Last week I put a quote in the bulletin last week which points out another couple of rules. The 16th century scholar and Bible translator, Miles Coverdale, in the introduction to his English Bible, which preceded the King James Authorized Version by a few years, said: “It will greatly help you to understand scripture if you note – not only what is spoken and written, but of whom and to whom.” I think that we could state that as one of rules of good Bible interpretation: be aware of who was speaking and to whom – saints, sinners, Jews, Gentiles – who? Coverdale went on with some more: We need to recognize “what words, at what time, where, to what intent, and with what circumstances” things are written, “considering what goes before and what follows.” I wouldn’t for a moment try to tell you that I am a great Bible scholar or expositor, but I do try. And I think that a corollary to that rule ought to be, at least in the teaching and preaching of the Word, when a scripture is being applied in a way which is obviously different to the Lord’s original intent, that difference should be clearly stated.
Paul is writing the Book of Romans to Christians – people like us. So this book can be applied to us and should be important to us. But at this point in this letter he is thinking primarily about his fellow countrymen – the Jews. He is trying to tell them that God is graciously saving people from outside their borders. There are Gentiles to whom He is giving the gospel and whom He is saving from their sins. But not only this – the Lord, while saving some of Israel, was preparing to severely judge them once again. And there are various reasons for this, primarily boiling down to Israel’s sinful behavior.
Even though the Apostle is speaking about Israel here, I would like to apply what he is saying differently. Rather than picking on Israel once again, I’d like to use them as an illustration as we think about us and our Gentile neighbors.
Of course, a very pertinent part of the equation was not as much an issue in Paul’s day as it is today. I’m referring to the homosexual aspect. The reason that God considered those communities more detestable than most was their gross immorality. But that applies to us almost to the very same extent as it did to those two infamous cities. Homosexuality has always been a part of sinful societies, but only in the worst has it been accepted and publicly flaunted. And yet that is where our society is today. It is hard for someone who is familiar with the Bible, and who holds it to be the revelation of God, to believe that God will not judge this national community in much the same fashion as Sodom and Gommorha. I don’t want to sound like the stereo-typical “prophet of doom,” but I must be honest and point out the obvious – Red is red and black is black; sin is sin, and homosexuality was the chief factor in brining about the destruction of Sodom and Gommorha. This country, particularly the Christians in this country, should not be surprised if the wrath of God is poured out upon the United States of America, and that could include collateral casualties.
And as I said, it is because God is holy that He must, and will judge, sin. “For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” Children can be exasperating creatures, can’t they? They can provoke and push and incite until they make their siblings, their brothers and sisters, retaliate. And not only can they provoke one another, they can even provoke their parents. There have been multitudes of children beaten to death by their parents or other care-givers. Parents have to be emotionally stronger than their six and eight-year-olds. They must never punish their children out of anger or even while they are in anger. I know that it sounds silly – impossible – but they need to be like the Lord. Even though the Bible says that the Lord is angry with the wicked every day, it is not because of His anger that He judges those wicked. He judges out of righteousness. And He judges the wicked because of His love for those whom He has made righteous. So it goes without saying – the more wicked and unrighteous we are or we become, the more likely we will feel God’s judgment. And it doesn’t make any difference whether we profess to be Christians or not.
Many of us recently studied God’s promises to Abraham about children as the sand of the sea. And here we have Paul’s reference to Isaiah’s reference to that promise – the sand of the sea. It is amazing what useless information can be learned through searching the internet. For example I asked my computer to tell me about the number of grains of sand there are on the earth. And to my surprise one number kept coming up – 7 quintillion, 500 quadrillion. Apparently some mathematicians at the University of Hawaii, came up with that number, and it is now quoted in several places as the approximate number of grains of sand. That is 7.5 followed by seventeen zeros. Of course that is a flexible number because erosion is constantly creating and destroying sand. But suffice it to say that no matter how large the number of sinners, their shear numbers are not going to be able to stop the hand of God, when it comes down in judgment and justice. That is what Isaiah and Paul are saying in regard to God’s promise to Abraham.
Let’s say that a majority of the stupid people who live in the United States of America vote to put an abortion-loving man in the White House. That majority hasn’t made abortion a righteous thing to do. Their votes haven’t caused murder to be anything less than murder. And let’s say that a majority of the stupid people of the State of Washington, vote to approve euthanasia, which is nothing more than the next logical step after the approval of abortion. Their votes have not made mercy-killing anything less than killing another human being. A majority, even an overwhelming majority have no right to determine what is righteous or what is sinful.
Abraham was chosen by God to be the great-great-grandfather of the Saviour. He was blessed with salvation and declared to be righteous in the sight of God. And then a promise was made to Abraham was that his seed would become like the sand of the sea. Many, if not all those children, even the children of Ishmael, consider themselves to be elite of the world. But no matter how many sons of Jacob, sons of Isaac or sons of Abraham there are in this world – they are not God and they cannot overcome the will or power of God. Though Israel be as the sand of the sea, the Lord will still make short work of the wicked.
Now many of you who studied Genesis with us, will notice that only part of the promise is brought up here. Remember that God spoke of Abraham’s children as the sand of the sea AND as the stars of the sky. There are a great many interpreters who believe that Moses was making a difference between the two kinds of children of Abraham. There are those who have the same blood as Abraham – children of the flesh. And there are those who have the same faith as Abraham – children of the same kind of spirit. It seems that Paul is pointing out this difference in verse 27 – “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.” Now, how many stars are there in comparison to the number of grains of sand? Actually the internet even answers this question: The current count is about one hundred billion stars; some say a hundred million billion stars. One hundred million billion is just a fraction of 7.5 quintillion.
You adults who have been members of this church for a long time, may not have this problem, but your children and your grand-children might – Many of you were saved out of real sin. You grew up with various vices flowing through your minds, veins and hearts. And when the Lord called you, regenerated you, and made you into new creatures, there was a definite change in your life and your lifestyle. Perhaps it was an 180 degree turn around. Then eventually, you were brought into one of the Lord’s churches, where you began to mature. But your children, thankfully, were never in the world to the same degree that you were. Every week they have been exposed to the Word of God from the first weeks of their lives. You have done your best to screen their friends and limit their temptations. These things are wonderful, but like the Jews of Paul’s day, those children might think that because they are of the seed of Christians that they are somehow exempt from God’s righteous judgment. What Paul was applying to Israel can be applied to the Gentiles and even to Christian societies. We all need to ask ourselves whether or not we deserve the wrath or the chastisement of God for sin.
There are two other things which deserve consideration before we shut down for the evening. First, Jehovah is the “Lord of the Sabaoth” – verse 29. The word “Sabaoth” refers to “hosts” or “armies.” In other words, even though the Lord doesn’t need the help of any created being, He has at his command vast armies of angels, and physical powers to bring about His judgment of the wicked. No one is going to escape the judgment that they deserve.
Our last point is well hidden in verse 28 – “For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” The word which is translated “work” is common in the Bible, being found over 300 times, but this is the only place where it is translated “work,” and yet it makes complete sense to me. The word “work” is the Greek word “logos” which is usually translated “word.” I say that it makes sense to me, because, that God will make quick work of the wicked is according as He has promised and predicted. That God will make quick work of the wicked is just as the Lord has spoken – as He said. The sinner is eventually going to be judged.
The question is: Are you going to be among them? Repent before God and put you faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Cast yourself upon the mercy of God.