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All right, we're in Romans chapter number two, if you look down at your Bibles at verse number 11, let me just remove some of this here, Romans chapter two and verse number 11 says, For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law. And as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. And the title of this sermon this evening is A Law Unto Themselves, A Law Unto Themselves. I want to preach on the subject of the conscience, the law of God written in our hearts, and the light that God gives to a person to respond to in order for them to be saved. Now this is going to be a lot, obviously I'm preaching, but I'm going to do a lot of teaching in this sermon. Now when it comes to salvation, we understand that in order for a person to be saved, all they have to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that for what the heart man believeth unto righteousness, but what the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So there's two elements there that we see is that a person needs to believe in their heart that God has raised them from the dead, raised Jesus from the dead to be saved, but we confess with our mouths. Now that is very simple, but the process on how a person gets to that point is something a little, can often even be a little more complicated and even can take a lifetime. Not all the time, but sometimes. Now what do I mean by that? Well, what I'm referring to is how to get someone to that point where they recognize that they need a savior. Now before we get into that, look at verse number one. Let's talk about who Romans chapter two is actually referring to. Who is it dedicated towards? Verse number one says, therefore thou are inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges, for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judges doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. Now skip down to verse number 17. It says, behold, thou are called a Jew and restest in the law and makest thy boast of God. Now in part, I mean, generally speaking, the book of Romans is written to the Romans, but then you see the apostle Paul speaking to a third party, and that's very obvious according to this verse that he's talking to the Jews, okay? And we obviously know that it's Jews according to the flesh because of verse 28 and 29 where he makes the distinction of those who are according to the flesh and those who are spiritual Jews. But he says there that the Jew rests in the law. What does that mean? They are dependent on the law. They're being given the oracles of God. Verse 18 says, and knowest his will and approves the things that are more excellent being instructed out of the law and are confident that thou art thyself a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes which has the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. So he's telling them, hey, you have the law of God, you have the word of God, and in fact, you have it in such a way that you're actually an instructor of those who are in darkness. You're an instructor of those who are babes and blind. You know the word of God to the point where you're supposed to be leading the entire world in the way of righteousness, right? Go to chapter three and verse number one. This thought is carried on to chapter number three. It says in verse number one, what advantage then hath the Jew or what profit is there of circumcision, much every way chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. Skip down to verse number 19. It says, now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. So we see here that the law was given to the Jews, right, according to the flesh, and it's talking about how they rest in law, they make their boast of God, they know the Lord, so on and so forth, and it's referring to the fact that they're under the law. This is referring to that Mosaic law, okay? Now, this is very important because of the fact that these people, and not just them, us as well, these people who have the law of God will actually receive a greater condemnation. Now, for us, for example, those of us who are saved, you know, because we have the Word of God, we will receive the greater condemnation. This does not mean that we will go to hell, but there's a greater punishment here on this earth to a person who knows the Word of God and chooses to disobey it. Rather than the person who maybe has not been taught the Word of God, they don't know what the Bible says, you know, they're kind of ignorant of God's Word, that person, you know, the Bible tells us that the simple are passed on and are punished, but may I say that the person who knows the Word of God is actually to punish far more severely than the person who does not have the Word of God. But in like manner, the person who has the Word of God, for example, and is not saved, will receive a greater punishment in hell than a person who does not know the Word of God and dies in their sin, they don't believe in Jesus Christ. Now, both of them will go to hell, according to the Bible. Both of them, if they don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will split hell wide open. But may I say this, is that both of them will receive a different level of punishment in hell, okay? In fact, go with me, if you would, to Mark Chapter Number 12. While you're going there, I'm going to read to you from John Chapter 19. There are different levels of sin, and with that, different levels of hell even, okay? Now, the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. So, generally speaking, everyone who dies will pay for their sins in a place called hell, but yea, even in hell, there are different levels of punishment, all right? John 19, verse 11 says, Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except that were given to thee from above. Therefore, he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. Matthew 23, verse 14 says, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer. Therefore, ye shall receive the greater damnation. So, there is a greater damnation to religious leaders who are not saved, who are damning other people. Let me give you an example of this, okay? For example, Joel Osteen, he's going to go to the lowest hell. Why? Because he's parading as a prophet of God who is proclaiming God's word, but is damning millions of people to hell. He's doing Satan's work. So, because of that, when he dies, he will receive the greater damnation. Now, hell is hell no matter how you put it, okay? But here's the thing, the lower you go, the hotter it is. And you know who I believe is in the lowest hell? Judas Iscariot, who turned in the Son of God. He is burning in the lowest hell today, okay? Mark 12 verse 38 says this, and he said unto them in his doctrine, beware of the scribes which love to go in long clothing and love salutations in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues and the uppermost rooms at feast, which devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers, these shall receive greater damnation. So, when it comes to religious leaders, they will receive a far more severe punishment than someone who is ignorant of the word of God and may not know anything about God's word. Now, that person will go to hell if they die without Christ. However, the religious leaders who are not saved, who are leading people astray, according to the Bible, will receive a greater damnation. The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 32 verse 22 that there is a lowest hell. There are different levels of hell designated for different people who have had the knowledge of God's word. In other words, they know that what they're doing is wicked. They know that they're teaching a false gospel. They know they're leading people astray. They know they're leading people straight to hell. And they continue to do it. God has a special designated place for people like that, and it's called the lowest hell, okay? Now, go to John chapter 3, if you would. I'm sorry, go to Luke chapter 12, Luke chapter 12. Now, why do people still suffer punishment in hell if they didn't know the Bible? Well, because the Bible tells us, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. So, the overarching principle there is the fact that someone has to believe on Christ to escape the damnation of hell, okay? But if they don't believe on Christ, they won't escape, and their punishment will be dished out according to their works, according to their deeds, all right? Now, look at Luke chapter 12, verse 47, to further prove this. It says in verse 47, and that servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. Now, notice, they both get whoopings. They're both getting punished. The difference is one's getting fewer and one's getting many. Why? Look what it goes on to say, for unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required. And to whom men have committed much of him they will ask the more. Now, at its core, the main interpretation of Luke chapter number 12 is the Jews. That's who it's referring to. The servant is not referring to a saved person, it's referring to the Jews. Many of the parables that are found in the gospels, particularly, of course, in Matthew, are geared towards the Jews and their punishment. So, don't get confused if the parables use such phrases as servant, they're cast into outer darkness. Often, when you read it in its context, it's referring to Christ rejecting Jews. Now, here's the thing, because people get upset sometimes when we preach against the Jews and we say, man, they're of the devil. Jesus said, you're of your father, the devil. And he's just like, man, you guys are so harsh on the apple of God's eye. They get so mad. And they're just like the Catholics and they're just like the Mormons. And I agree to a certain extent that Judaism, for example, is as wicked as any other religion. But may I say this, is actually they're a little more wicked than any other religion because they are the only religion that actually Christ came. They're the people that Christ came to. And particularly, they, in their Talmud, which is the book for all their faith and practices, condemn Jesus Christ, say that he's the devil, claim that he's burning in hell in his own excrement, say that he practices black magic. I mean, the book is filled with all manner of blasphemy against the Lord. This is a unique sin that requires a greater damnation. So yes, of course, the Pope is a victor of hell, right? The victor of hell. He is a wicked man who's going to split hell wide open because he's teaching a wrong way of salvation. He's claiming that everyone's going to go to heaven, all right? You know, the Mormons are going to split hell wide open because they're teaching a perverted way of salvation. The Muslims will also go to hell if they remain believing like a Muslim. But here's the thing, Judaism, on the other hand, will burn in the lowest hell because of the fact that unto them were committed the oracles of God. He came into his own. You know, the people like to say, well, you know, Jesus was a Jew. Well, that's funny because the Bible says he came into his own, if that's the route you want to take, and his own received him not. So if that's the route you want to take, you need to recognize that Judaism and the Jews are the only people that actually rejected Christ and just dragged his name in the mud and continues to do so unto this day. This is why they will receive the greater damnation. So if you want to say he's the apple of God's eye, okay, I just say he's the rotten apple of his eye because he's refused. They're refused, right? What do you do with rotten fruit? You throw it away. Why is that? Well, because unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Okay, they are responsible for that. They knew the Lord's will according to Romans chapter 2 and what we see here. They knew what they were supposed to do and yet, you know, they rejected him. And so going back to the topic at hand though is what we see in Romans chapter number 2 is that the Bible tells us that those who do not have the law of God, the opposite side of the spectrum of the Jew, for example, is that you have a person who lives in the jungles, in the Congo, in some cave, you know, this weird example that people give. You know, they live in the jungles in a cave of Congo with the brontosaurus and the pterodactyls where there's no human beings, and they don't have the other Congo guy right here. You know, where there's no civilization. What about that person? If they die, you know, are you seriously going to say that they're going to go to hell? Yes, I will seriously say that he's seriously going to go to hell. Because God is no respecter of people. And people hear that and they're like, that's unjust though. Why would God allow a person who's never heard the name of Jesus? Why would God allow someone who doesn't even know the Bible, why would he send someone like that to hell, okay? Now, an unsaved person who asked that question will never understand because of the fact that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know him for they are spiritually discerned. But the Bible does lay out why that is, okay? And that's what we're going to talk about this evening. You know, people always bring up this enigmatic character, this ambiguous person. You know, what about the Mayan? You know, we just came from Belize, and we saw the Mayan ruins, beautiful ruins, you know, just these beautiful architecture and buildings. But behind that, you see how wicked the Mayans were. I don't care what any Hispanic says, oh, I can't believe you're just rejecting your roots. Look, my roots aren't in Christ, amen? Rooted and built up in him, the Bible says, okay? Aren't you Guatemalan? I'm a Christian, okay? And if you really want to get technical about it, I'm a real Jew, okay? Circumcised in the Spirit, not in the letter, who's praise is not amend, but of God. But you see these Mayans, for example, the Aztecs and the Incas, these were pagan people who did human sacrifices, they rejected the Lord. How do they reject the Lord? Well, I'm going to show you how they rejected the Lord. And I'm not just talking about them, I'm talking about your African guide that you keep mentioning in the jungle, we'll deal with him as well, okay? Why is it that they will go to hell? You know, the guy who's never heard the name of Jesus, they never had the Bible read to them, why do they go to hell? You know, well, keep in mind that we just read in Romans chapter 2 verse 12, for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law. I mean, that's a pretty strong statement there. Oh, you don't have the law? Well, you're going to go to hell without the law too. That's basically what he's saying. Why? Because God is no respecter of people. Now go to Romans chapter number 10, I'm going to get into that in just a bit. Romans chapter number 10, how do people get saved to begin with? Look at Romans 10 verse 9, these are very familiar verses, let's go ahead and read them. It says in verse number 9, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, most of you can quote this, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised them from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there's no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So the main thing there is that in order for someone to be saved, they have to call upon the name of the Lord, but wait, there's more. Verse 14 says, how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher? How shall they preach except they be sent as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. So this is a proof text to show you that someone just can't get saved on their own. Someone just can't open the word of God and read Romans chapter number 10, and just call upon the name of the Lord. Why is that? Because according to the Bible, you need a preacher to come to you, a soul winner, a gospel presentation by the means of a human being, an instrument that comes to you and gives you the word of God. That's the only way you can believe, okay? You need the element of a human being to actually come to you. We had a couple of fools come to our church one time talking about, yeah, I got saved on my own. You know, I just read the Bible, and I just got saved on my own. Nonsense. You're actually rejecting the word of God when it comes to that, because the Bible tells us that someone has to come to us. Now look, I'm not saying the person that came to you was just thorough as the day is long. They just knew the Bible cover to cover. You may have gotten someone who was just kind of like light on the gospel, but you understood it, and you got saved. Some novice newbie, soul winner, who might have come to you, given you a couple of verses, and you believed, okay? You got saved, and that is definitely possible. It says in verse 16, but they have not all obeyed the gospel for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So what is the other element that we see when it comes to getting saved? We need the Bible. You don't get saved by illustrations. You don't get saved with cartoons. You don't get saved with pictures. You get saved by the word of God, okay? The spirit is that which quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. My words, they are spirit, and they are life, the Bible tells us, okay? So the only way people get saved is through a soul and giving them the gospel. But here's the thing, what is the prerequisite to that? How does a person get to a point when they recognize that they need a savior? Well, according to the Bible, we see in Galatians that the law was our schoolmaster to bring his son to Christ. Now why is that? When it refers to the law, we often think of notably the Ten Commandments, okay? Thou shall not steal, thou shall not bear false witness. When you look at those commandments, you see you've broken those commandments. And we know that the Bible tells us that whosoever keepeth the whole law, yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. The law was never meant to save you, but to help you to understand that you need a savior, okay? And because of that, it teaches you that you need a savior, and in response to that, you come to Christ, okay? But how does a person get to that point where God sends someone? Because here's my personal belief, I'm going to tell you something. I believe when you get to that point that God will send someone to you if you really want to be saved, you know? I believe the people in Belize wanted someone to tell them about the gospel. You say, what's your proof of that? The proof that I went. The fact that I went, the fact that Milan went, the fact that the rest of them went is proof that they responded to the light that God gave them. Go back to Romans chapter number two. Hold your place in Romans two, by the way, we're going to keep going back to that. And this is important. Look, every single person here, you're saved. That process started long ago, how to get you to that point where you needed to be saved. Whether it was an example of a person, you heard a verse, something triggered something in your mind to help you to recognize I need a savior, okay? Verse 14 says, for when the Gentiles which have not the law do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness in their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. So when the Bible says that they're a law unto themselves, it's a direct reference to their conscience. Now what does conscience mean? With con in Spanish means con, means with, and then science, which means knowledge. So it's something that you have a knowledge of, right? And this is referring to the fact that God has placed his law within the hearts of every single human being. Within the heart of every single human is embedded the law of God. They may not be able to say, they don't have it in the Elizabethan language, thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, but they have the law of God written in their hearts. They know that wrong is wrong and right is right. They understand murder is wrong, stealing is wrong, adultery is wrong, et cetera. And this is synonymous with light. You know, we often talk about responding to the light. What is light synonymous with? It's synonymous with truth. So this debunks the stupid teaching of Calvinism's total depravity. Because Calvinists believe this, well, you know, we believe that God selects certain people for damnation and other people for everlasting life. That's why they're just such lazy soul winners, but not soul winners at all. Because they believe that certain people are already elected unto eternal life. This is a wicked teaching. Why? Because the baby, you know, let's say, for example, my son is Zias. He's a couple weeks old. According to them, there's a possibility that he's already damned. He's already reprobated. He's not elected. So if that child were to die, and according to Calvinistic doctrine, that child will be in hell. That's what they believe. But this debunks that stupid teaching right there. Because of the fact that every single human being is not totally depraved. In fact, every single human being has embedded in them enough truth to get you to the next level. You understand? You say, what do you mean by truth to get us to the next level? The truth that God puts within your heart is not just the law, it's creation, okay? It's the goodness of God. Go to Romans 1, you're in Romans chapter 2, look at Romans 1. It says in verse number 17, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them. For God has showed it unto them. Oh, hold on a second, I thought they're totally depraved. No, God has shown it unto them, the Bible says. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Now there's an opposite side of the spectrum where people say, well, he can just get saved just by looking at creation. Wrong. No, they can't. Creation, believing in creation does not get you saved. Having the law of God in your heart does not get you saved. According to Billy Graham, you know, you can though. Well, he believes otherwise now. He's of a different flavor now. He believes just like us, okay? But here's the thing, creation, the law, the goodness of God are all things that will help people push them in the right direction. It helps people get them on that road that will eventually lead them to a person that will get them saved, okay? It's like a light that lights up that helps them take that next step to another portion of light, et cetera, to the point that it can get you where they get saved, okay? Go to John chapter number three. Let's prove this a little further. Hold your place in Romans. So the Mayan, the Aztec, who does not have the law, the written law of God, well, guess what? They have the law of God written in their hearts. They have creation. They have the goodness of God. He said, what do you mean they have the goodness of God? Well, guess what? They grew crops. They partook of the rain that grew their crops. They partook of the sunshine that gave them warmth. They partook of the fatness of the earth where they fed from. If God just wanted to wipe them out in an instant, he would have just starved them and right off the bat just not let them exist. But he gave them his goodness through the land. He gave them his goodness through the elements of the world. This is his creation. That could have gotten them to the next level. And look, the Bible tells us that there was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came to bear witness of that light that all men through him might believe. He was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Every man. Jesus Christ lights every man who comes into the world. Why? Because he's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. You understand? God loves people. The Lord wants people to be saved. Therefore he kind of gives them a head start by just giving them light in general. You understand? Let's prove it further. Look at John chapter 3 and verse 18. He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. And this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hated the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God. What does this tell us? It tells us, for example, those wicked Aztecs, that reprobate nation known as the Aztecs. Why was it that, generally speaking, that population never got saved? Because they hated the light. They loved evil rather than light. They loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. They murdered people, they sacrificed virgins, they were idolatrous people who hated the Lord. Oh, how can they hate the Lord if they don't even know the Lord? They hate the light that he gave them. They rejected that light and said, I don't want this light. I love darkness. I love evil. And God says, okay, you can have that then. I'll make it easier for you. I'll just give you over to a reprobate mind so you don't even have to think about me. Think about that. And it says there, but he that doeth truth, verse 21, cometh to the light. Now, this doesn't mean that if someone's just living a moral life, that's how they're going to get saved. You know, it's just by living a moral life, God's going to give them a free pass into heaven. No, what it's telling us is that the person who does truth, the person who tries to live a moral life, they try to live according to their conscience, they're going to come to the light and the light will eventually lead them to the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. That's how it works. Okay. Now, let me give you an example of this for my personal life. You know, I got saved when I was 21. And even previous to that, I can see cursors in my life, markers where I felt like certain instances and events in my life provoked me to want to seek after the Lord. And I didn't know all the lingo, I just know that I wanted to know God, I wanted to know his word, and the thing that kept pressing upon my heart was this matter of going to heaven, you know. But this happened over a span of many, many years. And I believe in my heart that it first happened when I was seven years old. I didn't get saved when I was seven. But I believe that at seven, I think I was either six or seven, is when I started my journey, so to speak, and responding to the light that God gave me. Now, this is a very silly illustration, but I believe in my heart that this is what got me on that path. So when I was a kid, seven years old, you know, Hispanic parents have the tendency to do this, they'll just like leave the kid home by themselves while they're napping or something and just go run errands. You know, and that's exactly what my mom did. You know, I think she went to go run an errand, and I was just napping on the couch or something. I don't remember. I just know I was napping, and I woke up. And this is the kid, every kid's worst nightmare. You know, it was just like, mom, mom. And then the more you scream at mom, you realize she's not there, it starts turning into a cry, you know. And I just started freaking out. I was weeping and wailing and gnashing my teeth, just like scared because my mom wasn't, no one was there. And I remember, as a seven-year-old, getting like in a fetal position on the couch, crying, I mean tears in my eyes, crying out to God to help me. I remember literally saying, God, please help me, please. And I don't know who taught me about God, I'm sure it was my parents or maybe I heard about God somewhere, maybe I saw a movie or something that talked about God. But I knew He existed, and I remember genuinely in sincerity crying out to God, saying, God, please help me, I need you. I still have it in my mind. I remember the couch that we had, I remember the apartment where we lived, and just tears. And look, this is bad, but I mean, I was a seven-year-old, I didn't know. You know, my mom had like a cross, those Catholic crosses. I literally grabbed that thing as a seven-year-old and just hugged it. I was like, please, God, please. I was so scared. But I believe that put me on the path. I believe that was me as a child responding to the light that God gave me. And you know what? God hears the cry of the innocent. And there's no one at that time who cared for me more than the Lord at that point. And I'm sure God's like, I'm putting you on the path, because you as a seven-year-old, you cried out to me. Now, here's the funny thing. I was talking about the sermon with my wife, and I was explaining to her about that, and my son's right there, right? And I was like, yeah, I was scared, Sarah, I was like, oh, so scared. And my son's like, papa, papa, don't be afraid. He's like, and he's eating, he's like, you need to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. I was like, eat your food. I'm not scared now, son, you know? He's like being rebuked by your own three-year-old. But that was me responding to the light that God gave me, I believe. And I believe, and I can, if I think about it, if I meditate enough upon it, I can remember times in my life, even as a child, when I thought upon the Lord. And I wasn't saved, you know? But it took years, because I didn't get saved up until I was 21 years old, all right? And I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I believe that was the goodness of God, his forbearance, protecting me from being kidnapped, dying, just different things, because he wanted me to be saved, okay? And I don't believe that's unique to me. I believe that's for every single person, okay? Now, go if you would to Acts chapter 10, let's look at a biblical example of this. Acts chapter number 10, look at verse number 1. Acts chapter number 10 and verse number 1 says, there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always. Now look, this person, if we would have ended there and we knew that he wasn't saved, we would say that person went to hell, because these people do not get saved by doing those things. But what is he doing? He's simply responding to the light that God gives him. He wants to fear God. We often say, you know, this person wasn't a Christian, but they're a God-fearing person, you understand? People in Belize were not saved. They're just God-fearing people. And I don't want to backtrack too much, but hey, Belize is going to receive the greater damnation if they don't get saved. Why? Because they have the word of God like crazy there, memorizing verses, but I don't believe they've gotten to that point yet, that's why he's sending missionaries there. Skip down to verse number 30. And Cornelius said, four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the seaside, who when he cometh shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee, and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said of a truth that perceived that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. Now this does not mean that they're accepted as in they're accepted in the beloved. Someone who's accepted in the beloved, according to Ephesians chapter one, is someone who's saved, right? You get saved and you're accepted by God in the beloved. When it says they're accepted, in other words, they're accepted to go into the next step. They're given more light. Why did Cornelius get saved? Why was he given this great opportunity? Because of the fact that he was simply responding to the truth that was already given to him. And he felt he was doing right. But you know what? He must have had a heart of humility, right? Because here's the thing, we run into people all the time who are just self-righteous people, right? They're not saved, they're going to church, or they're living clean lives, and they're doing things according to what they believe is right, but when you present them with the gospel, they're like, nah, I'm already saved. You know they're not, because they believe they can lose their salvation, they're trusting in their works, they're trusting in their own righteousness, they have a zeal, but it's not according to knowledge, they're going about to establish their own righteousness, we know they're not saved. What is the element that's missing there? Humility. You see, when we respond to the light that God gives us, it should be coupled, work in tandem with humility, because no one can get saved if they're not humble. Because to be humble is to recognize not by works of righteousness, which I have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, right? Now go to Romans chapter 7, if you would, Romans chapter number 7. So what do we see here? We see that God gives everyone light, via their conscience, via the elements of the world, nature, you know, the goodness of God, and these avenues, these different vehicles are to propel someone into the next step of light to the point where God says, okay, I'm going to send a missionary there. You know what? People in Belize have been responding to the light that God gave them for years. That's why I believe now we're going there. That's no accident that God placed upon my heart. It's no accident that I went to Faithful Word Baptist Church, that we were planning to go to the Dominican Republic, I had already said in my mind, we're going there, and then Brother Mike Madison from Faithful Word says, hey, have you ever considered Belize? And I said, no, I never have. Why? And he says, it's a very fruitful area. He gave me all the statistics, and I said, man, that sounds great. I think we're going to go there. We appointed to go, and we went, and look, this is just the beginning. The trip that we took is only the beginning. I believe we're going to see tons of people saved, and remember, there's only like 390,000 people in Belize, okay? Not a very large country at all. I mean, the city of Long Beach is bigger than the country of Belize, population-wise. So we know that the written law slays us, right? So, for example, myself, I knew these things. You know, I got light, and I responded to the light that God gave me. I remember being 18, 19, hearing the Word of God. I remember even having a King James Bible and trying to read it, not able to understand it. Then, finally, I was taken to Pacific Baptist Church, and it was at this church where a soul winner taught me about the gospel. The law slew me, okay? I can't say exactly when that took place, but I know that that's where I got saved, and that was the end of my journey going into salvation. And everyone has a story similar to that, whether it's a friend, it's a family member who came to you, told you the Word of God, and planted a seed within you that caused you to be curious about the things of God, and you responded to the light, got you to where you're at today. Now, look what it says in Romans chapter number seven, in verse number seven. We're switching gears here a little bit, but we're gonna tie these two thoughts in together. Verse number seven says this, what shall we say then is the law of sin, God forbid, nay, I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet. But sin taken occasion by the commandment wrought in me all manner of concupiscence, for without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. So what is he saying? He's stating that before he got saved, before he was slain, so to speak, his spirit was alive. Now, this debunks the false doctrine that the Catholics teach that when a baby's born, they have this, you know, they have a dead spirit, they're born into sin. Okay? No, I'm sorry, friend, but a child when a baby is born has a living spirit. Now, their body's corrupt, but they're innocent. So that basically teaches us, by the way, that's where the Calvinists got their doctrine from, right? Because that's why they baptized babies in the Catholic Church to wash away the original sin. Well, think about this. If they don't wash it away and they die, according to the Catholics, they go to hell. That's why they baptized them, okay? You're not washing away anything but the dirt on their skin when you do that, or on their head, actually, because they don't even fully immerse them. But they're born with a living spirit, okay? What does that mean? They're innocent. Now, how do you know that your children are innocent? Because when you try to change their diapers, they're running around naked and they don't even care. They have no shame, right? Zero shame. Well, Paul, the apostle here is stating is that he was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, when the commandment was presented to him, sin revived and he died. Now, here's the question, when did that happen with Paul? And here's the answer, we don't know. He doesn't state when that happens. There's a possibility that it happened when he was a child. Why would I say that? Well, because he grew up in a home where he was taught the word of God. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was a tribe of Benjamin, he's a Pharisee. I'm sure he grew up in a godly home where his parents taught him the word of God and the law slew him maybe at a young age. But this is important to note here. Look at verse 10, it says, in the commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin taken occasion by the commandment deceived me and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me, God forbid, but sin, that it might appear sin, work in death in me by that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. Now herein lies the paradox, why? Because according to Romans chapter number seven, and I know I'm teaching like some doctrine here, but you need to pay attention to this, okay? Because this can be complicated and it'll answer a lot of questions. According to Romans seven, a person is alive before the law, but after the law, the written law is given to them, they die. So the question remains, well, what about the person who is without law, who has the law of God written in their hearts? They don't have the law to tell them that, you know, thou shall not covet, thou shall not bear false witness, they don't have the written law, how does that take place? What happens to them? When do they get slain? If the written law is needed to slay a person, what of the person who is without law? And then herein lies another paradoxical question is this, what of the Mayan child, for example, who is seven years old, who dies without law, or at 10, or, you know, 11 years old when they recognize that they're doing wrong, but they don't have the law of God, does that child die and go to hell? These are the questions that people pose and they wonder about like, hmm, that's a good question. Because they don't have the law of God, you know, the law hasn't slain them, but they have their law unto themselves, but does that apply to a little child? How does that work? People will say, so the six-year-old doesn't have the law of God, if they die, will they go to hell? We're going to answer that, okay? We often refer to the age of accountability, right? When a child is accountable, when they recognize that they're doing wrong, that they sinned against God, is that referring to the law written in their hearts, or is it referring to the law of God? Which one of the two? Now, as I mentioned, children are not condemned, they're innocent, but they still have the law of God written in their hearts. Now, go with me, if you would, to Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter number 1. Now, let me just start off by saying that when answering this, that that theory or that hypothetical question is an unequal question, okay? Because obviously we have the dogmatic statement that a person is slain by the law, and someone who's without law will perish without the law. These are, they're irrefutable, we understand that that's going to happen. But when it comes to a question like that, it often misses the element of God's mercy, of God's grace. Because we think, what if they get slain by the law and then they just automatically die? Well, you're missing the element of God's mercy. You're missing the element that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So don't think of God as being this person who just can't wait to strike these pagan children down, these people who are in the jungle down. You need to view God as being one who doesn't take pleasure in the death of the wicked, who wants them to be saved, who sees the child growing up in an Aztec culture, Mayan culture, African culture where there's no churches or whatever. And keep in mind that he loves your children more than you love your own children. He wants your children to be saved far more than you want them to be saved. He has a greater depth of love for the souls of people than you do, than I do. So we can't propose that question without also embedding the element of God's mercy and long-suffering forbearance, okay? Well, what's the point of that? Are you just trying to be philosophical? No, it's an important point, and I'm going to explain to you why. Think of Jonah, chapter number four. Remember when God rebuked Jonah at the end, and what did he say? He said, should not I spare Nineveh that great city wherein are more than six-core thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left and also much cattle. So even the adults, he's like, look, these people can't even discern between the right and the left. Should I not spare them? So we see that God has this forbearance and long-suffering towards people who are ignorant. Now, how long does that forbearance last? It's obviously up to God. God knows the point where a person makes the decision to just willingly reject the light that God gives them, but we understand that if a person is alive and they live in this pagan culture, God does have patience, and he does show forbearance unto that person. Look at Deuteronomy 139, it says, Moreover, your little ones, which you say should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. Now, this is referring to a physical land, but it can be applied even to spiritual matters as far as salvation is concerned. This is how we know that children can't, do not go to hell. We have the example of David and his child, so on and so forth. Now go to Genesis chapter number three. Genesis chapter number three. Okay, pastor, but you still haven't answered the question. What about the person who is without law? I don't believe that the Bible is very clear. I'm going to give you my take on it, and if you have a different theory according to the Bible, you can share it with me afterwards. I'm going to tell you what I believe, okay, and I believe this makes sense. Now let's read this first, okay, because let's look at the first man and first woman and how they fell. Look what it says in verse six, it says, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for her food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sowed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. So Adam and Eve fell when they were aware that they were naked, but it was in tandem with the choice that they made to sin, you understand, because look, my children, they sin all the time, and they know that it displeases us, but they don't necessarily know that the wages of sin is death yet, you understand? They haven't necessarily violated their conscience. They violated my rules, but I'm not God. So children up until a certain age know that they're displeasing their parents because they're receiving the punishment of it. They know that it's wrong, but they don't necessarily have the knowledge that the wages of sin is eternal damnation in a place called hell. They don't have that, okay? Now, let's give that hypothetical question of the Mayan, the five-year-old, for example, okay? You know, 2800 BC, okay? The Mayan culture, very wicked, sacrifices, idolatrous pagans, reprobates, you know, their fags and stuff like that, they're doing wicked stuff. What of the child who grows up in that culture, okay? This is what I believe. I believe if a child grows up in that culture, okay, the innocence of that child is stripped away at one point or another, obviously, in a culture like that, when they see someone die. When they see someone being violated, the law of God that's written in their hearts views that murder and that slaughter and it robs them of that innocence, so to speak. But the choice to completely violate the conscience comes when they choose to partake in that, you understand? So that comes later on in life when they're older and it's their turn to partake of those sacrifices. It's their turn to partake of that pagan worship and they know in their heart that that's wrong, but they say this, well, this is what we've always done. For example, don't Catholics say that? When you witness to Catholics, it's like, whoa, we've always been Catholic. Well, at that point, they're rejecting the light that God gives them. Now, I'm not saying that, you know, when you're out witnessing and someone just says that, God just gives them over to a reprobate mind. Why, Pastor? Why doesn't He just give them over to a reprobate mind? Because He's long suffering. He's merciful. He's forbearing. He wants them. Look, the Bible says that God gives people space to repent, does He not? He gives them time to change. And look, this is where you go into the depth of how much God really does love people. He's not just up there waiting to strike people down. What about the reprobates? Well, He's already stricken them down. They're twice dead, plucked up by the roots. I'm talking about just regular sinners. He wants them to repent of what they're believing in, right? So He gives them space to repent. So the child, I believe, becomes slain by the law of their conscience once they willingly do that which they know is wrong to do. You understand? Because look, if they're growing up in a pagan home, this is the structure that they're born into. They don't necessarily have a choice. But remember this, God always gives someone a choice at one point. It's not like they just grow a pagan, they're reprobates for the rest of their life. No, no, no. God will always give someone a chance. And look, the Mayan culture, the Aztec culture, I believe generally, for the most part, we're all reprobates. Now does that mean that maybe a couple of them got saved? Maybe they got saved. Maybe someone came to them. Maybe a soul winner or a missionary came to them, but I doubt it. I don't believe that. I don't believe you. And if you believe that, I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just thinking I'm right. Because generally speaking, you see these people who rejected the light generation after generation and it's no wonder why that culture no longer exists. You have pockets of minds, but not like the minds of times past in 2800 BC. There's a reason why God just completely wiped them out. And Milan was talking about this, it's such a contrast between the people we see today in Belize in the minds of 2800 BC. The people of Belize today are just on fire, they're ready to be saved, and then you have the opposite side of the spectrum of just a reprobate nation. Now he was basically saying, this is probably why God wiped them out because he didn't want that pagan generation to influence this coming generation who's going to be open to the gospel. Now go to Acts chapter 17, and these are the last scriptures we're going to go to. Because here's the element that every single question misses is the long suffering and the forbearance of God. We need to take into, look, you could tell me of times that God was merciful to you before you got saved. You know you could have died, you know you could have got in a car accident, whether knowingly or unknowingly, you knew those things. That's called God's forbearance. Why does God not respect our people? He's not. But that's also in tandem with his long suffering and his forbearance where he wants them to be saved. He loved those Mayan children. And look, every single Mayan child that died is in heaven. Every single baby that was sacrificed, aborted, killed, murdered, all in heaven. Now look at this, this is the nail in the coffin for this concept here. Look at Acts chapter 17 and verse 22. It says, then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said, ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God, who therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands, neither is worship with men's hands as though he needed anything. Seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation. You know, these people were not born there by accident. The Bible says there that he has appointed the bounds of their habitation. You know what this tells me? That you're not born by accident with the family that you have. Why am I in this family? No, you're bound by that habitation. I didn't grow up in a Christian home. Yeah, but you know what? The kid in a Christian home has as much light as you have when you were first born. You both have the same amount of light. It's just the bound of the habitation that he gave you, right? Verse 27, that they should seek the Lord. Ain't that something? So it says the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation that they should seek the Lord. That is the light, that is the glimmer of light that God gives to a person regardless of what nationality they come from, regardless of what country they're born in, that they should seek the Lord. If happily, by chance, they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring, his creation, is what he's referring to. For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is likened to gold and silver or stone, graven by the art and man's device. Pay attention to verse 30. And the times of this ignorance, God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. So what is he saying? He's telling the men of Athens, this stupid thing that you guys are doing, this super superstitious practices, God is winking at it. Now let's define what that means. Go to Acts chapter 14. What does it mean to wink at this ignorance? Now it's not the same winking that we think today, like this flirtatious or lying, like you're trying to like deceive someone, like that's not the winking that it's referring to, okay? That's the negative winking actually that the Bible talks about. Look at verse 15, and saying, sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and earth and the sea and all things that are therein. Verse 16, who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless, look what it says, he left not himself without a witness in that he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. So what is the witness? The goodness of God. Now with that in mind, go to Romans chapter number two again. Romans chapter number two. What I'm saying is this, is that the child, the hypothetical question of the child, the mind child, the five year old, I believe God winks at their ignorance to a point where they just willingly decide, no, we're just going to do this because this is what we've always done. At that point, even then, sometimes they're allowed to live even longer than that. It's the long suffering of God. He permits them to live. He's not tolerating it. He's not saying it's okay for them to do that. He's just allowing them to live in that way because he's given them space to repent is what he's doing, okay? Now look at Romans two again, look at verse number four. So think about that. You know, nevertheless, he left himself without witness in that he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Look at Romans two, verse four. Or despises thou the richness of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering, knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. Now this doesn't mean that the goodness of God leads you to get saved. It just puts you on the path to get to the next point where you respond to the light that God gives you in order to be saved. Let me prove that further. Look at verse five. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who were rendered to every man according to his deeds, look what it says in verse seven, to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile, but glory, honor and peace to every man that worketh good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile, for there is no respect of persons with God. So what is he talking about? The person who is by patient continuance and well-doing, what does that mean? They're responding to that light. Throughout their life they're just continually trying to do good, they want to make sure that they know God, they might be doing it the wrong way, but they're responding to the light that God gives them, God says, okay, eventually that person will be sent to soul-winner. And look, there's no respect of persons with God, and it's no coincidence that this passage is working in tandem with the law of God that's written in our hearts, which is referring to the light that God gives a person. So the answer to the question is this, hypothetically speaking, if someone is slain with the law, yes, of course they die and go to hell, but you're missing a very large element to the piece of the puzzle that's called the mercy of God, where God, yeah, he set forth his word that that word will slay him, the conscience will eventually slay him, but he's long-suffering, he's forbearing, he wants him to be saved. Now, there comes a point, obviously, where even the Mayans, they became reprobates. Because of their paganistic reprobate practices of sodomy, of, you know, sacrificing children and virgins and people and just committing genocide, you know, there comes a point where just God just gives you over to a reprobate mind. It's like, well, if that's what you want to do, I'm just going to give you a mind where you can do it in abundance and just wipe all you guys out. You guys can just destroy yourselves because you're not, obviously, you're not seeking me. That's not righteous, that's not godly, but to further prove that is, Belize is proof of that. The fact that they're working righteousness, now they're not gonna be saved by their righteousness, but you know what their righteousness will do? It'll put them on the path to get them to a point where God says, all right, I'm gonna send some people from First Works Baptist Church. I'm gonna send some missionaries over there because these people know how to preach the gospel. They know how to be thorough in their gospel presentation. I'm gonna send them the best. Soul owners, right? I'm not gonna send them no lame missionaries that are gonna set up, you know, a base over there in camp and waste money and just eat their food and not do anything else. They're like, we're gonna send some real missionaries over there who actually put in the work. I'm sure we've seen more people saved in that one day than most missionaries who go to Belize do in many years, okay? Because I think we ran into like one saved person, to be quite honest with you, okay? And I'm not talking about the missionaries who went from Faithful War because they went to multiple places in Belize. They went up north, they went south, you know. I'm talking about the missionaries who were actually planted there, okay? But what I'm saying is this, is that they're responding to the light that God gives them and in turn God's gonna reward them by their, because of their continual patience and well-doing, God's gonna reward them with gospel preachers to get them saved, understand? So the gist of the sermon is this, is that to get saved you have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. To get to the point where you are given that clear presentation, there's a path of light that you have to follow and accept and, you know, agree to, you understand? In order for us to God, in order for God to give us more light. So pagan cultures, African pagan cultures, you know, oh what about the guy in the jungle? Yeah, he's in hell, okay? Let's just finish off the conversation. He died and went to hell, okay? I can't believe you said that. Don't you believe in the mercy of God? Absolutely, I'm sure God was merciful to him and you know what? That guy probably rejected the mercy of God. The proof that he's in hell, the proof that anybody's in hell is proof, the fact that anybody's in hell is proof that they've rejected, that they did not, that they rejected the light that God gave them. That's what that's proof of, you understand? And the proof that you're here, the proof that you're saved is proof that you responded to the light that God gave you. Now after salvation we still have light to get, amen? Not for salvation but for knowledge, for reward, and there are Christians out there who, you know, they don't have a little light to shine, they don't read their Bibles, there's pastors and churches who are like that, where the candlestick is literally being removed, right? Because they're not reading their Bibles anymore, they're not learning, you know, they're not learning doctrine, they're not continuing in doctrine, and so God says, all right, I'm just gonna remove light, you're just gonna be an idiot of a Christian, you're gonna be a stupid Christian, and look, God forbid that anybody in our church would be a stupid Christian. Why? Because there's tons of light coming through this church. Take it, learn from it, strike while the iron is hot, amen? Spire your heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word, thank you for the light, I'm thankful for whoever taught me to even cry out to God when I was seven years old, and I don't believe, obviously that's not when I got saved, but that's, I think that's when my heart was opened unto the Lord, and I remember even from then on, I believed in you, I believe that you're a part of my life in some special way, and you just led me throughout the years. It wasn't until 21 that I came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that was the mercy of God through those many, many, many years. I can think back many times when I could have died, something bad could have happened to me, or you know, I could have been molested, or I could have become a reprobate, whatever it is, and you're merciful to me, you spared me from so much, and that's not unique to me, that's for everyone. Thank you so much for the light that you give us, and I'm thankful that even after salvation, you continue to give us light, because the Bible is inexhaustible, there's still more to learn, and Lord, may we take advantage of that, may we continue to learn and grow in grace and in the knowledge, may we continue to come to the light that our deeds may be reproved, that our works are done in God, and I just pray that you would continue to help us to do so, and help us to be open to people who are responding to the light by going to them and giving them the gospel. We love you so much, Lord, and we thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name, Amen.