Episode Transcript
If you take your Bibles and turn to Proverbs 1131, please.
Proverbs 1131.
The title of the message tonight is "Paybacks Coming."
Paybacks coming.
Our wisdom from God's Word tonight concerns the fullness of His judgment.
That's something that God says we should, if you look in your text now, behold.
Something we should behold.
We don't use the word behold much today, but we do use the word look quite often.
Someone may say, "Look, here's the deal."
They don't have to say look, they could just say, "Here's the deal."
But by saying look, they're letting you know that they want this matter to have your attention.
The matter which God draws our attention to tonight is that, if you look back in your text again, the righteous shall be recompensed.
If you look at that word recompense, R-E, that means back, compense.
That's where we get compensation.
Hence payback.
Payback.
Almost every modern translation of this text words it this way, that good people will be rewarded in the earth.
Literally, that's correct.
The problem is most people don't think of the word reward literally.
They think of it more practically, and it's practical adaptation that we've made it here in our time.
But the English word reward, it essentially means to pay back what is owed, which is exactly what recompense means.
But the problem is most people, when they think of the word reward, they think of getting money for a crime stopper's tip or finding someone's lost dog, and there's a $200 reward.
But reward or recompense, it means to pay back what is owed, whether that person is owed praise or whether that person is owed punishment, is to pay back what's owed.
How many times have we seen somebody do something mean to somebody and we heard the victim say, and maybe we were the person saying it, "I'll pay you back for that."
Well, there's no compensation as far as monetary.
There's no praise and all that, but there's definitely payback.
Or they'll say, "You'll get what's coming to you in the sense that you're owed something.
I mean, you're morally owed something for what you did."
You see, when someone does something evil to someone, or when someone does something evil, period, God owes them punishment.
I mean, morally, righteously, God owes them.
And what we need to understand tonight is that God will be no man's debtor.
God always pays his debts.
He always pays what he owes.
Here's the kingdom truth for you tonight.
This is a rich verse.
Here's the kingdom truth for you.
Whether it's a good work or an evil work, God pays men for the work they do.
Whether a good work or evil work, God pays men for the work they do.
Write this down in your notes and your margin.
Isaiah chapter 59 verse 18a says this, "According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay."
Brother, that's a good verse.
"According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay."
So if their deeds are good, God will give them the good they're owed.
If their goods are evil, God will compensate them the evil that they're owed.
But whatever it is, man has to be made whole.
God will not owe anybody anything for what's done in this earth.
Period.
The good thing is Jesus balances the sheets at the cross.
But we're going to see here tonight that there is practical judgment here for the believer that is in view.
But, "according to their deeds, accordingly he will repay."
This verse is referring to God repaying the righteous for the wrong that they've done.
Not rewarding them for the right that they've done.
We'll say that again.
The verse we're studying tonight is talking about repaying the righteous for the wrong they've done.
Not rewarding them for the right they've done.
Here's another Kingdom Truth for you tonight.
God's judgment begins with God's people.
God's judgment begins with God's people.
So whatever the work is, whether it is a good work or an evil work, all work that people do, they get paid for that work.
God pays men for the work they do.
Number two, God always gives his payment to his children first.
God always begins his judgment with his people.
Write this down in your notes, your margins.
Jeremiah 2529.
Jeremiah 2529.
We're learning some wonderful truths about God in his ways tonight.
Jeremiah 2529.
Listen to what God says for low.
Now this is God speaking to the Gentile nations.
This is not God speaking to Israel.
This is God speaking to the Gentile nations.
And God says for low, "I begin," and notice that word "begin."
"I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name."
He's going to begin with Jerusalem.
He's going to begin with the people of God.
He says, "I'm going to begin to work evil at that city.
And should ye be utterly unpunished?"
You see what he's asking the heathen?
I'm going to begin a work of evil at the city that's called by my name.
And if I'm going to begin my judgment here, do you think after I judge my city that you're going to go unpunished?
He says, "Ye shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth."
"Sayeth the Lord of hosts."
Ezekiel 9.
We'll be looking here in verse 6 tonight.
Watch again what God says.
This is God speaking about his judgment.
He's directing his servants to execute judgment, but watch how he gives the order.
He says, "Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children and women, but come not near any man upon whom is the mark, and begin at my sanctuary."
See, God's judgment begins with God's people.
So he said he begins to do the evil work in Jeremiah at the city called by his name.
And now in Ezekiel he says, "I want you to judge.
I want you to slay these people, but begin at my sanctuary."
He says, "Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house."
Why would they begin judging the ancient men which were before God's house?
They were the oldest, they were the ones that were most responsible, and they were in a place of spiritual leadership.
And God says, "Let the sword fall here first."
Let the sword fall here first.
1 Peter 4, verse 17.
1 Peter 4, verse 17.
"For the time has come that judgment must begin."
Here's that word again.
This is the third time we've seen that word begin.
He says, "I'm going to begin at the city called by my name."
He tells the slayers, "Begin at my sanctuary."
And now the apostle Peter says, "The time has come that judgment must begin."
Where?
At the house of God.
"And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
So what do we see here?
We see here in 1 Peter 4, verse 17.
There is a beginning of judgment.
There is an end of judgment.
Thank God there is an end to it.
Thank God it's coming to an end.
And thank God we don't get in the end, we get it up front.
But God begins with his house.
The people who get slayed, there were certain who had a mark.
They didn't get slayed in Ezekiel.
But the people who were slayed in Ezekiel were those who occupied God's house but didn't possess God's faith, you see.
They weren't God's people.
But those who do possess God's faith, Peter says here, "God's judgment begins with us.
And if it begins with us, what will the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
If it begins with those who obey the gospel of God, if God is going to hold us accountable, then what about those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Here's the kingdom truth.
God works from the inside out, not from the outside in.
God works from the inside out, not from the outside in.
Matthew chapter 23 verse 26.
Jesus said, "Thou blind Pharisee cleanse," this is important, first.
First is the same way of saying, "Begin your cleaning."
I'm going to begin my evil work.
I'm going to begin my slaying.
I'm going to begin my judgment.
Now what's God saying?
Also begin your cleaning.
But where does God's work begin?
Whether it's judgment, whether it's cleaning, whatever God's work is, whether it's charity and mercy, whatever God's work is, God works from the inside out.
He says, "Cleanse first that which is within the cup," that's the inside, "and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."
Notice that he doesn't just clean the inside.
He cleans the inside that he may also clean the outside, but he will not clean the outside before he cleans or until he cleans the inside.
God has a complete judgment.
God always executes a complete work, but whatever work that is, God works from the inside out, and he finishes from the beginning to the end.
Never to the middle, but always to the end.
This is why Jesus told his disciples in Luke 24, verse 47.
Luke 24, verse 47.
Now this is the gospel here.
This is not judgment.
This is not cleansing in the sense of self-discipline and getting your house in order.
This is just evangelism.
But watch how God says, he tells his disciples in Luke 24, 47, "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations."
That's to the ends of the earth, the end.
But he says what?
"Beginning at Jerusalem."
God always works from the inside out.
He always begins at the centermost and goes to the uttermost.
If you'll remember that, that is a marvelous characteristic about God, and it is one that we should adopt for what we do as well.
This being the case, God's cleaning and cleansing work of judgment, his payback of the righteous must begin with the church and work its way out from there.
1 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 9 through 13.
The apostle Paul says, "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to keep company with fornicators, yet not all together with the fornicators of this world."
In other words, he says, "Now I told you, don't keep company with fornicators, but I'm not saying with all the fornicators of the world.
I'm not talking about everybody."
He goes on to say, "Not all together with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters, for then must ye needs go out of the world."
He's saying, "I'm not telling you don't keep company with fornicators, period.
If that's the case, you couldn't go to work.
Brother Shephard couldn't enjoy a ride to the jailhouse with somebody."
He's not talking about that.
He's not talking about the world.
That's the outside.
He's talking about the church, which is the inside.
Don't keep company with fornicators in the church.
If somebody is called a brother or a sister, and they're practicing fornication, and they won't correct it, then you correct it.
You cleanse the inside of your cup.
So he goes on to say, verse 11, "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner, with such and one know not to eat."
Don't fellowship with that person.
"For what have I to do to judge them also that are," here's our word, "without."
So now the world is called the outside.
So if you could think of a cup now, and you're thinking of the church, the church is the inside of the cup.
The outside of the cup is the world.
So Paul says, "I don't judge those without," verse 12, "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without?
Do not ye judge them that are within?
But them that are without God judgeth.
Therefore put away from among yourselves it is from within that wicked person."
So the church becomes the inside of the cup.
The world becomes the outside of the cup.
And Paul is saying, "I'm dealing with the inside of the cup.
God's going to get to the outside all right.
God's going to deal with the outside.
He's going to judge the uttermost parts of the earth.
But for now, judgment must begin at the house of God.
And how is God going to execute the judgment in his house with his people?
Put away from yourselves that wicked person.
Cleanse the inside of God's cup.
God's going to rid the whole world one day of evil.
But that's going to be in the end.
Right now, God's cleansing must begin here.
It begins with us.
When God's judgment begins in the church, that judgment concerns the things that we do.
Look back at your text, in the earth.
In the earth.
There won't be any foreign caterers in heaven.
There won't be any foreign caterers in the new heaven and the new earth.
But the earth that now stands.
And this means that once our deeds in the earth, in this fallen earth are finished, then we will never have to worry about being chastised for the things we do after our time here is over.
Forever and forever.
We'll finally be able to rest.
And never worry about God's judgment again.
And our fall again into sin.
And now if God is going to hold his own people accountable for what they do in the earth, then go back to your text, "Much more the wicked."
See where Solomon's going?
Much more the wicked.
If God is going to judge the righteous for the wrong they do, then how much more will he judge the wicked for the far worse sins that they commit?
God judged Lot.
You don't think God judged Lot?
Lost some of his family members?
Lost his respect in the community?
Lost his community?
Lost his house?
Lost his wife?
But you know what?
He didn't get burned up with fire and brimstone.
God started with Lot.
He cleansed the inside of the cup.
When he got Lot out of there, he cleansed the outside of the cup.
And they got it a whole lot worse than Lot did.
They didn't get to escape to the mountain.
Lot got out with his shirt on his back.
They didn't even get out with their back.
So that's the difference.
Lot was wrong, but Lot was righteous.
Lot should have never socialized with those wicked people.
But Lot still censured them for their behavior.
And then they said, "Well, quit judging us.
Who are you to judge us?"
So if God is going to judge those who do wrong, but generally seek to do his will, then he will much more judge the wicked.
Look back in your text.
And the sinner.
The wicked and the sinner.
These are not two different people.
These are two different ways of looking at the same people.
They're wicked and they're sinners.
And they seek to rebel against God.
Now the Hebrew word that's translated "wicked" here, means "wrong."
Just plain old wrong.
And the Hebrew word that's translated "sinner" here, it means "miss" or "to miss."
So because God has many wonderful attributes, sin has many terrible characteristics.
That make sense?
Because God has many wonderful attributes, sin has many terrible characteristics.
And so we're looking at two of those characteristics now.
And that is being wrong and missing.
Those are two of those characteristics.
And to be wrong means to have a normal pattern disrupted.
A normal pattern disrupted.
We've got a camera that sets outside our building.
And it focuses on a one-way street in front of the courthouse.
And I don't know what it is about me that enjoys watching the car go the wrong way down that street.
But I like watching them go the wrong way.
They'll go, "Ah, here comes one.
Here comes one."
And I'll watch down the road and see traffic come in their direction.
And I know they're going to meet.
And I guess I enjoy it because I'm curious how the person going the wrong way is going to respond.
Do they just keep going and let the people move over?
Do they stop, back up, and try to correct and turn back around this way?
And they do different.
Each person does differently.
But when they go the wrong way, there's something that happens every time things get disrupted.
There's traffic going the right way, and they go the wrong way.
Traffic gets disrupted.
People panic.
It gets tense for some folks.
And that's what happens when you disrupt the normal flow that's been laid out.
Food going into my mouth, down my throat, into my gut, is a normal pattern.
That's normal, right?
Food going into my mouth, down my windpipe, into my lung is not normal.
That's the wrong way, the wrong direction.
It disrupts that normal pattern.
And when we violate God's Word, we're disrupting the normal pattern of life, the normal pattern of creation.
And every time we disrupt the normal pattern of creation, whether we're driving down a wrong way street or we have food that goes down the wrong way, it always results in some kind of damage, some kind of fear, some kind of pain.
And so when God's talking about the wicked, He's talking about people who disrupted His pattern, that He laid out for creation.
They went the wrong way.
To miss means a failure to reach the point you've been aimed at.
Brother Sheper and I, before church, were speaking about people who, particular Christians, who waste their time on earth with frivolous things.
And maybe they think they're having fun or whatever, I don't know, but they don't invest their time in kingdom labor.
And then you die and that time's gone.
And what do you have to show for it?
Well, I saw all 50 states.
I got to do my bucket list.
I watched a lot of college football.
I don't know, what do you do with it?
There's a lot of Christians like that.
And when Chris Christofferson passed away, it reminded me about a song that he wrote called "Sunday Morning Coming Down."
That is one of the saddest, most pathetic songs I've ever heard in my life.
It's brilliantly written, incredibly talented way of saying some terrible things.
But it talks about a man who stayed up late at night, smoking cigarettes and playing his music, getting drunk.
He wakes up the next morning, puts on a dirty shirt, has a couple warm beers for breakfast, goes out on the Sunday morning on the sidewalks, stops by church, listens to them sing, smells fried chicken in the air, and talks about how lonely his life is on that Sunday morning sidewalk.
How lonely it is and how death, only death could maybe be more lonely.
And I listened to that and I didn't listen, but I read the lyrics now.
And I'm like, how terrible, how terrible that be someone's outlook on a Sunday morning.
How horrible!
What a waste!
What a waste!
Do you know what that is?
That's someone who misses what God's aimed him at.
Here's a man with, and I know he wrote some, later in life, wrote some, you know, kind of Christian songs, and I hope he found the Lord.
I really do.
But, you know, God gives people talent.
He gives them the ability to accomplish things, and he points them in a direction.
And they have this end that they're aimed at to accomplish God's will for their life.
And then they live their whole life traveling like an arrow, just traveling through time, 10 years, 15, 20, into my 30s, into my 40s now, into my 50s, into my 60s, into my 70s.
And you finally reach the end of your life, and you never reach the goal for which you were created, for which you were born.
That's the sadness here.
That's the terrible description that Solomon is giving about sin tonight.
One, it's the wrong direction.
It's like food going down the lung.
Two, it totally misses the point that God aimed you at, an aimless life, a pointless life.
Absolutely pointless life.
And those people will be judged for that life, for wasting the God-given opportunity that they were given.
As we close tonight, it's worth noting that this verse that we're reading tonight in Proverbs 11.31 is actually in two places in your Bible.
It's in the Old Testament, and it's in the New Testament.
How about that?
One of those rare times that we see just a verse here, that's both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
In Jesus' day, the Apostles' day, the Septuagint was around, because Greek was the trade language.
It was like English back then.
The Old Testament Hebrew was translated, or rather the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek.
That's the Septuagint.
So it gets translated from Hebrew into Greek, and then from Greek, the Septuagint gets translated into English.
I would like to read to you Proverbs 11.31 in the English translation of the Septuagint.
It says, "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
Y'all ever heard that before?
Good old Peter.
1 Peter 4.
1 Peter 4.
Verse 18.
Proverbs 11.31 are the same thing.
In 1 Peter 4, I want to read verse 17 and 18 together, and this will show you beyond a shadow of a doubt what this verse is talking about.
It's talking about God's judgment of the righteous.
He says in 1 Peter 4.17 and 18, "For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God.
And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?"
Now here's our verse in Proverbs.
"And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
It's the same verse.
And again, it lets us know that this is the correct interpretation of the verse that we're looking at tonight, that the righteous will be judged in the earth and saved only in the person of Jesus Christ.
When it says the righteous will scarcely be saved, it means they won't be saved by any work they've done.
The work they do, they get judged for.
But all the mercy, the salvation comes from Christ, not from them.
That's the scarcity of their salvation.
Had it not been for Christ that had been no salvation at all, there was no room for error with us.
But those who disrupted the gospel, those who disrupted God's right way, and those who skipped out on their purpose for living and rejected God's offer of redemption through Jesus, the scarcity of salvation, they shall be damned.
Judgment begins with us.
If it begins with us, what's going to be the end of those that obey not the gospel of Christ?
The gospel is the scarcity by which we're saved.
Those that obey not the gospel forfeit the scarcity.
Lose the salvation in their end is damnation.
Father, we thank you so much for your precious word.
Thank you for your faithful teaching, Father, by your Holy Spirit of your word.
For giving us the Scriptures, illuminating our eyes, thank you, Father, also for working from the inside out in everything you do.
We're so grateful for that, Father.
And we pray, dear Lord God, that we'll take all this to heart tonight.
Help us, Lord, to cleanse our cup on the inside, both in our hearts and in our church.
We ask in Jesus' wonderful name.
Amen.
