sermon20220424 Solomon, the King with Everything and Nothing 2 Chronicles 1-9
Notes
Transcript
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
We are returning to our series on the OT books of the Bible. One book per week.
But this one verse stopped me in my tracks. This one verse made me realize that we cannot look at the last twelve books of the OT until we deal with the important topic of history. History as it is recorded in the Bible.
Take for example, the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles.
Chronicles: The need to look at the history of Israel from the perspective of the priests of Israel, the spiritual and religious leaders of God’s chosen people, the Jews.
Why has God given us history?
Why has God given us history?
All of history points to the sovereignty of God and the fulfillment of God’s purposes and plans.
All of history points to the sinfulness of all men and women and the holy supremacy of a God who intervenes, who steps into the lives of men and women throughout all of time and guides them, judges them, but most importantly, transforms them.
The history of the Bible shows us, and this is in no way and exhaustive list:
That God is all powerful
That God’s promises will be fulfilled.
That good men can make bad decisions
That bad men can make good decisions
That good men can evil children
That evil men can have good children
That women can be just as evil and wicked and murderous as men
That evil is not something external, it is something resident in the hearts of all men and women
Al Moehler, The Briefing. The reality of evil. Daniel Henninger, writing for The Wall Street Journal, offers an article with a headline, "The Devil Resurfaces in Ukraine." In the postmodern world, even in the modern era, the effort has been to try to redefine evil. In the case of the modern age, one of the attempts has been to try to rationalize evil as if it's just an intellectual concept. It's something we can handle. It's something we can contain. But, of course, the biblical worldview tells us that evil is not something we can handle. It is not something we can contain.
He’s talking about the ruler of Russia, Vladimir Putin, but has something to say for all of us in our “we’re smarter, we’re more advanced, we’re so good we don’t need old fashioned religious morality to keep us from doing whatever we want to do”
In the modern age, there are many people who have tried to say evil is outside of human beings when the biblical worldview says, no, evil actually starts in the evil inclinations of the human heart. That doesn't mean that human beings do everything evil that we might imagine or even accomplish. Let's thank God for that. That's God's restraining grace. But the reality is that the biblical worldview was never compatible with that modern worldview that says that evil is basically outside of us. No, it's inside of us.
9. That apart from the common grace and particular grace of God, all men and women are spiritually dead and under the certain wrath of God.
The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition (The Shorter Catechism)
Q. 82. Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?A. No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed.
Q. 83. Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous?A. Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.
Q. 84. What doth every sin deserve?A. Every sin deserveth God’s wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come.
Q. 85. What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin?A. To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requireth of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption.
Q. 86. What is faith in Jesus Christ?A. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.
Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience.
Westminster Shorter Catechism
84) Q: What does every sin deserve?
A: Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come.
James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
85) Q: What does God require of us that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin?
A: To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with diligent use of all outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption.
Mark 1:15 ...and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
John Piper’s definition of sin.
It is the glory of God not honoured; the holiness of God not reverenced; the greatness of God not admired; the power of God not praised; the truth of God not sought; the wisdom of God not esteemed; the beauty of God not treasured; the goodness of God not savored; the faithfulness of God not trusted; the promises of God not believed; the commandments of God not obeyed; the justice of God not respected; the wrath of God not feared; the grace of God not cherished; the presence of God not prized; the person of God not loved.
Have you redefined the source of evil?
Have you redefined what is in the human heart?
Have you looked at people in the Bible and thought, maybe they were just born better than me, or God loved them more than me, maybe there’s something wrong with me that wasn’t wrong with them.
And you would be wrong.
Have you redefined the condition of the human heart?
Have you redefined sin?
There is one unmistakable truth and Jesus put it this way: Apart from me you can nothing. (John 15:5)
Are you in Christ?
Next week, part 2 of Solomon, the King Who had Everything and Nothing