Jeremiah chapter 25, and our theme this evening I've entitled, The Guilt, Danger and Condemnation of Refusing Overtures of Mercy. The Guilt, Danger and Condemnation for Refusing Overtures of Mercy. In chapter 24, We read of the invasion of Judah by Babylon. It was the beginning of the end for Judah. But it didn't happen in a vacuum, for on chapter 25 we are directed to the rightness of God's dealings and the guilt and condemnation of the people for every refusal of these overtures of mercy. Jeremiah reminds them in this chapter of his ministry to them for many years before. In other words, chapter 25 is not chronologically after chapter 24, but it is, as it were, a flashback to his ministry years before chapter 24. What do we have then in this twenty-fifth chapter? Well, we have, first of all, the ministry of Jeremiah. verses 1 to 3. And Jeremiah tells us four things about his ministry, and these are characteristics that surely should be true in one way or another of every minister or servant of God. What were these characteristics of his ministry? First, we know that it was persistent. He says from the thirteenth year of Jesiah, and for the next 23 years. So he's looking back over a 23 year period. In other words, he's looking at the first half of his ministry. His ministry lasted over 40 years. And he's saying for 23 years, I cease not to warn you. He preached about the glory and the honor and the sovereignty of God. He taught them about the holiness of God and the righteousness of God. He warned them of punishment for sin and he instructed them in the ways of righteousness. No one could say he was not persistent. So there has to be persistency. Preaching the same truths year in, year out, decade after decade, whether it is liked or disliked. Secondly, we can say it was faithful. Because we read there, the word of the Lord, verse 3, hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you. The Word of the Lord came to me and I spoke it to you. Jeremiah was a faithful minister. He didn't change the Word of God in any way. He didn't dilute the Word of God in any way. He didn't add to the Word of God one iota. All God said, he said. This was why he was despised. The people didn't want the word of God as God gave it to Jeremiah. They didn't want Jeremiah proclaiming the word of God. They wanted Jeremiah to do something with that word, either to dismiss it or change it, but they wanted something different. Jeremiah refused to give them man's words. He was under orders to give them God's words. He was a faithful minister of God. And then thirdly, he was tireless. We read there in verse 3, rising early and speaking. He was diligent in his preaching on their behalf. He didn't treat any of this lightly. He was diligent, he took it seriously. And notice how in verse 4, when he's speaking of God, the Lord has sent unto all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them. Now it is not that God ever fell asleep, but it's showing the diligence of Jeremiah. He's driving home to them that no effort was spared on His behalf to bring to them the Word of God. Ministers should be tireless in that regard. They do keep long hours and that should not be a problem because they must bring the Word of God to bear upon these men and women. And then the fourth aspect, he was consistent. The Lord, verse 4, had sent on to all his servants the prophets rising early and sending them. In other words, what Jeremiah taught was not something new, fangled. What he taught, others taught. The same truth, year after year, Generation after generation, it didn't matter who the servant was, the same things were taught. And this serves to enhance their sin, their guilt and their condemnation. God didn't just send Jeremiah, he sent others before him, a whole line of them. He sent them many prophets, many creatures of God's Word. Jeremiah is recording the fact. He was consistent. It is a feature of inconsistency to always want something new. It's a mark, says scripture, of a generation. They have itching ears. They're always wanting something new. But it's a mark of faithfulness to give to them what God has always taught. In that sense, every faithful minister would say, I have nothing new to tell you. At least he better not have anything new. It's here in Scripture, in the Word of God, that's all he has, this unchanging Word. So he was consistent. He could go back through history. He could point to all that went before him and say what they taught, I taught. That's what Paul did at one point, wasn't it? All said, everything I've taught you, Moses taught the same. Nothing new. Being consistent. But then secondly, verses 5 to 7, overtures of mercy. What message did God send to these people as sinners? What message did Jeremiah bring? What message did those who went before Jeremiah bring? And we have it summarised for us. First, they said, turn and live. Verse 5, Turn ye again, now every one, from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto and to your fathers for ever and ever. Turn and live. That's what Gospel preaching says, isn't it? That's what God's Word says. Turn, sinner, and live. God required from them nothing but repentance. And further, with this command to turn, with this command to repent, is the promise of life, and ye shall dwell. God promises in this simple statement to blot out all their sins. that he will be reconciled to them, but they must repent. God has sent them his word of warning. I will punish you for your sins, but if you turn, you will live. I will be reconciled to you. I will blot away all your sins and all your iniquities. But without repentance you cannot dwell. They must first repent or turn from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. God is telling them the whole direction of life was wrong. Their whole direction was wrong. Not only was their whole direction wrong, but all their deeds were wrong. Everything was wrong. where they were going and what they were doing was all wrong. That's what sinners need to hear. Everything about you is wrong. Going in the wrong way, doing the wrong things. And only as they repent, repent of their sins and of their iniquities, will they learn of life, what real life is. You see, it is a feature of the unconverts to think that real life, real living, is having nothing to do with God. Living for sin, that's what they think life is. If only they had more money, they would have real life. If only they would have more entertainment, they would have life. But you see, their whole concept of life is wrong. And so they go in the wrong direction and everything they do is wrong. They must confess their sins. They must confess their iniquities. And God promises that he is ready to receive them if they will but turn and dwell in the land that the Lord has given unto and to your fathers forever and ever. He is promising them a life of eternal blessedness forever and ever. Whereas this false life that sin promises is only temporary. Turn and live was the message of Jeremiah, the message of Isaiah, the message of all the prophets. that God sent to them. And the second element in verse 6, mortification and hope. And go not after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands, and I will do you no hurt. Repentance will be demonstrated, says Jeremiah and all the other prophets, in cutting off sin, not merely sin in general, that must be true, but those sins they loved in particular, those besetting sins to which they were prone, those beloved sins. And they were more prone to idolatry than anything else. In fact, idolatry is their root sin. They loved themselves. They didn't love God. Self-love, not love for God. Because God was not central. So they failed to honor Him, to cherish God, to love and honor and obey God. and to speak rightly of God. You see, what is idolatry? Idolatry is simply putting something else in God's place. That's what idolatry is. That's why they're called idolaters. They love whatever they put in place of God. They follow it. They pursue it. And everything about their whole life reflects that pursuit of idolatry. They are to cut off this darling sin, this bosom lust. And God says, do that and I am ready to do you good. Ready to do you good. Here is the plain, simple, constant truth that Jeremiah always taught. He lays it out before these sinners. It's an overture of mercy. That's what was brought to them. Turn ye again, now everyone from this evil way. Turn and live, mortified and of hope. It's an overture of mercy. And ministers delight in bringing these overtures of mercy to poor sinners. And that brings me to the third point, verse 7 and 8. The guilt and condemnation for refusing overtures of mercy. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, said the Lord, that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus said the Lord of hosts, because ye have not heard my words, Notice how three times the same thing is said. Verse 3. What are we told? Ye have not hearkened. And then in verse 4. Ye have not hearkened. And then again in verse 7. Ye have not hearkened. And then again, but in a slightly different way, you have not heard my words. See that repetition? It speaks of the stubbornness in the hearts of sinners. All this preaching to them, 23 years of preaching, and they remain yet in their sins? Every overture of mercy, every warning of sins deserved, was all in vain. It produced no effect in them. They despised the Word of God. They despised the preachers of God. They despised the overtures of God. They despised the warnings of God. They hearkened not. God had kindly offered and showed them mercy. He showed them mercy in sending this message to them. He showed this mercy constantly for 23 years at least He sent this message to them. In fact, it was longer for He sent others before Jeremiah. Yet they would not hearken They would not hear God's words. Here is stubbornness. Here is sin. Here is depravity. Here is bondage. When God called them to repentance and they refused, it wasn't God who was losing out. It was them. They were losing out. And so it is still, isn't it? And sinners refuse overtures of mercy. It's not God who is being diminished in any way. It's not God who is losing out. It is sinners blind to the reality of their depravity and bondage, refusing to hear God's Word. And yet with every step, it's one step closer to eternity. With every step But every day they live, they're getting closer and closer to eternity. But refusal is not the end of the matter. Sinners may think, well, they've simply refused the gospel and that's it, over and done with. But refusal has consequences and God spells out the consequences from verse 8 to verse 38. He takes two verses to describe the overture of mercy, and then he takes this huge section to describe the consequences. It's a treatise on the wrath of God poured out upon sinners for their refusal of overtures of mercy. It's a treatise on the wrath of God. It's the wrath of God examined, explained and applied. In verse 15 to verse 28 you have this cup of wrath. How providential that in our previous reading we read from Matthew 26 regarding the Saviour and the cup of God's wrath. Here is a cup It's not filled with wine, but it's filled with God's wrath. A wrath that God calls upon all to drink. They shall be recipients of the contents of this cup. Verse 10 speaks of a devastation. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle. In other words, it is to be plunged into a devastating, tragic, miserable condition. Verse 14, God says, I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands. The wages of sin. The wages of sin. God says, I will give you the wage for your sin. That's what I will do. That's what's in this cup. The wages of sin. The wrath of God poured out upon you in all its boiling fury. But there is, of course, an objection that is meted. You have it there before us in verse 28 and 29. But what if some refuse to take this cup? God says they will, willingly or unwillingly. the contents of this cup shall be given to them." And notice also that this wrath begins at Jerusalem in verse 18. It begins at Jerusalem. You see, the Bible tells us judgment begins at the house of God. And then that spreads to the nations. Now we may ask why Egypt and some of these other nations? Because Judah hoped for deliverance from Egypt. They said well Babylon will come but Egypt will help us. They looked for a refuge But all it was was a refuge of lies. We know this is going to happen. So I will try and make an escape. And God says there won't be any exit. There won't be any escape. Everywhere you look will suffer the same. The wages of sin. That dependence on anything outside of mercy. will prove useless and vain. It is useless to look for help from those who are also under condemnation. Why look to any who are also condemned? that is utter folly. And just as this section begins at Jerusalem, so it ends at Jerusalem in verses 34 to 38. And God singles out in particular those who are mentioned here before us. He mentions those who are ministers. Holy Shepherds in Christ. and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principle of the flock, for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished, and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principle of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds and a howling of the principle of the flock shall be heard, for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture." All those preachers who did not tell them the truth, they too shall be punished. All those preachers who came to these people and said, Oh, everything is going to be okay. Peace, peace. There's not going to be any judgment. Those who said there'll be no hell. Those who said there is no wrath. Those who said there is no judgment. They shall discover There is all these things that they denied. This idea that preachers can come under pressure from people. Oh, they say, we don't want to hear about hell. And the preacher says, OK, I'm not going to mention hell. But he mentions sin. Then they come and they say, we're tired of hearing about sin. OK, I won't mention sin. Then he comes and he talks about the holiness of God, and they say, we're tired of the holiness of God. This idea that preachers are like a nose of wax, you can simply bend to the popular will. There are consequences. They better not bend. So it starts at Jerusalem. Those who were recipients of overtures of mercy. And all these nations who were not recipients, they shall all perish. And those who should have taught them but didn't, they too shall perish. There are consequences for refusing overtures of mercy. Well, let's come to application of this. First of all, we must say that idolatry reigns in all sinners for good reason. The Ten Commandments begin, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. The First Commandment is a rejection of idolatry. What is more, only a proper grasp of the first table of the law leads to enablement in keeping the second table of the law. You cannot have the second table. You cannot say, well, I'm going to love my neighbour. and hate God. You can't do that. It's not possible. And in this first table of the law, from the very outset, God confronts men and women and says, you are an idolater and if you want to get into heaven, then you're going to have to jettison idolatry. You're going to have to cast off anything you love before God. The Saviour says the same thing, doesn't he? If any be my disciples, what is the first command? Let him deny himself. Self-denial. We must tackle this ugly thing called self-love. That's the problem with sinners. They love themselves to the fullest extent. They love themselves rather than God. They love everything about themselves. Here then is the besetting sin of sinners, idolatry. They rob God of His glory, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. What's that verse saying? It says, sinner, here's what you're doing. All the honor and glory that belongs to God You're giving it to something else, yourself, your life, whatever it is that you put in place of God. Let me ask you, are you aware of all of this? Do you understand what I'm talking about? Has there been a time in your life when you've been confronted with this ugly reality that you're an idolater? The reason why you refused the gospel for so long was because you loved yourself or loved something else, but you didn't love God. If you're a Christian, you do understand this, don't you? Man's chief end is to glorify God. That's been the radical transformation of a sinner's life. To love God, to enjoy God, and to put down self John the Baptist is recorded as saying, he, Christ, must increase and I decrease. The sinner's besetting problem is idolatry. That's what's wrong with these men and women of Judah. They're idolaters. They'll have anything in their hearts but God. But then secondly, God uses the same method to reach sinners still. What method did God use in the days of Jeremiah? He sent to them preachers. That's how God communicated his word to them. And it's the same method still, because we read in Luke chapter 10, in the verse 16, he that heareth you heareth me. He that despiseth you despiseth me, and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." You see what's happening? He that heareth you heareth me, says Christ. The one who listens to the preaching of the Word of God is listening to Christ preaching to them. And that runs through all of Scripture. You know that well-known passage in Romans 10. and is talking about preachers, and is talking about the importance of faith, and faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, calling upon the name of God. How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? It doesn't just mean they must hear about him. They must hear Christ speaking to them. You see, it is by preaching that God Himself comes, as it were, and confronts the sinner. In preaching, it is as if God Himself comes and addresses the sinner. Sometimes He comes with threats and warnings. At other times, He comes with promises and overtures of mercy. At other times, he comes with commands and instructions. But all the while, God himself is addressing the sinner. Sinner, hearken, says God. Let me ask you, are you listening to God? Oh, do not judge God by the instrument God uses. The minister is used by God to humble your pride. As Calvin puts it, why does God use man? Why doesn't he use something supernatural and extraordinary? He said, that only feeds the pride of man. But God uses human instrument in order to humble the sinner. He said, here is this glorious word, but see how it is conveyed. It's conveyed by these men whom God has raised up. The real issue is not the vehicle, but the message conveyed. That's the issue. To look beyond the instrument that communicates the message, but to listen to the message, because in the message it is as if Christ stands before you and calls you, hearken to my words. That's the method God has always used. See the folly of trying to be clever. The Church has often tried to be clever. It thinks it is being clever by entertaining sinners. That's not of any preaching at all. We're going to woo them into the kingdom of heaven. We're going to sing them gently to the cross of Christ. would appeal to their better nature. But they haven't got a better nature. And so the church in its cleverness, it's on all kinds of little gimmicks and fuses. What if we have a nice little drama? A dramatization of the gospel. Maybe we'll even have a silent drama. They call it mime. So there's nothing said at all. You just see lips moving and you see actions. Is that how sinners are going to be convinced of the gospel? A wordless acting out of something. God could have done anything. But he didn't. He had a clearly defined method. He sent a Judah, Jeremiah. Before him he sent others. They were just ordinary men. raised up by God and God placed in their hearts a message like a fire in their bones. They brought that message. They instructed men and women. Here is pure Jeremiah. His message did not please. At one point he was physically assaulted. He was hated and despised. Why? He said, this is what God says. God has said, sinner, turn and live. Mortify in hope. But if you will not turn and live, there are consequences. God will punish you. There's a cup of wrath that God will give to you. And in that cup is all the anger and fury of God. that shall be poured out upon him, if ye will not turn, if ye will not hearken to his words. And the sinner said in Jeremiah's day, we will not hearken. We don't want to listen to you, Jeremiah. We're not interested in your overtures of mercy. We don't want to have anything to do with you. We don't want to have anything to do with Jehovah. We prefer our lives. We like our idols. We like our own little life. The way we have carved out our own existence, that's what we want. Jeremiah says, the day came when the consequences that they were taught came to pass and they perished without hope. Thirdly, for Christians, all your troubles are temporary. You might easily miss that even in this chapter. But it's there. If we look again carefully, as Jeremiah warns these people and scolds them, there is this surprising statement. Have a look at verse 12. It shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity. the land of the Chaldeans and will make it perpetual desolations." Here God is saying to the believer, though all these desolations shall come, he never forgets his covenant. I like the way Calvin puts it on this verse, this was a special doctrine intended for food for God's children, for he addressed the elite and the faithful only. All your troubles are only temporary. The believer has many troubles in life. Preachers have troubles. All kinds of God's people have troubles. But whatever your troubles are, they will only ever be temporary. You see, we're told in 1 Peter 1 verse 6, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptation." For a season. All your troubles are only temporary. Or in chapter 5, verse 10, you have the very same point being made by Peter. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after that ye have suffered a while." You see the contrast? Eternal glory, suffered a while. 1 Peter 5, 10. All your troubles. are only temporary. What a wonderful statement is this. You know, in the midst of all these dreadful words, you could just see those serious-minded believers. Jeremiah, is there anything for us? Yes, says Jeremiah, I haven't forgotten you either, because God hasn't forgotten you. He will never forget his covenant, never. And as for your troubles, all these things that shall come upon the rest, for you it's only temporary. So you see in this life when you're facing difficulties, you come back to this wonderful promise, this great encouragement, all your troubles are only temporary. How can you relieve the weight of that trouble? He talks about heaviness and the burden of trouble. He lays it alongside something that is eternal. An eternal weight of glory. Compare your present trouble with your eternal blessedness. They don't match up, sure they don't. And because they don't match, that's where you gain your encouragement. all these present difficulties. They're not going to last forever. They can't. They will not. And then fourthly and finally, the cup of wrath drunk by Christ on behalf of sinners. Matthew 26, verse 38, Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful Even unto death, tarry ye here and watch with me. And he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came, and found them asleep again. For their eyes were heavy, and he left them. I went away again and prayed the third time, saying the same words, O my Father, if this cup pass not away from me except I drink it. What is in this cup? In this cup is the wrath of God for sin. Here is the spotless, sinless, perfect Saviour. And He sees the full extent of the sinfulness of sin and the wrath of God that must be poured out upon it. But it's not that he shudders at the last moment. He knows he has to drink this cup. That's why he came. But as he prays, he sees the consequences. And as he hung upon that cross, he had those awful words, what happened on that cross. There on that cross, God poured out his infinite eternal fury upon the Son of God. He punished in Christ all the sins of the elect. Those who die without repentance, they must suffer. that infinite, eternal wrath. They must pay for their own sins the eternal wrath of a holy God. It cannot be any other way, either punished in Christ or punished in the sinner. There is no other option. Like Jeremiah, the message is to sinners, turn and live. That's why Paul says, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade sinners. You see, he fully grasps just what is being written in Matthew 26, that dreadful, boiling fury of the wrath of God upon sin and sinners. And Paul says, I understand this wrath of God. That's why I strive to tell sinners, O sinner, That's what moved Jeremiah, O sinner, turn and live or perish. Amen.