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James 1:13-15 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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All right, good morning, CFC.
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We'll be in the book of James, chapter 5, starting in verse 13.
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!
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So James writes,
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Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God.
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For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
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But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
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Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin.
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And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.
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In seventh grade, I remember getting caught cheating on a homework assignment for a science class.
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I don't even remember what science we were studying.
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It shows you how much I cared about that class.
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But we had an assignment where we had to go home and read this chapter
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and look for sentences on the page that were on our sheet, you know, and fill in the blank.
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Just to prove we had read it.
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And I kind of thought, it's kind of a waste of time, you know.
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And so I didn't feel like doing it.
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And so I thought, you know, in all my seventh grade wisdom, I thought,
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Well, I'll just copy my friend Alexander tomorrow.
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He's a smart kid.
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You know, he's in the orchestra.
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Like, he's going places.
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I'll just copy him.
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He'll have it, because he's a book winner.
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And so that's exactly what I did.
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And the parapro caught me, and she didn't really like me.
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And I was kind of a brat.
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This is before I was a believer, by the way.
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But Mr. Brown, the actual teacher, he did like me.
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I'm not sure why, but he did.
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And I knew I could talk my way out of it with him.
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So when she caught me, she brought me up, you know, showed my homework assignment, all this kind of stuff.
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And I just said, Well, you know, Mr. Brown, you assigned this thing, okay?
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You told me to copy from the book.
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I see no difference copying from my friend.
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What's the issue here?
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I had to read the sentences.
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They're right here.
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And he laughed, looked at the parapro, and said, Well, you know, he's got a point.
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And it counted.
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So that's how I'm here today.
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Past seventh grade.
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But, yeah, I essentially turned it on him, though.
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I'm giving you the short version.
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But when I really was kind of arguing with him, which is more playful, I basically turned it on him.
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I said, You know, this is really your fault for giving me such a dumb assignment.
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I didn't use that word at the time.
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But, you know, I just thought, This is so ridiculous.
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This is really your fault.
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If you really wanted me to learn something here, do something right, or do something profitable,
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you should have assigned a different type of homework.
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And so I essentially blamed him for what I had done.
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Right?
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And I turned it on him.
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And obviously, you all know the reality.
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What I did that day was wrong.
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My actions, my desires, my decisions were deceitful.
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They were sinful in that moment.
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But it's really telling, though.
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I mean, this has been, to put it in the more abstract statement, right,
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this has been the pattern of man forever.
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We always shift blame throughout all of history.
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The rebel left to himself never admits responsibility for rebelling.
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And this is as old as the Garden of Eden.
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When Adam is approached for his sin, he does not admit his wrongdoing to God.
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Rather, he shifts the blame.
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But not to Eve.
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Specifically, he says in Genesis 3, chapter 3, verse 12,
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he says,
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The woman whom you gave me, God,
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the woman whom you gave to be with me,
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is the reason I sinned.
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So he's saying, God, this broken vessel that you created did this evil.
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With the subtle implication being,
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God, you are responsible for what I did.
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If you didn't want me to do this,
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you shouldn't have given me this woman who made me do these things.
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And everything that led to me committing this sin is external to me.
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It's all you, not me.
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Adam, essentially in that moment, was saying,
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God does tempt, and he tempted me.
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And of course, that is a blasphemous lie,
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but a blasphemous lie that Adam believed nonetheless,
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and a lie that all of us prior to Christ believed.
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And this pattern didn't stop with Adam and Eve.
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It continued all throughout the Bible and all throughout history.
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Job chapter 2, verse 9,
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Job's wife was ready to curse God and die
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as she exhorted her husband to do likewise.
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In Ezekiel chapter 18, verses 25 through 26,
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the Lord rebukes the whole nation of Israel in the midst of her sin.
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And he says of them,
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Yet you, Israel, say,
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So Israel says to God,
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The way of the Lord is not just.
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Hear you, Israelites.
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God responds,
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Hear you, Israelites.
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Is my way unjust?
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Is it not your ways that are unjust?
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If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sins,
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they will die for it because of the sin they have committed,
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they will die.
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And this pattern of shifting blame has always been true of fallen man.
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This is why James is addressing the issue in his epistle,
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because it's still an issue at his time.
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It's still an issue in our time.
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And he was clearly concerned that his audience was susceptible to such sin
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during a time in which they are being trialed,
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which we've talked about in the weeks past.
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And so to start this text, James, what does he do?
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He starts with a strong affirmation of God's holiness,
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that God is without blame.
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And that's point number one for this morning.
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God is holy.
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Point number one, God is holy.
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He says in verse 13,
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Let no one say when he is tempted,
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I am being tempted by God.
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For God cannot be tempted with evil,
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and he himself tempts no one.
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It's a firm affirmation.
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Holiness means to be separated from sin
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and totally, entirely committed to God.
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And that is exactly who God is.
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The one who is perfectly committed to himself
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and without sin.
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Totally separate.
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There's no blurring.
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There's no lines touching.
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Totally, totally separate.
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The phrase,
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God cannot be tempted with evil,
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literally translates from Greek as something like,
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God is inexperienced with evil.
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He doesn't even experience it.
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He's never sinned.
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He will not sin.
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And he has not sinned.
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It is against his nature.
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Now recall that James is writing to dispersed Christian Jews
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throughout the Greco-Roman world.
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These believers were facing hardships,
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persecution, and trials of various kinds.
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It could be easy for them to face that temptation at such a time,
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such a time to blame God.
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Well, I'm feeling angry because of my circumstance,
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which sovereign God brought on me.
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How often do believers question God in the midst of crisis?
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How often do we try to shift blame to God in our hearts
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when we cannot believe the evil we so quickly run to?
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And it seems that James is concerned
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that his audience would be tempted to do such a thing.
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And so he reminds them of God's holiness to avoid any such foolish thinking.
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I think one of the great proofs of God's holiness
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and our sinfulness is found in Isaiah chapter 6.
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Go ahead and turn with me there.
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We're going to be there for just a minute.
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So keep your thumb in James.
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But Isaiah chapter 6, starting in verse 1.
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Isaiah writes, again, chapter 6, verse 1.
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He writes,
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In the year that King Uzziah died,
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I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne,
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high and lifted up.
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And the train of his robe filled the temple.
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Above him stood the seraphim, each had six wings.
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With two he covered his face,
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and with two he covered his feet,
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and with two he flew.
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And one called to another and said,
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Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
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The whole earth is full of his glory.
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And the foundations of the threshold shook
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at the voice of him who called,
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and the house was filled with smoke.
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And Isaiah said,
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Woe is me, for I am lost,
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for I am a man of unclean lips,
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and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips,
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for my eyes have seen the King,
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the Lord of hosts.
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So it's important to understand
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when we're looking at this text
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what a Hebrew thinks of
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when he thinks about knowing something.
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I'm talking about epistemology,
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if you like big words.
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How do you know what you know, right?
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To know something was not merely
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an abstract intellectual ascent for a Hebrew,
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this kind of thing that you just have in the mind,
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and now I know it.
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Rather, it included the totality of the person
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as an embodied creature.
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To know something was to understand it
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in the mind, in the heart,
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in the eyes, and in the body.
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This is why Moses often uses euphemisms
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like Adam knew his wife Eve,
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in the wholeness of his body,
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in his person, in his mind,
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in his heart.
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This is why we are called to love the Lord,
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our God,
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with all of our heart, mind, soul,
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and strength in Deuteronomy 6, 5.
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Because we are to love him
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in our totality,
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or wholeness,
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as Jane puts it in chapter 1, verse 4.
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So we have Isaiah before the throne of God,
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and Isaiah in verse 1 saw God.
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Isaiah is beginning to know God as he is,
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and this causes Isaiah to cry out,
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Woe is me!
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And this literally means,
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Damn me to hell for all eternity.
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And why would he say that?
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Because that is the only response one can have
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who encounters the Lord in his glory.
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Isaiah didn't even see the Lord's face or feet,
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only a glimpse,
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and yet it was enough.
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And the angels sing out,
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Holy, holy, holy.
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This is a grammatical function.
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To write it in this way
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takes it to the superlative degree,
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meaning God is holy, holier, and holiest.
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No one holier.
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I can't help but say,
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but anytime I hear that,
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I hear that in Steve Lawson's voice.
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Anybody else?
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You know?
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This takes it to the superlative degree.
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Can't help it.
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But by learning how holy God truly is,
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Isaiah's only response could have been
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to recognize that he himself is unholy.
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That Isaiah deserves to be cut off from God,
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who is clean and without sin.
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Unlike Isaiah, who is dirty and filthy,
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a filthy rag at best,
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as he puts it later on in his book.
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Isaiah did not say to himself,
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I have been tempted by God.
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He knew better than to say that.
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And you can turn back to James with me.
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So God is holy.
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He is without sin,
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totally separate from all evil and wickedness,
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which is why it would be so foolish
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for James' audience to say to themselves,
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we are being tempted by God.
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God cannot offer or entice
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that which he has never experienced.
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Now you all can imagine how James' audience
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might have reasoned like Adam.
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They might have said,
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well, God is sovereign
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and he has allowed these difficulties to surround us.
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Therefore, he is behind the temptations I face.
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He's the cause of it.
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It is actually God's fault
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that I'm thinking evil in this way.
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And this would be wrong for them to do so,
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as you have already seen.
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But this raises the question,
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where does temptation come from?
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Who or what tempts us?
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Is it Satan?
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And this leads me to our second point,
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point number two.
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Man's nature is sinful.
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Point number two.
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Man's nature is sinful.
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Looking back at verse 14 in James,
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James writes,
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but each person is tempted
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when he is lured and enticed
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by his own desire.
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Then desire, when it has conceived,
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gives birth to sin.
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James seems to be saying
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that we are the source of our own temptation.
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We are tempted when we are lured
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and enticed by our own desire.
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What he's saying here
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is that we are born with a sin nature.
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And this is all throughout the Bible.
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David put it this way.
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He said in Psalm 51, verse 5,
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Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity
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and in sin did my mother conceive me.
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The Apostle Paul said it this way
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in Ephesians 2, 3.
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He says that mankind is, quote,
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by nature, children of wrath,
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meaning our very nature is wicked and sinful.
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God himself, who is all-knowing,
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all-wise, and perfect judge
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over the universe,
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has said in Genesis 5, 6,
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when he looked over the earth,
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he said,
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The Lord saw that the wickedness of man
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was great in the earth
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and that he only saw evil continually.
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From beginning to end,
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mankind is only evil continually.
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But just sticking with James' wording to continue,
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James says that we have these desires
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as your ESV probably translates it
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or other translations use that word as well.
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The Greek word here is epithumies.
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It is the same word that English translations
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often translate as lust.
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And typically when doing so,
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it is because the translators identify the word
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as specifically related to some sort of
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sexual temptation or desire.
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And this is often the case in Paul's writings.
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However, it can be applied to anything.
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And in its most basic sense,
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it really just carries the idea of
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a strong desire for anything,
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whether that be food, drink, clothes,
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or what have you.
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In fact, in pre-Koine Greek,
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which is the Greek of the Bible,
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this word was used to describe
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the sudden violence found in nature.
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So a hurricane, a flash flood,
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a volcano, earthquake,
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these kind of things.
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This violent, sudden urging,
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this movement.
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And furthermore, this word epithumies,
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this word desires,
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it can be understood as a strong,
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violent urging that comes from within.
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So it's not coming from without,
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but from within, right?
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Which is why it could be used to describe
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an earthquake from within the earth, right?
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A hurricane from within the earth
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and the sky.
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It is this powerful, quick,
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seemingly dominating force
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that has to be reckoned with.
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It cannot be ignored.
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So what is James saying?
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He's saying that
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when we have these sudden urges,
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these strong desires,
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and when we are enticed
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and lured by them,
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then at that moment,
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we are being tempted.
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And we are being tempted
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because we are by nature sinners
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who desire sin.
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And sin occurs in verse 15
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after we have gone through the process
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of this enticement,
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this desire,
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and allow ourselves to be lured.
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At this point,
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we give birth to sin,
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which we conceived
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when we desired sin.
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Just think about the implications
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of this truth.
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This means that
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we are not murderers
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the minute we have killed someone.
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Rather,
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we are murderers
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the moment we are angry enough
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to desire to murder someone.
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We have already conceived murder.
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Now murder is going to be born.
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This means that
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we are not adulterers
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the minute we have slept with someone.
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Rather,
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we are adulterers
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the minute we lust after someone.
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We have already conceived adultery.
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Now adultery is going to be born.
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And this should all sound familiar.
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It is what Jesus taught
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in the Sermon on the Mount.
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Jesus said,
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Matthew 5,
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verse 21 through 22,
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You have heard that it was said
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to those of old,
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You shall not murder,
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and whoever murders
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will be liable to judgment.
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But I say to you
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that everyone who is angry
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with his brother
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will be liable to judgment.
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Jesus also said
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in Matthew 5,
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27 through 28,
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You have heard that it was said
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you shall not commit adultery.
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But I say to you
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that everyone who looks
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at a woman with lustful intent
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has already committed adultery
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with her in his heart.
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Now all of this means
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that there is nobody
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to point the finger at,
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nobody to blame,
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except ourselves.
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Our greatest enemy,
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our greatest opposition
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in terms of temptation
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is certainly not God,
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but neither is it Satan,
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the culture,
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a political party,
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or anyone or anything else.
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It is us, ourselves.
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We alone bear
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the responsibility for our sins
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and rightfully so.
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Now this is horrifying news.
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We are born as sinners.
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We desire sin,
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which means we cannot desire God
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who is entirely separate from sin,
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who is the entire opposite of sin.
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And this news gets worse
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because sin doesn't stop
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at being born.
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No, when sin is fully grown,
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it produces something.
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And this leads us
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to the final point
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for this morning,
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point number three.
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Sin results in death.
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Point number three,
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sin results in death.
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I'm going to reread verse 14
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through the end of our text.
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James writes,
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But each person is tempted
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when he is lured
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and enticed
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by his own desire.
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Then desire,
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when it has conceived
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its birth to sin,
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and sin,
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when it is fully grown,
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brings forth death.
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Now those terms,
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lured and enticed,
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were predominantly used
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as fishing terms
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in the Greco-Roman world.
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In other words,
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James is saying
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that we, like fish,
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will gladly bite the bait
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and be carried off
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by our own desires to death.
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And that is a perfect picture
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of this process.
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We see something with our eyes.
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We find it attractive in some way.
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And then we go after it.
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And to be honest,
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there is a source of joy,
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a source of pleasure
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in that moment.
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But it is just that
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that,
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a fleeting moment.
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You can imagine
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the fish enjoys
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eating the worm so much
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that the fish doesn't realize
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it is hooked right away
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until it is too late
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and that fish is flailing about
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as it dies a miserable death.
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James is saying
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that this is true of us.
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We bite at what we see.
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We are slaves to this.
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And this is why
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we will all die
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apart from Christ.
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Because our desires
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lead only to death,
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ruin,
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and destruction.
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This is what we see
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in Genesis chapter 3,
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verse 6,
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when Eve first sins.
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Now this text is
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written in what's called
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the grammatical
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va construction
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for Hebrews.
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So all you need to remember
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with me mentioning this
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is that is a cue
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to the reader
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to read quickly.
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Right?
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It's a way of saying
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read this passage fast.
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Because that's how quickly
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this passage occurred
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in real time.
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Right?
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That's the idea here.
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So reading Genesis 3,
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6 quickly,
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Moses writes,
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So when the woman saw
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that the tree was good
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for food
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and that it was a delight
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to the eyes
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and that the tree
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was to be desired
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to make one wise,
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she took of its fruit
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and ate
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and she also gave some
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to her husband
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who was with her
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and he ate.
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Right?
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Sin,
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sin,
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sin,
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moving,
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rationalist,
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evil,
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wicked.
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And it happens quick
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in a moment,
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fleeting moment,
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the pleasure of eating
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the apple and dead.
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just like that.
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And we already know
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that God's word
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of warning
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to Adam and Eve
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came true that day.
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He said to them,
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you shall surely die.
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And when they ate
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of the tree,
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they did die.
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Romans 6,
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23,
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for the wages
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of sin
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is death.
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God's reaction
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to sin
22:20
might seem like
22:21
an overreaction
22:22
to you at first.
22:24
It might seem like
22:25
God is making
22:26
a big deal
22:26
about something
22:28
that is small.
22:30
We can all see
22:31
why murderers
22:32
or adulterers
22:32
might need to be punished
22:34
to some degree.
22:36
Right?
22:36
But the person
22:36
who tells a little white lies,
22:38
is he really that bad?
22:39
The person who maybe
22:40
skimped on taxes
22:41
a little unknowingly,
22:43
are they really that bad?
22:44
The person who jokes
22:46
inappropriately now and then,
22:48
are they really deserving
22:49
of eternal conscious torment?
22:53
And don't get me wrong,
22:54
I do think some sins
22:55
are worse than others,
22:58
but at the same time,
22:59
I believe Paul,
23:00
when he says
23:00
the punishment
23:01
of every type of sin
23:03
is the same,
23:04
eternal conscious torment
23:06
in hell.
23:08
The wages of sin
23:09
is death.
23:13
But back to the question
23:14
I posed,
23:15
how is God's reaction
23:16
not an overreaction?
23:21
And this is where
23:21
we have to remember
23:22
the creator-creature distinction.
23:25
God is the creator
23:26
who created us,
23:28
the creation.
23:30
We exist by his will
23:32
and for the purpose
23:33
of his will,
23:34
which is chiefly
23:36
to glorify him.
23:39
Sin, then,
23:40
is doing the very things
23:41
for which we are
23:42
not created.
23:44
Every time we sin,
23:46
we are rejecting
23:47
God's rule as creator,
23:49
we are rejecting
23:49
our rule as creation,
23:51
and we are spitting
23:52
in his face.
23:55
Can you imagine
23:56
if a fork in your kitchen
23:57
wouldn't let you eat,
23:58
but it smacked you
23:59
every time you tried
24:00
to put something
24:01
in your mouth?
24:03
I mean,
24:03
what would you do
24:04
to that fork?
24:05
How would you feel?
24:06
Who is this little fork
24:07
that you bought
24:08
and maybe even you created
24:09
who thinks he has a right
24:11
to reject the purpose
24:12
for which it was created?
24:16
That fork would become worthless,
24:18
only good for burning.
24:21
I would be livid.
24:23
I would want to destroy
24:24
that fork in a heartbeat.
24:25
That would be so annoying.
24:29
Again,
24:30
we are created
24:30
to glorify God
24:32
by being his image bearers.
24:35
In other words,
24:36
we are to reflect
24:37
his glorious,
24:39
perfect image.
24:41
This image that has never
24:42
experienced evil.
24:47
And you're starting to see
24:48
how egregious
24:49
every sin of ours is.
24:53
And you're starting to see
24:55
that it's not just our sins
24:56
that God hates.
24:58
He hates our very sin nature.
25:02
Our being,
25:03
which is a result
25:03
of the fall.
25:06
And this is why sin
25:08
results in death
25:09
and rightfully so.
25:12
If we are not living up
25:14
to our intended purpose,
25:15
then we should not live
25:16
because we are worthless
25:17
in this state.
25:19
God makes this plain
25:20
in the Old Testament
25:21
and Paul tapes it all together
25:23
in Romans 3,
25:24
verses 10 through 12.
25:25
God says,
25:26
of all mankind,
25:27
none is righteous,
25:28
no, not one,
25:29
no one understands,
25:31
no one seeks for God,
25:32
all have turned aside,
25:34
together they have become
25:35
worthless,
25:36
no one does good,
25:37
not even one.
25:42
In so many ways,
25:43
death is the opposite
25:44
of holiness.
25:46
That is why it is so offensive
25:47
to our holy
25:48
and living God
25:49
to be with the unholy
25:50
and the dead.
25:51
That is why in the Old Testament,
25:53
man could not approach God
25:54
at their own whim
25:55
in the holy of holies.
25:56
The veil separated
25:58
dead men
25:59
from the living God.
26:02
To truly live
26:03
is to obey God
26:04
and to not obey God
26:05
is to die
26:05
because disobedience
26:07
is not living.
26:12
You want the good life?
26:13
And I don't mean that
26:14
in a health, wealth,
26:15
prosperity sense,
26:16
but if you want
26:17
the good life,
26:18
you have to learn
26:19
to obey God
26:20
for the joy
26:21
that is found in him
26:22
only.
26:23
Now, believe it or not,
26:28
I'm entering
26:29
the closing application.
26:31
It's kind of a downer note.
26:33
But three applications
26:34
and then there will be
26:35
one just concluding thought
26:36
because I do think
26:38
this text
26:39
sheds light
26:40
on the gospel
26:41
and should be cause
26:41
for us
26:42
to have great hope.
26:45
But I want to give
26:46
the three applications first
26:47
because I think
26:48
it would be more fitting.
26:50
Application number one,
26:52
do not play
26:53
the victim card
26:55
like our culture.
26:58
It is hard to go
26:59
anywhere in society
27:00
without everyone
27:01
telling you
27:01
that your actions
27:02
are the result
27:03
of something
27:04
external to you.
27:07
Oh, you were just
27:08
trained to do that
27:09
by your bad parents.
27:10
That's why you're
27:11
the way that you are.
27:12
Oh, that's your
27:13
classmates' fault
27:14
for enticing you.
27:15
That's why you did
27:15
that stupid thing.
27:17
Oh, you lose control
27:18
sometimes because
27:19
you face systemic issues
27:21
that are beyond
27:21
your control.
27:23
Not your fault.
27:25
Oh, that word
27:26
is a trigger for me.
27:27
That's why I'm angry
27:28
and I want to kill you
27:28
right now.
27:31
Or how about this?
27:31
I can't help it.
27:32
I was born this way.
27:35
And that's the age-old lie
27:36
again and again
27:38
and again.
27:40
But on judgment day,
27:42
God will not
27:42
allow anyone
27:43
to squeeze out
27:45
of anything.
27:46
He knows the heart
27:48
and He will judge
27:49
based off the heart.
27:51
It cannot play
27:52
the victim card.
27:53
It loses
27:54
every time.
27:57
Application two,
27:58
and this goes right
27:58
along with the first one,
27:59
repent.
28:01
And this is simple, right?
28:03
Simple to understand,
28:04
maybe hard to do.
28:06
By God's grace,
28:07
which He gladly
28:08
lavishes on His church,
28:10
we are able to repent
28:12
of our sins.
28:14
We are able to recognize
28:15
that we rightly deserve
28:17
to be punished,
28:18
to die as a result
28:19
of our sin,
28:19
which we desired.
28:22
But we are atoned for
28:23
by Christ,
28:25
who knew no sin,
28:27
that He bore the wrath
28:28
of God that we
28:29
deserve.
28:31
Jesus was not
28:32
responsible for our sin,
28:34
and yet He took
28:34
the consequence
28:35
on Himself,
28:37
and He died.
28:39
He died,
28:40
which means we
28:40
won't die
28:42
in the eternal sense,
28:44
because He was raised
28:45
on the third day.
28:48
And for those of you
28:49
who are not in Christ,
28:50
I urge you to repent
28:51
and believe in Him
28:52
as Lord and Savior.
28:54
This is your only way
28:55
of escape
28:56
from the wrath
28:57
to come.
28:59
But for the rest of us
29:01
who are already
29:01
in Christ,
29:03
I urge you still,
29:04
right?
29:05
The command to repent
29:05
still stands.
29:08
Repentance
29:08
is obedience.
29:10
So if we do not
29:11
continually repent
29:12
of our sin,
29:14
then our disobedience
29:15
is compounded.
29:17
Right?
29:18
As John says,
29:19
if we say we have
29:19
no sin,
29:20
we are liars.
29:22
So confess sin,
29:23
and we have an advocate
29:24
with the Father.
29:27
Now,
29:27
application number three,
29:29
prepare yourselves
29:30
for trials
29:31
and temptations.
29:32
temptations.
29:34
The Greek word
29:35
for tempted
29:35
that we saw
29:36
in verse 13,
29:37
we have actually
29:38
already seen
29:39
in the book of James.
29:42
In chapter 1,
29:43
verse 2,
29:43
text I preached
29:44
on a couple weeks,
29:45
the word appears.
29:46
It is perasmos.
29:47
It can mean
29:48
either temptation
29:49
to sin
29:49
from,
29:50
with,
29:50
or without.
29:51
And sometimes
29:52
it only means
29:53
trial or testing.
29:56
In chapter 1,
29:56
verse 2,
29:57
and in Clay's text
29:58
from last week,
29:59
it clearly means
30:00
trial.
30:01
In our text today,
30:03
it clearly means
30:03
to be tempted
30:04
to sin.
30:07
I mention this
30:08
all to say,
30:09
we prepare ourselves
30:10
for both temptation
30:11
and trials
30:12
in the same way,
30:13
though they are
30:14
different things.
30:16
We fill our hearts
30:17
and minds
30:18
with Scripture
30:18
to remain hopeful
30:20
in the midst
30:21
of trials.
30:22
And we fill our hearts
30:23
and minds
30:23
with Scripture
30:24
to remain faithful
30:25
in the midst
30:26
of temptation.
30:29
Easy to understand,
30:30
hard to do,
30:32
but we have
30:33
to do it.
30:36
So repent,
30:37
prepare yourself
30:38
for trials
30:39
and temptations,
30:40
fill your mind,
30:41
your heart
30:41
with God's word,
30:43
so that in the midst
30:44
of it,
30:44
you'll never be
30:45
tempted to question
30:46
God's goodness
30:47
or his holiness,
30:48
and you'll see
30:48
in his word
30:49
just how good
30:51
he is.
30:52
Now, as I said,
30:55
before we pray,
30:56
I want to offer
30:56
one more thought.
30:58
It is an encouragement
30:59
or perhaps better
31:00
to think of it
31:00
as a devotional
31:01
to conclude the sermon.
31:03
When I was assigned
31:04
a text,
31:04
I thought,
31:05
man,
31:05
this is going
31:06
to be a downer.
31:09
But it's true
31:10
and we have
31:10
to reflect on it.
31:12
It's important,
31:13
right?
31:13
All Scripture
31:14
is profitable,
31:15
so this is good
31:16
for us to hear
31:17
these hard things.
31:18
So you've heard me
31:21
talk about
31:22
how we are all
31:22
sinners by nature,
31:24
that God hates
31:25
our sin
31:25
and our sin nature,
31:27
how we are worthless
31:28
apart from Christ.
31:31
And that is
31:31
biblical truth,
31:33
but oh so hard
31:34
to swallow.
31:37
And there is good news,
31:39
right?
31:39
This is only
31:39
one side of the coin,
31:41
and the other side
31:42
of the coin is this.
31:44
God loves us
31:46
despite ourselves.
31:47
Now you can call
31:48
this point four
31:49
if you want.
31:50
It doesn't necessarily
31:51
come out of our text
31:52
directly,
31:52
but it's biblically
31:54
true nonetheless.
31:56
Romans 5, 8,
31:57
Paul says,
31:58
Christ died for us
32:00
while we were yet
32:02
sinners.
32:04
While we were yet
32:05
lured and enticed.
32:09
While we were yet
32:10
sinners,
32:10
Christ loved us.
32:11
He died for us.
32:12
You can read into that
32:13
while we were yet
32:14
worthless,
32:15
evil,
32:15
rebellious,
32:16
and so on.
32:17
You've heard me
32:18
reference this verse
32:19
many times.
32:20
It is a personal
32:21
favorite.
32:21
I've not had the
32:22
chance to unpack it,
32:24
and I still won't
32:25
today, unfortunately.
32:27
But just consider
32:28
this.
32:30
There's no reason
32:31
for God to love us
32:33
that is in us.
32:36
It's not our hair,
32:38
it's not our gender,
32:39
it's not our ethnicity,
32:40
it's not our intelligence,
32:41
it's not our wealth,
32:42
or our poverty.
32:43
And it's not even
32:45
our obedience
32:46
that stirs up
32:47
God to love us.
32:49
So what stirs up
32:51
God to love us?
32:54
And it's this,
32:55
God stirs himself
32:56
up to love us,
32:59
and that is such
32:59
good and freeing
33:01
news.
33:04
Zephaniah 3,
33:05
verse 17,
33:05
The Lord your God
33:08
is with you.
33:09
He is mighty to save.
33:10
And notice this,
33:11
He will take
33:12
great delight
33:14
in you.
33:15
He will quiet you
33:16
with His love.
33:17
He will rejoice
33:17
over you
33:18
with singing.
33:20
It's not on account
33:21
of us that He loves us,
33:22
rather,
33:23
it's on account
33:24
of Christ in us
33:25
that He loves us.
33:28
And this is why
33:29
His love cannot fail,
33:31
because He loves Christ,
33:32
and Christ abides
33:33
in us who are saved.
33:38
Just as you should
33:39
not question
33:40
God's inability
33:41
to tempt us
33:42
with sin,
33:43
you should not
33:44
question God's
33:45
unfailing love
33:46
for His church,
33:47
for Christ's pride.
33:51
I didn't plan this,
33:52
but it worked out.
33:53
Nathan mentioned
33:53
Luke 22 this morning.
33:56
I was talking about
33:56
that word desire earlier,
33:58
how it's usually
33:59
translated as lust,
34:00
but it can be broad.
34:01
It's not necessarily
34:02
an evil word.
34:04
You could use this word
34:05
rightly to describe
34:06
your desire for God.
34:08
And it was a curious thing,
34:10
I never knew this,
34:11
but that's the word
34:12
Jesus used
34:12
that's translated
34:13
as earnestly desired.
34:15
So with that desire
34:16
and that extent
34:17
to which we seek sin,
34:19
Christ desires to partake
34:20
of the supper with us,
34:21
to be with us.
34:25
His love is for real
34:27
in that sense.
34:28
It's sincere.
34:29
It's genuine.
34:32
And turn with me,
34:34
this is our last text
34:35
and I'm not going
34:35
to comment on it.
34:36
I just want to close out
34:37
with reading this.
34:39
But turn with me
34:39
to 1 John 4, 16.
34:43
Again, I just want
34:44
to leave us on this note
34:45
of this gospel hope
34:46
that we have.
34:47
John writes,
34:55
so we have come
34:57
to know
34:58
and to believe
34:59
the love
35:00
that God has for us.
35:03
They believe
35:04
in his love.
35:05
God is love.
35:07
And whoever abides
35:08
in love
35:09
abides in God
35:10
and God abides
35:12
in him.
35:13
by this
35:15
is love
35:15
perfected with us
35:16
so that we may
35:18
have confidence
35:19
for the day
35:19
of judgment.
35:22
Because as he is,
35:23
so also are we
35:24
in this world.
35:26
There is no fear
35:27
in love,
35:28
but perfect love
35:29
casts out fear.
35:31
For fear
35:32
has to do
35:32
with punishment.
35:34
And whoever fears
35:36
has not been
35:36
perfected
35:37
in love.
35:38
We love
35:40
because
35:40
he first
35:42
loved
35:42
us.
35:44
Let's pray.