Calvin Synod Herald, 2003 (104. évfolyam, 3-12. szám)

2003-03-01 / 3-4. szám

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CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

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to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statues which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: (Deuteronomy 28:15)

III. Remember God’s Mercy

A. Never separate justice from mercy. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. (Exodus 34:6-7)

B. Justice is not just some perverse pleasure God takes in getting even with sinners. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness” neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. (Psalm 5:4-6)

God would be an accomplice of evil men if He did not hold them accountable.

1. Consider the implications of mercy without justice. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself - but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. (Psalms 50:21)

2. God calls those who remain silent when they see evil accessories to the crimes. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? (Habakkuk 1:13)

3. God gets tired of the excuses people give for evil. Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God or judgement? (Malachi 2:17)

4. There must be a distinciton between justice and injustice. Shall the throne of iniwuity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? (Psalms 94:20)

C. It it God’s mercy which demands His justice. Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:45-46)

What kind of heaven would it he if it were indistinguishable from hell?

Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 4 Questions 9-11 Dr. Edwin P. Elliott, Jr

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Hon 11:26

Never Dying Life:

Easter Sunday Celebration

Dr. D. James Kennedy

In His divine sovereignty and providence, God used a notable preacher by the name of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse to open the blind eyes of this once young man. Now Dr. Barnhouse was a formidable man. He was large and robust with a voice that could not be ignored. It was imperious, to say the least. I can still hear the tones ringing in my mind, and those of you that may have heard him in years gone by will also remember that voice. It could not be ignored: “Young man,” he said, “if you had the audacity to say such a thing to the all holy God that knows your every thought and deed, He would have instantly plunged you into the lake of fire.” He had my attention, and soon Christ had my soul and my life was transformed.

However, every encounter with Barnhouse did not quite end that way. Once he came across an older man who was a redoubtable antagonist to Christianity. It was, indeed, an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. Barnhouse told him the glories of the Gospel of Christ, to which the older man responded, “Poppycock. I don’t believe in your Bible or your Christ and, furthermore, I’m not afraid to die. You see, I have my lodge, and that is every bit enough religion for me.

It was a stalemate. They each went their separate ways. The months and years passed by and several year later Barnhouse learned that this man was now on the very edge of the valley of the shadow. He was in the hospital; he was not expected to come out. So Barnhouse made his way to the hospital, discovered what room he was in, slipped in unobtrusively, sat in a comer seat, folded his hands in his lap, and said nothing.

The older man was totally unaware of Barnhouse’s presence in the room, but he was keenly aware of another presence in that room, for this man was wrestling with the “King of Terrors.” He could be heard to moan and groan, saying, “Oh, oh no. Oh no, no.” He began to turn his head back and forth from one side to the other on his pillow. Then he opened his eyes and espied Barnhouse seated in the comer. He was appalled by the sight. And he said to him. ”What are you doing here?”

He (Barnhouse) said, “Oh, nothing. You told me you were an atheist and you were not afraid to die, so I just thought I would like to come and watch. I won’t do anything, so you just go ahead with whatever it is you are doing, and I’ll just sit here and watch.”

The man had the look of a wounded animal on his face, and with a voice of desperation he said, “You wouldn’t mock a dying man, would you?” Then he asked Barnhouse to tell him once again about Jesus. Barnhouse had the opportunity once more to share the glad tidings of the Savior who came that we might be forgiven and have eternal life. Before the hour was up the Son of Righteousness had risen in the valley of the