Our Father, we thank You that
we can approach Your throne, not in ourselves, but in the
Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, His blood and righteousness,
His broken body, trusting in Him as our High Priest to intercede
and advocate for us. Lord, receive us for Jesus' sake
and bless us for His sake today. Open Your Word to us. Help us,
Lord. to hear from you, to understand your heart, to know what you're
truly like, and to see you in our Savior, and to be thankful
for this salvation that finds us even in our sin and rebellion
and saves us in spite of us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Now I went to Luke because Luke contains a piece of the event
that we That we went over last time, two weeks ago actually,
in Matthew chapter 21. Jesus rode into Jerusalem and
the people shouted, Hosanna! There were a great number of
people there because he came openly showing himself to be
king, and there was a good reason for that. He was come to deal
with sin. And as our king, he destroyed,
he defeated our enemies. And the people didn't understand
that's what kind of king he was, but when he came and made himself
known, it's seen in that way. Now in Luke chapter 19, it says
here in verse 41. The Pharisees in verse 39. were greatly distressed, and
they told Jesus that he should quiet his disciples. And Jesus
said, if they hold their peace, the stones will immediately cry
out. And then in verse 41, And when
he was come near, The Lord Jesus, riding on this colt, this young
ass that was the son of a mother that they had taken, both of
them, together. And He was riding on this young colt. It says,
when He was come near, He beheld the city, the city of Jerusalem. Thousands, literally thousands
of people thronging around and crying out to Him. And He beholds
the city, and He wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong
unto thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes. For
the day shall come upon thee that thine enemy shall cast a
trench about thee, And compass thee around, and keep thee in
on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground. And
thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee
one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of
thy visitation." So we want to consider these words here. The
city of Jerusalem. In the distance, Jesus looks
at the city on His way to the cross. While people are acclaiming
Him as the King. And shouting to Him in His name,
Hosanna, O save us. O save us, Son of David, the
Christ of God. They were acknowledging that
He was the Christ of God openly. without any possibility that
anyone would not know about this event. So that when He came and
was taken and was crucified, all the city would understand
that He came as a King, giving Himself to save His people from
their sins. But here, we see our Lord Jesus
Christ pausing and weeping over this city. And He says why He
weeps over it, if you had known. Even, even you, at least in this
thy day. You see, the Jews had a long
history of rebellion against God in the light, in the face
of His goodness. And God had, over 1,500 years,
had brought against them the consequences of their sins through
enemies who would come in and destroy many of them, and take
from them, and carry them captive. And God would bring them back,
and He would bring them low. They would cry to the Lord. He
would save them. And this happened repeatedly.
I don't know how many times. Times without number in scripture.
And yet, here the Lord Jesus Christ comes, the Christ of God,
promised from the foundation of the world, spoken to Eve and
Adam. And throughout the history of
Israel, in so many ways, in their laws, in the shadowy types of
the sacrifices, and the priesthood, and the kings, and the prophets,
and all these things, speaking of the same thing, Christ would
come, and here He came. These people were privileged
above all people in the world. God didn't give He didn't give His law to other
people. He gave it to the Israelites.
He didn't give the sacrifices to others. He gave them to the
Israelites. He didn't give them the fathers, Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob. He didn't give them the kings.
He didn't deliver others from their enemies. He saved the Israelites
from theirs. He didn't deliver other nations
out from under the hand of Egyptians by blood and by the plagues.
He saved Israel. He didn't bring other nations
through the Red Sea or through the wilderness and give them
a land they didn't work for. He gave that to the Israelites.
These people were privileged above all the people on the earth.
They heard the Word of God day in and day out. And they heard
it was about Christ. And what did they do when the
Law came to them and convinced them of their sin? What did they
do? They, instead of seeking refuge
from the One who who would smite them in their conscience by his
own law. They sought refuge in idle gods. They found something
that they could construct themselves, called the works of their own
hands. And they gave those things the credit for bringing them
out of giving them all things, providing for them and saving
them. They gave those things credit,
the works of their hands credit. where only God should have received
credit from them. And now the Lord Jesus Christ
comes. If you had known, even this, in this thy day, if we
just take all the history up to this point, and assume that
it was all wickedness, which it was, and yet you, even in
this day, if you had turned, if you had known, if you had
known, this day of your visitation, then you would have been spared. But you didn't know. You did
not know. He says in verse 44, Because you knew not the time
of thy visitation. And so Jesus wept over the city. Now, it is amazing that people
would be so obstinate against the truth of God. Isn't it? Isn't
it amazing? How could people be so spiritually
stupid? Don't you wonder about that?
But there is something more amazing in this scripture. And that is,
how could the Lord Jesus Christ weep over this city? Did you
ever wonder why the Lord Jesus Christ weeps? Especially here. There are three places in scripture
in the New Testament where the Lord Jesus Christ weeps. And
this is one of them. The other one you know is in
John 11.35, the shortest verse in all the Bible. Jesus wept,
remember, at the grave of Lazarus. And then in Hebrews chapter 5,
remember it says that in the days of His flesh, when He had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears
unto Him that was able to save Him from death. And He was heard
and that He feared. Those three times are the times
when Jesus wept in Scripture. But this morning I want to look
at this one. Why did the Lord Jesus Christ
weep over this city? Because these people, these people
had rejected Him and soon they would crucify Him. They had turned... Think about what Jesus had done
here. He had shown compassion on the leper. He had shown compassion
on the woman's only son who had died and was carried to the city.
He showed compassion on those fainting and the sick. He showed
compassion on all these people throughout His ministry. People
would come to Him and He would show compassion. On the blind
man, He showed compassion and opened His eyes. Over and over
again, Christ shows compassion on those people. And yet, what
do they do here? His compassion meant nothing
to them. The fact that He told them the truth meant nothing
to them. The fact that He did miracles among them meant nothing
to them. The fact that he came as God
to serve and to lay his life down for them meant nothing to
them. And so he weeps over this city, because he knew... He knew
that they turned away from the only salvation there was. And
as a consequence, their city was going to be laid in absolute
ruin. He's going to... The Romans were
going to come in approximately 35 years after this. And they
were going to level the city. There would be not left one stone
upon another. And all the people in the city would be killed.
Millions of people killed in the city. And Jesus weeps. He weeps. But you say, as I said,
as I was thinking about this, isn't the Lord Jesus Christ God
Himself? Doesn't He control everything
in this universe? Yes. He works all things according
to the counsel of His own will. And can't He, doesn't He know
the end from the beginning? Doesn't He know what's going
to happen? Nothing surprises God. Everything happens according
to His will, doesn't it? Yes it does. He knows, from the
beginning of the world, He knows His works. And so we wonder,
how could the Lord Jesus Christ then, as God, weep over this
city? Doesn't He know they were going
to reject Him? Didn't He come? And wasn't it
God's will that by wicked hands He would be taken and slain and
crucified? Yes. And yet He weeps over this
city. Isn't that amazing? I think there's
two kinds of weeping for people that are loved ones that we have
in this life. There's two kinds of weeping.
There's weeping for those we love, who are believers, with
whom we have fellowship, and whose lives are lost. And we
weep over them, don't we? Whenever Martha and Mary wept,
and were distressed, at the death of Lazarus and Jesus
comes there, they were weeping. And you might say, well, it was
because of their unbelief. If they would have just known
that He was going to rise again, if they would have just known
that He was absent with the body, is present with the Lord, they
would have been comforted. It's because of their unbelief
that they were weeping. That's not true. They wept. And Jesus, at that time, wept
too. Because He saw their sorrow. He, our Lord Jesus Christ, felt
their sorrow. He Himself took our infirmities
and bare our sicknesses. When the Lord Jesus Christ healed
someone, when He raised someone from the dead, when He took the
uncleanness of a leper, it cost Him something. And one of the
things it cost Him was a deep, genuine compassion from the perfect
man, the Lord Jesus Christ, who never did anything wrong. Everything
He did, was exactly according to the heart of God. He wept.
Not only with Martha and Mary then, but he wept here. And you
think about that. Now, Jesus Christ is a man. But He is also God. And as a
man, when we run into troubling situations, we often think, if
I could just do something for you. I see your pain. I see your
suffering. I see your sorrow. I see your
discouragement and your distress. And I want to do something for
you. If I could just do something for you. All I can do is say,
I feel for you. I'll pray for you. And it feels
so small, doesn't it? But here the Lord of Glory stands
in human form. And He has all power in heaven
and earth. And He sees and He weeps. He weeps with Martha.
He weeps with Mary. And then He weeps for this city.
The first thing we ought to know from this is that the Lord Jesus
Christ truly feels what His people feel. Isaiah 63, 9 it says, "...in
all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence
went with them." In all the ins and outs of the wilderness, when
the people of Israel were afflicted by God because of their foolishness,
the Lord was with them. He was afflicted. In Canaan,
all these times, God was with His people and the Lord Jesus
Christ had compassion on them. And so, this is so important
for us to understand. 1 Peter 5-7 says, Casting all
your cares upon Him, for He careth for you. Hebrews chapter 4, he
says that we should know that our High Priest can be touched.
He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He is touched. Therefore, we come boldly to
the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find help and
grace in time of need. Every time, as believers, that
we are burdened, know this, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is
burdened for us. I can't explain that, but I know
it's true. The man who was here weeping
and weeping at Lazarus' tomb, who hung on the cross and rose
from the dead, is the man who sits on heaven's throne and he
is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Therefore we
should always come and pour out our hearts to him first and foremost. To the Lord Jesus Christ. Come
to Him, our Father, our Savior, and just pour it all out. Every
burden. Unburden your heart to Christ. Because He has a heart of compassion. And seek His will. So we ask
the question again. Why was the Lord Jesus Christ
weeping over this city? I could see weeping with Mary
and Martha. They were His friends. He loved
Mary. He loved Martha. He loved Lazarus.
And there was a purpose for him waiting until Lazarus died to
go, to be with them, because it was for the glory of God.
There was a purpose for that. But here, these people now, he's
facing this time where these people are going to be rejected
by God ultimately, and their city is going to be laid waste,
they're going to be destroyed. As I said, there's two kinds
of weeping. We weep for those we love who are believers because
when we lose them in death, we miss them, don't we? If you've
ever lost a dear loved one as a believer that you had intimate
fellowship with, when they're gone, You miss that, don't you? That
sweetness where you can talk about things openly, heart to
heart with them. And they know that deep sense
of frustration and discouragement and the guilt of sin. And that
they also know the power of the blood of Christ on our conscience
to take away all of that. And when they're lost, we don't
weep for them, but we weep for ourselves, don't we? But sorrow,
we just can't help it. And it's not a bad thing. But
yet there's another kind of weeping and it seems almost a deeper
kind of weeping. When we look at that loved one
in the eye and they cannot hear the gospel. And they go on. Trying to find medicine or a
bandage for their sin. And they don't take their case
to Christ. And we weep for them now. And
if we ever lose one, there's never a greater sorrow, is there?
Than that sorrow that comes from knowing that that loved one was
gone for eternity and never knew the Lord Jesus Christ. David was a man after God's own
heart. Remember him? Saul was David's
enemy. Remember Saul? He wouldn't think
there was anything in Saul that David would find worth weeping
for. And yet, David wept for Saul
and for Jonathan when they died. Look at 2 Samuel chapter 1. 2 Samuel chapter 1. When David did things in scripture... I'm always amazed because he
did things that I wouldn't have done. And yet I know he had a
heart like God's heart. And I think, oh man, I wish I
had a heart like that. Look at verse 11, 2 Samuel 1.
David took hold on his clothes when he heard that Saul and Jonathan
had been slain. He took hold on his clothes and
he rent them and likewise all the men that were with him. And
they mourned and wept and fasted until even for Saul and for Jonathan
his son. And for the people of the Lord,
and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the
sword." Saul gave every evidence of being reprobate. An unbelieving,
lost sinner. And yet David wept for him. Look
at verse 17. And David lamented with this
lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son. Also he bade
them teach the children of Judah. the use of the bow. Behold, it
is written in the book of Ash of Jasher. The beauty of Israel
is slain upon thy high places. How are the mighty fallen? Tell
it not in Gath. Publish it not in the streets
of Ashkelon. Lest the daughters of the Philistines
rejoice. Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised
triumph. You mountains of Gilboa, let
there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields."
Sorry. Or fields of offering, for there
the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul
as though he had not been anointed with oil." You see, I'm not going
to spend our time on that, but do you see how David wept for
Saul? And for Jonathan? He goes on with Jonathan. It's
a bitter lamentation. But it's a different kind of
weeping, I think, for Saul than it was for Jonathan. Look at
2 Samuel 18. And the last verse. You know
the story of Absalom? A son that was admired by the
Israelites for his physical beauty. And yet he had a treacherous
heart. And he even tried to take over the kingdom from his father.
But listen to verse 33. After he heard the news that
Absalom was killed, he said, And the king was much moved,
and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he
went, thus he said, O my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom,
would God I had died for thee. O Absalom, my son, my son. Do you see that weeping there?
That's not the weeping of a wicked man doing things in opposition
to the will of God. That's David weeping. Look at
Jeremiah. Chapter 9. Jeremiah chapter 9. Jeremiah
is a book like every, just about every book in the scripture,
but especially the book of Jeremiah. It says that in Jeremiah, the
people of Israel, the people of Judah, were going to be carried
away captive by the Babylonians, many of them killed. And all
of this for their Historical and present-day obstinate refusal
to turn from their idolatry and turn to the Lord. It was willful,
it was long in their rebellion. And God had patiently over many
years had told them to turn. And now He finally brings upon
them this destruction. And Jeremiah lived for many,
many years telling what God was going to do. And listen to what
Jeremiah says in chapter 9, verse 1. "...Oh, that my head were
waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day
and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." You see
what Jeremiah is saying here? Oh, I have to weep for these
people. If you read the book of Lamentations,
you get it. Jeremiah weeping for these people
as if there was no... There was no comfort for him.
He wept for these people. Remember what Paul said in Romans
chapter 9? He says, I say the truth in Christ,
I lie not. My conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost, I have great heaviness and continual
sorrow in my heart. For my brethren, my kinsmen according
to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption,
and the glory, and the service of God, and the fathers, and
all these things." He lists the covenants and everything. He
says that he wept for them, he sorrowed for them greatly, because
he knew that in their own experience they had rejected the only Their
only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, had all these privileges. Turn
to the book of Ezekiel. I'm going to spend the rest of
our time looking at Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 18. And we will read this. I want
to read through the whole chapter here and comment as we go. It's
very clear what's being said here in Ezekiel chapter 18. But
this echoes sinful man and the sadness of sinful man. The
way that he raises up objections to God and falsely accuses God. Ezekiel chapter 18. There's a
reason for looking at this chapter. And I'll tell you why. At the
very end it says, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth,
saith the Lord God. So we want to understand this
chapter. There's five different cases in this chapter that God
gives to shut the mouth of these proud people. who sinned against
Him. Five different cases. Let's read
the first four verses. This is a sermon by Ezekiel to
the people from God that convinces them that God is just. He says
in verse 1, "...the word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
What mean ye that you use this proverb concerning the land of
Israel saying the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's
teeth are set on edge? You know what it's like when
you eat something like a grapefruit or something like that and it's
like your teeth feel real weird. It makes your gums hurt if you've
got recession like I do. Here they say, the fathers ate
the sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on it. That's a
proverb. They meant something by that. It was like an accusation
against God that they had distilled into a proverb. Verse 3, As I
live, saith the Lord God, you shall not have occasion anymore
to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all the souls are mine. As the soul of the father, so
also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. What is God saying here? The
people were saying, we are suffering because our father sinned. Because
God visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the
third and the fourth generation. As it says in Exodus chapter
34 verse 7. But God says, no. No, that's
not why you're dying. You're dying for your own sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. And now he's going to prove this
in several examples. There's five of them given. The
first one starts in verse 5 and ends in verse 9. Let's read it.
But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
and hath not eaten upon the mountains... To eat upon the mountains means
to worship idols and to eat what's offered to idols. neither hath
lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither
hath defiled his neighbor's wife, neither has come near to a menstruous
woman, and has not oppressed any, but has restored to the
debtor his pledge, has spoiled none by violence, has given his
bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with his garment,
and he that hath not given forth upon usury, that's interest,
taking a poor man's Loaning money to a poor man and then taking
interest to leave him in poverty and enrich yourself. Neither
hath taken any increase that hath withdrawn his hand from
iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments to deal
truly. God says he is just. He shall surely live, saith the
Lord God. Alright, there you have it. These guys, they all
want to use this proverb. They want to accuse God. They
want to say, we're innocent. God's bringing all this trouble
upon us for the sins of our fathers. God is unjust. Do you ever hear accusations
like that? Maybe we think them. If it weren't
for Adam, I wouldn't have been a sinner. God is unjust. He made
me do it. God is sovereign. He could have
kept from creating me as a sinner. He didn't have to make... You
know, we do that, don't we? We run through these things in
our mind. God answers it here. No. If a man does these things
right, he's just, he'll live. Verse 10. Second case. So here's
a man that's righteous. What does God say? He says he'll
live. Case 1. Verse 10, but if that man, he
says, if he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood,
and that doeth the like to any one of these things, that he
just listed, and doeth not any of those duties, but even hath
eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor's wife,
hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, Has
not restored the pledge and has lifted up his eyes to idols.
Has committed abomination. Has given forth upon usury and
has taken increase. Shall he then live? He shall
not live. He hath done all these abominations.
He shall surely die. His blood shall be upon him."
What's God saying here? Okay, here's a man. He's righteous. He does everything right. And
he lives. And then he has a son. And his son... He just does all
sorts of wickedness. And God says, that son will die
for his own sins. Is that clear? How clear is that? That's perfectly clear, isn't
it? The son, the father, wasn't punished for his son's sins.
The son wasn't punished for his father's sins. The son was punished
for his own sins. So that's clear. Now in verse
14. Another case, case number three.
Now this wicked son has a son. Now, lo, if he beget a son that
sees all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth
and doeth not such like, that hath not eaten upon the mountains,
neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of
Israel, has not defiled his neighbor's wife, neither has oppressed any,
has not withholden a pledge, neither has spoiled by violence,
but has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked
with a garment, has taken off His hand from the poor that hath
not received usury nor increased, has executed my judgment, has
walked in my statues. He shall not die for the iniquity
of his father. He shall surely live." Here's
a son. His father's wicked. His grandfather
was righteous. His father's wicked. And he sees
what his father's done. He doesn't do it. He does what's
right. And God says, he's going to live.
He's just. Where's the inequity in all of
this? And so in verse 18, as for his
father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence,
and did that which is not good among the people, lo, even he
shall die in his iniquity. His son's righteousness didn't
help his father. His father dies for his own iniquity. Yet you say, why? Verse 19, doth not the son bear
the iniquity of the father? When the Son hath done that which
is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath
done them, He shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. The Son shall not bear the iniquity
of the Father, neither shall the Father bear the iniquity
of the Son. The righteousness of the righteous
shall be upon Him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon Him.
Those are three cases. Do you see them? A man who is
righteous has a son who is wicked. That father has a son who is
righteous. And the wicked die and the righteous
live. Pretty clear. The wickedness of the wicked
are upon them, the righteousness of the righteous are upon them.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Even though God is sovereign
and all the souls are His, it pleases God to deal with men
on the basis of strict justice. And then in verse 21. But if
the wicked, now this is case four, if the wicked will turn
from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes,
and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live,
he shall not die. All his transgressions that he
hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him. And his
righteousness that he hath done, he shall live. Have I any pleasure
at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord God, and
not that he should return from his ways and live? Here is the
mercy of God. Now we have someone who is wicked.
But he turns from his wickedness and God says he doesn't even
mention his former sins. And he's given life. And God
sums that up and he says, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but that the wicked turn. In verse 23. So far, what do
we see here? That sin is our own fault. When we're punished for our sin,
it's for ours only. We can't say, I'm punished for
Adam's sin. No. God says, no you don't. Because
here, if a man saw his father was wicked and turns from that,
he lives. And here's another man who's wicked and he turns
and he lives. You're punished for your own sins. That's what
he's saying. Absalom died for his sins. David didn't suffer. He didn't die for Absalom's sins.
He couldn't. God is just. And then, it says
in verse 24, something even more ominous. He says, "...but when
the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits
iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that
the wicked man doeth, shall he live?" All his righteousness
that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass, that
he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them
shall he die." Oh man, here's a man who went about doing all
these good things and suddenly he just goes off the deep end
and he commits wickedness. And God says he's going to die
for his wickedness. And then let's sum it up here
by reading the last part where God sums it up. Yet you say that
the way of the Lord is not equal. That means it's not just. Here
now, O house of Israel, is not my way equal? Are not your ways
unequal? When a righteous man turns away
from his righteousness and commits iniquity and dies in them, for
his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the
wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed
and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his
soul alive. Because he considereth and turneth
away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall
surely live, he shall not die. Yet sayeth the house of Israel,
the way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my
ways equal? Are not your ways unequal? Therefore
I will judge you, O house of Israel, everyone according to
his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from
all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast
away from you all your transgressions whereby you have transgressed,
and make you a new heart and a new spirit. For why will you
die, O house of Israel? I have no pleasure in the death
of him that dieth, saith the Lord God, wherefore turn yourselves
and live." Alright, so those things are pretty clear, aren't
they? Now, they might be clear, but they might leave us with
a ton of questions. Do they leave you with questions?
If the righteous man is spared for his righteousness and lives,
if the son who sees his father was wicked doesn't do his father's
deeds, but he does righteousness and he lives, and if the wicked
man turns from his wickedness and does what's righteous and
he lives, then don't you feel that maybe you're afraid to admit
it, but that sense in your own heart, is there any hope for
me then? Because I find myself... So overcome
by the smallest sins that they constantly bombard me. Doesn't
that sort of ring back in the depth of your conscience? What
shall I do then? What hope is there for me? But
understand a couple of things in this chapter. Very important
chapter. Because in this chapter we see
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. And the
word pleasure doesn't mean satisfaction. God is not satisfied with the
eternal punishment of the wicked. We know that because they go
on eternally being punished. But the word here is not satisfied.
It's delight. God takes no delight in the death
of the wicked. Why? Because God would rather
that the wicked obey, turn and obey and live. That's what He's
saying here. Isn't that the plainest language?
But the wicked turn and live. And yet the wicked will not turn
and live. Isn't that the case? Now there
are five cases here and think about them. There's a righteous
man who lives. His son is wicked. He sees his
father's righteousness. He dies. That father has a son
who sees his father's wickedness and he lives. And then there's
a wicked man who turns from his wickedness and he lives. And
finally there's a righteous man who turns from his righteousness
and he dies. You see those five cases? What
does it mean? Understand. Understand this. There is none righteous. No,
not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. They're all gone aside.
They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Can any of us say, I have been
righteous, therefore I will live. Or, I have been wicked, now I'm
righteous, therefore I will live. Can any of us even say that with
any degree of honesty? If we do, we're completely blind. Because the scripture tells us,
there's not a good man on earth who sinneth not. There's not
a just man on earth who sinneth not. Ecclesiastes 7, verse 20. And so all these things are teaching
us something very important. That with God, He's absolutely
just. In fact, look at a couple of
scriptures. Look at Romans chapter 2. This is the argument in Romans. The book of Romans starts out
convincing men of their sins. Romans chapter 2. He says...
Verse 6. God will render to every man
according to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance
and well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal
life. But to them that are contentious
and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation,
and wrath, tribulation, and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth
evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile, indiscriminate
justice, but glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh
good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile, for there is
no respect of persons with God." You see, that's the same thing,
isn't it? But here we have something else. We see in this, you can
never understand the Old Testament unless you start from the New.
Unless God reveals His, He gives His own interpretation of the
Old Testament. In the New, we cannot understand
the Old. Don't you know that's true? In
the book of Galatians, God proves no man is justified by the deeds
of the Law. No man is justified by the deeds
of the law. Look at one verse with me. The
most convincing verse to this. Galatians chapter 2. Just one
verse. I don't want to exhaust you here. But look at this. In Galatians
chapter 2 and verse 21. Listen, these are God's words.
Paul says, I do not frustrate. That means I don't nullify or
make void. I don't make it for no reason. I do not frustrate. I don't make it of none effect. I don't reject it. I do not frustrate
the grace of God. For if righteousness come by
the law, then what? What's the conclusion? Christ
died for nothing. His death is in vain. Therefore,
if righteousness doesn't come by the law, and Christ died,
how does righteousness come? Is it not by the death of Christ?
It has to be. He hath made him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Five cases. The first one, the
man was the father and he was righteous. The first one listed.
Who can you think of in all of the history of the Jews who was
a father of the Jews who was righteous in God's eyes? Was
it not Abraham? Wasn't he righteous because he
believed God? He was righteous because he saw
that God was going to perform all that God required for him
in his substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he believed his substitute. He looked to him. He believed
God and God said he was righteous. Isn't that what it says? "...to
him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness." The one he believes, that God-given
faith in Christ. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, counted
to him for his righteousness. Abraham is the father who was
righteous and he lives. And then he had a wicked son.
Who was that? Oh, the nation of Israel, who didn't believe
Christ. They went on to establish their
own righteousness. All their history is full of
idolatry and rebellion against God. They had all these privileges.
The prophets coming to them day in and day out. They kill the
prophets. And what do these people do who are convicted by the law?
They run to idols to hide their shame under the covering of an
idol who will accept their works and not reject them. Instead
of God who is just and only does right and will not accept any
for his works, but only accepts a man in Jesus Christ. Because
they didn't seek righteousness in Christ. The whole nation Wicked,
unlike their father, Abraham. And then this nation, unbelieving
nation, who has a son. And that son sees the iniquity
of his father and does what's righteous. Who is that? Isn't
that the publicans and the harlots in the days of Christ who come
and they're baptized by John the Baptist. And they hear what
he says. And they repent and they say,
I've got to be saved. And here God is saying that there's
salvation in Christ who's coming. John the Baptist says, behold
the Lamb of God. And these publicans and harlots
flock in. And the Lord Jesus says to the
woman in John 8, neither do I condemn thee. Why? Because there's nothing
to condemn her for. He took her sins to himself.
And so that son who saw his father's wickedness, and he himself was
righteous, are those believing in the nation of Jews, who then
see that all of the iniquity of the history of their fathers,
and their own iniquity, and they turn to God in Christ. And the
Lord gives them the righteousness of Christ. They're counted righteous.
They live. And then there's the righteous
man. So that's the third case, right?
And then there's the other man who's wicked and he turns from
his righteousness. Who's that? He's already wicked.
He starts out wicked. That's me. That's every Gentile. We're wicked. We were without
God. Without hope in the world. Without
Christ. Alienated from the life of God
by the hardness of our heart. And read Romans 1. This is the
way we are. We're just making idols. We're
an idol factory. Making things that we give credit
to. And receiving consolation from
things that are not God. Our free will, our works, whatever
it is. That's what we do. That's us. Wicked who hear the gospel and
turn to Christ and lay their all upon Him. Lord, receive me
for His sake alone. I have nothing. Your wrath against me is just,
but save me for His sake. And then the last one. What is
this? Righteous man. Who starts out righteous and
he ends up doing wickedness and dies for it. Who is that? That's
the Jews who hear Jesus in His day. And they think in themselves
they are righteous. Look at Romans chapter 9. Romans
chapter 9. This is a sad, sad thing. It's a sad thing for Paul, for
David, Jeremiah, these men who weep for these people who go
on in their foolish unbelief. He says in verse 31 of Romans
chapter 9, which followed after the Law of Righteousness, has
not attained to the Law of Righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought
it not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the Law. For
they stumbled at that stumbling stone, as it is written, Behold,
I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever
believes on him shall not be ashamed." These are the Jews. who Paul went to and he preached
Christ to them. And some believed and some didn't
believe. And those who didn't believe are these who trusted
in their own righteousness. They tried to come to God and
establish a righteousness by keeping God's law. Verse 1 of
chapter 10. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. But I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge, not according to the revelation of God in Christ.
For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Here these people
turn back to the book of Jeremiah. Here these people are so hardened
in their sin. They think their sin is not that
bad. They think that God is not that
good. And so they don't need Christ.
They hear the gospel. They see Christ's miracles. They
see all the things. They see the apostles and the
power of the Holy Spirit. They see the Gentiles being turned.
They see all these things. And what do they do? They stiffen
their neck. They harden their heart. Jeremiah
chapter 5. And they will not turn. He says
in verse 3. of Jeremiah 5, O LORD, are not
thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but
they have not grieved. Thou hast consumed them, but
they have refused to receive correction. They have made their
faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return.
You see, that's, look at chapter 2, I'm sorry, chapter 3, and
verse Verse 3, Therefore the showers from heaven, that means
the blessings of God, have been withholden, and there hath been
no latter rain, for thou hast a whore's forehead, thou refusest
to be ashamed. What he's saying is, a woman
who gives herself in prostitution, is unashamed by it. You talk
to her and try to get some kind of reading on the meter of our
conscience. There is none. It's just like
an iron head. That's what these people were
like. You can just read through the first few chapters of Jeremiah.
You can find example after example here. How God sent His prophets
to them. They would not hear. In fact,
killed them. And these prophets, what did
they do? They are like Jeremiah. Look, guys, judgment is coming. Judgment is coming. You're going
to be taken. You're going to be destroyed. But God's going
to save a remnant. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
coming. He'll be called the Lord Our
Righteousness. Righteousness is found in Him all through the
book of Jeremiah. The book of Ezekiel. The New
Covenant. God's going to do things that He does all by Himself.
And He's going to finish them in His Son. And these people,
well, I'm not that bad. Why do I need that? They hear
the Gospel and don't believe it. They don't believe it. Isn't
that what Hebrews says? Look at Hebrews. Just a couple
more verses here. And I'll let you go. Hebrews
chapter 2 and then Hebrews chapter 4. Look at Hebrews chapter 2.
Just the first couple verses. Therefore we ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at
any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels
was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompensive reward, how shall we escape? If we neglect so great
salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord
and was confirmed to us by them that heard him." Look at Hebrews
4. "...let us therefore fear, lest
a promise be left us of entering into his rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached
as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit
them, because it was not mixed with faith in them that heard
it." You see what God is saying here? The Lord Jesus Christ as
a man. A perfect man. He looks upon
these people. He knows they are headed for
judgment. He knows God's judgment is coming. He doesn't say stoically,
well you know, they were refusing the gospel. So let them get what
they deserve. He felt for them. They were his
brethren after the flesh. Just like Paul. Just like David.
Just like Jeremiah. He wept for them. These examples
of Paul and Jeremiah and David. of all that could be given. These
are just examples. of the true heart of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He weeps for these people. He
would have them turn and not perish. And they will not turn.
It's not because of lack of compassion on Christ's part. It's because
of man's foolish, hardened unbelief on our part. Isn't that the case?
Look at Proverbs. One more place in Scripture. Proverbs chapter 1. He says in verse 24, Proverbs
chapter 1, "...because I have called, and you have refused,
I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded, but you
have said it not. All my counsel, and would none
of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock
when your fear cometh, when your fear comes as desolation, and
your destruction comes as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come
upon you." What's God saying here? stretches out his hand,
but when he stretches out his hand, after a time he withdraws
his hand of mercy, and then he leaves us to receive the punishment
our sins deserve. How can we be saved then? We're
all sinners, there's none righteous, how then can we be saved? Only
by sovereign grace. You see, that's the only way
we can be saved, because we're no different than these Israelites.
Paul says in Romans 3.9, what then? Are we better than they?
No, and no wise. We're all under sin. We're all
self-righteous. Unless the Lord opens our eyes,
we'll remain in the hardness and blindness of our heart. But
these people found fault with God because He was just. How can we find fault with God
because He's just? Well, because He's strict. Well, yeah, He is strict because
that's what justice is. If God was not just and punished
the wicked, then He would be letting... He would be compromising
His own nature because you are wicked. What would you have to
say about a God like that? But we can also say this about
our God, that He turns us from our sins. He turns us from our
sins, graciously giving us life and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah said, Do thou it for thy name's sake,
for our backslidings are many. We have sinned against thee."
And then he says, "...we acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness and the
iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against thee.
Do not abhor us for thy name's sake. Do not disgrace the throne
of thy glory. Remember, break not thy covenant
with us." The plea here is for God to turn us. Don't you remember
all those scriptures? Turn us again, Lord God of hosts,
cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved. Our only hope
is if God in sovereign grace, He won't find anything in us,
but in sovereign grace turns us from our wicked perversity
and stubbornness to look upon Christ and find in Him our only
hope. May God give us this grace and
hold us in it. and not be like those who fall
away. May we hear the voice of our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and follow Him in God-given faith, trusting Him only, and
rejoice in His salvation. Because when we do, when we see
our wickedness and that God saved us for His mercy alone, it will
sober us. It will make us grateful. It
will cause us to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And we will bow
with our faces in the dust and say, Lord, thank you for saving
this center. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we pray
that we would have a heart like your heart. That we would have
compassion on our brothers and sisters. And we would love them
with a love that knows that they're loved by the Lord Jesus Christ
who gave himself for them. We would forgive them and overlook
every fault. And we would see their great
need, and His great provision, and His great mercy, and know
that God Himself has received what Christ has done, and we
can also receive what Christ has done for them. Help us to
love one another, and help us also, Lord, to have compassion
on our loved ones who are unbelieving still, that they might be turned,
like Paul. My heart's desire and prayer
to God for Israel is that they might be saved. Lord, we know
that You Do not take delight in the death of the wicked, but
that the wicked turn. Lord, we pray that you would
have mercy and turn us. Turn our children, turn our families,
turn our friends and our neighbors, and turn this nation. Dear Lord,
save us for Christ's sake. Make your glory shine in your
mercy and grace. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.