I would like you to zero in on
the phrase in verse two, which God that cannot lie. God that cannot lie. I've entitled this message, Things
That God Cannot Do. Perhaps someone is uncomfortable
with that title because could that be limiting God? Talking
about what he cannot do? After all, the Bible says with
God, all things are possible. Is there anything that he cannot
do? Well, I know he cannot lie. And the thought of limiting God,
I don't want to limit God or I've heard people say before,
I don't want to put God in a box. I don't imagine me or you are
able to put him into a box. He is who he is. He said, I am that I am. And I feel quite confident that
he's not worried about any of us putting him into a box. Now,
Paul is basing his hope of eternal life. on something that God cannot
do. He cannot lie. God promised this before the
world began and he is incapable of breaking this promise because
he is incapable of lying. God cannot lie. Lying comes so natural to us. It ought not be. I'm not excusing
that in any way, but lying comes natural to us. A man doesn't
become a liar when he lies. He lies because he's a liar.
He's born a liar. That's his way. But God cannot
lie. All of his promises must come
to pass because he can't lie. All of his threats must come
to pass because he cannot lie. The living God cannot lie. He cannot act contrary or do
contrary to what he has said in his word. I love the scripture in 2 Timothy
3.16, all scripture. It covers Genesis 1.1 through
Revelation 22.21. All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
God breathed. said exactly as God would have
it said. And everything in this book must
come to pass because God cannot lie. Now the reason God cannot
lie is because he cannot act contrary to who he is. He can't. He's God. He cannot act contrary
to his attributes. Now when we speak of the attributes
of God, we're talking about his character. His attributes. God is holy, other, separate. That means he's not like me and
you. He's altogether other. He said, who shall you liken
unto me? He is other. To speak of his
holiness as his moral purity is to diminish his holiness. He does not do things because
they're the right moral things to do. What is right is right
because he does it. That's all it takes. He doesn't have a law over his
head. He's the law giver and he is
holy He cannot not be holy. Holy and reverend is his name. He can't lie because of his attributes. He cannot change. God is sovereign. That means his will is always
done. Now let that sink in. Whatever
takes place. is His will being done. Aren't you glad it's that way?
What if it wasn't? What if there are things that
took place outside of the control of His sovereign will? Well,
I would be afraid to walk out the door, but His will is always
whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in earth and sea
and all deep places. He cannot not be sovereign, like
he cannot lie. He cannot not be sovereign. I
heard a preacher say this, a local preacher. He said, God is sovereign,
and the only time he wasn't sovereign, the only time he relinquished
his sovereignty, is when he let men do what they wanted to his
son. He relinquished his sovereignty. Oh? Listen to this scripture. For the truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou has anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together
to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done. He cannot not be absolutely sovereign. He cannot not love because he
is love. He loves his elect with an everlasting love, and he cannot
stop loving them. And if he could, he would change.
And if he changed, he would no longer be immutable. But God
is immutable. He cannot change. Malachi 3,
6 says, I am the Lord. I change not. Aren't you thankful?
He can't change. Change and decay and all around
I see. O thou that changest not. Abide with me. God cannot sin. That's why we believe in what
is called the impeccability of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ couldn't
sin. If he could sin, I've heard preachers
say, well, he could have sinned, he didn't, but he could have.
If he could have, he's not immutable. If he could have, he's not immutable. Jesus Christ could not sin. The sinlessness, the inability
of God to sin. I love that scripture in James
where it says that God cannot be tempted with evil. He's never
tempted to do evil or be evil, neither tempteth he any man. He cannot not be absolutely,
immutably just. Justice and judgment are the
habitation of His throne. That's why He says, I will by
no means clear the guilty. Under no circumstance will God
ever clear someone who is guilty. God is independent. He cannot
not be independent. Like he cannot not lie. He cannot
not be independent. He has no needs outside of himself. Let me tell you why that's good
news. That is why he cannot need me or you to do something before
he can do something for us. He is utterly and completely
independent. God is omniscient. Therefore,
he can't learn. He's never heard anything new.
He's never been surprised. He knows all. He's never learned
anything. He's omniscient. God is omnipresent. He cannot not be omnipresent.
He is everywhere. He's not bound by space or time. He's omnipresent. You can't go
anywhere where He's not. I love thinking about this. He
doesn't dwell in the universe. The universe is in the palm of
His hand. God is omnipresent. He's all-powerful. He cannot
be anything but that. That's why it's an impossibility
for his will not to be done. He has omnipotence behind his
will. If he wills it, he's got the power to make it come to
pass. And he does make it come to pass. And that's why we are so happy
that we can quote that scripture. And we know that all things work
together for good. To them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. He's faithful. He cannot not
be faithful. Don't you love that scripture?
If we believe not, he abideth faithful. He cannot, there's
something he can't do. He cannot deny himself. God is faithful. He cannot fail. He's incapable of failure. He
can't intend to do something and it not be done. That's why
we can glory in that promise, Matthew 121, thou shalt call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. All of the gospel is predicated
upon this glorious statement. God cannot lie. If he could, there's no hope
for me or you. But God cannot lie. Now, like I said, I want
to try to preach a message on things that God cannot do. And I want to give you six or
seven things that are very important for us to understand the gospel
and understanding this thing of what God cannot do. Number one. He cannot. He lacks the ability
to accept anything but perfection. Amen. That's who he is. Leviticus 22, 21 says, it shall
be perfect to be accepted. God cannot accept anything short
of absolute perfection. Habakkuk 1.13 says, thou art
of pure eyes to behold evil and canst not look upon iniquity. Turn with me to Psalm 24. Psalm 24, this has been called
the Ascension Psalm. But let's begin in verse one. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. For
he hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand
in his holy place? Now remember, God can't accept
anything short of perfection. Well, listen to this answer. He that hath clean hands. That's
the only person who can stand in this holy place. He that hath
clean hands and a pure heart. who have not lifted up his soul
unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing
from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Now, who can stand in the holy hill of the Lord? Only one person. It's described like this, clean
hands, a pure heart. You've never done anything wrong
on the outside or the inside. Who's never lifted up his soul
to vanity and never sworn deceitfully. Somebody says, well, how, how
can that be? How could that describe any human
being? It describes the Lord Jesus Christ. This is who this is speaking
of and it describes everybody in him. Everybody that he represented,
everybody that he lived for, everybody that he died for, everybody
that he was raised for, everybody that he's presently interceding
for. This describes me. I am somebody because of the
Lord Jesus Christ, I've got clean hands. I've got a pure heart. I've never lifted up my soul
to vanity. And I've never sworn deceitfully.
If my Lord didn't, I didn't either. That is the hope of the gospel. And God cannot accept anything
short of absolute perfection. How good do you have to be for
God to accept you? You gotta be as good as God.
And every believer is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Exodus chapter 34 verse 7, God
gives us something that he cannot and will not do. He says, I will
by no means clear the guilty. Now listen to what's being said.
God says this, I will by no means, under no circumstances, under
no There will be no reason why I will clear anyone who is guilty. God cannot clear the guilty. Somebody says, well, how's he
going to forgive sin then? How's he going to have mercy
then if he will not clear the guilty? Well, understand this. If you understand the gospel,
you understand this, but God cannot clear the guilty. That
would deny all of his attributes. That would make him an unjust
judge if he would clear the guilty. What would you think of a judge
in Fayette County, Kentucky who cleared guilty people? You know
what you'd call him? An unjust judge. You would call
him a corrupt judge. We would want him out of office
if he would clear guilty people. As a matter of fact, a criminal
is not afraid of an unjust judge. He can be bought. I'll tell you
who a criminal is afraid of, an absolutely just judge who
will by no means clear the guilty. And that is what the God, our
Father is. He said, I will by no means clear
the guilty. If God was able to clear a man
who is guilty, he would no longer be God. Now here is where we have the
great mystery of the gospel. How God has made a way to be
just, absolutely just and not clear the guilty. He's made a
way to be just and yet justify the ungodly through what Christ
Jesus did on Calvary's tree. It's called the gospel of Jesus
Christ. God has made a way to make those
who are guilty not guilty. When I'm brought into heaven
to be judged, The judgment is not simply going to be forgiven,
shown mercy. The judgment is going to be not
guilty. That is what Christ accomplished
on the behalf of everybody he died for. He made the way for
God to be just and justify people like me who in and of myself,
I'm nothing but sin, but he's made me to be not guilty. You see, he will by no means
clear the guilty. Now listen to this, God cannot
save a sinner at the expense of his justice. Think about that. God cannot
save a sinner at the expense of his justice. He cannot pardon
sin without the punishment of sin. And that's what was taking
place on the cross. God was punishing sin. God was pardoning sin. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
5, verse 21. There's not a verse of scripture
more glorious than this or more important for us to understand
the gospel than this verse of scripture. 2 Corinthians 5, verse
21. For he, God the Father, hath
made him, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin. Now notice that to
be is in italics. It was placed there by the translators,
but it's not in the original. Literally, for he hath made him
sin. for us who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Now, let's talk about the Lord
Jesus Christ. He never committed a sin. I've already said He was incapable
of committing a sin. He's God the Son. He's the second
person of the Trinity. He's God, the God-man. Jesus
Christ is God. He can't sin. He never committed
a sin. But yet this passage of scripture
says, that one who knew no sin. Oh, you and I know sin intimately. We're used to it. We were born
that way. He knew no sin. He'd never experienced
sin in any level, to any degree. He knew no sin. Yet God the Father
made him sin. How's that work? I know this. God the Father lifted
my sin off of me. And his son bore it in his own
body on the tree. That's how he was made sin. God
can do this. God's got the authority to do this. I remember one time
hearing a preacher say, I've told you this before, but he
was caught in some kind of scandal. And he said he was being interviewed
and he was talking about that scandal he was caught in. He
said, well, I put that sin under the blood. And I thought, oh,
you have the authority to do that. You don't have the authority
to do that. Only God can put your sin under
the blood. He took my sin. God the Father. And He took it from me and placed
it upon His Son. That's how Christ was made sin. And just as truly as Christ was
made sin when God was punishing Him. Don't think for a second
that He was punishing the innocent. He was punishing the guilty. He took my sin in His own body
on the tree. God made Him sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Now turn with me for a moment
to Psalm 40. Psalm 40. Verse six, sacrifice
and offering thou didst not desire, mine ears hast thou opened, burnt
offering and sin offering hast thou not required? Then said
I, lo, I come, in the volume of the book it's written of me.
I delight to do thy will, O God, yea, thy law is within my heart.
Who's speaking? Jesus Christ. This is quoted
in Hebrews chapter 10 as the very words of Jesus Christ. Now, look in verse 11. This is still Christ speaking.
Someone says, well, it's not Christ speaking here. Yeah, it
is. If it was him speaking there,
it's him speaking here, too. Verse 11, withhold not thou thy
tender mercies from me, O Lord. Let thy loving kindness and thy
truth continually preserve me, for innumerable evils have compassed
me about mine iniquities. He didn't say Todd's iniquities
that were imputed to me. He said, mine iniquities have
taken hold upon me so that I'm not able to look up. They're
more than the hairs of my head. Therefore, my heart faileth me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help
me. Now, my sin. became his sin. No, he never committed a sin.
But do you think about when he was in Gethsemane's garden and
he saw that cup that he was called upon to drink and he said, Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. What was in the
cup? The sins of his people that he
knew he would be drinking into his own body on the tree and
being that great substitute for sinners. He hath made him to
be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. God cannot save a sinner at the
expense of his justice. Now, could God have saved a sinner
without the cross? I want you to try to answer that
question in your own mind. What do you think? Could God have saved
a sinner without the cross? Well, when Christ said, If it
be possible, let this cup pass from me. And I don't understand all that.
I mean, he was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world,
and yet when he was going to actually bear the sins of his
people, he sweat great drops of blood, and he was sore amazed
and very sore. He said, if it be possible, let
this cup pass for me. But it was not possible because
he's the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This
is his eternal work. He had to come in time and do
this. And if it was possible, when
the Lord asked his father, if it'd be possible, let this cup
pass from me. If it was possible, you can be sure the father would
let it pass from him. But it was not possible. This is how God punishes sin
and pardons sin at the same time. This glorious work of the Lord
Jesus Christ on the cross. Now listen to this. God cannot,
remember we're talking about what God cannot do. He cannot
lie. Well, God cannot send a man to hell for whom Christ died. Think of the glory of that statement.
God cannot Send a man to hell for whom Christ died. Now, most
of what goes on under the name of Christianity says he can't. God loves everybody. Christ died
for everybody. God wants to save everybody.
He's made salvation available. He died for your sins, but it's
up to you as to whether or not you're going to be saved. It's
whether or not you accept him or reject him. Forgiveness is
offered to you. He died for your sins. It's offered
to you, but it's up to you as to whether or not you are going
to be saved. That is what is called blasphemy. Nothing less. You see, if Christ
died for you, your sin has been judged and punished and put away. And the very justice of God demands
your salvation. The very law of God demands your
salvation. Who is he that condemns? Can
God condemn? No. He justified me. What about the law? What's my
answer to the law? It's Christ that died. What about my answer
to the accuser of the brethren? It's Christ that died. What will
satisfy my conscience? It's Christ that died. I need
no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough
that Jesus died and that he died for me. He shall see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied. This is the will of him that
sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose
nothing. If God sent somebody to hell
that Christ died for, God would be unjust. Amen? God would be unjust. And Christ
would have been a failure. If he intended to save me and
failed to save me, and I end up in hell anyway, Christ would
be a failure. but it's not possible for someone
to go to hell that Jesus Christ died for. God cannot reject anyone who
believes the gospel. Now, right now, Just forget about,
I don't mean forget totally, but you're not to be thinking
right now, well, did Christ die for me? You're not to be thinking,
am I one of God's elect? I mean, leave that for another
time, but right now I want to ask you this question. Do you
believe the gospel? That's the issue. Do you believe
the gospel? The Philippian jailer said, sirs,
what must I do to be saved? I know I can't save myself. What
must I do to be saved? And listen to the answer. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Believe on the Lord. Do you believe
He's Lord? Do you believe He's the Lord
of creation, that He created the universe? Do you believe
He's the Lord of providence, that He controls everything?
Do you believe He's the Lord of salvation? Your salvation's
in His hands. People say, won't you accept
Him as your personal Savior? That's not the issue. Will He
accept you? He's the Lord. Jesus, Savior, God's Christ,
God's prophet, God's priest, God's King, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. The Lord said, all that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. Him that cometh to me,
I will in no wise cast out. What's it mean to come to him?
It means to believe on him. If you believe on him, you're
coming to him. That's what it means. He that
cometh to me shall never hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. The same thing. You believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Now you can be too good to be
saved, but you can't be too bad to be saved. You can't be too
sinful to be saved. The Ethiopian eunuch asked this
question, what hinders me from being baptized? Now did Philip
say, well, let's see, have you straightened your life up? Have you changed things? Have
you started doing things you ought to do and quit doing things
you ought not to do? Are you sincere about this? What did he say? One thing, believe. If you believe with all your
heart, you may. And he said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God? Do you believe he's God the Son,
the second person of the Trinity, the one who cannot fail? Do you
believe? God will not turn you away. Anyone
who believes his son is received by him. I love to think of, one
of my favorite things to think about is the night of the Passover. You know in that great group
of people, that there were some people in that house with the
blood over the door, that that very day, and I'm not in any
way excusing this or saying, but that very day, there were
some people who committed sins that would make your ears tingle.
Now, don't think there's things you wouldn't commit. You could
do it too, and I could do it, but I guarantee you there were
some people who just did horrible, wicked things, maybe the hour
before they walked into the house. Now, here's my question. Were
they safe in the house with the blood over the door? God said,
when I see the blood. What was he looking for? He didn't
say when I see anything about you. When I see the blood, I
will pass over. There's no scenario whatsoever
that anybody in one of the houses with the blood over the door,
God would judge. They were safe and secure in
him. Now, a couple more. God, listen
to this. God cannot bring a man into heaven
with hell still in his heart. If you would even have the potential
of sin, he would let you in. God cannot bring somebody into
that holy place, heaven, with hell still in his heart. But in the new birth, he gave
a new nature, a new nature that according to the scripture cannot
sin. Let me show you this in the word
of God. Turn to first John chapter three, verse nine. I'm reading from
the King James. If you are not reading from a
King James Bible, it might say something different, but this
is what it is actually saying. Whosoever, 1 John 3, verse 9,
whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. What's that mean? Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin. That is what it means. That's
talking about that new nature, that holy nature birthed by God. Look what he goes on to say in
verse nine, for his seed, the seed of God. That seed, the new
birth, birth by the Spirit of God, his seed remaineth in him
and he cannot sin. He lacks the ability
to sin because he is born of God. That is the holy nature
that will enter heaven. The one you were given in the
new birth. Now listen to me, listen to this. The holy nature
you have right now is the same one you'll have in glory. You won't have flesh anymore.
You won't have this sinful nature anymore. You will not have sin
anymore. But that new nature that cannot
sin is the nature that you will have in heaven. We will enter
heaven in perfect conformity to Jesus Christ utterly conformed to His image. And last, God cannot be worshipped. Now listen very carefully. This
is just as important, as important as everything else I've said.
God cannot be worshipped apart from spirit and truth. Turn to John chapter four. Verse 23, but the hour cometh
and now is when the true worshipers. You know, there are a lot of
false worshipers and there are also true worshipers. When true worshipers shall worship
the father in spirit and in truth. For the father seeketh such to
worship him. God is spirit and they that worship
him must. Worship Him in spirit and in
truth. Now, in spirit. In the day you eat thereof, Genesis
2, 17, God speaking to Adam. In the day you eat thereof, you
shall surely. Excuse me. In the day you eat thereof, you
shall surely. Now, he didn't die physically.
He didn't die on that day physically. But on that day, he did die spiritually. That's what Paul is talking about
when he says man is dead in trespasses and sins. Oh, he's physically
alive. He's got a soul. But he has no
spiritual life. He doesn't have the capacity
to worship. No spiritual life. But when God
Gives a man the new birth, he now has the Spirit. And it is
only the Spirit that worships God. No natural man can worship
God. You can't worship God in your
flesh. It's only the spiritual nature that he gives in the new
birth that worships. And where there is this spiritual
worship, there's something else, the truth. Where there's not
the truth, you don't have spiritual worship. Whatever you claim it
is, it's not spiritual worship. Wherever there's spiritual worship,
there's the truth of the gospel. They that worship Him must worship
him in spirit, that spiritual nature, that nature that does
not sin and truth, the truth of God's character, the truth
of the gospel, how he's made the way to be just and justify
the ungodly. Now, salvation is believing in
his ability to do. Remember, I talked about this
being what God cannot do. Salvation is believing in His
ability to do. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1.12,
I know whom I believe and I'm persuaded He is able to keep
that which I've committed to Him against that day. I believe
in His ability to save me. But my salvation is also founded
in what He cannot do. He cannot lie. He cannot send
somebody to hell that Jesus Christ died for. And all my hope is
founded, yes, in his ability, and yes, in what he cannot do. What a glorious God we have. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name,
that you would take your word, not the words of a man, but that
you would take your word and bless it to each heart here according
to your will for the glory of your name. and reveal Christ
to each heart here. And Lord, enable us to truly
glory in what you can do and what you cannot do because of
your glorious attributes. We ask that you bless this message
for your glory. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.