Judgment and Mercy - Part 2 of 2

The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise! Thou the rays of my God and King, thou triumphs of his grace! This is LeSaire Bradley, Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for the message of God's sovereign grace. Raw is the road that leads to death, and thousands walk together there. But wisdom shows a narrow path with year and there of traveler. Lord, let not all my hopes be vain, recreate my heart entirely new.

Which immigrants could ne'er obtain, which false apostates never knew? I encourage you to write and let us know that you have listened to the broadcast. We depend on our listeners for support, and if you can help us, we'll certainly be thankful for it. Our address is Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. Today we continue with the message from our series on the book of Joshua entitled, Judgment and Mercy. I know that there are a lot of people who don't like to hear about God's wrath poured out on idolaters. But all of this impresses upon us the holiness of God, that God hates sin and will punish it. And so all of us as sinners are in desperate need of the mercy and grace of God, which can only be found in Jesus Christ our Savior. Chapter 28 of Deuteronomy, verse 15. But it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do all of his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, cursed shalt thou be in the field, cursed shalt thou be thy basket and thy store. Verse 20, the Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation and rebuke in all that thou setest thine hand unto for to do until thou be destroyed and until thou perish quickly because of the wickedness of thy doings.

I'm going to deal with you. I've favored you, I've blessed you, but if you turn aside, if you rebel against me because of the wickedness of your doings, you're going to perish off the land. Whereby thou hast forsaken me, the Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee until he hath consumed thee off the land whether thou goest to possess it. Verse 59, then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful and the plagues of thy seed even great plagues and of long continuance and sore sicknesses and of long continuance. Moreover, he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, the very things that you thought you were now able to avoid. I will bring upon you the diseases from the land of Egypt. I'm going to send these plagues upon you, the things of which you were afraid and they shall cleave unto you. Now, in this chapter, there are 54 verses that describe the curses one after another. Curse shall thou be in the morning, curse shall thou be in the evening, curse shall thou be in the city, curse shall thou be in the field, on and on.

The curses are enumerated. Now, when we read in these passages of scripture about the plagues that God was going to bring upon the people in that day and the curses that he said he would send, I can't help but think about COVID-19 today. I'm certainly not able to interpret all that God is doing, but to ignore the fact that there has been such a worldwide plague to come upon us in this day would be folly. We need to know that God is in control. This didn't just slip up. It didn't just happen. God's not surprised by it.

He's in absolute control. So obviously there is a reason for it. As I say, I wouldn't attempt to judge the details because very quickly you can come to some wrong conclusions, just like those who came to Jesus and said, what about those upon whom the tower of Siloam fell? Eighteen people were killed.

What about them? Were they more wicked than anybody else? Jesus says, I tell you, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. In other words, it wasn't their place to be determining what the purpose of God was in the destruction of those 18 people. You want to make the mistake that the friends of Job made when they repeatedly confronted him and said, Job, you couldn't have all this trouble if there wasn't some deep sin and God is dealing with you because of it.

It wasn't the case. So you want to be careful and not form an opinion and make a judgment that's without foundation. At the same time, it must be recognized that God often has displayed his displeasure by sending plagues, various curses and crises. And certainly it is our prayer that this great trouble will be a wake-up call to many.

You hear all the talk about what the medical community is doing, what research is being done to be able to combat this disease, and that's all well and good. I'm in favor of that, but I don't hear much said about the need to call upon the living God to intervene, to give those researchers the wisdom they need, to give special guidance to those in the medical field, to remove the plague if it could be God's will, to know that we're dependent upon him. What a day it would be if repentance could be seen across the land. Just as much as when Jonah went to Nineveh and called upon him to repent, it was a wicked city.

And what did they do? Heard the prophet, believed his message, and repented. How wonderful if we could see repentance today and a cry out to God for his mercy. Now during these Old Testament times when God was sending judgment and plagues, there was always a call to repent. The book of Jeremiah records in detail some of the troubles that came because of the sins of the people, but in chapter 3 verse 22 he says, Return ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. That word return is found numerous times. Return, you've gone the wrong direction, you're moving in the wrong direction, come back.

Return. Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 21 says, But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live and not die. So while God sends trouble, curses, plagues upon the wicked, and sometimes upon his people because of their disobedience, he says if they return, if they come back and do that which is lawful and right, they shall not die. Ezekiel 33 11, Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

So don't get the idea that God is arbitrarily just deciding I want to send a little trouble over here, I want to send some judgment over there. No, he says, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die? O house of Israel, here's the call to repent. Hosea chapter 13 verse 1, O Israel, return to the Lord thy God, for thou is fallen by thine iniquity. And then verse 4, same chapter, I will yield their backslidings. I told you at the beginning of this message, we're going to talk about judgment and mercy, and you may have been wondering, where's the mercy? Well, here is mercy, right in the midst of all this judgment. He says, I will yield their backslidings, I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him.

Why is it turned away? Because the people said we will return. We're going to come back to the Lord. We're acknowledging our sin. Yes, we're talking about judgment and mercy, but this is abundant mercy. When the Lord says, I will heal their backslidings. But you know, judgment is not just a message of the Old Testament.

I've heard people say this, well, it troubles me. I think that the God that is depicted in the New Testament differs from the God that I see in the Old Testament. Some people have been so blatant as to say, I don't like the Old Testament God. But my friends, the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

There is but one true and living God. And he has still declared that judgment is to come. John the Baptist comes on the scene in Matthew chapter 3 verse 7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to what? Flee from the wrath to come. John the Baptist is talking about wrath.

He's talking about judgment. Bring forth therefore fruits, meat for repentance. He was bold. He was courageous. He was filled with the Spirit of God. He talks about God's wrath and calls upon these to repent. Matthew chapter 4 verse 17. From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus said some wonderfully precious, comforting things while he was here. But he also spoke sternly to the self-righteous Pharisees, to the hypocrites of his day. And here he's calling on men to repent. And the reason to repent is because if there is not repentance, there will be judgment. And then Jesus also speaks these words in John chapter 3 and the 30th verse. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life.

But what? The wrath of God abideth on him. See, there is no neutral position. Somebody might say, well, I don't believe on Jesus, but I'm not against him. I'm just neutral.

You can't be neutral. There's only two categories in that verse. The one that believes has eternal life. The one who doesn't has the wrath of God on him. God's wrath. Well, just as John the Baptist preached repentance, and Jesus came on the scene preaching repentance and speaking about the wrath of God, it was continued by the apostles. And so when Paul went to Mars Hill in Acts chapter 17 in the 30th verse, he says, in the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. Why should they repent? Because they're sinners. Because they violated God's law.

Because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, and that he hath raised him from the dead. So that was the message of the apostles. And if we're going to be faithful in preaching the messages that were preached in the New Testament times, we have to preach it too, calling on men to repent.

And the failure to repent means that there are consequences. Judgment will come. Paul describes that in vivid detail in the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, beginning with verse 7. And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire.

What a sight! In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. You see, that's not something that we've unearthed in the Old Testament that has long been ignored. This is in one of the epistles that Paul is writing to a New Testament church. He's telling them that there's coming a time when Jesus Christ comes back.

It'll be a glorious time. The next verse goes on to talk about those that will admire him, those who have faith in him, those who are his children who rejoice and find comfort in his coming. But to these who have not obeyed the gospel and do not know God, he's coming in fire and with great judgment.

Revelation chapter 6 verse 15, And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. We like to think about that Passover lamb representing Jesus. The lamb was slain and its blood was put on the doorpost so that the dead things are passed over.

We know that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. We like to hear John the Baptist as he preached saying, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. But here we read that the Lamb comes with wrath. For the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand? That's a dreadful thing to think about, is it not?

To think that all kinds of people, great men, rich men, chief captains, mighty men, free men, they're hiding, they're calling for the rocks to fall on them. It's a dreadful thing because they're exposed to the wrath of the Lamb. People who scoffed at the gospel of Jesus Christ, people who say, I don't need a Savior, people who say, I don't believe there is a God, they'll be in horrendous fear when the wrath of the Lamb is exposed. Well, when you hear of God's wrath, you hear of God's hatred for sin, you hear of his judgments, does it not make you realize I need mercy and grace? I need a Savior. I don't want to be exposed to that wrath.

I don't want to be in a position where I'm calling for the rocks and the mountains to fall on me. I know that if it were left to me to make things right with God, I couldn't possibly do it because I'm a sinner. God demands perfection and I don't come close. I need a Savior. And Jesus Christ is the one and only Savior. He's described as the friend of sinners. No other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved.

And therefore, there is hope in him. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 26, But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. You see, sin is the problem. We're born with a sinful nature. We commit sin. We're alienated from God.

We're the enemies of God. Sin separates us. Sin is that by which we're condemned and on the basis of which we would be ruined, lost forever. But Jesus Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

He was that Lamb of God that laid down his life so that with the shedding of his blood, the Passover is a reality for us. That we're passed over and judgment does not befall us if we're in Christ. Hebrews 10 17 says, Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

The vivid description of the sins of the Canaanites, the sins of God's own people when they strayed in later years, are indeed horrendous. And if you have a clear sight of yourself, and you think about sins of omission, sins of commission, you know I'm a sinner in the sight of God. But here's the blessing of mercy. Here's the blessing of his grace. Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now we read earlier that God will not at all acquit the wicked. So he doesn't just ignore it.

He doesn't just overlook things. But the sin debt is paid. Justice is met. Jesus Christ paid the price that no man could ever have paid. But he was the perfect spotless lamb of God and paid the price for us. Their sins will I remember no more. What a blessing. What mercy that is.

And then we find reference to the rest. We read at the beginning the 23rd verse of Joshua chapter 11, which essentially says, So Joshua took the whole land, and the land rested from war. What a blessing. The war was over. He could rest. Well, there's reference to that in the New Testament. Hebrews chapter 4, reading the 8th verse, for if Joshua says in our translation, if Jesus, but the meaning is Joshua, if Jesus or Joshua had given them rest, they would not have afterward have spoken of another day. In other words, if the only rest involved was the rest that was enjoyed after those seven years of battles. And now the people are enjoying peace in the land.

If that was all, there would not have been mention of another day. But there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into rest, he also hath ceased from his own works as God did from his.

Well, I believe there's a twofold rest. There's a rest now as we rest in Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 11 28, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

That burdened sinner laden with a sense of his own guilt, burdened down knowing he can't remedy the situation by his own action or by his own works. But Jesus says, Come unto me, I will give you rest. You cease from your own works, your own effort, and you rest in him. And then there's a lot of laboring that goes on just in contending with the challenges of life.

There are always problems to solve, conflicts to settle. Life can become very worrisome at times, but we can find rest even now during the days of our sojourn by resting in him. Come unto me, I will give you rest. And then there is an eternal rest yet to come. A rest that will be uninterrupted, perfect peace forever. Revelation 14 of the 13th verse, And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.

Oh, the labor here is sometimes difficult. You're fighting a battle. You're told to put on the whole armor of God, that you may stand against the wiles of the devil. That's a battle that you're engaged in every day.

If you forget about it, you're not prepared for the battle, one of these fiery darts are going to strike you. So it's an ongoing matter to be prepared to face the enemy, being constantly reminded, I have an enemy. The world is my enemy. The flesh is my enemy. The devil is my enemy.

I need to be prepared to meet them. Running that race, run the race with patience. So I'm tired. I've been running this race for a long time. And I'm weary, I'm discouraged.

How can I keep going? But with the grace of God, you can find the strength that's necessary, and remember that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Finally it says, their works are ended. Yes, blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. They rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. It said, he being dead yet speaketh, so that one who has lived a godly life serving the Lord, their works do follow them. But they come to rest.

And the rest and peace over there is forever. You may have some days when you enjoy a particularly close fellowship with the Lord. Sometimes they just say, Lord, I can't even understand the peace and rest that I feel at this moment, but I know it's from thee, and you rejoice in that.

But it's soon disrupted by the changing circumstances of life, and you don't have that degree of rest every day, but there is that day of rest. What a contrast we see in the book of Revelation. Chapter 20 verse 10 says that the devil and the false prophets are cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and tormented day and night. But chapter 21 verse 3 says, I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them.

Oh, what a contrast. Here's a joyous scene. Here's a place of peace that will last forever. God himself shall be with them and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.

Isn't that wonderful to anticipate? That great time to look forward to in the presence of the Lord with him forever. When the burdens get heavy now, when the waves difficult and discouragements come, let's remember we're just pilgrims passing through.

We're looking to that eternal city where we will be with him forever, where God dwells with his people. Judgment and mercy. The people of Canaan were judged because they were idolaters. They were great sinners.

They were guilty of terrible abominations. We're all sinners by nature and justly condemned, so we need grace, and that grace only comes through Jesus Christ, and he's described as being full of grace, adequate grace to meet our situation. Now, outside of Christ, there is no refuge from judgment. Judgment will come, but in him, in Jesus Christ, there is safety. There's peace.

There's rest forever. What a wonderful Savior we have. Oh, what joy to anticipate that great day when we will at last be at home with the Lord. I'm glad you've been with us today. If the message has been a blessing, let us know by writing us. Till next week at this same time, may the Lord richly bless you all. The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr. The Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217 The Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45117