Five Things God Does Not Know

Transcription

1 Five Things God Does Not Know by David Roper Author s note: In April 1973, Marvin Phillips preached in a campaign for us at the Macquarie church of Christ in Sydney, Australia. The title of the one sermon in particular caused a lot of comment (and gave us the opportunity to do some teaching): Five Things God Does Not Know. I took notes and several years later used the lesson myself. It was so well received that I have since used it a number of times. When I wrote to Marvin asking for the background on the lesson and permission to print my version of it, he replied: An old brother gave me the idea. He got it from a preacher years before. That would make it at least fifty years old. Use it! My topic today is: Five Things God Does Not Know. I do not want you to misunderstand me; if there is anything plainly taught in the Scriptures, it is the omniscience of God. In Psalm 139, for instance, David speaks of that omniscience: Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night, even the darkness is not dark to Thee, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee (vv. 7 12). God is everywhere. God knows all things. You may have heard the story of the little boy going on vacation. As he walked out of the house, he said, Goodbye, Teddy. Goodbye, chair. As they drove away, he said, Goodbye, house. Finally, they went by the church building as they were driving out of town, and he said, Goodbye, God. But it does not work that way. God sees all. God knows all. God knows us within as well as without. You just cannot get away from God. The New Testament also emphasizes this. Matthew 6:8 says, Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. Matthew 10:30 notes that the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Acts 15:8, speaking of the gospel going to the Gentiles, speaks of God who knows the heart. Second Timothy 2:19 says, The Lord knows those who are His. Hebrews 4:13 says, And there is no creature hidden from His sight; but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Someone says, If God knows everything, what is the point of the title, Five Things God Does Not Know? This of course is a play on words to make us think. Let me illustrate what I am talking about: I. GOD DOES NOT KNOW A SIN HE DOES NOT HATE Proverbs 6:16 begins, There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him. This is followed by a list of certain sins. God hates sin. In fact, God wants us to hate sin. In Psalm 45:7, one is commended in these words: Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of joy above Thy fellows. In Psalm 97:10, God s people are com- 1

2 manded, Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Once a teacher asked her class, Who gave you the capacity to hate? Most answered, Satan gave us the capacity to hate. The teacher then pointed out, No, it is God who gave us that capacity to hate other people, etc. But the capacity to hate itself is good. For you cannot love one thing without hating the opposite; you cannot love God without hating evil, without hating sin. When we talk about God hating sin, we need to emphasize that we are talking about any sin. You and I tend to size sin; we tend to color sin. We talk about big sins and little sins, white sins and technicolored sins. Sins may vary in consequences in this life, and there are some sins harder to undo, but God hates every sin. Every sin is a transgression of God s law (1 John 3:4). In this first part of James 2, James discusses the sin of partiality. Apparently, most felt that this was really a rather insignificant sort of sin. James makes this statement in verse 10: For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point [in context, that is the point of being partial], he has become guilty of all. There are no big sins and little sins. Why does God hate sin? Why does God want us to hate sin? Because sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:1, 2 says, Behold, the Lord s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear. God loves us. God wants to bless us. The only thing standing in the way is sin. So, big or small, every sin is an affront to God. God does not know a sin He does not hate. II. GOD DOES NOT KNOW A SINNER HE DOES NOT LOVE God may hate sin, but He loves sinners. For a few moments, think of recent headlines. 1 Perhaps you think of mass murderers. Perhaps you think of those who have killed little children. You might think of those who have committed terrible atrocities. Is it not an amazing thing to realize that God loves every one of those individuals: every mass murderer, every killer, every person who has committed an atrocity! In Luke 7:34, Jesus was criticized for being a friend of publicans and sinners. It was not that He approved of what they did, but He loved them. John 3:16 begins, God so loved the world, that He gave.... When it says, God so loved the world, it did not mean He loved the rocks, trees, and fossil fuel about which we get so concerned. It does not mean He loved buildings, the gadgets we have, houses, or cars. No, He loved the people. He loved us. He loved everyone. Little children sing, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.... And that is so true. It takes but little imagination to see Jesus with His arms around little children saying, Of such is the kingdom of heaven. But not only little children can sing, Jesus loves me ; we oldies can sing it too. The most hardened inmate in Huntsville, Texas, can sing it. The most unbelieving Communist can sing it. Jesus loves me, this I know.... Romans 5:8 says, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You and I do not love the way God loved. You might ask me, for instance, if I love my wife, and I would say, Yes and then I would add: After all she is sweet; she is lovely; she has a beautiful smile; she helps me; she loves me in return. On the other hand, I imagine most would be surprised if in answer to your question, I replied, Sure I love her. After all she is ugly, mean, and hateful, and she despises me and does everything she can to hurt me! But is that not how God loves us? Thus, we read in Ephesians 3:19 of the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge. We may never fully understand it. But we thank God that it is true. God does not know a sinner that He does not love. III. GOD DOES NOT KNOW A SINNER HE DOES NOT WANT TO SAVE Today, we frequently pick and choose those with whom we share the gospel. One converted denominational preacher said that through the years door knockers from churches of Christ invariably passed by his house. Sometimes they would stick some type of advertising in his door and then run. But mainly they made no effort to 2

3 share the message of New Testament Christianity. In contrast to that we read in Acts 6:7, And a great many priests were becoming obedient to the faith. Why was that so? Because early Christians understood the gospel was for all. They believed that God did not know a sinner that He did not want saved. Listen to 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord... is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. God is not willing that any should perish. In order to know the joy of salvation we must believe at least two things about God: number one, His ability to save and number two, His willingness to save. If we believe in God it is not hard to believe in His ability to save, that He is capable. We think of God as He who made all things by the power of His might. We think of Jesus as He fed the five thousand, as He stilled the storm, as He raised the dead. And we say, Yes, God is able to save. But willingness might be a harder concept for us to grasp. Think for a moment of Jesus and His life and the way people treated Him during His life. The hypocrisy of His day sickened Him. He spoke against the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees (Matthew 23). Think of the materialism that angered Him as He drove out the money-changers. Ultimately, because of His teaching, the people rejected Him. At one point they tried to stone Him. Finally, they put Him to death. Here is going to be a real test of willingness. Can there be love for this kind of people?! In our imagination, we see Jesus gathering His disciples together after His resurrection, as He says to them, Go into all the world, and punish the hypocrites, imprison the ungodly, kill those involved in killing Me, and wipe this earth clean of ungodliness! You and I know that Jesus did not say that. Rather He said, Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15). Do You mean even go to those who pushed the crown of thorns upon Your head? That is right... to every creature... I love them all! God does not know a sinner that He does not want to be saved. Do not misunderstand me. We can so live, we can so reject the overtures of the love of God, we can become so hardened that we pass the pointof-no-return spiritually; the point at which we can be saved. Hebrews 6:4, 6 speaks of those so hardened that it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. Ephesians 4:19 speaks of those who are past feeling. But as far as God s part is concerned, God is always ready and willing to save, if one will come to Him in penitence and submission. That is a wonderful thing to realize. Doctors may have to sometimes say, There is no hope; there is nothing we can do. Lawyers may have to sometimes say, There is no hope; there is no point in pursuing this matter further. Builders may have to sometimes say, There is no hope for this building; it is not worth fixing up. You will have to start over. But those of us who share the gospel of Christ do not have to say that. As long as there is breath in your body, as long as your conscience can be pricked, as long as your heart can be stirred, there is hope! For God does not know a sinner that He does not want to be saved. IV. GOD DOES NOT KNOW A BETTER WAY TO SAVE MANKIND THAN THE WAY HE HAS PROVIDED God does not know a better way to demonstrate His love than by sending His Son. Returning to John 3:16: God so loved the world.... What?... that He gave His only begotten Son.... God loved you and He sent His Son. Further, God does not know a better way to ask man to respond than to believe in Him, to believe in Jesus, and to obey. Continuing in John 3:16:... that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish. After Jesus gave the Great Commission in Mark 16:15, He then said, in effect, Here s the response I desire : He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved (Mark 16:16). In Acts 2 the gospel was preached for the first time. The people cried out, What shall we do? (v. 37). Peter said, Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 38). Verse 41 says, So then those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Verse 47 says,... And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. 3

4 And if one falls, God has His way of bringing men back through confession, through prayer, through asking for the prayers of the church if such is necessary (Acts 8:22, 23; 1 John 1:9; James 5:16). One can come to Christ through faith, repentance, and baptism. One can remain faithful to God and can come back, if necessary, by prayer, by confessing sin, by repenting of that sin. In Mark 7:37, it is said concerning Jesus miracles, He has done all things well. Is that not true also concerning God s plan for our salvation? Someone has said, It is simply marvelous and marvelously simple. Unfortunately, men often think they know a better way than God. I am constantly amazed how, even in the physical world, it is shown that God s way is best. As men experiment with this way or that, as they finally have to admit that the way things started out was best whether it is in the matter of having babies, feeding babies, raising children, or having a happy home. God s way is best. This is even more true in spiritual things. Some, apparently, want salvation without the cross. Some want salvation without the church. Some want salvation without the gospel. Some want salvation without baptism. But, let me tell you, God s way is best! God s way is right! But someone says, That is so narrow, saying that it has to be a certain way. In one sense of the word, God s way is narrow. Jesus referred to the narrow way that leads to life, in contrast to that broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13, 14). Jesus said, No one comes to the Father, but through Me (John 14:6; italics mine). There is just one way. But, why fight it? Why not go God s way and accept His blessings? Imagine that all of us are broke. That is not too hard to imagine in these days of inflation. Imagine that behind those doors over there is a man with an unlimited supply of money who is going to give a million dollars to each person present in just a few moments. (One fellow told me, I wish I had a million dollars. If I had a million dollars, I would pay my debts... as far as it went. ) Let me ask you, if you were totally broke, if you knew that a fellow was behind that door over there, who was going to hand you a million dollars right after this service, where would you line up? Would you say, I am not going to go to that door because it is too crowded at that door? Would you say, That is so narrow minded! After all one door is as good as another! I dare say that if we really were financially destitute and we knew that we could get relief by standing at that door, we would not quibble, we would not quarrel, we would not bring forth objections. We would line up at the door! God does not know a better way to save you than the way He has provided. God has said, Here is that way. May God help us to accept that way. V. GOD DOES NOT KNOW A BETTER TIME TO BE SAVED THAN NOW No person should ever respond without understanding what he is doing, without understanding the commitment that he is making. But sometimes we want to wait longer than the Lord wants us to wait. In Matthew s account of the Great Commission, Jesus says, Go... make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And then He says, Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you (Matthew 28:19, 20). Go teach and baptize and then teaching continues. You do not have to know everything before you are baptized. You have to know some things, but not all things. The Book of Acts is full of people who understood that God does not know a better time than now. Acts 2:41 says,... there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Italics mine.) In Acts 8:35 38, as soon as the eunuch learned of Jesus, he said, Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized? And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. In Acts 16:33 the jailer and his household were baptized that very hour of the night, probably one, two, or three o clock in the morning! They understood that God does not know a better time than right now. Unfortunately, the Book of Acts also has accounts of those who did not understand that: such as Felix, who said, Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you (Acts 24:25), and Agrippa, who told Paul, in a short time you will persuade me to become a Chris- 4

5 tian (Acts 26:28). As far as we know, neither of these ever became children of God. If you need to respond today, I hope you will see the importance of not putting it off! Psalm 39:7 says, And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in Thee. Jesus said, We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day: night is coming, when no man can work (John 9:4) when opportunity will be past. Second Corinthians 6:2 says, For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Hebrews 4:7 says, Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. God does not know a better time to be saved than now! CONCLUSION These are five things we are suggesting God does not know: God does not know a sin He does not hate. But He does not know a sinner He does not love. He does not know a sinner that He does not want to be saved. He does not know a better way to save mankind than the way He has provided. And He does not know a better time to be saved than right now. Sometime ago, I heard this story. 2 A little boy with a rusty cage full of birds was walking by when he was stopped by a preacher. What are you going to do with those birds? asked the preacher. Oh, he said, I m just going to poke sticks at them, shake the cage, throw water on them fun things like that. What are you going to do after that? Oh, I do not know, probably just feed them to the cats. How much do want for them? asked the preacher. Aw, you do not want em; they are just field birds. They do not sing or nothin. How much? The boy cocked his head to one side and thought awhile, and then said, Two dollars. The preacher paid it. The boy grinned, feeling he had really put one over on the minister. Then he stayed around to see what the preacher would do with those field birds. But the preacher just opened the cage and turned them loose. The boy walked away, shaking his head over the craziness of some people. We can imagine a parallel. We can imagine Jesus meeting Satan and Satan having in his grasp mankind. What are you going to do with them? says Jesus. I am just going to have fun with them. I am going to tantalize them. I am going to give them good things and then take them away. I am going to bring them heartache and bring pain into their lives. I am going to have fun. And after that? Well, when I get tired of fooling with them, I will just lead them to damnation. How much? says Jesus. You could not possibly want them! They will despise You, use Your name in vain, not believe in You, if You try to do anything good for them, they would not appreciate it. They will end up killing You. How much? The answer comes back, Your life. Jesus paid the price. Jesus paid the price to set us free. The devil does not understand why He would do it. And we cannot fully understand, but I hope at least we will appreciate it. And I hope and pray you will show your appreciation by coming in the way God has prescribed: by appreciating the sacrifice of Jesus and God s provision for us and by coming today. ENDNOTES 1 Personalize this paragraph to fit recent headlines about those who have committed terrible crimes. 2 If you can find a rusty bird cage, this story makes an excellent object lesson. Copyright, 1987, 2001 by Truth for Today ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 5