February 9th, 2003, Sunday Morning

"Judgment of God"
Not accepting/obeying God means you're already condemned!


OPENING: John 3:10-21


---

INTRODUCTION: Jesus' talk with the leader of Israel, Nicodemus, contains an information exchange critical to understanding Christianity

• Jesus explains that unless man is spiritually "born again" (saved) by believing that only one person can save souls, Jesus, the only son of the Living God, then man cannot enter Heaven
  
  
• Many people in this world of "considering and respecting all religions and beliefs" will accept that Jesus Christ did walk the earth (which is historically proven) and IS a man of many great and honorable characteristics. However, as soon as they hear His is the only name on earth that saves, then people become angry and defiant. They refuse to believe.
  
  
• CORE QUESTION: If man will not believe, why does John 3:18 say man is "condemned already" as opposed to "will be condemned" at the coming Judgment Day? ... What about those who will not believe (will not become saved)?

ONE OF THE MOST CONTROSERVIAL SUBJECTS OF LIFE IS THE DEBATE OF "CRIME AND PUNISHMENT"

• Many do not like the talk of punishment for the crimes that men commit
  
  
  • This is the heart of the debate taking place in Iraq with the U.S.-claimed non-cooperation of all known weapons of mass destruction
    
    
  • What is the appropriate level of punishment for wrongdoing? How much punishment fits the crime--and when? When is forgiveness?
    
    
    • Romans 6:23: The Bible says "For the wages of sin is death..."
      
      
    • Galatians 6:7: The world (and especially the United States) grows more immoral each day because those who sin believe they're getting away with crimes and not being caught/punished. CRITICAL PRINCIPLE: God's time for your specific punishment just hasn't come yet--but be assured it will
      
      
      • Psalm 14:1-3: Because punishment appears not to come, man concludes there must be no God. And as God looks down to see if any seek after His Word and way, He concludes, "They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
      
      
    • John 3:18: Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus: if man will not believe/obey God then there will be consequences. Else, if man obeyed or will turn to obey, God would quickly remove His condemnation upon man and forget man's disobedience, to that point (Micah 7:18)
      
      
      • This is dichotomous to the Iraq problem of today: On Sunday, February 9th, on NBC's "Meet the Press," Secretary of State Colin Powell said that Iraq's non-cooperation (disobedience) to disclose U.N. and U.S. requests for known weapons will lead to U.S. force (chastisement) until they cooperate. Powell further said if Iraq would just fully comply, the U.S. would fully stand down and pull out
    
    
  • Proverbs 28:5: Evil men will not accept the truth revealed against them while those who seek the Lord "understand all things."
    
    
    • U.S.-IRAQ COMPARISON: Iraq angrily dismisses hard evidence presented against it (through audio conversations, satellite images, etc.) by Colin Powell to the U.N. (Thursday, February 6th, 2003) while President Bush publicly asks the United States to pray for him for understanding in this situation: The Washington Times, February 6th, 2003, "Bush Asks for Divine Guidance"
  
  
• EXAMPLE of John 3:18: Those who sin are condemned already (contrary to the well-known phrase, "innocent until proven guilty")
  
  
  • "Crime and Punishment," by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is the story of a young student in Russia, Raskolnikov Dostoevsky, who commits a crime
  • He is poor and needs money and therefore murders an elderly pawnbroker who, he argues to himself, is of no use to anyone because his life doesn't matter
  • The young man then starts out on a life that he believes is prosperous
  • Yet in the novel there is a relentless outworking of judgment for his act
  • Punishment follows the crime
  • POINT OF THE NOVEL: young man stood condemned from the moment in which he performed the act
  
  
• The Bible is clear there is judgment for all--we stand condemned because of our hearts ... until we accept and believe in Jesus Christ (become saved)
  
  
  • We are not standing on neutral ground when we hear the gospel preached--the Bible takes sides and sticks by it's laid-out consequences
    
    
    • This isn't like Illinois governor George Ryan mind-set of pardoning death row inmates for their convicted crimes (Fox News, January 11, 2003, "Illinois Governor's Blanket Pardon Spares Lives of 167 Condemned Inmates")
    
    
  • John 3:18: According to Scripture, man has already made his choice--freely and willingly
    
    
  • Isaiah 53:6a: Like sheep, we've gone astray--all going our own way
  
  
• APPLICATION:
  • We may not like the truth but this is from God's perspective
  • We have all gone our own way before--and perhaps now
  • As such, we have already committed the crime

THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION IS MADE BY THE LORD JESUS TO THE LEADER OF ISRAEL, NICODEMUS

• John 3:18: So based on this, let's disseminate "he that believeth not is condemned already..."
  
  
  • Notice the "is"--it's perfect tense; a completed action
    
    
  • Therefore, when the lost (unsaved) stand before God at the Judgment, it's for pronouncement of the final sentence
  
  
• Three reasons for why they are already judged:
  
  #1/3: They do not believe Jesus is the one and only name who is the begotten Son of God and Savior of the world; in other words, they will not accept Jesus as their Savior
  
  
  • Matthew 1:21: The name Jesus means "he shall save his people from their sins."
    
    
  • Accepting Christ is the hardest thing in the world for a person to do
    
    
    • There's much about the Gospel that people will believe:
    • Most people believe in the existence of a god
    • Most people believe God is love
    • Most people will admit they're sinners
    • Most people will accept Jesus as a great man, moral leader and teacher
    • But as soon as you say, "Jesus is Savior," you will run into hostility and rejection almost all of the time
  
  #2/3: Men love darkness (John 3:19)
  
  
  • John 8:12: Jesus entered the world as the light of it
    
    
  • Jeremiah 17:9: Men love darkness because evil and wickedness rule over man moreover than good
    
    
    • When do nightclubs "get good?" After darkness--after 10pm. Why? Because man can do their dirty deeds (supposedly) unseen
      
      
    • When does the news most frequently report felony activities such as shootings, murders, drug activities and sexual crimes? AFTER DARK.
      
      
    • Proverbs 12:15 & 21:2: Men do what they want to do without being caught, so they stay away from the light
    
    
  • People stay out of the Bible (the truths that lie within) because people don't want to hear about what they should not be doing
    
    
  • ABCNews' show "Prime Time" did a story on pornography profits in America on January 28th, 2003
    
    
    • Porn has grown into a $10 billion dollar business--larger than NFL, NBA, and major league baseball, combined, with some of the nation's biggest corporations--General Motors, Time Warner and the hotel industry (Marriott, Hilton, Westin)--quietly sharing profits
      
      
    • In the seclusion and privacy of the home, with the aid of satellite and cable TV, people gravitate toward (and order) that which is evil
  
  #3/3: Men hate the light (John 3:20)
  
  
  • This explains the constant reaction of the Pharisees toward Jesus every time Jesus would expose their subtle and secret wrongs and corruptions to the public
    
    
  • Men hate anything/anyone that will expose them for who they REALLY are
    
    
  • The Pharisees only resolve was to have Jesus killed so:
    1. It would stop the exposure of the Pharisees' corruption and
    2. They could continue in the sin they loved so much
    
    

    Being happy and content in sin concludes man didn't need a Savior--especially one that would expose man's faults (i.e., "ruin the party")
  
  
• APPLICATION:
  • Do you love the light or prefer to keep yourself hidden in the darkness?
  • This is why men are already condemned: the crime is the sin and the following hated of the only One who can cure (and save) you: Jesus Christ

BEING ALREADY CONDEMNED IS NOT PERMANENT ... IF YOU STILL LIVE TODAY

• The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that even though we were born under the judgment of God ("condemned already"), it is not necessary to remain there
  
  
  • John 3:16: This is the only way of escape and it doesn't require any physical work--only to truly believe and repent--to return to the light:
    
    

    "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

    
    
    
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because when you accept Christ into your life (become saved), God sees Jesus' appearance within you at the Judgment--not your dirty, old sinful ways
    
    
  • Salvation is for ALL--it is non-discriminatory

CLOSER

---

Do you believe? Have you been thinking about coming to Jesus? Charles Spurgeon once said, "If you continue to think about it, you'll think yourself into hell."

Jesus Christ, the risen Savior, is a name offensive to the lost but the best news ever to believers because we are no longer judged

Just as Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke of immediate withdrawal upon Iraqi compliance on NBC's "Meet the Press," so will God immediate withdraw His judgment upon you if you comply (come to Christ)

This is why men are already condemned: the crime is the sin and the following hated of the only One who can cure (and save) you: Jesus Christ

God may be using the U.S. to bring judgment upon Iraq but consider the U.S. is so morally bankrupt, God may be judging the U.S., as well, with the outcome of this possible war

• 2 Chronicles 7:14: How to prevent the U.S. from being judged: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
  
  
  • To heal an entire nation begins with one person--you. Revival begins in the home.

Do not wait for a more convenient moment! We live in perilous times--believe in the Lord Jesus