Author: David McKay

Imagine a doctor who avoided sick people, who exhibited distaste for contact with anyone who was ill.  How long would he last as a doctor?  His attitude would be in fundamental conflict with his calling.  Jesus often drew on the everyday experience of his listeners to illustrate his teaching and so he uses the figure of the doctor to explain his saving mission.  Consider Matthew 9:12-13 Calling the sick.

1. The criticism levelled at Jesus

The context of this encounter is the calling of Matthew (Levi) the tax-collector (v9).  There is immediate obedience to Jesus’ call – ‘Matthew got up and followed him’.  God’s grace was at work in a powerful way.  In response Matthew arranges a banquet for Jesus and his disciples, along with friends and former work colleagues (v10).  The latter were ‘sinners’ in the estimate of observant Jews and especially of the religious authorities.  The latter are in view in v11 ‘When the Pharisees saw this’ – probably looking on, as they would not attend a meal involving contact with the ritually unclean.  Their question is an accusation – ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’  tax-collectors worked for the Romans and were notoriously greedy and dishonest.  In the Pharisees’ view a godly teacher would avoid such people.  If Jesus does not, what does that say about him?

2. The need identified by Jesus

Jesus has a striking answer to the criticism: ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick’.  He casts himself in the role of a spiritual doctor coming to bring healing.  If that is the case, where should he be found?  He ought to be among ‘the sick’ – how else could he help them?  Note 2 categories of people:

            (i).  The sick: this refers to ‘tax-collectors and sinners’.  Jesus does not deny their sinfulness – they need a Saviour.  Like all others, they are sinners (Romans 3:23).  Their need is great and only the ministry of this doctor can deal with their plight.

            (ii).  The healthy:  This could be those who are right with God by grace, but in context it refers to those like the Pharisees who were ‘healthy’ in their own estimate.  They are confident of their own righteousness (Luke 18:9), but in fact they too are among the sick, though they do not realise or admit it.  Their need is as great as the tax-collectors and others.

3. The mission fulfilled by Jesus

If the Pharisees believed that tax-collectors were sinners, what had they done to rescue them?  Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ to point out that ritual observances do not make up for self-righteous hearts.  Jesus stands in complete contrast.  His ‘coming’ (v13) indicates his divine origin and his coming to fulfil his messianic mission, including his suffering and death (16:21).  Nothing less can heal our deadly sickness.  He came ‘to call sinners’ – it is the call of the gospel, accepted by some (by the Spirit’s enabling) and rejected by others.  By repentance (Luke 5:32) salvation is received and new life in Christ enjoyed.

Atheism has become quite fashionable in western societies.  In his 2006 book The God Delusion prominent atheist Richard Dawkins said of the traditional God that, ‘God, in the sense defined, is a delusion, and, as later chapters will show, a pernicious delusion’.  The Bible says something profoundly different.  We consider Psalm 14 The fool exposed.

1. God’s enemies

The psalm has a dramatic beginning: ‘The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”’ (v1).  We see and hear the outworking of the fall described in Genesis 3.  Human depravity is depicted in all its darkness.  In the Bible the designation ‘fool’ is not a matter of intellect, but of spiritual evaluation.  It speaks of the spiritual lostness and deadness of the sinner.  David makes the connection found throughout Scripture between belief and conduct.

(i).  The claim.  ‘There is no God’.  In its historical setting, this is probably practical atheism – living as if there were no God, whether he exists or not.  Today we also encounter theoretical atheism – the assertion that God does not exist.  Both entail living without reference to God and such people are viewed by God as ‘fools’ (cf Luke 12:20). They ignore the evidence from creation and conscience for God’s existence and use the minds the Creator gave them to deny his existence.

(ii).  The character.  Every aspect of life is corrupted by denial of God’s existence – ‘They are corrupt, their deeds are vile’ (v1).  Even when sinners do what God’s law requires (Romans 2:14), it is not done for God’s glory.  In Romans 3:10-12 Paul quotes v1-3 regarding the universal sinfulness of mankind.  They cannot abide the presence of ‘my people’ (v4) and oppress them in various ways – ‘eating’ them.

2. God’s evaluation

No denial of God’s existence prevents his thorough examination of all men (v2).  His verdict – ‘All have turned aside’ (v3).  The root cause is man’s spiritual deadness (Ephesians 2:1).  Even efforts to satisfy God by our efforts are themselves sinful, the ‘filthy rags’ of Isaiah 64:6.  But ‘God is present in the company of the righteous’ (v5) – his presence is with them in the face of all attacks.  It is full of comfort for believers to know that they are precious to the Lord and are never separated from him.

3. God’s equity

The faith of the Lord’s people is in him – ‘the Lord is their refuge’ (v6).  He is committed to them in a bond of everlasting love.  In justice he will act to deliver his people.  Hence David’s longing – ‘Oh that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion’ (v7).  The Lord liberates his people from sin, from oppression, from all their enemies and from death.  At Christ’s return persecutors will be ‘overwhelmed with dread’ (v5), whilst believers will ‘rejoice…and be glad’ (v7).  God’s equity ensures full salvation and deliverance.

Words are very powerful – even in an age that has such a high regard for the visual.  Words can do great good, but they can also do great evil.  The language people use and value can tell us a great deal about them or about a whole society.  That was understood as well in Bible times as it is today and provides the background to the psalmist’s cry in the psalm we will study: Psalm 12 The Lord will arise.

1. The plight of the godly

‘Help, Lord’ (v1, lit. ‘Save’) – a heartfelt cry.  It is an urgent appeal and the reason is spelled out – ‘the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men’.  God’s people seem to be an embattled minority.  A symptom of the prevailing evil is the speech of the ungodly – ‘Everyone lies to his neighbour; their flattering (lit. ‘smooth’) lips speak with deception (or ‘double heart’)’.  All around he hears dishonesty and hypocrisy, rooted in hearts that are not committed to the Lord.  Those committed to the covenant Lord – ‘the faithful’ – seem on the road to annihilation.  Note the arrogance of the ungodly (v4).  They reject accountability to God or to anyone else.  This may reflect the experience of David himself (1 Samuel 23:11, 26:19).  We live in a world where there is much dishonesty and evil communication.  Christians are often the victims of misrepresentation, and their beliefs are ridiculed.  Our only hope is the Lord – ‘May the Lord cut off…’ (v3).  It is not wrong to pray for the downfall of evil.  That does not preclude a concern for conversion, but God’s glory is our chief concern.

2. The response of the Lord

The Lord speaks (v5).  He is not indifferent to sin or the plight of his people (Exodus 2:24).  God is faithful to his faithful people.  The Lord will take action – ‘I will now arise’, doing whatever is required.  For those he loves – ‘I will place him in the safety for which he longs’ (v5 ESV).  All hardship will not necessarily be removed, but he is in loving control of whatever comes to his children.  We can have absolute confidence in the promises of God – ‘the words of the Lord are flawless (v6).  Free of all falsehood, they will never deceive or disappoint.  We must give attention to his word and live in the light of it.  We must not be deceived by the voices around us, but we should test everything by God’s word since ‘your word is truth’ (John 17:17).

3. The confidence of the psalmist

Building on God’s promises – as we must always do – David can express Spirit-given faith.  ‘O Lord, you will keep us safe’ (v7).  He takes God at his word – ‘you will guard us from this generation for ever’ (ESV).  David is able to take the long view.  Often we focus on the immediate situation, which can seem overwhelming.  We need to fix our eyes on the Lord and remember that his promises extend into eternity.  Our confidence in the Lord is not that he will remove all trials now – he may do so later or at the last day – but we know he will provide the grace we need.  The ungodly will remain for now, like the weeds of Matthew 13:30, but his hand will protect the godly.

If the accused man is clearly guilty of a crime and the judge fails to convict and sentence him, there will be uproar, and rightly so.  For the judge to free a guilty man would be a manifest injustice.  There would be appeals and the competence of the judge would be questioned.  A fundamental principle for judges is that the verdict must be according to the evidence.  This is a sound biblical principle (Proverbs 17:15).

The gospel message, however, seems to contradict that principle and tell us that God does what is unjust.  Consider these two things:

            The Bible frequently tells us that God is just/righteous.  Abraham asks, ‘Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ (Genesis 18:25).  When the Lord shows his glory to Moses, one of his perfections is ‘he does not leave the guilty unpunished’ (Exodus 34:7).

            At the same time the Bible says in Romans 8:1 ‘there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’.  Jesus was able to say to a paralysed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’ (Mark 2:5) and to the terrorist on the cross beside him, ‘today you will be with me in paradise’ (Luke 23:43).  God is a God who forgives guilty sinners.

The two sides of the problem are brought together in one verse – Romans 3:26, which tells us that God is ‘just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus’.  God is a perfectly just Judge and one who declares guilty sinners to be not guilty.  Surely this compromises his justice?  How can he let those who deserve punishment go free?

The solution centres on the person and work of Christ.  The only sinners whom God justifies are ‘those who have faith in Jesus’.  It is what Jesus has done that allows God to forgive sins whilst still being a just Judge.  Note v24 ‘justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus’.  As v25 puts it, he is a ‘sacrifice of atonement (or ‘propitiation’)’.  If God ignored our sin, he would be an unjust Judge.  We deserve his wrath because we have broken his holy law (v23).  The demands of that law must be met if we are to be saved.  If we do not do it, someone must do it in our place.

Central to our understanding of the work of Christ is the idea of substitution.  The gospel message is that Christ has taken the place of all those who will ever put their trust in him.  At the cross he has taken the punishment that their sins deserve – ‘God made him who had no sin to be sine for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Corinthians 5:21).  The whole burden of sin and guilt has been taken by the Son of God.  So great is God’s love for sinners that he has provided the means of satisfying his own justice.  So great is Christ’s love for us that he has done all that is needed for our salvation (Ephesians 1:7).

God is a just Judge – the demands of his broken law are met by the Son as our Substitute, who lived a sinless life and in death took his people’s punishment.

God is also a Saviour – because of what Christ has done, he forgives our sin and counts Christ’s righteousness as ours (Romans 3:22).  We receive the gift of Christ’s righteousness.

It is vital that we worship God individually and in families, but God’s people also need times of corporate worship, in congregations and in wider assemblies.  These can be occasions of great encouragement.  There is much we can learn from an occasion like the dedication of the temple despite differences from our New Testament context.  We turn now to consider 1 Kings 8:54-66 Blessing and dedication.

1. Blessing the people

So far Solomon has been engaged in intercession with the Lord (v54) – now the service continues, but in a new direction.  ‘He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel’ (v55).  The focus is still on the Lord, looking back and also forward to the future:

            (i). Rest.  This is a rich aspect of God’s redemptive plan, as seen in the covenant promise to David (2 Samuel 7:11).  God has given ‘rest’ (v56), ultimately fulfilled in the saving work of Christ – ‘I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28).

            (ii). Presence.  ‘May the Lord our God be with us’ (v57).  This is richly realised in the ministry of the Son incarnate – ‘Never will I leave you’ (Hebrews 13:5).

            (iii). Obedience.  God’s people have the responsibility of making the covenant response of obedience – v55 – the evidence of our love for God (1 John 5:3).

            (iv). Support.  Solomon is conscious of the constant need for God’s provision (v59).  They will receive ‘according to each day’s need’ – as requested in Matthew 6:11.

            (v). Witness.  There is a big vision not confined to Israel – ‘all the peoples of the earth’ (v60).  Unbelievers will see what the Lord is like from observing his people.  In the NT Christ is ‘the light of the world’ (John 9:5), as are his people (Matthew 5:14).

2. Dedicating the temple

            (i). Sacrifice.  Central to the dedication is the offering of abundant sacrifices – v63.  Each kind of sacrifice has a significance.  There are ‘fellowship offerings’ (a meal together, sharing in spiritual things), ‘burnt offerings’ (tokens of total dedication to the Lord) and ‘grain offerings’ (bloodless tokens of thanksgiving).  Christ has fulfilled all of these offerings, enabling fellowship, complete dedication and thanksgiving.  These are all to be reproduced in his people by his grace.

            (ii). Joy.  A mark of the lives of his people is joy.  This is evident at the dedication of the temple as the people observe a double festival (v65) – the Feast of Dedication followed by the Feast of Tabernacles.  Note ‘they went home joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done’.  There is a place for sorrow in the believer’s life, especially over sin, but the dominant note is joy.  ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’ (Philippians 4:4).  As knowledge of God grows, so does our joy in him.