Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000012
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01:11 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
01:13 Father in heaven, As we study this very important lecture 01:21 tonight, two devastating end time deceptions, we ask for the 01:28 guidance of Your Holy Spirit. 01:31 Give us clear minds, and Lord, give us tender hearts 01:35 to understand, and to receive, that which You have for us. 01:41 Help us to set aside any preconceived notions, 01:45 and ideas, and help us to hear Your voice, and only Your voice. 01:50 We pray this in the precious name of Jesus, 01:53 Your beloved Son, Amen. 01:56 As I mentioned in my prayer, this evening we are going 02:04 to study two devastating end time deceptions which have 02:10 captivated almost the entire world. 02:14 And when I say the entire world, I'm not only speaking about the 02:18 secular world, I'm speaking also about the religious world. 02:24 Most of the religious world has accepted, and teaches these 02:33 two devastating errors that Satan has prepared 02:37 to deceive the whole world in the end time. 02:40 Now these two errors are very closely related one to another. 02:45 They are two separate errors, but they are not independent. 02:50 They are interlinked, which means that if you believe one 02:54 of the errors, you will automatically believe the other, 02:57 because they are very, very closely connected, 03:03 and if you teach one, you will automatically teach 03:07 the other as well. 03:09 Lets begin our study in the book of Romans 3:20, 03:17 Romans 3:20. And the point that I want to underline now 03:23 as we read this verse, is that if there is no law, 03:30 there can be no sin. 03:33 This is the first point. 03:34 We're going to follow a very logical order in our study 03:38 today, so don't get distracted. 03:41 Don't go to sleep on me, because if you just dose off 03:44 for a couple of minutes, you're going to lose the sequence 03:48 of what we're going to study. 03:49 My first point is that if there is no law there can be no sin. 03:56 Now go with me, as I mentioned, to Romans 3:20. 04:02 The apostle Paul says: 04:17 How do we know sin? by the law. 04:21 By the law is the knowledge of sin. 04:25 So if you don't have the law, you wouldn't have 04:28 the knowledge of sin. 04:29 Now lets go also to Romans 4:15, Romans 4:15. 04:39 Here we find the same basic idea, but in different words. 04:42 It says there... The apostle Paul once again is writing. 04:46 He says: Because the law... 04:51 And some people say, See, the law is bad 04:54 because it brings about wrath. 04:55 Now wait a minute. 04:56 Why does the law bring wrath? 04:59 The law brings wrath because we are what? 05:03 Because we are sinners. 05:05 If we were not sinners the law would say, you are okay. 05:10 The law brings wrath because we are sinners. 05:14 So notice, it says, because the law brings about wrath. 05:18 And now notice, for where there is no law 05:23 there is no transgression. 05:26 Can you break a law that does not exist? Of course not! 05:32 You know, if you come to a corner and there's no stop sign, 05:36 and you go through the intersection, and a policeman 05:39 stops you, and wants to give you a ticket, you can tell 05:43 the officer, Listen officer, you can't give me a ticket, 05:47 because there is no stop sign. 05:49 It's only when there's a stop sign, and I violate that 05:53 stop sign, that the officer has the right to give me a ticket. 05:56 Are you understanding what I am saying? 05:58 So, in other words, the law points out sin. 06:03 If there is no law, there can be no sin. 06:07 Let me give you an illustration. 06:10 Supposing you go to the office of an Oncologist, 06:15 because you haven't been feeling too well. 06:17 The Oncologist examines you very meticulously, 06:21 very carefully, runs some tests on you, and after running 06:25 the tests he says, I'm sorry to tell you that you have cancer. 06:33 Now I pray to God that this wouldn't 06:37 happen with anyone here. 06:38 This is just an illustration. 06:39 But he says, after examining you carefully, you have cancer. 06:45 Now let me ask you, is that doctor doing me a favor? 06:48 Do you think the solution to the problem would be to take a 06:54 baseball bat and kill the doctor? 06:56 Is getting rid of the doctor the solution to the problem? 07:01 Of course not! The doctor points out that I'm sick. 07:05 If there was no doctor to examine me, I would not 07:11 know that I'm sick, and I would not know that I need someone 07:15 to heal my illness. 07:17 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 07:19 In other words, where there is no law, I don't know sin. 07:22 I don't know I'm sick, and by the way, therefore I will not 07:26 seek a solution to sin. 07:28 I will not seek a Savior if I don't feel that I'm sick, 07:31 because the law tells me that I am sick. 07:33 Now go with me to Romans 7:7 on this same point. 07:38 Romans 7:7. Here the apostle Paul uses the example of a 07:44 specific commandment. 07:46 He says this in Romans 7:7. 07:58 Says the apostle Paul. 08:07 How do we know sin? through the law, it says here. 08:19 How would I know that covetousness is wrong, 08:22 if there wasn't a law that says: Thou shalt not covet? 08:25 It's the law that shows me that covetousness is wrong. 08:30 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 08:31 So if there is no law, there can be no sin, because the law 08:36 defines, and points out sin. 08:39 Allow me to give you another illustration so this is clear. 08:43 Many, many years ago I went to the Seminary in Michigan. 08:47 And I had to hold down three jobs to be able to study. 08:52 You know, people who go to school have to do that. 08:54 And one of my jobs was working at the furniture factory. 08:58 The name of it was College Wood Products, and my job was after 09:02 hours I would have to clean out the chimney. 09:05 You know, they had these spray machines where they would spray 09:09 varnish on the furniture, and the excess paint would be sucked 09:14 up by a fan into the chimney, and the paint would gather 09:19 on the sides of the chimney inside like dust. 09:23 And it actually gathered quite a bit of dust. 09:26 So every day, at the end of the day I would have to go up the 09:29 chimney with a spatula, and I would have to clean the chimney. 09:33 I remember that they provided this green mechanics suit, 09:37 and the first day that I went, I went up the stairs, 09:41 because it had a stairs right up the middle of the chimney, 09:43 and I was scraping off all of the excess paint. 09:47 And I had a mask on, but there was dust going 09:51 all over the place. 09:52 Finished the job, got down, went home, and when I got to the door 09:59 of the house I knocked. 10:01 My wife opened the door, and when she saw me at the door 10:07 she was frightened. 10:08 She said, What happened to you? 10:11 And I said, What do you mean, what happened to me? 10:15 I've been cleaning the chimney. 10:16 She said, Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? 10:20 I said, No, I didn't think about doing it. 10:23 I cleaned the chimney and I came right home. 10:25 She said, You should have looked 10:26 at yourself in the mirror! 10:28 And so I went to the bathroom, and I looked in the mirror, 10:32 and the only thing that I had white were my eyeballs, 10:36 and my teeth. And here I had walked all the way from 10:41 College Wood Products home. 10:43 And people, I passed, people in the street, obviously I had been 10:49 caught up in my thoughts, because I didn't see what their 10:51 reaction was. Now let me ask you this, Would I have known 10:57 that I was dirty if it wasn't for the mirror? 11:00 Actually, if it wasn't for my wife! 11:03 I wouldn't have known that I needed my face cleaned. 11:07 In the same way, folks, I would not know that I'm a sinner. 11:12 I would not know that I need healing from the cancer of sin 11:16 unless the law told me that I am a sinner. 11:21 So much for those who say that the law was nailed to the cross. 11:24 If the law was nailed to the cross there can be no sin, 11:27 because where there is no law, there is no sin. 11:30 Are you understanding me? 11:32 That's point number 1. 11:34 Now let's go to point number 2. 11:36 If there is no sin, because there is no law, 11:42 there can be no death. 11:45 Lets read what the Bible says. 11:48 Go with me to Romans 5, Romans 5:12, Romans 5:12. 11:57 Here the apostle Paul says this: 12:15 What does this text say? that death came in through what? 12:21 Death came in through sin. 12:24 So the law tells you that you are a sinner, and as a result of 12:30 sin comes what? death. 12:33 Go just to the next page, Romans 6:23, Romans 6:23, 12:39 and we will read only the first part of the verse. 12:42 Later on in our study we will read the second 12:45 part of the verse. 12:46 The apostle Paul says, inspired by the Holy Spirit: 12:57 So basically if there is no law, there is no sin. 13:01 If there is no sin, there can be no what? no death, because death 13:07 is the wages of sin. 13:09 Go with me also to James 1:15, James 1:15. 13:18 Here we find this same principle that if there is no sin, 13:23 there can be no death. 13:24 Here James, the brother of our Lord, says this: 13:35 Desire means when covetousness, evil desires, this isn't just 13:41 any kind of desire. 13:56 What does sin bring? death. 13:59 And what is it that reveals sin? the law. 14:03 So what have we noticed so far? 14:05 If there is no law, there can be no sin. 14:09 If there is no sin, there can be no what? no death. 14:14 Now, if there is no sin, and therefore there is no death, 14:19 that must mean that I am what? that I am immortal. 14:24 You're not following me, are you? 14:27 Yes? You're pretty quiet tonight. 14:31 Let's go over that again, because it's important. 14:34 If there is no law, and therefore no sin, 14:38 if there is no sin, and therefore no death, 14:42 then I must be immortal. 14:46 Is that a logical conclusion? 14:49 You don't have to be, you don't have to have the wisdom of 14:53 Albert Einstein to figure that out. 14:55 You don't have to be as smart as king Solomon to figure that out. 15:00 It's a logical conclusion. 15:02 Now, who only, according to the Bible, is immortal? 15:09 Let's notice what the New Testament has to say. 15:12 Go with me to 1 Timothy 6:16, 1 Timothy 6:16. 15:20 There is only one who is immortal 15:23 according to scripture, and that is God. 15:26 And in this case it's speaking about Jesus Christ, 15:30 but of course, God is one in three persons, 15:33 so what is said about Christ can be said about the Father, 15:36 can be said about the Spirit, because they are three, 15:38 but they are one. 15:39 And maybe Pastor Finn can, in the Question and Answer 15:43 session, talk about the concept of the Trinity: 15:46 three persons, one God. 15:49 1 Timothy 6:16, actually lets read starting with verse 14, 15:56 so that we can get the context. 15:58 That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until 16:02 our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which He will 16:07 manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only 16:11 potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who alone 16:18 has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, 16:23 whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and 16:28 everlasting power, Amen. 16:30 It says that He alone has immortality. 16:35 Now let me ask you, What part of alone don't you understand? 16:37 Alone means what? It means that He is the only one 16:44 who has immortality. 16:47 Only God is immortal, according to scripture. 16:51 Notice one other text: 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 1:17. 17:00 Here the apostle Paul says this: let's see, it's the 2nd epistle. 17:07 Well, no wonder! 1st epistle verse 17, chapter 1. It says: 17:15 What's the next word? 17:28 According to the New Testament, who is the only one 17:32 who has immortality? 17:34 The only immortal one is God. 17:37 Now let's review what we've studied. 17:39 If there is no law, there can be no sin. 17:44 If there is no sin, there can be no death. 17:48 If there is no death, I am immortal, 17:52 but only God is immortal. 17:56 Now, what is the inevitable conclusion? 18:01 It's this: that if man is immortal, 18:05 but only God is immortal, man must be... 18:11 Say it louder... Man must be God. 18:18 Let me repeat that again. 18:21 If only God is immortal, but man is immortal, 18:28 because there is no law, no sin, no death, 18:31 then man must be God, because only God is immortal. 18:39 Are you following what I am saying? 18:41 In other words, there are two great teachings which lead 18:48 to two gargantuan errors in the end time. 18:54 The first is the idea that there is no law. 18:59 That the law was done away with. 19:01 That the law was nailed to the cross. 19:03 That all of us need to be just the law unto ourselves. 19:08 And the second one is the idea that man is by nature what? 19:13 That man is by nature immortal. 19:17 Now lets go through it again, because this 19:19 is of critical importance. 19:21 If there is no law, there is no sin. 19:24 If there is no sin, there is no death. 19:27 If there is no death, I am immortal. 19:30 But because only God is immortal, if I'm immortal, 19:34 I must be God. Now let me ask you, where did these 19:39 two ideas originate? 19:41 Where did these two ideas begin, that you don't have to worry 19:47 about God's law, and you are immortal? 19:50 Let's go back to Genesis. 19:53 Let's go back to Genesis 3:4, 5, Genesis 3:4, 5. 20:02 And actually, I'll start reading at verse 1 so that we can catch 20:05 the context. It says: Now the serpent was more cunning than 20:10 any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. 20:13 And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said you shall not 20:18 eat of every tree of the garden? 20:20 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit 20:24 of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree, 20:27 which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall 20:31 not eat it, nor shall you touch it lest you die. 20:35 And now notice verse 4: 20:45 What is the serpent telling Eve? 20:48 If she's not going to die, she must be what? 20:52 She must be immortal, according to this. 20:56 You're not going to die. 20:59 God is lying. You're going to be immortal. 21:03 But now I want you to notice verse 5. It says: 21:26 Now let's take a look at this verse. 21:29 I've dealt with it before, but I want this verse 21:31 to be absolutely clear. 21:34 Let me ask you, Was the devil right when he said to the woman, 21:41 that God knows that the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be 21:48 opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 21:51 Was the devil right? 21:52 He was? Let me ask you, Who is the absolute arbiter 21:58 of good and evil? 21:59 Who defines what is good and what is evil? 22:02 God does. And what document has God given us to show 22:06 what is good, and what is evil? 22:07 What? His ten commandments. 22:12 Would you say that the ten commandments 22:13 define good and evil? 22:15 Did man come up with that law or did God give that law? 22:21 God did. So who is the one who defines good and evil? 22:25 It is God, not man. 22:27 God tells Adam and Eve, It's okay to eat from all these 22:31 trees, but it's bad to eat from this one. 22:33 And we've already noticed that in this one command 22:36 are contained all of the ten commandments; 22:38 in principle all of the ten commandments are there. 22:40 So God is defining, in the garden, good and evil. 22:44 Now what is Satan saying to the woman? 22:46 He's saying, Listen up! 22:48 You think that if you eat from the tree you're going to die. 22:53 But let me tell you what's really going on. 22:55 God knows that if you eat of this tree you're going to be 23:00 just like Him, and you are going to be able to define 23:05 good and evil without having to depend on God's 23:09 definition of good and evil. 23:11 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 23:13 He's saying, Listen, God has intimidated you. 23:16 He's said that you shouldn't eat from the tree, because you're 23:19 going to die, but that's just to scare you so you don't eat, 23:22 because He knows that if you do eat, then He's going to have 23:25 other God's running around, and only He wants to be God. 23:29 That's what the devil is really saying. 23:31 But he says, If you eat from the tree, not only will you be 23:36 God, but you will be able to determine what is good, 23:39 and what is evil without having to depend on God's definition 23:43 of good and evil. 23:44 Let me ask you, Is the devil attacking the law of God, 23:49 the objective external law of God? He most certainly is! 23:53 He's saying, You don't have to accept God's standard 23:56 of right and wrong. 23:57 If you are God, you can follow your own standard 24:00 of right and wrong, of good and evil. 24:03 So in these two verses you have these two ideas: 24:07 you will not die, and you can be your own 24:10 source of ethical decisions. 24:13 You don't have to define on God's definition 24:16 of right and wrong. 24:17 If you're God, you can define what's right and wrong. 24:20 It's an attack on the law, and besides that you will not die, 24:25 you are what? you are immortal. 24:28 Do you see how these two ideas are very closely 24:33 linked one to another? 24:35 If you believe one, you will automatically believe the other. 24:40 These two ideas originated with Satan in the Garden of Eden. 24:45 The idea that you have to get rid of God's objective law, 24:48 God's definition of right and wrong. 24:50 You can choose right and wrong for yourself. 24:53 You're old enough, you're wise enough, you're mature enough 24:56 to decide what's good and evil without having somebody tell you 24:59 that the law tells you what's right and what's wrong. 25:02 You can come in from inside and know what's right and wrong. 25:06 And he also says that you will not die. 25:09 And so notice that we have here: if there is no law there is no 25:14 sin, if there is no sin there is no death. 25:17 If there is no death, I am immortal. 25:20 But because only God is immortal, if I'm also immortal, 25:25 I must be God. The two great errors that the devil tried to 25:33 pan off, and actually did pan off on Eve 25:36 in the Garden of Eden. 25:37 Now let's go back to the book of Genesis and examine the sequence 25:42 of events that led to the sin of Adam and Eve, 25:45 and the consequences of their sin. 25:48 Go with me to Genesis 2:16, 17, Genesis 2:16, 17. 25:57 It says there: Then the Lord God took the man and put him in 26:02 the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 26:10 In other words, it's okay to eat from all 26:11 of the trees of the garden. 26:24 What did God say? Did God give a law? 26:28 Was this law outside man? 26:31 Was it outside man? 26:33 Did God lay down the ground rule? 26:35 And we've already studied that this law contained 26:37 all of the commandments. 26:39 Because when Eve sinned she coveted. 26:41 She stole God's fruit. 26:42 She dishonored her heavenly Father. 26:44 She chose another spiritual lover. 26:47 She committed spiritual adultery. 26:48 She brought death into the world. 26:50 In other words, she killed. 26:51 All of the commandments were broken 26:53 when she broke this one commandment. 26:55 Now let me ask you, When Eve and her husband, Adam, 26:59 afterwards broke the ten commandments, was that sin? 27:02 Was what Adam and Eve did sin? 27:07 Lets notice Romans 5, Romans 5: 12, Romans 5:12. 27:15 Here the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says this: 27:21 And we've read this verse before. 27:31 Let me ask you, did sin come into the world through one man? 27:34 Yes or No? Who was that man? 27:36 That was Adam. Let me ask you, In order to be sin, 27:40 must there have been a law to break? 27:42 Are you with me or not? 27:45 Did Adam sin? What is sin? 27:49 Transgression of the law. 27:51 So was there a law to break? Of course! 27:54 So there was a law? 27:56 When Adam and Eve broke the law they what? They sinned. 28:00 And when they sinned what came in as a consequence? 28:04 Let's read once again verse 12. It says: 28:12 And then what does it say? 28:21 Do you see the sequence? 28:22 God has a law. Adam and Eve break the law, 28:26 and that's what? Sin. 28:28 And because Adam and Eve sinned, 28:30 what comes into the world? death. 28:33 So my line of reasoning is not mine. 28:36 The line of reasoning that we've been using 28:39 is in harmony with scripture. 28:42 By the way, you can read in Genesis 3:6 28:46 about the sin of Adam and Eve. 28:48 Let's go there just for a moment. 28:50 Genesis 3:6 says this: 29:08 So they sinned, didn't they? 29:09 They broke God's command. 29:11 They sinned, and as a result God said to Adam, Dust you are, 29:15 and to dust you shall what? 29:17 And to dust you shall return. 29:20 In other words, God says, Because you broke My law, 29:22 you are going to die. 29:26 Is that contrary to what the devil said? 29:29 What did the devil say? 29:31 Eat and you won't die. 29:34 Disobey God's law and you won't die. 29:37 God says you disobey My law, and you will die. 29:41 Who was telling the truth? 29:43 God was telling the truth, because Adam died 29:47 when he was 930 years old. 29:49 And if you read the list in Genesis 5 of all of the great 29:52 heroes up to the times of Noah, the expression is used, 29:56 and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died, 29:59 and he died, with the exception of one: Enoch. 30:02 And later on in our series we're going to talk about Enoch, 30:05 and why Enoch was translated to heaven without seeing death. 30:12 He's the only one in the list that did not actually die. 30:16 Now lets notice what God did to Adam and Eve 30:19 in consequence of their sin. 30:21 Notice Genesis chapter 3, Genesis 3, and let's read 30:28 starting at verse 23, Genesis 3: 23. It says here: 30:48 What happened to Adam and Eve? 30:49 They were what? They were cast out of the garden. 30:54 What was in the garden? 30:56 In the garden was the tree of life. 31:01 Now listen up. Did Adam and Eve have to continue eating 31:06 from the tree of life to continue living? Yes. 31:09 Do you know that their only source of life 31:11 was in God's tree? 31:12 They had to eat from the tree to refurbish their strength, 31:17 and to refurbish their life. 31:18 In other words, their source of life was not inside, 31:21 it was outside in God's tree. 31:22 And do you know that even in eternity, when God makes a new 31:27 heavens and a new earth, we read in our last lecture, 31:31 that from month to month we will go to the Holy City. 31:36 And what will we go to the Holy City for? 31:38 To eat from the tree of life. 31:41 Even in eternity our source of life will not be inside, 31:45 it will be where? It will be outside in God's tree. 31:49 In other words, God has a tree which served the purpose 31:52 of a battery charger, if you please. 31:55 In other words, Adam and Eve had to go 31:58 and charge their battery. 32:00 As long as they were obedient to God they had access 32:03 to the tree of life. 32:04 But now, because of their sin, what happened? 32:07 They were cast out from the Garden of Eden, 32:11 and they could no longer partake of what? 32:14 of the tree of life, because they disobeyed 32:17 God's commandment. 32:18 Now let's notice verse 24. 32:20 It says in verse 24: 32:26 No more access to the tree of life. Notice: 32:43 Whom did God place at the gate of the garden? 32:46 What were cherubim? angels. 32:51 Now do you notice? 32:53 They broke God's law. 32:55 They sinned. God cast them out of the garden, 33:00 so that they could not eat from the tree of life, 33:04 and an angel was placed at the gate. Follow me? 33:09 And two things came as a result: first of all, the curse. 33:15 Notice what we find in Genesis 3:17, Genesis 3:17. 33:23 Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice 33:27 of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which 33:31 I commanded you saying, You shall not eat of it. 33:39 What came in as a result of their sin of breaking God's law? 33:42 The curse. And, by the way, this word is used three times 33:47 in Genesis 3 and 4. 33:49 It's used of the serpent. 33:51 God cursed the serpent. 33:52 And in Genesis 4:11 He cursed Cain. 33:55 In other words, in consequence of sin, of them being cast out 34:00 of the garden, now the curse comes in. 34:03 And, of course, as a result of the curse, also comes in death. 34:09 God says, Dust you are, and to dust you shall return. 34:14 So reviewing: Adam and Eve broke God's law. 34:18 That was sin. Because of sin they were cast 34:22 out of the garden. 34:23 Angels were placed at the gate to guard the access 34:29 to the tree of life. 34:30 And then as a result, comes in the curse and death. 34:36 Now you say, why are you going through this sequence? 34:39 Because this sequence is going to be undone 34:45 at the very end of time. 34:47 I want you to go with me to Revelation 22:14, 34:52 Revelation 22:14, and I want you to notice this interesting 34:58 verse in conjunction with what we just read from Genesis. 35:01 It says there in Revelation 22 and verse 14: 35:13 Who what? the King James says, keep. Here it says: 35:20 Some people say, Well, Pastor, but in other versions it says, 35:24 Blessed are those who wash their robes. 35:27 Actually, both ideas are in Revelation. 35:30 Revelation 7:13, 14 says, speaking about the saints who 35:34 go through the tribulation, it says that they've made their 35:37 garments white in the blood of the Lamb. 35:39 But also Revelation speaks about the dragon being enraged against 35:44 those who keep the commandments of God. 35:46 Both ideas are present, but what is the best 35:49 translation here? 35:50 I believe that the best translation is the King James 35:53 translation: Blessed are those who keep His commandments. 35:55 And we're going to see why, because really it's an undoing 36:00 of breaking the commandments in Genesis. 36:02 Notice once again verse 14: Blessed are those who do His 36:06 commandments. Is that opposite of what Adam and Eve did? 36:11 What did Adam and Eve do? 36:14 They broke the commandments. 36:15 Is there going to be a group who keep them? Yes. Now notice: 36:25 Is that an undoing of what happened in Genesis? Yes. 36:32 Is that the opposite of what happened to Adam and Eve? 36:35 Yes. And, by the way, do you know 36:37 who's standing at the gates? 36:38 Notice Revelation 21:12, Revelation 21:12. 36:44 Speaking about the Holy City, it says: 36:55 Excuse me, who is at every gate? an angel. 37:02 What are the angels checking? 37:04 They're checking ID. 37:09 So in Revelation you have a group who keep 37:12 the commandments. 37:13 They're allowed through the gates by an angel. 37:17 They now have access to what? 37:21 They now have access to the tree of life. 37:24 And I want you to notice the two things 37:26 that are no longer present. 37:27 Notice Revelation 22:3, Revelation 22:3. 37:34 Two things that are absent once they enter the city. 37:38 It says there in Revelation 22: 37:42 ...what? Is that an undoing of what happened in Genesis? 37:46 Of course! 37:55 Notice what else will not be there. 37:57 Revelation 21:4 says: 38:13 Does Revelation speak about the undoing of what 38:17 happened in Genesis? Of course. 38:20 Adam and Eve broke the commandment. They sinned. 38:23 As a result they were sentenced to death. 38:25 They were cast out of the garden so that they could not 38:27 eat from the tree of life. 38:29 Angels were placed at the gate. 38:30 As a result you have the curse, and death. 38:33 In Revelation you have a group of people who keep 38:37 the commandments of God. 38:38 The angel lets them through the gates to have access 38:41 to the tree of life, and as a result you don't have anymore 38:44 curse, and you don't have anymore death. 38:47 Are you understanding this point? 38:49 Revelation undoes what happened in Genesis. 38:54 God will have a people who will keep His commandments. 38:57 And, by the way, they're not immortal in themselves, 39:00 because if they were immortal, why would they have 39:01 to eat from the tree? 39:03 In fact, listen up, if man was created immortal, 39:08 what good would it have been for God to forbid him 39:10 from eating from the tree? 39:11 You're not understanding me, are you? 39:15 If man was by nature immortal what good would it do 39:19 for God to bar him from eating from the tree? 39:21 It made no difference whether he ate or not. 39:24 He was still immortal. 39:26 Furthermore, and this is even more serious, if man is by 39:31 nature immortal, what did Jesus come to save us from? 39:37 Did Jesus come to save us from death? Yes, He did. 39:40 But if we're immortal what is He saving us from? 39:43 The doctrine of the immortality of the soul 39:48 makes Jesus unnecessary. 39:50 And it makes the casting out of Adam and Eve from the Garden 39:55 of Eden unnecessary. 39:57 Are you understanding my point or not? 40:00 This is a critical point. 40:02 Now I want you to go with me to Revelation 22:15, 40:05 because somebody might say, Okay, well the parallel 40:07 is interesting, but does the text really mean those who keep 40:11 the commandments or those who washed their robes? 40:14 Well, let's notice the contrast at verse 15, and you'll see that 40:17 keeping the commandments is a better translation. 40:20 By the way, if God has a people in the end time who keep the 40:22 commandments, I guess they weren't nailed to the cross. 40:27 Hello, anybody out there? 40:31 Why would God say that He has a people who keep His 40:33 commandments if the law was done away with 40:36 when Jesus died on the cross? 40:37 Or He doesn't expect Christians to keep the law anymore? 40:41 Do you know what the problem is? and I'll be brutally frank. 40:46 People want to get rid of the Sabbath, and I can't explain it. 40:52 I don't know why, because it's such a beautiful day. 40:55 Twenty-four hours of communion with Christ! 40:57 You ask them, Oh, can you commit adultery then? No, No. 41:00 Can you steal? No, No. 41:02 Can you covet? No. 41:05 Can you worship idols? Never! 41:08 Can you beat up your parents? Don't even think of it! 41:12 Can you kill? No. 41:17 Can you bear false witness against your neighbor? No way! 41:21 Can you break the Sabbath? Yeah! 41:26 Now lets be consistent folks. 41:27 Lets be honest with ourselves, and honest with God. 41:31 I know that there are preachers out there that teach 41:35 that the Sabbath was done away with, but the Bible 41:37 does not teach that. 41:38 In fact, I'll give you a reward if you can show me one text 41:42 in the Bible where it says, Thus saith the Lord, You shall now 41:45 keep the first day of the week instead of the seventh 41:48 day of the week. You won't find it. 41:50 People say, Well, we keep Sunday because we want to honor 41:53 the Resurrection of Jesus. 41:54 There's no place in the Bible that says you're supposed 41:56 to keep Sunday because you honor the Resurrection of Jesus. 41:58 In fact, the Bible says that it is baptism which commemorates 42:02 the death and the Resurrection of Christ. 42:04 It is baptism, not Sunday, but this is an assumption, 42:08 an idea that came into the Christian church by tradition. 42:12 Now notice Revelation 22:15, and I'm going to read verse 14 42:17 because I want you to catch the context. 42:19 It says, Blessed are those who do His commandments that they 42:22 may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through 42:24 the gates into the city, but... 42:26 What does that word, but indicate? 42:29 There is a group of contrasts with those who enter, 42:32 who keep the commandments. 42:42 By the way, sorcerers break the commandment, Thou shall have 42:44 no other gods before Me, because sorcerers claim to have 42:47 the power to create reality. 42:54 Some versions say fornicators, or adulterers. And what else? 43:02 Let me ask you, Are these all violations 43:05 of the ten commandments? 43:06 Which commandment is murderers? 43:08 Thou shalt not kill. 43:11 What about fornicators, or adulterers? 43:13 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 43:15 How about idolaters? 43:16 Thou shalt not make any graven image. 43:19 How about he who loves and practices a lie? 43:21 Thou shalt not bear false witness. 43:22 That is those who are outside the city 43:24 are commandment breakers. 43:27 Those who are inside the city are what? 43:31 are commandment keepers. 43:33 Is that clear? Raise your hand if that's clear. 43:36 I mean it's there in scripture. 43:38 Now, is Pastor Bohr saying that God's going to let us into this 43:43 city because we kept His commandments? 43:45 We earned our entrance into the city 43:48 by keeping His commandments. No way! 43:51 Then what am I saying? 43:55 Listen, the only thing that gives us access to the Holy City 43:59 is the fact that Jesus bore the curse for our sins. 44:07 Do you remember Genesis 3:21 when Adam and Eve were naked? 44:11 They were actually covered with fig leaves, 44:13 but they still felt naked. 44:14 What happened in the Garden of Eden? 44:17 Animals were slain. 44:21 What did those animals represent? 44:24 They represented the death of Jesus to cover the shame 44:29 of their nakedness. 44:30 Of course, nakedness represents living in a state of sin. 44:33 In other words, the only thing which would allow Adam and Eve 44:37 access again into the presence of God, was to be covered 44:42 with the skins of the lamb slain, which represented the 44:47 death of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 44:51 As it says in Galatians 3:13, Jesus redeemed us from 44:59 the curse of the law. 45:00 Why does the law curse us? 45:03 Because we're sinners! 45:06 See, the law isn't bad because it curses us. 45:08 It says Christ redeems us from the curse of the law, 45:11 and how did He do it? 45:12 Becoming a curse for us. 45:16 In other words, Jesus took my sin upon Himself. 45:21 He was cursed by His Father in my place. 45:24 He died on a cross paying for the penalty for my sins. 45:28 And when I come to Jesus and I see that, and I see what sin 45:32 did to Jesus, I say, Lord Jesus, Why did this happen to You? 45:35 Why did You cry out, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me? 45:39 Why, why were You sweating drops of blood? 45:43 Why did You have that cup trembling in Your hand? 45:46 Where you said, Father if this cup can pass from Me, 45:50 which is the cup of God's wrath. 45:51 Why did You say this? 45:53 Why did You go through this? 45:55 Jesus says, The wages of sin is death. 45:59 When I see Jesus in that way, I say, Lord Jesus, I love You, 46:04 and I hate sin! It's when I look at Jesus, and see what sin 46:11 did to Jesus, that I once and for all want to get rid of sin. 46:15 Let me tell you this, people who have received Jesus as their 46:20 Savior will, out of love for Jesus, 46:24 get rid of sin in their lives. 46:27 They will keep the commandments, not because they have to, 46:31 not because they're ordered to, but because they're grateful 46:37 to Jesus for what He has done for them. 46:40 So I would say in the light of all of the Bible, 46:43 that what Revelation 22:14 is trying to teach is, 46:47 blessed are those who love Jesus, therefore keep His 46:51 commandments, and enter through the gates into the city, 46:55 because Jesus said, If you love Me, keep My commandments. 47:01 He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments 47:07 is a liar, and the truth of God is not in him. 47:12 Are there many Christians in the world today who say, 47:15 Oh, I received Jesus. 47:16 Jesus died on the cross for me. 47:17 And they live like the devil? 47:23 Yes, absolutely, Yes. 47:26 You see, our life shows whether we have truly 47:31 committed ourselves to Jesus. 47:33 The Bible says we will be judged by our works, even though we are 47:39 saved by grace through faith. 47:41 The apostle Paul says we are justified by faith 47:44 without works of the law. 47:46 But then he says, the doers of the law will be justified. 47:49 The apostle Paul says we are not justified by works of law. 47:54 But then James says, don't you know that Abraham was justified 47:58 by works when he offered his son? 47:59 You say, that's a contradiction. 48:01 No it isn't. You see, Paul is looking at how we're saved. 48:05 We're save by grace through faith, whereas James is looking 48:09 at the life of those who have been saved by faith. 48:13 In other words, Paul is telling you how you're saved. 48:17 James is telling you how saved people live. 48:20 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 48:24 So if we love Jesus, we're going to obey Jesus, 48:27 because sin nailed Him to the cross, and so when we come 48:32 to the cross we hate sin and we love Jesus. 48:35 How about it? The reason why we sin so much is because we don't 48:38 spend very much time at the cross. 48:39 We spend most of our time behind the television set, 48:41 or in front of the television set. 48:43 I wish it was behind. 48:45 And the television set confirms our sin. 48:50 It makes us greater sinners, because it says, Oh, what you're 48:53 looking at, that's normal. 48:54 That's what happens. 48:56 And we're confirmed in our sins, whereas when we come to the 48:59 cross of Jesus, the cross o Jesus rebukes our sin, 49:01 and we don't want anything more to do with sin. 49:05 Notice 2 Timothy 1:10, 2 Timothy 1:10. 49:12 This is a very important verse. 49:14 It says there, the apostle Paul, once again: 49:33 What has Jesus done? 49:34 He's brought immortality to light through the gospel. 49:37 Now if we already have immortality, what use is it for 49:40 Jesus to bring immortality to to light for the gospel? 49:43 It's absurd! It doesn't make any sense. 49:46 By the way, do you know that our only source 49:49 of life is in Jesus? 49:50 In 1 John 5:11, 12, we find John saying, This is the testimony 49:58 that God has given us eternal life, 50:00 and this life is in His Son. 50:13 So where is our source of life? within us, or outside us? 50:20 It is outside us. 50:22 It is in being connected with Jesus. 50:26 We are not immortal in ourselves. 50:29 We cannot define what's right and wrong in ourselves. 50:33 We need the law of God not only to show us our external 50:38 deeds, we need the law of God to show us our internal 50:41 thoughts and motivations. 50:42 To rebuke our sin, if you please. 50:45 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 50:47 And when the law does that we realize that we're sentenced 50:51 to death and we cry out, Who shall deliver me 50:54 from this body of death? 50:55 Ah, the answer comes, Look at the Lord Jesus. 50:59 He bore your death. 51:00 He took your death upon the cross, because of your sins. 51:04 And therefore, the law is upheld, and also eternal life 51:11 depends only and exclusively upon Jesus Christ. 51:17 Now I want to make absolutely clear the relationship 51:23 that exists between keeping the law, and God's grace. 51:26 Let me ask you, when you turn on your car, and you put it in 51:34 gear, and your car starts rolling, which of the two wheels 51:38 moves first, the front wheels or the back wheels? 51:46 Almost always people will say, that depends whether it's back 51:50 wheel or front wheel drive. 51:51 Wrong! If it's back wheel drive, when the back wheels move 51:58 the front wheels follow. 52:01 Faith is the power that moves our life. 52:07 The works are what follow in consequence. 52:11 Now I'd like to do a little experiment here. 52:16 Let me ask you, when someone opens that door in the back, 52:19 which side of the door moves first, 52:21 the inside or the outside? 52:24 You snickered. I've had people say the outside, 52:30 and I've had people say the inside, but actually both sides 52:33 move what? move together. 52:36 It's like two oars of a row boat. 52:40 Which oar is most important, the left oar or the right oar? 52:46 Actually, both of them working together move the boat forward. 52:51 Do you want your life to move forward? your spiritual life 52:55 to move forward? The only way is through the oar of works, 52:59 and through the oar of faith working together. 53:02 Or you could illustrate it this way: imagine a piece of paper. 53:09 Let's do a little experiment here. 53:11 If I have a sheet of paper, and I've got this little sheet 53:14 back here, I want to ask someone here, Would you please come and 53:21 take away one side of this piece of paper? 53:27 Anybody want to try and take one side off of this? 53:30 And some people say, Well, I'll peel it. 53:32 It still has two sides. Nice try! 53:34 Can you have a one sided piece of paper? No. 53:39 You have to have two sides. 53:40 And that's true of faith and works. 53:44 Faith is the moving power, works are that which follow. 53:48 Now lets go to Ephesians chapter 2 where this is brought out very 53:53 clearly. Ephesians 2:8, 9. 53:58 Most Christians will read verses 8 and 9 and they'll stop. 54:00 But we've got to read verse 10, too. 54:04 It says there in verse 8: 54:22 And people take that and they say, See, we're saved by grace, 54:25 through faith without works. 54:28 Yeah, but you need to read verse 10. 54:32 Notice verse 10. It says there: 54:42 By the way, that means that we've received Jesus 54:44 into our lives. He's become our Savior. 54:54 And who prepared those good works? 54:57 Do we do them in our own power? in our own selves? No. 55:10 So we are saved by grace through faith. 55:14 We cannot boast, but in consequence of that 55:18 what follows? works follow. 55:22 Now allow me to mention something which is very 55:25 terrifying to me, as we bring this lecture to a close. 55:28 Do you know that there are two texts, there are more but I'm 55:32 going to mention two of them in the New Testament that tell us 55:35 that in the end time, the world is going to be in a terribly 55:40 lawless state. Notice Matthew 24:12, Matthew 24:12. 55:50 Here Jesus is speaking about the signs of His second coming, 55:55 and He says this. Matthew 24: 12. 56:04 That word lawlessness is the same expression, 56:06 transgression of the law of 1 John 3:4. 56:11 What is the consequence? 56:15 What is law breaking? 56:16 It's a lack of what? of love. 56:21 I'll only mention the second passage. 56:23 It's in Matthew 7:21-23. 56:26 We've referred to it before. 56:29 Do you remember that many will come to Jesus in that day, 56:32 and they'll say, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? 56:34 Lord, Lord, did we not do miracles in Your name? 56:37 Lord, Lord, did we not cast out demons in Your name? 56:40 By the way, are these Christians? 56:42 Do they profess to be Christians? 56:44 Of course. They wouldn't be claiming the name of Jesus 56:47 if they didn't profess to be Christians. 56:49 And what does Jesus answer to them? He says: 57:02 Say what? Christians who practice lawlessness? 57:07 Perhaps these are the Christians who say that you don't have to 57:10 keep the law because Jesus kept it for you. 57:12 Folks, the fact is that these two doctrines have 57:16 overtaken the whole world: the idea that the law of God 57:20 was done away with, and man is immortal. 57:23 May God deliver us from these two great errors. |
Revised 2014-12-17