It’s really great that we have so much warmer weather tonight than we did last Friday. It’s great to see people out walking around. I hope everyone is safe and that you have a good time tonight. Everything is…wait. We have some minor trouble here. Please proceed the way you are going in an orderly fashion. Don’t panic, but please move at a brisk pace. Keep walking. Keep going.
This isn’t good. Oh no. Actually you are in danger. You are in grave danger. Run! Run! Run! Run for your life! You need to run just like you would if a raging wildfire was so hot on you trail that you could feel the heat from the flames. You need to run for shelter as swiftly as you would if a tornado was bearing down you and was so close that you could barely hear because the noise was so loud that it sounded like a freight train was right on top of you.
You need to sincerely run for your life. You need to flee from danger. But you know what? You won’t. You won’t even be alarmed in the least little bit. You won’t take heed to the warnings tonight. You won’t listen to the danger that you are in. You won’t pay attention. You will just keep sauntering along, talking to your friend. You will continue thinking about where you are headed for right now. You will keep thinking about what you are going to do later on tonight or thinking about who you are going to meet. But you won’t stop for a split second to think about the real life danger that you are in.
There is no graver danger than what you are facing. But you won’t even think about it for a fleeting moment. Why not? Because you don’t believe that you are in danger. You don’t feel the heat from the flames of Hell that are hot after you. You don’t know that the devil is luring you farther and farther into his trap. You don’t even know that the evil one is seducing you more and more. You don’t see the reality of your situation because Satan is the great deceiver and he has you blinded tonight. He has you neck deep in your sins and you love it. You love your sin tonight.
You do what you do because you think it’s alright. You don’t see sin as sin. Everything is relative to you. So you are fine with the things that you are doing because you don’t see anything wrong with it. The Bible even backs this up. Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find? (Proverbs 20:6). Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts (Proverbs 21:2). In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6).
So why is it a problem that you think that you are alright; that you think you are good? Because most of us probably are good by man’s standards; but none of us meet God’s standard. The majority of people think that they are good, but we are not good. None of us are.
9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:9-18).
No matter how good you think you are tonight, you are not. None of us are righteous. None of us have done good, not a single one of us. Isaiah says that our very best is as filthy rags to God. So if you are out here tonight and you are just sauntering through life thinking that life is good and you are good, you are wrong. You need to quit sauntering and you need to start running. You need to run for your life!
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are all wretched sinners and we have all violated God’s Law. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God (Romans 3:19).
Even one little lie is enough to make you guilty. Just one little white lie is enough to prove your guilt and it will. Every mouth will be stopped on Judgment Day and you are already guilty before our Holy God. Do not be fooled, Judgment Day is no laughing matter. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished (2 Peter 2:9).
Do you see how foolish it is for you to continue slumbering down the broad road to destruction? Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13-14). Don’t continue skipping along to the gates of Hell with a smile on your face. If you think Hell is a place where you will party with your friends, you are greatly mistaken. Hell is no pleasure cruise. Hell is eternal damnation. Hell is torment beyond anything that you can even imagine in this life. War is not Hell. Hell is Hell.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal (Matthew 25:46). [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33). The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41-42).
If you could feel the flames of Hell for one second, you would run for your life. If you could smell the horrific smell of burnt flesh, you would run away as fast as you could. If you could hear the screams of those suffering in Hell right now, you would hold your hands over your ears to stop the ear splitting, bloodcurdling screams. But since you can’t feel, smell and hear the reality of Hell, you will just continue walking down the road, continuing to be seduced by Satan and being lured in by your pet sin.
Hell is real and the Judgment to come is real. You will stand before God on Judgment Day. Everything that you have ever done, said or thought will be brought up for you to remember. You will be without excuse. You will understand that you are guilty before God. Then God will also remind you about every time that you heard the Gospel and rejected it. He will remind you that you rejected His Son – His only begotten Son who suffered and died for guilty sinners like you and me. God will remind you that you rejected His offer of salvation (John 3:16).
God will also remind you that He sent those foolish looking Christians out to South and Walnut on this Friday night to warn you to flee from the wrath to come. But you wouldn’t listen. God will tell you that your soul was prayed for – by those crazy Christians. They pleaded with you to repent and put your faith in Jesus, but you wouldn’t listen. You said, No, I will continue doing what I want to do, when I want to. I love my sins and I will keep them. Nobody can take them from me. They’re mine!
Oh, if we could really get you to understand the dire predicament that you are in, you would flee from sin. You would flee from the devil. You would flee from the sinful pleasures of this world and the temporary pleasures of the flesh. If you truly understood the torments you will face while you suffer eternal damnation, you would flee from your sin right now. You would literally run, run, run for your life. You would run from your sins and run to the Savior. You would come to Jesus tonight and be saved.
But sadly, most of you won’t come. You won’t have godly sorrow over your sins (2 Corinthians 7:10) and you won’t repent and put your trust in Jesus (Acts 20:21). You will face God on Judgment Day and you will spend eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone because you died in your sins as an unrepentant sinner. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Revelation 21:8).
It breaks our hearts. We are pleading with you to get right with God tonight. We are pleading with you to turn from your sins and turn to Jesus. We are pleading with you to run for your life – your eternal life. Please don’t foolishly die some day as an unrepentant sinner. You could die tonight. Run from your sins – run from danger. Run as fast as you can from the bondage of Satan and run to Jesus. Our Lord Jesus Christ can save you. He can cleanse you. He can take away all your guilt and shame. But you must to receive salvation. Nobody else can do it for you. Please, surrender your life to Jesus tonight and be saved. If you have any questions, please come over and talk to us.
(This message was originally lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on January 16, 2015)
An abbreviated version of Run For Your Life was presented at Missouri State University on January 21, 2015