God is a merciful God; in His righteous character He withholds the judgment and condemnation that our sin deserves in order to draw us to Himself and offer us salvation. This is clear from what we observe in the world. People do horrible things for which we might say that they deserve to die, and yet they don’t die. While this seems unfair and frustrating to some people, the Scriptures teach that everyone has sinned and deserves death; thus everyone is receiving mercy every day he lives. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness (NKJV).” But God is not only merciful; He is also just. And He is merciful and just at all times and in all ways. While we observe that wicked people continue to receive God’s mercy, we also know that judgment will come on everyone who rejects God and lives in rebellion against Him. This tension is at the heart of Proverbs 1:20-33 where wisdom cries out to the simple, the scoffer, and the fool to turn when they hear revelation. To those who turn, wisdom promises her spirit and knowledge of her words; this is God’s mercy in all of its glory. But when they refuse all of wisdom’s calls, reproofs, and counsel, there is a great demise. So great is that fall that wisdom laughs at and mocks those who fall into it. At that point, they experience God’s justice in all of its glory. They will try to find wisdom then, but they will find only death and destruction. These are the consequences of wisdom’s antithesis: sin. Still, God’s mercy and justice come together in another significant way in the gospel. Because God is just, He must punish sin. For Him to be only merciful and without justice means that sin would go unpunished, ignored by the Ruler of the creation. So God decided to endure His own justice, so that we could receive His mercy free and clear. He came in the person of His Son, Jesus, who died on the cross as a criminal for sins He never committed. When Jesus’s blood flowed as a sacrifice for sin, He became the propitiation for our sin, the satisfaction of God’s wrath, so that God might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rm 3:25-26). In this glorious plan we see the magnificent wisdom of God, who always chooses the best and wisest way to do everything. This is the wisdom that calls in the streets; the wisdom that pours out her spirit on those who will listen. It is the wisdom that comes from the fear of the Lord, and it’s the wisdom that we can have. Imagine that, sharing in the wisdom of the gloriously merciful and just God. It’s there for all who will listen, and it removes the fear of destruction. –Pastor Rory
Sunday at Liberty
9AM: Pastor Rory–Calling on the Name of the Lord, 3–Prayer
10AM: Pastor Rory Martin–Proverbs 1:20-33–Wisdom’s Warning (sermon notes)
5:30PM: Potluck
6:20PM: Members’ Meeting