Romans 9. The wonderful doctrine of predestination

Romans 9

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Predestination. A doctrine that makes some people very angry, and others of us confused and worried. But it is a doctrine that is of great comfort and should bring us great joy!

How do I know I’m saved? Because God has chosen you and his mercy is upon you like it was on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The same promises are ours in Christ.

I know from personal experience that this passage can be difficult. But I hope it will also be deeply encouraging as we see how great and powerful and scary and full of mercy our God is!

Three points tonight:

1. I would save my people if I were God – but I’m not

2. I did not save myself – God did.

3. The difficult and wonderful doctrine of predestination

1. I would save my people if I were God – but I’m not

9:1 With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. 2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief 3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.

Paul’s desire is for the Jews to be saved. But he knows that even if he offered to be cut off forever – such a dramatic gesture – that would not be enough. Only God can save. And Paul must himself bow the knee before God’s sovereign rule.

You can feel the passion. The anguish for his people. Especially when he reminds us that everything that now belongs to the Christian, as he’s shown us in the past few chapters, used to belong to Israel.

4 They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.

That’s what we have in Christ. All that was Israel’s is ours. The covenants, his glory, and adopted as His children – all ours in Christ. And so we worship him. In Christ we are God’s people.

5 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

Look at all that they had. But Paul’s heart is broken because they have thrown it all away. They have stumbled over Christ the stumbling stone. They rejected him and they have fallen.

Being Jewish is not enough. It is Christ and faith in him that is required, not your bloodline.

But this throws up a question in our mind: if the Jews had all these promises before me, but the gospel now says they don’t apply to them anymore, but to me – how do I know that the same won’t happen to me?

If God’s people, the Jews, have been rejected by God… can I trust God?

6 Well then, has God failed to fulfil his promise to Israel?

And the answer is simple: 6 No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!

Throughout the Bible there is Israel – those born a Jew - and then there is a smaller group: True Israel or the “remnant”. And the Holy Spirit now shows us through Paul’s words that the remnant or True Israel were those chosen by God. This has always been the case, and still is. If you are chosen by God his wonderful promises apply to you, and nothing you do can change that. His favour rests upon you like it did upon Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.

But if you are not chosen, then everything you do will lead you away from God and confirm your hardness of heart.

Remember what we have already learnt: We all are sinners without hope. All in Adam. No-one does good, not even one. Condemned. There is no way for us to save ourselves. Morality judges us. The law condemns us. We’re in trouble. Hard heart. We are the source of our condemnation. We do not choose God. We choose, in a sense, hell. That’s what the Jews are doing and Paul is grieving. They reject Jesus, God’s righteousness, and try to earn their own righteousness. And so they stumble.

But, oh glory!, remember 3:21 But now a righteousness FROM God is revealed in Christ. God is the source of salvation. And His Spirit brings new life, new life from within. Not by doing good deeds, not by following the law, but by trusting in Christ’s death and resurrection on the Cross. And tonight’s passage shows that faith comes not from within, but from God’s choice to include us in the promise. And so now there is no condemnation, we are God’s children, we are heirs, and nothing can separate us from God’s love because his promise stands.

We know this, and it brings us unspeakable joy. But it does mean that we cannot MAKE those we love accept the Lord, and we cannot MAKE the Lord accept them either. Even if we were to be cut off for their sake – it would make no difference. We have to simply trust God.

I would save my people if I were God – but I’m not.

2. I did not save myself – God did.

15 For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” 16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

This is the one point that tonight’s passage is making: Salvation is God’s domain. Salvation is God’s domain. We can no more choose it or work for it than a dead person can choose it or work for it. Without Christ we are spiritually dead. And it is God who raises us to life.

And this has always been the case. Just like in chapter 4 we are reminded that salvation has always been through faith – Abraham believed God and God credited to him as righteousness – now we are reminded that God’s word has all along promised salvation only to those whom God sovereignly chose. And the Holy Spirit through Paul uses two examples from Israel’s history to show that belonging to God’s people depends not on birth or on anything a person does, but on God’s call.

6 Well then, has God failed to fulfil his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! 7 Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too.

The word translated “counted” is kaleo and means named or called, and is key to this section. It is the same word in v12 “he calls people” and in v24 we are among those whom he selected and v26 “there they will be called ‘children of the living God’”

A call is not an invitation. An invitation is “Would you like to come?”. A call is “Come here”. An invitation is your friend saying “Do you want to come to my house after school”. A call is your Dad saying “Come here we need to talk”!
In salvation God does not invite. God calls. He compels.

7b For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too. 8 This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. 9 For God had promised, “I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 This son was our ancestor Isaac.

Do you see the point Paul is making? As God called only some from among Abraham’s descendants to be his people (6b–13), so now he calls even some Gentiles (v24 Those not my people I will now call my people) and the remnant of the Jews 27 Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved. That’s the argument. God has always sovereignly chosen some to be saved, some to be “of the promise” and others not. Abraham had Ishmael and Isaac. But Isaac was the son of the promise, not Ishmael.

10 When he (Isaac) married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. 11 But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.” 13 In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”

Can we be sure we are saved? Yes. If God has chosen us, then we are saved, as surely as he chose Isaac and Jacob. If His favour rests upon you then your calling and election is sure. Your good or bad works matter nothing – what matters is the purposes of God.

And this is always the way God has worked. He has not been unfaithful to Israel because he had always made clear that a remnant would be saved, not every Israelite. That is, the mark of salvation was faith in God’s word, and the obedient life that followed from that, not being born a Jew.
Same as being born to Christian parents is not a mark of salvation. I needed to be born again by the Spirit of God. I was called by God out of darkness and into the light. I was on my way to abandoning the faith my parents held. I was following my heart into the darkness. My birth counted for nothing. What counts is God’s mercy.

I did not save myself, God did. You did not save yourself, God did. And if you think you saved yourself, then there is a very real danger that you are not saved. Because that’s what Romans 1-8 has shown us. There is no-one righteous. No-one seeks God, not even one. Not even you. Not until the Spirit breathes life into you.
By the way, if you’re thinking “but I’m seeking God” then praise God, because that means the Spirit is at work in you!

I did not save myself, no more than Isaac chose himself to be the son of the promise, or Jacob chose himself to be greater than his twin brother Esau. I did not save myself – God did.

And that’s what we call predestination or election. That God is sovereign over salvation.

3. The wonderful doctrine of predestination

What is predestination? Article 17 of the 39 articles of faith of the Church of England defines it like this:

Predestination to life belongs to God’s everlasting purpose. Before the foundation of the world, it is his unchangeable decree, in accordance with his secret counsel, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he has chosen in Christ, and to bring them by him to everlasting salvation, as vessels of his mercy.

In other words God has chosen who will be saved. He did this in eternity before even creating us.

14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair?

Isn’t that our main objection to predestination. It’s unfair. We have a VERY strong sense of “fairness” in our Norwegian society. Everyone has to get same opportunity. Everyone has to get the same. If one gets a sweet, everyone has to get a sweet. So much so that sweets were banned in my daughter’s class because not everyone could get and some people might feel bad if some had an others didn’t. So no sweets, cakes or biscuits for anyone. Got to be “fair”.

But the gospel is not fair. If the gospel was fair it wouldn’t be good news because we would get what we deserve – eternal judgement.
Is God unfair? No, because he is God he can show mercy to anyone he chooses! 15 For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” 16 So it is God who decides to show mercy.

Just like it is perfectly fair for me to take my kids out on a Daddy date, and not take someone else’s kids out with me. Because I’m my kids Dad. I love my kids. No-one would say “that’s not fair”.
Same with God. He has mercy on those whom he loves. And what mercy! God goes on a rescue mission that involved being born a man, suffering and dying on a cross, in order to rescue us!

Now if you’re struggling with this, let me give you some comfort. You’re struggling because of your culture, not your morality. It is your cultural bias that is being challenged, not necessarily what is good and bad. If you were born in a different place or different time you would have no problem now. So let’s not give our gut reaction too much weight. Our culture is good, but has many flaws.

But our struggle is real. So let’s try to understand this. Because we often misinterpret this as “So you’re saying that I’m a robot!”.
No, the Bible is very clear that we are not robots, that our choices are real and that they matter. In fact it is our choice to reject God that sends us to hell. But the fact that we have real choice (sometimes called “free will”) does not mean that God cannot be sovereign over all things.

But how does that work? I don’t know. How is light a stream of photons and a wave at the same time. No-one knows. But it is. Start reading up on quantum physics. Weird stuff. Impossible stuff. But it happens every day all around us. We live in a complex world where things that seem to contradict and cancel each other out… don’t. Two things that we think should be exclusive aren’t. God’s sovereignty does not change our free choice, and our free choice does not exclude predestination.

Salvation is like a door: we see “Come and choose to be saved” but as we go through the door we see behind us “predestined from before time”. These are two sides of the same coin.

Predestination is fundamental to a gospel of grace. The gospel does not work otherwise. Our very concept of God does not work.
If we throw out predestination we throw out grace. Because grace is by its very nature “unfair”.
We deserve hell (Romans chapter 1,2 and 3) – that is what we chose by the exercise of our free will. But God in his mercy overrides our choice. Predestination. We who did not choose God are chosen by God… and so we then choose God. God changes our hearts so that we love Him and choose to follow him instead of reject him. Instead of us getting what we chose, what we deserve, Jesus takes it. He goes through death and hell so that we don’t have to. He is treated like us. And we are treated like him. Children of God. Eternal inheritance. No condemnation. Nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Without predestination none of that is possible. If you want grace you want predestination. If you want grace you want God’s sovereignty. It is not possible otherwise. This is a wonderful doctrine.

And then Paul goes and ruins it with v17!

17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.

Woah dude. God hardens people as well? I didn’t sign up for this! God is a loving God!

Well, maybe it’s time we get rid of the idea that our God is a loving God?

God is a loving God to those whom he loves. But to those whom he does not love, he is not. In the end He is a terrifying judge bringing destruction and eternal damnation. If you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Saviour then be afraid! Fall to your knees and plead for mercy. Maybe He will hear your prayer.

19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”

Well, if God is sovereign over everything, then what’s the point? How can he judge us? How can I have free will, free choice? And the answer is…. God is God, trust him.

20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? 22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. 23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. 24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

This is both terrifying and greatly comforting. The world is divided up into two groups: those chosen in Christ to bring eternal glory to God. Those not chosen who are garbage. Ouch.
But if you’re in Christ, be free. Your salvation rests on God’s election, his eternal choice. You are secure!

Now the annoying thing is that God has not told us why or how he chooses some and not others, and how that lines up with his desire that all men should be saved. We are simply called to trust him, and trust his character revealed in our Lord Jesus, particularly in his death on the cross. When we see Him one day we will understand, and we will praise him.

See how the passage makes us focus on God and on his sovereign choice: over Isaac, over Jacob, over Israel, and over us.
Now there’s a very tempting theory out there called Arminianism which is not happy with God not revealing the reason why some are given saving faith and not others. Arminianism says that God looked into the future and saw our choices. That how he chooses who is saved and who isn’t. It fits well with our culture, it seems to solve the problem of God being a big bad who sends people to hell. Unfortunately it also removes assurance of salvation and puts us squarely in the centre of salvation. Oh, God chose me because I chose him. There’s three reasons why it doesn’t work:

1. God is not bound by time. He’s not looking ahead to see our choices. He’s already there, in the moment. And he’s at the end of time with those he has glorified (Rom 8:30)

2. He made us. He designed every part of us and the world we live in. it’s not like he doesn’t know the factors that will influence our decisions. So you still end up with the same problem: God designed some people in a way that meant they would choose him, but others were designed to reject him.

3. It rejects the Biblical teaching on sin. Rom 3:10 No-one seeks God. Eph 2:1 We are dead in our sins. Rom 5:12 death spread to all men because all sinned. Gen 6:5 every inclination of the heart of man is only evil all the time.
There is no way we can save ourselves because we are dead in sin. We cannot choose. Some people then respond “Ah, but Jesus’ death opened the way for everyone to choose”. But that’s makes all the clear teaching on sin nonsense: if Jesus’ death opens the way for everyone so that everyone can choose, then everyone can seek God – but the Bible says “no-one seeks God”.

4. And here’s a bonus reason: that not what tonight’s passage says! It’s very clear that God decides. Not us. He is the source, not us, no matter how much time is involved.

30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. 31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. 32 Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. 33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, “I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”

Don’t stumble over the stumbling stone of Jesus. Trust him, not in yourself.

See, the doctrine of predestination is wonderful! As the 17^th article says: The reverent consideration of our predestination and election in Christ is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable strength to godly persons, who feel the working in themselves of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh and their earthly passions and drawing their thoughts upward to high and heavenly realities. This teaching is welcome to us both because it strongly establishes and confirms our assurance of eternal salvation to be enjoyed through Christ, and also because it kindles in us a fervent love to God.

Predestination is fundamental to the gospel and to our understanding of God. It is liberating. It is freeing. God is God and am not and his undeserved favour resets upon me so I’m free to serve him and love him and ador him and when I fail I am not worried because he loves me and has already glorified me – so secure am I!

Praise the Lord.

To end off, I want to give us a gentle push to those of us who are still struggling with this doctrine.

1. You already believe it. You believe that in the beginning God created everything from nothing. He is awesome in power, sovereign over all things. The God who speaks and things are from nothing, is supremely powerful! Of course he’s sovereign over our salvation too.

2. It goes against our culture. Be suspicous of doctrines that tell us what we want to hear.

3. It gives glory to God. We are small, God is big.

4. The greatest theologians of the church throughout history believe in predestination as the clear teaching of Scripture: The Apostle Paul certainly did. So did Augustine, Calvin and Luther, guys who took the Bible very seriously and changed the world.

5. No cults believe in predestination. None of them. Every single cult, whether Jehovah’s Witnesses or Iglasio ni Christo all reject the sovereignty of God and predestination. So does unbiblical nonsense like the prosperity gospel. Why? Because then I can’t get power over you. If salvation comes from God then you don’t need me! But if I can convince you that salvation comes from your own efforts, then I can say “and you need me to coach you, now give me your money”. Predestination protects us from dependence on sinners for salvation.

Brothers and sisters, we serve an awesomely powerful God. And for some reason he has chosen to lavish his love on us. Why, I do not know. But I am so grateful. He called me out of darkness to light, and he has called you. Praise God. Praise him with great praise!

And because He is sovereign, then anyone can be saved. There is always hope, because maybe your family member, your work colleague, your friend, or that stranger on the bus, is elect. Left to our own devices we all reject God. But God has mercy on whom he will have mercy. Amen.

Mark 14:1-26 Jesus, our amazing rescuer!

Mark 14:1-26

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How many of you watched Usain Bolt win the 100m sprint in the Olympics. Imagine all the preparation that went into those a little less than 10 seconds. Hours and hours of practice, of discipline. Carefully planning your food, your training. Keeping yourself healthy. All for a sub-10 second burst.

That’s what we’re seeing here. Everything has lead up to these moments. And so just like in the Olympics when the race is broadcast again in slow motion so we can capture all the details, so Mark slows down his gospel. Chapters 1-13 cover about 3 years of Jesus life. These next 3 capture the last 3 days. Mark goes into (for him) slow motion so we can capture all the detail of these last couple of days of Jesus’ life here on earth. From his anointing for burial to his last meal with his disciples, to his sham (fake) trials, and to then the reason he came, his 100 metre sprint: his display of Kingly service on the cross as he dies for sinners like us. And then to the shock revelation when the tomb is found empty. This is what Mark wants us to hear, to understand, to believe, and in believing, have life. Remember how he began: This is the Good News (gospel) about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

Three points tonight:

1. Jesus is our Messiah

2. Jesus is our Passover Lamb

3. Jesus is our Sovereign Lord

1. Jesus is our Messiah (anointed one)

3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

Three days before his death Jesus has an alabaster jar of perfume poured on his head. This is called “anointing” – you see the word there in v8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

To anoint something means to pour oil on it to set it apart for special or holy use. It was an Old Testament symbol, a sign that this person or this thing was holy, given over to God. Three types of people were anointed in the Old Testament: Kings (2 Sam 2:4 “the men of Judah anointed David king over the people”), Priests were anointed (Ex 29:7 “Then anoint [Aaron as priest] by pouring the anointing oil over his head”), and Prophets were anointed (1 Kings 19:16 “anoint Elisha ...to replace you as my prophet”).
The anointing symbolised being equipped for service by the Holy Spirit. King, priests and prophets were anointed, set apart to serve God in the power of the Spirit.

Now there might be a little question ringing in your head – wasn’t Jesus already anointed? And yes he was.
Mk 1:9–11 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

At his baptism Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit as King, Prophet and Priest. Revealed to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One. King – remember Jesus says 1:15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”. The Kingdom is near because the King is here.
Prophet – the one who brings God’s word. 1:38 “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”
And he is Priest – the one who represents the people to God. Remember that’s why he was baptised. Baptism was for sinners – so why did Jesus with no sin need to be baptised? In order to be one of us. To identify fully with us as sinners as he prepares to take our sin upon himself.

7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

The role of the priest was to offer sacrifices to God, to mediate (make clear the way) between sinful man and holy God. Jesus is not just the priest, but also the sacrifice. He himself will pay the price for sinful people like you and me to come to God. Did you notice his words: she has anointed his body for burial. He is preparing to die. This is why he came.

And to tie in to last week, this is the reason why the Temple will fall. Because of Christ it is no longer necessary. The stone Temple will fall because Jesus is now the true meeting place between man and God. He is priest, sacrifice and temple!

9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

And so it is. Here we discuss what she did: reminding us and those with him that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. He is King, prophet, and Priest. He is sacrifice and temple. It reminds us of his baptism: only sinners need to be baptised - for baptism is a washing away of sin, dying to sin under the water and rising again to new life out of the water – and just as Jesus identified with our sin in his baptism, so now he completes that work of baptism by taking the penalty of our sin upon himself. His body will be broken, his blood shed, to break the power of sin over us, to set us free, to achieve the real Exodus: bringing his people from slavery to sin under the power of Satan to a new freedom in (ultimately) a new earth under his good kingly rule.

Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one, God’s promised rescuer, and our King, our Prophet, and our Priest. Amen!

And he is our sacrifice, indeed, our Passover Lamb.

2. Jesus is our Passover Lamb

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

Mark reminds us of the PASSOVER and the threat of Jesus death immediately in v1 It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. Then he is anointed for his burial. Then v12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed
v14 where shall I eat the Passover meal, v16 Passover meal

Ok, ok Mark, we get it! Remember that there was no bold or underline in the original manuscripts. So the way the authors could get our attention is to repeat things! So quite clearly the Lord God, through Mark, is saying we need to pay attention to the Passover.

It is just two days before the Passover, just two days before the Jews remembered God’s incredible rescue of them from slavery in Egypt, where the angel of death came over the whole country – but everyone who sacrificed a perfect lamb and put its blood on their doorposts were saved. When death saw the blood he passed over.

And Jesus deliberately echoes the Passover so that we can understand what is going on here.
22 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.

He takes the bread and breaks it. The bread would have been unleavened bread, that is flat bread, bread without yeast. It is bread you can make in a hurry, if you have to leave quickly. The Israelites were to make flat bread in preparation of the sudden call to leave Egypt, that very night. Judgment would fall on the Egyptians, and the Israelites would be set free.

And Jesus takes this flat bread and says “this bread, this symbol of God’s great rescue from slavery – this is my body.”
It is an outrageous statement to make.

And he follows it up with an even bigger one: “this wine, this is my blood, poured out as a sacrifice”. I am the sacrifice. I will be poured out. For I am the one who will rescue you from death. I am the true Lamb, leading the true Exodus. Not rescue from slavery in Egypt, but slavery from sin. Not just salvation to the promised land of Israel, but salvation to heaven itself. And not just rescue from physical death, but rescue from spiritual death. This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people.

Jesus is about to be sacrificed in order to fulfil the covenant (promise) God has made with mankind.
First with Adam: Jesus is the second Adam, the perfect son of God, righteous, sinless human. As Adam sinned and so condemned us – so Jesus will die in our place and save us.
Then Noah: Jesus is the Ark of rescue from the flood of judgement to come. On the last Day we will be safe from God’s judgement in Christ.
Then the promise to Abraham: Jesus is the descendant of Abraham come to bless all nations. Just look around! We’re from many nations.
And Moses: Jesus is the perfect Law-keeper, and the Prophet like Moses, bringing God’s life-giving wor.
And David: Jesus is the righteous, eternal, King. Just as was promised David: your descendant shall rule forever.

Jesus is the YES! to all God’s promises.

He is the Passover Lamb. He is our saviour.

In fact, he has always been the saviour. We’ll be reminded of Exodus again and again through the coming weeks as we look at these final chapters of Mark. The Exodus, the great miraculous rescue of a million people from slavery to a new home, was a mere shadow compared to what Jesus is achieving here. This is the real Exodus. Throughout time and history Jesus’ blood powers his mercy. Each time God relents from judgement: Jesus’ blood is there. Each time we see God meeting with sinful people: Jesus’ blood is there. Even the Exodus itself is only possible because of the blood of Jesus. The blood of lambs could not take away the guilt of the people! No, it was the blood of the true Passover Lamb, Jesus, shed 1500 years later, that washed away their guilt and spared them from the judgement on the Egyptians. God had told them what they needed to do to be rescued, and they placed their faith in his word, acting accordingly, sacrificing the lambs – and God saw their faith, and counted it to them as righteousness, covering their sins through the blood of the Son.

So the disciples meet to celebrate the passover, while the real Passover is taking place at that moment. Interestingly, the Passover meal consists of bread, wine…and a lamb. But there is no lamb mentioned here in this passage. Perhaps it is to make clear that the sacrificial lamb who will be slain is seated in front of them.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb.

3. Jesus is our Sovereign Lord

25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.” 26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

Jesus was not some poor victim of circumstances outside of his control! He himself had planned this, with his Father and Spirit, united in purpose and love to rescue sinful humanity, and bring glory to the Godhead. All praise be to God! Such love that drives Jesus willingly to the cross.
We’re reminded time and again that Jesus is doing this by choice. Did you notice verse 16? 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said

And 18 As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.” 19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?” 20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

All is prepared beforehand. God is sovereign over all things, all events – even Judas. 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. Whatever motivated Judas to act: greed, frustration, hatred - we don’t know. But even he in his evil is serving God’s purposes. Jesus must be betrayed. Jesus must die. But does God’s sovereign purpose mean that Judas has no free will – that he is not respinsble for what he’s done. Can Judas say “without my betrayal, there would be no cross. You needed me, you made me do it, therefore you owe me”. No! 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

Judas is responsible for his decision – as are we responsible for the decisions we make. God is fully sovereign, knowing our thoughts before we think them, preparing the way of the Son before the dawn of time – and our decisions are real decisions, with real consequences. So beware how you respond to Jesus. Don’t be like Judas, rejecting the King, for you too will hear “woe to you, it would be better if you were never born”.
Instead, fall at his feet like the woman 2000 years ago, worshipping him with costly worship. Because we have been rescued, set free, by him. Jesus bore our sin on the cross. It is gone.

Respond rightly. Because Jesus is the sovereign King.

And Be comforted, for Jesus is the SOVEREIGN King. Evil cannot thwart God’s plans. You cannot jump out of His hands. Nothing would stop Jesus from his great work on the Cross. He completed that work. Our Passover Lamb dying in our place, his blood covering all who place their faith in him. Hallelujah!

And now history moves deliberately toward his return. The Return of the King, the great day when the veil over our eyes will be torn away, and we will see reality as it truly is, the great King Jesus upon the eternal glorious throne.

Jesus is the Sovereign king.

There are two impossible applications, one for non-Christians, the other for Christians

One is to reject Jesus. To say that’s fine, Jesus did all that, but I’ll take my chances by myself. That’s the impossible application from this passage. This should drive you to repent, not to follow Judas. It ended badly for him – he hanged himself, and his insides burst open. Not a great end – but the spiritual end is even worse. Be warned.

The other impossible application – for Christians - is to live like I am the Passover Lamb. To live like I bear my sin. To live in guilt and fear. To believe that I can fall out of God’s hands at any moment, that his sacrifice was not sufficient to bring me to glory. That’s the impossible application.

Instead, let us rejoice and sing. Let us thank God. Let us shout aloud to the God of our salvation! Let us praise him in our hearts and minds every minute of every day. We are set free! He has rescued us! All praise to the Christ, King!

All praise to our Messiah, our rescuer, our Passover Lamb, and our Sovereign King. Praise Jesus, Lord of All! Amen.

Our God is the sovereign God

Isaiah 28-31

Last night I went walking with my dog, Eowyn. At one point in the walk I said to her “wait”. She obediently stopped running, and waited – and then the car went past. See, Eowyn is dumb with cars, and doesn’t see them as a danger. But I do. I know what’s best for her. She’s my dog. I bought her, I paid for her. She’s mine. And I look after her – I make sure she has food and water and a warm place to sleep.

But what if she doesn’t listen to me? What if she’s disobedient? A bad dog? What will I do? I will train her. I will have to punish her if the disobedience is big enough. But she could also be badly injured by running in front of a car because she didn’t listen. And if she’s being aggressive and biting people? Eventually I would have to put her down – she would have to die because of her actions, her choices.

It’s a bit like that with God and us. We belong to him because we are made by him. And if we are Christians then we belong to him again because we are bought by him, by his blood. We are his. But like a disobedient dog, we don’t listen. Often our lives look like they’ve been hit by a car - a mess! And the end result is: we’ll be put down like a bad dog. And that’s kind of the warning in Isaiah. God is warning his people to get right with him or face the consequences. He is exposing their disobedience in the evil things going on in society: rich oppressing poor, injustice, out of control sex, children being ignored, fake religion – people going through their religious duties but not loving God, greed, money, money, money, money, wanting more, never satisfied, and widespread drunkenness. All descriptions of Israel in 740BC – and which could equally describe Norway in 2016. Sex, greed, drunkenness, injustice, fake religion. These are our sins too.

Our journey through Isaiah has been a sobering one – that is, it’s made us sit up and say “woah”! Because we’ve been confronted by God – by who He is and how holy and mighty and OTHER He is. He is not some pet to be given a treat every now and again. He does not sit, longing to be with us, waiting for us to turn and give him some attention – the lonely god… Please love me. He is not a fool who doesn’t know when people are saying that they love him and doing all the religious rituals – but don’t actually love him.

No he is the Almighty God. His glory fills the Temple. The room shakes when he speaks. He is the God who is utterly sovereign over all things, over all nations – whether you are in Jerusalem, the very capital of the people of God – or whether you are in the farthest reaches of the desert, in the caravans of Dedan, hiding in the deserts of Arabia – He is still sovereign over you. Sovereign to judge. Sovereign to save.

He is God, the one and only. There is no other.

Since we’ve all probably forgotten a lot of Isaiah – I had before I started preparing this! – I thought I’d use this morning to cover the next couple of chapters as well as reminding us of what we’ve already learned, and some of the key themes, the big ideas, we’ve learned already from this amazing prophet.

1. God is God, and He alone is the sovereign God.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says” – how often do we hear those words in Isaiah, or “This is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, says”. The point is that it doesn’t matter what anyone else says. All that matters is what God says, because HE is the Sovereign Lord. He is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. His words are not mere words. His words are power.

I can say “I curse you!” – empty words. I can say “I bless you!” – empty words. My words, like yours, have very little power. But God’s words. Wow. What he says goes. When he speaks, it happens.

How often do we forget this, and think that my words matter, instead of God! Doh! The Israelites did! Look at 29:15 What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their evil deeds in the dark! “The LORD can’t see us,” they say. “He doesn’t know what’s going on!” 16 How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it, “He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”?

He is the Creator. He is the Maker. They are created. They are made. He is BIGGER THAN THEM. They belong to Him, not Him to them. He is sovereign over them.

He is our Creator, our Maker. We, you and I, are created, made by God. He is BIGGER THAN US. We, I, belong to Him, not Him to me, us. He is sovereign over us.

What I have found most exciting, most thrilling, and most challenging – just really hard! – is the utter power that God has. I don’t like it. I don’t like that he is sovereign over me. I don’t like that he is more powerful than me. Because I want to be God! I want to decide the course of my life because I know better.
And I certainly don’t want him to sit in judgement over me!! I don’t want to be held accountable for my actions. I want to judge myself, thank you very much, because I like me, and I think I’m a decent bloke and of course I deserve heaven and every other good thing that comes my way.

But He is sovereign, not me. He is in control, not me. He is Creator, I am created. He is Lord. He is Master.

And that means we need to give an account to Him.

2. God is sovereign and so our choices matter

A massive point, in fact the main narrative, the main driving force of Isaiah up until now is that God will judge the nations for their wickedness and their rebellion against him. God is the judge. And he measures us by our response to him. Israel chose to disobey. And their choice matters. It has real consequences.

28:1What sorrow awaits the proud city of Samaria (the capital of Northern Israel) — the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel. It sits at the head of a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower. It is the pride of a people brought down by wine. 2 For the Lord will send a mighty army against it. Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain, they will burst upon it like a surging flood and smash it to the ground. So foreigners will come and take over the land and oppress the people. As v11says 11 So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!
(This is, by the way, why Paul says in 1 Cor 14 that we should not speak in tongues without an interpretation, because foreign tongues is a sign of judgement. Instead we should prophesy – that is share the gospel of Jesus in a way that is relevant and clear. Which is why we emphasise knowing your Bible, knowing the gospel so that you can prophesy and save someone, rather than speak in tongues and judge someone).

29:1“What sorrow awaits Ariel, the City of David. Year after year you celebrate your feasts. (Oh, they are religious!) 2 Yet I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means— an altar covered with blood. 3 I will be your enemy, surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls. I will build siege towers and destroy it.

In Isaiah we see God seated on his throne examining the world, judging each nation. Remember chapters 14-24 where he goes through nation after nation, exposing their wickedness and giving his judgement? Each nation called to account. Each nation found guilty. It matters what we do. It matters how we are towards each other and towards God.

You see, God’s sovereignty – his control over everything - doesn’t mean that I’m not responsible for my actions. In fact, it means that I ultimately AM responsible for my actions and will be called to account. I will have to face up to what I have done. God sees right through our little religious duties – when we’re busy sinning over here. He is not fooled by our pretence of niceness at church - when at home we’re angry Dad, shouting at our children and our wife, abusing them with our words or worse our fists.
If we’ve learned just one thing from Isaiah it is that nothing escapes his gaze. He sees everything. Everything.

Because God is sovereign, I will be held responsible for everything I have done.
People often say Oh,l if God’s sovereign that means I’m just a robot, my choices don’t matter. No. Because God is sovereign our choices matter. They have meaning. The Human-etisk forbund says we give our own choices meaning. Really? You just self-validate? “I declare this means a lot!” It’s just a lot of empty words. Because if I can give “meaning” to anything I choose – then my choices don’t matter. I don’t really have a real choice.

Only with a sovereign God do we find human responsibility. Only with a sovereign God do we have real choice, with real consequences.

The whole of this first part of Isaiah, up to chapter 32, is pleading with Israel to make the right choice. Turn away from false religion. Don’t honour God with your lips but your heart is far from him – he’s not fooled by that. Repent! Turn to him. Don’t trust in Egypt to save you – your salvation comes from the Lord. Choose life! Choose him.

Some people call this choice “free will” but that’s a bit of wrong description. Often what people mean by free will is something outside of God’s rule, as in independent from God. And that sounds a lot like rebellion against God – another God. But there is only one. I think the Bible is clear that we do not have “free will” as in independent from God. What God says will happen will happen whether we like it or not. Just like we read the Israelites had a “Bargain to cheat death, but God says in 28:18 “I have cancelled the bargain you made to cheat death”! We do not have free will…but we do have real choice.

Unfortunately, although we are free to choose, we choose what we love. I have free choice between broccoli – or a chocolate. Free choice. But I’ll choose what I love! That’s why we have “free will” – but our will is bound. We can choose whatever we want but we only choose what is evil because we love evil and hate God. Because if we do not love God, who is good, we automatically love evil. Oh ,that doesn’t mean we all walk around cackling and rubbing our hands like villains in a children’s play – it means that we do what WE want to do. We decide what is right.

In the men’s Bible study we talk quite a lot about how annoying it is to be a Christian. How often the Holy Spirit says about our plans, about what we’re about to do, or say, or not do – ahem!. AAARGH. It is so frustrating. I want to do this – but I know it’s wrong. But I WANT TO DO IT! And then you (hopefully) humble yourself and follow the Spirit. Or maybe you don’t, and then you understand why he said don’t do it. When was the last time you sinned and thought “I’m so glad I did that”. It eats away inside of us.

As we’ve read through Isaiah we’ve been exposed. As God reveals the sins of the nations we’re horrified to see the same sins in our own hearts. As God pronounces judgement on them – well Isaiah shows us that we are completely lost. We are in serious trouble. We can’t be good enough to get ourselves out of it. We can’t be religious enough to get out of it. Israel tried it and God says “these people honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me” (29:13). He’s not fooled!
We can’t follow the law well enough to get out of it. There is nothing we can do to avoid the judgement of God. God’s eyes are like laser beams which cut through any pretence of goodness we throw up and we are exposed. We’re like a deer caught in the headlights of a car - we are exposed, and in real danger.

That’s why when Isaiah sees God (back in chapter 6) what does he say “Woe is me! I am lost! I am destroyed” It’s terror. It’s fear, it’s realising that we are dangling by a thread over the pit of hell. It is the sword of Damocles. Remember the Sicilian legend of Damocles who seated in his position of power and prestige was told by the king to look up – and there above his was a sword held by a single thread of hair. At any moment could plunge down.

God is the only sovereign God – and he is our judge.

3. God is the only sovereign God – and so he can save whoever he wants to

In the midst of all this right judgment – we find amazing mercy. I found it particularly interesting in chapters 14-24 as he goes through the nations, cruel, evil, proud peoples – suddenly offered mercy. Even the Assyrians, known for their brutality – and they were the big threat to Israel at the time – God says that they, Assyria, together with Egypt – Egypt, where they were slaves – will be his people, like Israel. The two big baddies – will be called God’s people. Huh?

But even in these chapters we read of God’ surprising mercy time and time again. We didn’t read this, but look at 29:5 “But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind. Suddenly, in an instant, 6 I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire. 7 All the nations fighting against Jerusalem will vanish like a dream! Those who are attacking her walls will vanish like a vision in the night.

And again in 30:19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.

And as we’ve been reading through Isaiah, we keep coming across this mercy, undeserved mercy, in the middle of all this deserved judgment. And it seems to be focussed on the promise of a child, a child who will rule in justice and mercy. A child born of a virgin, a child called wonderful counsellor, everlasting Father, almighty God. And as we read on we will meet in the second part of Isaiah this child, this person, this King, who is called the suffering servant as he suffers and bears the punishment his people deserve in order to save his people.

Those promises, that hope of mercy, is found in Jesus. He is the child born of the virgin, God’s own Son, come to earth to suffer and die.

You know, there are many ways we can try to escape from God’s judgment – but there is only one sure way. That’s what Isaiah is talking about in chapter 28 – where the Israelites have made a bargain to cheat death. 15 You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.” They’ve found a way out, a way to dodge God’s judgement. But God responds 16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. 17 I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away. 18 I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death, and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave. When the terrible enemy sweeps through, you will be trampled into the ground. 19 Again and again that flood will come, morning after morning, day and night, until you are carried away.”

Their shelter is rubbish. Their bargain to cheat death was false. There is only one sure foundation stone. There is only one solid cornerstone. And that is God Himself. And as we read on and see the story unfold, we see that gloriously fulfilled as God fulfils his promises. Yes, you really CAN trust God that he offers a way out of judgement. He can save you. Why? Because he himself came down from heaven, lived on this earth, and gave his life as a cornerstone, a sure foundation which will never be shaken. Jesus is our unshakeable foundation, our sure cornerstone.

So when we in our Bible group moan about God messing up our plans to sin, and when we confess that we have sinned, and when we grumble about how we struggle to get it right – we do it not in terror but in joy. We are not afraid because we are loved. We are not guilty because we have been forgiven. Because we stand not on our own choices and actions – which have already been judged and found guilty – we stand on Jesus’ choices and actions – we’re shielded in him, we stand on his work, his life. And His life has been judged – and found to be perfect. And so we are perfect in Him.

That’s what being a Christian is like. We see the Lord. We are suddenly aware of the terrible danger we are in. That everyone’s in. The signs are everywhere. World is a mess. Our society is self-destructing. But we are oblivious. We are ever seeing, but never understanding….until God reveals himself. And then we are afraid for we are exposed. And we run to him “Woe is me, I am guilty, I am a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips!” And then joy of joys he comforts us: do not be afraid, you are forgiven. I have taken your place, I have taken your punishment, I have taken your judgement. I have swapped places with you, and you are righteous.

That is the hope of Isaiah. That is our hope.

1. God is God, and He alone is the sovereign God.

2. God is sovereign and so our choices matter

3. But, oh joy of joys! God is the only sovereign God – and so he can save whoever he wants to

Exodus 10 The Light that burns the darkness

Exodus 10

When I say the word “God” – what comes to mind?

If I say “Jesus” what comes to mind?

You know, reading the Bible is really annoying because it keeps messing with our pictures of God. Whatever picture you have, you’re probably pretty ok with it. And I guarantee you that there are some things in this passage that you did not like. That you kind of slid over and said “nah” and effectively ignored.

These are the ideas that we probably have of God that this passage challenges:

1. God is fair. He would never harden someone’s hard then judge them for having a hard heart – would he? That sounds unfair, and my God would never do that. He’s fair.

2. God does not cause suffering. God would never send a swarm of locusts to destroy the land, would he? My God would never do that.

3. God will, in the end, accept everyone. My God is a God of love. He would never condemn anyone.

1. God is not fair (Divine sovereignty and human responsibility)

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. 2 I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them—and so you will know that I am the LORD.”

Whew. Not easy reading is it. This is no small god with a limited power. This is no god who sits wringing his hands hoping that someone will choose him. This is no god who does not know what is going to happen, either because he is not powerful enough, or because he’s limited his power to a small keyhole-like view of the future. Those are all views of God’s sovereignty you’ll find floating around. And none of them are Biblical.

The Bible reveals to us a God who is terrifyingly sovereign. He is the one who can reach in to the very heartland of Egypt – right into the spiritual stronghold of the palace – and turn the heart of the king any which way he wishes. I have made him and his officials stubborn. Why? So I can display my signs – and that you may know I am the LORD.

This is a God who is sovereign, and who uses his sovereignty to glorify himself. If you missed last week’s sermon – read chapters 7 and 8, download the sermon, and listen to it.

It seems so unfair. He allows Pharaoh to rebel, he even hardens Pharaoh’s heart so he can rebel – so that he can display his power now so that v2 you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians. This whole event is orchestrated (arranged) by God to reveal to us his sovereign power, his grace at rescuing a despised and enslaved people, and his (eventual) terrifying judgement on those who oppose him.

The Bible reveals a God who is patient, and loving, and kind, showing mercy and grace to thousands – but when he rouses himself in anger, we are lost. There is no withstanding him. 4 If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country. 5 They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields. 6 They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!”

But, but we might say, that’s not fair. How can he punish Pharaoh for his hard heart when He was the one who made it hard?

Or to put it more generally, more personally – because that’s what we really care about - how does this affect ME: if God is sovereign, how can I be free. And if I’m not free, then how can God judge me for my actions.

This has often been used as an argument against God’s sovereignty, or to try to reduce it. And so we end up trying to make God small or limit his power or say he chooses to not see things- none of which match up to what we read in the Bible. So, either the Bible is wrong and God doesn’t know what He’s talking about when it comes to himself... or we’ve got a problem of understanding!

We misunderstand because we think “logically” that the two are mutually exclusive. That God can not be both fully sovereign, and that we have real choice – real responsibility. But that is EXACTLY what the Bible teaches. How that works out, I’m not quite sure. But since when is reality logical?

God created light. Light is both a stream of photons, like a stream of bullets da-da-da-da AND it’s a waveform swish. Both. At the same time. Which is not possible.

Flash memory in cameras, phones, etc. is equally impossible. Whenever you take a picture with your digital camera you do the impossible. There is a barrier in your memory card to stop the information on it simply “floating” away. But that barrier also means you can’t change what’s on the card. Except, you can. If you do some funky sciency stuff on the quantum level you can make information move onto the card, through the barrier, without actually going through the barrier. It’s like Star Trek, when they “beam” from the ship to the planet. It’s impossible – but it works.

Reality is not logical, and there are many contradictions in nature – is it such a surprise that there should be when we come to the Bible and the relationship of Creator and created? God is sovereign, and we have real choice.

Is that unfair? Well, does Pharaoh want to obey God? No. No he does not. His whole attitude is one of arrogant hostility. He does not care for God. And God, terrifyingly, respects his decision. Pharaoh chooses to rebel against God. And God is fair. He hardens Pharaoh’s hard heart so that Pharaoh will never repent. Even when faced with God’s awesome power, he will not repent, even when it is completely obvious that he should. 7 Pharaoh’s officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. “How long will you let this man hold us hostage? Let the men go to worship the LORD their God! Don’t you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”

You know, there comes a time when God hardens the hearts of those who are opposed to him. When God gives them what they want. We are not automatons, and it is not unfair. Pharaoh did not want to obey God. And God gives him what he wants: God has his enemy.

God is... fair. But not in the way we like it. We want him to be fair in the way that we are fair with our children, playing fair when it suits them, but tilting the scales in their favour when it doesn’t. But sometimes God says grow up, dress like a man and be assessed. And terrifyingly he gives us exactly what we choose: God, I am your enemy.

God is not fair? No he is fair. He is just. And his justice is frightening.

2. God causes suffering (God the judge)

12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring on the locusts. Let them cover the land and devour every plant that survived the hailstorm.” 13 So Moses raised his staff over Egypt, and the LORD caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and through the night. When morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts…..15 Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt. 16 Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you,” he confessed. .. 19 The LORD responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go. 21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.

Who is the prime mover, the driver of all this? The LORD. Yahweh is his name. God Almighty. He says to Moses. He causes the wind to blow to bring the locusts. He takes them away again. He hardens Pharaoh’s heart. He brings the darkness. The LORD is his name!

This is not some tame God who you can fob off with a bit of confession or a bit of Bible reading. He’s not fooled by a few good works lobbed in his direction – oh, I helped my friend at work, or I washed the dishes for my wife. We can’t get him off our back by saying a few “Hail Mary’s” or taking communion. He’s not impressed with sacrifices offered to idols or prayer five times a day towards mecca or anywhere else. This is the LORD. He will be obeyed. COMPLETELY.

And if we disobey him, he will judge us. He will punish us, because that is just and fair. Is it not right for the criminal to be sentenced? The judge who lets the criminal off is a bad judge. The good judge is the one who sees justice done. The good judge is the one who punishes the unjust.

I’ve been listening to the book of Psalms, and I have been struck about how many of them have to do with suffering – suffering because of the judgement of God. Lord, how long? Lord, how heavy your hand is upon me. Lord. Lord.

It seems the Psalmists knew something we have forgotten: that suffering comes from the hand of the Lord. He commands famine and he commands winds. He sends armies to destroy and he strikes down kings and governors. Nothing happens without his command.

We see this in Revelation as the Lord commands the seals to be opened and the trumpets to be blown and the bowls of wrath to be poured out. All things we see now. The Lord’s judgement is heavy upon us.

Let me stop there and ask a question: what is it that makes punishment punishment as opposed to bullying or torture? Is it not the guilt or innocence of the person being punished? And the intention of the punisher?

We, like Pharaoh, are guilty before the holy God, and our punishment is just. I am a sinner before him. And so are you. We have let our hearts guide us, instead of listening to him, seeking our own comfort and glory instead of doing what we were created to do: to bring him praise and glory!

And so God causes suffering. And in many cases allows suffering. Because, if we’re honest, most of our suffering is not the famine, wind, and storm variety – most is the interpersonal struggles of other people’s sin and our own sin: selfishness, bitter words, betrayal, disloyalty, lies, deceit, violence, gossiping, back-stabbing, cruelty, abuse and so on. And that God does not cause, but allows to happen. As Romans 1 says God in his judgement “gives us over” to our sin. But not all our sin – otherwise this world would be unliveable. Our hearts are like a wellspring of sin, rebellion against God. New ways of sinning come so easily to us – it’s like we have a fountain of sin at our hearts. God does not need to cause us to sin, we do that – what he does is regulate how much we are allowed to express our sin! Most of which he keeps in check. I mean, here we are, still alive, in one of the most pleasant countries in the world to live. God is certainly keeping our sin at bay!

God allows just enough of our sin out to reveal our sinfulness. God sends just enough disasters to remind us that we are not in control, that we are not God. So that we will turn to him. In Revelation we see that God only allows a “third” or a “portion”. All the sin and evil we see on display today is only a small part of what we’re really capable of. That should cause us to fall to our knees and cry out to God “save us!”

You see, that’s something else you read in the Psalms. All their cries are directed…to the LORD. We need to GO TO HIM, like the Psalmists. Where else would we go? The purpose of suffering is to drive us to God. That’s where Pharaoh should have gone.

So, yes, God does cause suffering, on occasion. And God does allow suffering. And it is all to drive us to him, to seek him out. We are in the darkness, and we are to seek out the light.

3. God does not accept everyone (Darkness or light)

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.” 22 So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. 23 During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.

The contrast is stark. The land of Egypt was in darkness, under judgement. But Goshen where God’s people lived – there, there was light! It’s a contrast that’s been going on since the plague of flies in 8:22. There is a way out. There is a place free of judgement, a place of safety, a place where there is no suffering, where the Lord’s hand is not against you.

The message is obvious. That’s where you want to be. Under the Lord’s favour. How do you get there? How do you get God’s favour? It’s a desperately important question, particularly given how terrifyingly awesome God is.

Well, we’ve got Pharaoh to show us how not to do it. Pharaoh had a tiny view of God – an idol view of God. Pharaoh tried to placate him – to send him a few gifts, a bit of obedience. Even some repentance with some real, genuine tears. 16 Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you,” he confessed. And God smashes his pretence. He sees right through to the hard heart of Pharaoh and his hand of judgement weighs heavy: a blanket of darkness covers the land.

Pharaoh does not fear the Lord, does he? He is not afraid of his power, his might, his glory, his holiness. And, to be honest, all to often, neither am I. I try to impress God with my little works of holiness. I try to show God how good I am and that he really owes me because I go to church and read my Bible and pray and confess my sins and take communion and am a Nice Man – all of which are good things – but completely worthless in impressing a holy God. Because all those things are done by a sinful man, a man who’s heart of heart is turned towards self. My glory. My comfort. My honour. Instead of towards God. His glory. His honour. His praise.

Don’t you see? The God of the Bible is not some puppet, some small god that we can boss around or placate. He is vast and unapproachable and frightening. He terrifies us in his anger and frightens us in his wrath. His voice makes us cover our ears. He is the Holy God, fierce in his beauty and majesty, the one who dwells in unapproachable light. What are we but dust? We are nothing, chaff to be burnt up in his presence, an insect to be flicked off.

What are we compared to the Almighty. What is our holiness compared to his?

We are in darkness. We think we are light – but compared to the Lord we are a smouldering wick in the fierce sun – the kind of sun you get in the desert in the Sudan. Bright and powerful and all-consuming! Compared to him even our “light” (our goodness) is shadows and darkness - and the light will burn the darkness – and eventually destroy it. Where the sun blazes, there is no darkness. It is destroyed. So it is with us who try to walk with God.

Do we not see therefore how amazing, how great, how necessary the incarnation was and is? The Incarnation: God becoming man and walking amongst us. That he came in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just wearing a person suit – but actually becoming a human being. Being born as one of us, a baby in a manger, growing up as a child, experiencing pain and hunger and love and emotions – one of us, completely. And then he – the Holy One - took our sin upon his shoulders, and took our place on the cross. Behold the Light of the world! And the world became dark as he was judged. Jesus suffered. Jesus went through the frightening justice of God. He took the full blow of punishment our sins deserved. Why?

Because this was the only way for darkness to become light. It was the only way for unrighteous sinners like us to be made righteous. How stupid we are when we think we can earn our salvation. Match the holiness of this God? It is preposterous, ludicrous, idiotic. That’s why we needed his righteousness.

Why are the people of Israel in the light? Because two thousand years later Jesus died for them. He was in darkness in order to bring them light.

Why did God hear the cries of the Psalmists? Because Jesus suffered in their place.

And why does God hear our cry for mercy? Because Jesus has taken our sins upon him.

God is fair, and that is terrifying, because our choices matter. So God sends suffering and allows our sin in order to drive us to him. Lord, have mercy. In utter helplessness we must come to him, not trying to manipulate him or impress him – we simply stand, hands empty, and plead for mercy. Please, I am in darkness. Transform me into the light of your son, the Lord Jesus.

Because if we do not, we will remain in darkness, and a day will come when God will say 29 “Very well,” Moses replied. “I will never see your face again.”