a desire to obey the Lord. That's something that we want. Legalism is when we believe that our obedience somehow draws God's favor down upon us. We obey because we have been favored, not in order to gain favor. Let's remember that. Sometimes people will say the term legalist when they actually mean strictness. Strictness is okay. Precision is okay. There's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes people will say legalist when they mean binding the conscience with things not found in scripture. If we get our terms correctly, we can then help to unpack errors and pack up the truth. Right? So legalism is not a desire to obey. Legalism is not binding people's consciences with things not found in scripture. That's burden laying. That's not legalism. Legalism is indeed that understanding that we merit our favor with God. And that will always end in death. Always. And that's what we endeavored to show last week. So, leave sin as your master then. Leave legalism as your master. Leave that slavish fear of God behind. That you're always under some threat of punishment and you need to be a good little boy or a good little girl and then God will love you. Leave that behind. Because that ends in death. You can never be good enough. And that goes for every species of legalism, including the species that has been termed Neo-Nomianism. What is Neo-Nomianism? It's a big highfalutin fancy word that says when you believe, God counts your faith for full righteousness. Not that he imputes the righteousness of Christ to you, but that your faith is good enough for your righteousness. And so notice that's not faith in Christ, that's faith in faith. And that will also land you, if you're consistent in that, that will land you in a very dangerous position with regard to your soul. It's the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is imputed and accounted to us for our righteousness. God will not accept your imperfect faith as righteousness, because face it, brothers and sisters, your faith is not perfect. And even if it was, it would not meet the righteous standard of His glory. Only Christ has done that. Keep it separate. Keep the things in their proper lanes or we end up confused. All right, so that was last week. This week, I want to talk about sin as your master and what happens. What happens when sin is your master as opposed to having God for your father? And there are four things that I'd like to discuss with you. Perhaps the list could be as long as 40, but these four, I think we'll get the point across. Let me give them to you and then we'll give you the details. First of all, when sin is your master, he brings death. Second, when sin is your master, he brings deception. Third, when sin is your master, he brings misery. Fourth, when sin is your master, even the good things of life are cursed to you. With that as the basic outline of our sermon today, the question we step back to ask is, with that as a master, who would ever sign up for that? We don't make the decision that Moses made. We don't make the choice that Moses made, that we read about in Hebrews chapter 11, which was what? That he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, the affliction of Christ, it says. Yes, Moses knew Christ. And he chose that over the passing or seasonable pleasures of sin. We forget, don't we? Sometimes willfully. We forget that the pleasures of sin are fleeting. Let us not downplay that. The Bible says that sin does have a certain pleasurable bent to it. But it is a passing pleasure and it leads to death. So, those four things then. When sin is your master, he leads you to death, he leads you to deception, he leads you to misery, and he leads you to even the best things of this life being cursed to you in the use of them. But with God as your father, all of that is turned over. It's life. It's truth, not deception. It's joy and contentment, not misery. and the best things are sweetened to you and the worst things are blessed to you. Who would choose then to maintain that mastery of sin when your father holds out his fatherly hand to you and says, come to me and live in my house and under my blessing? So let's go ahead and fill in the details. You have the scaffold, now let's fill in the details. The first thing that we want to remember about sin is that he is a hard master. You'll remember when we were looking at slavish fear, we looked at Matthew Chapter 25 and the parable of the talents. One had five, one had two, and one had one. The man that had one talent came to his master at the end of the probation, at the end of his use of that talent, and he said, ''Oh, I knew you were a hard man. And we reason from that with many godly commentators that we tend sometimes to think hard thoughts of God. Boston even mentioned that in our quotation today, hard thoughts of God. And we said that we are deceived into thinking hard thoughts of God when truly it is sin that is the hard master. Sin is the hard master, not God. That this is part of the deception of the enemy of your souls to get you to think hard thoughts of God. And beloved, may I say, he is much too successful in doing that among us. We think hard thoughts of God when we ought to think hard thoughts of sin. Solomon said it right in Proverbs, what is it, 13? Look at my notes here, yeah, Proverbs 13, 15. The way of the transgressor is hard. That's truly where the hardness belongs, sisters and brothers. That's where it belongs. It doesn't belong upon God. We don't want to put that on God. God is a kind father. And we'll see many passages that strengthen that notion. The way of the transgressor is hard. We read it earlier today in Acts chapter nine in verse five, and we'll see Paul describe it again in 26, 14. It is hard to kick against the pricks. Now, what are the pricks? What kind of an illustration is that? By the way, some Bibles don't have that. Some Bibles don't have, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. That's a deficiency in them. Just know that, okay? A prick is like a sharp stick or a goad that you would use to move an animal along. And most domesticated animals are okay with that. You know, oh, okay, you need me to do something here, all right, that's fine. You know, because God gave them a lot of brawn, maybe not a lot of brain, and they can handle that. They can handle that poking, you know? It doesn't make them, like, you know, if you do that to a bear, Not a good idea. But to a domesticated animal, that tends to work. But what about those few domesticated animals that turn and kick against it and put you under their crosshairs instead? Those are the kinds that the man is told in Exodus, you know, that's the ox that gores, you're gonna put that one down. You don't want that one out and about anywhere. It is hard to kick against the goads, and yet that's what we do when we are under sin's mastery. Sin pricks at us and we kick against it. The way of the transgressor, beloved, that's the hard way. The way of God, it is not the hard way. Remember what Jesus said. He said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. He doesn't say there's no burden at all, there's no yoke at all. There is something to be born with Christ, but it is easy and it is light. It's the way of the transgressor that is hard. People write me letters, I get phone calls from people, certainly none of you have these difficulties, but I'll hear Oh, pastor, my life is just miserable. There's this and there's that and there's this and there's that. If this is misery, I don't know why God is doing this to me. And I always want to just help them draw back from that precipice of blaming God for their miseries and helping them to recognize that misery comes when we have taken ourselves out from under, at least in our thoughts or actions, the fatherhood of God, the fellowship of Christ, and we have placed ourselves under some kind of other rubric, because the way of the transgressor is hard. Not the way of the Christian, not the way of the son of God, the daughter of God, not the way of the fellow of Christ, the natural son of God and we as adopted sons and daughters. So we read in Romans chapter six, let's turn over there. And we'll read verses, 19 through 23. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now, being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Well, let's just make a few observations from this brief passage. There is a time in all of our lives, some longer, some shorter, where we are under the law as a covenant of works, and all who are under that covenant are the servants of sin, that hard master. In this servitude, we go from iniquity to iniquity. That's what Paul just said. from iniquity, uncleanness, and to iniquity, unto iniquity, says in verse 19. That is, even in those things that appear outwardly good to others, what we might call civil righteousness, you know, he's a decent man, that kind of thing, that is iniquity, unto iniquity. In Proverbs 21, four, we'll learn that even the plowing of the wicked is sin. because he does it for himself. He refuses to glorify God in the labor of his hands. He does it for his own ends. He does it to himself and for himself. And men will praise thee when thou doest good for thyself, Psalm 49. Our best works done under the mastery of sin heap up further wrath against us justly. Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. the prophet will tell us. We were then under that mastery and in that case we were, quote, free from righteousness. That is, we didn't have to do any righteousness. No, it meant that we didn't have any. We were righteousness free in that sense. There was nothing in us that could draw down God's favor. There was nothing to catch his eye or to get his attention in us. and being under that bondage and being under that mastery then, those things that we lived in, the end of those things is death. That's what Paul says. With sin as your master, beloved, that only works out to one end, death. Not only the quote spiritual death, but the death principle. being far from the fountain of life, being far from righteousness, being far from anything that is good, being far away from God himself. Being made free from sin now, verse 22, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end, everlasting life. Everlasting life. And so note then in verse 23 the difference between wages and grace. For the wages of sin is death. You want to earn something? This is what you earn. You earn death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Notice the contrast then. If you want to be a legal Christian, The end of that is the wage that you earn, death. Christian, obviously, nominally, they're in name only. So if sin is your master, then it must end in death. Number two, if sin rules, deception follows. Sin is a deceitful master. Sin will lie to you. Sin will trick you. Hebrews chapter three, exhort one another daily lest ye be not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Sin indeed deceives. Turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter two. Begin our reading in verse seven. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way and then shall that wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now most of you know my view on this passage. I believe this is talking about Antichrist, the Roman Catholic Church, and the office of the papacy especially. We see that working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. One of the most common lying wonders of the Roman Catholic Church and the papacy is lifting up a piece of bread and calling it the body of Christ to be worshiped and glorified, making that transition from a piece of bread to the very divinity, body, soul, blood, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Then we have all of the other quote, lying wonders, the pretended miracles and so on. We have all of this deceitfulness, all of this lying, all of this untruth, all of this keeping the superstitious under through these lies and tales that are told. False doctrine, lying wonders, all of it. But did you note? that this comes because the people that promote or believe or receive that system, they are under this deceivableness of unrighteousness. We look at that as Bible-believing Christians and we say, oh, that is superstition. How could anybody believe that? The reason they believe it is because they're bound up to it. Sin is their master, and he has them darkened in his deception. And they will remain in that deception unless the Lord our God turns on the lights. Unless he, like he did with the Apostle Paul, as it were, scales fell from his eyes. He was under a very similar deception with lying wonders and so on. the parallels between first century Judaism and the superstitious activity of the Roman Catholic Church is indeed very, very clear in scripture. So it is very, in fact, so much so that some theologians in their view of the book of Revelation will say what? That this is actually God's divorce with Israel and he's not really moving against Antichrist. Antichrist is actually that system. Some of them will say that it's that system or Nero and his destruction of that system. Now the parallels are there. And so when sin is your master, you're deceived. You're deceived into thinking several things. Right? You're deceived into thinking that sin is pleasurable and it won't hurt in the end. You're deceived into thinking that, you know, a little bad doctrine is okay if I just go along to get along. You're deceived into thinking that, you know, these people in other religions that are sincere, God will also save them. Or you're deceived in your own false religion to think that it can actually save. No, there is this deceivableness of unrighteousness. When we have not the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to us and then living that out, we are indeed a people deceived and being deceived. Let's take a look at a few scriptures together beyond 2 Thessalonians. Look at Isaiah chapter 5 for a moment, verse 20. I'll caution you, we're not reading the newspaper when we read from Isaiah 5, although the parallels are striking. Verse 20, woe to them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Notice the deception in the midst of that. In Proverbs chapter 17, verse five. Excellent speech becometh not a fool, much less do lying lips a prince. I'm sorry, 15, skip down to verse 15. He that justifieth the wicked and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord. Deception. There are upright Christian men and women standing in courts of law these days that are condemned And there are wicked, wicked sinners, the things of which I could tell you about that would indeed not be fit for mixed company that are justified. The deceivableness of unrighteousness in our own society is indeed legion. In Malachi chapter two, Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. I'm in verse 17. Yet ye say, wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them. Or, where is the God of judgment? Where is the God of judgment? In other words, he doesn't see, he doesn't care. That's deceit. That's the deceit of sin as a master who will have his servants to go on in deception. Cross the page there, 315. And now we call the proud happy, and they that work wickedness are set up, yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. This is the deceivableness of unrighteousness. And finally we see it in 2 Peter chapter two, verses 18 and 19. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who lived in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption. For of what a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. These for a time, Peter will tell us, may even exist among us, this kind of deception. And so what is the deception? We'll not take the time to look up all the verses, but there's four particular deceptions here. God does not see, there is no reckoning. There's no judgment, right? Psalm 50 verses 16 through 21, there the psalmist says of the wicked, you thought I was altogether like unto yourself. But I wasn't, I'm not, I will reprove these sins and set them in order before your eyes. So the first is there is no reckoning, that's one deception. Another deception, God has withheld some good thing from me. There's some good thing that God has withheld from me. This is how Satan starts the ball rolling in Genesis chapter three. Hath God said you shall not eat of any tree of the garden? Has God really had the audacity to keep you back from that one tree? Really? Has God not blessed you with fill-in-the-blank? Has God deprived you of fill-in-the-blank? Whereas the psalmist writes in Psalm 84 11, no good thing will he withhold from them that love him. Then another deception, sin is pleasant in the short term and in the long term. And of course, in Hebrews 11, 25, we already spoke about Moses and Moses' choice. If you've read that book by Jeremiah Burroughs, good for you. Moses' choice, that Moses chose rather the suffering of Christ than the pleasures of sin for a time. Sin can be pleasurable for a time, but its pleasure is its hook. Its pleasure is its lead. It's like those lost leaders, right? You see in the newspaper. Here's this thing that you're looking to buy. Yeah, I've been looking for X, fill in the blank. Oh look, here's a store who has one for a half price. And you get down to, oh, we sold that one just before you got here. But we have these others that are right next to them, and it's not half price, but we'll see what we can do. Right? That's the pleasure of sin. It's the loss leader. It's the hook. Job chapter 20 and verse 5. James chapter 5 and verse 5. But notice, the psalmist writes in Psalms 16, 11 and 36, 8, with thee are pleasures evermore. There's pleasure now with the Lord and forever. It's not that hook sort of pleasure that bites in the end. Oh, the fish sees that and he thinks a meal. He's right in a sense. It is a meal, but he's the meal, right? And then finally, The fourth deception, now wait a minute, I'm doing God's work here when we're not. Remember John 16, one and two? Jesus says to his disciples, they're gonna put you out of the synagogues, they're gonna persecute you, there's gonna be a time coming when they think that putting you to death will be serving God. That's deception. Paul will say, I thought I was serving the Lord. As a matter of fact, I was persecuting him. with sin as a master. So, when sin is your master, it's death. When sin is your master, it's deception. And then, when sin rules, misery follows. Misery follows. It must be that. It must be. We have been relegated as the human race to a life of sin and misery because of the fall. Have we not? Isn't that what we confess in our confessions? Listen to question 27 of the larger catechism. What misery did the fall bring upon mankind? The fall brought upon mankind the loss of communion with God, his displeasure and curse, so that we are by nature children of wrath, bond slaves to Satan and justly liable to all punishments in this world and that which is to come. Question number 28, what are the punishments of sin in this world? What does that misery look like in this world? Not even in the next world, but just in this world. The punishments of sin in this world are either inward as blindness of mind, a reprobate sense, strong delusion, hardness of heart, horror of conscience, and vile affections. or outward as the curse of God upon the creatures for our sakes and all other evils that befall us in our bodies, names, estates, relations, and employments together with death itself. You look around the world, what do you see? Do you see a utopia or do you see misery? Let me tell you, if you saw a utopia, our politicians would have nothing left to promise you. No, it's misery. Front to back it's misery. When sin rules, misery reigns as well. But with the Lord there is contentment, there is satisfaction, there is joy. The misery is put away. In our world there is the misery of violence, either inflicting violence or receiving it. There's the misery of covetousness and jealousy, always desiring and never satisfied. There is the misery of wrath and anger and temperance is miserable. There is the misery of living after our pride and self-seeking, always promoting our own way and insisting on our way. There is the misery of being occupied in vain things, lives wasted on emptiness. But what is far worse than all of these is the misery of idolatry, of having something else, some demanding insatiable thing, sapping our strength, emptying out our affections, demanding our allegiance only to destroy us in the end. This life without Christ is indeed miserable. But with Christ, there is an easy yoke, a light burden. With Christ, as the Apostle Paul will say to the Philippian church in Philippians chapter 4, he will say, I have learned in whatever state I'm in to be content. It doesn't matter how much I have in my wallet. It doesn't matter how much is in the bank or what kind of house I'm living in, in a prison. I have learned the secret of being full. I know how to be full and how to handle that circumstance and I know how to be in want and how to handle that circumstance as well with contentment and with joy in everything. And those times of misery in our lives, beloved, know this, that when we are miserable, it is because we've stopped trusting in God as our father, and we've moved outside of that protective mindset. and that he has sent even these difficulties upon us for our good. Yes, we understand, from Hebrews chapter 12, don't we, that not all chastisement seemeth for the moment joyous but grievous, yet afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby. And then finally, with sin as your master, Even good things in your lives are turned to evil. And we know this very clearly. We see this all the time. We see it monetarily, right? We see it in our lives. The Apostle Paul will say to Timothy, in order to frame Timothy's teaching about finances and money, he will say that the love of money is a root of all evils, literally translated, a root of all evils, 1 Timothy chapter six, verses eight and following. In Romans chapter seven, we'll see how far down the road with sin as your master, even the good things can be cursed to you. Paul will say, we'll have to forego the reading for the sake of time, but in seven through 13, you'll remember the passage. He will say, is the law sin? Nay, God forbid. I had not known sin, but by the law. I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet. The sinfulness of Paul's heart, and I believe that up to verse 14, he's talking about himself before he was regenerated. The sinfulness of Paul's heart makes that even the law of God becomes cursed to him, and when the law says, thou shalt not covet, that's all he can do is covet. He's showing us the powerlessness of the law in and of itself, but in so doing also he's showing what the bondage of sin is like, that even the best things of this world, the law that he will say is holy, just, and good, that it became the occasion of sin for him. The old Irish preacher in speaking of this passage. talking about sin, said, how filthy and how vile sin is that it can take even the law of God and turn it to sin in a man. Right? The sinfulness of sin, as John Owen will say. Was that, verse 13, which is good, made death unto me? God forbid, but sin that it might appear sin. Working death in me by that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. In Romans chapter 1 verses 18 through 25, we see that the natural man looks at the world around him. He looks at the creature, the creation, and rather than seeing the God of the creation and worshiping that God and knowing him as God, which Paul says he already does because of the creation, He will turn away from that God. He does not like to retain God in his knowledge, and so the creation is cursed to him, and it becomes a source of idolatry to him, is how Paul will say it. We look at the heavens and the earth, and we say what with the solace? The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies show forth his handiwork. Day unto day they utter speech, and night after night they utter knowledge, and there's no speech nor language where this voice is not heard. That's what the believer sees in creation. Why? Because he's not under the mastery of sin. That good creation witnesses good to him because he belongs to the Lord. This is what happens when we have God as our father. But when sin is our master, we look at the creation and we worship it, and we turn away from the true God. And may I say, my dear brothers and sisters, that this hyper-environmentalism has gone far beyond worshiping God, and it is worshiping the creature instead, to the detriment of humanity created in the image of God. We have planners in our places of authority across the world in various countries that want to see the population of the world reduced because we're harming the earth. They're worshiping the earth and they're cursing God and his image in man. This is what happens when sin is your master. Even the good things of this world are cursed to you in the use and having of them. That's Romans chapter 1, that's Romans chapter 7, 2 Timothy chapter 3. God has given us our friends and our families. to assist us, to help us, to come around us and be that iron that sharpens iron, to be those encouragers and helpers, correctors, and those good examples one to another. The human relationships that we enjoy under God's economy are blessed to us, but under sin? They're not blessed to us at all. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 3. In the last days perilous times shall come for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, from such turn away. Notice that almost that entire list, just about all of it, talks about human relations and how God has given them to us to help us, but those relations under sin's mastery, they are turned to curses instead. So those are the details. So then, what do we have when we have God as our father instead? Let's run back briefly then as we close to those four things once again. What do we lose in having God as our father? Certainly after these four things, and like I said at the outset, it could be 40 things we could look at. What do we lose in having God as our father? We lose death, we lose deception, we lose misery, and we lose even the good things of this life, being cursed to us. That's what we lose. Who would knowingly make that bargain that we'd stay under that mastery? Yet, beloved, even as Christians, sometimes we forget. And we place ourselves back under that mastery of sin. That's what Paul will talk about in Romans chapter seven. He remembers when sin was his master. He still has those shackle marks on his wrists and on his ankles. And when he hears that master's voice in the market, although free, often he gives in. He goes back and suffers the misery of it and the deception. We ourselves, if we're honest with ourselves, we would say that when we sin against God, and we do daily in thought, word, and deed, when we sin against God, this is a deficiency of our trusting, faith, childlike faith and resting in Him. And we think something else is better. And we choose that. Sometimes it's simply out of ignorance that we sin. We didn't think we were faithless. We didn't think we were doubting, but truly we were. We were deceived. But under the fatherhood of our God, we have life instead. Not death, but life instead. Turn with me to John chapter 10. Verse 10. The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. Let me put it this way in order to be memorable. If sin is your master, he requires your death. If God is your father, he has accepted the death of his son for you. It's not death. It's not death in the principle of death. We live under a living principle, not a death principle. And it's not death in the end, in the day of judgment. It's eternal life, it's everlasting life. In these days, it's an abundant life. It's an abundance of joy. It's an abundance of spiritual riches. It's an abundance of satisfaction and contentment. It's an abundance. God, the Apostle Paul will write in Ephesians 3, we looked at this a few weeks back, is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think. It's not death, it's life, with God as our father. With sin as our master, all we have to look forward to is death. We have an abundance of supply from the Lord, and this is where we quote from Philippians chapter four, verses 11 through 19. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Notwithstanding ye have well done that ye did communicate with me in all my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. What a comforting passage. Did you think you were deprived? Rest in what God has done. Hear what he has said. This is his fatherhood over you. Secondly, we saw that sin is a master deceiver, but our Father is the Lord God of truth and every word of His is true. Seeing that He has created all by His word and maintains all by His power, everything administered by Him is done in truth. And so in Deuteronomy 32, Psalm 33, 4, Isaiah 61, 8, Daniel 4, 37, we see that God is the God of truth. Everything that he says is true. It is impossible for God to deceive you. He cannot lie. He will deceive. Even in the day when he sent a lying spirit to be a mouth in all of Ahab's prophets, he also sent Micaiah to tell him the truth. So remember that. God always speaks the truth. When he tells you something is foul and evil and harmful, believe him. When he tells you that something is good and ought to be sought, then turn your heart in affection toward it. This is the loving communication of your father who always speaks the truth. In 2 Timothy chapter three, 13 through 17, we saw that unbelievers will go from bad to worse deceiving and being deceived, but that those who are of the Lord are established in the truth. We have the word of God. And this is also, isn't it, the burden of Isaiah 59? It's a passage we've used a lot lately around here because we've just seen it playing out before our eyes. That's that passage when it says they've taken these spiders' webs and they've tried to cover themselves with them. And there's cockatrices' eggs that they think they're going to feed on. And when the egg breaks, the snake comes out and bites them and they die. Then it says that truth has fallen in the streets and it cannot enter. Right? That's what it is to be under sin as your master. But what's the remedy? This is my covenant with them, says God. The word that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed's seed from henceforth and forever, saith the Lord. You know, there's this funny thing about truth. It's always going to be true from now and forever. And so sin as a master is a deceiver, but God as your Father speaks the truth. The third point, we saw that under the mastery of sin there is misery, violence, murder. wreckage, and so on. But the children of God have a goodly heritage from Him, joy in the Holy Ghost. They have the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, temperance, meekness. This is not a description of misery, but of God's pleasure exhibited upon his children, from Galatians 5, 22. The Christian life, as we read over and again in the book of Philippians, is a life of joy. It's not misery. Rejoice in the Lord. For me, Paul says, to write the same things unto you, for me it's not laborious, and for you it is safe. He has given a mediator to us in his own son who has taken to himself a true body and a reasonable soul and become like us so that he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He is not a hard father rejoicing in our misery. He gives us a mediator who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities that we can come to in time of need. Do you think his chastisements are fearful? Do you think they are arduous? Turn with me to Psalm 103 for a moment. We want to acknowledge the chastisements of God. We want to recognize that that's part of his fatherhood over us and not be afraid of his chastisements. So let's read one through four at first. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. Does that sound like misery to you? Not at all. It's not misery. Look at his chastisements in verse eight. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. And as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Notice, he does chide, but it's not forever. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. He chastises us for our profit that we may partake of his holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Do you know why the Lord chastises you, brothers, sisters? So that you can go to heaven because he wouldn't lose you. Don't think his chastisement's grievous or hard. Don't think I'm a hard master. Sin is the hard master who exalts and rejoices in your misery. God is touched with the feeling of your infirmities. Look at verse 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as the grass, as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. for the wind passeth over and is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto children's children. Yes, he chastises, but he does not chastise in anger. He chastises for our profit that we might partake of his holiness, and we'll read that in Hebrews chapter 12, verses five through 14, and we'll not take the time to turn there. No, no, it's not a miserable life under God as our Father. Sin is the miserable master. It's not miserable under the Lord. Instead, it is sometimes grievous, but only for a time. and only as necessary for our holiness. And then finally, what did we see? We saw that with sin as our master, even the good things of life are cursed unto us. But in the Lord with God as our father, even the worst things of life are made profitable and the best things are sweetened and blessed. Take suffering, take affliction, With sin as your master, suffering and affliction, you will think that you will never come out from under it, right? As the Stoic said, life is hard and then you die. But under the Lord, even afflictions are made to work for your glory. Even afflictions are made to work for your good. Even afflictions are made to help you and assist you Since we're here in the Psalms, we turn over to 119. Verse 67, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word, and oh, isn't it the desire of the sons and daughters of God that they go not astray, and would gladly weather some affliction to keep them near to the Lord. And in verse 75, I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Even afflictions are blessed to the people of God. Deprivation and want is also profitable to the people of God, whereas for someone under the mastery of sin, it is indeed a great misery. Notice 2 Corinthians 12, 10. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities. in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong. The Apostle Paul speaking about the thorn in the flesh. Even in death, the people of God are blessed. And why do we mention death? Because death is the greatest affliction. It is the greatest deprivation, right? It is the worst of things. But Psalm 116 tells us in verse 15, precious in the sight of the Lord are the death of his saints. In Psalm 16, eight through 11, quoted twice in the New Testament, speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ, who for us underwent death, right? He endured the cross, despised the shame, sat down at the right hand of God. Why? For the joy that was set before him, Hebrews 12, one through three. And he was raised from the dead because even in death, the sting and curse of death are taken away. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Skipping toward the end of that passage, verse 51, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory, O death, where is thy sting, O grave? Where is thy victory? It's gone. It's vacated. It's emptied out. No, even the worst of afflictions are blessed by God for the people of God, and not just in the hereafter. Think of what the prophet writes, Isaiah 57 in verse 1. The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart, and merciful men are taken away. And when we hear about that, we think, oh, what a tragedy. Merciful men are taken away. What a horrible thing. Listen to what the prophet says. And merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace. They shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. Just like great King Josiah and great King Hezekiah. The Lord said, I'm bringing evil upon these places, but you, you men, you will not see them. Hezekiah understood that. He said, good is the word of the Lord unto me. I'll be taken away from the evil that is to come. The wicked cannot say that, can they? So four things, death, deception, misery, cursedness, that are indeed completely overturned under God's fatherhood. Life instead of death, truth instead of deception, joy, contentedness, and happiness, blessedness instead of misery. And the worst things of life are blessed to us and the best things are made sweeter under God's economy in his family calling upon him as father. Who then would choose sin as a master? Well, let us remember then that whenever we are afflicted, and whenever these things come up, and whenever we have that sort of slavish fear come up in our breast again, where we're tempted to make a deal with God, oh, if I just stop this, I know what the Lord is doing. He's just striking at me, and I'll be a good little boy and a good little girl, and I'll get His favor again. Instead, come to Him. Come to him with confession of your sin. Come to him in humility. Come to him with an assignment of yourself to his mercy, no matter if that mercy for a time is a difficult mercy. Come to him with complete and total casting of yourself upon him for his disposition, for his disposal, and he will raise you up. He will comfort you. He will place you and receive you under that government that is indeed full of life, full of truth, full of contentedness and blessing, and full of every blessing and every good thing in this world. Let's stand and call upon the Lord in prayer. Our dear Heavenly Father, forgive us, we pray, for doubting of Thy mercy. Forgive us, we pray, for falling to the deception of sin and thinking hard thoughts of Thee. O Lord, help us to think upright thoughts of Thee, good and blessed thoughts of Thee. Help us, Lord, to remember Thy goodness to us at all times, even in times of affliction. Help us to know Thy covenant faithfulness to Thy people. And Lord, deliver us. from looking back at that old master and hearkening to him and partaking of his deceptions. Deliver us, Lord, from that. Help us to see in the contrasts that we have made today how sweet thy fatherhood is over thy people, how blessed a house is that house, and how blessed are the people whose father and God is the Lord our God. Deliver us, Lord, then from thinking of the yoke that we bear in Christ as anything other than light and easy. Help us to put truth forward and to see that the way of the transgressor is hard and the way of thy sons and daughters is not. In Christ Jesus' name we pray, amen.