God's Curse and God's Mercy (Part 2)

Q: What does the Bible say about God's curse?

The Bible describes God's curse as a judgment pronounced for disobedience, as seen in Genesis 3. In Genesis 3, God pronounced curses as a result of disobedience to His command. The curse on the serpent indicates a definitive judgment, one that carries no hope of redemption for Satan. This showcases God's sovereignty in judging sin and His unchanging nature. Furthermore, the curse upon Adam and Eve signifies the consequences of sin, manifesting in the toil and sorrow that characterize human existence. Yet, it's crucial to understand that these curses highlight God's righteousness and justice, serving as a reminder of the seriousness of sin.

Q: How do we know that God's mercy is real?

God's mercy is evidenced in His treatment of Adam and Eve following their sin, as He spared them from ultimate judgment. The profound mercy of God is illustrated in His interaction with Adam and Eve after their disobedience. Rather than allowing them to bear the full weight of their sin, He provided them with garments of skin, symbolizing the grace extended to them. This act of mercy encompasses the entire narrative of Scripture, where God continually provides for His people, even amidst judgment. God’s mercy is exemplified most clearly in the sacrificial death of Christ, who bore the sorrows and guilt of His people, revealing the depth of God's compassion and covenantal love toward His elect.

Q: Why is Christ's obedience important for salvation?

Christ's obedience is essential for salvation as He bore the guilt of His bride and fulfilled the law on their behalf. The obedience of Christ is fundamental to the Reformed understanding of salvation, as it is through His perfect submission to the Father’s will that redemption is accomplished. He willingly took upon Himself the guilt of His people, fulfilling the demands of the law and absorbing the penalty of their sins. This substitutionary atonement highlights how Christ, acting as the second Adam, accomplished what the first Adam could not—complete obedience. Through His death and resurrection, He secures not only justification but also the ultimate restoration of His people, affirming that all who are united with Him share in His righteousness.

Q: What does the curse on the ground mean?

The curse on the ground signifies the consequences of sin that affect all of creation. The curse on the ground, as described in Genesis 3:17-19, reflects the broader implications of Adam's sin, plunging creation into futility and decay. This curse introduces labor and frustration into humanity’s existence, highlighting the brokenness of the world due to sin. However, this state is not permanent; Romans 8:19-21 assures us that creation awaits liberation from this bondage. In this anticipation lies the Christian hope for restoration in Christ, where the ultimate curse will be eradicated and all things will be made new.

Q: Why is the sovereignty of God crucial in understanding salvation?

God's sovereignty ensures that salvation is entirely an act of grace, independent of human effort. The sovereignty of God is a paramount theme in Reformed theology, emphasizing that He is in complete control over all aspects of salvation. This doctrine assures believers that their salvation is not contingent upon personal merit or decision but is solely a result of God's will and purpose. Scripture supports this view, highlighting that God chooses whom He will save, and this choice is motivated by His mercy. Believers can find comfort in knowing that their salvation is secured by a God who does not change and who will faithfully bring His elect to final glory.

be able to come together. What a blessing! Before I begin, turn with me
to Genesis 2 again. We are still in Revelation, but
I want to just pick up where we left off last week. Before we begin, I want to have
a word of prayer. I'll tell you also, Brother Fred
Clevenger is in the hospital. He's got some surgery that's
coming up, looks like Tuesday. I think they're going to take
out his gallbladder, aren't they? He's just been having some trouble
with it, and the doctor said he wants to put him in there
and just see what it's going to take to get him squared away. So let's be remembering him.
Room 404. Our Father, we thank You for
another day. And we realize that we are here
totally by Your permission. that You have granted us a time
to be able to come together and to worship You in the hearing
of Your marvelous, blessed gospel. Pray You'd bless this service.
Bless our hearing. Bless the preaching, we pray
and ask You for Christ's sake. Amen. Genesis, I said Genesis 2, Genesis
3. In Genesis 3, we saw where, and
I'm going to just kind of pick up, I'm going to go back maybe
a couple of minutes where we ended last time and then bring
us up to where we actually stopped, but we saw when God cursed pronounced a curse in the garden. There were two curses that were
pronounced in the garden. First of all, God cursed the
serpent. And the reason that He cursed
the serpent is because in verse 14 of Genesis 3, the Lord said
unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this. What did he do? Well, verse 13, the last part,
said when God asked the woman, What is this that thou hast done? The woman said, The serpent beguiled
me. He fooled me. He tricked me. And I did eat. And God cursed
the serpent. The curse that was placed upon
the serpent. It means that God pronounced
upon the serpent, Satan, his judgment. It was irrevocable. It set forth that there was no
redemption as the curse that was placed upon the serpent. There was no redemption whatsoever. for Satan. We found in looking
at the Scriptures also that God had pronounced a curse upon Cain
and upon all like him. That is to say, that all for
whom Christ did not die, Almighty God had already pronounced a
curse upon those. Almighty God, from the beginning
before the foundation of the world, God who never changes,
has either pronounced a curse or a blessing upon all that He
has chosen to do so. Does the potter not have the
right? So there is no such thing as
God cursing one and then later coming back and blessing that
one, because that would make God change. God does not look
upon one in judgment, in themselves in judgment, and then come back
later and say, no, I'm not going to judge you now. He said, I
change not. If God has cursed, they're forever
cursed. If God has blessed, they're forever. Remember, we looked at what?
Balak tried to get Balaam to do. He tried to get Balaam to
curse the people of God. And Balaam said, ìHow am I going
to curse those that God has blessed? I canít do that.î Well, God didnít
curse Adam and Eve. And Scripture says in verse 16,
ìUnto the woman, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception
in sorrow, Thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall
be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." And remember,
we looked last time, and I obviously can't go into the depth that
we looked at last time, but that pronouncement of Eve having to
go through sorrow in conception, Though a woman does go through,
I'm sure, I don't know, but I'm sure that the pain of childbearing
is something that men would not really want to deal with. But
this Scripture right there is setting forth the mercy of Almighty
God to the church of whom Eve is a picture. God, in mercy,
He cursed the serpent, and I'm sure the serpent expected Eve
and Adam to also receive the curse of God, and they didn't.
God was merciful to them. The way I know that God was merciful
to them is because God clothed them with the skins of an animal
and put them out. And in mercy, God put them out
of the garden. But Almighty God said to the
woman, He said, I am going to greatly multiply thy sorrow and
thy conception. And the bride's sorrow and conception,
that is the bringing forth of God's elect into life and enlightenment
and regeneration, the bringing forth of God's people, the conception
of God's elect in birth, in spiritual birth, That sorrow was greatly
multiplied, but it was multiplied upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He bore her guilt. Now, this morning, I want to
pick up right where we left off and to show where the sorrows
of that conception... Remember, we read Psalm 116.3. It says, "...the sorrows of death
encompassed me. I want you to turn here. Psalm
116, verse 3. I want to show you something
that I saw this morning. I've never seen before. Never
read it exactly like this. Psalm 116. If we can look at
a Scripture and we see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, then
we've seen it right. Psalm 116, verse 3. This is the Lord speaking, and
as I've heard men say, well, this particular one is a Messianic.
This one is pertaining to Christ. They're all Messianic. All the
Psalms. Any time you find and it appears
as though that David is speaking, you put the Lord Jesus Christ
there. You'll see Him. The sorrows of
death. Now, God told Eve, I'm going
to greatly multiply your sorrow in conception." Well, here's
the Lord speaking, "...the sorrows of death compassed Me, and the
pains of hell gathered upon Me." That is, they found Me. And He says, "...and I found
trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of
the Lord, O Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver My soul." Now, this is
Christ. speaking. Gracious is the Lord,
and righteous, yea, our God, is merciful. The Lord preserveth
the simple." Now you think about this. Who did God preserve? He preserved His people, the
simple. But He says, I was brought low,
and He helped me. Returning to thy rest, O my soul,
for the Lord hath dealt Bountiful with thee. For thou hast delivered
my soul from death." You say, I thought he died. I thought
his soul was made an offering of sin. It was. But I'll tell
you this, three days later, he didn't see corruption. God raised
him. Thou hast delivered my soul from
death, mine eyes from tears, my feet from falling. I will
walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, therefore
hath I spoken. I was greatly afflicted. I said
in my haste, All men are liars. Who said that? Christ said that.
I say, All men. What shall I render unto the
Lord for all of his benefits toward me? I will take the cup
of salvation. I will bear it. I will possess
it. and call upon the name of the
Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence
of all His people." I'll pay. Now, look at this. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of His saints. Now, that's a verse of Scripture
that is rightly read at a funeral where one of God's people has
passed away. There's no doubt about that.
That's right. That is absolutely right. But
let me tell you something that's even more precious than that. Precious in the sight of the
Lord. That scripture is talking about
the Lord Jesus Christ who the sorrows of death grasped hold
of Him and found Him and held Him and bowed Himself before
His Father. But think about what Paul the
Apostle said. He said, I was crucified with
Him. I died with Him. I was buried
with Him. And in that death of the Lord
Jesus Christ, Paul and all like him died under the judgment of
Almighty God in a substitute. And Christ, who bore their guilt,
made it His own, and they died with Him. Now look at this. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of His saints, where Christ Jesus the Lord put
away their guilt. That's where they died. Paul
said, I died. I died with Him. Truly. The woman's sorrow and conception
was multiplied. But there was mercy there because
her sorrows were multiplied in another. In sorrow, the Lord
said, you will bring forth children. Sorrow. We looked at that passage
in sorrow, in toil, but also in sorrow, in the earthen vessel. She brought forth the children. Then the Lord said, look back
in Genesis 3. He said also, He says, Thy desire
shall be to thy husband. He will rule over thee. What
a blessing that Almighty God in the person of this blessed
Son has given the bride her husband and her desire, her longing after
him. The one in whom she's been chosen,
the one that has paid her debt, the one who's put away the guilt
of sin. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute, won't charge sin. Are they sinners in themselves? Yes, absolutely. But God just
won't charge it. Why? He charged it to Christ.
His sorrows were their sorrows. He made it His sorrow. The one
who has given her a name, and all that that name is, is hers. In Revelation, we'll be looking
at where it says, and His name is written in their forehead.
There's nothing that is more comforting to a wife whose husband
who loves her, who provides for her, who keeps her, His name
that is well respected, that she bears His name. The One who
is the only begotten of the Father. The One who is full of grace
and truth. Your desire. What a blessing. She rebelled against Almighty
God and He said, this is what I'm going to do to you. In sorrow,
I'm going to multiply your sorrow in another. Your desire is going
to be towards your husband. And he's going to rule over you.
He's going to have dominion over you in mercy and grace and compassion. And that's how God dealt with
her? That's right. That's exactly right. He said,
I'm going to have mercy on whom I'm going to have mercy. What
did she deserve? She deserved the judgment of
God. What did God do? He put it on
His Son. and let her go free. You think
that's just almost too good to be true. Well, I can understand
that. But the Scripture says, the Lord
says, I'm going to have compassion. Why? Because He chose to. He
looked on her in mercy. Why? Because He chose to. Verse 17 of Genesis 3, "...And
unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice
of thy wife, and hath eaten of the tree of which I commanded
thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the ground
for thy sake, and sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of
thy life." The first Adam hearkened to the voice of his wife. Eve
ate of the tree, and as Scripture says, and she came She gave it
to him. When she offered that to him,
he knew exactly what the consequences of taking of that fruit would
be. He knew that. He hearkened to her voice. Therefore, by his disobedience,
mankind was plunged into sin. But let me tell you of the indescribable
mercy of Almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Husband, He
who has always been the Husband. There's never been a time when
He wasn't her Husband. As I said, He doesn't change. If He's the Husband now, He's
always been the Husband. If He's the surety now, He's
always been the surety. The Lord Jesus Christ, of whom
Adam was a type, a picture of Christ. Christ hearkened unto
the voice of his wife. He gave attention to. He heard. He heard her in her need. He
saw her in her lack. He hearkened unto her voice,
her need. When she never called, he hearkened. Christ who would not allow His
bride to die. Eve gave of that fruit to Adam. He took it and He became answerable
with her. The Lord Jesus Christ made His
bride's guilt His own. He bore her guilt willingly by
His obedience before Almighty God. He hath made Him sin. What? Whose sin? Her sin! The
sin of everybody? No! His bride! He said, I lay
down my life for the sheep. He hearkened to her, not allowing
her to perish in her sin. And her guilt was His guilt.
And Christ, by obedience, associated Himself with her. And he bore her sorrow. He bore
her guilt. Turn with me to Psalm 40. Psalm
40, beginning in verse 7. Psalm 40, verse 7, Then said
I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book, It's written in me.
Here's another one of those messianic psalms of which all of them are. I delight to do thy will, O my
God, yea, thy law is written within my heart. I have preached
righteousness in the great congregation, lo, I have not refrained my lips,
O Lord, thou knowest I have not hid thy righteousness within
my heart. I have declared thy righteousness and thy salvation,
I have not concealed thy lovingkindness, and thy truth from the great
congregation." What great congregation? His people. He said, I haven't
hid it from them. "'Withhold not thou thy tender
mercies from me, O Lord. Let thy lovingkindness and thy
truth continually preserve me, for innumerable evils have compassed
me about.'" There's the sorrow of the bride. There's the great
increase. There's the multiplication. of
her sorrows. Innumerable evils have compassed
me." But I thought he was holy, harmless, sinless, undefiled
and separate from sinners. He is. But he made her guilt
his own. Why? He says, mine iniquities. I thought they were hers. They
are hers. He said, they're mine. They're
mine. When Glenda and I got married,
whatever debt she had, that's my debt. Whatever she owed, that's
what I owe. Whatever she's obligated to pay,
I'm obligated to pay. Why? That's my wife. Whatever
she owes, I owe. And at the expense of her name,
I will not allow anyone to come and take her and put her in jail
for that. That's my debt. Mine iniquities
have taken hold upon me, and I am not able to look up. They
are more than the hairs of my head." Listen to this, "...therefore
my heart faileth me." What did he say? What did he just say? Well, the word faileth right
there, if you've got a marginal Bible, right in the middle. You
look at that word faileth right there. That word is forsake. My heart. Because her guilt is
now my guilt. That's my guilt. That's my sorrows. Therefore, my heart. Who is the heart of the Lord
Jesus Christ? It's God. It's God. Therefore, my heart. That is,
I looked that word up, heart. It is my comfort. My center,
my courage, my friend, my wisdom, and my mind. The mind, the courage,
the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ was His Father. He says, My will,
My desire, My meat is due the will of Him that sent Me. Why
did He cry from the cross, My God, My God? Why have you forsaken
Me? He said in that last verse, innumerable
evils encompassed Me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon Me. I am not able to look up. They
are more than the hairs of Mine hand. Therefore, My heart, My
God, My Father, My courage, My mind, My will, forsook Me. Turned His back. Why? He was
made sin. And he died under the judgment
of Almighty God. My heart failed me. Back in Genesis
3, I'll just say this and we'll pick it up in a few minutes.
The Scripture says to Adam, he said, Cursed is the ground for
thy sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life." I'm going to say a little bit more
about this eating and Adam. But cursed is the ground for
your sake. Now, in Revelation 22, verse
3, the Scripture says there will be no more curse. There will
be no more curse there. The curse is going to be gone. God is going to cause the effects
of sin upon the earth to meet with fervent heat That's what
the Scripture says, and the creation anxiously anticipates that. The creation. Turn to Romans
8, and I'll stop. We're just going to read this
verse, and then I'll just pick up right here. God cursed the
serpent. That without remedy. that without
any hope of redemption. He cursed this earth, and in
Romans chapter 8 and verse 19, the scripture says, ìFor the
earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation
of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject
to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected
the same in hope." I'll stop right there. Lord willing, we'll
come back in about five minutes. Let's just take us a break.

God's Curse and God's Mercy (Part 2)

What does the Bible say about God's curse?

How do we know that God's mercy is real?

Why is Christ's obedience important for salvation?

What does the curse on the ground mean?

Why is the sovereignty of God crucial in understanding salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

God's Curse and God's Mercy (Part 2)

What does the Bible say about God's curse?

How do we know that God's mercy is real?

Why is Christ's obedience important for salvation?

What does the curse on the ground mean?

Why is the sovereignty of God crucial in understanding salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

Comments

More from Marvin Stalnaker

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Marvin Stalnaker

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book