Four Ways to Miss Heaven

You can guarantee that you'll die in your sin by just being self-righteous. Just be certain that you're not a sinner.

Just invent a lifestyle of religion that fits you don't admit you need a Savior. Don't count on your breath and say God be merciful to me a sinner. Trust your work now guaranteed by turning the future of ungodly men. He knew nothing of that pretend sympathy which would rather let men perish than warn them against perishing such tenderness is merely selfishness excusing itself from a distasteful duty. Well friend today on grace to you. John MacArthur delivers a message that does not back away from what Spurgeon called the distasteful duty. John is going to show you the horrible consequences of sin consequences. You will face if you miss out on heaven. It's a critical conclusion to our series titled the sinfulness of sin and now here's John, I want you to turn your Bible to the eighth chapter of John VIII chapter of John.

We've all heard the expression he has nobody to blame but himself.

That is a biblical expression is an expression that the spirit of God makes a number of times in Scripture with regard to the center.

If you perish in your sin, you have no one to blame but yourself and no passage makes this more poignant or clear than the eighth chapter of John.

John wrote this gospel.

He says in chapter 20 verse 31 that you might believe and that believing you might have life in the name of Jesus Christ eroded so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the son of God the Savior in the believing you might have eternal life. But for those who do not believe John makes it clear again and again that they will die in their sin and they will never go where Jesus is the inevitable consequences of unbelief and rejection in any age is to go out of the presence of God forever and it is not annihilation, and it is not soul sleep and it is not nothingness.

It is into an eternal torment Jesus as reject me, and you will die culpable in God's wrath will only be satisfied by an eternity of torment. Since many people choose this rejection it's important for us to look at this text and to understand what John is saying here as we examine ourselves today. Let's start at the at the bottom line and be sure that we are in the faith, and not headed for a death with full culpability of sin and an eternity of punishment you shall die in your sin. Verse 21. How is it that that happens when we give you four ways to guarantee you will die in your sin, borrow them from the words of Jesus are four ways to guarantee you will die in your sin. Four ways to guarantee that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is meaningless to you. Number one be self righteous.

Being self-righteous that'll do it. The first guaranteed way to die in your sins is to be completely content with your own ability to please God, believe that you can be good enough or religious enough or pray enough. Or go to church enough, or be moral enough or have good deeds that outweigh on some imaginary scale. The weight of your bad deeds just be self righteous. Look at verse 22. Therefore, the Jews were saying, surely he will not kill himself willing since he says where I'm going, you cannot come what they mean by this kind of a response was this what they twisted Jesus words to mean he must be going to hell where certainly going to heaven, and he must be going to a portion of hell reserved for those who commit suicide. Why did they say that one Orthodox Jew despises suicide always says according to Josephus, the Jewish historian, the person who committed suicide.

One of the darkest pit of Hades that the most heinous crime one could commit was suicide and the darkest, blackest part of Hades was reserved for someone who killed himself so mockingly they are saying.

Well, maybe he's going to kill himself and go down that black hole in Hades, reserved for those who commit suicide a place. We certainly never will go for the ridiculing so confidently self-righteous. They could mock a Savior so confidently self-righteous. They could mock the idea that they could die in their sin. I warn you. Self-righteousness is deadly. It is a guarantee for dying in your sin if you do not admit your inability to save yourself if you do not admit that your good works, achieve nothing by way of eternal salvation.

If you do not admit that your religious activities your ceremonies and rituals in church attendance and prayers, and whatever else produce nothing for you by way of eternal salvation.

You will die in your sin, so you can guarantee that you'll die in your sin by just being self-righteous. Just be certain that you're not a sinner. Just be certain that you don't need saving just invent a lifestyle of religion that fits you don't admit you need a Savior. Don't count on your breast and say God be merciful to me a sinner.

Trust your works. Trust your religion. Trust your rituals and I'll guarantee you you'll die in your sin, there's a second gilt edge guaranteed way to die in your sins. In verse 23, he was saying to them you are from below.

I am from above. They missed the point that really goes with the first point they had it backwards.

They thought they were above and he was a blow they had it reversed above a seven below is hell you are from below. I'm from above, you've got it reversed.

Then he says this.

You are of this world. I am not of this world.

Here's the second way to guarantee that you will die in your sins. And that is be worldly. The earthbound another guarantee be preoccupied with the world live for the world live for the temporal system live for the ideologies of this world system. What does he mean when he says you are of this world world is a very important word in John's Gospel use repeatedly and its use with several different meanings.

Sometimes it refers to people sometime it refers to ideologies here has to do with those ideologies which engulfed the minds of people. Of course, always talking about this world.

He's talking about the invisible spiritual system that dominates the world.

It is a system of evil, Satan is the god of this age, the prince of this this world. He is the one was orchestrated a system of belief system of morality, a system of religion.

A system of ideologies system a behavior. A system of materialism and all of that as opposed to God.

It's like Synchro the and stand it's every thing lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. It's the whole cosmos, the whole invisible spiritual system of evil. We use the word world and that way we talk about the world of politics. The world of business, the world of medicine the world of sports. What we mean by that is, the environment or the sphere in which those things dominate and there is a world in which we live as human beings.

It is the is the organized system of satanic lies and deception raise up against the knowledge of God. Satan system opposing Christ in Luke 16 a. Jesus calls all the unbelievers children of the system.

They buy into the ideology somewhere. The system is hostile to God.

It's hostile to Christ is dominated by materialism, that is to say a preoccupation with with with that which passes away. It is dominated by humanism, the worship of man and the elevation of man's mind, even to the place where he can redeem himself is dominated by sex, by physical fulfillment and pleasure by carnal ambition by pride by greed by self pleasure by self desire.

Its opinions are wrong. Its aims are selfish. It's pleasures are sinful. Its influence is demoralizing, it's politics or corrupt its honors are empty its smiles are fake.

It's love is fickle, etc. etc. that's the world system is a lot of philosophies in psychologies, and religions and ideologies that make up unregenerate ungodly un-biblical thinking and it is a world that will be destroyed the world and all that is in it will pass away. John said, and that's why said in first John 215 love not the world, neither the things that are in the world for anyone who loves the world can't love the father where there is the love of the world, the love of the father doesn't exist. Jesus points out here this great contrast, he says to them in verse 23 you are this world. I am not of this world. We have two competing ideologies, two competing systems of thought, if any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him and friendship with the world. James 44 says is enmity with God.

These Jewish leaders go they would say they were religious and that they were spiritual were genuinely caught up and trapped in the satanic system of evil, by which he rules the world. Sinful, selfish, earthbound souls who lived out a system controlled by the prince of this world and were separated from God and from Christ by an infinite golf permitted dying to sin. All he needs to do is just be earthbound just believe the lies of Satan that are in the system just love the system and all that is in it and that will guarantee you will die in your sins.

Sometimes the gospel penetrates that kind of mind and heart a little while like in the parable in Matthew 13, but because of the love of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, it dies there must be a breach in a break.

Jesus is not of this world. He said the pilot, my kingdom is not of this world first John says the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one. We believers don't we've made that distinction.

James says we are even to keep ourselves unspotted from the world un-influenced from its satanic ideologies is 1/3 way and this is the crux of the passage. You can guarantee to die in your sins.

First of all to be self-righteous and think you don't need a Savior. You can save yourself or make some contribution to saving yourself any contribution.

Secondly, by being earthbound that is being enamored with the world system and unwilling to let it go.

And thirdly, verse 24 I said therefore to you that you shall die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you shall die in your sins. Here's the third guaranteed way to be certain you will die in your sin be unbelieving, be self-righteous, be earthbound and be unbelieving, that's really all it takes be unbelieving, the only way to escape hell is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and John again quoting his thesis in chapter 20 verse 31. These things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and believing you might have life through his name. No one has to die in his sins or her sins. But the one who persists in rejection will die in sin through unbelief. Know what we have to believe only says it right here unless you believe that I am he what he saying here is the name of God unless you believe that I am God that I am the one sent from God, the great I am himself uses really, what is the Hebrew tetra graviton.

The name of God, the I am that I am unless you believe that I am a what is I am mean it means all that he is, unless you believe fully the truth about me. That's what he said. How does one become a Christian by believing the truth about Jesus Christ. This is the sun question and this is the big issue.

It's astonishing to me, the question being asked what must someone believe in order to genuinely be safe there really needs to be no muddy water in regard to that it is crystal clear in Scripture I can sum it up very simply by what Jesus said here. You must believe that I am he. What is that mean you must believe that Christ is who he is, what does that encompass all give you that what I call the drivetrain of gospel truth. The absolute necessities of gospel truth.

Here's where they start you for going to believe the truth about Christ.

Here's what it includes.

First of all, you have to believe in an eternal Trinity because Christ said he was one with the father and that he was eternally before Abraham was ever created. He existed, so you must believe that he is part of an eternal Trinity. Anything less than a Trinity makes Christ something other than who he is.

So the heart of evangelical faith, the heart of gospel truth is Trinitarian, but God is three persons.

And yet one to say anything other than that, is to misconstrue who he is and he says you must believe that I am who I am. So you start with believing the Trinity. Those who deny the Trinity don't understand who Jesus Christ is, they do not believe that he is who you secondly you must then believe that he is incarnate in human form that this member of the Trinity entered into human history in time and space in a human body. You must believe, then, in the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ and that encompasses the virgin birth, which is God's definition of how this incarnation took place so that the Christ could be born into this world, sin less and so you must believe that he is God that he is eternal. But he is a member of the eternal Trinity that he was incarnated into the world through the Virgin Mary, then you must believe in his sinless life because that's true of him as well. They lived a sinless life. He couldn't be born like normal people were born or he wouldn't be the God man and he could not have a sin in his life or a weakness in his life, or a failure in his life or he would not have fulfilled all righteousness which righteousness is imputed to those who believe in him, so you must believe in a Trinity you must believe that the eternal Trinity that Jesus Christ, a member of the Trinity was incarnated born of the Virgin Mary came into the world and lived a sinless life, which in fulfilling perfect righteousness became the righteousness that can be imputed to those who believe and then you must believe that he died on the cross as a sufficient substitutionary sacrifice and atonement for sin and that he died there paid the penalty for the sins of all the whatever believe because that's indeed who is the Lamb of God, you must believe that his death satisfied God completely and that full atonement was made and that that's why God raised him from the dead the third day and then took him seated him at his right hand where he sits as Lord gave them a name above every name, which is the name Lord.

He sits at the right hand of the father interceding for his own and ruling and someday will come again and establish his kingdom on earth and bring eternal glory to his own beloved redeemed people.

That's the heart of Christian faith take anything out of that and you got some other Jesus and Paul said if anybody preaches any different Jesus, let him be anathema any different gospel any different message.

Paul told the Corinthians, a second rent is I don't want you to be removed from the simplicity of devotion that you have toward Christ. If somebody preaches another Christ. They do not preach the truth.

How do we have any difficulty understanding that this is the Christ, whom we must believe this is the truth.

And this is what Christians believe if you don't believe that you're not a Christian you say what about people who believe in God or not Christians they will die in their sins. What about people that believe all that about Jesus, but also believe that they have to do some works get baptized or do some ceremonies or keep some laws in order to add to their salvation. They won't they won't get to have neither the will die in their sins and go eternally to help why because they will not recognize that Christ alone in Christ completely is the sacrifice for sin, to which nothing can be added is by grace through faith alone in any attempt to add anything to it, negates it. Grace is no more grace.

Anything you try to do to earn any part of your salvation misunderstands the sacrifice of Christ and any misunderstanding of the meaning of Christ and his sacrifice is something less than the gospel believe it Christianity or Christendom. As such, is full of people who have a lot of information about what I just said regarding the gospel, but who do not have that total trust in Jesus Christ alone being who he is and being the only and the complete sacrifice for sin. Therefore, trusting in nothing of their own efforts or works. Sad to say, many, many who name the name of Christ and say Lord, Lord, we do this we did that are not known to him, and will die in their sins and where he has gone they will never come. So Jesus says to them, unless you believe in verse 24.

Unless you believe that I am who I am, you shall die without your sins being forgiven and you will therefore eternally pay the penalty. There is 1 Final Guaranteed Way that you can dine your sins and they exhibit this obviously be a self-righteous be earthbound or the unbelieving, fourthly, be willfully ignorant or obstinately ignorant. Verse 25. This is so amazing, so they were saying to them who are you exceptionally unbelievable that they would say that after all they had seen. After all he had done. After all, they heard Jesus said to them, what have I been saying to you from the beginning. Talk about thick. I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but you sent me is true and the things which I heard from him. These I speak to the world.

He says I been speaking and speaking and what I've been speaking is the very word of God and to show you how thick they were.

Verse 27. They didn't realize he had been speaking to them about the father even though he said that over and over again by the father are one.

I don't speak of miles up what the father chose me I speak all of that he had been saying all of the chapter rate they heard it all. They heard who he was.

Many, many times they saw ample evidence of it, but sin produces unbelief and unbelief produces obstinate ignorance so they refused to know because they love their sin you want to dine your sin be self-righteous, be earthbound, be unbelieving, be obstinately and willfully ignorant, and you will die in your sin.

Jesus says in verse 29 he should've known you sent me is with me is not left me alone. I always do the things pleasing to him. Should've seen God in me you should've known you should've heard what you didn't. It ends on a good note verse 30 as he spoke these things. Many came to believe in him, that would be my prayer that as I have spoken these things to you as I have reiterated these words of Jesus that many would come to believe in him or dine your sins just continue in your course just believe you're good enough. The way you are, just carry on with your love affair with human ideologies.

Just refuse to believe the great truths concerning Christ love your sins so much that you choose the darkness in our willfully ignorant, but to do this you're going to have to stumble over the cross. That's right you're going to have to heartlessly irreverently trample Christ blood because you know the gospel so you're going to have to stumble across the cross. Inconceivable really. Why will you die when you can live why will you not be like those many who believe didn't want to die and there's why will you not accept an atonement for your sin. That's the all compass in question and answers your self-righteous or good enough. The way you are. You love the world too much. He refused to believe or you love your sin and you cherish the darkness and the ignorance that comes with in any case, price. This is grace to you with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us today. John showed you four ways to miss heaven as he put the finishing touches on his study called the sinfulness of sin, along with teaching each day on the radio. John also serves as Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary in Southern California will John is a good question to end with what what do you hope people will take away from this look at the sinfulness of sin. This issue of seeing and taking our own sin seriously. Why is this so important well for two reasons.

One sort of secondary reason, and then one primary reason I would hope that people would take from this, an understanding of how profoundly gracious the gospel is if we understand how wretched and sinful. We are then, we understand how wonderful the gospel is because the gospel comes and says you can be fully and completely and forget forever. You can be fully and completely and forever forgiven of all sin, past, present and future. The grand reality of saving grace finds its beauty finds its magnificence and its magnanimity in the understanding of how sinful sin is because grace overwhelms even the sinfulness of sin.

That's sort of a secondary reason. The primary reason is that so then subsequently you can give glory to God, you are limited in your ability to worship God as he ought to be worshiped. If you have a limited understanding of the gospel and you have a limited understanding of the gospel. If you have a limited understanding of sin if you understand the massive horror and extensiveness of sin, then you understand the glory of the gospel. Then you understand the glory of God, and you become a fully trained worshiper. You might say, so it leads ultimately to our ability to worship and praise God and thus the reason we exist. We are those whom the father seeks as true worshipers and we want to worship him in spirit and truth, that is, with all of our faculties but according to his truth is his truth basically built into the gospel is the foundation of our worship. So the more you know about the gospel. The better you are at worshiping. Now it's important for you to get a copy of this series, the sinfulness of sin I would say the whole evangelical church needs to hear this because there have such a such a meager understanding of sin and this culture believes that man is basically good and that is the live all lies. Would love to get the series to you. It's on six CDs affordably priced. You can write contact us order. The sinfulness of sin on six CDs or you can download it@gty.org yes and friend. This series will help you see how impossibly high God standard for holiness is and how he graciously provides a way for sinners to meet that standard to great study to review at your own pace so pick up John series on the sinfulness of sin. When you contact us today. Call toll-free 855 grace or go to our website Jide TY.org. Again, the sinfulness of sin comes in a six CD album price for the CDs is affordable and shipping is free for the MP3s along with the transcript can be downloaded charge at our website. In fact, all of John sermons 3500 total messages are free@jidety.org and thanks for letting us know how, grace to you is helping you grow spiritual if you've never written or if it's been a while, just a quick note to share your story and be sure to include the call letters of this station when you write. That's a big help. Our mailing address is grace to you.

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Check your local listings for channel and times and then be here next week when John begins a series that will help you know for certain, you are God's child. It's titled salvation survey. Don't miss another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to