Turn with me this morning to
the book of Job, if you will. There was a man in the land of
Uz whose name was Job. And that man was perfect and
upright, one that feared God and discussed evil. Now this
man Job was a righteous man. He was a man who was taught of
God, a man who believed God and worshiped God. He was loved by
God and he loved the living God. I have no question at all in
stating to you that Job was a saved man, a man of rare, rare character,
a man of rare faith. Surely the Word of God itself
is sufficient. The Lord said down in verse 8
of chapter 1, Hast thou considered my servant Job? You'll notice
that Satan did not raise the challenge. God raised the challenge
to Satan. He said, Have you considered
my servant Job? That there is none like him in
the earth. Now that's a pretty good statement. God Almighty said there's not
another man like this man in all the earth. Perfect. and upright, one that feareth
God, and discuseth evil." Now, truly, Job was a man of rare
faith. Dr. Gill suggests that Job was
Abraham's nephew, the firstborn of his brother Nahor, and therefore
Job was a man who lived in the time of Abraham and Nahor, and
there is some evidence for that over in Genesis 22. Most likely, Job lived long before the days
of Moses and the giving of the law, because there is no mention
of the law throughout the book of Job. But he did live after
the flood. He did live after the burning
of Sodom, because those things are clearly mentioned. Now, this
man Job was greatly, greatly blessed of God. God had given
him seven sons and three daughters. God had blessed him with material
prosperity. He was a wealthy man, had thousands
of camels and thousands of oxen and sheep and so on. This man
Job was a man given by God a position of fame, of influence, of popularity. He had a lot of friends. He had
a lot of friends not only because he was in a position where he
could help a lot of friends, but he had a lot of friends because
he was a pleasant, loving, generous man. But now, Job was tried by
God. And he wasn't just tried by God
as you and I have faced trials. This man, Job, was tried in the
most tender parts of his affection. He was tried in the most tender
areas of his life. The Sabaeans came and killed
his servants and stole his oxen and his asses, and one miserable
servant escaped. And he came and said, God, let
me come tell you about it. And then the fire of God fell
from heaven and destroyed his sheep and his shepherds, except
for one. There was one fellow who came
to tell, I escaped, and now I'm telling you what happened. The
Chaldeans stole his camels and killed the rest of his servants,
except for one. There was one who escaped to
come and bring him the news, one coming running upon the heels
of another. And then a tornado fell upon
the house where his sons and daughters were having a party
and killed everybody in the house except one. And he came to tell
Job what had happened. And then we read here in chapter
1 and verse 20, Then Job arose and rent his mantle, that is,
he tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon
the ground, and murmured, and complained, and wept bitterly. Well, that's not what that says,
is it? He lost his cattle, and his sheep, and his oxen, and
his camels, and his asses, and his servants, and his sons, and
his daughters, and he fell down on the ground and worshiped God. He said, naked came I out of
my mother's womb, And naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away. He knew who ruled all things,
and he was confident of God's rule in all things. Blessed be
the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor
charged God foolishly. But then, not long afterwards,
Job was smitten with sore boils, boils that were running from
the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Look in verse 7.
Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and he smote Job
with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. Now,
have you ever had any boils? They're painful. They're painful
anywhere. But can you imagine boils on
the soles of your feet? covering your body from the sole
of your foot to the top of your head. The only thing that gives
any relief is just to scratch them a little. And so he took
a potsherd to scrape himself with all and sat down among the
ashes. And then he had perhaps his greatest
trial of all. His wife said unto him, You're
not that good. She said, now I know you better
than this. Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and
die. Here's his companion, the bosom
of his heart, his lifelong mate. The one, surely that he can lean
on for some support when he needs it. She said, are you still retaining
your integrity? Just touch God and die. I'm tired of looking at you.
But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.
What? Don't you understand? Woman,
what's the matter with you? Shall we receive good at the
hand of God? And shall we not receive evil?
In all this, Job did not sin with his lips." Now, truly, this
man, Job, was a man of remarkable faith, a man of remarkable character. He believed God. He just flat
believed God. And then at last, Job's three
friends came. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. They came down to mourn with
Job and to comfort him. Miserable comforters they were,
with friends like these, who needs enemies. When they saw
Job, they were astonished. They didn't recognize him. They
sat down for seven days, speechless. Now, I've never seen a man in
that kind of condition. I've never beheld anybody who
suffers like that. But these three friends, when
they walked up to Job, they didn't recognize him. The boils had
covered his body, and he was sitting on a pile of ashes. And they were astonished. Is
this Job? Is this the man we knew last
week, Job? This can't be Job! They were
astonished, speechless for seven days. And when they began to
speak, Job wished they had remained speechless. Their words of comfort
were nothing but words of self-righteous judgment, harsh accusation, and
stern condemnation. Turn over to chapter 4. I'll
give you an example. This is the first one to speak. It got
a whole lot worse. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, Wilt thou be grieved? Now, Job,
would it be all right if we talk frank with you? It's okay if
we speak to you as a brother, isn't it? It's okay if we tell
you exactly how we feel now, isn't it? Watch out when somebody
comes to you that way. Would you be grieved if we told
you exactly what we perceive the situation to be? But who
can withhold himself from speaking? Doesn't matter whether he grieves
you or not, we've got to say this. Behold, thou hast instructed
many, And thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have
upholden him that was falling." That is, many times you've kept
a man from walking in a way of error and sin, and you've upheld
him that was falling. "...Thou hast strengthened the
feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee,
and thou thinkest it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled."
Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness
of thy ways? Let me give you a Fortner version. Isn't this the result of what
you've done? Isn't this the result of what's in you? Isn't this
the result of something bad wrong with you? Remember, I pray thee,
Who ever perished being innocent? Now, that's where I get the translation
of verse 5. They said, now, Job, nobody's
ever gone through this who was innocent. Had not anybody ever
endured such hardships as you're enduring who was an innocent
man? It's not possible. An innocent
man will not suffer like this from God. Or where were the righteous
cut off? Where was the righteous man?
who ever lost his sons and his daughters, and whose wife said,
"'Cuss God and die.'" Where was the righteous man who was taken
from a throne and laid in a dunghill? Where is the righteous man who
suffered such things as this? Don't tell us there's no fault
in you. Job told them, he said, your
speech is just wind. Now Job did defend himself. He
defended himself before his accusers. because their accusations were
false. They were without foundation.
Look in chapter 6, verse 24. Now Job's talking to Eliphaz
now. He's talking to his accusers. He said, teach me and I'll hold
my tongue. And cause me to understand wherein
I've erred. Now you show me what I did that
you think is so evil and I'll keep my mouth shut. How forcible
are right words. But what doth your arguing prove? Do you imagine to reprove words
and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind? Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless,
and ye dig a pit for your friend, and here I am. God's taken my son and my daughters,
He's taken my livelihood, He's taken my health, and now you're
here ready to dig a pit and throw me in it. He says in verse 28,
Now therefore be content and look upon me, for it is evident
unto you if I lie. He said, you fellas know me.
You know whether or not I'm lying to you. You know how I've behaved
before you. Now I do not suggest that it
was wise for Job to defend himself. I don't suggest that at all.
It was a very unwise thing. It's always best for us to leave
our cause in the hands of God. And Job's defense before his
friends soon grew into anger, hostility, and resentment, and
it always will. Always will. I was talking to
a man the other day who was undergoing some real slanderous accusations
from some fellows. He wrote a letter. I'm going
to send it out to some people who knew what was going on and
informed them about himself. And I said, don't send the letter.
Don't send the letter. If you're in God's cause, doing
God's bidding, if you're seeking the glory of God, God will take
care of your reputation. Don't send the letter. No need
to defend yourself. No need to get excited. Anybody
who gets involved in any way in serving the cause of God is
going to suffer some slander and reproach. But don't defend
yourself. Let God defend you. That's the
wise course of action. Because as sure as you start
to defend yourself, Bob, it's going to be anger, hostility,
and resentment. That's what's going to result.
It did with Job and it will with you. He was a better fellow than
you and a better fellow than me. But nevertheless, in defending
himself, though he perhaps acted in the flesh, Job's defense of
himself was a justifiable defense. He was innocent of the accusations
made by his three friends. David, when he was before Absalom
and when he was before Saul earlier, was accused of a lot of things.
Ahithophel falsely accused him. And Saul falsely accused him.
And Absalom falsely accused him. And every time David turned to
God and he said, Lord, You know my righteousness. You know my
uprightness. You look at that psalm where
David would speak like that, and you say, well, how could
David dare say such a thing to God? He's talking about the circumstance
with which he's dealing. He's talking about the accusations
made by Saul or Ahithophel or by Absalom, his son. And he said,
Lord, the things they're saying is not true. The things they're
saying is just not true. In this matter, I am upright. And so Job could say with David
before Saul, In this matter, I'm upright. In this matter,
I'm innocent. In this matter, I'm a righteous
man." And so he maintained his integrity before his friends.
And some folks find fault with that. I read and hear Fellas
every now and then who read these passages in Job and they say,
well, surely this man Job must be a lost man, a self-righteous
man because he denied the accusations of these men against him. Who
can fault an innocent man for maintaining his innocence? Let's
suppose Merle Hart gets a subpoena to go to court tomorrow, and
they're calling you and they're going to put you on trial for
murder. And the judge says, do you plead guilty or not guilty?
I'm not guilty. Well, that's all right. I would
expect you to stand there and say you're guilty. That's foolish. I'm not guilty of this crime,
of this offense. And when Job stood before his
friends, he said, you point a false finger. I'm not guilty. I'm innocent
of the crime that you've charged me with. But now look in chapter
7. Things were different when Job
came to speak to his God. He could defend himself before
men, and he did. But now we see him bowing before
the Lord his God with a broken, submissive, believing heart.
And he used another tone of speech. Look in chapter 7 and verse 20.
I have sinned. What shall I do unto thee, O
thou preserver of men? You see the difference? It's
one thing when Job speaks to Eliphaz and says, I'm not guilty. But he speaks to God, he says,
I'm guilty. When he speaks to Eliphaz, he said, I'm innocent.
When he speaks to God, he says, I'm guilty. When he speaks to
Eliphaz, he said, your speech is weaned. When he speaks to
God, he says, I've sinned. When he speaks to Eliphaz, he said,
you've got no right to point your finger at me. When he speaks
to God, he said, you're just. He said, I have sinned. What shall I do unto thee, O
thou preserver of men? Now the words of our text are
full of instruction to believers who are tried and afflicted.
I got a letter from a lady, heard
a message I preached here recently on tape, and she said, I want
to keep that tape. She said, I hope I can rejoice
in it as much when the trial comes as I do while things are
going well. Well, lots of times we forget instruction, so it's
needful to have it again and again. And here, there's lots
of instruction. When your heart's heavy and your
soul is troubled, when your body is in pain because of your Heavenly
Father's loving rod of chastisement, you'll always be wise to do these
three things. First of all, confess your sin.
Confess your sin. Were it not for sin, there would
be no chastisement. Were it not for sin, there would
be no sorrow. Were it not for sin, there would
be no suffering. Universal evidence of universal
depravity is the fact that wherever you go and find men and women,
regardless of their age, regardless of their position, you find men
and women who suffer, who get sick, who have sorrow and pain
and die. The smallest baby gets that cold,
and it wouldn't get the cold if it wasn't a sinner, Bob. That
baby's nose would never run if it wasn't for sin. That baby
would never have the colic if it wasn't for sin. That baby
would never have to be taken to the doctor and get those measles
shots were it not for sin. Sin is the cause of sickness,
sorrow, pain, disease, suffering, and death. That's the cause.
So when you have sorrow in your life, when you have pain and
difficulty, go to God and say to Him, I have sin. Now, whatever comes is not wrong.
Whatever you bring, I well deserve it. Whatever judgment, whatever
chastisement befalls me, I well deserve it, for I have sinned.
And then submit yourselves to God. This is what Job did. He
confessed his sin to God. He said, I have sinned. And then
he submitted himself to God. He said, what shall I do unto
thee? Lord, I'm in your hands. What
do you have me to do? What do you want of me? What's
your will in this matter? How do you want me to behave? How shall I deal with this problem
or with that? What shall I do unto thee? And
then thirdly, believe God. Job confessed his sin. I have
sinned. He submitted himself to the hand
of God. What shall I do unto thee? And
he believed God. O thou preserver of men. He said, the only reason I'm
alive right now is because you preserved me. The only reason these boils
haven't consumed me is because you've preserved me. The only
reason that I'm not dead with my sons and daughters is you've
preserved me." Now Job looked upon God and in the midst of
his trial, he confessed his sin, he submitted himself to God,
and he went on believing God. Now there were, without question,
many weaknesses and frailties throughout the book of Job. You
read them. And the Holy Spirit gives clear evidence that this
book is inspired of God, for he writes of his servant Job
and plainly reveals the weaknesses, the faults, the failures, and
the sins of Job all the way through the book. But all the way through
the book, Job believed God. He never let go of God, thou
preserver of men. Thou preserver of men! Thou preserver
of men! You've marked me, you've brought
the judgment, and my spirit's languishing, but I believe God!"
Believe God. That's the way of peace and of
comfort in this world. Now, having said all of that,
I want to take these words of Job and use them today as words
of gospel instruction to sinners. I'll do no harm to our text.
And I'll not in any way violate its meaning by using these words
as a description of the sinner's surrender. I want you to see
that the only way to obtain God's saving mercy is to surrender
to the claims of God in the gospel. That's the only way for you and
I to obtain God's saving mercy. You must surrender. God demands
that you raise the white flag of surrender. God demands it. You must surrender. Now, we'll
take the text just as it stands, and you'll follow very closely
and easily. First point's this. I have sinned. I have sinned. If we would obtain mercy, there
must be a true heartfelt confession of our sin. So long as a sinner
claims that he's righteous, so long as a sinner retains his
integrity before God, he will never obtain mercy from God.
Where there is no confession of sin, there is no salvation
from sin. Turn over to the book of Proverbs,
chapter 28. Proverbs 28, where there is no
confession of sin. Where a man does not acknowledge
and confess his sin, there is no forgiveness of sin, there
is no mercy, there is no salvation. Here in Proverbs 28 and verse
13. He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have
mercy. Do you see that? The Apostle
John said, if we confess our sins, he, God our Father, is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. But we must confess our sins,
Lindsay. Now, this confession of sin is
much more than mere lip service. It is an acknowledgment of the
heart. The mere saying of these words, I have sinned before God,
is no more true repentance than the mere saying, I believe in
Jesus is true faith. When I talk about the confession
of sin, I'm talking about a heart attitude about myself before
the living God. Otherwise, the confession of
sin is just another act of hypocrisy. You got it given many times in
the scriptures. As a matter of fact, these three words, I have
sinned, are found seven times in the Word of God. Pharaoh said
to Moses, I have sinned. But it was only a lip confession.
It was no acknowledgment and humbling of the heart before
God. Balaam, that double-minded man, he said, I have sinned. But he sought only the blessing,
and he did not humble himself before God. Saul said to David,
I have sinned. He sought David's life, but he
said, I have sinned. His heart was not changed, but
he said, I have sinned. He was not humbled, but he said,
I have sinned. Achan said to Joshua, when he took the spoils
that God had forbidden, I have sinned. I have sinned. But Achan
was slain, for he had not humbled himself before God. His heart
was not saying, I have sinned. His heart said, I've not done
anything wrong, I've just broke God's law. His heart was saying,
it was just a little, it was just a little thing, I've not
done anything that bad. His heart was saying, I know,
I know it might have been wrong, but it wasn't that bad. He didn't
say in his heart, I have sinned. You follow me? You see the difference?
That prodigal, arose and went to his father, and he said, Father,
I have sinned. And there was all the difference
in the world. All the difference in the world. That prodigal went
to God, and he said, Father, I have sinned. Now, because of
my sin, this was his heart attitude. God didn't let him say it. This
was his heart attitude. He said, I'm no more worthy to
be called your son. Make me as one of your hired
servants. And his father, the picture is God Almighty, fell
on his neck and kissed him and kissed him and kissed him and
kissed him because his heart said, I have sinned. This is what Job says. He comes
before God and he said, I have sinned. Now, Job's confession
was a sincere acknowledgement of his sin. It was not a complimentary
saying. It was not a mere ritualistic
repetition of some kind of liturgy. His very heart cried out, I have
sinned, and he meant it. He was cut to the quick. Job
felt the terrible load of sin in his heart. This is a work
of grace. John Flavel was right when he
said, Christ is not made sweet till sin is made bitter. Thomas
Watson said, no man can feel sin but by grace. This was an
act of grace. Job was made to feel his sin
and to confess it. And it was a personal confession.
You read through here, and you see God saying Job's a perfect
man. Now, that word perfect means he's a sincere man. The word
perfect means he's a mature man. The word perfect means he's a
complete man. And if you want to take it to its nth degree,
in the person of Christ, Job was perfect as he was standing
in a substitute. But certainly the foolish doctrine
of sinless perfection is not taught from such passages. For
Job says concerning himself, I have sinned. I have sinned.
And he did not compare himself with his neighbors, his friends,
and his relatives. He didn't say, I've sinned, but now those
Sabeans, those fellows really sinned. He didn't say, I have
sinned, but the Chaldeans now, those fellows, do you understand
what they did? He didn't say, I have sinned,
but my wife, she said, won't you cuss God and die? He didn't
compare himself with his neighbors, his friends, and his relatives.
Job compared himself with God Almighty. Oh, my soul, I have
sinned. I have sinned. And this confession
of sin was made to God alone. He didn't make it to some priest
or some preacher. God's the one I've offended.
God's the one I've wronged. It is God whose mercy I must
have, and God alone can forgive my sin. In our day, in our Baptist
churches, we have, by and large, made Pateists out of Baptists,
for we have folks to come and confess their sin to the preacher.
or come to an altar or a mourner's bench or something of the kind
and confess their sin to the preacher or confess their sin
to the church. Listen to me. Listen carefully.
I am not interested in hearing about your sins, and it's far
easier for you to deal with me about your sin than it is for
you to get alone with God in your closet and deal with God
about your sin, and He's the one you've got to deal with.
You've got to go to God and acknowledge to God, I have sinned. This confession of sin was a
believing confession. For though his faith was at times
weak and mingled with much unbelief and fear, Job did believe God. He trusted his Redeemer and would
not let go of Him. He knew that God could and would
pardon him through Christ. Do you remember in Job 19? He
said, I know, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Look in chapter
13. Chapter 13. I'll show you a picture of faith.
Now this is faith. This is faith. Chapter 13, verse
15. Though he slay me, yet will I
trust him. But isn't this man who cussed
the day he was born? Yeah. How many times have you? So I've never done that. Yes,
you have. Yes, you have. You get to feeling sorry for
yourself because of some difficulty. Some bad relationship and you
weep and you lament, oh, I wish I'd never been born, or you cry
and you say, well, it would just be better off if I was dead.
You feel sorry for yourself, called self-pity, hoping to get
somebody else to pity you. That's exactly what Job did.
He said, I cursed the day I was born. You say, well, that can't
be a man of faith. Job said, though he slay me,
yet will I trust him, but I'll maintain my ways before him. He also shall be my salvation,
for a hypocrite shall not come before him." Job says, he says,
I see what's going on here, and I see the hand of God upon me,
and I see the trial and the heartache, and I see myself in misery, and
I'm I'm tossed to and fro, but though God's hand slays me, I'll
trust him. I'll not cease to trust him.
And this was a complete, full, unreserved confession of sin.
Job used three words here in verses 20 and 21 to describe
his whole being of sin. Look at it. He says in verse
20, I have sinned. In verse 21, he says, Why dost
thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? Now, those three words are used
deliberately by Job, for they describe this. First of all,
he said, I have sinned, that is, the perverseness of my nature.
That's what I am. This is what I am because of
my daddy Adam's sin. This is what I am because sin's
imputed to me. This is what I am because sin's
in my nature. My heart's a polluted cistern
of sin so that all that I think and feel and do is sin. I'm polluted. I have sin. My heart and nature
is perverse. That's all I am is perversity
and sin. Came into this world a sinner.
I was born a sinner. My nature is bent upon sin and
bent towards sin. The bias of my heart, the inclination
of my nature is towards sin and only sin continually. I have
sinned. But then he uses the word transgression.
And that speaks of the perverseness of my deeds. My nature, my heart's
perverse, David, and my deeds are almost as perverse. Almost
as perverse. My wife was telling me last night,
I got a letter Yesterday, I won't get into that, a fellow I went
to school with. His wife was my wife's roommate when they
were in college, and she was a homely sort of gal, and she
wore dresses down to her ankles, you know, and she didn't wear
any makeup, let her hair kind of fall as it would, and it usually
did, and she took it upon herself to set Shelby down and inform
her that she ought to dress in a certain way, and she ought
to behave in a certain way, and she ought not to do this and
ought not to do that, because in her actions she was sinning
and causing others to sin. And Shelby said that to me. I
said, there's no limits to which men will not go when they are
deceived with the perverted notion that sin is out there, and it's
caused out there. caused out there. Can we ever
understand? Sin is not out there, and it's
not caused by anything out there. Sin is here. And the perversity
of my deeds is because of the perversity of my nature. It's
because of what I am. Adultery, fornication, lasciviousness,
blasphemy, all these things come not from without. These things
come not from without, but from within. They're caused by what
I am. I said, well, I have a problem
with this, have a problem with that. The problem you've got
is with this, your heart. It's what you are. People talk
about sin, and don't misunderstand me. There's some things wrong.
God says there's some things that are wrong. But those things
we do that are wrong are nothing to compare with what we are that's
wrong. Our hearts, by nature, hate God. That's the problem. That's the
problem. The perversity of my nature.
The perversity of my deeds. Everything I think, say, feel,
or do is sin, and only sin continually. Everything. There's no exception. No exception. What about your
preaching? It's sin, full of sin, arises
from a sinful heart, comes from a sinful mouth. Everything I
think, say, feel or do is sin before God. Transgression. And
then he speaks of iniquity. That's the perversity of my righteousness. Sin, Bob, talks about my nature.
Transgression is breaking God's law. Transgression is walking
over God's law. Transgression is going in opposition
to God's law. Transgression is rebelling against
God's law. Iniquity, that's striving after
it and not getting off the ground. That's shooting for the mark
and that's your arrow falling off the bow just as it goes out.
That's shooting for the mark and missing it. That's what iniquity
is. Our righteousness is. are filthy
rags before God. And Job recognized that. Job
said, I have sinned, that's my nature. I have transgressed,
that's my iniquity, that's my evil deeds. And I am an iniquitous
man. That's the very best I've got
to offer God. My best deeds, my best deeds
are sin. From the sole of my foot to the
crown of my head, there is nothing but sin, wounds and bruises and
putrefying sores. It's not bound up at all nor
mullified at all. I would disclose my whole complaint,
but where shall I begin? No words of mine can fully paint
that worst distemper, sin. It lies not in a single part,
but through my frame is spread a burning fever in my heart,
a palsy in my head. I have sinned." That's the confession. That's the confession. And a
true heart confession of sin is nothing less than taking sides
with God against myself. It's nothing less than sitting
with God in judgment against myself. Turn over to Psalm 51. Psalm 51. Now listen to me. Bobby Estes, if you and Don Fortner
ever confess your sin, if ever we do, we're going to take sides
with God against ourselves. We're going to set in judgment
with God against ourselves. This is what David did. He said,
Have mercy upon me, O God, according unto thy lovingkindness, according
to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions,
wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Do
you see what David did? The same thing Job did. He said,
Blot out my transgressions, my evil deeds. and wash me throughly
from mine iniquity, that's my good deeds, and cleanse me from
my sin, that's the perversity of my nature. For I acknowledge
my transgression, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee,
thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight."
Now wait a minute, David. You stole Bathsheba from Uriah. But David, you committed adultery
with Bathsheba. David, you had Uriah murdered. You sinned against Uriah and
sinned against Bathsheba and sinned against Israel. No, no,
no! That's not the problem! Sin against
God. It's the perversity of my nature
against God. That's what did all this. It's not to excuse those things.
They're terrible evils. But that's nothing! That's nothing
to compare with my heart and nature before God! The thing that did this was the
enmity of that old man against God. Therefore, look at what
he says, I've said all of this that thou mightest be justified
when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Here's what
that means, Lindsay. God, if you send me to hell,
you're doing right. If you judge my soul to eternal damnation,
you're clear. There's no injustice with you,
for I am a perverse, sinful, guilty man before a holy God." John Blanchard said, sins concealed
by man will never be canceled by God, and he was right. This
is the first thing to be done. You must confess your sin. Otherwise,
you'll never obtain pardon, mercy, and forgiveness. Richard Sibbes
said, if we confess our sins, the way to cover our sin is to
uncover it by confession. And as we confess our sins, John
says he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God will never accept any man
until he comes to him like the publican and cries, God, be merciful
to me, the sinner. I have sinned, that's my confession. Secondly, what shall I do unto
thee? A broken heart is a submissive
heart, yielding all things to God. And once a man truly confesses
his sin, he will gladly surrender to the claims of Christ, the
sovereign Lord. Mr. Spurgeon made this statement,
and it's so clear, so plain. He said, the unconditional surrender
implied in the question, what shall I do unto thee, is absolutely
essential from every man who hopes to be saved. Did you get
it? The unconditional surrender implied
in the question, what shall I do unto thee, is absolutely essential
from every man who hopes to be saved. You see, God will never
raise the siege until we hold out the keys of every door, until
we raise the white flag of surrender, open every gate and bid the conqueror
ride through every street and take possession of the very citadel
itself. The traitor must deliver himself
up and trust the mercy of God. Until this is done, the battle
will continue. For the first requisite of peace
with God is complete surrender. John Trapp said, No sooner had
Job confessed his sin, but he desired to know a remedy. Now
reprobates cry, I have sinned. But then they proceed not to
say, As Job did, what shall I do? They open the wound, but lay
not on a plaster. And so the wound made by sin
is more putrefied and grows more dangerous. But Job would be directed
what to do for the remedy. He would have pardoning grace
and prevailing grace, and he would have it upon any terms. Now that's the character of a
broken heart. Lord, that Syrophoenician woman
said, my daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. And he said, I'm not sent but
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Turned his back on
her. And she said, I know that, Lord,
but I've got terrible trouble. My daughter, she's terribly vexed
with the devil. And he said, woman, it's not
meat that I should give the children's bread to dogs. Well, that'd do
me. Call me a dog. How dare anybody
talk about me that way? Call me a dog. She said, Lord,
it's true, I'm a dog, but I'm your dog. He said, I've never
seen faith like that. I've never seen, not in Israel.
And he healed her daughter. Now, this is what I'm saying. A man who needs Christ, a man
who needs grace, a sinner who needs mercy, anyone who knows
their sin will have God's mercy on God's terms, whatever they
are. Whatever they are. He'll not
be arguing and promising and resoluting. Well, Lord, I make
this resolution. Lord, I make this promise. If
you will, I will. If you'll do this, I'll do that.
No, Lord, what will you have me to do? What will you have
me to do? That's what Saul said on the
Damascus road, wasn't it? Lord, what will you have me to
do? Job said, Lord, what will you
have me to do? Now, that question reveals three
things. It reveals an acknowledgment
of total inability. What can a sinful, guilty man
do to appease a holy, righteous God? Nothing. And when Job asks
the question, he's not asking as a matter of hope in himself.
He asks as a matter of confessing his helplessness. Turn over to
chapter 9 of Job. Let me show you this. When Job
asked, what will you have me to do, he wasn't asking it like
that rich young ruler who came to Christ. That rich young ruler
said with his cockiness and his self-righteous assurance, he
said, you tell me what else you want me to do and I'll do it,
bud, like that. Job said, whatever it is you'd have me to do, I
can do nothing. I can do nothing. That's the
difference. In Job 9, verse 20, he said, If I justify myself,
mine own mouth shall condemn me. If I say that I am perfect,
my mouth will prove me perverse. Down in verse 30, If I wash myself
with snow water and make my hands never so clean, yet shalt thou
plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. Job
said, I cannot by obedience produce righteousness, and I cannot by
sacrifice atone for my sins. It also reveals a heart broken,
submissive, and surrendered to Christ. He makes no conditions. He offers no terms of peace.
He only begs to know God's terms, and God's terms are surrender.
Surrender. Total, unreserved, willing heart
surrender. You want to know how you can
have God's mercy? Be reconciled to God. Surrender! Surrender to the claims of the
sovereign Christ! Recognizing your helplessness,
trusting His righteousness, trusting His blood, surrender to King
Jesus. That's the only way to live.
I beseech you now, in God's stead be reconciled to God. Long and
short of it is, bow down, bow down to the Sovereign Christ.
That means you surrender yourself and you surrender everything. Whatever it is that I am, whatever
it is I possess, whatever it is I have, whatever it is that
I enjoy, whatever it is that I desire, I bring my whole self
and lay myself down at the feet of the throne of mercy, and I
ask God, take me, take me, take me. And it reveals a heart of
faith and a merciful Redeemer. Look in chapter 19 of Job, Job
chapter 19, 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 this body, yet in my flesh shall
I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eye shall behold,
and not another, though my reins be consumed within me. Now, I
do not have any idea how much knowledge Job had about the Lord
Jesus Christ. But you can be sure of this.
He knew who Christ is. He's my Redeemer. He knew who
Christ is. He's my Lord, my ever-living
High Priest. He's my ever-living Savior, my
ever-living God. He knew Christ is. And he knew
that Christ was his Redeemer. He knew something about redemption,
for he said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. And he trusted Christ
as his Redeemer. He did not trust himself. He
did not rest in himself. He did not trust his own goodness,
his own righteousness, his own sacrifice. He trusted his Redeemer. That's where faith is. I have sinned. That's the confession
of sin. What shall I do unto thee?" That's
the surrender of the sinner's heart. Thirdly, O thou preserver
of men, with those words the broken, self-confessed, surrendered
sinner confesses faith in his God and Savior. With the heart
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. The word used by Job for preserver
of men could very well be translated, and it is in our marginal references,
observer of men. Since my God and Savior is the
observer of men, he is aware of my misery and my needs, and
he is aware of all my desires. Since he is the observer of men,
he is aware both of my helplessness and of my condition, and it's
enough for me to know that God's aware. How about you? It's enough for me, in all my
circumstances in life, to know that God's aware. He's aware. You see, one of our Lord's names
that Abraham gave Him is Jehovah-Jireh. It can be translated like this.
It can be translated, The Lord shall see. That's what Abraham
told his son Isaac. He said, The Lord's going to
see. His name is Jehovah Jireh. He'll see. Or it can be translated,
the Lord shall provide. He who sees your need shall provide
your need. And so the Lord did provide a
ram called in the thicket. Or it can be translated, the
Lord shall be seen. He shall be seen. So that you
put them together, the Lord sees my need. And seeing my need,
he who is my Lord provides for my need, and he shall be seen
in the provision. I'll see his hand in the way
he provides. But let's stick with the translation
given in our text, in our English version. It's an expression of
faith and hope in our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Though I am guilty by nature,
with the view of God in Christ as the preserver of men, I have
a confident hope, trusting him. Turn over to the book of Jude,
if you will. The book of Jude. He is the preserver of men, and
he who is the preserver of men is my Savior. He is the one I
trust. He who has preserved me will
surely forgive all my sin, why else would he preserve me?" Now
look here in Jude verse 1, God my Savior, Jesus Christ, he is
my preserver. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ
and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the
Father, that's talking about election, and preserved in Christ
Jesus and called. Somebody looks at that and says,
well, Jude, you got that thing backwards. No, you got it backwards. And
they say, well, it's supposed to be called, preserved, and
sanctified. No. No, it's sanctified, preserved,
and called. We were sanctified in eternal
election by God's decree, preserved in Christ Jesus unto the day
of our calling, and called by God's Spirit. And what I'm saying
is this. I can trust Him who is the preserver
of men. We were preserved by covenant
election, preserved by special redemption. Christ died for us.
Preserved by divine providence up until the day that God was
pleased to be merciful to us and call us. He kept us by his
power until that day when he would be gracious and he still
preserves us in his providence. Preserved by the heavenly intercession
of our Savior. Preserved by his saving grace.
Preserved by his unalterable purpose. In Christ Jesus, I was
preserved in the fall of Adam. Had it not been for me being
preserved in Christ, this world would have gone to hell when
Adam fell. In Christ Jesus, I was preserved from the curse of the
law by the blood shed for my redemption. In Christ Jesus,
I am now preserved from destruction. In Christ, I am preserved from
temptation. In Christ, I shall be preserved
even in the day of judgment, for no harm shall befall God's
elect. I'm calling upon you to do three
things. Confess your sin. Confess your
sin. Surrender to the claims of God
in the gospel. And trust Christ. Trust the Lord
Jesus Christ, the preserver of men, through his blood, his righteousness,
and his intercession. Amen.