Judges 2:3: Thorns & Snares

TOPIC: Obedience; Disobedience, Justice, Wrath
TITLE: THORNS & SNARES – The Proof Is Indeed In the Pudding!

TEXT: Judges 2:3

“Therefore I also said, 'I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.”

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What are we to learn from the lesson of Israel?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

I. OUR ENEMIES WILL BE DUE TO OUR DISOBEDIENCE!
II. OUR ENEMIES WILL (probably) BE GOD’S TESTING OF US!

A. Our Enemies Will Be Pains In Our Daily Lives!
B. Our Enemies Will Trap Us In Things We Can't Control!

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Israel is not far from the shores of the Wilderness and yet here they are in this predicament. (READ ALOUD: Judges 2:10-11)

And when God rebuked them they named the place Bochim (Baw-gghh-heem; the weepers or the place of weeping).

Here is the basic outline of the entire Book of Judges:

Israel –

1. Is instructed to obey
2. Agrees to obey
3. Disobeys
4. Suffers
5. Cries out (repentance)
6. Is judged
7. Is restored
8. Is instructed to obey

That’s it; over and over Israel goes through this cycle. Even individuals are shown to exhibit the same characteristics (e.g., Samson, priests, Jephthah, the greedy Levite, etc.).

Paul says this about the Old Testament ...

“Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

1 Corinthians 10:11

Would you say we’ve been in that cycle here in the United States? In the world?

Now look at what our history with God shows: Crusades, Dark Ages, Popish religion, paganism, materialism, Holocaust, Inquisition, witch trials, slavery, 500 years of conflict in Ireland, Bosnia/Rwanda/Darfur, terrorism, Islamic radicalism, wars, abortion, pedophilia, pornography, secular humanism, public homosexuality, judicial activism & tyranny, greed, selfishness, drugs, promiscuity, educational decay, taxation without representation, social & racial discrimination … and I could go on!

Worse haven’t we become a world which blames others for these thorns and snares?

You see our enemies don’t have to be nations, but they may be; one thing is for sure … if they are allowed to have at us, “they will become as thorns in [our] sides and [they] will be a snare to [us]”!

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What are we to learn from the lesson of Israel?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. OUR ENEMIES WILL BE DUE TO OUR DISOBEDIENCE!

Consider how the contemporary church has disobeyed God ...

A. The Great Commandments [Matthew 22:37-38]
B. First Things First

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Matthew 6:33

D. Sacrifice

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Romans 12:1

E. Others

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4

[CHEAP WORDS] A non-believing lawyer went to a friend’s church, listened watching speechlessly to the behavior of many who he knew … especially a number whom he’d seen in court or whom he represented.

“How did you like the service?” His friend asked at the close of the service. He answered, “As a lawyer let me respond in this way: there is a world of difference between testimony and evidence.

"Words are cheap; it’s easy to give testimony for Christ, but quite another matter to offer evidence of God's purifying power in one’s life in Christ. Didn’t your Jesus say ... 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.'” [Mark 7:6]

II. OUR ENEMIES WILL (probably) BE GOD’S TESTING OF US!

“Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel …”

Judges 3:1

A. OUR ENEMIES WILL BE PAINS IN OUR DAILY LIVES!

1. Entertainment industry is surely testing us

a) Audio & video
b) Prurient & voyeuristic desires
c) Gambling and pampering

2. Political system is surely testing us

a) Lacks a clear Christian national-view
b) Lacks a Christian worldview

3. Educational system is surely testing us

a) Corrupting the minds of our young people
b) Anti-Americanism
c) Lying & cheating
d) Communistic & socialistic

B. OUR ENEMIES WILL TRAP US IN THINGS WE CAN’T CONTROL!

1. Our own churches

a) Mega-church growth
b) Theological conflict
c) Church splits & pastoral hostility
d) Tares & wolves

2. Judicial system:

a) 9th Circuit decision this week
b) Kelo
c) Gay marriage
d) Destruction of the family

3. Secularism-humanism

a) Paganism
b) Drug trade
c) Pornographers
d) Materialism
e) Victim class
f) Laziness

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: So where have we disobeyed the LORD? Remind them of the above AND it was up to God’s people to drive the enemies of Israel out but it was in fact the Lord who drove them out.

And don’t you see: God’s people are failing to be obedient by faith so that He will drive them out for us!

Except with obedience and repentance, we will see no change in our nations! [2 Chronicles 7:14]

[REAL WITNESS] Let's not be like those who are seen and heard being un-Christian. People who know we are Christians will wonder greatly at our conduct.

We might say, “I do this or that not as a Christian, but as a sinner saved by grace." Or we might even try, “I do this or that not as a Christian, I am at work where I may not act like a Christian.”

“But,” the observer will ask, “when the sinner or worker goes to Hell, what will become of the Christian?”

How will God judge us when we appear before His throne? Will it be for what we sang or prayed in church, or will it be for our witness before a lost and dying world?

It will be whether His Son ever knew us!

[NAME CHANGE] Once a soldier was reported to Alexander the Great for showing cowardice on a particular occasion; when the soldier appeared before Alexander the Great, he asked him his name. He said, “Alexander, sir!” Alexander rebuked him for the dishonor he’d brought upon the name and ordered him to change his name or behave in a way that honored the name.

It would not be a better thing to have fewer Christians laboring in the Lord’s vineyard but it would be to have better ones.

It would seem to me that most of what passes as Christianity today could certainly use a name change.

Didn’t the LORD say we were not to take His name in vain? Isn’t calling oneself a Christian but not behaving as one taking the name of Jesus in vain?

Christianity, Expository, Homiletics,
Outlines, Preaching, Sermons

1 Peter 2:24 The Tapestry of Atonement

...and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

TOPIC: Atonement [Easter, Guilt, Imputation, Justice, Nature (of God), Propitiation, Reconciliation, Redemption, Retribution, Sacrifice, Substitution]

TITLE: THE TAPESTRY OF ATONEMENT - What it means to us!

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is our condition that it decrees such an atonement?
CONCISE OUTLINE

I. We are dead in our trespasses and sins! [Ephesians 2:1]
II. We are by nature and practice the children of wrath! [v. 3]
III. We are found without hope and without God in the world! [v. 12]
IV. We are strangers and foreigners to the household of God! [v. 19]

SERIES: This is the 3rd in a four-part series paving the way for our Easter Sunday service; two weeks ago we took a hard look at sin "the gravity of depravity" ... its blackness, its pollution ... in "The Pollution Solution."

Last week we gave careful thought to what Christ suffered on the Cross ... in our place ... "Three Hours One Friday," as the Son was separated from the Father.

Last week the agony, this week the ecstasy ... last week the crucifixion, this week the atonement ... last week the work of art, this week the beautiful frame.

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Our text says we were healed. When you accepted the Lord, were you sick? Disabled? Diseased? Injured? Healed of what then? when? Of the debilitating effects of sin!

The sins of man must be atoned for ... God's nature demands it ... perfect justice is required by a perfect God ... holy through and through ... every wrong dealt with! Not even an imperfect yet compassionate human judge would fellowship with criminals who denied their crimes and continued to practice them.

The atonement of sinful man by a merciful God is woven throughout Scripture like a scarlet thread in a brilliant tapestry of the middle ages ... from Genesis to Revelation.

In the Old it's seen in the "bruised heel" of Genesis 3:15; in the offerings of Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Joshua; in the Passover; in the offerings of Leviticus and Numbers. And so on, till we reach the prophetic words of the psalmists and prophets.

In the New it's fulfilled in Christ, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," as viewed in the Gospels. Doctrinally it's explained and applied in many of the Epistles. It's proclaimed in the manifestation of the slain Lamb of Revelation.

And finally - acknowledged as the right and experience of the Apostle's confession of faith: "We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." [or "reconciliation"; Romans 5:11 ASV]

Peter's words set the stage for the body of this message which comes from the second chapter of Ephesians [1-22].

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is our condition that it decrees such an atonement?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

I. We are dead in our trespasses and sins! [v.1]

Before Christ we "... were dead in [our] trespasses and sins," the Apostle says.

II. We are by nature and practice the children of wrath! [3]

He adds, "... we too ... lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath."

Notice immorality is not the sole domain of the flesh; the mind is involved as well. Let those with a lust for pornographic materials take note.

III. We are found without hope and without God in the world! [12]

Paul reminds us we "... were at that time separate from Christ ... having no hope and without God in the world."

IV. We are strangers and foreigners to the household of God! [19]

Though not specifically stated, it is implied in the condition which existed before we were " ... no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: You can see man's plight ... what if God had said, "No! I will not send my Son as a propitiation for their sins"?

Or what if the Father said, "Go!" but the Son said, "No! I won't go!"?

Where would we be ... still dead in our trespasses and sins, still separated from the love of God, still outside the household of God!

But praise be to God we ... "are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."

I didn't seek a substitute, rather God offered one!

[SURROGATES] During the Revolutionary and Civil Wars wealthy and powerful men purchased substitutes to fight in their stead or for their sons.

In this Spiritual War no treasury outside of heaven is rich enough to buy a substitute for judgment. Yet, God didn't buy one, He gave one! While we were yet sinners Christ died in our place.

Were it not for the substitutionary atonement of Christ for my sins, they would continue to be an insurmountable barrier for me in the face of a holy and righteous God ... preventing for all time fellowship with Him ... no matter how hard no matter how long I tried to make things right!

The embarrassing biblical ignorance of our people today requires another question be asked and answered: knowledge of which elements of the doctrine of atonement are essential to the believer?

I. THE REASON (for the Doctrine of Atonement) - Sin!

Your Iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you. [Isaiah 69:2]

A. Sin is not bad luck, disease of mind, evil bias, a mistake, result of heredity or environment. Sin is the willful, rebellious breaking of the divine law.

Where no law is, there is no transgression. [Romans 4:15]

Sin is the transgression of The Law. [1 John 3:4]

B. Nor is sin just an offense against man; it is an offense against God:

Joseph said: "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God." [Genesis 39:9]

David said: "Against Thee have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." [Psalm 51:4]

C. We must each humbly face the serious subjects of law, guilt, retribution, before the tender meanings of love, grace, redemption, are realized. So sin, which is a manifestly horrible thing, needs to be done away with ... and so -

2. THE MEANING - Covering!

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. [Psalm 32: 1]

Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away. [Psalm 65:3]

A. Atonement is a "shelter by means of representation." [Girdlestone, Robert Baker, Synonyms of the Old Testament; Eerdmans [Grand Rapids], 1948, p.127.]

He who knew no sin was made sin for you and for me!

B. The very holiness of God demanded He turn His face from our dying Savior at the
moment of His sin-bearing.

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" [Mark 15:34]

3. THE SOURCE - Christ Jesus (God)!

"Surely He (Jesus) has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. ... All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord (Jehovah) has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all. ... Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him: He has put Him to grief." [Isaiah 53:4, 6, 10]

"Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." [Acts 2:23]

"God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." [2 Corinthians 5:19]

Thus the very God, whose law man has broken, and against whom he has sinned, Himself provides the Atonement.

4. THE FOUNDATION - Love!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. [John 3:16]

Christ also has loved us, and has given Himself for us ... [He] also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it. [Ephesians 5:2, 25]

Herein Is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation [substitute] for our sins. [1 John 4:10]

God demonstrates His Love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. [Romans 5:8]

5. THE METHOD - Blood!

It is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. [Leviticus 17:11]

Without shedding of blood there is no remission. [Hebrews 9:22]

6. THE RESULT - Forgiveness (Salvation)!

A. The Immediate Result -

1. Healing of sin's disease.

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. [Isaiah 53:5]

2. Deliverance from sin's power of attraction.

Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world. [Galatians 1: 4]

3. New Life for holiness and service.

Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. [1 Peter 2:24]

B. Future Result

1. Gain of eternal inheritance.

He is the Mediator ... that they which are called might receive the promise of Eternal Inheritance. [Hebrews 9:15]

2. Glory of the Divine presence.

Unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy. [Jude 24]

The Atonement is the only means by which God could pardon transgressors of the Divine Law; the INSATIABLE NEED of man met by the INFINITE PROVISION of God.

Theological and biblical considerations were culled from George E. Morgan's "Atonement," in The King's Business, a now defunct monthly periodical of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA); (July 1922) Vol. 13, No. 7, 701-02. Thanks also to Dr. J. Richard Chase; ibid., nd, 11-13, for suggesting the outline to the Ephesians content.

Atonement, Easter, Guilt, Imputation, Justice,
Nature, Outlines, Propitiation, Reconciliation, Redemption,
Retribution, Sacrifice, Sermons, Substitution