Five Big Questions

Q: What does the Bible say about God's care for humanity?

The Bible shows God's love for humanity through the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Scriptures affirm that God deeply cares for humanity, as seen in John 3:16 where it states that 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.' This demonstrates God's mercy and love towards fallen man. Furthermore, Romans 5:8 reinforces this, declaring that 'while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' The act of sending His Son illustrates God's concern for Adam's race, highlighting His everlasting love and interest even amidst our frailty and sin.

Q: How do we know we will have eternal life?

We have the assurance of eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The question of eternal life is answered through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who overcame death and offers life to those who believe in Him. In II Corinthians 5, Paul reassures us that 'to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,' emphasizing that upon death, believers are immediately in the presence of God. Additionally, 1 Thessalonians 4 informs us that when Christ returns, He will bring those who have died in Him back to life, affirming that we will indeed live again in His presence eternally.

Q: Why is it important to examine our faith?

Examining our faith is vital for ensuring we are truly in Christ and secure in our salvation. Self-examination is encouraged in the Scriptures as a means to make our calling and election sure, as stated in 2 Peter 1:10. This examination is essential for both spiritual growth and assurance of salvation. By consistently reflecting on our faith and understanding of the gospel, we can assess whether we genuinely believe in Christ's finished work. As Paul reminds us in II Corinthians 13:5, we are to 'examine ourselves, whether ye be in the faith.' This practice helps us stay grounded in grace and enables us to remain vigilant against doubt and temptation.

Q: How does Christ make us clean before God?

Christ's sacrifice on the cross cleanses us from sin and imputed His righteousness to us. The question of how we can be made clean before a holy God is crucial. It is addressed in II Corinthians 5:21, which states, 'For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.' This substitutionary atonement means that Christ took our sins upon Himself and, in exchange, grants us His righteousness. Therefore, we are cleansed not by our works but by faith in Him, leading to justification and acceptance before God.

Q: What does the Book of Job teach us about suffering?

The Book of Job teaches that suffering can be both a test of faith and a means to draw closer to God. The Book of Job addresses the profound issue of suffering and its relation to faith. Job's trials demonstrate that suffering is not necessarily a punishment from God but can serve a greater purpose in developing our faith and reliance on Him. Job's reflections and questions illustrate the depths of human pain and the ultimate desire for redemption. Job's faithfulness, despite his suffering, points us to the redemptive work of Christ, who also suffered for our sake, showing that through trials we can understand more about God's nature and His plans for us.

I have a title today that should
be easy for you to remember. I'm going to speak to you today
on the subject, five big questions, five big questions. I want you, if you will, to follow
in your Bibles while I read and comment on this passage of Scripture
verse by verse. It's found in the book of Job.
the book of Job. If you'll open your Bible to
the book of Job chapter 14, this is a familiar, familiar passage
of Scripture. Immediately when you open your
Bible there and look down, you say, Well, I've heard that before.
And you have. You've read it many times. You've
heard it read many times. And it's usually read at a funeral. Generally, when you read this
or heard it read or hear it read, it'll be at a funeral. And do
you remember how it begins? Look at Job 14, verse 1. Remember
how it begins? It says, Man that is born of
woman is a few days and full of trouble. Well, in this scripture,
I'll be looking at verses 1 through 14. In this scripture, Job asked
five big questions. Five big questions. Now, a friend
said to me not long ago when I preached from this scripture,
I brought a message on this subject with these five big questions,
and he came up to me after the service. He'd been studying the
Bible for years, he said, many, many years. He said, I've studied
this scripture and that particular scripture many times, and I've
never seen those five questions before. I've just never seen
them. And it may be you haven't, but I see five questions here
I want to deal with. Now, I love the book of Job.
I love... When did Job live? I don't know. I really don't know when Job
lived. I asked a man that a few days
ago. When did Job live? He said, well, maybe during the
days of Abraham. Well, I don't know. He might
have been a contemporary of Enoch or Abraham or whomever, but most
agree that the book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible,
older than Genesis, older than any other book in the Bible.
It's the oldest book in the Bible. Who wrote it? We don't know that
either. But this man Job, the reason
I love the book of Job, it deals with so many subjects. And Job
was a man who knew God. Job knew God. He loved God. He believed God. How do I know
that? Well, in Job 1, verse 8, the
Lord said this, the Lord God said, Have you considered my
servant Job? God himself called Job my servant. Now that's enough to know that
he knew God. God knew him because he was called
the servant of God. And then secondly, God said this
about him in that same verse, Job 1.8. He said, there's none
like him on the earth. That's pretty exclusive. That's
one reason why I don't think he lived during the days of Abraham
because he said there's nobody like him. Nobody like my servant
Job on the earth. And I tell you this, if there's
nobody like him, then God made him different. He didn't make
himself different. He wasn't born different. It's
an act of grace and mercy on the part of God that made him
different. What do you have that you didn't receive? What do you
know that God didn't teach you? So if he's different from all
the other people on the earth, God made the difference because
he says over and over again, there is no difference. all have
sinned." There is no difference. All we like sheep have gone astray.
There is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile. But
here of Job he said he's different. He's my servant and there's none
like him on the earth. And then listen to what God says
about him. The Lord God says, He's a man who fears God and
shuns evil. Now that's That is some recommendation
in it. God Himself said of this man
Job, He's My servant and there's none like Him and He fears God. And then we have Job's own testimony
found in Job chapter 19 when he said this, he said, Oh, that
my words were printed in a book. And they were, weren't they?
Oh, he said that my words were engraved in the rock. Engraved
in the rock forever. Write them on my tombstone. Put
them in a book, in a biography, and write them on my tombstone.
What are these words that you want put in a book, Job? These
words for which you want to be remembered. These words that
you want on your tombstone. What are these words? He said,
here they are. I know that my Redeemer liveth. My Redeemer. The kinsman Redeemer. the Lord
Jesus Christ. I know He's living, and that
He shall stand in the latter day on this earth. And though
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I see God, whom I
shall see for myself and not another. I know my Redeemer living."
This man knew God. So I'm interested in what he
has to say. Aren't you? I'll sit at his feet. No man
tested and tried like Job. And James cautions us to be attentive
to this man and learn something about patience from him, learn
something about a lot of things from him. Well, Job asked some
mighty important questions in these verses, mighty important,
in regard to his relationship with God. And I'll tell you,
it's mighty important for a man to examine himself. I know it's
not very popular in this day to encourage people to examine
themselves whether they be in the faith, but it's scriptural.
Peter said, you give diligence to make your calling and election
sure. It doesn't matter whether you're
in the pulpit or in the pew, whether you're a doctor of theology
or a doctor of medicine, or whether you're an elder or a deacon,
or whether you're one of the people out yonder in the streets.
You give diligence to make your calling and election sure. If
you do this, you'll never fail. I guarantee you, he said, you'll
never fail. Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith.
Every time we come to the Lord's table, we're taught to examine
ourselves and so eat of the bread and drink of the wine. One of
the old hymn writers put it this way, depth of mercy. Can there
be? Mercy reserved for me? For me? Can my God His wrath
forbear me, the chief of sinners spared? Maybe the reason that
question is not asked today is there are not many chief of sinners.
You reckon that could be the reason? And another hymn writer,
can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood?
died he for me who him to death pursued amazing love." How can
it be that thou, my God, should die for me? Do you ever wonder
with amazement that the grace of God should be given to you
and to me? Job did. Job did. Let me look at these five questions.
You want to take your Bible there and look at them with me. First
of all, The first question follows his description of our frailty,
our flesh, the brevity of this life. In verse 1, he says, man
is born of woman, born of woman. And I'll tell you, every person
born of woman is destined to die. It's appointed unto that
man, wants to die. After that, the judgment. Man
is born of woman and a few days. Don't live very long, do we?
70, 80 years, less than that, but that's not very long. And
he's full of trouble, full of trouble. Trouble from within,
trouble from without. His life is a life of trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower. All these little babies are so
pretty, they're so beautiful, they're so They're so fresh and
young, and their cheeks are so pink, and they come forth like
a blooming, beautiful flower, you know, and they live a little
while, and then they cut down. They fleeth. Man, he's born a
woman, is a few days and full of trouble, and he flees through
this life like a shadow and continueth not. That's man, frail flesh,
dying flesh. You know, Isaiah said, All the
glory of man is like the grass of the field, like the grass
that weathereth. What do you do with your grass
clippings? You run the lawnmower through the yard and the grass
clippings off the top of the grass are thrown out of the lawnmower
and you rake them up and burn them. They're no good. Like a
flower, it appears for a little while and then it's cut down.
And here's the question now. When Job thinks about this frail,
fleshly, corrupt, worthless body and life. He says, Oh God, listen,
dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one? Here's God, eternal,
man, temporary. God, holy, man, sinful. God,
eternal, man, just here for a short time. God in His glory and beauty
and majesty and power, man in his frailty and flesh and weakness
and sickness and disease and death. Do you, God, do you care
about things like this? These old withered flowers and
these grass clippings and these weeds, are you interested? Do you have an interest in us?
Does the Holy God care about such chaff that the wind blows
away? David wondered about that. David
said, when I consider the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars,
the things God has made, what is man that God's mindful of
him? This is what Job is saying. You
come out of your mother's womb and you're here for a little
while, you're nothing but flesh and blood and bones and sin and
mistakes and errors and full of trouble. And you're like a
flower that's cut down and a shadow that's fled. And he looks to
God and says, God, you care anything about this mess? You have any
interest in this mess? Do you even look our direction? Well, can you answer it? Can you answer that question?
Lord, does Dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one as this? I got the answer. I can give
you one undeniable way in which I know that God's interested
in some of Adam's race, that God looks upon us and cares for
us. You know how I know? For God
so loved this fallen world that He gave His only begotten Son. That's how I know that God looks
my way. He sent Christ my way. That's
how I know He's interested in me. He sent Christ to be my representative,
my surety, my redeemer, my mediator. That's how I know. He that spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him freely give us all things? That's right. Romans 5.8 says, God commended
His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, born of
woman, a few days, full of trouble, coming forth like a flower and
a shadow that fleeth, even when we were sinners, Christ died
for us. Christ died for us. You know,
he said man's born of woman is a few days. God said, Jeremiah,
before you were born of woman, before you were formed in the
belly, before you came out of the womb, I knew you, I loved
you, I sanctified you, I set you apart. I have drawn you,
he said in Jeremiah 31, I have drawn you with an everlasting
love. I have loved you with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee." God's love in Christ indicates that he does
have an interest in Adam's race. Job, there's your answer. And
I understand why you ask it. I don't understand why everybody's
not asking it. When we consider what we are
and who we are, that our God of glory would even open his
eyes on such an abominable sight, on such a wretched wretched sight. All right, here's the second
question. He asks that, Dost thou open thine eyes upon such
a one? Then he says, verse 3, And do
you bring me into judgment with thee? This man born of woman, a few
days full of trouble, who comes forth like a flower, and is cut
down, and fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not, You're going
to bring me into judgment with thee? Now, you know, if Job had
said, God, do you bring me into judgment before thee? I wouldn't
have a problem with that. He wouldn't either, because he
knew that he, by all rights, should one day stand before God
and be judged. The Bible says we all shall stand
before the judgment seat of God. And John, writing the last book
of the Bible, he said, I saw the dead small and great. The
sea gave up the dead. Death and hell delivered up the
dead. And I saw the dead small and great stand before God. But Job didn't ask here, do you
bring me into judgment before thee? He should. Without Christ, he will. But
what he says is, do you look upon such a one open your eyes
upon such a one, and bring me into judgment with thee." With
thee. That's what Paul says in Ephesians
2, he hath raised us up and made us sit together with Christ in
heavenly places. Not stand before him to be condemned,
but seated with him to be enthroned and glorified. He prayed in John
17, Glorify me with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. And then he said, The glory which
thou gavest me, I've given them with him. Seated with Christ
in the heavenlies. Psalm 24 says, Who shall ascend
into the hill of God? Who shall stand in his holy place?
Who? Well, he that hath clean hands
and a pure heart. Do you bring me into the to the
throne with you, with God? I tell you, a man who's not awed
and amazed by all of this, knowing what he is and who God is, is
really not knowledgeable of what he is or who God is. Because when you consider those
two things, and this is what Job was talking about, talking
about himself, man is born a woman, a few days, full of trouble,
like a flower withered, wilted, and cut down. and just a fleeting
shadow. And does God open His eyes upon
such a one and will actually take such a one unto Himself
into His bosom and to sit with Him on His throne? That's right.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, saved a wretch like me. Revelation 21, 3 says, I heard
a voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men. and he'll dwell with men, and
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God, and they shall be his people." With God? All right, that brings us to
the third question. The thought of man dwelling with
God brings Job to ask the third question. He says, we're born of a woman
by natural birth. Born in sin, my mother conceived
me. I was shapen in iniquity and
brought forth speaking lies, full of trouble a few days. And
does God intend to bring us into the throne room, within the veil,
into the Holy of Holies? The third question in verse 4
says, Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? We're unclean. Now, who's going to make us clean?
That's the question. If I stand in God's presence
and ascend into the hill of God and enter the throne room into
the holy of holies, I've got to be holy. Now, who's going
to make me holy? Who's going to cleanse me? God's
holy. We're unholy. How are we going
to be made holy? You got the answer? Job didn't
have it right here. God is just. We have sinned.
How are we going to be just? God is righteous. We're unrighteous.
How can we be righteous? And somebody says, well, we'll
just do the best we can. But that's not what God requires.
He requires perfection. The Scripture says to be acceptable,
it has to be perfect. How holy does a man have to be?
to come into the Holy of Holies? How righteous does a man have
to be? How holy does a man have to be? Job knew. He said in Job 15,
14, What is man that he should be clean? He that's born of a
woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, God puts no trust in
his saints. The heavens are not clean in
his sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man who drinks iniquity like water? We think sin. We imagine sin. We're imperfect. Even man at his best state is
altogether lightness and vanity. There's none good. There's none
righteous. Job said in chapter 25, verse
4, well, how then can man be justified with God? How can he
be clean that's born of a woman? Behold to the moon, it shines
not. The stars are not pure in God's
sight. How much less man who's a worm? So Job said, if you're
going to look my way with interest and care, and then you're going
to take me unto yourself and seat me with you to judge the
world, are you going to make me clean? Well, I have the answer,
thank God, I can answer that question. Who can bring a clean
thing out of an unclean? Not one, but the one can. He can. God can. Can the Ethiopian
change his skin? Nope. God can. It's his nature. Can the leopard
change his spots? Nope. It's his nature, but God
can. God can. Can the sinner cleanse
himself? Nope, but God can. Can I make
myself holy enough for God to accept me? Nope, but God can.
Listen to II Corinthians 5.21. He, Christ Jesus, who knew no
sin, was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. It's called substitution. That's
what it's called, substitution. The God-man, Jesus Christ, came
down here to the earth. He was born of a woman. He was
made of a woman. He took upon Himself flesh and
blood and bones. He had no human father, therefore
He had no inherited sin. He was conceived in the womb
of the Holy Spirit, not by a man. He was born without sin. And
as our federal head, as our substitute, as our representative, Jesus
Christ walked this earth. And what God required of us,
He did. what God commanded of us, He
performed. What God Almighty required in
order to be holy, Jesus Christ did, always did in God's sight. And therefore, in Him, we have
this perfection. See, in the fullness of time,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
that He might redeem those that are born under the law. And He,
the just, died for the unjust, that He might bring us That's
where it's done. Are we clean? Are we holy? Are we righteous? Not in ourselves
and not in our works. We are in Christ. He's our righteousness. He's our justification. He's
our sanctification. He's our redemption. Everything
we have, we have in Him. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you're complete in Him. So in Christ,
we're accepted in the beloved. In Christ, we're holy. You see
that? That's the good news of the gospel. Who can bring a clean
thing out of an unclean? Who can give us a clean record,
clean books, and a clean standing, perfection in God's sight? Christ. All right, here's the fourth
question, Job 14, verse 10. And Job said, well, man dies,
and he wasteth away. Man gives up the ghost. Here's
the question, where is he? Where is he? Job thought he would
die. He was right then so sick. He
was covered with boils. His health was gone. He was a
dying man. He'd seen other people die. He'd
watched them buried. He knew the body rotted. He said,
worms destroy this body. Now he's saying, well, when man
dies, where is he? He breathes out his breath. and
the body falls to the ground, becomes dust again. Where's the
man? Where is he? Where is he? Do
you know where he is? I know. In II Corinthians 5,
Paul said, If this earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved,
this old tabernacle tent be laid aside, we have a building, a
building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. Paul said to be absent from this
body is to be present with the Lord. I'm in a straight matrix
of two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ. We go to
paradise. When a person dies and this body
falls to the ground lifeless, that life has gone to glory. Christ said to the thief, today
shalt thou be with me in paradise. There's no soul sleep, there's
no halfway house, there's no purgatory, there's no compartments,
there's paradise. We go to be with God. And we
have a dwelling. Our Lord said, In my Father's
house are many dwelling places. We have a house prepared by God
awaiting our coming. All right, the last question,
verse 14. He said, Well, if a man dies,
shall he live again? Shall he live again? That man,
that man, that person, that individual, shall he live again? Here, let
me just use myself. Henry Mahan, pastor. If I died
tonight, go to be with God. Well, shall I live again? This
person, this individual, shall I live again? Answer that and
you answer all these other questions about will we know each other
and all that sort of thing. Will I be me? Well, when Moses
and Elijah appeared with Christ, they were Moses and Elijah. When
our Lord came forth from the tomb after dying, he said, it's
I. 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul talks
about when the Lord comes again, he'll bring those who sleep in
Christ with him. In Revelation, we praise Him
by saying, unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sins
in His own blood. Yes, we'll be the same people,
infinitely new. The corruption will put on incorruption,
the mortal immortality. Flesh will be spiritual body,
but we'll be ourselves. Where is He? With the Lord. Who
is He? Him, His redeemed self. All right,
here's the title, Five Big Questions. Five Big Questions. You want
the tape, write for it. That other message I preached
last week, Repentance and Faith, these two messages are on the
same tape. We'll send them to you for $2. Here's the address.
Till next week, God bless you.

Five Big Questions

What does the Bible say about God's care for humanity?

How do we know we will have eternal life?

Why is it important to examine our faith?

How does Christ make us clean before God?

What does the Book of Job teach us about suffering?

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Five Big Questions

What does the Bible say about God's care for humanity?

How do we know we will have eternal life?

Why is it important to examine our faith?

How does Christ make us clean before God?

What does the Book of Job teach us about suffering?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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