Thank you for listening to the media ministry of the Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. If you are blessed by what you hear and would like to help keep our little church going as a ministry partner with your cheerful gifts, please listen for instructions at the end of this message. Proverbs chapter 21 verse 15 is our text for our sermon this morning. Before I turn there, something I'd like to highlight in the psalm we just sang. Don't feel like you have to turn back to it. But we highlighted verse 11 because it spoke about being righteous in the Lord and thus glad and rejoicing. And that's particularly why we sang this section of the psalm preparing for our proverb today that's talking about the righteous or the just who have joy because of it, including in the doing of justice. There's a, as the Proverbs often do, there's a parallel part of the verse that's the opposite. And that relates also to what we sang here on verse 10, unto the man that wicked is his sorrows shall abound. So similarly, our Proverbs says, those who are unrighteous, they're going to have ruin. So there's an encouragement and motivation here, not earning anything with the Lord, but experiencing having the Lord as our righteousness and the natural aspect of that. And the more we grow in grace and are sanctified, the more this will bear out in our lives. So we turn together to Proverbs 21, verse 15. I'll read the whole thing for you. We'll consider it in its context as one verse, but it's the first part of the verse that I'm wanting to focus on together today. And let me read for you now. Proverbs 21, verse 15. It is joy to the just to do judgment. but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity." So you see that contrast there in the second part. Let me read the whole verse again. It is joy to the just to do judgment, but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity." So we have that second part to motivate emphasizing the first, and we would call this, sometimes there is synonymous parallelism. Here we have antithetical parallelism, an antithetical opposite here. So if you don't want destruction on your lives because you're going to live unjustly and do wickedness. The opposite of that is you're going to be living justly, righteously, doing judgment and showing that you're just in the Lord righteous and you're going to have joy in this life, let alone the life to come. I want to encourage you to think about what induces a smile. Or perhaps what induces, that is causes, initiates a laugh, a sense and feeling of cheerfulness and happiness or lightheartedness. Well, as a father of many, including some who are still young, I can't help but think of tickling or a good clean joke. What's the cause of happiness? I think if we think often about it, being helped. When someone helps us, it's such a great cause of happiness that they've come to our side and helped us with something. We've needed their help and improved our life. We're just so relieved and a sense of happiness and joy and thankfulness. But especially our verse today says, here's a particularly cause of joy and happiness. Not so much being helped, but especially being a helper. being a helper, doing good to others by what God defines as good, doing what's right in the face of wrong. What one does with their lives, good or bad, expresses and extends joyful or sorrowful living. Give that to you as the idea of our verse. What one does with their lives, good or bad, expresses and extends joyful or sorrowful living. Now, this is based on who you are. Righteous in the Lord or unrighteous out of sight of the Lord. Not in what you do that you are righteous. Still there's an aspect of the related result. Bad or good. Unrighteous or righteous. That is the fruit of that. The proof of that. The expression and enjoyment of it. More or less. Notice the second part again. To help us recognize that. Destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. Well, the workers of iniquity show themselves to be people of iniquity, not in Christ, but of the devil. But that even that work of iniquity they do because they are unrighteous, that unrighteousness, that lack of justice, doing justice, is their own destruction. Destruction of their heart, and their own destruction and the consequences in their lives, temporally speaking, let alone the ultimate consequence of who they are and where they're going. So that's the antithetical parallelism to the text, emphasizing it is joy, on the other hand, to do just to do judgment because you are just, it is your joy. And you know I like alliteration and I think that's helpful for memorizing. I'd encourage you to have this part of the verse memorized to motivate and guide and inspire and initiate doing good works, which we know Jesus says is how people will come to church and worship God as our light and salt. It is joy to the just to do judgment. That will be our focus. And notice how easy that would be to memorize the way we've got it translated. It is joy to the just to do judgment. I encourage you to be working on that. In fact, I haven't actually committed to memorizing it, but I noticed, oh, I just was able to do it. JJJ. It is joy to the just to do judgment. That's what we're going to focus on today with the antithetical comparison to help inform what we're looking at and how we understand this. You see, iniquity is sin, which is transgression of God's law. And so the ruin, the destruction of someone who is not in Christ, who's an evildoer by their identity, thus they do evil works. Not just that they sin, but they want to sin and want to make others do it. In contrast, to do justice, that is to be just because you've been made righteous in Christ, him your righteousness, and then you have joy as the process and product, outside and within. In contrast to ruin, you have joy. So let's notice these three J's, convenient in our text, in our translation. First of all, joy. It's really, in a sense, the product. It's the last part, but it's emphasized at the beginning. Joy is what you have. The expression of who you are in life through Christ, and the product of your own living it for and in Him. Joy, happiness, rejoicing. That's what you have. That's what who have. You who are just. That's the next thing. You have joy who are just. Just could be translated righteous, as it is sometimes. You are a righteous, just person according to God's law of what is good and evil. This doesn't mean you live it perfectly. but you have a sense and understanding which Proverbs is all about teaching you what's right and wrong and wisdom is know how to live what is right with many motivations such as our text today such as joy to help you do that but you're righteous in Christ you have his perfect righteousness and thus you care about God's law the way he does you grieve when you don't do it you rejoice when you do and you want to do more good and less evil Like just Noah, Genesis 6 verse 9, we know he's not perfect. What happens right after the flood, and they get out, right? We know he's not perfect, and yet he's referred to as just, or could be translated righteous. Or in 2 Peter 2, 7, Lot is called that just man, or that righteous man, but we know he's not perfectly righteous or just, but he's God's. and in God and in Christ he's just. And so he did grieve, although he seemed to compromise before he found himself for a while. He did get out by God's warning through Abraham, from Abraham. But he did grieve over the sin all around him. He didn't just jump in and rejoice, excuse it away, and use the Bible to say it's okay, like is often these days such lifestyles. And he was spared its destruction. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. They were ruined physically. and it says righteous lot in 2nd Peter chapter 2 verse 7 just lot so there's this identity in Christ of being just and righteous means you grieve over sin as Psalm 119 says it's like rivers of waters pour out of my eyes when people don't love and live your law including myself and I want more I don't make excuses I say help me love better love being the fulfillment of the law It doesn't mean that you're perfect outside of Christ, but in Christ, perfection. You care about what's right. And you grieve over the wicked and unrighteous society doing wrong and injustice as a whole. And that relates to the word judgment. You have joy because you are just, and you have joy in the doing of judgment, which could be translated justice. What is right for all according to God's law. And here, I think Christians, especially in America, need to be reminded what it looks like to be just, what a just society reflecting Christ is. It's not about demanding my rights, often imagined, which is the emphasis you hear of churches today, especially in certain movements that I would argue are not real movements of the Bible, at least. You hear almost nothing, and if you hear anything, it's about the oppressing of the needy. But in the Bible, constantly. And one of the regular reasons God says you're going into a foreign land now, Israel, you constantly violate my rules. And you are oppressing the most needy in society, who are the easiest to take advantage of. And nobody will question it, because you're powerful and they're not. That's not God's society. as typified in the theocracy, it is not God's society of what we'll see in heaven. And it is not to be what is seen in the kingdom of heaven and its citizens, especially as we would claim also to be we the people of another nation. I want to give this example that it's more concerned about the rights of others. especially of those who are having their rights denied, than it is by emphasizing our own at the exclusion and dismissal and sometimes taking away of others and pretending and calling it Christian. But it's injustice. It isn't sweeping away with swiping of the hand that those things are woke. It isn't always woke, beloved. And there is a place for God's people to wake up. Because we are always in danger of the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, and my rights that are not necessarily my rights, and absolutely no concern for those who would lose them. That's the focus of this word. I'll demonstrate that more in a moment, but I would like to throw out another Thing to consider, I saw in a video clip recently, I don't know if it's a true story or just in a movie, but a professor, nothing has happened. No one has misbehaved. And he calls out, I'm going to point to an empty pew so nobody thinks I'm joking. He calls out a young lady in the class that says, get out now. Get out. She's like, what? And everyone's uncomfortable. Get out now. You have to leave. You may never come back to this class. Nothing's happened. She finally gets up and leaves. He's really mean. Then he speaks to all the students remaining. Is what I just did to that person just? Was that fair and just? And everyone said no. And then he said, why did you sit there silently and do nothing about it and not question me or stand up for that fellow student? That's injustice right there. When we won't stand in the gap as the Lord says, I'm looking for somebody to stand in the gap. And if you look at the context, it's to do justice for the oppressed and the typical groups that he lists. But no one would, so I had to destroy my people, send them away. The question is, are we just? Or are we only concerned about our rights and safety? when we're told in flippings to be like Jesus and deny ourselves have concern the interest of others. Micah 6 verse 8, we know well. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy. and to walk humbly with thy God. And beloved, when we're demanding our own rights, I submit to you, we're usually not walking humbly with our God, if walking with him at all. Certainly not humbly. Just look at the faces, the haughty eyes, the expressions and defiance. It isn't humble. It isn't concern for others. Love mercy. We want to remember mercy triumphs over judgment. James points out, it's not ultimately about judgment, but see here, the thing is, the first thing, do justly, is the same Hebrew for our word and our text today, judgment. God has shown you what he wants of you as a person in Christ, as a member of the church and citizen of the kingdom of heaven. He wants you to live here how you will live there perfectly, justly. concern for everyone else more than yourself, that no one is served injustice, that the oppressed are not trampled upon because we can, because we always do. Don't read into this things that are not being said, but certainly don't excuse yourself out of things that need to be said. To the church, for those who will have an ear to hear, when we are largely deaf to it, Because we've trained ourselves by ungodly pretense that is not a true representation of scripture. That it's okay. And we're happy to just put it all in a lump place and put a label on it and throw it all out and excuse ourselves of it, though the scripture speaks to it constantly. And you'll have joy. And you'll show you are a just one, a righteous one by doing justly, Micah 6, 8, or doing justice. And again, that has concern that you are not the student in the chair sitting quietly while your fellow student is unrightly being told to leave for no good reason. You speak. You stand in the gap. You have a concern for the oppressed who cannot defend themselves. Other verses in Proverbs 21 that we'll take a look at that relate. Proverbs, obviously, there can be a bit of a theme sometimes. There's also just verses that come and go, and there may or may not be a connection. But certainly, a number of other verses in chapter 21 would help us understand what's being said. So let's look at them together, verses two and three to begin with. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes. but the Lord pondereth the hearts. To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Verse eight, the way of man is forward and strange, but as for the pure, his work is right. Verses 12 to 13, the righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked, but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. Before we continue, I would remind you, when we were studying a Sabbath class a little while ago, Anthony Savaggio's book, The Proverbs, on the Proverbs, and he had a section on wealth, how often he brought up that our wealth is to take care of the poor and the oppressed. It's not just about ourselves. Look at verse 16. The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. Verse 21. He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor. Verse 26, He coveteth greedily all the day long, but the righteous giveth and spareth not. Verse 29, A wicked man hardeneth his face. There is a way to find an example of an unrighteous, unjust person. When you call upon them to be concerned for justice, they're going to harden their face and have haughty eyes. But, As for the upright, he directeth his ways. Think about the Beatitudes, blessed are or happy are. It's about being who you are in Christ, righteous in Christ. And it contradicts the way of the world. And it says things about you who are blessed you would think is a curse. But it's because you're in Christ. And you're looking ahead to heaven. And you need a different life to live here now. And you know it's a better one. You're righteous by the Lord, our righteousness. And you're blessed to live a way that the world says, are you kidding me? That too much of the church wants to be just like. Not in the world, but not of it, but in the world and just like it. Including the lust for power. and influence, and a disgust for sacrifice, and any concern for others in greater need. But you're blessed, you see, you're blessed, Jesus said, if you're poor of spirit. You're blessed if you're meek. All the things that will not get you what the world promises you. All the things that when it packages it to you in a way that makes it look Christian, it isn't, and it won't give you joy. It won't give you rejoicing and very well actually in the end bring you and our nation destruction, ruin. Certainly not happiness. Our nation does say we have the inalienable right for the pursuit of happiness. I appreciate how one movie opens saying, notice it says pursuit, it doesn't guarantee it. And the pursuit of happiness is found in our text. And it isn't. what you probably would have thought it was without reading this text. But Jesus says you're blessed, you're blessed, you're happy. The joy of the Lord as your strength. He credits you with his perfect life to give you eternal life and live in abundance of it along the way. Living the way of love toward God and neighbor, the right way, which is the narrow way. But it leads to life. It's the path you're on. And the more you stay carefully on it, the more rejoicing you can have in it. The closer to Jesus, for he is that way. And to do otherwise is to stray from him and cry like Peter. the just way in Jesus, who is the way. Think of Ephesians 2, 8 to 10. Yes, we know we're saved by faith through grace and not of ourselves, lest any man should boast of our own righteous works, when we know our works are unrighteous, filthy rags, right? And yet we're saved by grace, it goes on to say in Ephesians 2, 8 to 10, to do the works that God has ordained for us before the foundation of the world. That is good works. holy works, works of righteousness, as a witness against a wicked and corrupt society, especially if there's no biblical true Christian influence in it, or it is waning. Do I really need to prove to you all that it is most certainly waning? It is the calling and the will to be the reality of heaven. Perfect social justice because perfectly just people doing God's just ways. Thus, absolute joy. That's what it'll be in heaven, by the way. In heaven, perfect social justice. No one will be tread upon. No one will have their God-given rights taken from them and denied them. So it'll be because we'll be perfectly just and righteous in heaven. We will not infringe upon one another as we do here. Thus in heaven, it will be absolute joy. We won't steal. And by the way, remember there's that saying, it was easiest stealing candy from a baby because we do steal from those who are the easiest to steal from. And the ones doing the stealing are often the ones who don't need to steal. Do we need to remember the cause of Psalm 51 with David and what the prophet Nathan said to him? You had all this. Why did you take the one lamb from the other guy? It's a constant problem, even from a man after God's own heart. Let us not excuse ourselves to think we don't need to say what Psalm 51 does say, created me a clean heart, oh God. put a right spirit in me. As citizens of the kingdom of heaven, let us bring more of the gospel witness here on earth. Remember, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way. Psalm 37, verse 23. Remember, the context is, don't be like the wicked. It looks like they're running the world. It looks like they have everything. Don't be like them. Remember their end, and that God is not with them. Notice the alliteration of our translation again. Joy, just, judgment. Again, Proverbs 21 15, it is joy to the just, to do judgment, or justly, or justice. For just people who care about doing justice, the result is they have joy. And I remind you, you probably saw it coming, the acronym J, O-Y spells out joy. Jesus first. And if Jesus is first, then others will be next in line in our hearts. You follow on the end, and that's the way you have joy. And it's the only way you have joy. And so you are to sing such Psalms as you just, excuse me, just did. Psalm 32 verse 11, Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye righteous, and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart. Psalm 64 verse 10, The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, shall trust in him, and all the upright in heart shall glory." That is the same thing our proverb is saying today. Psalm 68 verse 3, but let the righteous be glad, let them rejoice before God, let them exceedingly rejoice. Beloved, I would encourage you, those who would steal away a heart for taking care of those in society and see biblical things that are a moral equity of the theocracy, don't let them steal your joy. That is, don't let them steal your love. But don't let them steal the joy that you'll have and the joy you'll bring others and the joy of Jesus for being like him. Do we need to be reminded that half of his ministry was not proclaiming the kingdom alone, but taking care of the poor and needy with the highlighted word about him, compassion. Doing justly feels good because it's an expression of who you are in Jesus, just as people who are made righteous in Christ. who cares, who care about God's justice for all. Just people made righteous in Christ who care about God's justice for all. An extension of Jesus who gave you joy unspeakable. Acts 20 verse 35, remember, Paul says, I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak. And to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And beloved, the truth is you and I barely believe that. As I'll bring up in the text tonight, may the Lord help us believe that we see it. It happens in that order. If we don't want to believe it, we'll never see it. Even if it's Jesus speaking to our face, just like the Pharisees. But notice, it's more blessed to give than to receive. I want to highlight that. But let's remember, preached on this a little while ago, Paul says that you should be laboring to support the weak. You ought to be laboring to support the weak. And the word laboring has the idea and the grief of exhausting yourself. And the word the weak could be translated the needy. That certainly starts for the church with the work of the diaconate, which is why the Lord created an office of deacon in Acts chapter 6, because it was a concern that a very important part of the ministry and a bad witness to the world was that the needy were not being taken care of by the church. It was equally important to follow the example of Christ, preaching the kingdom, ministry of the word, and the doing of justice in the word, taking care first of our own. but an extension of that also to others. It is more blessed to give than to receive, is the heart of the just, who do justice and have joy in it. 2 Corinthians 9 verse 7. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. I'm not giving disclaimers I don't think I need to give in this context. I'm rather challenging things that I think we're more likely to need to be challenged on. But here are disclaimers there of what it does and doesn't look like in the book of Acts and what God requires. But highlight this as your call to be just and thus do justice for others. God loves a cheerful giver. You'll be cheerful in it. You'll have joy in the actual gift. It's fun and exciting to give. In this case, it's talking more about finances. In Acts, it's talking more about your time. You could ask yourself, and this has been brought up before, how joyful do you look in your countenance? How cheerful are you in your witness of being a Christian? and how generous are you with your heart in giving of your time and of your talents and of your treasure. There's a direct correspondence, regardless of your own unique personality and temperament. There's a cheerfulness and a joy in being like Jesus, who is perfectly just and does perfect justice. And where else do we need to be motivated than looking to the cross where perfect justice was done for you and me for our sins? On the cross. And to look to Jesus there, the perfect one who didn't deserve to be there, unjust trial, but went through it to give us his righteousness which we don't deserve. Shouldn't that motivate us even more to want to try to give God-given rights, to not be the one silent while others are wrongly identified, suffering, and excluded or prejudiced against. Do you want to be happy? I mean, I think we all understand and recognize everybody wants to be happy. That's why the marketers spend an enormous amount of money to get us to give them our money. Because they help us think it'll make us happy. If you want to be happy, get it in Jesus. And experiencing it, giving it to others from Jesus, for Jesus. because you are Jesus' just ones who love to do just things and take joy in it. Talk about a life-changing, culture-altering Christian witness that is and should be ours. It is joy to the just to do judgment Remember who you are in your union with Christ, and in and for him, rejoice in being righteous and doing what is right. Sometimes people have all kinds of contracts, and all kinds of exit clauses, and all kinds of loopholes, like the Pharisees, who Christ called hypocrites. you in Jesus. Rejoice in being righteous and regardless of what is required of you by man, what is expected of you to be in you in Christ, Rejoice in doing what's right. The message for you this morning, rejoice in being righteous and doing what's right. And beloved, when we get to Nehemiah 4, as you'll see on our social media, I've already put it up there from Derek Thomas, so often Christians have to recognize we're supposed to be different than the world. We're supposed to be set apart and different. Rejoice in being righteous and doing what's right. It is joy to the just to do judgment, but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. It is joy to the just to do judgment. I see some of you mouthing it with me, and I like that. You don't have to say it, but say it in your mind. I do want to screw this in our head. It is joy to the just to do judgment. And the message for you from that is this. Rejoice in being righteous and doing what's right. Let us pray. Almighty God, help us to love what you say is good, and hate what you say is evil, and show it to us, and show us what it should and should not look like. And so often, it will be the narrow way, even within the company we would hope to keep. But let us be most concerned about keeping company with you, Lord Jesus Christ, on the narrow way. Few there be that find it. But let us be found there, and let us find the joy of our Lord that is our strength there, as we rejoice in being righteous in Christ and doing what Christ says is right. With you, Lord Jesus, as our prime example, our means of being righteous ourselves, and you, the Lord, our righteousness, but also our example of what it looks like to be a just one. with justice and compassion for all, personal sacrifice for the sake of others. And Lord, how we do look forward to the new heavens and earth, one nation under God, with liberty and justice truly for all. We pray in Jesus' name, all your people saying, Amen. Visit our website at PuritanChurch.com and click through the Give button at the top right of your screen. And if you prefer to send your support through the mail, please make your check out to Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church and send it to Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church, 6374 Potomac Street, San Diego, California 92139. Thank you.