To not faint means don't be faint
hearted. Don't lack courage. Don't lose
heart. So he's encouraging them here
to pray and to don't lose heart no matter what befalls them in
this world. Let's read verses 2 and the first
part of verse 3. He spoke this parable saying
there was in a city a judge. Now let me add some words right
here that the translators left out that will be kind of important.
There was, you can see in your concordance in the middle there,
it says there was in a certain city, but the original says also
there was in that certain city a certain judge which feared
not God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that
same certain city. A certain city and a certain
judge and a certain widow in that same city. Now, I think
what's depicted here is God's absolute sovereignty in governing
the affairs of this world, and especially in governing the affairs
of those He's chosen out of this world. We're going to see this
right here. First, this is an unlikely judge. I mean, he feared
not God, neither regarded man. What kind of a judge is that?
Well, it doesn't seem like anybody we think would be a judge. According
to John Gill, one of the prerequisites for judges in that day was that
they reverence God, that they have a reverential respect for
God. This man feared not God. He had
no reverence for God. Second, the very office of judge
is to deal with the affairs of men. is to handle the affairs
of the day, the affairs that come up, the problems that people
are involved with. And this judge had no regard
for man, it says. He didn't go by God's standard,
and he was not moved or influenced by what men thought. And although
he would not be moved by those things that normally move judges
to act, he would be moved. to do what he was appointed to
do. He would be moved to do what a judge in that day was appointed
to do. He would be motivated to act
on behalf of this widow. He would avenge this widow of
her adversary. Now, who appointed this certain
judge in this certain city at this certain time? And this widow
to live in that city where he had been appointed? It's a picture
of God's sovereignty in this world. Let's look on at the latter
part of verse 3 here. That widow came to this judge,
this certain judge, and it says, And she came unto him, saying,
Avenge me of mine adversary. Verse 4, And he would not for
a while, but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear
not God, nor regard man, Yet because this widow troubleth
me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary
me." This widow is asking the judge
to deliver her from an opponent. Deliver her from one who is seeking
her harm. Deliver her from one who is actively
hostile against her. This is an adversary. She is
not asking him to help her in avenging her adversary. She's
not asking him to be her ally in avenging her adversary. She's
not saying, let's combine our forces and see if we can deliver
me out of this dilemma I'm in or this problem I'm facing. No,
she's asking him. She's asking this judge to uphold
his office and bring this matter to a just conclusion. The mood
of that word avenge there is an imperative mood, and the sense
is this. You, she's talking to the judge,
you yourself, deliver me from the one who is seeking my harm."
Now, she is not demanding that the judge do it. That is not
the sense. She is pleading with him. She sees that her only hope
of deliverance from her adversary is this judge. He is it. If he
doesn't do it, her adversary is going to continue to harm
her, take advantage of her, whatever was going on. Verse 4, and it
says, "...and he would not for a while." He wouldn't deliver
her for a while. He delayed that deliverance for
a while. This judge would not act out
of a sense of pity. He could have pitied this widow
and delivered her. He didn't act out of a sense
of pity. He would not act out of a sense of right and justice.
He could have delivered her because it was the right thing to do.
But he didn't do that either. He would not act out of a sense
of reason. I mean, it's a reasonable thing to take care of a woman
who's defenseless in this world. He wouldn't act out of moral
obligation. It would be a moral thing to
do to take care of a widow, would it not? Or he didn't act out
of religious persuasion. He didn't fear God. He didn't
care what God's Word said about taking care of widows and orphans
in their day. That wasn't a matter of persuasion
to him. He would not avenge this widow
of her adversary. For a while, it says, he wouldn't
do it. He would not be motivated to
act on behalf of this widow by those things that judges normally
are motivated to act on. But he would be motivated. He
would be moved to her defense. God had determined it. He had
put her in this city. He had made this man a judge
in this city. And this judge was going to avenge
this widow. That was God's determination.
Let's look back at verses 4 and 5 here. It says he would not
for a while, in verse 4, and start right there. But afterward
he said within himself, the judge said within himself, though I
fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth
me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary
me. Now, you can see in these verses,
he began to reason within himself. He said, I don't necessarily
I'm not necessarily concerned about what God says or what men
think of me. I don't regard God nor men, but
because this widow troubleth me, she continues to trouble
me. She comes to me every day. She
just won't stop. She's just persistent in asking
me to avenge her of her adversary. Unless I give in to her, unless
I do what she wants me to do, by her continual coming, she
wears me. You know, the friends of this
widow, they must have said, why do you keep going to this judge?
He's not an honorable man. He don't fear God. He don't care
what men think. Why do you keep going? He's not
going to do anything for you. But this widow was persistent. She kept coming. Do your friends
ever ask you, why do you keep going down there where 10 or
12 are gathered when you could go to one of these major churches
in this town and fellowship with so many more people and have
so much more influence in the community and reach so many more
people? Why do you keep coming here?
Because your only hope is in the Christ delivered from this
pulpit. That's why you keep coming here.
That's why I keep coming. That's why I keep preaching this
Christ. That's why this widow kept coming back. She saw this
judge as her only hope. If he didn't deliver, she wouldn't
be delivered. She wouldn't take no for an answer.
She wouldn't be turned away by this judge's reluctance. Why?
Because she was convinced that he was the one appointed to deliver. If there was going to be a deliverance,
it was going to be by this judge. She was convinced that he was
the only one who could deliver. She was totally dependent upon
him to act in her defense. Now, that's what Christ means
here in verse 6. And the Lord said, hear, understand
what the unjust judge saith. Now, I'm going to change a word
right here from the original. Hear what the judge of injustice
is saying. Hear what he's saying. It's not
just an unjust judge. It's a judge that's characterized
by injustice. And Christ said, hear what this
man of injustice is saying. He's not simply an unjust judge. His whole life was characterized
by injustice. He didn't fear God. He didn't
care what men thought of him. He never did anything that even
resembled justice. Reluctance to help this widow
in need. Lack of pity for the defenseless.
Lack of moral obligation to stand up for the helpless. All those
things characterize injustice. He's a judge of injustice, totally
void of justice. It's a little deeper meaning
than the way it's translated. He's not just that unjust judge,
but his whole life was characterized by injustice. So what was he saying? Christ
said, hear what the unjust judge is saying. Here's what he was
saying. The only thing that moved this
judge to avenge this widow was her persistence in coming. That's
the only thing that moved him. He wasn't moved by God. He wasn't
moved by what men would think of him. He wasn't moved by a
moral obligation. The only thing that moved him,
the only thing, was her persistence in coming back to him. That's
the only thing. This is the whole point as we
move on to see how this applies to God's elect. Look at verse
7. And shall not God avenge his
own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear
long with them?" Now, I want to... Y'all think I'm rephrasing
everything here, but I look in the original. I think the original
is important. Sometimes these translators,
they have... I don't fault them. They did
the best job they could, I suppose, with what they had. I'll tell
you what this verse says in the original. It's not a lot different,
but it is a little. And shall not God execute the
avenging of His elect, the ones that He's chosen? Shall He not
execute the avenging of them who cry day and night unto Him,
even being longsuffering toward them? That's how that verse reads
in the original. In other words, here's what it
says. Shall not God continue to avenge his elect, and suffer
long with them who with persistence seek deliverance in him alone. Won't he bear with his own Won't
He bear with His elect until He brings them to the knowledge
of what Christ has accomplished for them and the justification
that was worked out by Him for every sinner who lived and died?
Won't God bear long with His elect until He brings them there?
Won't He bear long when they, in their indifference toward things and
their doubts and fears in this life, look elsewhere for comfort
other than to Christ and Him alone? First, let's talk about
how God avenges, continues to avenge His elect. First, God
has already avenged. He's already delivered His elect
from the penalty of sin, from that which Satan could impose
upon them as far as condemnation and death. Satan's power of death
and condemnation over the elect was destroyed by Christ at the
cross. You remember Genesis 3.15, the
first prophecy of this? The woman's seed will crush the
head of the serpent, though the serpent will bruise his heel.
And at the cross, Christ crushed the head of the serpent. He delivered
his elect. He bore their sins in his body
on the tree and put them away in a just satisfaction. and established
an everlasting righteousness in their behalf, which God the
Father then and there imputed, charged to their account, giving
them an unchangeable standing before God. At the cross, Christ
crushed the head and delivered all His elect from the eternal
death that they deserved. And at the cross, Christ saved
His elect from the penalty of sin. So why is there still a
need then for avenging? Why is there need for continued
deliverance? There's two reasons. Because
some of God's elect, some that were chosen by God before the
world began, and redeemed and justified by Christ at the cross,
some of the elect are still in darkness. That's why this world
remains. Look over at 2 Peter 3 with me. Why is this world continuing
on? Because some of God's elect are still in ignorance of what
Christ accomplished for them at the cross. Look at 2 Peter
3, verse 9. Verse 8 says, But, beloved, be
not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord
as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is
not slack concerning his promise. Now, he's talking here about
the promise of his return, the promise of his second coming.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness, but is longsuffering to usward. That's to his elect. Not willing that any, any of
usward, any of his elect should perish, but that all, all of
usward, all of his elect should come to repentance. This world
goes on, first of all, because some of God's elect are still
in darkness. They still don't know what Christ accomplished
for them. They still don't know that Christ has avenged them
of that condemnation that they deserve based on their sin. The
second reason is because all of God's elect are still subject
to Satan's devices. He can't condemn God's elect. That condemnation has already
been put away by Christ at the cross. But he can confuse God's
elect. He can cause God's elect to doubt
and be uncertain of our standing. Be sound-minded. Be vigilant,
because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about
seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the
faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren that are accomplished in the world. We are still subject to like
passions just like everyone else in this world. God's elect have
been delivered and given a standing, an unchangeable standing of righteousness
before God that can't be altered by anything we do. But we still
face some circumstances in this world that cause us to wonder
and to doubt sometimes. We never outgrow our need for
God's Word, for looking, for studying, for meditating, for
learning more of the person and work of Christ, for seeing more
of our total dependence upon Christ and His finished work
alone. for all of our salvation. Not a hair on the head of God's
elect can be harmed except God purpose and permit it. Ken likes to say it this way,
the elect of God are immortal. That means nothing can harm us,
death can't overtake us until God has purposed it and brings
it about. So why does God permit those
things to take place in his elect? Why do God's elect go through
the same trials and afflictions as others? Why do floods come?
Why do hurricanes come? Why do illnesses come? Why do
we face the death of our loved one? Why do these things affect
us just like everybody else? Look at Psalm 50. It has an answer
for that question. We're answering the question
of why are the elect still subject to Satan's devices? Why is there still a need for
God to avenge us today? Psalm 50 and verse 14. Why does God bring all these
things on His elect? It says, Offer unto God thanksgiving,
and pay thy vows unto the Most High, and call upon Me in the
day of trouble. I will deliver thee, and thou
shalt glorify Me. Why do we suffer? so that we
will pray and not faint, so that we won't grow faint-hearted in
this world, but will look to the God who has already avenged
us of our condemnation and is certain to deliver us fully and
finally in final glory. The elect of God are identified
in this world as those who are looking to Christ alone to deliver
them from their adversary. Like the widow in the parable
was convinced that her only hope of deliverance was in that certain
judge in that certain city. Regardless of our circumstances,
God's elect are persistent. This is a quality of character
in God's elect. We are persistent that our only
hope of final glory is in the blood and righteousness of Christ
alone. Don't come in here telling me about a righteousness within.
I don't want to know about a righteousness within because I don't have any
righteousness within. My righteousness is seated at
the right hand of the Father. He's all my hope, and He's the
hope of my final glory. It's not our persistence that
contributes anything to our standing with God, but rather it is our
understanding of our unchangeable standing based on Christ's imputed
righteousness alone that causes us to be persistent. The widow
didn't know coming to this judge. This judge was an irreputable
character. You can see how God describes
him here. She didn't know whether she'd be avenged or not. She
did know this, that her only hope of being avenged lay in
that judge in her certain city. God delivers us from our adversary. Look on here in our text at verse
8. He said back in verse 7, Shall
not God avenge His own elect? In verse 8, I tell you that He
will avenge them speedily. That speedily means right away. It means right now. How does
He avenge His elect? By bringing us back to the faith,
the gospel, the declaration of what Christ has accomplished,
of His obedience unto death. and the righteousness he established,
and all that's involved in the gospel concerning his person
and his work in delivering a multitude of sinners from the hell we deserved
to the eternal glory that we could never deserve based on
anything found in us. He brings us back to the gospel
that sets Christ forth in truth. That's what brings us back to
the place where this gospel is preached. And that's what the
last part of verse 8 is talking about here. He says, Nevertheless,
when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? And the translators left out
a pretty important little old bitty word there, a little three
letter word in front of faith. Shall he find the faith on the
earth? You see, Christ is not talking
here about finding sinners believing. He's not asking when Christ comes,
will he find sinners believing on the earth. But he's asking,
will he find the faith, the faith? Will he find that settled body
of truth that tells sinners about Him, about His person, about
His work, about what He accomplished, about who He accomplished it
for, about how He alone and His finished work glorifies the Father
in all aspects of salvation. Will he find the faith? on the earth. It's not our own
inward faith, not our own inward believing, our subjective faith
that God uses to call His elect out of darkness. It's the faith. It's the gospel. It's not subjective
faith that sustains us through the difficulties we face in this
world. If your faith is like mine, up today and down tomorrow,
I couldn't find a lot of consolation or comfort in my faith. But I
find a lot of comfort and consolation in hearing about that One who
has already accomplished my salvation and ensured my final glory in
heaven by His blood and righteousness alone. The faith is our defense
against our own doubts and fears. It is the faith that brings us
consolation in our trials and afflictions. It is the faith
in our continuing defense against our still formidable adversary. Satan is still a formidable adversary. Look with me over at Ephesians. Ephesians 6. is our continuing defense against
our adversary. Look in verse 10 of chapter 6
in Ephesians. Finally, my brethren, be strong
in the Lord and in the power of His might, what He has accomplished. Put on the whole armor of God
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
There is the adversary. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood. but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places, wherefore taken to you
the whole armor of God." What's that? That's the gospel. That's
the declaration of Christ and what He's accomplished for His
people. The whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand
in the evil day. and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,
the truth of the gospel, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield
of the faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, the faith,
the gospel. praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints." Pray and not faint. That's the command of God to
His disciples in this parable. What are we to pray? Why are
we not to faint? We praise As the publican in
the next parable in Luke 18 says, Lord God, be merciful to me,
the sinner. We pray that our shepherd might
continually be that one who makes his sheep to lie down in green
pastures and leaves them beside still waters and restores their
soul. We pray that we might be found
in Him, in Christ, not having our own righteousness, which
is of the law. but that which is the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. God will
execute the avenging of his elect who cry unto him day and night
and be longsuffering unto them. The widow was persistent. She knew, she was convinced that
her only hope of deliverance was in that certain judge in
that certain city. The elect are identified in this
world as those who are convinced that their only hope of final
glory is in the finished work of Christ alone. And they are
persistent in the faith that sets him forth in truth. Is that
your persuasion? Is that the persuasion of your
soul in this one who by his obedience unto death established an everlasting
righteousness by which God the Father justified every sinner
he lived and died for? Is that where you find your comfort
and consolation? Is that the faith that you're
persistent in? I pray to God that it is.