There Is Mercy with the Lord -- 1/27/13

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Occasion:  Dale's Baptism

THERE'S MERCY WITH THE LORD

I.  God -- Perfectly Just, All-Knowing, All-Powerful

            Do you love justice?  Then you surely you should love God, because He is absolute justice.  He is righteous.  Every single thing He does is right.  There are no exceptions.  No human being can make such a claim, but it is absolutely true of God.  He is just.

            Add to that truth the fact that God is all-knowing.  Consider the truth that God knows everything.  Nothing you have ever done, said, or thought has escaped His notice.  We all have some idea of what sin is.  Sin is a violation of God's law.  It comes from a heart that demands its own way, and that is a perfect description of every human being who has ever been born on this planet.  God knows all about our sin.  You can't list all your sins, because you have forgotten most of them.  On top of that, they are so numerous that you are not capable of keeping them all before you.  But God can list every one of them.  The Psalmist wrote:  "If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" (Ps. 130:3).  He does mark iniquities.  He has a perfect record.  The answer is obvious -- no one can stand. 

            Now put together with God's perfect justice and His infinite knowledge the fact that He is all-powerful.  God knows every sin you have committed, and He will deal with every one of them as a just judge.  And what does a just judge do with evil?  Does a just judge excuse the crimes of a criminal and set him free?  No.  He bangs his gavel and says, "Guilty," and then he gives him a sentence appropriate for his crime.  Can God do any less, since He is more just than any human judge?  God must and will punish every sin you have ever committed, and as the all-powerful Creator of the universe, He has the authority and power to carry out whatever sentence He pronounces.  Every evil deed, word, and thought is open to His eyes and subject to His judgment. 

            But what is an appropriate punishment for your sins?  Maybe God should see that you spend five years in jail.  But maybe your sins are worse than those of most, so perhaps your punishment might be 25 years in jail.  Such sentences are indeed appropriate for sins against mankind, but what about sins against God Himself.  You say, "But most of my sins are not against God; they are against other people."  I remind you of the words of David, who had committed adultery with Uriah's wife and then had Uriah killed to cover up his sin.  David said to God, "Against you and you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight" (Ps. 51:3).  All of our sins are against God, because God is the one who created us and the one who gave us His law that is to regulate our lives.  Every sin is first of all against our Creator.  Surely the punishment for sinning against man pales in comparison with that for sinning against a holy God.

            Here's the big question:  Who decides what the punishment should be?  There is only one person who is just and righteous.  Surely He is the only one qualified to pronounce the appropriate punishment for our sins, and He has done so.  "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).  Oh yes, that means that all of us are going to die because of our sins, but that death is not exhausted by physical death.  The Lord also speaks of a second death, a death which will follow the death of this body.  Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28).  Our sin earns a wage, and that wage is death -- both physical and eternal. 

            So here's the bottom line.  Since God is absolutely just and He has decreed that our sin earns for us the punishment of eternal death, then we must conclude that we all deserve to go to hell.  In other words, that sentence which God has pronounced is perfectly just.  If God were to announce that every one of His creatures will spend eternity in hell, who could find fault with that judgment?  That is what we deserve.

            But surely someone will say, "No, that punishment doesn't fit the crime.  It is not just to reward finite sins with an infinite punishment."  There is a certain logic in that line of thought, but such protest is evidence that we don't understand the righteousness and holiness of God.  We don't understand the depth of the evil in sinning against an infinite God.  Some who commit crimes against humanity receive life sentences.  Others have been executed for those crimes.  If that is true of crimes against humanity, what is appropriate for crimes against the Creator, the holy and righteous God of the universe? 

            I am emphasizing this point because we have a great need to understand this truth.  Somehow we tend to get the idea that a God who carries out such strict judgment is unfair.  He is fair.  When Paul was confronted by those who accused God of being unfair, he responded by denying man the right to reply to his Creator.  As it is ridiculous for the pot to question the potter, it is just as incredible that man would question the justice of his Creator.  But some resent the idea of comparing man with a pot.  But as man stands far above a pot, so God stands infinitely higher above the potter.         Modern man has come up with the idea that the dignity of humanity always deserves something better than condemnation.  Don't we understand that this entire universe beats with the glory of God?  The man or woman who rejects His glory and fights against it will be condemned, because that is exactly what he or she deserves.  The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but neither is He willing to compromise His glory.  Is. 42:8, "I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another."  When a man refuses to submit to the Lord of glory, he will receive the judgment upon which he insists by his stubborn rejection of our glorious Lord.

II.  Where Does That Leave Man?

            So where does that leave man?  We can't cry out for the justice we deserve, because strict justice means condemnation.  We have all sinned and come short of God's glory.  No flesh will be justified by keeping God's law, because no one keeps it.  All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags (Is. 64:6).  "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way" (Is. 53:6).  Ultimately how can we escape saying with the people of Jeremiah's day, "The harvest is past; the summer is ended, and we are not saved"? (Jer. 8:20). That day is coming soon, much sooner than you think.

            But wait!  I know a man... one man, but He is a man.  I know a man who didn't fit the mold, a man who loved the glory of God.  I know a man who brought heaven to earth, a man who never once went astray.  True, there is only One, but He is the One.  He was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth.  A few weeks ago we depicted the angels singing His praises and the wise men bowing down to Him.  Young ones, who is He?  Who is this One who is different from all other men?  Yes, it is Jesus.

            Jesus was taught the law of God from childhood.  And yes, He was tempted to disobey God's law.  He was tempted to go His own way, but never once did He depart from the will of His Father.  Not only did He refuse to lie, steal, dishonor His parents, commit murder and adultery, but He practiced everything He preached.  He loved His enemies and refused to take revenge, though it was in His power to do so.  I Pet. 2:22-23, "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously."  Behold His righteousness.  As surely as we trampled on the law of God, Jesus upheld it.  No wonder the Word of God calls Him "the righteous one" (I John 2:1).

            In light of Jesus' righteousness, how much more are we deserving of condemnation?  How could God ever welcome us into the same heaven where He lives with His precious, beloved Son?  Wouldn't our sin corrupt the atmosphere of heaven?  How fitting that God should welcome Jesus into heaven and assign all of us God-defying rebels to hell.  How understandable that He would put as much distance as possible between the holy Jesus and those who crucified Him.  Don't ever cry out for justice from God, because that is what justice would mean for everyone of us.

           

III.  How Can There Be Forgiveness with God?

            Come back to Ps. 130:3, "If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord who could stand?"  The answer is obvious.  He does mark iniquities, and no one can stand before Him.  But now verse 4, "But there is forgiveness with you, that you may be feared."  There is forgiveness with God.  How can that be?  What can that possibly mean?  If God overlooks sin, then He is no longer just.  As we read in Prov. 17:15, "He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord."  God hates those who justify the wicked; so how could He ever do that Himself?  How can God forgive without compromising His justice?

            Please let me be clear.  God will never overlook one single sin.  Even if you had sinned only once against God, that would justify Him condemning you to hell.  Today it is common to say "I'm a sinner" but have no idea of the depth of our sin.  That is because we don't understand that God is just and righteous.  I repeat, God will never overlook a single sin.  He will punish every sin, no matter how insignificant we think it is.  If you are hoping God will consider all your good deeds and on that basis overlook your sin, you will be sadly disappointed on the judgment day.  You will hear Jesus say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23).  Again, even your righteous deeds are like filthy rags.

            So how can there be forgiveness with God?  Let me come directly to the heart of the matter.  Jesus pleased God His Father in everything He did.  He lived up to the standard laid out in the law of God.  But before the Father welcomed Him into heaven, there was one thing Jesus was assigned to do.  In reality, it was the very reason He came to this earth.  A few days before He died, Jesus spoke these words, "Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save me from this hour?'  But for this purpose I came to this hour" (John 12:27).  Do you understand what He is saying?  How can He ask the Father to bypass the very thing He came to accomplish?  So Jesus didn't pray that prayer.  Then we have recorded what He did pray, "Father, glorify your name" (12:28).  What did He mean?  "Father, no matter what it costs me, bring glory to yourself."  In praying that, Jesus knew exactly what it meant.  It meant going to the cross.

            Later just hours before His arrest, Jesus would pray, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39).  What was this cup of which He spoke?  Yes, it was the suffering He would have to endure.  But what kind of suffering was it?  The suffering Jesus dreaded was not the nails in His hands, not the crown of thorns, not the struggling for breath, nor the exposure to the elements.  No, the cup was nothing less that bearing our sins.  I John 4:10, "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."  Propitiation -- simply a sacrifice that bears wrath.  Jesus took on Himself the wrath of God, the punishment for sins.  He had no sin of His own, but God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us (II Cor. 5:21).  We deserved the wrath of God.  His full punishment should have fallen on me, because I was a rebel against Him.  I defied Him by running my own life instead of yielding to Him.  But Jesus volunteered to take my place on that cross.

            That is why there is forgiveness with God, because Jesus paid the price.  God didn't overlook a single sin that I have ever committed, but He punished my sins by providing the sacrifice, His own Son Jesus.  Down in verse 7 of that same Psalm 130, we read, "...For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption."  God took pity on us and sent His own Son to die in our place.

            So what?  What does that accomplish?  It would have accomplished nothing, if Jesus had remained in that grave, but He didn't.  He rose in victory.  All our sins could not hold Him in that grave, because His Father raised Him up, and He will never die again.  He ascended to heaven and from there He sends His Spirit to every person who calls upon His name. 

            Down through the years this has been referred to as "the great exchange."  Jesus takes our sins upon Himself and in exchange gives us His life.  How can it be?  That isn't fair.  No, that is love.  That is mercy.  That is grace.  Praise God that He is not only just, but He is love.  It is the cross that allows God to remain righteous, while washing away our sins.  He is just because He punishes our sins completely... in Christ.  He is love because He provides a way so that we don't have to be punished for those sins. 

Conclusion:  So What Is Your Part?

            What's your part?  How can you find that forgiveness?  Only through the cross of Jesus.  Jesus put it simply:  "Repent and believe the good news."  How can you know if you have repented?  After what you have heard this morning, what do you think about your sin?  If you are not filled with regret for your sin, if you do not despise your sin, if you think you can continue to sin and it not fill your heart with sorrow, then you have NOT repented.  Repentance comes from the conviction of God's Spirit.  When the Spirit of God turns His light upon your sin, you fall down before Him because you see your sin for what it is.  You say with Isaiah, "Woe is me, for I am undone."  If it were not for Jesus, you would have no hope.  But the other side of the coin of repentance is belief.   Praise God!  There is a Savior!  There is One who came to rescue you from the depth of your sins.  That same Psalm 130 begins with these words, "Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord!"  Out of the depths of your sin you can cry to the One who died and rose to take away your sins.  You can trust Jesus.  You can throw yourself on Him as your only hope.  You can rest your life upon Him.  Jesus said, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden (burdened down), and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). 

            Please listen to the words of the old hymn...
Come every soul by sin oppressed,  there's mercy with the Lord;

And He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word.

For Jesus shed His precious blood, rich blessings to bestow;

Plunge now into the crimson flood that wash as white as snow.

Yes, Jesus is the Truth, the Way, that leads you into rest;

Believe in Him without delay, and you are fully blest.

Refrain:  Only trust Him, only trust Him, only trust Him now.

     He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now.

            Today won't you repent and believe!  Perhaps this message is the culmination of a great struggle within you.  You have been resisting God and you don't want to resist Him any longer.  Won't you fall on your knees before Him even now.  You can do that right where you are.  Or maybe you want to unashamedly come and kneel here this morning.  I will give you time to let God deal with you just now.  Let's pray.