Sunday, February 7, 2010
GOD IS LOVE
I John 4:8-10
Over the past 29 years, I can probably count on my fingers the number of times I have preached the same sermon twice. That may not be a good thing, but that’s the way it’s been. But today I am going to preach the same basic message I shared at the funeral earlier this week. That means that about a half dozen of you have already heard it.
Well, I’ve heard it too. The truth is that this message is really filling my heart and mind.
This morning I think I will be speaking basically to three groups of people. First of all, there are some of you that desperately need to hear this message because you are still trying to come to grips with your response to the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can’t say with any assurance that your sins have been washed away, that you have the righteousness of Christ. Then there are some of you who know these truths, but they need to be reinforced in your life. Finally, there are some of you who could share this message as well as I can. I am speaking to you as an encouragement to do just that. What I am sharing this morning is not complicated, but it is a message that the world desperately needs to hear. It isn’t new at all. You have probably heard me say most everything I will say at one time or another. It is so basic that you can share the content of this message, and I encourage you to do so. Of course, you will do so in your own way and with your own style. But I want you to think with me this morning. If you are certain that you belong to Christ, I want you not only to be reminded of God’s work in your own life, but also to think about being a messenger of reconciliation to those around you. So just preach along with me this morning.
The message I had planned to preach this morning I will be sharing tonight. It deals with justification and whose work it is. I encourage you to be here tonight at 5:00.
God Is Love (but not in the way most people think)
In the Bible there is a little statement about God that is repeated twice for emphasis. It is the simplest statement imaginable, yet it is one of the most misunderstood statements about God. It is misunderstood because it is taken out of context, because it is not set against its proper background. Let me prepare you for it by giving you a little illustration.
Suppose you heard me say, “Justin Burks was so upset with me that he got out his gun and tried to kill me.” Would that alarm you a little bit? I think it would. Some of you would want to sit down with Justin and talk to him about it. Some of you might decide to stay as far away from this volatile young man as possible. Others of you might decide that it must have been in the distant past when he was an angry man. A few of you might conclude that it’s a lie; Justin would never do that.
So what’s the problem? Why does that statement cause so much confusion? It’s because it is not set against its proper background. There is a context to that statement, and you must understand that context. The problem isn’t with the statement, because the statement is absolutely true, but it must be understood in its proper context. I went out to the Burks home to visit. Justin was still young and living at home at the time. When I got out of the car and started walking up toward the house, Justin grabbed a rifle. He didn’t even wait for me to open the door; he just started shooting at me through the door. The one thing I need to mention is the fact that this was a dream I had about Justin. Now it makes sense. In my little dream world, that isn’t unusual at all, but I wouldn’t go around making that statement without carefully explaining that it was a part of a dream.
That brings us to this little statement from the Bible about God. It goes like this: “God is love.” That’s it. Make no mistake, those words come right out of the Bible. Turn to I John. In I John 4:8, we read that “God is love.” And we find the same words in I John 4:16. Most people would wholeheartedly agree with that little statement, “God is love.” As a matter of fact, if you were to take a poll of Americans and ask them to describe God with one word, I am quite confident that the number one answer would be “love.” Yes, God is love. What I want us to understand is this: That little statement “God is love” can never be properly understood until we come to terms with the background, until we grasp the whole story. Most people interpret “God is love” to mean that even if we do evil, God will be merciful and overlook our bad behavior. As long as we have a good heart and try to help other people, God will certainly overlook our unrighteous dealings. After all, He wants the best for us. He will always be there for us, even if we miss the mark. Regardless of what you believe about God, in the end everyone will be okay, because “God is love.”
If that is what “God is love” means, then God’s love isn’t that remarkable. That would put God on the same level as Santa Claus. You need to understand that there is a real problem in understanding “God is love” in this way. The Bible not only says that God is love, but it also says that God is holy and just. As a matter of fact, the Bible makes a big deal out of those truths. Sometimes we sing the words of I Sam. 2:2, “There is none holy as the Lord.” To say that God is holy is to say that He is set apart. He is not like us. He is on a whole different playing field. He is in a class by Himself. To say that God is just is to say that He is always righteous. We read in Ps. 145:17, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” He does what is right, and there are no exceptions.
When we think of judges, we appreciate judges who are truly just. In other words, they don’t play favorites. They judge every man on the basis of the evidence and then render a verdict that is right and fair. If a man commits a crime, then he has to pay the consequences. Americans are fed up with judges who are not just and fair. Suppose a man murders his wife and then stands before a judge. The evidence clearly shows that he is guilty, but the judge says, “Sir, I believe you are guilty of these crimes. However, I am a loving judge, and I can’t bear to send you to prison. Therefore, I am going to give you three years of probation. You are free to go.’” What would you think of that judge? You wouldn’t consider him worthy to be a judge. He ought to be barred from the bench.
Now please hear me. If God just overlooks all the wrong we do, how can He be just? That would make Him like that unjust judge I just described. You see, God has a standard. He has given us His law. We know best His ten commandments. He said things like: “You shall not have any other gods before you… You shall not use the Lord’s name in vain… You shall honor your father and mother… You shall not murder… You shall not commit adultery… You shall not steal…” One way to describe sin is by saying we have disobeyed God’s law. And if you think you haven’t disobeyed God’s law, then you need to read Jesus’ explanation of the law in Matthew 5, where He says, “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery, but I say unto you that whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.’” When we begin to examine God’s law, our own heart convicts us. We know deep down inside that we are guilty.
God not only gave us the law, but He tells us clearly that there are consequences for breaking His law. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). We all know about wages. A wage is the sum of money you earn for doing a job. You work, and you earn a wage. The wages of sin is death. In other words, sin pays a wage, and that wage is death. This goes deeper than physical death. We are already spiritually dead when we come into this world. That is, we are cut off from God. We know that the time is coming when we will experience physical death. But what then? The wages of sin is death. Because we have disobeyed God’s law, the penalty is eternal death, being cut off from God forever. Jesus said, “Don’t fear those who can kill the body, but not the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell” (Matt. 10:28). There is very good reason to fear the living God.
Many people say, “God would never send anyone to hell, because he is a God of love.” I remind you that God is just. If He doesn’t punish sin the way He says He will, He is no longer just, and He is a liar. What kind of God would that be?
What Can Be Done?
So can anything be done for sinful man? Is there anything that can shortcircuit the wages of sin? Do we have to pay for our sins by being cut off from God forever? Whether consciously or unconsciously, we try to do something about our dilemma. Some of us try to do good deeds. If we can do enough good, then our good will outweigh our bad, and God will be merciful to us. But that doesn’t work. Suppose you steal a car and have to stand before the judge. Will he find you innocent, because you helped your neighbor build a fence and you gave ten thousand dollars to charity? Of course, not. Sin must be paid for. Good deeds will not satisfy God. Some of us pray and read the Bible and go to church services. That's nice, but those things can never pay the penalty for sin.
So can anything be done? Now comes the good news. I want to explain to you what the Bible means when it says that God is love. Please allow me to read what the Bible says…
He that does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
-- I John 4:8-9 (NKJV)
Isn’t that good news? God sent His Son into the world that we might live through Him. This “living” means more than just existing. God sent His Son so that we might really live, that we might experience life the way He intended. But now listen to the next words: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10, NKJV).
This is the definition of God’s love. If you want to know what the Bible means, when it says “God is love,” here is the answer which is given by God Himself. God loved us by sending His Son Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins. Don’t let that big word scare you. I’ll explain what it means. It simply means that God sent Jesus as a sacrifice to turn away God’s wrath from us.
You say, “God’s wrath? He isn’t a God of wrath. He is a God of love.” His love and His wrath are two sides of the same coin. In John 3:36, Jesus Himself said that the person who does not believe on Him is under the wrath of God. That simply means that the punishment of God awaits him. Jesus came to take away the wrath of God, which rests upon every sinner, upon every person who has broken the law of God.
What do you know about the life of Jesus? He came into this world as a baby, and things were not easy. His parents had to stay in a barn, and they laid the baby Jesus in a feed trough. It wasn’t long until King Herod was trying to kill that innocent little baby. When Jesus grew up, things became worse. Though Jesus did nothing wrong, there were people who misunderstood Him, misrepresented Him, hated Him, and longed to see Him dead. For His part, Jesus never committed a single sin. More than that, Jesus could say that He always did those things which pleased His Father in heaven (John 8:29). Even when people hated Him, He did not return their hatred. When they insulted Him, He did not retaliate.
After the life He lived, surely God should have said, “Come on home, Son, where you belong. You have done a good job and you deserve to be back home with me.” Instead, Jesus ended up on a cross, between two criminals. The Jewish leaders engineered His arrest and execution. The Romans carried it out. Many of the people who witnessed it ridiculed Him. The physical suffering was excruciating. Nevertheless, we must understand that no man killed Jesus. Earlier, He had said, “No man takes my life from me; I lay it down of myself” (Jn. 10:18). Jesus said that He could have called thousands of angels to rescue Him, but He didn’t. Here is the bottom line. God the Father killed His Son. We read in the prophet Isaiah, “But it pleased the Lord to bruise him” (Is. 53:10). Literally, “It pleased the Lord to crush him.”
But why would God kill His only Son? Because He is just and because He is loving. We read in that same chapter of Isaiah, “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). God put all of our sins on Jesus. So when God the Father poured out His wrath upon His Son Jesus, He was punishing our sins. Jesus took our place. Did you ever wonder why Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”? It was because my sins were on Him, and those sins cut Him off from His Father. When Jesus died, the sins of those who believe on Him were punished completely.
Do you see that God is perfectly just? But He is also loving. He is loving because He doesn’t require you to pay for your own sins. He has provided a way for you to escape that punishment. That is what the Bible means, when it says, “God is love.” It doesn’t mean that in the end He will overlook our sins. He will not overlook one single sin, for if He did, He would no longer by the righteous God. He is love in that through His Son He Himself paid the penalty for our sins. This is the good news; this is the best news. The bad news is that we are terrible sinners and cannot do anything about it. The good news is that God did it in Jesus Christ.
So What Should We Do?
So now that you have heard the good news about Jesus, what should you do? Do you need to do anything? Is everyone automatically forgiven of sin because Jesus died on the cross? No. There is something for us to do.
I must tell you that now I am speaking to you with fear and trembling. Why? Because I don’t want to lead you astray. There are thousands upon thousands who have tried to cash in on God’s goodness by saying some little prayer or following a prescribed formula. Jesus said, “Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3). This isn’t about a formula. There has to be a radical new birth, a spiritual birth, before a person can become a child of God and know His forgiveness of sins.
Our part is to repent and believe. Listen to the words of Jesus in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.” The word “repent” literally means “to change your mind.” Even though you may have admitted you are a sinner, you still thought you could handle things. You thought that if you believed in God and tried to live a good life, things would turn out okay. God is calling on you to change your mind, to recognize that apart from what God did in Jesus, you have absolutely no hope. True repentance is a total giving up on self, because we recognize that there is absolutely nothing good in us. The Bible says that even our best deeds are like filthy rags in God’s sight (Is. 64:6). The person who repents admits that there is not a thing he can do to make himself any better. In short, he is desperate.
The other side of the coin is belief, or faith. This is more than a mental belief. The Bible says that even the demons believe. When the New Testament writers use the term “believe,” they are talking about a deep trust. When a person repents, he gives up on trusting himself. So who is he going to trust? This is the other side of the coin. He gives up on trusting himself and throws himself on Jesus. If Jesus can’t do what He says, then all hope is gone. He stakes his entire life on Jesus and what Jesus did at the cross.
Again, let me give a warning. There are many who claim to have repented and believed, who believe that they are right with God. They are still in their sins and have no hope. Jesus said… (Matt. 7:21-23)
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
So how can a person know that He has truly been forgiven and made right with God? After saying that a person must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God, Jesus then put it like this: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn. 3:8, NKJV). If we can’t see the wind, how do we know it’s real? We see the evidence of the wind – the shaking of the leaves and the sound that goes with it. In the same way, the person who has truly been born of God is changed. Though we can’t see the Spirit of God enter the life, there will be evidence which can be seen. Bluntly, God never forgives a person without changing him.
I want you to know that this new life is for you. You may think that it’s too late for you, or that your sins are too bad to be forgiven. The issue is not how bad your sins are, but how effective the death and resurrection of Jesus is. Jesus rose from the grave in order that He might live in and through every person who repents and trusts in Him. Jesus will never turn away any person who truly repents and believes. There are no exceptions.
The Bible says that God commands people everywhere to repent. We can ignore that command, but we will do so at great peril. I can bear witness that God is faithful and true. I was as bad a sinner as anyone who ever lived. I was proud and self-confident, and God hates pride. But through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus, I found new life in Him. If you follow me around for a while, you will find that I’m not yet perfect. Nevertheless, I have been changed; I have real life… not because of anything I have done, but because of what He has done. I long for you to have that same life. Repent. Give up trusting yourself. Throw yourself upon the Son of God, who died on that cross to bear your sins.
Prayer
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