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Adrian Rogers -The Final Judgment

The Great Judgment

Dr. Adrian Rogers

Revelation 20:11-15

I want to speak to you tonight on one of the most

serious subjects I know anything about and that is the

final judgment, the final judgment.  Now, you need to

pay attention because one of these days, if you don’t

know the Lord Jesus Christ, you are going to come into

judgment.  You have a date with Deity.  You are going

to meet Jesus Christ.

I heard of a young minister one time who came to

a village town to be the pastor.  In that village,

there was a man who was a skeptic, a scorner, an

agnostic, a pseudo intellectual.  His favorite sport

was baiting preachers, teasing preachers, arguing with

preachers, ridiculing the Gospel.  He could hardly

wait ’til the new minister came to town.  One day they

met in the town square.  This man, whose name was Burt

Alney, met the new minister and he said to him, I

understand you’re the new minister in town.  Is that

correct?  He said, Yes sir, I am.  He said, Well I

want to tell you something, my name is Burt Alney.

And I don’t believe in God.  I don’t believe the Bible

is the Word of God.  I believe that heaven is mere

sentimentality.  To believe in hell is a blunder and

foolishness.  I believe that you’re a pious fraud and

an imposter, and I believe that all of the people who

go there to hear you preach are hypocrites.  The young

minister looked at him and quoted a verse of

Scripture.  He said, “It is appointed unto man once to

die, and after this the Judgment.”  Alney said, Don’t

quote the Bible to me.  He said, I don’t believe the

Bible.  What do you have to say to that?  The young

minister said, “It is appointed unto man once to die,

and after this the Judgment.”  He said, That’s no

argument, don’t give me that, I said I don’t believe

that.  He said, It is appointed unto man once to die,

and after this the Judgment.  He said, That’s stupid.

I don’t think you know enough to argue.  He said, “It

is appointed unto man once to die, after this the

Judgment.”  It so infuriated Burt Alney that he

wheeled around, turned and walked away in disgust.

But later on Burt Alney gave this testimony.  He said,

as I walked home that night, I walked over the bridge,

and as the creek was beneath me, the frogs in that

creek were saying, Judgment, Judgment, Judgment,

Judgment, Judgment. And what that man had said so

reverberated through my soul.  “It is appointed unto

man once to die, and after this the judgment––that I

could not get it out of my heart and my mind until I

gave my heart to Jesus Christ.  I pray God tonight

that this will etch itself upon your consciousness and

reverberate through your soul.

Listen to me my friend; one of the most solemn

facts I know is that one day, one day, every unsaved

man, woman, boy, and girl in this world will come to

Judgment.  Now, the message that I’m going to give you

tonight is straight from the Word of God, and if you

have a Bible with you, you may keep it open there in

your lap.  The very first thing we see as we speak

about the final Judgment, which really is a trial, is

a court, it is eternity’s court.  The Supreme Judge of

the Universe is sitting there upon the bench.  I want

you to notice that in every court trial there are

three parts.  First of all there must be a judge, and

secondly there must be some defendants, and thirdly

there must be a judgment.

Now, the Bible tells us this is what is going to

happen.  First of all I want you to notice the setting

of this whole thing.  Look in verse 11, “And I saw a

great white throne.”  Now, when the Bible says it’s

great, that speaks of the power of it.  When the Bible

says it is white, that speaks of the purity of it.

When the Bible says it is a throne, that speaks of the

purpose of it, for this word throne is not the kind of

a throne that a king would sit upon.  This kind of a

throne was a judgment bench.  A person who stands

before this is not coming to worship a king.

Sometimes people say, Oh, pray for us all that one day

we’ll stand before thy great white throne.  Don’t pray

that prayer for me please.  And don’t pray it for you,

if you know what you are talking about.  Those who

stand before this throne are standing there to be

judged.

And who is it that’s sitting upon this throne?

Look again here in the Word of God.  “And him that sat

on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled

away.”  Who is this person?  Who is this judge that’s

sitting upon the throne?  Well, I want to tell you who

the judge is not going to be.  You’re not going to

judge yourself.  The judge in that day is not going to

be your opinion of yourself.  It’s not going to be

some friend.  We all have friends who will write a

letter of recommendation for us.  They don’t bear

false witness against us, they bear it for us, Amen?

They say all of these nice things, but your friends

are not going to be the judge.  Your mother, your

father is not going to be the judge.  My mother had a

way of overlooking all of the faults and foibles and

in me.  But your mother is not going to be the judge.

Who is the judge?  Who is the one who sits upon this

throne?  The Bible says, “In him that sat upon the

throne, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled

away.”  Who is this one?  So awesome, so terrifying,

so fearful that even the heavens and the earth flee

from his presence.  Are you ready for this?  The judge

will be none other than Jesus Christ.  Did you know

that?  Jesus is the judge.

The Bible tells us in John the fifth chapter,

“The Father judgeth no man, but hath commiteth all

judgment unto His son.”  Now that’s very important

because I want to tell you as surely as my name is

Adrian Rogers, as surely as I stand in this stadium,

as surely as there’s breath in my body, as surely as

there’s a God in heaven, you are going to meet Jesus

Christ.  Everybody here is going to meet Jesus Christ.

Now, you may not walk down this aisle and give your

heart to Jesus, but in some church they’ll roll you

down the aisle perhaps after you are dead and some

preacher will preach your funeral, but your soul will

be in hell before the undertaker learns you are dead.

And dear friend, you will be drawn out of that place

called hell, that place that the Bible calls Hades,

and as we’re going to see in a moment, you will stand

face to face with Jesus Christ.  Do you know what the

Bible says?  The Bible says, “As I live saith the

Lord, every knee shall bow to God.  Every tongue shall

confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God

the Father.”  Now, that tells me that if you don’t

meet Jesus as Savior, you’ll meet Him as judge.  If

you don’t meet Him in grace, you’ll meet Him in

judgment.  But you have a date with Deity.  You’re

going to meet Him as the Lamb.  You’re going to meet

Him as the Lion.  You’re going to meet Him as the

Savior, or you’re going to meet Him as the Judge, but

you’re going to meet Him.

Now listen, listen, this is the setting.  There

is a great white throne.  Now, who are the defendants?

Let’s continue to read.  Look here in this passage of

scripture.  The Bible says in verse 12,  “And I saw

the dead, small and great stand before God, and the

books were opened.  And another book was opened which

is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of

those things which were written in the books according

to works.”  Now, the Bible teaches that there’s a

summons that’s going to go out, and the dead are going

to be summonsed into this court.  Who are these?  Who

are these dead that are coming to the judgment?  “I

saw the dead, small and great.”  Well, listen, the big

shot, the great, the little shot, the small, the up

and out, the great, the down and out, the small, those

who are well known and those that nobody knows

anything about––all of these unsaved are going to

stand in the Judgment.

Now, let me tell you they are basically in four

categories of persons.  Four types of people will

stand there to be judged, and I want you to listen

carefully to see if you’re in one of these four

categories.  First of all, the out and out sinner will

be there, and I don’t think there are any like that

here tonight, but there may be.  These are those who

hate God, who hate Christ, who hate the Bible.  They

hate revivals.  They hate preachers.  They hate

churches.  They spit on the cross.  They ridicule the

blood.  They shake their puny fists in the face of

God, boldly, braggingly, brazenly.  They say, God, if

there be a God, you’re not big enough to make me serve

you.  They hate God, and they despise what we’re doing

here tonight.  Now, there are none like that here

tonight, unless you’ve come to make fun.  And if you

have, may God have mercy upon your soul.  But they

will be there.  They will be there.

But I’ll tell you another category of persons who

will be there.  These are not the out and out sinners,

they’re just the opposite.  These are self-righteous

people.  These are good people.  These people go to

church from time to time.  These people give their

money.  These people have been baptized.  These people

have gone to Sunday school.  These people have

culture.  They have manners.  They think that the

Gospel is for the thief.  They think the Gospel is for

the murderer.  They think the Gospel is for the

pervert.  They don’t think the Gospel is for them.

They don’t think they need to be saved.  Jesus said,

“Except your righteousness shall exceed the

righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you

shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of heaven. ”

Some people are going to hell because they drink, but

some people are going to hell because they never

drink.  They think the Gospel is for the drunkard, but

not for them.  They think they don’t need to be saved.

And when a preacher preaches a sermon like this,

they’ll stand in the invitation, they’ll look around

to see if any of those old sinners are going to go

down there and give their heart to Jesus Christ.  I

told you the night before last, I’ll tell you again––

the worst form of badness is human goodness when that

human goodness becomes a substitute for the second

birth.

Now, mark it down.  There is no sin greater than

self-righteousness that keeps you from going to Jesus

Christ.  Most of the people in America are egomaniacs,

strutting to hell, thinking they’re too good to be

damned.  There are about five billion people on planet

earth today.  If you were to put those five billion

people in a single file, they would reach out around

the moon, circle around the moon a number of times and

come back to the earth and you still would not have

reached the end of that line.  If you were to take a

golden cup and place it in the hand of all five

billion people and tell each one to deposit all of his

own personal goodness and righteousness that he

innately has in that cup, and then pass it on to the

next person, and on to the next, when that golden cup

got to the end of five billion persons, there would

not be enough righteousness in that cup to save one

boy or one girl.  Do you understand what I am talking

about?  God says that our righteousness is as filthy

rags in the sight of a holy God.  Would to God, would

to God, would to God the Holy Spirit would show you

tonight, oh my friend, that your church membership

cannot save you, your keeping of the Ten Commandments

cannot save you.  The Bible says, “If righteousness

come by the law, then is Christ dead in vain.” Do you

know what that means?  That means that if you could be

saved by your good works, Calvary was a blunder and

the blood of Jesus Christ was spilled rather than

shed.  Christ died in vain.

I‘ll tell you a third category of person who will

be there.  Not only, my dear friend, the out and out

sinner, not only the self-righteous person, but

there’s another category of persons who will be there,

and this is the procrastinators.  They’re not out and

out sinners.  They don’t hate God.  And they’re not

self–righteous.  They know they need to be saved.

Every time the Gospel is preached, they feel that tug,

they feel that quiver.  Every time a preacher stands

up and says, Come to Jesus, there is something in them

that says, I ought to go.  But the devil whispers in

their ear, and the devil intimidates them and

procrastination comes into their heart and they say,

Not tonight, not tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow.  Oh, I

know we all know that we’re going to die, but do you

know what most of us think?  Most of us have the idea

that somehow we’re going to live to be about ninety–

eight, and then we’re going to get a little cough and

then we’re going to go to the doctor.  He’s going to

thump on us a little bit and he’s going to say, you’ve

got about four months to live.  So then we’re going to

visit all of the grandchildren and the great–

grandchildren.  And then we’re going to call all of

our loved ones in around the bed.  And then we’re

going to put on our pajamas, and crawl up in the bed,

turn up our toes and die.  That’s the way most of us

think we’re going to die.  But I want to tell you,

dear friend, more people die with their street clothes

on than die with their pajamas on.  Did you know that?

People die on their way home from church.  In where I

used to preach, in another church, five people in

another city, five people were killed on their way

home from church.

I can remember Dorothy, another little lady.

Stood on the front steps of my church in Ft. Pierce, I

can see her in my mind’s eye now, that perky little

smile.  And, Dorothy was a Christian, thank God, but

the principal is the same.  Dorothy said to me as she

stood there, Pastor, that was a great sermon.  I’ll

see you tonight.  I can still hear it in my ears.

I’ll see you tonight, pastor.  And as Dorothy went out

the five twenty causeway, and over the overpass going

over the Banana River, another car was coming up on

the wrong side of the hill, hit her head on.  I doubt

that she ever even saw it.  The next moment she was in

with Jesus.  If that had happened to some of you,

you’d be in hell tonight.  If going home that thing

happened to you, that next moment you’d be in hell.

The procrastinators, I say, are going to stand

there.  I tell you, there are souls in hell who would

give a million worlds like this one to have the

opportunity to come to Jesus tonight.  The Bible says,

“Today, if you’ll hear His voice, harden not your

heart.”  The Bible says, “He that being often reproved

and hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed.”

God’s Word says, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for

thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” I tell

you I would not go without Jesus Christ twenty–four

hours for ten million dollars.  I mean that with all

of my heart.  If you were to put ten million dollars

on this platform and say, All you have to do is

renounce Christ, do without Christ for one day.  Ten

million dollars for one day.  God in heaven knows,

number one I would not deny Jesus for ten million

dollars.  Number two, dear friend, I might die during

that twenty–four–hour period.  The Bible says, “What

should it profit a man if he should gain the whole

world and lose his own soul.  Or what should a man

give in exchange for his soul?”

Who is going to be there?  “I saw the dead, small

and great standing before God.”  I’ll tell you who

will be there.  The out and out sinner will be there.

I’ll tell you who will be there, the self–righteous

person will be there.  I’ll tell you who will be

there, the procrastinator will be there.  And I’ll

tell you someone else who will be there. These are

church members who have gotten their name on the

church role, but they’ve never had their name in the

Lamb’s book of life.  Church membership, whether

Bellevue kind or any other kind, has never saved

anybody.  You ask some people, Are you a Christian?

They say,  Well, I’m a member of the church. You ask,

When were you saved? Well, I was baptized at thus and

such a time.  Friend, the church is not the way to

heaven.  Jesus is the way to heaven.

Now, suppose when I came out here tonight to come

to this crusade, when I got ready, rather than coming,

I find a place that says Show Place Arena. I get up on

that sign and I sit down and I fold my hands and I sit

on that sign and you pass by and you say, Pastor,

that’s very interesting.  What are you doing?  And I

say, Well, I’m going to the crusade.  You say, You’re

going to the crusade?  Yes, yes.  Well, well, well,

how’s that, pastor?  Well, you see what it says here,

Show Place Arena.  That’s what it says, and I’m on it,

so I’m going to the crusade.  You say, Pastor, that’s

not the way to the Crusade, that’s just the sign that

points you to the way.  The church is not the way to

heaven.  The church is the sign that points you to the

way.  Jesus is the way.  Jesus, you say––everybody

knows that.  Friend, everybody doesn’t know that.

You’d be surprised.

There’s some people in this building tonight, you

are members in good standing of some church, but I

want to remind you, so was Judas.  He was a charter

member of the first church, and he was the treasurer,

and tonight he’s in hell. Are you saved?  I’m not

asking if you’re a member of the church.  Judas, are

you a member of the church?  Yes, I am.  I’m a charter

member.  I’m a disciple, I’m an apostle, I’m the

treasurer of the church.  Judas, have you ever been

born again?  He’d have to answer no, and tonight he’s

in hell.  There are four categories of persons who are

going to be judged.

Now, here’s the third and final thing I want you

to notice.  We’ve talked, first of all about the

courtroom and the Judge, the great white throne and

Jesus is on it.  Secondly, we’ve talked about the fact

that the dead, small and great, will stand there to be

judged.  Now, the third and final thing I want you to

see tonight is the basis of the judgment.  Every

judgment has three parts.  First of all the evidence

is presented against you.  Secondly, you have a chance

to make your defense.  Thirdly, the verdict of the

court is given.

Now, let’s suppose that the end of time has come

and it is time for the resurrection of the unsaved

dead.  The graves vomit up their shrieking, moaning,

groaning dead and they stand one by one to be judged,

that time when I told you about that you’re going to

meet Jesus Christ.  There’s a Negro spiritual that

goes this way:  I went to the Rock to hide my face,

and the rock cried out, no hiding place, no hiding

place.  The heavens and the earth flee away.  Every

rock, every cave, every building, every closet, it’s

gone.  Just you and Jesus.  You cursed His name behind

His back, I wonder if you’re going to curse Him to His

face now?  You ridiculed Him now, I wonder if you’re

going to ridicule Him then?  I am telling you, you

listen to me, the most sobering fact that I know is

that you’re going to stand before Jesus Christ.

“I saw the dead, small and great, stand before

God.  The sea gave up the dead which were in it.”

Listen, dear friend, death and hell delivered up the

dead which were in them, and they were judged, every

man.  You see, when you die, your body goes to the

grave, but your soul goes to Hades, literally Hades,

that’s what it says.  Death and Hell, in the Greek,

it’s death and Hades.  It is the place where spirits

go before the resurrection.  And your spirit is in

Hades, your body is in the grave.

He says here, “And death and hell gave up the dead which were in them…” Death has the body when your body dies, death comes after your body and carries it down to the grave to disintegration but there’s a part of you that doesn’t go to the grave; It goes to a place called Hell. It’s a translation of the Greek word Hades. It’s the place of the departed dead before the FINAL JUDGMENT. They go there to wait the judgment. You say, “Well, wait a minute. If they’re already in Hell why are they taken out of hell to be judged?”

That’s not the Lake of Fire, that’s Hades. They’re going to be cast into the Lake of Fire. You say, “What is the difference?”

Well, suppose a person commits a crime and he is indicted by the grand jury. He’s so dangerous that the judge will not grant bond. So he is put into the county jail, and he is held there until he is judged. He is taken out of that jail, judged, and put into the penitentiary. The Lake of Fire is the eternal penitentiary, but the death has the body and hell has the soul. That’s where people without Christ have died and their body in the grave, their soul being held there waiting until the Final Judgment. Well, why bring them out and judge them again? Because it’s not all over yet, as we’re going to see.

Hugh Hefner, who founded the Playboy empire, I’ll pray he’ll get saved. I hope he will. But if he doesn’t, when he dies he’ll go into a holding place and be taken out then to be judged. Why can’t he be judged now? Because it’s not finished yet. You see, he has corrupted those who will corrupt those, who will corrupt those, who will corrupt those, and on and on and on and on  and that wicked influence will not stop until it has reached the shores of eternity. So God has to wait until it’s all over to bring these out of that holding place and say, NOW WE ARE GOING TO FACE THE RECORD. That is the Final Judgment friend, when all the facts are in.

But when the summons comes, death that has the body, and Hell that has the spirit will give them up.  Your body will come from the grave.  Your spirit will come from hell.  And that spirit will be reincarnated, and in this case, reincarcerated in that body.  From the Arctic wastes they will come.  From the depths of the oceans they will come.  From the jungles they will come.  From graves that are millenniums old, and bodies that have turned to dust, they will come.  Fresh corpses will rise again.  I saw the dead, small and great.  They will come.  They will come.  They will be raised.

You know, I have never ever been able to

understand why unsaved people come to church at Easter

to celebrate.  I never can understand it.  I’m glad

they come, because it gives me a chance to shoot them

full of the Gospel, but I could never understand why

an unsaved person would come to church on Easter.  Do

you know what Easter is?  Easter, my friend, if you

don’t get saved, is the day that seals your doom.

Don’t you know that?

Acts chapter 17 says that “God has appointed a

day in which He will judge the world in righteousness

by that man whom He hath ordained whereof He hath

given assurance unto all men in that He raised Him

from the dead.”  Now, what does that mean?  It means

the proof positive of the judgment is the resurrection

of Jesus Christ.  You can’t hold court if the Judge is

dead.  But furthermore, you can’t hold court if the

defendant isn’t there. What God is saying is this,

listen to me––the same God that raised Jesus Christ up

from that grave, listen, is the same God who’s going

to bring you into judgment.  Listen. Death and hell

delivered up the dead which were in them.  Some people

get the idea that they can commit suicide and end it

all.  You can’t do it.  Let me tell you friend, you

cannot crawl up into the grave and hide from God.  You

can’t pull the dirt over your face and hide from God.

Could you have your body cremated and have your ashes

scattered by the four winds of the earth, to the four

corners of the earth?  The Spirit of Almighty God

would bring those ashes together, bring that dust

together, reincarnate into that body your soul, and

you will stand before Him, and you will be judged,

face to face with Jesus Christ.  You’ve got a date

with Deity.  “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee

shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to

God.”

Three parts to the Judgment.  First of all, the

evidence will be presented against you.  The Bible

says, “and the books were opened,” the books were

opened.  God is keeping books.  God has a record.  God

has written down every deed, every thought, and every

word, every word.  Did you know the Bible says every

idle word that men shall they give account thereof in

the Day of Judgment?  Every filthy thing you ever

said, every lie you ever told, every lustful thought

you ever had, every dishonest deed you’ve ever done,

every proud act.  All of it is recorded with a pen of

iron and rocks of lead and letters of flame.  I want

to tell you, my friend, God is keeping the record.

There’s a camera right here taking a picture of me.

There’s a microphone and what I am saying is being

recorded and it can be played back and be heard later

1. I am telling you, my friend, just as surely what

you are thinking this very moment is being recorded.

Did you know that?  I mean what you’re thinking this

very moment.  Every thought that you have right now,

God is recording.  Every word that you speak.  Jesus

said, “That which is done in secret shall be shouted

from the house top.”  God has the record, and when you

stand there, the case will be presented against you.

You will see your sins––sins that you’ll remember,

sins that you’ve forgotten.  Things that you did in

Vietnam and Korea.  Things you did in the back seat of

an automobile, or the back room of some business

place.  All of those things are recorded.  Every lie

you ever told.  Every time you pinched a wrinkle into

your mother’s brow, every gray hair you gave your

father, every mocking sneering thing you did about

Jesus Christ––you will face that sin, my friend. There

will be a foul mountain of sins.  And the most self–

righteous person in this world when he sees his sins

and the great sin of rejecting Jesus Christ, high

treason against heaven’s king.  It will all be there,

and that will be the evidence presented against you.

And then you’ll have a chance to make your defense.

What will you say?  Now, listen, let’s practice

right now.  Let’s just suppose that you’re standing

there before Jesus Christ.  I’m talking to those of

you who are not saved.  And remember, remember friend,

this may be the last sermon you’ll ever hear.  What

will you say?  I know what some of you will say.

You’ll say, Well, I’ll just call out for mercy.  There

won’t be any mercy.  If you want mercy, you may have

1. If you want grace, you may have it. If you want

forgiveness, you may have it.  But you must have it

now, you’ll not have it then.  The Bible says,  “It is

appointed unto man once to die, and after this the

Judgment.”  The Bible doesn’t say anything about

salvation, forgiveness after death.  As a matter of

fact, the Bible teaches that the only chance that you

have for salvation is in this life.  And you will not

get mercy.  Well you say, I’ll ask for justice.  You

don’t need justice friend, you need mercy.  Justice is

what you’re going to get.  You’re going to be judged

according to your works.

You say, Well, then I’ll make an excuse.  Well,

what will you say?  I know what some of you are going

to say.  You’re going to say, Well, Lord, I’ll tell

you why I wasn’t saved.  I wasn’t saved because there

were so many hypocrites in the church. Why, I went to

Bellevue Baptist Church, and I saw someone singing in

the choir.  And I knew that man.  I knew his

lifestyle.  I knew that woman.  I knew the way she

lived.  She’s a hypocrite.  That’s why I wasn’t saved.

That’s why I wasn’t saved.  And the Lord’s going to

say to you, I didn’t say believe on the hypocrite.  I

said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt

be saved.”

I know what some of you are going to say.  Well,

I wouldn’t go down there and confess Christ as my Lord

until I was sure I could live it.  He’s going to say,

I didn’t say believe on yourself.  I said, “Believe on

the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

Well, I’ll tell you why I wasn’t saved.  It was

Adrian Rogers.  I went to hear him preach, and he

yelled and he screamed and he lifted his hand and he

pointed his finger and he talked about sin and all of

that, I didn’t like that kind of preaching.  And He’ll

say, I didn’t say believe on the preacher.  I said,

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be

saved.”

Well, I didn’t know which church to join.  There

are so many churches.  The Baptist church, the

Methodist church, the Presbyterian church, the Church

of God, the Church of Christ, the Episcopalian church,

Vegetarian church, I didn’t know which church to join.

So many churches.  And He’ll say to you what I’m going

to say to you.  I didn’t say believe on the church.  I

said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt

be saved.”

Well, you say, I didn’t have time.  I mean, I was

killed on that Wednesday night.  I was in an

automobile accident.  I died of a heart attack.  I

died in my sleep.  I didn’t have time.  And He’ll say

to you, You had time that night when my servant Adrian

Rogers preached and prayed and plead with tears, when

he poured out his heart and begged you to come to

Jesus.  You had time, that night, but you walked out

of that place without Jesus Christ.  You had time.

I’ll tell you, my dear friend, that every excuse that

you can possibly think of will falter and fail and you

will bow your head and plea the only plea that you can

plea before a righteous God, and that is guilty.

Guilty of the crucifixion of the Son of God because,

my dear friend, your sins were the nails that nailed

Him to that cross and your hard heart the hammer that

drove those nails.

Now, you’ll have a chance, dear friend, to hear

the verdict of the court.  Do you know what it is?

It’s right here in the Word of God.  Now listen to it.

I want you to get serious.  “And whosoever was not

found written in the Book of Life was cast into the

lake of fire, this is the second death.”  May I be

serious with you?  We live in a world now where people

are telling other people to go to hell.  Hell is no

joke.  If there is no hell, this Bible is a book of

blunders.  If there is no hell, Jesus Christ is a

liar, for He had more to say about hell than any other

preacher in the Word of God.  “Whosoever was not found

written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of

fire.”  Every demon will be there to shriek and moan

and groan as they too are pulled down into that liquid

lake of fire, for hell is prepared for the devil and

his angels.  God doesn’t want you to go to hell.  I

don’t want you to go to hell.  That’s the reason I’m

preaching this crusade.  If you think I’m preaching it

for my health or if you think I’m preaching it because

I don’t have anything else to do, you’re wrong.

Friend, I’ve never been busier in my life.  But the

reason I’m here tonight, and the reason I put this

prayer in this energy is I don’t want you to go to

hell.  And God has lifted up some blockades to keep

you from going to hell.  The song we’ve sung, the

scripture we preach, the prayers, the tears, they’re

God’s blockades on the road to hell.  But above all

there’s a cross.  Listen, for you to go to hell,

you’re going to have to climb over and trample beneath

your dirty feet the precious blood of Jesus, for the

cross is God’s blockade on the road to hell.  Do you

know Jesus?  Are you saved?  I mean, are you

absolutely certain beyond the shadow of any doubt if

you died right now you would go hell?

I’m going to tell you a brief story and I’m going

to be finished.  I heard this story years ago about

some men who were out on a prairie and the prairie had

caught fire.  And there were winds of thirty and forty

and fifty miles an hour that were sweeping the fire

along.  The men tried to outrun the fire and it became

evident they would never outrun the fire.  One said to

the other one, we’re going to burn to death.  We’re

going to perish.  But the other man said, No, I know

what to do.  And he reached into his pocket and took

out a book of matches.  He struck a match and kneeled

down and set the grass on one side of him on fire.

And the wind caught that grass and began to burn this

way.  Now the fire was burning this way, and now the

fire was coming this way.  His friend said, You’re a

fool.  He said, Now, we’re surrounded by fire.  He

said, No.  He said, I’m know what I’m doing.  The

waited a moment.  And then he said, Step over here on

the burned–off place, because the fire cannot come

where the fire has already been.

Are you listening to me?  The fire of God’s

judgment fell at the cross of Calvary and that’s where

I’m standing tonight.  Amen?  And the fire can’t come

where it’s already been.  Amen?  You see, I settled my

case out of court.  Amen?  The fire cannot come where

it’s already been.  And Jesus on the cross endured the

fires of God’s wrath and He took your judgment for

you.  And the Bible says, “There’s therefore now no

condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

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