Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation chapter 16 as we look at the coming judgment of God and our responsibility in the days we are living in. Before we get to our text this morning, listen to this tragic story of what happened to a great and colorful golfer because it truly illustrates for us what is happening to the unsaved, and we see this also happening at times in the church. We are told:
The 1999 crash of golfer Payne Stewart’s plane was a bizarre incident. He and five companions boarded a twin-engine, $2.4 million Learjet which left the runway at 9:19 AM. There were two pilots, and all seemed fine when they checked in with air traffic controllers a few minutes later.
But for unknown reasons, the pilots apparently lost consciousness shortly before they were to turn west toward Dallas, and when they couldn’t be raised by air traffic controllers, two Air Force jets went aloft to investigate.
No one was at the controls. There was no movement in the cockpit, and the windows were fogged, suggesting that the cabin had depressurized and become chilled with stratospheric air some 45,000 feet above the earth.
One of the Air Force pilots said, “It’s a very helpless feeling to pull alongside another aircraft and realize the people inside that aircraft potentially are unconscious or in some other way incapacitated. And there’s nothing I can do physically from my aircraft even though I’m fifty to one hundred feet away, to help them at all.”
When one of its two engines finally ran out of fuel, the plane roller-costarred through the clouds, heading toward final, cataclysmic destruction.
One air safety investigator said that airplane depressurization can be “very insidious.” He explained that the problem could slowly deprive the crew of its ability to know what was happening. “It could be one of those things where you’re feeling happy, and you don’t know what is going on.”
Picture humanity on a runaway airplane, on a collision course, with only moments of time remaining. Yet people are so caught up in their pleasures and pressures and pursuits that they don’t realize the urgency of their plight.
- Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes, p 501
That truly is the picture of rebellious man, out of control and they don’t even realize that the wrath of God is coming and when it comes, it will be complete! That is the picture that John paints for us in Revelation chapter 15, beginning in verse 5, as the last seven judgments of God or the bowl judgments are about to be poured out and we are told, “After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” Revelation 15:5-8.
What I would like to do with this study is to divide it up into two sections or two parts. The first part we will deal with sinful man and God’s judgment upon Him. Then, next time we will look at what our responsibility is to the lost in the days we are living in, how close we are to the Lord’s return and the Rapture of the church. You see, like what happened to Payne Stewart and the rest who were on board that plane, is like what is happening to the lost, they are feeling good about themselves and they have no clue where they are going, the destruction that awaits them. And there are some in the church with that same course, flying aimlessly, without direction and they too are headed for disaster!
With that said, let’s being reading in Revelation chapter 16, starting in verse 5, and let’s see what the Lord has for us as we study His Word.
Have you ever been judged unfairly before? I have and it was not fun because it wasn’t fair. At the hospital I worked at I was involved in a Nurse Retention Committee and its function was to see what we could do to retain nurses. In other words, we were trying to learn from our mistakes and promote the good things the hospital was doing, what they had to offer and to be open to suggestions from other nurses to make our hospital a place where nurses wanted to come and work.
Things started out slow, as most committee’s do, but we began to make some progress, implementing some positive things. But then it seemed like we were going nowhere and personally, I don’t have time for a committee that is just a bunch of complaining, all talk and no action. That is not me. So at one of the meetings I presented a survey for the nurses in the hospital to take so we could see where we were doing good and what needs to be improved upon. Obviously we could not do everything they wanted, but we could see what was most important and try to work on those issues.
In this group or committee were the Vice President of Nursing and the head of Personnel or Human Resources, and I got along well with them. But as soon as I suggested this survey, well, you could have heard a pin drop. I knew something was wrong but I had no idea what that problem was, it was just a survey! Out of this group of about 15 people, everyone was silent except one other nurse who saw I was in trouble and she stood up for me, but that did not help. In fact, Administration very politely told me that if I was too busy I could step down from this committee. I didn’t get what they were saying and said that I had the time! I guess I was a little slow and maybe still am.
Still not knowing what I did wrong, but I knew something was up, I went back to the ICU and talked with the other nurses and doctors about what just happened. I said something to the effect, “I don’t know what happened when I suggested a survey, but I think I’m going to have to look under my car for a bomb when I leave tonight!” and we laughed and I thought that was the end of it, but it was far from over!
Before I went to work on that Friday afternoon, my boss, the head of ICU called me to warn me what was going to happen when I came to work. Three people in administration were going to grill me about the meeting even though none of them had attended the meeting; they were not part of the committee. You see, the Vice President of Nursing was out of town and the head of Human Resources was not a nurse, so they felt she should not be the one to grill me. I still don’t get that one.
Anyway, they wanted the meeting to take place as soon as possible, so I thanked my boss for the warning and asked her if she knew what it was all about, why they were so upset, what was the problem. You see, the person who stood up for me that day was already grilled! I still didn’t understand what they were so upset about, what all the commotion was about because no one told me!
Her response floored me, I was shocked by her comments! She told me that the Administration was concerned that I was trying to form a Nurses Union there at the hospital and no hospital wants a Union! And I asked my boss, “Where did they get that from?” And she told me it all stemmed from that Nursing Survey that I wanted to hand out and that convinced them that I wanted to form a Nurses Union. Well, you know me, I could not let that slide by so I told my boss, “I guess this would be a bad time to bring in those Union posters, pins and hats?” and I just laughed!
I knew that I did nothing wrong, and yet; I didn’t know how they would respond, what they were going to do with me or to me. I have never been fired from a job before and here, I did nothing wrong. Well, I met with these Administrators and asked them what this was all about and they told me their concerns. I then explained to them that it was just a survey, period! I also asked them if I have ever done anything to hurt the hospital and they said no, that I was an asset to the hospital. And then I asked them how in the world they came to this conclusion and if there was any concern, why didn’t they talk with me sooner? The whole thing, this silly conclusion that they came to, embarrassed them.
I also talked to the administrators who were involved at the meeting because I felt that was important to do and they too said that they would never think I would do anything to hurt the hospital and they back peddled on the whole thing. The tragedy here is that the Nurse Retention Committee was dissolved. This was an unrighteous judgment!
Now, when we look at the judgments of God, the severity of them, many come to the faulty conclusion that He is not being fair. That God’s judgments are unrighteous. Folks, that is a false assumption! Here in Revelation chapter 16 we see two angels proclaiming that God’s judgments are righteous, they are fair, they are true and out of the mouth of two witnesses this mater is established according to the Scriptures.
You see, God’s judgment of sinners is righteous; there is no question about that because He alone is the Holy One! It doesn’t make His wrath pleasant but it is just, it is deserved and it is the appropriate response to sinners who have rejected Him. God is not some hotheaded God who acts in anger but He is patient, He is longsuffering.
Even in the midst of the Tribulation Period you see His grace extended to sinful man. In Revelation 14:6-7 we are told, “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth — to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people — saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’” God gives people so many chances to enter into the kingdom of God. It is a free gift that is extended to you and you must receive that gift by faith, by receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior!
If you reject the Lord, then you will face God’s judgment. In fact, the third angel in Revelation chapter 14 proclaims this judgment. The first angel proclaimed the everlasting Gospel. If you reject that then the next angel comes on the scene proclaiming the destruction of economic and religion Babylon. In other words, all the material things and spiritual things that you have placed your life in, that you were trusting in apart from Christ will come crashing down! And then, in Revelation 14:9-11 we are told, “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’”
But make no mistake about it, God’s judgments are righteous, they are fair. David proclaimed, “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.” Psalm 19:9. Also, in Psalm 145:17, and this is from the KJV of the Bible, we are told, “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” How much of what God does is righteous? David tells us “in all of his ways” or in everything that He does, He is righteous!
Now I do realize most people think they are good. The problem with that kind of thinking is that it is wrong! None of you are good! “Oh Joe, how can you say that! I am a good person!” Sorry, but I didn’t say it, God did and He knows you better than I do! Paul said in Romans 3:10, “ . . . ‘There is none righteous, no, not one.’” Also, in Romans 3:23 He makes that point, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” You see, we have missed the mark. What is that mark? It is perfection and that is all a righteous God can accept!
Turn to John chapter 16 and let’s begin reading in verse 7 as Jesus speaks of His departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit. We are told, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” John 16:7-11.
When the Holy Spirit comes, and He has come now, He will convict the world of sin. What sin? Is it adultery, homosexuality, lying, cheating, stealing and-so-on? No, not at all. Yes, those are wrong and apart from Christ you will be judged, but that is not what keeps you out of heaven. Jesus tells us that the sin that keeps a person from heaven is their rejection of Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life. Paul put it like this in Romans, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. . . . For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 5:6-7, 6:23.
You see, by rejecting Jesus as God, the one who became flesh and died on the cross of Calvary for your sins, then you are still dead in your trespasses and sins. You have not applied the cleansing blood of Christ to your life. It is as the song goes, “Who can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! Who can cleanse me white as snow? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”
The second point that Jesus makes regarding the Holy Spirit working in our lives is that He is convicting us of righteousness. It is as Isaiah 64:6 says, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” Then what is the righteousness that God will accept from us if it is not our own? How good do we have to be? Like I have said, you must be perfect for Jesus said that the only righteousness God will accept is perfection or the righteousness of Christ. He put it like this in John 16:10, “of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more.”
Jesus went to the Father because He was perfect and thus, God the Father accepted Him! We need the righteousness of Christ to come before the Father, how can we obtain that? Paul, in II Corinthians 5:21 tells us, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].”
We must appropriate the righteousness of Christ into our lives by faith in Him, then as the Father looks at us, He does not see our filthy righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed into our lives by faith. We are cleansed by nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Lastly, the Holy Spirit will convict us of judgment or as Jesus said in John 16:11, “of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” In other words, if you reject Jesus, you will stand before a holy and righteous God in your own righteousness, which are like filthy rags, and you will face the judgment of God, eternally separated from Him!
If anyone still doubts that he can’t make it into heaven by his own merits, read Paul’s letter to the Romans, it will help you to see for yourself that you will never come before a holy God in your own righteousness. In this letter Paul acts as a prosecuting attorney with sinful man being the guilty party. And as Paul presents his opening arguments, he shows that man is a sinner who is separated from God. Isaiah made that point very clear as he said, “Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2.
In Romans 1:18-32 Paul shows us that the unrighteous heathen are condemned by creation, which testifies to the reality that there is a God! Listen to what Paul said as we begin reading in verse 18 of Romans chapter 1. We are told, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Romans 1:18-23.
Now, the result of their rejecting God is that God gave them over to the lusts of their heart and the result is all kind of immoral actions, like homosexuality, a perverted mind, “being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” And folks, Paul is not only speaking of those who do these things, but those who approve of these things also, like watching them on television and-so-on!
So God condemns the unrighteous heathen for they suppress the truth that there is a God because creation itself bears witness to that fact! It is as David said in Psalm 19:1-6, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.” In other words, THEY ARE GUILTY!
Next, in Romans 2:1-16 Paul speaks of the self-righteous moralist who is condemned by his conscious. You see, God has built into our bodies something that evolution can’t explain – a conscious that knows right from wrong! Yes, we can short-circuit that system that God has built into us and ignore what God is saying and as Paul told Timothy in I Timothy 4:2, “ . . . having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.” In other words, over time, by ignoring what God has built into us, we can become insensitive to what He is saying just as a hot iron will deaden the skin it touches, it makes it insensitive to feelings! Paul put it this way in Romans 2:1-10, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness — indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
You see, a self-righteous moralist will look down upon others and what they are doing, which is just as bad, they ignore. They don’t see what they are doing as sinful. Paul, once again says that this second group of people, THEY ARE GUILTY!
Lastly, Paul argues against the super-religious person who is condemned by the commandments of God. What do I mean by that? Simply, the Law can’t save us, it can only show us what God requires of us and how far short we come to perfection, what God requires! James put it this way in James 2:10, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” And Paul put it this way in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
And yet, the super-religious person looks down upon others and sees himself as one who is keeping the Law. It is just as the Pharisees did. They saw themselves as being super-religious, keepers of the Law and when they walked down the street, if a layperson walked by they would tuck in their robes so they would not touch a person who was not clean! They did not want to be contaminated by them.
Paul, in Romans 2:17-29 puts it like this, “Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ as it is written. For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
Thus, the super-religious person is condemned by the commandments of God because they can’t keep them perfectly; they missed the mark of perfection. Thus, THEY TOO ARE GUILTY!
You see, it is out of all this that Paul makes his conclusion regarding who is righteous before God apart from Christ in Romans 3:10-26. And his powerful statement that sums that up is given to us in Romans 3:23 as Paul said, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In other words, if you think that you don’t fit into any of those three categories, you are still guilty before God!
There is no excuse, apart from Christ we are sinners separated from God. The unrighteous heathen are condemned by creation, the self-righteous moralist is condemned by his conscious, and the super-religious person is condemned by the commandments of God! But, in Christ we have His righteousness imputed into our lives by faith. Paul makes this point in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the [free] gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As we saw in our opening story this morning with the late great golfer Payne Stewart, humanity is on a runaway airplane, on a collision course with only moments of time remaining. And we need to be praying for God’s grace to be poured out and break through those shackles of sin that have them bound, keeping them from turning to the only one who will save them, JESUS! This world is running out of gas, they are out of control, and the only hope for them is JESUS!
Thus, God’s judgment is coming. There is a story of James the First who tried his hand as a judge, but he became so perplexed when he had heard both sides of the story, that he abandoned the trade in despair saying, “I could get on very well hearing one side only, but when both sides have been heard, by my soul, I know not which is right.”
Folks, make no mistake about it, God’s judgments are righteous, they are fair and no one will be able to doubt it. A person who rejects Jesus will only get what they deserve, no more! As I close this morning, let me share with you these words about Charles Finney that will help set the stage for our study next time. You see, knowing that outside of Christ people will be judged, what are we going to do about it? Tragically the church in America is losing its focus and we need to let the Word of God get us back on track!
With that said, listen to this true story of Finney. We are told:
Charles G. Finney, a young lawyer, was sitting in a village law office in the state of New York. Finney had just come into the old squire’s office. It was very early in the day, and he was all alone when the Lord began to deal with him.
“Finney, what are you going to do when you finish your course?”
“Put out a shingle and practice law.”
“Then what?” “Get rich.”
“Then what?” “Retire.”
“Then what?” “Die.”
“Then what?” and the words came tremblingly, “The judgment.”
He ran for the woods a half-mile away. All day he prayed, and vowed that he would never leave until he had made his peace with God. For four years he had studied law, and now the vanity of a selfish life, lived for the enjoyment of the things of this world, was made clear to him.
Finney came out of the woods that evening, after a long struggle, with the high purpose of living henceforth to the glory of God and of enjoying Him forever.
From that moment blessings untold filled his life, and God used him in a mighty way, not as a lawyer but as a preacher, to bring thousands to conversion over a useful period of fifty years.
- The Church Herald
Folks, as Paul said in Romans 13:11-14, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
The Living Bible puts these verses like this, “Another reason for right living is this: you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of the Lord is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the day of his return will soon be here. So quit the evil deeds of darkness and put on the armor of right living, as we who live in the daylight should! Be decent and true in everything you do so that all can approve your behavior. Don't spend your time in wild parties and getting drunk or in adultery and lust or fighting or jealousy. But ask the Lord Jesus Christ to help you live as you should, and don't make plans to enjoy evil.”
May we awaken to what the Lord has called each of us to do for His return is getting closer every day, which means His judgment against a Christ rejecting world is also getting closer! As our opening story said, “Picture humanity on a runaway airplane, on a collision course, with only moments of time remaining. Yet people are so caught up in their pleasures and pressures and pursuits that they don’t realize the urgency of their plight.” Let us bring them back on course, let us bring them to Jesus!