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140, okay? So I wanna break that on Easter Sunday. It's a great time to do that. We're gonna have breakfast. And a good way to encourage people to be here for that service is pushing the Easter egg hunt, okay? And we now have room to do an Easter egg hunt. Before it's like we had a little courtyard and they're, you know, just put all the eggs in the garbage can over there in the dumpster and have the kids go over there and stuff. But now we actually have like a backyard where we can do that. And so we're gonna have Easter eggs for the kids. And you're like, oh, that's pagan. All right, then don't go look for Easter eggs then. You stay here while the kids go do that and have fun, okay? And so, but you know, that's a good way to kinda, you know, invite people. Say, hey, you know, you wanna come? The church is gonna have an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Bring your kids. And that way we can reel them in and get them saved and Lord willing to get plugged into the church. And so it's gonna be a special service. And I'm sure the orchestra is gonna be playing some new music for that service there. And if they weren't before, they are now. No, but I know brother John, he told me they're gonna be ready for that. They're preparing for that. So looking forward to it. I love Easter. It's gonna be great. And then just as a reminder, quiet time is between 3 p.m. and 4.15 in the main auditorium and mother baby room. We'll turn off the lights here during that time. Allow people to take naps and the children to rest. And so no fellowshipping in the main auditorium or in the mother baby room during that time. If you want a fellowship, you can go into the fellowship hall, kitchen area. And so just keep that in mind. And then of course, no food or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee. And just please remember to silence your phones during the service so as to not be a distraction during the preaching. And then if you can pray for me, I'm gonna be traveling to Spokane tomorrow. I'm preaching for Sure Foundation, their church plant in Spokane for their second year anniversary. So I'll be there tomorrow. I'll be preaching a sermon entitled The Beginning of the End. And so pray for me and pray that all goes well and that I can be a blessing to the church there. That's pretty much it for our announcements. Let's go ahead and sing our next song. 343, revive us again. Song number 343. Song number 343, revive us again. All together, nice and loud on that first. We praise thee, oh God, for the son of thy love, for Jesus who died and is now gone above. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Revive us again. We praise thee, oh God, for thy spirit of light who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Revive us again. All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain who has borne all our sins and has cleansed every stain. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Revive us again. Revive us again. Fill each heart with thy love. May each soul be rekindled with fire from above. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Revive us again. Amen. At this time, the ushers will collect an offering. If you'll grab your Bibles and turn to 1 John, chapter number 5. . . . . . . . . . . . We're in 1 John, chapter number 5. The chapter reads, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear a record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath a witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the book of 1 John, dear God. And we thank you for this church, dear Lord, for wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. And we thank you for our pastor. And we ask that you please fill in with your Holy Spirit tonight as he preaches your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, tonight we conclude the book of 1 John. And we're in chapter 5 tonight. And the book concludes with a really comprehensive defense of the record and witness of Jesus Christ. That's really what it finishes off on. And it's a very powerful chapter, in fact. And I would encourage you that if you don't do so already, that you implement this into your soul-winning. Because it has a lot of good soul-winning verses in here that you can use as a defense, as a way to explain what salvation is. And of course, we'll see that later on in the chapter. But it's one of the best chapters to use while soul-winning, but it has a lot of depth to it. But let's get started. Verse number 1 says, Whosoever believeth that Jesus the Christ is born of God, and everyone that loveth him also that is begotten of him. Now, first and foremost, we see that he wants us to believe in the right name. Okay? Because he says, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And the emphasis there is the fact that he's referring to people who know of Christ. And we know that Christ means the anointed one. It means the Messiah. It means, you know, the Christ the Savior. But what's attached to that now in the New Testament is Jesus, okay? When it says Jesus Christ, Christ is not his last name. It's referring to the fact that it's Jesus the anointed one, Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Christ that was promised in the Old Testament to come to save the world. And so here it's telling us that people have to believe that Jesus is the Christ. Now, I don't want to rehash that entire sermon, but it's an important truth that we see there that in the New Testament, a lot of what was taking place, a lot of the evangelism and soul winning that was taking place was going about telling people who the Christ was. Okay? Because you had people who were saved and you had people who were already born again, people who had already been saved in the Old Testament or they were saved under the baptism of John. They believed on the Christ. But now you have the apostles and disciples who knew of Jesus Christ, who knew of Jesus, they were going about preaching Jesus. They were saying, hey, the Christ that you believe in, Jesus is that Christ. Now, it doesn't mean that they got saved again. Okay? This doesn't mean like, oh, man, you know, that was a different dispensation. And in that dispensation, I had to believe in the Christ, the Lord. But now that I know the name of Jesus, I have to now get saved again as some would falsely say. And it's out there. Okay? There was a guy a couple of years ago, this so-called evangelist over in Florida, who was saying that Peter, when Jesus told Peter that Satan had the desire to have you, that he may sift you as we, but I've prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when thou art tried, you know, he's saying convert thy brethren. When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. He was saying that when it says when thou art converted, he's saying when you get saved. So he was teaching that like Peter got saved under the Old Testament. That when he's converted, he had to get saved again. Then he can strengthen his brethren. And obviously, that's just ignorance of the scriptures. Okay? When it says converted doesn't mean that he got saved again. It just means he was transformed. Okay? He was renewed. He was transformed. And in fact, every single time that you come to church, I'm trying to convert you. Right? I'm trying to reform your mind, transform your mind, the renewing of your mind by preaching you the word of God and causing you to change what you previously believed in if it's false to believing that which is right. And so it's not referring to Peter getting saved again. He only has to get saved once. Every individual in this world only has to get saved once. But the difference between Old and New Testament, of course, is the fact that the name of Jesus was not divulged until the New Testament. Okay? They didn't know the name of Jesus in the Old Testament. But of course, that was revealed to us to everyone in the New. And so look at chapter 2 of 1 John, if you would. So he's specific. So look, why am I saying that it's the right name? Well, because here's the thing is that today you can have people who say, well, I believe in God. It doesn't make them saved. Amen. Right? They could even say they believe in the God of the Bible. It doesn't make them saved. Because here's the thing. Most people already believe in God. Right? The fool had said in his heart there is no God. And the reason he's a fool is because he does believe in God. And the person who says, well, I don't believe in God. I'm an atheist. It's an individual who's just been diluted and just completely deceived by the public fool system. Or two, they're bitter against God. They become reprobate. But that doesn't mean they never knew God. In fact, that's how they became a reprobate is the fact that they knew of God and they rejected him. But there's plenty of people today that say, well, I believe in God. But here's the thing. You know, that's not an appropriate answer for salvation. Okay? They need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. That's why when you go sowing him, someone tells you, well, I believe I'm going to heaven because I believe in God. You shouldn't be satisfied with that answer. You know, we need to dig deeper and say, well, what do you mean by that? You know? And often when someone tells me that, I'll explain to them, well, do you, you know, do you believe in Jesus? And then, you know, obviously they'll say yes. And then I got to dig deeper and say, well, do you believe you can lose your salvation, et cetera. But the main name that we have to believe in is not just God, not just in the Lord God of Israel. We have to believe in Jesus. Okay? Look what it says in first John chapter two, it says first John 2 22, who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ. He is anti-Christ that denied the father and the son. And obviously the culprit people that this is mainly talking about are Christ rejecting Jews, because of the fact that Jews throughout the new Testament, and even today, they claim to believe in God. They claim to believe the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. They claim to believe in the old Testament. They claim to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But here's the thing. They completely rejected Jesus. He came into his own and his own received him not. Well, guess what? If that person claims to believe in the Christ, but they reject Jesus, they're a liar. And the person says, well, I believe in Christ. I just don't think that Christ is Jesus. Then they're just a liar because there is only one Christ. There is only one anointed one, one Messiah, and that's Jesus. He says, who is a liar, but he that denied that Jesus is the Christ. He is anti-Christ that denied the father and the son. Whosoever denied the son, the same hath not the father. He that acknowledged that the son hath the father also. So you know what this tells me? It doesn't matter if someone says they believe in God. If they reject Jesus, then they're lying. They don't even believe in God. They don't have faith in God. Because if you don't have Jesus, you don't have the father. If you deny the son, then the same hath not the father. It doesn't matter if they claim to believe in the first five books of the Bible, the Old Testament. It doesn't matter if they gesticulate and claim to do all these, you know, hold to the oracles of God. If they're rejecting Jesus, then they don't really believe in the true God. The Bible tells us in Acts chapter 4 verse 12, you don't have to turn there, go with me if you would to Acts chapter 18. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. So again, a lot of ministry that took place in the New Testament, specifically you see this in the book of Acts, is the disciples going about teaching saved people that Jesus was that Christ. Now obviously they're preaching Jesus Christ to people who are not saved, and those people are getting saved. But in like manner, they're talking to people who are already saved, and he's telling them, hey, Jesus is that Christ. And you ask yourself, well, what if there is someone who, you know, believed in the Christ, and then these disciples came in and said, hey, that Christ you believe in is actually Jesus. I'm going to show you from the Bible that that Christ you believe in is Jesus. And they don't believe it, then this is the solution to that. They're not even saved. Even if they claim to believe in Christ, they believe in the Bible, if they reject the name of Jesus, they're not following the shepherd. They don't know the voice of the shepherd. And so obviously when Jesus started his ministry at the age of 30, there was people that he was recruiting as his disciples and his apostles who in my opinion were already saved, because they already believed in the Christ. But then it was revealed to them that veil was taken away that that Christ was actually Jesus, okay. But let's look at an example of that, Acts chapter 18 verse 25. It says here, this man was instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in the Spirit. He spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. So this is referring to a man who the Bible says he was already instructed in the way of the Lord. And I personally believe that this man is already saved, okay. You know, he's fervent in the Spirit. You can't be saved. You can't be fervent in the Spirit if you're not saved. Because if you're not saved, then you just have a dead spirit. Can't be fervent, right. But he's teaching diligently the things of the Lord, okay. He's referring to Apollos, knowing only the baptism of John. So the only thing he knows, the only thing he's instructed in, is the baptism of John. And obviously we know that John's not teaching a different gospel, okay. John is preaching what everyone else has preached, okay. That salvation is by faith. It says in verse 26, And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, who when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. So what are they teaching him? Are they saying, hey, let me show you, you know, how to run a church service. Let me show you how to, no, when he says the way of the Lord more perfectly, they're saying, hey, you know the Christ you believe in, his name is Jesus, okay. So how do you know that that's what they're teaching him? Well it says in verse 27, And when he was disposed to pass into Achaea, the brethren wrote exhorting the disciples to receive him, who when he was come helped them much which had believed through grace. For he mightily convinced the Jews and that publicly showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ. So we see the great turning point in his ministry was the fact that now he's, aside from the fact that he's preaching the word of God, he's talking about the Christ, now he's showing publicly, he's showing from the scriptures that Jesus, the man who died, was crucified on the cross and rose again. This is actually the Christ. So he's doing what Philip was doing to the Ethiopian eunuch, taking him to the Old Testament, showing him the scriptures and saying, hey Jesus, I'm sure you've heard of him, he's actually the person that this scripture is referring to. That's who it's talking about, okay. Go to John, actually go back to 1 John if you would, 1 John. Let me read to you from John chapter 20 verse 30, he says, many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, excuse me. It says which are not written in this book, but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name. So, you know, this is an important point because of the fact that, you know, today the gospel has been so watered down by many churches and a lot of Christians and pastors are just content with telling people they just believe in God. You know, just believe in the Lord. But you need to be specific about those things, okay. And there's a reason why the name is revealed to us in the New Testament and in fact the Bible tells us that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus. It's the most important name out there, especially when it comes to salvation. You know, it's the only name that we need in order to be saved. We never want to dilute the gospel and not mention the name of Jesus, okay. It's an important name and especially for us in the English speaking world, we need to make sure that we stick to Jesus. Not Yeshua, Yahishua, you know, whatever other name that's out there that is being promoted and propagated by the Hebrew Roots movement. We need to stick to the name of Jesus, okay. Well, you know, Yeshua is in the Greek. No, it's not. You liar, you know. And I like how people just make these bold statements of how they know Greek and they try to play on the ignorance of individuals thinking that they're not going to go, they're not going to run into someone who actually knows Greek and check the scriptures and say, hey, you lied. Hey, you're a liar, okay. And look, you don't need a comprehensive understanding of Greek to know that the name of Jesus is very similar to what we see in the Greek New Testament, okay. You know, you don't even have to read Greek very well in order to see the name of Jesus in the Greek New Testament, Issus. The only difference is the J, okay. And you can see how very similar that is to the English version of that. But we need to make sure that we preach Christ, but we also preach His name, Jesus Christ. And so we see the right name being disclosed there. Look at verse number two, but this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. So aside from the right name, we see the right love needs to be understood, okay. Because He says there, when we love God and keep His commandments, and His commandments, verse number three, says they're not grievous to us. Now look, people will take verses like this about loving God or keeping the commandments, and they'll automatically attach salvation to that, right. Anytime a commandment is given in the Bible, they automatically associate that with salvation. Now we know that the Bible is very thorough when it comes to the topic of salvation, but not everything in the Bible is about salvation. You know, because once we get saved, there's a life that He is requiring for us to live, and it has nothing to do with our salvation. There are commandments that He wants us to keep. There are laws that He wants us, not for our salvation, but just for our benefit in this lifetime, okay. So we don't suffer the consequence of living a disobedient life here in this world, okay. But here it tells us that when we love God, we will keep His commandments. So the law is good, amen. Laws and rules and commandments are good. And you know, you have this Christianity today that they've turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. And they look at laws and rules and commandments as just like a dirty word. We're not under the law, we're under grace, just completely ripping that out of context. And they'll often use that to basically just live a loose life, okay. We don't have to keep the commandments, we don't have to keep the law, we don't have to do those things, you know. But here's the thing, the opposite of someone who loves the law is what? Someone who's lawless and disobedient, you know. And that should never be, we should never be characterized as people who are lawless. We want to be people who love the Lord and because we love Him, we keep His commandments. That's what Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. Now let me read to you from Romans chapter 3 verse 20. It says, Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in the sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. It doesn't say for by the law is salvation, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. And so people get this confused, it's like, well, how can you say we're not supposed to keep God's commandments in order to be saved? I'm not saying that, God is. He's the one who says that the purpose of the law is to show us that we're sinners. And in fact, Galatians refers to it as the schoolmaster that is given to us to bring us unto Christ. The schoolmaster that teaches us that there's none that do with good, no, not one. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's not adjustment upon earth that do with good and sin if not. We are all condemned under the law. The law was never meant to save and he that keepeth the whole law yet offended in one point, he's guilty of all. So the law is not there to give you as a checklist to help you to be a good person in order to get to heaven because you've already broken all those laws. And by the time you reach the age of understanding of what all the laws are, you've already broken all of them. So this is not like, well, now that you know what the laws are, now from here on out, go ahead and keep them all for salvation. It doesn't work that way. Because once you understand what the law is, it's too late. Because at that point, you've already known that you've broken them. And the law is not meant to save. Verse 28 of Romans 3 says, Therefore we conclude the conclusion that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. You say, well, I don't get it. So are you downplaying the law? Nay, my brother. The law is important, you know. But here's the funny thing is that you run into Christians who spend their lifetime trying to keep the commandments and keep the law. And fail miserably at it. Whereas God gives a very simple formula of fulfilling all the law. What's that formula? Loving God and loving your neighbor. Where do I have you turn? Do I have you turn anywhere? Alright, go to Romans 13 if you would. Romans chapter 13, I'm going to read to you from Matthew 22. Go to Romans chapter 13. Matthew 22 verse 36 is, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. This is the first great commandment and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. So it's one of those things like two birds with one stone. The only difference is all the law with one action. Which is to love God and love your neighbor as yourself and thereby fulfilling the entire law. Look at Romans 13 verse 8. Owe no man anything but to love one another. For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law, the Bible says. So instead of focusing, alright, I got to make sure I don't kill my neighbor. Got to make sure I don't steal from my neighbor. Got to make sure I don't do this. Why don't you just love your neighbor and naturally you'll fulfill the entire law. So instead of looking at the law as a checklist of what to accomplish, what to do. By the way, I'm not saying we ought to be ignorant of the law. We should know what the law says. But instead of putting this considerable effort and saying, okay, I got to make sure I don't steal, don't lie to my neighbor, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't do this, don't do that. All you have to do is love your neighbor and then you just fulfill the entire law at that point. It says for this thou shalt not commit adultery, verse 9. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet. If there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in the same. Namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. He's like, look, instead of just going through all the commandments, it's namely comprehended like this. Just love your neighbor. Because if you love your neighbor, you're not going to kill him. If you love your neighbor, you're not going to steal from him. If you love your neighbor, you're not going to lie to him. You're not going to commit adultery with their spouse. You're going to love them. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law, the Bible says. So that's why it's important that when we view the Christian life, we don't necessarily view it as, well, I've just got to keep all these commandments. Honestly, the only thing we have to do is view it as, I've got to walk in the Spirit. And when I walk in the Spirit, I'll produce love, and love, loving my neighbor, loving my God, will cause me to fulfill the entire law. You know, a million stones with one bird kind of thing. And then he says in 1 John that his commandments are not grievous. Okay? So what is he saying? Look, if we love the Lord, then we'll have the right attitude towards God's rules, his laws, and his commandments. They're not going to be grievous to us. What does it mean to be grievous? It doesn't cause grief and sorrow. It's like, oh, man, I've got to do all these things. The Bible says I've got to do all this, and I can't have any fun. I can't do this. I can't do that. I can't, you know, there's so many rules in the Bible. Why can't I just, like, live the way I want? Well, you don't really love the Lord then. Because loving the Lord will cause you to keep his commandments, and then it'll also cause you to have the right attitude towards his commandments. Okay? They won't be grievous to you. In fact, you know, David said this in Psalm 119, 47, I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. The commandments become a delight unto us. Why is it delightful? Well, because of the fact that the new man desires to do those things. You know, if you are walking in the flesh, if you're walking in the old man, well, good luck with that. Because the old man is not subject to the law of God, and neither indeed can be. He doesn't want to keep God's commandments. But if you're in the new man, if you're walking in the Spirit, you're not going to fulfill the lust of the flesh. And part of the lust of the flesh is they don't want to keep God's commandments. But if you're in the new man, it won't be a grief to you to keep his commandments. It's not grievous. Okay? Psalm 119, verse 70 says, their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in thy law. Turn with me, if you would, to John chapter 21. If you would, John chapter 21, verse 77 of Psalm 119. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live, for thy law is my delight. Okay? Now, how did he make his law, God's law, his delight? By walking in the new man. And that's why it's important that we recognize, you know, as the Bible, as Paul said, the love of Christ constraineth me. You know, what's really keeping you in those seats? What's really keeping you in our church? What's really keeping you reading the word of God? What's really keeping you sowing and loving your spouse and raising your children and living right and living holy? What is it that's constraining you? If it's not love, then it's not going to last. If it's for reasons of, well, I just don't want God to punish me. Yeah, you know, that'll last for a little bit, but it's not going to last for the long haul. The long haul Christian is the one who does it because they love the Lord Jesus. They're constrained to do the will of God because of their love for Christ. So I just don't have a really deep love for Jesus. You know, I have a love for this world. Well, the Bible says, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And you're confirming that, right? But you can change that. You can change that at the drop of a hat. It doesn't require for you to put a whole lot of effort into getting right with God, you know, walking in the Spirit. It just takes a moment to confess your sins, to just die to self and say, Lord, you know, I want to start walking with you from here on out. OK, and obviously it's not a perpetual walk. You know, some people think, well, you know, that's the problem with this whole mentality of like doing the altar thing. You know, obviously we don't have altar calls here, you know, but in old IFP churches, they do that a lot. And I have a lot of problems with that. But one of them being, you know, it causes people to think that, well, I just have to make this one decision, you know, to get sin out of my life. And then I should be good from here on out. Right. I mean, like, and what happens is, well, you're not good. Because, you know, you can't just be a hero of the word. You have to be a doer. And so they make that emotional decision. Next week, they're back at their own, their old sins. They're doing things that are not pleasing to God. And then they get discouraged. What they need to realize is that they need to die to self daily. They need to walk with God every day. Every day is a war with the flesh. OK. And so when you have victory over your flesh one day, it doesn't mean that victory is going to, you know, carry over to the next. The next morning when you wake up, you've got to crucify your flesh once again. You've got to walk in the Spirit once again. It's a daily thing that you have to do. It's not like you come to the altar, you make that decision. Oh, man, yeah, God's going to just completely remove this sinful desire, this sinful habit. I'll never struggle with this again. Wrong. Unless you just, unless someone busts a cap in you as soon as you made that decision at the altar. Unless you just die on the spot, then, you know, it's going to happen. Because as soon as you get up from the altar, guess who gets up with you? The flesh. He's stitched to you. He's your Siamese twin. And the only surgery that will separate you two is called death. Okay. And so, you know, these altar calls just kind of useless when it comes to like a church service. Now, you know, obviously we have our own altar call, so to speak, when we walk with God in secret, when we're walking with God in our own homes. But, you know, you don't need to make, and often it's just a public show, right? You know, I've known a lot of people who did the altar call and they just have this emotional thing and they're crying and they're, you know, doing all this, this show. And then they end up becoming like a reprobate later on. It's just like, that person was a phony. Okay. You know, we need to make sure that we have the love of Christ constraining us. And look, I love the law of the Lord. I believe it's righteous. The law of the Lord is perfect. But if I focus on just keeping the law, I'm not going to be very successful. None of us will be. What we need to focus on is loving the Lord and loving our neighbor and thereby fulfilling the law. Look at John 21 and verse 14 says, This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples. After that, he was risen from the dead. So when they had dying, Jesus saith unto Peter, Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith unto him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. So it became grievous to Peter the fact that he kept asking him, do you love me? And what Jesus was trying to do is make a point here that if you love him, you'll keep his commandment. Okay, which is to feed the sheep. And later on in 1 Peter chapter 5, he's writing about this and he says, Feed the flock of God which is among you, take in the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Now what he says, not by constraint, it's like you're being forced to do it. It's just grievous to me, okay. This is not the same constraint that we see Paul talking about, the love of Christ constraining him. Because when the love of Christ constrains you, you do it willingly. That's why he says, not by constraint, but willingly. Hey, serving God should not be something that's constraining to you in the flesh, but something that you should do willingly because you're constrained by the love of Christ. Okay, you know, don't come to church with this attitude of, oh man, here we go again, I got to do this, I got this responsibility, or I got to go soul winning, or I got to go serve at this capacity, here we go again. Well, it looks like the commandments of God are grievous to you. It looks like serving God has become a grief and sorrowful to you. Love us thou me more than these. Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Well, feed my sheep then, with a good attitude. Amen. Don't be, don't have grief when you serve God, okay. It should be a joy to serve the Lord, right. Amen. Go back to 1 John if you would. So his commandments should not be grievous. We should enjoy serving the Lord. And, you know, if you ever have this bad attitude or a negative disposition towards the things of God, that's just an indication to you that you just need to like kind of check yourself. Amen. And say, I got a bad attitude right now, I got a negative spirit, you know, I just, I'm walking in the flesh, I need to start walking in the spirit because the commandments of God are becoming grievous to me, and I know they're not grievous. I know in my heart they're not grievous. I know they bring joy to my life. And if they're not bringing joy to my life, it's not because of God, it's because of me. Amen. Okay. Look at verse number four. So we're going to look at the right faith after this. It says, for whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world? But he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. What a powerful passage here. It's a wonderful passage. But he says there that the person who is born of God, and of course being born of God is synonymous with being saved, right? Getting saved, the person who is saved, the person who has salvation, the person who has eternal life, this is the individual whom God considers to have overcome the world, okay? And he says, even our faith. And he says the way we overcome that world is by believing that Jesus is the Son of God. Now, people try to impose their own definition on this, don't they? They look at this verse and you have victory outreach, for example. And you have these Pentecostals, you have these Charismatics, these churches and false sects of Christianity that will try to basically teach a workspace salvation. They'll say, oh no, it's not by works. But you know, you do got to keep God's commandments. You know, you got to overcome, you got to repent of your sin, you got to do all these things. And they'll point to verses like this where it says, you know, whatever is born of God, overcomeeth the world. There you go. You know, you got to overcome. But here's the thing is that we need to use the biblical definition of what overcoming is, right? Now, think about this. Why did God choose to use that terminology? I can see how people can become frustrated. They say, man, I wish like this was worded differently or something because so many people have used this to twist scriptures and teach false doctrine. But folks, you just got to understand that the Bible is so perfect as is. And you know what? To the sheep of the Lord, it doesn't need to be changed. Okay? To the false prophets and the wicked people of this world, I'm glad they're misconstruing this. You know? It's good that they look at this and think they have to work their way to heaven if there's some wicked individual, some hater of God who's trying to deceive people. But why does it say overcome the world? Well, here's a good way to explain this, okay? If you think about this, you know, the Bible tells us, nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him. So when God looks at us as Christians, He sees us as conquerors, but if we get more specific, it's through Him. You know? And often, when we think of or when we look at passages in the Bible dealing with salvation, it'll often put us in the position of Christ in that regard. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, think about this. You know, the Bible says, He hath made them to be sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Now, we know that we have no righteousness in and of ourselves, right? You know, our righteousness are as filthy rags in the eyes of God. There is an unclean thing. There's none righteous, no, not one. Over and over, we see that when it comes to our efforts, our works, and our actions, they are unrighteous. But when we get saved, the Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ's righteousness is imputed unto us. So what's given to us, His righteousness, His sinlessness is imparted unto us. It's called the imputation of His righteousness. Okay? So that when God looks at us, He sees us through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, not through our own. He sees us just as if we've never sinned. And that's not heresy. That's 100% biblical. Because to be righteous means to be right in the eyes of God. Not because of any effort that we put into it, not because we keep God's commandments, but because of the fact that part of the gift of God is the fact that He's given to us His righteousness. That's the only reason we're going to heaven. That's the only reason why we have eternal life. Not because we're good in and of ourselves or because God is pleased with how well we keep His law or His commandments or how well we do X, Y, and Z. It's because Jesus Christ has given us that righteousness. So it is biblical to say that I'm righteous. If you're saved, you can say, I'm righteous. Just make sure you make the disclaimer that it's His righteousness, not mine. And obviously, anybody with two brain cells to rub together would know you're not referring to your own righteousness. No one will look at another video and say, oh yeah, that person has a lot of his own righteousness. This person is just holy. Everyone else has to get saved by faith, but this person right here. No, we know that when we say, I am righteous, it's not because of our own righteousness. So when we say we're righteous, obviously we're referring to the fact that the righteousness of Jesus Christ was imputed upon us. And look, when we say that we've overcome the world, what we're saying really is that Jesus Christ has overcome the world. Be of good cheer. You know, the Bible says, in this world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. So Jesus is actually the one who's overcome the world. He's just given us the privilege to claim that. You see what I'm saying? So it's just like, Jesus has overcome the world. He's righteous. He's perfect. But because we're saved, we have the privilege to kind of dip into that and claim that for ourselves as well. And it's not heretical. It's not heresy. We know exactly what that means. So when it says that we've overcome the world, it's completely biblical, but the implication there is that we're saved by faith in Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ actually was the one who overcame the world. You know, when the Bible says that we're accepted in the beloved, it's referring to the fact that we're accepted in Christ. The only reason we're accepted is not because we're lovable to God. It's not because we're the Calvinistic version of the elect. We're accepted because of Jesus. And so that's a good way to kind of view this when he says, Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. Now obviously we know that the person who overcomes the world in a practical sense, they overcome false ideologies, right? It's not that they overcome works or any of those things. What they're overcoming is a belief system. Okay, now go with me, if you would, to Matthew chapter. Actually, go to the Book of Revelation, chapter two. The Bible says in Ephesians 2, And you had to be quick and who were dead in trespasses and sin, wherein in time past he walked according to the course of this world. Right? And the Bible often talks about the course of this world or this world, this world system. And what is the course of this world? When it says the course, what is it referring to? It's referring to the road that this world is taking. Okay, it's the path, the course that this world is taking. Okay, and we walked according to that course at one point. And the Bible says in Matthew 7, verse 13, you're in Revelation chapter 2, Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it. And so, before salvation, we were going in that broad path. We were walking the course of this world, like everyone else in this world, on our way to hell. Okay, but we overcame that. Why? By our faith. Not because we kept God's commandments or were righteous, you know, in and of ourselves. No, we chose to go the narrow way. And when it says the narrow way, it's not referring to, oh yeah, we decided to just adhere to strict laws and strict commandments. It is just narrow, the gate is straight. That's not what it's talking about at all. Narrow is the fact that there's not a whole lot of people going down that course. There's a ton of people going through the course of this world. There's a ton of people who, there's more people in hell than there is in heaven. There's tons of people in hell and that's why the Bible said that hell hath enlarged itself. Because more people, more souls go to hell, the larger it has to get, you know, it's being filled. Okay, because broad is the way. And so, when it says that we're walking, we walked according to the course of this world, it's referring to the fact that this is the path that we were taking to hell. And we didn't get off that path based upon our works. No, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. And we overcame by our faith. We basically changed direction, not because of the effort we put into the Christian life, but rather the faith that we placed in Jesus. But, you know, you can see how people can misconstrue overcoming, right? Look at Revelation 2 verse 7. He that hath in the air, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to you either the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Look at verse 11. He that hath in the air, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be heard of the second death. Look at verse number 17. He that hath in the air, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to you either the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that hath received it. Verse 26. He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And people will take these verses and they'll say, see, there you go. Got to overcome. You got to overcome the world. Okay, show me someone who's overcome the entire world. Can anybody seriously point to an individual, aside from Jesus, who's overcome the entire world? And here's the thing. What do they mean by that? By overcoming the world. It's just like overcoming every single sin that this world has to offer. Overcoming, you know, just keeping all of God's commandments perfectly to the very end. Obviously that's not what it's referring to. The definition is found in 1 John chapter 5. Okay. Now you say, well, I don't know, you know, that verse 26 there, pastor, you know, I don't know, man. What does that mean? I'm saved though, pastor, I'm saved. I'm just saying, you know, what does that mean? Well, here's the thing. He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. This is the same thing when Jesus said in Mark 16, he that believeth and is baptized, right? Shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned. Okay. So it's just like if you overcome, you're saved, and you keep the works unto the end, God's going to give you power over the nations. Now, he's not going to give you power over the nations if you keep the commandments unto the end, but you don't overcome. Think about that. So someone can keep the commandments unto the end, but if you're not overcoming, you're not saved, you have worse problems than just power over the nations. You got bigger fish to fry, and in fact, you're the fish that's going to get fried. I'm trying to say that five times fast. What it's saying here is this. He that overcometh, the people who are saved, and those who keep the works unto the end, you know, they get a special prize. Because no one gets a special prize for overcoming, you get the gift of eternal life. It's not a prize. A prize is something you get because of something you've done. And he's saying, look, if you're saved, but you're keeping the works unto the end, you're serving God, you're winning souls, you're living a holy life, you're basically living for Christ. I'm going to give you power over the nations. I'm going to give you authority. Okay. Look at Revelation chapter 21. I'm going to read to you from Revelation chapter 3 verse 5. It says, He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Folks, the only way you can even get your name written in the book of life, or kept in the book of life, should I say, is by getting saved. So this is synonymous, overcoming is synonymous with believing on Jesus Christ. And if that's not enough for you, look at Revelation 21 verse 7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things. And I will be his God, and he shall be my son. So how is that a nail in the coffin? Well, the Bible tells us in John chapter 1 verse number 12, but as many as received unto them give you power to become the sons of God, even unto them that believe on his name. So if he's saying here, look, if you've overcome, you're going to inherit all things, I'm going to be your God, you're going to be my son. This isn't a different dispensation. This is a different way of saying John 1.12. He's saying, look, I'm going to be your God, you can be my son if you've overcome, if you get saved, if you believe on Jesus Christ, because he is the only one who has overcome the world. Go back to 1 John chapter 5. These are great verses, great truths behind these verses. And think about this, you know, people who think, well, no, no, no, we have to overcome sin, we have to overcome all these things in order to get into heaven. They want, they think that like, once you get into heaven, like they're going to be able to glory in themselves. Right? Because anybody who thinks that they can do works in order to get to heaven, thinks that salvation is based upon the effort they put into it. And therefore, when they get to heaven, they can boast. But what does the Bible say, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Because he knows the nature of man. When we get up here, he's like, yeah, I kept all these commandments, you know. Oh, oh, you had just faith? I had faith in works. But you know what? Nobody's going to be able to boast in heaven. And we're going to say, yeah, I'm righteous, but it's because of Jesus. Yeah, I overcame, but it was because Jesus overcame. Lest any man should boast. Okay. Now we're going to look at the right witness. The right witness. Verse six says, this is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the spirit that beareth witness because the spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the father, the word and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit and the water and the blood. And these three agree and one. So obviously we see that in verse seven, the witness that he's referring to is the fact that God, the father and the spirit and of course the word, the Trinity, they're witnessing of this, of his son. They're bearing record of Jesus Christ, not of his son, of the son. Okay. If we're including the Holy Ghost in that sentence. And what it's saying here in verse number eight, where it says there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, the water and the blood. It's given us two perspectives here. It's saying, look, when it comes to heaven, the Trinity bears witness of the sun, bears record. When it comes to that which is in earth, the spirit bears witness, obviously because the spirit is constantly bearing witness of the sun. But when it says the water and the blood, it's referring to the fact that Jesus Christ, his humanity bears witness of him. Because when it says the word is referring to the fact, or I'm sorry, when it says to the water, it's referring to the fact that he was physically born. And we see that, don't we? Go to John chapter three. It's referring to that, that amniotic fluid. It's referred to as water in the Bible. And so his humanity bears witness of the fact that he is God. Now, how is it that his humanity bears witness to the fact that he is God and therefore he is the Christ? Well, because of the fact that he did not have an earthly father. He was born of the spirit. He had an earthly mother, but not an earthly father because his father is God the father. So he's born of the water, but not just of the water. He's also born of the blood. And blood is referring to the fact that he is of that lineage. So not only does his humanity confirm the fact that he is God, the word was made flesh. But also his lineage shows the fact that he is the son of David. Now let me read to you from John. You're in chapter three. Let me read to you from verse number 12. I quoted this, but I'm going to continue to read in verse 13. From verse 12 to verse 13 says, but as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even unto them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. So here the Bible is telling us that we cannot be saved because we are like born into some sort of family. When it says not of blood, it's like, well, you know, my grandma was a fundamental Baptist. She was saved and therefore I'm going to get saved. You know, salvation does not happen by osmosis. It doesn't happen because you're born into a family. You know, there's a preacher back in the day who used to say this, God has no grandchildren. He only has children, right? Every individual has to become a daughter of God or a son of God, but he has no grandchildren because it's not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. The glory is the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. Look at John chapter three, Jesus answered in verse number five, excuse me. Jesus answered verily, verily, I say unto thee, except the man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. So obviously we understand that in John chapter three, when he says that the person who was born of the water and of the spirit, he's saying this, in order for you to be saved, you have to get physically born. You understand? It's like you have to be alive first, okay? You have to be alive and so that's why it even says you have to be born again. And the implication there is that you've already been born once, but the first birth is not a spiritual birth, it's a physical birth and then you have to get born again in order to be saved. You know, there's a saying that says, born once, die twice. Born twice, die once. And the reason it says die once is because once we die, we shed this tabernacle, this temple, you know, we shall forever be with the Lord, okay? Obviously we understand we shall never die and from God's perspective, God's terminology in the Bible. And so Jesus was born of water and this basically, his humanity testifies of his existence and the fact that he's God, okay? But because he's also born of blood, it proves the fact that his lineage, you know, shows forth that he is part of that kingship, that kingly lineage, okay? He is the son of David. Go to John chapter 19, John chapter 19, we have a call back to this in John chapter 19. John 19 verse 33 says this, but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with the spear pierced the side and forth came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true that ye might believe, for these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, the bone of him shall not be broken. And again, another scripture saith, they shall look on him whom they pierced. And one thing you got to understand about the Bible is it's so layered, so many layers to the Bible. There's so many nuggets of truth. The Bible is a mine of gold that you will never run out of golden nuggets to discover. And so this golden nugget right here is the fact that the man literally pierced his side, blood and water came out, and you're like why did that happen? Well because it's a call back to the fact that Jesus Christ is God, his own body is bearing witness of him, due to the water and the blood, and then of course John reiterates that and expounds upon that in the book of 1 John. Go back to 1 John if you would. So the father bears witness of his son, obviously the spirit is bearing witness of the son. And you know what, that's enough, right? Because out of the mouth of two or three witnesses, ever worse shall be established. And we know that God cannot lie and therefore because he's bearing witness and the spirit is bearing witness and of course they're not the only ones, John the Baptist bore witness, many others bore witness, the prophets bore witness of him, therefore the testimony is true. Look at verse number nine, if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. You know if you go to a court system back in these days or even in the time of Israel under that theocracy, the witness of man held a lot of weight. And especially if there's two witnesses or three witnesses that had a lot of weight, and he's saying look if you're willing to receive the witness of man, just recognize this, the witness of God is greater. Why? Because man can lie. Man has the tendency to deceive, to be deceptive, to lie. We know that God is not a man, that he should lie. So if he witnesses of something, obviously it's true. For this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his son. He that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record that God gave of his son. And let me just say this, this is why I believe it's important that when we get people saved or when we give them the gospel that they confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus. Because if they really believe this in their heart, why not bear witness of that testimony? You have the witness in yourself. You know when someone says, you know you go through the gospel presentation with them, and they're just like, they agree with everything, and they say they believe it all, and they say it's by faith, and then you're like I'd like to pray with you so you can get saved today, let me just pray with you so you can tell God what you already believe in your heart, and they say no, I say well that person doesn't even really believe them. Because if he had the witness in himself, the witness wants to testify that Jesus is the Christ. I mean isn't that weird? We're just like wait a minute, so you know that you're going to hell? You know that the gift is eternal life and it's free? Yeah. You believe all of it? He's like yeah. But you don't want to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved? He's like nah, I'm good right now. Most of those people just are going along to get along, let me just be honest with you. And I'm not saying that you don't have your, there's exceptions to the rule and I'm sure there's some who are just so apathetic that they're just like I'll just do it later or something. But the vast majority of them, if they have the witness in themselves, if they've already believed, they're going to confess. Who wouldn't? When I got saved it was just like yeah, what must I do to be saved? Yeah, lead me in the prayer, absolutely. What do I have to say? I want to be saved. And obviously it's not like, I don't think you have to have a specific template of prayer. I have an example that I use. I think that just the main things need to be in that prayer. But don't make a big deal of the prayer as long as the prayer has all the essentials within it. Because the thief on the cross said, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And obviously Jesus, he responded by saying, today thou shall be with me in paradise. That was his form of testifying of the son. Now I don't think you should tell that to people, you know what I mean? Like alright, just say Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. I think we should be thorough, I think we should explain and we should talk about the fact that they should say in the prayer that they're believing on Jesus, that it's a gift. That Jesus paid for all their sins. All the essentials need to be within that prayer obviously. But the point is, is that because they have the witness in themselves, they're going to confess. And if someone chooses not to be saved, this is really bad. Because look, when we think of someone as like, oh they just don't want to be saved. Well in the eyes of God, it's not just that they don't want to be saved. In the eyes of God, they're actually calling him a liar. So any individual that says, well I don't want to get saved because I still think it's by works, or I think you've got to repent of your sins. What they're actually saying, according to God, they're saying, you're lying. You're a liar. You didn't give your son to die on the cross for my sins, all my sins. No, you're lying. That's pretty bad. And this is the record, verse 11, that God has given to us eternal life. And this life is in his son. So what is the record that God is giving of his son? I'm giving you eternal life and it's through Jesus Christ. Eternal, the insinuation is that it can never be lost. That it's through his son, the insinuation is that you have to place your faith in him. He that hath the son hath life, he that hath not the son of God, hath not life. Even a five year old can understand that. I love John's writing because it's so like basic. He that believeth on the son hath everlasting life, he that believeth not the son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth on him. And so if you tell some of those verses, you show them and they understand it, and they're just like, well I still think you're a liar. And so if you tell some of those verses, you show them and they understand it, and they're just like, well I still think you've got to be baptized in order to be saved. What they're saying, translation, God is lying. He's a liar. That's why false prophets are so wicked. Because they, their entire ministry is dedicated to making God a liar. Think about that. They are Satan's advocate, right? They are Satan's lawyer to testify against the father of his testimony. Think about that. Now look, regular individuals, they're claiming that God is a liar, but they don't know that necessarily. They're still calling God a liar, and God is merciful to them, but the false prophet, the false teacher, knows what they're doing. They know they're calling God a liar. They're working for Satan. They have made it their full-time job, the Jehovah's Witnesses make it their full-time job to testify against the son, to testify against the father, and to call him a liar. He says in verse 13, These things have I written unto you, that believe in the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Now, let me show you how grievous this is. Go to Deuteronomy 19, if you would. Deuteronomy 19, then we're going to go to Romans chapter 3, and we're almost done. I got about 45 more minutes, and that's it, alright? Just kidding. I saw some of those looks. Some of you who are tired woke up and are like, no, this is serious. Look at Deuteronomy 19, because remember, you got to think about the terminology he's using here. He's talking about the witness, testifying, being called a liar. These are all things that he's used in the Old Testament in regards to his law. And look what it says in verse 16 of Deuteronomy 19, If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong, then both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days, and the judges shall make diligent inquisition. And behold, if the witness be a false witness, and have testified falsely against his brother, then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother, so thou shalt put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. Verse 21, And thine eye shall not pity. You say, why is it that when people go to hell, you know, why is it that people have to go to hell just for saying that God is a liar? Because God has no pity on that person. His eye is not pitying the individual. His eye is not pitying the fool who's trying to make him a liar. Thine eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life. Oh, you want to call me a liar? Okay, then you're a liar for my son's life. If you're refusing to accept the life that Jesus, my son, gave for you, then your life shall go then. You don't want my son to pay for your sins, then you pay for your own, your life shall be the payment. Life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Now isn't that interesting, because isn't that everything that goes into hell? Right? He's like, I'm going to cast your life, your eyes, your feet, your ears, everything goes into hell. And let me just say this, every individual who goes to hell, it's God's expression of having zero pity. Man, how can God send people to hell? Because they call them a liar. That's why. And in God's economy, God's law and God's way of doing things, that is so grievous that even in the Old Testament if someone did that, if it was like, yeah this person should be put to death because they did X, Y, and Z and they were lying about it, that person was put to death. Because they bore false witness. So you know what that does? That adds more weight to Revelation 21.8. When it says all liars shall be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death, oh there's a little more weight to that. Because what are they lying about? The Father. He, they're the false witness against the Father. Kind of stinking scary if you think about it. That people would be willing to do that. To point their finger at God and say you're a liar. You're a liar. You know, in hope of eternal life which God cannot lie. Promised before the world began. Go to Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3. Look, anybody who wants to prosecute God, anybody who wants to go take God to the court of law and take Jesus, they're always going to lose. God's going to throw the book at them. And you know what, probably one of the first things that God is going to basically shove in their face at the white throne judgment. He's like, why did I go to hell? Well, number one, because you called me a liar. You called me a liar. Look at Romans 3 verse 1. What advantages then hath the Jew or what profit is there of the circumcision? Much every way chiefly because that unto them were committed to the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid, yea, let God be true, but every man a liar. As it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? I speak as a man. God forbid, for then how shall God judge the world? So he's saying this, look, you know, just because there's some who don't believe out there, you know, they don't believe in Christ, it doesn't make the faith of God without effect. It doesn't mean the gospel is ineffective, right? And he's saying, look, let every man, let God be true, let every man be a liar because of the fact that when God justifies himself through the witness, he overcomes when he pronounces his judgment. So look, at the white throne judgment, no one's going to be standing there like, I don't know, God, I think you're kind of rough. No, it's just like, no, these people deserve what they're going to get. And you know what, I guarantee you, the people who are cast into the lake of fire who we know, we're grieved over, we're not even going to think this person doesn't deserve that. It'll grieve us, it'll cause a sorrow of heart to see our loved ones being cast into the lake of fire and Lord willing, you know, many of our family members will be saved, but let's say God forbid someone doesn't, we're not going to be there thinking, oh, that was unjust. You know what we're going to be saying? Let God be true and let every man be a liar. Go back to 1 John chapter 5. Powerful. You know, so when you go out there, and by the way, you don't have to tell that to every single individual out there. You know, I don't think that's a really good soul winning tactic. He's like, no, I'm okay. Oh, so you're calling God a liar. I see. Okay. I'm sorry. Yeah, that's what you're doing. You're calling God a liar. You know, I think there's a way you could tactfully, you know, present that, you know, and humbly present that. I'm not saying it's bad to use that, but I'm saying if you do use it, you should use it tactfully. Let me just show you 1 John chapter 5, what the Bible considers that to be. It actually says that you're calling God a liar. Let me show you. And I've had many times where I've shown people that and then they kind of, they change their opinion. They're like, okay, let me reconsider what I'm doing here then. Because if God is saying that I'm calling him a liar, there's a lot of weight to that. Because no man dare, even if they're unsaved, no man dare call God a liar. Right? She's like, whoa, that's pretty heavy. But you know what we did? Every single individual who's here, we, we testified that the witness of God was true. Verse 14 says, and this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. So we're going to look at the right confidence. I want to finish this chapter. So if you got to go home or something, I'm not offended. I'll just call you out on your way out. And I'm just kidding. I just want to finish this chapter. Okay. Because there's a lot of good stuff here. And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. So he's saying, look, you know, just to let you know, because we're saved, obviously God's going to hear us because we're his children. Uh, obviously the, the, the implication and the, uh, the thing that he wants us to understand is like, obviously we have to be right with God, you know? And so he's saying, look, this is your confidence that if you ask anything according to his will, he's going to hear you. If he hears your petitions, you know, you have them, but then he gives you the flip side of that. Cause then he's going to go into the right prayer. Look at verse 16. If any man see his brother sin a sin, which is not unto death, he shall ask and he shall give him life for them that sin, uh, them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that you shall pray for it. So it's like, this is the confidence that if you ask anything according to his will, he's going to hear it. You're going to get that petition. And if you see your brother sin, you know, a sin that is not unto death, you can pray for him and God's going to answer your prayer. But let me just say this. There is a sin unto death. I do not say you shall pray for it. Think about that. He said, there's certain sins that are so grievous that God says you should even pray for that. And it's like when God told Jeremiah, pray not for these people. Don't be stubborn and say, well, I'm going to pray for them anyways. No, if God says there's a sin unto death, if God's already done with that person, I do not say you shall pray for it. Now, when it comes to our, our brothers, for example, in Christ, you know, there could come a point where an individual, where God is done with that individual, and I'm not saying that they're a reprobate, but I'm saying maybe they're given over for the destruction of the flesh. If someone is in the hospital because they were, they were shooting up heroin and they're doing cocaine, they just messed up their liver, they're just living a worldly, disgusting life. And you know what? The doctor's saying this person has five days to live. You know, and they've just made their forehead just completely, just adamant as a stone and they're just completely stubborn, not willing to turn from their way. You know, there's, there comes a time when it's like, I do not say you shall pray for it because the person's probably going to die. Okay. But how about this? How about just the twice dead plucked up by the root people? I'm going to pray for my son and my cousin to be saved. I still think that my, that my faggoty little cousin is going to get saved. And you know, I know pastor has certain views about that, but I just don't agree with that. I still think there's hope, brother. I do not say you shall pray for it. That's a proper way to describe it. Right? I do not say you shall pray for it. Pray according to the will of God. The will of the Lord is that people who are dead in their trespasses and sin can be saved, but the people who are twice dead plucked up by the roots, they can't be saved anymore. So stop wasting your time praying for those people to be saved because it's not going to happen because they have denied the Lord God that bought them. That's the reason they're in the situation they're in in the first place. You know, I got a sodomite brother and a sodomite cousin. I just, or sister, you know, I just, I still think there's hope. I still think they could be saved. You know, they're dead to God. You know, and you know, there's a lot of Christians that they're in denial about this still. A lot of people that are just in denial about this. And they need to recognize that, you know, if you love father or mother more than me, then you're not worthy of him. Okay. You know, and, and if, if you don't hate these people, you're not worthy of him. Yeah, I said it because Jesus said it. Okay. You know, you're like, well, do you have family members that are sodomites? Yes, I do. And people bring that to my attention. Sometimes like family members will bring that to my attention. They're like, oh man, you should, you should tone it down on the stuff that you say. And you know, I get you have those views, but I just feel real bad about your cousin and this and that. I'm like, they can go to hell for all I care. I don't care about those people anymore. Because here's the thing. Once they became a reprobate, they're no longer that person whom I knew. They cease to be, be that person. And my loyalties to the Bible, my loyalties to Jesus, you don't want to love those who hate the Lord because then wrath comes upon you. You know, I, my, my prayer is valuable. Amen. Invest your prayer in areas that it's actually going to work. Don't pray for Israel. Ain't going to work, buddy. Read Romans, read Romans 11. You know, I'm just going to pray for the nation of Israel so that, you know, Israel bless God. Those who bless Israel shall be blessed. Wrong. That's a wasted prayer. You're not praying according to his will. Pray for things that God says we should pray for. Okay. And why waste your time on the 2% of this population when there's millions of other people you could pray for to be saved and who are, could be open to the gospel. I just think, you know, all right. You know, if that's what you want to think, if you think your, your, your homo, you know, uh, cousin or aunt or whatever, it can be right with God, then you go ahead and keep lying to yourself. And look, I know people who literally thought they got their homo and saved and they got them baptized and they're not a homo anymore and all this stuff. It's like, what a waste of a seat in church. What a waste. You get no rewards for that. By the way, you get zero rewards for that. Even if you do it in ignorance, you get no rewards for that. Why? Because we don't get rewards for taking care of corpses. Verse 17 says all unrighteousness is sin and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one touches him not. So he just, he's given some basic principles about prayer. So look, God hears you if you're saved, but you know, you just got to make sure you pray for your brethren, especially if they're involved in a sin that's not unto death, there's still hope for that individual. Pray for that person, but they're just, just know this, there is a sin unto death though. Okay. And by the way, this is one of the, this is a great verse to use when you're, when you're defending the death penalty at any capacity. Because here it says there is a sin unto death. I do not say you shall pray for it. People are like, Oh, you know, that's Old Testament. Well, no, John beloved, the beloved is talking about it right here. Verse 19, we know that we are of God and the whole world lieth in wickedness and we know that the son of God has come and have given us an understanding. He's going to talk about the right understanding that we may know him that is true and we are in him that is true, even in the son, Jesus Christ, this is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. So he finishes off just giving them, leaving the reader with the right understanding. And he's saying this at the end of the day, what I'm saying is this, Jesus Christ is the true God. And therefore in recognition of the true God, keep yourselves from idols, the false gods. Okay. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. What a great book, the book of first John and I hope you, you learned something from it. Let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the book of first John and Lord, thank you for the fact that all the promises that you've given to us and the fact that we can say that we are overcomers. We are righteous. We've overcome. We've been accepted, but everything, all of that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're so thankful for that, that he did all the work so we wouldn't have to. And even if you asked us to, we wouldn't be able to do it. It's impossible for us to keep all of the commandments, to be saved. And we're thankful for the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the imputation of that righteousness that we received when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, and I pray God that you'd help us give heed to the instructions tonight. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Song number 15, lead me to Calvary. Song number 15, lead me to Calvary. Song number 15, nice and loud on that first. King of my life I crown thee now, thine shall the glory be. Lest I forget thy Lord, crown, crown, lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thy agony. Lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. Show me the tomb where thou wast laid, tenderly warmed and wet. Angels who rose up wide arrayed, far in thee whilst thou slept. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thy agony. Lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. Let me, like Mary, through the gloom come with a gift to be. Show to me thou the empty tomb, lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thy agony. Lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for thee. Even my cup of grief to share, thou hast borne all for me. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thy agony. Lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thy agony. Lest I forget Calvary.