Six Things God Doesn’t Know
Original Concept/Outline:
Dr. A. Lawrence Clegg
First preached June 23,
1956
Expanded:
Larry Clegg
August 2026
I.
God Doesn’t Know: a sin he doesn’t hate -
Proverbs 15:8 - The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord, but
the prayer of the upright is His delight.
a.
God hates all sin
i.
Proverbs 6:16-19 – 16 Six things
the Lord hates; in fact, seven are detestable to Him: 17 arrogant
eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart
that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil, 19 a lying
witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.
ii.
Proverbs 8:13 - To fear the Lord is to hate
evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
iii.
1 John 3:8 - The one who commits sin is of
the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was
revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil's works.
iv.
Hebrews 1:9 - You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness; this is why God, Your God, has anointed You, rather than
Your companions, with the oil of joy.
v.
Zechariah 8:17 – “Do not plot evil in
your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love perjury, for I hate all
this"- the Lord's declaration.
vi.
Romans 6:23a - The wages of sin is death.
vii.
Galatians 5:19-21 – 19 Now the
works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger,
selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness,
carousing, and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance-as I told
you before-that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of
God.
viii.
Isaiah 59:2 - But your iniquities have built
barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face
from you so that He does not listen.
b.
Sin cannot stand before God
i.
Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden because
of sin – Genesis 3:22-23 – 22 The Lord God said, "Since man
has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, and
also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever." 23
So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from
which he was taken.
ii.
David, by his sin, was separated from God –
Psalm 22:1-2 – 1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why
are You so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning? 2
My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest.
iii.
We are kept from God by sin
1.
Habakkuk 1:13a - Your eyes are too pure to
look on evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
2.
Psalm 34:16 - The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth.
3.
Psalm 5:4 - For You are not a God who
delights in wickedness; evil cannot lodge with You.
4.
Psalm 66:18 - If I had been aware of malice
in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
5.
John 9:31 - We know that God doesn't
listen to sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens
to him.
c.
God punishes all sin
i.
Adam and Eve driven out – See Genesis 3:22-23
above
ii.
David had no more peace. Was not allowed to
build the temple. – 1 Chronicles 22:8-10 - 8 But this word of the
LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are
not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth
in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace
and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name
will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10
He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will
be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel
forever.’
iii.
Sin sends many to eternal damnation Matthew
25:41, 46 - 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and
his angels.’ 46 Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but
the righteous to eternal life.”
II.
God Doesn’t Know: a sinner he doesn’t love –
Romans 5:8 - But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still
sinners Christ died for us!
a.
After Adam and Eve sinned, God could have
immediately punished them with death, but by His grace, He opened a way for
them to have life. That way is still available to all sinners through the death
and resurrection of Jesus. - Genesis
3:16-24 – Romans 5:19-21 - 19 For just as through one man’s
disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s
obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to
multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more 21
so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through
righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
b.
David was a man after God’s own heart – 1 Samuel
13:14 - But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man
after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not
kept the LORD’s command.
c.
The woman caught in adultery – John 8:10-11
- 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither
do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
d.
All men possessed by sin – Zech 1:3 - So tell
the people: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: “Return to Me" - this is
the declaration of the Lord of Hosts – “and I will return to you”, says the
Lord of Hosts.
e.
Parable of the lost sheep (finding the one that
strays) – Matthew 18:12-14 – 12 What do you think? If someone has
a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on
the hillside and go and search for the stray? 13 And if he finds it,
truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine
that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of
your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
f.
He loves you and He loves me
i.
John 3:16 - For God loved the world in this
way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will
not perish but have eternal life.
ii.
Ephesians 2:4-5 – 4 But God,
who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5
made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace
you are saved!
iii.
1 John 4:9 - God's love was revealed among us
in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live
through Him.
III.
God Doesn’t Know: but two destinies for man –
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
a.
The rich man and Lazarus – Luke 16:19-31 – 19
"There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting
lavishly every day. 20 But a
poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was left at his gate. 21 He longed to be filled with
what fell from the rich man's table, but instead the dogs would come and lick
his sores. 22 One day the
poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich
man also died and was buried. 23
And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off,
with Lazarus at his side. 24
'Father Abraham!' he called out, 'Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the
tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this
flame!' 25 " 'Son,'
Abraham said, 'remember that during your life you received your good things,
just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you
are in agony. 26 Besides all
this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want
to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over
to us.' 27 " 'Father,'
he said, 'then I beg you to send him to my father's house- 28 because I have five brothers-to
warn them, so they won't also come to this place of torment.' 29 "But Abraham said, 'They
have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' 30 " 'No, father Abraham,' he
said. 'But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31 "But he told him, 'If they
don't listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone
rises from the dead.' "
b.
Heaven
i.
With Christ
ii.
With other believers
iii.
Joy
iv.
Happiness
v.
Peace
c.
Hell
i.
Without Christ
ii.
With unbelievers
iii.
Misery
iv.
Pain
v.
Regret
vi.
Sorrow
IV.
God Doesn’t Know: a person who doesn’t need
salvation
a.
All men have sinned
i.
Romans 3:10 - As it is written: There is no
one righteous, not even one;
ii.
Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.
iii.
1 John 1:8 - If we say, "We have no
sin," we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
iv.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 - There is certainly no
righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins.
b.
Sin separates from God – Isaiah 59:2 - But
your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins
have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen.
c.
All men are separated from God
d.
All men need salvation
V.
God Doesn’t Know: more than one way to salvation
– Acts 4:12 - There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.
a.
Not through good works or a good life –
Ephesians 2:8-9 – 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and
this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift- 9 not from works, so
that no one can boast.
b.
Not through helping others – Matthew 7:21-23 – 21
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22
On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name,
drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?' 23 Then I will announce to them,
'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers! '”
c.
Only through Christ – John 14:6 - Jesus told
him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.”
VI.
God Doesn’t Know: a better time than now
a.
Now is the time for you to come to God
i.
2 Corinthians 6:2 - For He says: In an
acceptable time, I heard you, and in the day of salvation, I helped you. Look,
now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation.
ii.
Hebrews 3:15 - As it is said: Today, if you
hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
iii.
Isaiah 55:6-7 – 6 Seek the Lord
while He may be found; call to Him while He is near. 7 Let the
wicked one abandon his way, and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to
the Lord, so He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will freely
forgive.
iv.
Hebrews 9:27 - And just as it is appointed
for people to die once-and after this, judgment.
v.
James 4:13-14 – 13 Come now,
you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and
spend a year there and do business and make a profit." 14 You
don't even know what tomorrow will bring-what your life will be! For you are a
bit of smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
vi.
2 Peter 3:10 - But the Day of the Lord will
come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise,
the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will
be disclosed.
b.
There may not be another time
i.
No one knows the day or hour – Jesus, referring
to the end times, talked about people going about their daily activities in
Matthew 24:40-41 – 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will
be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding grain with a
hand mill; one will be taken and one left.
ii.
Parable of the ten virgins – Matthew 25:1-13 - At
that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps
and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five
were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil
with them; 4 but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their
lamps. 5 When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell
asleep. 6 In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the
groom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all the virgins got up and
trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give
us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 The wise
ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to
those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 When they had
gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him
to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. 11 Later the rest of
the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ 12
He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you!’ 13 Therefore be
alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.
iii.
On Sunday night, October 8, 1871, the well-known
evangelist, D. L. Moody, preached to the largest congregation that he had yet
addressed in Chicago. His text that evening was, “What shall I do then with
Jesus which is called Christ?” (taken from Matthew 27:22). At the conclusion of
his sermon he said, “I wish you would take this text home with you and turn it
over in your minds during the week, and
next Sabbath we will come to Calvary and the Cross, and we will decide what to do with Jesus of Nazareth.”
The same night Moody preached it was the night of the Great Chicago Fire. His
tabernacles were destroyed, the congregation scattered, approximately 300
people died, and he never again got to speak to the same people. To his dying
day, Mr. Moody deeply regretted that he had told that congregation to come next
Sabbath and decide what to do with Jesus. He said, “I have never since dared to
give an audience a week to think of their salvation.”
c.
God wants to save you – John 6:40 – “For this
is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him
may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."
d.
Won’t you come to him now – Revelation 3:20 - Listen!
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.
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