1 00:00:04,820 --> 00:00:09,460 Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:09,460 --> 00:00:13,699 moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an issue of life and faith. 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:19,899 And today, I'd like to take a break from the stressful year of elections here, the presidential 4 00:00:19,899 --> 00:00:26,719 cycle that we are in right now, and just decompress a little bit and reflect on a biblical issue 5 00:00:26,719 --> 00:00:30,879 that has always been a concern of mine, and that is biblical interpretation. 6 00:00:30,879 --> 00:00:37,460 So, I've entitled this particular message, Seven Bible Verses Every Lost Man Knows. 7 00:00:37,939 --> 00:00:44,119 Seven Bible Verses Every Lost Man Knows, because the Bible is ubiquitous in our culture. 8 00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:49,479 Many cliches fall under the rubric of Bible citations, and I'd like to deal with that 9 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:54,579 a little bit with you here today, so bear with me. And along those lines, there's a great analogy with 10 00:00:54,579 --> 00:01:00,820 the Constitution, because both documents are considered and held to be sacred. The Constitution 11 00:01:00,820 --> 00:01:07,120 if not literally sacred, then at least in the minds of constitutional conservatives, reverenced 12 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:12,799 and revered very highly. So, let me make this analogy. How would you react to someone who asserts 13 00:01:12,799 --> 00:01:18,599 that the Constitution of the United States of America is a living, breathing document? We've 14 00:01:18,599 --> 00:01:24,079 heard this phrase many times. And it falls under the rubric of interpretation, doesn't it? There is 15 00:01:24,079 --> 00:01:29,939 biblical interpretation, and there is constitutional interpretation. Both texts are revered by 16 00:01:29,939 --> 00:01:35,560 conservatives. But what do you say to the person who says that our United States Constitution is a 17 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:40,879 living, breathing document? If you're not familiar with this phrase, it is a distinct, cold phrase 18 00:01:40,879 --> 00:01:47,120 for an elastic interpretation of the Constitution for many issues facing us. Both the Bible and the 19 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:53,140 Constitution is seen by many people as an elastic document. That is, we can interpret it pretty much 20 00:01:53,140 --> 00:01:58,459 any way we see. It means, for example, that although the founding fathers and the words of the Constitution 21 00:01:58,459 --> 00:02:05,579 itself make absolutely no provision for a right to privacy for the citizen, such a right can be read 22 00:02:05,579 --> 00:02:10,159 into the Constitution by justices so that the right to unrestricted abortion can be forced into the 23 00:02:10,159 --> 00:02:16,639 Constitution. Perfect example of what the Constitution is, a living, breathing document to those who hold so. 24 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:23,719 Another example is the so-called separation between church and state. Neither the phrase nor the concept 25 00:02:23,719 --> 00:02:29,699 is found in the Constitution. Both the words and the principle that is a separation between church and 26 00:02:29,699 --> 00:02:35,379 state are a later 20th century addition to constitutional law. Our founding fathers would 27 00:02:35,379 --> 00:02:40,520 be shocked at the silly use to which the First Amendment is put by the enemies of Christianity to 28 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:45,080 keep out everything from Christmas crushes to Ten Commandments monuments in the public square. 29 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:51,680 Well, to find these non-existent rights and principles in a document that sometimes contradicts 30 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:57,259 these same non-existent rights and principles, this flexible, elastic understanding of the Constitution 31 00:02:57,259 --> 00:03:03,819 must be imported into it. A living, breathing document. And so the euphemistic phrase, 32 00:03:04,199 --> 00:03:07,599 a living, breathing document, is employed to distinguish it from the more conservative, 33 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,000 static view of the Constitution as a document with a fixed, understandable meaning. 34 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:18,780 Instead, a Supreme Court judge today must be imaginative and creative when it comes to the law, 35 00:03:19,180 --> 00:03:24,580 seeing rights and principles where there were none before. No longer is this judge a mere judge 36 00:03:24,580 --> 00:03:29,780 discerning the intent of an objective, static document. No, his role is now much more exciting and dynamic. 37 00:03:30,439 --> 00:03:35,979 The modern federal judge is now a social engineer, determining not law, but rather public policy. 38 00:03:35,979 --> 00:03:39,439 Many judges are frank about this, at least the honest ones are anyway. 39 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:44,300 They determine public policy in place of the legislative and executive branch. 40 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,319 Some say he is even a prophet. James Solis of Philogus says, 41 00:03:49,319 --> 00:03:53,919 The logic of this position requires us to believe that the document can only be relevant if it contains 42 00:03:53,919 --> 00:03:59,180 somewhere within it the solution to every modern problem. If only we would allow this living, 43 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:05,000 breathing document to speak like the oracle at Delphi through the black-robed prophets who sit on the 44 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:12,419 court, unquote. Imaginatively put, but right on spot on, isn't it? Well, if we continue to undercut the 45 00:04:12,419 --> 00:04:18,339 clear meaning of the Constitution, which, clarity, the Founding Fathers labored long and hard to achieve, 46 00:04:18,620 --> 00:04:23,660 successful, I would say, as well, well, if we continue to undercut the clear, static meaning of 47 00:04:23,660 --> 00:04:28,339 the Constitution, then we will soon find that all of our rights and institutions in America are shifting 48 00:04:28,339 --> 00:04:34,220 and ephemeral, even as we're finding today. If words do mean something, however, then the Constitution's 49 00:04:34,220 --> 00:04:40,079 meaning is clear and discernible. If we can change or shift their meaning or substitute other 50 00:04:40,079 --> 00:04:45,540 meanings of our own making for these words, then we might as well change out our revered Constitution 51 00:04:45,540 --> 00:04:50,139 for the most recent position paper of the Democrat Party, or the most recent op-ed page of the New 52 00:04:50,139 --> 00:04:56,579 York Times. Once again, James Solis says, if the Constitution really is a living, breathing document, 53 00:04:57,060 --> 00:05:01,480 then there is no Constitution. If the meaning of the text changes over time, then the text really 54 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,300 doesn't say anything. Consider the right to an abortion. Today, the living, breathing document 55 00:05:05,300 --> 00:05:11,660 gives us this right. Tomorrow, this right could be gone, unquote. So, when Christians now, turning to 56 00:05:11,660 --> 00:05:17,139 another revered text, when Christians turn their eyes to their own precious document, that is, our 57 00:05:17,139 --> 00:05:23,779 founding covenantal Constitution, the Bible, we find that many people attempt to do precisely the 58 00:05:23,779 --> 00:05:28,860 same thing to it as liberals do to the Constitution. That is, shift and change the clear, precise meaning 59 00:05:28,860 --> 00:05:34,939 of the Bible's words to another set of meanings more compatible with a lost man's sensibilities. 60 00:05:35,879 --> 00:05:41,079 There is a living, breathing document approach to the Bible. That has been happening ever since the 61 00:05:41,079 --> 00:05:46,639 days of the Apostles, as evidenced by Peter's observation. In his own day, in one of his letters, 62 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:54,199 he says, ignorant and unstable men twist the Scriptures to their own destruction, unquote. Well, this works 63 00:05:54,199 --> 00:06:01,300 itself out in a whole array of ways in everyday life down to our own culture, distilled for this 64 00:06:01,300 --> 00:06:06,819 pastor, that is, me, in the numbers of Bible texts that have passed into our culture as sayings and 65 00:06:06,819 --> 00:06:13,480 cliches. Seven Bible verses every lost man knows. That's what I'm doing today, is articulating these. 66 00:06:14,180 --> 00:06:19,199 Most of them are used in exactly the same way as the Constitution is used, that is, to find meanings 67 00:06:19,199 --> 00:06:24,600 and ideas where none existed before, and to even directly contradict the meanings originally given 68 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:30,720 in the Bible. Seven Bible verses every lost man knows, and even some Christians misinterpret these 69 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:37,680 texts. This is all done to assuage the lost sinful conscience, and perhaps even excuse the lost man 70 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:43,720 in his behavior. Therefore, in hopes of better equipping you to answer these things in the marketplace 71 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:49,319 of ideas, dear listener, into which you are thrust every six-day workweek, I'm speaking to Christians 72 00:06:49,319 --> 00:06:54,399 in particular who at least take some responsibility for interpreting the Bible, for interpreting the 73 00:06:54,399 --> 00:07:03,300 text of the Bible according to its context. There is indeed a contest out there between right and wrong 74 00:07:03,300 --> 00:07:08,379 interpretations of the Bible, and hopefully we can help bring some clarity today as we look at seven 75 00:07:08,379 --> 00:07:15,800 Bible verses every lost man knows. So let's examine seven of the most egregious examples of Bible texts 76 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:24,980 that are twisted and that every lost man knows. So first of all, number one, one text that every lost 77 00:07:24,980 --> 00:07:32,959 man knows and often distorts is 1 John 4 and 8. That is, God is love. God is love, pastor, and he twists 78 00:07:32,959 --> 00:07:38,519 sit oftentimes to his own destruction. Here we have perhaps one of the greatest spiritual painkillers 79 00:07:38,519 --> 00:07:44,779 in all the world. This verse, God is love, has the potential to bring great comfort and assurance and 80 00:07:44,779 --> 00:07:51,180 power to the regenerate soul in Christ, to the Christian, to him who has been born in Christ, but 81 00:07:51,180 --> 00:07:57,420 it is often distorted and transformed into a conscience killer too, a kind of spiritual morphine 82 00:07:57,420 --> 00:08:03,480 by the lost man. When the lost man uses the verse, God is love, it usually is in the context of 83 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:08,600 assuring himself that ultimately he is in no danger of hellfire and judgment, since after all, God is 84 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:13,939 love. How could a God of love send any of his creatures to hell? If that be the case, then surely 85 00:08:13,939 --> 00:08:20,279 he is safe. His life of sin and separation from his creator here is no reason to fret the afterlife 86 00:08:20,279 --> 00:08:26,459 because God is love. In fact, this is struggle enough for many Christians to understand. 87 00:08:26,459 --> 00:08:32,360 Oh, I have a daughter who dialogues on a regular basis with a friend in England who's working 88 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:38,519 through this question. But the lost man, the man with an unregenerate heart and mind, will 89 00:08:38,519 --> 00:08:43,600 intuitively distort the light of the gospel through his dark prism to make it shine favorably upon his 90 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:49,559 own sin, so that, as our Lord put it, even their light is darkness. This happens so often, doesn't it? 91 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:54,720 Therefore, extrapolating from a text that has been plucked unceremoniously from its context, 92 00:08:54,720 --> 00:09:00,679 the lost mind reasons out that, well, God is love. That is a kind of maudlin, sentimental 93 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:05,899 grandfather in the sky who sits up in heaven, wringing his hands over the poor creatures on the 94 00:09:05,899 --> 00:09:11,320 earth below and their welfare, wishing he could do more for them, waiting for them to go to a 95 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,059 better place, right? And wondering why, in the words of that great moral philosopher Rodney King, 96 00:09:15,059 --> 00:09:23,220 why can't we all just get along? In the end, the lost man reasons, since God is love, we will all end 97 00:09:23,220 --> 00:09:28,519 up in a happy place, an undefined paradise where one may fill in one's own blank or write one's own 98 00:09:28,519 --> 00:09:34,700 ticket, perhaps shape his own designer bliss. But such presumption, dear listener, neglects the sheer 99 00:09:34,700 --> 00:09:42,779 plain meaning of a text in its context. Number one, 1 John 4 and verse 8, note with me, contextually, 100 00:09:42,779 --> 00:09:47,879 God is love, is linked inextricably with our love for our Christian brothers and God's quelling of 101 00:09:47,879 --> 00:09:53,659 his own wrath against sinners. That's the context of 1 John 4, 8. It occurs amidst John's exhortation 102 00:09:53,659 --> 00:09:58,759 for Christians, and I'm talking about regenerate believers here, who are equipped in the new life 103 00:09:58,759 --> 00:10:06,279 to do so, to love one another, for love is from God. We, not non-Christians, are able to love one 104 00:10:06,279 --> 00:10:12,200 another precisely because the one bringing us new life is himself love. How was this love made manifest? 105 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:18,220 John tells us, not through candy canes, kisses, and warm fuzzy kittens, no. Verses 9 and 10 of 106 00:10:18,220 --> 00:10:24,639 chapter 4 go on to tell us that this love is made evident preeminently in God's Son, Jesus, such that 107 00:10:24,639 --> 00:10:29,679 in this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation 108 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:36,259 for our sins. This is how God demonstrates his love. This is how he demonstrates that he is love. 109 00:10:36,259 --> 00:10:42,059 In this word, propitiation, we have an indication of much more lurking in the nature of God than the 110 00:10:42,059 --> 00:10:47,639 warm fuzzies. Propitiation. Christian, if you don't know this word, go to the text. Propitiation 111 00:10:47,639 --> 00:10:53,360 means the quelling of wrath, the satisfaction made for righteous anger against the sin and 112 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:59,259 transgression of a people. The lost sinner stands in the wrath and anger of a righteous God, apart from 113 00:10:59,259 --> 00:11:06,899 Christ. In Christ, however, the just wrath against lost sinners is satisfied, and this satisfaction is 114 00:11:06,899 --> 00:11:13,220 made only and exclusively in Jesus Christ. Without it, the sinner still remains outside of the love of 115 00:11:13,220 --> 00:11:20,759 God and yet stands condemned and in danger of hellfire and judgment. Thus, for the lost man to take 116 00:11:20,759 --> 00:11:25,799 relief in the idea that God is love, apart from faith in Jesus Christ, is a great illusion, 117 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:32,860 and you must strive to disillusion this lost man. Secondly, note with me in this text, theologically, 118 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:39,340 God is love is linked inextricably to his other attributes. God is not only love. The attribute of 119 00:11:39,340 --> 00:11:44,779 love is not the only attribute God possesses and expresses. As we have been seeing in our concise 120 00:11:44,779 --> 00:11:50,580 theology series, the attribute of God's love is a part of the larger rubric of God's goodness. 121 00:11:51,419 --> 00:11:57,039 What the lost man neglects is that God is also just and therefore also demonstrates wrath and anger 122 00:11:57,039 --> 00:12:02,860 against injustice and sin against his law in person. If God were monoattributal, that is, 123 00:12:02,919 --> 00:12:07,759 consisting only and exclusively in the attribute of love, the lost man might have hope in the illusion 124 00:12:07,759 --> 00:12:13,080 that God is love in the way that the lost man conceives it. But as it stands, he does not want to 125 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:18,240 hear, nor does he tolerate the notion, the lost man, that God is angry with the wicked every day, 126 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:22,899 as Psalm 711 says, and that apart from Christ, we are by nature children of wrath, 127 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:29,740 as Ephesians 2 and verse 3 put it. Therefore, the lost man distorts this text, God is love, 128 00:12:29,899 --> 00:12:35,519 to his own destruction. You, O Christian, with genuine love and concern for the lost man's welfare, 129 00:12:35,860 --> 00:12:42,600 you are now better able to minister the salutary medicine of the text to his soul. Well, are there 130 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:47,340 other areas to which we can address our ministrations? Yes, because there are other texts 131 00:12:47,340 --> 00:12:54,019 that lost men know and distort to their own destruction. Matthew 7.1, for example, the lost 132 00:12:54,019 --> 00:12:59,200 man distorts, judge not that ye be not judged, and he distorts it to his own destruction. Judge not that 133 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:04,200 you be not judged. Every lost man knows this one, doesn't he? Here in the hands of a clever worldling, 134 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:10,679 we have one of the great pieces of dark spiritual armor. This piece of text, plucked glibly from its 135 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:17,000 context, is artfully employed when the lost man is confronted with his own sin, usually by some poor 136 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,379 Christian who's seen to be self-righteous and judgmental for pointing it out. Have you ever 137 00:13:21,379 --> 00:13:27,679 had this happen? Thus, the judgmentalism and the self-righteousness is deflected right back at the 138 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:33,600 accuser. Judge not that ye be not judged. Since the accuser is presumed to be laced with his own sin, 139 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:39,200 faults, and foibles, he becomes one of the great defensive shields for the conscience and scruples 140 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:45,820 of the sinner. When confronted with his own lost state apart from Christ, the worldling comes back 141 00:13:45,820 --> 00:13:49,980 with, don't judge me, judge not that ye be not judged. When he is confronted with his own thievery, 142 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,399 adultery, and blasphemy, the lost man comes back with, don't judge me, judge not that ye be not 143 00:13:54,399 --> 00:14:01,580 judged. I remember confronting a fellow co-worker many years ago who claimed to be a Christian, at least, 144 00:14:01,580 --> 00:14:05,860 with his own use of blasphemous speech, not just foul language, but the regular use of God's name 145 00:14:05,860 --> 00:14:10,860 in vain. He came right back at me with, I don't mean anything by it, and besides, judge not that 146 00:14:10,860 --> 00:14:16,120 ye be not judged. Oh, the look of satisfaction that stole across his face. Boy, had he trumped me with 147 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:21,500 a verse from the very book I drew my authority for life and salvation. At no time does the lost man gloat 148 00:14:21,500 --> 00:14:27,259 with glee more than when he can hoist the Christian with his own petard. In addition to providing 149 00:14:27,259 --> 00:14:34,980 a succinct definition of taking God's name in vain, that is, not meaning anything by it, my friend 150 00:14:34,980 --> 00:14:40,200 distorted this text from the Sermon on the Mount, which is where Matthew 7 verse 1 comes from, 151 00:14:40,820 --> 00:14:47,779 that is, judge not that ye be not judged. But note a couple of things here with me as we put this text 152 00:14:47,779 --> 00:14:54,840 in its context. Contextually, number one, Jesus is promulgating the law and the stipulation of the 153 00:14:54,840 --> 00:15:00,639 new covenant. When he says, judge not that ye be not judged, Jesus is promulgating the law and 154 00:15:00,639 --> 00:15:06,580 stipulation of the new covenant. If Jesus is the new Moses and is speaking on the Mount, even as 155 00:15:06,580 --> 00:15:10,480 Moses spoke from Mount Sinai, then our Lord is unfolding first and foremost the heart and soul 156 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:16,100 of the new covenant. In that context, we note that Jesus is speaking to those in the bonds of that 157 00:15:16,100 --> 00:15:21,600 covenant. Jesus cautions the assumption that we can correct the faults of a brother, and we're 158 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:26,580 talking about a brother here, a fellow Christian who has a circumcised heart and is living under the 159 00:15:26,580 --> 00:15:32,039 covenant and its stipulations. Then he cautions us, Jesus does, that we can correct the faults of a 160 00:15:32,039 --> 00:15:37,779 brother before correcting our own sins. Proper context, judge not that ye be not judged is a caution 161 00:15:37,779 --> 00:15:44,720 against the imperious pharisaic rush to judgment to which we are all liable, not a prohibition against 162 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:51,360 judgment altogether. We are not to be naive Pollyannas who cannot discern between right and wrong. 163 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:57,440 Being open-minded about people's sinful lifestyles, and this is what the sinner wants us to be, 164 00:15:57,779 --> 00:16:03,100 open to his sinful lifestyles. But even sewers have greats, dear listeners, don't they? We are not to 165 00:16:03,100 --> 00:16:09,100 be so open-minded that we let unrighteousness pour in. Jesus implies judgmentally, even a few verses 166 00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:15,460 later, that some men are indeed dogs and pigs. That's chapter 7, verse 6, and that we must therefore 167 00:16:15,460 --> 00:16:20,639 avoid exposing the truths of Scripture over and over to them for their ridicule. Well, secondly, 168 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:26,279 notice that this verse, judge not that ye be not judged. Theologically, we are commanded to judge 169 00:16:26,279 --> 00:16:31,759 others in many other contexts. This is not the only verse in the Bible, judge not that ye be not judged. 170 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:38,059 If this were the only text that spoke of judging others, the lost man might have a place to hide and 171 00:16:38,059 --> 00:16:45,580 avoid the glare of the spotlight of conviction. In 1 Corinthians 5, we have a case in point. Paul 172 00:16:45,580 --> 00:16:51,740 commands the Corinthians to deliver the scandalous adulterer over to Satan for destruction. That sounds 173 00:16:51,740 --> 00:16:57,220 pretty judgmental to me. Paul says he has already pronounced judgment on such a one and poses the 174 00:16:57,220 --> 00:17:01,779 rhetorical question to the Corinthians. Is it not those inside the church, that is, covenant brothers, 175 00:17:01,879 --> 00:17:06,680 whom you are to judge? Well, in fact, the whole implication for discipline in the life of the church, 176 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:11,279 symbolized by the keys of the kingdom, lie in the hands of the church, and apply the exercise of 177 00:17:11,279 --> 00:17:17,759 judgment, albeit wise and humble judgment. So, this text, judge not that ye be not judged, 178 00:17:17,980 --> 00:17:24,500 in the hands of a lost man, is a classic example of my favorite rule of thumb, and that is, a text 179 00:17:24,500 --> 00:17:30,160 without a context is just a pretext for a proof text. This is a perfect example of that. The lost man 180 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:36,059 twists this text, judge not that ye be not judged. He twists this text to his own destruction, 181 00:17:36,059 --> 00:17:42,880 not to his own defense. Well, thirdly, the third verse that we see so often used in the life of 182 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:48,920 the lost man, we're looking at seven Bible verses every lost man knows. Number three, the lost man 183 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:53,500 distorts, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and he distorts it to his own destruction. 184 00:17:53,660 --> 00:17:58,859 This is from the Sermon on the Mount, again, from Matthew 7, verse 12. Do unto others as you would 185 00:17:58,859 --> 00:18:04,140 have them do unto you. The lost man distorts this verse to his own destruction. This verse has become 186 00:18:04,140 --> 00:18:10,299 iconic in our culture for good behavior among all citizens and peoples, whether we are closing a 187 00:18:10,299 --> 00:18:14,279 business deal or in traffic or standing in the grocery line. Do unto others as you would have 188 00:18:14,279 --> 00:18:18,880 them do unto you. In other words, don't cut them off in traffic, but let the guy who wants to move 189 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:24,160 into your lane in order to exit, enter that lane, right? When you're moving to be in the checkout at 190 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,599 the grocery and you see someone else with two carts, each filled with a mountain of groceries moving 191 00:18:27,599 --> 00:18:31,640 towards the line you're entering, do not speed up to cut them off, but let them go first, 192 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:36,319 right? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That's the kind of meaning that is derived 193 00:18:36,319 --> 00:18:41,960 from our Lord's saying here in the Sermon on the Mount by the lost man. It has become a cultural 194 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:48,980 nostrum, a cure-all for the selfish tendencies of human nature. When the lost man sees you about to 195 00:18:48,980 --> 00:18:53,019 cut him off in traffic or beat you to the checkout line or get the best of you in a business deal, 196 00:18:53,079 --> 00:18:56,619 he may well come back with the adage, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 197 00:18:56,619 --> 00:19:02,220 Perhaps in his better moments, he might even use it as a rule of thumb for himself and behave 198 00:19:02,220 --> 00:19:08,319 generously and magnanimously towards his fellow man in society. And thus, he can burnish his own 199 00:19:08,319 --> 00:19:13,839 righteousness and add this to his list of good works whereby he can justify himself before God. 200 00:19:13,980 --> 00:19:18,559 After all, he may tell himself, am I not living by the golden rule? Do unto others as you would have 201 00:19:18,559 --> 00:19:24,400 them do unto you. Well, let's look at this verse in its context, shall we? First of all, number one, 202 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:31,200 contextually. Jesus, once again, is promulgating the law and stipulation of the new covenant. There 203 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:37,220 is law and stipulation in every covenant, even the covenant of grace. Jesus here is promulgating the law 204 00:19:37,220 --> 00:19:43,720 and stipulation of the new covenant. Once more, this verse is primarily designed for believers who 205 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:48,539 have regenerate hearts and have put themselves under the bonds of the new covenant in Jesus Christ. 206 00:19:49,059 --> 00:19:53,140 And as Jesus does at several points during the promulgation of the stipulations of the new 207 00:19:53,140 --> 00:19:59,460 covenant, in his sermon on the mount, he pauses to summarize what he's covered thus far. This is 208 00:19:59,460 --> 00:20:04,319 such a point. Do unto others the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you 209 00:20:04,319 --> 00:20:10,960 is a summary of what he's covered thus far. The lost man does not include in his golden rule what 210 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:15,980 Jesus includes. For this is the law and the prophets, he says. You go on and read. For this is 211 00:20:15,980 --> 00:20:21,160 the law and the prophets. That is, the golden rule is a summary of the heart of the law and prophets, 212 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,839 it's not a nice sentiment to feel when you've just returned the dollar someone dropped in front of you. 213 00:20:25,099 --> 00:20:30,579 The believer is to guide his life in the community of the church according to the covenant life with 214 00:20:30,579 --> 00:20:37,019 one another, not life in the lawless heart of stone world of the lost man. No, this is particular 215 00:20:37,019 --> 00:20:43,180 language to a particular people. This is covenant language to the covenant man. Above all, this verse 216 00:20:43,180 --> 00:20:49,680 is not to be understood as a utilitarian maxim, the scholar Donald Carson says. I studied under him 217 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:55,480 in seminary. Carson says, above all, this verse is not to be understood as a utilitarian maxim like 218 00:20:55,480 --> 00:21:00,180 honesty pays. We are to do to others what we would have them do to us, not just because we expect the 219 00:21:00,180 --> 00:21:05,059 same in return, but because such conduct is the goal of the law and the prophets. Carson says, unquote. 220 00:21:05,059 --> 00:21:11,740 And secondly, note contextually with me, the verse, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 221 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:17,960 Theologically, the heart and will of the lost man intends the opposite of that of the regenerate 222 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:24,420 man. Theologically, the heart and will of the lost man intends the opposite of that of the regenerate 223 00:21:24,420 --> 00:21:29,599 man. Ultimately, the lost man is opposed to the kingdom of God and the economy through which God 224 00:21:29,599 --> 00:21:34,339 works his covenant. Therefore, when it comes to that thing, which he would have done unto him, 225 00:21:34,339 --> 00:21:39,000 that thing is in opposition to the kingdom and the will of its king, God and his Christ. 226 00:21:39,799 --> 00:21:44,059 The mind that is set on the flesh, Paul says, the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, 227 00:21:44,180 --> 00:21:50,220 for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please 228 00:21:50,220 --> 00:21:57,980 God, Paul says in Romans 8, verse 8. Therefore, what the lost man would have done unto him is more 229 00:21:57,980 --> 00:22:04,220 often than not a thing that the regenerate man would not want done unto him. Does the lost man want 230 00:22:04,220 --> 00:22:09,440 a life bathed in sin and rebellion against God? Yes, he does. Is this what the regenerate man 231 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:14,319 wants done unto him? Ultimately, no. Does the regenerate man want a life of sanctification 232 00:22:14,319 --> 00:22:20,339 transformed by the righteousness of Christ? No, of course not. Is this what the regenerate 233 00:22:20,339 --> 00:22:30,170 saved man wants? Yes, it is. Yes, it is. So when the Christian considers this verse in the hands of 234 00:22:30,170 --> 00:22:35,890 lost men and women, it is, as my professor, Dr. Carson would put it, nothing more than a utilitarian 235 00:22:35,890 --> 00:22:43,269 maxim. That is a nice sentiment to help us get along in our sin in order to help us get the most 236 00:22:43,269 --> 00:22:49,009 from a lost world for our lost selves. So while the Christian may appreciate a clear path home and 237 00:22:49,009 --> 00:22:53,390 traffic for himself and his neighbor in his car, he ultimately is far more concerned with a clear path 238 00:22:53,390 --> 00:22:59,750 home in his pilgrimage to the new Jerusalem, the city of God, to his life with the Father and the Son, 239 00:23:00,170 --> 00:23:05,809 for both himself and those whom God has called from a lost race of men. This is what he wants done 240 00:23:05,809 --> 00:23:11,670 unto himself and for others. While we have four other verses that we want to touch on, and we'll do 241 00:23:11,670 --> 00:23:17,970 that in a subsequent lecture, but I am treating here of a very important issue in the life of the 242 00:23:17,970 --> 00:23:22,170 church, and that is proper interpretation of the biblical text. We've looked at three different 243 00:23:22,170 --> 00:23:27,890 verses which the lost man twists to his own destruction, have we not? That is, God is love, 244 00:23:27,890 --> 00:23:32,890 right? And judge not that you be not judged, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 245 00:23:33,029 --> 00:23:36,609 And we put them in their proper context and understanding for you today so that you're 246 00:23:36,609 --> 00:23:42,890 better able to love and to minister and to witness to that lost man who twists the Bible to his own 247 00:23:42,890 --> 00:23:46,809 destruction. And perhaps you're a Christian who has misunderstood these verses in the past as well, 248 00:23:46,890 --> 00:23:51,569 and you have a better understanding of them now. And I hope that that is the case for all of us. 249 00:23:51,569 --> 00:23:57,190 Indeed, we've taken a break from the political fever, from the political atmosphere of this 250 00:23:57,190 --> 00:24:02,289 presidential election cycle, and we're just going to pause and get back to basics, and that is 251 00:24:02,289 --> 00:24:07,230 biblical interpretation. We've seen how the Constitution, another revered document, has been 252 00:24:07,230 --> 00:24:13,390 twisted in our own culture with great harm to our culture and to our nation. And this happens also in 253 00:24:13,390 --> 00:24:18,450 the life of the church, where the Bible gets twisted and misunderstood to the destruction of many. 254 00:24:18,450 --> 00:24:24,730 Hopefully, we can help clear some of these things up. We will be treating of this in several weeks to 255 00:24:24,730 --> 00:24:32,490 come, finishing the other four verses that the lost man misunderstands and twists. But we want to 256 00:24:32,490 --> 00:24:37,529 also let you know that we have been cataloging many of our past sermons. If you want to go back and 257 00:24:37,529 --> 00:24:43,410 review any of them, we have a brand new website devoted exclusively to this radio program. And there 258 00:24:43,410 --> 00:24:50,029 we have cataloged, oh, a little over a year's worth of past messages that you can graze among at your 259 00:24:50,029 --> 00:24:57,549 leisure. And that website is omnisprotestas.org. Let me spell that for you. Needless to say, this 260 00:24:57,549 --> 00:25:08,329 domain name hadn't been taken yet. It's omnisprotestas, O-M-N-I-S dash, P-O-T-E-S-T-A-S dot org, 261 00:25:08,329 --> 00:25:20,450 omnisprotestas.org. O-M-N-I-S dash, P-O-T-E-S-T-A-S dot org. And we're continuing to work on the website. 262 00:25:20,650 --> 00:25:24,490 We're going to bring some graphics to it. And we're going to have some other links. And we may 263 00:25:24,490 --> 00:25:30,349 have some written articles too. But this is a work in progress. But you can access at least 264 00:25:30,349 --> 00:25:35,549 the audio of most of the programs that we have had for the past year. And I would encourage you to do 265 00:25:35,549 --> 00:25:41,410 so because you will get a perspective, a biblical perspective on culture and politics and religious 266 00:25:41,410 --> 00:25:47,309 faith here in our country as you do so. And you'll get my perspective, which has been a broad one and 267 00:25:47,309 --> 00:25:53,210 a long one over this past year or so. But we also have then our regular website, which is 268 00:25:53,210 --> 00:26:00,750 newgenevaopc.org. And this has been Pastor David Bass. New Geneva meets for holy worship on Sunday 269 00:26:00,750 --> 00:26:06,329 at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. I encourage you to visit us. Some 270 00:26:06,329 --> 00:26:12,230 of you have been intending to, been meaning to visit us. And I encourage you to break the ice 271 00:26:12,230 --> 00:26:18,549 and to finally take that step. You'll find a warm welcome and you'll find an opportunity to worship 272 00:26:18,549 --> 00:26:25,730 the Lord your God in spirit and in truth. That's New Geneva OPC. And we meet for holy worship on Sunday 273 00:26:25,730 --> 00:26:32,490 at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. You can call us for input or feedback 274 00:26:32,490 --> 00:26:37,730 at 523-0196. 523-0196.