Let us turn to Luke chapter 13, the 13th chapter of Luke's gospel. Christ going about his earthly ministry, met with many questions, many a puzzle, that people come and ask him. about something. Sometimes they're not sincere in their questions. They merely want to trip him up, cause him to stumble. Maybe a contradiction here and there. Other times they may be sincere questions. People are wondering. I wonder what happens We have such here in Luke chapter 13 verses 1 to 5, where we are told they were present at that season. Some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Terrible thing. A man-made disaster. People are cut down, and are murdered, and are slain, and much blood is spilt. And then they tell him of another occasion, not a man-made situation this time, but a mere accident, where a particular tower in Siloam had fallen, and it killed all those who were under it. 18 were killed in this freak accident. Sometimes people wonder, don't they, when terrible things happen in a person's life, Maybe you did something wrong. That's why it would happen. Surely if you were a good person, bad karma wouldn't come to you. Of course as a Christian we don't believe in what people call karma. We believe in the biblical teaching of reaping what you sow. A man lives a wicked, dishonest life. A man who is a drunkard, a man who is a glutton. You will reap certain consequences of your actions. But that's not some form of karma that comes. Now what do we think of these people here? Those who were killed by man, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, or those who were killed as the tower had fallen. Are they worse than us? Somebody who has a terrible accident, somebody who's killed, were they worse than you? And that's the way often people reason. If something bad happens, it's because you're a bad person. If something good happens, the gods must be smiling upon you. But you know, biblically speaking, all men and women and children are the same. We're born into the world from one man and one woman, into a state of sin. Everybody. And the wages of sin for all of those born into the world is death. So whereas throughout a man or a woman's life you may be able to say there are better qualities in some than in others. There are some people like the Old Testament character Nabal. You couldn't say a word to him. He was a horrible person. Nasty. Selfish. And you may have another person, and they have wonderful characteristics. They're pleasant and they're kind and they're gentle, but what of them? Christ here, you see, is going to tell these people asking. Tell him about what happened. How does Jesus respond? He says this, Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things? Christ says, I tell you, nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. And he says the same thing with those with whom the tower of Siloam had fallen. You see, the tendency of man is to look at others. Look at them. Look at them. Whereas Christ says, no, look at you. Look at your heart. Look at your condition. Man's sinfulness always wants to point to others. Look at them. Bible says, no, look at you. You're no better than those who suffer. I want to notice three things briefly this evening. The cause of evil. Where does it come from? The cause of evil. Blood being mingled. Terrible accident happening. Secondly, the cost of sin. The cost of sin. And then, thirdly, the cry of God. The cry of God. Firstly then, the cause of evil. Why are there wars? Wars break out, don't they? You no doubt will be aware that at the end of the First World War, it was said, here is a war to end all wars. The First World War was horrific. More casualties, I believe, in the Second World War. But for the suffering, and in the trenches, was worse. People thought, never again. Never again will there be another war, for surely we would learn. and that the 20th century was described as the bloodiest century known to man. Didn't solve it. Where did it come from? Terrible accidents that happened. Where does that come from? Sheer fate? Well, we can ask the question, does it come from the devil? Is that where evil comes from? Was he the originator of evil? You've got God who is good and you've got the devil who is evil and therefore goodness belongs to God and evil belongs to the devil. Is that what it is? The answer is no. For the devil is created as a beautiful angel, perfect, without sin, leading the heavenly choir in worship to God. But he became a rebel. And Satan becomes an adversary. The devil becomes a liar. Where does evil come from? Well, what is evil? Evil is the absence of something. God is holy and righteous and perfect. A perfectly moral law giver. What is evil? It is the absence of holiness. It is the absence of godliness. It's the absence of goodness. So that's what it is. Disliked darkness is the absence of light. Evil is the absence of God. I remember an open air preacher saying, while he was preaching, somebody came along and shouted out, where was God? when that terrible murder happened the other day. The preacher, being quick-witted, said, well, God was not there in that person's life, was he? The God who said, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not murder. The absence of God, and that's not to say that God is absent in the sense that his being is not present, but we mean absence, and that we don't want to know him. I don't want God in my life. It is the absence, and no doubt the devil, who is a liar, a murderer, will encourage man in his activity. And there is such a thing, isn't there, as good and evil. Modern man has tried to blur these distinctions and say, well, there's no such thing as right or wrong. It's what people talked about. No such thing as right or wrong. You make it up as you go. If it's good for you, it's good. But the Bible does have absolutes. It tells us right and it tells us wrong. That's why you find in the Old Testament it's full, isn't it, of God's law. The things he loves. We have the Ten Commandments. The cause of evil is the breaking of those commandments. And there is such a thing as right and wrong. Man himself produces evil. Because he has a sinful nature. He's gone astray. He's abandoned first principles. He's abandoned his allegiance to a holy God. And if Adam, our first parent, hadn't rebelled against God, We live in a perfect paradise. Let me say that it was such a man called Adam. And don't be embarrassed if people ask, do you believe in Cain and Abel? Do you believe they're real characters? Do you believe they really lived? Without a blush, say absolutely. We believe in history. We believe in the accurate recording of historical events. Julius Caesar. The Lord Jesus Christ. It's written in history. And the evidence is there. We don't need to be personally there when there was Cain and Abel. But the second and ultimate reason is we believe God's word is inspired. It is God breathed. And God tells us there's an Adam and an Eve and a Cain and an Abel. So we say, yes, absolutely, I believe it. Modern man may mock these historical truths that we believe. Mock on. Man's nature is corrupt. Not just some. Not just those whose blood was mingled with their religious sacrifices. Or those whose the Tower of Siloam fallen upon. Everybody. And Christ draws to the ultimate conclusion. Unless you repent, you will also perish. Stop looking at others. Stop pointing the finger. Stop drawing away from yourself. But think of it. One day, too, I will die. And whatever fate they met with after death will be mine. Was God out of control? Was God nowhere to be found when the blood was shed? Was God absent? Was God nowhere to be found when the tower in Siloam fell? Was God absent? Was he looking away? Well, if you have any knowledge of the Bible's teaching, know Amos chapter 3, and there at verse 6, shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid. Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it. God is there. He's not the author of sin. He doesn't rejoice in sin, but he's there. Even in natural calamities that take place, the wind blows, people are killed, Tornado comes, living in America, and there the tornado comes, people's houses are blown like matchsticks. Where is God? The psalmist says in Psalm 107 and verse 25, For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind. which lifteth up the waves thereof. Who does it? God. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water springs into dry ground. Who controls the weather? It is God. But is not then God evil? No. No. God doesn't willingly afflict the children of men, but He's holy. And He brings death upon all men, because it's punishment for sin. And the ultimate act, in one sense, you could call it a mystery if you wish. God is not the author of evil, but he brings evil to pass. He brings calamities. Nothing is outside of his control. We often don't understand. We don't understand. But Christ says, except you repent. The ultimate act, of course, of this somewhat puzzling question is Acts 2, verse 23. Remember, the Bible says, thou shalt not kill, or thou shalt not murder. And yet God planned. the ultimate death of an innocent man. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, he hath taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. And God hath raised up, having loose the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden or held by it. Who did all of that? They had done it. But it was God who planned it. The death of an innocent man, to die on a cross. So there is evil in our world. God is not the author of evil. But God works and is furnishing out his plans and purposes in the midst of it. As I've said, don't expect to find every answer to every question you may have in life. Job never got an answer to his problems in this world, the cause of evil. God's not outside of it. He is there. Secondly, the cost of sin. The cost of sin. One dies in a war who is cruelly cut down. Another dies in an accident. But the end is the same. It's death. For those who were slain, the hands of Pilate, their hearts stopped beating, their eyes closed, their lungs drew in air no more. The people upon whom the tower fell, their eyes closed. their hearts stopped, their lungs breathed in no more. That's the end of all men, isn't it? Why? The Bible clearly tells us the wages of sin is death. The cost. You see, righteousness demands a payment. Righteousness demands that a payment be met, that justice be done. And God is righteous. God only does what is right. Even if you say, but I can't understand why this happened to this person, and yet God is good. But God is just. and he is righteous. And that's one of the reasons why we should always be reading the Old Testament. Because the Old Testament tells us the character of God. A modern man doesn't like this holy God. We don't like him. We want a God who's just lovey and dovey. The only problem with that unbiblical God is that when things go wrong because the world is not lovey and dovey and life is neither that way, you have no answers. You'll have even state churchmen come and they've no answers. They're too afraid to say, why this happens? Because God has passed sentence. And you read the Old Testament and you see a holy God. You see a righteous God. You see a God who loves His holiness and justice and purity. The Bible tells us He can't even dwell or look upon sin. And His sovereignty brings forth payment. That's why everything decays, and if God were so intentioned, he could have shown his wrath. But he didn't stop there. God did something that would not do away with his wrath, that would not ignore his wrath, but would satisfy his wrath and pay the penalty. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he came, he said in John chapter 2, destroy this temple. And in three days, I will raise it up again. I will raise it up again. Who can do that? Who has such power? Who has such sovereignty? None but God alone. And yes, sin is costly. You could say it's ruined our world. The wages of sin is death, and there's death. In war, there is death. In life, there is death. And it's God who's brought it. It's God who paid man with a curse. It's God who said, in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. God said that. Now the devil rejoices in the death of man. Because man is made in God's image. And the devil wants to keep man away from receiving the answer to this penalty that has been placed upon man. Why did Christ die? Why did the second person of the Trinity become a man, fully man? It was to die. It was to pay a price. It was to pay what man couldn't pay. We're all moved, I'm sure. when a man is maybe standing in a queue. And as I saw the other day on a video, someone filming, and there was an elderly man and he didn't have enough money. And they were watching. He looked in his pockets and didn't have the money to pay for his meal. And there were a man who stepped in, watching this, told the cashier, I'll pay. So the man who is no longer a debtor, if he'd walked out without paying, he'd be in debt. But the man standing behind him pays what he is soon to owe. And more so, when God has paid the price by His Son coming in however man dies, He says, I will take the place. That's what the cross of Christ is all about. God becoming a man to satisfy the justice of God. It may seem a contradiction. But not so. God who is holy and perfect is loving and patient and kind. And he will save a people. And he will pay their ransom. And he will cancel out their sin. So the whole angels can see those attributes of God that they hadn't seen before. Peter tells us, even the angels desire to look into these things. They're amazed. They look and see what Christ has done on a cross, and they can't grasp it. They've never sinned. The holy angels, they don't know what it is to rebel against God. What is this forgiveness? What is this payment of a sacrifice? And they marvel. As for those angels who rebelled against God, a third, there's no forgiveness for them. There's no cancelling out of their sin. There's no God being merciful to them. And God is able to do this. No angel could do it. Send my best angel. He can die on our cross, but never cancel out any sin, because it takes God to cancel out sin. And only God can satisfy God. Last point, the cry of God. The cause of evil, the cost of sin, the cry of God. Put away your excuses. Christ knew the thoughts of every man and every woman and every child. A man makes excuses. It's for those. Those who are worse sinners than others. It's for them. Those who are reaping what they've sown, they need this. But Jesus said to them, nay, I tell you, but except ye repent, you shall all likewise perish. Christ is using what has happened, tragedy as they were, to say, You need to repent. Put away excuses that people make. Christ told that one time, didn't he? One says, I've to bury my father. Another says, I've married a wife. I can't come. Nothing wrong with either of those things, but they were excuses. And there's many a soul who has heard that they need to repent, they need to trust, but they make excuses. Some other time. I'll consider the Lord Jesus. You know Christ comes with commandments. Except you repent, you'll perish. Christ is calling to heed the warning. There's coming a day then when you'll be like those you mentioned. Like people today, don't they? Walking down the road, Joe Bloggs has died last week, and they say, did you hear about Joe Bloggs? Died in his sleep. They say, oh, only talking to him the other week. He seemed fine. And then we carry on. If nothing happened? Not thinking one day people will say that about us? Dear about so-and-so? But after death, then what? Christ would warn, wouldn't he, in Matthew 25? And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Not nothing, not emptiness, but a place. Christ said, I go and prepare a place for you. But it's conditioned, isn't it, upon repentance? To turn away, to do about turn from sin. To be sorry for sin. Godly sorrow worketh repentance. And there's an initial act of repentance, isn't there? Where we turn from our sin. Not every sin, not sitting down writing out a thousand and one sins and say, we tick that off, repent of that one, repent of that one. It's a general overall repentance. of the whole man and the whole woman turning and saying, I repent of my sin and I trust you. What happens when they sin again? They need to repent again. Well, the Bible says, doesn't it? Once you've come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, he cancels out all of our sin in Adam as it was. And what comes when we repent and when we sin is we confess. That's what the Christian does. We've been forgiven our sin in Adam that takes us to hell. We are trusting and resting in this one true and living God to save me from my sins. That's why we remember the Lord's Table. Because it's through this Sacrifice of Christ on a cross that God can say all is forgiven But it's only forgiven if you come It's only forgiven if you cry to him Trust in him alone And he has promised All that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank and bless Thee that Thou hast provided an atonement for our sins. We ask, O Lord, that Thou wouldst give grace to every heart to be able to lean and rest upon Thy beloved Son. We thank Thee for loving us. We thank Thee for demonstrating that love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.