We have a waiting room there
and we had some folks talking. And a pastor, friend of mine from
years ago was talking to my son. And they were talking about justice
and mercy. And he said, the pastor friend
said, you know, in order for God to be merciful, he cannot
be 100% just. And I looked at him and said,
the Bible says that he is a just God and a savior. And if you learn what that means,
you learn what the gospel actually is. He is a just God and a Savior. There at the end of Matthew 18
verse 34, that person was to pay all that was due. Look at another couple passages
with me. Look at Matthew chapter 5. Matthew
chapter 5. The master had thrown that man
into debtor's prison until he would pay all that was due. In Matthew chapter 5 and verse
25, Our Lord says, Agree with thine
adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest
at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge
deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence,
till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. That's the title of
my message. The uttermost farthing. But Luke said it a little bit
differently. Go to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. And this is how Luke records
it in Luke chapter 12 and go down to verse 58. The Lord said, When thou goest
with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give
diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him, lest he hail
thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer,
and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell you, thou shalt
not depart thence till thou hast paid the very last mite. Pay all that you're due. Pay
to the uttermost farthing. Pay to the very last mite. But he's in debtor's prison. What is debtor's prison? Well,
we don't know much about these in these days because we can
go to the bank and borrow money and pay it off or we can take
bankruptcy and not have to pay it off by law in our United States. But years ago, even in the founding
of our country, they had a debtor's prison. And when you went to
debtor's prison you stayed there until you could pay what you
owed. But you didn't earn anything
in debtor's prison. So actually debtor's prison was
a death sentence. You'd stay there till you died. No doubt, as we read about these
wicked, unforgiving servants who had no pity on the other
servants who hold them so little, no doubt they deserved that debtor's
prison. But I'm going to tell you this
morning that I deserve it myself. I deserve to be in prison. I
cannot change. I am a debtor. That's who I am. And that debt I cannot pay. There is no way to pay that debt
that I owe. And here we're talking about
things of God. I'm indebted to Him. I owe to
Him. I've broken His law. I can't
escape. There's no way out. No way to
pay. And as Job said in Job 14, no
one can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. I know, that's
who I am, an unclean thing. Jeremiah said it this way, can
an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Or a leopard his
spots? No, I can't do that. There is
absolutely no way that I can change about who I am before
a holy God. I am a sinner. I am a debtor. There's a generation
that's pure in their own eyes, but they're not washed from their
filthiness. There's a lot of people who think that, hey, I'm
okay. Everything's fine. I'm just as good as anyone down
there at that church. but they're not washed from their
filthiness. We have all been ruined by the
fall. Paul said it this way, by one
man sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death
passed upon all men for that all have sinned. I'm a sinner
by nature And I'm a sinner by choice. That's who I am. And I can't do anything about
that. I can turn over all the new leaves I want to. It'll make
no difference. I could be like Adam and Eve
and I can sow those fig leaves together. You know it took a
little time. You ever think about that? It took a little time to
sow those fig leaves together to hide their nakedness. God
allowed them that time. Because when he found them hiding
in the bushes and he came and said Adam where are you? Do you
think God didn't know where he was? God knew exactly where he
was. I'm here hiding in the bushes.
I'm naked. Who told you I was naked? Have
you eaten of the tree? Ask that woman you made for me.
She's the problem. She gave it to me and I ate.
Paul said it this way in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 14. Eve was
deceived, Adam was deliberate. Adam raised his fist to God and
said, I will eat. No matter what reasons he may
have had, he said, I will eat of the tree. My wife is eating,
she's giving to me, I will eat. and he rebelled against God and
as a result sin came into the world and then death by sin because
God said if you eat of that tree you'll die. He died spiritually
but where was he? Hiding. Hiding. And a lot of people are trying
to hide from God when God begins you know it's a wonderful thing
when God begins to speak to a sinner He breaks into their life. He destroys all their pride. That crown of pride He destroys. He moves into their life and
they are miserable. Weren't you for a little while?
They were miserable until they saw the Savior and what He had
done for them. And then they began to rejoice. He shows you that you're a sinner.
He shows you that you're a debtor. He shows you that you're ruined
by the fall. You'll be rejoicing in Jesus
Christ as well. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
14. Isaiah chapter 14. I want to show something, just
a little something about that fall. In Isaiah chapter 14. In Isaiah chapter 14 we have the
recording of the fall of Lucifer. That angel of morning, that angel
of light. Isaiah 14 verse 12. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground, which doth weaken the nations? For thou hast said in
my heart, and notice this, I will. ascend into heaven. I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most
High. And wasn't that the temptation
of Adam and Eve? Ye shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil. You'll be like God. You can make
your own decisions. You can live your own life. You
can do your own thing. You can be your own God. But God will not be robbed of
His glory. He is Sovereign God. He is God
and besides Him there is no other. The wheel was tainted by sin,
corrupted by sin, a better word. and always inclined to do evil. Every time you read about the
will in the scriptures, for instance in John chapter 8, you are of
your father, Jesus Christ said when he was talking to the Pharisees,
you are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father
ye will do. In John chapter 5 he is talking
to a similar group of people when he said, ye will not come
to me, ye will not believe. David said it this way, I was
shaped in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. I'm
an alien by birth and a sinner by choice and the reason being
concerning the justice of God. It demands that I be sentenced
to life in prison because I have broken those laws. I've broken
God's law and even if I've only broken one, I'm guilty of the
whole thing. You see he said our Lord spoke
himself to Moses in Exodus chapter 34. I will by no means clear
the guilty. Here's that rich young ruler
that comes to Jesus Christ. Good master what must I do to
be saved? Well, it's not the doing of any
person. It's what was done by Jesus Christ. But, what must I do? And the
Lord went through some of the commandments. Well, I've kept
all those from my youth up. Mark said, when he recorded this,
one thing thou lackest. Just one part of the law he was
guilty. One thing thou lackest. Matthew said it this way, if
thou wilt be perfect. I deserve to be imprisoned. I deserve to For want of better words, rot
there until I pay the uttermost farthing, until I pay the very
last mite, until all that is due is paid. You see, Paul said,
the sentence of death is upon me. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. So sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death. And Ephesians chapter 2 verses
1, 2, and 3, let's look at that. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1,
2, and 3. Paul writes, and you, Hathi Quicken,
who were dead. in trespasses and sins, where
in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, I'm glad it's there. But God, there's something different.
Who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved
us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ. By grace, ye are saved. If you look on down to verse
12, you'll see a five-fold indictment against us. He's talking to the
Gentiles. That's you and me. Unless there's
a Jew in here. He's talking to the Gentiles
in verse 12. That at that time you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, as strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God
in the world. Paul says in Romans chapter 2
verse 1, we're without excuse. We're without excuse. No hope. I'm a debtor. Nothing I can do
about it. How can one pay anything if he's
in that kind of a debtor's prison? I asked a little girl that one
day and she said, well somebody has to pay it for him. You know what? That's true. That's true. Somebody has to
pay it for them. And that's what Jesus Christ
did for us. He paid the debt that I owed. He paid a debt that He did not
owe. I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone. And that someone is Jesus Christ. I couldn't do it myself. There
was no way. In me dwelleth no good thing. Now that debt must be paid in
full. To the uttermost farthing. To the very last mite. All that
is new, it has to be paid in full or I'm still in prison. And Jesus Christ paid in full. He paid for the whole thing. Whether it's 750 talents of silver,
10,000 talents of silver, whatever it was, he paid the debt. He paid the debt. He had to be
a near kinsman, he had to come. and take on our human nature. Not sinful nature, but our human
nature. Therefore he was born of a woman,
virgin born. He must be willing to pay, and
he willingly came for the debtor. He must be able
to pay. And my goodness, the one who
owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth of every
mind the little ones sing, he owns it all. And he can pay it. He's able to. And he did. And as our pastor has been saying
for the last few weeks, after he paid everything, he hasn't
lost anything. Now I want you to note that he
did not pay the debt of everyone in that prison. There was only one we talked
about. There was only one written about. Somebody goes to the prison and
says, I'm going to pardon somebody at prison. He looks over all
the prison. He pardons one, maybe two. Our
governors and our president has that power when they go into
office. He pardons maybe one or two, but he doesn't pardon
them all, and nobody says a word about that. But you talk about
election, that God chose His own people out of all these imprisoned,
indebted people of the world, and they raise their voice against
us. He chose to pay the debt of that
one. As a matter of fact, our Lord
said that He came to preach to those who were in prison. I'm
glad He did, because that's where I was. I was indebted in prison. I had a life sentence against
me. A death sentence against me. And that's why I need sovereign
free grace. Only God could accomplish this.
If he would. If I didn't know that the Lord
had shown me mercy and called me by His grace, I would be begging
mercy every day for salvation. I still beg for mercy. I still beg for mercy. Now God may want to show me mercy. Then again, He may not. He's sovereign. He's made the
choice. The Lord Jesus Christ paid that
debt in full. Turn with me to Job chapter 33. Job chapter 33. Job chapter 33, look at verse
24, Then he, God, is gracious unto
him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit. I have
found a ransom. You know what a ransom is? I
looked it up in the dictionary and here's the words I found. The nature of a ransom is such
that when paid and accepted, it automatically frees the person
for whom it was intended. He is freed from any obligation. Jesus Christ, a ransom. He's freed us from any obligation. Our sins have been paid for.
When He became sin for us and hung on that tree, God plunged
the sword of justice into our Savior's heart and destroyed. He became sin and God Wrath was
on him. He bore those sins. And when
he got through, as a matter of fact, God turned the light out
while he was doing that. And when he got through, he said,
it's finished. It's done. No wonder Paul can say, there
is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus said of himself
while here on earth, I came not to be ministered unto but to
minister and to give my life a ransom for many. You see the ransom price, the
redemption price was his own blood. And here we are, we owe to the
uttermost farthing, to the very last might, to all that is new. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
7. I want to see this in light of that. You know these words. Hebrews chapter 7. And verse 25. Hebrews 7.25, wherefore he is
able also to save them to the uttermost. There it is. Uttermost farthing I own, he
saves to the uttermost. He paid to the uttermost. The
very last mite, he paid to the very last mite to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them. He paid. He pardoned. He purged. He put away all of
our sin. He paid it to the uttermost.
He cried, it is finished. Paid in full. The word that our
Lord used on the cross is a word that businessmen used. When you made a loan through
them, you paid back the loan. Or you bought something from
them on time, you paid it back in time. And when it was all
paid for, they used the same word our Lord used on the cross. It is finished. Paid in full. If you'll allow me to say it,
the Greek word is tetelektai. Stamped right on there and says
paid in full. When you get that deed paid for,
doesn't that give you a sweet feeling? You get that car paid
for and you don't have to buy another one right away. Doesn't
that give you a sweet feeling? Because paid in full, you don't
have to pay another cent on it. Our Lord, when He died on the
cross, He paid for all sin and He paid it in full. And there's
nothing else to be done. The world says, well, I've got
to do something. God says, done! All done! What else can you do? If it's
all paid for, and not only all paid for, but listen to this.
That prodigal son came back to his father, and the father took
him in, and the first thing he did, put a little coat on him.
A new coat. The Lord not only paid for all
of our sin, but He gave us His righteousness. We made Him to
be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. He put a new robe on us. And
when God looks at us now, He sees us sinless, and He sees
us righteous. No wonder He'll say one day,
enter in! Thou faithful servant, thou been
faithful over a few things, I'll make you ruler over many. Enter
into the joys of thy Lord. And he saves to the uttermost. No wonder we can say that he
is a just God and a Savior. And He's our Redeemer. The payment price was His blood
with His death on the cross. And you know what it does? According
to Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7, it yields forgiveness. That's
what I need. Forgiveness. He carried His blood
to the holy of holies and obtained eternal redemption for us. He, our substitute, There on
the cross and in life, He our substitute, satisfied the Father's
justice. When the law comes to us, it
can't find anything wrong with us anymore. When I look inside myself, I
see something differently, don't you? I see all these problems I have,
these sins I have, but when God looks at me, all He sees is someone
just like His Son. That's what He sees. He looks
at me and He sees the Son of God just like His own, just like
His dearly beloved. Because He bore the sins on the
tree. He atoned for us. He propitiated for us. He bore the wrath of God that
I deserve. I'm no longer in debtors prison.
I'm out. Everything's been paid for. And by His grace He pulled me
out of there. And placed me on the solid rock
of Jesus Christ Himself. And if there was any more to
pay, He'd pay it too. But He paid it off. He paid it
off. The Good Samaritan came by and
the lawyer and the priest came by. They didn't help that man
that was robbed. Left for dead. But the good Samaritan
came by and he helped that man, took him to a place where he
could be sheltered and cared for and had to leave and so as
he left he said if there's anything more to pay when I come back
I'll pay it. Paul said the same thing to Philemon
in the book of Philemon. Onesimus the slave had run away. probably stolen things from his
master Philemon Paul said now he ran away Onesimus but he's coming back someone
different a brother in the Lord and if he owes you anything I'm
going to pay it when I get there Our Lord Jesus pay for it all. Oh Lord, show me that kind of
mercy. Show me what it means that you
are a just God and a Savior. He came to one, that's election.
He paid to the uttermost for that one, that's limited atonement.
He brought that one out. That's irresistible grace. And His payments keep that one
out of prison. That's the perseverance of the
saints. He's able to keep you from falling and to present you
faultless. That's our Savior. He is a just
God and a Savior. Thank You, our Heavenly Father,
for Your Word this morning. Thank You, Lord, that You are
a just God and a Savior. And thank You, Lord, for those
that You called out of prison. You paid their debt and made them one with You. Oh, Father, we don't deserve
it. Thank you for your mercy, your
love, and your grace. Amen. Let's dismiss with song
number 126, Jesus Paid it All. Let's stand.