Righteousness is Credited (4:1-5)
Sin is Cleansed (4:6-8)
2 Errors of Mark 10:17-31:
Salvation is Deserved: “what shall I do that I may inherit...” (10:17); “all these have I observed” (10:20)
Salvation makes no Demands: salvation ultimately makes the demand of discipleship (Mk8:34), implicit in saving faith is that I see the need for salvation and implicit in this is repentance from the way I was going.
Faith in Christ means turning away from sin, Satan and self.
Often emphasises the 2 sides to a sinner coming to Christ: repentance and faith:
“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Act 20:21)
“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” (Heb 6:1)
“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mar 1:15)
They are of course part and parcel of the same thing
Repentance: “μετανοέω” - a change of mind:
Turning to Christ in faith
Turning form sin
Repentance from sin is implicit in faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ
One of the reasons that justification by faith alone does not mean I can be saved and still live as I please!
Right from the start faith in Christ demands and implies repentance from sin!
Justification by Faith is a Full Salvation:
2 Aspects to this Full Salvation: answering to to faith and repentance
Pervading Judaism and there in Mark chapter 10 was the idea that when it comes to salvation you get what you deserve
Abraham was often presented as an example of this – he got what he deserved:
served God from age 3 years
kept the law before it was written
The 1st of 7 men responsible for bring the Shekinah glory into the tabernacle
Only righteous man in his generation
Abraham's path to salvation was very different form the way many Jews imagined it to be:
Called out not from perfection to follow God but form idolatry: “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.” (Jos 24:2-3)
At times incomplete obedience was (Gen11:31; 12:5), not until Terah dies does Abraham fully obey the commandment of God and move out of Haran! Is it possible that Abrahams disobedience resulted in the death of Terah to bring Abraham to obedience? It is a feature of Abrahams life that:
Abraham's obedience brings blessings to multitudes and
Abraham's disobedience brings problems to those around him (cf. Pharaoh in Gen 12)
At times imperfect faith was: Gen 12:10 doubted Gods ability to meet his need in famine conditions; he went down to Egypt. A minor matter? A reasonable decision? One made without consulting the Lord! Reasonable, rational, responsible but but not guided by the Lord. Did it matter?
from that he gained flocks
from the flocks strife developed between Abraham and Lot,
the strife resulted in the separation of Abraham and Lot
as a consequence Lot went down towards Sodom
as a result Lots daughters were born and brought up in Sodom
as a consequence of this Lot when he was rescued from Sodom was alone in a cave with 2 girls educated and indoctrinated in the ways of Sodom.
the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters resulted in the Moabites and the Ammonites (Gen 19:37).
It was the Moabites and the Ammonites who oppressed Israel for years and it would be Ammonite and Moabite wives that Solomon would one day take to himself, they would bring in idolatry to the nation of Israel and ultimately the removal of the Kingdom (1Kings11:1ff).
In other words that simple step of 'minor' disobedience ultimately was responsible for the greatest attack that Abraham's descendants experienced on gaining and enjoying the promises of Gods covenant with Abraham!
How important to be obedient in every step for Christ!
Not only that but in Egypt Abraham gained a servant girl Hagar from whom came Ishmael and the Arab nations and Islam, who to this very day hate and attack Israel!
It is so often the small, the apparently inconsequential decisions of life that have huge consequences for the future.
The path and the journey through life takes a lifetime of decisions and directions and determination and walking yet the briefest of decisions at one of lifes crossroads can profoundly change the direction of life forever!
There may only be a few steps of a difference between turning right and left but they completely change my direction.
The difference between faithfulness and failure may only be the difference of 2 or 3 footsteps.
A simple, sensible but not spiritual decision to move from famine to food can spell disaster in the longer term.
At times interrupted communion (Gen12:8; 13:4) – no altar in Egypt?
At time inadequate appreciation of Gods purpose (Gen15:2)
At times impatience with Gods timing and Gods methods (Gen16:1-5) – Abraham knew it was wrong (Gen16:5)
An incomplete appreciation of the power and ability of God (Gen 17:17-18)
So was Abraham saved because he was perfect?
Was Abraham justified by works? (Rom4:2)
Abraham was justified by faith (Gen15:6)
Was God indebted to justify Abraham (Rom4:4)?
Did Abraham get what he deserved?
If righteousness was reckoned as it was earned then the righteousness reckoned to Abraham would have been an imperfect righteousness, for Abrahams works were imperfect.
Sin is Cleansed (4:6-8)
If Abraham got more than he might have expected then David received less than he might justly have deserved – a full salvation!
In 2 Sam 24:1, 10-16 – 3 days of pestilence were cut to 1 day!
Was God just in saying 3 days of pestilence as a punishment (24:13)?
Surely God is just!
So what do we say when instead of going for 3 days of pestilence God gives 1 day and then stops destroying Jerusalem?
If one is justice then the other is surely grace!
The pestilence was stayed by the grace of God (2 Sam24:16) and that in response to the repentance of the sinner (2 Sam24:17)
Cf. also: “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” (2Sa 12:13)
Why should David die? “The soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezek 18:4,20)
David had broken the commandments:
Thou shalt not kill – Uriah
Thou shalt not commit adultery
Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt not covet
Thou shalt not bear false witness
He caused the heathen to blaspheme
David desired and pursued Bathsheba
The punishment for any 1 broken law was death
David broke 7 commandments
For defrauding his brother of offspring God slew Onan (Gen38) was God righteous?
For raping Dinah God allowed the men of Shechem to be slain – was God righteous?
God said: “thou shalt not suffer a murderer to live” was God righteous?
By the righteous standard of the law David ought to have been put to death.
So what is 2 Sam 12:13 all about? Grace!
Not only that but the law would have condemned Bathsheba to death too but not only is she allowed to live but from Bathsheba comes Solomon, wait for the punch line: “and the Lord loved him” called his name “Jedidiah” : “Loved of the Lord”
So David can speak of:
A 4 fold blessedness (Rom4:6-9)
A triple forgiveness: (Rom4:7,8)
A double negative (Rom4:8)
A single justification
A triple forgiveness: (Rom4:7,8)
“Forgiven” (4:7) : 863 : “aphiemi” – to send forth / to send away, to dismiss: to remove the sins from someone
Used of a debt cancelled (Matt18:27, 32, 35) – forgiveness is not merely the suspension of a payment, a payment holiday where the debt remains but we can stop paying it up, forgiveness means the debt is removed, it is cancelled
'I can forgive but I can't forget' often has harboured within it a grudge pointing to no forgiveness at all!
Forgiveness is not the shell around the nut of bitter resentment!
Gods people must be a forgiving people because Gods people are a forgiven people!
Forgiveness removes presence of the debt
Forgiveness removes the power of that sin (Matt9:2,6; Mk2:5,7,9)
“aphiemi” – used of the Lord sending away the multitude (Mk4:36)
“aphiemi” – used in “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” (Mat 4:11)
That's good the Lord has “forgiven” my sin but He still knows about it!
“who's sins are covered” : “ἐπικαλύπτω” - a double word 'epi' and 'kalupto' – covered over!
Well they are forgiven – put away and they are covered over – not seen by God but what about if God brings that covering off? Will they not come back to haunt me? What if God changes His mind?
“will not impute sin” - double negative – “will not ever impute sin” - “will not at all impute sin”
“impute”: “λογίζομαι” : to credit or to reckon
Sin is cancelled – a debt removed and forgiven
Sin is covered
Sin is never credited again
It is possible to be saved and then to be determined to live under a constant cloud of oppression and guilt for past sin – that is not honouring to Christ!
The man sick of the palsy had to take up his bed and walk
The man of the Gaderenes had to leave the grave yard, go and tell and go and show.
Paul had to “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” (Acts9:6)
God has purchased a people at great cost to enjoy a full salvation
Righteousness Credited and Sin cleansed.
Notes from our bible study teaching series of messages preached systematically, verse by verse, through Paul's letter to the Romans. Free to download audio mp3 recordings of this sermon and other sermons are available at the end of this blog and on the website page.
Yours by Grace in Christ
Dr J Stewart Gillespie