I'm glad to see each and every
one of you, and I invite you this morning to turn for a few
minutes to the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 23. I'm going to read just a couple
of verses that are a response of this man, Balaam,
the prophet for hire to a king by the name of Balak. In verse 20, he says, Behold,
I have received commandment to bless, and he hath blessed, and
I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in
Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is
with him, and the shout of a king is among them. I've thought about it recently
how it seems that most preachers in our day They're like this King Balak. It seems that they want to curse
the people of God. They want to do all they can,
it would seem, to make them miserable and to bring them into bondage. I came across a verse in Revelation
chapter 13 recently, and I found that it was a principle that
God has stated again and again in the scripture, where he says, he that leadeth
into captivity shall go into captivity. And that is the principle,
it seems like, that most desire to do. They want to lead people
into bondage and captivity. But according to the scriptures,
the gospel is good news. It's going to be glad tidings
to someone. And it is glad tidings to those
who are chosen of God by his grace, those who are redeemed
accordingly by the blood of Christ and called effectually by the
Spirit of God. And as in this text, those names,
Jacob and Israel, are names used many times in the Old Testament
to describe what God's elect are by nature and by grace, to
show what they are in Adam, in themselves, and what they are
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in ourselves and by nature
conniving, supplanting Jacobs. But we are at the same time by
grace, Israel, prince and child of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this comes to my mind,
this question comes to my mind, can it be said of us what Balaam
was forced to say about Israel? Look at that 21st verse. He is forced of God to say of
this nation, God hath not beheld iniquity
in Jacob, neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. In other words, the question
is this, does God see the sins of his people? And when I say that, I know that
the Bible speaks of God as having these holy eyes. I believe they call these expressions
anthropomorphic expressions wherein God in condescending grace speaks
of himself as a man and uses these features of man and speaking
of eyes that behold his people. He says by the prophet Habakkuk,
thou art of pure eyes than to behold evil and canst not look
on iniquity. He is so holy and so pure that
he cannot in any way look favorably on that which is not holy, on
that which is sin and iniquity. He says by Job these words, behold,
he putteth no trust in his saints, yea, the heavens are not clean
in his sight, How much more abominable and filthy is man who drinks
iniquity like water? But my question is, does God
see the sins of his people? Does he see sin in his people? I know this, I know that God
is omniscient. That is, he is not only all-knowing,
but he is all-seeing, and he surely does see the actual acts
of sinning in his people. As a matter of fact, he sees
them as their heavenly father, And in seeing them, he sees them
and therefore it says that he chastens them. And not only that,
but he gives us plain undeniable instructions in the scriptures
and says to us that we are to sin not. Sin not. In Romans 6 especially, he says,
what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace might abound? God forbid. Or again, what then? Shall we sin because we are not
under the law but under grace? God forbid. But these things being true, does God in the eye of his inflexible
justice, in this judicial and legal sense, does he see the
sins of his people. Somebody says, well, you always
bring in this justice or this legal sense. Well, my friends,
if you are a student of the scriptures at all, the language of God,
the language of the spirit of God is the language wherein this
is the central issue This is the central matter, not only
in the gospel, but in showing every work of God. So what does he see in the sins
with regard to the sins of his people? The truth of the matter
is, just as Balaam is forced to say of this Israel, this nation
of whom the church and people of God is a type, he says, the
Lord, Jehovah, he hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. when at that very moment they
were actually and really sinning. He hath not seen perverseness
in Israel when at that moment in their own selves perverseness
was all that they were. But he says the Lord hath not
seen it. And that is the message of this
book. That is the truth of God. That God does not see the sins
of his people, of his believing people. And how in the world
can that be, God being who he is, and you and I being what
we are, how could it ever be said that what was said of them
can be said of us? Well, the only way it ever could
be is for God to have already seen our sins in Christ. He has viewed us in the one that
he has put us in, and he has viewed our sins in Christ, him
being our surety. That's a Bible word. And Christ
is pictured in the scripture as our surety, and the surety
is far more than just the guarantor like we have in legal documents
in our day. The surety Rather than being
the one who will come and if the loan is not paid will step
in and pay it, the surety pledges himself and guarantees at the
first that he will by himself pay the debt. And so it is with
this view that God says that he does not see iniquity, perverseness,
or sin in his people because he has always viewed their sin
in the Lord Jesus Christ and he has seen their sin with the
eye of this strict justice and punished their sin through the
dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what the scripture
says. And what we have is men standing in pulpits in our day
and telling people not to sin and telling people, this is their
message, telling them how to be better and how to improve
and how to keep from sinning when it is utterly impossible
for them to do that. How many times in your life Have
you turned over a new leaf? How many times have you, in great
sincerity, how many times have you, with the hardest, most ardent
human desire, pledged to yourself and to God even that you were
not going to do this anymore and that you were going to do
that anymore only to find in just a brief time that you failed. You know what happens? When you
stand before men and women and keep telling them not to sin
and you keep telling them this, that, and the other that will
improve them and that there's something that they can do and
change to please God, the worse they sin. That's right. That's exactly right. My little
granddaughter, which I thought at the beginning would certainly
be the proof positive that there was not total depravity, has
gone on now to prove just the opposite. So that if she finds
a little word or hears a little expression that maybe she ought
not to repeat, the more you tell her not to say that, the more
she's going to say that. That's right. Why? Because that's
the root and nature of a sinner. She doesn't do that, and in doing
that, become a sinner. She does that because she is
a sinner. And that's what the scripture
is teaching us that the only way that God could accept us
and receive us and save us is for him to have viewed all our
sins to be on our surety and dealt with by our substitute
bearing in his own body our sins on that tree and now he doesn't
see them anymore. Is that right? Is that too good
to be true? It scares people to death. I'm telling you, people who rest
in their works and most especially these vile false religionists
and preachers who preach salvation by work, it scares them to death
for somebody to say that God does not see the sins of his
people in them. I'm going to tell you this, before
a just God, he cannot see, as that old hymn writer said, he
cannot see my sins in me and my sins in my substitute at the
same time. Impossibility. Paul says this is the gospel. that God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Did you hear that? That word
impute has something to do with charging. He has not charged
the sins of His people to them. This world of people in the Lord
Jesus Christ, which by the way is not every person in this world,
but the world He's talking about, this world and people in Christ,
God has not imputed or charged their sins to them. How in the world could he do
that? He did it by charging them to Christ. He did that, he did
it by charging to Christ so that this is what Paul says is committed
unto us as the gospel. He hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation. What is that? That God was in
Christ reconciling. God is not standing over his
people with a big magnifying glass, watching their every move
so when they sin, he can simply cry out to them, aha. No, David said, that's what these
unbelievers were saying to him. Aha. You sinned. Aha. He said, no. God. was in Christ reconciling
us unto himself. That's good news. That's the
good news. It's so good that Paul in Romans
4, he quotes David. He says, this is it, blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. My friend God is a just God if
he didn't impute my sins to me. If he hasn't imputed my sins
to me, he can't see my sins in me. Jeremiah, this is what he said
to happen. In those days and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,
and there shall be none, and the sins of Judah, and they shall
not be found, for I will pardon them whom I reserve. He said they'll be looked for.
The devil will look for them. such as the Pharisees looked
for them, but he said they won't be found. Why? Because I pardoned
them. I pardoned them in Christ. Paul
begins Romans 8, and this is what he says, there is therefore
now no condemnation. Did you hear that? There is therefore
now no condemnation. to them which are in Christ Jesus. Somebody says, well, preacher,
you forgot the rest of that verse. Who walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. Actually, in the original, that
part is not there. Oh, he speaks of that a little
bit later in that chapter, but he begins with this statement
that cannot be altered or changed. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. I'll tell you what, I see sins
in you. That's the easiest thing in the
world to do. You can see sin in me. Might
shock you, I might could see some in you too. But the Lord doesn't see sin
in me. He doesn't see it. Isaiah 53, this really came to
me this morning when I was looking again. Isaiah 53 and verse six. Why can he not see sin in his
people? He says, the Lord hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all. I thought about how wonderful
that word hath is, that way back there in Isaiah's day. I don't
know how many hundred years it is from Isaiah's day to the coming
of Christ, but all that way back there, Isaiah the prophet, led
by the Spirit of God, said that the Lord hath already laid on
him. the iniquity of us all. In Isaiah, he says, behold, for
peace I had great bitterness. Bitterness. But thou hast in
love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption, for
thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. You know where God's back is?
The infinite, immeasurable, indescribable Jehovah God? I don't know where his back is.
Wherever his back is, he says he's put my sins behind his back.
He can't see them. He can't see them. He says in
Hebrews, for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and
their sins and their iniquities, will I remember no more? What
would it take for us to see this? I'll tell you this, it's so contrary
to us by nature. Grace is so contrary to us by
nature. Giving God glory is so contrary
to us by nature. The only way we'll ever see this
is if he's pleased to reveal it. He said, I'll remember them
no more. And we're always flying into
this, but what if? There is no what if. You and
I need contingency plans. You and I don't know what'll
happen, what we'll do. But my friends, God did. And
he said, I'll remember their sins no more. I'll remember their
sins no more. Because the sacrifice of Christ
has made an end of sin. A debt when it's paid, and Mark
paid in the ledger book. It is no more. This sin has been
put away and made an end of it. And either the Messiah made an
end of the sins of his people or he failed miserably. He doesn't say. But there's even a bit more. Somebody might say this is too
much. But there is a truth that is
also declared by God to assure His glory and to ascribe to Him
glory as the absolute sovereign over all things and in this to
comfort His people. to comfort the Lord's people
lest they in their sorrow over sin, lest they fall into despair and
into depression because they can't quit sinning. In the lives of just about all
the Lord's people, there have been things in our
past or there is a constant weakness or failure in us in the presence
that when we think about them, even though we know they're forgiven,
Even though God has been satisfied as a just God in dealing, they
just worry us. You know anything about that?
You know that one thing that even when we're unable to believe
that we did or we just can't seem to get away from that. Why did God let me live and do
those things? If he's going to save me, why
did he do these things? And why did I do this? And why
did I do that? This is the truth. God works all things together
for our good. Let me tell you something. It says all things. You're thinking this, even our
sins? Can this holy God work even our
sins? Without excusing them, without
promoting more sinning, can it be said that not only He does
not see our sins, but that He yet actually worked all things
together for our good and His glory. The apostle said, all things
are of God. I'm done apologizing for God. I told some of the brethren last
night, the living God does not mind taking credit or blame for
what he says that he is and that he's done. Paul writes to the Ephesians,
he says, of Christ, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works
all things after the counsel of his own will. You just sit and chew on that
one for a while. Somebody says, now, be careful,
preacher. Be careful you're making God
the author of sin. Well, to start with, I can't
make God anything. He is how he is, and he's done
what he's done. And most of what men fight about
and kick against are things that he said he's already done. They say, well, I don't agree
with that election stuff. Too late. He's chosen his people in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Too late. I don't like
this predestination. Too late. In love, he predestinated
us unto the adoption of children in Jesus Christ according to
his will. You see that? Just too late. No, I'm just showing you what
God says of himself. And he is the sovereign king.
He's running this show. And he does and he has done according
to his will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what
doest thou? You can't stop him, you can't
question him. You know, the sooner you and
I He brings us to be confronted with that issue. You see, this
is what the real issue is in everything, and that's God's
right to be God. And men and women have heard
preachers apologize about God and try to make Him more palatable
and say He'd never do this. He's done what He says He's done.
And he'll do what he says that he'll do. Even this, he says,
the Lord hath made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked
for the day of evil. How does that fit your theology? Even the wicked for the day of
evil, for himself, for himself. But you know, when we confront
that, we've naturally got a spirit like Peter's. Peter, who when
he began to hear Christ talk about himself, about him going
up to Jerusalem to die. Listen to what he says. It says,
from that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that
he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders
and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed and be
raised again the third day. And you know what? Peter responded
to that. That which would be his salvation. He responded to it in this way. It says that he took him and
he began to rebuke him. He's going to shake, rebuke God
in the flesh. Because what God in the flesh
was about to do was so contrary to his natural thinking and his
natural desire. But it was the only way to save
him. He said, be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be
unto thee. That's right. You see, God's eternal purpose
and subsequent providence will make even the sins of men to
work for the good of his people and the glory of his name, and
we will find out one day that our ways are not his ways. He said, surely the wrath of
man shall praise thee and the remainder shall thou restrain. I'm going to quickly give you
one illustration of what I'm talking about. If you'll turn
back to Genesis and the 45th chapter, there's ever a man who in his
life up to the point we've come to in this scripture. He's been
mistreated and abused, this man Joseph, and most especially by
his brethren. And Joseph is a type of Christ. These brethren are a type of
his people, and they are always in themselves doing things like
this. but I want you to listen. I don't want you to hear me,
but I want you to hear God. He speaks through this man. Genesis
45 and verse 5. You see, when they found out
exactly who Joseph was, he didn't have the name of Joseph. Pharaoh
had given him an Egyptian name. When they found out who he really
was and all the power he had, And what they'd done, they got
scared. They got scared. Now you listen
to what it says. Joseph says to them, he brings
them near, he says, now therefore be not grieved nor angry with
yourselves that you sold me hither. That's a pretty bad thing. Betray
your brother. Tell your daddy he's killed by
a wild beast, then sell him into slavery, throw him in a pit. Be not grieved nor angry with
yourselves that you sow me hither for God, you see that? God did send me before you to
preserve life. God did. For these two years
hath been a famine in the land, and yet there are five years
in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest, and God
sent me." No, it's just bad luck, Joseph. No. Just a twist of fate,
Joseph. No. Just nothing but the sin
of man. No. God sent me before you to
preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your lives
by a great deliverance. This is the real kicker right
here, this next verse. Hold on to your hat, Jim. So
now, it was not you that sent me hither, but God. That's too much of a God for
us. That's what he said. That's what
he said. And he hath made me a father
to Pharaoh, and the Lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt. God did it. You remember when
that man Shimei? A worthless piece of trash in
David's day just like me. He ran out there when David was
having to leave the city of Jerusalem. He ran out there and the Bible
says he cursed David. Called him a bloody man, a wretched
man. One of David's men said, I'll
take that fellow's head off if you just give me the word. David said to him and to all
his servants, Behold, my son which came forth of my bough
seeketh my life. How much more now may this Benjamite
do it? Let him alone and let him curse,
for the Lord hath bidden me. What? You mean to tell me here's
God's anointed king? And a scoundrel of such worthlessness
has run out now and cursed him, and it's the Lord that's bidding
him. That's what it says. You see, what Christ says to
us and of us is the only source of true comfort. It is the Lord. Let him do what
seemeth him good. He does not see the sins of his
people. The bridegroom looks at the bride
and he says, thou art all fair, my love. There's no spot in you. He works all things. My friend, even as a forgiven
sinner, I'm sometimes asking myself,
why didn't the Lord give me grace so I could quit doing this or
thinking this or that? He's not only going to save me
from all my sin, But I'm going to know more and more each day,
it seems like, that the only way I could be saved is by His
free grace in Christ. God bless you.