Alright, let's turn in our Bibles
to Malachi chapter 2. Now tonight, I really have one
verse that is my text, and that's verse 17 of Malachi chapter 2. In that text, in that verse of
scripture, we see one of the most important questions I think
a human being on this earth can ask and should be answered and
answered biblically. There's some negatives in this
verse and there's some positives. There's some of the thoughts
of sinful man here in this verse. Thoughts and questions and ideas
that arise from our natural misunderstanding and sinful natural sense of self-righteousness
and self-love. And then there's the question
that God poses and answers. And that's where our relief and
our comfort is. The question is this, and this
is the title of the message tonight, where is the God of judgment? Where is the God of judgment?
I believe if that question were asked in most churches today,
And they answered it honestly, they'd have to say, well, he's
really not around. We don't really believe in a
God of judgment, we believe in a God of love. But that is a
totally, totally unscriptural, unchristian way of thinking.
Now what I want to do, I'm going to deal with verse 17, but I
want to start, by way of introduction, by reading verse 17 and then
going into chapter 3 and reading the first six verses. Because
they go together. You might have, if you have a
Cambridge Bible, you might see a paragraph mark there in verse
17. That's probably where this should
be divided in its thought process, in its revelation. But let's
look at it. He says, you have wearied the
Lord with your words. Now he's talking about the people
of Judah in their religious exercise, in their prayers. Remember that
their day here that Malachi is preaching in is much like our
day. There's a lot of religion, but there's not much truth. There's
a lot of religious ceremony and exercise, but there's not much
grace, not much heart worship, worshiping in spirit and in truth.
There's a lot of reading of words, even words of God, but no thoughts
of Christ, the Messiah. who would come and satisfy the
justice of God by the mercy of God. And so this is what he is
saying here. You've wearied the Lord with
your words, yet you say wherein have we wearied him? How have
we wearied him? That's what they're asking. They
don't recognize it. And again, that's another passage
that shows the state of their hearts. They ask that question
each time an indictment is made. And man by nature doesn't realize
and doesn't know the reality of who God is and the reality
of who he is, our sins and our depravity. And certainly we don't
know by nature the reality of salvation by God's grace. We
don't know that at all. And so we would naturally ask
the question, well how have we done that? I'm doing my best.
I'm trying to worship. I'm bringing a sacrifice. I'm
doing what I think's right. So how have I wearied God in
that sense? The Bible says, the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he
know them. They're spiritually discerned. If you're spiritually
dead, how can you spiritually discern or understand or judge
anything? You can't. That's part of that
ruination by the fall. That's what total depravity is.
It's not that everybody out here in society is a raving lunatic
that ought to be thrown in prison. But it's just a simple fact that
by nature we don't know truth. We don't know the things of God,
the glory of God, the holiness of God. We don't know what we
are in ourselves and that the best that we can do is altogether
vanity. We don't know Christ. He said
you neither know me nor my father. He said this is life eternal,
they might know thee. The only true God and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent, that's salvation. But we don't know that by nature.
We don't know that by intellectual or philosophical pursuits. And
we certainly do not know it by religious pursuits. That's right,
man in his, you look at all the religions of the world, they're
all religions of salvation by works. Salvation by the will
of men. salvation conditioned on sinners,
in some form, fashion, degree, and time. So they asked, wherein
have we wearied him? Well, he says, when you say everyone
that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth
in them. It's the same thing today. Smile,
God loves you. God loves you, Christ died for
you. You see, that's not the preaching of the gospel. We preach
the love of God, don't get me wrong. Every time we preach Christ,
we preach the love of God. But I want people to know that
there is no love from God outside of Christ. We preach Jacob have
I loved and stand amazed, don't you? But you can't preach Jacob
have I loved without preaching Esau have I hated. Where's the
God of judgment, you say? So he says, when you say everyone
that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, you know,
you weary him, you dishonor him. And so he says, or where is the
God of judgment? Now they were asking that question
for a particular reason. But now let me give you the answer
here. Look at chapter three. I'm not gonna go into details
on a lot of this. in chapter three, the first six
verses, because I'm gonna come back Sunday night and preach
on these first few verses of chapter three. But what's happening
here is this is the answer. Where is the God of judgment?
Now, they're saying that because of their unbelief. They asked
that question because of unbelief. Where is the God of judgment?
Where's the God of justice? They didn't think God was acting
justly towards them. And so they're denying him. But
we can ask that question when we hear men preach. When you
hear me preach, you ought to know where the God of judgment
is. And if you don't, you would rightly ask the question, where's
the God of judgment? Where's the God who hates iniquity? Where's the God who judges justly? Well, here's the answer to it
all. Now, he says in verse 1 of chapter 3, Behold, I will send
my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me. And you know
that's talking about John the Baptist. I'll show you that when
we get into these verses. He was the messenger, the last
of the Old Testament prophets. And the Lord whom you seek, they
were looking for a Messiah now. That's what he's talking about.
You've been looking for the Messiah, and he's not yet come. And that's
one of the reasons they were angry and upset. Here they had
been out of captivity for about 125 years. The temple had been
rebuilt. The walls of the city of Jerusalem
were already rebuilt. And yet they were still under
foreign domination. They were going through a drought.
They looked around and they saw a lot of other people, heathen
people, prospering in many ways. And so they ask, where's the
God of judgment? And then they're looking for the Messiah to come,
but he's not yet come and delivered them from their troubles. And
he says, well, the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come
to his temple. We'll talk about that later.
Even the messenger of the covenant, that's Christ. He's the messenger,
the angel of the covenant, whom you delight in, behold, he shall
come, saith the Lord of hosts. Whom you say you delight in,
that's what it means. And then look at verse two. You
know, everybody names the name of Christ today, most people
do, that we know. All right? He says in verse two,
but who may abide the day of his coming? Now, who's gonna
stand in the day of his coming? Who's going to be accepted in
the day of his coming? Who's gonna prosper in the day
of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth?
For he's like a refiner's fire, like gold refined in the fire.
In other words, he's gonna purge away the dross, the impurities. And fuller soap, the fuller would
be like a laundry person, that soap is what he uses, that person
uses to cleanse things, so he's gonna cleanse. This, in other
words, you know what he's telling them here? I mean, it's amazing,
I think. You know what they were expecting,
don't you? It's like people today, and when they think of the second
coming. They were expecting the Messiah to come, you know how
they, in power, victory, overthrow their enemies, and pat them on
the back and say, well done, you fellas, you held it together
all these years. But see, Malachi, as the instrument
of God here, is showing the reality of it. No, he's coming to purge,
he's coming to cleanse, he's gonna clean this mess up. That's
what he's saying there. He's gonna purge this sin, this
sin you don't know you have. This sin you won't admit to.
And look at verse three, he says, he shall sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver, that's redemption. He says he shall purify the sons
of Levi, this priesthood that had led the people astray. Christ
is going to have a priesthood that's pure and accepted before
God. Now who's he talking about? He's
talking about his church. Purge them as gold and silver that
they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
That's an offering in Christ. He says in verse four, then shall
the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord. Now,
this time it wasn't pleasant. Remember the blemished sacrifices?
All of that. As in the days of old, as in
the former years when Moses gave it to him. Verse five, and I
will come near to you to judgment. I will be a swift witness against
the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against false swearers, against
those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the
fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right,
and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. So he's talking about
a purging of the land. Now see, all that that the Lord
is saying that he's going to do among the tribe of Levi and
in Judah and Jerusalem, they expected when the Messiah come,
he was gonna do that to everybody else. But not us, we don't need
that. We're the good guys. We're the
holy nation, you see. But Malachi says, no, he's coming,
he's gonna purge this thing out. All right? Verse six, has it
always been that way? For I am the Lord, I change not,
therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed." Now who are the
sons of Jacob? That's God's elect. Alright? That's what he's going to do.
Out of this purging is going to come a remnant according to
the election of grace. Now there's your answer. Where
is the God of judgment? Here he is. I'm going to send
the Messiah, Christ. That's where you find the God
of judgment. But now let's go back up to verse 17. And the problem that they're
having, there's two ways of viewing this. The first way has to do
with our natural ignorance and misunderstanding of God's dealing
here on this earth in providence. In providence. What is providence?
What does that mean? It means God's government of
things. That means, another way of saying
it, Ephesians chapter one, verse 11. He worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. Isaiah chapter 46, he said, I
purposed it, I will do it. That's providence. It's the determination
of God. It's the works, the mighty works
of God that happen 365 days a year, every year. Now, in this providence, as they
looked around and they saw things happening, and they saw themselves
suffering, even though they weren't counting their blessings now,
they weren't turning to the Lord, they were complaining, they looked
at the other nations, they saw them prosper, and they asked
the question that we all naturally ask, and that's this, why do
the heathen prosper? That's a natural question for
us. We don't realize that at first that, you know, the source
of that question is self-righteousness. You do know that, don't you? Because what you're saying is
they shouldn't be prospering, but I should because I deserve
better. So that's where it comes from.
You remember years ago, a Jewish rabbi wrote a book, very popular
book, said, why do bad things happen to good people? That's
a natural question, isn't it? Somebody said, well, why do good
things happen to bad people? You can take it either way. What
does God's word tell us about that issue? Something that no
man by nature wants to accept and believe. What's that? There
are no good people in God's sight. And that's who we're talking
about. I'm not talking about how I treat you or how you treat
me. That's a different matter altogether. I'm talking about
God's providence. That's what they're at. Where
is the God of judgment? What does that mean? What does
that judgment mean? Justice! That's what they're
talking about. Righteousness! That's the same word. Where is
the God? God, why aren't you treating
me fairly? That's what they're asking. Why
are you treating them that way when they deserve your wrath?
When they deserve hell? And God tells us there are no
good people found among men. There's none good, no not one.
There's none righteous, no not one. The rich young man, Matthew
19, remember what Christ said to him? He said, why do you call
me good? There's none good but God. I had a fellow tell me one time,
he said, well preacher, I know that verse is in the Bible, but
don't take that too far. We don't take it far enough.
That's the problem. And as I said, that doesn't mean
that all of us are out here as raving lunatics, you know, looting
and all that. No, that has nothing to, that
has to do with goodness as it is measured by God's standard
and the standard is himself revealed in Christ. Job 15 and verse 14, listen to
it. What is man that he should be
clean? What's he saying there? He's
saying man born of woman is not clean. He which is born of woman
that he should be righteous. Man born of woman is not clean
in God's sight and he's not righteous in God's sight. He's born dead
in trespasses and sin. He's born in Adam, fell in Adam. And so the psalmist asked this
question. Psalm 130 in verse three, I quote this verse all
the time. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who
shall stand? Now most so-called Christians
today, if they were honest, would have to rise up and say, me,
I would. But when the Holy Spirit convicts
us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, justice, We
know better, don't we? Turn to Luke chapter 13 with
me. Here's the problem. Luke 13. And this is what we won't accept
and believe and confess by nature. That's why it takes a mighty
act of God for a sinner to be born again and brought to a saving
knowledge of this truth. And that's this, that if God
ever at any time gave me what I deserve and what I've earned,
it would be the wages of sin. Romans 6, 23, wages of sin is
death. Look at verse one of Luke 13.
Our Lord speaking, there were present at that season some that
told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with
their sacrifices. Apparently this was a group of
Galileans, Jews, who come to worship in sacrifice on a given
day, and Pontius Pilate, that's who that is, sent his soldiers
to slaughter them, and so their blood was mingled with their
sacrifices. Verse two, now listen to it.
And Jesus answering said unto them, suppose ye, now is this
the way you reason this out? Now, you know, we're all the
time trying to reason these things out, aren't we? I do it, you
do it, how you figure it, you know. People say, well this is
the way I see it, now this is what Christ, is this the way
you see it now? Suppose ye that these Galileans
were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things.
Do you believe that they were more sinful than the rest of
the Galileans and then therefore deserved what they got? Is that
the way you see it? Now don't tell me we don't think
that way. We do, don't we? You know, I can remember these
preachers all over TV when Hurricane Katrina come through New Orleans,
that sinful city. You remember it. Famous preachers. Well, they've been sinning so
long and so much that God finally got them. That's the same thing. Is that what you suppose? Is
that what I suppose? Look at verse 3 of Luke 13. I
tell you, no! That's not it. But except you
repent, you shall all likewise perish. God didn't send that upon them
because they were more sinful than you and spare you because
you were less sinful than them, except you likewise repent. You deserve the same thing. Look
at verse four. of those 18 upon whom the tower
in Siloam fell and slew them. There was 14 people that a tower
in Siloam fell on. A natural disaster, we call it.
Think ye that they were sinners above all them that dwelt in
Jerusalem? I tell you nay, no, but except you repent, you shall
all likewise perish. What's he saying? He's simply
saying this. that if God gave any of us or
every one of us what we deserve, it would be the wages of sin,
death, condemnation, hell. And that it's this way, it's
of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. That's what he's
saying. And so when they ask back here
in Malachi 2, where is the God of judgment? Well, he's right
here. and always has been, and always
will be. He's alive and well. He's doing
right. You know, even in so-called Christianity
today, they have this kind of idea, you know, well, if you're
a Christian, then you ought to be free from all sickness, all
poverty, I hear preachers all the time, they'll connect physical
healing with the cross and they always quote Isaiah 53, by his
stripes you're healed. That's not talking about physical
healing. That's talking about spiritual healing. That's talking
about salvation. Healed from the bondage and the sorrow of
sin, the condemnation of sin. But they'll always connect it
and they'll tell you, now if you pray hard enough and you
believe hard enough and you send in enough seed money, you're
gonna be rich and healthy And if you're not, it's because you
don't believe enough, or you didn't sin enough, or you have
not because you ask not. That's James chapter 4 and verse
2, and he did say that. You have not because you ask
not. They take that out of its context, and they make it like
this. You're going to get what you
deserve, and they're going to get what they deserve. And turn
to Psalm 73. Look over here. Even we who are saved by grace,
now listen to me, even we who are saved by grace and who know
better have a hard time in these areas. Here's Psalm 73, listen
to this. He's talking about God's goodness
to Israel. But he says in verse 3, he says
in Psalm 73 verse 3, for I was envious at the foolish when I
saw the prosperity of the wicked. They don't deserve that. There's
a rich man who eats and lives sumptuously. And then there's
old Lazarus, a child of God, laying out at his gate, sick
and sores, the dog's licking his sores, begging for a morsel
of bread to eat. God, that ain't right. That's
what we think, isn't it? And he says, verse four, there
are no bands in their death. That means pain in their death,
but their strength is firm. I think what he means back then,
they had enough money to afford the pain medicine. They're not in trouble as other
men, neither are they plagued like other men. Now, you know,
really, we know better than this, but this is the way we see it,
you see. It's like I've told you about
a poem that I used to read in high school. It's one of my favorite
poems. It's called Richard Corey. And it said whenever Richard
Corey would walk down the street, we people of the pavement, we
regular poor people, we envied him. And they spend their whole
life envying Richard Corey. And then one night it says at
the end of the poem, Richard Corey went home one night and
put a bullet through his head. They were all fooled. But this
is the way we see it. But look, he says in verse 13,
look down here, verse 12 of Psalm 73. He says, behold, these are
the ungodly who prosper in the world. They increase in riches.
Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in
innocency. Now you see, this is a believer
talking here. This is sin, isn't it? He says,
for all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning.
I'm in trouble. I'm chasing and plagued. Verse
15, look at this. He says, if I say I will speak
thus, behold, I should offend against the generation of thy
children. But now look here, verse 16. When I thought to know
this, when I thought to really figure this out and understand
it, it was too painful for me. It was labor in mine eyes. You
see that in your concordance. It's labor. You know what he's
saying? I can't figure it. But now look
at verse 17. Until I went into the sanctuary
of God, then understood I their end. Then I understood how this
whole thing's gonna end up. Think about Joseph. His own brothers
put him down in the bottom of a well, drug him out, sold him
into slavery, He ended up with a good position, but then got
falsely accused, ended up in jail. Now you think of Joseph
through all those times. We're not really given his thoughts,
but I can pretty much assure you that they weren't always
good, because he was a sinner saved by the grace of God. But
when he understood the end of it all, you know what he said?
God, you meant it for evil. Now he told his brothers the
truth. God meant it for good. That's what he's saying right
here in Malachi chapter 2 and chapter 3. Where is the God of
judgment? Well let me tell you how this
whole thing is going to end up. You sweat the details of everyday
life and you're human. Now let me tell you something
folks, we wouldn't be human if we didn't go through these processes. Don't think that I'm trying to
preach to you tonight that if you don't go through these things
perfectly with perfect faith and perfect attitude all the
time, then you're not saved. That would be foolish. We're
getting ready to go into the book of Job. You ought to see
Job. You know, Job, God said he was an upright man. He was
a righteous man, a just man. He was a man of faith, but he
didn't always act that way. And neither do I, and neither
do you. But here's the answer. It is all going to end up to
the praise of the glory of God's grace in Christ. There's the
answer. Now, many say, well, that's not
good enough for me. Well, that's you. But I want
to tell you something. You search the world. Read the
books. Study the scholars. Enter into
the religions, you'll find nothing else that will satisfy the soul.
It'll always be an empty hole until God fills it with His grace.
That's it. You know, Job, and you know,
the issue in all this is the power and wisdom of God to make
all things work together for our good and His glory. That's
the issue. I can't make it all work. I can't make anything work.
But God makes it all work together for our good, our eternal good,
talking about His people in Christ and His glory. And that's the
answer. And you know, Job, even in the
midst of his murmurings and complainings and unbelief, he made that statement. He said in Job chapter 19 and
verse 25, for I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and though after
my skin worms destroy my body, yet in my flesh shall I see God,
whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and
not another, though my reins be consumed within me. I know
my Redeemer liveth. Well, there's providence. Well,
here's the second thing. in this thing about where is
the God of judgment. The second thing is in the matter
of salvation. In the matter of salvation. Where
is the God of judgment? The God of justice. The God of
righteousness. In Job chapter 25 and verse four,
the question is posed. How then can man be justified
with God? Or how can he be clean that is
born of a woman? That's the issue of salvation.
The Bible tells us that God is always a God of justice. Strict, inflexible, perfect justice. He cannot be otherwise. When
he saves a sinner, he must be just in doing so. Let me tell
you something, when the gospel is preached and we spread forth
the love of God in the preaching of the gospel, any preaching
of or thoughts of the love of God that denies, dishonors, or
overshadows His justice is no God at all. No God at all. when he told Adam that he could
eat of every tree of the garden except one he said but of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of
it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die
God of justice when he was going to bring wrath
down upon Sodom and Gomorrah And Abraham come to him and tried
to intercede for him. Abraham made this statement,
Genesis 18, 25, he says, that be far from thee to do after
this manner to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the
righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee, shall
not the judge of all the earth do right? The answer is yes,
he'll do right. He brought Lot and his family
out, but he destroyed the rest. Why did he do that? Because he
was angry or throwing a temper tantrum or just hateful? No,
he did it because he's a God of justice. He will do right by himself.
He's going to honor himself. He will do right by us. Do you
know when God saves a sinner, justice is honored and magnified
and satisfied. in the person and work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He will do right by his son.
All for whom Christ died shall be saved. That's justice. If
any sinner for whom Christ died would end up in hell, that would
be unjust. You mean to tell me their sins
are paid for? Righteousness is established
for them, and yet God sends them to hell anyway? That's injustice.
In Ezekiel 18 and verse 4, he said, Behold, all 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. It shall die. Righteousness must be established.
God always, Romans chapter 2 tells us, God always judges according
to truth. That's why I don't understand
these fellows who talk about imputation, the doctrine of imputation
like it's some kind of a fiction. You see, God judges his people
righteous in Christ. That's imputed righteousness.
for God made him to be sin. God judged his only begotten
son to be sin on the cross. That's imputed sin. God wasn't
pretending there. God made a judgment, and he judges
according to truth. Christ, on the cross, when he
died for his people, was absolutely guilty. He deserved what he got. I know
songs say that he doesn't, but he did. And he knew it too. That's why he opened not his
mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. He opened not
his mouth. He had no defense. He went there for the sins of
his sheep. Laid upon him. He bore our iniquity. He died the just for the unjust
because in himself he was just. But as our sin was charged to
him, he was made sin. He became guilty. He was made
a curse. for us. And now we stand before
God in Him righteous, really righteous. That's a judgment
that God makes. Now man won't make that judgment.
But God always judges according to truth, not play-like, not
pretense. It's true, folks. If you're in
Christ, you stand before God without sin. That's amazing. Cleansed, washed in the blood
of Christ. That's what he's talking about
here. He's gonna come, the Messiah, this messenger of the covenant,
and he's going to, like a refiner's fire, he's gonna purge out sin
and guilt like a refiner's fire. He's gonna cleanse us like fuller
sun. We're gonna stand before God
in his righteousness alone. Look over at Isaiah chapter 42. Look at this. Let me just show
you some scripture and I'll close. You see, this is the God of judgment,
the God of mercy. And understand this, the God
of love, the God of longsuffering, the God of grace is a God of
justice. He doesn't stop being just when
he justifies. Look at Isaiah 42. It says here,
this is a prophecy of Christ. He says, Behold my servant whom
I uphold, mine elect, that's Christ, in whom my soul delighteth,
I've put my spirit upon him, and he shall bring forth what?
Judgment, justice to the Gentiles. How's he going to do that? He's
going to satisfy justice for his people among the Gentiles.
He goes on, he shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice
to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth. You see, the coming of Christ
into the world and his death on the cross was not just a token
expression of love. It was the substitute. entering under the wrath of his
father for the sins of his sheep, it was justice and judgment and
truth being accomplished. Yes, there was mercy. Yes, there
was love. Yes, there was grace. But grace
reigns through righteousness, judgment, justice on that cross. He was under the judgment of
God for the sins of his people. And he satisfied justice. He
satisfied the law. Look at verse 4. He shall not
fail nor be discouraged till he has set judgment in the earth.
How is he going to do that? By dying on that cross. And the
isles shall wait for his law, his word. Look over at Isaiah
45. Turn over there and look at verse
of Isaiah 45. Look at verse 20. Now listen
to this. I always go to this verse when
I preach on this subject because this is the verse that when Brother
Mahan was preaching, I always call this my to-before verse.
You always heard if you got a stubborn mule, you got to hit him in the
head between the eyes with a to-before. Well, this is the verse that
God used to hit this old stubborn mule in the head with a to-before. So I call it my to-before verse.
But look at verse 20, assemble yourselves, come, draw near together. You that are escaped of the nations,
they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image
and pray unto a God that cannot say. Tell ye and bring them near,
yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
times? Who hath told it from that time? You see, this is an
eternal message. Have not I the Lord and there
is no God else beside me, listen to it, a just God, and a Savior. Both! Just and justifier. Paul wrote about it in Romans
chapter 3. The gospel is the preaching of the righteousness
of God. The judgment, justice of God
that was satisfied on the cross of Calvary by Christ for his
people. Why did he shed his blood? Because without the shedding
of blood, without justice, Without the wages of sin, there is no
forgiveness. A just God and a Savior, there's
none beside me. Look unto me, he says in verse
22. Look unto who? A just God and a Savior. One
who is both a righteous judge as well as a loving father. One who does that which is right
and good and true to himself as well as a merciful and faithful
high priest. Look unto me, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else.
Look over at Jeremiah 23. I read Jeremiah 9 in the opening
of the service. Look at Jeremiah 23. We've read
this verse several times, or these verses. Chapter 23, verse
5. Listen to it. You say, well,
where is the love of God? My friend, this is the love of
God for His people. This is it. Where is the God
of judgment? If you ever find the God of judgment
revealed in your heart by the Holy Spirit, you will also find
the God of love and mercy and grace. Because you're only going
to find the God of judgment, the God of justice in Christ. That's it. Look here, verse 5. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch. That's
a just branch. A king shall reign and prosper
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. You see,
you can't get away from it in the scriptures. Christ is going
to come and exercise judgment and justice in the earth, and
in his days, Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell safely, and
this is his name whereby he shall be called the Lord our righteousness. You see, that's why the gospel
is the preaching of the righteousness of God. Who is the righteousness
of God? For Christ is the end of the
law. For righteousness to everyone
that believeth. Romans 10 and verse 4. You see
that? Well, let's close with Romans
3. Turn over to Romans 3. Where is the God of judgment? He says here in Romans 3 and
verse 19, Here's the God of judgment, right
here, in salvation. You see, the moment the Israelites
brought a blemished sacrifice to the Lord, they were denying
the God of judgment. But they were also denying the
God of love. God's love, I think it was old
John Owen who said this in one of his long treatises. He said, God's love provided
what His justice demanded in the person and work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. You know what love does? If you
love your children, you know what you do? You provide what
they need. You husbands, if you love your
wives, you provide what they need. You wives, if you love
your husbands, you provide what they need. Well, what do we need? We're sinners. I'm a son of Jacob
by nature. What do I need? I need salvation. I need forgiveness. I need righteousness. That's what I need. What does
God need? His glory. And he won't share
it. He won't deny it. He won't dishonor
it. Look here, Romans 3, it says
in verse 19, now we know that what thing soever the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may
be stopped and all the world may become guilty. If you have
a concordance in your Bible, it may say something like this,
subject to the judgment of God. That's what guilty means. Now
sometimes we use that word guilty in another way. It's just the
fact, I'm a sinner. I'm guilty of being a sinner.
But I'm not guilty in this way because I'm in Christ. He took
my guilt away. I'm not subject now to the judgment
of God because that judgment was satisfied on the cross of
Calvary in my Savior. You believe that? If I didn't
believe that, I wouldn't be up here preaching. So he says in
verse 20, therefore by deeds of the law shall no flesh be
justified, made righteous, not guilty in his sight, in God's
sight now. So don't look at those people
who go through disasters and say, well, they got what they
deserve, but the fact that I didn't get that, I don't deserve, no
sir, it's of the Lord's mercies we're not concerned. For by the
law is the knowledge of sin, but now the righteousness of
God, the justice and judgment of God. Without the laws manifested,
as without our obedience, without our works of the law, that's
what he's talking about. Being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, O Malachi, he's one of those prophets, isn't
he? Even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of
Jesus Christ, the faithfulness of Christ to do what God the
Father sent him to do, obey the law and satisfy justice. unto all, that is, it's preached
unto all, and upon all them that believe. All who believe show
that they have that righteousness imputed to them, charged to them. For there's no difference. For
all sin and come short of the glory of God, verse 24, being
justified freely, unconditionally, without a cause, by His grace. There's grace. Through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, through Christ satisfying the justice
of God on the cross, whom God has set forth, which means foreordained,
he's the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, to be
a propitiation, a sin-bearing offering who makes satisfaction,
that's what propitiation is, a sin-bearing offering that makes
satisfaction to the law, to the justice of God. Through faith
in his blood, his death, the wages of sin is death, our sins
were imputed to him, he died. To declare what? His justice,
his righteousness. For the remission of sins that
are past, as the Old Testament says, through the forbearance
of God, they were justified by promise. See? The promise of
Christ to come. To declare, I say at this time,
his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of
him which believeth in Jesus. Where is the God of judgment? I'll tell you exactly where he
is. He's in the person and work of Christ. And aren't you thankful? Aren't you thankful that God's
judgment, God's justice was satisfied completely on that cross in our
Savior?