If you would turn with me in
your Bible this evening to 1 Samuel chapter 17, continuing our study
in the book of 1 Samuel, I want us to consider verses 28 and
29 on the subject of, is there not a cause? The Hebrew word
cause means reason. It can also mean matter. Is there
not a reason, David is asking. Is this not a serious matter? Now, if you are a believer, if
God has given you faith to believe the gospel, that holy message
given to you by divine revelation, that is the cause. And the cause
is the glory of God. It's the reason for our existence,
It's really all that matters. In salvation, God gets all the
credit and all the glory. We don't get any. At the heart
of every question lies the ultimate answer, Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. Paul writing to the church at
Corinth, a city known for their intellectualism and their philosophy
and all their eloquence and human wisdom. things that could easily
overshadow the gospel. Paul said that he was determined
to not know anything among them but what they thought of Christ
and his death upon the cross. Jesus Christ and him crucified. You see, in the end, when the
Lord wraps up this whole shooting match here on earth. It's all
that'll really matter. What think ye of Christ? How
does his death matter to you? And every true believer will
strive, and I mean strive, to remove themselves from the equation
of sharing in the glory of what belongs to God alone. The gospel is the declaration,
the salvations of the Lord, and that we in and of ourselves had
and have nothing to do with it. We had or have no part in its
planning and its execution or in its accomplishment. Every
believer sees, as Paul described, that just as Jacob and Esau,
before we were born, before we had done any good or evil, that
the purpose of God, that's the issue, the purpose of God, according
to election might stand not of works, but of him that calleth,
Romans 9 11. We can take no credit for or
in something that was purpose before we were born. God gets
all the glory, all the glory for our salvation and deliverance
as He is. And this is the cause of every
believer's redemption. Now David's cause was not to
glorify himself. His cause was to glorify his
God, whom this uncircumcised giant Philistine defied. And
I want us to look closely and slowly and deliberately at verse
28. I have no intentions to keep
you longer than 28 minutes, and we're already a few minutes into
that. But let's take our time, especially here at verse 28. And Eliab, his eldest brother,
David's eldest brother, heard when he, David, spake unto the
men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why
camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left
those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness
of thine heart, for thou art come down that thou mightest
see the battle. Now here we see that Eliab's
words are full of accusations. He makes several. And in most
cases, when men and women don't really attack the truth, the
gospel, because they risk being exposed of their personal interpretation
of the scriptures, the most common method of attack is assaulting
the messenger. Like Eliab did David. These assailants have specific
weapons in their arsenal that are designed to make the believer
question themselves as to their motive. Their allegations, their
charges, their claims always go to the heart of whatever believer
knows of his own estate. The buttons they push are designed
to get maximum results and extreme reactions. You know, over the
past 12 years, I've received many emails, even some phone
calls of invitation for our church to join in with other local churches
in an effort of evangelizing the city of Madisonville. And
as a pastor, I've been invited to participate in prayer groups
and pastoral associations. And I know that when I declined,
and every time I did, I know that these men who invited me
and asked me, though they didn't come right out and say it, they
thought, who does this Bible Baptist church think they are?
What is it that makes them think that they're so special or exclusive? Well, to such accusations, we
can only reply, is there not a cause? There is a reason and
it's a serious matter. By God's grace, we're not gonna
participate in man's mutual admiration society and strive to strip and
take the glory that belongs to God alone for ourselves. I'm
not gonna cry, Lord, haven't we done many wonderful works
in your name, only to hear him reply, depart from me, ye that
work iniquity, I never knew you. Why? Because there is a cause. And that cause is the glory of
God in Christ. Man's works are exactly what
the Lord calls them. They are works of iniquity. And
those who do them are workers of iniquity. Now, as I said in
verse 28, we have several accusations of Eliab against David. And some
of them probably sound very familiar to you. I'm sure you've been
accused of the same things. Now first Eliab accuses David
of showing up where he's not wanted. He says, why camest thou
down hither? David's very presence seems to
have convicted Eliab. He proves himself to be a coward
here. He professed to belong to God,
he professed to be a believer, but he found no cause in God's
glory. And it seems what Eliab heard
David say was that he was an impatient coward with no cause
or conviction. Eliab didn't want to be reminded
of what he was. What Eliab was saying was, why
are you here, you little pest? And that's the reason many people
today hate the true gospel, because it reveals man to be what he
really is. He's a sinner. who in and of
himself has no need or cause for Christ and his deliverance.
Why, he's content like Eliab to stand on the sidelines, thinking
that he and Jesus got a good thing going on. Now, secondly,
Eliab accuses David of irresponsibility. He says, with whom have you left
those few sheep? Who do you think you are? You
should be home attending to your little insignificant job, caring
for your few sheep. Not here confronting us with
unbelief, being holier than thou, little goody two shoes. And when
David said, who is this pagan, this Philistine, uncircumcised
Philistine, that he should blaspheme God? What Eliab heard is why
are you sitting on your hind end and doing nothing? And I
say it often, and it's true, and you know it's true, we know
it's true. People tell on themselves when
they speak. You just have to listen to people,
and they tell on themselves. Without meaning to, they often
reveal what they truly believe, or I should say, what they don't
believe. And David declared that God must
be glorified, and Eliab reveals that he had no interest in the
glory of God. Do you? Do I? Thirdly, Eliab accuses David
of pride. Now, this is a tough accusation
because all of us are full of pride. It's just a fact. It's
a difficult accusation for any to deny. But David here was standing
for the glory of God. But yet, to some degree anyway,
David admits there's pride in him. It's in all of us born of
woman. David says, what have I done
now? Did you notice that in verse
29? That word now suggests that this
was not the first time he'd been accused of pride. And listen,
being a sinful man, that's what he was. He's no different than
you and I, apart from the grace of God that God granted him. He had been prideful at one time
or another. Who hasn't? Matter of fact, I
can't think of many times that I haven't been proud. Pride is
mixed with everything, just like sin is. It's mixed with everything
that we do. And didn't Paul tell us and warn
us that men and women by nature would be lovers of their own
selves? That's pride. Cubbages, bolsters,
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
it's all because of pride. without natural affection, truth
breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that
are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, full of pride. That's what that's
talking about. Lovers of pleasures more than
lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof. Why, it was pride that brought
about Satan's fall. Desiring to be like God, Adam
fell in pride. Pride is the cause of rebellion
and self-reliance and self-righteousness and contempt for others. And
like the Pharisee in the temple praying thus with himself, we
thank God that we're not like other men. Pride isn't just a
sin, it's the gateway sin. It leads to all sin. It's not
something to celebrate, friends, it's something to repent of.
The Hebrew word for pride means lofty, arrogant, presumptuous. The arrogance of your heart has
deceived you, Obadiah, chapter one, verse three. The wise man
Solomon said in Proverbs 16, 5, everyone that is proud in
heart is an abomination to the Lord. Hand in hand, he shall
not be unpunished. John speaks of the pride of life
in 1 John 2, 16. The Lord Jesus said, for from
within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murder, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit,
lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from
within and defile the man. Mark chapter seven, verses 21
through 23. Fourthly, I would have you notice
that Eliab accuses David of an evil motive. He speaks in verse
28 of the naughtiness of David's heart. Now remember, David here
is defending the glory of God. Eliab tells David that his heart's
evil. Those who know the truth and
gladly give God all the glory will often be accused of evil
motives. When one refuses to join in with
a multitude of people who deny and defy God, they'll be accused
of having self-righteous and evil intentions, most every time. They'll be considered and called
holier than thou. Oh, you just think you're holier
than everybody else. And isn't it absolutely amazing
that when one refuses to listen to their God being defamed, that
they're labeled as evil. David said, is there not a cause?
And then fifthly and lastly, Eliab accuses David of not really
being interested in God's glory, but his own glory. He said, you
came down just to see the battle. Now Eliab knew deep down that
David was a warrior. He was a fierce warrior, having
slain the bear and the lion. Don't you think his family knew
about that? You better believe they did. And Eliab here is accusing
David of seeking to promote his own fame and win the hearts of
the people for his own glory. He said, that's why you come
down. You came down here to see the battle. You came down here
to stick your little nose into this and try to make a name for
yourself. Friends, we live in a religious
world. We're doing nothing more than
bringing food to the brethren as David did. And at the same
time, we defend the glory of our great God. That is our cause. And isn't that a great cause?
When Satan hurls his darts of accusations against us, and even
those of our own household, our own family, accuse us of pride
and evil. Like David, we mustn't defend
ourselves. Our words just must be plain
and direct as David's were. And we say, is there not a cause? Is there not a cause to feel
this way? Is there not a reason to believe this way? There are
gonna be moments in our life when our calling and our courage
and convictions are gonna be challenged. And not by the enemy,
but by our own brethren, our own family. I find it very interesting
and somewhat disturbing that before David ever faced Goliath,
he had to face Eliab, his older brother. Before he could silence
a giant, he had to ignore the small-mindedness of someone in
his own family. In a world where so many are
content to sit on the sidelines, David reminds us that there is
a cause worth fighting for. Eliab was older, he was trained,
He was a soldier in the army. He was present at the battlefield,
but he remained unmoved. Instead of defending his God,
he belittled his brother. We should never be surprised
when opposition comes from within this religious world. Our Lord
faced the same opposition while he was on this earth, and he
was here to save and deliver his people from the giant sin. When David asked, is there not
a cause? He's saying, this is not about
me. There is something bigger at stake. And there is brothers
and sisters. This world's a whole lot bigger
than just you and me. May God enable us like David
to stay focused because there's a cause. Keep your eyes on the
bigger purpose. For the sake of righteousness,
the sake of truth, the name of the Lord Jesus and the salvation
of his people, there's a cause worth us fighting for. May we never quit and walk away. David had every reason to do
so. He was mocked, he was minimized,
he was misjudged, but the cause was greater than the conflict.
Now was it guilt on the part of Eliab that caused him to act
this way? I'd say so. He had the stature,
but he didn't have the spirit. He was in the army, but not in
the fight. Was it jealousy that brought
about these actions? I'd say it probably was. David
was anointed. Eliab was overlooked. Was it insecurity? It seems David's
courage exposed Eliab's cowardice. Well, whatever it was, we must
not let it stand in the way of our cause. Oftentimes, a believer's
faith exposes the unbeliever's fear. And we live in a day much
like the time of Goliath. The name of the Lord is being
defied. At every turn, men are lying
on the Lord Jesus Christ. God's people are being mocked.
There are few who have the courage to stand up. David said, if nobody
else will stand, I will. Is there not a cause today? It's
the same cause as in David's time. A cause of truth in a time
of lies. A cause for righteousness in
an age of compromise. A need for revival in lukewarm,
at best, religion. A cause for the gospel in a generation
that's drowning in sin. And as we'll see in our next
study, the Lord willing, David just didn't talk about the cause.
He acted upon it. He faced the giant. He took the
risk. He trusted his God. His one act
of courage changed the destiny of a nation. And the cause of
Christ is not won by spectators. It's carried out by soldiers.
The gospel won't be advanced by the passive, but by those
willing to step onto the battlefield. David's cause was that he loved
the Lord. He loved the God of Israel, and
he was filled with indignation that this giant would defy Israel
and their God. In verse 26, David said, for
who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies
of the living God? David's confidence was not in
himself. We have no confidence in the
flesh. David knew who the Lord was. The Lord is from whom his
courage came. And it's the same with us. Have
we forgotten who our God is? We're not saved by the sword
or the spear. Look at verse 47. For our battle
is the Lord's. He'll give our enemy into our
hands. That's our comfort. That's our
assurance. Salvation's not by works. I want
everyone to know that. Is there not a cause? Salvation's
not dependent on anything that you or I do. What a cause there
is for us to cry out, salvation's of the Lord. That's our cause.
A man attended our church a year or so back, and he asked me what
our church creed was. This is our church creed, salvation's
of the Lord. The battle is the Lord's, not
ours. Our battle's not won by human
effort, word, or strength. The battle is the Lord, salvation's
of the Lord. This is our creed, this is our
cause. We exist to make this message
known. The reproach of sin has been
taken away. It's our cause to let this be
known to needy sinners. Christ was manifest to take away
our sins. It's our cause to point sinners
to Christ. In Him, there is no sin. He was
made to be sin for His people so that His people might be made
the righteousness of God to Him. Is there not a cause? That's
our cause. Our Lord's cause was to put our
sin away, to die the just for the unjust, that He might bring
us to God. For when we were yet without
strength, Christ died for the ungodly. That was His cause. But God commended His love toward
us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This was
His cause. But when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made under
the law. Why? To redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
That was His cause. For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world, but now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. Friends, that is our Savior's
cause, and this is our cause. I leave you with this, to let
sinners far and wide know that they're not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold from the vain conversation received
by the tradition from their fathers, but we're redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ as a Lamb without blemish and without spot, who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you. Who by Him do
we Do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave
him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. This is
our cause and our purpose in this life. This is the reason
we exist. This is what really matters.
So may God be pleased to use this small group of believers
of Bible Baptist Church in Madisonville, Kentucky, to stand for the cause
that God has given us in Christ, and that's to tell sinners far
and wide that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus
Christ, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.