his sake, and all God's people said, Amen. Some of you may have heard the announcement made by the president-elect. in which he takes on the issue of transgenderism and declares that he will bring an end to the mutilation of children if they declare that they are a different gender to the one in which, to use Mr. Trump's words, they were assigned at birth. And even though I welcome the announcement and the protection that he is seeking to offer to children, as their parents, no doubt for the best of reasons, at least one hopes so, are willing to have even their small children mutilated to fulfill some kind of understanding of the malleability of gender. But he fell into using a particular style of speech, which a moment's reflection would say he should not have used and we ought not to use though at times we hear such things so commonly around us that we find it difficult to avoid it. When was the last time you heard somebody refer to his or her gender? But rather, it's their gender. We use a plural pronoun, even though we're only speaking of one person, because you want to avoid saying whether it's a boy or a girl, a him or a her. And that's exactly what President Trump was doing. He fell into the trap. As though doctors in labor rooms across the nation, when a baby is born, goes into his pocket and gets this gender coin which he tosses in the air, slaps it down and says, this one I assign to being a boy or a girl. Is that how gender works? It's really no better than the toss of a coin? Or are we utterly convinced that God made them male and female male and female created he them. And we're not about to surrender the concept that that is how God has made us. And though it is harder to correct our own grammar, we don't go with the overuse of the plural pronoun. Now, as I sought to introduce our text this evening and the connection with Psalm 51, I want to bring to your attention what our forefathers in the faith have set before us. In the Heidelberg Catechism, question five, we have this question. Can you keep all these things perfectly in no way? For I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor. That's not a popular message in our generation, but in all honesty, it never has been. Men and women do not desire to be told that they are sinners under the wrath of God. But surely, as we read through the Word of God, we're thankful that the Word of God does not sugarcoat it, does not play it down, but tells us how it really is. So Nathan comes before David and says, thou art the man. You're the one who has done this great evil. You think it's wrong to take a ewe lamb from a poor man and use it as a feast for the wealthy man who's visiting. And that enrages you. How much more then to take a man's wife and then to have her husband put to death. by various nefarious means. We're thankful that when Jesus addresses the Pharisees, and we know that he's also addressing our hearts as well, that he doesn't simply gloss over uncomfortable truths, but rather he tells us straight, this is the situation. Now, how do you respond to that? Well, we live in a generation where people want to hide away from their view things that are uncomfortable. And if we have lost sight that it is God who gives the gender of every person who is born into this world, and it's not something that the doctor assigns as sort of a best guess or an arbitrary distinction that has no validity in reality, then we see it also at times when death overtakes someone dear to us. And the occasions when those who mourn are brought together, no longer described as funerals, or at least increasingly rarely, and we're told that we are assembling for the celebration of a life. Let's not talk about the death of someone that we love. And perhaps the church has been infiltrated more than we care to acknowledge. And it's ministers who will say, we're not going to a funeral, we're going to a celebration, the celebration of a life. Well, answer me this. When Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus, What was he doing? He was mourning the death of a friend and wept. He was not there celebrating the life of Lazarus. He was mourning his departure from this world, the consequence of sin, which is death. So when we're thinking of these things, though the world would have us, as it were, hide from our eyes the consequence of sin, there's no one who is more familiar with the consequence of sin than Jesus himself. After all, as he came to the tomb of Lazarus, he wept for someone whom he had loved. Mary and Martha had pleaded with him to come. If you had been here, our brother had not died. Jesus knew what he was about to do. It wasn't a last minute snap decision on his part. He knew that a few moments later, Lazarus would come forth having been raised from the dead. And yet before that happens, Jesus stands at the tomb of Lazarus and weeps. Because if there's anyone in the history of mankind who understood what death meant, it was Jesus. We're not doing anyone any favors, therefore, by ignoring what is before us. And by softening the words, by saying this is a celebration of a life, it's nothing or at least only remotely to do with death itself. We come together to mourn because we recognize why we have death in the world. Now for those who are outside the church, they want to hide that from their view. For the ungodly in this world, no doubt that they will speak in terms of us just being a mass of cells. Given enough time, given enough variations, sooner or later life will evolve from nothing. And from life all the variation that we see upon this green and pleasant land. Well, where does death come from? Death is just a natural part of life. One day, these collection of cells which we call a person, will stop functioning altogether, be laid in the ground, and that will be the end of that person. And in the meantime, we all gather together, we have a celebration of his life, but it fails to deal with exactly what is going on. And therefore we say with thankfulness of heart, we're so thankful that in God's word there is a directness and a boldness which speaks to the situation and doesn't gloss it over. That Jesus, in speaking to the Pharisees, doesn't tell the Pharisees, well, you've got some of it right, we can tweak it a little bit, but mostly you've got the idea, so we're good here. Jesus doesn't hesitate to tell the Pharisees, as we have read repeatedly and referred to repeatedly, unless you believe that Jesus is indeed who he claims to be. then you're lost in your sins. And that same bluntness and boldness we see in 1 John as well. And it challenges the world with its response. We have to declare on the basis of scripture, you know, if you, die in your sin, then the only thing that awaits you is a lost eternity. And that's not comfortable for the world. And here John is warning us bluntly, clearly, directly, that if you're making excuses, then you're deceiving yourself. That's the conclusion that he comes to, the end of this first chapter of the epistle that bears his name. If you think that you are not a sinner, or brush it aside with the flick of a hand as though it doesn't really apply to you. And I dare say that each of us has encountered numerous examples of that in speaking to colleagues or neighbors or friends. And I might be willing to say most people are because they don't want to sound as though they're too self-righteous. Well, I know I'm not perfect, but. I know I'm not perfect, but I don't do what other people do. I'm willing to concede it, but in all honesty, I've not done anything that requires any significant forgiveness. And I certainly don't need a savior. And that's why we are so very thankful for the directness of our forefathers in the faith. Can you keep all these things perfectly? Unbeliever says, well, perfectly, that's too high a standard. I'm not perfect. But really, God's not going to be bothered with those terribly small peccadillos. Those things which hardly rate a mention. No, he's gonna just ignore that. Same with, I'd ignore it. I may not be perfect, but in the main, I'm a good person. And in contrast to that, we have the words of Jesus, we have the words of John, and following in that biblical pattern, we have the Heidelberg Catechism. Can you keep all these things perfectly? And even the way in which the question is framed for us, We know that they are making a point. Can you keep it perfectly? Well, why should I need to keep it perfectly? Because that is what is required of you by God. And if you think that you can live a life where you just, you know, just a few small sins here and there, nothing that will ever get me arrested, nothing that will get me imprisoned, fined, let alone executed, You who think of sins but lightly, here its guilt may estimate. So why should we not call that final service for a dear friend, a loved husband or wife, why should we not refer to it as a celebration of a life? because it's turning our eyes away from a significant and important truth. That when Jesus is speaking about the end of life, he talks about those who have not received him and says bluntly, you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he. You'll die in your sins. So why is there death in the world? The Christian says, I have an answer to that. And it's not an answer that the world will desire to hear. But I have an answer and it is a biblical answer. It's an answer that you need to hear. Not because I'm trying to lay some guilt trip on you, but because I want to tell you why it's still the day of grace. that if you die in your sins, you'll go to a lost eternity. And so we're thankful for Jesus and his words recorded in scripture. We're thankful for John and his words recorded in scripture here in this first epistle. And we're thankful for those who knew the word of God and sought to be faithful to it. Can you keep all these things perfectly? To which the believer says, no, I can't. And it's no trivial sin of which I am guilty. My sins are so great that the punishment for my sins is nothing less than death itself. And that's why Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus. It's the only explanation that Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus because he knew the consequences of sin. So we're thankful for that faithful response which the writers of the Heidelberg Catechism set before us. Can you keep all these things perfectly? In no way. For I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor. The world wants to brush aside any talk of sin and minimize it, not really give it any viewing at all, because examining it closely would lead them to conclude that they deserve the punishment of God. And what is that punishment? Death is a consequence of sin. And that's not the message that the world wants to hear. So it changes our vocabulary. It changes our vocabulary when it comes to being a boy or a girl. Apparently, you can just choose for yourself. And it's not something that is immutable. which the doctor with his scientific experience and years of training is able to conclude, as I'm sure that most of us would be able, at a glance. I'm not assigning the gender of this baby. I'm recognizing what it is. And at the other end of life, When we draw our last breath in this world, perhaps before we do, we would say to the pastor, the preacher who will take our funeral, be sure to tell them that death is the consequence of sin. I want no celebration. of my life. I want all who are present and those who may mourn my passing to know that death is a consequence of sin. And don't hide that from the hearing of those who are present, but give full instruction that death is a consequence of sin, it's what I deserve. Because I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor. Now if I were to leave it at that particular point, I would leave you with not much of an encouragement. But it's as we consider the greatness of our sins that we begin to understand the greatness of our Savior. No one knew the depths of sin, not by his personal experience, but by its consequence, more than Jesus did. And that's why he stood at the tomb of Lazarus, not to join in some celebration of the life of Lazarus, but in deep mourning for the consequences of sin, which is separation from God. that sin has brought that into the world. In other words, sin was not in the world at the beginning and nor was the consequence of sin in the world at the beginning. Why not? Because it entered into the world that was already there. And there's something within us that cries out at a funeral, this is not how it was meant to be. This is not how it was meant to be. So John, as he writes his epistle, challenges his readers. You may think that you are basically a good person. Oh, I'm not perfect. Quite a lot still. Nothing you need to get worried about. And John bluntly says to his readers, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. if we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Do you see how John is setting before us two options? We can either say, I have no sin, and John says bluntly, then you're deceiving yourself. The truth isn't in you. The sins that you have committed require you to confess before a holy God that you are indeed a sinner. That says, John, I want to tell you about the very God to whom you confess your sins. The truth is in you and it brings you to a realization, I am a sinner. We're thankful for the bluntness of the Heidelberg Catechism. I am prone by nature to hate God and to hate my neighbor. And I confess that before a holy God. And John gives us this assurance that the God with whom we have to do, the God to whom we make confession of our sins, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar. His word is not in us. We don't come to the place of worship to declare before a watching world that whereas they're sinners, we are sinless. But being challenged even by that bluntness of the word of God, if we say we have not sinned, the truth is not in us. We're making God out to be a liar by deceiving ourselves. But the grace of the gospel is also here. And if we confess our sins, he is faithful and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Let's pray. Our gracious God, we thank Thee for the clarity of Thy Word. We thank Thee for its bluntness and its boldness. We thank Thee that in Thy Word we see so clearly displayed to us the love Jesus has for lost souls who didn't spare to tell His hearers the truth that while it was still the day of grace, they might turn in faith to him. For unless they believe that Jesus is indeed thy son, they will die in their sins. We thank thee for the boldness of thy word, the clarity, the bluntness of John, that if we say we have no sins and the truth is not in us, We're deceiving ourselves, we're calling God a liar. But we thank Thee, Father, that if we confess our sins, Thou art faithful. Thou wilt indeed hold true to Thy promise, that if we confess our sins, thou wilt forgive us the same and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So may thy word, O God, take root in our lives. May we confess our sins, find forgiveness, and rejoice in the greatness of the salvation which only thou can't give. Hear us we pray in Jesus name for his sake and all God's people said.