1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:01,840 It’s great to be back in the pulpit, 2 00:00:01,840 –> 00:00:05,100 so eager to get going on our new series for the fall. 3 00:00:05,100 –> 00:00:08,840 Which, as you will see, is called The inside Story. 4 00:00:08,840 –> 00:00:11,440 Now, last week was the Chicago Triathlon, 5 00:00:11,440 –> 00:00:15,120 an extraordinary event with about 4,000 participants, 6 00:00:15,120 –> 00:00:17,040 fascinating race. 7 00:00:17,040 –> 00:00:18,760 The Triathlon is one event, 8 00:00:18,760 –> 00:00:22,600 but it comes in three very different looking stages. 9 00:00:22,600 –> 00:00:25,320 They run, the bike, and the swim. 10 00:00:25,320 –> 00:00:28,520 And this series is a little bit like the Triathlon. 11 00:00:28,620 –> 00:00:29,879 It is one series, 12 00:00:29,879 –> 00:00:33,860 but it will come in three quite different parts. 13 00:00:33,860 –> 00:00:35,080 We’re going to begin by looking 14 00:00:35,080 –> 00:00:38,220 at the inside story of human life. 15 00:00:38,220 –> 00:00:42,520 Asking the question, why is the world as it is? 16 00:00:42,520 –> 00:00:44,560 Then, later in the fall, we’re going to move on 17 00:00:44,560 –> 00:00:47,720 in the second stage, as it were, of the Triathlon, 18 00:00:47,720 –> 00:00:51,320 to look at the inside story of the Christian life. 19 00:00:51,320 –> 00:00:53,139 What does it mean to be a Christian? 20 00:00:53,139 –> 00:00:55,380 How can I do this well? 21 00:00:55,580 –> 00:00:58,279 What should I expect by way of experience 22 00:00:58,279 –> 00:01:00,419 in the Christian life? 23 00:01:00,419 –> 00:01:02,419 And then, the plan is that, in the new year, 24 00:01:02,419 –> 00:01:05,000 we’ll take up stage three of the Triathlon, 25 00:01:05,000 –> 00:01:08,919 and that will be the inside story of your future life, 26 00:01:08,919 –> 00:01:12,559 because your life will not always be as it is right now. 27 00:01:12,559 –> 00:01:16,419 Ahead of every person, there is a future 28 00:01:16,419 –> 00:01:17,779 that the Bible makes clear 29 00:01:17,779 –> 00:01:21,320 will either be one of eternal misery 30 00:01:21,320 –> 00:01:25,139 or it will be of eternal joy, 31 00:01:25,279 –> 00:01:27,480 and we’re going to look at that in the new year, 32 00:01:27,480 –> 00:01:29,480 so this is an extended series 33 00:01:29,480 –> 00:01:33,099 that we begin in these three parts today. 34 00:01:33,099 –> 00:01:34,599 Now, we begin then in the first stage 35 00:01:34,599 –> 00:01:36,519 of the Triathlon, as it were, 36 00:01:36,519 –> 00:01:40,940 looking at the inside story of human life, 37 00:01:40,940 –> 00:01:43,519 the question that is before us here, 38 00:01:43,519 –> 00:01:47,620 why is the world as it is today? 39 00:01:49,000 –> 00:01:50,120 And don’t you feel that as you look 40 00:01:50,120 –> 00:01:51,419 at the news even this week 41 00:01:51,419 –> 00:01:54,320 with regards to Somalia? 42 00:01:55,440 –> 00:02:00,440 And the agony of children and adults 43 00:02:01,639 –> 00:02:06,639 starving and dying, a food has been given, 44 00:02:09,080 –> 00:02:12,639 but it has been commanded by the most brutal 45 00:02:12,639 –> 00:02:15,740 and evil militias. 46 00:02:17,919 –> 00:02:19,179 And you look at this and you say, 47 00:02:19,179 –> 00:02:20,580 now why does this happen? 48 00:02:20,580 –> 00:02:22,460 It seems time and time and time again 49 00:02:22,460 –> 00:02:24,539 when there is, the greatest human need, 50 00:02:24,539 –> 00:02:27,199 we see the outbreak of the greatest human evil. 51 00:02:28,740 –> 00:02:31,399 Why is the world as it is? 52 00:02:33,539 –> 00:02:37,419 So in just seven days, next Sunday we will be here, 53 00:02:37,419 –> 00:02:40,559 it will be the 10th anniversary of September 11th. 54 00:02:42,259 –> 00:02:47,259 And if 11 years ago, Hollywood had produced a movie 55 00:02:48,000 –> 00:02:51,259 that depicted the events that took place on that day, 56 00:02:51,259 –> 00:02:53,740 we would all have gone to see it on a Friday night 57 00:02:54,460 –> 00:02:55,580 or some of us would’ve. 58 00:02:55,580 –> 00:03:00,000 And we would’ve wowed at the special effects 59 00:03:00,000 –> 00:03:03,380 and we would’ve gone out for something to eat afterwards. 60 00:03:03,380 –> 00:03:05,800 We would’ve said, wow, that was an extraordinary movie. 61 00:03:05,800 –> 00:03:07,059 But of course nothing like that 62 00:03:07,059 –> 00:03:09,660 could ever happen in real life. 63 00:03:09,660 –> 00:03:10,500 We would’ve said. 64 00:03:14,059 –> 00:03:17,039 What is your explanation of evil? 65 00:03:19,300 –> 00:03:21,779 You cannot live in this world without one. 66 00:03:21,779 –> 00:03:25,699 Whatever a person believes, 67 00:03:25,699 –> 00:03:27,179 whatever their philosophy of life, 68 00:03:27,179 –> 00:03:29,080 whatever their cultural background, 69 00:03:29,080 –> 00:03:32,100 you cannot live in this world without some thoughts 70 00:03:32,100 –> 00:03:35,440 about why the world is as it is. 71 00:03:35,440 –> 00:03:37,619 What is your explanation of evil 72 00:03:37,619 –> 00:03:40,580 and explanations are all around us. 73 00:03:40,580 –> 00:03:42,199 People will tell you it is social 74 00:03:42,199 –> 00:03:44,940 or it is educational or it is economic. 75 00:03:46,979 –> 00:03:50,100 But we all know that great evil is committed by the rich 76 00:03:50,100 –> 00:03:51,399 as well as by the poor. 77 00:03:52,740 –> 00:03:56,339 We all know that evil bursts out in multiple ways 78 00:03:56,339 –> 00:03:59,320 as much under capitalism as it does under Communism. 79 00:04:01,100 –> 00:04:03,259 And we all know that some of the most wicked atrocities 80 00:04:03,259 –> 00:04:05,580 that have ever happened in the history of the human race 81 00:04:05,580 –> 00:04:08,440 have been conceived by the most brilliant of human minds. 82 00:04:11,020 –> 00:04:13,179 Or let’s bring this why question down 83 00:04:13,179 –> 00:04:16,339 to perhaps a closer and more personal level, 84 00:04:16,339 –> 00:04:20,679 why do families break up, why does that happen? 85 00:04:22,760 –> 00:04:27,760 Why would it be that, time and again, 86 00:04:29,380 –> 00:04:33,079 people whose love for each other was so strong 87 00:04:33,079 –> 00:04:36,200 that they came to make vows to each other 88 00:04:36,200 –> 00:04:38,339 and pledged their lives to each other 89 00:04:38,339 –> 00:04:41,579 came to a place where they felt they could no longer abide 90 00:04:41,579 –> 00:04:43,019 to live under the same roof? 91 00:04:43,019 –> 00:04:47,059 What could possibly cause that to happen? 92 00:04:48,059 –> 00:04:52,279 Why is the world as it is today? 93 00:04:55,179 –> 00:04:56,899 Now, would you open your Bible, please, 94 00:04:56,899 –> 00:05:01,899 at the book of Ecclesiastes in chapter 7 and verse 29, 95 00:05:02,100 –> 00:05:05,200 Psalms, Proverbs, and then Ecclesiastes, 96 00:05:05,200 –> 00:05:06,980 the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, 97 00:05:06,980 –> 00:05:09,119 chapter 7 and verse 29. 98 00:05:10,339 –> 00:05:11,399 And as you’re turning there, 99 00:05:11,399 –> 00:05:14,100 let me remind you that the entire book of Ecclesiastes 100 00:05:14,100 –> 00:05:16,179 is really an exploration of the question 101 00:05:16,200 –> 00:05:18,040 that is before us today. 102 00:05:18,040 –> 00:05:21,140 It was written by King Solomon, the son of David. 103 00:05:21,140 –> 00:05:24,299 Solomon had fabulous wealth and power, 104 00:05:24,299 –> 00:05:25,679 and at the beginning of his reign, 105 00:05:25,679 –> 00:05:28,140 he walked with God and God gave him great wisdom. 106 00:05:29,380 –> 00:05:31,420 But then he made a different choice. 107 00:05:31,420 –> 00:05:33,380 You can read in the Old Testament the story 108 00:05:33,380 –> 00:05:36,540 of how money, sex, and power took possession of his heart. 109 00:05:36,540 –> 00:05:39,179 And this man began to live at a distance from God. 110 00:05:39,179 –> 00:05:41,380 He changed the trajectory of his life. 111 00:05:41,420 –> 00:05:44,140 He began to live on impulse. 112 00:05:44,140 –> 00:05:48,079 And he pushed every boundary of life. 113 00:05:48,079 –> 00:05:51,079 And the Book of Ecclesiastes comes out of that experience. 114 00:05:51,079 –> 00:05:53,119 He tells us what he found. 115 00:05:53,119 –> 00:05:54,380 And its summary is this. 116 00:05:54,380 –> 00:05:58,119 That the more he pursued money and sex and power, 117 00:05:58,119 –> 00:06:00,359 the emptier his life became. 118 00:06:00,359 –> 00:06:01,880 And out of that experience, 119 00:06:01,880 –> 00:06:03,700 he writes the Book of Ecclesiastes. 120 00:06:03,700 –> 00:06:06,640 And he speaks there for about how he has found 121 00:06:06,640 –> 00:06:09,160 so much emptiness, so much vanity. 122 00:06:09,160 –> 00:06:10,440 And then at certain points, 123 00:06:10,540 –> 00:06:13,739 he comes in the book to give us a conclusion 124 00:06:13,739 –> 00:06:16,000 that is like a fixed point that he says, 125 00:06:16,000 –> 00:06:18,899 well, this is one thing I know for sure. 126 00:06:18,899 –> 00:06:20,540 And the verse that is before us today, 127 00:06:20,540 –> 00:06:21,720 if you’re not familiar with it, 128 00:06:21,720 –> 00:06:23,119 it’s well worth underlining. 129 00:06:23,119 –> 00:06:25,459 It’s a great verse to use in conversations 130 00:06:25,459 –> 00:06:28,859 with others and should be familiar to you. 131 00:06:28,859 –> 00:06:31,179 Ecclesiastes 7.29, 132 00:06:31,179 –> 00:06:33,559 he’s giving us a firm conclusion 133 00:06:34,459 –> 00:06:37,519 that has come from the exploration 134 00:06:37,559 –> 00:06:40,640 of the extremities of life. 135 00:06:40,640 –> 00:06:44,239 And he says, this only I have found. 136 00:06:44,239 –> 00:06:46,959 So now he’s gonna give us his conclusion. 137 00:06:46,959 –> 00:06:49,279 Ecclesiastes 7.29. 138 00:06:49,279 –> 00:06:53,779 This only I have found. 139 00:06:55,959 –> 00:06:59,600 God made mankind upright, 140 00:07:00,799 –> 00:07:04,440 but men have gone in search 141 00:07:05,399 –> 00:07:07,019 of many schemes. 142 00:07:07,040 –> 00:07:09,459 A great verse to get into your memory, 143 00:07:09,459 –> 00:07:11,720 into your mind and into your heart. 144 00:07:11,720 –> 00:07:15,420 This only I have found. 145 00:07:16,600 –> 00:07:20,899 God made mankind upright, 146 00:07:22,660 –> 00:07:25,260 but men have gone in search 147 00:07:26,380 –> 00:07:28,279 of many schemes. 148 00:07:30,019 –> 00:07:33,500 Now the word that is translated mankind here 149 00:07:33,500 –> 00:07:36,260 is the word Adam, 150 00:07:36,260 –> 00:07:38,839 or as we would pronounce it, Adam. 151 00:07:40,079 –> 00:07:45,079 Solomon is saying, God made Adam upright 152 00:07:46,859 –> 00:07:49,739 but men have gone in search of many schemes. 153 00:07:49,739 –> 00:07:52,380 So you see that this verse is making a contrast 154 00:07:52,380 –> 00:07:54,940 between Adam as he was created by God 155 00:07:54,940 –> 00:07:59,660 and men as Solomon observed the world in which he lived 156 00:07:59,660 –> 00:08:02,459 or as we observe the world in which we live today, 157 00:08:02,459 –> 00:08:04,640 it’s a contrast that’s being made. 158 00:08:05,619 –> 00:08:07,980 Now he says God made Adam upright, 159 00:08:07,980 –> 00:08:09,820 now what does it mean to be upright? 160 00:08:09,820 –> 00:08:11,299 What that means is very simply 161 00:08:11,299 –> 00:08:16,299 that Adam was right and good in himself. 162 00:08:16,739 –> 00:08:18,540 That is how God made him. 163 00:08:18,540 –> 00:08:20,640 Doing what was good, doing what was right 164 00:08:20,640 –> 00:08:24,019 just came naturally to Adam, it was his instinct. 165 00:08:24,019 –> 00:08:27,299 He had a bent towards what was good and what was right, 166 00:08:27,299 –> 00:08:29,720 it was simply what he wanted to do. 167 00:08:29,720 –> 00:08:31,500 So think of what that means. 168 00:08:31,700 –> 00:08:35,559 For Adam, he loved God and he never had to work at that. 169 00:08:36,679 –> 00:08:39,580 See, we sometimes say, well, I ought to pray 170 00:08:39,580 –> 00:08:42,059 and we ought to come to worship. 171 00:08:42,059 –> 00:08:45,559 But for Adam, there was no aught about it. 172 00:08:45,559 –> 00:08:48,380 It was in him, it just flowed from him, 173 00:08:48,380 –> 00:08:50,739 it came out of his very nature. 174 00:08:50,739 –> 00:08:55,020 Can you imagine how wonderful that for this life was? 175 00:08:55,020 –> 00:08:57,940 God gave to this man a wife, Eve, 176 00:08:57,940 –> 00:09:00,500 and she was made upright too. 177 00:09:01,659 –> 00:09:06,659 Think of this, ladies, the one woman in all the world 178 00:09:07,500 –> 00:09:10,299 who never had to correct her husband. 179 00:09:12,059 –> 00:09:14,679 And guys, don’t you envy Adam? 180 00:09:14,679 –> 00:09:17,119 The one guy in all the world who never had to work 181 00:09:17,119 –> 00:09:18,979 at trying to understand his wife? 182 00:09:19,940 –> 00:09:24,299 The perfection of this relationship made upright, 183 00:09:25,200 –> 00:09:26,039 what? 184 00:09:27,659 –> 00:09:28,700 Instinctively. 185 00:09:28,700 –> 00:09:31,320 Now the word upright of course indicates 186 00:09:31,320 –> 00:09:33,919 that from the very beginning of time 187 00:09:33,919 –> 00:09:36,940 there was something called right 188 00:09:36,940 –> 00:09:40,159 against which Adam could be measured. 189 00:09:40,159 –> 00:09:42,080 You remember of course that the Ten Commandments 190 00:09:42,080 –> 00:09:44,059 were only given much later 191 00:09:44,059 –> 00:09:46,659 in the course of the bible story. 192 00:09:46,659 –> 00:09:48,260 And so that raises the question, 193 00:09:48,260 –> 00:09:50,539 well how then did Adam know what was right? 194 00:09:50,539 –> 00:09:52,280 And the answer is simply this. 195 00:09:52,280 –> 00:09:55,440 That God wrote what is good and what is right 196 00:09:55,440 –> 00:09:57,880 on Adam’s heart. 197 00:09:57,880 –> 00:09:58,880 He knew it by instinct. 198 00:09:58,880 –> 00:10:00,059 He was made upright. 199 00:10:00,059 –> 00:10:02,080 That’s what our verse is saying. 200 00:10:02,080 –> 00:10:04,940 Thomas Boston, who writes so helpfully on this, 201 00:10:04,940 –> 00:10:07,440 says Adam did not have the law written 202 00:10:07,440 –> 00:10:09,760 on tablets of stone. 203 00:10:09,760 –> 00:10:12,200 But it was written on his mind 204 00:10:12,200 –> 00:10:15,559 and the knowledge of it was created within him. 205 00:10:15,559 –> 00:10:17,979 He says God impressed it, 206 00:10:17,979 –> 00:10:19,520 that is what is good and right, 207 00:10:19,520 –> 00:10:21,799 God impressed it upon his soul 208 00:10:22,020 –> 00:10:26,059 and made him a law to himself. 209 00:10:27,640 –> 00:10:30,080 Friends, that is a very striking phrase. 210 00:10:30,080 –> 00:10:31,880 What that is saying is simply this, 211 00:10:31,880 –> 00:10:33,299 because he was made upright, 212 00:10:33,299 –> 00:10:35,719 Adam didn’t need a code of laws. 213 00:10:35,719 –> 00:10:37,219 He didn’t need the 10 commandments 214 00:10:37,219 –> 00:10:40,119 but the 10 commandments were already written in his heart. 215 00:10:41,599 –> 00:10:44,700 You could say to Adam, just do what comes to you by instinct 216 00:10:44,700 –> 00:10:48,679 and the instinct within him was to do what is good 217 00:10:49,679 –> 00:10:52,260 and what is right. 218 00:10:52,260 –> 00:10:54,859 By the way, that’s why, even after the fall 219 00:10:54,859 –> 00:10:57,179 in Romans chapter two and 15, 220 00:10:57,179 –> 00:11:00,219 there’s still some remnants of the instinct 221 00:11:00,219 –> 00:11:02,299 of what is good and right, 222 00:11:02,299 –> 00:11:04,020 and even in the fallen world, 223 00:11:04,020 –> 00:11:05,340 we call that what? 224 00:11:05,340 –> 00:11:07,340 Conscience, you see, that’s the remnants 225 00:11:07,340 –> 00:11:09,900 of what was there in Adam 226 00:11:09,900 –> 00:11:12,219 but in Adam, it was unsullied by any sin 227 00:11:12,219 –> 00:11:15,340 in the garden, was instinctive, 228 00:11:15,340 –> 00:11:16,960 he was a law to himself, 229 00:11:16,960 –> 00:11:18,380 he didn’t need 10 commandments, 230 00:11:18,880 –> 00:11:19,979 even the great sins were in his heart. 231 00:11:20,859 –> 00:11:22,200 By the way, doesn’t that just show you 232 00:11:22,200 –> 00:11:24,760 the radical effects of sin in the world? 233 00:11:26,440 –> 00:11:27,979 I mean, can you imagine what would happen 234 00:11:27,979 –> 00:11:30,159 in America today if we said, 235 00:11:30,159 –> 00:11:32,659 you know, from a week on Tuesday, 236 00:11:32,659 –> 00:11:34,400 the president said from a week on Tuesday 237 00:11:34,400 –> 00:11:36,619 we’re gonna end all legislation, 238 00:11:36,619 –> 00:11:37,900 there’ll be no more legislation, 239 00:11:37,900 –> 00:11:39,979 we just want all you guys, all Americans, 240 00:11:39,979 –> 00:11:41,539 because we’re all good at heart, 241 00:11:41,539 –> 00:11:43,820 want all Americans to do what comes from your heart. 242 00:11:43,820 –> 00:11:46,000 There’ll be no tax laws, 243 00:11:46,000 –> 00:11:49,179 just give what you feel and know in your heart 244 00:11:49,179 –> 00:11:50,859 is the right thing to give to the government 245 00:11:50,859 –> 00:11:52,359 because we all know that certain things 246 00:11:52,359 –> 00:11:54,580 need to be done for the good of all, and so forth. 247 00:12:00,460 –> 00:12:02,260 Just begin to think about it 248 00:12:02,260 –> 00:12:05,539 and you realize what it means to live in a sinful world, 249 00:12:07,900 –> 00:12:10,799 and you realize that the reason that we live in a world 250 00:12:10,799 –> 00:12:13,760 where legislation goes on and on and on and on and on 251 00:12:13,880 –> 00:12:17,000 is that human governments have this ongoing 252 00:12:17,000 –> 00:12:20,239 and ultimately impossible task of trying to contain 253 00:12:20,239 –> 00:12:23,419 the sinful impulse that is now in the human heart, 254 00:12:23,419 –> 00:12:24,260 you see? 255 00:12:24,260 –> 00:12:25,619 It’s how far we are from Eden. 256 00:12:27,979 –> 00:12:29,419 But Adam didn’t need the law. 257 00:12:29,419 –> 00:12:32,159 The knowledge of what was good and right is in him. 258 00:12:32,159 –> 00:12:33,460 He was a law to himself. 259 00:12:33,460 –> 00:12:36,000 He loved God, and he loved his neighbor by instinct. 260 00:12:36,000 –> 00:12:37,700 It was completely natural. 261 00:12:37,700 –> 00:12:39,700 That was his glorious freedom. 262 00:12:40,700 –> 00:12:45,700 But while Adam’s righteousness with which he was created, 263 00:12:45,760 –> 00:12:47,820 his uprightness was natural. 264 00:12:47,820 –> 00:12:49,559 That’s the first thing to know about it. 265 00:12:49,559 –> 00:12:51,520 The second thing that you must remember about it 266 00:12:51,520 –> 00:12:53,140 was that it was also changeable. 267 00:12:53,140 –> 00:12:55,219 It was natural, and it was changeable. 268 00:12:55,219 –> 00:12:58,500 Doing what is good and right was instinctive to Adam, 269 00:12:58,500 –> 00:13:01,659 but it was not inevitable for Adam. 270 00:13:01,659 –> 00:13:03,619 Adam’s righteousness was natural, 271 00:13:03,619 –> 00:13:05,460 but it was also changeable, 272 00:13:05,460 –> 00:13:07,640 which does get us to the question, 273 00:13:08,159 –> 00:13:11,500 why did God ever allow the possibility of sin? 274 00:13:13,400 –> 00:13:16,419 I mean, if Adam and Eve had remained upright, 275 00:13:17,460 –> 00:13:20,119 the whole human race would be born in paradise, 276 00:13:21,039 –> 00:13:22,960 and we’d be living in a world of harmony 277 00:13:22,960 –> 00:13:26,140 in which no external laws were needed, 278 00:13:26,140 –> 00:13:28,320 and in which it was natural for all to love God, 279 00:13:28,320 –> 00:13:29,840 and natural for all to love each other. 280 00:13:29,840 –> 00:13:31,559 We would be in paradise! 281 00:13:33,500 –> 00:13:35,020 God made man righteous, 282 00:13:35,020 –> 00:13:38,260 so why did He allow even the possibility of sin? 283 00:13:38,260 –> 00:13:39,619 And the answer to that, of course, 284 00:13:39,619 –> 00:13:41,719 is that God made man upright, 285 00:13:42,719 –> 00:13:44,200 but He also made him free. 286 00:13:45,619 –> 00:13:47,179 And for Adam, that meant that, 287 00:13:47,179 –> 00:13:50,619 well, freedom always means that there is another choice. 288 00:13:52,020 –> 00:13:54,419 And for Adam, that meant that while he was made 289 00:13:54,419 –> 00:13:57,219 with this natural bent, this natural inclination 290 00:13:57,219 –> 00:13:58,960 towards what is good and what is right, 291 00:13:58,960 –> 00:14:01,679 He was not nonetheless a robot. 292 00:14:02,559 –> 00:14:05,280 God made him a thinking and a willing 293 00:14:05,280 –> 00:14:08,119 and a feeling being, just as you are. 294 00:14:09,119 –> 00:14:10,760 And gave to him real choices 295 00:14:10,760 –> 00:14:13,400 and therefore real consequences. 296 00:14:14,599 –> 00:14:17,380 And God said to Adam, you remember Genesis 2.17, 297 00:14:17,380 –> 00:14:20,599 you must not eat from the tree 298 00:14:20,599 –> 00:14:23,559 of the knowledge of good and evil. 299 00:14:24,440 –> 00:14:26,280 And of course, being upright, 300 00:14:26,280 –> 00:14:29,200 Adam would have known that by instinct. 301 00:14:30,119 –> 00:14:33,679 But God, as a kind father, 302 00:14:33,679 –> 00:14:36,460 speaks this word of protection 303 00:14:36,460 –> 00:14:40,900 to his created son. 304 00:14:42,479 –> 00:14:47,479 And face to face says Adam don’t go there. 305 00:14:51,080 –> 00:14:53,659 And you know, the story that the serpent 306 00:14:53,659 –> 00:14:57,159 came to Eve and said you can be as God 307 00:14:57,520 –> 00:15:01,880 and Eve was upright and she loved God 308 00:15:01,880 –> 00:15:05,159 but she chose against the inclination of her heart, 309 00:15:05,159 –> 00:15:06,640 you say now how is that possible, 310 00:15:06,640 –> 00:15:07,919 have you never done that? 311 00:15:09,799 –> 00:15:12,020 And Adam joined her in this wretched choice 312 00:15:12,020 –> 00:15:14,960 and all the blessings of paradise were lost. 313 00:15:16,679 –> 00:15:20,700 Outside of the garden, Adam experienced frustration 314 00:15:20,700 –> 00:15:23,640 in his work every day. 315 00:15:23,640 –> 00:15:26,479 Eve experienced pain in bearing her children, 316 00:15:26,479 –> 00:15:28,700 the kids were born outside paradise, 317 00:15:28,700 –> 00:15:31,739 paradise was the life that they had never known 318 00:15:31,739 –> 00:15:36,479 and paradise is the life that you and I never knew either 319 00:15:36,479 –> 00:15:38,080 and it cannot be created in this world, 320 00:15:38,080 –> 00:15:40,280 it cannot, it cannot, it cannot 321 00:15:42,419 –> 00:15:44,320 and do you know the story that before long 322 00:15:44,320 –> 00:15:47,700 the first human family, just four people began to fracture, 323 00:15:47,700 –> 00:15:50,140 isn’t this incredible that after the fall 324 00:15:50,140 –> 00:15:51,719 very soon it becomes obvious 325 00:15:51,719 –> 00:15:53,640 that four people can’t live together? 326 00:15:54,479 –> 00:15:57,640 There’s Adam and there’s Eve and there’s two boys 327 00:15:57,640 –> 00:15:59,599 and guess what, the two boys are fighting 328 00:15:59,599 –> 00:16:01,039 and one kills the other 329 00:16:02,599 –> 00:16:06,599 and from there the story of human history flows out. 330 00:16:08,479 –> 00:16:09,580 A fractured family 331 00:16:11,000 –> 00:16:12,479 and God outside 332 00:16:13,940 –> 00:16:16,599 and the fellowship broken 333 00:16:18,039 –> 00:16:19,880 and the friendship severed, 334 00:16:19,880 –> 00:16:24,880 a hostility between man and God. 335 00:16:29,020 –> 00:16:34,179 God made Adam 336 00:16:34,179 –> 00:16:35,020 upright 337 00:16:36,979 –> 00:16:41,179 but men, so we’re now talking about the whole history 338 00:16:41,179 –> 00:16:43,799 of the human race since the fall 339 00:16:43,799 –> 00:16:48,500 but men have gone in search of 340 00:16:48,500 –> 00:16:51,299 many schemes. 341 00:16:53,340 –> 00:16:55,640 Friends, that’s the teaching of this verse. 342 00:16:55,640 –> 00:16:57,599 All the rest this morning is application 343 00:16:57,599 –> 00:17:00,020 and I want to offer three, I believe, 344 00:17:00,020 –> 00:17:03,820 very important applications for us today. 345 00:17:03,820 –> 00:17:05,619 Here’s number one. 346 00:17:05,619 –> 00:17:07,420 I plead with you, 347 00:17:07,420 –> 00:17:09,680 especially if you are a Christian believer, 348 00:17:11,599 –> 00:17:15,979 stop blaming God for what’s wrong with the world. 349 00:17:16,979 –> 00:17:21,979 Stop blaming God for what’s wrong with the world. 350 00:17:24,739 –> 00:17:27,880 God did not burden Adam with sin. 351 00:17:27,880 –> 00:17:29,400 God made him upright. 352 00:17:30,540 –> 00:17:34,280 Adam was the one who used his freedom 353 00:17:34,280 –> 00:17:37,020 to forfeit his righteousness. 354 00:17:38,579 –> 00:17:41,699 Now, if you have really understood 355 00:17:41,699 –> 00:17:44,900 the Bible’s teaching with regards to creation 356 00:17:44,900 –> 00:17:47,020 and the Bible’s teaching with regards to sin, 357 00:17:47,020 –> 00:17:48,739 you will not spend the rest of your life 358 00:17:48,739 –> 00:17:50,300 blaming God for your problems. 359 00:17:50,300 –> 00:17:53,180 This is of huge practical importance, 360 00:17:53,180 –> 00:17:56,260 so I want you to really try and grasp this right now 361 00:17:56,260 –> 00:17:58,219 because this truth has the power 362 00:17:58,219 –> 00:18:00,699 to move the trajectory of our thinking. 363 00:18:02,739 –> 00:18:04,839 A wise Christian writer and scholar 364 00:18:04,839 –> 00:18:06,859 by the name of Derek Kidner, 365 00:18:08,060 –> 00:18:10,540 who has made an extensive study 366 00:18:10,560 –> 00:18:15,560 of some of these Babylonian myths of creation. 367 00:18:15,880 –> 00:18:16,780 You know that if you were to look 368 00:18:16,780 –> 00:18:19,339 way, way, way back into history, 369 00:18:19,339 –> 00:18:21,619 you have the Biblical account of creation. 370 00:18:21,619 –> 00:18:25,180 And you say, well what other has been in other cultures? 371 00:18:25,180 –> 00:18:27,859 And you can find a very old account 372 00:18:27,859 –> 00:18:29,439 that is a mythological account. 373 00:18:29,439 –> 00:18:32,020 And therefore it’s totally different from the Bible, 374 00:18:32,020 –> 00:18:34,260 but there is this Babylonian mythology 375 00:18:34,260 –> 00:18:35,780 that goes way, way, way back 376 00:18:35,780 –> 00:18:38,660 and so it’s of historical and cultural interest. 377 00:18:38,719 –> 00:18:41,560 And Derrick Kidner is an Evangelical scholar 378 00:18:41,560 –> 00:18:44,020 who has made an extensive study 379 00:18:44,020 –> 00:18:45,920 of these Babylonian myths. 380 00:18:45,920 –> 00:18:48,280 And the value of this is he said, 381 00:18:48,280 –> 00:18:49,400 look if you look at that, 382 00:18:49,400 –> 00:18:51,239 that is totally different from everything 383 00:18:51,239 –> 00:18:52,660 that you find in the Bible. 384 00:18:53,959 –> 00:18:56,459 Now what he points out is this. 385 00:18:56,459 –> 00:18:59,180 That in the Babylonian myths, 386 00:18:59,180 –> 00:19:01,619 the Gods, plural of course because 387 00:19:01,619 –> 00:19:05,020 this is coming out of a kind of Paganism. 388 00:19:05,020 –> 00:19:06,280 In the Babylonian myths, 389 00:19:06,280 –> 00:19:11,280 the gods are responsible for the wickedness of men. 390 00:19:12,920 –> 00:19:15,020 And Kidner quotes from 391 00:19:15,020 –> 00:19:17,699 what’s called the Babylonian Theodesy, 392 00:19:17,699 –> 00:19:21,060 line 280, just in case anyone wants to rush out afterwards 393 00:19:21,060 –> 00:19:23,260 and study all of this stuff for yourself. 394 00:19:23,260 –> 00:19:24,479 I don’t think we’ve ever quoted 395 00:19:24,479 –> 00:19:27,260 from the Babylonian Theodesy in the Sanctuary here before, 396 00:19:27,260 –> 00:19:28,819 let alone put it up on the screen. 397 00:19:28,819 –> 00:19:30,459 But this is what it says. 398 00:19:31,439 –> 00:19:36,439 With lies and not truth they endowed them forever. 399 00:19:40,979 –> 00:19:42,859 This is the Babylonian Creation myth 400 00:19:42,859 –> 00:19:44,099 and what it’s saying is this, 401 00:19:44,099 –> 00:19:49,099 that the gods endowed men with lies and not truth. 402 00:19:50,699 –> 00:19:55,699 It was the gods who put lies into the hearts of men. 403 00:19:56,540 –> 00:19:58,739 What a shame the Babylonian myths are saying 404 00:19:58,780 –> 00:20:01,660 that the gods didn’t put truth into the hearts of men 405 00:20:01,660 –> 00:20:02,540 because then the world 406 00:20:02,540 –> 00:20:04,140 would have been a very different place. 407 00:20:04,140 –> 00:20:05,579 But here’s what the gods did. 408 00:20:05,579 –> 00:20:09,979 The gods put lies and not truth into the hearts of men. 409 00:20:09,979 –> 00:20:11,199 In fact, it’s worse than that. 410 00:20:11,199 –> 00:20:14,079 They say they endowed them with lies forever 411 00:20:14,079 –> 00:20:15,619 and that in the Babylonian myths 412 00:20:15,619 –> 00:20:18,459 is the explanation of why the world is as it is today. 413 00:20:21,099 –> 00:20:23,180 Now you can see immediately I’m sure 414 00:20:23,180 –> 00:20:26,739 why there will always be some attraction 415 00:20:26,739 –> 00:20:30,260 in this kind of mythology. 416 00:20:30,260 –> 00:20:31,979 It comes down in different ways 417 00:20:31,979 –> 00:20:33,760 in different generations and cultures, 418 00:20:33,760 –> 00:20:34,619 but you see, 419 00:20:34,619 –> 00:20:36,560 this whole line of thought that’s reflected 420 00:20:36,560 –> 00:20:39,219 from the earliest times in the Babylonian myths 421 00:20:39,219 –> 00:20:41,020 has an appeal to many 422 00:20:41,020 –> 00:20:43,339 because of course it allows us to say, 423 00:20:43,339 –> 00:20:45,959 hey, the state of the world, 424 00:20:45,959 –> 00:20:48,000 it’s not our fault. 425 00:20:48,000 –> 00:20:49,400 Whose fault is it? 426 00:20:49,400 –> 00:20:50,959 It’s the fault of the gods. 427 00:20:50,959 –> 00:20:52,939 They’re the reason that we’re twisted 428 00:20:52,939 –> 00:20:54,140 and that we’re messed up. 429 00:20:54,140 –> 00:20:55,099 It’s the gods fault. 430 00:20:55,400 –> 00:20:57,020 It’s the gods who have filled men 431 00:20:57,020 –> 00:20:59,739 with lies and not truth forever 432 00:20:59,739 –> 00:21:00,780 and therefore friends, 433 00:21:00,780 –> 00:21:04,219 if the Babylonian myths were true, 434 00:21:04,219 –> 00:21:05,400 which they’re not, 435 00:21:06,380 –> 00:21:08,420 but if the Babylonian myths were true, 436 00:21:08,420 –> 00:21:10,540 it would make sense for all of us 437 00:21:10,540 –> 00:21:11,900 to spend the rest of our lives 438 00:21:11,900 –> 00:21:14,699 waving our fists at the gods 439 00:21:14,699 –> 00:21:17,819 because they were the ones that messed up the world 440 00:21:17,819 –> 00:21:20,020 because they filled men and women 441 00:21:20,020 –> 00:21:22,739 with lies and not truth forever. 442 00:21:22,739 –> 00:21:24,140 And let me pause here. 443 00:21:25,939 –> 00:21:29,140 If you are a person who right now 444 00:21:30,500 –> 00:21:34,819 is shaking his or her fist as it were at god 445 00:21:35,939 –> 00:21:38,280 and you’re blaming god for all your problems 446 00:21:40,060 –> 00:21:42,819 and you are blaming god for the state of the world 447 00:21:44,260 –> 00:21:45,479 and you sometimes say, 448 00:21:45,479 –> 00:21:47,939 I see god I got a thing or two to say to him 449 00:21:47,939 –> 00:21:50,719 and that’s the trajectory of your thought. 450 00:21:50,719 –> 00:21:52,140 It may well be 451 00:21:52,680 –> 00:21:57,300 that actually you have adopted 452 00:21:57,300 –> 00:21:59,420 in your mind and in your heart 453 00:21:59,420 –> 00:22:01,400 some form of the Babylonian myths 454 00:22:01,400 –> 00:22:03,699 more than you’re actually believing the bible 455 00:22:05,020 –> 00:22:07,140 and remember that the scriptures say 456 00:22:07,140 –> 00:22:08,479 that a person is transformed 457 00:22:08,479 –> 00:22:09,880 by the renewing of their mind 458 00:22:09,880 –> 00:22:11,319 and that’s why I’m saying to you today 459 00:22:11,319 –> 00:22:12,280 that if you could come 460 00:22:12,280 –> 00:22:14,000 and actually believe what the bible 461 00:22:14,000 –> 00:22:15,540 is saying to us today, 462 00:22:15,540 –> 00:22:17,319 it would make a whole difference 463 00:22:17,319 –> 00:22:19,239 to your whole attitude towards god. 464 00:22:20,219 –> 00:22:24,119 Is it possible that there are many of us 465 00:22:24,119 –> 00:22:26,719 who without ever having read any Babylonian myths 466 00:22:26,719 –> 00:22:30,819 are actually operating instinctively 467 00:22:30,819 –> 00:22:33,040 out of some form of that kind of belief, 468 00:22:33,040 –> 00:22:34,540 I think that’s widespread. 469 00:22:37,420 –> 00:22:38,800 Let me remind you therefore 470 00:22:38,800 –> 00:22:41,300 that having taken a moment’s look 471 00:22:41,300 –> 00:22:44,359 at the myths of Babylon, 472 00:22:45,920 –> 00:22:47,939 the revelation of scripture 473 00:22:47,979 –> 00:22:49,420 says something entirely different. 474 00:22:49,420 –> 00:22:51,339 Number one, there are not many gods. 475 00:22:51,339 –> 00:22:52,500 There is one God. 476 00:22:54,859 –> 00:22:57,500 And number two, He is good 477 00:22:57,500 –> 00:22:59,199 and all that He does is right. 478 00:22:59,199 –> 00:23:00,579 He is not the source of lies. 479 00:23:00,579 –> 00:23:01,900 He is the source of truth. 480 00:23:03,400 –> 00:23:04,479 And number three, 481 00:23:05,699 –> 00:23:10,699 God made Adam upright 482 00:23:12,300 –> 00:23:17,300 but men have gone in search of many schemes. 483 00:23:18,780 –> 00:23:20,859 Now do you see this radical contrast 484 00:23:20,859 –> 00:23:23,699 in how it’s going to lead to completely different lives? 485 00:23:25,400 –> 00:23:29,319 The Babylonian myths say the blame lies with the gods 486 00:23:29,319 –> 00:23:31,619 and there for any hope has to lie with us. 487 00:23:33,380 –> 00:23:36,099 The Bible says the blame lies with us 488 00:23:37,219 –> 00:23:39,859 and there for any hope has to lie with God. 489 00:23:41,579 –> 00:23:44,479 And friend, if the habit of your heart 490 00:23:44,479 –> 00:23:46,359 and I choose my words carefully, 491 00:23:46,579 –> 00:23:51,260 if the habit of your heart is to blame God 492 00:23:51,260 –> 00:23:52,839 for the problems of your life 493 00:23:52,839 –> 00:23:55,300 and to blame God for the evils of the world, 494 00:23:55,300 –> 00:23:57,380 you should seriously question 495 00:23:57,380 –> 00:23:59,140 whether you are really a Christian. 496 00:24:01,760 –> 00:24:05,239 People who are redeemed by Jesus Christ love God 497 00:24:06,540 –> 00:24:08,000 and they trust Him. 498 00:24:09,020 –> 00:24:11,079 They have many unanswered questions 499 00:24:11,079 –> 00:24:13,660 and we have many doubts many times, 500 00:24:14,439 –> 00:24:17,640 but it is not the habit of the heart 501 00:24:17,640 –> 00:24:19,640 of a believing person 502 00:24:21,199 –> 00:24:24,680 to blame God for the problems of my life 503 00:24:24,680 –> 00:24:27,800 and to blame God for the evils of the world. 504 00:24:27,800 –> 00:24:31,760 Christians know that the blame lies with sin 505 00:24:32,599 –> 00:24:36,079 and sin does not lie in God. 506 00:24:36,079 –> 00:24:37,920 There is no sin in Him. 507 00:24:39,439 –> 00:24:40,619 It lies in us. 508 00:24:41,520 –> 00:24:42,260 Sin does not lie in God. 509 00:24:43,219 –> 00:24:46,760 So, every time you see 510 00:24:46,760 –> 00:24:48,859 the wretched destructive power of evil 511 00:24:48,859 –> 00:24:51,079 breaking out in this world 512 00:24:51,900 –> 00:24:53,459 and there may be some instinct. 513 00:24:53,459 –> 00:24:55,979 You want, if you have made this your habit in the past 514 00:24:55,979 –> 00:24:58,739 to say well, here’s another unresolved question for God 515 00:24:58,739 –> 00:25:00,099 and another blaming of God 516 00:25:00,099 –> 00:25:02,680 that adds to the erosion of faith 517 00:25:02,680 –> 00:25:05,540 that Satan is working within your heart. 518 00:25:05,540 –> 00:25:07,219 Instead of going down that road 519 00:25:07,219 –> 00:25:10,180 if you have grasped what we are being taught in this verse 520 00:25:10,180 –> 00:25:12,780 then next time you see some great outbreak 521 00:25:12,780 –> 00:25:14,020 of evil in the world 522 00:25:14,020 –> 00:25:18,219 or some effect of fallen-ness within your own life 523 00:25:18,219 –> 00:25:20,400 you will want to use that 524 00:25:20,400 –> 00:25:23,420 to strengthen your own hatred of sin 525 00:25:24,339 –> 00:25:27,920 and to say what a wretched thing this is. 526 00:25:27,920 –> 00:25:30,260 Oh how far we have come from the uprightness 527 00:25:30,260 –> 00:25:32,619 with which God created Adam. 528 00:25:32,619 –> 00:25:36,780 Oh how much we need Jesus Christ who is our only hope. 529 00:25:36,839 –> 00:25:40,359 And oh how much I see that the root of this very thing 530 00:25:40,359 –> 00:25:42,439 that is so destructive in the world out there 531 00:25:42,439 –> 00:25:43,979 the root of it is within me 532 00:25:43,979 –> 00:25:46,839 and how much I must pursue holiness this week 533 00:25:46,839 –> 00:25:48,599 in the light of that. 534 00:25:50,500 –> 00:25:52,760 And friends, you can use this evangelistically 535 00:25:52,760 –> 00:25:54,599 with unbelievers. 536 00:25:54,599 –> 00:25:57,199 Listen, here’s a practical takeaway today. 537 00:25:57,199 –> 00:25:59,760 Over the next seven days 538 00:25:59,760 –> 00:26:02,459 there will be thousands of conversations 539 00:26:02,459 –> 00:26:05,699 in this country about September 11th 540 00:26:05,819 –> 00:26:08,579 and everybody’s gonna be talking about it. 541 00:26:08,579 –> 00:26:11,520 Before next Sunday, you will probably find yourself 542 00:26:11,520 –> 00:26:13,400 in a conversation, in the office, 543 00:26:13,400 –> 00:26:15,180 or at the school gate, or with a neighbour 544 00:26:15,180 –> 00:26:16,959 or a friend or a family member 545 00:26:16,959 –> 00:26:19,199 and they may well say something like this. 546 00:26:19,199 –> 00:26:23,400 They may say what a terrible thing that was. 547 00:26:23,400 –> 00:26:25,839 And then they may say to you, 548 00:26:25,839 –> 00:26:28,760 why would God allow that to happen? 549 00:26:29,839 –> 00:26:31,579 And instead of saying 550 00:26:33,339 –> 00:26:34,160 oh hum 551 00:26:36,260 –> 00:26:38,020 you could say to them 552 00:26:38,959 –> 00:26:40,660 did you know that the bible says 553 00:26:40,660 –> 00:26:42,739 that God made man upright, 554 00:26:44,599 –> 00:26:48,099 but men have gone in search of many schemes 555 00:26:50,140 –> 00:26:52,060 and you would be onto a path 556 00:26:52,060 –> 00:26:54,819 in whic you might have a very profitable conversation 557 00:26:54,819 –> 00:26:57,819 about why the world is as it is today 558 00:26:59,239 –> 00:27:01,979 and where the blame lies 559 00:27:01,979 –> 00:27:03,819 and where the hope is. 560 00:27:04,680 –> 00:27:08,920 So let’s pray about that over the next seven days. 561 00:27:08,920 –> 00:27:12,520 Stop blaming God for what’s wrong with the world. 562 00:27:12,520 –> 00:27:14,099 Second application. 563 00:27:14,979 –> 00:27:18,900 Start confessing that you are far from upright. 564 00:27:21,260 –> 00:27:25,180 Start confessing that you are far from upright. 565 00:27:27,880 –> 00:27:30,859 Now this is simply what follows from believing this verse. 566 00:27:30,859 –> 00:27:33,560 We are not Adam, we are the men who have gone 567 00:27:33,880 –> 00:27:38,160 and the women who have gone after many schemes. 568 00:27:38,160 –> 00:27:41,380 And the sure mark of a genuine Christian 569 00:27:41,380 –> 00:27:44,660 is that he or she confesses that they are far from upright, 570 00:27:44,660 –> 00:27:46,959 and again, this is counterintuitive. 571 00:27:46,959 –> 00:27:49,199 See, many folks in the world have the idea, 572 00:27:49,199 –> 00:27:50,959 and maybe some of us have the idea. 573 00:27:51,839 –> 00:27:54,280 You know, if a person’s a Christian, 574 00:27:54,280 –> 00:27:57,060 that they must think that they’re very righteous. 575 00:27:58,040 –> 00:28:00,959 Probably some of your friends who don’t go to church 576 00:28:00,959 –> 00:28:04,239 will deduce from the fact that you do come to church, 577 00:28:04,239 –> 00:28:06,060 they’ll say, well of course, you know, 578 00:28:06,060 –> 00:28:09,060 Joe and Mary, they must think that they’re righteous. 579 00:28:09,060 –> 00:28:11,079 That is the world’s view of a Christian. 580 00:28:11,079 –> 00:28:14,760 And precisely the opposite is the case, isn’t it? 581 00:28:16,560 –> 00:28:18,680 That the mark of a genuine Christian 582 00:28:18,680 –> 00:28:23,000 is that this is a person who knows and confesses 583 00:28:23,000 –> 00:28:25,719 that he or she is not righteous. 584 00:28:25,719 –> 00:28:28,400 And this is the very reason why we need Jesus Christ. 585 00:28:28,900 –> 00:28:33,280 And for instance, it’s radically counter-cultural 586 00:28:33,280 –> 00:28:35,319 that we be a community of people that confess 587 00:28:35,319 –> 00:28:36,939 that we are far from righteous. 588 00:28:39,400 –> 00:28:41,180 And it’s very important because the world 589 00:28:41,180 –> 00:28:43,660 does not perceive the Christian community in that way. 590 00:28:43,660 –> 00:28:45,979 The world perceives the Christian community 591 00:28:45,979 –> 00:28:48,199 as people who say they’re holier than thou. 592 00:28:51,260 –> 00:28:55,640 And so we need in our own hearts to be cultivating a spirit 593 00:28:56,180 –> 00:28:59,040 that reflects the truth that we believe 594 00:28:59,040 –> 00:29:01,719 that we are those who come to the table of Christ 595 00:29:01,719 –> 00:29:04,540 because we are in desperate need of a righteousness 596 00:29:04,540 –> 00:29:08,020 that we can never retain and can only receive from him. 597 00:29:10,300 –> 00:29:12,959 People who think that they are upright 598 00:29:12,959 –> 00:29:15,920 will never come to Christ, never. 599 00:29:15,920 –> 00:29:17,959 That was the problem with the Pharisees. 600 00:29:17,959 –> 00:29:20,000 Their religion even reinforced the sense 601 00:29:20,000 –> 00:29:21,640 that we’re upright people because we do this 602 00:29:21,640 –> 00:29:23,420 and this and this and I pray and I die 603 00:29:23,420 –> 00:29:24,680 and all the rest of it. 604 00:29:26,640 –> 00:29:28,439 And they never came to Christ. 605 00:29:29,959 –> 00:29:31,560 How could they? 606 00:29:31,560 –> 00:29:33,520 What need did they have, they saw none. 607 00:29:35,599 –> 00:29:38,719 So how can I cultivate a greater sense 608 00:29:38,719 –> 00:29:41,800 of how far I am from uprightness, 609 00:29:41,800 –> 00:29:42,880 how can we do that? 610 00:29:42,880 –> 00:29:46,000 How can we become more humble Christians 611 00:29:46,000 –> 00:29:49,239 and more Christ-exalting Christians 612 00:29:49,239 –> 00:29:52,520 rather than people who may in some way convey 613 00:29:52,599 –> 00:29:55,859 that we are better than others? 614 00:29:57,760 –> 00:29:58,599 Once in a while, 615 00:29:58,599 –> 00:30:00,300 you come across a real gem in your reading 616 00:30:00,300 –> 00:30:02,000 and that happened for me this week 617 00:30:02,000 –> 00:30:04,920 reading Matthew Henrie, a Puritan, 618 00:30:04,920 –> 00:30:06,660 who wrote a commentary and the whole Bible 619 00:30:06,660 –> 00:30:08,839 and it’s full of pithy sayings. 620 00:30:08,839 –> 00:30:12,060 Here’s one that I want to give to you 621 00:30:12,060 –> 00:30:13,680 and it’s worth pondering for a moment 622 00:30:13,680 –> 00:30:15,780 because it opened a window for me. 623 00:30:17,040 –> 00:30:20,160 Matthew Henrie says, and it’s in his comments on this verse, 624 00:30:20,800 –> 00:30:25,800 a sound conviction of one sin 625 00:30:27,859 –> 00:30:32,859 will put us upon inquiring into the whole Confederacy. 626 00:30:35,000 –> 00:30:38,119 Now friends, if I was preaching back in London, 627 00:30:38,119 –> 00:30:39,760 I’d have to spend the next five minutes 628 00:30:39,760 –> 00:30:41,599 explaining the word Confederacy 629 00:30:42,819 –> 00:30:44,040 but we’re Americans. 630 00:30:44,920 –> 00:30:47,900 We know what this means, okay? 631 00:30:48,160 –> 00:30:49,000 And it’s a group of people, 632 00:30:49,000 –> 00:30:52,939 group of states that act together 633 00:30:52,939 –> 00:30:53,760 as one 634 00:30:54,680 –> 00:30:57,300 in pursuit of certain goals and a certain purpose. 635 00:30:58,180 –> 00:31:01,020 Now you see what Matthew Henry is saying? 636 00:31:01,020 –> 00:31:04,699 He’s saying sins are a Confederacy 637 00:31:04,699 –> 00:31:06,660 but we don’t always see it that way 638 00:31:06,660 –> 00:31:09,739 but he says when you see just one sin 639 00:31:09,739 –> 00:31:11,859 and you come to a conviction about it, 640 00:31:11,859 –> 00:31:15,140 in other words, if you were to come to the place today 641 00:31:15,140 –> 00:31:16,780 at the Lord’s Table where you could say 642 00:31:16,839 –> 00:31:20,359 I can see one sin in my life, it’s really in me, 643 00:31:20,359 –> 00:31:24,400 it’s really a sin, I really need the grace of God for this 644 00:31:24,400 –> 00:31:26,099 and it’s in my life now. 645 00:31:27,500 –> 00:31:29,219 I’m not talking about stuff I used to do and all that. 646 00:31:29,219 –> 00:31:32,959 No, if you could see one sin in your life today, 647 00:31:34,380 –> 00:31:35,859 it would put you on the path 648 00:31:35,859 –> 00:31:38,040 of inquiring into the whole Confederacy. 649 00:31:38,040 –> 00:31:40,219 Once you see one, you’ll start saying, 650 00:31:40,219 –> 00:31:41,239 yeah, maybe there’s others 651 00:31:41,239 –> 00:31:43,239 and then you’ll start seeing the others. 652 00:31:44,520 –> 00:31:45,540 That’s his point. 653 00:31:46,540 –> 00:31:49,060 Once you see one, you’re on the path to discovering 654 00:31:49,060 –> 00:31:51,319 that there are in fact a whole Confederacy 655 00:31:51,319 –> 00:31:53,280 of sins in your life. 656 00:31:54,739 –> 00:31:56,199 Many sins. 657 00:31:57,099 –> 00:32:00,979 In the believing heart, working together, 658 00:32:00,979 –> 00:32:04,979 feeding off each other, playing as it were as a team, 659 00:32:04,979 –> 00:32:08,239 a Confederacy, bringing each other into play. 660 00:32:08,239 –> 00:32:11,280 We don’t see that easily, but Matthew Henry says 661 00:32:11,280 –> 00:32:13,500 the way to get on the path to seeing it 662 00:32:13,520 –> 00:32:16,859 is if you can identify just one sin, just one, 663 00:32:18,819 –> 00:32:20,839 and come to a conviction that it’s really a sin 664 00:32:20,839 –> 00:32:22,939 and it’s really at work in you right now. 665 00:32:25,300 –> 00:32:27,260 Am I the only one that’s had this experience? 666 00:32:27,260 –> 00:32:29,699 You know, we’ve been as a family many times, 667 00:32:29,699 –> 00:32:31,979 either at the edge of a lake 668 00:32:31,979 –> 00:32:34,939 or sometimes looking out over the sea and we’re 669 00:32:34,939 –> 00:32:36,760 standing there looking in a bright day 670 00:32:36,760 –> 00:32:40,339 at shallow water, and the kids will say 671 00:32:40,420 –> 00:32:43,540 hey, dad, see all these fish, see all these little fish? 672 00:32:43,540 –> 00:32:46,079 And I’m going, I don’t see them. 673 00:32:46,079 –> 00:32:48,819 Am I the only one that’s had this experience, you know? 674 00:32:48,819 –> 00:32:50,579 You go, there’s one there, dad. 675 00:32:50,579 –> 00:32:51,400 Don’t see that. 676 00:32:51,400 –> 00:32:52,239 There’s one there. 677 00:32:52,239 –> 00:32:53,420 Don’t see that. 678 00:32:53,420 –> 00:32:54,560 Here’s what I found. 679 00:32:55,780 –> 00:32:58,719 Suddenly, I’m beginning to think 680 00:32:58,719 –> 00:33:00,540 you folks think I’m blind here. 681 00:33:00,540 –> 00:33:02,079 This is a. 682 00:33:02,079 –> 00:33:03,719 All right, I’m just gonna tell you my experience, 683 00:33:03,719 –> 00:33:05,140 you can see if you relate to. 684 00:33:05,140 –> 00:33:06,280 Here’s what happens. 685 00:33:06,280 –> 00:33:10,060 Suddenly, I see one fish. 686 00:33:10,099 –> 00:33:12,140 Oh, there’s, that’s why I’m looking for. 687 00:33:12,140 –> 00:33:13,780 Okay, right, got it. 688 00:33:15,219 –> 00:33:18,599 And you know, once you see one, 689 00:33:18,599 –> 00:33:20,500 you start seeing them all over the place. 690 00:33:20,500 –> 00:33:22,280 Anyone else had that experience? 691 00:33:22,280 –> 00:33:24,619 You get your eye in, you see. 692 00:33:24,619 –> 00:33:25,619 You get your eye in. 693 00:33:26,819 –> 00:33:27,900 Now, it says Matthew-, Henry, 694 00:33:27,900 –> 00:33:30,439 that is exactly what it is like with sin. 695 00:33:30,439 –> 00:33:33,479 If you can get your eye in on just one today, 696 00:33:33,479 –> 00:33:38,479 today, and you can come to a real conviction about it, 697 00:33:39,359 –> 00:33:41,119 it will not be long before you see 698 00:33:41,119 –> 00:33:43,479 the whole confederacy and then you’ll be in a place 699 00:33:43,479 –> 00:33:46,699 of confessing with greater reality 700 00:33:46,699 –> 00:33:48,800 the value of Jesus Christ 701 00:33:48,800 –> 00:33:52,160 who has what you need much more than you saw before. 702 00:33:54,459 –> 00:33:56,040 So let me ask you this question. 703 00:33:58,400 –> 00:34:02,560 Can you name one sin that you can see 704 00:34:02,560 –> 00:34:04,180 in your life right now? 705 00:34:06,819 –> 00:34:08,179 Because if you can’t, 706 00:34:08,239 –> 00:34:10,520 I don’t know what this table will mean to you. 707 00:34:12,840 –> 00:34:15,239 And if you can’t, would you not want to begin thinking 708 00:34:15,239 –> 00:34:17,620 how out of touch with reality in my own life 709 00:34:17,620 –> 00:34:18,639 am I right now? 710 00:34:20,280 –> 00:34:22,540 So let me give you a little bit of help here. 711 00:34:24,439 –> 00:34:27,260 Here’s two you could start by spotting. 712 00:34:29,199 –> 00:34:32,280 One is pride, the other is covetousness, 713 00:34:32,280 –> 00:34:33,639 I choose them for a reason. 714 00:34:34,639 –> 00:34:39,639 Pride was the first sin and it is in us all. 715 00:34:41,939 –> 00:34:44,560 Adam was created upright, he was wired 716 00:34:44,560 –> 00:34:48,000 with the love of God and the love of neighbor. 717 00:34:49,959 –> 00:34:53,760 But after sin, after the fall, the wiring was changed 718 00:34:53,760 –> 00:34:57,699 and friends, by nature we are wired to love of self. 719 00:34:58,879 –> 00:35:00,459 And even when you are converted 720 00:35:00,459 –> 00:35:02,760 to Jesus Christ you’ll find yourself finding 721 00:35:02,800 –> 00:35:05,719 against that stuff all of your life, as I do too. 722 00:35:07,320 –> 00:35:10,080 So the first instinct that comes out 723 00:35:10,080 –> 00:35:12,959 of the human nature now is me. 724 00:35:12,959 –> 00:35:14,139 And my family. 725 00:35:15,639 –> 00:35:18,919 And my work and its importance. 726 00:35:18,919 –> 00:35:21,260 And what I want and what I need. 727 00:35:23,280 –> 00:35:25,040 Can see that monster there right now 728 00:35:25,040 –> 00:35:28,639 in any particular ways in your life, can you spot it? 729 00:35:28,639 –> 00:35:30,719 So yeah, yeah I see that right now. 730 00:35:33,020 –> 00:35:34,120 Covetousness. 731 00:35:36,159 –> 00:35:38,800 I say that because it is the last commandment 732 00:35:38,800 –> 00:35:41,199 and in many ways the most penetrating of them all. 733 00:35:41,199 –> 00:35:43,239 It goes right to the heart. 734 00:35:43,239 –> 00:35:45,620 And it was the one that the apostle Paul said 735 00:35:45,620 –> 00:35:48,260 really gave him a window into the true state 736 00:35:48,260 –> 00:35:49,100 of his own heart. 737 00:35:49,100 –> 00:35:51,120 He talks about that in Romans in chapter seven 738 00:35:51,120 –> 00:35:52,100 in verse seven. 739 00:35:53,320 –> 00:35:55,199 And I suggest to you that’s in all of us. 740 00:35:55,199 –> 00:35:57,020 I see it in my own heart as well. 741 00:35:58,659 –> 00:36:00,820 I mean look at what God has given to others. 742 00:36:01,820 –> 00:36:05,239 Their talents, their successes, 743 00:36:05,239 –> 00:36:09,239 their children, their ministries. 744 00:36:10,620 –> 00:36:13,959 A successful man once came to Jesus quite young 745 00:36:13,959 –> 00:36:15,699 and already he’d made it in this world 746 00:36:15,699 –> 00:36:17,560 and so his mind was onto hey how am I going to 747 00:36:17,560 –> 00:36:20,159 position myself for the next and so he said to Jesus 748 00:36:20,159 –> 00:36:23,159 what must I do to inherit eternal life? 749 00:36:23,159 –> 00:36:25,379 And Jesus discerned his heart. 750 00:36:25,379 –> 00:36:27,780 This man was all about himself. 751 00:36:27,780 –> 00:36:30,340 I’ve conquered earth now I want to conquer heaven. 752 00:36:31,659 –> 00:36:32,860 I want it all. 753 00:36:34,139 –> 00:36:35,879 And Jesus discerned his heart. 754 00:36:35,879 –> 00:36:36,719 You want it all? 755 00:36:37,979 –> 00:36:38,939 Here’s what you do. 756 00:36:40,560 –> 00:36:42,399 You go and sell everything you’ve got 757 00:36:42,399 –> 00:36:43,879 and give it to the poor and after that 758 00:36:43,879 –> 00:36:45,120 you come and follow me. 759 00:36:46,620 –> 00:36:49,179 And this man who loved to pass himself off 760 00:36:49,179 –> 00:36:50,360 as one who keeps the law. 761 00:36:50,360 –> 00:36:51,699 I’ve kept all the commandments. 762 00:36:51,699 –> 00:36:53,560 You know I love God, I love my neighbor. 763 00:36:53,560 –> 00:36:56,260 Actually he was in love with himself. 764 00:36:57,760 –> 00:36:59,800 And that one sin was exposed 765 00:36:59,879 –> 00:37:04,620 and his first reaction was he went away, sorrowful. 766 00:37:07,659 –> 00:37:09,540 I’ve often wondered what happened to that man. 767 00:37:09,540 –> 00:37:10,580 Have you ever wondered that? 768 00:37:10,580 –> 00:37:12,560 You know, did he ever come back? 769 00:37:12,560 –> 00:37:14,399 Do you think we’ll see him in heaven? 770 00:37:15,379 –> 00:37:20,379 I know this, Jesus opened his eyes that day to one sin 771 00:37:23,959 –> 00:37:26,419 and so with Matthew Henry’s comment 772 00:37:26,419 –> 00:37:27,939 I’ve been wondering in my mind 773 00:37:27,939 –> 00:37:31,459 how long was it then before he saw the whole Confederacy? 774 00:37:33,500 –> 00:37:34,979 How long before he saw, you know, 775 00:37:34,979 –> 00:37:36,379 I came to Jesus and I said, 776 00:37:36,379 –> 00:37:38,600 I’ve kept this, this, this, this and this commandment, 777 00:37:38,600 –> 00:37:40,280 I now say I haven’t kept any 778 00:37:42,260 –> 00:37:43,979 and that this heart is wretched 779 00:37:43,979 –> 00:37:48,000 and that his heart desperately needs that savior. 780 00:37:48,000 –> 00:37:50,879 Where can I go and find him 781 00:37:50,879 –> 00:37:54,739 Start confessing that you are far from upright 782 00:37:54,739 –> 00:37:57,820 around this table today and every day. 783 00:37:58,860 –> 00:38:01,719 And as you do here’s the last thing just briefly 784 00:38:01,719 –> 00:38:05,179 Put your hope in the one who is upright, 785 00:38:05,179 –> 00:38:06,580 the one who is upright. 786 00:38:06,580 –> 00:38:09,620 That’s not Adam of course because he was made upright 787 00:38:09,620 –> 00:38:11,500 but he didn’t remain upright he fell 788 00:38:11,500 –> 00:38:14,780 and then all his children were born in sin. 789 00:38:14,780 –> 00:38:18,600 The children were born where Adam landed when he fell. 790 00:38:20,379 –> 00:38:21,719 And in all of human history, 791 00:38:21,719 –> 00:38:23,580 well, you read through the Old Testament story 792 00:38:23,580 –> 00:38:25,300 and you look at these various characters 793 00:38:25,419 –> 00:38:27,939 and they’re all disappointing in one way or another 794 00:38:29,000 –> 00:38:30,699 until, 795 00:38:30,699 –> 00:38:32,800 having had all these generations arising 796 00:38:32,800 –> 00:38:33,780 from the human race, 797 00:38:33,780 –> 00:38:36,060 the one comes to the human race 798 00:38:36,060 –> 00:38:39,020 and he is the son of God and he takes our flesh 799 00:38:39,020 –> 00:38:42,300 and he lives this perfect life, perfect life, 800 00:38:42,300 –> 00:38:46,100 the only perfect human life that has ever been lived 801 00:38:46,100 –> 00:38:48,600 and then he lays it down as a sacrifice 802 00:38:48,600 –> 00:38:50,199 for the sins of others. 803 00:38:51,419 –> 00:38:54,620 He offers this righteousness before God the Father 804 00:38:54,620 –> 00:38:56,860 as a gift that can then be transferred 805 00:38:56,860 –> 00:38:59,580 to those who are in him, 806 00:39:01,080 –> 00:39:03,899 which is why the New Testament says that Jesus Christ 807 00:39:03,899 –> 00:39:05,580 is our righteousness. 808 00:39:05,580 –> 00:39:08,399 After years of living the Christian life, 809 00:39:08,399 –> 00:39:11,459 I have not been able to develop a righteousness 810 00:39:11,459 –> 00:39:13,179 with which I could stand before God 811 00:39:13,179 –> 00:39:14,280 and neither have you. 812 00:39:14,280 –> 00:39:15,739 No one ever has. 813 00:39:16,860 –> 00:39:18,899 Christ is our righteousness. 814 00:39:18,899 –> 00:39:22,040 We look to him for what we do not have 815 00:39:22,040 –> 00:39:25,520 and cannot work up within ourselves. 816 00:39:26,919 –> 00:39:29,320 And so it is that the Apostle Paul says 817 00:39:30,639 –> 00:39:34,280 I want to be found in Christ. 818 00:39:36,699 –> 00:39:39,159 And I’m not looking to stand before God 819 00:39:39,159 –> 00:39:41,179 with a righteousness that comes from the law. 820 00:39:41,179 –> 00:39:44,320 I don’t want to stand before God on the last day 821 00:39:44,320 –> 00:39:46,040 saying look at this Christian life 822 00:39:46,040 –> 00:39:47,219 and all the effort that I’ve made 823 00:39:47,219 –> 00:39:48,760 and all these things I’ve done for you. 824 00:39:48,760 –> 00:39:50,239 That would be completely hopeless 825 00:39:50,239 –> 00:39:52,399 because I am so far from upright. 826 00:39:53,719 –> 00:39:55,659 So I don’t want to stand before God 827 00:39:55,659 –> 00:39:57,760 with a righteousness that comes from the law. 828 00:39:57,760 –> 00:39:59,760 I want to be found in Christ 829 00:39:59,760 –> 00:40:02,959 and to have the righteousness that comes from God 830 00:40:02,959 –> 00:40:04,699 and is by faith in him. 831 00:40:06,739 –> 00:40:07,979 And if you think of it this way 832 00:40:07,979 –> 00:40:08,899 in this very last moment, 833 00:40:08,899 –> 00:40:11,800 the Lord Jesus Christ comes to you today 834 00:40:13,959 –> 00:40:16,199 and he offers himself to you. 835 00:40:16,199 –> 00:40:19,399 This is the beauty of gathering around the table. 836 00:40:19,399 –> 00:40:23,520 This Christ crucified and risen offers himself to us. 837 00:40:24,520 –> 00:40:28,540 And he says, come, come to me in faith and in repentance 838 00:40:28,540 –> 00:40:32,600 and let me drape my righteousness around you. 839 00:40:34,479 –> 00:40:36,520 He invites you to draw near to the Father 840 00:40:36,520 –> 00:40:39,500 not with your head hanging in shame. 841 00:40:39,500 –> 00:40:43,659 But knowing how far you are from being upright 842 00:40:43,659 –> 00:40:46,800 with a humble and a thankful heart, 843 00:40:47,139 –> 00:40:50,679 saying Father, thank you that I stand before you 844 00:40:50,679 –> 00:40:53,479 as a justified sinner, 845 00:40:54,560 –> 00:40:57,699 reconciled to you through your son, Jesus Christ 846 00:40:57,699 –> 00:41:01,959 and all my good is in him. 847 00:41:03,379 –> 00:41:04,699 Is that where you’re standing today? 848 00:41:04,699 –> 00:41:06,500 Is that where you will stand today? 849 00:41:08,159 –> 00:41:13,159 When Christ shall come with trumpet sound, 850 00:41:13,860 –> 00:41:18,739 oh may I then in him be found, 851 00:41:18,739 –> 00:41:22,219 dressed in his righteousness alone 852 00:41:23,260 –> 00:41:28,260 and therefore faultless to stand before his throne, 853 00:41:29,320 –> 00:41:31,919 on Christ the solid rock. 854 00:41:31,919 –> 00:41:33,199 Say it with me. 855 00:41:33,199 –> 00:41:38,199 I stand because all other ground is sinking, Saint. 856 00:41:38,219 –> 00:41:40,159 All level is sinking, Saint. 857 00:41:40,159 –> 00:41:45,159 Father, let us take our stand on the rock 858 00:41:45,479 –> 00:41:48,260 as we gather around the table, 859 00:41:48,260 –> 00:41:50,399 through Jesus Christ, 860 00:41:50,399 –> 00:41:53,840 our glorious saviour and lord, amen.