Repayment

Amen. Let's take our Bibles now and turn to Revelation chapter 22. Again, let's read verses 6 through 21. And he said to me, these words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon.

Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said to me, You must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book.

Worship God. And he said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches.

I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. The spirit and the bride say come. And let the one who hears say come. And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book.

If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of the prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in this book He who testifies to these things says surely I am coming soon Amen Come Lord Jesus The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen.

Father, now as we come to your word, we pray that you would help us. Again, help us, Lord, not just to learn something more, but to be changed and transformed by your word as the Holy Spirit brings it to us. We thank You, Lord, for Your grace and mercy to us in Jesus. And Father, we pray that You would again remind us how we ought to be in this world.

Thank You again, Lord, for this book. We thank You for the time we have spent in it. Now, Father, as we consider these exhortations, I pray that, again, that You would use them to call us to obedience to the Lord Jesus. We pray this in His name. Amen. you stop by your friend's house to pick him up for work, and as you're sitting there just sipping some coffee with him, he says, look, before we go, I need to talk to my kids.

And so he calls his kids over, his two boys and his daughter. Before they head off to school, he wants to talk to them, and so he takes the two boys and he says this to them, boys, I really want you to make life miserable for your teacher today. Whatever it takes, do it. Be disruptive as you can. When you're on the playground, I want you to pick fights with at least two of your friends.

I want to hear tonight that you have been the worst kids that ever have been on the playground. Turning to his daughter, he says, now, honey, be the sweetest girl you can today. I want you to obey without question. And that new girl, Mary, she's having a hard time fitting in. I want you to be really kind to her and help her to be welcome. Whatever happens today, the only thing I want to hear when I come home tonight is, you've been a good girl.

Now, what would you think of that guy? Think what? What is he, schizophrenic or something? What's going on here? Well, we have that problem right in our text this morning. in verses 11 and 12 of Revelation 22. Listen to what it says and then we'll look at it.

Let the evildoer still do evil and the filthy still be filthy and the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy Behold I am coming soon bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. Wait a minute. Here you find basically two commands. A command to be wicked and a command to be holy. Don't let the let the throw you off.

These are commands. wicked you be wicked filthy you be filthy righteous you do right holy you be holy what is going on well let's review for a moment we're in the epilogue of this book this tremendous book that we've spent some time in we find ourselves right in the middle at this point in the epilogue right in the middle of five exhortations or five commandments each one connected to a reference to Jesus' return. The first was this. In light of this book, in light of what you've learned in this book, and in light of Jesus' return, keep or obey the words of this prophecy.

The second was, in light of all that you've heard and seen in this book, and in light of Jesus' return, worship God. Now we come to the third exhortation. A command to be obeyed in light of what we've seen in this book and in light of the return of Jesus. And God commands his people to be holy. So here's the third exhortation. Be holy.

Because you saw God on his throne and the Lamb who was slain opened the scroll, because you saw the four horsemen and the 144,000, because of the beast rising from the ocean and because of the new Jerusalem, you must be holy. So that's the exhortation for us. In light of everything that we've seen in this book, in light of the return of Jesus, you must be holy.

Now, let's consider the workings of this command. Let's consider the workings of this command. My younger brother, Andy, was one who always wanted to figure out how stuff ran. And so he would get like my mom's hair dryer and take it apart. Or he would get a radio and take it apart Or he would take a lawnmower engine and just take it apart He was always taking apart stuff because he always wanted to see how it worked He wanted to see how everything worked.

Well, let's get inside this commandment and see how it works, okay? What's going on here? In order for that to happen, we've got to see the workings of this commandment. It begins with the prophet Daniel. Now, if you haven't noticed, this sounds like something from Daniel 12. So let's turn back to that.

Daniel chapter 12. You heard it just a few minutes ago. Daniel 12. Let's pick it up at verse 8. I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, O my Lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?

He said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. God tells Daniel that in the latter days, and as we've gone through the book, we all know, the latter days are not just these terrible days right at the end. the latter days were all the days from Jesus' ascension to Jesus' return.

That in the latter days, some who profess to be members of God's covenant community will not respond to God's commands, while others will. Those who are wicked will not understand, and they will continue to be wicked. Those who are wise will understand, and as you read on, they will shine like the stars in the firmament at the resurrection. So now, as we come here, we see Daniel's prophecy is fulfilled.

And so John says, go ahead, evildoers, and do evil. And you filthy, get more filthy. You righteous ones, do right. And you holy ones, be holy. Alright? So since this is the fulfillment of it, John is saying, go ahead.

This is the fulfillment. Wicked people, go on. You don't understand. You never will. go on in your wickedness. Now, remember that John is addressing this to whom? Remember, this whole book is a letter written to the church. churches in Asia Minor, those seven churches, in order to tell them how they ought to live in their world and thus all the congregations that followed, this is addressed to us.

This is addressed to all the congregations that profess Jesus as Lord. He's saying, you who promote an acceptable immorality among God's people, continue to do that. But you who are righteous, you pursue what's right. You religious people who don't care for the Gospel, keep on going. But you others, pursue the good news. God says this to any congregation who professes Jesus Christ.

Now look, this shouldn't come as a surprise to us. There are whole bodies of the so-called church today who are sanctioning, who are giving approval to homosexual marriage. Right? they see nothing wrong with people living together outside the marriage covenant who compromise the free grace of the gospel who are now saying things like you know god justifies you not on the basis of just what jesus did but on what you do there are those who refuse to draw the line in discipline this is addressed to them all right go on keep doing that but you who are righteous, you pursue righteousness.

Now, there's something else going on here. Let's expand our view a little bit more. These words are not just fulfilled, but they actually accomplish the rebellion and the righteousness that they describe. When God speaks the good news in Christ, what happens? It always happens in belief, right? Right?

When the gospel is spoken to people, people, everybody believes, right? You're saying this is a trick question, isn't it? Let's turn back to Isaiah 6 for a moment. Turn back to Isaiah 6. We all know this chapter. This is the classic chapter on the holiness of God where Isaiah's in the temple and he sees the Lord high and lifted up.

And you remember what happens. He looks at himself and he says, Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips. Right? Because he sees how holy God is And I live among a people of unclean lips And an angel takes some tongs and purges his lips And then then what do we read And I heard verse 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send and who will go for us?

And I said, here am I. Send me. Now, this is where everybody's excited, right? This is where God calls someone to preach. And he says, preaching. That's what I want to do.

Send me! I will preach! And then comes the commission. Look at what God says. And He said, Go and say to this people, Keep on hearing, but do not understand. Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.

Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand Stand with their hearts and turn and be healed. Then I hear Isaiah saying, How long, O Lord, do you want me to do that? Preaching. You hear what God's saying? Preach good news to these people and make them blind.

Make their ears deaf. Go and preach and make them rebellious. Isn't that what happens? He shared the gospel, and somebody, what? Hardens his heart. Because he heard the gospel.

Not in spite of it, but because of it, you see. And look, Jesus picks up this same theme in Matthew chapter 13, where he tells these parables, a series of parables. And in Matthew 13, beginning in verse 10, Then the disciples came and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? And he answered them, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. indeed in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says and then he quotes from his version of Isaiah 6 you will indeed hear but never understand you indeed see but never perceive for this people heart is grown dull and with their ears they can barely hear and their eyes they have closed lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.

And then we come to the book of Revelation, and what does God say to each one of those churches? And to us, what does He say to every one of those churches? Let him, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This will spur some to hardness. You see? God displays His glory for the purpose of hardening people's hearts.

What happened in Egypt? Do you remember? Ten plagues fell upon. Ten plagues. Ten awful plagues fell upon the people of Egypt. And what did they do?

Oh, let them go! We don't want to go through this anymore! Isn't that what they did? No. What happened? In light of that, Pharaoh hardens his heart at the display of the amazing power of God.

He what? He hardens his heart. And we saw that in this book, did we not? You remember the trumpets of chapters 8 and 9? Where we saw that God gives us a perspective on all the tragedies that are happening in our world today. And you would think, and remember, we're going through chapters 8 and 9.

That was right around when that tsunami hit Japan. And you would think that people would cry out to God because of the things that are happening in this world. But what do we see in chapter 9, verses 20 and 21? After he describes these plagues, which again are modeled after the plagues of Egypt, he says this in verse 20, The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immoralities or their deaths you see the word goes out and people harden their hearts But for others for others the book will produce holiness and righteousness God judges the compromisers, that is the congregations who want to go their way with hardness.

They want to go their way, so He sends the Word and it hardens their hearts. I want you to think about this today. The call to return to the gospel, oftentimes, will meet with hardness of heart and a refusal to obey God. In fact, they will turn on you and say, you are not the Christian in this thing. You are bigoted. You do not have the love of God.

But others will be awakened by the call. others will the call that hardens some hearts will awaken others you see in those early years of my children's lives which now seems so long ago i used to call them in the morning to get out of bed and get ready for school and they can tell you that when i called them to get up in the morning it was a rather distinctive way it was purposely annoying. And when I would call them to get up and get ready for school, for some that call would elicit an okay dad and then a deeper desire for sleep and a burrowing under the covers. That's what that call would do.

But for others, it would wake them up and they'd come down the stairs. So when this command goes out, when this command goes out, let the evildoer still do evil and the filthy still be filthy and the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy. Some will harden their hearts and they will do just that. But others will be awakened to righteousness and holiness. and so when this book is read when this book is preached it will harden your heart or it will move you to holiness so the command goes out let the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy That's the workings of that command.

Now consider the nature of this command. What is righteousness and holiness? Is there a difference? Let's think about that. Righteousness means to conform to God's standard or to conform to His commandments. To live in conformity to His commandments.

To actually obey. That's righteousness. And if you want to see that, look at Deuteronomy 6 for a moment with me. Deuteronomy 6. Look at verse 24 and 25. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always, that He might preserve us alive as we are this day.

And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God as he has commanded us. It will be for our righteousness. We will be righteous if we obey. So if we line up, righteousness is lining up with God's commandments. Righteousness happens when you obey. Righteousness is living in conformity to God's standard.

Way back in 1990, I happened to be visiting a church in Wisconsin. and I was talking to the leadership. God has given me opportunities to talk to the leadership of different churches, and they were asking me questions, and I asked them questions. I said, hey, what do you do in church discipline situations? They go, what? I said, church discipline. And they said, what do you mean?

So I turned to Matthew 18 and went through that, and I said, look, the problems you're telling me about means that you have to do the hard work of going one-on-one, two or three and then taking it to the church and then expelling a person if they proved to be stubborn what about church discipline so we could never do that well tell me about that oh you know that you know what that would do that would just drive our problems underground now the first thing i can say i don't remember much but i remember the thought that went through my head at that moment oh i'm sorry you got a better idea than jesus does as to how to run his church But the point I trying to make here is this That congregation is not living in conformity to the commandments of Christ They weren obeying what Jesus clearly said they must do They were unrighteous. They weren't living in conformity. They weren't lining up their church life with the commandments of Christ.

So righteousness is living according to commandments. Obedience. Well, what's holiness? Holiness at its root has the idea of separate or to set apart. To be honest or to be precise, it means to be separated from something and separated to something. It's not just separation from something.

It's separation from this and separated to that. Okay? Now, to be holy, in one sense, a person or a thing is called holy when something acts upon it and so accomplishing that set-apartness. It's being acted upon. It does nothing. To be holy, you don't do anything, but something has acted on you and makes you holy.

For example, look at Leviticus for a moment. Leviticus chapter 8. I don't know. You're all there and I'm not. I know that. It's just that when you preach, like all the books get shuffled.

They're not in the right order. All right. Look at Leviticus 8, verse 30. Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments and also on his sons and his sons' garments. And so he consecrated or made holy Aaron and his garments and his sons and his sons' garments with them. All right, now, Aaron and the garments they wore at that moment are now called holy.

What have those garments done? Nothing. What have the boys done What has Aaron done Nothing They been sprinkled with the blood and the anointing oil and now they and their garments are set apart from this to that Well, what does it mean to have a holy garment? Like, when he hangs that garment back up, does it mean that that garment can boast and say, I'm better than you guys?

No. What it means is this. Those garments now are separated from ordinary, everyday use to be used exclusively in the worship of God. That means that Aaron and his boys cannot go back to their tent that day and wear those garments while they dig the latrine behind the tent. Can't be used for that. You've got all your other garments for doing that kind of work.

These garments have been set apart to be used exclusively for God. You see the same thing in the New Testament. For example, in 1 Peter 1, verse 2, we read this, to those who are elect exiles according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification, there's our word, in the sanctification of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood.

Now look, the work of the Holy Spirit sets us apart from the rest of humanity. We are now a group of holy people exclusively devoted to God. No one else is that way. Only those who've been set apart by the Holy Spirit. And notice, for obedience. No obedience has taken place yet, but they are counted as holy.

Alright? So that's the first sense of holy. At other times, someone is called holy because he does do certain things. Because he does obey. And he's set apart from sin. Look at Romans 6, verse 19.

You see that there. So in one sense, we're holy. before we do any obedience, but in another sense, we're holy after we obey or as we continue to obey. Romans 6, verse 19. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification or to holiness.

That is you become slaves to righteousness That is you obey more and more And what does it lead to Holiness Okay So the first idea of holiness is separated in principle I'm holy in God's eyes. Now, you can see I'm holy as I'm separated from sin in practice. Now, after reading this book, what should happen to this congregation. Remember, this is addressed to congregations, not just individuals.

Well, first of all, we should have a better understanding of the world as it is. Remember, this book describes, gives us heaven's perspective on what's going on around us now. And also, it tells us what yet has to happen. And because of that, we have a greater awareness of the weapons of persecution and seduction. I don't know about you, but after studying through this book, I have a lot better understanding of those two great weapons that are revealed in this book.

Persecution and seduction. I understand now those are the two weapons that are used against us. We have a greater awareness of the dragon and his cohorts, the two beasts. We have a greater awareness of the real meaning behind all the tragedies and disasters of this world. And so we should be better prepared to resist the enemy, not compromising when hardship shows up, and not being seduced in the midst of ease and prosperity.

So after going through this book, then, after going through this book, we should have an increased desire for righteousness that ought to lead us to a greater experience of holiness. that's what this book is about. That we become more obedient, more and more and more. Let the righteous do more right. And let the holy be holy. So that now as we grow in our obedience, because we know what's going on, because now we have heaven's perspective, now we can stand it.

Now we can withstand and we can be righteous and experience more holiness. That's what this book is about. finally consider the urgency of this command we've looked at the of this command, the nature of this command. Now look at the urgency of this command, verse 12. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done.

It's urgent because Jesus is at the door. It's urgent because Jesus is at the door. Imagine you're sitting in the room, right? You're waiting for somebody, and you look up and you see the doorknob turning. They're just about ready to come in. That's the picture you need right now.

You're looking up and Jesus is turning the doorknob. Now, someone says, oh, wait a minute. It says soon, and that was 2,000 years ago. Soon here means quickly. Some of your versions have quickly. After the ascension of Jesus, there's nothing left on God's calendar except one thing, Jesus coming again, returning in victory.

That's the only thing left on God's calendar. It can occur suddenly. It can occur quickly. It can occur at any moment. Guys, you know what that's like? You know what that's like when your wife has been gone for a week?

You know she's coming back Friday. And on Friday morning, you are scampering around trying to get the house at least a little bit presentable before she gets home. Right? I'll never forget the time Becca came home a day early. that was not a good thing. What's the point? The point is this is urgent.

Jesus could show up at any time. You want to pursue righteousness and you want to be holy because Jesus is coming back. And then he goes on to say it's urgent because Jesus comes to judge. More to the point, it's urgent because Jesus is holy and he's coming back to judge now remember that Jesus comes to judge and our works will be presented to him the book of Revelation doesn skirt around that It says our works are going to be there Does that mean we have to work for our final salvation, that we're hanging in limbo and hoping that our good outweighs our bad?

No. Remember Revelation 5? Remember Revelation 5, verses 9 and 10? And they sang a new song saying, worthy are you, speaking to the Lamb, to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

No, the only one worthy to stand in God's presence is the Lamb. But that Lamb has purchased a people. Who are those who are going to have confidence before God. Those have been purchased by the Lamb and whose names are in the Lamb's book of life. But the question still has to be asked, why are you saved anyway? For what end does the Lamb purchase you?

Why does God save anybody? And most people today would say, so I can go to heaven. That's just one reason. Here's another one. So you would be holy. That's why.

That's why Jesus died. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 7. For God has not called us for impurity but in holiness. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verses 8 through 10. But share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God who saved us and called us to a holy calling. not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace which he gave us in Jesus Christ before the ages God saved us to be holy now friend let me say something to you if you claim to be a Christian and you not concerned about holiness you got to look at your life and you got to look at your faith If holiness just isn't part of it, I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm going to heaven, it doesn't matter, it does matter.

Because the fruit of salvation is righteousness and holiness and the judge is coming. All right? No holiness, no heaven. He has saved us and his salvation will not be ineffective in any of his people. We will be holy. And those who have been purchased will not compromise in the heat of persecution or prove unfaithful in the face of the allurements of seduction.

Jesus comes to judge and he will not overlook those who have given themselves to the whore or who have denied him before the beasts so understand the urgency of this command Jesus is coming Jesus is coming so the command goes out the command goes out the contents of this book goes out the fact that Jesus is returning, is before you, will this book harden your heart or will it awaken you to righteousness and holiness? What is it? What has happened to you?

This study, we've spent 61 sermons now on this book. Alright? This study is going to prove worthless if the only thing that has been heightened is your curiosity or your confidence in defending your particular theological view of this book or your satisfaction that you understand a little bit more of the Bible. It wasted if that all that happens But you not wasted your time if this book helps you prepare to give a good account of yourself to Jesus.

It has not been wasted if you have a hunger for righteousness and a thirst for holiness. You see, that's what this book is about. Do you want to be holy? then be armed and be ready with what the book says and pursue righteousness and holiness. Father, thank you for your word. We're thankful for its penetrating analysis of our hearts and the world around us.

Father, as we've gone through this book, we have seen, pictured in these unforgettable pictures the fact that there are those who will compromise, who just for the sake of survival will compromise their faith. There are those who will prove disloyal to Jesus by getting sucked up into the prosperity and the allurements of stuff and entertainment and everything else that goes with it. But Father, you've given us this book so that we can withstand compromise and withstand seduction and we can be holy people.

God, help us to live as holy people, the holy people of God. Father, don't let this study be wasted on any of us. But Lord, as we read this book and reread this book and reread it again, building us a fire for greater obedience and more holiness. Thank you again for your word. Make us that kind of people, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.