Just and right is He
Key Passage: Deuteronomy 32:4
Date: June 7, 2024
Turn your Bibles, if you would, to Deuteronomy chapter 32.
You are going to really just use this verse as a springboard into the subject of “Just and right is He.” I want that phrase to be stuck in your head throughout life’s problems and tribulations and whatnot. It will be just stuck there: Just and right is He. Just and right.
That little phrase, we can look at it for just a bit this morning. In Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse number four, won’t you find that? Would you say, “Amen?” Good deal. And sound like you’re there. Are you still adjusting a little bit there, Brother Richard? Get me. Okay, I thought so. My voice is changing, amen? Yeah. I’m thirteen all over again.
In Deuteronomy 32, verse number four, would you please stand if you are able to, to show the word of God respect? That is why we do that. Deuteronomy 32, if you are held, you cannot, we understand that, of course. But Deuteronomy 32, verse number four, right there, the Bible, he says, “He is the rock.”
“His work is perfect, for all His ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.”
Would you say that last little phrase with me? Here we go: “Just and right is He.” Would you say it one more time, please? Here we go: “Is He.” I hope that sticks in our hearts this morning.
Would you pray with me that God would do that? Father, we do come. Lord, I’m not a good preacher. I know that, Lord, but You have placed Your justice on my heart, my mind. I believe this is what You want. Lord, You know, I’ve struggled about how to present it. So, Father, would You empower it? Lord, I know I’m not worthy on my own. Lord, would You look at me through Jesus? And Father, would You say, in Your Spirit working in a great way because of Jesus? Father, would You burn this truth in our heads, Lord, in our heart, that You’re just and that You’re right? Father, when the devil comes and leads us astray, would You remind us that You’re just and You’re right? Lord, use this morning to that end, and we’ll thank You for what You do. Father, I ask for this in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.
The man that penned this, the man that God chose to pen His words, his name was Moses. Moses is an old man at this point. In fact, he is 120 years old. He is about to die. He knows he is about to die, and he is writing these last few words. Much of the book of Deuteronomy is that, these last chapters. This is his last song; we call it one of the songs of Moses. Moses has lived a long life. He has seen so much throughout his life, and yet at the end of his days, about to die, Moses is writing, and he says, “Just and right is He.”
Moses is an interesting man. You can really separate—we are studying about him in detail on Wednesday night, but overview—you can study and see Moses’ life in three periods, three 40-year periods; he is 120 now.
His first 40 years, he, of course, was born. I think he was raised a little bit by his biological family, but then many years he spent underneath Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s daughter that adopted him.
In the next 40 years, he spent—really, he had to run because he accidentally—no, not accidentally, I shouldn’t say that—but he got fit of anger; he killed the man. He had to run and hide for 40 years. At the beginning of those 40 years, everybody knew about him. Someone said he found out he was somebody, and then the next 40 years he found out he was a nobody. He had to kind of be in bondage and captivity, if you will, just keeping sheep in the backside of the desert for 40 years.
Then the next 40 years, God showed him that God uses nobody to do God’s work, and God used him to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt and got them ready to enter into the Promised Land.
So I am saying Moses saw a lot, just so many different things he saw. Moses knew what it was like to be in a home, very poor; they were slaves in that country of Egypt. He knew what it was like to be raised in a shack of a home and not have anything, having hand-me-downs, because he was raised, I think, the first bit of his life there. But not only that, Moses knew what it was like to be raised in a palace, where everybody treated you like royalty and served you. Moses knew about all that.
Then Moses knew what it was like to be a shepherd back there with a bunch of stinky sheep. It is all you hear all day long, you know. Moses not only knew that, but he knew how to lead—we think about a million and a half, maybe two million Jewish people out of Egypt. He knew what it was being a leader. And after all that said and done, at the end of his life, the end of his days, about to die, Moses said, “Just and right is He.”
Moses had seen so much. He had been through so very, very much. Moses had seen God deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, out of bondage. Remember the ten plagues that God brought on them? Moses is right in the middle of all that. Moses is a part of it when God split the Red Sea and they marched through on dry ground.
Remember Pharaoh and his army? They followed after them. That great army was a world power at that time, most profane on the face of the earth, and they were chasing them on the chariots down through the Red Sea, and it was dry, with the two walls of water on the left and one on the right. Moses saw that water come down on the army. He saw the clothes and the remnant wash upon the edge of the Red Sea. He saw the chariot wheels and all these things fall off. And at the end of the day, Moses said, “Just and right is He.”
I think about it. A 120-year-old man had seen so much in his lifetime. At one point, Moses was—he was really the judge of all Israel. From sunup to sundown, he stood and he judged the people. Can you imagine all the domestic violence cases he heard? I mean, you get two million people, you are going to have a lot of them. The murders and the cheating and the fornication of all—he has seen it all. And at the end of the day, this man says, “Just and right is He.”
I want you just kind of let that sink in. Don’t lose me. Hang on everywhere. Think about it. We are trying to build a little foundation here. He saw so much.
When the Israelites went through problems, they would typically complain. “Well, that’s Moses’ fault. He is the one that brought us out here in the desert to be killed.” It was all Moses’ fault. Moses, the Bible says, knew the Lord face to face. Not sing, but he knew Him face to face. The Lord and Moses sometimes would talk things over. It is pretty amazing.
Sometimes the Lord said, “Moses, I am going to wipe them all out. I am sick and tired of them.” And Moses prayed and said, “Lord, don’t You do that. What is everybody going to say about it?” (Exodus 32). And the Lord said, “All right, Moses.”
Sometimes God would send a plague, and there was a plague, and they were all dying from this plague, and God said, “Hey Moses, go get a serpent and put it on a brass pole and hold it up. Whoever looks up there at that serpent, they will look and live.” And boy, it spared them. That represented Jesus one day taking sin on Him. Brass stands for judgment, and Jesus went up on the cross, and He took our sin on Him, and He took the judgment. If you look to Jesus, you will live. Amen.
I am saying Moses saw so much in his 120 years of life. I do not know—I have not followed through—I am not sure the oldest person I have ever met. Anybody ever met someone that was 100 years old? Anybody? Oh, we got a good number. Good number. Anybody 105? Oh, we got a couple of those. Anybody 110? All right, good. I was getting started to worry about that. Goodness gracious. Wow, that is amazing. But imagine 120 years old, and Moses, at the end of the day, says, “Just and right is He.”
Young people, young people right here, all these young people—look up here just for everybody. Let me talk for just a second. If you are not careful, there will come a time when you will doubt the justice of God. Now you say, “What do you mean by that, doubt the justice of God?” You will see some kid in school. And the honest truth is, you know him. You know he is a rat, if you will. And yet, ma’am, when the teachers come around, he smiles and he brings an apple and he puts it on the teacher’s desk. And he looks like Mr. Wonderful. Or maybe it is a girl. She looks like she is perfect, you know, but really behind the teacher’s back, she is the worst girl in the school, you know. And you say, “Well, that is not fair.”
If you are not careful, you start questioning, “Is God really just and right?” That might quite be that scenario for you, older people, amen, you know. But there are scenarios like that, and I just want to say for a minute this morning, never doubt the justice of God. “Just and right is He.” And Moses had lived a long time and he said, friend, don’t you doubt it. Don’t you doubt it. Hey, “Just and right is He.”
Sometimes you will look out and you will see someone that just curses ever since—it has a curse word in it. They do drugs and they sell drugs and they just live a wicked, sinful life, and they make questions sometimes: “Well, how could they drive such a nice car and look so good?” And you begin to question the justice of God. I am here to tell you this morning, no matter what you see, no matter what you think, at the end of the day, “Just and right is He.” He is always just. He is always right. Friend, hang on a little bit. Never doubt the justice of God.
His justice is typically a little slower than I want it to be. I mean, I see someone just living a wicked, sinful life, hurting other people, and I want to say, “Get them, God!” Anybody out there like that? Be honest now, come on. God’s justice is typically much slower than man’s justice, but His is much surer and much truer than man’s justice.
But here is a problem while you are waiting. You think, “Man, somebody needs to do something about it. God, why aren’t You doing something about it?” And this time, before God does do something about it, Satan will come to you and say, “Hey, God is not just. He is not a righteous God.” And at the end of the day, Moses said, “No, no, no, no, no. Just and right is He.”
Look over, if you will, in Proverbs chapter 11. I want you to see this verse. I like this verse because I have written out in the margin of my Bible with my pen. I just wrote out there: “Wicked politicians.” You might know what I am talking about right there. You say, “Man, they got a network. They get by with murder. They are above the law. Nobody is ever going to put them in jail. Nobody is ever going to do anything to them.” Anybody ever think those thoughts? Man, they cover each other’s back. Nobody is ever going to get on to them—wicked politicians.
This is encouragement to me. Not that I hate an individual—I do not. I hate the wicked sometimes where they are hurting a whole lot of people. They are killing people, you understand? Not an individual, but the wicked. There is no wrong with that, by the way. The devil is the one behind it, and I hate him. But those wicked folk, not as an individual, but those wicked folk that are doing harm—because I love those people, I hate what they are doing. They are hurting them. And there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. This sometimes encourages me just to touch.
I want you to see a verse that sometimes helps me out. Look in Proverbs chapter 11, verse number 21. The Bible there says, “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished.” They can have their networks. They can work their schemes. They can have their backyard deals nobody knows about. Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. Hey, they can look good on CNN and wherever they want to, but at the end of the day, though join in hand in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. Amen for that.
But the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
I think about David, old David in Psalm 37. He said, “I’ve been young, now I’m old.” Somebody testify right there. Anybody want to testify on that right there, you know? He said, “But I’ve been young, I’ve been old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.” Friend, at the end of the day, the people that watch and see that say, “Hey, just and right is He.” Hang on, friend. Not all said and done. God’s just God. He’s not going to just sweep it under the rug. He knows what is going on in our day and time. I think about our patriots that were defending our embassy in Benghazi, and people just could do something about it. I would not lift a finger to take care of them. Well, that bothers me a little bit. Anybody out there? He said, “Well, that just kind of swept under the rug. Nothing will be done about it.” An old friend, at the end of the day, “Just and right is He.” Amen. Help me out a little bit. Y’all there this morning?
I am not talking about hate. No, no, we do not hate people. But the sin and the shame they are doing, listen, friends, you ought to hate that sin. I am not putting a face per se on all these things. No, no, no. I like for them to get saved. They need Jesus Christ is what they need. But that sin, it is all right to hate sin, friends, because so often it hurts those people we love. And I am trying to defend the justice of God a little bit this morning. The Bible says, it says there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. You say, “Well, they just got Bible. They go to bed at nighttime. They are not worried about it a bit in the world.” Nor according to God’s word, the Bible says the wicked, they do not have any peace. They put their head on the pillow, and they are worried stiff about it. They put their head on the pillow, and they have got no peace about them. Peaceful to the world, and the world may promote them like that, but they do not have true peace. The Bible says there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. Friend, God is a just God. “Just and right is He.”
I think about King David. King David, well way before he was a king, just a shepherd boy. And remember he killed Goliath? He did not do anything wrong. In fact, Saul and others should have taken care of business, and they were not. And David, he got that slingshot out there, and he—praise the Lord—man had a good shot. Hit old Goliath right there. I always think it is interesting. The Bible says he fell down on his face flat. I think David, he would be a little bit there, but when God said, “I go ahead and thump that thing in there a little bit harder,” and when big old, tall, about 10-foot-tall Goliath fell down, boom, I think that is when the rock went all the way in there and killed him, amen. Read it, check it out sometimes. That is what happened in the Bible.
But, oh, Saul got jealous. Remember Saul got jealous? And the women started saying, “Hey, Saul has killed his thousand, but David is ten thousand.” Old, old, old green-eyed monster of jealousy took over Saul. He was narcissistic anyway. Check it out, study it out sometimes.
And old David is out there running in the wilderness. He had not done anything wrong. He is hiding in caves with Dolovan, and he is out there in the wilderness of Zin. And man, he cannot even go home and have a good meal. He has to hide out everywhere. He could not even see his mom and dad; had to go hide them over Moab so they would not get killed in it at all. And I am sure David, I am sure David at times said, “Well, where is God’s justice?” “I am out here running. Next step I take, he is going to kill me.”
Friend, you check it out. You check it out at the end of the picture. David did not do it. Praise the Lord, old David did not do it, but the Lord allowed, if you will, justice to be served. And Saul, his life is taken in battle. And David ends up king over the throne of Israel for 40 years. And listen, 3,000 years later today, you look at Israel, and they say, “Hey! Great King David.” You look at the flag of Israel and you see the Star of David there. He is their national hero, David. That is all he is looked down on. Friend, I am just saying at the end of the day, “Just and right is He.” “Just and right is He.” Never doubt it. There are going to be times you live if you question, “Wonder if God is really a just God?” Friend, at the end of the day, “Just and right is He.” He is always just.
Brother, could we add just a little bass here, Brother Richard? Maybe just a little bit here. I feel like I sound different out there than I do here, amen, trying to get a match of my brain. I mean, I am hillbilly here, I am hillbilly there. You know, I am trying to match the two of them, you know, together. But trying to get that—we are adjusting our P.A. out a little bit. But just the justice: “Just and right is He.”
Anybody ever bother you that they rewrite our history books? You know, someone said the most unjust or the most biased thing about the news or books is not necessarily what they report or what they do not report. And it is amazing how conveniently they are dropping out a lot of the Christian heritage we have in America, where some think, “Well, we were never a Christian nation.” You do not talk about it. And, friend, hear what I am saying: “Well, where is justice out of it?” They will rewrite where people actually believe that we were never a Christian nation. Friend, they can rewrite these books, but they cannot rewrite books up in heaven. And the true history books are told up in heaven; they cannot change those books. “Just and right is He.”
You say, “Well, they rewrite the science books, and they are teaching our little ones that we came from monkeys.” I know that is not true, because if I had an extra tail or hand around, I would keep it, amen. I mean, you know, I need it, I will tell you for sure now, you know. And, but they rewrite that. By the way, Hitler used to say, “If you say something long enough and loud enough, anybody will believe it.” And you say, “Well, there is a justice when they are promoting that false philosophy, a theory.” They cannot prove it. I can prove it. This world is not billions of years old. They have been out of it with you. You just look at the sun, how it is burning up. You will go back 6,000, 10,000 years, no problem. You go back thousands of millions and billions of years, we have a problem. And on and on and on.
But here is what I am saying, friend: they are teaching that. You say, “Where is the justice out of that?” This is my niece. She may not have done everything proper, but I have got to tell you what my niece did. She was in a public college, and the professor was up teaching about evolution, and he was making fun, laughing at those in the classroom that believed in the Bible and creation. And you are literally just laughing at him, and he had an IQ so, you know, he could kind of promote his false philosophy, you know, and put down creationists and Bible people, and Bible-believing people. And my niece probably should not have—you understand sometimes it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission, you know what I am saying, you know? And she probably should not have, but I guess, and I would not do it this way, honestly, but I guess he had a little weight on him, whatnot, and it just slipped out of her mouth real loud in front of the whole class: “Well, laughing up, Patty, but judgment day is coming one day.”
I am not saying everything was proper and correct in that, but I am saying that man knows judgment day is coming one time. And you even take those people that say there is no God, “I am an atheist.” You let that guy or that lady get hit by a car, and the next thing out of their mouth is, “God help me.” And they know at the end of the day they do not have peace because they know there is a God and they have got a faith God. And the Bible says there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
I am simply saying there is justice going on, friend. It might take a little while, but they are going to stand before God one day. “Just and right is He.” Don’t you let the news and everything you see around you—don’t let it get you so discouraged and so turning and bitter against the Lord. No, at the end of the day, “Just and right is He.” Don’t you worry; justice will be served. By the way, I would get it all wrong, and they would get it all wrong. Praise the Lord, He won’t get it any wrong. “Just and right is He.” He is the judge. He is the one we will all answer to one day. Don’t worry too much about those that manipulate in life. You say, “Pastor, my ex makes everybody think I am the worst person of all the world.” There is a just God. He knows what is going on. You say, “Everybody in the workplace thinks I am the bad guy, and I am actually the one that tries to get the job done. I am not trying to—I am the one working. Everybody thinks I am the laziest person in the world.” Hey, don’t worry too much about what everybody else thinks about. “Just and right is He.” I go to family reunions, and they think I am the oddball. They think I am mean and hateful, and they have got issues with me, and they do not know the truth of what really happened there. Hey, I am saying “Just and right is He.”
Oh, Joseph. Joseph, his dad favored him. I think that is very unwise of his dad. Joseph is just a boy. And his dad made him that coat of many colors. And brothers, the Bible says, hated him. And the brothers, some of them wanted to kill him. And I am the oldest boy, Reuben. He said, “No, no, we cannot kill him.” And we will put him in the pit down there. And they were—he was planning on coming back and taking him out. But he was in their own crowd. Didn’t stand up like he should have. And you know the story: they sold him for 20 pieces of silver.
And Joseph, he is over there in Egypt there. And he just starts off as just a boy, serving in Potiphar’s house, a slave. And then God blessed him, and the Lord was with him, and God raised him up in that house. And that became the leader of the house. Potiphar—or Joseph is in charge. You know the story. Potiphar’s wife tried to commit sinful things with Joseph. And Joe said, “No, I’m not going to go there.” And then Potiphar’s wife lied about Joseph. And Joseph, he went from a pit to slavery and from slavery to jail now. Altogether, 13 years. And you said, “Well, probably, probably everybody around town thought Joseph was the worst guy because he had been lied about, manipulated.” Oh, but friend, friend, at the end of the day, you remember the end of the story? Remember that? 13 years into what happened, “Just and right is He.”
And remember that butler, father—oh, that man that told me my dream? And remember, he went and interpreted the dream for Pharaoh, and Pharaoh said, “Well, we cannot find anyone as wise and as able as this man right here. God is in that man right there.” And God said, “Joseph, I’m going to make you the prime minister, second in command of the whole land.” I am simply saying, “Just and right is He.”
You are going to see corruption. We are in the end times. Friend, I do not know when Jesus is going to come back. The signs of the time are there. Nobody knows the day or the hour. We are getting closer, friend. And as we get closer, you are going to see injustice in this world. But hang on, friend. It is not all over. “Just and right is He.” “Just and right is He.”
Can I say this? Y’all still out there this morning? Can I say this? Every single person in the world is going to stand before God. Hitler will. I will. You will. Mr. Trump will. Mr. Biden will. We will all stand before—they are going to stand, and you will stand before God at one of two judgments. Would you look over in Revelation chapter 20? Revelation chapter 20. “Just and right is He.” We must take into account that we will stand before God.
Revelation chapter 20. Once you find that, would you just look this way? Let me talk to you for a minute about this judgment. And I will explain to you here who is at this judgment. Revelation chapter 20, right back in the back part of your Bible. And Revelation, it is just a little bit after Genesis—I am joking with you there. Last book of the Bible, right towards almost the last chapter of the Bible, the last chapter.
This is what is called the Great White Throne Judgment. This is the judgment where people that did not get saved—they would not put their faith in Jesus Christ to pay for their sins. They would say, “I will pay for my own.” And they did not go to Jesus and trust in Jesus, ask Jesus to be their Savior. They will stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. It is a very sad time. Maybe one of the saddest portions of Scripture in all the Bible. It is sad, and I do not say this gleefully, but there is justice served here. Hitler will stand here. So many, so many that did not get saved—just wicked people. By the way, you said, “Could they have gotten saved?” They could have, but sin has a debt attached to it. Typically they did not—the wicked. They can. We want them to. We want to do all we can. Praise the Lord for the thief on the cross that did. But those that did not get saved, this is where they will stand before God. They will face God.
I want you to just read about it for just a minute here. Let us look at it. And just look in “Just and right is He,” and I want you to see the end. Look in verse number 11, Revelation 20 and verse number 11 of God’s Word. The Bible there says, “And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.” The people that stand before God at this great white throne, when they see God’s face—God’s face is so loving right now. The Old Testament has been reading about a lot. His hand is stretched out still, and His hand is stretched out to people to get saved. He wants them. He is inviting them. He is trying to pull and tug them to come to Him. But at this point, He is not like that. His face at this point is so austere, so righteous, so just. They have denied and rejected the love and mercy of God, and God stands as a righteous, holy, just God here to the point that the Bible says heaven and earth flee. When the earth sees how—whoa, God is giving the look. Husband, that is the look your wife gives you every once in a while. You do not talk about that, you know? And God is giving the look. And the Bible says heaven or flees. They have got no place to hide. And they are almost like suspended in space before God. They can run nowhere and hide nowhere, and they are standing before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. It is a sad time.
Look at verse number 12. “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.” What is talking about the dead there? He is talking about the lost. Those that do not go to Jesus. Jesus is life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” You have got Jesus, you have got everlasting life. They didn’t go to Jesus. This is the dead. They rejected Jesus. “I saw the dead, small and great.” People do not know about them. Just small—they are kind of hidden in secret. “The small and the great.” I do not know. I do not know. Alexander the Great didn’t get saved; he will be standing here. I do not know, but oh, I hear Brother Larry say, “Amen.” And Brother Larry was in Vietnam, and the communists that did not get saved, they will stand here. The small and the great. Karl Marx didn’t get saved; he will stand here. The small and the great. The dead that are lost stand before God, and the books—notice that, plural—books were open. You say, “Preacher, watch the books.” I think it is the records of their life. I mentioned already they can erase things in history books, but they cannot erase things up there in Heaven’s books. And they are standing before God, and they are just kind of suspended. They have got no place to run and hide, and they stand before God, and the books, the records of their life, were opened. This is your life, by the way. It is a spiritual book. I think it not only records the deeds, but it also records even the things in your heart. The Lord looks at your heart. And the books were open.
Well, let us look at the records of your life here. “And the books were open.” Let us keep going here in verse number 12. “And I saw the dead stand, small and great, stand before God. And the books were open. And another book”—singular—“was open.” You say, “What is that book?” That is the Lamb’s Book of Life. That is for those that went to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, and they asked for forgiveness. They were born again. They put all their trust in Jesus. Their names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
The books were open, and the book… Let me see if I can find your name here. No, your name is not there. No, no. Your name is not in the Book of Life, so we will go to the books. Verse number 12: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were open. And another book was open, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to the works.”
Now let me say a word about this here. Some say, “Hey there, you’re saved by your works.” No, no, it is already determined which judgment they are at. We will talk about it in just a minute here. Those that get saved, they stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The lost stand at the Great White Throne Judgment. And their name is not recorded in the Book of Life. And so God says, “All right, you didn’t want Jesus to pay for your sins, so you have got to pay for your sins. So let us pull them up and find out what sins you have got.” And they are judged according to the works. Hell is awful for anyone, but can I say there is—well, maybe degrees, if you will? Remember Jesus said over there, He said, “Hey, Beth-Shean and Chorazin, if the miracles that I did in you had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they were repeated a long time ago, so it is going to be worse for you in the day of judgment.” You understand that? Hitler, and God says six million Jews—you will pay for that. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. That is eternal death, like a fire, separation from God, His love, His compassion. The wrath of God abideth on him. The Bible says, what a sad, sad thing.
Let us keep going here. Verse number 13: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.” You say, “What is it talking about, this sea?” I believe He is talking about earth—people that live through the millennium reign. This is after the millennium reign, the thousand-year reign. They did not get saved. “And the sea, the earth gave up the dead which were in it. And Death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them.” Death and Hell. Well, you know, a lost person, they died, and their body goes to the grave, but their soul goes to hell. The rich man in hell lifted up his eyes, being in torment, remember that? But his body was in the grave, see. And Death, their body, and Hell, their soul, meet up. And God gives a final judgment to them. “And Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire.” This is the second death.
It is very interesting. One more verse. I think this last verse is God’s answer to their pleas: “Lord, please have mercy on me. Please have mercy.” Can I say this? It is too late at this point. And I think that last verse, verse number 15, is God’s answer to the pleas. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
There is a story told about years ago, back in the Western days, horse and buggy and all that, and a little boy, he was walking down the streets of a Western town, and a stagecoach came running through—the horses and just a wagon, I think it was—and just the horses were wild, and they were going to run over this boy accidentally. They couldn’t stop it. And a judge of the town seen it. And they say that judge ran out there and grabbed the ropes from those horses. And he grabbed them, and he was able to calm those horses down by grabbing those reins, and he was just able to stop them, save that little boy’s life.
And I say that judge, he was so happy that he was able to save that little boy’s life. And they say that little boy grew up and became a very sinful man, a murderer. And they say it is amazing, but years later, that boy, who was a murderer, was convicted of murder, and he stood before that very judge. And that man, at this time, thought, “Well, I know what I’ll do.” He stood before that judge and he said, “Judge, don’t you realize who I am? I’m that boy that you saved years ago.” And they say the judge said, “Yes, sir, I came to you the first time as a Savior, but this time I’m coming to you as a judge.”
And those people will stand before God, and God said, “I gave My only begotten Son. I came to you as a Savior. I came to save you. I didn’t come to condemn the world.” The Bible says in John 3:17, “But I came to save the world.” But you would not take that. And you are not standing before Me today as a Savior; you are standing before Me as a judge today.
Everybody in the world will stand before God either at the Great White Throne Judgment or the Judgment Seat of Christ. Look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 very quickly here, just a brief moment. I must view this world realizing we will all stand before God.
Psalm 37 says, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers.” He said, “You see them?” At one point, David said they are like a green bay tree; it is just spreading itself. They are just wicked everywhere. “What am I going to do about it?” And God, through David, says, “Hey, they will soon be cut down.” “Just and right is He.”
It always pays to do right, young people. I am getting off here a little bit from where I am supposed to be going, but young people, let me just say this. Everybody look right here. Everybody, look right here for just a second. It always pays to do right. In the long run, when it is all said and done, it always pays to do right. “Just and right is He.” The Bible says, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” He is a just God.
Everybody is going to stand before God one day—the lost. And I do not say that gleefully; I say it so sadly. By the way, sometimes we say there are no tears in heaven. There will not be any tears one day in heaven. But right after the Great White Throne Judgment, the Bible says He wipes away the tears from our eyes. You cannot wipe away something that is not there. He said, “Why are the tears there?” I think because we are weeping, “My neighbor, my so-and-so didn’t get saved.” Maybe sometimes I wasn’t a Christian as I ought to be. I do not know exactly. Maybe I didn’t witness as I ought to. Right after that, over there in Revelation 21, He says, “The former things are no more.” I think God kind of does a delete memory wipe, you know, so we can enjoy eternity more.
Hold on. Don’t let just today get you down. There is no justice in this world. “Just and right is He.” “Just and right is He.”
If you are born again Christian, if you are saved, you will put your faith in Jesus Christ. You will not stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. You will stand before Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ. We do not have time to get into a whole lot, but let us just briefly get it. You are in 1 Corinthians 3. Look in verse number 11. First Corinthians 3:11. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” These are the people that accepted Jesus as their salvation. They have a sure foundation: Jesus. They didn’t believe in their works; they believed in Jesus’ works.
Now, I want you to see what happens here. Look in verse number 15. “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.”
And let me give you a couple of thoughts on this thing. We are going to be done here this morning. This Judgment Seat of Christ is not a judgment of your sins. If it was a judgment of your sins, you stood before God, give account of your sins. The Bible is very clear: the wages of sin is death. We know that is second death, the lake of fire. Here’s the wonderful thing: Jesus died. There’s a reason He took death upon Him because the wages of sin is death. And Jesus said, “I want to pay that judgment of their sins.” Several judgments in the Bible. One of those is God’s judgment on His only begotten Son. He took your sin on Him.
And He paid that judgment for your sin. I’m not going to pay for my sins. Even God’s chasing is not paying for your sin. And God’s chasing is God correcting you so you won’t do it again. Jesus already took the judgment for your sin on the cross. The payment for your sin is death. Jesus died. Three days later, He rose again, proving God was satisfied with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
So this judgment, if you put your faith in Jesus, you’re born again Christian, it’s not a judgment of your sins. Jesus already took the judgment for your sins. It’s a judgment of your works. How you have lived for the Lord. You have the foundation of Jesus Christ. Upon top of that, what have you built? Wood, hay, stubble, or gold, silver, precious stones? And He said, “I’m going to try your works.” Have you lived for the Lord after you were saved? Have you lived for Jesus Christ? If you have, wonderful. You got rewards. We’ll talk about that. If you have not, He said, your work is going to burn up. He says, you suffer loss. But notice what He said right there. Notice what He said, verse number 15. He says, “He shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.” You miss the fires of hell. You’re still saved. But you don’t have the rewards God wants you to have because you didn’t live for Him. God stuck on this old world and all that has to offer instead of living for the Lord.
But what’s what He says in verse number 14. Verse number 14: “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.” Listen, the world might not look very highly on that Christian, but God’s a just God. And He says, “I see that lady that she’s got saved and she’s been spending her life living for the Lord.” And that lady will stand before God one day. And God’s going to go, “You’re not perfect. I know that. But Jesus took the judgment of your sins. I’m going to judge it for your works. And I got a crown for you.” He’ll get rewards out. Friend, “Just and right is He.” When it’s all said and done, don’t you know, don’t fall too much for the world. Friend, this isn’t the big deal. The big deal is eternity.
I love this. I love it. I am… Remember that? You’ll know it. First John one night. Help me out if you know that verse. Say it out loud. Here we go: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You say, “How can it be just?” Anybody out there, you said, “I’ll never do that again,” and you did it again. Anybody out there do that? All of us have done that. You say, “How can He forgive me again and again and again?” He said, “He’s faithful and just.” How can He be just? I said, “I’ll never do that again,” because Jesus paid for that sin. God would be unjust to require double payment. He’s faithful and He’s just. He’s a just God.
One last story and I’m done. I’m not just circling the airport; I’m landing. Amen. Now you know.
The old missionary couple, they had spent their life in Africa, years, their life really, years ago. They didn’t happen in retirement or anything. They’re riding on a ship. They were coming back. They were going to sail into New York City from Africa. Their health was shot. They didn’t have any money. Spent their life over there in Africa, telling people about Jesus.
On the same ship was Teddy Roosevelt. Remember Teddy Roosevelt? He back in the day, he would go and he would go over to the different continents, whatnot; he’d have his big game hunting. He’d been over there in Africa doing hunting. He’d got some lions or whatever it was. And it was coming back, and on the ship, there was a lot of… and whatnot, taking pictures of you. Anybody can see Teddy Roosevelt, you know, they’re taking pictures of him and all that. I want all the shot on the hunting trip and all those things. They got closer to New York. They had heard tell when they got to New York City, there were going to be some bands to welcome the president. Sure enough, they pulled into harbor, and there was bands all over for the parade, and the president’s there and fanfare and all that. Nobody even knew about that old couple.
And they say the man, the husband, he got bitter. Got a little mad about it all. He told his wife, he said, “You know, something’s not right here. This isn’t right.” He’s the president. He’s not a bad guy. He’s just whatever they’re hunting. We spent our life over there serving the Lord, and nobody knows we’re here. They got no money. They found him a little room to stay for the night. They say on the east side of New York City. And his wife said, “You know, honey, you ought not feel like that.” She said, “You know, that’s not right.”
They say he went to the room next door, went to a bedroom, and had a prayer meeting and just spent some time with God. And the next morning, I woke up, and the wife said, “Hey, you seem different.” And she said, “It seemed like everything’s all right with you now.” She said, “What happened?” He said, “Well, the Lord settled it with me. I told Him how bitter I was that the president should receive this tremendous homecoming when no one met us here as I returned home.” He said this: He said, “You know, but the Lord, He kind of just met with me in that room. He said, 'I felt like the Lord put His hand on my shoulder. He said, ‘You don’t understand it. You’re not home yet.’” Friend, if you’re saved, we’re going home one day. That’s the big picture there.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please? You hear this morning, you say, “Preacher, you know, I need to trust in the justice of God. I need to let go of keeping tallies on everything, ever all of it. I need to let go of my bitterness, my unforgiveness. I just need to trust God. He’s just and right is He.” And I’m going to do my best just to hang on to God’s justice. Nobody else might understand all the little bit of secrets. Nobody knows about it, but God does, and I’m going to trust in God. I’m going to rest in God’s justice. And God spoke to my heart about that right there. I want to just rest in the justice of God. God spoke to my heart about that. Actually, you just lift your hand in the justice of God. He’s got it. He knows what is going on. He understands. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. I want to raise my hand with you. Just trust it. He knows it all. He knows the secrets nobody else knows about. Let’s just leave it with Him. God bless you. You can put your hands down.
You hear this morning and say, “Preacher, I’m a born-again Christian, I’ve been saved. But I want to live my life with heaven in view, realizing I’ll stand before Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and I’d like some crowns so I can get back to Him one day. I’d like to live my life with heaven in view.” God spoke to my heart about that. I realize that’s the big picture. I’m going to live my life with that in view. God spoke to your heart about that this morning. You say to me, “Preacher, that’s me.” Now I spoke to my heart. Oh, God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Now I spoke to my heart. God bless you. This whole world, it is just a get-ready place. This is a drop in the bucket, friend. Eternity is a big thing. God bless you. Thank you so very much. You can put your hands down.
Maybe you hear this morning, you say, “Preacher, I want to trust Jesus to take the judgment for my sin. I want to come to Him and let Him be my Savior this morning. I want to come to Jesus. Oh, Jesus, I want to see You. I want to meet You as my Savior, not as my judge. And I want to trust in You, Jesus, to pay for my sin debt. I don’t vote for me to pay the sin debt. I’m a sinner. Jesus, I vote for You. Would You pay for my sins? Would You be my personal Savior?” You hear this morning, “Preacher, I need to trust in Jesus. I want to call on Jesus to be my personal Savior.” Never done that. I want to do that this morning. If that is you this morning, you lift your hand. “Preacher, I want to trust in Jesus to pay my sins.” God bless you. “I want Him to pay my penalty for my sin. I don’t want to pay it. Jesus, would You?” And in Your love, Your mercy, I want You to be my Savior. Anybody else? I want Jesus to be my Savior. Anybody else? Anybody else? Right there where you said, would you go to Jesus? If you never have, you put your faith in Jesus. If you have paid—if you put your faith in Him already, He has written your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you’re saved. If you never have, would you go to Him? “Dear Jesus, I admit it, I’m a sinner. I can never pay for my own sin without death, eternal death. Jesus, would You pay for my sins? I want to trust in Your death, burial, and resurrection to be the payment for my sins. Would You save me? Thank You, Jesus. Now I’m going to live for You.”
If you just asked Jesus Christ to be your Savior, just a moment, we’re going to stand, we’re going to have a word of prayer. There will be some men down front. There will be a man in the front, a man in the back, standing there facing the auditorium. Would you go and just shake their hand and tell them, say, “I just asked Jesus to be my Savior.” They would like to be a help. They will give you some leadership in helping you, welcome you into the family of God. We would love to be a help to you. Now, I spoke to your heart about something. Now, don’t you raise your hand. Would you come and spend some time? Would you come and raise the hand? Would you come and spend the time? Would you come and just… God, let’s all stand, if you would, please? We’re going to stand. We’re going to have a word of prayer. I won’t be long. We won’t be long. We won’t be long. Our instruments will say, “Amen.” Would you come and spend some time? Lord, thank You. You’re a just God. Help me to rest in You, to ignore the devil when he tries to bring bitterness and say everything’s unjust. Have me to just rest in Your justice. Have me to do that. Have me to live for You. We’ll let them know that if you got saved, would you let people know here? Father, thank You for loving us. Thank You. You’re just. Forgive me, Lord, when I think You’re wrong. I’m so sorry. I question what You’re doing. Help us, Lord. Help us to realize just and right are You. Lord, if anyone got saved, Lord, give them boldness to come shake these men’s hands and get help in their new journey. Bless these few minutes. Give us boldness for You, Jesus, and we pray. Amen.
God spoke to your heart as our instruments play. Would you come just spend some time with the Lord? Rest in His justice. Rest in His justice. Remember there are some things nobody else knows about. It is just secrets that you think bad about; it is not true. Come rest in His justice. These in times you get bitter, you get bent out of shape. Oh, Lord, I’m going to trust You. You’re a just God. You told us it was going to get wicked. I’m going to trust You. You know what is going on.
You know, as a born-again Christian, let me talk for just a minute. Just a minute. If you’re a born-again Christian, you can get to the point where you say, “You know what? I want to do all I can in our world to be the salt and the light, but I’m not going to get caught up too much in all that. God sees all that. He’s a just God. He knows what is going on.” I’m not going to get flustered and bent out of shape, so I can’t shine for Jesus. I’m going to trust Him. He’s a just and right God. I’m going to do what He wants me to do to make a difference in the world, but I’m going to trust Him with all the outcome of all. “Just and right is He.” Would you just spend some time thanking Him for that? Would you do that as our panel plays?
Hey, are you glad you serve a God you can trust in? Amen. He’s just. He’s right. And we want Him to use us in this old messed-up world. But at the end of the day, it’s not my job to be the policeman. I can’t keep it all right. He can. And I’m going to trust Him. I’ll do just wherever He leads. I’ll follow. And Lord, I’m going to leave this old justice as world up to You. “Just and right is He.” I hope that phrase sticks with you. And tonight, be back at your place 6 o’clock. Looking forward to God working on our hearts again tonight. Thank you for your faithfulness. You’re just being in God’s house. What a blessing that is. Good to have guests with us today. Thank you for being with us. We are honored to have you. What a blessing it is, every person here. And we praise the Lord for you. Brother Kevin Cooper, would you dismiss us with a word of prayer, please, brother?
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - Just and right is He - Sunday AM 09172023