In Defense of Biblical Morality

Introduction

Aha, got it right this time. Y’all weren’t here last night. I had some troubles with his microphone. So I wanted to make sure we got it right. We appreciate everybody who’s come out tonight, especially considering the weather. That can discourage people. And despite that, you’ve chosen to be here to hear the gospel preached. And I appreciate that, and I know the members of this South Bumbae Church of Christ appreciate that as well. And I hope that when you leave here, you can say that you’ve been edified, that you’ve been built up, that you’ve been encouraged by the Word of God. And in order to do that, of course, you have to have your Bibles with you. And as was said last night, the spirit of the Bereans needs to be the Spirit of us.

We need to have that viewpoint, that approach to things. You remember the Bereans would not take what Paul said on face value. Which I found to be amazing in a lot of ways. Because if there was ever a person that you could take the word of God on face value, it would probably be the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul, who was taught at the feet of Gamelia, one of the leading Jewish rabbis at the time. The Apostle Paul, who says of himself in Galatians chapter 1, that he advanced beyond many of his contemporaries because he was more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of the fathers. The Apostle Paul, who’s described by God as a chosen vessel of his, the Apostle Paul, full of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul, an apostle no less, a witness to the risen Savior, and yet those Bereans were not going to take anything that Paul said on first value.

No, they searched the scriptures daily to see whether the things that were said by Paul were so. And only if they lined up with what they knew to be the authoritative word of God did they accept what the Apostle Paul had to say. And so that’s what I’m saying tonight. You don’t accept what I say because I’m up here saying it. You say accept it because it lines up with God’s word. And that means you have to have access to God’s word in order to check it and make sure that what I’m saying is indeed the truth of God’s word. And so have the spirit of the Briens as we delve into this study tonight. Morality. How should we determine it? How do we decide how we should live?

How do we decide how we should talk? How do we decide what is right and what is wrong? Do we simply take a vote and just decide who has the most votes? And that’s how we determine morality. Kind of a democratic view of morality. Whoever is the majority, and whatever the majority agrees upon, that will be what we’ll do. That is right. And if the majority doesn’t like it, that’s wrong. Are we going to do it by maybe appealing to the pundits of society, the learned among us who’ve studied these things, the ethicists who’ve decided after long years of study in the halls of the academy that this is the way we ought to live. And these things are right and these things are wrong. How do we determine morality?

Maybe we determine it by tradition. This is the way that we’ve always done it. This is the way that my family has done it. You know, we’re in the South and we have a southern way of life. That’s the way we’re going to determine morality. Well, I’m not talking about any of those things tonight. I’m talking about biblical morality. I’m talking about morality that is rooted in God’s word. And let me give you an example of the two competing forms of morality. I remember one time I was talking to my father, and we were talking about homosexuality specifically. We were talking about the idea of whether a state had the right to define marriages between a man and a woman. And I caught myself giving this very sophisticated social analysis, legal analysis of federalism and states’ rights and social policy and ringing rationality and whether the legislator act according to rationality.

And Dad listened to that for a while and finally just uh said, cut through all that. It’s wrong, son. It’s wrong. And he was appealing to God’s word. You know, sometimes we have been told so often by society don’t you dare pull out that Bible. Don’t you dare reference the New Testament. Don’t you dare reference the Old Testament that we have coward in fear away from the Bible, and we start making these non-biblical arguments for biblical morality. But we need to get away from that. We ought not be ashamed of the Bible. We ought not be ashamed of what the Word of God teaches. And we ought to appeal to it. This is the principal basis upon which we appeal to people. It’s because it’s the word of God.

And I think it’s very important that we do that. Sometimes uh people will say, Well, it’s just I was not raised that way. And I remember the good old days. And we didn’t have these kinds of things out in the open, and we didn’t have these things promoted. And I can say that even in my lifetime, you can see the coarsening of the culture. You can see even in entertainment, there are things now that were not even thought about 30 years ago. And we’re not even talking about so called adult uh entertainment. We’re talking about kids. We’re talking about cartoons, we’re talking about uh stuff on five o’clock, six o’clock, seven o’clock. They don’t even wait to 10 o’clock anymore. And so there has been a coarsening of the culture.

And we’ve done that because we’re moved away from God’s standard. But I’m not worried about that because, well, that’s just not the way I was raised. I’m not worried about it because, well, that’s just, I’m a southerner. That’s just not the southern way of life. I’m not worried about defending some way of life that’s under attack. What I’m concerned about tonight is defending God’s eternal standard for morality. That’s the only thing I’m concerned about. And we ought to be concerned about that. Why? Because this is the inspired word of God. And that’s why we defend it. God has told us, God, the architect of the universe, this is how you, my creation, ought to live. This is how you ought to interact. This is how you ought to think.

This is how you ought to dress. This is how you ought to speak. This is how you ought to think of yourself. That God who created us all has every right to lay out for us how we ought to live. And that’s why. Tonight we’re defending biblical morality. In defense, that’s the name of the title, the title of the sermon. In defense of biblical morality. Well, somebody might say, well, why? Why is it so important that we do things God’s way? Well, let me direct your attention to 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 13 through 16. 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 13 through 16. Why is it so important that we do things God’s way? 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 13 through 16. Again, 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 13 through 16.

The Bible says this. Therefore, gird up the lowings of your mind. Be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 14, as obedient children. Remember, we talked about that last night, to live by the word of God is to obey the word of God, as obedient children, and not conforming yourself to the former lust as in your ignorance. Now listen, verse 15. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Because it is written, be holy, for I am holy. Now he’s talking to Christian people, and he makes a very powerful point. He says that we are to be holy sometimes. We’re to be holy when we come to church.

We’re to be holy when mama and dad are watching, and when the grandparents are around. No, he says to be holy in all of your conduct. What does that leave out? Nothing. Does that mean that I have to be holy when I go to work? Yes. Does that mean I have to be holy when I go to school? Yes. Does that mean I have to be holy when I play racquetball or football or basketball? Yes. Does it mean I have to be holy when I’m interacting with my community? Yes. Does it mean I have to be holy when I’m having a dispute with my neighbor over our lawns and how they keep their house and how they keep their yard? Yes. He says, be holy in all of your conduct.

But this is what I like. Why? Why should we be holy in all of our conduct? He says, because I, God, am holy. And I called you. So if I am holy, and I am, that’s what God says. And if I called you, and he did, he says, then you too must be holy in all of your conduct. Now, somebody said, well, no, no, no, Kevin, we just can’t do that. We’re human beings. And we have so many florals and shortcomings and flaws, and we just can’t be holy. And wait a minute, here’s the architect of the universe, the creator of your mind, the one who knows you better than you know yourself. And he just said, be holy, for I am holy. And God has never asked anybody to do something that they cannot do.

So if God says, be holy, what can we do? We can be holy. And he says, there’s a reason, because I am holy. We worship a holy God. And we’re the children of that holy God. Doesn’t it just make sense that we ought to be holy too? And so we need to be holy in all of our conduct. I like the way it said over in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 14. Turn to your Bibles. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 14. In defense of biblical morality, we need to be holy in all of our conduct because we serve and worship a holy God. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14, the Bible says, pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

I remember being in a Bible class. Chris, you’ll be interested. It’s actually Nathan Johnson who brought this out to me. Chris and I, Chris Jones over there, we went to law school together, and Nathan Johnson was also in our three Christians in that law school class. But he was teaching on this very verse. And it struck me. It struck me that here we are encouraged to pursue holiness. Why? Because if you don’t pursue holiness, you won’t see the Lord. I thought, wow, that is profound. And notice the idea of not dabbling in it, not being half-hazard. He says, pursue. I’m going after it with all my gusto. I’m looking to be holy. And then we add to it, 1 Peter 1, 13 through 16, in all of our conduct.

See, that’s our charge. We have to be holy. We have to defend holiness. We ought not shy away from holiness. We ought not be ashamed of holiness. Why? Because we serve a holy God. And when we talk to people about how they ought to live and how they ought to dress and how they ought to talk, let’s always appeal to God’s holy word. The holy word of a holy God. That’s a principled basis to appeal to people. That’s where the power is. Don’t get into politics and don’t get into the southern way and get into tradition. That has no power. But God’s word does have power. It never changes. Appeal to people on the basis of the holy word of a holy God in defense of biblical morality.

1. Defend What the Bible Teaches About Fornication

Well, let’s talk about some specific applications. Let’s defend what the Bible teaches about fornication. Let’s defend what the Bible teaches about fornication. Let’s define terms. Fornication being sex between two people who are not married, unmarried people. And folks, you know, just look around you, turn on the television, look in your neighborhoods, read the newspaper, read the magazines, that it is rampant. It is rampant, especially among young people, but not just young people. There are all kinds of people who fail to abide by biblical teaching on fornication. And you’ll hear people say, well, yeah, that used to be the way. And my grandparents, no, they wouldn’t do that. And my parents, they wouldn’t do that. But we live in a different society, Kevin. We are more progressive today.

We have a different set of values. We have a better understanding of these things. And that’s just a part of yesteryear. We just don’t subscribe to that. There are even Christian people who have loosened their morals on this particular subject. I remember talking to a sister in Christ. And she had, with her husband, raised a young man to be a Christian. To be a Christian. And he was a strong Christian. And he would participate in the public prayers. He would teach classes. He would preach from time to time. He would lead or preside over the Lord’s Supper. But it came a day when he was going to go off to college. And we were having a conversation about his experiences as we expected them to be.

And I was so disappointed. When I heard the sister in Christ, who has raised and trained along with her husband, this young man, say that, well, he’s going to college, and like all young people, he’s going to sow his wild oats. You know what she’s saying, right? She’s expecting that he’s going to engage in fornication. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. You’ve taught this young man what the word of God says. Why are you assuming? Well, because that’s what young people do. That’s what young people do. They get away from the strict training of their parents, they get away from that upbringing, they get out from under their rules, and they’re just going to do anything. Wait a minute, sister, do not throw in the towel.

We expect more. Why? Because God expects more. Let’s see what God says about that. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 18 through 20. Defending the biblical standard on fornication, 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 18 through 20. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 18 through 20. The Bible says this. Flee. I like that. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own. For you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. What does he say to do with sexual immorality?

Does he say that you ought to flirt with it? Does he say you ought to get close to it? You ought to examine it. You ought to check it out. No, he says, flee. I love that. There’s an urgency. Get as far away from that as you possibly can. Don’t play with it. See, that’s what the devil likes you to do. The devil says, Oh no, come on in. Why are you in such a hurry? Look at this. It looks nice. It sparkles. It glitters. Come on in. Spend a little time checking this out. And the Bible says, no, you flee sexual immorality. If you’re a Bible student, you can’t hear that and not think about Genesis 39 and Joseph, right? Here is Joseph, who’s taken away from his family, sold into slavery, did nothing wrong to deserve that, betrayed by his brothers.

He’s away from his father, he’s away from his brothers, away from his homeland, he’s away from his culture, he’s away from his people. And here he is in Potiphar’s house. And he’s a young man, too. And Potiphar’s wife is attracted to him because he’s a good looking man in form and appearance. And when everybody is gone, and that’s what when those sorts of things tend to happen, right? When all the men are out of the house, she comes on to Joseph and propositions him, wants him to commit, that would be adultery. And you know what he does? Does he engage in some kind of debate? Does he have some kind of highbrow discussion? No, he runs. He flees, leaving the garment behind. That’s what we’re talking about.

This urgency. Flee sexual immorality. Young people, don’t put yourselves in that position. Don’t put yourself in a position. We’re dealing with powerful forces here. We know that there are biological urges. We know they’re biological drives. So don’t give the devil an opportunity. Why would you go behind a dark theater or a dark deserted mall? Just you and this attractive member of the opposite sex, and you’re going to park and talk. Why would you do that? That’s not fleeing sexual immorality. That’s inviting the devil in. These are powerful forces. You run from it. That’s what he says. And I noticed something else here. You know, God could have stopped right there at 1 Corinthians 6.18 and just say, flee sexual immorality. But he didn’t. He went on to talk about something.

He said, No. You know these bodies that we have? Did you know these bodies are not our own? Now, people of the world would say, Oh, this is my body, I do what it when I want to. Do it when I please. It’s my body. Where did they get that thinking? They didn’t get it from the architect of the universe. They didn’t get it from the Creator, because the Creator says right here, did you know your bodies are not your own? God owns them. They’re all loan to you. And so if they’re all loan, you’ve got to use them carefully in accordance with the will of the one who owns them. Now, friends, let’s not miss the power of that. See how much more powerful it is to tell our young people not just don’t fornicate, not just flee sexual morality, but to tell them, did you know?

Did you know that your body is a gift from God? Did you know that God owns your body? You don’t own it. It’s on loan. You’re a steward, and you’re going to have to answer for how you dealt with his body that he gave to you. You see how much more powerful that is? And we need to use that, folks. I’m always intrigued by the scriptures. The scriptures could have been written with just a bunch of commands, do this, don’t do this, do this. But so many times God helps us by telling us how to think about life. How to think about ourselves, how to think about ourselves in reference to God. And when we really realize the power, God didn’t put that stuff out there for no reason.

There’s power in that. And it can help us to defend and practice and adhere to and obey the biblical standard of morality. Look at Hebrews chapter 13, verse 4. The Bible clearly condemns fornication. And it doesn’t matter how many people are doing it. It doesn’t matter how popular it seems to be. It doesn’t matter what the authorities say. Unfortunately, nowadays we have governments that are getting involved in this and trying to tell people implicitly that sex is okay, and we know you’re going to do it, and we just want you for public health reasons to use protection. But Hebrews 13 4 says, marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. Marriage. Marriage, this divine institution, this gift of God that God gave to his creation.

That is wonderful. It’s a good thing. And set your relations within the boundaries of that institution is honorable. But anywhere else, you fall under what? The condemnation of God. Now, friends, that’s a serious thing. And somebody says, Well, yeah, I hear that, but I it’s not that serious. It’s not a big deal. That’s just one of those old guys going off on his soapbox. Well, let me direct you to Revelation 21.8. Turn over to Revelation 21. Let’s see if it’s a serious matter. Revelation 21.8. The Bible says this. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have what? Their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is a second death. What are we talking about? We’re talking about hell.

What did he say? Sexually immoral. Well, he didn’t say anything about fornicators. What do you think sexual immorality includes? It includes fornication. Wait a minute. You’re telling me something that I can do in a matter of minutes could cost me my soul for all of eternity? That’s exactly what Revelation 21. This is a serious offense. It’s not something to make light of. It doesn’t matter how many other folks are doing it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re popular or unpopular based on your stand for the truth. God in heaven has said, this is forbidden. This is not permitted. And may I suggest that we are not animals. We’re not animals. We are made in the image of God. And we have will. And somebody will say, Well, that’s just, it’s a biological urge.

It’s just natural. It’s a desire that God put into it. But you know what else God tells us? That we have the will to control that and any other desire and urges that we have. It’s a matter of self-control. It’s a matter of self-control. Look what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, 24 through 27. 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verses 24 through 27. Defending biblical morality. And the Bible teaches that fornication is a sin. And we must not engage in it. 1 Corinthians 9, 24 through 27. 1 Corinthians the 9th chapter, verses 24 through 27, Paul says, Do you not know that those who run in the race all run, but one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.

Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air. Listen, verse 27. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest when I had preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Paul says, those who are athletes, those who run in the race, they are what? Temperate. What does that mean? Self-control. They discipline themselves. They can’t eat just anything, they can’t drink just anything. They have to practice. They have to go through the regimen of building their muscles and developing their abilities. They have to make sacrifices. He says they do all of that for a perishable crown. But he says, you know what?

We have a race. And we’re not racing for some kind of crown or some trophy or some first place. We’re racing for eternal life. And he says, in that race, you know what I have to do? He says, I discipline my body. Now, think about who said that. That’s the Apostle Paul. And you know what he said? He said, I discipline my body. Why? Lest I should become disqualified. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait. The Apostle Paul. And all those sermons that he’s preached, all those people that he’s brought to Christ, and he’s talking about the potential for being disqualified. And if he’s disqualified, what does that mean? Then he doesn’t get the prize. What’s the prize? Eternal life. So if he’s disqualified, what’s he talking about?

He’s talking about going to hell. He says, I discipline my body so I don’t go to hell. He said, What a shame that would be after I preach the gospel to all these people, then I lose my soul because I did not discipline my body. He’s talking about self-control, folks. We have it. We have to exercise it. It is a critical component of Christianity. You know, it’s interesting. If you had an opportunity to have an audience with the governor of Florida, I think Rick stopped. Is that right? If you had an audience with Rick Scott, and this is a rare opportunity, here you are, an ambassador for Christ. And you have a chance to say a few things, what would you say? What would you say to the governor?

What would you tell him? What would be on your mind? What moral issues? What biblical issues? What thus saith the Lord would you present to him? Well, maybe you would be like the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 24 and verse 25. When he was before Felix, the Roman governor. And you know, he talked about three things as the Bible describes in that occasion. He talked about righteousness. He talked about the judgment that is to come. You know what the third thing was that he talked about? Self control. Self-control. Of the three things that the Apostle Paul wanted to present to the Roman governor Felix, self-control was one of those. You want to say that’s not important? It’s very important. We have to control, and we can.

We are made in the image of God. And we don’t expect, and we ought not as parents, expect that our young people are going to violate God’s commands. I’m not talking about a plan B with Jasmine, Brooke, and Blake. There is no plan B. There’s God’s plan and no other way. And I expect them to adhere to that. They can. They can. We need to quit lowering the standards and compromising with the world. We expect people to follow God’s will. And yes, that applies to young people. We sell young people short. What do we think? That they’re shallow, that they can’t do what is right? They can’t be a Timothy, they can’t be a David, they can’t be a Josiah? Why? Why not? The biblical standard must be defended.

2. Defend Biblical Teaching on Adultery

And we parents are part of that defending. We need to make it clear. We expect our young people to adhere to that standard. It’s wrong. It’s a sin. And we must not engage in it. But let me give you a second thing. We talk about fornication. This is a related matter. But this tends to hit a little bit older people. Let’s defend biblical teaching on adultery. Let’s defend biblical teaching on adultery. And it too is far too rampant in our society. And it too, in many ways, we’ve lost the stigma that was once associated with that kind of behavior. Adultery being such between at least one person who’s in a married relationship and somebody who’s not in that married relationship. That’s adultery. And you remember when we quoted Hebrews 13 4, we read that.

He said, fornicators and what? And adulterers, God will judge. That means condemn. That means it’s sin. Revelation 21:8, when we talk about sexual immorality, that also includes adultery. This is sin. This is wrong. I was talking to a brother, I guess it was yesterday, here, and we were talking about marriage. And he is not married yet. But I loved his understanding of the biblical concept of marriage. He said, Now, Kevin, I understand that marriage is not between two people. And to people of the world, that might be surprising. What do you mean marriage is not between two people? Two people get married. It’s got to be two people. He said, wait a minute, there’s a third person involved in that. That third person is God. And he’s got it right.

Because God brings together a man and woman who have a right to be married into the holy bonds of matrimony. And we need to respect that, friends. I’ll tell you something that when I met my wife and we began to date and get to know each other. Let me tell you something that really appealed to me. I wasn’t so worried about whether or not she was going to be committed to me. But I tell you something that I was impressed with. She was committed to God. And if she’s committed to God, I know she’s going to be committed to me. Don’t base it on a commitment to me. That’s a lower plane. But it’s about her relationship with her God, and then I’ll be taken care of.

I’ll be fine. You see that? Because she understands that there is, or there are three people involved in marriage. God and those two people that he’s brought together into the holy bonds of matrimony. And we don’t want to do anything. Anything to violate that covenant. Nothing to take away from that. Nothing to undermine that. There’s a sister in Christ where I worship at Oak Mountain that I’m very impressed with. She has, she works in the workplace and she has a rule. She’s a married woman. And here’s her rule. She does not go to lunch with somebody of the opposite sex by herself. You say, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, that’s extreme. I mean, that doesn’t mean something’s got to happen just because somebody of the opposite sex, but she doesn’t want to take a chance.

She values that relationship so much. She wants to protect it. She wants to put boundaries around it. And so she’s not going to get close to that. You’ve got to respect that. Now I’m not saying it’s wrong for an individual to go lunch with somebody of the opposite sex, but you have to respect a godly woman who takes that stand because she’s trying to protect that relationship. And then I’ve seen the opposite. I’ve seen folks, you know, and let me say this adultery doesn’t just happen overnight. It doesn’t just up and happen like that. It’s a slow, it’s a gradual thing. And I’ve seen these people who get very friendly with people of the opposite sex. Maybe it’s a husband. And if you know, women are on their best guard, they look great, and everything, you know, the hair, the makeup, everything.

And so they start spending a lot of time together and they start talking. Maybe there’s some problems at home. Maybe there’s some difficulties at home. And rather than handling that at home, or rather than reaching out to spiritual people to help you, older women, older men, they start talking to these members of the opposite sex. Who obviously are very sympathetic to their viewpoint. Oh, she shouldn’t do you that. Oh, she doesn’t value you. I can’t believe she did that. Boy, if I had you. And you know, you had those conversations and you have those lunches and you have those dinners, and that goes on for weeks, and that goes on for months, and next thing you know, there’s a bond there, folks. And you keep playing with that fire.

Can a man take fire into his bosom and not be burned? Proverbs 6 27 answers no. You keep playing with that, and I’ve seen people do that. There’s a friend of mine at the workplace, and I don’t know what was going on, but I know he was spending a whole lot of time with a woman who wasn’t his wife. And people were starting to talk. And I had to pull him aside and say, Hey, man, I don’t know what’s going on, but there are rumors here. And your influence is being undermined by this. So you need to do something about it. Even if something’s not going on, it doesn’t look right. Respect that relationship. Respect it. Don’t go down that pathway. You got problems with your wife, sell it with your wife.

You got problems with your husband, sell it with your husband. Don’t go out to other people who are not spiritually minded and who have interests that are contrary to God’s word and try to get a sympathetic ear. That’s just not the way to do it. I like Romans 13 14. We talked about this. This is the hallmark of a mature Christian. Romans 13 14. You understand this concept. Romans chapter 13 and verse 14. The Bible says, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. Don’t give the devil an opportunity in these matters. Be wise. Look ahead. You know, these things scare me so much, and I’m so scared about undermining the influence, whatever influence I have.

Folks, I’ll be honest with you, I rarely even give any woman a compliment. Even my secretary who’s 70 something years old. I’m not doing it. Because I don’t want to take any chances of people misinterpreting and therefore undermining my influence for the Lord. We’ve got to think that way. Don’t give the devil an opportunity. Don’t put yourself in compromising positions. Don’t put yourself in places where you’re going to be tested, where you’re going to be tempted. We have some Christians who just think, well, I can do anything. I can be exposed to anything. I can be in any situation. And I’m so strong that I will not give in. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Don’t be arrogant like that.

Don’t be arrogant. I know my shortcomings. I know my frailties. And I’m not going to put myself in a situation where I’m going to be overcome by the devil. And there’s some humility in that, recognizing you’re not the super strong Christian that could take on the devil and win. There’s not a person among us here who would take on the devil one-on-one and win. Not even Brother Hockreyer. Nobody can. Not even Brother Jones. Not Brother Duke. Nobody. Now you can do it with God, yes, but you can’t do it by yourself. Don’t get to think of so much of your steely resolve and will and determination that I can put myself in any situation and come out unscathed. You can’t do it. Don’t be proud and lead to that spiritual fall.

3. Defend Biblical Morality on Pornography

Avoid those things. Don’t put yourself in that situation. Defend biblical morality on adultery. But let me give you a third thing. And boy, we need this today. Defend biblical morality on pornography. Defend biblical morality on pornography. I was talking to a young preacher several years ago. And we were having lunch. And he was saying, Kevin, you won’t believe how pornography is slaying. Slaying Christian marriages left and right. And many times it begins with young men who engage in this behavior while they’re single. And they tell themselves this is a temporary thing until I get into the marriage relationship and then I can fulfill Hebrews 13 4. But you know what happens? They bring that stuff right into the marriage. And it does deadly harm to the intimacy that ought to exist between a man and woman in marriage.

Don’t do that. I heard Brother D. Bowman say that one time. We were having a men’s study at Vestavian Hills. He says, if you’re practicing pornography, if you’re addicted to it, if you’re caught up to it, I have one thing to say to you. Stop it now. And that’s right. Because it’s addictive, folks. And let me tell you what’s so dangerous about it. See, it used to be that if you wanted to access that material, you had to go to a certain part of town that none of us want to be seen in, that nobody wants to associate with those folks. And so that in of itself was a deterrent, right? I don’t want to be around that, so I’m not going to go. But now it’s a click of a mouse away.

You can be in your office, your wife is asleep, your kids are asleep, and right there, a couple clicks, and you can have all that you want. The devil’s having a field day. Slaying people left and right. Don’t, young people, don’t get started. That’s so important. Don’t try it. Don’t think it’s funny. Don’t say, let’s check it out. Because I’m telling you, you can do something as a teenager that you’ll be battling for decades. Decades to come. Don’t set up that temptation. It’s hard enough to be holy. It’s hard enough to live a pure life in this impure world. Why would you add that greater weight and burden to the difficulty that we already have? Don’t do it. I like what’s said in Psalm 39.1. Turn over there.

Psalm 39.1. I’m sorry, Job 31.1. Sorry about that. Job 31.1. Job, the 31st chapter, verse 1. The Bible says this. I have made a covenant with my eyes. Why then should I look upon a young woman? I love that. I have made a covenant with my eyes. I said, eyes, we’re not going to look to lust after a young woman. We’re not going to see things that we ought not see. And somebody said, Well, Kevin, he wasn’t talking about pornography there. I understand that, but the principle’s the same. Make a covenant with your eyes. I’m not going to let these eyes look at things they should not see. And might I suggest it doesn’t have to be what the world calls hardcore pornography. Much of what passes for mainstream entertainment is indeed pornography.

And we just sit up there watching it. Well, you know. Nobody did. It doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t affect me. It does affect us. Change the channel. Be careful of the movies that you go to. We ought not be surprised by what the movies offer, right? I’ve got a friend of mine. He has a website that he likes to talk about. It’s very good, but I’ve used it. It’s called Common Sense Media. Maybe some of y’all have used that. Common sense media. And it will give you, put the movie in. It’ll give you curse words, how many curse words there are, which ones are there? It’ll tell you scenes. All of that. So nobody should be surprised. And that’s just one side of the minute. There are a lot of family-friendly sights.

But nobody should be surprised by the entertainment that they see. A Christian ought not just go in blindly and just assume, well, it’ll be okay. It’ll be all right. I’ve made that mistake before. We need to be careful what our eyes see. We need to take ownership of that. And yes, it made me I’ve missed many a movie. I got excited. I want to see this. This is going to be great. And oh. Curse words. Curse words. And it’s it’s interesting. I remember one movie that I really wanted to see. And I started, you know, hearing people talk about it. And these people weren’t even Christians. People in the world were saying, yeah, that’s some real rough language. That’s some real rough language. Well, when people in the world start saying it’s some rough language, you know, that’s some rough language.

But we’ve got to be careful what we see. And so much of our society is based on appealing to sexual interests. Let’s be honest. So much of the advertising, so much of the television programming, so much of the clothing. I’ve talked a lot with godly women who are just trying to dress like a modest woman, a woman who professes godliness ought to dress. You know how difficult it is. You know, I didn’t even realize it. We were talking about this, and we were looking for some clothes for the kids, and she was, oh, you know, you can’t find anything. I’m like, oh, yeah, that’s not right. And literally, for Blake, we had shorts. Come well below the knee. No problem. For Jasmine and Brooke, all the stuff was up here.

I’m serious. As a seven-year-old and a ten-year-old. It’s difficult to dress as a woman professing godliness. But we’ve got to do it. We’ve got to be careful. We don’t want to create a stumbling bot. We don’t want to create that image. We want to be consistent with the message that we’re presenting, a message of being reconciled to God, a message of being holy. Why? Because we serve a holy God. We need to defend the biblical teaching on pornography. Look at Psalm 101.3. This is the one I had a while ago in mind. Psalm 1013. Very similar to Job 31.1. Psalm 101.3. May we all say this to each other. Psalm 101 3. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away.

It shall not cling to me. Can we say that? I will set nothing wicked before my eyes. I’m not going to watch wicked entertainment. I’m not going to read wicked entertainment. I’m not going to listen to wicked music. I’m going to be holy in all of my conduct. And yes, we’re a peculiar people. Yes, we’re going to be different. Yes, we’re not going to know all of pop culture. That’s fine. I don’t think anybody in heaven is going to say, well, you know, I missed all those movies. They were great. I can’t believe I gave that up. Nobody’s going to worry about that. What you’re going to worry about is, hey, I’m in the presence of God. That’s wonderful. And whatever sacrifice I had to make, it was worth it.

Let’s defend that. Don’t get involved. And young people, older people, don’t get started. This thing is highly addictive. If you’ve read anything in the news about it, people who get caught up in this normally can’t break it without some kind of help. So don’t get started in the first place. Don’t set anything wicked before your eyes. Make a covenant with your eyes. I will not look upon a young woman to lust after. Look at what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 5. Look at Matthew chapter 5. Got to understand, so important to guard our hearts. Guard those minds. Look at Matthew chapter 5. Let’s begin verse 27. Matthew chapter 5, verse 27. The Bible says this. You have heard, this is Jesus talking. You’ve heard that was said to those of old.

You should not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Now this is interesting. Right after saying that, right after saying, if you look at somebody with an intent of lusting, notice the consequences. He says, but if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. For it’s more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. No, wait a minute, Jesus, we’re just talking about lusting. We’re just talking about looking. What are you talking about hell for? Listen. And if your right hand causes you to sin and cut it off and cast it from you, for it’s more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

It’s no accident that Jesus is talking about hell in the context of saying, don’t look at a woman to lust for her. We can lose our souls because of what goes on in our minds. And so we better be very careful about what we expose ourselves to. Make that covenant with your eyes. Make that commitment. I will set nothing wicked. Because why? I don’t want to lose my soul. It’s not worth it. I mean, think about this. If you just think, would it be worth it to glance at a young woman to lust at? Would it be worth it to go to some pornographic website? Would it be worth it to lose your soul for all eternity? Here you are in hell burning because you were addicted to pornography.

4. Defend Biblical Morality on Homosexuality

Because you looked at a woman. Is it going to be worth it then? Of course not. But we don’t think that way, do we? We just go ahead and blindly do it. We need to stop and think about the consequences of our actions. That’s what Jesus is saying. This is such a terrible place. Whatever it takes, pluck your eye out if it’s necessary. In order to avoid going there. Let’s make a covenant with our eyes. Let’s defend the biblical standard on pornography. Let me give you a fourth thing. And this is one that’ll get me run out of Orlando. Let’s defend biblical, biblical morality and homosexuality. And uh I want you to notice that we’re going to approach this subject the same way we talked about fornication and adultery and pornography.

We’re going to approach it from the standpoint we serve a holy God, and the holy God has spoken on this issue. And whatever the holy God has said on this issue, that’s the end of it. It doesn’t matter what you think. It doesn’t matter what the President thinks. It doesn’t matter what the Supreme Court thinks. No, no, no. Whatever God says, that settles it. And that’s the way we’re going to approach it. So let’s look with our in our Bibles. Romans chapter 1, verses 18 through 27. Romans, the first chapter, verses 18 through 27. We are defending biblical morality on the subject of homosexuality. Romans chapter 1, verses 18 through 27. And again, I want you to be, if you’re in the audience, just be open.

Be honest. Let’s just read the text. What does the text say? Romans chapter 1, verses 18 through 27. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them. For God has shown it to them, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts. And their foolish hearts were darkened, professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four footed animals and creeping things.

Verse 24. Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lust of their heart to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, verse 26, God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchange the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the man leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. Paul talks about the fact that everybody is on notice that there is a God. It doesn’t matter where you live, it doesn’t matter what language is spoken, it doesn’t matter what continent you live on, everybody under the sun ought to be able just to look around him or her and look at the creation and see the invisible attributes of God and come to the conclusion that there is indeed a God.

And he says that once you make that recognition, there’s an obligation to do what? To glorify him. To be thankful for him. And this is a very important point because it’s not just about homosexuality. This is where it all starts. How do you view God? If you acknowledge God for who he is, if you glorify Him, if you’re thankful, then all the things that come thereafter, those things are not going to happen to you. But when you give that up, when you’re not thankful, when you don’t glorify God for who he is, then this parade of horribles that we read through the rest of these verses, that’s what lies ahead. That’s where it starts. So we need to get people back to what is your conception of God.

That’s where it starts. I know we’re going to talk about, we’re going to talk about that lifestyle, but people in sin need to be brought back. Who is God? And once they get that down, then we can branch out from that to address this and many other things when it comes to biblical morality. But he says something here, and I want to ask you this. How does God feel about homosexuality? Based on these texts that we read, based on these verses. And I want to go back again and just listen to some of the descriptions, beginning in verse 26. For this reason, God gave them up to what? Vile passions. Vile. That doesn’t sound complimentary to me. Vile, something despicable, something detestable, something awful. He says it’s vile passion.

But not only that, he says, for even the women, exchange the natural use for what is what? Against nature. That also doesn’t sound complimentary. Here is the clerk of the universe who says, I created you, I created you male and female, I created the woman as a help meet to Adam, and he says, this homosexuality is against nature. And so now we have vile passions and we have against nature. But let’s keep reasoning, reading, verse 27. Likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burning their lust one another. Men with men committing what is shameful. Does that seem complimentary to you? No. Shameful. Despicable. Something you should be ashamed of. So he says, vile passions, he says against nature. He says, shameful. And then lastly, receiving themselves the penalty of their error.

Does that seem like a complimentary term? Error? It’s wrong. It’s not right. It’s error. It’s wrong. The Lord says that it’s shameful. The Lord says that it’s vile passions. The Lord says it’s against nature. The Lord said it’s error. Is there any question what the Lord feels on this? It’s sin. It’s sin. Now, let me say this. It’s sin. And fornication is sin. And adultery is sin. And pornography is sin. And we’re not going to focus exclusively on this sin to the exclusion of other sins. Sin is sin. I remember I had an opportunity to talk, have a public Bible class in Tennessee about homosexuality. And there were some atheists in the room, and one of them thought he’d have a great opportunity to show me up because in many denominations, what the Lord says about women preachers, 1 Timothy 2, 11 through 12, is not obeyed, it’s not honored, it’s not taught.

And so he asked the question.

But what about women preachers? And I think I surprised him when I said, Well, I believe what the Bible says on that too. 1 Tintin 2 11 through 12. We ought not have any. And we had a conversation afterwards, and although he did not agree with what I was teaching, he said, I’ll give you this this much. At least you’re being consistent. At least you’re being consistent. And that’s what we’re saying. We’re appealing to the Bible. And we’re this is not one hobby verse enough. We want to defend everything God says. But he does speak on this issue. And we what do you do with that? You can’t ignore that. You can’t watch somebody who say, well, you know, Paul. Paul was a homophobe. He didn’t understand homosexuality.

And when people don’t understand something, they attack it and they demean it. And they, well, wait a minute now, wait a minute. The Apostle Paul was inspired by God to write those things. So that’s not the Apostle Paul’s words. That’s not what Paul wanted written in Romans 1, 18 through 27. That’s what a transcendent creator, God said on the issue. Well, somebody said, well, you know, we just, we’ll just have to ignore that. I mean, that’s pretty harsh, and we’ve evolved and we’re different as a society. And let’s talk about love and let’s talk about some of the basic core principles, faith. But you can’t throw this out. That’s scripture. And here’s my question. If you start throwing out scripture, where does it stop? I mean, if you’re entitled to just dismiss whatever you don’t like, well, let me get in on the game.

I don’t like this turn the other cheek stuff. You do me wrong, I would love to do you wrong back. So if you’re going to take out homosexuality and what the Bible says, let me take that out. You see, this doesn’t stop. Where does it stop? People just picking and choosing, like you’re going through a cafeteria line. Yeah, I’ll have some turnip greens, no collars. I want mashed potatoes and I want bait. You can’t do that with scripture. There’s no cherry picking. It’s an all or nothing proposition. Either you take it all or you reject it. And the people who are trying to have Christianity but want to cut this out, that’s not Christianity. Because the Bible condemns it as sin. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9 through 11.

Again, let’s just be honest with the text. What does the text say? 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9 through 11. The Bible says this. Do you not know? Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, we talked about that, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, we talked about that. Now listen here. No homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the kingdom of God. He says, no way. He said, Do you not know? It’s a rhetorical question. You’re supposed to already know this. You know these things. You know these groups of people that are identified here. They’re not going to have anything to do with the kingdom of heaven.

They’re not going to inherit the kingdom of heaven. But then he says something very interesting in verse 11. He says, And such. Those descriptions, those categories he just used. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. But Kevin, I’m born this way. There’s nothing I can do about it. And there were Corinthian brethren who are in that lifestyle, and he says, Such were some of you. What’s that? Past ends. What does that mean? They’re not in that lifestyle anymore. They came out of that. Why? By the power of God. They can do that. That’s what the Bible teaches, folks. Now, let me say this, though, because this is important as well.

You remember when we talked about doing the right things for the right reason, and we talked about evangelism. Why do we do evangelism? Why do we speak the truth? Ephesians 4.15 says we speak the truth in what? In love. We speak the truth in love. We need to be careful. I was at a congregation where a couple had a son who struggled with same-sex attraction. And evidently, according to them, he had made a public confession. Not at the congregation I was at at the time, but some other congregation.

I’ve seen encouragement. Just embrace the brother or sister who has been lost has come back. But this brother publicly confesses that he has same sex attraction. And according to his parents, the congregation treats him like a pariah, like a leper. We’ll have nothing to do with him. Now, friends, that is wrong. That is wrong as the day is long. We don’t discriminate among the sins. Oh, I can’t understand. How could you be? Hey, wait a minute. We’ve all fallen short of the glory of God. We’ve all sinned. And when somebody confesses that they’re struggling with that, maybe you don’t understand it. Maybe you’ve never been plagued by that. That’s irrelevant. And this is the thing that I like. His parents said, you know what? Because he was in the audience when I preached.

And I preached all about homosexuality. They said, he understands what the truth of God’s word is on that subject. Now here’s a fellow who understands God’s word on this subject. He knows it’s sin, and he’s saying, I’m struggling with this. I know it’s wrong. I need some help. We ought to be there for that brother to help him out. And if somebody, I’ve heard, I’ve even heard Christians, I don’t know how to deal with those people. I don’t know how to, how would I speak to them? I couldn’t be around them. Are you in the soul-saving business? Then you better be around people that are not perfect and not healed and don’t need a physician. These people do need a physician. And people are sick, and we have the antidote.

We have the prescription. I understand 1 Corinthians 15 33. The evil company and companionship corrupts good morals. But I don’t know about you. I’ve never found a way to teach somebody I’m not around. I just can’t do it. There’s got to be some communication between me and the person I’m teaching. And I’m not, I mean, we got the EU factor. No, it’s not about that. That’s why I said biblical morality. Biblical, principled. You mean I’ve talked to some people who struggle with this, and I say, look, I don’t know about that specific struggle, but as a heterosexual, there are things I struggle with, okay? I understand that. I know that sin is enticing. I know there’s pleasure in all sin to the people who are caught up in it.

Even the scripture says that Moses forsook the passing pleasures of sin. That’s scripture. And so we can reach out to our brothers and sisters who are struggling with this and help them and pray for them. And I’m not saying compromising the word. There’s nothing you’ve heard from this pulpit that’s remotely compromising the word. You know where I stand, I stand where the Bible stands. It’s wrong. But also don’t want us to pick and choose. Somebody say, Well, how do you feel about working, working around homosexuals? Hmm. Okay, about the same way that I’ve been working around drunkards, adulterers, fornicators, people who use profane speech. Folks, Paul made that point in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. He said, I wrote you not to keep company with sexual immoral people.

He said, I didn’t mean people of the world. For me, you need to go out of the world. He said, I’m talking about anybody named a brother. Paul was saying, look, we’re in the world, okay? We understand that. And we’re going to work side by side with people who don’t understand the cause of Christ. We’re going to live in neighborhoods with people who are not saved. We’re going to go to school with people who are not Christians. And we need to be lights in those environments. We need to be ambassadors. We need to be spreading the gospel. I was in a church in South Carolina. I was so encouraged. There were young people, young teenagers, middle aged middle school people who were teaching their co-workers, I mean, not co-workers, but their fellow schoolmates about this subject.

And yeah, it’s a different world. When I was growing up, it was in the closet. People didn’t talk about it. But they live in a world where it’s out of the closet. And they’re having to deal with this. And they can’t say, oh, I can’t deal with those people. I can’t be around with those people. Just bring the word of God in a spirit of humility and love. You know, I’ve had conversations with people who are in the homosexual lifestyle. And with the exception of one state legislature who said she wanted to come across the table and beat me silly, most of them we’ve had civil conversations. We’ve just talked. And even with that state legislator, I say, look, hey, this is what I believe. Now, if you can come from the Bible and show me some passages where I’m wrong, I’ll change my position.

And I gave her my card. I’ve never heard from her since. But the point is, is we don’t want to treat this different. And this is something we’re all going to have to deal with, especially our young people. But how do we deal with it? We go back to the Bible. Thus saith the Lord. That’s it. Again, it’s not about Southern tradition. It’s not about what I’m comfortable with. It’s not about how I grew up. It’s really about what the Word of God says. I don’t know what else to do with that. The Bible says what it says. Look at 1 Timothy 1, 8 through 10. 1 Timothy chapter 1, 8 through 10. All I know is to teach and defend what God has said. And I hope that’s the attitude of us all on this subject and any other.

1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 8 through 10. 1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 8 through 10. We know. We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous person. But for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly, for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murders of fathers and murders of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, wait a minute. For sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjures, and if there’s any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. Sodomites, Sodomites, Sodom, Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom and Gonor that suffered the wrath of God fire because according to Jude, they went after strange flesh. Okay, I understand it. And what does he say? That is contrary to sound doctrine.

Conclusion

Well, if it’s contrary to sound doctrine, I don’t want to practice that. If it’s contrary to sound doctrine, I don’t want to encourage that. I don’t want to condone that. I have to do what the Bible says and teach that standard and live that standard. That’s defending biblical morality. Well, our time is up. There’s so many things we could talk about. We could talk about lying, hadn’t got into that, and we certainly have a problem with honesty and dishonesty. But you’ve got enough and you know where to go for the rest. It’s about defending God’s standard. That’s it. And we do defend it in love. And I am, I tell you what, there’s some things that bother me about people who defend the word of God, but they do so with such an ungodly spirit.

Not recognizing that that ungodly spirit condemns them. They’re trying to defend the truth. It’s not defend the truth at all costs. No, it’s speak the truth in love. With humility. Watching ourselves. I mean, we’re, I mean, so many times Paul appeals, Ephesians chapter 2. We all once walked in darkness. That humility. All of us were lost. Understand that. And that ought to permeate your speech. I know what it’s like to be a sinner. I may not know that particular sin, but I know what it’s like to be estranged from Christ. And you know what? You like me can obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. You like me can be cleansed. You like me can be justified. You like me can be a faithful child of God.

That’s the message. We need to defend biblical morality, but please, defend biblical morality. And what did we say last night? You can’t defend what you do not know. That’s the problem a lot of us. We don’t even know what the Bible says. I remember being in law school, there’s a friend of ours. We were in the hallway talking, he’s a very conservative person, religious person, and we got to talking about marriage, divorce, and remarriage. He didn’t even know it was in the scriptures. He didn’t even know Matthew 19, 1 through 9 existed. And I hope that’s not true of us. We’ve got to know the Bible to defend it. The Bible gives us the standard. This is how we ought to live. And this is the best life.

That’s why I say, why be ashamed of this? They said, be ashamed of. 1 Timothy 4 8. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is and of the life that is to come. And what we do sometimes, we say, well, yeah, we’re going to go through life and it’s terrible, it’s awful. I can’t do this. I can’t do that. I can’t listen to that. It’s just drudgery, and all woe is me. And I’ll go to my grave and now I’m in heaven. It’s great. That’s not 1 Timothy 4.8. God says the best life is the life lived according to his dictates in this life. Did you know that? I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of for living the Christian life. And I’m not saying it’s always easy.

And I’m not saying it’s always going to be wonderful. And I’m not saying it’s all smiles and happiness, but I’m saying this. When the creative universe says this is the way you ought to live, don’t you think he knows best? And don’t you think that’s the best life? And when he says, don’t commit fornication, isn’t that the best life? When he says don’t commit adultery, isn’t that the best life? When he says, don’t engage and look at pornography, isn’t that the best life? And when he says, don’t engage in homosexuality, isn’t that the best life? It is. Why? Because it came from the Creator who knows best. And that’s true on anything that God says. God knows best. And that’s all we’re defending. But you’ve got to go to the Bible.

It’s biblical morality, not southern morality, not Bible morality. Not back in the day of morality. No, it’s the Bible. Because it’s God inspired word, the holy word of a holy God. And you know what that holy God wants to do? That holy God wants to have a relationship with each and every one of you in this audience. He wants you to be his child. And you can do that. Even though you’ve sinned, even though you’re separated from God now because of that sin, even though you’re really bound in the highway to hell, you can be a child of God. How do you do that? You’ve got to obey the gospel. You’ve got to hear the gospel message. Believe that message. We’re not talking about mental ascent.

We’re not talking about memorizing facts. We’re talking about this compelling faith like we read in Hebrews chapter 11. You have that kind of faith that motivates you to repent of your former way of life, and that kind of faith that motivates you to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that kind of faith that motivates you to be baptized for the remission of your sins. And you come out of that water grave of baptism, a new creature in Christ. And now you have the mandate to save lost souls. That’s what life is all about. That’s meaning in life. That’s purpose in life. That’s what you were designed to do. Anything else, and you’re a failure. Because you have failed to do what your master intended for you to do, and that is his will.

Don’t you want to have meaning in life? Don’t you want to have a purpose of life, a fulfilling life? It’s not money, it’s not fame, it’s not achievement, it’s not intellect, it’s not property and possessions. It’s about serving God. That is the most meaningful life you can have. That brings joy and that brings true happiness. If you’re here in this audience, you haven’t done that. We beg and plead with you, please obey the gospel before it’s everlasting too late. Anyone suck to the invitation? We ask you to come forward as we stand and we sing.