Series: Verse-by-verse throuth Joel

1) Joel 1:1-1:4 part 1
2) Joel 1:1-1:4 part 2
3) Joel 1:4-1:9
4) Joel 1:8-1:12
5) Joel 1:13-1:20
6) Joel 2:1
7) Joel 2:1-2:2
8) Joel 2:1-2:11
9) Joel 2:11-2:19
10) Joel 2:20-2:27
11) Joel 2:25-2:29
12) Joel 2:28-2:31
13) Joel 2:31-3:8

A Survey of the Old Testament Law----- "Honor your father and mother"

The Sabbath Commandment that we talked about last time—many times we think of it as being a Commandment that is concerned with man’s relationship with God. But I think it’s just as much concerned with God’s relationship to man. The Sabbath was the day when the people were to put down their plowshares and pruning hooks and come together to worship God. And while they were worshipping God, He was at the same time dwelling among the people, in the cloud that covered the Ark of the Covenant. So Sabbath worship was to be a day where the people of Israel would be reminded of the covenant God made with them and their forefathers. In fact, when Moses is preaching these commandments to the people in Deuteronomy 5, he explains that the Sabbath was set aside as a reminder of how God acted on their behalf when He brought them out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 5:15—“And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” So the Sabbath was for the people to remember the mighty acts of God not only in Creation but also when He brought them out from under the yoke of Pharaoh.


Now we are on to the 5th Commandment, and the one which is probably broken by almost every single person before they reach the age of 5. If one were to go their entire life, not breaking any of the other 9, they would almost definitely be guilty of this one. And if we remember that the Ten Commandments were not given to show us how good we can be, but were given to show us how wicked we really are, we would see that this commandment more then even any of the others really shows us what kind of spirit we are born with—that we have to be reminded to honor those who gave us life. Exodus 20:12—“Honor your father and your mother.” In Ephesians 6:2, the apostle Paul calls this the first commandment with a promise. What is that promise? “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” How many of us never, ever, ever disobeyed their parents? Yeah, right! Children are born to disobey their parents. They don’t have to be taught how to say “No!” The fact that we need this commandment should be enough to show us that we are sinful people.


A child must learn how to respect their parents, and that teaching rests in the hands of the parents. That’s not just my opinion, that’s the truth—a truth we find in Scripture. Proverbs 29:15—The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Proverbs 22:15—Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him. In other words, children don’t need to be taught how to be disobedient. It’s bound up in their heart; it’s part of their DNA; it’s in their nature to disobey. And they have to have it corrected out of them. A fellow by the name of Gustav Oehler, a German theologian, sums up the reason for this commandment:

“In this demand for reverence to parents, the fifth commandment lays the foundation for the sanctification of the whole social life, as it teaches us to acknowledge [that there is] a divine authority in [our whole social life].”

It’s simple—if a child does not learn to respect his/her parents early, then what happens is when they get older, they do not learn to respect any kind of authority. If a parent does not teach their child respect, that child is likely to get into all kinds of trouble as they get older. BUT—if that child IS taught to respect not only their parents but all their elders, then they will be much more likely to stay out of trouble and be a productive member of society. If you read the Book of Proverbs, you will find that it is filled with probably more verses that talk about children, and how to raise them, and the joys of obedient children and the sorrows caused by rebellious children than nearly any other book in the Bible.

Proverbs 10:1—A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.
Proverbs 15:20—A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.
Proverbs 17:25—A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.
Proverbs 28:7—Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.


But before we talk about how children are to honor their elders, we’re gonna talk to the parents first. If you look around today, you see many parents giving in to everything their child wants, not teaching them that they may have to wait for something, or that they may not get it at all, because they don’t want their child’s feelings to get hurt. They buy new cars for their kids when they turn 16. And that’s why we have so many kids growing up that have no respect for anything or anybody, and who think that all they have to do is ask for something and they are supposed to automatically get it handed to them. So they don’t learn how to obey. And the parents wonder why!


Proverbs 19:18—Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction.
Proverbs 22:6—Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 23:13—Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
Proverbs 29:17—Correct your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your soul.
Proverbs 13:24—He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.


Let me give you an example of that one: when I was about 5 or 6 years old, I called my sister a bad word. She went and told dad, who…um…disciplined me promptly. He called me into the room and laid his hand on my backside. Needless to say it was a looooong time before he heard another bad word come out of my mouth.


But while we need to be firm with discipline, we must remember a few things. First, it must be done for the right reason. The main reason for disciplining our children should be so that they learn right from wrong. It should never be done because they're making you “look bad” in front of your friends or because they're “getting on your nerves”. They're children—they're supposed to “get on your nerves”. So when a parent punishes a child for that reason, they are going to find themselves fighting a losing battle because (1) that child is always going to do something to “get on their nerves”, and (2) they're not going to be guiding their children properly.


However, discipline does not necessarily mean punishment. To ‘discipline’ means, “To instruct or educate; to inform the mind; to prepare by instructing in correct principles and habits…to instruct and govern; to teach rules and practice…to correct; to chastise; to punish.” Punishment is simply one form of discipline—but it is not the only form. And if we are to discipline our children as a way to guide them and instruct them, we must do so with gentleness when appropriate, but also with the “rod of correction” when necessary. Listen to Proverbs 13:24—He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Promptly. Not “Wait until we get home and you're gonna get it.” We discipline—instruct, correct, punish if need be—the child right then and there. Not out of anger, not because we think they're a “nuisance”. But so they will know how to act in the future.


But because so many parents are abandoning their responsibility to discipline their children, we live in a time that the apostle Paul talked about in 2nd Timothy 3:1-2—But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy &c. And by neglecting their responsibility, parents are setting their children up for failure in life, or for prison or, most importantly, by not allowing Christ into their life, they are preparing them for an eternity in Hell. Children need to be taught to respect their parents primarily because left to themselves, the only thing they will want is their own way every time, and getting what they want in whatever way they can.


King Solomon knew this when he wrote the Proverbs. Proverbs 1:10-19--10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood; let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; 12 let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down to the Pit; 13 we shall find all kinds of precious possessions, we shall fill our houses with spoil; 14 cast in your lot among us, let us all have one purse”—15 My son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path; 16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird; 18 but they lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk secretly for their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners.


The apostle Paul wrote about this in 1st Timothy 6:9-10—9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. And that will be the desire of the heart of a child that is not taught properly. If children don’t know how to respect their parents and if they aren't taught how to respect their parents and all those in positions of authority, does that let them off the hook when they get in trouble? Well, contrary to what we see happening in the criminal court system in this country, the answer is “No.” Children who disobey and are rebellious are accountable for their own actions. That’s why they need to be taught, like Solomon taught his son, to avoid the rabble-rousers and the riff-raff of the world.


1st Corinthians 15:33—Bad company corrupts good morals. I'm sure we've all heard the expression “One bad apple.” If you take a bunch of bad apples, and you put a good apple in the middle of them, will the goodness of the good apple make the bad apples better? No. What will happen? The badness of the bad apples will cause the good apple to spoil. Bad company corrupts good morals. Paul says again in 1st Corinthians 5:6-7—Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump. So what we have so far is this: children, left on their own, do not know how to respect figures of authority. But even if they are not taught how to respect authority, they are nonetheless responsible for their own actions. So the apostle Paul has these words for parents. Ephesians 6:4—And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. The best way to train a child is to teach them, as early as possible, to teach them about God. Because if they know God, and if they have a healthy respect for Him who is the ultimate authority, then it will be much more likely that they will learn to give the respect to leaders in the church, and to legal authorities, and ultimately their parents.


Deuteronomy 6:4-9--"4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." The best way to train your child in the ways of God is simple—sit down with them and read to them from the Scriptures. And you don’t have to be a trained professional to do it. You don’t need years of study and seminary. When we train our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and we train them up in the way they should go, what is the result? Deuteronomy 6:10-12--"10 So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, 11 houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full— 12 then beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage." If children respect their parents, and they respect their elders in the church and they respect the legal authorities, they are less likely to do those things which will shorten their lives. True? They’re less likely to get into drugs and into gangs and into other sorts of behavior that will cause their lives to not be so long.


Which brings us back to our passage in Exodus. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” If one honors their father and mother—and all their elders, for that matter—they will have a life that will be filled with the goodness of God. The child that does not respect their parents will not respect their teachers. The child that does not respect their teachers will not respect the Law—whether the Law of God or the laws of men. The child who does not respect the legal authorities does not respect God. Romans 13:2—Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.


Finally, I want to mention that this commandment requires obedience from not only children but from adults as well. Because this commandment is not only to encourage children to obey their parents, but it is also a warning to us to give respect and honor to not only our physical parents, but also to all of our elders. If children are not taught to respect God’s servants, that nation is going to have a difficult time surviving. Our friends Keil and Delitzsch wrote that

“By father and mother we are not to understand merely the authors and preservers of our bodily life, but also the founders, protectors, and promoters of our spiritual life, such as prophets and teachers, to whom sometimes the name of father is given…the guardians of our bodily and spiritual life, the powers ordained of God, to whom the names of father and mother (Genesis 45:8; Judges 5:7) may justly be applied, since all government has grown out of the relation of father and child, and draws its moral weight and stability, upon which the prosperity and well-being of a nation depends, from the reverence of children towards their parents.”

If we do not respect the servants of God, then we do not respect God. In one of His parables, Jesus uses a vineyard to illustrate the nation of Israel, He describes God as the owner of the vineyard, and he compares the wicked rulers of Israel to vinedressers who beat the servants of the owner of the vineyard. Matthew 21:38-41—“38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" 41 They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons." Jesus lets them know that they are correct. And then He goes on to tell them in Matthew 21:43—"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it." The nation that does not respect God, and does not respect His servants, will lose any and all blessings they may be receiving from Him.


Now, the responsibility to give proper respect to our parents—does it end when we become an “adult”? No, it does not. That responsibility includes not only giving them respect and honor, but caring for them financially as well. It means that when the parents get older, and cannot care for themselves, their children are to care for them. In fact, Jesus had to scold the Pharisees for not taking care of their parents. Matthew 15:1-6--1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition." As always, Jesus takes an opportunity to teach us something, and He does so in response to the false teachings of the Pharisees. Here, they were trying to trap Jesus and His disciples in the tradition of “One must wash their hands before they eat!”


But listen to how Jesus turns their traditions back on them and shows that they are the ones who are disobedient to God because of their traditions. Matthew 15:1-3—1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” Notice something here—He does not deny that His disciples were indeed “transgressing” the traditions of the elders. However, He is quick to point out that the Pharisees were transgressing the commandments of God because of the traditions of their elders. Matthew 15:3-6—“3 Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” What the Pharisees were doing was this: we know they always wanted to look religious and pious in the eyes of men. So what they would do was, if they had to decide whether to give to help their aging parents, or give that money to the service of God, which one would make them look more religious and more noble in the eyes of their friends? They would tell their parents something like this: “What’s that? KUB said they're gonna cut off your lights if you don’t pay your bill? Well, I would help but I was gonna take this and put it in the offering plate this week. I'll pray for ya!” Jesus said, “No, don’t do that! You will dishonor God by dishonoring His commandment and by dishonoring your parents. Take that money you would have put in the plate, and give it to help your parents instead. That is the commandment.” That’s what God meant when He said through the prophet Malachi, in Malachi 6:6—“I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”


The apostle Paul echoes these sentiments in 1st Timothy 5:8—But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. So the commandment to honor and respect and support our parents does not end when we reach “adulthood”. It is an obligation we are to keep as long as our parents are living. We take care of our parents first—that is what Christ is saying. John Calvin put it this way:

“Paul heightens the criminality of their conduct, by saying, that he who forgets his own is worse than an unbeliever. This is true for two reasons. First, the further advanced any one is in the knowledge of God, the less is he excused; and therefore, they who shut their eyes against the clear light of God are worse than unbelievers. Secondly, this is a kind of duty which nature itself teaches; for they are natural affections. And if, by the mere guidance of nature, unbelievers are so prone to love their own, what must we think of those who are not moved by any such feeling? Do they not go even beyond the ungodly in brutality?” (Calvin's Commentaries, commentary on 1st Timothy 5:5-8)

If children learn to respect authority from the top—God—down to the parents, then that respect will also work form the parents up to God. And if a nation of children learns to respect authority, especially the authority of God, then they will be blessed by God. Psalm 33:12—Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. And that responsibility resides with the parents. Let me close with an example of what happens when a child is raised not by parents but by institutions.

“The child was born on November 12, 1934 to sixteen-year-old Kathleen Maddox. He was entered into the ledgers as No-name Maddox. He was a classic abused child, left by his mother for days during the first years of his life. In 1939 his mother was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary. When she returned, No-name was eight years old. His life became a long line of run-down hotels, and brutal uncles who came to live with his mother and drank heavily. When he was twelve his mother tried to place him in a foster home. But since one wasn't available, he was sent to the Gabalt(?) Home for Boys in Indiana… After ten months at Gabalt, he ran away but his mother rejected him. He then drifted into a life of crime. At thirteen he was caught for armed robbery and sentenced to an institution from which he escaped. At sixteen he had a long series of crimes under his belt. Finally in federal prison he was attacked and raped. At seventeen he pressed a razor blade against a fellow inmate's throat and sodomized him. He was transferred again and again and classified as dangerous with a long record of violent activity. Finally at the age of thirty-three he was released from Terminal Island Prison in California against his wishes. He had become obsessed with the satanic, he told his jailers that prison was his only home. [We know] No-name Maddox [by the name] Charles Manson.” (John MacArthur, "God's Pattern for Children--Part 2", GC 90-105)

Bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord so that they may honor their father and mother and that their days may be long and that it may be well with them.


Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

Permalink: Verse-by-verse through Philippians (Chapters 3 and 4)

1) Philippians 3:2-3:7
2) Philippians 3:7-3:10a
3) Philippians 3:7-3:11
4) Philippians 3:8-3:11
5) Philippians 3:11-3:14
6) Philippians 3:13-3:16
7) Philippians 3:15-3:16
8) Philippians 3:17-3:19
9) Philippians 3:20-3:21
10) Philippians 3:21-4:1
11) Philippians 4:2-4:4
12) Philippians 4:4-4:5
13) Philippians 4:5-4:6
14) Philippians 4:5-4:7
15) Philippians 4:8, part 1
16) Philippians 4:8, part 2
17) Philippians 4:8, part 3
18) Philippians 4:8, part 4
19) Philippians 4:8, part 5
20) Philippians 4:9, part 1
21) Philippians 4:9, part 2
22) Philippians 4:9-4:10
23) Philippians 4:10-4:12
24) Philippians 4:10-4:13
25) Philippians 4:11-4:14
26) Philippians 4:14-4:17
27) Philippians 4:14-4:18
28) Philippians 4:17-4:18
29) Philippians 4:19
30) Philippians 4:19-4:20, part 1
31) Philippians 4:19-4:20, part 2
32) Philippians 4:19-4:20, part 3
33) Philippians 4:21-4:23

Verse-by-verse through Philippians (Conclusion, 4:21-4:23)

Four chapters, 104 verses, 65 lessons. We’ve seen that even though this was a very personal letter that Paul wrote to this one church, what he said can be applied to any church, even to this day. Just to kinda speed-dial through the first 103 verses, in chapter 1 Paul starts out showing his affection for this church that he loved so dearly. He lets them know that the one and only desire of his heart is that Christ be preached. In chapter 2, He exhorts those of us in the church to be united as one body, and to be humble and to consider the needs of others as being greater than our own needs. Then he launches into one of the most well-known doxologies in Scripture. The word “doxology” means “speaking of the glory of God.” And he uses the example of Christ—the eternal God who became a slave—to encourage us to serve one another so that we may show the world the glory and grace of Christ.

Chapter 3 warns us to avoid those who would teach salvation by works. And for this he uses himself as the example, that he was a man who was well-known, well-respected and admired by all of Jewish society. But he looks back and sees that all of his earthly accomplishments were a pile of rubbish, and that the only thing he desired now was to go forward, reaching for the prize that Christ has laid up for all the saints. Chapter 4 shows us a disagreement between two ladies in the Philippian church, and he tells them to, basically, “Knock it off and get along with each other.” We don’t know what the fuss was about because, quite frankly, it doesn’t matter—whatever the dispute, it was bringing reproach upon the church. Then, we find what so many people are searching for today—the secret of true contentment. PSST—It’s in Christ Jesus.

So now, we come to the last few verses in Philippians, and when we get to the last few verses of a book in the Bible like, for example, Romans 16, I commend you to Phoebe…receive her in like manner…Greet Priscilla and Aquila…Andronicus, Julius…Tryphaena and Tryphosa… "OK, that’s done!" But when we actually get down into the text—knowing that these words were given to Paul by the Holy Spirit—when we see the background it shows why these words are important.

Philippians 4:21-23—21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's household. 23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

When we talk on the phone to our family who may be living a long ways off, how do we usually end the conversation? “Tell everybody we said ‘Hi!’ You remember Johnny Smith? He says ‘Hi!’” Paul ends many of his letters in this manner. 2nd Corinthians 13:12-13—Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. Romans 16 is full of greetings from the saints to the saints. 2nd Timothy 4:19—Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Titus 3:15—All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. And here, Philippians 4:21—Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. Paul is urging us here to make every effort to, basically, speak to one another.

What happens to a church when no one speaks to each other? And what happens to someone who happens to drop in to visit that church? Well, in the case of the little church mom took me to when I was a child, the congregation gets split up, you have this little clique over here and that little clique over there—what happens to the people who don’t join any of these little cliques? Then, on the other hand you have those people that are always looking for pennies. What do I mean by that? They're checking the shine on their shoes. They keep their eyes glued to the carpet, thinking, “Don’t look up, don’t make eye contact. Someone might see and want to talk and—oh drats! Pastor saw me! Hey Pastor, how ya doin!” Then you have the people who shake your hand, they talk and laugh with you, and once they turn around they tell their wife/husband “Can you believe that person? I heard that one time they…” That’s not greeting people.

On the other hand, our friend in the front row here, for example. Have you ever seen him not shake someone’s hand? You’d think you were standing on the San Andreas Fault. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.

Then Philippians 4:21b-22—The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's household. Now, you can call me Lucy—because I've got some ‘splainin’ to do. If you recall, when we started this study, we started in Acts 16. We looked at the start of the church in Philippi. The first convert was a woman named Lydia and the ladies who were with her. The next convert was…anybody? The Philippian jailer. Philippi—and I promise, this is the last time you will hear me say this for a long time—Philippi was a colony of—who? Many military officers who retired were encouraged to settle their and flood it with their Romanism.

So this Philippian jailer probably—and I ain't gonna take a bullet for this—he probably had some military background. If that is the case, then he probably heard about The events recorded in Acts 16 took place around 52 AD. The story was still going around about that group of crazy soldiers who couldn’t even guard the tomb of a dead Jewish rabbi in the land of Palestine, and that fell asleep and let the disciples of that dead Jewish rabbi steal the body (Matthew 28:11-15). What dead Jewish rabbi am I talking about? And here is this jailer in Philippi, guarding some of the newer followers of this dead Jewish rabbi, and suddenly, at midnight, what happens? This jailer sees the power of the God that these guys worship.

Now, let’s consider this also—Paul wrote Philippians during his first arrest by the Roman government, about 62 AD. During this confinement, he was chained to either one or two Roman soldiers. Now, when the Philippian jailer got saved, chances are he continued his employment as warden of that jail. Do you think he might have led some of his guards to Christ? And do you think that when a soldier brought a prisoner to that jail, that either the jailer or one of his guards may have shared the gospel with that soldier? Now, the soldier(s) that Paul was chained to, they became Christians at some point—either by Paul’s preaching or by hearing it from the jailer or one of the guards at the jail. Either way, these guys wanted the church at Philippi (specifically, the employees of the jail) to know that they had a bond—that bond was Christ. And it is significant that these soldiers guarding Paul became Christians.

As I said before, Paul probably wrote Philippians in about the year 62 AD. At the time, the emperor of Rome was Nero. It was during Nero’s reign that the first persecutions of Christians took place. Adam Clarke says,

“Nero was at this time emperor of Rome: a more worthless, cruel, and diabolic wretch never disgraced the name or form of man.”

It wasn’t always like that. In fact, during the first few years after Christ’s death and resurrection, the church was pretty much ignored by Rome. Furthermore, Tiberius, who was emperor at the time of the crucifixion, received a report from the governor of Palestine—a fellow by the name of Pontius Pilate—that Pilate had ordered the crucifixion of a local rabbi, and that this rabbi died within hours of being crucified, and that a band of soldiers charged with guarding the tomb of this rabbi reported seeing a great being roll the stone away from the tomb, and that this rabbi got up and walked out of that tomb. Hearing this, Tiberius went to the Roman senate and said, “Hey, let’s make this guy a ‘god’.” The senate—which had the final say on who was named a ‘god’—said, “Eh, not so much.” The fact that we have written history of Tiberius receiving this report from Pontius Pilate is a very strong piece of evidence for the historical fact that Jesus Christ was a true historical figure.

Now, I tend to think—and this is simply my opinion—that it was God who persuaded the senate to deny this request. For this reason—God did not want His Son to be lumped in with a bunch of false pagan ‘gods’. Besides, Christ would have probably been relegated to the lower class of ‘gods’ that were known as the ‘minor gods.’ They may have made Him the ‘god of gardens’ or something. Think about how different history would have been if this had been approved. There would have been no persecution of the church; there would have been almost no way to distinguish the true worshippers of Christ from those who simply worshipped Him A ‘god’.

So early on, the Roman government was not really too concerned about this little movement called “The Way.” It was just a silly bunch of Jews following the teachings of their dead rabbi. To Rome, they didn’t seem to be too much different than any of the other religions that Rome tolerated. They had their little teacher, they believed some things that were kinda strange—you know, humility and self-sacrifice and so forth—but this “Way” didn’t seem like that big of a deal. We see this fact in Acts 25:14-19—When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him…when they had come together, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.” What Festus was saying here is that the only “crime” Paul was being accused of was simply about words and disputes about religion. No serious crime in the eyes of Rome.

Nero was emperor at that time, but he had not yet become the wicked, depraved wretch that we read about in history. In fact, Nero allowed Paul to preach the gospel openly when Paul arrived at Rome (see Acts 28:16-31). But, eventually, this movement called “The Way” started growing and gaining more influence, causing Nero to become much more hostile to those of “The Way.” So, to make sure that these people understood who the “real ‘god’” was that they were to worship, Rome would send troops from one city to the next, and bring together all those of “The Way,” and order them to burn incense to the Caesar. They kept getting the same response. “No.” Nero didn’t cotton too well to that. And it was at this time that Nero went around the bend, so to speak. The historian Eusebius, in his most famous work, The History of the Church, says this about Nero’s turn:

1. When the government of Nero was now firmly established, he began to plunge into unholy pursuits, and armed himself even against the religion of the God of the universe.

2. To describe the greatness of his depravity does not lie within the plan of the present work. As there are many indeed that have recorded his history in most accurate narratives, every one may at his pleasure learn from them the coarseness of the man’s extraordinary madness, under the influence of which, after he had accomplished the destruction of so many myriads without any reason, he ran into such blood-guiltiness that he did not spare even his nearest relatives and dearest friends, but destroyed his mother and his brothers and his wife, with very many others of his own family as he would private and public enemies, with various kinds of deaths.

3. But with all these things this particular in the catalogue of his crimes was still wanting, that he was the first of the emperors who showed himself an enemy of the divine religion.

4. The Roman Tertullian is likewise a witness of this. He writes as follows: “Examine your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that persecuted this doctrine, particularly then when after subduing all the east, he exercised his cruelty against all at Rome. We glory in having such a man the leader in our punishment. For whoever knows him can understand that nothing was condemned by Nero unless it was something of great excellence.”

5. Thus publicly announcing himself as the first among God’s chief enemies, he was led on to the slaughter of the apostles." (Eusebius, The History of the Church [Book 2, Chapter 25, sections 1-5], G.A. Williamson translation, page 104).

So when we see Paul tell us that all the brethren greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household, this is no small thing. These folks—whether they were family or servants or soldiers under Nero’s command—were risking their lives and their livelihood and even the loss of everything they owned—by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, rather than declare "Caesar est dominus"—“Caesar is Lord.”

Finally. Finally!! Philippians 4:23—The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Some translations say The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. The difference between these phrases, in the Greek, is very small and it could be either one. The grace of God is a curious thing. When we consider the holiness and the perfection of God, and when we realize that we deserved nothing less than His holy eternal wrath because of our many rebellions against Him—the fact that he sent His own Son to die for us is the most wonderful display of His grace.

One of my favorite passages in all of Scripture is Romans 5:6-9 (NLT)—When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's judgment. It’s like this—suppose I break into your house. I come in with a gun and a knife and baseball bat, smash out your windows, tear up your furniture, hold you at gunpoint and terrorize your family and smack your kids around and kill your brother right in front of you. I get arrested, go to jail, sentenced to death. No retrial, no appeal, no overturning the verdict. All of a sudden, you stand up and say, “Judge, I've talked to my son, and he will sit in that gas chamber so that fellow can go free.” Everybody would call him a lunatic. They'd shout, “Are you out of your mind? You're gonna let your son die for that blankety-blank that did that to you and your family?” Everybody would be in an outrage!!

It wouldn’t make sense to us, would it? We’re human, we need to get revenge. Well guess what? That’s what God did when He sent His Son to pay the price for all the times you killed someone with your words or committed adultery with your thoughts or worshipped other gods by your actions. We committed a countless number of crimes against God, and we deserved death. But the Son of God stood up and said, “Father, I'll die so they don’t have to.”

I found these words that were written by a lady named Frances Havergal. They're from a hymn she wrote called “Light After Darkness.” She wrote it in 1879, and it is based on Psalm 46:10, but I think the words apply to this whole letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians.

Light after darkness; gain after loss.
Strength after weakness; crown after cross.
Sweet after bitter; hope after fears.
Home after wandering; praise after tears.
Sheaves after sowing; sun after rain.
Sight after mystery; peace after pain.
Joy after sorrow; calm after blast.
Rest after weariness; sweet rest at last.
Near after distant; gleam after gloom.
Love after loneliness; life after tomb.
After long agony, rapture of bliss –
Right was the pathway leading to this!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

Verse-by-verse through Philippians (4:19-4:20, part 3)

We saw last week that, although it is a very hard thing to imagine, but God is glorified, and is seen to be a true and righteous God, when He commends sinners to eternal punishment in Hell. We talked about the fact that while we live on earth, while our court systems are overseen by humans—humans judges sitting on the bench, humans sitting in the jury box—we will never see pure justice be done. Guilty men will go free, and innocent men will go to prison. Another thing is, if you go from city to city, and even from state to state, you will see that what may be legal in one place may be illegal in the next. You can't buy fireworks in Knoxville. But if you go just a little ways up Rt. 33, you can buy all the fireworks you want. But God, being the perfect Judge that He is, will not only punish all sinners, but He will punish them according to the same standard—the Laws that He laid down, to be obeyed by ALL men.

Now, when I say “The Law,” or “God’s Law,” these are not necessarily laws that are enforced by the various criminal law departments in our country. Stealing, and murder—yeah. And until just a few years ago, adultery was still a punishable offense in many states. But a person can, unfortunately, blaspheme the name of God or they can worship Allah or Buddha or even their own self, and not run afoul of KPD or Knox County Sheriff or even the THP or TBI. However, God requires punishment for those sins. And unless the person has accepted the payment that Christ made on the cross for their sins, that person will, necessarily, be punished for all eternity in Hell. And because all sins will be paid for—either by the person, or by Christ—God will be seen to be the just, righteous, and glorious God that He is. So that’s the bad news. That’s how He will be glorified in Hell. Now, for something a little more joyful. The good news. Today we’re going to see the glory of God in Heaven, and we will see how we glorify Him on earth.

Philippians 4:19-20—19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

A couple weeks ago we read one of the most beloved passages of Scripture, in Isaiah 6:1-4--In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. Now, let’s read as the apostle John gives us a more detailed peek into Heaven in the Book of Revelation First, we see God the Father glorified and praised. Revelation 4:8-11--The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” Six wings—just like the angels in Isaiah 6. They also utter the same praise as the angels in Isaiah 6.

Not only does John show us that God the Father is praised in Heaven, but also God the Son, Jesus Christ. Revelation 5:1-4--And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. God the Father holds, in His hands, a scroll. It is a very important scroll, so much so that it is sealed with seven seals. What this scroll contains—men who know a whole lot more than I do have debated this for years. Suffice it to say, all the creatures and the angels realize that no one in Heaven or earth has the authority to open this scroll.

There is One who steps forward and possesses the authority needed to open that scroll. Revelation 5:5-14--But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:“Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

So we see God the Father and God the Son being the objects of worship in Heaven. And this is before the Great Tribulation, the rise of the Antichrist—this is when God is getting everything ready to be judged. Then comes the judgments on the earth—all the plagues and the natural disasters that we read about in the next 12 or so chapters. But then, once all those plagues have come about, and after Christ judges the living and the dead, when Death and Hades and all sinners have been cast into the Lake of Fire—then He makes all things new in Revelation 20:13-21:4. How many of y’all always thought that the Book of Revelation was nothing more than death and destruction and the Apocalypse and Armageddon? Those are major events in Revelation—but when we see those things for what they are, we see just how blessed we are that God has saved us, and we will be spared of all those things! Revelation 20:13-21:4--The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Once Death and Hades and sin have been judged and destroyed, we will see God in all His glory. We cannot see that glory now, because we are in these unredeemed, sinful bodies. 1st Timothy 6:15-16—The blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. Philippians 3:20-21—For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body. Then, once we have that new body, once sin and death are done away with, there will be a new temple in New Jerusalem. This will be the final fulfillment of the words that God spoke through the prophet Haggai, in Haggai 2:6-9—“For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts…‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts.” How great and glorious will this temple be? I'm glad you asked.

Revelation 21:22-27--But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. God the Father and God the Son will be the temple. There will be no darkness, not even shadows. Think about sunlight for a moment. The sun only gives light in a direct, straight line. If something is in the path of that light, there will be darkness behind that object. In Heaven, the glory of God will fill every square inch, and even if you stood directly in front of the throne, there will be no shadow behind you, because it is the glory of God that will fill every square inch with light. These people who think that when we get to Heaven all we’re gonna do is sit on a cloud and pluck a harp—they have no idea!

One final thing: look at Revelation 21:25—Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). Would you ever go anywhere without shutting and locking your front door? The gates of this new city will never be shut—know why? Revelation 21:27—But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie. Nothing sinful will ever get in. We won’t have to worry about locking the gate—anybody we might have ever been afraid of will be in Hell, and the only people in Heaven will be those who will never sin ever again! God glorified in Heaven.

So, what does that mean for us while we walk this earth? I'm glad you asked. See, a lot of people think that once they say a little prayer and go to church for a while, they can just put it on cruise control for the rest of their lives and just wait for ol’ St. Peter to stamp their ticket when they get to the pearly gates. WRONG!! You see, God has a reason for keeping us alive after we get saved. What is that reason? If I were to mention the Westminster Confession of Faith, that may not mean a whole lot to some people. But it was a statement of beliefs drawn up by the Church of England and the Church of Scotland back in 1646. And it is still used by many Presbyterian and Southern Baptist churches to this day. It’s made up of several Q&A’s that help to outline our beliefs.

Question 1: “What is the chief purpose of man?”
Answer: “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

Philosophers have devoted their lives to the question “Why are we here?” The answer has been around for thousands of years. We exist to glorify God. We find that answer in several Scriptures. Titus 2:11-14—For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that…we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:14-16—“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” If someone is going to claim to be a Christian, then their life has to square up with that claim. Sadly, there are many people walking around claiming the name of Christ on their lips, yet they go out and get drunk or do drugs or they're sleeping around—they are glorifying God with their lips, but their lifestyle actually brings reproach on His name. Romans 2:23-24—You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. When we openly defy God while claiming to be His child, we give His enemies a reason to blaspheme against Him. And we bring shame to Him.

BUT—when we do what He commands, and seek His righteousness, and wake up every day with a heart that says, “I'm going to serve Him today,” and if everything we do is done with an attitude of thankfulness, then we bring glory to God—that is, we make His fame and His righteousness known to a world that does not know Him. Peter told us pretty much the same thing in 1st Peter 2:11-12—Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Philippians 2:14-15—Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Finally, friends, it is not only through our lives that we glorify God. The day may come when we may have to give up our earthly life in order to declare the name of our God. Listen to what Paul told these Philippians in the first part of this letter. Philippians 1:20-21—My earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness…Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. To the apostle Paul, it did not matter if he ever got out of prison, or if he spent the rest of his life chained to a Roman soldier—or if they took his head. Which they eventually did. If he went on living, that meant he could preach the gospel to more people—and we’ll see in a couple weeks the outcome of that preaching. If he died, he got to go home to be with Christ. It was a win-win situation! And that’s how it is with us, too. If we live, we get to keep showing the world our faith in Christ is real, we show them what a life looks like when it is devoted to God. And if we die, we go to Heaven! I'll take those odds any day.

And last, listen to these words written by the apostle John concerning the last recorded conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Peter. John 21:17-19—Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. Dr. John MacArthur cites certain historical sources that say this about Peter’s death:

“Peter had to watch as his wife was crucified, but encouraged her with the words ‘Remember the Lord.’ When it came time to for him to be crucified, he reportedly pleaded that he was not worthy to be crucified like his Lord, but rather should be crucified upside down. Tradition says he was in ca. A.D. 67-68.”

About 33-35 years after Christ’s crucifixion. If these sources are correct, then this was a fulfillment of Christ’s words. One way or another, Christ’s words were fulfilled, whether it happened this way or some other way. Whether by life or by death, may God be magnified in our bodies.

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

Verse-by-verse through Philippians (4:19-4:20, part 2)

Last week we talked about the glory of God, and what exactly that means. And we saw that the word “glory” refers to one’s honor, reputation, and fame. And when we take the word “glory” and apply it to God, that it takes on a greater meaning of “The honor resulting from a good opinion” and “The kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler; majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity.” We saw that all rule and authority, in Heaven and on earth, comes from God, and that if a person is a president or a king, they were put there by God. Then we compared God’s kingship over all of creation with those men who abuse the power that is given them by God, and gave thanks that God possesses all the attributes necessary to rule this universe without destroying it—attributes like righteousness and justice and love. Today we’re going to see what it means to “glorify God.” That even though there are many people walk around saying “glory to God!” while their lives do anything but glorify Him.

Philippians 4:19-20—19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

There are three particular groups that we are going to talk about today, and we’re going to see how each one of these groups brings glory to God. First, we will see how God is glorified in Hell. We don’t like to think of God being glorified by sending someone to Hell. But He is. The clearest Scripture on this subject is found in Romans 3:5-6—But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world? The argument made by the skeptic—as well as the theological liberal who doesn’t like to think that Hell is real—is this: “If God is love, then how can He send people to an eternal, fiery Hell?” Look at what Paul says here. God inflicts wrath—and He is not unjust. Therefore, this wrath that God inflicts must be a righteous wrath. So, is God righteous in sending people to Hell? Well, in Revelation 16:4-7, God is preparing the seven “Bowl Judgments” that will be poured out upon the earth during the Great Tribulation. First, those who worship the Beat and take his mark will be covered with painful sores. Then the seas will become like blood and all the creatures in the sea will die. Then, Revelation 16:4-7--Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Then, in Revelation 19:1-3, after Mystery Babylon, the world government set up by the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation, has been destroyed, and God has avenged His saints and done away with sin on earth—for the time being—so that Christ may return and set up His 1000 year reign on earth. Revelation 19:1-3--After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” All sin must be punished.

What is the most common criticism of our criminal justice system? “Why do they keep letting criminals back out on the streets?” Can the police and the sheriffs and the THP be everywhere? There are many more criminals than there are peace officers. So not every crime gets punished. Not only that, there are many people sitting in prison for crimes they did not commit. It’s a sad fact. BUT!! When the day comes that all men will stand before Christ and be judged, no one who is guilty will be pardoned—and no one who is justified will be punished. Deuteronomy 32:3-4—“For I proclaim the name of the LORD: ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.” Deuteronomy 10:17—The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. Before we go any further, let me say this: I'm going to be using phrases like “no sinner will go unpunished.” And I want to be clear, that we are all sinful, and that if we have accepted Christ as Savior and confessed Him as Lord, and are surrendered to Him, then even though we are sinful, He has already taken our sins and God’s wrath for those sins upon Himself on the Cross.

Question: Is a person saved by keeping the OT Law? Well, what was the purpose of the OT Law? It was meant to point us to Christ, and also to show us how we are all guilty before God. But this is not to say that the Law was not good. This is God’s Law, and His Law is perfect. Psalm 19:7-8—The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 1st Timothy 1:8—But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. Not only was the Law good and perfect—it declared the glory of God! 2nd Corinthians 3:7-11 [NASB]--But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. The Law “came with glory”—it showed us how perfect God is, and how sinful we are. If a person does not believe they are breaking a law, are they going to stop doing what is unlawful? If they don’t put up speed limit signs, and I go flying down Alcoa Hwy at 80 MPH—oh wait, everybody does that anyways. A sheriff’s deputy pulls me over and gives me a ticket. “Hey, I didn’t know it was against the law to drive 80 MPH!” But it is. And now that I know that it is against the law to drive 80 MPH down Alcoa Hwy, if I get another ticket, the punishment is going to be even greater.

The same is true for the Law of God. The more a person hears the truth of God’s word, and the more they are taught about their sinful condition—if they do not turn away from those sins they know are sinful, then the more they continue in sin the greater their punishment will be in Hell. “Well, I was gonna stop next week!” Doesn’t matter—you should have stopped yesterday! Romans 2:1-5--Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. If someone KNOWS that committing a particular act is a sin, and they keep on doing it, they are simply heaping up wrath for themselves. Those who were judges in matters pertaining to the OT Law were not beyond the scrutiny of that same Law. If a judge of the Law broke a commandment of the Law—not only was he guilty, but he was subject to an even harsher punishment than those people that he determined were guilty of breaking the Law. This is another example of Paul quoting a principle laid out by Christ.

John 8:1-9—Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”…So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Isn't that another verse that even the ungodly and wicked can quote verbatim? “Let him without sin cast the first stone!” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. So now we see it much more clearly, that the Law is a mirror that we hold up in front of us, and when we start going through each commandment, we see ourselves as being guilty of each one.

“Thou shalt have no other Gods besides Me.” Well, didn’t we all have something we worshipped more than we worshipped God at one time? If nothing else, we worshipped ourselves.
“Thou shalt not murder.” Knowing that even hatred is murder, I think we can all put a check mark next to that one.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Lust equals adultery. Let’s skip that one!

And because this is true, then God must punish sin, or He is not a righteous Judge. If I'm standing before Richard Baumgartner, and I've still got a victim’s blood on my hands and my clothing, and I just stand there and say, “Sorry judge! My bad!” And Baumgartner says, “Well, I believe you. You’re showing remorse. Case dismissed.” Imagine the outrage! Has justice been done? NOW, if all mankind is subject to the same Law of God—and we are—then if even one sinner goes unpunished—if even one SIN goes unpunished—then is God a God of justice? Romans 3:19-20--Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Again, the Law does not make us perfect. Why? Because by the law is the knowledge of sin. The only thing the OT Law did was to show us how sinful we are, and to show us how far from God’s majesty and perfection we really are. Listen to Romans 7:7—I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” Galatians 3:19, 22—What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made…But the Scripture has confined all under sin.

Is even one sinner, or even one sin, going to go unpunished? And we see that, as we finish up in Revelation 20:11-15--Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Every person, who dies apart from Christ, will be standing before this Great White Throne. Whether it’s Johnny Down-The-Road, or Adolf Hitler or Joseph Smith or the men of Sodom and Gomorrah. The ledgers that contain the accounts of all those who did not know Christ as Savior AND LORD will be opened, the dockets will be called, the charges will be read, and the guilty will be punished. No appeal, no technicalities. Every single person will be judged by the Law of God, no one will be able to say, “No fair!” Romans 3:19—Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped. There will be no exceptions. Everyone will be held to the same standard, and judges by the same Law.

God will be seen to be the righteous Judge that He is, and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ IS Lord to the glory of God the Father—that is, that God sent His perfect Word into the world, that Word became flesh and dwelt among us. That Word declared the fame and majesty of the Father, and all the world will be judge by being compared to that Word. John 1:1—And the Word was God. Romans 2:16—God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. God must do away with and punish all sin and separate it from Himself and from His kingdom before the holy city of Jerusalem can open its doors. Revelation 21:1-2--Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Skipping down to Revelation 21:23-24, 27--The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it...But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We’ll go further into that next week when we talk about God being glorified in Heaven.

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

Verse-by-verse through Philippians (4:19-4:20, part 1)

What do we mean when we say, “Glory to God?” A lot of people will walk around saying “Glory to God!” or “Praise God!” when they have been delivered out of some dire circumstance. And yet if you look at the other 99.999% of their lives, they want nothing to do with God. Question: Can a person who does not know God, glorify God? They can with their lips. I've been trying to slog my way through Jonathan Edward’s masterpiece “A Treatise on the Religious Affections.” In one section of one of his chapters, he makes the case that even though a person may glorify God with their lips, this is no proof that they are saved:

[P]ersons, without grace, may have high affections towards God and Christ, and their affections, being strong, may fill their mouths and incline them to speak much, and very earnestly, about the things they are affected with, and that there may be counterfeits of all kinds of gracious affection. But it will appear more evidently and directly, that this is no certain sign of grace, if we consider what instances the Scripture gives us of it in those that were graceless. We often have an account of this, in the multitude that were present when Christ preached and wrought miracles; Mark 2:12, "And immediately he arose, took up his bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion." So Matt. 9:8, and Luke 5:26. Also Matt. 15:31, "Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel." So we are told, that on occasion of Christ's raising the son of the widow of Nain, Luke 7:16, "There came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people." So we read of their glorifying Christ, or speaking exceeding highly of him: Luke 4:15, "And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all." And how did they praise him, with loud voices, crying, "Hosanna to the Son of David; hosanna in the highest; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord," a little before he was crucified! And after Christ's ascension, when the apostles had healed the impotent man, we are told, that all men glorified God for that which was done, Acts 4:21. When the Gentiles in Antioch of Pisidia, heard from Paul and Barnabas, that God would reject the Jews, and take the Gentiles to be his people in their room, they were affected with the goodness of God to the Gentiles, "and glorified the word of the Lord:" but all that did so were not true believers; but only a certain elect number of them; as is intimated in the account we have of it, Acts 13:48: "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed." So of old the children of Israel at the Red Sea, "sang God's praise; but soon forgat his works." And the Jews in Ezekiel's time, "with their mouth showed much love, while their heart went after their covetousness." And it is foretold of false professors and real enemies of religion, that they should show a forwardness to glorify God: Isa. 66:5, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word. Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified."

It is no certain sign that a person is graciously affected, if, in the midst of his hopes and comforts, he is greatly affected with God's unmerited mercy to him that is so unworthy, and seems greatly to extol and magnify free grace. (Jonathan Edwards, "A Treatise on the Religious Affections", 1997 ed., pp. 94-95).

A person who does not know God can give Him glory from their lips, even while their hearts are far, far away from Him. “Praise God, He healed my momma! Let’s go get a case of beer and celebrate!” BEEN THERE—DONE THAT. And even our president--our quote-unquote "Christian" president--signed a proclamation declaring June 2010 as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.” This man who claims to be a Christian, who ends many of his speeches with the phrase “God Bless America”—glorifying God with his lips, while his actions do anything but glorify God.

BUT!! We’re going to look at what it means to truly “give glory to God.” I'm gonna do my best, but I know there’s no way that I could ever do justice to this subject. To start, we’re going to examine just what we mean by the phrase “the glory of God.” Then, once we understand that, next week we will look at (1) how we glorify God here on earth, (2) how God is glorified in Heaven, and (3) we will even talk about how He is glorified in Hell. That’s something we don’t like to talk about—how God is glorified when someone winds up in Hell. God doesn’t want to send anyone there—but when He does, He is glorified.

Philippians 4:19-20—19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Let’s start out by defining some terms here. First, the word “glory.” The Greek is δοξα (doxa). We get words like “orthodox” and “doxology” from the Greek. At its very core, it means “opinion” or “reputation.” And when it is used of God, it takes on the meaning of “The honor resulting from a good opinion.” We give honor and respect to men who are in positions of authority and power. And we do this, many times, for no other reason than the position they hold. They may be the most rottenest rapscallion in the room, and use their title and power for selfish reasons—but we still honor them because of their position.

And even if that ruler is rotten to the core, and is the most incompetent rube on the planet, keep one thing in mind--God put that man in power (for whatever reason). John 19:10 (NASB)—“You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above.” Romans 13:1 (NASB)—Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Colossians 1:16—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 rule and power and authority on earth (thrones, dominions) and in Heaven (principalities, powers) were established by God. And they do what God tells them to do. Even if a president approves of homosexuality, or a king takes Israel captive, and even if a Roman emperor slaughters Christians in some of the most horrific ways possible—that ruler’s heart is in the hand of God. 1st Peter 2:13-15--Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Proverbs 21:1—The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; and He turns it wherever He wishes. Daniel 2:37-38—"You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all." Whether that person is a scoundrel or a righteous man, we are to respect them, in their office, because they were put their by God.

However, the honor that God deserves is not only because He is in a position of not a little power—He is, after all, King of kings and Lord of lords. But, as opposed to men who abuse the power they have over, let’s face it, relatively small portions of this tiny little planet, God rules over not only this planet, but also Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and all the gazillions of stars and over every square inch of however many trillions of light years this universe is in size—but He does so with love, with righteousness, with justice, and without partiality. Deuteronomy 10:17—YHVH your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. Acts 10:34-35—Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” Romans 2:11—There is no partiality with God. If God were like men, and had all the power in His hands to do whatever He wanted—I don’t know if that’s something I even want to think about. Because if men will abuse the power they have, in the ways they have, in their short lifetimes—imagine what an infinite God could do if He was predisposed to acting like a man.

BUT—the glory of God—another fellow defines it as “The kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler; majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity.” God’s glory far exceeds man’s glory because His rule is perfect in every way. He does not use His rule and authority for unrighteous purposes. That stupid movie a few years ago, “Bruce Almighty”—that was blasphemous on so many levels. But it also painted a very skewed picture of man. Because if a man had all the power God had—without God’s righteousness, justice, and love—Earth would be destroyed in a day. We would be hopelessly enslaved to Satan, and every evil that you could think of—and many that we can't—would take over in an instant. But God rules perfectly because He is righteousness, justice, and love. Deuteronomy 32:3-4—“For I proclaim the name of the LORD: ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.” Ezra 9:15—O YHVH God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt. It is because of God’s righteousness, justice, and love that He rules as perfectly as He does. Psalm 115:3—Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. Good thing for us He only wants to do what is righteous and just. Titus 1:2—God, who cannot lie… Hebrews 6:18—It is impossible for God to lie.

To God be the glory, great things He has done
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

What man would ever do that? If God were like man, He would never send His own Son to pay for our sins. But God did. To Him be the glory.

Question: What was the first manifestation of God’s glory?
Answer: Creation!

Psalm 19:1 (NASB)—The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. The “telling” and “declaring” are in the present tense—the heavens “ARE telling” and their expanse “IS declaring.” I think we would all agree that it is impossible for us, in these bodies and with these minds, to grasp how glorious God is. In Exodus 33:19-23, Moses was on Mt. Sinai, receiving the Law from God. He was pleading with God to not simply give him this Law, but to go with the people that they may fulfill it. Moses wanted to see God in all His glory. Don’t we all? But, God’s glory and His perfections are so glorious and so perfect that if we saw Him in all of His glory and perfection, we would die. Exodus 33:19-23—God said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you…But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

Any time God displays His glory, He always shrouds it in something. He has to. If He didn’t, it would kill us. Kiel and Delitzsch:

“When God talked with him face to face, or mouth to mouth, he merely saw a ‘similitude of YHVH,’ a form which rendered the invisible being of God visible to the human eye, i.e., a manifestation of the divine glory in a certain form, and not the direct or essential glory of YHVH…What Moses desired was a sight of the glory or essential being of God, without any figure, and without a veil…YHVH granted his request, but only so far as the limit existing between the infinite and holy God and finite and sinful man allowed…No mortal man can see the face of God and remain alive; for not only is the holy God a consuming fire to unholy man, but a limit has been set…between the infinite God, the absolute Spirit, and the human spirit clothed in an earthly body…which, so long as it lasts, renders a direct sight of the glory of God impossible…As our bodily eye is dazzled, and its power of vision destroyed, by looking directly at the brightness of the sun, so would our whole nature be destroyed by an unveiled sight of the brilliancy of the glory of God.”

Suppose I climbed into a spaceship and headed directly for the sun. My ship would probably start to disintegrate before I got a few hundred thousand miles away. It’s inapproachable. And to an infinitely greater extent, God in all of His unveiled glory cannot even be looked upon by us in these unredeemed bodies. We can glimpse at the sun for a second or two. But if we were to even look out of the corner of our eye and catch a glimmer of God’s pure glory—we would die. PERIOD—PARAGRAPH. 1st Timothy 6:16 (NASB)—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.

Some more manifestations of the glory of God. After King Solomon finished building the temple, he consecrated it through prayer, and in 2nd Chronicles 7:1-4 (NASB)—Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of YHVH filled the house. The priests could not enter into the house of YHVH because the glory of YHVH filled YHVH's house. All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of YHVH upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to YHVH, saying, “Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting.” And as glorious as this temple was, God promised through the prophet Haggai that one day He would inhabit an even greater temple. Haggai 2:6-9--"Thus says YHVH of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says YHVH of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says YHVH of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says YHVH of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says YHVH of hosts." This was of course telling about Christ, who Himself said, John 2:19, 21—“Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days”…He was speaking of the temple of His body. And of course the closest we have to someone seeing the full glory of God is Isaiah 6:1-4--In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is YHVH of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. And when the prophet saw this, how did he respond? Isaiah 6:5--So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, YHVH of hosts.”

When we say we “give glory to God,” we don’t mean that He does not already have glory, and we give Him more. His glory is eternal. He has always had it, and He will never lose it. When we say that, we are simply acknowledging what is already true. BUT—we don’t just do it with our lips. We live our lives as if we believe it.

Fathers—when you tell your kids something, and you ask if they understood what you said, and they went right out and did what you told them not to do—Did they really get it? And did they give you the respect they should have? But when they say, “Yes Daddy”—and they do what you said—then you realize they get it. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. May we ascribe glory to Him, may we acknowledge and confess that He deserves our worship—and may we give Him that praise and worship He deserves in this body, on earth, and for all eternity in Heaven.

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.