thankful we are for the revelation of yourself and of us that we received in the last hour from your word. I, God, we pray that you will help us during this time of study to see the application of your truth to us as sinners who have been blessed out of your grace and mercy. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Well, let's begin with the lecture we've just heard. Address, we've just heard.
Basically it was a wonderful and comprehensive presentation of the holiness of God in our own wickedness and gentleness. The subject we'll be looking at today will be one of the guiltiest or one of the wicked philosophers and after listening to the address just a little bit of go, I think all of us being conscious of our own gentleness and wickedness. But after looking at that question like this, why in the world has God ever prospered me? Why does anything good ever happen to me? Because we just looked at how wicked and sinful we really are in the eyes of God. And I wonder if anybody here would sum up just as a volunteer, any concept you've got out of the address we've just heard that had some special significance to you. I've got to jot it down for me. I'm going to give it to you just a minute, but I just wondered before I do this, I'd like to recap just a little bit. A few things that were said last hour. I think it'd be good for us to think about as we move on into the subject today, why does God permit the wicked to prosper? Anybody out of the last address get any concept that was particularly significant to you, Sherlyn. Got a volunteer?
Why do I want to show my life to you?
And the thing that really he was somebody that raised the doctor, that's right. And I think really in his next lecture, while he may not go back to the tabernacle scene, he's going to begin developing the significant significance of Christ. He touched on that at the end just so we don't despair. But during most of his presentation, he was pointing out to us the simple place that man has to take in this picture, our own samfulness. And he does that by pointing out the holiness of God. And this is called the Holy Place. This place he was talking about. And he began by showing that we're shut out. I mean, the only the half priest once a year could go all the way into the Holy of Holy. And this is just God's way of showing how he's separate from sinners in his holiness. And the fact that there ever does issue after a while, any salvation is the most marvelous thing in the world because God in his holiness doesn't know anybody anything. And it's good to remember that God doesn't know you, the least fragment of love. God doesn't owe you any love at all. God can be, perfect love and never gives you any love. When the Bible says God is love, it doesn't mean that God has to love everybody Satan and all the demons and devils and they will like you. I mean, you will never get the biblical concept of God until you realize that God is obligated to love that which is unholy. God is holy first. Therefore his love is a holy love and the only obligation that God has in his nature is to love that which is holy. Now he has to love Jesus. God the Father has to love the Son because he's holy. He doesn't have to love you. He's holy and we're not. And if God ever does anything to close the gap between us, it's just out of sheer grace, not anything we deserve, not God giving us what we deserve. God sending Christ to save us, why don't you God paying any kind of a debt to mankind? He didn't know what's anything, anything. God is holy. And this is a picture that our speaker was trying to draw for us. And he pointed it out by showing that truth about the holy place and then pointing out that on that holy day God required first of all that everybody afflict themselves. That is it. They examine themselves, self-examination to look at ourselves, to see our sins. It requires no work so that we meditate. And now we're caught up today in increasing the labyrinth of transcendental meditation. The trouble about the emphasis on meditation today is it goes in a wrong direction. We had a fellow visit the seminary a seminary not long ago about a month ago I had to speak to my evangelist in class who a young fellow who's out of college now but just barely out and he'd been caught up for two or three years in transcendental meditation if he thinks like that. And then we're just pointing out what happened to him and what happened to others on the kind of meditation that's coming in now. This is being emphasized. And he was pointing out that it finally killed all the love that there was in those who really went very deeply into it because this kind of transcendental meditation makes you withdraw from everything. The Eastern Colby transcendental meditation begins to make you withdraw some relationships to everything and dependence on anything until the last year just inside and everything else is cut off and there's a distance to where family ties and even friendships have to give away things that God ordained to be good, loves that God made ought to be cultivated to begin to be chilled. But the meditation the Bible calls for is the kind of meditation that is calculated to make us despise ourselves in order that we can begin to live in a proper way. And that's what he was talking about. This day was set apart from in the meditation. To think about God in his holiness and to think about their sinfulness and how they treated their fellow man and how they treated God and treated God's world and this day was set up to do that. And then the sprinkling of the blood, what an impact our speaker made. Now my own heart just drove it home so clearly that everything that man touches has to be cleansed of the blood. You know a lot of people have the idea that when Jesus, I mean a lot of Christians, when Jesus died on the cross, he died to just clean up certain spots in their lives. But listen, the blood of Jesus has to cleanse every thought you've ever had, every deed you ever did, every day you've ever lived. Because all our lives, everything we've ever done has been short of God's glory. We've never rightly done anything perfectly. If all through life we've been a contamination and the blood of Jesus has required to cover all our lives and all our history and everything had to be sprinkled with the blood because of the contamination. He emphasized the various words that set forth the aspects of sin and then pointed out how confession had to be made. A recognition is that priest confesses the sins that people had to identify with that and affirm that this was their identification with it. And then he pointed out right at the end that the whole purpose of this was to cause man to despair of self and look unto God for mercy. And God in this whole picture was just showing by providing these scapegoats that God had devised a plan by which sinners, sins can be removed and God can still be holy and accept us in the love he gives to his son. And that's what I'm sure our speaker will go into next time. All right, now then we're going to move from there to this aspect of quiet God if God doesn't owe man anything but judgment. Now look the only thing God really owes you is hell. That's all he owes me. I don't want to stand before God and say no look God all I'm asking to you is just I just want justice. I'm not me. I don't want that. I know what that means for me. I won't mercy. I want God to treat me better than I deserve. I'll never make it if I don't. I've got to have that. All right, now we're going to ask the question why does God ever lift a wicked prospect in? I'll look at Jeremiah chapter 12. This is a much asking a long-ass question. Jeremiah, chapter 12, verse 1, righteous art thou, O Lord, when I complain to thee. He's recognizing that God is a holy and righteous God. Jeremiah, chapter 12, I'm reading from the revised standard version that sounds a little different from what you have. Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I complain to thee. Yet I would please my case before you. Jeremiah says, I've got a complaint, Lord, I've got an argument with you. I mean, not you. You're a righteous God that I know but there's something going on that I can't talk with you're righteous. How can you be righteous and do this? Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous, thrive? You ever wondered about that? Who has? Now to tell you the truth, this is just one side of the coin in it. You know there's this coin has two sides to it. The other side is this, why do the righteous suffer? Remember Job had to face this. Job was a greeting good man and he did suffer. He had been made righteous by faith by God and he was a man who loved God. And yet God let all sorts of troubles come upon him. And he didn't give him an explanation. Now remember, God will often do that. God will let you have experiences without explanations. And if you're not careful, you'll fall into the problem Job got into if you don't recognize this. Over and again, you're going to find that you get to heaven. God, if you're his child, he's going to let you have experiences without explanation. That's where faith is called for. And Job has been awaited. Job's wife came to him and said, look, after all your suffering, you're a good godly man. Look, curse God and die. Well, Job's reaction to all of that was even though he slays me, yet I'll trust him. Job said, I don't understand. I can't explain all these experiences I'm having, but I'm going to trust him. Now that's great. He was a man who was justified by faith. Nevertheless, Job just couldn't get that question out of his mind. Now, Job knew he wasn't a perfect man and he God, Job knew that he was a center saved by grace, but he did know that his heart was bent to love God. And he did trust God and he did try to live for God. And so his question was, Lord, why does somebody who's really trying to serve you in a wicked world has to suffer what I'm suffering? That's one side of the coin. We're not dealing with that, though. That'd be a good one to have, but we're not going to get into that question. I mean, why does it write your suffer? We're taking the other side of the coin. Why does a wicked prosper? Now, who asks that question? I believe he's sought a two different kinds of people ask that question. Now, why does a wicked prosper? Well, I think one kind of person to ask this is, it asks it as a self-righteous person. Probably not a Christian at all. Just a person who really believes that he's done a better job of living than most people. Then a more just than a good man. This is a guy who really feels, you know, I mean, he did not understand their redeemer because he thinks he's God ought to clear him on his own record. Kind of like the Pharisee of the Old Testament. Kind of like the Pharisee who said, Lord, I'm hearing how you look, I've done, I've done pretty well. Done very well. And a good man. Never ask anybody to tell him a good man. Now, that kind of person really gets, he gets a bad hangup when he finds somebody who doesn't seem to be trying to live a good life at all. Just some guy that just needs to be, you know, just have no roots or regulation, just living any kind of an old careless life. And yet he's making more money than he is. Got a bigger house than he's got. Bigger car, just doing everything. And then that, this self-righteous man, he runs a real problem. He thinks, not God, you're not fair. I mean, here I am doing a, I mean, I'm, I'm living a hike. I'm really doing a good job with my life. And I'm not doing so well here, financially. But my neighbor over here, that sorry, he's counter-lord, he's terrible and, and he's prospering. So a lot of times that question comes from a fellow daughter in the Gaskin, a self-righteous man who doesn't really recognize whatever a measure of blessings he's got. He doesn't have any right to eat. And what he ought to be asking is not why does that wicked man prosper? But Lord, why does this wicked man prosper as much as I do? But there is another kind of person that asks it, and this is the way we find it coming up in Scripture. This is the righteous person who's been made righteous by God through faith. This is a true child of God, a person who recognizes that he's a sinner. He knows that the blessings he's getting, or given to him by God, he doesn't deserve it. And yet he has a problem of saying, now look, here I am saved by God. I love the Lord Jesus. I'm seeking to serve him. And here's this guy over here who has no respect for Christ, for his church, for his word, for his father, and yet I just keep having troubles and he just keeps prospering. Look at Psalm 75. This is a classic, I think. Psalm 73. Here is the classic presentation of the Bible of a man of God. This is not a self-righteous man here who's having a problem. This is a good sinner saved by Jesus who just got a problem on trying to think this thing through. He cannot understand this. And so he begins, just like you're imagining. He starts us in a Lord. I'm not questioning if you aren't good, but I can't understand what you do like you do if you're good. Truly, God is good to the upright. To those who appear in heart, he says, I know that God. You're a good God and you're good to me. I'm not demanding. You're good to those who trust you. But as for me, he says, verse two, my feet had almost stumbled, my hips were well and I slipped. What he's saying is this. He said, I ran into a problem. Lord, it almost robbed me of my feet. Lord, I almost lost my confidence in you. Here's the reason. Verse three, where I was in theus of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Now, this is just a number of conversation by a good godly man. He says, Lord, now, I mean, I know you're good. You're good to the upright. You're good to those who trust you. But Lord, I ran into a problem almost took me away from it. Now, almost sale. And I saw the prosperity of the wicked and I couldn't understand that. Look at verse four, Paul, they have no pains. Their bodies are sound and sleep. They're not in trouble as other men. They're not stricken like other men. Therefore, pride is their necklace. Violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out with sadness. Their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice. Lossily, they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens. The tongues strut through the earth. That's quite a figure in it. They're tongues strut. That's a boasting bragging, you know, fellow who believes these gods themselves. Therefore, the people turn and praise them. Not only the euclicism, Lord, but everybody else then begins to praise them. They see how they prosper. Big stricken, bold, brassy, protein, rebellious men, fighting everybody and self-centered and bragging on themselves. Everybody else thinks they're great. He says, I really have a problem with how you let this go on. And they say, how can God know? Is there any knowledge in the most time? The whole of these are wicked. Always these. They increase in riches. All in vain as I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in medicines. For all day long, I've been stricken and chasing every day. Now God, I'm having trouble right now. And I see these folks prospering and I just can hard to make it out. Now this is a problem. You see, and this is a kind of man who said, and he says, if I had said, I would speak thus, I would have been untrue to the generation of that children. But when I saw how to understand this, it seemed to me to be aware of some task. He said, Lord, I couldn't figure this out. I know you probably thought of that too. I mean, why is it? Sure not. Why is it some sorry low down wicked rebellious profane covenant breaking human being just seems to get the blessings and the breaks and goes up on and and trusting children of God just suffer persecution, deprivation, so often. He said, Lord, I thought how to understand this and my own thinking is what he's talking about and it weird. Look at verse 17, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I perceived arrogant. He got the answer. He seemed at here. He said, Lord, when I was trying to figure it out by myself, I almost slipped. I couldn't make it. Then I went into your sanctuary and then I began to see the pictures it really is. I'm not exactly sure what it means, but the sanctuary means me. The worship place of that day perhaps, where he heard the word, where he was able to think God thought to that ring. Nevertheless, when he came under the insight that God gave and the truth of God's word, he was able to understand. Truly, he says, I'll just set them in slippery places, I'll just make them to fall. That in verse 21, he says, when my soul was embittered, when I had was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant. I was like a beast, these concession, confessing now. He says, Lord, I'm sorry about this. I was just like a stupid beast. I was embittered in India against these people and said, I was just like a beast, and I'm sorry I acted like that. Then, in verse 23, he says, nevertheless, I'm continually with these. I'll just hold my hand. I'll just guide me with my counsel. Afterwards, you will receive me to glory. He said, I wouldn't count the blessings I've got. Even though I was having a hard time, I had you and the wicked don't have you. They just got your blessings. Now, tell me there's a difference. You see, the wicked who are cross-spring have God's blessings, but they don't have him. The true child of God that may have suffering, may not have a blessing in the deliverance of suffering, but they've got the Lord there, and so not only that, usually, you need a glory, and they're being led to destruction. Now, he says, when I got into the sanctuary, I saw the pictures it really is. Now, I wouldn't trace places with that guy carrying him in the world that wicked man did bother me. Verse 27, for those who are far off from thee, will perish. God has put an end to those who are false to thee, but for me, it is good to be near God. I have the Lord God, my refuge. Here's what he was just in a way saying, he said, I've learned it to lie to you. Lord, I've learned it to discover that having you is a big blessing. So, in any wicked person in the world, it's blessed like I am. The most wicked man in the world who has control of millions of people and billions of dollars and everything that is fleshly hard to desire is a poor man compared to me, and I can't say my bills at the end of the month because I've gotten you and he doesn't. And I'll tell you, you will never really be able to make an adjustment to the wicked prospering in this world and the year suffering need over and over again in this world unless you've got that concept. If you've got God, you've already got the best there is, you've got him, and that's what the Psalmist really concludes. He said, Lord, I see it all. Now, these fellows have some things from you, but I've got you. And I can take anything because I've got you. All right. Now then, in a way, this is the wrong question. The question is, why do the guilty prosper? Why do the wicked prosper? That's a deficient question. Here's the way it really ought to be put. See, here's the way the question ought to be put. Why do the wicked prosper for a while?
You see, because it isn't true that the wicked prosper ultimately. It's only for a time. Why do the wicked prosper for a while? Look at Psalm 73 again. Let's see, verse 17, this is one of the discoveries the Psalmist made here when he was thinking that thing grew. He said, until I went to the sanctuary, then I proceed therein. See, he says, I'll look a little further down the way. And I saw that this prosperity that I'm seeing now is going to end. The end for these men is destruction. Look at Psalm 37. If you'll turn back just a back a little bit, this is a wonderful Psalm. The David wrote in his old age, he wrote the 23rd Psalm, probably when he was a teenager. He wrote the 37th Psalm when he was an old man, reflecting now. He says, what's that deep in the Psalm? He says, once I was young, but now I'm old. Look at verse 1. Fred, not yourself because of the wicked. Do not be India's the wrong gluer, doers. He says, don't get upset now when you see the wicked prospering because why? Or they will soon say like the grass and whether like the green herb. That's what he's saying there. Look at that in verse 9. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall persist the land. Verse 10, yet a little while in the wicked shall be no more, though you look well at his place. He will not be there. Look at verse 13, but the Lord laughs at the wicked for he sees his day coming, strutting, boastful, rebellious, braggart, Christ's denying, command of breaking, wicked people, in business, in university teaching positions, in classes, in student bodies. God laughs at them for he sees their day coming. There is a little verse 16 that the righteous has in the abundance of many wicked. That's what he concludes. He says, when I see what they're heading into, or the little I've got now, I'd rather have that than what I've got for a bright future than what they've got. So you see the prosperity that God does allow the wicked is only a temporary thing, and is only for the time. All right, now then to the question, why does God allow the wicked to prosper for a time? And we've got to go to the Bible to get the answer to that. And I'm sure I don't have all the answers, and it really may be that some of you can suggest something this morning that'll be helpful to all of us. I'm not up here teaching because I've got all the answers. I don't, I've got some, because I know the answers I've got come out of the scripture. I know these answers that I'm going to give you are right, but I don't think they're comprehensive. That is, I believe that there's some others. And I just haven't gotten to them yet. Maybe you've already gotten to them. But let's take each one of these up one by one, and then I'm going to name, I'm just going to share with you the answers that I find in scripture to this question. Why does God permit the wicked to prosper for a while in this life? I'm going to share with the answers I've got. And as I take each one, we'll just stop. And if anybody's got a further thought, you give us a good or a question or something like that. The first one I'm going to say is I'm going to suggest is the reason God prospers, permits to prosper, permits blessings to come to the wicked and to the unsaid in this life. Another pattern is because of his common grace, his temporal mercy to all of his creatures. Now you see there is a seeding grace of God. And in that seeding grace, God is seeding the people that no man can number. They're called the elect in the scripture. There are those that have been identified by God's choosing them before the foundation of the world, calling them in the course of history through the gospel, redeeming them as a blood of Jesus, receiving them as they come to repentance and face the work of the Holy Spirit, putting them in His family and kingdom forever. There is a seeding grace of God. And not everybody is saved. That's clear. But there is a common grace of God that everybody gets a benefit from every human being, grace of God's common grace. And it's grace because nobody deserves it. Not one human being from the day Adam and Eve sent no human being has ever deserved anything good from God. Everybody in their sins is deserved only rejection by God. The withdrawal of every blessing. But God didn't do that. When Adam and Eve sent God did put penalty upon them, condemnation upon them, but he continued to bless them in many a way. And mankind has been blessed by God's common grace. We just have it in scripture that God's mercies go out upon all his creatures. We're going to look at a scripture to the point of that out. But in Romans chapter 9, if you'll turn to that, Romans chapter 9, verse 22. I think we have the philosophy behind it. Then we'll look at the statements the Bible makes about how this works out in real life. Right now, God is showing, just showering, good gifts on everybody just in the unjust alike. That's the truth. And that's the way it is. But there is a reason behind all of it. In chapter 9, now, verses 22, verse 22, not if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much patience, the vessels of wrath made for destruction. Those are wicked men who never come to faith. In order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy which he has prepared beforehand, I'll really what he's talking about here is this. What if God is being good to every human being during this time of history while he is bringing his own people to himself, to the crown of the eternal life forever? What if while God is saving sinners in Christ with those who are out of Christ? He continues to give blessings to the point is that in the course of time as God is saving of people for his son, God is not banishing all the rest of the human race in this life from every blessing. The human race would end if that were true. When man fell into sin, God determined to sustain human life and he could only do it by continuing to let man have blessings, getting food, getting sunshine, getting air, getting room to live in. So God gave wicked men room to live in. These are blessings to live by. And look at Psalm 145, for instance. Psalm 145 verse 8 and 9.
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding instead of love. The Lord is good to all and his compassion is over all that he has made. Every wicked sinner in the world, eight-off Hitler friends, was greatly blessed of God. He had many a blessing every day that he lived with a free gift of God. God could have snuck these life out of the minute. Sorry wicked man who deserved nothing but the backhand of God and deserved the hell that I believe he got forever. But God permitted him to live. He got food to eat. His mercies and compassion are over all. That's the statement that scripture is making there. Look at Matthew chapter 5, Jesus talking about this point. Matthew in the sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5. Verse 43, You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that they you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his son to rise on the evil and the good. God just doesn't let the saved you know I have sunshine. He let that wicked farmer get sunshine on his cotton too. And he sends rain on both of just in the unjust. You watch the next time it rains. You can't measure you know who saved the news unsafe but where that rain falls. And for if you love those who love you what reward do you have do not even the tax collectors the same and if you salute only your brethren what more do you than others do you do not even the Gentiles do the same you therefore must be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. You said look how God God's good everybody. So you'd be good to people. This just points out God's goodness to others. God's gracious goodness manifest just throughout all creation. So one of the reasons God is being good to the wicked is he's letting them have good things to sustain human life. He's letting human beings have what they need, giving them protecting their lives, letting them live out of span of life, letting them have food to eat, jobs, help to work with, skills and abilities coming from their first birth that makes it possible for them to make some contribution to the world while they're here. God in common grace is just a sustaining life here. By letting the wicked have blessings too. All right now I'll just set forth one reason why in which the scripture says for the grace of God the wicked and of the unsaid and will see if anybody's got anything to add at this point or any question at this point of God's common grace if you'd like to add. Yes sir.
He's working for this that's right. That's what the Romans passage I think says that God in is being patient and good to all mankind as he sustains life to save the awake.
Right leave the tears in exactly that's a good application John that's right you know the parable of the wheat and the tears tears look a lot like the wheat but they weren't wheat the enemies Satan had sowed in the world his own seed but when some of the Reaper said let us go out and tear the tears out the Lord said no not the laharvest they should tear up some of the wheat for the protection of the wheat just let the wicket are going to have to be permitted to grow and you know they got the rain in the sunshine just like the infertilizer they put it on just like we do when you fertilize a seed you know just like the seed does that's right this ties into a second step though and why God blesses the why God blesses the wicked blessings come to the wicked I believe scripture implies and going to use that word imply because I'm not sure that what I'm saying now is a strong clear clearly ununciated explicit teaching in scripture but I believe it's an implied in scripture and I think it's this that even the wicked by God's common grace and here it benefits out of the atonement of Jesus temporary benefits of the atonement of Christ now the saving benefit is eternal light but not everybody gets that only those who God brings to feed in his son get that blessing but every temporal blessing every drink of water every day of life every pleasant experience that an unsealed wicked man has has been purchased in the sense but the blood of Jesus the only reason God can be good to any center in the slightest degree is because Christ has made satisfaction now not only God shows and only those who come to feed in Jesus Christ are given by God eternal light have their sins removed and receive the gift of eternal light but there does seem to be some implication that the death of Jesus has a temporal and universal blessing for mankind that God through the atonement of Jesus is still able to be just and be able to dispense temporal blessings to the ungodly until the day of judgment until the time of the accounting really comes and I would for one thing pointed out like this and maybe you've got somebody you can contribute you see the scripture approaches the death of Jesus in two ways over and over again the death of Jesus is spoken of as being that for many the little word many is used that comes up in Isaiah 53 for instance when it says that his sacrifice is for many he makes satisfaction for the sins of many not everybody for many so remember in Matthew when the story of the birth of Jesus has been told and his name is being announced his name should be called Jesus for he should save his people now that term his people doesn't mean the whole human race the Bible teaches that the whole human race are children of wrath and disobedience Jesus said your father is Satan talking to people that didn't believe in him he said if God were your father if you're really one of God's people you'd believe in me those who believe in Jesus are God's people he came to die for the sins of his people Jesus did and not everybody are his people in John 637 he said all that the father gives me comes to me and him who comes to be all in the wise cast out no man can come to me except my father's drawing that's why I said and you he said no man can come to me except it is given to him by the father so there is a sense in which the Bible teaches that Jesus died in making everlasting atomah for sins he did it for those who come to trust in him those who go to whose faith goes to him unbelievers never have any interest never have any benefits out of the death of Jesus regarding the escapement of judgment for all who trust in Jesus their judgment they passed when Jesus died on the cross as far as their condemnation for sin is concerned Paul puts it in Romans 8 you know there is therefore now no condemnation no judgment for those who are in Christ Jesus far and he goes on to say God is judging our sins in him but and so there is us and remember when Jesus had talking to his disciples in Matthew 20 he said I didn't come to be ministered do I came to minister and to give my life a ransom for many and remember the Lord suffered when he took the cup and the bread he said this is my body broken this is the cup kid for the remission of the sins of many in its basic atoning everlasting salvation securing work the death of Jesus were for those only who come to face in him however there are passages in the Bible that seem to imply broader benefit from Jesus death he did taste death for every man the Bible tells us in one place writing to Peter writing to about men who rejected Jesus and taught the taught against him and denied him Peter speaks of those who deny those who were bought by him and he says they go on to their everlasting destruction Peter speaks to some people who who never were saved and never get saved and yet he speaks of them is somehow being bought by Jesus well not their everlasting salvation but there is a sense in which Jesus death secures benefits even for that wicked man while he's spiting Jesus the death of Jesus has some part to play in making it possible for a holy God to go ahead and give some temporal blessings to wicked men while they're even carrying on their wickedness you know the father and not a perfect illustration but there's a point that the death does illustrate the son the younger son who lived there right as living you know was doing it at the expense of his father his father was put in a veil and there is a sense in which God is supporting the life of the wicked I mean here's a wicked man who's committing an awful sin today God could have killed him yesterday so he didn't have a chance to commit that sin God is continuing to let him have life God is continuing to let the sunshine on him continue to let his heart continue to be continue to let him have protection and the only way a holy God is able to do that is because there is some sense in which Jesus death on the cross has made it possible for a holy God to show gracious patience with objects really deserving his wrath now then that's getting pretty deep into it but I would say this means this then that every wicked person in the world ought to be on their knees thanking God for the death of Jesus they don't but that wicked man who is enjoying blessings today is just doing it because of the patience of God long suffering of God the grace of God that is made possible through Jesus all right anybody want to clarify a little bit better what I've just said hope hadn't made it too confused when Jesus down on the cross he only paid in satisfaction forever for the sins of those who trust him however there does seem to be some dentist in out of his bed that all creation gets I mean all human creatures who are wicked and sinful and the God sustains human history he has continued to let human history go along and let the wicked live not just the blessings he doesn't the very time a more man-sense he doesn't make him fall dead he continues letting live some benefit seems to accrue here out of our provision that God is made in Jesus okay yes see
I don't think it's symbolic I think it's historical I mean I think it's really written into the fabric of what's coming and that's that is a good point now is that part one if God blesses the wicked only temporarily when does this come to an end that's question one thing you're asking about isn't it and I would say that in the history of an individual it's a part of their death for the whole race it will be judgment when Christ comes I mean this is at this part the whole human the whole stream of human history comes to it and in its present form when Jesus comes back and there won't be any more wicked living in the world the new heavens and the earth won't have them to be banished but I would say as far as individuals are concerned up till their death God continues to bless the wicked in some measure now during the weakest have a wicked have problems too and they have difficulty that doesn't mean that it's not to be implied that the wicked you know never have anything but good times and the righteous have nothing but bad times in the world that's not the way it is the problem is the director looks like a wicked it have nothing but bad times and God let them have some good times but when they die that's over because when they die their body goes to the grave and their souls go to Hades to hell and they're removed from blessing now Jesus gives us a picture of that in Luke 16 the suffering and torment that the lost have there even in the immediate time before the coming of Christ but I would say that at least these two guidelines the scriptures give on when the for an individual without this light but once this light boosts into the eternal spheres and those blessings are over and the consequences and penalty both have sinned began to be exacted and for the race the human race this will continue the wicked until Jesus comes we could in this world continue to get blessings they're going to continue to get as much benefit out of the sun as if this is what you do now where I got at it and not see
I'm so loose yeah so one aspect you did ask was about inherit in the earth there and we will inherit the earth you see the consummation when Jesus comes there's going to be a new heaven in New York now the new that's used in the New Testament is renewed it's the word Greek word is used about taking something that already is and re re making it and so God's people are going to there they're the space age people we're going to have we're going to be a kingdom of grace to serve and magnify him and carry on his work without end and his revelation tells us in New York without dead conditions like we're under now then the righteous will have no suffering no tears no difficulties and there won't be any unrighteousness in the New heaven in New York and there is a sense in which this I mean I like to think about it we think about him this is my father's word the earth is the Lord in the fullness there of the psalmist declared I've satan's active on it the wicked that got a big understanding right now but only God owns it and he has it for his children and this earth and this whole creation made new and the coming of Jesus will be the blessing that in which that will be fulfilled the righteous will inherit the earth well let me move to another explanation for why God blesses the wicked Romans chapter 2 gives a third reason why we could expect and should expect for God to do good things for those who don't deserve it for the wicked though none of us really deserve it I mean for those who are for outside of Christ make no profession to be his Romans chapter 2 verse 4 are do you presume upon the riches of this kind as well let's back up verse 3 do you suppose oh man that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself you will escape the judgment of God are do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance well that's a reason he's saying here look God's kindness is an evangelistic means he uses to bring men to repentance you see they're too strange evangelist and they're not only Billy Graham one is trouble only God knows how many people have been brought to Jesus Christ because God let great trouble come into their lives some of you may be a Christian right now partly because God let some awful experience come into your life that begin to make you think make you lean back on God so trouble is often of an evangelist the psalmist says when I was afflicted they're not thought upon you but there's another evangelist that's God's blessing how many times have men been made to think of God because of some all at once they just saw some great blessing God gave them how many times is a careless young college student been involved in a terrible car wreck where he knows that he just no explanation how he came out of that thing alive and he begins to have a sense of all wow this has appeared how good is I mean not bad I would have been dead a lot of been with the others that were killed and begins to think for the first time series of God see you present Garfield you know it was an interesting experience he was washed off of a deck of a ship when he was a young college and he's seen working on a boat on some river maybe the Hudson somewhere like that and then a terrible storm or something he'd just washed off and when he went overboard his leg got tangled up in one of the lines on the ship so that when he got out in the water he was able to be sustained until somebody could discover in a terrible storm there was some guy in a big water and they just held him up and finally they were able to pull him in his life was spared and then he got to thinking about that and he thought I mean what are the odds about that kind of thing happened and a fellow being washed overboard and a line wrapped around he's couldn't such a way that it's holding where he wouldn't slide out of it and getting something to hold on to to save his life so he he went back out on a deck and tried he just over and over again he tried to make that line function in that way and after he's done it I think he figured out that it was one out of every so many thousands of times that it ever happened and that began to make him think about all right now what did make that happen could that have been God is God really interested in me I mean when I wouldn't even think about him or interested in him did God cause that and this was one of the lines that God used that line to get on this night they polished your saying here look the goodness of God is to lead men to return and he was good to you you know if you're saying he was good to go hold on for you got to save and you're thankful for it sustained your life could you get saved for one thing and so he sustained their life that's another reason anybody want to add anything to that before we move to another Romans 9 we're in Romans 2 my turn on the Romans 9 for 26 see it is
20 yes 22 now this is an implication again what is God desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction now God is endured I mean he just puts up with our wickedness you know and the wicked man that God is blessing he's just enduring man doesn't deserve it God is just enduring him in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy which he has before prepared has prepared beforehand for his glory now he's talking about the fact there that his patience with this group is being given while he is going to manifest ultimately his glory and saving the sinners he's bringing to his son but I think there is an implication here too that God's very patience with the wickedness to his own glory it does show his goodness it just shows the goodness of a God look God doesn't owe you any love now you'll never understand the Bible presentation of God's love if anybody reads John 3 16 and thinks that the you know this is God given us what we're what we're due and you think well God's a good God because he faces death man after all if he's a good God he ought to love human beings if you've got that concept of God and humanity I mean you just mixed up you know you can get the Bible concept on it that's not what John 3 16 is saying at all John 3 16 is saying look God is giving to a people that he ought not to love if all there was joy was holding God doesn't know us anything it's to God's glory that a God who really owes us nothing but to step on us in judgment
gives any good gift to us that he gives us salvation will be the ultimate glory that he'll get but the very fact that the wicked people who never say this is immeasurable almost too at least you can say well look if he's blessing this man here he knows this man is going to be saved and taking the heaven but here's a man who's going to never own him never acknowledging never of accept his son this man is going to go on with a rebel you start all the way to hell and that God would give him any blessings is it's amazing it's it's him it just glorifies God I mean how can God be good like that when here's the person that he knows is just never ever going to do anything but be a problem to him he'll never get praise out of this man's life now here's a saved center over here he's going to get praise of him God is going to get back a great deal out of that life that he's investing in but when he invests blessings in the wicked who will never be saved God isn't going to get anything back but the glory I'll just showing his patience and manifestation of it as he blesses those people search to the glory of God that you're showing an amazing goodness the goodness of God is always seen in mercy every time you find God the turn goodness coming up about God you'll find something about mercy real quick mercy in a way as God withholding from us what we really deserve kindness is giving us what we don't deserve God's mercy and kindness to a wicked man he holds back the afflictions that he ought to give this person and let's him have blessings he's kind to invite giving him good things that he doesn't deserve and of course it's that that God gives us in salvation in Christ by relieving us of the judgment that we justly deserve and giving us an eternal act which we don't deserve but in God's goodness to sinners he's manifesting his glory and then I have another thing got it down it I think is involved in all of this God's goodness to simple men wicked men shows the true depravity of man and the justice of the judgment that God finally brings when at the end these blessings do end and these people are banished forever destroyed from the presence of God forever all tells us in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 922 again back to that what if God designed to show his wrath and make known his power has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction God is being patient and kind of these people and the very fact that they sin against his love God is good to them and they continue to bite the hands of these them and and repudiate the one who cares for them and watches over them the fact that they do that just further underscores the depravity of man left apart from God's regenerating grace and vindicates all the more God when that great judgment day does come and all of these are banished to hell it's for God's vindication in chapter 2 Paul speaks on this very thing in a sense when in verse 4 he says do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance but by your hard and impenetive heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed and that in verse 9 there will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil the Jew first in the Greek but glory and honor in peace for everyone who does good the Jew first in the Greek for God knows no impartial shows no impartiality well these are some of the reasons that anyway that God gives blessings permits the wicked to share and great number of blessings that they don't deserve what should this secure in us all friends whether we're saved or unsafe they ought to make us grateful to God maybe somebody sitting in this very room and you're not a Christian never asked for it to be out on the who you are I mean I don't know your heart you haven't come to Christ yet I hope that you will I hope that the future will prove that you're one of his if you don't know who you are now and nobody else can tell who you are I hope God grace works in your heart to worry is revealed at last let your faith goes to Jesus many of us in here do know him say we all are just alike in the sense there is no difference for all of a sin and come short of the glory of God and we ought to all be on our knees before him who's been good to us been good to us if you're unsafe you're going to have hell forever Sunday but God has given you a lot of good things before you get there your Christian pop it like this the sufferings of this present time mark worthy to be compared with the glory that awaits us the blessings that we're having now are just a little tiny fort taste of an eternal blessedness we're going to have and the crowds we have now aren't worth being counted in thinking about the blessings we're going to have we ought to be grateful for a good God holy who owes us nothing but judgment and he's in great patience awaiting insisting that his gospel be preached out calling all men to their responsibility to respond to Christ promise things at all who turn to him in faith will have forgiveness eternally another thing we ought to do is pass it on that's what Jesus is saying look if God is going to be good to digest and unjust then you don't be careful about how you who you're good to be good to everybody be kind to your enemies we're to be like this to them we're to be impartial we're to treat everybody with compassion and love and care I think this means if we're lost that we ought to fear and flee to God if you're here today and you're lost and God has been so good to let you live to the day and he's let you have a lot of good blessings he'll let you hear the gospel he's let you hear today about how he sent his son Jesus Christ to cleanse away the sins of sinners and he calls him into him you ought to stand in fear that you not go another day as a Christ projector but the you let God make you righteous in his sight through Jesus come to him it ought to make it ought just this very concept that God's blessings that on the one hand is storing up for you greater wrath ahead because you continue to receive these blessings and still refuse the heavy sun you ought to cause the unsafe to fear and turn to God and call upon him for mercy and seal God give me grace to really have your son and trust him and a lot of cause to save the rejoice because what we're getting now is just a foretaste of final and greater things to come we can say the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he's leading me he's giving me green pastures he's giving me still still waters when I go through the close chains with death and the various shadows of death out here in the weevil and even death itself he's riding his staff or comforting me chasing me and holding me and reaching me and protects me and guard me his mercy and truth will never stop following me and someday I'm going to dwell in his house forever the believer just has so much to be thankful for well all the rest of him and I think they're all coming back here and about to know anybody got a question or some comment or anything you'd like to offer to support bless the Lord on my soul and forget not all his benefits bless the Lord on my soul and any list these benefits who forgive us all down in niceties he looked all that disease and saved us as souls and destruction crowned you with loving kindness is in the mercy so do you renew use this renewed like the evils he has not blessed us according to what we deserve he's blessed us according to his mercy which is as high above this is a heaven's art above the earth but a great and good God he's banned all of us father how thankful we are to you