, which is unending, and it's as though God says, and if you don't get the imagery, I'll tell you in plain language, they have no rest day and night, forever and forever. It's a sobering thing. I remember as a little boy, and I thank God for the background I had in many ways, even though I didn't hear clear gospel preaching in the association we were in, religious context.

34:23 They did let us know, and my parents let me know from the dawning of consciousness there was a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned. And I can remember as a little boy lying on my bed, sometimes night after night, and these words would go over in my young mind, forever and forever, no rest day or night. And I remember as a little boy trying to think what is eternity like, forever and forever, a thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand, surely God, forever can't mean forever. And I remember wrestling in my little boy's mind with those words, forever, forever and forever, and often being able to drift off to sleep only when I said, oh God, don't take my life while I sleep tonight, for I fear I shall wake up in hell, forever, forever, banished from Christ into eternal fire. It is Jesus who said there was a certain rich man who died and was buried and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. It is the gentle,

35:52 gracious Jesus who puts in the lips of that man these words in Luke 16, I am tormented in these flames. It is Jesus in his kingdom parables in Luke 13 that three times speaks of that place being the place where there is the weeping, the weeping, and the wailing, and the gnashing of teeth, the weeping of uncontrollable pain and anguish, the gnashing of the teeth of anger and resentment, weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth. Many more passages could be read, many more comment upon, but surely if these do not persuade you, ten more would not do the work. I come now to application. Why has God revealed the fact of this banishment from Christ into a place of horrifying torment? Well, the answer is given to us in the very words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 10 in verse 28.

Application: Fear God and Flee from Wrath

37:10 Speaking to his own disciples he says these very profoundly vital words in this connection, the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 10 in verse 28. He says, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. That's the figure of speech, an absolute for the relative. It's Jesus saying if some guy should come down the street with an automatic weapon shooting willy-nilly anywhere, you should just walk straight in the path of his bullets and be killed and then say, as you're dying, Jesus said, don't be afraid of those that kill the body but can't kill the soul.

37:45 No, it's an absolute for the relative. Be fearful. Let your fear not focus on those who, if they should kill you in cold blood and take away your physical life, they cannot destroy your soul. Don't let what men can do to your body be your primary fear.

38:06 But then he goes on to say, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Why has God revealed this? That we might be terrified that there is a God who has both the right and the power to fulfill the prophecy of banishment from Christ into the horrifying torment of hell. The thought is meant to terrify you to the place where you say no relationship in this life, no satisfaction from any carnal lust in this life, no pursuit of any form of self-fulfillment is worth the murder of my body and my soul in hell. And I shall fear the God who has the right and the power to send me there. And I will not stop fearing him until I know that I am under the canopy of his gracious forgiveness in Christ. And I know the sweetness of loving this God as he's revealed in Christ and serving this God from the heart in the light of what he's done for me in Christ.

39:32 Fear this God and let that fear generate in you this question how can I escape his wrath? And I'll give myself no rest until I know I have. I'm going to say something some of you won't appreciate. It won't hurt to be the first time.

39:53 But I hope you'll think about it. I hope you'll at least credit me with enough rationality and enough contact with the real world not to discount what I'm about to say as foolish talk from a preacher. You know what one of the devil's greatest instruments in this generation right now to neutralize this dread of the horrifying reality of hell you know what one of his most powerful instruments is? The proliferation of horror movies.

40:25 A preacher stands up here and talks about a place where the worm dies not the fire is never quenched where there's weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. And then the kids see the Terminator movies and old Arnold gets an arm shot off and he still lives he can be thrown into a boiling pool of acid and come out the other side alive and the special effects come out of his body and he can be thrown into a boiling pool of acid and come out the other side and the special effects give the impression to kids who say oh my kids know it's all just but what's it doing? It's hardening the human soul to that which should cause terror gratuitous horror movies are the devil's tool to insensitize a generation to the horrific nature of the wrath of God. No special effects are going to change outer darkness into light no special effects are going to change the light change the horrors of the lake of fire into an appearance in the ten o'clock news Jurassic Park one two and three the scare movies one two I think a three the scream movie

41:54 sequels what's behind all of that? There is a devil who wants to harden you to the horrors and the realities of that which is grotesque and ugly in human life but when you hear words like these don't fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul fear him who can destroy body and soul in hell you flip it all off and say oh that's special effects like Hollywood does. If you ever get to the place where you can see any form of animate life die and not be sobered something's gonna do to you to save you from the worst nightmare you also want to kill the devil who is the worst creature you'll be living in hell and when you And I broke the neck of a little gopher. And when I watched the life go out of that gopher, my wife will bear witness for several days,

43:21 I was emotionally distraught to see life ebb away. It's a sobering thing. Jesus said, don't be afraid of those who can make your blood spill on the ground, but fear the God who can take your body and soul and cast you into hell.

Golgotha: The Validation and Exegesis of Hell's Torments

43:45 Frightening. But God reveals this, not to frighten us into paralysis, but to alarm us that we might in the language of Scripture flee from the wrath to come. Then I would take you from these passages to the place we must always go for the clearest expression and validation of every line of truth in the Scripture. It's a place called Golgotha.

44:16 And if you have doubts, if you have doubts about the torments of hell, I urge you to spend just a few moments with me standing at Golgotha, for the horrifying torments of hell are both validated and exegeted in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you want to really know if the threats measure up to the reality? Do you want to know what the terrors of hell, what hell will be like in the concrete experience of a true human being? Come with me.

44:55 I challenge you. Come with me and stand and let your mind and soul drink in the realities of Golgotha.

45:06 The Scripture says there was darkness over the whole land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. It became midnight at midday in Palestine. Because hell was concentrated at Golgotha, wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. The darkness descends when incarnate deity is bearing the wrath of God for sin.

45:45 The rich man in hell said, Please, please, a drop of water.

45:51 Jesus cried, I thirst. I thirst. He knew the thirst of hell. He knew the darkness of hell.

46:04 He knew the banishment of hell. For at the end of the three hours, the Scriptures tell us he cried. He did not whimper, marshalling all of his ebbing strength in that horror of darkness. He cries out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, abandoned me, why have you banished me from your presence?

46:38 The threats of hell are validated at Golgotha. The realities of hell are exegeted at Golgotha.

46:47 And the Scripture says, He who spared not his own son, the sinless one, when made sin by imputation, God spared him not.

47:05 In those days, dark hours, the infinite soul of the God-man is able to take into itself in those hours an eternity of the hell-deservingness of our sin.

47:21 My friend, if he spared not his own son, what makes you think he's going to spare you?

47:29 You are living in a fool's paradise to think you'll somehow wiggle out from the certain judgment of Almighty God. And that's why again this night, in Christ's name, I plead with you, get into Christ. Because in Christ, all that he did in his vicarious hell-bearing becomes yours. And the only darkness and thirst and abandonment you will ever know in terms of judicial punishment for your sin is that which Christ bore for all who hide in him.

48:11 Get into Christ, and there will be no judgmental darkness, no judgmental thirst, no judgmental banishment. Christ bore that for all who will embrace it in him.

Hymn: Christ Bore Our Hell

48:31 One of my favorite hymns that I love to quote whenever pausing around the cross of Christ is that lovely hymn by Annie Cousin. We sing her hymn based on the words of Samuel Rutherford. But this is a lesser-known hymn. O Christ, what burdens bowed thy head?

48:55 Our load was laid on thee. Thou stoodest in the sinner's stead, its bear all ill for me. A victim led, thy blood was shed. Now there's no load for me.

49:11 Death and the curse were ill, in our cup. O Christ, was full for thee. But thou hast drained the last dark drop. Tis empty now for me.

49:24 That bitter cup, love drank it up. Now blessings draft for me. Jehovah lifted up his rod. O Christ, it fell on thee.

49:36 Thou wast sore stricken of thy God. There's not one stroke for me. Thy tears, thy blood, beneath it flowed. Thy bruising healeth me.

49:51 The tempest's awful voice was heard. O Christ, it broke on thee. Thy open bosom was my ward. It braved the storm for me.

50:03 Thy form was scarred, thy visage marred. Now cloudless peace for me. Jehovah bade his sword awake. O Christ, it woke against thee.

50:15 Thy blood the flaming blade must slake. Thy heart its sheath must be. All for my sake, my peace to make. Now sleeps that sword for me.

Final Plea: Go to Christ Now

50:28 Dear children, dear young people, dear adults, I beg you, unless you can scrub from human history, the reality of Golgotha takes seriously. What God's words say, Christ will do when he comes again to all who are not in him. If they've died, he'll raise them from the dead. He'll release their departed spirits from Hades, reunite them as whole integrated human beings and summon them to judgment.

51:07 And there at that judgment, he will judge in perfect knowledge, in perfect equity and righteousness and justice. He will make an infallible identification of the wicked. He will then try and judge and condemn the wicked. And then he will banish them into a place of horrifying torment.

51:33 And if any of you go to that judgment and have validated in your experience what's been preached tonight, see these hands? They're clean of your blood. You bring your blood to pass. You put it upon your own head.

51:55 And that's what sends a preacher home with a strained voice and a weary body and saying, Oh God, have I spent my strength for naught again? Don't go to hell. Go to Christ. Go to him now.

52:20 Give yourself no rest until you know that you're in Christ. For dear brothers and sisters, is not this our great joy? Romans 8, 1. There is therefore now.

52:32 Here and now. No condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. With respect to God's judicial dealing with our sins, if we're in Christ, the day of judgment has come and gone. It's already passed.

52:48 It's passed. Verily I say unto you, said Jesus, he that hears my word and believes him that sent me shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. How we should love him. How our hearts should burn with a passion to please him and how we should have an increasing burden to make known the knowledge of his great salvation before his triumphant voice is heard and the archangel amens his returning shout and the trump of God sounds and those who are not in Christ will witness them arraigned, attentified, tried, condemned, and banished. And you know what's going to happen? God will so perfect us that we'll be able to rejoice, Revelation 19, in your damnation. You hear me?

53:54 God will be so glorified in his justice in damning you that all of his people, in perfect sympathy with his heart, will rejoice. But we can't rejoice now. We stand like the father in the parable of the prodigal, waiting to rejoice. At returning sinners.

54:14 Go to Jesus. Go to him now. And he promises you a welcome. Let's pray.

54:23 Our father, what more can we say to you than we have poured out in prayer in this place tonight? You have heard the cries of your people preceding this hour. Those who have met throughout the week and cried to you that you would own your word this day to the salvation. You have heard the cries of those who have gathered around their tables.

54:55 Those who gathered in the multipurpose room before this service. You have heard the cries that we've uttered to you in this very meeting. Lord God, we pray that you will not turn away our cry, that there would be some who would mark this day as the day when they ran into Christ. Oh God, for your glory, for the good and the safety of their never dying souls.

55:24 Constrain them to come, we pray. Seal your word to our hearts. Don't let the devil pluck up at that seed by banal, trivial conversation. Lord, make those who are your children jealous to seek out those who may not know you, and to lovingly press home the claims of Christ in the great issues of eternity.

55:50 Help us all, our Father. We feel so much of the time we're only half awake to these awesome realities. Have mercy upon us. Oh God, have mercy upon us.

56:02 Hear and answer us, we plead, for Jesus' sake. Amen.