Introductory Thoughts
One of the nicest things some people think you can say about a man is that he is tolerant. Tolerance is a highly praised attribute in our society.
One of the meanest things you can say about a man in our society is that he is intolerant—an intolerant man is thought to be just plain ignorant, bigoted, and stupid.
As with most lies, there is a degree of Truth in this concept of society. We should be gracious and tolerant in small things, and we must make allowances for people in some cases and in some areas. We need to be ever ready to be merciful and compassionate.
However, there are several problems here. One is that the definition of “tolerance” has been subtly changed in the perception of most people.
Tolerance used to mean that, if you don’t bother me, I will leave you alone. I won’t burn your house or shoot at you, and I won’t spit in your eye when I see you on the street. However, I don’t have to approve of you, I don’t have to affirm you, and I might just tell you that you are wrong.
Now tolerance means I must affirm you, I must approve of you, and I can never object to your actions at all. That is modern society’s idea of tolerance.
1. Who knowing...
a. Who?-- Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;---- those who suppress the Truth—which includes those who hide the Gospel instead of proclaiming it in the full counsel of God.
(1) Who? Lost people who tolerate wickedness because they want their own wickedness tolerated.
(2) Who? Lost Church members, who want a little hell insurance, and who won’t take a stand because they have nothing to stand on.
(3) Who? Saved people—Saved people who have not been properly taught, Saved people with no leadership, Saved people who are just plain being disobedient toward God.
b. Knowing—
(1) The voice of conscience, not totally quiet even in a degenerate society—Rom 2:15
(2) The Bible—many unbelievers are fully aware of what the Bible teaches about sin, yet they do it anyway, and reject the Gospel anyway.
(3) Believers—we certainly should know, and our silence and suppression of the Truth is inexcusable.
c. The Righteous Judgment of God—God’s judgment is right—He is always right and just in whatever He does
(1) The Satanic impulse—to challenge God’s authority—Is 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer… 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
(2) This is the same temptation Adam and Eve succumbed to—to be God, to have their own way.
d. Those who commit such things....
(1) "Commit" = Practice--(prasso, pras'-so: to "practice", i.e. perform repeatedly or habitually
(2) "Such things"--"...do those things which are not fitting;" (NKJV) unrighteousness--(legal) injustice, wrongfulness (of character, life or act):--iniquity, unjust, wrong.
(3) "...Are worthy of death..." The death penalty for backbiting? Yes, the ultimate death penalty!
2. The Sin of Toleration of Evil -- "..., not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them...."-- For the Bible-believing Christian, toleration of evil is friendship with the world, which is sin.
a. James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
b. Not only do--those who tolerate various kinds of evil usually have something in their closet too.
c. Have pleasure in them--approve of them—the sin of toleration.
d. What I do NOT mean—Condemnation of persons, Violent behavior or unloving confrontation, Pettiness
e. What I do mean:
(1) Loving the sinner, but hating and rebuking sin—John 4:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,'18 "for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
(2) John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
(3) We not only are allowed to take a stand on moral issues, we are commanded to be salt and light in this world.
(4) Taking a stand on moral issues, Taking a stand on wickedness, Not being quiet and going along to get, along. Not wishing people well in their sin—this is what we are supposed to be.
3. Tolerance Of Evil is Heresy
a. This stress on toleration is a lie—when it comes to the Christian being tolerant of sin and of societal disintegration, we are NOT to be tolerant of evil, and we may make no peace with evil.
b. If we take no stand, we really have taken a stand—we have declared to the world that we do not care, and we have tacitly approved wickedness.
c. As this passage in Romans 1 has condemned the sin of mankind, as this passage has told us of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against the sin of man, as God has specified in detail the sins with which He is most displeased, we come now to the saddest sin of all—toleration of sin by people who know better.
d. How do we tolerate sin?
(1) We tolerate sin when we speak in favor of it, or at least tolerantly of it.
(i) “Well, that’s just the way they are, it is not mine to judge whether that is right or wrong.”
(ii) “Well, I know what they are doing is wrong, but it isn’t my place to tell them.”
(2) We tolerate sin when we say or do nothing—
4. The Bible’s Hall of Shame of Toleraters
a. Adam —Gen 3:1-6
(1) The tolerance
(2) The Results
b. Abraham with Hagar
(1) The tolerance—God had never told Abraham nor Sarah to take the direction they did with Hagar
(2) The Results—4,000 years of civil war—and the whole world is now suffering from this family feud
c. Lot
(1) The Tolerance
(a) First, he pitched his tent “Toward” Sodom
(b) Then He was a resident of the city
(c) Then he was the mayor.
(2) Result—total ruination of his family and his testimony.
d. Eli’s weak and tepid rebuke of his own sons
(1) A prophet had come to Eli to warn him, but he had done nothing.
(2) Even after the grossest of sins of his sons were revealed to him, he gave a mild rebuke and did nothing—(1 Sam 2:22-24) "Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 23 So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24 "No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress."
e. Samuel’s Sons were Likewise evil—1 Sam 8:1-5
(1) Amazing, after seeing the same thing happen to Eli’s sons, Samuel let the same thing grown in his household
(2) How could he have done better? It is no shame to have a prodigal son or a son with “issues…”—but it is something else indeed to make them the spiritual and political leaders of Israel!
f. David was tolerant with his own sin (for a season), and the consequences nearly ruined his reign and his family.
g. David with Absalom
(1) Absalom was a rebellious, vain, evil man.
(2) David loved him above his other sons
(3) Even when Absalom rebelled and David defeated the conspiracy, during which battle Absalom died, and David mourned, not for his supporters who died to defend his reign, but for his rebellious son, who had publicly humiliated him, and who would have gladly seen David dead—1 Kings 18:32-19:7
h. Solomon with himself, The People of Isaiah’s day, The People of Jeremiah’s day
i. Many of the good kings of Judah, such as Jehoshophat, who allied himself with Ahab, the evil king of the Northern Tribes.
j. The churches of Asia—Rev 2:12-29—Thyatira and Pergamos.
5. Examples of Those who did NOT Tolerate
a. Moses
b. Some of the kings (Josiah, for instance)
c. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc.
d. Our Lord, during His earthly ministry and now.
e. The Holy Spirit, who is grieved at our sins.
f. Paul
g. A couple of the churches in Asia—Philadelphia (The Good Church) and Ephesus (who had leaned on the other direction)
h. But most supremely, it was our God who did not tolerate evil, who does not tolerate evil, who cannot tolerate evil and who will not tolerate evil
(Psa 99:9) "Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy."
(Isa 6:3) "And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""
(Hab 1:13) "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?"
(Rev 4:8) "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""
(1) This is why the cross was a requirement
(2) This is why the Lake of fire is real and permanent.
i. The bottom line for believers is that we should not tolerate evil in our lives, our families, our community, our nation, or our church.
(1) Toleration of sin within ourselves, without examination, discovery, confession, and repentance, opens us to attacks from the enemy and chastisement from the Father.
(2) The Family
(a) Personal tolerance of ungodly behavior in ourselves undermines your leadership at home.
(b) Tolerance of evil and rebellious behavior in our children will bring the fruits of misery to those children later on.
(c) Young people, if your parents are tough on you, it is from Godly love for you and a concern for your future.
(3) The community—Christians should be ever-vigilant about the moral state of the community in which they live. In a place like this one, that which the believers won’t put up with, will be changed.
(4) The same goes on a national level. The evidence that most American church goers are truly lost is to be found in what our nation puts up with.
(5) Finally, the church.
(a) A church that has no care for the true spiritual state of its people is a church mired in false tolerance
(b) Believers need to be held accountable for their lives, and the Bible both requires this and tells us how to do it.
(c) If the behavior of the members of the church is a negative witness in the community, it is the fault of the church.
(d) If a church has a small group that messes up life for the rest of the church, it is because that church tolerates that situation.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Hell on Earth: The Natural Consequence Of Suppressing Truth Rom 1:26-31
The world is a frightful place, a dangerous place, and throughout most of human history that has been the case.
War, brutality, misery, poverty —these have been the lot of the majority of mankind for almost all of history
Philosophers and theologians have invented and wrestled with the so-called “problem of evil,” throughout most of church history—if God is good and loving, why is this all the case?
But, to those of us who understand the implications of the sin and rebellion of man, and who understand that God is not only loving, but is just, holy, and true, and He cannot and will not put up with sin in His universe, the so-called “problem of evil” is turned on its ear—
Given the effects of sin, the heinousness of sin, and the holiness and justice of God, the amazing thing is that we are not all in Hell right now.
It is only God’s hand of mercy extended which keeps lost men from falling immediately into Hell.
Let’s not forget—the cause of all of this misery is man’s sin. Remember: (Rom 1:18) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"
What we are going to see today are the results of unrestrained evil—the kind of things that go on in much of the world today, and the things which, during the Tribulation period, will dominate all of the world.
1. What God Did—1:24, 26, 28
a. These are not three stages in decline, they are three different expressions of the same judgment of god against the unrighteousness and ungodliness of man—this IS the wrath of God revealed (1:18), to allow man’s own consequences to come home to roost
b. The same word is used as the key word in all three verses.
(1) First, the word “gave them over,” is a common word, used over 100 times in the New Testament, which means “handed over to an authority.”
(2) The word is an aorist, indicating a snapshot—God gave them over, period. It was a judgment of His at a point in time.
(3) There came a time in each period or instance of decline when God Himself said, “enough!”
c. Gave them over to what? Impurity (uncleanness), vile passions, and a debased mind.
2. The judgment of God and its effects
a. Uncleanness, dishonoring the body (1:24)
(1) We were created in God’s image, and He had assigned an honor, a glory, to all things human, before we ruined this arrangement by our sins—
(1 Th 4:3-4) "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,"
(Heb 13:4) "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge."
(1 Cor 6:18-20) "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
(2) Dishonoring the body through sin degrades us and our society and our entire race (the human race)
b. Vile passions 1:26-27--homosexuality
(1) These are sin, period
(2) These are part of dishonoring God’s creation
(3) These are part of God’s judgment
c. The Positive Teaching on human sexuality:
(1) First, God invented sexuality and drew its boundaries from the beginning
(a) Gen 1:26-28 " 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth …""
(i) God made two genders
(ii) God, from the beginning, coupled them up together in the formula of one man, one woman.
(iii) This, of course is reinforced by the instruction for these new couples to multiply
(iv) God blessed the male/female union.
(2) In the detailed account of human creation, God was even more definitive about human sexuality and its proper expression—Gen 2:18-25
(3) Opponents of Biblical sexuality have long asserted that Jesus made no statements on the matter This is simply not true
(a) First, Jesus Christ is the author of the Bible through the Holy Spirit. Whatever the other scriptures say, He is consistent with that.
(b) Second, He most certainly made his understanding known in Mat 19:4-6, where He pointedly quotes Gen 2:24-25
(4) Paul, on the other hand, also quoted Genesis in his major passage on marriage in Eph 5:22-33—
(5) Every teaching on sexual union in the Bible—EVERY SINGLE TEACHING—reinforces the sanctity of heterosexual marriage, and of heterosexual marriage ONLY! Every Biblical reference to homosexuality or any other type is negative
(6) The negative teaching on sexuality—Any sexual activity of any kind outside the bounds of heterosexual marriage is immoral and sinful (1 Cor 6:12-20).
(a) Fornication—Sex where neither partner is married, including pre-marital sex, is a sin, on the same level as homosexuality. 1 Tim 1:9-10.
(b) Adultery, or sex where one or both of the partners is married to somebody else, is likewise sinful (Heb 13:4).
(c) Homosexuality of any kind is also forbidden. (Lev 18:22, 20:13, Deut 23:17).
(d) The good kings of Judah banished homosexuals from the land (1 Kings 14:24, 15:12, 22:46, 2 Ki 23:7).
(e) What does the New Testament say? The New Testament agrees totally with the Old! Rom 1:18-32, 1 Cor 6:9-11
(f) The Bottom line—
(i) Homosexuality is a sin.
(ii) Any sex outside of marriage is a sin.
(iii) It was a sin in the OT, it is a sin in the NT, it is a sin now, and it will always be a sin.
3. They did not want to retain God in their knowledge—
a. The Lost Mind is a choice—unless under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the lost mind wants nothing to do with God or the things of God.
(1) Lost minds naturally hate God--Rom 8:7
(2) They are beyond being able to understand God—1 Cor 2:14
(3) By nature Children of Wrath—Ep 2:2-3
(a) They are willing slaves of the “Prince of the power of the air”
(b) They are the “children of disobedience”
b. They could not stand the holiness of God, and they hated His law, so they did not like to retain even the innate knowledge of Him (conscience) that all men have.
c. Since they don’t want God…
(1) Gave them over--the same term used for handing over a prisoner to his sentence-- This abandonment is a judgment of God— Since they don’t want a mind attuned to spiritual and moral reality, God lets the consequences of evil take their course.
(2) Reprobate (debased) the Greek word refers to a metal that had not passed the test--useless metal because it contained too many impurities
(3) The root word--always used of being approved of God for faithful service—passing the test for a pure metal— 2 Tim 2:15, James 1:12
d. The word here--means NOT approved, having not passed the test, a mind that is full of impurities.
(1) This abandonment is the result of sinful rejection of God and His Truth—When a man, a woman, a church, or a nation rejects God’s Truth, He will often send them judgment by way of deception
(a) 2 Thes 2:7-12
(b) 2 Chron 18--
16Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘Their master has been killed.£ Send them home in peace.’”
17“Didn’t I tell you?” the king of Israel exclaimed to Jehoshaphat. “He never prophesies anything but trouble for me.”
18Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. 19And the LORD said, ‘Who can entice King Ahab of Israel to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be killed?’
“There were many suggestions, 20and finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, ‘I can do it!’
“‘How will you do this?’ the LORD asked.
21“And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all of Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’
“‘You will succeed,’ said the LORD. ‘Go ahead and do it.’
22“So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets. For the LORD has pronounced your doom.”
(2) Other Example: (Psa 81:11-12) ""But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. 12 So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels."
(3) The Lost mind is worthless, not because it is incapable of great and even beautiful things, but because its impurities twist it beyond repair, except through salvation.
e. The first result of a debased mind—debased lives—to do those things which are not convenient;, are not fitting; (NKJV), to do what ought not to be done. (NIV)
f. Once a person is given over to a debased, reprobate mind, there is no limit to the sin they will do except the limitations placed on them by their own limited resources--until God decides to cut them off permanently.
4. A Debased Mind—A Debased Society
a. The prime meaning of this passage is to detail the destruction of civilizations that we spoke of last week.
b. This pattern of decline has been repeated many times, particularly in the history of Israel
c. The supreme lesson-- a debased, degenerate society is the natural result of debased minds who reject God and His way.
(1) Why this is so—“… 28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper…”
(2) What they ARE: “…29being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice…” Perfect passive participle of the common verb plēroō, state of completion, “filled to the brim with” four vices…”ATR
(3) A debased society is hell on earth—(Rom 1:28-31) "… to do those things which are not fitting…”
(a) They are people who have totally lost touch with any real humanity at all. The perfect participle means they have been filled to the brim with evil, with no room for good.
(b) These are heartless, scary, evil people. There have always been individuals like this, and for most of history, people like this have dominated the world to one degree or another.
(c) But during the tribulation period, with the church removed from the Earth, this mindset will dominate all nations to a greater degree than ever before—2 Thes 2:7-12
(4) What they will do—(Adapted from ATR)
“…vivid touches to this composite photograph of the God abandoned soul.
(a) “…whisperers, backbiters…” This is the person who whispers slander in the ears of others. Some people think that freedom of speech covers this—
(i) First, even in public matters, this is limited—public defamation of character is a serious matter.
(ii) Second, the rules within the churches of the Lord Jesus are MORE restrictive than the secular world.
(Eph 4:31) "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."
(1 Pet 2:1) "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,"
(Psa 101:5) "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy…”
(Prov 11:9) "The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor…”
(Prov 25:23) "The north wind brings forth rain, And a backbiting tongue an angry countenance."
(b) “…haters of God…” The Lost man hates God—not some kind of God, but the real God—(Rom 8:7) "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can he."
(c) (John 15:18-19) ""If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
(d) (John 15:23) ""He who hates Me hates My Father also."
(e) “…violent, proud, boasters…” The men described here are evil, violent, arrogant, murderers, with no mercy, they consider themselves better than all others, and therefore they have the right to oppress them.
(f) “…inventors of evil things…” They are continually devising new ways to be evil. People in this class have been the inventers of everything from torture devices to justifications for genocide.
(g) “…disobedient to parents…” Young people, see where this is ranked!
(h) “… 31 undiscerning…” Insensitive to righteousness
(i) “.. untrustworthy…” literally, covenant breakers, can’t be trusted to fulfill any agreement
(j) “… unloving…” People with no capacity to show real affection, who would really shoot their father, child, or grandmother to get ahead—like Nero, Stalin, or Mao.
(k) “…unforgiving…” People who will not and cannot truly forgive.
(l) “… unmerciful…" No pity, no mercy. Upon witnessing mass executions of Jews, Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, decided to come up with a factory system to kill them quicker.
War, brutality, misery, poverty —these have been the lot of the majority of mankind for almost all of history
Philosophers and theologians have invented and wrestled with the so-called “problem of evil,” throughout most of church history—if God is good and loving, why is this all the case?
But, to those of us who understand the implications of the sin and rebellion of man, and who understand that God is not only loving, but is just, holy, and true, and He cannot and will not put up with sin in His universe, the so-called “problem of evil” is turned on its ear—
Given the effects of sin, the heinousness of sin, and the holiness and justice of God, the amazing thing is that we are not all in Hell right now.
It is only God’s hand of mercy extended which keeps lost men from falling immediately into Hell.
Let’s not forget—the cause of all of this misery is man’s sin. Remember: (Rom 1:18) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"
What we are going to see today are the results of unrestrained evil—the kind of things that go on in much of the world today, and the things which, during the Tribulation period, will dominate all of the world.
1. What God Did—1:24, 26, 28
a. These are not three stages in decline, they are three different expressions of the same judgment of god against the unrighteousness and ungodliness of man—this IS the wrath of God revealed (1:18), to allow man’s own consequences to come home to roost
b. The same word is used as the key word in all three verses.
(1) First, the word “gave them over,” is a common word, used over 100 times in the New Testament, which means “handed over to an authority.”
(2) The word is an aorist, indicating a snapshot—God gave them over, period. It was a judgment of His at a point in time.
(3) There came a time in each period or instance of decline when God Himself said, “enough!”
c. Gave them over to what? Impurity (uncleanness), vile passions, and a debased mind.
2. The judgment of God and its effects
a. Uncleanness, dishonoring the body (1:24)
(1) We were created in God’s image, and He had assigned an honor, a glory, to all things human, before we ruined this arrangement by our sins—
(1 Th 4:3-4) "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,"
(Heb 13:4) "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge."
(1 Cor 6:18-20) "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
(2) Dishonoring the body through sin degrades us and our society and our entire race (the human race)
b. Vile passions 1:26-27--homosexuality
(1) These are sin, period
(2) These are part of dishonoring God’s creation
(3) These are part of God’s judgment
c. The Positive Teaching on human sexuality:
(1) First, God invented sexuality and drew its boundaries from the beginning
(a) Gen 1:26-28 " 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth …""
(i) God made two genders
(ii) God, from the beginning, coupled them up together in the formula of one man, one woman.
(iii) This, of course is reinforced by the instruction for these new couples to multiply
(iv) God blessed the male/female union.
(2) In the detailed account of human creation, God was even more definitive about human sexuality and its proper expression—Gen 2:18-25
(3) Opponents of Biblical sexuality have long asserted that Jesus made no statements on the matter This is simply not true
(a) First, Jesus Christ is the author of the Bible through the Holy Spirit. Whatever the other scriptures say, He is consistent with that.
(b) Second, He most certainly made his understanding known in Mat 19:4-6, where He pointedly quotes Gen 2:24-25
(4) Paul, on the other hand, also quoted Genesis in his major passage on marriage in Eph 5:22-33—
(5) Every teaching on sexual union in the Bible—EVERY SINGLE TEACHING—reinforces the sanctity of heterosexual marriage, and of heterosexual marriage ONLY! Every Biblical reference to homosexuality or any other type is negative
(6) The negative teaching on sexuality—Any sexual activity of any kind outside the bounds of heterosexual marriage is immoral and sinful (1 Cor 6:12-20).
(a) Fornication—Sex where neither partner is married, including pre-marital sex, is a sin, on the same level as homosexuality. 1 Tim 1:9-10.
(b) Adultery, or sex where one or both of the partners is married to somebody else, is likewise sinful (Heb 13:4).
(c) Homosexuality of any kind is also forbidden. (Lev 18:22, 20:13, Deut 23:17).
(d) The good kings of Judah banished homosexuals from the land (1 Kings 14:24, 15:12, 22:46, 2 Ki 23:7).
(e) What does the New Testament say? The New Testament agrees totally with the Old! Rom 1:18-32, 1 Cor 6:9-11
(f) The Bottom line—
(i) Homosexuality is a sin.
(ii) Any sex outside of marriage is a sin.
(iii) It was a sin in the OT, it is a sin in the NT, it is a sin now, and it will always be a sin.
3. They did not want to retain God in their knowledge—
a. The Lost Mind is a choice—unless under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the lost mind wants nothing to do with God or the things of God.
(1) Lost minds naturally hate God--Rom 8:7
(2) They are beyond being able to understand God—1 Cor 2:14
(3) By nature Children of Wrath—Ep 2:2-3
(a) They are willing slaves of the “Prince of the power of the air”
(b) They are the “children of disobedience”
b. They could not stand the holiness of God, and they hated His law, so they did not like to retain even the innate knowledge of Him (conscience) that all men have.
c. Since they don’t want God…
(1) Gave them over--the same term used for handing over a prisoner to his sentence-- This abandonment is a judgment of God— Since they don’t want a mind attuned to spiritual and moral reality, God lets the consequences of evil take their course.
(2) Reprobate (debased) the Greek word refers to a metal that had not passed the test--useless metal because it contained too many impurities
(3) The root word--always used of being approved of God for faithful service—passing the test for a pure metal— 2 Tim 2:15, James 1:12
d. The word here--means NOT approved, having not passed the test, a mind that is full of impurities.
(1) This abandonment is the result of sinful rejection of God and His Truth—When a man, a woman, a church, or a nation rejects God’s Truth, He will often send them judgment by way of deception
(a) 2 Thes 2:7-12
(b) 2 Chron 18--
16Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘Their master has been killed.£ Send them home in peace.’”
17“Didn’t I tell you?” the king of Israel exclaimed to Jehoshaphat. “He never prophesies anything but trouble for me.”
18Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. 19And the LORD said, ‘Who can entice King Ahab of Israel to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be killed?’
“There were many suggestions, 20and finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, ‘I can do it!’
“‘How will you do this?’ the LORD asked.
21“And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all of Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’
“‘You will succeed,’ said the LORD. ‘Go ahead and do it.’
22“So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets. For the LORD has pronounced your doom.”
(2) Other Example: (Psa 81:11-12) ""But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. 12 So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels."
(3) The Lost mind is worthless, not because it is incapable of great and even beautiful things, but because its impurities twist it beyond repair, except through salvation.
e. The first result of a debased mind—debased lives—to do those things which are not convenient;, are not fitting; (NKJV), to do what ought not to be done. (NIV)
f. Once a person is given over to a debased, reprobate mind, there is no limit to the sin they will do except the limitations placed on them by their own limited resources--until God decides to cut them off permanently.
4. A Debased Mind—A Debased Society
a. The prime meaning of this passage is to detail the destruction of civilizations that we spoke of last week.
b. This pattern of decline has been repeated many times, particularly in the history of Israel
c. The supreme lesson-- a debased, degenerate society is the natural result of debased minds who reject God and His way.
(1) Why this is so—“… 28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper…”
(2) What they ARE: “…29being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice…” Perfect passive participle of the common verb plēroō, state of completion, “filled to the brim with” four vices…”ATR
(3) A debased society is hell on earth—(Rom 1:28-31) "… to do those things which are not fitting…”
(a) They are people who have totally lost touch with any real humanity at all. The perfect participle means they have been filled to the brim with evil, with no room for good.
(b) These are heartless, scary, evil people. There have always been individuals like this, and for most of history, people like this have dominated the world to one degree or another.
(c) But during the tribulation period, with the church removed from the Earth, this mindset will dominate all nations to a greater degree than ever before—2 Thes 2:7-12
(4) What they will do—(Adapted from ATR)
“…vivid touches to this composite photograph of the God abandoned soul.
(a) “…whisperers, backbiters…” This is the person who whispers slander in the ears of others. Some people think that freedom of speech covers this—
(i) First, even in public matters, this is limited—public defamation of character is a serious matter.
(ii) Second, the rules within the churches of the Lord Jesus are MORE restrictive than the secular world.
(Eph 4:31) "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."
(1 Pet 2:1) "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,"
(Psa 101:5) "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy…”
(Prov 11:9) "The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor…”
(Prov 25:23) "The north wind brings forth rain, And a backbiting tongue an angry countenance."
(b) “…haters of God…” The Lost man hates God—not some kind of God, but the real God—(Rom 8:7) "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can he."
(c) (John 15:18-19) ""If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
(d) (John 15:23) ""He who hates Me hates My Father also."
(e) “…violent, proud, boasters…” The men described here are evil, violent, arrogant, murderers, with no mercy, they consider themselves better than all others, and therefore they have the right to oppress them.
(f) “…inventors of evil things…” They are continually devising new ways to be evil. People in this class have been the inventers of everything from torture devices to justifications for genocide.
(g) “…disobedient to parents…” Young people, see where this is ranked!
(h) “… 31 undiscerning…” Insensitive to righteousness
(i) “.. untrustworthy…” literally, covenant breakers, can’t be trusted to fulfill any agreement
(j) “… unloving…” People with no capacity to show real affection, who would really shoot their father, child, or grandmother to get ahead—like Nero, Stalin, or Mao.
(k) “…unforgiving…” People who will not and cannot truly forgive.
(l) “… unmerciful…" No pity, no mercy. Upon witnessing mass executions of Jews, Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, decided to come up with a factory system to kill them quicker.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The Razor's Edge
This is a thought I am working on, to try to help brothers and sisters all over the convention to sort through a host of thorny issues (Calvinism, tongues, what kind of music to use (as if God cares) eschatology, etc.). Here is the formulation so far:
There are some things that God tells us because He wants us to know--such as Providence, Eschatology, God's Sovereignty, Foreknowledge, Election, etc. We can't do anything about these things, God just wants us to know them so that we will feel sufficiently small so as to be used.
There are other things that God tells us because He wants us to do--The Great Commission, the Sermon on the Mount, Ephesians 4:17-5:33, etc.--the list is huge.
The Razor's Edge is to discern the difference.
If we attempt to act upon things God wants us to know in violation of what He wants us to do, we are living a lie. If we attempt to use the things God wants us to do in such a fashion as to deny what He has plainly told us He wants us to know, we are teaching lies.
I am working this out in my mind, preparing to prepare a series of messages on this. Comments are welcome.
There are some things that God tells us because He wants us to know--such as Providence, Eschatology, God's Sovereignty, Foreknowledge, Election, etc. We can't do anything about these things, God just wants us to know them so that we will feel sufficiently small so as to be used.
There are other things that God tells us because He wants us to do--The Great Commission, the Sermon on the Mount, Ephesians 4:17-5:33, etc.--the list is huge.
The Razor's Edge is to discern the difference.
If we attempt to act upon things God wants us to know in violation of what He wants us to do, we are living a lie. If we attempt to use the things God wants us to do in such a fashion as to deny what He has plainly told us He wants us to know, we are teaching lies.
I am working this out in my mind, preparing to prepare a series of messages on this. Comments are welcome.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The Two-Second Prayer
I recently received one of those "FORWARD THIS!!!!" emails, which I usually ignore, but a friend wanted my opinion. The forwarded mail concerned an 8-second prayer that was supposed to have some great impact on us. The prayer was innocent enough, I thought at first.
" Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, my finances, and all of my friends, in Jesus' name. Amen."
After reflecting for a few moments on this prayer, it became apparent that this prayer was short-sighted, immature, unbiblical, and totally unrelated to "the faith once delivered to the saints." (Jude 3) It also bears little or no resemblance to the prayers prayed by our Lord or His disciples in the Bible.
(2 Cor 13:7) "Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified."
(Phil 1:9) "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,"
(3 John 1:1-4) "THE ELDER, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: 2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."
(Eph 1:16-21) "do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come."
It especially does not relate to the manner in which our Lord commanded us to pray. The Disciple's prayer (the Lord's Prayer is John 17), which is to be prayed "in this manner," using the text as an outline, scarcely mentions any of these needs (save one petition for daily necessities).
(Mat 6:5-15) ""And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Even better than an 8-second prayer written by man is a two-second prayer written by God.
One of the greatest prayers in the Bible takes only two seconds to pray. It is a prayer with the power to save, a prayer with the power to heal a sin-sick soul, and a piece of theology that will straighten out the most confused mind.
This prayer was delivered in a most unusual way, with the man praying looking away and holding his head down low. The man delivering it beat his chest profusely and in agitation, for he was a great sinner, a traitor to his nation, and an insult to his God. Here is the circumstance and the two-second prayer. (Luke 18:13) ""And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'" The phrase in English does not make the point that the Greek original does. In the original, the definite article is used before the word "sinner." What he said was "...God, be merciful to me, THE sinner. The immediate effect of this prayer was more earthshaking than a mountain being moved, more enriching than all the possessions in the universe, and more longlasting than mountains themselves. Jesus said of this man: (Luke 18:14) ""I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."" This man was saved, justified by faith, made right with God, and set upon the path of the Holy. Two seconds; if you are reading this and have never repented of your sins as this man, have never surrendered your pride as this man, nor have been justified as this man, say THIS prayer and mean it; beat on your chest and lower your eyes, stand afar off as befits one who is separated from God, and have your life changed. Turn to Christ in repentance and faith and say, "God, be merciful to me THE sinner," and live forever.
Brother Charley Buntin
Clinton, KY
" Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, my finances, and all of my friends, in Jesus' name. Amen."
After reflecting for a few moments on this prayer, it became apparent that this prayer was short-sighted, immature, unbiblical, and totally unrelated to "the faith once delivered to the saints." (Jude 3) It also bears little or no resemblance to the prayers prayed by our Lord or His disciples in the Bible.
(2 Cor 13:7) "Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified."
(Phil 1:9) "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,"
(3 John 1:1-4) "THE ELDER, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: 2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."
(Eph 1:16-21) "do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come."
It especially does not relate to the manner in which our Lord commanded us to pray. The Disciple's prayer (the Lord's Prayer is John 17), which is to be prayed "in this manner," using the text as an outline, scarcely mentions any of these needs (save one petition for daily necessities).
(Mat 6:5-15) ""And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Even better than an 8-second prayer written by man is a two-second prayer written by God.
One of the greatest prayers in the Bible takes only two seconds to pray. It is a prayer with the power to save, a prayer with the power to heal a sin-sick soul, and a piece of theology that will straighten out the most confused mind.
This prayer was delivered in a most unusual way, with the man praying looking away and holding his head down low. The man delivering it beat his chest profusely and in agitation, for he was a great sinner, a traitor to his nation, and an insult to his God. Here is the circumstance and the two-second prayer. (Luke 18:13) ""And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'" The phrase in English does not make the point that the Greek original does. In the original, the definite article is used before the word "sinner." What he said was "...God, be merciful to me, THE sinner. The immediate effect of this prayer was more earthshaking than a mountain being moved, more enriching than all the possessions in the universe, and more longlasting than mountains themselves. Jesus said of this man: (Luke 18:14) ""I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."" This man was saved, justified by faith, made right with God, and set upon the path of the Holy. Two seconds; if you are reading this and have never repented of your sins as this man, have never surrendered your pride as this man, nor have been justified as this man, say THIS prayer and mean it; beat on your chest and lower your eyes, stand afar off as befits one who is separated from God, and have your life changed. Turn to Christ in repentance and faith and say, "God, be merciful to me THE sinner," and live forever.
Brother Charley Buntin
Clinton, KY
Things That Hold No Water
Things That Hold No Water
Notes by Charley Buntin
Readings: Jer 2:1-13, Romans 1:26-32
Text: Jer 2:9-13
A Ugandan Christian told me that once, Ugandans assumed that Westerners were Godly, they were called “Godly people.” Not now. Now, Ugandans refer to white people from the US as “Abaseaga,” which means “homosexual!”
1. Context of the text—Israel Ignored Jehovah and chased Idols
a. The background—Jer 2:5 Thus says the LORD: "What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters? 6 Neither did they say, 'Where is the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?' 7 I brought you into a bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination.
b. The lawsuit: Jehovah v. Israel—2:9-11, the effect will continue for generations!
(1) First, the charges are laid—God will specify their offense against Him
(2) Then, a thought from God, how stupid could these folks be to leave Jehovah
(3) The far West of Jeremiah’s known world was Cyprus, a pagan, idol-worshipping nation
(4) The Far East of their world was Kedar in the eastern desert, another pagan nation.
(5) These idol-worshipping nations had no REAL God, because there is only one true and living God, and they did not worship Him.
(6) But even among the pagan nations of Jeremiah’s day, he had never encountered a nation that changed its gods, however false and vain they might be.
c. Israel’s glory had been Jehovah—(Psa 106:20) "Thus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass."
(1) Israel was exalted as God’s Chosen
(2) Israel was exalted by having been given God’s Word.
(3) Israel was exalted because she had the way of salvation revealed to her.
(4) God Himself was Her Glory, and He had revealed His Glory to Israel.
d. Israel had mixed the worship of Jehovah with paganism, and they had practiced the perversions of the pagan religions
(1) Molech and Baal demanded infant sacrifice
(2) Baal worshippers practiced every kind of perverted sex
(3) Some of the kings had even rearranged the house of God and imitated the worship of the pagans—2 Ki 16:9-18
(4) The preachers of the day went along with and cooperated in these abominations
e. Why Was Glory Rejected in Favor of Lies?
(1) The unread book – Judah declined and fell into ruin because of rejecting God and His Word—Josiah’s discovery (2 Kings 22:1-13) shows how the Word had been forgotten
(2) The Unpreached Truth—There were only a few men of God in the land
(a) Oh, there was preaching, of a sort, to tickle the ears of those who rejected Jehovah.
(b) But from the least to the greatest, with a very few exceptions, even the supposed men of God conducted a ministry based on lies and deception.
2:8 The priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?' And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit.
(c) Because of lies and deception taking the place of Truth, there was a famine of the Word.
(Amos 8:11-12) ""Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it."
(3) The Path Without Profit—Judah had chosen worthless things instead of the riches of God.
(4) A False Peace When There Is No Peace—Judah had followed the counsel and the way, and sat in the seat of the pagans around them—THEY HAD IGNORED THE COMMAND OF THE Psalmist (Psa 1:1-2) "Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night."
2. The shock and Awe of the Crimes—2:12
a. God calls the Heavens themselves to witness
(1) To the principalities and powers in the heavenlies, God says: LOOK AT THIS UNBELIEVABLE THING
Ver. 12. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, etc.] Meaning either the angels in heaven, or the heavens themselves, by a personification:
and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord; all which may be signified by storms and tempests, by thunder and lightning, and by the sun’s withdrawing its light. This is said to aggravate the wickedness committed, as if the heavens blushed and were ashamed, and were confounded and amazed at it; and as if, on account of it, the Jews deserved not the benefit of the heavens, and the orbs in them. (Gill)
b. He uses three very powerful verbs here— shamem, (shaw-mame'), sawar , chawrab
(1) “shamem,” to Be astonished, to be horrified, absolutely appalled. An example was the devastating destruction of Egypt as it was conquered by the Assyrians. (Ezek 32:10) "'Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.'"
(2) tremble—(sawar) As if you were facing a violent storm
(3) Be Devastated—(chawrab) like in a desert, be absolutely dried up and blown away by what Jeremiah is about to say.
c. The crimes of Judah were so wicked that the Heavens themselves are completely torn apart because of the crimes
d. God’s Illustration—A Fountain vs. a cistern
(1) God is a Fountain of life.
(a) Psa 36:9 "For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light."
(b) Prov 14:27 "The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death."
(c) John 4:14 ""but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.""
(d) John 7:38 ""He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.""
(e) Rev 21:6 "And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."
(2) Our ways are cisterns—in ancient Israel, the shepherds would attempt to build cisterns which would hold water from the few rains in the dry scrubland. Usually, these cisterns either yielded stagnant water, or, because of a crack or imperfection in these man-made cisterns, the water flowed out.
(3) Manmade cisterns—man’s works are nothing. Man’s abilities are nothing, man’s plans are nothing.
(4) Broken cisterns—even that which man imagines he has done successfully, will usually be buried with him, and often breaks long before he is taken away.
(5) Their way held NO water!
(6) “At best, cisterns often yielded stagnant water, at worst, they cracked and allowed the water to seep out. Dead Gods cannot impart life.” Charles L. Feinberg, Expositor’s Commentary
e. Doctrine: If a man or woman, a church, a state, or a nation rejects God’s ways for their own, they are foolish and set to be destroyed, as Judah was.
3. Application to America—we in this land have been blessed with God’s Word from the beginning.
a. The Glory of America was found in her faith— Our nation was founded by God-fearing people who loved the Bible
b. Our nation and our laws were established upon Godly principles from the Word. “…Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. ----John Adams
c. Providence demonstrated the reason for God’s bounty to us by the modern missionary movement—Godly men and women gave until it hurt to establish schools of the prophets to produce Godly preachers and missionaries
d. The Schools of America were founded for Godly Purposes
(1) Harvard University—The declared purpose of the college was: to train a literate clergy.
(2) The Rules and Precepts observed at Harvard, September 26, 1642, stated: Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3 …as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning.
(3) The founders of Harvard believed that: All knowledge without Christ was vain.
(4) Princeton University’s official motto was: Under God’s Power She Flourishes.
(5) The first president of Princeton University, the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, stated: Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.
e. Our nation became an example to the world in our schools, our churches, our mission organizations—But, except for a Godly remnant, our nation has rejected its very foundations
(1) Our nation and our laws have been perverted from the Godly principles of our establishment
(2) We have perverted our riches and diverted the money to become the most pleasure-seeking society in the history of the human race.
(3) Many of the schools established for the purpose of producing holy prophets of God have been turned into centers of pagan learning and anti-Christian philosophy
(a) The wife of our pastor in New Jersey attended Temple University, which was, only two generations ago, founded by a fundamentalist Baptist church. Her professors laughed her to scorn for being a born-again Christian.
(4) Like Israel, we have imitated the beliefs and lifestyles of the pagan world. Israel committed infant sacrifice, and so do we.
(5) They sacrificed their babies in the fires of an altar to a pagan God, we murder ours at the altar of “The Right To Choose.”
(6) Behavior that used to be a shame to mention even in private is now carried out publicly
(7) An Arab officer in the Kuwaiti Air Force once asked me how America, which he knew from his visits to the US to be full of churches, could also be the home of the pornography industry.
(8) We are so messed up now that it has become a political issue as to what the definition of marriage is!
(9) Too many Bible-believing Christians are satisfied to sit in their padded pews and hope the rapture comes before it gets too bad. Or worse, they go along with this Christ-denying, God-hating culture and think that by making peace with evil that they can somehow build the church—that is deranged, insane, mad, crazy!
4. We need to seek the fountain of living Waters, and we need to shout aloud that some things are broken cisterns that hold no water—
a. When they say that Religion is to be banned from the public square, that we should keep our faith at home and in private, THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
(1) The Lord and His Apostles took the faith to the streets—read the Gospels and the book of Acts, or better yet, hear this COMMAND from our Savior Himself
(Mat 5:13-16) ""You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
b. If they say the cross around my wife’s neck may offend someone; my lapel pin or tie tack with the symbol of the fish may shock some poor soul; your little girl’s student Bible may psychologically injure some unsuspecting student; THAT reveals the broken cisterns of our society, because That HOLDS NO WATER!!!
c. When a teen aged Kentucky boy in Owen County, KY, has to go to the Federal Court of Appeals to get the right to say in his high school classroom that homosexuality is a sin against God and man, something is wrong—THAT HOLDS NO WATER.
d. When they tell us that our pledge containing the words “One nation under God” may make someone feel excluded; THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
e. If the champions of all that is indecent say that “In God we trust” may injure the pride of someone with no trust in anything; THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
f. If we are told that The ten commandments, which are posted on the walls of the Supreme Court, might hurt the feelings of someone who recognizes no law nor any restraint, so the 10 must go—THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
g. If they say that the “rights of women” mean that the murder, the GENOCIDE of the innocents THAT HAS CONSUMED 50 MILLION UNBORN INFANTS is to continue without hindrance— THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
h. The politically correct tell us that we must allow Men to marry men and women to marry women, and for that matter, any possible combination will be accepted— THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
i. Does anyone think it will stop here? What unnamed perversion will be the next “taboo” to fall? Do you think that they will stop at this? THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
j. And if these things continue, I say to you that the free expression of opposition to perversion, sin, degradation, atheism, and every other evil—that free expression which is the blood-bought right of every free American—that expression is to be termed “hate speech” and banned from the public forum—if they tell you that they don’t want that—they are lying! THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
k. Even now the pulpits are being warned to be silent on the great moral issues of the day, or the thought police of the Anti Christian Lawyers Union will report them to the IRS! THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!!
5. The Cure—This is no natural crisis, it is a supernatural, spiritual conflict between the forces of darkness and the forces of Truth.
a. We don’t need help with our issues, we need an Awakening, a Reformation, a shaking to the core of our churches and our nation!
b. We need the thunder in the pulpit and the fire in the pews that flowed from the Wesleys, Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards
c. We need an army of sold-out, young, fearless, fiery, obstinate, well-grounded and well-taught prophets of God! We need preachers, not socializers—proclaimers, not apologizers—authoritative teachers, not questioners—straight-talking men, not entertainers, WE NEED MEN WHO WILL RELEASE THE PENT UP POWER OF GOD’S HOLY WORD AND UNLEASH THE WORD OF GOD!
d. We need men of the Word and prayer, not errand boys!
e. We need men, who if you cut them, they will bleed Bible!
f. We need Christ-loving, man-ignoring faithful and true preachers that will warn multitudes of the wrath to come if they do not turn from their sins and to Christ for salvation!
g. And we need churches that will find true men of god and call ‘em, love ‘em, protect ‘em, get behind ‘em, and stand side by side with them in this war against the dark and evil forces of Satan!
h. And, as believers in a nation that has lost its foundations, we must realize that this is all OUR fault! If America falls, it won’t be the politicians who let it fall.
i. If America falls, it won’t be the fault of the drug dealers, perverts, or thugs.
j. If America falls, it won’t be the fault of Hollywood!
k. If America falls, the blame would fall at the doorstep of the churches of this land.
l. We need to repent and return to the fountain of life!
(1) Let judgment begin at the house of God.
(2) American Christians, turn from the broken cisterns of perversion, sin, and secularist lies!
(3) American Christians, turn from the perverted “gospels” of prosperity and ease!
(4) American Christians, defend again the faith once delivered to the saints.
(5) Lost American church members, hear the words of the Lord Jesus Himself—Repent and believe in the Gospel!
(6) Turn away from the unread Bible, the unbowed head, the unteared eye, and the unbended knee!
m. Leave the manmade cisterns that hold no water and return to the fountain of Living waters! Jeremiah 3:22 “…Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings….”
n. (2 Chr 7:14) ""if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
Notes by Charley Buntin
Readings: Jer 2:1-13, Romans 1:26-32
Text: Jer 2:9-13
A Ugandan Christian told me that once, Ugandans assumed that Westerners were Godly, they were called “Godly people.” Not now. Now, Ugandans refer to white people from the US as “Abaseaga,” which means “homosexual!”
1. Context of the text—Israel Ignored Jehovah and chased Idols
a. The background—Jer 2:5 Thus says the LORD: "What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters? 6 Neither did they say, 'Where is the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?' 7 I brought you into a bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination.
b. The lawsuit: Jehovah v. Israel—2:9-11, the effect will continue for generations!
(1) First, the charges are laid—God will specify their offense against Him
(2) Then, a thought from God, how stupid could these folks be to leave Jehovah
(3) The far West of Jeremiah’s known world was Cyprus, a pagan, idol-worshipping nation
(4) The Far East of their world was Kedar in the eastern desert, another pagan nation.
(5) These idol-worshipping nations had no REAL God, because there is only one true and living God, and they did not worship Him.
(6) But even among the pagan nations of Jeremiah’s day, he had never encountered a nation that changed its gods, however false and vain they might be.
c. Israel’s glory had been Jehovah—(Psa 106:20) "Thus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass."
(1) Israel was exalted as God’s Chosen
(2) Israel was exalted by having been given God’s Word.
(3) Israel was exalted because she had the way of salvation revealed to her.
(4) God Himself was Her Glory, and He had revealed His Glory to Israel.
d. Israel had mixed the worship of Jehovah with paganism, and they had practiced the perversions of the pagan religions
(1) Molech and Baal demanded infant sacrifice
(2) Baal worshippers practiced every kind of perverted sex
(3) Some of the kings had even rearranged the house of God and imitated the worship of the pagans—2 Ki 16:9-18
(4) The preachers of the day went along with and cooperated in these abominations
e. Why Was Glory Rejected in Favor of Lies?
(1) The unread book – Judah declined and fell into ruin because of rejecting God and His Word—Josiah’s discovery (2 Kings 22:1-13) shows how the Word had been forgotten
(2) The Unpreached Truth—There were only a few men of God in the land
(a) Oh, there was preaching, of a sort, to tickle the ears of those who rejected Jehovah.
(b) But from the least to the greatest, with a very few exceptions, even the supposed men of God conducted a ministry based on lies and deception.
2:8 The priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?' And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit.
(c) Because of lies and deception taking the place of Truth, there was a famine of the Word.
(Amos 8:11-12) ""Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it."
(3) The Path Without Profit—Judah had chosen worthless things instead of the riches of God.
(4) A False Peace When There Is No Peace—Judah had followed the counsel and the way, and sat in the seat of the pagans around them—THEY HAD IGNORED THE COMMAND OF THE Psalmist (Psa 1:1-2) "Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night."
2. The shock and Awe of the Crimes—2:12
a. God calls the Heavens themselves to witness
(1) To the principalities and powers in the heavenlies, God says: LOOK AT THIS UNBELIEVABLE THING
Ver. 12. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, etc.] Meaning either the angels in heaven, or the heavens themselves, by a personification:
and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord; all which may be signified by storms and tempests, by thunder and lightning, and by the sun’s withdrawing its light. This is said to aggravate the wickedness committed, as if the heavens blushed and were ashamed, and were confounded and amazed at it; and as if, on account of it, the Jews deserved not the benefit of the heavens, and the orbs in them. (Gill)
b. He uses three very powerful verbs here— shamem, (shaw-mame'), sawar , chawrab
(1) “shamem,” to Be astonished, to be horrified, absolutely appalled. An example was the devastating destruction of Egypt as it was conquered by the Assyrians. (Ezek 32:10) "'Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.'"
(2) tremble—(sawar) As if you were facing a violent storm
(3) Be Devastated—(chawrab) like in a desert, be absolutely dried up and blown away by what Jeremiah is about to say.
c. The crimes of Judah were so wicked that the Heavens themselves are completely torn apart because of the crimes
d. God’s Illustration—A Fountain vs. a cistern
(1) God is a Fountain of life.
(a) Psa 36:9 "For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light."
(b) Prov 14:27 "The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death."
(c) John 4:14 ""but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.""
(d) John 7:38 ""He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.""
(e) Rev 21:6 "And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."
(2) Our ways are cisterns—in ancient Israel, the shepherds would attempt to build cisterns which would hold water from the few rains in the dry scrubland. Usually, these cisterns either yielded stagnant water, or, because of a crack or imperfection in these man-made cisterns, the water flowed out.
(3) Manmade cisterns—man’s works are nothing. Man’s abilities are nothing, man’s plans are nothing.
(4) Broken cisterns—even that which man imagines he has done successfully, will usually be buried with him, and often breaks long before he is taken away.
(5) Their way held NO water!
(6) “At best, cisterns often yielded stagnant water, at worst, they cracked and allowed the water to seep out. Dead Gods cannot impart life.” Charles L. Feinberg, Expositor’s Commentary
e. Doctrine: If a man or woman, a church, a state, or a nation rejects God’s ways for their own, they are foolish and set to be destroyed, as Judah was.
3. Application to America—we in this land have been blessed with God’s Word from the beginning.
a. The Glory of America was found in her faith— Our nation was founded by God-fearing people who loved the Bible
b. Our nation and our laws were established upon Godly principles from the Word. “…Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. ----John Adams
c. Providence demonstrated the reason for God’s bounty to us by the modern missionary movement—Godly men and women gave until it hurt to establish schools of the prophets to produce Godly preachers and missionaries
d. The Schools of America were founded for Godly Purposes
(1) Harvard University—The declared purpose of the college was: to train a literate clergy.
(2) The Rules and Precepts observed at Harvard, September 26, 1642, stated: Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3 …as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning.
(3) The founders of Harvard believed that: All knowledge without Christ was vain.
(4) Princeton University’s official motto was: Under God’s Power She Flourishes.
(5) The first president of Princeton University, the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, stated: Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.
e. Our nation became an example to the world in our schools, our churches, our mission organizations—But, except for a Godly remnant, our nation has rejected its very foundations
(1) Our nation and our laws have been perverted from the Godly principles of our establishment
(2) We have perverted our riches and diverted the money to become the most pleasure-seeking society in the history of the human race.
(3) Many of the schools established for the purpose of producing holy prophets of God have been turned into centers of pagan learning and anti-Christian philosophy
(a) The wife of our pastor in New Jersey attended Temple University, which was, only two generations ago, founded by a fundamentalist Baptist church. Her professors laughed her to scorn for being a born-again Christian.
(4) Like Israel, we have imitated the beliefs and lifestyles of the pagan world. Israel committed infant sacrifice, and so do we.
(5) They sacrificed their babies in the fires of an altar to a pagan God, we murder ours at the altar of “The Right To Choose.”
(6) Behavior that used to be a shame to mention even in private is now carried out publicly
(7) An Arab officer in the Kuwaiti Air Force once asked me how America, which he knew from his visits to the US to be full of churches, could also be the home of the pornography industry.
(8) We are so messed up now that it has become a political issue as to what the definition of marriage is!
(9) Too many Bible-believing Christians are satisfied to sit in their padded pews and hope the rapture comes before it gets too bad. Or worse, they go along with this Christ-denying, God-hating culture and think that by making peace with evil that they can somehow build the church—that is deranged, insane, mad, crazy!
4. We need to seek the fountain of living Waters, and we need to shout aloud that some things are broken cisterns that hold no water—
a. When they say that Religion is to be banned from the public square, that we should keep our faith at home and in private, THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
(1) The Lord and His Apostles took the faith to the streets—read the Gospels and the book of Acts, or better yet, hear this COMMAND from our Savior Himself
(Mat 5:13-16) ""You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
b. If they say the cross around my wife’s neck may offend someone; my lapel pin or tie tack with the symbol of the fish may shock some poor soul; your little girl’s student Bible may psychologically injure some unsuspecting student; THAT reveals the broken cisterns of our society, because That HOLDS NO WATER!!!
c. When a teen aged Kentucky boy in Owen County, KY, has to go to the Federal Court of Appeals to get the right to say in his high school classroom that homosexuality is a sin against God and man, something is wrong—THAT HOLDS NO WATER.
d. When they tell us that our pledge containing the words “One nation under God” may make someone feel excluded; THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
e. If the champions of all that is indecent say that “In God we trust” may injure the pride of someone with no trust in anything; THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
f. If we are told that The ten commandments, which are posted on the walls of the Supreme Court, might hurt the feelings of someone who recognizes no law nor any restraint, so the 10 must go—THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
g. If they say that the “rights of women” mean that the murder, the GENOCIDE of the innocents THAT HAS CONSUMED 50 MILLION UNBORN INFANTS is to continue without hindrance— THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
h. The politically correct tell us that we must allow Men to marry men and women to marry women, and for that matter, any possible combination will be accepted— THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
i. Does anyone think it will stop here? What unnamed perversion will be the next “taboo” to fall? Do you think that they will stop at this? THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
j. And if these things continue, I say to you that the free expression of opposition to perversion, sin, degradation, atheism, and every other evil—that free expression which is the blood-bought right of every free American—that expression is to be termed “hate speech” and banned from the public forum—if they tell you that they don’t want that—they are lying! THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!
k. Even now the pulpits are being warned to be silent on the great moral issues of the day, or the thought police of the Anti Christian Lawyers Union will report them to the IRS! THAT HOLDS NO WATER!!!!
5. The Cure—This is no natural crisis, it is a supernatural, spiritual conflict between the forces of darkness and the forces of Truth.
a. We don’t need help with our issues, we need an Awakening, a Reformation, a shaking to the core of our churches and our nation!
b. We need the thunder in the pulpit and the fire in the pews that flowed from the Wesleys, Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards
c. We need an army of sold-out, young, fearless, fiery, obstinate, well-grounded and well-taught prophets of God! We need preachers, not socializers—proclaimers, not apologizers—authoritative teachers, not questioners—straight-talking men, not entertainers, WE NEED MEN WHO WILL RELEASE THE PENT UP POWER OF GOD’S HOLY WORD AND UNLEASH THE WORD OF GOD!
d. We need men of the Word and prayer, not errand boys!
e. We need men, who if you cut them, they will bleed Bible!
f. We need Christ-loving, man-ignoring faithful and true preachers that will warn multitudes of the wrath to come if they do not turn from their sins and to Christ for salvation!
g. And we need churches that will find true men of god and call ‘em, love ‘em, protect ‘em, get behind ‘em, and stand side by side with them in this war against the dark and evil forces of Satan!
h. And, as believers in a nation that has lost its foundations, we must realize that this is all OUR fault! If America falls, it won’t be the politicians who let it fall.
i. If America falls, it won’t be the fault of the drug dealers, perverts, or thugs.
j. If America falls, it won’t be the fault of Hollywood!
k. If America falls, the blame would fall at the doorstep of the churches of this land.
l. We need to repent and return to the fountain of life!
(1) Let judgment begin at the house of God.
(2) American Christians, turn from the broken cisterns of perversion, sin, and secularist lies!
(3) American Christians, turn from the perverted “gospels” of prosperity and ease!
(4) American Christians, defend again the faith once delivered to the saints.
(5) Lost American church members, hear the words of the Lord Jesus Himself—Repent and believe in the Gospel!
(6) Turn away from the unread Bible, the unbowed head, the unteared eye, and the unbended knee!
m. Leave the manmade cisterns that hold no water and return to the fountain of Living waters! Jeremiah 3:22 “…Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings….”
n. (2 Chr 7:14) ""if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
Monday, November 12, 2007
When Is a Human Being
Accountable Before God?
Rom 1:19-20
Introductory Thoughts
· The questions that bother us about all of this.
Ø What about those who die in utero or infancy?
Ø What about the handicapped and the mentally ill?
Ø At what age does a child become accountable to God?
Ø What about those who have never heard the Gospel, whatever their mental state?
· This is a troubling issue for many—it has been a personal struggle for me because of a son who was born with and has lived with severe mental problems.
· I have heard many men over the years make mention of this subject and give some pat and weak answer without ever doing a thorough doctrinal exposition of these questions
· People are sometimes comforted briefly by these easy answers, but when they search the Bible, they find that many so-called “answers” are not answers at all, but are speculations—and when you are worried about the eternal state of a loved one, speculations will not satisfy. A true believer wants to know what the truth is.
· But, there is real comfort in God’s Word, and only in God’s Word
Ø I am going to state up front what I believe and then show you why I believe it
o Salvation through the shed blood of Jesus is absolutely necessary, and no one may be saved unless they are under the blood of Christ.
o Salvation is impossible to man, no matter what the state of the person. A lost person is dead, deaf, insensitive to Truth unless under the direct conviction of the Holy Spirit
o If you say to me, in agony, “How is it possible for my handicapped child to believe? How is it possible for my unborn child to believe?” I will say to you that before God convicted you by the power of the Holy Spirit and called you from darkness to light, your own state was just as helpless as theirs.
o And I will say to you, and I hope to prove it today by the Bible and the Bible alone, that the infant or small child who dies, the mentally handicapped, the unborn child, and all other such cases fall into these two categories
§ These are not personally accountable
§ They are saved by a miracle of God, just as you were saved by a miracle of God.
1. We Are Accountable
a. Accountability consists of God holding a us responsible before Him, to seek the Lord, and to love the Lord. (Deu 6:5) ""You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."
b. And, the Bible uniformly teaches that we will give an account to God.
(1) All will give account
(a) Believers will account to God for their Christian walk, at the Judgment Seat of Christ—(Rom 14:10-12) "… we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."
(b) The Lost of the world give account at the Great White Throne—Rev 20:11-15.
c. We are accountable for three reasons
(1) because God has revealed Himself through nature. (Psa 19:1-6) "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat."
d. We are accountable because God has warned us through Conscience—(Rom 2:15-16) "who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."
e. We are accountable because God has revealed Himself through the Word (Psa 19:7-12) "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults."
2. For What are We Accountable?
a. Every man is responsible to God for the Law of God, in some form—(Rom 3:19-20) "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
(1) Law = God’s declared will for how we are to live how we are to worship Him.
(a) The Jews (and now the Christians) have God’s law written on paper and stone
(b) The unreached (then and now) have the Law written on the table of the heart—Rom 2:15-16
b. Every man is responsible to know God, from seeing and experiencing His attributes in Nature —Rom 1:19-20
c. Everyone who hears the Gospel, is responsible for it—in fact, all are required to believe in Christ, which is why we must take the Word to all nations—(Acts 17:30-31) ""Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.""
d. So, when is a person accountable to God?
(1) When they are old enough and sharp enough that God says they should be able to detect His Attributes in nature—Rom 1:19-20, to react to the Law of conscience, or to respond to the Gospel.
(2) Major issue—there is no set age.
3. Questions that trouble people
a. What about those who have no capacity for salvation as we know it? (the unborn, the infant, the very young child, and those with serious mental developmental difficulties)?
(1) They do not fall under the category of those who are “without excuse,” because they cannot relate to nor understand the world that God has made.
b. When you say that everyone must be saved through the shed blood of Christ, how can that be for one who is not accountable?
(1) Hear and know the POWER of the Gospel, folks
(2) God has saved the unborn and the very small in the past:
(a) John The Baptist—(Luke 1:15) ""For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb."
(b) Jeremiah—(Jer 1:4-5) "Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.""
(c) David—(Psa 22:10) "I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God."
c. God will always do what is right—
(1) Does He dismiss sin? He cannot, even the sin we inherit as sons of Adam is enough to condemn us
(2) The only conceivable answer is that those who are not and cannot be responsible are led to salvation by the same miraculous power as Jeremiah, David, and John the Baptist, and if you understand the Word as you should, by the same power that has saved you.
d. What about those who have never heard the Gospel?
(1) If they are among those without excuse, they are without excuse—Rom 1:19-20
(2) Their responsibility will extend to what they did know: Luke 12:36-48
(3) Many cases cited of those ready to hear.
e. The Real Question: What about YOU?
(1) If you are capable of understanding any of the things we have spoken of today, YOU are accountable to God!
(2) You are accountable for the revelation of God in nature
(3) You are accountable for the revelation of God’s Law in your conscience
(4) You are accountable for the revelation of God’s Law in the Bible
(5) You are accountable for the revelation of God in the Gospel
(6) You sit in these pews week after week and year after year, and have heard the truth preached by many able men over the years—you are most definitely accountable
f. So, how is it with YOUR soul?
Accountable Before God?
Rom 1:19-20
Introductory Thoughts
· The questions that bother us about all of this.
Ø What about those who die in utero or infancy?
Ø What about the handicapped and the mentally ill?
Ø At what age does a child become accountable to God?
Ø What about those who have never heard the Gospel, whatever their mental state?
· This is a troubling issue for many—it has been a personal struggle for me because of a son who was born with and has lived with severe mental problems.
· I have heard many men over the years make mention of this subject and give some pat and weak answer without ever doing a thorough doctrinal exposition of these questions
· People are sometimes comforted briefly by these easy answers, but when they search the Bible, they find that many so-called “answers” are not answers at all, but are speculations—and when you are worried about the eternal state of a loved one, speculations will not satisfy. A true believer wants to know what the truth is.
· But, there is real comfort in God’s Word, and only in God’s Word
Ø I am going to state up front what I believe and then show you why I believe it
o Salvation through the shed blood of Jesus is absolutely necessary, and no one may be saved unless they are under the blood of Christ.
o Salvation is impossible to man, no matter what the state of the person. A lost person is dead, deaf, insensitive to Truth unless under the direct conviction of the Holy Spirit
o If you say to me, in agony, “How is it possible for my handicapped child to believe? How is it possible for my unborn child to believe?” I will say to you that before God convicted you by the power of the Holy Spirit and called you from darkness to light, your own state was just as helpless as theirs.
o And I will say to you, and I hope to prove it today by the Bible and the Bible alone, that the infant or small child who dies, the mentally handicapped, the unborn child, and all other such cases fall into these two categories
§ These are not personally accountable
§ They are saved by a miracle of God, just as you were saved by a miracle of God.
1. We Are Accountable
a. Accountability consists of God holding a us responsible before Him, to seek the Lord, and to love the Lord. (Deu 6:5) ""You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."
b. And, the Bible uniformly teaches that we will give an account to God.
(1) All will give account
(a) Believers will account to God for their Christian walk, at the Judgment Seat of Christ—(Rom 14:10-12) "… we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."
(b) The Lost of the world give account at the Great White Throne—Rev 20:11-15.
c. We are accountable for three reasons
(1) because God has revealed Himself through nature. (Psa 19:1-6) "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat."
d. We are accountable because God has warned us through Conscience—(Rom 2:15-16) "who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."
e. We are accountable because God has revealed Himself through the Word (Psa 19:7-12) "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults."
2. For What are We Accountable?
a. Every man is responsible to God for the Law of God, in some form—(Rom 3:19-20) "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
(1) Law = God’s declared will for how we are to live how we are to worship Him.
(a) The Jews (and now the Christians) have God’s law written on paper and stone
(b) The unreached (then and now) have the Law written on the table of the heart—Rom 2:15-16
b. Every man is responsible to know God, from seeing and experiencing His attributes in Nature —Rom 1:19-20
c. Everyone who hears the Gospel, is responsible for it—in fact, all are required to believe in Christ, which is why we must take the Word to all nations—(Acts 17:30-31) ""Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.""
d. So, when is a person accountable to God?
(1) When they are old enough and sharp enough that God says they should be able to detect His Attributes in nature—Rom 1:19-20, to react to the Law of conscience, or to respond to the Gospel.
(2) Major issue—there is no set age.
3. Questions that trouble people
a. What about those who have no capacity for salvation as we know it? (the unborn, the infant, the very young child, and those with serious mental developmental difficulties)?
(1) They do not fall under the category of those who are “without excuse,” because they cannot relate to nor understand the world that God has made.
b. When you say that everyone must be saved through the shed blood of Christ, how can that be for one who is not accountable?
(1) Hear and know the POWER of the Gospel, folks
(2) God has saved the unborn and the very small in the past:
(a) John The Baptist—(Luke 1:15) ""For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb."
(b) Jeremiah—(Jer 1:4-5) "Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.""
(c) David—(Psa 22:10) "I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God."
c. God will always do what is right—
(1) Does He dismiss sin? He cannot, even the sin we inherit as sons of Adam is enough to condemn us
(2) The only conceivable answer is that those who are not and cannot be responsible are led to salvation by the same miraculous power as Jeremiah, David, and John the Baptist, and if you understand the Word as you should, by the same power that has saved you.
d. What about those who have never heard the Gospel?
(1) If they are among those without excuse, they are without excuse—Rom 1:19-20
(2) Their responsibility will extend to what they did know: Luke 12:36-48
(3) Many cases cited of those ready to hear.
e. The Real Question: What about YOU?
(1) If you are capable of understanding any of the things we have spoken of today, YOU are accountable to God!
(2) You are accountable for the revelation of God in nature
(3) You are accountable for the revelation of God’s Law in your conscience
(4) You are accountable for the revelation of God’s Law in the Bible
(5) You are accountable for the revelation of God in the Gospel
(6) You sit in these pews week after week and year after year, and have heard the truth preached by many able men over the years—you are most definitely accountable
f. So, how is it with YOUR soul?
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Sin Suppresses Truth, Romans 1:19-21
Ø Review—God is angry at the suppression of the Truth —Rom 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…”
Ø Interesting verse—John 3:2—“we know”—Nicodemus, speaking for perhaps the entire Sanhedrin, confesses that they knew at least that Jesus was someone special
1. God has revealed Himself to all men: All people Know Something—“…19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them…”
a. There are some things that none of us know
(1) God is unsearchable—Rom 11:34-36 ""For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" 35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?" 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."
(a) His works—Job 9:10, cf Jn 20:30-31, , OT—Job 5:9, 11:7, Ecc 3:11
(b) This is the answer to what is, for some, a troubling passage: John 21:24-25 "This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen."
(i) How is it that even the God-man, whose active ministry lasted perhaps 3 and a half years, fill the world with books of His works?
(ii) Simple answer—because in His Godhood, He is eternal, and He has done all the works of God—Creation, Providence, etc.—Micah 5:2
(c) His deep things—Job 11:7 ""Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?"
(d) His greatness—Psa 145:3
(e) His understanding—Isa 40:28
(f) How He moves in the affairs of men—Dan 2:20-28
(2) Are these “mysteries” as some churches call them?
(a) First, and this is very interesting, the word “mystery” does not occur in the OT—
(b) A mystery is not something unknowable—it is something previously unknown which is now being revealed.
(c) There were times when Jesus withheld information from the crowd and revealed it only to certain of his disciples (Mat 13:10-11, for example), but from the completion of Christ’s mission on earth, the New Testament is not about withholding information, but about God revealing himself fully, even down to giving us a roadmap of the future in Rev. chapters 4-22
(d) Revealed, revealing, and to be revealed mysteries— Mark 4:11, Rom 11:25, Rom 16:25, 1 Cor 2:7, 1 Cor 15:51, Eph 1:9, Eph 3:3, Eph 3:4, Eph 3:9, Eph 5:32, Eph 6:19, Col 1:26, Col 1:27, Col 2:2, Col 4:3, 2 Th 2:7, 1 Tim 3:9, 1 Tim 3:16, Rev 1:20, Rev 10:7, Rev 17:5, Rev 17:7
b. There are some things the lost cannot know, (unless they become saved)
(1) Him personally, by experience-cf Jn 8:55, Jn 16:3
(2) His way of salvation—Rom 3:17 "And the way of peace they have not known.""
(3) His ways in any other way—Heb 3:10 "Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.'"
(4) The Things of the Spirit—1 Cor 2:14
c. But there are some things that any human being may know, (unless he or she is willingly ignorant). So, What MAY be known of God?
(1) What kind of knowledge?—The word here ãíùóô’í, gnoston, is a member of the gnosis word family, knowledge by experience—and it is usually used to describe something familiar to the one knowing: Acts 15:18 ""Known to God from eternity are all His works."
(a) This is experiential knowledge—but, how and to what extent, do all human beings know God by experience? There are many who profess to be His who seem to have no experiential knowledge, how is it that all men possess it?
(b) Theological balance is required here
(i) The universalist finds salvation for all in this idea, regardless of faith—That is a false doctrine, because many will be lost.
(ii) The theological liberal finds a “divine light” within every man, that all men are essentially good—this doctrine is a fantasy, and I fail to see how Scripture, reason, or experience can create in the mind of anyone the absurd idea that man is naturally good.
(iii) The hyper-Calvinist says man does not know, and cannot know anything at all about God—this is a gross distortion of the truth—though not able to save himself, man is not totally cut off from any hint of knowledge of God—we are not robots or clones.
(c) What lost man may know, by experience, of God
(i) God is the Creator—He has created each and every one of us, and He knows us personally—Ps 139—this experience leaves us hard-wired to believe in our Creator
(ii) God is the Law-Giver. God has given each human being a conscience—Rom 2:14-15—and we instinctively serve Him
(iii) God brings light.
(i) God has given each man a certain amount of knowledge through Jesus, who is the light of the world—John 1:4, 5-9, 3:19, Titus 2:11
(ii) Believers themselves are a witness of God—Mat 5:13-16 ""You are the salt of the earth…14 "You are the light of the world…16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Isa 43:10 ""You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "
Isa 43:12 "… you are My witnesses," Says the LORD, "that I am God."
Isa 44:8 "…You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.'"
(iv) Man may know something of God’s Glory through Creation—The Heavens declare the Glory of God—Ps 19
(v) Lost man may see the character of the Father through the character of Jesus. Christ, in His earthly ministry, fully revealed the character of the Father—John 1:14-18, 1 Tim 3:16
(vi) So, the Truth is out there…
d. “What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”
(1) Revelation: “…is manifest…” present tenseè the revelation of Himself is continual, God keeps up the revelation to men and to man, even to death’s door, even until just before the second coming.
(2) God has shown it to them—aorist—they are given the key to this knowledge at conception, though they begin early to deny it and reject the evidence they see
(3) There is no one, except those physically and mentally hindered beyond all communication—and interestingly, the story is told of Helen Keller, blind, deaf, unable to understand. When Ann Sullivan, the teacher, finally got through to her by using hand signs, one of the first things Ann taught Helen was about God, and Helen Keller signed back to her: “I knew about Him, I just did not know His Name…”
2. What All People Know, but don’t want to admit—“…20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…”,
a. “for”—Paul again ties this all together with what came before. Indeed, everything in this verse answers the questions raised about 19, which answers verse 18, etc.
b. “Since the creation of the world…”
(1) Since time began (and there was a point at which time came into being—2 Tim 1:9, Titus 1:2) God’s handiwork is clearly visible to all that can see.
(2) The Angels knew about God’s creation, and they must have been created early on, as they cheered the works of God and sang over them as He was doing them! Job 38:4-7!
(3) Adam and Eve were “hand-made by God,” He conducted the wedding and gave the bride away—Gen 2:18-25, and they could and did converse with Him.
(4) Cain knew it—Cain even talked personally with God—Gen 4
(5) Enoch walked with God
(6) Noah both spoke with Him and followed Him
(7) And so on, down through the ages
c. “His invisible attributes “ Literally, “the invisibles of Him…”
(1) This word only applies to God
(2) The invisibles
(3) Col 1:15-16 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him."
(4) 1 Tim 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
(5) Heb 11:27 "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible."
(6) But, what about the visible manifestations of God?
(a) Jacob’s Wrestler—Gen 32:24
(b) The men at Abram’s tent—Gen 18
(c) The Man standing opposite Jericho—Josh 5:13-14
(d) The Angel of the Lord seen by Samson’ parents—Jud 13:2-24
(e) The Burning Bush—Ex 3:2ff
(f) The Pillar of smoke by day and fire by night—Ex 13:21ff
(g) The issue of Christopanies—the visible manifestations of God have been accomplished by the Son (The Angel of the Lord, etc., and the Spirit—in the form of a dove.
John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."
d. “are clearly seen,” present tense—What may be known of Him is clearly seen all the time, without interruption, without a break in the great eternal school of God. Yet, lost man ignores Him!
e. “being understood by the things that are made” “being understood” is a present participle—again, the possibility of putting it all together is present and active—and man won’t do it. All man has to do is look around him and he should see it.
f. “His eternal power and divinity…” The deep things of Him, the great weight of Who He is—all of this is available to anyone who will only look.
3. Suppression of the Truth—21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."
a. Remember Rom 1:18—it is man’s ungodliness, his hatred of who God really is, and man’s unrighteousness, man’s love affair with his own sin, these are the things that cause man, in his sin, to suppress, to hold down, to ignore, Truth.
b. Sin against the knowledge of God—
(1) Lost man knows a great deal, or may know, if he will only look
(2) Lost man who claims not to know anything about God is therefore willfully ignorant—he is stupid on purpose!
(a) Scott Adams, the cartoonist who writes “Dilbert,” the all-too-realistic comic strip about workplace idiocy, has a theory: everyone is stupid
(b) The best of us say and do stupid things
(c) Many smart people are stupid in at least one whole area of their life—relationships, work, money, habits, something…
(d) Some people are so clueless that they are what Adams calls “Professional Idiots,”
(e) Then, there are some people who raised stupidity to an art form—
(f) Spiritually, this fits
(i) Even the best of God’s people do spiritually stupid things
(ii) Many Christians, true believers, have one or more areas in their life where they make the same mistakes over and over again—the definition of insanity
(iii) Most lost people fit into the professionally stupid category
(iv) Then there are some lost people who raise eternal idiocy to an art form,
c. Though they had felt His hand in their own creation (Pa 139), though they could see His Hand in nature, (Ps 19), though they heard His voice in Conscience (Rom 2:15-16), though they hear His Word from God’s own people, they still rejected Him, and they do so now.
d. So, having this knowledge of God as creator, what did they do with this knowledge? How do they suppress this great truth?
(1) Not glorifying God by honoring and thanking Him.--they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful
(a) They did not glorify Him as God.....God is worthy of all glory, but men do not glorify Him Psa 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness..
(b) Instead, they create “gods” of their imaginations—Psa 50:21 "… You thought that I was altogether like you…”
(2) “…nor were thankful…” In spite of the evidence of creation and of the conscience within them, they were not thankful to God for His Providence on their behalf—Luke 17:11-19
(a) Jesus often thanked His Father—Mat 11:25, Lk 10:21, 17:9, 18:11, John 11:41
(b) Paul often thanked God—Rom 1:8, 1 Cor 1:4, Phil 1:3, 1 Th 2:13, 2 Th 1:3, 1 Tim 1:12, 2 Tim 1:3, Philemon 1:4
(3) “…and their foolish hearts were darkened…”—having become the Devil’s fool, the heart of man becomes desperately dark, and the darkness gets worse as lost man systematically cuts himself off from every bit of light, every witness of God, every hand of mercy. There are dozens of references to this darkness in the New Testament—here are a few:
John 1:5 "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
John 3:19 ""And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.""
John 12:35 "Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going."
John 12:46 ""I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness."
2 Cor 6:14 "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?"
Eph 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light"
Eph 5:11 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
Eph 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
1 Th 5:4-5 "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness."
1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
1 John 1:5-6 "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
1 John 2:8-9 "Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now."
1 John 2:11 "But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
Ø Interesting verse—John 3:2—“we know”—Nicodemus, speaking for perhaps the entire Sanhedrin, confesses that they knew at least that Jesus was someone special
1. God has revealed Himself to all men: All people Know Something—“…19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them…”
a. There are some things that none of us know
(1) God is unsearchable—Rom 11:34-36 ""For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" 35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?" 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."
(a) His works—Job 9:10, cf Jn 20:30-31, , OT—Job 5:9, 11:7, Ecc 3:11
(b) This is the answer to what is, for some, a troubling passage: John 21:24-25 "This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen."
(i) How is it that even the God-man, whose active ministry lasted perhaps 3 and a half years, fill the world with books of His works?
(ii) Simple answer—because in His Godhood, He is eternal, and He has done all the works of God—Creation, Providence, etc.—Micah 5:2
(c) His deep things—Job 11:7 ""Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?"
(d) His greatness—Psa 145:3
(e) His understanding—Isa 40:28
(f) How He moves in the affairs of men—Dan 2:20-28
(2) Are these “mysteries” as some churches call them?
(a) First, and this is very interesting, the word “mystery” does not occur in the OT—
(b) A mystery is not something unknowable—it is something previously unknown which is now being revealed.
(c) There were times when Jesus withheld information from the crowd and revealed it only to certain of his disciples (Mat 13:10-11, for example), but from the completion of Christ’s mission on earth, the New Testament is not about withholding information, but about God revealing himself fully, even down to giving us a roadmap of the future in Rev. chapters 4-22
(d) Revealed, revealing, and to be revealed mysteries— Mark 4:11, Rom 11:25, Rom 16:25, 1 Cor 2:7, 1 Cor 15:51, Eph 1:9, Eph 3:3, Eph 3:4, Eph 3:9, Eph 5:32, Eph 6:19, Col 1:26, Col 1:27, Col 2:2, Col 4:3, 2 Th 2:7, 1 Tim 3:9, 1 Tim 3:16, Rev 1:20, Rev 10:7, Rev 17:5, Rev 17:7
b. There are some things the lost cannot know, (unless they become saved)
(1) Him personally, by experience-cf Jn 8:55, Jn 16:3
(2) His way of salvation—Rom 3:17 "And the way of peace they have not known.""
(3) His ways in any other way—Heb 3:10 "Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.'"
(4) The Things of the Spirit—1 Cor 2:14
c. But there are some things that any human being may know, (unless he or she is willingly ignorant). So, What MAY be known of God?
(1) What kind of knowledge?—The word here ãíùóô’í, gnoston, is a member of the gnosis word family, knowledge by experience—and it is usually used to describe something familiar to the one knowing: Acts 15:18 ""Known to God from eternity are all His works."
(a) This is experiential knowledge—but, how and to what extent, do all human beings know God by experience? There are many who profess to be His who seem to have no experiential knowledge, how is it that all men possess it?
(b) Theological balance is required here
(i) The universalist finds salvation for all in this idea, regardless of faith—That is a false doctrine, because many will be lost.
(ii) The theological liberal finds a “divine light” within every man, that all men are essentially good—this doctrine is a fantasy, and I fail to see how Scripture, reason, or experience can create in the mind of anyone the absurd idea that man is naturally good.
(iii) The hyper-Calvinist says man does not know, and cannot know anything at all about God—this is a gross distortion of the truth—though not able to save himself, man is not totally cut off from any hint of knowledge of God—we are not robots or clones.
(c) What lost man may know, by experience, of God
(i) God is the Creator—He has created each and every one of us, and He knows us personally—Ps 139—this experience leaves us hard-wired to believe in our Creator
(ii) God is the Law-Giver. God has given each human being a conscience—Rom 2:14-15—and we instinctively serve Him
(iii) God brings light.
(i) God has given each man a certain amount of knowledge through Jesus, who is the light of the world—John 1:4, 5-9, 3:19, Titus 2:11
(ii) Believers themselves are a witness of God—Mat 5:13-16 ""You are the salt of the earth…14 "You are the light of the world…16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Isa 43:10 ""You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "
Isa 43:12 "… you are My witnesses," Says the LORD, "that I am God."
Isa 44:8 "…You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.'"
(iv) Man may know something of God’s Glory through Creation—The Heavens declare the Glory of God—Ps 19
(v) Lost man may see the character of the Father through the character of Jesus. Christ, in His earthly ministry, fully revealed the character of the Father—John 1:14-18, 1 Tim 3:16
(vi) So, the Truth is out there…
d. “What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”
(1) Revelation: “…is manifest…” present tenseè the revelation of Himself is continual, God keeps up the revelation to men and to man, even to death’s door, even until just before the second coming.
(2) God has shown it to them—aorist—they are given the key to this knowledge at conception, though they begin early to deny it and reject the evidence they see
(3) There is no one, except those physically and mentally hindered beyond all communication—and interestingly, the story is told of Helen Keller, blind, deaf, unable to understand. When Ann Sullivan, the teacher, finally got through to her by using hand signs, one of the first things Ann taught Helen was about God, and Helen Keller signed back to her: “I knew about Him, I just did not know His Name…”
2. What All People Know, but don’t want to admit—“…20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…”,
a. “for”—Paul again ties this all together with what came before. Indeed, everything in this verse answers the questions raised about 19, which answers verse 18, etc.
b. “Since the creation of the world…”
(1) Since time began (and there was a point at which time came into being—2 Tim 1:9, Titus 1:2) God’s handiwork is clearly visible to all that can see.
(2) The Angels knew about God’s creation, and they must have been created early on, as they cheered the works of God and sang over them as He was doing them! Job 38:4-7!
(3) Adam and Eve were “hand-made by God,” He conducted the wedding and gave the bride away—Gen 2:18-25, and they could and did converse with Him.
(4) Cain knew it—Cain even talked personally with God—Gen 4
(5) Enoch walked with God
(6) Noah both spoke with Him and followed Him
(7) And so on, down through the ages
c. “His invisible attributes “ Literally, “the invisibles of Him…”
(1) This word only applies to God
(2) The invisibles
(3) Col 1:15-16 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him."
(4) 1 Tim 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
(5) Heb 11:27 "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible."
(6) But, what about the visible manifestations of God?
(a) Jacob’s Wrestler—Gen 32:24
(b) The men at Abram’s tent—Gen 18
(c) The Man standing opposite Jericho—Josh 5:13-14
(d) The Angel of the Lord seen by Samson’ parents—Jud 13:2-24
(e) The Burning Bush—Ex 3:2ff
(f) The Pillar of smoke by day and fire by night—Ex 13:21ff
(g) The issue of Christopanies—the visible manifestations of God have been accomplished by the Son (The Angel of the Lord, etc., and the Spirit—in the form of a dove.
John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."
d. “are clearly seen,” present tense—What may be known of Him is clearly seen all the time, without interruption, without a break in the great eternal school of God. Yet, lost man ignores Him!
e. “being understood by the things that are made” “being understood” is a present participle—again, the possibility of putting it all together is present and active—and man won’t do it. All man has to do is look around him and he should see it.
f. “His eternal power and divinity…” The deep things of Him, the great weight of Who He is—all of this is available to anyone who will only look.
3. Suppression of the Truth—21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."
a. Remember Rom 1:18—it is man’s ungodliness, his hatred of who God really is, and man’s unrighteousness, man’s love affair with his own sin, these are the things that cause man, in his sin, to suppress, to hold down, to ignore, Truth.
b. Sin against the knowledge of God—
(1) Lost man knows a great deal, or may know, if he will only look
(2) Lost man who claims not to know anything about God is therefore willfully ignorant—he is stupid on purpose!
(a) Scott Adams, the cartoonist who writes “Dilbert,” the all-too-realistic comic strip about workplace idiocy, has a theory: everyone is stupid
(b) The best of us say and do stupid things
(c) Many smart people are stupid in at least one whole area of their life—relationships, work, money, habits, something…
(d) Some people are so clueless that they are what Adams calls “Professional Idiots,”
(e) Then, there are some people who raised stupidity to an art form—
(f) Spiritually, this fits
(i) Even the best of God’s people do spiritually stupid things
(ii) Many Christians, true believers, have one or more areas in their life where they make the same mistakes over and over again—the definition of insanity
(iii) Most lost people fit into the professionally stupid category
(iv) Then there are some lost people who raise eternal idiocy to an art form,
c. Though they had felt His hand in their own creation (Pa 139), though they could see His Hand in nature, (Ps 19), though they heard His voice in Conscience (Rom 2:15-16), though they hear His Word from God’s own people, they still rejected Him, and they do so now.
d. So, having this knowledge of God as creator, what did they do with this knowledge? How do they suppress this great truth?
(1) Not glorifying God by honoring and thanking Him.--they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful
(a) They did not glorify Him as God.....God is worthy of all glory, but men do not glorify Him Psa 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness..
(b) Instead, they create “gods” of their imaginations—Psa 50:21 "… You thought that I was altogether like you…”
(2) “…nor were thankful…” In spite of the evidence of creation and of the conscience within them, they were not thankful to God for His Providence on their behalf—Luke 17:11-19
(a) Jesus often thanked His Father—Mat 11:25, Lk 10:21, 17:9, 18:11, John 11:41
(b) Paul often thanked God—Rom 1:8, 1 Cor 1:4, Phil 1:3, 1 Th 2:13, 2 Th 1:3, 1 Tim 1:12, 2 Tim 1:3, Philemon 1:4
(3) “…and their foolish hearts were darkened…”—having become the Devil’s fool, the heart of man becomes desperately dark, and the darkness gets worse as lost man systematically cuts himself off from every bit of light, every witness of God, every hand of mercy. There are dozens of references to this darkness in the New Testament—here are a few:
John 1:5 "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
John 3:19 ""And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.""
John 12:35 "Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going."
John 12:46 ""I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness."
2 Cor 6:14 "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?"
Eph 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light"
Eph 5:11 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
Eph 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
1 Th 5:4-5 "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness."
1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
1 John 1:5-6 "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
1 John 2:8-9 "Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now."
1 John 2:11 "But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
The Wrath of God Revealed, Romans 1:18
Reading: Rom 1:15-20
Why is justification by faith the only way of salvation?”
Why can’t man save himself, in whole or in part?
1. The Wrath of God Is Part Of the Gospel "...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."
a. FOR ....The Wrath of God is REVEALED—What is the "for" there for?
(1) Context—Rom 1:14-17
(2) Divine Wrath against sin is the reason the plan of salvation was required!!!
(3) The Cross of Christ was a sacrifice to avert the righteous wrath of a Holy God against the sinful rebellion and enmity of mankind.
b. False Doctrines About God’s Wrath
(1) The Star Wars teaching
(a) There are those who represent the Wrath of God as an Old Testament doctrine only
(b) They teach, or imply, that the God of the OT is not the same as the God of the NT
(c) That Idea is a heresy known as dualism, perhaps best compared with the idea of “the Dark Side and the light side of The Force” in the “Star Wars” movies
(2) The Cave Man God
(a) There are also those who turn God into some kind of cosmic cave man with a club, waiting to bash people with glee. That is also a heresy
(b) (Ezek 33:11) ""Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. '"
c. The Truth is, that the Wrath of God is a New Covenant teaching as well as an Old Covenant teaching.
(John 3:36) ""He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.""
2. What is the Wrath of God? "...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."
a. The Wrath of God is the just, judicious, measured, and tempered outpouring of God’s anger against the sin and rebellion of His creatures.
(1) God is just and holy, without any blemish or lack of purity, and He Hates sin
(Hab 1:12-13) "Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? …13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.”
(Prov 6:16-19) "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."
(2) Divine Wrath is the right and natural result of an absolutely Holy, just, and perfect God being defied and spat upon by His creatures
(3) Were He to be unmoved by sin He would be unjust and unholy
b. Wrath is not the central attribute of God—that is His Holiness
(Isa 6:3) "And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""
(Rev 4:8) "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""
c. Wrath is not the defining attribute of God--Love defines God.... ("God is Love....") God does not delight in wrath—
d. But, because God’s justice, His own rightness, and His support of His own Law is at stake, the Wrath of God Comes From The Throne of God itself—"...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."
3. The Wrath of God is Real—"...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."
a. Wrath Revealed—
(1) present tense, a continual revealing
(2) This is a frightening concept—the most powerful Being in the universe, the most powerful being that could possibly be, is angry at our sin!
b. Wrath is revealed from Heaven by Word—
(1) The prophets of old, John the Baptist, the Lord Himself in His earthly ministry, and the apostles, all taught the wrath of God.
(2) The Lord Jesus Christ—many times He pronounces woes on cities, groups of men such as the scribes and Pharisees, etc.
(3) Christ often speaks of the awesome prospect of Divine judgment Mat 24-25
(4) It is a major concept in Romans
(Rom 2:5) "But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,"
(Rom 2:8) "but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath,"
(Rom 4:15) "because the law brings about wrath…”
(Rom 5:9) "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
(Eph 2:3) "among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."
(Eph 5:6) "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."
(1 Th 1:10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."
(1 Th 5:9) "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
(Rev 6:16-17) "and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""
(Rev 15:7) "Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever."
(Rev 16:1) "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.""
c. Wrath is revealed from Heaven by Deed—God has executed His wrath against nations and individuals.
(1) God Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their gross sins
(2) God Consumed Pharaoh's Army—Ex 15:7
(3) God overthrew Babylon
(4) God revealed His wrath on the cross—Rom 3:25-26
d. The wrath of God will be completely revealed in the end—Rev 6:16-17
4. The reasons for the Wrath of God—Godlessness and Wickedness—(Rom 1:18) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"
a. Mankind, by our sin and rebellion, has shut God out of the picture.
b. The key words in Rom 1:18
(1) Ungodliness—from a word which means “Not Godly” or “Not Reverent”
(2) Unrighteousness—“what is not right”
(3) Suppress—“to hold down”
c. Paul is summing up mankind’s violation of God’s law with two words, much as Christ summed up the law…Mat 22:36-40
(1) Godlessness—sins against the Truth of God’s nature and against God Himself
(Mat 22:36-38) ""Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment.
(a) These are sins against God Himself—and they reveal an attitude rebellion and irreverence against our Holy Father.
(b) These are violations of the first of the Great Commands—to love God with all our Heart, Soul, and Mind.
(2) Unrighteousness—the second category of sins falls under sins against our fellow man, sins that violate the second of the great commands. These sins are a natural consequence of a life lived without God.
(Mat 22: 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.""
d. And Paul says that in thus sinning against God and against our fellow men, we suppress the Truth.
e. Results of the revealed Wrath of God--God gives man enough rope to hang himself.
(1) God Gave them up......Rom 1:26-27
(2) God Gave them over......Rom 1:28
5. Redemption From the Wrath of God
a. As we will see in later lessons, God's wrath is the reason for the necessity of the Gospel (Rom 1:16-18)--atonement and salvation by grace are required because of God's wrath against sin.
b. For the believer, deliverance from wrath is our great hope (1 Thess. 1:10).
c. God's wrath is turned aside (propitiated) for believers by Christ’s Blood (Rom 3:25-26, 5:8-9).
d. God's wrath against sin and sinners is so great that He sent His Son to die in the place of those who were to be redeemed--no lesser sacrifice would do. If we deny wrath, we essentially deny the gospel.
6. Retribution by the Wrath of God—
a. Those who are unsaved shall share in the final retribution of the wrath of God against the rebellious race which repudiated Him and rejected the gracious offer of redemption through His Son:
b. Take your opportunity when it comes—(Psa 2:12) "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."
(Rev 6:16-17) "and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""
(Rev 15:1) "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete."
(Rev 15:7) "Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever."
(Rev 16:1) "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.""
(Rev 19:15) "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."
Why is justification by faith the only way of salvation?”
Why can’t man save himself, in whole or in part?
1. The Wrath of God Is Part Of the Gospel "...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."
a. FOR ....The Wrath of God is REVEALED—What is the "for" there for?
(1) Context—Rom 1:14-17
(2) Divine Wrath against sin is the reason the plan of salvation was required!!!
(3) The Cross of Christ was a sacrifice to avert the righteous wrath of a Holy God against the sinful rebellion and enmity of mankind.
b. False Doctrines About God’s Wrath
(1) The Star Wars teaching
(a) There are those who represent the Wrath of God as an Old Testament doctrine only
(b) They teach, or imply, that the God of the OT is not the same as the God of the NT
(c) That Idea is a heresy known as dualism, perhaps best compared with the idea of “the Dark Side and the light side of The Force” in the “Star Wars” movies
(2) The Cave Man God
(a) There are also those who turn God into some kind of cosmic cave man with a club, waiting to bash people with glee. That is also a heresy
(b) (Ezek 33:11) ""Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. '"
c. The Truth is, that the Wrath of God is a New Covenant teaching as well as an Old Covenant teaching.
(John 3:36) ""He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.""
2. What is the Wrath of God? "...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."
a. The Wrath of God is the just, judicious, measured, and tempered outpouring of God’s anger against the sin and rebellion of His creatures.
(1) God is just and holy, without any blemish or lack of purity, and He Hates sin
(Hab 1:12-13) "Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? …13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.”
(Prov 6:16-19) "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."
(2) Divine Wrath is the right and natural result of an absolutely Holy, just, and perfect God being defied and spat upon by His creatures
(3) Were He to be unmoved by sin He would be unjust and unholy
b. Wrath is not the central attribute of God—that is His Holiness
(Isa 6:3) "And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""
(Rev 4:8) "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""
c. Wrath is not the defining attribute of God--Love defines God.... ("God is Love....") God does not delight in wrath—
d. But, because God’s justice, His own rightness, and His support of His own Law is at stake, the Wrath of God Comes From The Throne of God itself—"...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."
3. The Wrath of God is Real—"...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven....."
a. Wrath Revealed—
(1) present tense, a continual revealing
(2) This is a frightening concept—the most powerful Being in the universe, the most powerful being that could possibly be, is angry at our sin!
b. Wrath is revealed from Heaven by Word—
(1) The prophets of old, John the Baptist, the Lord Himself in His earthly ministry, and the apostles, all taught the wrath of God.
(2) The Lord Jesus Christ—many times He pronounces woes on cities, groups of men such as the scribes and Pharisees, etc.
(3) Christ often speaks of the awesome prospect of Divine judgment Mat 24-25
(4) It is a major concept in Romans
(Rom 2:5) "But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,"
(Rom 2:8) "but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath,"
(Rom 4:15) "because the law brings about wrath…”
(Rom 5:9) "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
(Eph 2:3) "among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."
(Eph 5:6) "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."
(1 Th 1:10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."
(1 Th 5:9) "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
(Rev 6:16-17) "and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""
(Rev 15:7) "Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever."
(Rev 16:1) "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.""
c. Wrath is revealed from Heaven by Deed—God has executed His wrath against nations and individuals.
(1) God Destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their gross sins
(2) God Consumed Pharaoh's Army—Ex 15:7
(3) God overthrew Babylon
(4) God revealed His wrath on the cross—Rom 3:25-26
d. The wrath of God will be completely revealed in the end—Rev 6:16-17
4. The reasons for the Wrath of God—Godlessness and Wickedness—(Rom 1:18) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"
a. Mankind, by our sin and rebellion, has shut God out of the picture.
b. The key words in Rom 1:18
(1) Ungodliness—from a word which means “Not Godly” or “Not Reverent”
(2) Unrighteousness—“what is not right”
(3) Suppress—“to hold down”
c. Paul is summing up mankind’s violation of God’s law with two words, much as Christ summed up the law…Mat 22:36-40
(1) Godlessness—sins against the Truth of God’s nature and against God Himself
(Mat 22:36-38) ""Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment.
(a) These are sins against God Himself—and they reveal an attitude rebellion and irreverence against our Holy Father.
(b) These are violations of the first of the Great Commands—to love God with all our Heart, Soul, and Mind.
(2) Unrighteousness—the second category of sins falls under sins against our fellow man, sins that violate the second of the great commands. These sins are a natural consequence of a life lived without God.
(Mat 22: 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.""
d. And Paul says that in thus sinning against God and against our fellow men, we suppress the Truth.
e. Results of the revealed Wrath of God--God gives man enough rope to hang himself.
(1) God Gave them up......Rom 1:26-27
(2) God Gave them over......Rom 1:28
5. Redemption From the Wrath of God
a. As we will see in later lessons, God's wrath is the reason for the necessity of the Gospel (Rom 1:16-18)--atonement and salvation by grace are required because of God's wrath against sin.
b. For the believer, deliverance from wrath is our great hope (1 Thess. 1:10).
c. God's wrath is turned aside (propitiated) for believers by Christ’s Blood (Rom 3:25-26, 5:8-9).
d. God's wrath against sin and sinners is so great that He sent His Son to die in the place of those who were to be redeemed--no lesser sacrifice would do. If we deny wrath, we essentially deny the gospel.
6. Retribution by the Wrath of God—
a. Those who are unsaved shall share in the final retribution of the wrath of God against the rebellious race which repudiated Him and rejected the gracious offer of redemption through His Son:
b. Take your opportunity when it comes—(Psa 2:12) "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."
(Rev 6:16-17) "and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""
(Rev 15:1) "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete."
(Rev 15:7) "Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever."
(Rev 16:1) "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.""
(Rev 19:15) "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."
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