“GOD MADE THE RULES” - Sermon Outlines. Org
“GOD MADE THE RULES”
PSALM 33:11
INTRO: The old saying is, “Rules were made to be broken.” But can you
imagine what our lives would be like if there were no rules. What if
everyone could do whatever they desired to do without any
consequences whatsoever? This would be a horrible world to live in
and also a dangerous one. Laws appear everywhere. We find them in
the domain of beauty. They forbid the architect to put a small column
under a mighty dome, and will not permit him to sacrifice power to
beauty. They command the painter to care for Nature, and not to
make wheat ripen in the snow and not to make the robins sing in the
leafless trees of Christmas. They issue orders to literature, and tell it
to exclude debasing ideas and to admit the truths of most value and
of greatest application. They issue orders to religion, and tell it to
create in humanity the most possible of virtue and hope. Appearing
at all other points of thought and action, laws spring up in the
State to help the public hold what justice and progress it may have
found. These laws our citizens must respect. All damage done to
property, all disregard of American rights, the rights of individuals or
of corporations, must be instantly checked, because the law of the
land is the progress we have made in the ages up to this date. With
that taken away, we fall back into the abyss of barbarism. Our Nation
may or may not have climbed very high from its barbaric starting
point, but it must hold what it has gained. Our laws of property have
been passed by the millions acting in their best hours; they must not
be set at naught by bands of itinerants acting in their bad hours. —
SWING. (PEARLS FROM MANY SEAS by J. B. McClure, editor. The Master Christian
Library. Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).
It seems as times change, rules also change to accommodate the
changing times. What was once the rule is now the exception.
Although man-made rules constantly change, the laws of God remain
the same. The psalmist said in our text—“The counsel of the LORD
standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.” What he
has determined shall be done. He determined to make a world, and he
made it; to create man, and he created him. He determined that at a
certain period God should be manifested in the flesh, and it was so;
that he should taste death for every man, and he did so; that his
Gospel should be preached in all the world; and behold it has already
nearly overrun the whole earth. All his other counsels and thoughts,
which refer to the future, shall be accomplished in their times.
(CLARKE’S COMMENTARY OT, VOLUME 3: JOB - SONG OF SOLOMON by Adam Clarke. The
Master Christian Library. Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).
Friends, this evening I want to speak on the subject, GOD MADE THE
RULES. God’s Word—God’s rules never change. There are four areas
I want to focus your attention tonight concerning God’s rules. First…
(1) REALITY—THE SOUL THAT SINNETH IT SHALL DIE
EZEKIEL 18:4—“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so
also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
*There are a couple sayings we hear quite often today, “Make it real” or “Keep it
real”. But God, in His Word gives us the reality of all mankind:
A. ALL MEN ARE SINNERS. Romans 3:23 tells us—“For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God.” 1 John 5:19b says—“… the whole world
lieth in wickedness.” Every person, without exception, is under sin. We are
all sinners by birth and by choice. Even after we receive Christ as our
Saviour we are still sinners—saved sinners. The hymn writer wrote:
“Only a sinner, saved by grace,
Only a sinner saved by grace.
This is my story,
To God by the glory.
I’m only a sinner saved by grace.”
God says in Ezekiel 18:4—“…the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” This
speaks of:
• THE ONE THAT MAKES SIN HIS PRACTICE. The Scripture here says—“the soul that sinneth…”. The current popular notion that judging others is in itself a sin leads to such inappropriate maxims as 'I'm okay and you're okay.' It encourages a conspiracy of moral indifference which says, "If you never tell me that anything I'm doing is wrong, I'll never tell you that anything you're doing is wrong." (Elisabeth Elliot Gren, Leadership, Vol. 3, no. 1).
• THE OBLIGATION TO MEET SIN’S PENALTY. The consequences of continued sin is that the soul “it shall die.” This means spiritual death. It means facing what the Scripture calls “the second death.” As of us are responsible for our sins. If we have been saved, Christ dealt with our sin problem at the Cross. But daily we must repent and ask forgiveness of sin to keep our relationship with Him a healthy one. But the lost are living under the condemnation of sin already. And the final result of not accepting the forgiveness of sin will be an eternity in hell separated from the Lord and His people.
B. ALL MEN NEED TO BE SAVED. Because all are sinners, all need to be
saved. All souls are in the hand of the great Creator: he will deal with them
in justice or mercy… We all have sinned, and our souls must be lost, if God
deal with us according to his holy law; but we are invited to come to
Christ. (MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSION by
Matthew Henry. The Master Christian Library. Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany,
OR). Our Lord Jesus said in John 6:37—“All that the Father giveth me shall
come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” All that are
drawn by the Father, John 6:44, i.e. all those who are influenced by his
Spirit, and yield to those influences: for as many as are LED (not driven or
dragged) by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God, Romans 8:14…
Those who come at the call of God, he is represented here as giving to
Christ, because it is through his blood alone that they can be saved.
(CLARKE’S COMMENTARY NT, VOLUME 5B: JOHN – ACTS by Adam Clarke. The Master Christian
Library. Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).
But friends, the reality remains—“the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Unless
a person comes to Christ in repentance and faith that person will die in
their sins and will spend eternity separated from God and all who are His!
God’s rules deal with REALITY but also with…
(2) REAPING—WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH THAT SHALL HE ALSO
REAP
GALATIANS 6:7-8—“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
A. THE FOLLY. How foolish we must be to think that we can sin and God
will be unaware and uncaring about the things we do. Friend, you cannot
deceive God. He will not allow you to mock Him. Hebrews 4:12-13 tells
us—“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of
him with whom we have to do.” Friends, we cannot hide from God! He
knows all and sees all! Proverbs 15:3 says—“The eyes of the LORD are in
every place, beholding the evil and the good.” And the Lord reminds us in
Jeremiah 23:23-24—“Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God
afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith
the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.”
B. THE FRUIT. “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting.” Those who indulge in sensual pleasures and animal appetites
will reap a crop of corruption. Our present time is seed time; in the other
world we shall reap as we sow now. As there are two sorts of sowing, one to
the flesh, and the other to the Spirit, so will the reckoning be hereafter.
Those who live a carnal, sensual life, must expect no other fruit from such a
course than misery and ruin. But those who, under the guidance and
influences of the Holy Spirit, live a life of faith in Christ, and abound in
Christian graces, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (MATTHEW HENRY’S
COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSION by Matthew Henry. The Master
Christian Library. Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR). Someone said, “No
man is rich enough to buy back his past.” --Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) (Edythe
Draper, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
1992). Entry #1735). As Brother Charles Stanley puts it: “We reap what we sow,
how we sow, and later than we sow.”
God’s rules deal with REALITY, REAPING and with…
(3) REQUIREMENT
HEBREWS 9:27—“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after
this the judgment.”
A. OUR APPOINTMENT. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die…”.
Friends, there is no wisdom, learning, virtue, wealth, or power that can
keep one of the human race from their appointment with death. Death is
laid before by divine decree. We are dust and to the dust we shall return.
B. OUR ACCOUNTING. Death is a certainty all of us must face and the
Scripture says “but after this the judgment.” Every person must one day
stand and give an account before Almighty God. Romans 14:11-12 tells
us—“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give
account of himself to God.”
God’s rules deal with REALITY, REAPING, REQUIREMENT and lastly with…
(4) REPENTANCE—EXCEPT YE REPENT YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH
LUKE 13:3—“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish.”
A. REPENTANCE IS COMMANDED. Jesus said here—“except ye repent…”.
Acts 17:30 tells us—“God…commandeth all men every where to repent.”
God “commands, as the sovereign, all men every where…to repent…because
he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness;
and, as justice will then be done, no sinner, no persevering idolater, shall
escape punishment.” (CLARKE’S COMMENTARY NT, VOLUME 5B: JOHN – ACTS by Adam
Clarke. The Master Christian Library. Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).
B. REPENTANCE IS CRUCIAL. Jesus said—“I tell you…except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish.” There is no salvation apart from repentance!
ILLUS: Men are to "repent." Of what? Idolatry. If men set anything above God
as the object of their time, thought, energy, or life, they are worshiping
the work of their hands and are thereby degrading God and
themselves. They must repent because judgment is coming! Mankind
is not moving toward extinction (as the Epicureans thought), nor
toward absorption in the cosmos (as the Stoics supposed). But
mankind is moving toward divine judgment. (Preaching the Word. WORDsearch
7.0. Copyright 2007. WORDsearch Corp.).
CLOSING: Friends, GOD MADE THE RULES concerning REALITY, REAPING,
REQUIREMENT, and REPENTANCE. As the psalmist said, “The
counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all
generations.” In other words, God’s rules do not change.
PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY EVENING, JULY 13, 2008.
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