chapter 7. Last week we looked
at verse 13 and 14, and I'm going to read through 13 and 14 today,
along with the next few verses that follow it through verse
23. I read from Genesis, and I hope you keep those words in
your mind. There's nothing like reading
from the book of Genesis to remind you of the solemnity of what
happened when Adam and Eve first were in the garden and then sinned
and then the immediate sorrow that took place after that when
they had two boys and one of them killed the other one. What
sadness. Right at the beginning of the
book of Genesis, God says, He saw everything that He had made.
In verse 31 of chapter 1, He says, He saw everything that
He had made. And behold, it was very good. And then at the end
of the book of Genesis, it says, and they embalmed Joseph. And
they kept his bones there, and then they carried his bones up
out of Egypt, and they went back to go back to the land of Canaan
when they left. And you see from the beginning
of Genesis, all the life, and then you see how death entered
into the world, and you wonder, what happened? It's all between
those pages in the book of Genesis. What a sobering account of sin
in the light of God's goodness. Today we're going to be looking
at these verses here in Matthew chapter 7. I want to keep those
words in Genesis in our minds as we go through this. The title
of today's message is a warning for professors and an advocate
for sinners." A warning for professors and an advocate for sinners.
Whenever I use the word professors, I'm using it in the way that
they use it a lot in old time writings, and I apologize if
it's unfamiliar, but it doesn't mean you're a professor in college.
It means someone who professes something, but only professes
it and doesn't truly believe it. So this is a warning for
false prophets, really, and those that follow them, and an advocate
for sinners. This is what these words are
about. Look at verse 13 of Matthew 7. Now, as we read through these,
I want you to put yourself there on the hillside listening to
the Lord Jesus Christ with all the authority of God and all
of the humanness of a man speaking to us in these words. And take
these words as one, may God give us grace today to hear as a sinner. To hear his word as sinners.
Listen to what it says. Enter ye in at the straight gate.
That means the small, the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and
broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And many there
be which go in thereat. Because straight, very tight,
is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and
few there be that find it. Last week we read in Luke 13,
23 and 24, the same words are spoken almost. And Jesus says,
before He spoke these words, someone asked Him, Lord, are
there few that be saved? And then He gave the same words
here. Strive to enter in at the straight gate, for many shall
strive, shall try to enter and will not be able. So you see
right away that this gate, here in Matthew 7, is the gate to
life. That's what He says, which leads
to life. And in Luke 13, it's the gate
of salvation. Are there few that be saved?
So this gate has everything to do with life and salvation. So
it's that serious. He says in verse 15, "...beware
of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves." These are men who preach and
teach, but what they say is false. And they look. They look just
like God's people. When you look at them, you would
say, that's one of God's people. But inwardly, where God sees,
there are ravening wolves. A wolf seeks to hunt down and
destroy the sheep. They are out to kill and to destroy
the sheep. By what they say. By their words. Verse 16. Jesus says, you shall
know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns
or figs of thistles? That's a question that doesn't
need an answer, does it? We know the answer immediately.
Grapes don't grow on thorny bushes. Figs don't grow where there's
thistles. They grow on fig trees where they're smooth and easy
to get. God has blessed us with fruit where there's no pain in
getting it. The good fruit. And that's what
He's talking about here. These men don't bear good fruit. Inwardly they're ravening wolves.
So, He says, even so, every good tree brings forth good fruit.
But a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit. Neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. The stakes are infinitely high,
aren't they? Jesus says to bring forth evil
fruit, identifies a tree as an evil tree, and every evil tree
will be cut down and not just left to die on the ground and
put in the dirt, but actually cast into the fire. That's how
serious judgment is. And so he says, wherefore by
their fruits you shall know them. Now these were false prophets
he's speaking of, and he's warning us to identify them as such,
and he tells us to look for their fruits. And we read in Matthew
chapter 12 last week, as part of the narrow path and the broad
path, the narrow gate and the wide gate, how that the fruits that God speaks about here first
of all come out by what men think in their heart and say with their
mouth. In Matthew chapter 12, let's
just turn there real quickly to refresh your memory. I want
you to see this because we'll add to this. Matthew chapter
12, he says, In verse 31, "...Wherefore
I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven
to men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven
unto men. And whosoever speaks a word against
the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whosoever speaks against
the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this
world, neither in the world to come." Either make the tree good
and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit
corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit." And then he goes
on in verse 34, "'O generation of vipers, serpents, how can
you Being evil speak good things. What is the fruit he is speaking
of here? They speak good things. If they are vipers they cannot
speak good things. For out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh. What is it that we say? It's
what's in our heart. It's what we truly believe. A
good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good
things. And an evil man out of the evil
treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you that
every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment. Let's go back now to Matthew
7. Wherefore, by their fruit you
shall know them." Paul said, if someone comes to you and brings
another gospel, which we have not preached, let him be accursed. And he repeats it. Even if an
angel or an apostle speaks to you, he says to the Galatians,
another Jesus or another gospel which you've not heard, let them
be cursed. These are what false prophets
do. They pretend to be God's sheep on the outside, and they
look like it to the unsuspecting. But listen to their words. Deuteronomy
13, Moses warned the people. He says, God will be trying you. He will send false prophets among
you. They will work wonders. They
work signs. But if they speak to you in order
to entice you to worship idols, do not believe them. Do not believe
them. So listen to what they say. Are
they leading you into idolatry? Because that's the opposite of
the truth, is idolatry. If we're not worshipping God
in Christ, we're worshipping an idol. And it's deadly serious. The false prophets will be thrown
into the fire. And what will be of those who
follow them? Jesus told the Pharisees, you
compass sea and land to make one disciple, one proselyte. And when you have made him, you
make him two times more the child of hell than yourself. How important
these words are, aren't they? Look at verse 21. Jesus continues. He says, "...not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven."
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? And in thy name have cast out
devils? And in thy name done many wonderful
works? And then I will profess unto
them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you that work
iniquity." What is this scene? It's judgment day. And who are
those who stand before the Lord? Who are those he's speaking of
here? It's all men. He says in Romans chapter 14,
I'll read this to you. In Romans chapter 14, listen
to these words. In verse 10 he says, We shall all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ." And then in verse 12, "...so then
every one of us shall give account of himself to God." God told
Adam and Eve, do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil. They ate. What happened immediately after
that? God called Adam, Adam where are
you? And he says, I heard your voice
in the garden and I was afraid, so I hid myself. And God spoke to Adam. He held
him to account. He said, have you eaten? Have
you done what I told you not to do? That's God asking a question. That's standing before the Lord
of Glory, giving an account. And remember Cain? After he slew
and killed his brother Abel, God said to him, where is your
brother? And Cain says, I don't know. He's, am I my brother's keeper? And God said to him this question,
what have you done? That's the question. That's the
day of judgment. God is going to bring every soul,
every person, boy and girl, man and woman who has ever been born
into this world to his bar of judgment and require of them
that question, what have you done? And give an account of
yourself to God. And do you know what you're going
to say in that day? You know what I will say? We all will
have an answer, and it's given to us what we're going to say
in that day. We just read it in Matthew chapter
12. What is it? What is it we're going to speak?
What can we possibly say in that day? I know when I think about
going into a courtroom, it gives me a great deal of of solemnity,
and as I think about it, it makes me pause and think about the
seriousness of the situation. And you wonder, how can I give
an account to the judge? It reminds me of all the times
in my life where I've done something wrong, and you face your mom
or your dad, and you stand before them, and they look at you. What
have you done? What have you done? It's like
taking a final. And you're outside the room and
you're waiting for everybody else to go into the room to take
the test. And you're wondering, do I understand
what I'm going to say to write down on this final test? And you confer with each other.
What do you think about this? You put it all behind you. I've
got to go in there and answer for myself. All these people
outside the courtroom of heaven, waiting to go in and give an
account to God. And who can tell that there wouldn't
be groups of them forming outside? And this group, this group of
professors, who said what they said to the Lord. Lord! And they're
pleading for their lives in verse 22. Lord! Lord! Plead on. Plead on. And then they bring out To the
Lord, they ask Him the question, would you look at what we've
done? Haven't we prophesied? We have taught. We have preached. And what did we teach and preach?
In your name! These are not just your average
Christians. These are the teachers and the
preachers. What we know and what we do in the name of Jesus doesn't
guarantee that we're going to be given entrance into the life
on that day and saved. This gate is so narrow, it requires
the correct answer. What answer can sinners give?
The professors say, Lord, Lord! They're pleading and they ask
him to think about all the evidences that they have held in their
conscience, and they've carried these things as their trust and
their hope. I've prophesied in His name.
I've cast out devils in His name. In fact, I've done miracles in
the name of Jesus, which only by the miracle power of God could
I have ever done. They think back about that. They're
outside the courtroom. They're preparing their answer.
And those who have listened to them all their life are standing
around and hearing what they say. And they're thinking, oh
man, I wish while I was on earth I could have been like them.
Just like my pastor and my teacher. And they're preparing their words
to go in. And they stand before the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Judge of all. And there's no one behind Him.
No other appeal. Their answer will be the... His
judgment will be the final judgment ever given. They'll either hear
the words, depart, and it'll be a forever depart, or they'll
hear those words, enter into the kingdom prepared for you
by my Father. And here, these men stand, and
they have no good answer. They're false prophets. They
teach God's people to worship idols. This happened in the book
of Judges. Look at Judges chapter 6. This
is an amazing account in Judges chapter 6. If you remember Gideon,
God raised him up as a judge over Israel in the time when
every man was doing what was right in his own eyes. Judges
chapter 6. The issue began here because
those who followed Baal, those who had idols to Baal, had a
grove where they worshipped Baal. And God told Gideon, tear down
the grove and the idol. And he was afraid to do it, but
he did it. And so the men who served Baal rose up and they
wanted to kill Gideon. But his father stands up for
him in verse 31. And speaks to those men, those idol worshippers,
those Baal worshippers, and listen to the wisdom of Gideon's father. He said to them all that stood
against him, verse 31, Will you plead for Baal? Will you save
him? He that will plead for him, let
him be put to death, while it is yet morning, if he be a God. Let him plead for himself, because
one has cast down his altar." What these men were doing, they
were serving a God they made with their own hands. And they
had inverted the entire principle of who God is and who men are. And what is that that they did?
They came to Gideon in order to take his life. They were pleading
for their God to a man. to Gideon and to Gideon's father. They were pleading to men for
their God. They were men trying to save
their God, the works of their own hands. This is exactly what
the men in Matthew 7 were doing. They were trying to save the
remnants of all they trusted in by pleading for them. This
is what men do in false religion. They plead and they intercede
for their idols. They trust their own works and
they plead for them. Think of the Muslims. They fight
to defend their god, Allah, because he can't defend himself. They
plead for him. And then think of those who trust
in will. their free will, their works
religion. Men have to save their God by
deciding for Jesus, because Jesus can't save them unless they give
him permission to save them, unless they accept him. Men have
to make Jesus Lord, because he's not Lord over all. And they have
to allow him to do What it says in the scripture, none can stay
the Almighty's hand. They have to allow Him to do
things. This is exactly what's happening here in Judges 6. This
is what is happening in Matthew 7. Men create, they imagine. In the Old Testament, men created
physical idols. How many of you have ever been
tempted to fall down and worship a Buddhist idol? I dare say that
none of us have. And how many of us have thought
about even worshiping the... I'm trying to define the most
degrading word I can. The idols that the Catholic Church
creates in order to pretend that men, that they have something
over men that they can lead them to God by these idols. It's devil
worship. That's what it is. It's devil
worship. And all who trust them are like them. It says in Psalm
115. All who trust them. Idols don't
speak. They have mouths, but they don't
speak. They have ears, but they don't hear. They have hands,
but they don't handle. Feet, but they don't walk. They
have all these things. And then it says in Psalm 115,
They that make them are likened to them. How strong is your God? Well, if you can make Him, He's
no stronger than you. If you have to hold Him up, He's
no stronger than you are. But the true and the living God,
listen to me, dear sinner. The true and the living God,
He pleads to His own justice for His people. The true and
the living God saves His people out of their sin and out of their
idolatry. And so we see these things here
in Matthew chapter 7, and we wonder in the horror of the awful
situation, the seriousness of the situation, we wonder, and
we've, have you ever considered the fact that you are going to
stand in judgment, you yourself, before the living God, who sees
all that's in your heart? It says in John 2, 25, Jesus
did not need for man to testify of men, because he knew what
was in man. He's the one who searches the
hearts and tries the reins. The Word of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ, is the Word of God incarnate. The Word of God divides asunder
the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow, and opens
up and makes bare the thoughts and the intents of the heart.
God says, look at Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2. He says here that there's a day
coming, a day coming, when we have to give an account like
Adam, like Cain, like these men. And he says here in Romans chapter
2, in verse 4, He said, in verse 3, he says,
"...and thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such
things," and he had just given a long catalog of the things
that evil men do, "...and doest the same," you do the same that
they do, "...that thou shalt escape the judgment of God."
Do you think you're going to escape God's judgment? You who
judge others and do what others do, you know it's wrong. or despises
thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering,
not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance."
You sin against light, and you sin against God's goodness, and
you don't even realize that God's forbearance and longsuffering
in your life is a witness against you. that His goodness gave you
opportunity to lead you to repentance, but you didn't repent. But after
thy hardness and impenitent heart, Treasures up unto thyself wrath
against the day of wrath and the day of the revelation of
the righteous judgment of God who 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 unto them that are contentious
and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath. This is the justice of God, isn't
it? God does not pervert judgment. He goes on, look at verse 11,
for there is no respect of persons with God. It doesn't matter What
you think, God's law is fixed, His justice is unmoved, God will
judge objectively, there will be no tolerance for any deviation
from what God has said. We all must give an account.
Adam, where are you? Did you eat of the tree that
I told you not to eat? Cain, where is your brother Abel? What have you done? Sinner, think
about the time when you have stood even before your parents
and they asked you, what did you do? I used to tell my kids,
when you go out and you do things that your dad and your mom have
told you not to do, know this, that what you do is simply a
declaration of who you are. You can't help it. it comes out
of you. What answer will you give on
the Day of Judgment? I know the answer that you will
give, and I'll tell you what you'll give even today. But first,
before I say that, notice that the words in Matthew chapter
7, go back there, notice the words. He says, not everyone,
in verse 21, that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven. And then he says, many will say
to me in that day. When the Lord Jesus speaks like
this, what is He doing? He's looking at history before
history occurs. He's looking, what He says with
His words is future history. It cannot not happen. We all
will stand here. These men will actually say these
things. They'll rely on what they did
and they'll rely on the fact they did it in the name of Jesus.
These are Christian, professing Christians. That's why I said
this is a warning for professors. a warning for professors. Don't
trust in your profession. Don't trust in what you've done.
What will you say? What will I say in that day?
It's guaranteed what we will say. You and I will say whatever
is in our heart. Out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaketh. So you will say what you truly
believe in your conscience. what you've relied upon, what
you're depending on today. Because when death comes, you're
not thinking about all these things that God has given you
time now. As a sinner, He's kept you alive,
given you breath and heartbeat to live your life. And He's maintained
your life and given you light. in your conscience. So that like
the data recorder on airplanes, God in your conscience is recording
everything in your life and He's going to read it back at the
day of judgment. And you have to answer. And what
will your answer be? What can you say? This happened
in Job also. Look at Job chapter 8. This dilemma. It's a dilemma, isn't it? Why
does God require of us what we're already behind in? Have you ever
thought about that? It's like going in to take a
final, in order to get your license as an engineer, but you've already
flunked. Why should I even go in? I'm
not going to make it. Think about that. Look at Job
chapter 8. What happened with Job was terrible. God sent, allowed
Satan to afflict him in so many ways. He lost everything he owned. His cattle, his house, his children
perished. And then he himself was afflicted
in his body so that he had to sit down and scrape himself with
a pot shirt because the boils, it was horrible. And perhaps
the worst part is his wife came to him and said, why don't you
just curse God and die? Everything possible that could
happen to a man happened to this man. His own wife turned on him.
His children died. And listen to what his friends
said in Job 8. Bildad answered. He was a Shuhite. I don't know what he was. Verse
2. He says to Job, How long wilt
thou speak these things? How long shall the words of thy
mouth be like a strong wind? And then Bildad asks this question,
Does God pervert judgment? Or doth the Almighty pervert
justice? Look what's happened to you, Job. Does God pervert
justice and judgment? Draw your conclusion, Job. He
goes on and draws it for him. He says, If thy children have
sinned against him, and he hath cast them away for their transgression,
That is a low blow, isn't it? Here's a man in his affliction,
and he says, you've lost your children. Well, it was obviously
because they sinned against God. But if you, he says, the next
thing, if thou wouldst seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication
to the Almighty, if thou wert pure and upright, surely now
he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness
prosper. In other words, look what he
says in verse 20. He says this, Actually, I'm sorry, I lost the
verse I was looking for. But it says here, verse 20, Behold,
Bildad goes on, Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man,
neither will he help the evildoers. It's clear, Bildad's saying,
it's clear. Look at life. God punishes He brings evil on
evil doers and He brings good on good doers. It's clear, isn't
it? God is not going to pervert justice. He's not going to pervert judgment.
He won't punish a perfect man. You are being punished, Job.
And what would you say if you were Job? I know what I would
say. I am no worse than you. Take
a hike. Right? Because we get all self-righteous. We rely on our natural senses
and arguments in these things. Job wasn't that foolish. Job
was very wise. What did Job do? He understood,
yes, God is just. Yes, He's not going to pervert
judgment. Yes, He doesn't punish a perfect
man. But, the problem with what Bildad
was thinking was, if these things are true, if I could just keep
righteous before God, then God would bless me. True, true. We just read it in Romans 2.
They that seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal
life. But the problem that Job is facing
is he has to be honest. And he says in verse one of chapter
nine, Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth, but
how should man be just with God? Think about all the things you've
done and just pick out one. He says here in verse three,
if man will contend with him, with God, he cannot answer him
one of a thousand. It doesn't matter how many questions
are on this final. There's only going to be one.
What have you done? But it doesn't matter if there
were a thousand questions. You couldn't answer for one of
them. Not even one. What about the time you used
the magnifying glass to light the leaves on fire and tried
to burn down your dads? You can't answer for one, can
you? The lie you told your mother. The time you hurt your brother
or your sister unnecessarily. The time you lied. All the things
you've ever done. And they will heap up against
you. And Job says, I cannot answer
him one of a thousand. Not even one. Not even one. He says this, he goes on in verse
15. Well, he says in verse 13, if
God will not withdraw His anger, the proud helpers do stoop under
Him. If God doesn't restrain His anger, if He doesn't find
a way to take away His wrath, it doesn't matter who they are,
even the proud, The proud helpers, those who you could point to
and say, look at Joseph, or Daniel, or Saint blah, blah, blah, or
whoever. They surely will be able to stand
before God. When you read Romans 2 and you
read about all these things that God's going to judge every man
according to his works, you naturally think that somebody's going to
squeak through, don't you? No. The point of it is, and what
Bildad said but didn't understand, is that God is going to find
every one of us guilty before Him. He's already found us guilty
before Him. He says, there's none righteous.
No, not one. Not one. There's none that doeth
good. There's none that seeketh after
God. They're all gone out of the way. They're all together.
Every man is unprofitable. In Psalm 14, don't turn there.
I want you to stay in Job. In Psalm 14, he says this. I
remember thinking about this when I read this. He says, God,
let me read it to you right off the page. He says, the fool has
said in his heart, there is no God. I don't have to face God
in judgment. They're corrupt. They have done abominable works.
There's none that doeth good. And you think, boy, I'm glad
I'm not in that group. But that's not the point. The Lord looked
down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any
that did understand and seek God. And it says in verse 3 of
Psalm 14, they are all gone aside. They are all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. The point of God's law and every
requirement of God is to teach us we cannot meet one of them,
not one time. And the other half of it is that
God's justice demands an account from us, and we can't give the
account. Punishment is due to the sinner,
and we're sinners. Punishment will be given. What
are you to do? Job understood this. He says,
even the proud helpers. would stoop under him. And verse
14 of Job 9, he says, How much less I shall I answer? How can I answer him and choose
out my words to reason with him? Whom though I were righteous,
yet would I not answer, but I would make my supplication to my judge. And then look at verse 20 of
the same chapter. Chapter 9, verse 20. If I justify
myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me. If I try to say,
like the men in Matthew 7 said, Lord, Lord, haven't we? Haven't I? I remember that I
was told that if I had these evidences, then it would say
that I was a Christian. And I looked at my life and I
found these evidences. They said that I needed to walk
forward. I needed to decide for Jesus.
I needed to dedicate my life and commit my life. I needed
to witness. I needed to give. I needed to do all these things
and have sincerity. I think I did that." And the
Lord will say, I never knew you. Who are you? Depart from me,
you workers of iniquity. Why were they workers of iniquity?
Look back at Matthew 7. Because they used God's law unlawfully. They took God's law which is
meant to do what? To silence sinners. It says that
through the law is the knowledge of sin. Now we know that whatever
the law says, we know it says to them that are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped, silenced, and everyone become
guilty before God. And yet these men took the law
out and they tried to justify themselves with the law that's
meant to silence them. They use the law unlawfully,
and God uses their own words against them. That's what God
will do. He'll use our own words to condemn us. By your own words,
He says, every idle word that you speak, men will give an account
thereof in the day of judgment. So what are we to answer? How
can we, what are we to do here in this case? Look at another
verse in Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9 and verse 31. He says here in Romans 9.31,
He says, Here's what the nation of Israel did. That nation God
led out of Egypt, and kept them in the wilderness, and brought
them to the land of Canaan, gave them His law, gave them the tabernacle,
and the sacrifices, gave them prophets. And they had covenants,
and they had promises, and they had fathers, and they had, even
through them, the Lord Jesus Christ after the flesh came.
But, it says in verse 31 of Romans 9, Which followed after the Law
of Righteousness. They sought to attain to, to
achieve a righteousness that God's Law would recognize. He
says, they followed after the Law of Righteousness. Yet they
have not attained to the Law of Righteousness. Why? Next verse,
verse 32. Because they sought it not by
faith. But as it were, by the works
of the law, for they did what? They stumbled at the stumbling
stone. What is the stumbling stone?
It's the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, what Bildad didn't understand
was that, yes, God is just, yes, he punishes evildoers, and he
didn't understand that he himself was such a sinner that he couldn't
give an answer to God, and he didn't understand the more important
thing. that in only way a sinner can find hope before God is to
take his place as a sinner, guilty, condemned, worthy of death, and
helpless to do anything about it, and stand there before the
judge of all, needing an advocate. An advocate. Look at 1 John chapter
2. 1 John and chapter 2. And we're going to get to the
answer that these men should have given in a moment. 1st John,
in chapter 2. He says, My little children,
verse 1, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if
any man sin, We have an advocate with the Father. Who? Jesus Christ,
the Righteous. Who needs an advocate? Have you
ever seen those television programs where the detective brings the
guilty guy in and finally gets him to realize We're going to
pin you to the wall. There's nothing you can do about
it." And then he goes, oh shoot, I need to talk to my lawyer.
That's when you need an advocate, isn't it? When you realize you're
guilty and you can't give an answer to the judge. And what
does an advocate do? An advocate tells the accused,
sit down and shut up and don't say anything and don't move a
muscle. And then the advocate stands
before the judge. And if it's a righteous advocate,
that advocate will skillfully bring before the judge arguments
that give evidence to the fact that this one for whom he stands
is not guilty. So much so that the advocate
will plead with the judge on behalf of the accused and will
obtain from the judge the sentence of justified. And then the bailiff
will go over there and unshackle and take off the handcuffs and
say, you're free to go, you're justified. How did that happen? Because of my advocate. You see,
the advocate gave the only answer. Look at Romans chapter 8. The only acceptable answer that
a sinner can give has already been given by the advocate for
sinners. And I think it's 1 Timothy 3.16,
if I'm not getting it wrong, it says, there's one God and
one mediator. between God and men, the man,
Christ Jesus. There's only one advocate, Christ
Jesus, the righteous, and he will advocate righteously. He will take to the judge all
that God's law requires. The judge will look at the books
of the law. In the books of the law are nothing
but nothing else than the very nature and heart of God in his
justice. And he will look at those books
and the advocate will bring to the judge what only the advocate
can to satisfy the full justice of God. And the full righteousness
his law demands of every man. And the advocate will plead.
And this is what he will say. It's already recorded here. He says in Romans chapter 8, "...who is he that condemneth?"
You see that? Romans 8 verse 34 of Romans chapter
8. "...who is he that condemneth?" Now, I don't know about you,
but I've looked for this answer all my life, I think. Whether
I was actually looking for it, or just my conscience was so
raw knowing that one day I would have to stand before God, and
terrified that I would have to stand before God knowing what
I am. That's what the law of God is
meant to do. It's made to terrorize us. men talk of terror. There's nothing more terrorizing
than God's law on a guilty conscience. And so the question here is raised,
who is he that condemneth? There's just cause in me for
condemnation. But here, the question is, who
is he that condemneth? And this question is raised by
our advocate. And he says here, it is Christ
that died. You see that? That is the only
answer justice will accept. How do we know that God is just? It's Christ that died. How do
we know God is holy? It's Christ that died. How do
we know that God can accept sinners? Because it's Christ who died.
How do we know that all of my efforts to get better All the
things that men do that say that I need to do in order to make
myself acceptable with God. How do we know that someday I
couldn't achieve and move towards and finally get to that point
where God would accept me? Because the requirement is so
high, so much higher and far greater than you can ever give. Since God required His Son to
die, it's Christ that died. What can Adam say? I'm guilty. And then his advocate has to
come along and plead his cause. And plead his cause. Joash, Gideon's father, told
the worshipers of Baal, you plead for Baal. That's funny, isn't
it? That a man would plead to men
for his God? Aren't you thankful that God
has given His Son to plead His own blood for His people? And
in our conscience, in our conscience, God gives us faith to know that
all the answer God requires of us at judgment has already been
met, has already been answered in God's court of judgment by
the blood of His own Son. The punishment I deserve was
inflicted and brought upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The sins I
committed The sin that I am was made to come on the Lord Jesus
Christ. And God looked at him. And God
saw that he was sinned. And God punished him. He was
cursed. And he cried out, my God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? Jesus told these men, depart
in Jesus Christ from the cross. Why have you forsaken me? How
do I know that what Jesus did was for me? Because out of the
abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks. In your heart,
do you know and come to God with the answer that Christ gave?
Or do you come with another answer? Is what He did satisfactory to
your conscience that you can rest and lie on your pillow at
night and thank God Lord, Father, You've given Your own Son. When
I was Your enemy, You reconciled me to Yourself. By the death
of Your Son, You've done everything. You've made the Lord Jesus Christ
the propitiation for my sins. You have taken away Your wrath.
You've answered every claim of justice and met every requirement
in my Savior, my Advocate. And now He stands. And in my
conscience, I think of judgment. I think that I'm going to see
the face of my advocate and he's going to look into the records
and he's going to find, yes, he's guilty in himself, but he
had a sin covering. He had substitute, a surety,
who obligated himself and took everything on himself and met
every requirement and answered God fully. And he has given us
this faith to look to Christ only. And I find that everything
Christ did is all that I need. And I don't need anything else.
Look at one more verse in 2 John Chapter 1 of 2 John, verse 9-11. Look at this with me. He says,
2 John, verse 9, Whosoever transgresseth,
that means, to transgress means you've gone beyond the boundary,
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, It doesn't stay there
on Christ. He has to add something to it.
Not the simplicity that's in Christ. Not the singularity or
the onlyness that's in Christ. He needs something more than
he finds on the narrow way, which is Christ alone. Christ is that
way. He needs something else. It just
says that such a person does not have God. You see that? It's not like he's sort of an
ignorant Christian and he's going to make it somehow. No, he doesn't
have God. There's only one way. There's
only one truth. The gate is so narrow, God only
accepts the Lord Jesus Christ and those in Him. And so when
you think of these things, and you think about that Day of Judgment,
and you think even now, fall on your face, and like Job, how
can I answer? And pray these prayers in 1 John
2. We have an Advocate with the
Father, Christ Jesus the Righteous. And look in your Bible, and find,
is there hope for a sinner? Can a sinner plead the merits
of his Advocate, his Savior? It says in Psalm 119 verse 153,
Consider mine affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget
thy law. Plead my cause and deliver me,
quicken me according to thy word. Let's pray. Lord, we pray that you would
advocate for us that the Lord Jesus Christ would be our complete
answer. That what satisfies you would
satisfy our conscience. We would not pretend or think
or imagine we could come to you in any other way or worship God
in any other way than the way the Lord Jesus Christ has opened
for us by His own death and His own righteousness. All we have
to plead is that it is Christ that died. and has risen again,
and is even at the right hand of God, and also makes intercession
for us. And if the Lord Jesus Christ
didn't answer for us, surely we cannot answer for ourselves.
Lord, we pray, be our answer. Advocate for us, your people.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.