Getting Away With It

Getting Away With It

Several years ago I heard that one half of all murderers in America are never caught. One half! This is a mind-blowing statistic. How can one half of all murders go unsolved? I just double checked and according to a CBS news article dated June 29, 2022, approximately half of all murders go unsolved. There’s more violent crime today and less police officers. So criminals are getting away with it, even getting away with murder.

But are they really getting away with it? Even if a murderer kills someone when the murderer is in their teens and they live to be 90 years old, they may think they’ve gotten away with murder for over 70 years. But they really haven’t gotten away with it. There is judgment to come. It’s appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

God Is Ever Present

Hebrews 4:12-13 states: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

God is all present, all powerful and all knowing. Nothing is hid from the eyes of the Lord. Even if a person gets away with murder for the rest of their life, they will still pay for their sins at the judgment and for all eternity. That is, if they die in their sins. If they die outside of Christ Jesus. Nothing you think, say or do is hidden from the eyes of Almighty God. He knows your next sentence, your next thought, even before you form your thought or your sentence. Nothing, absolutely nothing is hid from God.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 says: For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Again, nothing that you do is hid from God. People don’t understand how horrible Judgment Day is going to be for all unbelievers.

Every Single Sin

The Bible says that God is going to remind you of every sin that you’ve ever committed. Every single sin. How high of a mountain of sin debt will be piled next to you on that great and terrible day of the Lord? This Bible verse says every secret thing. So not just the big sins like the murders that murders got away with, but even your wicked thoughts. Every secret thing – every secret thought that was evil. How many times have you smiled at someone while at the same time wishing they’d die or wishing some other harm would come to them?

Jesus says in Matthew 12:34-37: O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

There Is Judgement To Come

Again, Jesus points out that there is a day of judgment to come. Even your idle words will be held against you. Idle words. That doesn’t even mean evil or wicked, but just idle words. Useless, ineffectual, vain, trifling words. Even idle words will be held against YOU! Oh, how much more will your actual sins be held against you?

How much wickedness is in your heart? How many wicked thoughts? Can you count your wicked actions? How many times have you watched pornography? How many times have you cursed God, using His Holy name as a cuss word? How many times have you blasphemed God by your words and your actions? Maybe you’ve stolen something that was small. How many times have you stolen something? The list goes on and on: disobeying your parents, lusting, getting drunk, doing drugs, coveting something that belongs to someone else. I ask you again: How tall is the mountain of sin debt that will be held against you on Judgment Day?

No Hope?

So are we saying tonight that there is no hope for you? Outside of Jesus Christ the Lord, there is no hope. Many people are foolishly on the broad road to destruction and they are Hell-bound, unrepentant sinners. All those who die in their sins, will spend eternity in the lake of fire. Those have died as unrepentant, unbelievers will suffer God’s righteous wrath over their sins for all eternity. People burning in Hell never wipe out a single sin, let alone their mountain of sin debt.

Yes, those who die in their sins have no hope. Oh, but if you are alive and breathing. If you are listening tonight, there is still hope. The only hope of mankind is in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6). Yes there is hope, but only in Christ alone. Jesus says that He is the only way. There is no other. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

All Have Sinned

Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden and we’ve all sinned sin then. My parents were sinners. Your parents were sinners. We were born in sin and we were born with a sin nature. You don’t have to teach toddlers how to be bad. They get into trouble naturally. You tell a toddler not to do something, they will smile at you and do exactly what you told them not to do. No we don’t teach kids how to be bad, we have to teach them how to be good. Again, we were born in sin and we have a sin nature. The Bible says that we go away from God from the womb (Psalm 58:3).

We’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). God cannot tolerate sin. God is perfect and it takes perfection to be in the presence of Almighty God. That’s why we need a Savior, that’s why we need Jesus. Even though you and I have sinned, Jesus did not.

You and I are not perfect. None of us have perfectly kept the 10 Commandments. In fact, we’ve fallen woefully short in this area. The Bible says if you break one commandment, you’ve broken them all (James 2:10). Folks, all of us have sinned against God and there is nothing that we can do on our own to wipe out our sins. You and I don’t have the power to do that. You can be sorry for your sins, but you can’t wipe them out.

Only Jesus Saves

Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse your sins. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life. Unlike you and I, Jesus never sinned one time. Never! Not in His thoughts, words or actions. Jesus willingly went to the cruel cross in the place of guilty sinners. He was beaten with 39 gruesome lashes before He went to the cross. Isaiah says by his stripes, we are healed.

Even though Jesus never sinned, He took the punishment of a guilty sinner. He took the punishment that we deserve. As Jesus hung on the cross, God poured His wrath, His anger over sin out upon His own precious, sinless Son. Jesus died on the cross and was buried. The Lord rose from the dead three days later. Jesus defeated sin, death, Hell and Satan. Salvation is for all who repent and believe the Gospel. For those of us who repent of our sins and put our trust in Jesus. Who trust in His finished work on the cross to save us.

No Longer Seen As Guilty

If you do this, if you truly repent and surrender your life to Jesus, then God no longer sees you as the guilty criminal that you are (even if you are not a literal murderer). No, God sees true believers through the righteousness of Jesus. God remembers our sins no more. We are washed, we are cleansed, we are forgiven. Our guilty consciences have been cleared. You too can be forgiven, if you repent and believe the Gospel.

For those who do not submit to the Lordship of Jesus are still guilty sinners. Those who die in their sins, die unforgiven; die as rebels against God and will suffer God’s righteous anger for all eternity over their unforgiven sins. Yes, those murderers who got away with it on this earth will not get away with it in the next life. There is Hell to pay and either Jesus paid it for you when you surrendered your life to Him or you will pay for your sins for all eternity.

Again, you don’t have to be a murderer to go to Hell. Jesus says that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8). Oh, don’t continue rebelling against God. Don’t continue barreling as fast as you can down that broad road to destruction. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Oh, surrender your life to King Jesus. Repent and put your trust in Christ Jesus. Receive life. Receive eternal life. Turn to Christ and live.

(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on November 11, 2022)