BOW: 69a “Your loving kindness, Lord, is good and free”
BOW: 343 “Eternal Spirit, God of Truth”
BOW: 218 “We give you but your own”
BOW: 476 “Come ye sinners, poor and needy”
BOW: 158 vv 1,4; “Glory be to God the Father”
Readings: Mat 5:1-16; Heb 10:19-31;
Sermon: “God’s mercy for sinners!”
Beloved people of God,
One of the difficulties we struggle with in Christian witness is, “How can we lovingly make clear to people that they need to have Jesus Christ in their lives as Saviour?” And if that isn’t difficult enough, “How do we show that God is both just and merciful?”
Now in the past most evangelism programs will tell you that you need to point out to people that they are sinful for them to realize they need a Saviour. It’s a biblical pattern. Isn’t that what Peter did in his Pentecost sermon? The people were “cut to the heart” and cried out to Peter, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37b)
But the difficult with getting people to that admission is twofold in today’s world.
a) Most people in the world don’t think they are such terrible sinners, and
b) If they admit they are sinners, then they conclude that they are no worse than the next person!
In light of that, I would like to suggest that we need to learn how to lovingly, and winsomely bring the message of sin and the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that is positive. And that positive message is best seen in the way we live; by the way we behave and by the way we do things or refrain from doing things. In a very real sense we should make Matthew 5:16 our own, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Oh, that we would so live our lives that our families and friends and neighbours would ask, “What gives you such peace in times of trouble? Why aren’t you frightened when things happen in this world that threaten our existence? Why doesn’t illness or for that matter, death worry you? Why do you love the down and outs? Why don’t you swear? Why are you so slow to become angry? Why don’t you repeat, let alone listen to foul jokes? Why is it that you don’t blaspheme the Lord’s name?”
Surely, this is at the very least part of what it means to be a salting salt and a light on a hill. And surely, when people ask these questions of us we can begin to tell them about our glorious Saviour and our wonderful salvation. However, when we do that we should start at the beginning for that gives it a context and will glorify the Father in heaven.
For instance, you could explain to them positively that the Scripture’s teach God created everything including man and made us very good (Gen 1:31). You could go on to explain that God didn’t create us as puppets dangling on the end of some strings, but as his image bearers, perfectly able to love Him, for that is what our Creator desired. You could explain that Adam and Eve as representatives of the human race, failed to love God. And because they failed, all mankind has failed and hence we are guilty and worthy of God’s just punishment that He declared would be death!
We need to come to a point where we are convinced that the temptation by the devil mentioned in Genesis 3 is not mentioned as an excuse but as an accusation. In other words, God is saying to Adam and Eve, “Adam and Eve, you belonged to me. I created you. I gave you a lovely garden. I walked with you in the cool of the day. But you listened to the father of lies and ate from the tree that I told you not eat from!” That’s where the problem started. Man tempted by the devil, in reckless disobedience, robbed himself and his descendants of the ability to please God when they ate fruit from the tree that God had explicitly told them not to eat.
And whether we like it or not, we living today cannot escape the consequences of that initial disobedience. We are contaminated with Adam’s sin and with him we all die. And ever since that awful day back in Genesis 3, sin has just had a devastating effect on us. In fact, sinful man keeps making excuses for not loving God or for that matter their neighbour. The excuses are plentiful.
For instance – God isn’t fair! Yes he was! He told Adam and Eve – don’t eat of the tree in the middle of the garden or you will die. (Gen 2:17). What part could they not understand about that simple instruction?
Others try to bring God down to their level by saying that God’s expectations are too high. He shouldn’t have put the tree in the garden. But as I said last week – the tree wasn’t sinful – man was disobedient – that was the problem!
Some may even say that God should have made man in such a way that he was unable to sin! Are you suggesting that we should just be puppets? Would that give glory to God? Well perhaps so, but surely it would give more glory to God if his created beings would just love him for who he is and what he has done? Some even suggest that God should just turn a blind eye and forgive and let us move on! But the Scriptures tell us that God is holy, three times holy! God is so holy, that nothing, which is in the slightest bit sinful, can be in his presence!
Stop blaming God. God made us good and placed us in a perfect environment and yet man sinned. Therefore, God is perfectly just to expect us to be without sin and perfectly just to carry out his sentence of death! And that is the message we need to somehow convey to our families and friends.
But whatever way you tell people of our sin and God’s punishment for that sin, do it gently. It’s not an easy concept to understand that sin is not God’s fault but ours. Man can only blame himself. God’s word teaches that the wages of sin is death! And somehow we need to convey that message!
But there is also good news. The rest of Scripture makes two things every clear.
a) God’s answer to man’s problem is Jesus Christ and
b) Apart from Christ we will be deserving of God’s just punishment!
But again, the difficulty is that sin has had such a dreadful impact on us, sinful man doesn’t accept that solution. In fact, sinful man without the Holy Spirit regards it as foolishness and he is hostile towards it. As a result, sinful man keeps looking for an escape route. They keep looking for excuses not to believe!
Despite the fact that God already made the pathway of salvation known immediately after the fall (Gen 3:15), sinful man keeps making excuses. Instead of running to the Saviour for forgiveness, some now foolishly deny that God even punishes sin for God is a God of love!
Still others suggest that there are two gods. The God of evil in the OT and the God of love in the NT. Still others deny that there is an eternal punishment. They cannot imagine that God would be so cruel as to punish someone for an eternity!
But the Scripture’s teach, Galatians 3:10 for instance, “cursed is everyone who does not do all things that are written in the book of the law.” There are no “beg your pardons” with God. God cannot turn a blind eye to man’s sin. God doesn’t count to three and cool off. His own character and holiness will not allow it. God remains true to himself. God’s anger for sin is an ever-present reality to which Scripture testifies.
Psa 11:5 “… The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.”
1 Pet 3:12, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
And if God was angry with Adam and Eve, how much more must God’s anger be burning with the man who refuses his genuine offer of salvation in His only Son Jesus Christ.
We read about God’s anger for those who trample Jesus Christ under foot in Hebrews 10:29. Oh may we be spared from making such a terrible mistake. Is God still angry at sin today? Absolutely! We don’t need to think too hard about that.
To begin with, whether you a rich or poor, weak or strong, you will die unless the Lord returns beforehand. And if you do not have Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then you will be in heaps of trouble. Also be aware, it is not just in eternity that God punishes sin. God also punishes sin now and that too is His just judgment. The two should not be separated.
Some people wrongly think that God is gracious to the wicked in this world but after death he makes them the objects of his wrath. But the Scriptures don’t make such distinction. For those who reject Christ now in real time are already experiencing God’s punishment for their sin now. They may not see it as such, but it is true nonetheless. In fact sin brings its own punishment.
Pro 5:22 reads, “the iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is caught in the toils of his sin.” This is actually a very common theme in Scripture (Num 32:23) (Psa 9:15) (Pro 1:31)
Psa 7:15, “He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made.”
Psa 40:12, “For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.”
Congregation, we should pray that the Lord would give us eyes to see the results of sinful action in real time! Is it not a proven fact that sexual immorality results in certain diseases that affect the body? Is it not true that an alcoholic becomes a mental wreck and eventually dies of liver disease? Is it not true that drug addicts damage their brains and bodies to such an extent that their expected life span is nearly 50% less than a normal person?
Let’s not put our heads in the sand. Mark 4:24 says, “The measure you give will be the measure you get.” Sin left unabated warps and ultimately destroys the person. For instance, covetousness eats like cancer. It takes away peace and joy, binding and demeaning the spirit.
In adultery a person sins against himself, depriving himself of the very things that makes life worthwhile – love, security, belonging, fidelity, peace, integrity. There is inherent punishment in sin.
2 Pet 2:13, “They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done…”
The trouble is that the people of the world people see this as the physical laws of nature taking their course. But congregation, everything that happens to the wicked and to the righteous is under the sovereignty of God. Asaph the Psalmist speaks about this when he thinks about the wicked. “You place them on slippery ground, and cast them down into destruction” (Psa 73:17ff). Perhaps we should pray more often that God will give us eyes to see. God is angry against sin….oh that man would repent!
Now I can imagine our friends asking, “Isn’t God merciful?” Yes he is, but! He is merciful for he doesn’t treat us as our sins deserved, for otherwise we would all be goners. But He does not compromise on his justice. His justice demands that sin be punished, both body and soul. God maintains His justice to all eternity. He doesn’t shift his position. Everyone is accountable to God for his or her sin. Romans 3:19 remind us that the whole world is held accountable to God. That means you and me.
Now I am not saying this because I enjoy telling people what great sinners they are. That would be cheap and unloving. I do so for I want people to know that God in his love sent his only Son as the Saviour of sinners. I tell people that they need to give account for every careless deed and word and thought for I wish to shut all doors that lead nowhere as far as salvation is concerned.
I want all excuses, all reasons for confidence in themselves or what they have done to be gone. I don’t want them to rely on warm feelings or on good intentions or on church going, or baptism or profession of faith. We cannot go through these doors for they lead nowhere; they are dead end streets. Our God did not send His Son to die if there were a chance we could save ourselves! On the contrary, God in His immeasurable love sent Jesus because he knew we had no hope of saving ourselves.
And so I point people to God’s love and to Jesus Christ the only door to forgiveness and eternal life! Everything else are dead-end streets! God the Father has provided the only true door that saves. The True Door has been opened by God the Father and no one shall shut it. Jesus Christ is the righteousness we need. If our sins are punished in Christ, then it’s all over. Wonderful, what joy!
And that is why elders and ministers and all Christians agonize over people who continue to find excuses for not accepting Christ, even though the Holy Spirit is placing His perfect goodness before them. So turn away from your dead-end streets. I want you to have the joy we have in Christ. I want you to have the peace that passes understanding when things threaten your well-being. What’s more, I want you to honour your Creator and give Him the glory that he so richly deserves for providing the perfect Saviour in Jesus Christ. How terrible the punishment for those who reject the Son! How great is the love of God for those who love him in Christ! Amen.