Well, let's open up our Bibles to Psalm chapter 15 this morning.
Psalm chapter 15, if you don't have your Bibles with you, that's okay.
We got them there in the seat back in front of you.
But let's open them to Psalm chapter 15.
And when you found it, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.
Psalm chapter 15.
A Psalm of David.
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
Who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor.
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend.
In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord.
Who swears to his own hurt and does not change.
Who does not put out his money at interest.
And does not take out a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our Lord stands forever.
Let's pray.
Lord, thank you for your Word.
Thank you for the truth of the Gospel.
Thank you for the promise that it never goes out empty, but always accomplishes the purposes for which you send it.
And so we pray now, Lord, as we open your Word and seek you in it, God.
Would you give us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to receive the truth of the Gospel and the glory of your kingdom.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You can be seated.
Amen.
Well, I heard somebody complain recently that he thought that maybe 90% of the women in the world were seeking to date the top 10% of men.
And he was lamenting what he felt like were the unrealistic expectations of single women in their pursuit of the perfect man.
And in their minds, according to him, he said that top 10% of men is at least 6 feet tall.
That rules me out, right?
Is attractive, makes at least 6 figures, is physically fit,
and of course is within a reasonable age range available for them to date.
Well, I was curious about this, and so I did a little bit of research this week.
And while I hate to burst anyone's bubble, if these are your standards, I got bad news for you this morning.
According to my in-depth research into U.S. Census Bureau data,
only about 14.5% of American men are 6 feet tall or taller,
which interestingly enough, 33% of U.S. men self-identify as being 6 feet tall or taller.
So somebody's lying.
Only 14.5% are 6 feet tall or taller.
Only 17% of all American men make 6 figures or more.
And that's before you get to preferred age or attractiveness, which of course is hard to quantify.
But when you combine all of these factors together,
the statistical probability of a guy in the U.S. male population between the ages of 20 and 40
meeting all of these standards, you ready?
1.4%.
It's not great, right?
But of course, that's all men.
And you might want one that's not already married.
So when you trim out all of the already married men,
trim it down to just a single man, here's what you get.
A man who is at least 6 feet tall,
who makes at least 6 figures income,
who is between the ages of 20 and 40 years old,
who is not statistically obese,
and is not statistically married currently,
the probability of a guy in the U.S. population meeting all of these standards,
you ready for it?
0.48%.
The truth is, the perfect man is hard to find.
There is a significant gap
between the high standards
and the number of people who actually qualify,
which is, in a way,
the same predicament that faces us here in Psalm chapter 15.
David, here in Psalm chapter 15,
he asks the question,
what kind of person is God looking for?
Who gets to be with God?
What are God's standards?
And the answer that he gives,
it might surprise you in verses 2 through 5,
the answer is,
only perfect people.
Only perfect people get to be with God.
There is a significant gap
between God's high standards
and the number of people who actually qualify.
So what we're going to see this morning here
is the question, verse 1,
and then the qualifications,
verses 2 through 5.
The question, verse 1,
and then the qualifications,
in verses 2 through 5.
First, we see David asks this question
here in verse 1.
Look there with me.
He asks,
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
In other words,
who is worthy to come and to be in your presence?
What kind of person are you looking for?
And those two terms that he gives,
that you may realize this or not,
they're loaded with biblical imagery and significance.
He asks,
Who shall sojourn in your tent?
And if you're not familiar with the Old Testament,
you might wonder,
well, why in the world is God living in a tent?
Right?
But of course,
we know that God did, in fact,
live in a tent.
He condescended to dwell in a tent,
to be in the midst of his people in the tabernacle.
The tabernacle was God's tent,
his dwelling place with his people
as they traveled and sojourned
on the way to the promised land.
So when he asks,
O Lord, who can sojourn in your tent?
Another way to ask that question might be,
God, who is worthy to be your people?
God, who is it who can be with you?
Who is it who can claim to have you in their midst?
And that's a pressing question for us, isn't it?
Because we as Christians claim to be, what?
God's people.
As we gather here this morning,
we claim to have God in our midst.
It's pressing for us to ask the Lord,
who is worthy to be your people?
Not only this, he asks,
who shall dwell on your holy hill?
That's a phrase that is just loaded
with biblical meaning.
Who shall dwell on God's holy hill?
You might think of the Garden of Eden.
In fact, in Ezekiel chapter 28,
he describes the Garden of Eden
as being on God's holy hill.
The Garden of Eden,
where for just a brief moment,
Adam and Eve tasted true intimacy with God.
They enjoyed nearness with Him
and communion with Him
for all of two chapters in the Bible.
Before sin entered into the world
and tore it all apart,
Adam and Eve listened to the eyes of the enemy.
They disobeyed the clear command of God.
They broke fellowship with the Lord.
They were cast out of the Garden.
You know what we call this?
We call it the fall of mankind,
where they were cast down the mountain,
away, down, away from the presence of God.
And from this point forward,
the entire Bible is asking the question,
who can ascend back up this hill?
Who is it that can be with God?
How do we get back to Eden,
back to the fellowship with the Lord?
And it seems like an impossible task.
But all through the Old Testament,
you get these little glimpses
and glimmers of possibility
that maybe there's a way.
You might think of Moses,
who rose to the top of Mount Sinai
to meet with the Lord.
God called him up the mountain.
No one else is allowed up the mountain.
If they even touch the mountain,
you know what happens?
You remember?
They'll die.
But God invites Moses up
and he comes up and he meets with God.
And then you remember what happens?
He comes back down the mountain
to deliver God's word,
the law to the people.
The word of God comes down from up high
to give life to his people.
That's Moses.
You might think of David.
God's anointed king,
reigning and ruling over God's people,
God's anointed leader,
who, Psalm chapter 2,
you remember, it says,
I have set my king on Zion,
my holy hill.
All through the Old Testament,
there's glimmers of possibility,
but the problem remains,
no one is worthy to climb up that hill
and stay there.
Moses comes and Moses goes.
David comes.
David goes.
Adam was there for a moment
and he fell away.
The question remains,
who can climb the hill
and be with God?
And the fact is,
all of us are asking this question.
All of us are asking this question.
Every single world religion
seeks to answer this question.
How do we as men and women
get to be with God?
Every religion has their own spin on the answer,
but if you listen closely,
they are all essentially the same.
How do we get to be with God?
Buddhists,
a little world religion 101,
okay?
Buddhists are pursuing heaven.
They call it nirvana.
And how do they get there?
By following the eightfold path.
Right resolve,
right view,
right speech,
right conduct,
right livelihood,
right effort,
right mindfulness,
right samadhi,
or meditative absorption.
Once he got all that down,
then,
they say,
then your spirit will return to God.
Islam teaches that
in order to be saved,
you must follow the five pillars.
And there's a sort of cosmic scale
of good and bad.
If all of your good deeds in your life
outweigh all of the bad,
then you are accepted.
Hinduism teaches that
you reach salvation
when you break free
of the cycle of reincarnation.
Reincarnation.
And then,
your spirit becomes one with God.
Well, how do you break free
from the cycle of reincarnation?
You gotta get rid of bad karma
by doing everything needed
to fully satisfy the gods.
And so you keep coming back again,
and again,
working it all out
until finally you get it right.
Are you sensing a theme here?
Do you hear the common theme?
Mormons
actually believe in two heavens.
And to reach the first,
the lower heaven,
you just have to believe in Jesus
and be baptized,
but to reach the higher heaven,
you have to believe in Jesus,
repent,
be baptized in the church,
be a member of the Mormon church,
receive the Holy Spirit,
not by faith in Christ,
but by laying on of hands,
and then you have to fully obey
all of God's commands
and the Mormon word of wisdom,
which by the way,
was written in 1833,
not sure how anyone was saved before that,
and they must complete
all the Mormon temple rituals.
Okay,
lots of stuff to do,
right?
Catholics,
Council of Trent
declared that you are saved
by faith plus works.
That is how one receives salvation.
Now you tell me,
think about it,
what do all of these religions
have in common?
What's the common thread?
What are you hearing?
Every single one of them
is a system of do's and don'ts
so that you,
by your efforts,
can climb up the hill.
Every single one of them
is dependent on you.
It comes in all shapes and sizes,
but the summary of all world religions
is be good,
do good,
live the right way,
belong to the right group,
check the right boxes,
and then and only then
can you make your way
up the hill
to be with God.
They all ask the question,
O Lord,
who shall sojourn
in your tent?
Who shall dwell
on your holy hill?
And they all say,
I can.
Maybe not now,
but if I work hard enough,
if I put in enough effort,
if I do the right things,
if I say the right things,
if I'm devoted enough,
if I'm genuine enough,
if I'm repentant enough,
if I'm enough,
I can do it.
Every religion,
except for one,
is providential,
I think,
that Psalm 15
comes right after Psalm 14.
Do you notice the connection?
Look there,
Psalm 14.
That's not accidental,
by the way.
Do you remember
what we saw last week?
Thank you for coming back
after last week,
by the way.
Psalm 14 was tough.
We got some bad news
in Psalm 14.
Last week,
Psalm 14,
what did David teach us?
He said,
God looks down.
God is on high,
looking down from heaven,
down to see if there are
any who understand,
any who seek after God,
any who does what is good.
Is there anyone
who's worthy
to dwell in this tent
or to climb up this holy hill
and to be with me?
And what was the answer?
Not even one.
Christianity says,
you can't do it.
Who can sojourn?
Who can be with God?
Who can dwell in God's tents?
Psalm 14 already ruled us out.
It's not you.
It's not me.
The point is,
again,
there is a significant gap
between God's high standards
and the number of people
who actually qualify.
So then,
what are God's standards?
Who can be with God?
Look with me,
starting in verse 2.
We'll see second.
The qualifications,
verses 2 through 5.
Look there with me.
These are God's requirements.
I remember when I was in school,
sometimes the teachers
would post the grades online
before you actually got
your physical test paper back.
And so you would know
if you failed the class
before you knew
what the right answers were.
Right?
Psalm 14 says
you failed the class.
Psalm 15 tells us
here's what you should have done.
The first one,
first qualification here
is the summary
right there in the first line,
verse 2.
Who can be with God?
He who walks blamelessly
and does what is right.
The qualification number one,
be blameless.
Be a perfect man.
Not just mostly good,
but be totally blameless.
This man, second,
must be perfectly truthful.
He speaks the truth,
not just out loud,
but in the hidden conversations
of his own heart.
And again,
you notice the contrast
with Psalm 14.
In 14,
the fool says where?
In his heart,
there is no God.
That fool,
he goes and does
abominable deeds.
But Psalm 15,
the contrast,
this man,
this blameless man,
speaks truth in his heart.
And he does
what is right.
Not only this,
he must love
his neighbor perfectly.
Verse 3.
He does not slander
with his tongue
and he does no evil
to his neighbor,
nor does he take up
a reproach against his friend.
He perfectly loves
his neighbor.
Jesus told us
the summary of the law,
the two great commandments.
You remember what they were?
The first is,
you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and mind
and soul
and strength.
And the second is like it,
you should love what?
Love your neighbor
as yourself.
But then he goes further
and he exposes
the depth
of the law.
He says,
you've heard it said
don't kill,
but I say to you,
if you hate somebody
in your heart,
you've already killed them.
You've heard it said
don't commit adultery,
but I say to you,
if you even look
at a woman
with lustful intention,
you've already committed
adultery
with her
in your heart.
He makes it clear
that loving your neighbor
is not just checking
off the boxes
of the law.
It's much deeper
than this.
And here,
David tells us
the person who can
climb the hill
and be with God
perfectly loves
his neighbor.
Have you done it?
Not only this,
verse 4
shows us
he must perfectly
value God's honor
above all else.
In his eyes,
a vile person
is despised,
but he honors
those who fear
the Lord.
In other words,
his metric
for who deserves
honor and praise
and respect
is not the same
as our world's
system of honor
and praise
and respect.
He doesn't just
honor somebody
who might benefit
him in some way.
His honor is not
based on money
or power
or status
or ability
to contribute
something valuable.
He sees
and he values
as God sees
and God values.
And God's honor
is his highest value.
Do you see it?
He must have
perfect integrity.
Verse 4
This man,
he swears
to his own hurt.
He does not change.
His word is
trustworthy.
He doesn't say
one thing
and then go back
and do another.
He doesn't change
the terms
of his agreements.
He doesn't promise
something
and then fail
to follow through.
He is 100%
trustworthy
and honest.
And then lastly,
verse 5
tells us
This man
must perfectly
steward
all of his treasures.
He doesn't put out
his money
at an interest
or take out
a bribe
against the innocent.
He isn't greedy
or dishonest.
He's not manipulative.
He is above reproach
with his money.
He perfectly manages
all that God
has given him.
He who does
these things
shall never be moved.
Have you done them?
Does this describe you?
Who can sojourn
in your tent?
Who can dwell
on God's holy hill?
We sum up the answer
like this.
Only a perfect man.
Only a perfect man
can be in the presence
of a holy God.
You see the predicament
that this puts us in?
Psalm 14
and Psalm 15
back to back
they put us
in a pretty terrible
position
don't you think?
Psalm 14
again says
no one is good
not even one
and Psalm 15
says to be with God
you must be
perfect.
And if that's how it is
I can only think
of three ways
to make sense of it.
Okay?
Follow with me here.
Three ways
to make sense of this.
Option number one
nobody gets
to be with God.
Nobody gets
to be with God.
That's possibility
number one.
And let me be clear
option number one
is perfectly just.
That would be
perfectly fair
because again
no one meets
the qualifications.
No one is owed
access to God.
We have all sinned
and fallen short.
Even if you live
a perfect life
from this moment on
you can't change
the fact that
you've already
failed Him.
Who can be with God?
Someone who is perfect.
No one is perfect
so none of us
get to be with God.
That's option number one.
Or
option number two
is maybe
maybe God just
lowers His standards
a little bit.
I mean my goodness.
Maybe He realizes
after years
and years
goes by
and nobody's
able to meet
this standard.
Maybe He says
I love you so much
and I want to be
with you so badly
that I will just
lower my standards
so that you can
come and be with me.
That's option
number two.
And if that's how
it works
we can just rip
this page out
of our Bibles.
Option number two
is wishful thinking.
God does not
lower His standards
for us.
God's standard
is holy
perfection
which leaves us
with option
number three.
God is holy.
God's standard
is perfection.
We have all
fallen short
but option
number three
God Himself
makes a way
to make
imperfect people
perfect.
You hear that?
God Himself
makes a way
to take
imperfect
sinful
broken
people
like you
and me
and make
us
perfect
righteous
holy
and acceptable
in His sight.
Option number three
praise God
is the message
of the gospel.
That's the message
of Christianity.
This is what we
believe
and this is the good
news that we
have to share
with the world.
We all ask
who can qualify?
Who can come
and be in the
presence of God?
Every other
religion gives you
a ladder to climb.
Christianity alone
says you can't
do it.
Here's the standard.
You can't meet it.
No one is good
enough.
All have sinned
but here's the good
news of the gospel.
God makes
sinful people
perfect.
How does He do it?
By sending
His own Son
to live
and to die
and to rise
in the place
of sinners
like us.
Here's the gospel
church.
God Himself
has stepped
down into
human flesh
to meet
the standard
of perfection
in our place.
Jesus Christ
is the only one
who's perfectly
fulfilled
every requirement
to total
perfection.
You read this list
I want you to see
Jesus.
Jesus is the only one
who is ever
perfectly blameless.
Jesus is the only one
who did what was right
who spoke the truth
with His lips
and with His heart
who was Himself
the very embodiment
of the truth
the living word
of God.
Jesus Himself
perfectly loved
His neighbor.
Greater love
has no man than this
that a man should
lay down his life
for his friend.
Jesus Christ alone
perfectly honored
God the Father.
Jesus Christ alone
was and is
perfectly deserving
of all honor
and praise Himself.
Jesus Christ alone
lived with perfect
integrity.
Jesus Christ alone
perfectly managed
and cared for all
that God the Father
had given Him
most specifically
His precious people.
So what's the answer
to the question?
Who can sojourn
in God's tent?
Who can climb the hill
and be with the Lord?
It's Christ alone.
Jesus Christ alone
can ascend the hill
of God.
Jesus Christ alone
is the perfect man
and the wonderful news
of the gospel
is that He did this
for us
on our behalf.
That His obedience
and His righteousness
and His perfection
is credited to our
bankrupt account
by faith alone.
Other religions
don't understand
why we make such a big deal
about Jesus.
They say He's a good teacher
or a prophet
or a good example
a moral example.
He sacrificed Himself
out of love for others.
They don't understand
why we make such a big deal
about Jesus.
Listen to this.
We worship Jesus Christ
because we believe
that Jesus
is the true
and better Adam
who lived
and obeyed
perfectly in our place
where Adam failed.
Romans 5.19
Paul says
for as by the one man's
disobedience
the many were made
sinners
that's Adam
were made sinners
in Him
by His disobedience
so by the one man's
perfect obedience
Christ
the many will be made
righteous.
Not only this
we believe
Jesus is the true
and better
Moses
who like Moses
ascended
to the top
of a mountain
where He delivered
His most famous sermon
the sermon
on the mount
this was His exposition
of the law of God
we believe
Jesus is
the true
and perfect
mediator
between God
and man
who is Himself
the very word
of God
who came down
to His people
not just to instruct
but to fulfill
all that God requires.
We believe
Jesus is the true
and better David
the true
eternal King
of His people
whom God
has set
atop His holy hill
to reign
and to rule
to bless His people
and to crush
His enemies
we believe
Jesus is the only
hope
for sinners like us
to be with the holy God
why?
because we believe
that this man
stepped down
into our weakness
to live
as we should have lived
and then he went
atop another hill
to die
as we should have died
but not just to die
but to rise
and then to ascend
do you see it?
to ascend
into the presence
of God
to ascend
to the right hand
of God
to represent
sinners like us
before the throne
of God
so that any
sinner
who comes to
this perfect man
by faith
may receive
by grace
what he alone
has accomplished
that's the gospel
that's very good news
for sinners like us
Jesus alone
is worthy
and by God's grace
God makes sinners
worthy
in him
option number three
praise God
is the truth
it's entirely unique
to the Christian message
the only hope
that we have
that we could possibly
be with God
is that God himself
makes a way
to make
imperfect people
perfect
so the question
then becomes
church
have you received
it?
have you
received it?
if you read this
psalm
and you ask
that question
you ask
who can be
with God
and you answer
it like this
well I do my best
I try pretty hard
I come to church
I say my prayers
I tithe
I'm pretty moral
surely God
would accept me
if that's how
you answer that question
you are not
answering it
like a Christian
the Christian
answer to that
question
is I am not
worthy
only Christ
but praise God
by his grace
I trust Christ
alone for my
salvation
and I am made
worthy
in him
I'm made
righteous
in Christ
alone
have you received
it?
if so
then
let me just
encourage you to
respond in a couple
of ways here
as we close
for one
realizing the
distance between
God's requirements
and our
qualifications
church
ought to lead
us to
deep
humility
deep
humility
to recognize
that we did not
earn anything
from God
all that we
have
all that we
have is by
grace alone
that ought to
make us
humble
it ought to
make us
rejoice
church
and to give
thanks to God
for what he's done
for us
in Christ
as we read
at the beginning
of our time
this morning
he saved us
not because of
works done by
us in righteousness
but because of
his great mercy
by the washing
and renewal
of the Holy Spirit
by grace you have
been saved
through faith
this is not
your own doing
Paul says
not by works
so that no man
may boast
church
rest
and rejoice
in what God
has done
for you
in Christ
and then
and only
then
from this
position
of full
acceptance
in Christ
from this
position
of how God
sees you
and receives
you totally
in Christ
then and
only then
look at this
gap between
God's holiness
and your
sinfulness
as a means
to grow
in Christ
likeness
you are
holy in
Christ
you have
been justified
now God
is working
holiness
in you
God is
making you
holy in
Christ
you are
being
sanctified
so we
can look
to this
passage
and ask
what does
it look
like for
me to
grow
as one
who is
totally
accepted
in the
sight of
God
as one
who is
totally
loved
in the
sight of
God
as one
who is
totally
made
perfect
my
standing
is
secure
how can
I grow
in holiness
and Christ
likeness
maybe
you need
to grow
to resemble
Christ
with your
words
maybe
we need
to grow
to love
our neighbor
as ourself
maybe
we've not
walked in
integrity
maybe we've
been greedy
or stingy
with what
God has
given us
what does
it look
like for
you
to put
off the
old self
and to
put on
the new
self
which is
being
renewed
in
knowledge
after the
image
of his
creator
church
we're
going to
stand
and respond
by singing
in just
a moment
but what
I want
to do
is
pray
as we
close
and respond
we'll have
a moment
of silent
prayer
and then
I'll pray
over us
and we'll
stand and sing
let's pray
silently
where we
are
father we
read a text
like this
and see
the standards
that you
have
that only
perfect people
are received
in your sight
and we
realize
lord
and confess
all of us
have fallen
short
all of us
in many ways
have sinned
against you
father
this is what
makes the good
news of what
you've done
for us
in Christ
so good
god
Christ
has done
it all
and we
simply receive
what he's
done by
faith alone
we praise
you for
that good
news
and we
pray
lord
if there
are any
who are
still
working
their way
to you
if there
are any
who are
still
burdened
by
the
constant
pressure
to climb
their way
to god
lord
would you
open their
eyes
this morning
to recognize
they can't
do it
but christ
has done
it for
them
to simply
be received
by faith
alone
we pray
that you
would put
in their
hearts
trust
in christ
this morning
and god
would you
deepen our
faith in
jesus
would you
rid us
of our
works
reliance
and our
works
righteousness
would you
rid us
of all
of our
tendency
to try
to earn
our status
before you
and god
would you
remind us
of the
deep
love
that you
have
for us
in christ
we pray
all this
in jesus
name
amen