I guess I didn't realize what it would be like to live in the last days. I thought it would be more clear-cut than it seems to be. I thought it would simply be a matter of take it or leave it. I thought it was going to simply be a matter of "choose your day," if you know what I mean.

I didn't realize that before it was over the devil would have basically taken over this planet. To be able to do that he would first have had to deceive the people. But then, didn't the prophet see three unclean spirits like frogs going out to deceive the kings of the earth?

I guess I didn't realize that the attack the devil would make would not just mess things up on which day a person goes to church, but he would actually try to make mush of what the gospel is all about.

You may remember the story of the tourist in New York City. The tourist needed to get somewhere, so he stopped a local resident and asked him how to get to such and such a place.

The man replied, "You go straight down this street five blocks, at the light turn right and go...no, on second thought, go back the way you have come until you get to McDonalds; there take a left and go three blocks...no, go up to the next block and turn left and...come to think of it, you can't get there from here!"

Yes, the devil is getting the world totally confused, even in the things that used to be clear. He has turned good into bad and bad into good. Nowadays the image is that the good guys are bad and the bad guys are good. The good guys are bigoted and the bad guys are compassionate. The bad guys are moral and the good guys are immoral for not accepting the immorality of the bad guys, and so it goes. Where will it all end?

Friends, I am afraid we have not seen anything yet--and I am not talking about earthquakes or hurricanes. Before this is over the devil will have turned the gospel on its head and made the truth of God a lie.

The devil is most active, or maybe I should say he is the most creative, in the church. I refer to the church that claims to be the church of Christ; that is, he is the most creative in Christendom. Of course, on his list of priorities within the realm of Christendom, his number one target is the Seventh-day Adventist Church. That is not to say that Seventh-day Adventists are the only true Christians. There are more true Christians who are not Seventh-day Adventist than there are Seventh-day Adventists. And I don't need to tell you that being a Seventh-day Adventist doesn't necessarily mean a person is a true Christian, and that is not a put-down to our church.

The fact is, that although Adventists are not the only true Christians, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the only church that is preaching the message that will enable the lost who are alive when Jesus comes to be saved, and the saved who are alive now to keep from being deceived and being lost. Make no mistake about it. The message that was given to this church more than 150 years ago is a life and death message for the generation that is now living.

The devil is working twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He has assigned his brightest and most intelligent imps to make inoperable or unintelligible the message that this church was given.

The message of the third angel is a two-edged sword. The devil's purpose is to break that sword, or at least to dull it sufficiently so that it will not be able to do its work. Although we know that it will turn out all right in the end, it seems, to some extent at least in some places, he is having some success.

I know there are some people who say we are majoring in minors and are hung up in the details of what it means to be a Christian. Maybe some are. But there is also the distinct possibility that some of the so-called details or fine points are, in fact, foundation points, and instead of being optional, are actually the base on which our entire message sits.

I believe that in this church we are indeed engaged in a struggle to discover--and not only to discover, but to implement--what it actually means to have salvation. Somehow we have decided to divide ourselves up into the solaced liberals and the solaced conservatives; then there are those who consider themselves to be somewhere in-between. But make no mistake. Before this is over there will be only two groups and they will not be the liberals and the conservatives, but will be those who believe the gospel and those who will have rejected it.

Have you noticed that in circles these days, if there is one thing being discussed more than any other, it is the matter of faith and works? I should say not so much the matter about faith, but the matter of works and the role they play or don't play in the lives of the persons being saved.

It seems as though in any discussion about what it means to be a Christian, or anything having to do with the practical aspects of the Christian life or what it means to live a godly and a holy life, there will always be someone who will hit the "we are not saved by works" button, and the conversation comes to a grinding halt or ends up in a spiritual fist fight.

I am tired by all of this, how about you? I think we ought to stop talking about the matter of works in the Christian life. I believe we ought to stop talking about works. Not because I feel that works are not important. Good works are, in fact, what it means to live a godly and a holy life.

But I believe we should stop talking about works. You see, the thing about works springs out of the writings of the apostle Paul. Paul would be very upset if he were alive today and could see where this thing has come to. You see, in Romans and Galatians and in the other places, Paul was not talking about whether we should do good works or not as much as he was talking about how we are saved--in other words, where good works come from.

But that being what it is, nevertheless it seems that in some quarters at least we have come to a type of gridlock and, as they say, a person persuaded against his will is of the same opinion still. I believe the point behind all of this has to do with what salvation is all about. If we are sidetracked from discussing this we will be throwing out the baby with the bath water, as they say.

What I propose is that we stay on the subject but we change the terms of reference. Let us use a different vocabulary. Better yet, if some of us think that the debate over faith and works is an argument between Paul and James, or that Paul is somehow saying that anything goes, why don't we talk to someone else about it; by that, I mean someone else in the New Testament.

Why not settle the question once and for all. Let's go directly to Jesus. He will set the matter straight for us. Maybe we can get out of this gridlock after all!

Here is what Jesus said about works:

• Matthew 7:17: "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."
• Matthew 7:18: "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
• Matthew 7:19: "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
• Matthew 12:33: "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by [his] fruit."
• Matthew 13:8: "But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."
• Matthew 13:23: "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
• Matthew 13:26: "But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also."
• Matthew 21:19: "And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away."
• Matthew 21:34: "And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it."
• Matthew 21:43: "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."
• Matthew 26:29: "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
• Mark 4:7: "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit."
• Mark 4:8: "And others fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred."
• Mark 4:20: "And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."
• Mark 4:28: "For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear."
• Mark 4:29. "But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."
• Mark 11:14: "And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard [it]."
• Mark 12:2: "And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard."
• Luke 3:9: "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
• Luke 6:43: "For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
• Luke 6:44: "For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes."
• Luke 8:8: "And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when He had said these things, He cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
• Luke 8:14: "And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection."
• Luke 8:15: "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with patience."
• Luke 13:6,7: "He spake also this parable; A certain [man] had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?"
• Luke 13:9: "And if it bear fruit, [well]: and if not, [then] after that thou shalt cut it down."
• Luke 20:10: "And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent [him] away empty."
• Luke 22:18: "For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come."
• John 4:36: "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together."
• John 12:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
• John 15:2: "Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."
• John 15:4: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me."
• John 15:5: "I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing."
• John 15:8: "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples."
• John 15:16: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you."

Can't you see it now? We were hung up on the relationship of faith to works. Are we saved by works or faith? On and on, back and forth. But then we agreed that we weren't going to talk about works anymore. In fact, the title of this sermon is, "Don't Talk to Me About Works." So let's don't. We won't--at least we will try not to!

You know, I wish we hadn't left Jesus standing on the sidelines when we got into our big theological debates. He was, of course, invited. We referred to Him all the time, but we didn't let Him talk. And if we did, it was only to give the devotional or something before we brought in the theologians and scholars, if you know what I mean. But we should have not only referred to Him, we should have given Him the first word and the last word. Then we probably wouldn't be in the quandary we are in.

You don't even have to be a theologian to understand what Jesus has to say about the importance of fruit--not just the importance, but the necessity of fruit in the life of the person who is being saved. Jesus goes so far as to say that if there isn't any fruit, the tree is a bad tree and will be cut down and burned up. He says that those who are involved in the salvation process will always bring forth good fruit, and there is never an exception to the rule.

He says that good trees always bring forth good fruit, and bad trees bring forth bad fruit or no fruit at all. I wish that we had studied the gospel according to Jesus before we studied the gospel from any other context anywhere else in the Bible. Not that the rest of the Bible is wrong or that it is not important, but when a person understands the gospel as Jesus taught it, it is impossible to misunderstand.

If we had only started with the gospel according to Jesus, we wouldn't have gotten bogged down in the debate over faith and works. If we had only started with the gospel according to Jesus--especially the part that tells us that bearing fruit is not an option--it would have saved us from the extremes that many have fallen into through the years.

Once we get the picture of what Jesus tells us about the necessity of bearing fruit in our lives, the rest of the texts that call us to live godly lives and holy lives are not debatable or an option.

Did you know there is a text that says unless we live holy lives we will not see God? It is Hebrews 12:14. It says, "Follow peace with men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." This is pretty heavy. First, Jesus is telling us that unless we bear fruit we will be cut down and burned up, and now this text is telling us that unless we are seeking to live holy lives we will not see God, no matter how much assurance someone may say you have.

I am not trying to up the ante by throwing in the concept of living a holy life alongside the matter of bearing good fruit. Personally, I believe both concepts are one and the same. A person who has salvation is a person who is bearing the good fruit in his life. That is a result of being saved, and a person who has salvation by faith in Jesus will always, with no caveat or exception, be living a holy life.

I don't want to bring up the "W" word again; but if the truth be known, good works, good fruit, and holy and godly living are all the same thing. For the life of me I can't understand how a Christian in his right mind would fight against or resist incorporating good works in his life, or bearing fruit, or living a holy life. It would seem to be a contradiction of terms.

The person who would fight against good works and good fruit and godly living would be on the side of the devil himself. The person who really wants to be a Christian but somehow finds themselves fighting against good works or good fruits or holy living would have to be a person who is badly misinformed as to what the gospel is all about.

There must be an objective way of measuring whether a person has really accepted Jesus or not. I don't need to tell you that words are cheap. If some people will deceive themselves and try to deceive you into believing they are holy, don't you think there might be the remote possibility that someone might even try to deceive God?

Of course, as Grandma used to say, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. And so in the same way, when we are born again by faith in Jesus Christ, we are not what we used to be. The Scripture says that the old things are passing away and all things are becoming new. Jesus, you will remember, put it another way when He said that the good tree will bring forth good fruit. This is why a person who has salvation will always be a person who is turning away from the world not toward it.

There are a lot of machines out there on the market these days that are made to do testing. I couldn't even begin to name them. There are virtually thousands of testing machines in virtually every area of our modern lives. For instance, in the medical realm there are machines that analyze blood, there are MRI machines, and all the rest.

A person who says they have accepted Jesus as their Savior and claims to have salvation should not mind being tested, if you know what I mean. A person who is not lying will not mind taking a lie detector test. In the spiritual realm, we should not be surprised that there would have to be some tests to see if we are really letting the gospel do its work in our lives. After all, when we are sick and go to the doctor and he gives us medicine, it is not unusual that he would order some kind of test after we have taken the medicine for a while to see if the medicine is really working or not.

Let's discuss a little about what it means, in the words of Jesus, to bring forth good fruit. Let's discover what the Bible is talking about when it says that we must live a holy life if we are going to see God. As we go over some of these things, you will necessarily react in some way. Some might say, "If that is what it means to have salvation, there is no hope for me. I thought to get into the gates of heaven one had only to know the password."

Others may say, "Oh, how I wish I could, but I have tried so hard and it just doesn't seem to be working for me." Then there may even be some who will say, "Oh, isn't that wonderful! Being a child of God is even more wonderful than I thought! For without Jesus there would be no hope for me!"

Let us begin.

Bearing good fruit means forming the habit of agreeing with God. That is, loving what He loves and hating what He hates. A person who is living a holy life always uses the Bible to find out what is right and what is wrong. This person is not seeing how much they can get away with but how much they can get into doing God's will.

A person who is living a godly life and who is bearing good fruit is a person who has made the decision to shun every known sin and to keep every known commandment. This person has the sincere desire to obey God in every detail of his life. This is what Paul meant when he said, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Romans 7:22). And it is what David felt when he said, "I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way" (Psalm 119:128).

A person whose life is producing good fruit is a person whose overwhelming desire is to be like our Lord Jesus Christ, to think like He thinks and, as Scripture says, to be conformed to His image. This will be the person who more and more forgives others who wrong him, even as Christ forgives him. This person will more and more exhibit the spirit of thinking of others first and not of what others can to for them.

A holy man or a holy woman will pray to be meek, long-suffering, gentle, patient, kind, and will be careful of the way they talk to and about other people. This person will not be obsessed with standing up for his own rights.

A person who has the Holy Spirit of Jesus working in his heart will be a person who is seeking to be temperate in all things. This person will be seeking to, as the Scripture says, ". . .crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts." This person will not give free reign to their passions and lusts. Remember what Jesus said, "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life" (Luke 21:34). Paul put it another way when he said, "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27).

A person who is being saved through the indwelling power of Christ is practicing the Golden Rule. Paul says that he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. And, by the way, when we talk about love in Scripture, we are not talking about sex. I only put that in because the word love doesn't mean the same thing to everybody these days. The day could come when God Himself would refuse to let us call Him love, given the way so many look at it these days. A person who is being saved hates all lying--even the so-called "little white" ones; hates all slandering, cheating, dishonesty, and unfair dealing--even in the solaced little things.

A person who is bearing the fruit of righteousness in his life will be a person who is seeking to be pure in heart. No one falls into adultery. This generation is preoccupied with sex. The perversion, the child molestation, the kinky sex, and all the rest are a result of the fact that many, even those who take upon themselves the name of Jesus, are allowing their minds to run wild with impure imaginations. A Christian who watches television is putting his salvation at risk. The Scripture is clear that it will be the pure in heart who will see God. It is not rare to be in the presence of so-called Christians these days and hear impure innuendoes and see people exchange knowing looks. My friends, if this is happening in your life, you should be alarmed. It is a bad sign and indicates that a person's relationship with Jesus is not what we may think it to be.

A person who is living a holy life is not a slob on the job. The Scripture says, "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord" (Colossians 3:23), and, "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans 12;11).

Holy people should aim at doing everything well and should be ashamed of allowing themselves to do anything that is inferior if they can help it. We should be like Daniel, of whom his fellow workers could find no reason to fault him except in matters having to do with his faithful worship of God.

A person who is full of the Holy Spirit will work to be a good husband or a good wife, a good parent or a good child. A person who is bearing the fruit that salvation always brings will be a fair employer and a faithful and reliable employee.

Can't we see, my brother, my sister, that when God calls us to holiness and godly living, when He assures us we will bear fruit unto righteousness, He is not putting us down? He is, in fact, lifting us up.

Why should we resist or argue about whether we should do good works or not? Why should we argue about whether we should live holy and godly lives or not? Would you argue if someone were offering you ten million dollars a year, a new house, a new car, and a face lift?

Why should we, who are selfish and proud, why should we, who are bitter and resentful, why should we, who are out of control in so many areas of our lives argue with One Who gave His life to not only forgive us for our intolerable attitudes, but to give us a new heart and set us free from the sins that have so long dominated us?

Does the fruit make the tree? Of course not. The tree makes the fruit. Let me say that again. Does the fruit make the tree? Of course not. The tree makes the fruit. But who can argue that the fruit always--and there is no exception to this rule--tells what kind of tree it is.

Remember what the Word says: Without holiness we will not be able to see the Lord. Jesus says that unless we bring forth good fruit we will be cut down and burned up. Does good fruit save us? Of course it doesn't. It is Jesus Who saves us.

Why is holiness and fruit-bearing and godliness so important? Why does the apostle say that without holiness no man shall see the Lord? For one thing, we must be holy because Scripture tells us that we must be. Jesus said, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). In another place it says, "Be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Paul writes, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." (1 Thesselonians 4:3). And Peter says, "As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15).

Another reason we must live holy, godly, fruit-bearing lives is that this is the whole reason Jesus came into the world. Listen to this: "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him Which died for them and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). And in another place we read: "Christ ... loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it" (Ephesians 5:25,26). And finally, "He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14).

In other words, to talk of being saved from the guilt of sin without being at the same time saved from continuing to live in sin is to contradict everything the Bible teaches. The Scripture clearly teaches that those who are sons and daughters of God are to become like Jesus--(it puts it, "conformed to the image of His Son"). The Bible clearly teaches that those who are His chosen are called to be holy.

We must do good works, because this is the only real evidence that we have a saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be holy, because this is the only proof that we really love Jesus. He Himself said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." In another place He says, "You are My friends if you do whatever I tell you."

We must live godly lives, because this is the only real evidence that we are children of God. If a person's life is not the life that Jesus lived, it is ridiculous to say that we are His children. The Scripture says that as many as are lead by the Spirit, they and they only are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). When the Bible says "lead by the spirit," it is not talking about speaking in some kind of gibberish, dancing in the aisles, lying on the floor or listening to a rock band in church.

Finally, we must be holy, because without a holy life--a godly life--on earth we would never be happy in heaven. Heaven is a holy place; God is a holy being. We must never forget that the Scripture is clear, "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie" ( Revelation 21:27).

A person who is not accustomed to living a holy life would be very uncomfortable in heaven. A person bored by spiritual things here will be bored out of their gourd up there. A person who is not particularly interested in praying, reading Scripture, or singing hymns here would be fit to be tied there.

Before we went to live in South America we spent three months learning the language and what we could about the culture. All of that, just to live five years in Chile. But imagine what it will be to live forever in a new and holy land that has a new and holy culture and speaks a new and holy language!

By now someone may be saying, "If what you have said is what it is all about, let me off at the next stop." I'm sorry. By now someone else may be saying, "If what you have said is what it is all about, I had better get off at the next stop because I could never pull that off. I guess I am just too human; and unless Jesus accepts me just the way I am, there is no hope for me."

Wait a minute. Don't get off. We are all too human. It is true. We could never prepare ourselves for what we must be. But not to worry. Inasmuch as it is Jesus who created us in the first place, it must be Jesus who recreates us and prepares us for that land, where He will wipe away all tears from our eyes, and there will be no more death, neither sorrow or crying, for the former things will have passed away.

What is our part? First of all, the Holy Spirit cannot do in our lives something that we do not want for ourselves. You may rest assured that if we are resisting holiness, godliness, and fruit-bearing it will never happen; and you will remember what Jesus says about the trees that do not bear fruit.

What is our part? Jesus has told us. "Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened unto you."

We have asked Jesus for health and healing. We have asked Him to help us with financial problems. But most of us have been short in asking, yea, pleading with Him, to take away our selfishness, our pride, our bitterness and resentment, our impurity, and our lack of self-control.

We have asked Jesus for health and healing and we have asked Him to help us with financial problems; but most of us are not nearly persistent enough in asking for the fruit of the Spirit, which is true love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control.

We have lived so long in this land of disease and dysfunction that we would rather defend our dysfunction. We would rather argue about whether good works are necessary or possible rather than consider that Jesus promised to give us the fruit of holy and godly living.

Don't talk to me about works. That is, if you are going to talk against them.