In this sermon, the preacher discusses the state of sin and moral confusion in the world today. He references Isaiah's prophecy about a time when sin would be called good and bad would be called good, suggesting that this prophecy has come true in our current society. The preacher then moves on to discuss the importance of sacrifice and the shedding of blood for the remission of sins. He emphasizes that without the sacrifice of Jesus and the shedding of his blood, there can be no forgiveness of sins. The sermon concludes with a discussion of social legislation in the book of Exodus, highlighting that there is more to the law than just the Ten Commandments.

Now, this brings us down now to chapter 24 of Exodus. We're going to conclude this very brief section on social legislation, began in chapter 21 through 24. And actually, there's more that has to do with social legislation than with the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are very brief, frankly, but the social legislation covers a great deal. And we'll find that there's much more to the law than the Ten Commandments. Now, I begin reading here in Exodus 24, verse 1, "...And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship ye afar off." Now, don't miss that. God says you to come up to the mountain, but even these men who were in a very unique position were told to worship ye afar off. Now, how different that is under law than it was when God was bringing them on eagles' wings, which is grace, and that's the way God today saves us and leads us along life's pathway. And He says that we've been made nigh by the blood of Christ today. But you see, under law now, they're told, worship ye afar off. And verse 2, "...And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come nigh, neither shall the people go up with him. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do." Now, this is the second time that the children of Israel have given affirmative answer when God asked them, did they want His commandments, His law? And they said, yes. And they are very self-confident, self-sufficient, and actually almost arrogant. All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. And they don't have all of them yet. They have been given the Ten Commandments, and yet they think they can do it. And someone says, well, how in the world could they be so self-deceived? Well, I don't know. That's something that puzzles me, because I know a great many people today that honestly think they are living by law and that they're meeting God's standard. Self-deception is a terrible thing. I don't think, frankly, there's anything quite like it. And you remember John had something to say about this matter of self-deception. He said that if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. You never deceive your neighbors, and you won't deceive your wife or your husband or your loved ones, but you sure can deceive yourself. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Well, you'd think that a man that says he has no sin ought to have also a little truth in him. But John says that he deceives himself, and there's no truth in him at all. And in case you missed it, John repeated that again in the first chapter, the last verse of I John. If we say that we have not sin, we make him a liar, and his word's not in it. Now, I didn't say it, friends. John said it. John said that if you say that you have not sin, that you keep God's law, then you've made God a liar. And friends, God's no liar. I wouldn't want to call him that if I were you. So the best thing to do is not to boast of your goodness. My, the arrogance of these people! All the words which the Lord hath said will we do, but they didn't do them. Now, will you notice? And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar upon the hill, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people, and they said, listen to it. Now, they've heard it. It's written down. All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. Now, these people certainly had confidence. And it was nothing in the world, of course, but self-confidence. They thought that they could do it, but they didn't do it. And that is self-deception of the worst kind, of course. We'll be obedient, they said to God. But they were not obedient to God. You know, the natural man thinks that he can please God, but he cannot please God. You and I cannot please Him at all. You and I can't meet His standard. We forget that we are actually the members of a race that, as far as God is concerned, is totally depraved. You and I belong to those that are disobedient to God. And if you would doubt that, why don't you look around you in the world today? Look at all of the lawlessness. Look at the sin that's in the world, the confusion that's in the world, and the atheism and godlessness that's in the world. Friends, God's accurate when He tells us that there are none righteous, no, not one. All you have to do is to look about you today. And we're living in a day when sin is called good. Bad is called good. And Isaiah said that day would come. Well, we've certainly arrived there. Now, verse 8, "...And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." Now, even before he gives it to them, why, these people are sprinkled with blood that let them know that there must be a sacrifice and that without shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. God will repeat that many times for them. Life must be given up. The penalty must be paid if you and I are ever to go to heaven.