I'd like to give you all a warm welcome to our worship here this morning. Let us ask the Lord's blessing, let us pray. Lord God of heaven and of earth, we gather in thy house on the first day of the week, the day that thou didst set apart in rising from the dead and appearing unto thy dear disciples. Lord, do so for us and help us to worship thee in spirit and in truth this day. Lord, we ask this thy blessing through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 895. Tune, Ingham 473. This morning I wish to read from two portions of God's holy word. Firstly, the book of Romans, Romans chapter 5. If you have one of our free Bibles, that is page 1047. Romans 5, we will read from verse 12 through to the end. Romans 5 from verse 12. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift, for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if, by one man's offence, death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, Even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound, But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now let us turn to Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. and chapter 15, page 1071 in our Bible Box Bibles. We'll read from verse 50 through to the end. The whole chapter is a chapter on the resurrection of the dead. But we will read from verse 50. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 from verse 50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Eyes behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. And so when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. The Lord bless to us that reading of his holy word and help us as we come before him in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth, we come to thee through thy beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We see to reverence thy great and thy holy name. O Lord, thou only art worthy of such reverence and such adoration as being the one that hath made all things. Thou hast made them for thyself and by thee doth all things consist. O Lord, we know that thou art the supreme ruler in this world and in every world. Lord, there is none greater than Thee. And Lord, we do seek to bow before Thy throne, in whose hand is our life, our breath, our eternal destiny. Our hope is in Thy provision as in Thee. Lord, we think of Thee. Psalmist cast down, why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. And Lord, if there are those that gather this day in thy house, or we would remember those joining with us online that have that need, of a hope that that is their only hope in thy provision, in thy way of salvation, in what thou hast done. Lord, may we be strengthened and encouraged this morning and this day as we gather around thy word. To grant, Lord, faith mixed with what we hear. To grant that faith might come through what we hear. and be based upon what thy word doth say. O Lord, do make this to be a mark of difference between us and the world, the world that does not hear thy voice, that will not hear thy voice, that does not want to hear thy voice. Lord, that we might be those that are of thy sheep that hear thy voice, that want to hear it, that when they hear it, they follow thee. and that it is in thy word that hath formed the heavens and the earth, that lies our hope. Speak, Lord, and thy servant heareth. Lord, that it might be, speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. That it might be, the word comes to us today, not in word only, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Lord, it is that power of God that accompanies salvation that we do beseech Thee for, ask Thee for today. O Lord, do grant also that Thou hast helped us day by day in the ministry or those that hear and gather to wet our swords, to sharpen our swords through prayer. O leave us not to have much religious activity much preaching, much hearing, much gathering, but that it is as it were with a dull axe, with a weapon that is blunt, that we are not coming to Thee and seeking of Thee Thy blessing, Thy power, Thy life, that we are living a life that does not have a close communion with Thee. And so, Lord, we do beseech Thee that Thou has worked this in us, and through thy word and in our lives, that we each might live with a close communion and fellowship with thee. Lord, many of us, we would confess before thee how we feel so poor in prayer, so often we are drawn aside in our thoughts, our affections. We cannot stay long in prayer, and we do pray that that might be changed for each one of us. And also thy word, Lord, we read in. But Lord, do grant there might be those times that it is very sweet to us. We are drawn to it. We love it. We are attracted to it. We see the Lord Jesus Christ there. It is our meat and our drink. And we pray for this for each one. that thou shalt revive the sweet sacred savour of thy word in our hearts. Lord, thou hast said, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. So, Lord, do thou this as well, not just in prayer, not just in reading, but when we gather for public assembly, that thou hast be pleased to give us that hearing ear, and cause that we might listen to the message that thou hast chosen for thy servant to bring, that it might be to us an answer to prayer, that it might be to us that we shall settle our doubts and our fears, and be the means of grace to our souls. Do remember, O Lord our God, that thou hast bid us to not forsake assembling of ourselves together. Lord, thou hast bid us to gather unto thee. Thou hast bid us to hearken and to hear unto thy word, and thou hast said that it hath pleased thee through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. So, O Lord, do bless the preaching of thy word today and every day, and, Lord, do raise up servants to go and proclaim thy word. We pray that thou wouldst draw many to come under the sound of the truth here, those in Cranbrook and the surrounding area, O Lord, do work by thy spirit, through the Bible, through thy word, through providence, and do bring a people hungering and thirsting to hear the word of the Lord. We pray for a real spiritual revival in this land, and do begin at us and do begin here in Cranbrook and at the chapel here. We do seek, Lord, to humble ourselves before thee, on account of the bill that was passed into further process in our parliaments on Friday, the assisted dying bill. Lord, we are sorry that it was passed, but Lord, we own thy sovereign hand, and we do pray that those bring good even out of this, that we are prayed might not happen. Lord, that there might be through this process, than highlighting the need for better palliative care for the living, that there might also be raised to an awareness in this nation of death. Lord, it was noted in our parliament that it is a subject that many shy away from, don't think of, and would not rather speak of at all. But Lord, it has been forced unto our attention and brought to the attention of many. We do pray that they would use this to bring many into concern for their souls and to consider what death actually is, and what is beyond death, and what they are and the worth of their souls. Lord, thou art able, as thou didst in the case of Balaam, who was brought to curse the children of Israel, to turn the curse into a blessing. Thou art able to do, as in the case of Joseph, whose brothers meant it for evil, to bring it for good. And thou didst bring from those that wickedly crucified thee the salvation that thou hast foreordained. O Lord, do be pleased then to remember that thou hast also said that all things work together for good. to them that love God, to them that are the called according to thy purpose. Do thou be pleased to work this then for good in the hearts and lives of thy hidden ones, thy people that are not yet made manifest, and even thy people that are, that they might be strengthened and helped in their faith and strengthened through this time. Help us in the ministry today and from day to day and time to time to clearly set forth thy word. We do mourn that in our parliament thy word was not lifted up, was not clearly stated, and Lord, do have mercy upon us as a nation who have cast thy word behind our backs. I was reminded also of legislation passed in recent years and every one of that legislation that was set before us were things contrary to thy word. And so, O Lord, we do mourn on account of this. We thank thee that we do have a parliament. We thank thee that the debate was very reasoned and kind one to another and done in an orderly fashion. And we pray for those in authority over us. We thank thee for our own representative who voted against this bill, and we pray thy blessing upon her, and that she might be blessed in her own soul as well. And O Lord, be pleased to give wisdom to her and to others that profess to be Christians, that they might be unashamed of their faith, unashamed of thy word upon their hope rests, and that they might be able to speak thy word in a public way. O Lord, do have mercy upon us and grant again that the secret of Great Britain might be the Word of God. We thank Thee for remembrance in former years of what we have heard of our sovereigns and those in authority over us have done, especially during the war years. We thank Thee for many calls to prayer and answers to prayer during that time. that thy word in this nation at that time was prominent and that prayer to thee was unashamedly made and encouraged. And we pray that this again might be so in our land. Help us to be salt and to be lined. We do beg of thee that thou should remember this nation in her religious assemblies. Lord, we mourn that so many have taken upon the spirit of the world in how they act, how they dress, and the doctrine that they preach. O Lord, do grant again that the fear of God might be before our eyes and in our assemblies and in our hearts. O Lord, do again appear in this land. And those, O Lord, that really are betraying the truth while they maintain to be upholding it, to open their eyes and turn them away from walking in such a worldly way with a name of religion in it. O Lord, we do pray for deliverance from Satan and all his wiles and all his snares and also from our own wicked, evil, deceitful heart. Do grant us grace to resist the devil. Do grant us grace to mortify the deeds of the body through the spirit and do grant unto us a delight in the things of God and a hatred of the things of evil. We do pray then that Thou hast be pleased to bless us here, do remember each one. We pray for our young people and children, that Thou hast work in their hearts while young, We do pray for our dear aged friends to help them and bless them in the even tide of life. And as we minister to those at Pilgrim Home this afternoon, may thy blessing be upon the dear aged pilgrims there and that there might be that help given as we meet with them. O Lord, we do pray for each of thy servants to remember those that are trying to sell their homes and to move to take up pastorates in the next month, Lord, to appear for them, to answer their prayers and the prayers of their flocks. May we be pleased to establish the flocks throughout this land, revive us as a denomination, as a people, and all of the Reformed brethren, many that we love throughout this land, we seek thy blessing to be upon them. We with our churches in Australia, we thank thee for one hoping to put thee on in open profession there in Melbourne. The Lord do bless her and do bless others. Also, Lord, may there be others wrought upon there. And Lord, we do pray that those be with those in America and Canada as well. My dear friends in Holland, we pray for them, some in their afflictions to grant blessing on medication, Thy kind lengthening of days, healing if it could please Thee, and that Thou dost comfort those that are in bereavement. O Lord, Thou knowest the needs of each of Thy people, and Lord, do remember those that feel lonely, isolated and troubled, those afflicted not just in their body, but have afflictions of mind or afflictions of soul. Remember all that truly are in need, that have the life of God within and feel condemnation and feel to have a real need for their souls, those that are real seekers. Lord, do bless them, lead them gently on, feed them and instruct them through thy word and do bring them to liberty in the gospel. Lord, we do pray for that assurance and that hope that triumphs over death, we do pray, Lord, for that faith that triumphs over sin through this world and causes us to walk in the Spirit. Save us, Lord, from sin in all of its forms and subtleness, where it has become a habit or where things have been in such a way that we're in a snare or a slough of despond, or in a low place and cannot extricate ourselves, O do come and lift us up, deliver us and save us, and set us on high from those that puff at us. Lord, the impossible cases, the difficulties in our lives, be pleased to give grace to bear them, and be pleased to come and save us and lift us out of them. We thank Thee for all Thy many mercies. We do not deserve anything at Thy hand, nothing out of a deserved hell, but Thou art good and gracious and has not dealt with us as our sins have deserved. We thank Thee for our homes, our food, our raiment, every measure of health and strength. We thank Thee for Thy word in our own tongue, for Thy people and for the blessings that we have in this land. We pray for others in other lands that do not have these things, or even in our land that are poor, homeless and needy. O Lord, help us to go through life with a thankful heart, from every murmur free. Do grant us thankfulness in all that we do and all that we say. Do grant unto us that blessing of eternal life and thanks for that. We ask now thy help and blessing as we turn to thy word, and we thank thee for thy kind provision to us as a church and people, kindness through thy people, and their support of us here. We ask through thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Announcements, God willing, I'm expected to preach here this evening at 6.30 p.m. on Thursday at seven o'clock and next Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. The collections for the cause during November, for which we sincerely thank you or bless you in your giving, amounted to £1,120.40. There is no giving for the Bible Fund this month, but we are very thankful that we have been given that provision through a charity to be able to continue the distribution of the Word of God. Hymn, 470. Tune, Mitton 374. Seeking for the help of the Lord, I direct your prayerful attention to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We'll read for our text verse 57. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 57, and this victory is the victory over death. In verse 55, or verse 54, you read from there, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Referring back to the prophet Isaiah. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. Then the words of our text. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. If you and I are to have victory over death, it can only be through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He can only be in the way described by our Lord, by God, who has inspired his word in the Bible and all that is said in the Word of God about death, about life to come, about ourselves, if we cast away and reject the Word of God and reject the Lord's counsel, then how can we expect to have victory over death through our Lord Jesus Christ, when we have cast his word behind our backs, when we have gone our own way and sought to overcome it in our own way. Now, why this has been brought to my attention, you would have gathered from the prayers concerning the assisted dying debate in the bill that was passed on its second reading in our parliaments here in England on Friday, a 55 majority in favour of passing the bill to allow assisted suicide or assisted dying, as the bill said. But, as we are thankful, some of the MPs clearly stated they were going to use the term suicide, because that is exactly what it is. We're thankful for much very sober debate and many good points raised. Nevertheless, we are very sad that while one MP could stand up and say that she was a humanist and that what she was saying was because of what she believed, there was none that stood up and said, I am a Christian or not to my knowledge there wasn't, and stood up and said that what they were saying was according to the word of God and what they believed as a Christian. It's a very solemn thing in our country that has been nominal Christian that the word of God is not consulted, its wisdom is not set before our lawmakers, and those laws are made without having recourse to the counsel of God. What a solemn thing also that it is thought that by taking a life that somehow there is a victory over death. Or what is thought is a victory over a painful death, to make death as nice and comfortable as can be. But in this there is that ignorance of what is beyond death and what we must face before a holy God. We know there have been those that, criminals that have sought by suicide to escape justice in this life, or a punishment in this life, and they have thought that through taking their own lives they can escape that. They may indeed have escaped what they did not want to face in this life, but they have still gone through death. Their life has still been terminated here, and they have entered irreversibly into eternity, their sole presence before God. So, I know that this is a very emotive subject. It was certainly in our parliaments and many were bringing stories, harrowing stories, of how their loved ones died. But the issue is not that. Death itself is a terror, as we have sung, of the whole human race and it is an enemy. It is the last enemy and we can never escape that or change that. But what I wanted to do this morning was to very clearly set forth the scriptural position and to consider death and the victory over it through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So I want to look with the Lord's help first at how death came into the world. Begin right there. And then secondly, God's word on human life. What does God say about the life that he has given? How are we to preserve it? How are we to deal with it? And then lastly, the victory over death only in God's way. But firstly, how death came into the world. We know that God created man, and he created him in his own image, And all was good, all was perfect. As the Word of God begins, as God created the world, there was no death. Not of animals, plants, anything at all. There was no death. Everything was good. Everything was of life. That didn't last long. We don't know how long, but it didn't. And we would remember this, those that think of, well, we can reconcile the word of God and the science falsely so called, that would say that the world has been in existence for millions of years. And especially those who say that they are Christians should always remember this, that if there was existence before Genesis 3, where we read that man fell and death first entered into the world, then death didn't come as the Word of God declares it did, but was in existence before the world was created, or before man fell. And that cannot be the origin of death. is through sin entering into the world and death by sin. That is what we read in our portion in Romans 5. Our Lord, when he created man, gave him a command that he could eat of all of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but not of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil. In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. That was the prescribed sentence upon disobedience, rebellion, and doing what had been forbidden. Adam and Eve, in innocency, without being tainted by sin, listened to Satan, they saw that that tree was good for food, They saw it was pleasant to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise, they did, as what is told us in 1 John 2, they saw the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. And they followed after that, that is what Satan set before them. And in doing that, their eyes were opened, They did now know not only good, but good and evil, and the sentence of God came upon them. And as we read in Romans 5, it also passed upon all men in that all have sinned. And it is important for us to remember that, that in our first parents' disobedience, by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So then death passed upon all men in that all have sinned. We all are sinners. The sentence is already upon us all. None can deny that all men must die. Of course, unless when the Lord comes, then there is a change. But it is appointed unto man once to die, then after that the judgment. And we are to remember it is God that has passed the sentence of death upon us for our sin. You must never forget that. That's why I begin here. How did death come into the world? Did God have anything to do with it? And if he did, how can we deal with it apart from God and apart from His way. We may then ask, what form did death enter into the world? And that is why we must also know how man was created in the image of God. In a wider sense, man was given a rationality, he was given an eternal soul, and a position over the animals, over the creation, and given dominion over them. And since the Fall, these are retained, but then when they're not influenced by grace, they are very perverted. The one thing that is not retained, and after the flood, man was still put over or in charge in the world over creation, but it is left off that he then had dominion. Every animal that rises up against man, it proves, it sets forth that man does not now have that dominion over, an animal can have dominion over a man. In a narrower sense, we think of that which is in the image of God, a true knowledge of God, of righteousness, of holiness, that fellowship and communion with God, when Adam was created, The Lord came into the garden and he walked in the cool of the day. And that was when Adam had fallen. He was fearful. He clothed himself with fig leaves. He tried to hide from God. But before the fall, he had that fellowship and communion. There was no bar between man and between his God. So these things They have been lost in the fall and the only way that they are reclaimed is by those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and have the image of God as they stand in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Colossians we read, And have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. So, man is created in the image of God, and he has a soul. He does not just have a flesh and spirit that dies. In Ecclesiastes, we're told of the spirit of the beast that goeth downward into the earth, and the spirit of man that goeth upward. Then shall they flesh return to the dust, and the spirit shall return to God that gave it. The soul of man resides in his body. The body is a tabernacle. If we'd have had time, we could read the whole of 1 Corinthians 15, which speaks of the soul, of its mortal tabernacle, of its celestial tabernacle, The soul exists separate from the body, and indeed death is the separation of soul and spirit. With the beast, death is the extinction of its life, it ceases to exist. And so when we think of the fall, when we think of the sentence of death, it comes in effect in three different ways. The first way is to die spiritually. Adam and Eve did not die physically straight away, but spiritually they did. The communion between them and their God was severed, and we read that the natural man receiveth not the things of God, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Man is dead in trespasses and sins, and that deadness, that death, is part of the sentence of God. There are many, even, that have a name of Christ, that will undermine that death. They will say, no, man is not so spiritually dead that he cannot respond of himself to the Gospel, that he cannot obey it. But that is saying that really what God did when he passed the sentence of death was he made him not quite dead. He was semi-conscious, or perhaps just capable of responding just a little bit. He's almost saying, put it in a natural way, that when we have a dead body, that body is not quite dead. It might just respond if one speaks loud enough, and be able to respond to that person, but the scriptures are not like that. They're very clear that the natural man, he cannot know the things of God, he cannot respond. The first thing that he needs to be given is spiritual life. And so that sentence of death, we must be very clear, is a complete separation between the soul and God, a complete deadness spiritually, so though he has a soul, that soul, as regards to God, is severed from God. He cannot enjoy God, he cannot hear his voice, he cannot know God. It exists, but it exists separate from God, at enmity with God, at peace with hell, and with God at war. And it's God's sentence that man is so separated from him, banished from him. The second way that man died was in the death of the body. In dying thou shalt die. We know those first ones, Adam, Eve, Methuselah, they lived for many hundreds of years. But if we read Genesis 5, After every one of them we read, and he died, and he died. They must, and you and I, must die physically one day because of sin, because of death. Sin entered into the world, and death by sin. Death, not just because we sinned, but because God enacted a sentence against man. It is like if someone does something wrong, if they steal, if they commit some crime worthy of being put into prison, they don't go into prison automatically because they have committed that crime. They go to the judge first, and the judge says, this is the prescription the law for the crime that you have committed, you will go into prison. That is what God has said. You have sinned. You have taken that which you should not have done. You have rebelled against me. That is the crime. The sentence is, you shall have spiritual death, you shall have physical death. And so all men must die. We have a grave outside this chapel. Many chapels have the graveyards. A solemn reminder, we've been reminded in our parliament, of the presence of death, that man must die. He puts it off. He imagines that it won't happen to him, that he won't have to go that way. Dear friend, do not put it off. It will come. We must die. The third way in the sentence is eternal death. Because after the death of the body and the soul returns to God, then there is the judgment. And then there is to be cast into hell and into those torments which are forever and ever. The scripture is very, very clear on that, that there is life after death, there is the judgment, and heaven is a real place, hell is a real place, and the torments of hell are a real place for the damned and those outside of Christ. So, our first point, how death came into the world, it came through sin, it came through the fall, it came because of the judgment of God upon man, And it comes in these three forms, spiritual death, physical death, and eternal death, after the judgment. May we remember that. If we're trying to escape death, if we're trying to soften it, if we're trying to avoid it, may we remember those three aspects of death. And if you and I are delivered from it, it will be in this order, delivered from spiritual death through our Lord Jesus Christ, and delivered from physical death, being made death, a way that we are brought from this sin-cursed world to be with Christ forever and ever, and in Christ we escape the eternal death as well. I give unto them eternal life, they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of mine hand. So, That was a quick summary also of the victory over death. I want to now look at God's Word on human life. How are we to look upon human life? Are we to just say, well, man must die anyway, so it doesn't matter whether he dies earlier or later? Or how he dies. Does it, does it matter? Well, if we can put animals down, why can't we put a human being down? How are we to preserve life? Well, again, let us begin right at the beginning. Who is it that gives life? Right through scripture, we read these words, and the Lord gave her conception. Life begins at conception, in the womb. This is one of those laws that was mooted on Friday as being something the Parliament could be proud of, that they'd passed the abortion laws allowing the murder of children, that they'd passed these laws to make homosexuality to be something that is paraded as worthy of praise in this land. those things that are so contrary to the Word of God, but maybe remember that God gives life. Now remember that when Mary came to visit Elizabeth, that the babe leapt, John Baptist leapt in the womb at the salutation of Mary. The child was alive, a real child in the womb. Everyone really knows that. Psalm 139 speaks of being in the womb and in the process of time, all the members, though they were not, yet they're fashioned and they're brought forth. You read that Psalm. Life begins there. Life is a sacred thing. The authority over animals is given us by God as man, and animals do not have a soul. And so in that way, animals after the flood were given also for food, really at the fall of man. Animals were slain, their blood shed for clothing of man. They are for men. But for a person, the vast difference is the soul, the soul that lives. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12 and verse 7. Israel were given laws which give us the pattern of how killing should be treated. They were given cities of refuge, six on one side, Jordan, six on the other. If a person committed premeditated murder or took someone's life, in a deliberate, premeditated way, knowing what they were doing, they could flee to these places, cities of refuge, to escape the vengeance of the relatives. But when their case was heard, then they were to be put to death. Premeditated killing was murder. Then we have killing by accident. If someone's axe head flew off, if someone did something that they did not have any hatred, any malice, and someone got killed, then they could flee to those cities of refuge, and then their case was heard. And if it was found it was not murder, but it was manslaughter, then they were in effect shut up in that city. They couldn't go home to their wife, their family, their house. They had to stay there until the high priest died. If the high priest was young, they could be there for many years. If he was old, not many years. But that was the law. In effect, they had a life sentence. They had a sentence upon them. Then there was judicial killings. And, of course, those that had committed murder, the state or Israel, when the case was heard, and it had to be done in the mouth of witnesses. Numbers 35, you can read these cases in that chapter. Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses. It's another thing that is very strange in our country again. Capital punishment has been abolished. There was even mention of that on Friday. How is it that in the past we have legislated to stop judicial killing, but now we are legislating to allow for killing by a doctor? These scriptures are clear though, that where there is a murderer, one witness shall not testify against any person who caused him to die, but moreover thou shalt take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer which is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. The sentence of death enacted by a court of law must be two or three witnesses. And after the flood, this is the word of God then. Surely your blood of your lives will I require. At the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. for in the image of God made he man. And then in Proverbs we read as well, a man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit, let no man stay him. Proverbs 28, verse 17. You might say, well, didn't David commit murder? Didn't Moses commit murder? Yes, they did. And they were shown mercy. for that murder, but it doesn't take away the value of human life and that sentence that is to be enacted when murder is committed. You might say, well, what about war then? Well, we read King David speaking about Joab, the son of Zeruiah, his sister's son. And he speaks about what he did to him and to the two captains of Israel. That is, he killed Avner, the son of Ner, and he killed Emesa, the son of Jetha. And he makes this point. He says, whom he slew and shed the blood of war in peace. put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins and in his shoes that were on his feet." He charged Solomon, his son, to execute judgment upon Joab because of what he'd done. But we have a clear teaching there. There is a difference between blood shed in a time of war and bloodshed in a time of peace. So God has given directions concerning life, and really all of us have an instinct given, it is with the animals as well, to preserve our lives. If we see something threatening our life, we don't need to think, well what shall I do to avoid this? We naturally will try and preserve our life. This is the only life we actually know. But then we have the situation that people feel, well, their quality of life is so bad, their pain is so strong, and that it would be better for them that they might die. Well, we also should consider that with the eternal nature of the soul and the reality of hell, and the only way of deliverance, while there is life, there is hope. If you and I are to obtain the victory in our text through our Lord Jesus Christ, it must be while we have life. Where the tree falls, there it shall lie. If we die as an unbeliever, we are lost forever. If we die as a believer and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. We should not cut off life, remove the opportunity of hearing the Word of God. While we have life, there is hope. Our bodies are the temple of God. The Spirit dwells in us. We have the soul within us. We are told, he that destroys the temple of God, him will God destroy. We think of some of the examples of the people of God. We think of Job in his great affliction. One of the utterances he makes, oh that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou wouldst keep me in secret until thy wrath be passed. But then he says that thou wouldst appoint me a set time and remember me. And he makes this comment as well, that all the appointed days, he says, if a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. He wouldn't put his hand to take away his life. He'd wait to the appointed time, the time the Lord had appointed him. And the word of God is very clear then of how we should be. caring for one another, looking after one another, treating the life that God has given as a valuable life, treating this day as a day of grace and the time that we have upon this earth as a time of grace. Because it is only in this time that we shall find the victory in our text. The word of God is very clear. The sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill. And as we have spoken of the only ways in which that killing can be right and the different ways of killing and how it's viewed in the word of God. God speaks on human life, that it is a precious life. It has worth, has worth above animals. and it is the Word of God alone that decrees how we should treat it and the only way that we may obtain the victory over death in God's way. I want to then look at our last point, that victory over death. In Hebrews chapter 2, we read of those that through fear of death all their lifetime, subject to bondage. And it is through the Lord Jesus Christ alone that there is to be a deliverance. For as much, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." And it's speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Hebrews 2.15, as then taking on him, Not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. The seed of Abraham is body and soul. Angels are just spirit. Animals are just flesh. But the Lord took a real body and a real soul. And it was then that he should die. He could die, not because he had to die, but because he would lay down his life as a substitutionary offering in the place of his people, in the place of those that sinned. That is the only way that death is overcome. It must be, it must come to pass, but in God's way, there is the substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the victory. This is our text. but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now ever much more I might say, may this word seal upon your heart, seal upon mine, and that we view the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of escape from death, and it was through His coming into this world, entering into this world, as a babe, born of a virgin, born of the Holy Spirit, truly God, truly man, that He would then be capable of laying down that life as a ransom for His people. If we were to escape death, may we think of our Lord Jesus Christ and His sufferings and His death. and why he came into this world to suffer, bleed and die. What a solemn thing, to really think of death and think of handling it in our way to escape it, while at the same time in effect saying to God, I despise your word, I despise your plan and way of salvation, I don't want anything to do with that, But I think that by my device and my way, I am going to escape death and its consequences. You will not. The Word of God is so very, very clear. You may escape out of this world quicker than what you would have done otherwise. But you will not escape the judgment. You will not escape hell and eternal vengeance and justice forever. You will not obtain victory, not the victory that is set forth here in this text. Never, ever take or touch your own life. Never allow someone else to do it for you. Never step in before God and take things into your own hand in thinking that in that way, yes, you may relieve some suffering here, You may make death come quicker and think it is a relief, but beyond that grave, what a solemn thing, what awaits. I read to you what is in Psalm 73. In Psalm 73, the psalmist was very perplexed because there were those that were going on in this world that had no bands in their death. They had no troubles. Everything seemed to go well in their life, they had everything, whereas God's people were troubled, they were fearful, but these were, the ungodly, were not. You see, God's people, they know they have a soul, they know the worth of a soul, they know what is at stake. But these are those that don't, and don't want to know what is at stake. And so the psalmist, he says in Psalm 73, when I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. How can this be? I've cleansed my heart in vain. I've followed these things in vain. No, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end. And may everyone that thinks nothing of beyond this life, beyond the grave, you read, you think of what is set forth here. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places, thou castest them down into destruction, how they are brought into desolation, as in a moment they are utterly consumed with terrors, as a dream when one awaketh. So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. And you see death as like that veil, and as they take that medicine, as a person passes through death outside of Christ, and they close their eyes to this world, and they open their eyes to that which is to come, then, to read this, are brought into desolation as in a moment, utterly consumed with terrors. What a fearful thing, to fall into the hands of the living God. But what a blessed thing to have this victory. Our Lord Jesus Christ, upon Calvary's tree, shed his precious blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. He laid down his life freely as a freewill offering. He took it again, the empty tomb bearing witness that he had put away the sins that he was bearing. that has laid on him the iniquity of us all, and laid down his life to take it again, a ransom, a substitutionary offering, like with Abraham, who took Isaac off the altar and put the ram in his place, and received Isaac, as it were, from the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary has Settled the debt, He has paid justice. Justice now cannot demand two prices. It cannot demand at the Lord Jesus Christ a payment for my sin and then demand at me payment for that same sin. Those for whom Christ died will most surely be saved, will most surely never know eternal death. How do we know that we are those for whom Christ died? We know from the Word of God that he laid down his life for a people chosen in him from eternity. It was love specifically to them that he laid down his life and took it again, and because of that, his sacrifice is effectual for that people. It will not be wasted. It will not be done as if it was paid for the whole of mankind and some avail themselves of it and some not. And this comes in the idea that men are not quite so dead that they can accept of themselves. The truth is that the Lord Jesus Christ died for his people. He shall save his people from their sins. The way that they are saved is that the gospel is proclaimed throughout all the world. We do not know who God's people are. He does. And so the Word of God, as we do this morning, is proclaimed to everyone, irrespective of race, of who they are, however wicked they are, whatever their lifestyle is. The Word of God is set before them, the way of escape, is through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through believing in Him, through believing that He is God's only begotten Son, He did come to this world, He did lay down His life, He did pay for our sins and rose again. God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. How is it that God's people are saved? The Lord said, that none can come unto me except the Father which sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. As we speak the word, as we preach the word, though there will be those that are drawn to it, and may each that hear the word this morning, each of you, and each that may hear it later, that you may be drawn to this word, drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ, attracted to this way of victory through his death and suffering, instead of thinking, well, all this about Christ and all this about Calvary, what's that to do with me? Why did he come into the world? This is why the Lord came into the world. Did he come for nothing? Did he suffer for nothing? Was there no purpose, no reason? Maybe raised up in our heart, there is a reason. It's to save me, to save my soul. to deliver me from wrath, deliver me from the destruction to come. You know, it's a blessed thing to be drawn to the Lord, to believe in Him, to trust in Him, to see in Him the only hope for sinners. Our Lord said that I, if I be lifted up above the earth, will draw all men unto me. And it will be the people of God that are drawn to Him. drawn to the Lord as that way of escape. If you feel your guilt, your sin, if you feel the terror of death, the fear of death, if you tremble at what is before you, if you tremble at how dead, how cold, how lifeless, how unspiritual, how sinful you are, before you, I set forth the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on Him and trust in Him. lean on him, rest solely upon him. There is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved. It is the only name and only way. And it is a way. It is a way. It is given by God, designed by God for sinners, commended to us in the gospel and in the word and in the word of our text. A cause of great thanksgiving, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Years ago, over in Australia, the deacon at Geelong Chapel, he told me of when his mother died, a believer. And on her deathbed, she was very weak, but she suddenly raised herself up in the bed. And she took hold of the covers and she moved them. She said, victory, victory, victory. And then she lied down and she died. She sung victory with her last breath, as if one foot was one side of the grave and one the other. And she realized she was out of reach of sin, of Satan, She was safely landed, safely brought above. So always remain with me. What a wonderful thing, on a deathbed, to be able to sing of victory. To be able to have the language of this verse, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear friends, do not turn away from the word of God. from the way of salvation set before us in it. Many will think, well, you can go up this way, and you can believe this, and you can believe that. You cannot. There is only one way of salvation, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. And one way, that is through believing, through faith in his name, and through repentance, and a life that will reflect a life of following the Lord Jesus Christ. love to Him and His people, obedience to Him and to His ordinances and to His ways. May we have this witness. May we realise the victory and realise it really day by day as we deal with sin in us, as we wrestle with it, as we fight against it, as we see not yet all things put under Him, but we see Jesus. And in the Lord Jesus Christ, we realise we have victory. He is in heaven. He is already there. The Apostle says, let us run the race set before us, looking unto Jesus. Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 412. Tune, Cambridge 16. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and evermore. Amen.