So Much More... 9/07/08

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008

GOD’S SOLUTION & OUR BLESSING
or
SO MUCH MORE

We have been looking in some detail at the first three chapters of Genesis. We know that these early chapters of the Bible lay the foundation for everything else. God created man and put him in the beautiful Garden of Eden. So where do we go to look for the fall of man, for that time when man first disobeyed God? That’s right – chapter 3. It didn’t take long. We have seen that because of sin, Adam and Eve were cut off from God. That is why they hid themselves and covered up with fig leaves. Last week we saw that God in His mercy killed an animal and clothed them with the skin of that animal. Not only did they receive clothing, but that animal was actually a substitute for Adam and Eve. They should have died, but that innocent animal died in their place. What a picture of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus died in our place, taking upon Himself the wrath of God which we deserved.

Nevertheless, we also saw that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, where the Tree of Life stood. So they could not partake of the Tree of Life, God placed a guard at the entrance. The guard consisted of two cherubim and a flaming sword. This shows us how sin bars man from the presence of God.

Down through the centuries, man has concocted hundreds and thousands of ways to try to get back into the presence of God. We see man’s attempts illustrated beautifully at the tower of Babel, where people came together and tried to build a tower to heaven. You will recall that God frustrated their efforts by confusing their languages, clearly indicating that man’s efforts to reach God will never be effective.

Think of all the religions of the world. They are all attempts to reach God. I think particularly of religions like Hinduism. The common Hindu will worship many, many gods. It has been noted that he has millions of gods to choose from. In this and other religions men try to appease the gods, to make them happy so that they will not be angry at human beings. Can you imagine the futility of living this way. Even if I make this god happy, what about all the others? How can I make sure that I am satisfying all of them? And if I don’t, one or more of them may take out his anger on me.

There are two great problems with this kind of religion. First of all, there is only one true God. We read in Ps. 96:4-5, “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens.” The Psalmist is not conceding that there are many gods. He is simply saying that the so-called gods of the pagans are nothing but empty idols. Jesus spoke of the one true God when He defined eternal life in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Listen to what Paul said to the Thessalonian Christians in 1 Th 1:8-9…
For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. 9. For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God…

Paul explains it this way in 1 Cor. 8:5-6, "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6. But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." We are taught this truth way back in Deut. 6:4-5, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." No matter how many people recognize many gods, in reality there is only one God, the LORD Jehovah, Yahweh, the great I AM.

The second problem in man’s religion down through the centuries is the idea that man can appease God, that man can do something to turn away the wrath of the gods (or God). The true and living God will not be satisfied with anything from sinful man. It doesn’t matter whether it is religious ceremony, doing good deeds to others, or attempting to live a good moral life; none of those things will satisfy God. None of those things will change the fact that all people in their natural state are under the wrath of God (John 3:36). What hope is there for a sinful man to appease God, when the best deeds of that man are nothing but filthy rags (Is. 64:6)?

Please understand that we speak of man’s religion, we are not just speaking about a small minority of humanity. We are talking about the great majority of people in this world, both now and in the past. We are talking about billions of people. Not only are we talking about Hindus and Buddhists, but Muslims as well. While the Muslims recognize but one god, their god is not the true and living God of the Bible. And no matter how many good works they try to do, the LORD God of heaven will not be satisfied by the deeds of sinful man.

I checked some statistics, which can be very misleading. The ones I checked said that 20% of the world is Islam, 13% is Hindu, and 33% is Christian. But we must not be fooled by such statistics. How many who call themselves Christians are still relying upon their own good works to make them right with God? You yourself might be in that category. In third world countries, many of those who call themselves Christians still do all the things that the pagans around them do. (For more on this, read And Beginng with Moses, by John Cross.) And of Christianity in this country, I believe we could safely say that less than a fourth of those classified as Christians know the true and living God.

As we think about the hopelessness of man, doesn’t it make you appreciate the gospel? In light of what we have talked about, we have good news! Praise God that man is not limited to what he can do! So if the two great problems of man’s religion down through the centuries is that it has often recognized many gods and has believed that those gods can be appeased by what man can do, what is the solution of the gospel?

In answer to that question, I want us to consider two things this morning. First, God has done something to deal with the sins of man. And second, God calls people into fellowship with Himself. We will give most of our attention to the second idea.

I. God’s Solution for Man’s Problem

Let me put this very concisely: God Himself took the initiative and fully executed the plan that appeases His wrath. Make no mistake about it, all people are sinners from the time they come into this world, and all sinners are under the wrath of God. But praise God that He did indeed do something for sinners. From the beginning, He planned to send His own Son to bear the sins of His people. Last week we were reminded of Rev. 13:8, which speaks of “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” In actual history, the angel announced the coming birth of the Lamb in Matt. 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.” When Jesus was born into this world, “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14). Yes, God became man in Jesus Christ.

And why is that so important? Let’s read it again in 1 John 4:9-10, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Yes, God sent His Son that we might have real life, the life God intended us to have, but what about the barrier? What about our sins, which separated us from our Creator? What about the deep rebellion and hatred of God that was such a part of us? Because He loved us, God sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. That is, He sent His Son to turn away His own wrath. We rebelled, but God sent His own Son to take the punishment for the rebels. Isn’t that amazing? “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6).

Think about it like this. Someone breaks into your house, steals everything of value, and then sets the house on fire. After a few weeks, the authorities catch him. They fine him $100,000 and sentence him to ten years in jail. But then you step forward and say to the judge, “Judge, I know he is guilty, but I beg you to let me pay his fine and serve his time so that he can go free.” Which one of us would do that? God did that and more. That arsonist thief didn’t treat you anywhere near as badly as you treated God. If you don’t believe that, then you have never truly understood sin. That man who robbed you and burned your house was a stranger from off the streets. But we were created by God. We were blessed by Him. Every good thing we ever experienced came from Him. In spite of all that, we rebelled against Him and spit in His face, saying, “God, I appreciate you creating me, but I’ll do things my way.”

How can we think of what God has done for us and not be driven to fall on our faces before Him in worship and adoration? Even though he was on the other side of the cross, David said, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1). How much more shall we who have seen the sacrifice of the Son of God rise up to praise the God who brought our salvation!

II. And So Much More…

Now if we stopped right there, surely that would be enough. Would it not be enough that God took away the penalty of our sins through the death and resurrection of His own Son? What if God said to you: “Because I loved you, I have redeemed you. You will not get what you deserve. You deserve to spend eternity in hell, totally separated from me. Because I loved you too much to let that happen, I gave my Son on your behalf. You won’t have to spend eternity in hell. For the rest of your days in this life, I have arranged for you to stay in a little prison. It’s not bad—three square meals a day, regular recreation, opportunities to read and learn, with no forced labor thrown in. I don’t think that’s a bad deal at all, considering what I rescued you out of. When this life is over, you will have a nice house in heaven. There won’t be any more sickness or problems. You’ll be able to be with all your friends. And I’ll check on you once a week just to make sure everything is going okay.”

We may think it’s funny, but I tell you that if God did that, we would have to say that He is a God of endless mercy and grace. Any person who receives such a deal from God would be blessed indeed. Surely no one could fault God for that arrangement.

Now let’s read Psalm 65:5-13…
By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: 6. Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power: 7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. 8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. 9. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. 10. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. 11. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. 12. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. 13. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

What a mighty God we serve. He answers us with awesome (that’s the sense of “terrible”) deeds of righteousness. He is the God who alone provides salvation. This God put the mountains in place; yes, He has that much power. Not only is His mighty voice like the sound of many waters, as we read in Revelation, but He also has the power to calm those mighty waters. Let all the nations rise up together, but our God will still them as well. He waters the earth with His river. He is the one who produces the crops, sending the rain when it is needed. The hills are blessed with flocks and covered with corn because of His mighty hand. Yes, even the hills and the valleys shout for joy and sing because of what our mighty God does.

You may have noticed we started reading in verse 5. Let’s go back and read the first four verses, where we find something even more amazing than the power of the Lord. Read Ps. 65:1-4…
Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. 2. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. 3. Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. 4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

Yes, we read here that the Lord is able to cleanse us from our sin, but then we read something else. Verse 4, “Blessed is the person you choose and cause to approach you, that he/she may dwell in your courts.” To whom is David speaking? Yes, he is talking to this mighty God that is described in the verses that follow. The God who made all the mountains in this world actually chooses a person and causes him to approach His presence. Is that not amazing? Our God doesn’t just remove the penalty of sin, but He actually brings a person into His presence. I started to say that He invites us to come into His presence, but that is not what this Psalm says. David pronounces the blessing upon the person whom the Lord causes to approach Him. The NIV and NASV says simply “bring near.” It is God who does this. He ushers His chosen into His presence.

Notice that next phrase – “that he may dwell in thy courts.” “Thy courts” simply speak of the Lord’s presence. Ps. 84:2, “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord.” The Psalmist is simply expressing his great desire to be in the Lord’s presence. We see that when we read the entire verse: “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.” It is similar language to what David said in Ps. 27:4, “One thing have I desired of that Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.” We find the same kind of language in Ps. 15:1, “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill.” These are all expressions of God’s presence. Here in Psalm 65:4 David speaks of the great blessing of being in the presence of the God who created and sustains the universe. O that we might sing out these kind of praises from our heart, when we realize the reality of this blessing.

Do you see? God does not just forgive the rebel and then give him a comfortable place to live for all eternity, a place where no evil will touch him. That would be well enough, but what can we say about a God who takes the rebel into His own house to live every day forever!

When we read the great New Testament promises for the saints of God, we must never forget the background out of which we have come. We are the God-hating rebels for whom Jesus came to die. Remember that Jesus didn’t come for the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). In Christ we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (people for His own possession).” We who were not a people have been made the people of God (I Pet. 2:9-10). Would you long for Osama bin Laden to become a part of your family? God has adopted millions of bin Ladens into His family. In the same way, He makes a new person out of the prostitute and actually makes her a part of the bride of Christ.

And who is that is the bride of Christ? We who are believers are the bride of Christ. You fathers, would you want your son to marry a woman who formerly had a reputation as being a woman of the world? Read with me I Cor. 6:9-11…
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10. Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

What an ugly list, but such were some of us. I dare say that there are few of us that wouldn’t fit at least one of those descriptions. God has not only washed, sanctified, and justified us, but He has also taken us for the bride of His Son.

This morning I want us to pause and think about the privilege of having fellowship with God and His Son Jesus Christ. Read with me I John 1:1-4…

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2. (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Why did John and His fellow-apostles want others to have fellowship with them? Because their fellowship was truly fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, and that fellowship filled them with joy. Tasting the presence of God was such a powerful thing that they could not keep it to themselves. It was much too rich for that.

Let me share a verse with you. You may not have given a great deal of thought to this verse, but it is precious indeed. Turn with me to Romans 7. Let’s read 7:1-4…

Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2. For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Let’s focus on verse 4. Lord willing, we will talk some tonight about what it means to be dead to the law, but right now let’s think on the concept of being married to the one who was raised from the dead. Jesus died in order that we might be married to Him. Yes, this is that concept of the bride of Christ. As I thought about this verse, I began to realize that I haven’t taken time to really meditate on the truth presented here.

Think with me. We understand that the marriage between a man and woman picture the relationship between Christ and His church, though the picture we paint often leaves a lot to be desired. But even with an imperfect painting, there is much we can understand. Rhonda and I have been married for a little over 34 years. During those years, I have provided for her. I haven’t lavished her with luxuries, but I have provided for her needs. I have protected her. I may not be very strong, but she takes great comfort in knowing that I am at her side. When I am gone overnight, it is more difficult for her, because she doesn’t have her husband there for protection. I am a companion to her, though my companionship has been less than perfect. We sometimes talk about how difficult it would be if we suddenly didn’t have each other to talk to. From me Rhonda receives forgiveness. I don’t hold a grudge against her; if she sins against me, I forgive her. With me Rhonda has intimacy. I don’t give myself to her because I have to, but because I want to. I want her to know me more deeply than anyone else on this earth, and I want to know her in that same way. That is the desire of my heart.

Now think about that in relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, for we are His bride. Even an imperfect husband like myself loves his wife. How much more does Jesus love His bride! Think especially about companionship and intimacy. Do you ever think about that? The Lord Jesus wants to be with you. Your relationship with the Lord is not a one-sided affair. Your Lord strongly desires your fellowship. It isn’t that He needs you; He chooses to be with you. He enjoys your presence. He doesn’t fellowship with you just so He can teach you something; He likes being in your presence. That’s what fellowship is. We are His bride. Whoever heard of a bridegroom that didn’t long to be with his bride? He thinks about her and longs for the day when they will be together. If that is true of the human bridegroom, how much moreso of Jesus Himself! God didn’t use the bride/bridegroom imagery by accident. This is reality.

Look at the end of verse 4. Why are we married to Him who was raised from the dead? That we might bring forth fruit unto God. That is not to say that the companionship and intimacy of marriage is not important, but that fruit is the result of the union of a man and woman. The fruit of our marriage unions are a great blessing to us. Now the Lord talks about spiritual fruit. Before we were married to Christ, there was no possibility of fruit. If we went on to verse 5, we would find out that we only brought forth fruit for death. But when we are married to Christ, we bring forth fruit for God. In other words, now that we are married to Christ, we can do the things that please our heavenly Father and bring Him glory. This is what we are told in John 15:4-5…
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. 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.

Conclusion

For the last month or so I have been reading in My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. If you aren’t familiar with it, this is a classic devotional book. It has a reading for each day of the year. The August 30th entry was from Luke 10:19-20, which reads…
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Chambers says: “The snare in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service, to rejoice in the fact that God has used you.” But Jesus says we are to rejoice in our relationship to Him and the Father, not in the fact that He has used us. I got to thinking about that. What a precious truth. What a dangerous thing it is to be preoccupied with service and how well we are serving. If I think I am doing well, then I may find that I don’t need God. After all, I’m serving more effectively that most. If I don’t think I am doing well, then I may be ashamed to come into His presence, for fear that He will scold me.

Praise God that we can come into His presence regardless of what our service looks like. Let’s suppose that I am a miserable failure. He gives me opportunity to serve Him, and I blow it. Does that mean that He won’t welcome me into His presence? Suppose a son disappoints his dad. His dad had trained him well for the situation, but when the situation arose, the ten-year-old son blew it. So what does he do? Dad comes in. The son starts toward his dad. Then he runs to his dad’s outstretched arms and begins to sob uncontrollably. Dad squeezes him in his arms and comforts him. Do you see? The sweet fellowship of that moment is not built on how well the son performed, but it is built upon the relationship they have with one another as father and son. If that is true of the human father, how much moreso with our heavenly Father?

Consider Peter. He denied the Lord three times. But what happened when he was once again in the presence of Jesus? Did Jesus say, “Is this the Peter who said he would never deny me, that he would even die for me? Depart from me, Peter. I don’t want anything to do with you?” No, that is not the way our Lord treated Peter. There was no sarcasm in His voice, when He asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Jesus didn’t consider Peter a failure, because He then said, “Feed my lambs.” He went on to tell Peter how he would be greatly used. Remember that it was Jesus who sought Peter out after his failure. (Read the story in John 21)

The bottom line is this: The Lord strongly desires to have fellowship with all those who are His children. Remember what Jesus said: "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you" (Jn. 15:15). Paul tells us that God has gone even beyond calling us servants. Let’s read it in Gal. 4:7, “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” And hear Jesus again in Rev. 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” That is, “I will eat with him” or “dine with him.” In that culture eating was a symbol of close fellowship. Jesus longs to have that close fellowship with each of His own.

Child of God, regardless of where you are in your present life, you can fellowship with your Lord. I recognize there is one requirement; we must walk in the light, as He is in the light (I John 1:5). Yes, of course, we have to come to Him honestly; we can’t play games. But again, good news – it is our very nature as children of God to walk in the light and deal truthfully. That is who we are.

If the enemy has been fooling you into thinking that the Lord doesn’t want fellowship with you, rebuke him by believing the truth! Here is the truth – God has reconciled us to Himself through the death of His Son. Yes, He justified us. Yes, He has forgiven us and saved us from the penalty of sin. But He has done far more; He has reconciled us to Himself. When two people are reconciled, they are no longer at odds. They want to be together. That is the case with our Lord, to whom we have been married, that we might bring forth fruit for God. We can come into His presence and live there, claiming the promise: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Ps. 91:1).