Well, good morning, church. It's good to see you all this morning.
If this is your first time to Trinity, let me welcome you.
Today we have the joy and the privilege of celebrating baptism.
That's what this big tank is up here on the stage.
In a little bit, Josue and Zerion are going to share their stories of coming to faith in Christ,
and they're going to be baptized.
Now, baptism is an outward act
that symbolizes a believer's union with Jesus Christ through faith
and the brand new life that they have by God's grace.
And baptism is also a public act that says,
I've committed to live as a follower of the Lord Jesus
and as a member of His body, the church.
Now, if you're new to Christianity,
you might be wondering, what is this all about?
Maybe your previous experience with Christianity
has just seemed like a lot of restrictive rules
or maybe just a bunch of empty religious ceremonies.
But maybe it hasn't seemed like something
that would engage and command the devotion
and be the life-giving center of your entire life.
Well, this fall, we've actually been studying
the book of Ecclesiastes.
And Ecclesiastes is a book of ancient wisdom
that was written thousands of years ago.
But even though it is very old,
at the same time, it feels incredibly contemporary.
The writer of Ecclesiastes wrestles
with some of the most perennial questions
and problems of human existence.
He's asking the deep questions of life.
And a few weeks ago, we started working our way
sequentially through this book, passage by passage.
And today, we come to chapter 3, verse 16.
You can turn with me there in the Pew Bible.
That's page 519.
If you're new to the Bible,
the big number are the chapters
and the small numbers are the verses.
We're going to look at this passage together
on page 519 in the Pew Bible.
And there are two big questions
that Ecclesiastes confronts us with
in this section of his book.
This section that starts in chapter 3, verse 16
and runs to the end of chapter 4.
And his first question is this.
Where do we find real justice?
In a world full of injustice,
where can we find real justice?
And his second question is,
where do we find real comfort?
In a world full of oppression,
where can we find real and lasting comfort?
So let's look together
at what Ecclesiastes has to say
as he highlights these questions.
Let's look at the first problem
Ecclesiastes confronts.
Where can we find real justice?
Let me read chapter 3, verses 16 through 22.
It says this.
Moreover, I saw under the sun
that in the place of justice,
even there was wickedness.
And in the place of righteousness,
even there was wickedness.
I said in my heart,
God will judge the righteous and the wicked,
for there is a time for every matter
and for every work.
I said in my heart with regard
to the children of man
that God is testing them,
that they may see that they themselves
are but beasts.
For what happens to the children of man
and what happens to the beasts
is the same.
As one dies,
so dies the other.
They all have the same breath.
And man has no advantage over the beasts,
for all is vanity.
All go to one place.
All are from the dust,
dust,
and to dust all return.
Who knows whether the spirit of man
goes upward
and the spirit of the beast
goes down into the earth.
So I saw that there's nothing better
than that a man should rejoice in his work,
for this is his lot.
Who can bring him to see
what will be after him?
So in verse 16,
Ecclesiastes highlights the problem.
In the place of justice,
in the place of righteousness,
even there was wickedness.
You know, it's one thing to look
kind of at the broader world
and to see people not treating each other
as they ought to be treated,
to see evil and injustice and exploitation,
but it's another thing
to look specifically at the places
where justice and righteousness
are meant to be upheld
and to see that even there
there's wickedness.
To look at the law courts
or to look at the police stations
or to look at the halls of government,
to look at those places
where wrongs are supposed to be put right
and even there
to see the opposite,
to see the very same injustice
and wickedness at work,
to see prejudice
and favoritism and partiality,
to see bribery
and exploitation
and self-interest.
to see judges
wrongfully convict
innocent people,
to see crooked police officers
and politicians
working not for the good
of their communities
but for their own gain.
In the place of justice,
in the place of righteousness,
even there was wickedness.
And with the writer of Ecclesiastes,
don't our hearts
just cry out
against this?
Doesn't it just cause something
to stir up within us?
And you know,
that heart cry
is something
that we should all listen to.
We should listen to that heart cry
against the injustice
in those places
of righteousness.
Because when we listen,
we start to hear
in that moment
two very important things.
We are realizing
in that heart cry
two very important things.
First,
first thing we realize
is that there is
such a thing
as justice
and righteousness.
There is such a thing
as right and wrong.
There is a moral reality
that is bigger
and more permanent
than my own wants
and desires.
Some things really are wrong.
Some things really are right
no matter who does
or who doesn't do them.
There is an objective
moral reality
that we just can't shake
as human beings
no matter how hard
we try to tell ourselves
that everything is relative
or that your truth
is your truth
and mine is mine.
There is a very definite sense
that there is
an objective moral reality
in the world.
And the reason why that is
is because the world
and everything in it
was created by a good
and righteous God.
the one true God
who made all things
to flourish
and to rejoice
and to share
in this goodness.
And God made human beings
in His own image
to worship Him
and to rule over creation,
to steward creation
justly to His glory.
As humans,
we have this indelible,
undeniable sense
that there is
an objective moral reality
because the world
is not an accident
but because the world
is the creation
of an objectively good
and righteous God.
In other words,
there is a moral law
because there is
a moral law giver
who made all things
to relate rightly to Him
and then to flourish
as a result.
But you know,
when our heart cries out
against injustice,
we don't just see evidence
that there is a good God
who upholds our sense
of moral reality.
We also see
that the world
is not the way
it's supposed to be.
God made the world good.
God created humans
to love and to worship Him.
God made us to be
just stewards of creation
that we might flourish
before Him.
But that's not
what we see now,
is it?
The world's not
a place of flourishing
but a place of suffering
and evil
and injustice.
Things are not the way
they're supposed to be.
You see,
we might take
verse 16
and we might apply it
to the whole
created order.
In the place of justice,
in the place
of righteousness,
the justice
that was supposed to be,
the created righteousness
that God intended,
there's wickedness.
What went wrong?
What went wrong
is that humans
sinned against God.
Rather than worship
and serve God,
we decided to put ourselves
in the place of God
and to ignore God
in the world
that God has made.
we rejected God's
good ways and laws
and we became
a law unto ourselves.
And although God
created humans
to live before Him,
now because of this sin,
because of this rupture
in our relationship
with God,
death has entered
the world.
And in verses 18
through 20
of Ecclesiastes,
we find the writer
making this
sober observation
that now humans
die just like
the beasts
in the field.
All are from dust
and to dust
all return.
This
is the curse
of sin
upon human life.
Death.
And you know,
for a moment,
Ecclesiastes
is unsure
whether there's
any difference now
between humans
and beasts.
He says
somewhat agnostically
in verse 21,
who knows
whether the spirit
of man goes upward
and the spirit
of the beast
goes down
into the earth.
Now keep in mind
that Ecclesiastes
is reflecting
on human injustice
here.
And seeing
the pervasive
ravages of human
evil and injustice,
he begins to question
whether human sin
has allowed
any humanity
to remain with us.
Verse 18,
maybe God's just
showing us
and proving to us
that now,
because of all
this injustice,
we're no better
off than the animals.
Perhaps sin
has dehumanized
us to such
a degree
that we are now
no different
from the beasts
who die
and return to dust.
Ecclesiastes
is grappling
with this
despairing thought
that maybe
we've fallen
so far
that we've
utterly lost
the image of God
in which we were
created.
Are we any
better than
the beasts?
Ecclesiastes
asks.
Well,
our passage
seems to offer
two alternative
ways forward.
And you know,
this is the style
of this kind of
strange and mysterious
book of Ecclesiastes
in the Old Testament.
Ecclesiastes
will often
juxtapose
seemingly
contradictory
approaches to life
and challenge
us then
to think it
through for
ourselves.
And in
challenging us
in this way,
the book is
forcing us
to grow
in real wisdom.
To not just
take what we've
been spoon-fed,
but to wrestle
it out
for ourselves
anew.
So what are
the alternatives?
Well,
on the one
hand,
perhaps there
is no hope
for real
justice.
Perhaps we
aren't any
better than
the beasts.
And perhaps
the best
that we can
do in this
life is what
verse 22
says.
So I saw
there's nothing
better than
that a man
should rejoice
in his work,
for that's
his lot.
Who can
bring him
to see
what will
be after
him?
Feels a bit
like resignation,
doesn't it?
Maybe we
can't do
anything about
injustice,
and maybe we
just have to
get whatever
enjoyment we
can out of
this life and
realize that our
futures are
unknown.
There are
many of
us who
live that
way today,
aren't there?
But that's
not the only
alternative.
Earlier in
the passage,
we read this,
I said in
my heart,
God will
judge the
righteous and
the wicked,
for there
is a time
for every
matter and
for every
work.
Ecclesiastes
sees that
if there
is hope
for the
world,
if there
is a
prospect for
real lasting
justice,
it has to
come from
outside of
the world.
In other
words,
human effort
alone will
not produce
it.
In fact,
we are very
much part of
the problem.
The injustice
and evil in
the world
runs right
through our
own hearts.
You see,
verse 16
applies not
just to the
world as a
whole,
but it
applies to
each and
every one
of us.
In the
place of
righteousness,
even there,
in my own
heart,
there was
wickedness.
You see,
in our own
hearts,
we know we
should strive
for justice
and righteousness,
but even
there,
we see that
our desires
are not pure
and our
actions are
not impartial,
that we
don't love
righteousness,
that we
too are
part of
the problem.
And so,
rescue must
come not
from us.
If there's
any hope
for the
world,
God must
be the
one to
judge and
to put
things right.
You see,
as the
creator,
God doesn't
just have
the right
to judge.
He alone
has the
ability
to judge.
In fact,
God is
the judge
that we
long for.
God
alone
is good
and impartial
and righteous.
God
alone
can judge
with
perfect
equity
and perfect
knowledge.
That's
why the
Psalms
repeatedly
say
that when
God,
their
creator,
finally
acts
to put
the world
to rights,
when God
finally steps
into his
broken creation
to put an
end to
evil and
injustice,
when God
finally makes
the world
new through
his act of
redeeming judgment,
the psalmists
say,
the trees
will clap
their hands
and the
rivers will
sing for
joy.
Creation
will rejoice
when this
perfectly good
God comes
to judge
because it
will mean
the end
of evil
and injustice
and suffering
once and
for all.
hope.
That
is the
world's
only
lasting
hope.
But here's
the troubling
thing.
When God's
perfect judgment
comes to
judge perfectly
and to make
all things
new,
before the
bar of this
utterly
impartial
goodness
and justice,
where will
you and I
stand?
as sinners,
we will
stand
condemned.
And so
the question
is,
is there
any hope
for us
sinners
before the
good
judgment
of God?
You see,
the only
hope that
we have
hope isn't
in our
own
righteousness,
for we
have none
that will
avail before
the judgment
seat of
God.
Our only
hope isn't
in our
own
righteousness,
but in
the righteousness
of another.
The good
news of the
Bible is
this,
that God
will judge
the world
and put
things right,
but he's
also made
a way
for sinners
to be safe
in that
judgment.
Imagine you're
walking home
from work
or you're
walking home
from class
and unexpectedly
a great
rainstorm
appears.
I was on
campus on
Thursday
and it
was raining
and there
were a lot
of wet
people
walking
around.
Unexpectedly
this great
rainstorm
crops up,
the heavy
rain begins
to fall.
What do
you do?
You
immediately
run for
shelter,
right?
You find
a doorway,
you find
an awning,
you find
an alcove,
you find
some kind
of shelter,
shelter to
keep you
safe while
the storm
passes by.
And friends,
you see,
God has
done just
that when
he became
incarnate in
the person
of Jesus
Christ.
Jesus lived
the life you
and I ought
to have
lived in
perfect
righteousness
before God
the Father.
And Jesus
Christ died
the death
that you
and I
deserve to
die.
On the
cross,
he bore
the full
curse of
God's
judgment
against
human
sin.
And on
the third
day,
Jesus
Christ rose
from the
grave,
demonstrating
that he
was the
Son of
God,
and that
he would
now be
the shelter
for all
who take
refuge in
him.
You and
I can
flee to
him,
and his
perfect
righteousness
and his
sin-bearing
death
will cover
you,
you see.
He already
endured
the storm
so that
you and
I don't
have to.
Jesus
Christ
willingly
stood
in the
winds
and the
rain of
judgment.
He
willingly
allowed
that storm
to fall
hard on
himself
so that
you could
be safe
beneath
him.
You see,
the only
place,
the only
place
where real
justice
can be
found
in an
unjust
world
is at
the cross
of Jesus
Christ.
At the
cross,
God judged
human sin.
The storms
of his
wrath fell
fully upon
human
injustice
and evil
as Jesus
Christ
became
sin for
us.
And at
the cross,
God freely
offers his
righteousness
to all
who believe.
Paul says
he was
delivered up
for our
trespasses
and he
was raised
for our
justification.
So you
see,
at the
cross,
justice
and love
meet
perfectly.
Justice
because God
maintains
his righteous
opposition to
sin and
evil,
and love
because God
forgives
and receives
unjust
sinners who
repent and
trust in
his son.
Because
Jesus
willingly
stood in
your place,
God is
both just
and the
justifier
of those
who believe
in him.
And for
those who
know
God's
justifying
grace
in this
way,
something
happens.
For those
who take
shelter under
the love
and righteousness
of Jesus
their Lord,
a change
begins.
righteousness,
we start
to become
people who
love
righteousness
more and
more,
and who
work for
justice
more and
more.
Jesus
says that
his followers
are those
who hunger
and thirst
for righteousness.
When you
genuinely
receive this
gift of
righteousness,
you will
become passionate
about extending
that gift to
others.
Having been
freely put
right with
God through
the cross
of Christ,
Christians now
seek to go
out in the
power of the
Spirit to
restore and put
all things
right in the
name of
Christ.
We hunger
and thirst
for righteousness
in every
area of
God's
world.
Where
injustice
and wickedness
dwell,
there is a
place for
God's grace
and God's
kingdom work
to begin.
Just as it
has begun
in our own
hearts when
Christ forgave
and reconciled
us, so we
must see that
righteousness made
visible all
around us.
And this
means that the
Christian's
pursuit of
justice won't
grow dim or
wear out or
get cynical when
things get
difficult.
This is a
great problem,
isn't it?
It's easy to be
passionate for
putting things
right only within
months or years
to just grow
deeply discouraged
and embittered.
But not so for
those who have
come to know the
righteousness of
Christ because
our hungering and
thirsting for
righteousness is
rooted in an
already finished
work and in an
ultimate hope of
His kingdom.
And at the same
time, the
Christian pursuit of
justice doesn't grow
proud or self-
congratulatory when
things go well.
Maybe you've been
around people like
that.
They're so in tune
with righteousness
that they're just
completely unbearable
to be around,
right?
They're just
immensely proud and
condemning of
everyone around
them.
But for the
Christian, that can
never be the case.
Why?
Because we know
that no matter how
hard we hunger and
thirst for
righteousness, we
are always just
sinners saved by
sheer grace.
Any advance of
God's kingdom and
His righteousness is
ultimately His work
and not ours.
So this is
Ecclesiastes' first
question.
Where can we find
real justice?
Friends, the answer
is only found in
God and supremely in
the cross of Jesus
Christ where God
justifies sinners by
His grace, renews
them, and sends them
out to be agents of
His grace in the
world.
Ecclesiastes' second
question comes in
chapter 4.
And this time,
having reflected on
justice, he kind of
turns a little bit to
a related topic and
he asks, where can
real comfort be found
in the midst of
oppression?
Let me read chapter 4
for us.
Ecclesiastes says,
again, I saw all the
oppressions that are
done under the sun,
and behold, the tears
of the oppressed, and
they had no one to
comfort them.
On the side of their
oppressors there was
power, and there was
no one to comfort
them.
And I thought the
dead who are already
dead more fortunate
than the living who
are still alive.
But better than both
is he who has not yet
been and has not seen
the evil deeds that
are done under the sun.
Then I saw all the
toil and all skill and
work come from a man's
envy of his neighbor.
This also is vanity
and is striving after
wind.
The fool folds his
hands and eats his
own flesh, betters a
handful of quietness
than two hands full
of toil and a
striving after wind.
Again, I saw vanity
under the sun.
One person who has
no one, either son or
brother, and yet there's
no end.
All his toil and his
eyes are never satisfied
with riches, so that he
never asks, for whom am I
toiling and depriving
myself of pleasure?
This also is vanity and
an unhappy business.
Two are better than one
because they have a good
reward for their toil.
For if they fall, one will
lift up his fellow.
But woe to him who is
alone when he falls and
has not another to lift
him up.
If two lie together, they
keep warm, but how can
one keep warm alone?
And though a man might
prevail against one who
is alone, two will
withstand him.
A threefold cord is not
quickly broken.
Better was a poor and
wise youth than an old
and foolish king who no
longer knew how to take
advice, for he went from
prison to the throne,
though in his own
kingdom he had been
poor.
I saw all the living who
move about under the sun
along with that youth who
was to stand in the king's
place.
There was no end of all the
people, all of whom he
led.
Yet those who come later
will not rejoice in him.
Surely this also is vanity
and a striving after wind.
Okay, now we don't have
time to explore all the
details of this chapter.
And in fact, we're
actually going to return
to many of the themes
that begin in this chapter
in the coming weeks.
As Ecclesiastes proceeds,
it's often going to revisit
the same ideas as the
book goes on.
It kind of moves elliptically
through the same themes as
it progresses.
But today, I just want to
notice again these opening
verses where he says,
Behold the tears of the
oppressed, and they had no
one to comfort them.
On the side of their
oppressors there was power,
and there was no one to
comfort them.
Who will comfort the
oppressed in this life?
Ecclesiastes asks.
But do you see, do you see
how the gospel of Jesus
Christ opens up a new
horizon that Ecclesiastes
could not yet see?
For what does the gospel
tell us?
It tells us that God
himself stood in the place
of the oppressed.
Jesus Christ entered into
the life of the poor, the
downtrodden, the broken
hearted.
There is no tier of human
experience that he himself
has not personally
understood.
He's joined himself to all
of our sufferings, all of
our sorrows.
So, friend, if you are
weary, or you are weeping,
or you are oppressed today,
you are not alone.
Even if you feel that
everyone has abandoned you,
the Lord Jesus has not.
He is with you in every
sorrow and in every tear.
And he is there not merely
to sympathize with you,
but to really comfort you.
Because of what God has
done in Jesus Christ, you
see, power is no longer
ultimately on the side of
the oppressors.
Why?
Because God is the only
true source of power.
God is almighty and
sovereign, and the almighty
God took on flesh and
lived among us.
And when he lived among us
in the flesh, with whom
did he fellowship?
With whom did he live and
work?
With whom did he unite
himself in his cause?
His power was not joined
to the oppressors of this
world, those who worked
and toiled just out of
envy for their neighbor to
get ahead.
No.
When the almighty and
sovereign God took on
flesh and walked among us,
he was with the weak and
the lowly and the outcast.
God placed himself in his
almighty power on behalf
of the poor and on behalf
of the sorrowful and on
behalf of those who mourn.
And that means there is
coming a day when
oppression will cease and
oppressors will be called
to account.
God will have the last
word, and God will stand
with his people, and God
will see that every tear is
wiped from their eyes.
And all sorrows, even death
itself, will be swallowed up
in God's victory on behalf
of the oppressed.
And you see, God has not just
promised that one day all
oppression will cease.
He's also promised that even
the afflictions of this life
cannot stop his current
redemptive work from going
forth.
What the world means for evil,
God will intend for good.
In fact, because of who God is
in his power and in his
goodness, he has promised that
all things work together for
good, for those who love him
and who are called according
to his purpose.
You see, friends, lasting
comfort is found in the same
place where lasting justice is
found.
For the sinner, lasting justice
can only be found in the cross
and resurrection of the Lord
Jesus.
For the sufferer, lasting
comfort, too, can only be found
in the cross and resurrection of
the Lord Jesus.
You see, his scars are both
your justification and your
redemption.
They are your righteousness and
your freedom.
They speak over you his word of
forgiveness and his word of
protecting love.
You are mine and no one will
take you out of my hands.
And in the embrace of his
scarred hands in the cross and
resurrection of Jesus Christ,
a new community is forged.
Ecclesiastes 4, 9 through 12
lifts up the power and comfort
of relationship, of community.
How many people have been to a
wedding and you've heard this
passage read, right?
You're like, oh, this is the one
passage in this crazy text I've
actually heard before, right?
Because I was at a wedding and
they read it.
But what's Ecclesiastes really
getting on about here, right?
He's talking about the power of
community, of living not for
yourself but with and for others.
And this is exactly what the
church of Jesus Christ is.
It is the fulfillment of verses
9 through 12.
All who believe in Jesus Christ
become a part of this community,
of the church.
We no longer work alone.
We no longer rise or fall alone.
We no longer face battles or
defeats alone.
We're woven together in Christ by
the Holy Spirit like a threefold
cord that can't be broken.
And this is why baptism isn't just
a sign of being united to Jesus in
his death and in his resurrection,
but being united to all those who
have been united to Jesus in his
death and resurrection, of being
united to the visible church.
And this is why becoming a member
of a local church is so important.
Because we aren't made to live
alone.
God rescues us to become a people.
A people who hunger and thirst for
righteousness together.
A people who together comfort one
another in all our afflictions.
And that's what this baptism today
is all about.
It's about the work of God saving
grace, saving us through the death
and resurrection of his son,
making us new creations in him,
and at the same time grafting us
into a new family, making us a new
people who love and serve not just
one another, but who seek to love
our neighbors as ourselves.
And God holds this out to all of us
today.
Friend, you can find his justice
and his comfort.
You can know that your sins are
forgiven.
You can find your place in his people
and be known.
Turn from your sins.
Trust in Jesus Christ who died and
rose again for you.
And you too will find real justice
and real comfort.
Let's pray together.
Amen.
Lord, we pray
that you would be with us now
as we consider these words from
Ecclesiastes and as we look at these
waters of baptism.
Lord, we see represented here,
Father, how you, through your son,
bore the weight of human sin and death
and rose again so that we might live
anew unto you.
God, I ask that this message of
saving grace would work in all of our
hearts this morning.
Lord, for those who are new to
spiritual things, would you be opening
their eyes to the rich, deep, and good
realities of who you are and all that
you've done in Christ?
Lord, for those who have been wrestling
with you for some time, God, by your
spirit, would you break down their
defenses?
Would you call them by your love?
Would you liberate them by your spirit
that they might believe in Jesus Christ
and be saved?
And God, for those of us who profess
faith in you, along with Hoshua
and along with Zeran, would we together
be the kind of people that you've called
and redeemed us to be, a people
of righteousness, a people of comfort,
a people who hold high the name of Jesus,
our righteousness, and our King.
We pray this in his mighty name.
Amen.