We turn to the 15th Psalm. Psalm 15. Lord, Who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? This is another way of asking
this question, who will be in heaven? That's the question. Who will be in heaven? And here's
the answer. He that walketh uprightly and
worketh righteousness Before I go on reading, I want you to
notice that every one of these verbs describing this one ends
with an E-T-H. That means it's continual, non-stop. He that walketh uprightly, he
that worketh righteousness, he that speaketh the truth in his
heart, He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil
to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor,
in whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honoreth them
that feareth the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt
and changeth not He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor
taketh reward against the innocent, he that doeth these things shall
never be moved. Let's pray. Lord, we come into your presence
in the name of thy Son. And we ask in his name that we
would have. Your presence, your blessing. That you would speak to our hearts
from your word. That you would enable us to worship
thy dear son. We pray that your gospel would
be preached. And that we would be given ears
to hear. We confess our sins, Lord, we
pray for forgiveness and cleansing. We pray that we might be found
in your son. We pray for your blessing on
all your people wherever they meet together. We pray for those
of our number that are sick. We pray for your blessing upon
them. Bless us for Christ's sake. In his name we pray, amen. Now notice who David addresses. Everybody hear that? Notice who
David addresses when he asks this question, Lord, Who shall
abide in thy holy hill, thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill,
Lord? He's asking the Lord this question.
Now, if you asked me in this question, you'd get a lot of
different answers, wouldn't you? If you had asked different members
of different denominations, they would have a different slant
on this. And I couldn't help but thinking about this. I grew
up as a Baptist. And I can remember when I was
seven years old, I can remember this so clearly, there's some
new people that moved into our neighborhood. And I was only
in second grade and I came up to him and I was talking to him
somehow and I asked him what kind of church they went to and
he said, a Methodist. I said, well, you're going to
hell. Where did I come up with such
strong views at that time? I did, you know, I mean, it's
just, you know, I just told the guy, and I remember the guy started
crying, and I said, sorry, you know, you don't have a chance.
And I had those views of how strong it was to be a Baptist,
you know, and that was just as a little boy. You know, everybody's
got their opinions of things. I had my opinions of things,
but David is not asking somebody like me. or you, about who will
be in heaven, he's asking the Lord. Lord, there's the key. Lord, who shall abide in thy
tabernacle and who shall dwell in thy holy hill. Now, in this passage of scripture,
we find out who will be there, and who will not be there. If someone does not exactly fit
this description, they will not be there. I heard a man preach on this
passage of scripture. I always try to look for sermons
on this passage of scripture. And the guy entitled this message
that he preached from this, how to approach God. And he said,
this is how to approach God. You have to at least be in some
measure like this, or you won't be saved. Now, nobody can be
perfectly like that, but you've got to be at least some measure
like this, or you can't approach God. Now, do we get that from
this text? Does this text say, as long as you're this way some
of the time, half the time or most of the time you'll be okay.
No, that word E-T-H lets us know that I must be this way all the
time. All the time. Who's going to
be able to approach God? Now let's look at this beautiful
description of character of that man who can approach God who's
going to be in heaven, who's going to abide in his tabernacle
and dwell in his holy hill. Verse two, here's who's going
to be there. He that walketh up rightly lives
without wrong. Whole, unimpaired, perfect. innocent. That's the one who's
going to be in heaven. That person who walketh up rightly. And the next description is they
work righteous. They worketh all the time. They worketh righteousness. That
means they keep God's holy law all the time. Look in verse two. He speaketh
the truth in his heart all the time. He doesn't lie. He doesn't
lie to God. He doesn't lie to himself. He
doesn't lie to other people. He always speaks the truth. That's
the person who's going to be in heaven. The person who always
speaketh the truth. Verse three. He that backbiteth
not with his tongue, the one who never slanders someone. This person always has your back. Always. Never a slanderous accusation
comes out of their mouth. And what else? Verse three. Nor
doeth evil to his neighbor. He never does his neighbor wrong. And he taketh up, nor taketh
up a reproach against his neighbor. This person never received slander.
Not only does he not slander, he won't receive it. Somebody
comes up and tries to slander somebody. He says, I'm not listening.
I don't want to have anything to do with that. This is the
person who's going to be in heaven. What a beautiful character. Now,
as we read this, what beauty is in this person? Let's go on
reading. Verse four, in whose eyes a vile
person is contemned. Now, this person doesn't have
a different standard for different people. If someone is a vile
person, anti-God, he's not gonna be for that person. Uh, he's
not going to have a different standard for that person because
of something that person can do for him. Not at all. This
person is no respecter of persons at all. He is not going to esteem
that person who is vile, but verse four, he honored them that
fear the Lord. That's the person he's for that
person who fears the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt
and changeth not. Now here's, look at the honor
of this person. He makes a promise and that promise
he has made is going to cost him something. He doesn't break his promise,
even if it costs him something. He's gonna keep his, what he
guaranteed to do, even no matter how much it hurts him. And look
what the scripture says with regard to this man. He changes
not. He changes not. He's utterly
predictable. He's utterly reliable. He never
changes. Verse five, he that putteth not
out his money to usury. Now, I've always wondered about
that, because banks do that all the time. They loan you money,
and they charge interest, and, well, they've got to do it. But
what this is a reference to is this person never does something
for you in order to get something in return. Never does it, never
tries to benefit from it. Doesn't give you money and expect
you to pay it back with usury so he can benefit and profit
from it. This person never does that. He puteth not out his money to
usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He can't be bribed. He can't be bought. He that doeth these things, shall
never be moved. Now isn't that a beautiful description
of a perfect character? And really, there is only one
person whom that describes, isn't there? How beautifully this typifies
the Lord Jesus Christ. He walked uprightly. He kept God's law perfectly. He never sinned. He never received a slander or
accusations. I think of those people that
brought that woman caught up in adultery. and brought her
before the Lord. And what did he say? Woman, where are those Zion accusers?
Hath no man condemned thee? He wouldn't receive anything. Verse Two, verse three, he back
biteth not with his tongue, he never slandered, nor doth he
evil to his neighbor. The Lord never did anybody any
wrong, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. He never
received a slander in whose eyes a vile person is contemned Oh,
he doesn't have a different standard. Everybody treats everybody the
same. Somebody's against God, he's against them. In whose eyes
a vile person is condemned, but he honoreth them that fear the
Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt
and changes not. Now the Lord made an agreement
with his father to save his people. It was to his hurt, wasn't it?
He had to go to the cross in able to do that. And he did it
anyway. He did not, he gave this swear
even though it hurt him. He went to the cross anyway for
his people. And he changes not. Jesus Christ
the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the only one who
can be described by this. He that putteth not out his money
to usury, you know, he's never given you anything because he
expected something in return from you. He never gives his
gifts with some string attached, thinking, well, I'm gonna, you
scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. That's not the Lord. He
never does anything thinking he's gonna get some kind of return
from you that will benefit him. He putteth not out his money
to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He's always just.
He's always just, he can't be bribed in any way. He can't be
bought. He that doeth these things shall
never be moved. Now this obviously is speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let me think about this
Psalm in light of myself. I want you to do the same thing.
Put yourself in light of this description. He that walketh uprightly, verse
two, I have not walked uprightly. He that worketh righteousness,
I have not worked righteousness. in any sense of the word, as
far as what I've done. I've not worked righteousness.
Look what he says next. And speaks the truth in his heart.
I'm a liar. That's what I am. Every time
my mouth, you know, you've ever heard somebody say every time
their mouth moves, they lie? That's me. Every time. That's you. Even if you tell
the truth, you're given some kind of slant on it to make you
look better. Every time. I'm a liar. I've lied to God. I've lied to myself. I've lied
to you. I'm a liar. That's a good description of
me. A liar. Somebody says, well, how do you
expect me to hear you preach, then, if you're a liar? Somebody who said they weren't
a liar, I wouldn't hear them preach. I'd know they're liars from the
get-go. But that's me. That's me. That's you. Let's go on reading. He that, verse three, he that
backbiteth not with his tongue, I've slandered people. I've slandered
people. You see, when I can make you
look bad, it makes me look better. I've slandered people. I can't
say I'm not guilty there. Neither can you. Nor doeth evil
to his neighbor. I've done evil to my neighbor.
You have too. Nor taketh up a reproach against
his neighbor. This man doesn't receive slander. I receive slander. You see, if
I hear something bad about you, it makes me look better. I receive
it. That's evil. That's wicked. I know that, but
I'm just talking about what I am in light of this psalm. I've
received slander. You have too. Verse four, in
whose eyes a vile person is contemned. Condemned, he has no, sorry,
whenever phones ring, my, my, everything, you know. Everybody,
that's happened to everybody. I know Don Fortner used to threaten
people with the phone ringing. One time his phone rang while
I was preaching. And he said, no more. This is a time of cell
phones. But at any rate, in whose eyes
a vile person is contemned, I have not looked at everybody. I've always, I've been a respecter
of persons. A vile person, if they can help
me and benefit me, I'll let them go. I'll be okay with them. But he honoreth them that fear
the Lord. He that swears to his own hurt
and changes not. Now I'll make a promise to you,
but if it's going to mess me up, I'm going to break my promise.
You say, that's awful. Yeah, it's awful. I agree. It's
awful. But I'm talking about the character
of the natural man, my character. This would describe everything
that this Psalm describes. I'm not. I'm not. How do you fit in? How do you
fit in? Let's go on reading. He that
swears to his own hurt and changes not, he that putteth not out
his money to usury. Now that's talking about I'm
gonna do something for you so you can do something for me in
return. I wanna get some benefit out of this. I'm not gonna do
this, I might say I'm doing it out of the goodness of my heart,
but I'm not. I'm putting out my money to usury, hoping I can
benefit. Nor taketh reward against the
innocent. Well, I can be bought, I can
be bought. I have been bought, you have
too. Maybe not financially, but when you can benefit from something,
you've taken a reward against the innocent. Now, he that do
these things shall never be moved, but he that does not these things.
Now, like I said, this is a beautiful description of character. I admire
this. Everything about this, I am not. And I want to be. I'm not making
some kind of excuse for sin. We should never sin again. We
should never have a bad motive. We should never, I'm not excusing
bad behavior in any way. But I am, I remember one time
somebody wrote me that left the church and they said, you normalize
bad behavior. And I thought, well, if people
around, there's gonna be bad behavior. But I don't normalize
it, I don't say it's okay. But here we have this beautiful
description of this person and just, honest as I can be. And I never will forget one time
Tim James preached a message out of Romans 7 where Paul said,
What I want to do, I don't do. What I do, I know it's wrong. You're familiar with the passage.
He said, Would you buy a used car off this guy? That's a good question. Would
you buy a used car off this guy? You know if he said, Do you lie? Yeah. Well, what makes me think
I can trust you? Well, that's attention, isn't
it? It's just the truth. It's just
the truth. Now, what about the man that
does not live this way when this is the only man who's going to
be in heaven? Well, hold your finger there in Psalm 15 and
turn to Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter three, verse 13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. Now put yourself in John's
place. What if the Lord Jesus Christ
came to you and said, I want you to baptize me. How would you feel? Like John felt. John said in
verse 14, but John forbade him saying, I have need to be baptized
of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said, suffer
to be so now. And I love that language, you
saying, I know it seems completely inappropriate. I realize that,
but suffer to be so now. And here's why. For thus it becometh,
what's that next word? Us. To fulfill all righteousness. What the Lord did when He exemplified
Psalm 15, He did as an us. When He fulfilled all righteousness,
so did everybody in Him. Now this is the reality of justification. Justification is not simply a
perfect legal standing before the law of God, and you're still
guilty. You know, we use that term or
we've used that term, justification is just as if I ever sinned.
That won't get it because that means you still sinned if you're
just as if you've never sinned. And if somebody, I've used this
example several times recently, if somebody murders your child
and then the judge stands before that person who murdered your
child, say, I'm gonna treat you just as if you never sinned.
We've got an unjust judge, don't we? We've got someone who is
a criminal in judging. So this thing of justification
means Not that I just have a legal standing before the law of God,
but it means Psalm 15 describes me literally. Literally. I have nothing to
fear. I stand before God without sin. Perfectly just. This describes me. You see, when Christ walked uprightly,
I did. When he worked with righteousness,
I did. All these descriptions are me,
because everything he did, he did as an us. And let me show you this from
Hebrews chapter seven. In my own experience, I always
feel guilty about something. Always. But I don't have anything
to feel guilty about. Not a thing. Not a thing. Look in Hebrews chapter 7, verse
9. And as I may so say, Levi also,
who received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. Now remember who
Levi is, he's the great grandson of Abraham. Great grandson, hadn't
been born yet. And this passage of scripture
says, When Abraham paid tithes, somebody who hadn't even yet
been born paid tithes. That's what it says, isn't it?
Levi paid tithes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of
his father when Melchizedek met him." Now, when Abraham paid
those tithes, it doesn't say it was as if Levi paid those
tithes or it was credited to his account. Levi paid those
tithes. When Jesus Christ kept the law,
everybody in Him kept the law. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, For he, God the Father, hath
made him, God the Son, and you'll notice to be is in italics. It
is put there by the translators, but if anything, it casts darkness
on this verse of scripture. He made him sin. I couldn't begin to tell you
what all that means. No man can tell you what that
means. But I know on Calvary's tree,
that cup that the father gave him to drink was more than punishment. You know, if all it was was punishment,
and I don't mean to diminish that in any way, But if all it
was was the pain and suffering that was involved, it wouldn't
have made him sweat drops of blood. There are many people
who have suffered just as much as he did physically, even martyrs
who suffered and rejoiced while it was going on. When he drank that cup, the sins
of his people were in that cup. And he drank that cup and the
scripture says he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He drank that cup and those sins
became his sins. Now he never committed a sin.
When he was made sin, he never committed a sin. This is worse. He was made sin. He was made sin. And He suffered
the complete equivalent of hell on Calvary's tree, satisfying
God's justice. He was made sin by the Father
that we might be made, Psalm 15, that we might be made the
very righteousness of God in Him. Now we have a very similar
psalm. Let me close by looking at Psalm
24. And this is saying the same thing. Psalm 24. We'll be there in, I guess, Lord
will, nine or 10 weeks. David asks the same question
when he says, beginning in verse three, who shall ascend into
the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy
place? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who hath 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 that once
again, Jesus Christ, clean hands, a pure heart. He never lifted up his soul to
vanity. He never swore deceitfully. Oh, the beautiful character of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is the character of
everybody that he died for. It's called justification. Thank God for justification.