The Prayer of Prayers

1. Introductory Thoughts—John 17:1
a. These are the first words of the real Lord’s Prayer.
(1) We often refer to the Disciples’ prayer in Mat 6:9-15 as the Lord’s prayer, but that is the prayer He taught US to pray.
(2) This is the prayer HE prayed.
b. This is one of the deepest and most profound passages in the Bible
(1) God talking “face to face” (Jn 1:1-2) with God. Here we have a glimpse into the private chambers of the Most High
(2) The timing of the prayer is significant, ending just before Jesus begins His passion in the Garden.
(3) The prayer’s subjects stretch from eternity past to eternity future.
(4) We are struck by the finality of the prayer, as if all these things have already happened (Rom 4:17)
(5) As beneficiaries of this prayer, believers see the absolute certainty of their salvation and of the absolute security of their place with their Savior.
(6) The doctrinal threads that crisscross this prayer include the Trinity, the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, Eternal Security, Election, the extent of the Atonement, the essence of Salvation (to know God experientially), and the absolute sovereignty of God. Truly the disciples’ words just before this prayer are here fulfilled to the utmost—John 16:29 "His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!"

c. Yet we must pause to note, that it is likely that The Lord’s disciples, at this point, did not understand the very prayer they heard. Again, Christ had anticipated this, when He had just spoken of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to the church:

John 16:12-13 ""I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

2. The Final Words of the Upper Room Discourse (John 17:1a “… Jesus spoke these words…”)—John 16:31-33
a. Context—the “upper room discourse.”
(1) The discourse had actually left the Upper Room (Jn 14:31), and Jesus was “talking and walking” toward His appointment with destiny.
(2) But the discourse from the Upper Room to this prayer is all one.
b. Outline of 13:1-16:33
(1) Jesus washed the disciples’ feet (13:1-17)
(2) Jesus and the betrayer—13:18-30
(3) The New Commandment—13:31-35
(4) Peter’s Denial predicted—13:36-38
(5) Jesus teaches on the Trinity—14:1-16:15
(a) The Father, the Son, and the Second coming—14:1-6
(b) The Father—14:7-14
(c) The spirit—14:15-31
(6) Practical application
(a) The Vine—15:1-16
(b) Persecution—15:17-6:4
(c) The Spirit’s work—16:5-15
(d) The Overcomer—16:16-33
b. The closing exchange
(1) The disciple’s profession of fidelity
(2) Jesus’ challenge—16:31
(3) The word of warning—16:32
(4) The word of victory—16:33

3. As He Closed In Prayer, Jesus Turned Toward Calvary (17:1b “…(He) lifted up His eyes to Heaven…”)

a. He is not going to be raptured or translated, His way to the Father’s throne goes through tribulation, through Calvary—He will endure Wrath so that we don’t have to do so—1 Thes 1:10

b. The final walk, the “green mile,” begins with a trip to the Throne in Heaven, followed by a stroll to the Garden

c. Ps 121:1, 123:1, Is 40:26, Dan 4:34, Jn 11:41, Acts 7:55

d. The focus shifted from Earth to Heaven

(1) The discussion shifted, from the earthly discourse of chapters 13-16 to the heavenly conference of John 17

(2) The participants changed
(a) The disciples were active learners in 13-16, they asked questions
(b) The Participants in 17 are The Father and The Son—the disciples are part of the subject of the prayer, and they hear the prayer, but they are not IN the prayer, and probably don’t understand much of the prayer.

e. The Time Goes From temporal to eternal

(1) Everything in 13-16 is from just after the Cross, toward the future of earthly ministry
(2) But John 17 stretches from eternity past to eternity future

f. The Subject Switched from Man to God
(1) From what God does in man and through man to what God Does, period.
(2) Most of chapters 13-16 is about present and future ministry on this earth, the apostles’ obedience, the Spirit’s mission
(3) John 17 is all about what God has done and is going to do.

g. Christ focused on the Fatherè Calvary is not, in any part, a work of man—Calvary is God’s work, from beginning to end, from plan to fruition.

4. The Father’s Plan—“…The Hour has come…”

a. The Hour—This is a phrase used in John’s Gospel to focus on the fact that God’s Providence is time sensitive—God is in total control
b. The plan of redemption was not a haphazard “Plan B,” but was ordained before the world was made—Acts 2:23, 4:24-28, 1 Pet 1:18-21, Gal 4:4-6, Rev 13:8, 17:8
c. The Hour, the Time set by the Father, has been often mentioned by Jesus—John 2:4, Jn 7:30, 8:20, 12:23, 27, 13:1
d. There are other, related hours mentioned, which will be in the future John 4:21,23; John 5:25, John 5:28

5. The Son’s Glory—“Glorify your Son…”

a. Glory, “doxa” in its noun and verb forms, is found in John’s Gospel 42 times
(1) The best definition for “Glory” is the external expression of inward qualities and attributes.
(2) God is Glorified when His character and attributes are fully revealed.
b. The Mark of Divinity—what mere man could say this? See Is 42:8

c. The Cross, a glorification? Yes! See Phil 2:5-11, Gal 6:14-16
(3) Glorification of obedience
(4) Glorification of purpose
(5) Glorification of salvation of the promised remnant
(6) Glorification of power
(7) Glorification of God’s Love

6. The Father’s Glory—“That your Son also may glorify you.”

a. Again, Glory is the expression of His attributes
b. The Cross is the ultimate expression of His central attributes of Love, Holiness, Justice, Mercy, omnipotence, omniscience, etc.
c. We are told to glory in the Cross, does the Father glory in it any less?

The Great White Throne

Who Can Stand?
Works Won’t Work At the Great White Throne
Rom 2:7-16

Remember the grand context—Rom 1:16-18, 3:9-20
-We are justified by faith.
-Why is it that it is only by faith that one is righteous?
(1) Because of the wrath of God at the sin of man, which we find out in Rom 3:9-12 is universal.
(2) How then can anyone be considered righteous? How can anyone face the judgment and come out clean? No One CAN!
èWe are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, but we are condemned by our heritage (ADAM’s Sin Rom 5:12) and by our own works.

- A Necessary Doctrinal Question: How Many Judgments Are There?
a. The General judgment theory
(1) Generally held either by folks with only a cursory knowledge of the Bible or by folks who are scholars of a particular variety.
(2) Your average lost person with no Biblical knowledge, has this conception of judgment.
(3) This is, generally, the Roman Catholic view of judgment.
(4) In this view, there is one judgment—In this view, the judgment seat of Christ (Bema Seat), the Judgment of the Nations (Mat 25), and the Great White Throne are all the same judgment.
(5) Problems with this view
(a) The judgments in the Bible are very different, as they are described in the Bible, and it is difficult to see how they fit together.
(b) Christians have already been judged in Christ, and will not come into judgment (John 5:24).

b. The multiple judgment view—The Three judgments are different.
(1) At the end of the Tribulation, the survivors of the Tribulation are judged at the return of Christ (Mat 25). This is the Judgment of the Nations
(a) The nations are separated into sheep and goats.
(b) The sheep are those from the nations who helped, aided, and kindly treated the persecuted Messianic Jews of the tribulation period. They had been converted by the Jewish believers’ preaching about Christ, and had given evidence of their conversion by their kind treatment of the Jews, at great risk to their own lives.
(c) The goats are those who ignored or helped persecute the Jews and Christians in the Tribulation period.
(d) The goats progress on to Hell, the sheep go into the Kingdom.
(2) The rest of the lost dead are judged at the Great White Throne (Rev 20).
(a) NO sheep here
(b) No grouping of people by nations here.
(c) Individuals judged here, no giving of rewards
(d) The standard is not a single “as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren” standard, but is the totality of a person’s life.
(3) After the Rapture, there is the Judgment Seat of Christ, for saved people.
(a) The seat of this judgment is the Bema Seat, the place of rewards—2 Cor 5:10, 1 Cor 3:8-14, Rom 14:10. The Bema Seat is never mentioned in association with the lost, only with reference to believers.
(b) The Sins of all who are believers have already judged in Christ—Jn 5:24 “… and shall not come into condemnation; [krisis, a tribunal] but is passed from death unto life." 2 Cor 5:21, Eph 1:6-7.
(c) For Believers (and ONLY for believers), the Sin Question has been answered by the Son
(d) If you are a believer in Christ, your sins have been judged in Him, and you will not come into judgment as a sinner whose case is to be decided.
(e) As a believer, you do have to give God account of your actions as a believer.
(f) The fruits of each Christian’s life are judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, with a view to assignment of rewards, but this is not a judicial judgment in any sense—

1. Judgment Day is Coming—Rom 2:16
a. The controlling verse in this passage is the bottom line—Rom 2:16. As in other places, Paul makes the point that the day of judgment is coming; the day of wrath, the great white throne—Rev 20:11-15, Mat 7:21-23, Acts 17:31
b. Verses 5 and 6, studied last lesson, have set this discussion on course, and this passage expands on the basic idea—each human being who appears at the last judgment, the Great White Throne, will be judged according to their own deeds.

2. The Standard is Perfection—2:7-10

a. By patient continuance in doing good….The standard is continual perfection—Mat 5:17-20, 5:48!! Can anyone meet this standard? Is 53:6 ,Isa 64:6, Mark 10:18, Rom 3:10-12, 1 John 1:8-10
b. by patient continuance
(1) Not just good for one minute, one hour, or one day, but good always
(2) No slips, no bad hair days
(3) In other words, like God—immutable, unshakable, steady as she goes.
c. by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;
(1) The MOTIVE has got to be pure at all times as well! We have to be seeking only the things of God continually
(2) We have to attain to His Glory, which no one has done nor can do--Rom 3:23
d. The reward of keeping this standard—Rom 2:10
(1) Heaven will be glorious
(2) Heaven will be honorable
(3) Heaven will be peaceful
e. Only One has ever kept this standard—Jesus—Heb 4:15-16
(1) Jesus patiently did good at all times
(2) Jesus did not seek His own good
(3) Jesus: the Lamb—Heb 9:14, 1 Pet 1:19
f. The State of Man—Rom 2:8, 9
g. The Non-existent righteous man—2:10—see 3:9-12, 23, Eph 2:1-3

3. The Judge Is Impartial—Rom 2:11-13
a. The forms of the Law available—Ps 19, Rom 1:19-21, 2:16, 3:19-20—
(1) All man have nature
(2) All men have conscience
(3) Some have the written Law
(4) Some have the Law and the Gospel
(5) The key understanding is this: whichever form the Law is delivered, it is HIS LAW—it is about God, not the form of the Law.
b. Man: responsible for the light given—2:12
c. Deeds, not words, matter—2:13—if anyone is able to live up to the standard of the Law of God, then they gain eternal life—but no one has except Jesus!
d. Examples and evidences.
(1) Some Gentiles have done some of the Law, and have written their own laws which echo the Law—2:14—Hammurabi’s Code for existence—and similar principles are found in most law codes
(2) And, over half the planet lives under a law code that originated in the Old Testament—Christian, Muslim, Jew alike.
(3) There is also the work of Conscience—2:15
(a) Conscience, a much used word in the New Testament—the word means “moral consciousness”
(b) Conscience
(c) ConvictsèJohn 8:9
(d) ConfirmsèActs 23:1, 24:16, Rom 9:1, 2 Cor 1:12
(e) Conscience works with faith and love to produce obedience and to safeguard our pure understanding of the faith—1 Tim 1::5, 1:19, 3:9, 2 Tim 1:3
(f) But, conscience can be seared —1 Ti 4:2
(g) Conscience can be defiled—Tit 1:15
(i) How do searing and defilement take place?
(ii) When one plays with sin and tells conscience to “shut up.”
(h) The Conscience can be cleansed—Heb 9:14, 10:22
(i) The Christian life must be lived in and with a good, clean, strong conscience
(i) Heb 13:18 "Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably."
(ii) 1 Pet 3:16 "having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed."

4. The Verdict is Certain è
a. The White Throne Judgment—2:16, Rev 20:11-15
b. The Books Will Be Open
(6) The secrets will all come out
(7) The things in the books will be open for all to see
c. No defense is mentioned—these are judged by their works—20:12
d. The blood of Christ is not available to the ones judged here—their doom is sealed, they are not in the Book of Life
e. They will protest, but to no avail—Mat 7:21-23
f. The Doom is Inescapable for those who do not know Him, they will die in their sins
(1) John 8:24
(2) Mat 7:23
(3) Rev 21:8

5. The Time to be Saved is NOW

This is the wonderful woman who consented to marry me 34 years ago. She still looks the same.

Here Comes The Judge, Part 2

1. Man’s rebellion leads to inescapable Judgment. 2:3

a. What humans think about religion
(1) Human religion is one of the great curses of mankind
(a) Humanism and atheism, which are religions which essentially worship man and “reason.”
(b) Eastern Religions, Heathen idol worship
(c) Islam, Works-oriented cults
(d) Satanism, The New Age Movement
(e) Liberal Christianity
(f) Legalistic and traditional churches.

(2) Most human religions—involve pride and self-righteousness, soft pedal sin, and see the sin of others as worse
(a) All human religion involves rebellion against the one true God
(b) All human religion seeks a way of escape from the consequences of rebellion

b. First, when it comes to whether or not we are guilty before Him, God does not distinguish between types of sin—

(1) Obviously some sins are worse than others in their effect and in their heinous nature
(2) As Jesus told us in the Sermon on the mount, it is sin to even want to sin, but it is still worse to actually commit the sin because of the effect on others.
(3) However, when it comes to being a sinner—sin is sin.

c. Therefore, as we are reproving sin, we need to keep Paul’s overall message in mind.
(1) We cannot save ourselves
(2) Only God Can Save Us--
(3) God Requires Saved People to Live for Him

2. God’s kindness leads to repentance –Rom 2:4

a. Despising God’s opportunities
(1) The word for “despise” carries the same meaning as our modern term, “look down the nose at…”. Mankind looks down its nose at the goodness forbearance, and longsuffering of God.
(2) God is patient, and man arrogantly takes that patience for weakness. -- Ecc 8:11--Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil
b. What men despise— God is kind to the human race beyond our imagination. God’s Goodness—Exo 34:6, 1 Chr 16:34, Psa 8:3-8, Psa 86:5, Mat 5:45

c. “The problem of evil”—philosophers and many other people try to reason out how a loving God can allow so much misery in the world
(1) A more Biblical perspective would be “How can a just and Holy God put up with us?” As wicked and rebellious as our race is, why are we not all continuously in hell all the time?
(2) The goodness of God does not lie in how comfortable He makes our circumstances.
(3) The goodness of God is seen by His temporary toleration of our rebellion, and by His actions taken to save us. Acts 17:22-3
(4) But the day of forbearance will end soon!

d. God is the author of repentance--
(1) A man or woman does not repent when they get good and ready—they repent when GOD gets good and ready—Acts 11:18, 2 Tim 2:25, John 6:44-45
(2) The argument over whether a sinner cannot or will not really doesn’t make any difference—the sinner does not until he or she is convicted by the Holy Spirit.

3. Man has a Heart Problem—Rom 2:5

a. His heart is hard and impenitent
b. Each human’s own heart is storing up wrath: In Accordance—the degree of wrath you are saving up for yourself is in accordance with the degree of hardness and impenitence in your heart.

(1) Impenitent heart—a heart that will not repent, and a heart that CANNOT repent – ”…heart incapable of repentance.” (Charles Hodge)
(2) If you put the propositions about salvation to the minds of lost men, they will always, always, always, reject them—1 Cor 2:14, Rom 8:7
(3) The preaching of the Gospel must be accompanied by the convicting, converting, eye-opening, heart-opening power of the Holy Spirit, or men will never believe. God Saves Sinners, we do not save ourselves!

4. Judged According to What we have done—Rom 2:6

a. It does NOT mean that you can earn salvation
b. It DOES mean that when God judges the unsaved, they will be judged according to their deeds.
(1) It is commonly taught that the “sin question” is settled, and only the “Son question” is open, since Christ has died for the sins of all, and that the only sin that condemns a man is the sin of rejecting Christ.
(a) That is true in the sense that only Christ can save you from your sins
(b) This is true in the sense that the blood is available for all mankind
(c) This is true in the sense that rejecting Christ seals one’s doom

(d) But, the application of the blood—propitiation—only takes place through faith (Rom 3:25-26), and those who have not believed have the entire weight of all their sins on their shoulders, unless and until they confess Christ as Savior.
(e) See John 8:24, Rev 21:1-8, 1 Tim 1:9-10, 1 Cor 6:9-11, Matt 7:21-23 and Rev 20:11-15 for more evidence that the lost are judged for all their sins, not just the sin of rejecting Christ
(2) You will not be judged according to what your parents did, but what you did.
(3) Your deeds will be judged, and you will not be judged according to a standard that man might set—60% is passing, or 70% is passing—but according to the absolute standard that God sets—100%
(4) Not only that, but when God sets the 100% standard, He not only judges by outward actions, but by inward motivation. If you do something good for the wrong reason, it counts as a sin!
(5) There won’t be any questioning of the judge’s decision, there won’t be any argument about the sentence, there won’t be any court of appeals.

c. Are there any “good?”
(1) The standard is constant, continual, perfection—Mat 5:17-20, 5:48!!
(2) Can anyone meet this standard?
(3) If you are not a born-again Christian, if you have not been to the Cross for salvation, you will be judged according to your deeds.
(4) Your judgment will not be according to how you compare to me, or to your neighbor, but according to how you compare to the absolute perfection found in the life of Jesus the Messiah, The Son of God and God the Son.
(5) God’s standard is absolute, and there is no fine print.

5. The Conclusion—Final judgment is certain. 2:5-6

a. First, we must set the scene: Rev 20:11-15
(1) The Attendees— If you have not come to Jesus for salvation, and if you leave this life in that state, you will be in that crowd. What will it be like? Who will be there?
(2) The Lord Jesus will sit upon the throne—11, see also John 5:22
(3) All of the Lost will be there—small and great
(4) The books will be opened—no sin will be missed, there will be no clerical errors, and those who do not know the Lord will be judged according to their works, according to a standard of absolute perfection.
(5) Then the book of Life will be consulted as proof that the lost never believed in Christ for salvation..
(6) No one will be missed or overlooked 13

b. All will be judged by their works—There will be protests, Christ told us that—Mat 7:21-23, But the protests will be of no avail
c. Bottom line—Rev 20:15
(1) God’s judgment is GOING TO COME!
(2) This is not an area for end-time arguments—
(3) This is not something you can put off--
(4) This is not something you can avoid--
(5) This IS something you will face-- Judgment Day is coming!
(6) When will it come? Someone is dying right now, somewhere—it just came for them--
(7) When will it come for you?—if you are not one of Christ’s, you need to remember-- Judgment Day is coming! It will come when He comes, or it will come when the death angel comes for you.
Heb 9:27 "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,"

Here Comes The Judge

P Preliminary Points
v God is the only acceptable judge of right and wrong.
v We live in a time of no discernment—everything that is called Christian, and everyone who claims to be Christian—all are accepted as Christians—against all reasoning.
v How then can man ever judge anything? Doesn’t the Bible, in fact, tell us directly not to judge?
v If this is so, it has grave implications, from our personal lives all the way to our legal system!
v But, does this passage teach the absolute unacceptability of human judgment?


1. Human based Judgment is wrong

a. Our Guilt—
(1) If we judge according to our own standards and in our own authority, we are judging ourselves, because we are guilty too—
(2) Rom 3:9-12, Rom 3:23
b. Human religion is useless, because we are all morally and spiritually bankrupt.
c. Man’s ethical systems don’t work
d. Neutral moral codes will not work
e. There is no religious solution to man’s sin
f. There is no political solution to society’s ills

g. What does all this mean in practical terms?
(1) Does this destroy our legal system and make it invalid?
(2) Does this mean that we are never in any circumstance to judge at all?
(3) Judges and police have offendedèAre their judgments and verdicts therefore invalid?
(4) IN every case, NO!

2. God’s judgment is according to Truth—Rom 2:2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

a. This does not prohibit judgment, it regulates it

b. The key—judgment must be in the authority of the Lord and in His wisdom, not ours.
(1) The Contrasts— “…thou judgest…”, “…thou art inexcusable…” (verse 1) “…We are sure—…” “…the judgment of God…” (verse 2)

(2) First, with reference to the legal system:
(a) A properly constituted government is one which has been instituted by God and is responsible to Him to judge and deal with evil doers—Romans 13:1-8.
(b) When the legal system makes judgments, it is doing so under God’s authority, whether that system recognizes the authority of God or not, and whether the officers of the system recognize Him or not. God calls the officers of the government “ministers of God.”
(c) Legal systems have been and are perverted from this standard, but the systems are established by God and they act in His authority. Remember, Paul wrote of the legal system of imperial Rome, which was hardly flawless!
(d) You will never have any officer of any court who is personally qualified to judge in his or her own right—all have sinned—but regardless of the integrity of the people involved, when exercising the authority of the state, they stand in the place of God.

c. Judgment under God’s authority
(1) “…The judgment of God…”—this is the key. We do not personally judge sin, nor do we personally judge sinners—God judges—but He has committed to us the authority to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, to be discussed shortly.
(2) “…Is according to Truth—…”
(a) An absolute Standard—God’s Word—John 12:47-49, Heb 4:12
(b) An all-knowing Judge—Heb 4:13
(c) An Authoritative Judge—Dan 4:34-35
(3) “…them which commit such things…” The word “commit” has to do with practice, lifestyle, habit.

d. The judgment of God is against people who habitually live in the ways depicted in 1:18-32, and even in corrupt legal systems, all or most of the things mentioned there are considered illegal and are prosecuted by the system.

3. What is Valid Judgment

a. Valid judgment is God’s judgment applied by God’s people, using God’s standards and judgment, not our own

(1) Do the “judge not” passages mean that the church may not judge, and that Christians are not allowed to make distinctions between good and evil, right and wrong? Are we to forever remain silent in the face of evil and “just let God take care of it?”

(2) No—First of all, we are commanded by God to judge within the church, among God’s people, and outside the church, among those who preach and teach false doctrine—Mat 18:15-20, 1 Cor 5:12 - 6:6, 1 John 2:18-23, 4:1-6, 2 John 7-11

(3) Secondly, we are commanded by the Lord to reprove and rebuke evil, wherever we find it. When we reprove evil, we are obeying orders.

b. We are not judging according to our reckoning, but we are applying God’s Word according to His reckoning.
c. Some Reproof Verses—Luke 17:3, 1 Cor 5:1-11, Eph 5:11 , 1 Tim 5:20, 2 Tim 4:2, Titus 2:15. These verses clearly show that the Bible tells us we MUST judge. In fact, in the 1 Corinthians passage, Paul severely reprimands the Corinthian church because they are NOT judging a particular individual!

d. When an evildoer tries to put off reproach by reaching for the verse, “Judge not, lest you be judged,” they are trying to divert attention from their evil deeds. When a believer tells another believer to “butt out,” they are asking their brother to disobey Christ’s very instructions in Mat 18:15-20
(1) The phrase, “Judge Not” does not mean that a Christian cannot make personal judgments and apply discernment to a situation; it does NOT mean that the Christian can never reprove evil. This phrase from Matthew 7 tells the Christian “When you judge and make distinctions, do not put yourself in the place of God, and use only His standards.”
(2) Matthew 7 tells us that we must judge everything in accordance with God’s doctrine, not our ideas, and we must judge everything with a right motive.
(3) In fact, Matthew 7 is not telling us to never judge, it is telling us HOW, when, and in what attitude to judge correctly: 5 "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” It does not say—“never judge,” it says, check your attitude and your standards first, “then” deal with the situation.
(4) In the same passage as the “judge not” verse, we are commanded to make a judgment about individual people! In fact, we are commanded to make a judgment of utter importance, and we are to make it on the basis of comparing God’s Truth with the lives of individual humans—Mat 7:15-20
(5) In carrying out our daily lives, we are instructed by the Bible to make all kinds of judgments about people, but we are to do it God’s way, with a humble attitude, and by using God’s Word as our guide.
(6) See also—2 Tim 3:1 –5, 2 John 1:9-11
(7) Personal judgment guidelines
(a) If we judge in the authority of the Lord and according to His standards, we know that we are right, because we know He is right.
(b) There usually does not need to be any soul-searching to discover what Truth might be. In most cases, it is clearly lined up for us in the Bible.
(c) There does not need to be any great contemplation to discover in some hidden place a great set of moral absolutes—they are plainly written in the pages of the Bible, and they work!
(d) A society governed by the moral absolutes taught in the Holy Bible, and permeated with the Person and Presence of the Holy Spirit would be a society that worked.

e. The Bottom Line—The key is to judge according to God’s way of judgment—not by appearances—and to check our own motives through self-examination—John 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Hell On Earth Part 2

1. They did not want to retain God in their knowledge—1:28

a. The Lost Mind is a choice—unless under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the lost mind wants nothing to do with God or the things of God.

(1) Lost minds naturally hate God--Rom 8:7
(2) They are beyond being able to understand God—1 Cor 2:14
(3) Lost minds are by nature Children of Wrath—Ep 2:2-3

(a) They are willing slaves of the “Prince of the power of the air”
(b) They are the “children of disobedience”
b. They could not stand the holiness of God, and they hated His law, so they did not like to retain even the innate knowledge of Him (conscience) that all men have.
c. Lost minds are defined by the foolish mind of Proverbs—Prov 1:7

2. God’s judgment on the lost mindèSince they don’t want God…

a. God Gave them over—
(1) the same term used for handing over a prisoner to his sentence-- This abandonment is a judgment of God— Since they don’t want a mind attuned to spiritual and moral reality, God lets the consequences of evil take their course.

(2) Reprobate (debased) the Greek word refers to a metal that had not passed the test--useless metal because it contained too many impurities
(3) The root word--always used of being approved of God for faithful service—passing the test for a pure metal— 2 Tim 2:15, James 1:12
(4) The word here--means NOT approved, having not passed the test, a mind that is full of impurities.
b. The Wrath of Abandonment (MacArthur)

(1) This abandonment is the result of sinful rejection of God and His Truth, 2 Thes 2:7-12
(2) Other Examples: Prov 1:22-23
(3) Psa 81:11-12
(4) The Lost mind is worthless, not because it is incapable of great and even beautiful things, but because its impurities twist it beyond repair, except through salvation.

3. The Chickens come home to roost

a. The first result of a debased mind—debased lives—to do those things which are not convenient;, are not fitting; (NKJV), to do what ought not to be done. (NIV)
(1) Once a person is given over to a debased, reprobate mind, there is no limit to the sin they will do except the limitations placed on them by their own limited resources--until God decides to cut them off permanently.
(2) Prov 23:6 -7

b. The Second Result of a Debased Mind--A Debased Society

(1) The prime meaning of this passage is the decline of human society in the beginning, as mentioned last week.
(2) This pattern of decline has been repeated many times, particularly in the history of Israel
(3) The supreme lesson-- a debased, degenerate society is the natural result of debased minds who reject God and His way.

c. A debased society is hell on earth—Rom 1:29-1:31, but we should not be surprised.

d. We have rejected God and His ways

(1) God says marriage is one man, one woman, the world says there are no boundaries
(2) God says that men should be the heads of their households and that they should take care of their families--too many men do neither, nor make any effort.
(3) God says Prov 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people....But the sins of America are not a reproach, instead many people openly praise some of the most wicked things we do.

(a) Politicians praise "a woman's right to choose"
(b) Politicians and leaders praise "sexual diversity"
(c) Our government funds so-called "art" which is sacrilegious, pornographic and just plain sick, and many people applaud our open-mindedness
(d) The largest entertainment company in America openly laughs at traditional values, and most believers say, "ho hum"
(e) One of the preachers at the Heath High funeral said one of the most profound things I have ever heard said about abortion-- "We slaughter children by the millions, why should be surprised when they begin to slaughter one another?"

e. Woe is pronounced on a society where everything is upside down, and our society is just like That—Isa 5:20

3. The Sin of Toleration—1:32

a. We Can Make No Peace With Wickedness—Jer 6:14 “….They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace…”

b. Thoughts—
(1) One of the nicest things some people think you can say about a man is that he is tolerant. Tolerance is a highly praised attribute in our society.
(2) One of the meanest things you can say about a man in our society is that he is intolerant—an intolerant man is thought to be just plain ignorant, bigoted, and stupid.
(3) As with most lies, there is a degree of Truth in this concept of society. We should be gracious and tolerant in small things, and we must make allowances for people in some cases and in some areas. We need to be ever ready to be merciful and compassionate.
(4) However, this stress on toleration is a lie—when it comes to the Christian being tolerant of sin and of societal disintegration, we are NOT to be tolerant of evil, and we may make no peace with evil.
(5) If we take no stand, we really have taken a stand—we have declared to the world that we do not care, and we have tacitly approved wickedness.
(6) As this passage in Romans 1 has condemned the sin of mankind, as this passage has told us of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against the sin of man, as God has specified in detail the sins with which He is most displeased, we come now to the saddest sin of all—toleration of sin by people who know better.

c. How do we tolerate sin?

(1) We tolerate sin when we speak in favor of it, or at least tolerantly of it.
(2) We tolerate sin when we say nothing—Adam for example—Ezek 3:18-19
(3) We tolerate sin when we do nothing.

d. Knowing—Those who commit such things— Eph 4:31, Titus 3:3, 1 Cor 1:11, 1 Cor 3:3, 2 Cor 12:20, Gal 5:20.
(1) Through conscience, nature, and the teachings of Godly people, lost man knows what is wrong, he just ignores it.
(2) "...Are worthy of death..." lost man also knows that he is condemned, he just does not want to face it.