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Congregation, the scripture reading
this afternoon is from the book of Hosea. The prophecies of Hosea,
we read chapter 1, and we read through chapter 2, verse 1. Hosea chapter 1, and we read
through chapter 2, verse 1. The word of the Lord that came
unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam,
the son of Joash, king of Israel. The beginning of the word of
the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go,
take unto thee a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms, For
the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the
Lord. So he went and took Gomer the
daughter of Diblaim, which conceived and bare him a son. And the Lord
said unto him, Call his name Jisrael, for yet a little while,
and I will avenge the blood of Jisrael upon the house of Jehu,
and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. and it shall come to pass at
that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of
Jisrael.' And she conceived again and bear a daughter. And God
said unto him, Call her name Loruchana, for I will no more
have mercy upon the house of Israel, but I will utterly take
them away. But I will have mercy upon the
house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and
will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses,
nor by horsemen.' Now when she had weaned Lo-Rucham as she conceived
and bare a son, and then said, God, call his name Lo-Ammi, for
ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number
of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which
cannot be measured nor numbered. And it shall come to pass that
in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people,
there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living
God. Then shall the children of Judah
and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint
themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land,
for great shall be the day of Jezreel. Say ye unto your brethren,
Ammi, and to your sisters, Ruhamah." So far the reading of God's holy
word. Congregation, we wish to continue
with the Heidelberg Catechism. It has been a few weeks ago since
we last meditated on it. And then we studied Lord's Day
3, and now then we will turn to Lord's Day 4. Lord's Day 4
of the Heidelberg Catechism. And there we confess with the
Church, doth not God then do injustice to man by requiring
from him in his law that which he cannot perform? Not at all. for God made man capable of performing
it, but man, by the instigation of the devil and his own willful
disobedience, deprived himself and all his posterity of those
divine gifts. Will God suffer such disobedience
and rebellion to go unpunished? By no means, but he is terribly
displeased with our original as well as actual sins, and will
punish them in his just judgment, temporally and eternally, as
he hath declared, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all
things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Is
not God then also merciful? God is indeed merciful, but also
just. and therefore his justice requires
that sin which is committed against the Most High Majesty of God
be also punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment
of body and soul. So far. Congregation, we come
to Lord's Day 4 of the Heidelberg Catechism. And in the previous
Lord's days, we have seen the only comfort in life and death,
and we have seen what is needed to receive that only comfort
in life and death. We need three things to have
an experiential knowledge of our misery, that we realize that
we stand guilty before God, And besides that, there must be a
knowledge of salvation in Christ, a personal bond of faith and
resignation to the Lord Jesus. And finally, there needs to be
a life of devotion to the Lord out of gratitude. And in Lord's
Day, too, we saw that how we must learn to know our misery
from the law of God. And the law of God is a law of
love. And we do not do that. And then
in Lord's Day 3 we saw where that misery comes from, how it
comes that we do not love God. God did not make us this way,
but that's because of our fall in paradise. And now we come
to Lord's Day 4. And the Heidelberg Catechism
is very well aware of the human heart. Because, you know, man is always
excusing himself. maybe boys and girls when you've
done something wrong and there's a little kerfuffle going on in
your family of course that will hardly ever happen but sometimes
it may happen and then you say he started, no she started and
so you accuse each other that's how it is that's how the human
heart is can at times be very shocking
it happened in 1985 in the state of Alabama, that a man, Anthony
Ray Hinton, was sentenced to death. But he was totally innocent. There was no real proof given
that he would have committed this crime. And so he was put
on death row. And after battling in court through
various lawyers, it took 30 years And then finally the court dropped
the charges, after the Supreme Court of the United States had
finally called them to the order, to order. 30 years stolen from a man on
invalid grounds, who was considered to be guilty of a crime he never
committed. And those responsible never offered
an apology, They never said they were wrong. They never asked
forgiveness. Because man does not want to
admit his guilt. Man doesn't want to say he was
wrong. And that's what the catechism
is referring to here. Because we find here in Lord's
Day 4 various excuses that we bring up. And they live also
in our hearts. They have been in our hearts
and maybe still they are there. About punishment, God punishes. Why does God have to punish?
Because isn't it unfair that God demands of us to do something
that we cannot do anymore? We're no longer able to obey
God. We lost that ability in paradise,
but still God demands man to be fully obedient to his law. Is that really fair? That's an
excuse. And then there's another excuse,
and that is to criticize God's punishment. God does not have
to punish evil and sin. He does not have to be so strict
and stern. that he has to punish with such
an extreme punishment as outer darkness. And then finally man also objects
against God's righteousness, because God is also merciful.
He doesn't have to punish sin. He can bypass sin. There's nothing
impossible for God. And so man, puny little man,
has criticism against God and wants to excuse his conduct. Man does not want to be held
accountable for his own deeds. We don't want to give an account.
And that's why people imagine there is no God. And if there
is no God, I'm accountable to nobody. then I, my own master,
and I determine what my identity is, I determine what I shall
do or I shall not do, I am God. And I have nothing to do with
the God of the Bible. Man does not want to give an
account, but the fact is that God is there. And if they would
open their eyes, they would see it everywhere. His greatness
and power are exhibited in nature. His power is exhibited in the
human body, in history, in man's conscience. So man does not want to be held
accountable for his own deeds. And we see that not only in the
life of unbelievers, but also in church. People say, well,
can I help it that I'm not converted? I've always been in church, and
I always prayed, but God didn't hear me, so man has excuses. And other people say, well, it's
my upbringing, that's the cause of why things didn't go well
with me, or I had bad friends, or bad examples in school, or
bad teachers, excuse after excuse. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes
7 verse 29, man has sought out many inventions. And it doesn't
mean that man invents all kinds of things, machines and no, man
finds out many excuses. That's what he means. Excuses to go against God's will. But when God's Spirit instructs
you, then you see that you are corrupt and vile, and you are
a sinner before God. And then you say yes to the fact
that Adam's rebellion is my rebellion. And now the Catechism wants to
make it very clear to us that we are responsible for all our
actions. But how can that be? Man is unable
to serve God, and why does God still demand that God must be
perfectly served and worshipped with perfect love? Who can do
that? Who can love God fully? No one. Who can love his neighbor always? God demands perfect obedience
to His law of love, but we can't do that. Why is God now going
to punish us for something that we cannot do anymore? If you
tell a little guy, you can just walk a toddler to carry a 50-pound
bag of potatoes, and you hand it to him, the little guy can't
do that. He rolls over and collapses under
that load. Are you going to punish him for
that? And so people say God is not
fair to demand of us things we can no longer do. But you see
these people are making a big mistake. God is not telling us
to reach out and pluck the stars from heaven. God is not telling
us to fly through the air. We can't do that on our own.
God is not telling us to do things we cannot do. God created us
perfect with the ability to love God with all our heart, mind,
soul, and strength. And God still sees us the way
he created us. And that we may now have perverted
ourselves, that is basically our problem. God did nothing
wrong. Man had this ability, but he
ruined it And still God treats man the way as he was created. We have deliberately fallen away
from God, we have chosen the side of the devil, but God remains
faithful to his initial command laid upon man, that God wants
us to love him without any spot or stain of sin. We see this in question answer
nine. Does not God then do injustice to man by requiring from him
in his law that which he cannot perform? And the answer is, not
at all. For God made man capable of performing
it. But man, by the instigation of
the devil and his own willful disobedience, deprived himself
and all his posterity of those divine gifts. and now we have a sinful nature
but that's our fault and that's why we also do actual sins we
have a corrupt nature that makes us already guilty before God
and we do all kinds of actual sins makes us again guilty and
we don't do that that we should be doing those are the sins of
omission that makes us also guilty And there's nobody who listens
and obeys God as he should. Psalm 53 tells us that God looked
down from heaven. We just could sing that psalm.
God looked down from heaven to see if there was anyone righteous. And he looked. Nobody. All have gone astray. He found
none. And God is just. He will punish
sin. For cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them. Galatians 3 verse 10. God must
do this, because otherwise God is no longer God. God is holy
and perfectly just. He cannot take any infraction
against His holy law. That would be injustice. It's
unjust if we do not love God. And that unjust deed cannot just
be forgotten. Justice must be maintained. If we see criminals who are not
punished as they should be, we say justice falls in the streets. Well, God will not let justice
fall. He will judge with a perfect
judgment. Sin is so awful, He is grieved
because of this. And sin must be punished. But modern
man doesn't like this. People in the world don't want
to think about punishment. And how often do we in church
think about punishment? Do we ever tremble before the
holy face of God? The idea is not that we should
be scared of God. But we should tremble before
his majesty, before his holiness, because he is God. Man asks, cannot God let such
disobedience and rebellion go unpunished? Question answer 10. But the catechism summarizes
God's Word and says, by no means, but God is terribly displeased
with our original as well as actual sins and will punish them. He will punish them in His just
judgment, temporally and eternally. as he has declared, Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them." God punishes according
to retribution. Justice must be done to God's
holy law. You know, our judicial system
is more focused upon re-education than retribution. There are proven
killers who after 10 years are out on the streets again, while
those whom they killed are dead and buried. You see, there's
no punishment according to retribution, but is to re-educate people. Our judicial system is not focused
on meeting out punishment, and so justice falls. We live in days in which people
consider punishment of evil as great injustice. In our society, if we speak out
for the justice of God, and the necessity to obey God more than
people, and to honor God and His laws more than we honor people,
in our society, you can get into great problems, because man wants
to determine what is good and bad, and man doesn't want to
have sin punished. But the reality is that God will
punish sin. God's justice will never fail. God will punish with an everlasting
punishment. And why must there be everlasting?
Because we are everlasting beings. That's not correctly stated to
state it this way. Because God only is everlasting. He is from everlasting to everlasting. We are created in the course
of time in this world, but we will exist forever. and that
makes life so solemn. We will be forever with the Lord,
walking in the light, or we will be forever in outer darkness. Some theologians dream that hell
is simply a way of purification, and that after some time, everyone
will be saved. But these are simply human imaginations. It has no scriptural foundation
whatsoever. God did not create hell to re-educate
people. God made hell as a just punishment,
because God punishes evil. If God would not punish, then
he would let injustice remain. And if it would be that man,
I think we said it last Wednesday evening in catechism, that if
it would be possible that people could be, let's say, a thousand
years in hell and then be purged and be purified and then still
enter heaven, the Lord Jesus would have never come. And God
would have never allowed his son to be crucified. Because there was only one way
how sinful man could yet be saved. that through the sacrifice of
his own son. And that's what God did. The miracle. Abram did not have
to slaughter his son. At the very last moment, he was
stopped. But God the Father slaughtered
his own son on Calvary. to save wicked people as you
and I are. Hell is a punishment, and because
of the severity of hell, God gave His Son so that you and
I could be saved. You know, we find many excuses
against God's punishment in God's Word. In Psalm 50, verse 21,
"...these things hast thou done, and I kept silence." So you've
committed all kinds of sin and immorality, and God did nothing. Nothing happened. So you did
it again, and again nothing happened. So you think, I can do it and
God does not punish. Thou thoughtest that I was altogether
such a one as thyself, but I will reprove thee. Now consider this, ye that forget
God, lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver."
Consider, or else you will be punished. The people of this
world don't even think about punishment. They make jokes about Judgment
Day. I think there are some computer
games about that. I don't know. I don't play computer
games. Probably there are movies made
about Judgment Day and Armageddon, all those things. Man thinks
it's interesting, amusing. But Revelation 6 gives us a different
picture that when the Lord Jesus will return in glory with the
clouds of heaven and all the nations will see Him, then the
rich men and the mighty men and the generals and the presidents
and the peasants and the simple men and the slaves and the bondmen,
they will all cry out to the mountains and the rocks to fall
upon them, for who can bear the wrath of the Lamb? Have you ever seen the wrath
of a lamb? But then there will be a lamb
who will be very angry, and they will all feel it. They will cry
and crouch away. Whoever thinks now of evil and
punishing iniquity, if you speak about hell and everlasting punishment,
They look at you as if you're a weirdo. They look at you as
if you live in the Middle Ages, that you're some kind of a bigot,
some fanatic. But answer 10 tells us that God
is terribly displeased. with our original as well as
actual sins, and will punish them in His just judgment, temporally
and eternally. He is terribly displeased, but
the Lord does not display that He is terribly displeased. And so they tell each other,
Peace, peace, and there is no danger. And the false prophet
said, Peace, peace, peace, there will be no No Babylonian exile. God will redeem his temple. This is our temple. This is where
God dwells. We are his people. It's safe. False prophets. And this is one of the most terrifying
things when people imagine, oh, it will work out well. When I
leave this life, I'm going to a better place. And what people
then all imagine what their better place will be, you don't want
to mention off a pulpit. A better place. But they do not
know, or they do not want to know, what the reality is. That God will surely punish sin. But is then God, question answer
11, then also not merciful? The answer is God is indeed merciful,
but He is also just. And therefore His justice requires
that sin which is committed against the Most High Majesty of God
be also punished with extreme, that is with everlasting punishment
of body and soul. and here we look into the heart
of God God is merciful and that word merciful is showing compassion
and come is with and passion you have shown love with embracing
to those in need that is how God is showing kindness to someone
God is merciful but he is merciful in the way of his justice. God's
justice must be satisfied. Sin has to be paid for, and we
can never do that. And now God comes to sinful man,
and in his compassion he embraces sinful man, he embraces the prodigal
sons, and he sacrifices his son. so that he can embrace filthy
sinners. Christ satisfied. Christ satisfied. God's justice. But if we have
no payment to offer for our sin, and when God's justice is not
satisfied, then we are living outside of Christ. and then it
will be terrible to fall into the hands of the living God.
The catechism refers here to temporary and eternal punishments. The temporary punishments are
adversities in life. It's difficult for us to show
what those temporary punishments are. What are those punishments?
Is war a punishment? Yes. The Civil War in the United
States, after much injustice had been done to the slaves in
the southern parts of the United States, a terrible war erupted
and more men were killed in the Civil War than in all the other
American wars added up together. Was it a punishment, the Civil
War in the U.S.? ? Who shall say? I'm inclined to think so. But
what punishment do we deserve? We shouldn't say we are better.
How come we have not had a Third World War? When I went to high
school, we expected there to be a Third World War, that Russia
would run over Western Europe. We expected that. But it didn't
happen. We deserve that. But what we
do see is that love is waxing cold, and people are being given
up to their own sinful and rude and bestial desires, lewdness,
that God gives them up to what they want and they end up in
miserable lives, in lives of regret, that's also punishment,
temporary punishments. We deserve much more of that.
There's also eternal punishment. The Lord Jesus, He is the one
in Scripture. who warned as none other for
hell. John preaches much about love.
Peter preaches much about hope. And the prophets had their calling
to portray Messiah, to portray the judgments of God, but also
God's salvation. But the Lord Jesus, He portrayed
as none other what hell is. The Lord Jesus spoke more about
hell than about heaven. He warned from the bottom of
his heart for the reality of hell. If thy right hand offend
thee, cut it off, cast it from thee, For it is profitable for
thee that one of thy members should perish, and that not thy
whole body should be cast into hell." Hell is a punishment without compassion. It is misery without mercy. It is sorrow without comfort. It is pain without relief. It is the place where God is
no longer present. Man wants to live without God,
and then God will give what he wants. He will be in the place
where he wanted to be, where there was no God. But that implies
also there will be no light, no comfort, no blessing, because
every blessing and every ray of light comes from God, the
Father of all lights. In hell, the conscience will
continually accuse because of all the sins one has committed. His sins are continually placed
before him. There's no view upon redemption,
because this punishment is everlasting. The Lord Jesus speaks about hellfire,
suffering pain in this fire, and there will not be a drop
of cold water to cool the tongue. Psalm 116 speaks of the terrors
of hell. Matthew 10 says where soul and
body are tormented. Matthew 5.22 speaks of hellfire. Scripture calls hell a prison,
Matthew 5, 25. In Revelation 9, verse 11, it's
called a bottomless pit, to be cast into a pit with no bottom. Hell is called a fiery oven,
where there will be weeping, and gnashing of teeth." Matthew
13, verse 42. It's the pool burning with fire
and sulfur. And the devil knows that that's
where he will end up. And he knows that he has little
time. And that's why he is rallying
as much as He can now in our days to rise up against Christ,
against the Anointed One, and against the eternal Word of God. The devil is now in great wrath,
trying to subvert and overthrow our society, and all that is
good, and all those who love and confess the Lord Jesus Christ. Hell is being called Outer Darkness,
and although flames are there, flames will not give light, but
only the heat of the anger of God. And who will be there? All the ungodly, all the wicked,
all those who dare to persecute God's children, who have tortured
God's children, who have harassed them, and who thought that they
could do whatever they wanted, who will be in hell, those who
preached a false gospel, who did not preach truth. Ministers
will be held accountable for what they have preached and said
to the people. all liars and immoral people
will be there. But also those who were lukewarm,
the Lord will spoo them from his mouth. Who were not cold,
who were not hot, the Lord spoos them from his lips. The fearful,
That means the cowards who never dared to make a stand. They just
laughed along with the people and went along with the multitude.
They didn't want to be the odd one out. But if you love the
Lord Jesus Christ, you should be prepared to be the odd one
out. It will happen. And don't be
afraid. Stay calm. And state what you
believe. The Bible. not some strange views
or ideas, no, the Bible. You know, the most spread, most
distributed book in the Bible, and in the world, and the Bible
2,000 years old. That's what I believe. But you
may stand alone. Don't be a coward, because the
fearful, the cowards, and the unbelieving, who don't believe
God's Word, They say, that's wrong and that can never happen
and don't believe that. There are theologians who are
saying that. The unbelieving and the abominable,
the murderers who hate their neighbor, who are backbiting
their neighbor behind his back, the whoremongers, all those addicted
to all kinds of sexual sins with other people, sorcerers, idolaters. Witchcraft is increasing in our
society, but it's hidden, you see, but it's there. And all liars who don't speak
the truth who deceive their neighbor, they shall have their part in
the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone," which is the
second death. The first death is that a person
dies on earth, and the second death is that he then goes to
hell. All those who do not love the
Lord Jesus Christ will be anathema, Anathema means cursed. That means they will not be able
to enter heaven, because they have no wedding garment. They
do not love the Lord Jesus. Oh, they may want to go to heaven,
but they do not love the Lord. They never learned to resign
their lives to Him. They never, out of love to Him,
lay their life down before the Lord. 1 Corinthians 16, verse
22. If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. And answer 11 from the Catechism
tells us that the pain of hell will be suffering according to
body and soul, just as man is corrupt from the top of his head
to the soles of his feet. The eye that was focused on earth
to look at violence to enjoy it, and to look at sin, and to
look at lewdness, and to look at filthy things, to look at
evil and at vanity, that I will then see nothing but misery.
And the ear that delighted to listen to slander and deceit
they shall hear the cries and the groans of those weeping in
hell. Their smell they enjoyed, the
sweet scent of good food, but they never thanked God who created
all this good food. They lived for themselves. They
will then only smell the bitter sulfur of death and the feeling
They like to touch soft things. They will only touch hard things
and suffer pain. The memory will all come back
to them, the many times they heard the overtures of grace. But every time the devil was
successful to tell to them, don't pay attention. What are you wasting
your time about? Tomorrow is another day. Come
on, get your act together. Move on with life. Don't be so
exaggerated. Don't become a bigot. Come on,
enjoy life. And every time again they listened.
But there they will come back to them, all the overtures of
grace. or the offerings of grace, the
times they were warned that parents told them with tears in their
eyes, but they rejected them, like the Lord God had to say,
I've raised up children, but they rebelled against me. They will remember the loving
invitations, but it will be a pain to them.
the conscience will be a gnawing worm. And Revelation 14 verse 11 tells
us it will be pain day and night. I try to preach on hell, but
I'm not doing a good job. Yesterday I read from Robert
Murray McShane, he asked a fellow minister, you preach on hell,
did you do it with wet eyes? If you haven't done it that way,
you haven't preached it well. So I did not preach it well,
congregation. I'm not going to try to force
tears, but let us tremble. for this
reality. And that's why we are to feel
sorry for those around us who do not know the way of life,
the people you work with, the people who are with you at school,
at university, the neighbors, how we need to be more concerned
how we need to be living witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
early church was known for their clear testimony. They lived in
wicked days. We're starting to live in those
days again. We shall be known for our concern,
for our love with the people around us. And if they ask, why
are you so concerned? and to tell them about our misery,
and that there's salvation in one who came from heaven to bear
the punishment of man, and who calls man to repent. Do we need more to be awakened? Do we see how serious life is? And young people, there's a battle
going on now raging for your soul, And that's why you need
to be armored. You need to be hiding in the
armor of the Word of God. That's why you need to study
the Word of God for yourself. Study it and beg the Lord for
His Spirit to work in your hearts. He will hear you and He will
save you. And He will protect you in these
evil days, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. He will hear you. He takes your
prayers more serious than you do. That's the only way you can stand
in this society, with a living faith, having experienced sin
and grace in your own life. and having learned day by day
for the rest of your life to walk according to God's will. That's what's needed. But here the Catechism speaks
us about sin and about hell. And God is angry with the wicked
every day. If he turn not, he will wet his
sword. He hath bent his bow, and made
it ready." But they don't see it, and they carry on. Psalm 7, verse 12, you find this. And in Psalm 90 verse 11, Moses,
the man of God, says, You knoweth the power of thine anger. Even according to thy fear, so
is thy wrath. And we think, isn't that a bit
exaggerated from Moses? No, it's not at all exaggerated. We have a bad comprehension of
what Moses is saying. He saw how the people of Israel
were slain because of their sins in the desert, in the wilderness.
He knew the wrath of God, and he trembled for it. Who trembles
for God in our day? For this God who had to declare
it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and
it grieved him at his heart because of his sins. And look at God's Word. What
happened to Adam and Eve? They were cast out of paradise
because of the wrath of God. Also mercy was shown to them.
But they left paradise. Cain, the first murderer, he
was cursed. Nadab and Abihu, they took some
other fire and took it along into the holy section and put
it upon the the incense altar and then they were killed and
Aaron you may not grieve because what they did was an
abomination Ananias and Sapphira they lied against the Holy Spirit
they gave some of the money they had for their property and they
said yeah it's all it's all we got they were killed church members You think of the
worldwide flood. Everyone was killed. They all
drowned. Why? Because God is a God of
wrath. Noah was spared with his family.
And you think of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lord, Lord, one last time, if
there'd be ten righteous, if there'd be ten righteous, I will
spare the city." And the city was consumed and lot was taken
out. The angels who sinned against
the Lord, the Lord keeps them in chains of everlasting darkness. And then God did not even spare
his own son. who was loaded with the sins
of his people, and was deemed guilty in the sight of God. And then God's wrath was poured
out upon his son, and his son was cast into the bottomless
pit. Do you see how seriously God
considers sin? If God did not spare his son,
but punished him. What shall God do with a sinner
who despised the offer of God's Son and continues on in sin and
in a self-centered life, transgressing all of God's commandments? We
sin against the highest majesty. Therefore, the most severe punishment
must be meted out. And in heaven, all God's people
will rejoice when God punishes those who did evil. Righteous
art thou, O Lord, and righteous are thy judgments. We praise
God, because that shows the purity of God. and therefore congregation. Are
you living with Christ? Or are you still outside of Christ? You can be in church. That's
a good thing. But if you're outside of Christ,
you are still lost. And this will be your future. And that may not happen. to any
one of us here and it doesn't have to happen because God sent
his son and his son asks everything not just some outward things
he asks everything he asks your heart then he will take that
heart and mold it change it, renew it, and lead you in a life
with Christ. And that, I assure you, from experience, the little I
have is the best life on earth, when you are no longer in control,
but when He is in control of your life. that you are most
blessed. And the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses from all sin. He is able and willing to save
to the uttermost. That's why he came into this
world, to shed his blood, to deliver from sin. And you know, that's what actually
Hosea 1 was about. lo ruchamah, lo is not in Hebrew,
ruchamah is being, showing mercy to you. lo ruchamah, no mercy,
and lo ami, lo is not, ami, am is people, mi is mine, lo ami,
not my people. Israel, you're no longer my people,
no longer to be embraced in compassion, and then the judgments came,
and they were torn away, led into exile, His own covenant
people, because of the wrath of God. And nevertheless, the
seed of Israel shall be an innumerable multitude, because God is still
going to carry on with His plan of salvation. And the gospel
went to all the Gentiles, and God is now gathering in a people
from all tribes and nations. And so say to them, Ruhamah,
again taken up in compassion, embraced, and say to them, Ami,
my people, that is what God shall do to those who bend the knee,
who look unto Him, For He delights not in punishment, but He delights
in mercy. Amen. Shall we pray? Lord God, we come before Thee
at the end of this sermon, and we acknowledge our limitations
in understanding, and we pray, Lord, if Thou wilt Accompany
the proclamation of Thy Word with Thy Holy Spirit, that we
may see reality as it is, that we may realize how serious life
is, and what a blessing it is to know Thee, Lord Jesus Christ,
and that our lives would be Christ's so that our death would be gain.
Lord, wilt Thou teach us to tremble before Thee with reverence and
humility, and teach us to cleave to Thee, and to love Thee, and
to hope upon Thee, the living God. We thank Thee for Thine
immeasurable love in giving Thine only begotten Son. O Lord, have
mercy upon us, go with us, also this day further Bless the Sunday
school instruction and Sunday catechism, and remember us in
grace. For Jesus' sake, amen.
The Justice and Holiness of God
Series Heidelberg Catechism - 2021
Heidelberg Catechism, Lords Day 4
The Justice and Holiness of God
| Sermon ID | 12022254573927 |
| Duration | 58:40 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - PM |
| Bible Text | Hosea 1:1 |
| Language | English |
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