Habakkuk. We'll be looking at several verses
in this small book this morning. Habakkuk. The first verses that
we'll look at this morning will be in Chapter 1, so you can hold
your place there. I'm going to go over to Chapter
3 eventually, just kind of take a couple out of here and there.
This prophecy, this small prophecy concerned this man Habakkuk speaking
to God about the evils and the conquest of wicked men and how
they seem to prosper and how that worked with God being holy
and just. He said, if you're a pure eyes
and to behold evil, how is it all these things are happening?
And God is saying, look, I'm holy and everything works just
like I want it to and I'll give you rest. God is in control of all things,
all things. the sovereignty of God. But the
main two things I want us to see out of this book this morning
are the holiness and mercy of God. The holiness and mercy of
God. The greatest concern for the
church, for believers in Christ, should be wrapped up into this
question, who is God? Who is God? This is the foundation of all
theology, both doctrinal and practical. And if the church
is off on this point alone, who is God? That is like building
the walls outside of the foundation. The building itself will collapse
and not support any weight. Who is God? Anything that is not true About
God is an idol. True religion is knowing who
God is. How then can man know God? How can man know God? This is
what we should be concerned with. How is it that men know God? Or have a right knowledge of
God? Do you know God? And if you know God, are you
sure that you know God and that you're not deceived? How do you
know that you know God? The answer according to the Word of God
is very simple. You cannot know God. You cannot know God. The Apostle
Paul declares that he speaks the wisdom of God in a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom of God
concerning those things that God ordained before the world
began. How did he know the wisdom of
God? How did he know the hidden wisdom of God? And he said, I
could not know except the Spirit of God Himself reveal it to me. He said, those things that you
know about yourself, the Spirit of man knows the things of man.
Even so it is with God. Only the Spirit of God knows
the things of God. And how can you know the things
of God, who is eternal, except God reveal them to you. You cannot know God except He
reveal these things to you. The things of God, Paul said,
knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. He goes on to say, The
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him. Neither can he. Very simple grammar lesson here,
can. There's the word may, and then
there's the word can. May is if you want to or not. Can has the word ability attached
to it. No man has the ability to know
God because he is spiritually discerned. He's spiritually judged. How is it that no man can know
God? It's because you and I by nature
are spiritually depraved and cannot know God. No man can know
God by nature because we've been judged. When Adam fell, your
father, my father, when he sinned, we all fell in him and became
spiritually dead to the things of God so that we could not know
God. Wherefore, as by one man's sin,
entered into the world, and death by sin. So death passed upon
all men. For, here's the evidence of this,
for all have sinned. You sinned? Have you sinned?
There's the evidence you're dead. There's the evidence of the fall.
And Adam, in Adam all died. Now spiritual death does not
erase the knowledge that there is a God. There's altogether
a difference between knowing the God and knowing a God. Man by nature knows there is
a God. And anyone who denies that is
the biggest idiot I've ever seen. Stephen Hawking is an idiot. He's not a smart man. He's an
idiot. He's foolish. Denies the very thing the core
of his very being tells him. There is a God. There is a God. In Romans chapter 1, the apostle
says, by the creation we know there is a God and that he is
all powerful and he has authority. We know that. Man knows there's
a God. But because man is depraved, he does not know God. The scripture
says, he became vain in their imaginations and their foolish
heart was darkened. What is idolatry? Idolatry is
the worship of a false god. Everyone can understand that.
But idolatry does not begin with bowing down to wood or stone.
That's not where idolatry begins. Idolatry begins here, in the
mind. That's where idolatry begins. Your concept by nature, our concept
of God is idolatry. Idolatry. Man by nature is not
godless but rather a god factory. How many times have you tried
to talk to someone about God and they say, well that's your
opinion. No, you just don't know God. Man is a God factory. The natural
man believes that God is much like himself. Is your God much
like you? If your God's like you, He's
not God. Is that clear enough? He's not God. If God's like me,
He's not God. God tells He said, Thou thoughtest
that I was altogether such in one as Thyself. God is nothing
like you or me. Don't ever compare God to you
or me. The God of this religious age
is much like man, and He is not a God, but is a God to be pitied
rather than reverenced. When the scripture tells us that
God made man in His own image, He is not telling us that He
made us in the exact image of Himself. Are we eternal? That's God. He's eternal. Are you eternal? Is man eternal? No. No. You see, even the holiness that
Adam received was of God. It was not the same as God. So
man is created in the image of God, but not the very image.
And to think that robs God of His glory. Robs God of His glory. I wouldn't worship a God like
you. And you shouldn't worship a God like me. God's nothing
like man. Robs Him of His glory and reduces
Him to the status of fallen, sinful creatures. I'll show you
this. There are not two sovereigns. They're not two sovereigns. They're
not two people. They're not two in this whole
universe that has absolute free will. There's only one God. Now, if you have a free will,
then you are God. That's what you're saying. If
you have a free will, you're telling me God doesn't. There
can't be two free wills. And I know right now your will
is not free. I know that because my will is
not free. It's in bondage to our surroundings. It's in bondage
to sin. God alone is sovereign and God
alone is free. Free. Any God that has to be subject
to man is not God at all. Any God who is not in control
of all things, all people, at all time and eternity is not
God. Anything like that kind of God
is nothing more than the imagination of man. If your God is controlled
by you, your God is a figment of your imagination, and He's
not God. How then may we know the unknowable? If we must know God, how is it
that we who cannot know God can know God? How is that possible? Left to ourselves, we will reduce
God down to a measurable, minute creature such as ourselves. The
only way man is able to know God is if God chooses to reveal
Himself to you. That's it. You can kick, you
can curse, you can scream, you can do what you will, if God
chooses to reveal Himself is the only way you and I'll know
who God is. That's it. Therefore, the question of what
God is like, we cannot truly answer. Because everything I would like
in Him, too, is earthly. Right? I was reading in Ezekiel,
and Ezekiel, when he saw those creatures come down, the four
creatures with the wheels and everything, very intricate detail. But if you'll read that first
chapter, he says everything is the likeness of, or the appearance
of. He said they had the appearance
of burning fire. There was an appearance of a
throne, and there was a man. It was an appearance of a man.
He was stretching the language to try to understand the heavenly. He couldn't. He had to make it like something.
So we cannot answer what God is like, but I tell you what
we can answer. What God has revealed about Himself.
That's what we can answer. Who is God? He's exactly who
He says He is. That's who He is. Because God
in great condescension and by revelation has decreed certain
things about himself, certain truths. Now what are these truths
called? They are called attributes. Attributes. How is it that we may know God? We may know His attributes. What He has revealed to us in
His Word. In His Word. Now there are many
and several attributes that could in no wise I could... begin to
preach this morning. I'm only going to take two, and
I'm going to briefly take two, because there is a vast amount
in these two. But these two, I think, are vital,
and are specially seen in our text this morning. I want us
to see these two attributes of the holiness of God. Who is God? God is holy. I didn't say God does holy things. I said God is holy. And God is merciful. First of all, look at Habakkuk
chapter 1. In this contemplation of Habakkuk
concerning the evils that go on, he says this, Are thou not
from everlasting? In verse 12, chapter 1. Are thou
not from everlasting? O Lord my God, mine Holy One. Holy One. O Lord. Thou hast ordained them for judgment,
and, almighty God, Thou hast established them for correction. Thou art of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore, lookest
thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the
wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he. See,
there's the question he's asking. How is it, Lord, that you are
holy? I know this, you are holy. How
is it that you allow these things? God is holy. Then look over in
chapter 2 in verse 20, after the Lord gives his answer. Here's
the end of the Lord's answer. He says, woe unto them, verse
19. woe unto him that saith to the wood awake to the dumb stone
arise it shall teach behold it is laid over with gold and silver
and there's no breath at all in the midst of it but the Lord
is in his holy temple let all the earth keep silence before
him reverence Him. Why is the temple holy? Because
God's there. That temple was nothing. That
temple was built by man. The only thing that made the
temple in Israel holy was the presence of Almighty God when
He came and dwelt in it. God is holy. And when I say holy, don't think
of the best of men and then multiply it times infinity. That's not
holy. That's not holy. God is separate from all his
creatures in perfection and holiness. God is light and in him is no
darkness at all. No darkness, no sin, no imperfection
at all. He is holy and pure, righteous
and just. God's holiness is said to be
His chief attribute because it covers all of His other characteristics.
God's love is holy love. God's eternity is holy eternity. God's omniscience is His holy
presence. The power is God's arm, omniscience
His eye, mercy His bowels, eternity His duration, but holiness is
His beauty. The beauty of God is His holiness. Perfection. Perfection. Behold, the only true God is
pure and perfect. At the throne of God, the angels
sing, holy, holy, holy, O Lord of hosts. You know how often
they do that? Every second of every day since
they were created. They haven't stopped. He is absolutely holy. Therefore, God is holy by His
very nature. And listen to me. This is where
the rubber meets the road here. He, being holy, must punish all
sin. All sin. God must punish all
sins. All things were created holy.
Even Satan himself was made holy until sin entered him. Man was
made holy until sin entered him. And I tell you, that God has
written His law upon the hearts of all men, and He's written
it on tables of stone. He's written His commandments
to men, and this is it. This is the commandment of the
Holy God to you as one of His creatures. Love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
strength, with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
This is not asking. He's not asking for partial obedience. God, being holy, demands your
obedience. Demands it. God's not asking. You know, Eric, if you would
please just love me, Oh, Eric, please, just love me. God doesn't
ask you to love Him. He commands you. You're His creature. He made you. And He said, Eric,
you better love me. Anything that does not love God
with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their strength
and love their neighbor as their self, has sinned against a holy
God. And their sin must be punished. And I tell you, friends, sin's
not just your actions, it's your thoughts. Not just your thoughts, but the
very motive of your thoughts. before you think it. You sinned
even before you thought it. Therefore because God is holy
he must punish sin. Nahum 1.2 says the Lord will
take vengeance on his adversaries. He reserveth wrath for his enemies. Does that sound heavy? Because it
is. God is who God says He is. I'm
not going to make God to be something He's not. God is holy and He
will punish sin. Some of you will leave here and
dismiss what I just said. That's alright. You don't have
to answer to me. You will answer to God. I just
told you who God is. He's holy. You must love Him. You must serve Him. And I've
told you, you've sinned against God. Men believe God to be too merciful.
Well, that's the God of the Old Testament. No. That's the God
who is. He is holy. The unregenerate mind of this
generation sees a God much like an old man weeping over sin. Oh, oh, my poor babies have sinned. I guess I'll just let them go.
No. God cannot be holy and let your
sins go. Friends, God is not struggling
within Himself concerning His mercy and His holiness. I struggle within myself for
my kids, you know. I want to do them right, and
I want to be disciplined. I want to discipline them, and
yet I want to show tenderness and kindness. So there's often
a struggle within me. I tell you, there's no struggle
with God. When God sends a man to hell, he'll be just as happy
as he was from eternity. It's not going to bother him
a bit. God's mercy and God's holiness
are not at conflict with one another. They're perfectly in
tune with one another. Sin cannot and will not be pardoned
unjustly. Unjustly. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. There is no remission. God will
not have mercy at the expense of His judgment, His holiness. The soul that sinneth, it shall
surely die. Have you sinned against God?
Rhetorical question. I know you have. Because I have. way of sin against the almighty
holy God. Look at chapter 3 and verse 2
Habakkuk. Notice the result of this. Oh
Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid. Are you afraid? This prophet
was afraid. When you hear the holiness of
God The light of His holiness exposes you for what you really
are. Are you made afraid before God?
If you're not afraid, it's because you're already dead. If you have not heard the voice
of God, you won't reverence Him. You won't fear and bow before
him. Have you ever noticed that every prophet that saw the Lord
Jesus before his incarnation, you know what they said? They
fell at his feet as dead. Have you ever fell at his feet
as dead? You who despise the things of
God, who mock the gospel of God, You will not forsake your own
views and thoughts of your false God. God will destroy you. This is the plain and simple
truth of His holiness. May God open your eyes to see
it. May God reveal His holiness. Why? To show you His mercy. If you have never seen the holiness
of God, you'll never desire mercy. You must see the one to desire
the other. Look what the prophet said. Oh
Lord, I've heard your speech and I'm afraid. Oh Lord, revive
thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years.
Make known in the wrath, remember mercy. He's one mercy. Lord, I know you'll judge sin.
I know you'll... Where's mercy? I need mercy!
Do you need mercy? Good. If you need mercy, that's
real good, because God is... Just as much as God is holy,
I tell you, God is merciful. Merciful. Verse 16. Chapter 3. When I heard, my belly
trembled, my lips quivered at thy voice. Rottenness entered
into my bones. And I trembled in myself. That's
what happens when holiness comes. You see the rottenness of your
sin right down to the bone. There's not one ounce of you
that's pure. Not one thing you've done that's
holy. And you bow yourself in trembling before God and say,
have mercy. I need mercy. that I might rest in the day
of trouble. In the day of your vengeance,
God, I want to find rest. You want to find rest in the
day of His vengeance? Then I tell you, beg for His
mercy, because God is just as merciful as He is holy. Is there any hope for sinners?
Yes. Yes. Because God is merciful. When Moses saw the Lord, he was
in the cleft of the rock and the Lord passed by and he said,
I am the Lord, the Lord God. Merciful! That's the first word
he used. Merciful. That's good. That's stupendous. If you're the one in need of
mercy. Mercy, gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness, truth,
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression
and sin. All three of them. I like that.
He includes every one of them. And will by no means clear the
guilty. Do you see? Mercy and holiness. How can He be merciful and by
no means clear the guilty? I'm guilty. How is that possible? The mercy and holiness of God
may only be seen in one person. The only time that holiness and
mercy met together was in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is where holiness was wrought
in the person of Christ. He honored God's law that you
and I could never do. He honored and glorified and
magnified God in every way possible throughout His whole life. Every
thought, every motive, every deed of the Lord Jesus Christ
as a man. He represented God's elect and
He obtained righteousness by His very works. so that God could
not say anything but, I am well pleased with him. I am well pleased
with him. I am well pleased with him. He
obtained righteousness as a man. And not only did he obtain righteousness,
but he satisfied God's holy justice. All of that justice and wrath
that God is talking about, He's already executed in His holy
Son. God has a people, and He took
all of those sins, piled them all together in His holy arms,
and He put them in His own Son on that cursed tree, and He was
made sin for us who knew no sin. Why? That we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. There's mercy. There's one and
only one you'll find mercy in. Look and believe on Jesus Christ
alone and you'll find God's mercy. You'll find peace. You'll find
rest. What else could God's holiness
demand of us who are in Him? He has already satisfied God's
holiness. And you who believe on Him, He
makes us holy. Gives it to us free. This is the catch. It's free. It's free. Well, I've got to bring something
disqualified. You want to bring something,
you're automatically disqualified from it. This holy righteousness,
this blood-bought salvation is absolutely and utterly free to
everyone who needs it. Well, I need some of it. You
don't get any. Well, I've got to have some part.
You don't get any. Forsake your thoughts of God. You need to count them as they
are. Done. Forget what your grandparents
told you. What your mama told you, bow down and hear what God
says. It's absolutely free. And everyone who believes finds
forgiveness of sin. Not just any forgiveness. Not
the kind of forgiveness you give. What's the kind of forgiveness
you give? The kind where you bury the hatchet with the handle
sticking out? That's the kind of forgiveness you give? Because
that's the kind I give. I know it. I hate it. I despise it. This kind of forgiveness
is just. Remember, I said God is holy.
And if God punished my sins in Christ, how can He be holy and
punish my sins in me? Is that possible? No. My sins are gone. Gone. Never to be seen again
by God. Now I look in the mirror and
see them every day. But I know this, my savior hath
made me whole. And the holy God accepts me in
him. I'm so thankful. that when I stand before such
an holy God, He's going to open His arms and welcome me. Come, thou blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation
of the world. So that when the prophet comes
and he says, Oh, although the fig tree doesn't blossom, although
the vines aren't growing, although the labor of the olive tree fail,
although there's no meat in the barn, although everything in
this world dissolve away, I know this, my salvation is completely
sure in Him. Completely. He said, yet I will
rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. My God is holy and my God is
merciful. Is that your God? Because I tell
you that's the only God there is. Any other God's not God. Come to Christ. Come now. Come now. If you tarry till you're better,
you'll never come at all. May God bless us. Let's stand.
We'll be dismissed in prayer.