In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the consequences of sin in the world. He explains that although God created everything to be very good, sin has corrupted His creation. The preacher also highlights the manifestation of God's love to a fallen world, particularly through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He references passages from the Bible, such as John 3 and Acts 2, to support his points and emphasizes the importance of conviction and repentance in response to God's love and truth.

We began a series of messages on love, and I'm not sure how many messages will end up coming from this, but last week in the morning we looked specifically at God is love. And as we look at that very, very powerful thought of God is love, we find that God's love is perfect and it is absolute. But we also find that His love is not in opposition or contradiction to all of the other attributes of His character. All of them are also perfect and absolute. They're in many ways beyond our total capacity to wrap our brains around them, but by faith we believe the Word is true. And as we looked last Sunday morning to that God is love, our purpose was to try to just zero in on the aspect of God being love without connecting it with how God has shown His love or manifested His love or demonstrated His love to us. Trying to look just to the very character of God and realizing that His character is love. That's hard for us to do because we are so conditional. We will love someone if we love someone when. As we look at the nature of God, His love is not that kind of flippant, kind of a come and go kind of a love. It is an absolute consistent kind of a love. Last Sunday night we looked into 1 John chapter 4, and we looked there and we saw God's love as God's love being perfected in us and how God would work out His very nature and character with us in regard to love. And we read there in that passage that perfect love casts out fear. So we examined how when in fact we wrap ourself around the idea and have the relationship with God of totally knowing, experiencing, and welcoming His love, then love will displace fear and therefore anything that happens to us, the love of God overwhelms us instead of the fear overwhelming us. If you'd like to kind of follow in our series and you were not here Sunday night, Shelley can make you a copy of last Sunday night's message. This morning's message as we continue on is we're looking now at God's love manifested. But listen to me carefully because I need to make a qualifier here. This morning as we look at God's love manifested, we're predominantly this morning going to look at God's love manifested to the world, to mankind. Now the reason I'm qualifying it is this. There is a difference between God's love as He's manifested to the world, as we're going to examine this morning, and then how we, when we believe and trust and receive Christ as our Savior and enter into relationship with Him, how we experience the love of God. It's different. It's different. Just like I can say to all the women in this building, I love you, but that's not the same as when I say I love you to my wife. Y'all get that out there this morning? All right. And each of you men should be able to identify with that very forcefully as well. And so as we're looking this morning, we're going to look at passages specifically identify God's love to the world. Now, listen to me. As we do that, I want us to realize that God's love is manifested to us by way of His creation. And by way of His creation, God manifested His love in this way. When God made everything that is made, when He brought it all into existence. In Genesis chapter 1, you can look, and I'm just going to give you the references. I'm not going to go there. But in Genesis 1, 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25, God reflecting upon His creation declared it was good. Genesis 1, 31, listen to what is declared there. And God saw everything that He had made, everything. And behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning for the sixth day, everything that God made, He declared to be very good. Listen to me. We look out at God's creation and truly Scripture declares, the heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth His handiwork. I will lift up my eyes through the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth. We can look at all kinds of passages that reflect about God's creation. But now listen to me. All of God's creation that He pronounced very good is corrupted by sin. What you see is not the beauty of what God created. What you see is the consequence of how sin brought judgment upon the world. Because you see, when Adam and Eve sinned, then death entered in. And from that point forward, we see the consequence of sin. We see also, as we look very much at the creation around here, we see tremendous evidences of the consequence of the great flood. And the great flood was God's pronouncement of judgment against sin. The scars that we see, as it were, are the evidence of the consequence of sin. So in God's creation, God pronounced everything that He made very good. But what we see now, I'm sorry about that, I don't know what's going on here. But what we see now is the consequence of sin. And so, as we look this morning, we need to see this. God manifested His love to a fallen world. To a fallen world. A world in which all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's none righteous, no not one. God's manifestation of His love to this sin world that we live in, is amazing love and amazing grace. So turn with me, if you would, to the passage that was read in our hearing this morning in John chapter 3. And you're very familiar with this. But this morning, I want you to be familiar with something else as I go through. Watch for the word, world. Watch for the word, world. And I'm going to pick up in verse 16. For God so loved the, what, world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God sent not His Son into the, what, world, to condemn the, what, world, but that the, what, world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation. That light has come into the world, there's that word again, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. God so loved the world, a fallen world, a sin-sick world, a judged world, a condemned world. So all is the consequence of Adam's sin. Romans 5.12 says, For by one man, meaning Adam, sin entered the world, and so death by sin, for that all have sinned. And so we see God's manifestation of love in such an amazing way. Turn with me next to Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5, beginning with verse 6. For when we were yet without strength, in other words, while we were still the world, in the world, in due time, God's perfect time, Christ died for the ungodly, for scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, still of the world, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, and that's what we all were before we became new creatures in Christ Jesus, for if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled you shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received the atonement, or we've received the reconciliation, or we've been brought back into fellowship with God, all through Christ. God so loved the world that He sent His Son, and His Son came while we were still without strength, while we were yet sinners, when we could not do anything to redeem ourselves, Christ came. God's love manifests to this lost world. Go with me next to 1 John chapter 4 verse 9, In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent His only begotten Son into the what? Into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Verse 14, And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. God's action was manifested, displayed, in that He looked at this sin-cursed world, and He sent His only begotten Son, for what purpose? To come and die and pay the sin debt that we as sinners should have to pay on our own, because we deserve the judgment of God. Go back with me to Romans chapter 3, Romans chapter 3 verse 23, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be the propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. Whom God sent forth, Christ to be the propitiation, that's a big word, I'm going to see it again in another passage in a moment, but what does it mean? Literally it means that the place where God's wrath and God's mercy meet. You'll recall if you studied anything in the Old Testament, you remember about the Ark of the Covenant, you remember that it was positioned in the Holy of Holies, you remember that no one but the High Priest could go into its presence but just once a year, and He could not go in Himself until after numerous sacrifices on His own behalf because of His own sin, and when He went into the Holy of Holies, He would take the blood of the sacrificed Atonement Lamb to present there in that Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, so that in the process, God might have mercy upon Israel because of their sins that they had committed previous to that. Next year, same situation again, same process, Day of Atonement, going through, but here's the interesting thing, that above that Ark of the Covenant on this lid were two angelic beings formed there out of gold, and the space between them is where God's wrath and God's mercy would meet when the sacrifice was brought in faith, because you see, inside the Ark of the Covenant were the Ten Commandments, and let me ask you, what do the Ten Commandments do for every one of us in this room? They convict, they convince, and they declare, we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. So it represents as they're the Ten Commandments, this is God's serving wrath upon humanity, but it's called the Mercy Seat because when the blood was brought forward in faith, it was anticipating what Christ ultimately did when He became the sacrifice for us, and that was the propitiation, the satisfaction of God's judgment and wrath against sin. So when the high priest went in there and brought that blood, it was a type, a figure, a pointing to when Christ was there on the cross, and on the cross, what did He say? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And He said, it is finished. He was the propitiation. He was the satisfaction of God's wrath against sin. In order to do that, He who knew no sin became sin for us. When He cried out, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me? It was because He was making propitiation, satisfaction of God's judgment against sin right at that very time, as He died on the cross to pay the penalty that we should have to pay. So when we look at this passage of Scripture, it says, verse 25, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, Christ Jesus, to be the satisfaction of God's wrath and judgment against sin through faith in His blood. When we, by faith, trust in Christ, the result is that we are able to experience that applied, His propitiation, His sacrifice, satisfactory for us. Go with me to 1 John, chapter 2, please. Verse 1, My little children, these sayings write unto you that you sin not, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the, what's the next word, propitiation for our sins. Now listen to me and note it in your Bible. And not for ours only, as believers, born again Christians, but also for what? The sins of the whole world. If you hear nothing else that I say today, I want you to hear this, Christ's death payment was sufficient to pay for the sins of the whole world. Of all humanity, from Adam all the way down. The efficiency of Christ's death was sufficient to pay for the sins of every man. But now here's the second word I want you to hear, the efficacy of Christ's payment. It is only going to be satisfactory for you when you by faith appropriate it unto yourself. Now hear me, hear me. There are people, and you've perhaps heard them that say, how can a God of love send anybody to hell? The God of love that we're talking about here this morning is the God that so loved the world that he what? That he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Now listen to me, there is a heresy called universalism. Universalism abuses this passage that I've just read to you, and they say Christ died for the sins of the whole world, and therefore everyone's saved and everybody's going to go to heaven. That's not what it says. The efficiency of Christ's payment was that no one, absolutely no one has more sin than the blood of Christ can cover. Whoever believes in him, the devil doesn't like this message this morning. Whoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. But friends, it doesn't matter who the person is. When the gospel is presented to them at that moment in time, they will either say yay or nay. And what we read a moment ago, God did not send his son in the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be what? Saved. Saved. Okay, we're looking at what God the Father manifested. Now look with me on your outline to Roman numeral number two, what Christ the God-man demonstrated in his love by being willing to die and to satisfy God's holy judgment against sin. First John chapter 3 and verse 16, hereby perceive we the love of God, because he, referring to Christ, laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. If you'll notice, of God is in italics, which means it's supplied by the translators. What it's really saying, if you leave out those two words, hereby perceive we the love, because he laid down his life for us. Christ loved you so much, he died for you, personally. Friends, there's a whole world of difference between saying Christ died for all and by faith saying Christ died for me. Christ died in my place. He took my penalty upon himself. Go with me to John chapter 10, please. John chapter 10, verse 15, as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. Christ is presenting himself as the Good Shepherd here. Verse 17, therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. Now, do you hear the words of love from Christ? He says, no man takes my life, I give it. He willingly, purposely laid down his life. He said, I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up. How many of you remember that Pilate said to him, don't you know I've got power over you? What did Christ say? You don't have any power over me, but God's given to me. Friends, Christ did not die simply because public opinion turned against him. Christ died in fulfillment of God's eternal plan for redemption. And he loved us so much that he was willing to lay it down. He could have called legions of angels. He did not have to go to the cross. He even prayed, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done. And he submitted to the Father's will. Go with me to chapter 15 in John also. John 15, verse 9, as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. Greater love, in verse 13, hath no man than this, that a man would lay down his life for his friend. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 2, an instruction here to the believers in Ephesus, an instruction says, and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and hath given himself for an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor, as Christ has loved us. Verse 25, this time of celebrating Valentine's Day, men, listen up, husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. How much did Christ love? All the way to the cross, all the way to the tomb. He died to pay our penalty. Number three, we're talking about the Father, the Son, and now we're looking at the Holy Spirit. As we talk about the Holy Spirit of God, we need to recognize that the Holy Spirit, who is God, also manifests love. The way His love is manifested is by bringing conviction to the world. Romans chapter 1, would you turn with me to verse 18, Romans 1, 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, that's the world, and unrighteousness of men, that's the world, who hold, literally who hold down, who suppress the truth, God's truth, in their unrighteousness. They keep saying, no, I don't believe it, no, I will not accept it, no, I reject it. Verse 19, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made, even His eternal power in Godhead, so they are without excuse. They are without excuse. How many of you know that God has gifted even fallen men with a conscience, okay? Even fallen man has a conscience. Even a child has a conscience. For example, you hear the breaking of a vase, what reactions do you see? You've got children around, wasn't me, I didn't do it, he did it, she did it, wasn't my fault, da-da-da-da, or you find the broken pieces, and you ask the question, you know what happened to the vase? I don't know who did it, it wasn't me. What's that child telling us from an early age? They do know right from wrong, do they not? Bible says God has written His law upon the heart even of the unbeliever. That is a working of the Holy Spirit, and that conviction, man suppressing, holding down, denying the truth, I don't know how many people over the years that I've been preaching here have come to me and said, I do not understand how anybody could live in this country and say there is no God. And I have to agree with them. Look out the window. Amen? But let me ask you a question, are there any that drive through, park, stay, live here that claim that there is no God? Yeah. Against fact, against truth, they proclaim there is no God. But God has manifested to them His truth by what He has created. And so this Bible verse says they're without excuse. They will not stand before God one day on judgment day and be able to say with honesty, I didn't have a clue. God will simply say, the Word of God, I declare to you, you have no excuse because you sinned against the life that you were given and you rejected it. John chapter 6 verse 44 says no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. Now I want you to connect that verse. Go with me to John chapter 16. John chapter 16. These two verses are important and valuable to connect together. No man can come except the Father draw him. In John chapter 14, Jesus said, I'll pray the Father and He'll send the Comforter and the Comforter will be with you. Then He describes in chapter 14, 15, 16 what the work of the Holy Spirit will be. In chapter 16 and verse 7, we hear these words, nevertheless, I tell you the truth, Jesus is talking, it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove, who? The world. Now we're not talking about the dirt, the trees, the birds. We're talking about humanity, the lost world. He will reprove the world. What will He reprove or convict them of? Sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they believe not on Me. In spite of all the evidence, they go on rejecting, rejecting, rejecting. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father. Because Christ came and revealed His righteousness, showing what God is really like, how God did love and how God was willing to pay the penalty, the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ is a convictor and a convincer to anyone who will be willing to hear it. Because I go to the Father and you see me no more. Verse 11, of judgment, because the Prince of this world is judged. Christ announced, I've come to destroy the work of the devil. The Prince of this world is judged. Friends, as we look in terms of the working of the Holy Spirit, it is such an awesome thing to see how God has worked in such a way so that the world has opportunity to know of His great love and how He's manifested it, not only in creation, but more particularly through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, and we're going to pick up with verse 36. This is a sermon preached on the day of Pentecost. It actually begins in verse 22, but we're going to pick up in verse 36. Peter is here preaching, and he says, Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart. Let me ask you, what pricked them in their heart? The Holy Spirit of God. They were convicted. They were reproved. The light was shined, and they were realizing this is a message for us. They were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? The proper response to conviction is repentance. What do we do? When John the Baptist preached at the river Jordan, he preached about repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. He began to have those who were willing to hear say, What do we do? Even Roman soldiers, what do we do? People say, what do we do? And he gave them instruction how they were to demonstrate repentance. Verse 38, then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. For you received the gift of the Holy Ghost, God living in you, the promise that Christ made in John 14, 15, 16. For the promise is unto you and to your children. Would you please underline the next portion there? And to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. I want you to do me a favor. Turn to the person near you and say, you're one of those far off people. Now, don't you put a new spin on it than what I'm trying to tell you here. I didn't say far out. I said far off because the scripture is including Gentiles in this. Okay? So the question that the Jews ask, what shall we do? The answer that Peter is giving is repent, believe. Demonstrate your repentance by baptism, which means you're dead to your old life. You're alive to a new life. You have a brand new beginning going forward. And you go forward in that. Acts 24, verse 25, Apostle Paul being described, and as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled. Why did he tremble? He was convicted. Let me ask you a question. Would you have had the boldness to rebuke a Roman official? Paul did. And when he reasoned of those things, of righteousness, in other words, the holiness of God, of temperance, what sin looks like, and how this man was obviously a sinner. I mean, he's calling an ace, an ace, and a spade, a spade, and of judgment that is to come. As he spoke to that, Felix trembled. Now, his answer, his response, go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season, I'll call for thee. If you read the next verse, it says that he did call and invite Paul to come back again. Paul was two years in prison there in Caesarea. Felix was hoping maybe Paul would come up with a bribe to bribe him. But he also had some curiosity. Now, listen to me. The reality is that every time Paul talked to him, I believe he gave him the same message. And I think Felix had opportunity to tremble more than one time. And after Paul was out of the room, he had opportunity to tremble a little bit more and think about what he'd been told. Friends, God has manifested His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, without strength, separated from God, impossible to be redeemed, Christ came and died for us. The testimony of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost all declare that God has made possible salvation of the world. But listen to me. And I say this with a heavy heart. Jesus said there's two roads. There's a narrow road. It's called a straight road and it's going uphill. That's the one that goes to heaven. And He says there's few that are on that. He says there's a broad road that leads to destruction and many there be that go in there at. Friends, listen to me. The majority is not right. The majority is wrong according to the Word of God. The majority of the world rejects Christ and the manifestation of God's love to us through the Word, through the Son, by the Spirit. They reject that. Therefore, they're without excuse. And in judgment, it will be an eternal judgment. And they will not in hell be able to accuse God of never having shown His love to them. In fact, this is my conviction. Their torment will be even greater because they will know that they have sinned against the love of God. And they will be regretful for eternity. God so loved the world. My Bible says that one day there will be people from every people, tongue, tribe, and nation that will be included in those that have come to faith in Jesus Christ. All over the world, people will come. But unfortunately, there will also be multitudes that eternally will be separated from God. There is no such thing as universalism that everybody's going to heaven. One time, I went to a funeral service in Monta Vista, Colorado. A young man had died in this community. And a pastor led that service. And he took a passage completely out of context. He said, if God be for us, who can be against us? And then he says, I want to assure you, and he called that person's name, I can assure you that he's going to be in heaven. Because these preachers that tell you that you have to repent and believe in Christ to go to heaven are wrong. That this scripture says if God be for you, who can be against you, means that everybody's going to go to heaven. That man was wrong. He was lying. And anybody that believes that kind of a lie will eternally regret it. This morning, my question is, what have you done with the love of God? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, what an amazing God you are. You have manifested your love in such an awesome way that after man had rebelled and sinned against you as Adam and Eve did, as they continued to rebel and you destroyed the earth with a flood and only eight remained, they mounted up in rebellion after that and said we will build a tower right up into heaven and you judged and scattered and confused their languages, man continued on in his rebellion against you and yet, in all of that, you manifested your love by sending prophets with messages announcing that you would have mercy through your Son, through the Messiah, through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, as we look at history, we see the reality of 2,000 years ago, that love manifested there upon that cruel cross. We praise you for an empty tomb and a risen Savior and a coming Lord and for eternity, forever with Him. Lord, if there's someone here this morning that's never just allowed your love to completely swallow them up in forgiveness and restoration, I pray that today might be their day. We'll give you praise, Father. In Jesus' name, amen. Turn with me in your hymnals to hymn number 22, number 22. Let's stand and sing together Amazing Grace. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.