God is just - Pt. I
Notes
Transcript
Handout
God is just!
God is just!
Lest we forget that our Mighty God is just. In our message this morning some simple reminders that God is just, because God is Supreme, God is Sovereign and God is holy.
Biblical definition of just:
given or awarded rightly; deserved, as a sentence, punishment, or reward: a just penalty. in accordance with standards or requirements; proper or right: just proportions. (especially in Biblical use) righteous. actual, real, or genuine.
God is just:
One day God will bring justice (Lk18:7)
7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
(expand on this the good; and the detrimental of God’s justice)
Justice by the man appointed (Act17:31)
31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
(expand on the means of God’s justice)
God’s expectations of man now because He is just (Mic6:8)
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
According to Cambridge dictionary to “do justice” is:
do justice to someone/something meaning: to be accurate or fair by representing someone or something as that person or thing truly is
God is just and He is also the justifier
Our justification is found in the just one (Rom3:26)
26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Just and justifier for the one who believes. We have problems in general that we have forgotten that God is just, it is not anything new let me show you.
Man has the wrong view (Isa5:20; Rom3:23; Rom3:10)
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
(Expand on this; not all evil looks like evil; even than there are things that are sweet to the taste but are bitter to the soul (consider Rev10:9)
For we know what scripture says
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
wrong view of self and self-righteousness
10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
Wrong view of God (1Tim6:15), wrong view of sin(Isa59:2), wrong view of wisdom (Hos4:6)
15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
(expand) what does it mean when we call the only Sovereign one king of kings and Lord of Lords, don’t loose the brevity of that.
Because we have lost the understanding of the of sin.
2 But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen.
(expand) - those walls, barriers that separation has a high cost because God is just!
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Man is seeking his own wisdom and boasting of his own works and we are not saved by works, not by our hands at all, we must remember that God is just and justifier and we need His justification for our sins so that we may be saved.
So when we understand the problems with
Wrong view of God
Wrong view of sin
(Transition) We can change our ways, our view, our understanding.
Man’s understanding and boast should be this (Jer9:23-24)
23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
So now this morning we are going to try to grasp the grievousness of sin so we can understand the
Supremacy of God
Sovereignty of God
Holiness of God
Supremacy of God
Supremacy of God
While this is not extensive I believe we can get a picture (in general) here of the Supremacy and the preeminence of Jesus.
He is the Creator of all things (Jn1:3)
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
He is before all things (Col1:16-18)
In one of the most beautiful pieces of scripture, in my opinion about the supremacy of Jesus and the preeminence of Jesus
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
God the Creator of all things has been reduced by the secular humanist and the religious humanist to have the wrong concept of a just God. Man has elevated himself.
AW Tozer said this:
“God’s glory has been made subservient to an’s felt needs so that God now exists for man rather than the reverse.”
(Transition) - may we always remember that:
He is the Lord most High (Ps97:9)
9 For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
He lives to revive, heart and spirit of man (Isa57:15)
Love how Isaiah puts it about our Most High God.
15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.
(expand) the one that is lowly, the one with a contrite heart understands the grievousness of sin and God lives to revive those who will turn to Him.
But wait there is more:
He is head over all, our sins are against Him (1Chr29:11; Ps51:4)
11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.
and in David’s psalm of acknowledgement and restoration we find this
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.
(expand) Personal sin, personal acknowledgement, knowing God is just and will delve out justice and we have no excuse - hence why God who is just sent Jesus to be our justifier!
Put him on the throne of your life (Rom11:36)
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
We need to put King Jesus on the throne of our lives not just in words but in power, strength, acknowledged authority and in our actions. He is our sovereign God!
Sovereignty of God
Sovereignty of God
In a society where man is supreme and tolerance is demanded, it is in direct conflict with what God’s word says. May we glean at some of the characteristics of the sovereignty of God
I don’t think we have to look far to know that we are in the midst of a society where tolerance is demanded so to respect the rights of the individual. Society is in conflict with God’s character, God’s nature, and our sin to Him. May we remember some good biblical facts
God is sovereign and rules over all (Ps103:19)
19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.
God works all things after the counsel of His will, and it stands forever (Eph1:11; Ps33:11)
Eph tells us, in summary we have an inheritance in Him ho works all things according to the counsel of His will
And then:
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
God causes well-being and brings calamity (Isa45:7)
7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.
God’s dominion is everlasting (Dan4:34-35)
In a time after eating, mowing on grass for a period so that Nebuchadnezzar would know the Most High God, he makes this proclamation regarding God’s everlasting dominion.
34 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
He is the great God and king (Ps95:3); who created the world and everything in it (Act17:24); He is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords (1Tim6:15).
This again is who we sin against when we sin, this is who is just who passes out justice and judges sin.
God’s tests are not for destruction but for instruction so that you may fear Him and not sin against Him (Exo20:20)
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”
(Israel was given the correction, instruction with a purpose to understand the holiness of God and God’s justice too. So now may we look at a few things on the holiness of God.
Holiness of God
Holiness of God
To understand that God is just, to fully grasp the grievousness of sin we need to grip the holiness of God.
Fear, wisdom and knowledge help us to understand the Holy One (Pro9:10)
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
It is paramount that we understand that He is Holy. His holiness puts Him above all things for.
Because He is holy there is no darkness (1Jn1:5; Jn8:12)
5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
For God is light, Jesus told us He is the light of the World
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
And that is what you have and what you are now, you can see that in (Mt5:14)
Because He is holy He does not tempt us with evil (Jm1:13)
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
Temptations come from within, by our own desires and lusts according to (v.14) that births sin (v.15)
Because he is holy he will not look upon evil (Hab1:13)
Habakkuk tried to use the knowledge of the holiness of God in trying to keep evil from coming on the people of Israel
13 Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
His holiness is able to be understood (Isa6:5)
Isaiah after seeing into the throne room of heaven and hearing the voices of the seraphim crying out holy, holy, holy, Isaiah says this.
5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah understood He had just seen the holiness of God!
Jesus in teaching the apostle how to pray said pray like this.
9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
(summary) Our God is supreme, our God is sovereign, our God is Holy. His name is holy, his character is holy and because He is holy He must be just too.
(Transition) So, when we understand His holiness, we can understand our brokenness without God.
(invitation slide- Holiness of God)
We need to know God is holy, for when we understand the holiness of God we can understand the depravity, grievousness of sin that separates us from God.
Without the holiness of God we do now know that we are lost and need of God’s grace through faith for our very salvation
(Insert - Sin Separates us picture)
Isa59:2; Sin Separates
Rom6:23: Sin has a cost, death
Rom3:23 - All sin
(Insert - Sin brings God’s justice)
Sin is going to be judged, justice delved out (Act17:11)
(Insert - Jesus brings God’s love and satisfies God’s judgement)
Jesus displays God’s love (Rom5:13)
Jesus is God’s love (1Jn4:8-9)
(not on a slide leave it that way)
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
Jesus satisfies God’s wrath, the cost owed for our sins (1Jn2:2)
invitation
(Song) (Prayer)