By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

Robert J. Morgan recently sent information about the release of his third volume in the set of informative and inspirational books on hymns, titled Then Sings My Soul.

Maybe you remember reading or hearing someone recite a list of hymns for those of certain professions, or pastimes. These are some of my favorites:

The Dentist’s Hymn – “Crown Him with many crowns”
The Weatherman’s Hymn – “There Shall Be Showers of Blessings”
The Contractor’s Hymn – “The Church’s One Foundation”
The Politician’s Hymn – “Standing on the Promises”
The Optometrist’s Hymn – “Open My Eyes That I May See”
The Gossip’s Hymn – “Pass It On”
The Realtor’s Hymn – “I’ve Got a Mansion over the Hilltop”
The Pilot’s Hymn – “I’ll Fly Away”
The Architect’s Hymn – “How Firm a Foundation”
The Zoo Keeper’s Hymn – “All Creatures of Our God and King”
The Postal Worker’s Hymn – “So Send I You”
The Lifeguard’s Hymn – “Rescue the Perishing”
The Travel Agent’s Hymn – “Anywhere with Jesus”
The Librarian’s Hymn – “Whispering Hope” and
The Geologist’s Hymn – “Rock of Ages”

There should be at least one more “occupational hymn”. It came to me as we passed a land surveyor adjusting his transit on the side of the road. Therefore, allow me to add, The Surveyor’s Hymn – “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”.

In his book titled Near to the Heart of God, Robert J. Morgan writes,

Lowell Mason is among the giants of American hymnody. He was born January 8, 1792, in Medfield, Massachusetts, but he grew up in the Deep South. Though at first he went into banking, eventually he became the first music teacher in the American public school system. He also served as music director for various churches and as a music publisher and complier of hymnals. We know him for composing the melodies for “Joy to the World,” “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” “There Is a Fountain,” and this great hymn by Isaac Watts [1674-1748], “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” Lowell Mason [1792-1872] is rightly called the Father of American Church Music.[1]

Our purpose is to provide a Scriptural survey of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

I. First, note the prophetic announcement of the Cross.

From Genesis 3:15 we read God’s word to the serpent,

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) refers to Psalm 22 as “An X-Ray of the Cross.” Here David writes,

¹ My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
. . . .
⁶ But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
⁷ All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
⁸ “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
. . . .
¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
¹⁷ I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
¹⁸ They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots (Psalm 22:1a, 6-8, 16-18).

Isaiah 53 has the designation “The Forbidden Chapter” because it speaks so clearly of our Lord Jesus Christ hundreds of years before His birth. Here Isaiah writes,

¹ Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
³ He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
⁹ And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

Other passages revealing the Cross in the Old Testament are Genesis 22; Exodus 12; Leviticus 16; Numbers 22; and Psalm 69.

In these passages we discover a preview of the plan of the cross.

II. Furthermore, note the historic appointment of the Cross.

Each of the gospels records the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and related events, Matthew 27:1-56; Mark 15:1-41; Luke 23:1-49; and John 19:1-37. Although each of the gospel accounts share information differing from the others, each serves a great purpose. For example, Matthew focuses on the Jewish mindset; Mark focuses on the Roman mindset; Luke focuses on the Greek mindset; and John is a universal gospel.

Down through the years several Bible scholars published their harmony of the gospels. This provides the Bible student the ability to see the events recorded by each gospel writer together. Kermit Zarley takes a slightly different approach in his compilation called, The Gospels Interwoven. V. Gilbert Beers follows a similar approach in The Interwoven Gospels. Allow me to share a sample from The Interwoven Gospels in a section titled “The Crucifixion” (Matthew 27:34-38; Mark 15:23-28; Luke23:33, 34, 38; John 19:18-24),

Now it was the third hour when they crucified Him. And they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but when He had tasted it, He would not drink it. And with Him, they crucify two robbers, one on His right hand and one on His left, and Jesus in the midst. (And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, “And He was reckoned with the lawless.’) Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part; also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore to one another, ‘Let us not rend it; but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be’: that the scripture might be fulfilled which saith, “They divided My garments among them, And upon My vesture did they cast lots.” The soldiers therefore did these things: and sitting down they watched Him there. Now Pilate also wrote a title and superscription of His accusation, and put it on the cross over His head. And there was written: “THIS IS JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” This title, therefore, many of the religious leaders read; for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Therefore the chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, I am the King of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”[2]

In these passages we discover a view of the picture of the cross.

III. Finally, note the salvific accomplishment of the Cross.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines “salvific” as “Having the intention or power to bring about salvation or redemption.”[3]

From Romans 3:24 we read, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” From Romans 5:1 we read, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. And from Romans 6:1-14 we read,

¹ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³ And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

From 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 (emphasis added) we read,

¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

And in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 we read,

¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

Paul the apostle writes in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17,

¹⁴ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

Paul writes in Galatians 2:20,

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Paul writes in Galatians 4:4-5,

⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” And in Galatians 6:14, he writes, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

John writes in 1 John 1:5-7,

⁵ 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. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

In 1 John 2:1-2 we read,

¹ My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

In these passages we discover a review of the power of the cross.

Conclusion

Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe shares,

Some Christian missionaries once visited Mahatma Gandhi [1869-1948], and he asked them to sing him one of their hymns. “Which one?” they asked. He replied, “Sing for me the one that best expresses what you are preaching.” It took them but a moment to decide; and together they sang “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” They made the right choice.”[4]

From In Praise of Plodders we read, “Dr. Charles [W.] Koller [1896-1983] called the cross ‘the plus sign on the skyline.’”[5]

Dr. A. W. Tozer (1897-1963) writes,

Remembering my own deep imperfections I would think and speak with charity of all who take upon them the worthy Name by which we Christians are called. But if I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of self-assured and carnal Christianity whose hands are indeed the hands of Abel, but whose voice is the voice of Cain. The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. The old cross brought tears and blood; the new cross brings laughter. The flesh, smiling and confident, preaches and sings about the cross; before the cross it bows and toward the cross it points with carefully staged histrionics—but upon that cross it will not die, and the reproach of that cross it stubbornly refuses to bear.[6]

Someone shares,

A young boy complained to his father that most of the church hymns were boring to him; too far behind the times, tiresome tunes and meaningless words. His father put an end to his son’s complaints by saying, “If you think you can write better hymns, then why don’t you?” The boy went to his room and wrote his first hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” The year was 1690, the teenager was Isaac Watts. “Joy to the World” is also among the almost 350 hymns written by him.[7]

Dr. Isaac Watts (1674-1748) penned these poignant words,

When I survey the wondrous cross,
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God…”

How encouraging it is, when I survey the wondrous cross.

By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

Do you believe this? You might hear this question as two young boys make their way through an attraction called “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” They bill this attraction as “EVERYTHING ODD, WEIRD & UNBELIEVABLE!”[1] Ten years ago at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, as I perused the personal library of Dr. R.G. Lee, I found a copy of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Dr. Lee filled his sermons with interesting anecdotes.

John shares the following account in John chapter 11,

¹ Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. ² It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
⁴ When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. ⁷ Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
⁸ The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹ These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
¹² Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” ¹³ However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
¹⁴ Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
¹⁶ Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”
¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. ¹⁹ And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
²⁰ Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹ Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
²⁴ Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
²⁷ She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
²⁸ And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” ²⁹ As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. ³¹ Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”
³² Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
³³ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
³⁷ And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”
³⁸ Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” ⁴³ Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:1-43).

From our text we read, “²⁵ Jesus said to her [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

Please allow me to share three points from our passage.

I. First, we find a self identification of our Lord.

Some erroneously state Jesus never claimed to be God. Dr. H. R. (Hugh Ross) Mackintosh (1870-1936), a Scottish theologian, states, “The self-consciousness of Jesus, the account He gave of Himself, is, on any terms, wonderful in its coherence, in its complex unity, in its spiritual range and grandeur. There has never been anything like it in the world before; there has never been anything like it since.”[2] You will receive a great blessing reading through all of the statements Jesus made of Himself. For example, “Jesus said to [Martha], ‘I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25a). This is one of the seven “I am” statements of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 6:48), “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:5), “I am the door”(John 10:7), “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11-14), “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and “I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5). Jesus made a series of bold declarations about his identity. In Luke 2:41-50 we read,

⁴¹ His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. ⁴³ When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; ⁴⁴ but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. ⁴⁶ Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. ⁴⁸ So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”
⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Based upon the claims Jesus made of Himself, we may draw some logical conclusions. There are only four possibilities; He was a legend, a liar, a lunatic, or Lord and God. The next time someone calls Jesus merely a good man or a great human teacher, remind them that is not a possibility. Jesus claimed to be God and proved that He was and is God. Uniquely, Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.

Dr. Kevin J. Vanhoozer shares,

In the 1930s, a missionary asked an African girl about six or seven years of age a most pertinent question: “Who is Jesus Christ?” With a smile on her face, she responded cheerfully: “He is my Savior and He lives within my heart.” As it happens, the missionary had previously studied at the University of Berlin with Professor Adolf von Harnack, one of the most renowned theologians and church historians of the twentieth century. The missionary recalled that one day in class Professor Harnack was addressing the same question: “Who is Jesus Christ?” Harnack replied that Christ was the greatest man who ever lived. But the liberal theologian would not acknowledge that Christ was the divine Son of God who had died on the cross for our salvation and triumphed over death through the resurrection. In one sense, the young African girl understood the Gospel far better than the brilliant professor with all his theological knowledge.

Years later, the former missionary frequently recounted the story of the great German theologian and the young African girl. He compared her simple faith in Christ with the vast knowledge of the great theologian. She provided a remarkable illustration of Jesus’ teaching that unless we come to Christ with the faith of a little child, we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, indeed, the Gospel is so simple that children do understand it very well. The Statement reads: “The Gospel is so simple that small children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.”[3]

II. Furthermore, we find a spiritual impartation from our Lord.

Among other things, “impart” means, “To communicate the knowledge of; to make known; to show by words or tokens; to tell; to disclose.”[4] Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25b-26a). Here, Jesus makes a bold promise. Please note His affirming messenger, His assuring manner, and His attesting miracles in three passages in the recorded by John. We encounter His affirming messenger in John 1:6-13 where we read,

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

We discover His assuring manner in John 3:1-21 where we read,

¹ There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ¹¹ Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
¹⁸ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 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. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

We remember His attesting miracles in John 20:30-31 where we read, “³⁰ And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” Even if the one making the promise is absolutely trustworthy it means little unless we act upon it.

III. Finally, we find a saving invitation by our Lord.

Jesus asks, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26b) Dr. Mark McClellan, dean of the Joe L. Ingram School of Christian Service at Oklahoma Baptist University, shares the following:

It is clear, if not self-evident, that the Bible commands the proclamation of God’s message. (Luke 4:17-21) While it might appear obvious, we should ask if the Bible presents a call for a “response” that could be identified as an invitation and is a part of the message proclaimed. Jesus did call for a ‘response’ with words such as ‘Repent and believe’ (Mark 1:15); “Follow me” (Matt. 4:17, 19, 23); “Believe” (John 11:26; 12:36); ‘Come unto me’ (Matt. 11:28), among others. Jesus both called and sent His disciples to proclaim a message, a message that in Jesus Christ alone there is salvation, there is redemption. (John 14:6) The proclamation of that message calls for a response, “Do you believe?” Surely, we can and should invite people to respond to that message of truth as a conclusion and part of the proclamation of our message. Jesus called people in both public and private settings. Jesus’ disciple, Peter the Apostle, did the same thing at Pentecost when he concluded his message “Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) An invitation can be a part of extending a call to respond.”[5]

Conclusion

Hendrik “Hank” Hanegraaff affirms,

The resurrection is not merely important to the historic Christian faith; without it, there would be no Christianity. It is the singular doctrine that elevates Christianity above all other world religions. Through the resurrection, Christ demonstrated that he does not stand in a line of peers with Abraham, Buddha, or Confucius. He is utterly unique.[6]

John writes,

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
²⁷ She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:25-27).

Do you believe this?

By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

The saint’s highest calling is suffering and death. Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) explains, “Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will-even if it means you will suffer-is something very different.”[1]

We read in Isaiah 66:1-6,

Thus says the Lord:
¹ “Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
² For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
“But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.
³ “He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
⁴ So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
⁵ Hear the word of the Lord,
You who tremble at His word:
“Your brethren who hated you,
Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
That we may see your joy.’
But they shall be ashamed.”
⁶ The sound of noise from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
Who fully repays His enemies!

From our passage we will note several things about God’s people.

I. The Holiness of God’s People

God through Isaiah says,

But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word (Isaiah 66:2b).

Rev. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) notes the fidelity and holiness of the saints mentioned here in his classic titled Faith’s Checkbook.[2]

The Apostle Peter writes,

¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
¹⁷ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear (1 Peter 1:15-17).

Isaiah recounts the words of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3b) We read in Psalm 29:2, “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Similarly, we read in Psalm 96:9, “Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.” Earlier, we read in 1 Chronicles 16:29-30,

²⁹ Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
³⁰ Tremble before Him, all the earth.
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved.

Rev. Charles Haddon Spurgeon affirms, “Holiness is the royal road to Scriptural knowledge.”[3] Tragically, many attempt to study the Holy Scriptures without the Holy Spirit.

II. The Humility of God’s People

God through Isaiah says,

² “But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.
. . . .
^5a Hear the word of the Lord,
You who tremble at His word (Isaiah 66:2b, 5a).

The Holman Christian Standard Bible renders Isaiah 66:2b as follows: “I will look favorably on this kind of person: one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

James writes, “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6b).

Jesus’ first Beatitude recorded in Matthew 5:3 reads, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, / For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. To be “poor in spirit” is to be humble. We are saved by grace, we are kept by grace, and we will be rewarded by grace. As John writes, “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). “Grace for grace” or “grace upon grace”. Paul the Apostle writes in Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Paul confessed, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10a).

III. The Hatred of God’s People

We read in Isaiah 66:5b, about “Your brethren who hated you”. The words “hated you” clearly express the animosity against those who are godly. This situation reminds us of the account in Genesis as Cain killed his brother Abel. Envy churned in the heart of Cain. Those who hate God’s people are evil.

The Lord provides insight into their attitude toward worship in verse 3 and 4, where we read,

³ “He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
⁴ So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”

The Apostle Peter writes,

¹² Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; ¹³ but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. ¹⁴ If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. ¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. ¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ Now
“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
¹⁹ Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:12-19).

IV. The Hurt of God’s People

God through Isaiah instructs the saints about those “Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified’” (Isaiah 66:5b).

The phrase “cast you out” reminds us of Jesus’ words recorded in Luke 6:22-23, which reads,

²² Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

From John 16:1-4 we read that Jesus said,

¹ These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. ² They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. ³ And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴ But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
They do this in the name of religion and in the name of God.

Paul warns Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12-13, “¹² Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³ But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

Rev. Charles Haddon Spurgeon shares the following on Isaiah 66:5,

Possibly this text may not apply to one in a thousand of the readers of this little book of promises; but the Lord cheers that one in such words as these. Let us pray for all such as are cast out wrongfully born the society which they love. May the Lord appear to their joy!

The text applies to truly gracious men who tremble at the word of the Lord. These were hated of their brethren and at length cast out because of their fidelity and their holiness. This must have been very bitter to them; and all the more so because their casting out was done in the name of religion, and professedly with the view of glorifying God. How much is done for the devil in the name of God! The use of the name of Jehovah to add venom to the bite of the old serpent is an instance of his subtlety.

The appearing of the Lord for them is the hope of His persecuted people. He appears as the advocate and defender of His elect; and when He does so it means a clear deliverance for the God-fearing and shame for their oppressors. O Lord, fulfill this word to those whom men are deriding![4]

V. The Hope of God’s People

Isaiah shares a word of hope for God’s persecuted people, when he writes,

⁵ “‘That we may see your joy.’
But they shall be ashamed.”
⁶ The sound of noise from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
Who fully repays His enemies! (Isaiah 66:5c-6).

The word “joy” reminds us of Hebrews 12:2-4, where we read

² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ⁴ You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

We read in Psalm 16:11,

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

The Apostle Paul writes to Timothy,

⁵ But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:5-8).

The Apostle Peter writes,

¹ The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: ² Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; ³ nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; ⁴ and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away (1 Peter 5:1-4).

Paul the Apostle writes in Romans 12:4, “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function.” Paul shares about “the Lord Jesus Christ” in 2 Timothy 4:1b, “who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom.”

Conclusion

Oswald Chambers observes,

Look at God’s incredible waste of His saints, according to the world’s judgment. God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say, “God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him.” Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.[5]

In “Where Shall I Work?” an unknown poet prays,

“Father, where shall I work today’
And my love flowed warm and free.
Then He pointed me out a tiny spot,
And said, ‘Tend that for me.’
I answered quickly, ‘Oh, no, not that.
Why, no one would ever see,
No matter how well my work was done.
Not that little place for me!’
And the word He spoke, it was not stern,
He answered me tenderly,
‘Ah, little one, search that heart of thine;
Art thou working for them or me’
Nazareth was a little place,
And so was Galilee.’”[6]

We read in Hebrews 11:35b-38,

^35b Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

George A. Young, an obscure nineteenth-century preacher, shares the following in the third stanza of his hymn,

Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.
In the chorus he explains,
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
“Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.”[7]

Rev. Charles Haddon Spurgeon confesses,

I bear my willing witness that I owe more to the fire, and the hammer, and the file, than to anything else in my Lord’s workshop. I sometimes question whether I have learned anything except through the rod. When my schoolroom is darkened, I see most.[8]

May we understand that suffering and death are the saint’s highest calling.

By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

“The Servant of the Lord” is a designation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the prophecy of Isaiah. For example, we read of the “Suffering Servant” in Isaiah 52:13-53:12 which is one of the greatest prophesies about Jesus Christ.

Jesus said of Himself, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Jesus also said,

¹⁸ “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. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates Me hates My Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause’ (John 15:18-25).

George Williams (1850-1928) explains, “God’s true servants in all dispensations may, with David use the words of this Psalm as a vehicle of prayer and faith in times of deep trial; but only One could suffer fully the sorrows here revealed.”[1]

Rev. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) shares the following comment on Psalm 143,

Why it has been set down as one of the seven Penitential Psalms we can hardly tell; for it is rather a vindication of his own integrity, and an indignant prayer against his slanderers, than a confession of fault. It is true the second verse proves that he never dreamed of justifying himself before the Lord; but even in it there is scarcely the brokenness of penitence. It seems to us rather martial than penitential, rather a supplication for deliverance from trouble than a weeping acknowledgment of transgression. We suppose that seven penitentials were needed by ecclesiastical rabbis, and therefore this was impressed into the service. In truth, it is a mingled strain, a box of ointment composed of divers ingredients, sweet and bitter, pungent and precious. It is the outcry of an overwhelmed spirit, unable to abide in the highest state of spiritual prayer, again and again descending to bewail its deep temporal distress; yet evermore struggling to rise to the best things. The singer moans at intervals; the petitioner for mercy cannot withhold his cries for vindication. His hands are outstretched to heaven, but at his girdle hangs a sharp sword, which rattles in its scabbard as he closes his psalm.[2]

Dr. James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) writes, “Some commentators regard this as a weak confession because it is neither personal nor specific. It does not say, ‘I have sinned,’ as the other penitential psalms do. Nor does it say what sins the writer has committed.”[3] Another commentator concludes, “Since [David] comes as a repentant sinner, this psalm is classed as one of the Penitentials (cf. Ps 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130).”[4]

Dr. Harold L. Wilmington affirms, “No less than five out of seven penitential Psalms were written by David. He wrote 6, 32, 38, 51, 143.”[5]

Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) shares the following in a message titled “Grace Greater Than Our Guilt” based on Psalm 38, “It’s the prayer of King David, who while he was a great sinner, and a great saint, was also a great theologian and a great repenter.”[6]

In this message we will note three things about the servant of the Lord.

I. A Harmful Affliction upon the Servant of the Lord

David, the psalmist, writes about “those who afflict my soul. . .” and he affirms to the Lord, “I am Your servant” (Psalm 143:12).

Paul states in 2 Timothy 4:14, “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.” Paul wrote, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Dr. Luke chronicles the conversion of Saul in Acts chapter 9. Interestingly, we read in Acts 9:13 the reluctance of Ananias who recounted, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man [Saul], how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.” Remember Paul who caused “much harm” asked the Lord to repay Alexander the coppersmith for causing “much harm”. The difference is that Saul of Tarsus repented and received God’s forgiveness, as far as we know Alexander the coppersmith never did. We are thankful that it is possible for some like Saul of Tarsus to become Paul the Apostle. Paul exhorts in 2 Timothy 1:8, “Be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God”. David also writes in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, / But the LORD delivers him out of them all.”

II. A Humble Attitude in the Servant of the Lord

Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899), American evangelist, publisher and founder of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, asked the Rev. Dr. Andrew A. Bonar (1810-1892), of Scotland, the secret of his ministry, he replied, “For 50 years I have had access to the throne of grace.”

A. David demonstrates a humble attitude when he writes, “Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous” (v. 2b). Here, David cries for God’s mercy.

Rev. Matthew Henry (1662-1714) explains,

[David’s] petition is, “Enter not into judgment with thy servant; do not deal with me in strict justice, as I deserve to be dealt with.” In this prayer we must own ourselves to be God’s servants, bound to obey him, accountable to him, and solicitous to obtain his favour, and we must approve ourselves to him. We must acknowledge that in many instances we have offended him, and have come short of our duty to him, that he might justly enquire into our offences, and proceed against us for them according to law, and that, if he should do so, judgment would certainly go against us; we have nothing to move in arrest or mitigation of it, but execution would be taken out and awarded and then we should be ruined for ever. But we must encourage ourselves with a hope that there is mercy and forgiveness with God, and be earnest with him for the benefit of that mercy. ‘Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for thou hast already entered into judgment with thy Son, and laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for thy servant enters into judgment with himself;’ and, if we will judge ourselves, we shall not be judged.

His plea is, “In thy sight shall no man living be justified upon those terms, for no man can plead innocency nor any righteousness of his own, either that he has not sinned or that he does not deserve to die for his sins; nor that he has any satisfaction of his own to offer;” nay, if God contend with us, we are not able to answer him for one of a thousand, Job 9:3; Job 15:20. David, before he prays for the removal of his trouble, prays for the pardon of his sin, and depends upon mere mercy for it.[7]

B. David demonstrates a humble attitude when he writes, “Do not hide Your face from me, / Lest I be like those who go down into the pit” (v. 7b). Here, David cries for God’s grace.

Rev. Matthew Henry explains,

[David] dreads God’s frowns: “Lord, hide not thy face from me; Lord, be not angry with me, do not turn from me, as we do from one we are displeased with; Lord, let me not be left under the apprehensions of thy anger or in doubt concerning thy favour; if I have thy favour, let it not be hidden from me.” Those that have the truth of grace cannot but desire the evidence of it. He pleads the wretchedness of his case if God withdrew from him: “Lord, let me not lie under thy wrath, for then I am like those that go down to the pit, that is, down to the grave (I am a dead man, weak, and pale, and ghastly; thy frowns are worse than death), or down to hell, the bottomless pit.” Even those who through grace are delivered from going down to the pit may sometimes, when the terrors of the Almighty set themselves in array against them, look like those who are going to the pit. Disconsolate saints have sometimes cried out of the wrath of God, as if they had been damned sinners, Job 6:4; Psa. 88:6.[8]

Dr. Luke records the following in Jesus’ Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector,

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 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!’ 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” (Luke 18:9-14).

In Hebrews 4:14-16 we read,

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Other than for salvation, when was the last time you heard a proud person seeking God’s mercy or grace? In fact, no one will receive God’s mercy and grace without humility. From James 4:6 we read, “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’”

Other than for salvation when was the last time you heard a proud person seeking God’s mercy and grace? It will not happen. Unless a person is humble they will never honestly seek God’s mercy and grace. It is humbling to confess that I am a sinner. It is humbling to admit that I cannot save myself and that only God through Jesus Christ can. Tragically, there are countless church members who are seeking salvation without humbly repenting of sin and believing on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Many are attempting to get to heaven by some other way. Countless multitudes do not believe there is a hell. Remember, Jesus had more to say about hell than he did about heaven.

Rev. Matthew Henry explains, “We may more easily accommodate this psalm to ourselves, in the singing of it, because most of the petitions in it are for spiritual blessings (which we all need at all times), mercy and grace.”[9]

III. A Heavenward Appeal from the Servant of the Lord (Psalm 143)

Like an octave of eight notes, David makes a heavenward appeal.

A. David sounds note one, when he prays,

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness
(v. 1).

B. David sounds note two, when he prays, “Answer me speedily, O LORD; My spirit fails!” (v. 7a) David is exhausted as we read in Psalm 142:3,

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly set a snare for me.

C. David sounds note three, when he prays, “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust” (v. 8a).

D. David sounds note four, when he prays, “Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You” (v. 8b). “The way” refers to the way of safety and righteousness. In a similar way David writes,

³ When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly set a snare for me.
⁴ Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
⁵ I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
⁶ Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I
(Psalm 142:3-6).

David also writes in Psalm 25:1-4,

¹ To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
³ Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
⁴ Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.

David writes in Psalm 59:16,

But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.

E. David sounds note five, when he prays, “Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; / In You I take shelter” (v. 9).

In another place David writes,

¹⁵ My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
¹⁶ Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
¹⁷ Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
Let them be silent in the grave.
¹⁸ Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
¹⁹ Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
²⁰ You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues
(Psalm 31:15-20).

F. David sounds note six, when he prays,

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good
(v. 10a).

Dr. Lawrence O. Richards writes, “When you can’t change your situation, make it your priority simply to do each hour, each day, what God wills.”[10]

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945) reminds us “There is no phrase more often used among Christians than that of the will of God.” Dr. Morgan concludes his classic titled, God’s Perfect Will, in the following way, “There is but one thing that matters, knowing and doing God’s will.”[11]

Dr. J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) comments, “‘Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God’’ should be the daily prayer of every child of God.”[12]

If your service is according to the will of God, no matter how insignificant it may appear to men God will reward you. Your service may be invisible to men, but God takes notice.

Jesus warns,

¹ “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ³ But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly (Matthew 6:1-4).

Dr. Luke records, “[God] gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22).

G. David sounds note seven, when he prays, “Lead me in the land of uprightness” (v. 10b).

H. David sounds note eight, when he prays, “Revive me, O LORD, for Your name’s sake!” (v. 11)

Notice his last request “revive me” completes the octave and is in fact a heart-cry for a new beginning.

Conclusion

Rev. Dr. Andrew Murray (1828-1917), the Scottish missionary to South Africa of the late 19th and early 20th century, writes in The Inner Chamber and the Inner Life,

Our first lesson must be the sense of our own impotence. Then grace can work in us, slowly and surely, if we give ourselves its training. . . . God seeks men through whom He can bless the world. Say definitely: Here am I; I will give my life to this. Cultivate your faith in the simple truth: God hears prayer; God will do what I ask. Give yourself as wholly to men as to God, and set your eyes open to a sense of the need of a perishing world. Take up your position in Christ, and in the power which His Name, and Life and Spirit give you. And go on practising definite intercession.[13]

From the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary we read, “God’s mercy to His people is often wrath to His and their enemies.” We read in Psalm 31:17,

Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
Let them be silent in the grave
The psalmist states, “I am Your servant” (Psalm 143:12), “as chosen to be such, entitled to divine regard.”[14]

Dealing with “Retribution on enemies” (Psalm 143:12), William MacDonald (1917-2007) explains,

Finally he asks that God search out and destroy his enemies as a display of His mercy. If these things–destruction and mercy–sound irreconcilable to us, we should remember that [according to Dr. Albert Barnes (1798-1870)]: the destruction of the wicked is a favor to the universe; just as the arrest and punishment of a robber is a mercy to society, to mankind, just as every prison is a display of mercy as well as justice:–mercy to society at large; justice to the offenders.[15]

From the files of Dr. Michael A. Guido (1915-2009), an evangelist from Metter, Georgia, who lived to be 94 years of age, we discover a devotional thought titled “My Last Day” by Dick Hills. Herein we read,

THE ALARM CLOCK jingled through the darkness of the winter morning, letting me know it was six o’clock. I crawled out of bed and into the shower.

There, under the stimulating stream of water, my mind snapped into action, plunging down a list of things I had to do that day. As I turned off the refreshing warm water, a disturbing question cut across my thought flow of things to be done: “What if this were my last day? Are there things I would do?”

As I dressed, the thoughts kept working on my mind like a swift current through a gorge. The faster the thought raced, the more challenging it became. Ideas piled until they spilled over.

I have taken my days for granted. This really could be my last day. Any day could be my last day. Who promised I would live to be 60, 70, 80? Even if I live to be 100, shouldn’t I live each day as if it were my last? Work, worship, witness—certainly they all flow through the day, but is my mixture correct? Priorities! If this is my last day, I better check my priorities. Slow down! Life isn’t all noisy, bubbling rapids. Life is a river.

After dressing, I picked up my Bible and asked the Author of Life to make crystal clear the channel along which my life should flow that day—as if it were my last.

“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning” (Ps. 143:8) came first. This was a switch. Normally I did more praying than listening. I should know better. It is more important for me to listen to God—and to obey—than for God to listen to me.

“Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk” (v. 8). If I know His will for the day, I naturally will avoid the whirlpools of activity that constantly submerge me I anguish and confusion.

‘Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies’ (v. 9). Too often I wade through the day, hip deep in trouble, forgetting I have an enemy on my back. Why do I not ask my Father to deliver me?

“Teach me to do thy will” (v. 10). Knowing is “head”; doing is “heart.” Knowing is standing on the bank; doing is jumping in. It is time I jumped.

It all came together. If I will listen to my Father each morning until I know His will, and if I will accept His discipline as He teaches me obedience, I can count on His deliverance in the course of my day’s journey. The day’s priorities suddenly became clear—communion, direction, protection, and obedience. With these I can live each day as if it were my last.[16]

As David and his greater Son, Jesus Christ (Psalm 110:1-4; Mark 12:35-37), may each one of us truly become the servant of the Lord.

By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

Dr. John Ervin Huss (1910-1987), former pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina, confesses,

It was so beautiful in Bellingrath Gardens I wanted to stay. I met God there. I can better understand now that if one goes to the Holy City, never would he have a desire to return to this world. Yes, I wanted to stay. God said, “John, I need you to preach My Word.” Yes, I realized again that life’s “Ridgecrest experiences,” and life’s “Glorietas” and visits to gardens has as their real purpose enduing of greater power to serve God in the hard places.[1]

According to the LifeWay website, “Ridgecrest Conference Center, near Asheville, North Carolina, and Glorieta Conference Center, located near Santa Fe, New Mexico, have ministered to millions of guests during their many years of ministry.” For more information, click here.

Dr. Huss further recalls his memorable visit to the palatial home and garden paradise near Mobile, Alabama, envisioned by Mr. and Mrs. Walter D. Bellingrath in his book titled I Met God There (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1956).

Noting a sign in the gardens that simply reads, “Look,” Dr. Huss comments,

Sad to say, the sign is necessary. We can live in a paradise and never look. . . . People live near Niagara and have yet to see its awesome beauty. . . . We can have at our disposal the Word of God, and yet keep its pages closed and never see the Christ the Bible tells about.[2]

Dr. Luke records Jesus Christ’s affirmation of His primary purpose, as He said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Paul the apostle explains, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). As a sinner, I met God there.

Jesus Christ taught with an astonishing authority attested by the response to His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Robert A. (Bob) Briner (1935-1999) writes about “Jesus Christ, the greatest of all teachers” in The Management Methods of Jesus. Mr. Briner explains,

Jesus was often called rabbi, which means teacher, and he taught constantly. His teaching brilliance is revealed in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which are full of his remarkable insights. His ability as a teacher is also demonstrated by the success of his pupils, his disciples as they carried out his plans and programs.[3]

We read in Matthew 7:28-29, “²⁸ And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹ for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Dr. Alexander Whyte (1836-1921) contends in The Walk, Conversation and Character of Jesus Christ our Lord,

PREACHING has fallen low enough in our church and country sometimes, but it has sunk to such depths of imbecility as the preaching of the Scribes. Their own books, preserved to this day, prove to us that the New Testament plain-spoken as it is, has not told us the half of the scandal of the life and the teaching of the Scribes and the Pharisees. You would simply not believe the frivolities, and the superstitions, and the downright immoralities of the teaching and preaching of the Scribes and Pharisees, as all these things stand written in their own records.[4]

We learn from reading the Sermon on the Mount and the other teachings of Jesus that He did not attempt to make men think wrongly about themselves. For example, we read in Matthew 7:21-23,

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Regrettably, some Bible teachers today try to make people think everything is okay regardless of what they believe or how they live. Jesus Christ shared the truth about man and the eternal truth from His Father in heaven. While the Sermon on the Mount is not the plan of salvation it carries important implications and imperatives for the believer.

From Matthew 6:25-34 we discover Jesus specifically speaks about the issues of life.

I. On living amid fears and failures, Jesus exhorts,

²⁵Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
. . . .
³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (Matthew 6:25, 31)

II. On looking at fowls and flowers, Jesus states,

²⁶Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
²⁹And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
³⁰Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Matthew 6:26-30)

III. On learning about faith and focus, Jesus explains,

³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
³⁴Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:32-34).

While reading the words of Matthew 6:25-34, as a saint, I met God there.

Conclusion

May each one of us truly be able to say first as a sinner and then many times as a saint, I met God there.

By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

Professing God is of the utmost importance. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to profess is “to declare or admit openly or freely: affirm: to declare in words or appearances only: pretend, claim or to confess one’s faith in or allegiance to”.[1]

As any God-called preacher, I have a deep concern that you make or have made a genuine profession of God. As Paul the apostle exhorts in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”

Dr. D. Edmond Hiebert (1928-1995) comments on Titus 1:5,

This verse gives us the historical setting for the Epistle. Titus is working on the island of Crete when Paul writes to him. Crete is one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, situated almost equidistant from Europe, Asia, and Africa. A high state of civilization once flourished there, but by New Testament times the moral level of its inhabitants was deplorable. Their ferocity and fraud were widely attested; their falsehood was proverbial; the wine in Crete was famous, and drunkenness prevailed.[2]

The apostle Paul writes in Titus 1:5-9,

⁵ For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— ⁶ if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. ⁷ For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, ⁹ holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

We must beware of those who make an abhorrent profession of God from the pulpit to the pew. Dr. Albert Barnes (1798-1870) explains,

The Jewish teachers particularly, . . . are referred to in Titus 1:14. All those persons were professors of religion, and claimed that they had a special knowledge of God. But in works they deny him – Their conduct is such as to show that they have no real acquaintance with him.[3]

Paul warns Titus about those “[Who] profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work” (Titus 1:16). Dr. Barnes comments,

It was for this reason; from the character of the people of the island of Crete, and of those who claimed to be teachers there enforcing the obligation of the Mosaic law, that it was so important for Titus to exercise special care in introducing men into the ministry, and in completing the arrangements contemplated in the organization of the churches there. Yet is this character confined to them? Are there none now who profess that they know God, but in works deny him; whose conduct is such that it ought to be abhorred; who are disobedient to the plain commands of God, and whose character in respect to all that pertains to true piety is to be disapproved by the truly pious, and will be by God at the last day? Alas, taking the church at large, there are many such, and the fact that there are such persons is the grand hindrance to the triumphs of religion on the earth. “The way to heaven is blocked up by dead professors of religion.”[4]

It is the burden of my heart for you to know exactly where you stand with God, because one day you will stand before God. Our outline reveals three possibilities related to the profession of God.

I. When the profession of God is absent.

From Romans 1:18-32 we read about a godless society. Here, Paul writes,

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 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, 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. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
²⁴ Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. ²⁷ Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; ³² who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Paul the apostle writes, “At that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Dr. William Hendriksen summarizes the teaching of this verse in the following way, “Before the Gentiles became Christians, they were Christless, stateless, friendless, hopeless and Godless.”[5]

It is a dereliction of duty to fail to profess God. God will judge everyone according to their response to the light revealed to them.

II. When the profession of God is abhorrent.

We read in Titus 1:10-16,

¹⁰ For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹² One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ¹³ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

Dr. Eugene Stock (1836-1928) explains,

“Abominable,” bdeluktos, does not occur again in the N.T., but we have “abomination,” bdelugma, as meaning something disgusting, particularly in Revelation (xvii. 4, 5, xxi. 27). “Reprobate,” adokimos, means literally not approved, that is, tested, but not passing the test, and therefore rejected. It is “reprobate” in Rom. i. 28 and 2 Cor. xiii. 5, 6, 7, and “rejected” in Heb. vi. 8 and 1 Cor. ix. 27.[6]

Dr. Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) observes, “Of all bad men religious bad men are the worse.”[7]

Can you imagine what went through Paul’s mind as he reflected on at least twenty years of ministry? He knew the joy of seeing people come to faith in Jesus Christ and seeing people come together under the Lord to form new churches. Although Paul moved on from place to place, he continued to receive reports of the well-being of converts and congregations. It is difficult to measure his emotions as he hears about people who worked their way into the lives of those he loved and led them astray. They completely contradicted his sound biblical teaching and preaching.

From an article in Vantage Point we read,

The heresy of the Judaizers and their distortion of the gospel, (Galatians 1:6-9; 2:4) ‘a different gospel,’ is the same issue present today. The Judaizers, then, as today were seeking to establish a requirement for covenant membership through law keeping, signs and seals (circumcision or baptism), in addition to faith in Christ, thus destroying grace. (Romans 11:6).[8]

Dr. John Gill (1697-1771) shares the following on the phrase, “They profess that they know God” (Titus 1:16),

That there is a God; that there is but one, only, true, and living God, the God of Israel, as professed by the Jews; and that this God is Father, Son, and Spirit, as believed by the Christians: for the persons the apostle speaks of were judaizing Christians. Yet this knowledge was but notional; it lay in theory and profession only; they had not a spiritual experimental knowledge of God in Christ, which only has eternal life connected with it.[9]

On the phrase, “but in works they deny him” (Titus 1:16), Dr. Gill explains,

The Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, “in their own works”; they were not professed, but practical atheists; they owned there was a God, and boasted of their knowledge of him; but their lives and conversations showed that they had no true knowledge of him, and that the fear of him was not before their eyes; these gave the lie to their profession; they practically denied that faith they professed to hold, and the power of godliness, of which they had the form.[10]

Paul the apostle warns in 2 Timothy 3:1-9,

¹ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴ traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! ⁶ For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, ⁷ always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; ⁹ but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

We read in 1 John 2:4, “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Dr. Thomas Secker (1693-1768) warns,

Religion is not to be rejected because of hypocrites: – Many people are offended with the profession of religion, because all are not religious who make a profession. A little consideration will correct this error. Does the sheep despise its fleece because the wolf has worn it? . . . God rejects all religion but His own.[11]

In studying Titus chapter one, it is helpful to read Mark 7:1-23 and its parallel recorded in Matthew 15:1-20,

¹ Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ² “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
³ He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— ⁶ then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
⁸ ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
⁹ And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
¹⁰ When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: ¹¹ Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
¹² Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
¹³ But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
¹⁵ Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
¹⁶ So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. ²⁰ These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Jesus warns in Matthew 7:21-23,

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Jesus asks in Luke 6:46, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”

From the pen of Asaph we read in Psalm 50:16,

But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,

III. When the profession of God is abundant.

Dr. Vance Havner (1901-1986) states, “Salvation does not come from the assent of the head but by the consent of the heart.”[12] Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34b). There are those like the apostle Paul who abundantly profess God. In Romans 1:16-17 he writes,

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Paul also states in 2 Timothy 1:12b, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” Paul shares the basis of his profession in Ephesians 2:8-10,

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

An abundant profession of God involves professing Him in every area of life. Three areas often overlooked involve education, entertainment, and employment. In education we must profess God in history, in science, and in every other academic discipline. Many who profess God, deny Him in their pursuit of entertainment. Every believer has a calling and this has a direct impact upon employment. How we approach the issues of marriage and money reveal much about our profession of God.

While we are to profess God individually, we are also to profess God in community. We read in Hebrews 10:24-25,

²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

In addition, we read in Ephesians 5:19-21,

¹⁹ Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Professing God touches the world as Jesus tells believers in Matthew 5:13-16,

¹³ “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.

Rev. Ed Wood shares,

Almost everyone has heard of Mr. H. J. Heinz [of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania] whose “57 varieties” of pickles have distinguished his name. One day after an evangelistic service the speaker turned to him and said, “You are a believer, but with all your energy why aren’t you up and at it for the Lord?”

Heinz went home in anger. That night he couldn’t sleep, however, and at 4 o’clock in the morning he prayed that God would use him to lead others to the Savior.

A day or so later at a meeting of bank presidents, he turned to the man next to him and told him of his joy in knowing Jesus. His friend looked at him in surprise and said, “Because I knew you were a Christian, I’ve wondered many times why you never spoke to me about salvation.”

That gentleman became the first of 267 converts — people of different varieties, from all walks of life — that Mr. Heinz eventually won to Christ![13]

Conclusion

Allow me to frame the points of our message in the form of three diagnostic questions to assist in determining where you stand with the Lord.

Is your profession of God absent?

Is your profession of God abhorrent?

Is your profession of God abundant?

May you to know exactly where you stand with God, because one day you will stand before God. It is my prayer you will heed Paul’s warning about professing God.

By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

Dr. Alan Redpath (1907-1989) shares, “A colleague of mine in the ministry had a hectic phone call from a young lady who said to him, ‘Pastor, what shall I do? There is a man who loves me so much he says that if I don’t marry him he will shoot himself. What shall I do?’ ‘Nothing,’ my friend replied.” Dr. Redpath concludes, “Such a threat is not love; it is pure selfishness, desire, lust, whatever ugly word you might call it.”[1]

Dr. Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) wrote a book in 1960 titled The Four Loves. Lewis summarizes four kinds of human love–affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God.

Dr. David Jeremiah also explains about the four loves in his book titled The Power of Encouragement,

In the Greek language of the New Testament and the first-century world, there were four different words that were used to describe four different kinds of love.

Stergo (natural affection) — This kind is the intimate love we have for those in our families. “I love you because you are my sister.”

Eros (self-serving passion) – The word eros is not used in the Bible, but the concept is taught in books such as Song of Solomon. We get our word erotic from this Greek word. It’s love for the sole purpose of sexual satisfaction. “I love you because you give me pleasure. If you stop giving me pleasure. I stop loving you.”

Phileo (friendship) – This is psychological, social love. It is often translated by the word friend in the Bible. (See John 15:13-14) It speaks of the enjoyment we gain from another’s company. ‘I like you because you are my friend and because of some of your qualities. This is a 50/50 relationship you understand. If you don’t give in return, or if there is much conflict, our relationship will end.’

Agape (giving of one’s self) – This is totally selfless love, a love which comes from and is rooted in God. Agape is the power that moves us to respond to someone’s needs with no expectation of reward. The fundamental attribute of agape is sacrifice. So its not 50/50, it’s 100/0. “I’m going to give 100 percent even if I never receive anything in return. I will even sacrifice myself for you. I just want what’s best for you!”[2]

We find the fourth love, agape, in these verses in 1 John 2:5, 15; 3:1, 16, 17; 4:7, 8, 9, 10, 11,12,16,17, 18; 5:3. We will explore four passages in 1 John related to the fourth love.

I. The Experience of Love

From 1 John 2:3-11 we read,

³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
⁷ Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. ⁸ 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. ¹⁰ He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 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.

There are some who attempt to love others in the power of the flesh without God doing it through them. We must beware lest we are deceived.

Kurt Kaiser penned the lyrics to a popular Christian song titled “Pass It On” where he explains,

That’s how it is with God’s love,
Once you’ve experienced it, you spread His love to everyone;
You want to pass it on.[3]

II. The Expectation of Love

Apparently John did not get the memo about avoiding words like “ought” and “should”. Some warn these words kill passion. Paul the apostle writes in 2 Corinthians 5:14a, “For the love of Christ compels us.” Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) comments,

Paul said that he was overpowered, subdued, and held as in a vise by “the love of Christ.” Very few of us really know what it means to be held in the grip of the love of God. We tend so often to be controlled simply by our own experience. The one thing that gripped and held Paul, to the exclusion of everything else, was the love of God. “The love of Christ compels us . . . .” When you hear that coming from the life of a man or woman it is unmistakable. You will know that the Spirit of God is completely unhindered in that person’s life.[4]

Terms like “should” (1 John 3:11) and “ought” (1 John 3:16) denote expectation. God expects certain things from His children. In 1 John 3:10-23 we read,

¹⁰ In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹ For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, ¹² not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
¹³ Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. ¹⁵ Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
¹⁶ By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷ But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹ And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. ²⁰ For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. ²² And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

III. The Expedience of Love

Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) preached a message titled “The Expedience of Obedience” based on Acts 5:27-6:1. Paul the apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 6:12a, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. . .” Later in the same letter he writes in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.” The King James Version translates the word rendered “helpful” as “expedient”.

Many members of the church in Corinth lived to please themselves without proper concern for others illustrated by the events recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:17-22. Here we read,

¹⁷ Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸ For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. ¹⁹ For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. ²⁰ Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write about love (agape) glaringly absent in Corinth. We find this well-known instruction about love in 1 Corinthians 13. When a person feels they have no responsibility for their weaker brothers and sisters in Christ, they prove their lack of love. Paul the apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 8:13, “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” In addition, he writes in Romans 14:14-23,

¹⁴ I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ¹⁵ Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; ¹⁷ for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
¹⁹ Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. ²⁰ Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. ²¹ It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. ²² Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³ But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

Through love (agape) we know and see God. We read in 1 John 4:7-21,

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.
²⁰ If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? ²¹ And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

IV. The Experiment of Love

According to The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary, an “experiment” is “an act or operation designed to discover, test, or illustrate a truth.”[5] Paul the apostle writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.” We read in 1 John 5:1-5,

¹ Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Conclusion

Dr. Alan Redpath explains about the Greek word

agape, from which we get our English “agony.” It means the actual absorption of our being in one great passion. It is used most often in relation to God: “God so loved [verb form, agapao] the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). This word has little to do with mere emotion; it indicates love which deliberately, by an act of will, chooses its object, and through thick or thin, regardless of the attractiveness of the object concerned, goes on loving continually, eternally.[6]

George Matheson (1842-1906) begins his hymn,

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.[7]

We read in Romans 8:31-39,

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

May you know the joy and fulfillment of the fourth love.

Bill Harrell has served as Pastor of Abilene Baptist Church in Martinez, Georgia, for over 30 years. He also is active in the Augusta Baptist Association, Georgia Baptist Convention, and SBC, including having serving as the Vice-President of the Georgia Baptist Convention and as Chairman of the SBC Executive Committee.

For the generation that is getting a little older, it is quite disconcerting and puzzling to observe that it is now more popular to be cool than it is to be godly. Only a few short years ago, pastors were men who stood out from the crowd because of the example they set in an effort to lead people into a godly, committed way of life. They looked different from the crowd because they set an example in their dress and in their good conduct. Men of God honored their position by dressing in a professional manner which was neat and orderly. It helped people understand that here was someone from which they could take an example as to how to conduct themselves as a Christian. These same men were not only identified by their dress, they were respected because of the way in which they conducted themselves in and out of the pulpit. People looking for hope and help looked to the pastor for a heavenly example. These men were more than mere men. They represented God to those around them.

In those days, what one believed was the most important thing. How could a pastor impart proper understanding of the Scripture unless he believed and revered it himself? He was concerned more with being right than he was with being “cool.” In fact, being cool was something that was a million miles from his conception of what a pastor and preacher was suppose to be. It never entered his mind to be “cool.” It simply was not part of the mix. These men from yesteryear, were disciplined and committed to being sure they led the people properly and set the proper example. It never crossed their minds that they needed to identify with the people by being like them even to the lowest common denominator of acceptability. The pastor was suppose to set an example of what we should strive to be like. He never dreamed that he would be expected to downgrade himself in order to win their affection or attention. Where was the example in that?

But, today there are many young preachers who feel that it is a necessity to be “cool” in order to be accepted and build a big church. The idea is that descending to the least common denominator of dress and example will enable people to see that you are a “regular, cool guy” who can identify with them. In other words, being “cool” is the identifying mark of today. People just love it. But, we are supposed to elevate people, not fall to whatever level makes them comfortable.

The pastor or preacher should identify with his people. But, his identity with them should be grounded in the fact that they identify with him because they have been elevated to his godly standard instead of his becoming like the masses in order to find an identity with them.

In previous generations, what a man believed as well as his conduct and example was what was important. He elevated his people with his preaching, teaching, conduct and example. But, today, “cool” can say or do just about anything because it sounds cool and confirms that they are just that – cool. When one says or demonstrates that he wants to be “cool” he is actually saying that he wants to be acceptable. He doesn’t want to stand out from the crowd: “Why, they will leave if they are confronted by anything that says they should be living or believing differently, he will say.” The fact that one is a great Bible scholar and expositor is secondary to whether or not he is acceptable to the populace. Being popular and “with it” (cool) is a necessity for success especially if one wants to be in the “in crowd.” Being “cool” is a human effort to go places and achieve things that might not be on God’s agenda for a person.

But, one will say, “When I get them here because they are not threatened by me, then I can preach the gospel to them.” Sorry. It won’t work. The message is lost in the environment. The crowd that will be drawn won’t really want to hear the message and apply it. They just want to go to heaven; and they think that if they are in church and really feel good about their experience, then that is the ticket. The “punch” of the message is lost because someone who looks and, in many cases talks and acts just like them, is delivering it and his example is no better than theirs.

It’s “cool” to be edgy. Some try to see what they can get away with. Just how far can I go, they will think. Because they are the preacher and have the authority of that position behind them they think the people will not challenge them or be offended by off-color language, remarks, or insinuations. After all, he is the authority. The sad thing is that people will put up with such actions. They have slowly been programmed to feel that there is nothing wrong with the environment or the content. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with the preacher. He can say those things and imply those things because he is God’s man and that should not be questioned. Besides he is the coolest of the cool. Everyone is talking about him so that makes him successful, and, by implication, it makes him right in whatever he says and does. “I like him. He makes me feel good about me and that makes him acceptable and cool.”

The great pastors and preachers of years gone by and the ones still existing today are not known as “cool.” They are looked upon and respected because of the godly example they are setting and not because they fit the desirable mold of today’s mindset. What we have today in many cases is a “spiritual entertainer” who relies more on methods to excite and entertain than he does on what he should be telling them. A desire to return and see the next show is greater than the desire to hear a word from God. Human nature always demands more than was done the last time or they will get bored with what is happening. That is why some preachers today are continually trying to find ways to make the next gathering more “electric” than the last. It’s “cool” to be edgy and groovy. It meets the demand of a “video clip” and “sound byte” generation who really wants no more than that.

We are tolerating things in our churches that are embarrassing to godly people who believe the Bible. Things which are said and taught are things that even the world did in a dark corner a few years ago. But, just because the church is allowing such things to take place in its midst does not make it godly or biblical. Our godly preaching forefathers would “turn over in their graves” if they heard some of the language being used in church today. They would be absolutely horrified to hear young preachers telling people it is acceptable to drink alcohol. They would be even more horrified to hear someone talk of sex in the way it is being discussed today. How far we have drifted! And it is all in the name of the “cool” and acceptable.

Each succeeding generation can only learn from the examples set by the previous generation. They will also “fill in the blanks” with their own accepted moral and spiritual mores when proper guidance was either not taught or not learned. It is incumbent upon each generation to make sure that they set the right example so that their offspring will be pointed in the right direction even if they deviate from it. If we continue down the road that many are choosing today, what will the next generation look like? They in turn will pass along to their offspring only so much as they know with the result being that the next generation will “fill in some blanks” with meeting their own perceived needs and desires being a driving force. Therein is the downgrade.

I realize that anyone who is a part of the “cool” generational movement will find much to criticize about this little article but there are many others who will see great value in it. It cannot be denied that in the past twenty years we have flirted with many things that our forefathers would never have imagined. And, in the process we are losing our unique identity as people who set a godly standard for others to follow. We are in the process of becoming just another denomination in a vast sea of denominations. If we keep going in the direction we are now headed, we will, one day, be heaped in with all the other denominations which have compromised away their witness and who have lost their ability to influence the world with great spiritual power and authority.

By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

We gather today to rededicate the cornerstone of the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort located in Spanish Fort, Alabama.

To dedicate means to set something apart for a purpose. In a spiritual sense dedication involves consecration. To consecrate means to set something apart for God’s service.

This sanctuary was dedicated the second Sunday of 1962. Now, fifty years later we come together on this day, March 4, 2012, to rededicate the cornerstone of the sanctuary.

We look back with grateful hearts for the things God has accomplished in this place for His honor and glory. Now we look to the future with a sincere desire to rededicate this cornerstone and the facilities that it symbolically represents. May we continue to look up to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Head of the church for His hedge of protection, hand of provision, and hope of promotion. May our ordered lives confess the beauty of His peace and the benefit of His power. To God alone be the glory!

In a message titled “Cornerstone” based on 1 Peter 2:4-8, Dr. Joel Gregory shares, “Today a cornerstone is merely decorative. In biblical times such a stone was structurally significant. It bound the building together.”[1]

Using a Bible concordance you will discover the term “cornerstone” many times in the Scripture. According to the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, “The climax of all these references speaks of Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Eph 2:20) of the metaphoric temple consisting of believers.

The cornerstone image is further amplified by allusions to the “stone of stumbling” and “rock of offense” images found in Isaiah (8:14; 28:16). The combination of these Isaiah passages, along with the one cited above from Psalm 118:22 (cf. 1 Pet 2:4-10), links the early church’s understanding of faith with its emerging Christology: to the one who has faith, Jesus Christ is the chosen, precious foundation stone; but to the one who does not have faith, he is a stone of stumbling.”[2]

Allow me to share five points about Jesus Christ: the Chief Cornerstone.

I. Jesus Christ is the principal stone.

The cornerstone is the principal stone around which construction in antiquity was achieved. In the lexicon of biblical images of architecture, no image is more evocative than the cornerstone, the focal point of a building, the thing on which it most depends for structural integrity. Thus early in the catalog of God’s acts of creation in Job 38:6, the divine voice from the whirlwind asks regarding the world, “Who laid its cornerstone?”[3]

We read in Psalm 33:9a, “For [God] spoke, and it was done.”

Don Fleming, a prolific author and Bible teacher from Belmont, Queensland, Australia, explains,

Another picture illustrated this truth. Jesus was likened to the cornerstone of a building, which in ancient buildings was the stone upon which the structure depended. In rejecting Jesus, the Jews were like builders who threw away the cornerstone. God now took this rejected stone and used it in the construction of a new building, the Christian church. This new community would be mainly Gentile, and all of it built around and built into Jesus Christ (Matt. 21:42-43). People’s attitude to Jesus determined their destiny, and those who rejected him guaranteed their own destruction. The leaders of the Jews knew he was talking about them and wanted to arrest him, but they were not sure how the crowd would react (Matt. 21:44-46).[4]

II. Jesus Christ is the prophesied stone.

Isaiah and Zechariah record prophesies of Jesus Christ the Cornerstone (Isaiah 8:14; 28:14-16, and Zechariah 10:4). In Isaiah 8:14 we read,

He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Then in Isaiah 28:14-16 we read,

¹⁴ Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
¹⁵ Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.

From Zechariah 10:4 we read,

From him comes the cornerstone,
From him the tent peg,
From him the battle bow,
From him every ruler together.

We read the following about Isa. 28:16 in A Dictionary of Bible Types,

Here is a type of the mainstay and foundation of the church. As the cornerstone of a building indicates its official character and its permanent construction, so Christ is to the church. He is the principal stone, the main foundation, the center One in all of God’s purposes and plans. (See also Matthew 21:42; Ephesians 2:20).[5]

According to the Expository Dictionary of Bible Words,

This term is found nearly thirty times, and is usually translated “corner” or “cornerstone.”

[The Hebrew word] pinnah refers to the literal corners of the altar in the tabernacle and temple (cf. Exod. 27:2; 38:2; Ezek. 43:20; 45:19); and to the corners of towers, gates, and houses in Jerusalem and elsewhere (cf. 2 Kgs. 14:13; 2 Chr. 26:9; Neh. 3:24 ff.; Prov. 7:12; 21:9; Jer. 31:38 ff.).

In three significant texts, however, pinnah refers to the ‘cornerstone’ that God will raise up in the process of establishing his universal kingdom. The description of this kingdom involves several building metaphors, one of which is the ‘cornerstone.’ In each case (i.e., Ps. 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Zech. 10:4), a messianic understanding of pinnah may be gleaned from both the immediate and wider context of the term itself. This is particularly the case in Zech. 10:4; Isa. 28:16, where the cornerstone is associated with the divine renewal of Judah and Zion, respectively. In both cases, the establishment of this pinnah indicates that God’s program of redemption, on behalf of his people, will focus on this object. It is this “cornerstone” that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the person of Christ.[6]

III. Jesus Christ is the precious stone.

Colonel Henry Gariepy (1930–2010) explains, “The cornerstone holds the most honored position. . . . The word precious equates with honor.”[7]

We read in 1 Peter 2:4-10,

⁴ Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
⁷ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”
⁸ and
“A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
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; ¹⁰ who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Dr. Henrietta C. Mears (1890-1963) shares the following on the word translated “precious” in What the Bible is All About,

“Now to you who believe, this stone is precious” (1 Peter 2:7). Peter talks about seven precious things. Mark these in your Bible:

Precious trial of faith—1 Peter 1:7
Precious blood—1 Peter 1:19
Precious Cornerstone— 1 Peter 2:4-6
Precious Christ— 1 Peter 2:7
Precious spirit— 1 Peter 3:4
Precious faith— 2 Peter 1:1
Precious promises— 2 Peter 1:4.[8]

Dr. Lawrence O. Richards shares,

In ancient times the cornerstone was the anchor of a building’s foundation. Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16 which refer to cornerstones were understood by Israel’s rabbis to have messianic implications, and are applied to Jesus in the Gospels (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17), by Paul (Rom. 9:33; Eph. 2:20) and by Peter. Jesus is the foundation of our faith, and also of the church in which believers are living stones (1 Peter 2:4-7).

God, enables us to choose the path that Jesus Himself trod.

“A chosen people, a royal priesthood” 1 Peter 2:9-10. It is only right that we choose to live by God’s values, for He has chosen us. In the Old Testament, priests officiated at sacrifices and led the worship of God. In first-century Roman culture, pagan priests also led worshipers in offering sacrifices and praises to the gods. In both contexts, it was considered a high honor to serve as a priest. So the imagery of a Christian royal priesthood was clear, and powerful. We who because of sin were not even a people of God have been called out of darkness, and given the highest position of all![9]

On 1 Peter 2:6-8, Don Fleming explains,

Christ is the chief cornerstone in this living building, and those who believe in him will never be disappointed (6). The people of Israel, who were originally intended to build God a living temple, threw out the main stone when they rejected Christ. A rejected building stone lies in the way and becomes an obstacle to the builders, preventing them from doing their work as they should. In the same way Jesus Christ, whom the people of Israel rejected, becomes an obstacle to them, so that they cannot do what God requires of them. God has now taken this rejected stone and made him the chief cornerstone in a new living temple, the Christian church (7-8).[10]

Dr. Walter A. Elwell shares,

Peter carries through his theme of God’s Word by quoting three “stone” passages which were applied to Jesus from a very early date (the tradition seems, in fact, to originate with Jesus himself; Matt. 21:42): Psalm 118:22f.; Isaiah 8:14; 28:16 (cf. Rom. 9:33). A stone can look most unimpressive—but it can perform a vital function if made the cornerstone of a large building; or it can bring a person tumbling to the ground if he or she stumbles over it. Jesus has become the cornerstone of God’s spiritual temple, and there are two possible responses. We can either take our own angle and position from the Cornerstone, and line ourselves up on him; or we can refuse to live by reference to him, and stumble over him instead. It is a vivid picture.

Peter urges his readers to see that they are being built in line with Christ: sharing all the angles of his life, experiencing his rejection as well as the glory. His opponents stumble fatally, but those joined to Christ are a chosen people, a royal priesthood (v. 9), contrary to all appearances. In verses 9 and 10 Peter piles up phrases from the Old Testament (Exod. 19:6; Isa. 42:12; 43:20f; Hos. 1:10; 2:23) to show how all that is true of God’s chosen covenant people is true for those who believe in Jesus, however rejected and weak they may seem.[11]

IV. Jesus Christ is the praiseworthy stone.

Jesus is praised in poetry, as we read in Psalm 118:21-24,

²¹ I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.
²² The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
²³ This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

On Psalm 118, Dr. Merrill F. Unger (1909-1980) explains,

Messiah exalted as the Chief Cornerstone. This great hallelujah psalm was sung along with Psalm 114-117 and 136 by our Lord and His disciples in observing the Passover the night He was betrayed (Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26). He applied verses 22-23 to Himself (Mt 21:42). The psalm looks beyond the rejection of the Stone (Christ) to His ultimate exaltation in the kingdom.[12]

We read the following in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary,

In Ps. 118:22 “head of the corner” (KJV; HCSB, cornerstone) refers metaphorically to a king delivered by God when others had given him up (cp. Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7, where it is used in reference to the rejection of Christ). “Head” designated one in authority in the sense of the foremost person. It can mean leader, chief, or prince (Isa. 9:15), and it can have the idea of first in a series (1 Chron. 12:9). Israel was the “head” (translated ‘chief’) nation, God’s firstborn (Jer. 31:7). Damascus was the “head” (capital) of Syria (Isa. 7:8). A husband is the “head of the wife” (Eph. 5:23).

A distinctive theological use of the word ‘head’ was seen in the NT concept of the ‘headship’ of Christ. Christ is the ‘head’ (kephale) of His body the church; the church is His “bride” (Eph. 5:23-33, wife). In His role as “head,” Christ enables the church to grow, knits her into a unity, nourishes her by caring for each member, and gives her strength to build herself up in love (Eph. 4:15-16). Not only is Christ “head” of the church, but also He is “head” of the universe as a whole (Eph. 1:22) and of every might and power (Col. 2:10). The divine influences on the world result in a series: God is the “head” of Christ; Christ is the ‘head’ of man; man is the “head” of the woman, and as such he is to love and care for his wife as Christ does His church (Eph. 5:25-30).[13]

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:19-22,

¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Rev. John Chandler (1806-1876) translated the lyrics of a hymn from Latin to English. The first stanza reveals the depth of this poetic expression:

Christ is our Cornerstone,
On Him alone we build;
With His true saints alone
The courts of heaven are filled. Our hopes we place on His great love
For present grace and joys above.[14]

V. Jesus Christ is the prudential stone.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary “prudential” means, “of, relating to, or proceeding from prudence” or “exercising prudence especially in business matters”. From the same resource we understand “prudence” means, “the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason”, “sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs”, or “skill and good judgment in the use of resources.”[15]

Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

From Matthew 7:15-27 we read,

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Dr. Walter Lewis Wilson (1881-1969) explains,

Christ is warning us in this passage that if we build in this life on any other foundation than Himself, we shall not be able to stand in the Judgment Day. He is the Rock of Ages, the Cornerstone, the rock foundation. Good works, religious observances, church activities, gifts of money, and all other such activities, if depended on for salvation, will be like the sinking sand, and the sinner will not be able to endure the storm of God’s judgment if he depends upon these. (See also Luke 6:49).[16]

We read the following under “Build-Building” in the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery,

Christians individually (1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19) and corporately (2 Cor 6:16) are the temple of God. Jesus promised to ‘build’ his church on the rock of Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16-18).

The image of building is used to picture the life choices that individuals make in following or refusing God’s way. Jesus paints a memorable portrait of wise and foolish house builders (Mt 7:24-27; Lk 6:47-49; 18; cf. Jesus’ parables of builders in Lk 12:13-21; 14:28-30). Individual Christians build on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and the adequacy of the material with which they build will be tested at the Last Judgment (1 Cor 3:10-15).[17]

Conclusion

Paul the apostle writes in Romans 10:9-13,

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Please note that when he writes in Romans 10:11, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame”, he cites Isaiah 28:16. Here Isaiah writes,

Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.”

Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe reminds us as genuine believers to ask,

“Am I rushing ahead impetuously, or am I willing to wait?” We have already learned that faith and patience always go together. . . . The Christian who waits for God’s leading, and waits on God’s working, will not be disappointed or ashamed. True faith is not in a hurry until God opens the way. If you find yourself impatiently rushing ahead of the Lord, beware! You are sure to act in fleshly unbelief instead of in true spiritual faith.[18]

Dr. John Phillips (1927-2010) explains,

Christ is called the chief cornerstone because of its key position in the foundation. The cornerstone was hewn out first, and its corners, planes, and angles were all true. It was dropped into place last to bind all the other stones together and to ensure that all the foundation’s lines were accurate. The cornerstone is called ‘the stone of testing.’ Likewise the doctrines must line up squarely with what Christ revealed.[19]

From Ephesians 2:19-22 we read,

¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Dr. Elon Foster (1833-1898) shares,

A case of conviction was that of one aroused during [Robert Murray] McCheyne’s [1813-1843] sermon on “Unto whom coming as unto a living stone.” As he spoke of the Father taking the gem out of his bosom and laying it down for a foundation-stone, she felt in her soul, “I know nothing of this precious stone: I am surely not converted.” This led her to come to speak with him. She was not under deep conviction; but, before going away, he said, “You are a poor, vile worm: it is a wonder the earth does not open, and swallow you up.” These words were blessed to produce a very awful sense of sin. She came a second time, with the arrows of the Almighty drinking up her spirit. For three months, she remained in this state, till, having once more come to him for counsel, the living voice of Jesus gave life to her soul.[20]

In these days of “political correctness” many would consider McCheyne’s approach totally unacceptable. In fact, in our day, it is inappropriate in the eyes of some even to call someone a sinner at all. Well, God reminds us in His Word, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Today, millions of people feel that Jesus Christ is irrelevant. We hear a lot about relevance. Who determines relevance, man or God? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Do you repentantly and believingly know Jesus Christ: the Chief Cornerstone?

By Franklin L. Kirksey, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice.

These expositions by Dr. Kirksey are offered to suggest sermon or Bible study ideas for pastors and other church leaders, both from the exposition and from the illustrative material, or simply for personal devotion.

Introduction

The danger of presumption can hardly be overstated.  For example, I recently read, “During the Battle of the Wilderness in the Civil War, Union general John Sedgwick was inspecting his troops.  At one point he came to a parapet, over which he gazed out in the direction of the enemy.  His officers suggested that this was unwise and perhaps he ought to duck while passing the parapet.  ‘Nonsense,’ snapped the general.  ‘They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist—.’ A moment later Sedgwick fell to the ground, fatally wounded.”[1]

Dr. J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) warns, “Presumption is as dangerous as unbelief.”[2] Presumption is “an attitude or belief dictated by probability” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.[3] Facts play little part in presumption, just probability and likelihood.  Its first synonym is “assumption,” followed by “arrogance,” “boldness,” “impertinence” and “imprudence.”  Presume, in its verb form, means “To assume or take beforehand; esp., to do or undertake without leave or authority previously obtained.  To take or suppose to be true, or entitled to belief, without examination or proof, or on the strength of probability; to take for granted; to infer; to suppose.  To suppose or assume something to be, or to be true, on grounds deemed valid, though not amounting to proof; to believe by anticipation; to infer; as, we may presume too far.  To venture, go, or act, by an assumption of leave or authority not granted; to go beyond what is warranted by the circumstances of the case; to venture beyond license; to take liberties; — often with on or upon before the ground of confidence.”[4] According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, the term presumptuously, a variant of presumptuous, means “too bold or forward; taking too much for granted; showing overconfidence, arrogance, or effrontery.”[5]

We read in Numbers 14:36-45,

36 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, 37 those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.
39 Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!” 41 And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. 42 Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee comments, “They had lost their opportunity.  They would not go up into the land when God wanted them to go.  Now they presume to go up.  This is presumption.  Faith is not presumption!  They again want to go their way rather than God’s way.  There can be no victory when there is no submission to the will of God.”[6]

From our text in Numbers 15:30-31, we read the following warning,

30 ‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’

Dr. J. Vernon McGee writes,

We have seen that the children of Moses had come to a point of decision at Kadesh-barnea.  As you know, decisions are the difficult things for all of us in this life.  This is especially true for the Christian.  Many times we come to the crossroad and we are sure which way to go.  But it was crystal clear to these people which way they should have gone.  They faced the choice of entering the land by faith or turning back into the wilderness in unbelief.  They made the wrong decision and turned in unbelief.

However, when they looked at the wilderness, they changed their mind and decided that the Promised Land with its walled cities and giants was not so bad as the wilderness; so they attempted to go into the land.  This was not a decision of faith; it was a decision based on their experience of two years in the wilderness.  They presumed to go into the land.  Presumption is as dangerous as unbelief.

A businessman of my acquaintance had a responsible position, then was laid off from this position shortly after he had bought a new home and new furniture.  His question to me was: ‘Why would God let this happen to me since He had led me to buy the house and furniture?’  I told him, ‘I remember that while you were looking for the new house, you mentioned that you were not sure of the leading of God at that time and you specifically mentioned that you didn’t like the area, yet you bought the house.  Now you are blaming God for all of it.  Could it be that you moved by presumption rather than by faith?’  He said, ‘Well, I just thought God would bless me.’

My friend, we need to be extremely careful whether we are moving by faith or by presumption.  Somewhere between these two is the will of God.  It is important to spend time waiting upon the Lord to find out what is His will.[7]

In a message titled “Why I Know the Bible is the Word of God,” Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) shares, “There used to be a time when preachers would stand in the pulpit and say, ‘The Bible saith.’  And, then they started to say, ‘The Church says.’  And, now they just sort of scratch their head and say, ‘Well, it seems to me.’  We’re not interested in that.  We want to know is there a word from God?”[8]

I. Beware of presumptuous words.

Beware of presumptuous words of false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:20).

In Deuteronomy 18:20 we read, “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’”

Jeremiah warns about the presumption of false prophets in Jeremiah 14:14-16,

“14 And the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’

There are false prophets in the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses and a host of other cults and religious groups.  Some might point out that some of these believe in Jesus.  Although some groups claim to believe in Jesus, it is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Beware of presumptuous words of false teachers (2 Peter 2:10).  In 2 Peter 2:10, we read about false teachers, “who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority.  They are presumptuous, self-willed.  They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.”

We must beware of the presumption of apostates like Korah.  The term apostate comes from apostasia. Dr. Charles C. Ryrie explains,

Liddell and Scott give the meaning as follows: “defection, revolt, especially in religious sense, rebellion against God, apostasy… 2.  departure, disappearance.  3. distinguishing… 4.  distance.”[9]

John writes in his first epistle, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us” (1 John 2:19).  From Numbers 16:1-3 we read, “Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them.  Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?’

Jude warns about the presumption of apostates, “Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.  Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’  But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.  Woe to them!  For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah” (Jude 8-11).  Jude warns us about apostates old and new, who attempt to undermine God-given power and authority.  These apostates lack the restraint of Michael the archangel, revealing their presumption by contrast.

Dr. Arthur Walkington Pink (1886-1952) declares, “No presumption is worse than entertaining the idea that I am bound for Heaven while I live like a child of Hell.”[10]

Beware of words that subvert the Word of God. Our words should submit to the Word of God.

II. Beware of presumptuous works.

Beware of the presumption of a foul act. We read about Hiel from 1 Kings 16:34, “In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho.  He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the Lord, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.”  In Joshua 6:26 we read, “Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, ‘Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.’”

Beware of the presumption of a forbidden act. We read about Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:16-21,

16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”
19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.
21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

Beware of the presumption of a foolish act. We read about Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6:3-8,

“So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.  And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark.  Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.  And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.  Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.  And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.”

The ark of God was not a toy box as those in Beth Shemesh learned to their peril.  We see the presumption of those of Beth Shemesh in 1 Samuel 6:19, where we read, “Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord.  He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.”

Beware of works that subtract the will of God. Our works should submit to the will of God.

III. Beware of presumptuous worship.

Beware of faithless worship. We read in Genesis 4:1-7,

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

We read in Hebrews 11:4, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”

Beware of false worship. From Genesis 11:1-9 we read,

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”

Some Bible teachers erroneously teach that the Tower of Babel was a parable and not an historical event.  In fact, some so-called scholars question the historicity of the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis.  Let me assure you the first eleven chapters of the first book in the Bible are historically accurate.

Dr. F. W. (Frank William) Boreham (1879-1959), was a prolific author and Baptist pastor best known in New Zealand, Australia and England , who was probably the last student interviewed by Charles Haddon Spurgeon for entry into his Pastor’s College.  Dr. Boreham concludes, “The Tower of Babel, therefore, was a Tower of Blunders.  Every brick was a blunder.  These early builders were wrong in their motive, wrong in their method, wrong in their materials—wrong in everything!”[11]

The desire for unity is a normal thing.  However, when men seek a unity without God it is wrong.  Many today attempt to have to achieve unity through a belief in a “Unitarian god”.  We read in 1 John 2:20-23,

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Beware of faulty worship. From John 4:20-24 we read about the woman at the well who said,

20 “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

This account reminds us that some worshippers worship in ignorance and not the arrogance of presumption.  Rev. Joseph Samuel Exell (1849-1909) shares in The Biblical Illustrator, “With every sin the man gets worse; sinfulness increases.  Sins of ignorance through trifling may grow to be those of presumption.”[12]

We read in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, / But its end is the way of death.”  Later, we read in Isaiah 55:6-9,

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Mrs. Jessie B. Pounds (1861-1921) writes,

I must needs go home by the way of the cross, There’s no other way but this;
I shall ne’er get sight of the gates of light,
If the way of the cross I miss.  I must needs go on in the blood sprinkled way,
The path that the Savior trod,
If I ever climb to the heights sublime,
Where the soul is at home with God.  Then I bid farewell to the way of the world,
To walk in it never more;
For the Lord says, ‘Come,’ and I seek my home,
Where He waits at the open door.[13]

Beware of worship that subdues the ways of God. Our worship should submit to the ways of God.

Also related to the issue of worship we consider exorcism and excommunication.  We read about the presumption of exorcism in Acts 19:11-20,

11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We[a] exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered[b] them, and prevailed against them,[c] so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

Jesus warns His false followers in Matthew 7:21-23,

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

We read about the presumption of excommunication in 3 John 9-11,

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.
11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

Jesus warned His true followers in John 16:1-4a,

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when thetime comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Conclusion

Dr. John Phillips (1927- 2010) explains, “Saul showed early promise.  His beginnings couldn’t have been better.  He had wise and godly counsel from Samuel, and his initial victories over Israel’s foes were glorious.  His two sins which cost him the kingdom were presumption (1 Samuel 13:5-15) and incomplete obedience (1 Samuel 15:1-23).”[14]

We read in 1 Samuel 17:28, “Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, ‘Why did you come down here?  And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?  I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.’”  His oldest brother, Eliab, accuses David of pride and presumption.  Later David prays, “Who can understand his errors?  Cleanse me from secret faults.  Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; / Let them not have dominion over me.  Then I shall be blameless, / And I shall be innocent of great transgression.  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart / Be acceptable in Your sight, / O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:12-14).  That is the prayer of a man after God’s own heart!

Rev. Daniel Cawdray (1588-1664) illustrates the perils of presumption.  He writes, “Like as if an arrant thief should reason thus with himself, ‘I will spend my days in robbing and stealing; I fear neither arraignment nor execution:  for at the very time when I am to be hung, if I do but call upon the judge, I know I shall have my pardon.’  Such is the practice of careless men in the matter of their salvation; for a man may die with a ‘Lord have mercy’ in his mouth, and yet perish eternally.”[15]

Rev. Joseph Samuel Exell shares,

A young man who had inherited an estate from an uncle was exhorted to seek Christ, and said that he would do so as soon as he paid off the debts which encumbered the estate.  ‘Young man,’ said the pastor, ‘beware: you may never see that day: whilst you are gaining the world you may lose your soul.’  The young heir said, ‘I’ll run the risk.’  He went into the woods and was engaged in felling a tree, when a falling limb caused his instant death within a few hours of his bold presumption.[16]

Beware of the danger of presumption.