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Well, I want to invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Habakkuk chapter 2.
Habakkuk chapter 2 is where we continue in our study today.
We're going to cover the entire chapter with the exception of the first verse.
So we'll begin reading at verse 2 and go all the way down to verse 20.
But we're going to spend most of our time on verses 2, 3, and 4.
That's really where the meat of this particular passage is found.
Verses 5 through 20 is what is called a taunt song.
We're going to talk about that a little bit when we get to it.
But it's really just a specific expression of judgment toward this group of individuals.
And we'll talk about that when we get there, but we're not going to spend a lot of time there.
We're going to focus our attention on verses 2, 3, and 4.
Habakkuk chapter 2, verse number 2.
And the Lord answered me and said,
Write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that readeth it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie.
Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come.
It will not tarry.
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith.
Yea, also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home,
who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied,
but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people.
Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him,
and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his.
How long?
And to him that ladeth himself with thick clay.
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee,
and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee,
because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high,
that he may be delivered from the power of evil.
Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity.
Behold, it is not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire,
and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity.
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, and putt thy bottle to him,
and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness.
Thou art filled with shame for glory.
Drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered.
The cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee,
and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee,
and the spoil of beast which made them afraid,
because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land,
of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it,
the molten image, and a teacher of lies,
that the maker of his work trusteth therein to make dumb idols?
Woe unto him that saith to the wood,
Awake, to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach.
Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver,
and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
But the Lord is in his holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before him.
The first four weeks of our study of Habakkuk
only covered 18 verses,
and there has been so much to learn
in the dialogue between God and his prophet.
But the passage we study today
is the crucial text of the entire book.
Everything that's been written for us thus far
exists to serve the purpose of this message from God.
After learning that God was raising up the Chaldean Empire
as his instrument of judgment,
Habakkuk had difficulty understanding
how the actions of God
seemed to be inconsistent with the character of God.
With a spirit of worship, humility, and submission,
he issued his question to God
and patiently waited for a reply.
Now, the general confusion of Habakkuk's question,
which is found in verse 13 of chapter one,
is what God addresses in his response.
In fact, let's read that verse together.
Look with me at chapter one in verse 13.
Habakkuk says as a part of this question for God,
thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil
and cannot look on iniquity.
Why then do you look upon them that deal treacherously
and hold your tongue when the wicked devours the man
that is more righteous than he?
We find that as we discovered last week,
this same question plagued Asaph as he wrote in Psalm 73.
He said, behold, these are the ungodly
who prosper in the world, they increase in riches.
It's a common question throughout the scriptures.
Job asked the same question in Job chapter 21.
David asked this question in some of his Psalms.
And it all boils down to how can you as a holy God
not do something about the sin that we see?
How is it that the wicked around us seems to be exalted?
How is it that the sinful around us seems to prosper
while your own people are in despair?
And though not given in the way that we would usually hope,
God's answer as we study this book
and as we study Psalm 73 and as we study the book of Job,
God's answer brings great resolution
and peace to the hearts of these men.
But it is here that we must take time to recognize
the way in which God chooses to answer our questions.
When we bring our confusion to the Lord in prayer,
we're typically seeking for him to issue an explanation
of his behavior.
It's like an itch that cannot be scratched
until every single facet of our perplexity is explained.
For some Christians,
this process actually ends up revealing
a very sinful attitude and spirit to the Lord
that shows a lack of trust in God.
Rather than assuming God's perfection and righteousness
when they bring their question to God,
they actually bring their question
demanding that God prove that he is righteous
and that he is perfect and that he is good.
And there's a clear distinction.
The same question can be asked,
but the attitude behind it can determine
whether or not a person's heart is right with the Lord
in a right perspective of God's character
or whether it actually reveals a severe lack of faith.
Whenever we bring our questions to the Lord,
we're to come to him with the assumption
that God is right and that he is perfect.
But many times when we come to him,
we're not coming with that understanding
simply seeking an answer.
We're coming demanding that God prove to us
that he's right before we actually trust him.
A question that should come from a spirit of faith
and submission in reality for many people
is in a spirit of judgment.
Now, I've thought a little bit about this.
What gives us this tendency?
And I do think that perhaps our democratic culture
of Western civilization plays a role
in our sinful spirits toward God.
Let me explain.
We are accustomed to exercising the power
of our individual vote to put people
that we determined are worthy of it
in positions of leadership and authority over us.
And if we're unsatisfied with the way
a particular leader has led,
we exercise that same power and right to vote
to remove them from office
and put somebody else there in their place.
We become the judges
of whether or not a person is performing adequately.
And in this sense, we submit to authority
only as long as that authority submits to us.
We will submit to their position and their leadership
only as long as they lead
based on what we have demanded that they do.
And for this reason,
we refer to these people as public servants.
And I think because we're accustomed
to this relationship between submission and authority,
we often come to our relationship with God in the same way.
But we have not chosen God.
He has chosen us.
We have not voted him into office.
He is the God of creation.
We are not his judge.
He is our God.
He is not our servant.
We are to serve him.
He is righteous, not us.
He owes us nothing.
He owes us no explanation
for why he works in the way that he does.
And any revelation that we have of him and his work
only comes by his own love and grace.
So we are not to come to the Lord
and judge his actions in the way
that we would judge the human actions of a human leader.
We come to the Lord rather in submission to him as God.
And when we bring our perplexity,
it's not to judge him and demand
that he prove to us that he's right.
It's where to come to him with the assumption
that he is God and he is right and he is perfect
and seeking to understand not to accuse.
So because of this relationship with him being God
and us being his servant,
God does not offer explanations.
He does not answer our questions
in the way that we expect.
When it comes to our perplexities,
God deals in promises, not explanations.
Let me say it again.
When it comes to our perplexities and our questions
and our confusions and the prayers that we pray,
God does not answer us on the basis of an explanation.
He answers us with a promise, with a covenant.
He is infinitely more concerned about our faith
than he is about our complete understanding.
His desire is that we trust him
even when we don't understand how and why he's working.
And this is the pattern of God's dealing
all throughout the scriptures.
Think about God's relationship to Abraham.
God comes to him and says,
I'm going to make a great nation.
Your seed is going to bless all other nations.
And Abraham says to God in Genesis 18,
how can I have a son who I'm so old
and Sarah is well beyond childbearing years?
And what did God say?
He didn't give him an explanation
that explained the physiology
of how he was going to make it work
and how it was going to come to be.
God didn't do anything like that.
What did God say?
Genesis 18.
He says, is anything too hard for God?
Abraham brings his question to the Lord.
He's seeking for an explanation.
God doesn't provide an explanation.
He provides a promise.
Is anything too hard for God?
In other words, God looks at Abraham
and he says, believe me, Abraham.
You don't have to understand.
Just trust me.
Think about Moses when God came to him
and spoke through the burning bush
and he told him that he wanted him to go
and speak to Pharaoh
and deliver the people of Israel from Egypt.
Moses argued with God
and there came a point in the conversation
where he said, how can I,
a man with a speech impediment,
I'm not eloquent at all.
How can I go and stand and speak
before such a ruler?
And God didn't give any explanation
about how he was going to bring Aaron
in on the equation
and how he was going to use these signs
through the staff
and how he was going to allow Moses
to speak in a particular way.
He didn't give any of that.
What did he say to Moses?
He said, Moses, in Exodus 4.11,
who made your mouth?
Who made your mouth, Moses?
In other words, believe me, Moses.
You don't have to understand.
Just trust me.
Think about Gideon.
Gideon was threshing wheat
in a time when Midian was taking over.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers
had a mast to take over this tribe of Manasseh.
God comes to Gideon and says,
I want to use you to lead the army
and I'm going to make it interesting
by giving you just 300 men to do it.
And Gideon says,
I'm the least in my father's house
and my father's house is the least
in the tribe of Manasseh.
How can you use me?
Why would you ask me to do this, God?
I don't want to do this.
Why would you ask me?
And God doesn't give an explanation.
He doesn't go ahead and tell Gideon,
well, what's going to happen
is you're going to go down the hill
in the middle of the night.
You're going to bang some pots together
and scream out the sword of the Lord
and of Gideon.
And then all of the enemies
are just going to end up killing themselves.
He didn't give him an explanation.
What did he say?
He said to Gideon,
I will be with you.
God doesn't deal in explanations.
He deals in promises.
What about the New Testament?
Remember Thomas asked Jesus,
Lord, we have no idea where you're going.
How can we know the way?
Jesus didn't go into this extensive theological diatribe.
What did he say to Thomas?
He said, Thomas, I am the way.
I am the way.
John 14, 6.
In other words, Thomas,
you don't need an explanation.
Just trust me.
The disciples toward the end of Jesus' time on this earth
said, how will we know when the end is near?
How will we know when your kingdom
is going to be established?
And Jesus gives them a little information.
He says, boys, it's going to get pretty rough,
but let me tell you, no one knows,
but you need to watch and wait.
In other words, just trust me.
I'm coming back.
God doesn't deal in explanations.
He deals in promises.
He is far less concerned with our understanding
than he is with our faith in who he is
and what he has promised.
He's created us with the ability of logic for a reason,
but our capacity of understanding
is limited by God on purpose.
Why?
Because he's far more concerned
that we trust him without understanding
than that we trust him because of understanding.
Instead of providing explanations,
he graces us with his wonderful promises.
And that's exactly what he's doing here for Habakkuk.
Rather than provide a lengthy explanation
that connects all the dots
and provides an explanation for why he's doing it this way
and not another way,
God simply reminds Habakkuk
about this eternal covenant
that he has made with his people.
And he instructs him to share it urgently
and immediately to every generation.
And I want to examine this promise with you today.
Three quick things that we'll say about this covenant.
The first one is we see the significance of the promise.
The significance of the promise.
Look with me again at verse two.
And the Lord answered me and said,
write the vision and make it plain on tables
that he may run that reads it.
Now, when we see Habakkuk in verse one,
it's clear that he was anticipating
God's reply to come with a measure of rebuke.
He seems to have thought that there existed
somewhat of an audacity in the question
that he had just asked at the end of chapter one.
And he expected God to respond strongly.
But that's not how God responds at all.
Consistent with God's nature of love,
he actually responds to Habakkuk very gently.
And it shows and proves once again,
God's great love for those that love and follow him.
The fact that God answered at all
reminds us of his love and care for us,
which is exactly why Peter writes in the New Testament
that we are to cast all of our care upon him.
Why?
Because he cares for us.
God is sympathetic to our cries.
He wants to hear them.
And he doesn't respond with rebuke.
In fact, even in the moments that he rebukes his disciples,
Jesus in the New Testament,
his rebuke is always with tenderness and with gentleness
and with love despite its firm truth.
God deals with us in that way.
It's an example of his love.
And he deals in that way with Habakkuk.
And the significance of this particular promise
and this particular response
is seen in the manner in which God instructed Habakkuk
to record his message.
He told him to write it upon a tablet of stone.
Look with me again at verse two.
Write the vision, make it plain on tables.
That's just a reference to a stone tablet.
There are only a few occasions in the Bible
where God actually makes this command
for his message to be recorded in this way.
Most notably, we see this coming in the 10 commandments.
As Moses went up on Mount Sinai,
God delivered his law to Moses there.
He instructed and he actually did it by his own hand
for the law to be written on stone tablets.
And this was significant.
It's a simple gesture,
but there's two reasons that the way in which God
instructed Habakkuk to record this message
is significant to us and it shows the significance.
The first way is this.
It shows that this is an eternal promise.
The promise God is having Habakkuk write
is an eternal one.
Now the use of stone reveals that this answer
was not meant to serve the people temporarily.
It's an eternal covenant that would echo
throughout every generation.
The message that God was sending through Habakkuk
was not applicable to his experience
with the Chaldeans alone.
The prophecy finds its fulfillment in every generation
before and after Habakkuk.
As Robertson says,
the specific instructions to inscribe the vision
and make it plain on the tablets underscore
its significance not only for the crucial hour
in which Habakkuk lived,
but also for the generations to come.
Now culturally speaking,
any new covenant made between people in Habakkuk's day
was recorded first on stone
and it represented permanency
and it demanded that the promise be kept.
This message of God was to be viewed
in light of eternity,
not just the time of the Chaldean invasion.
So he tells Habakkuk,
not like he told Isaiah to write it on a parchment,
not like he told Jeremiah to write in a book,
he told Habakkuk,
write it on a table of stone.
It is an eternal covenant.
It's an eternal promise.
Secondly, it shows that it's an urgent promise.
It's an urgent promise.
There's a practical note that God gives Habakkuk
about the way in which he's to write on this stone tablet
and it relates to its size.
Look with me again at verse two.
The Lord answered and said,
write the vision and make it plain on a table
that he may run that reads it.
And this is significant.
The tablet was to be large enough
to be clearly read and understood,
but it was to be small enough
to be carried throughout the nation by a runner.
The message was to be clearly presented
and then it was to be immediately proclaimed.
And this indicates for us the urgency of the message.
Pictured here is a herald that would go from town to town,
maybe on horseback or maybe running from town to town
and would cry in the midst of the town,
an urgent message or an important or significant message
that came directly from his king.
The scriptures refer to angels as heralds
and even preachers in the New Testament
are referred to as heralds.
The task is the same for each one of them.
Proclaim the message from your king.
So paired with the eternal nature of this promise,
it becomes plain that its truth
is to be just as urgent today
as it was when it was written.
It's the message of God's judgment against sin
and his offer of salvation
through Jesus Christ that is so urgent.
And listen to me, church.
Church, we are the runners.
We are the heralds.
The task has been given to the church of God
to spread this message.
And he's entrusted us as Lakeside Bible Church
to proclaim this urgent message
to the people of Lake Norman.
That's our mission.
What we do on Sundays when we gather back together,
Lord willing, next Sunday,
what we do when we gather back together
is worship the Lord.
We disciple one another.
But our mission is to take this proclamation
that God is coming to judge sin
and that he provides salvation through Jesus Christ alone.
We are to take this urgent covenant,
this eternal covenant,
and preach it to the people of Cornelius
and Huntersville and Davidson
and anyone else who will hear it
and even those who will not hear it.
Our job is to proclaim the vision of the Lord.
Our proclamation is to be clear
and our spirit is to be urgent
because it is the promise of God that we share.
Our king church has given us a message to proclaim
and it's sinful if we do not go to our neighbor
and to our family and to our community
and proclaim the message of our king.
So we see the significance of the promise.
It was written on a tablet.
It's eternal.
It's urgent.
Secondly, we see the surety of the promise.
The surety of the promise.
Look with me at verse three.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak and not lie.
Though it tarry, wait for it
because it will surely come.
It will not tarry.
Now it's here that we have to remember
that Habakkuk is a prophetical book.
And the nature of biblical prophecy
is that it often has a near fulfillment
that foreshadows a future or ultimate fulfillment.
In Habakkuk's case,
the near fulfillment is the destruction of Babylon
and the restoration of Israel.
But this is only meant to foreshadow
the ultimate fulfillment
of God's judging of the sin of all mankind
and the eternal establishment
of his eternal kingdom.
Habakkuk's prophecy is not only meant
to tell us of God's work 2,500 years ago.
It's also a revelation of how God works now
and in the future.
And we cannot understand God's message to Habakkuk
without seeing it as an eternal message that it is.
Now think of it in the terms of the other covenants
in the Old Testament.
God tells Abraham,
I'm gonna give you a seed
and in that seed all nations of the earth will be blessed.
The near fulfillment of that prophecy
is in his son Isaac.
But the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy
is in the person of Jesus Christ.
Think about the Davidic covenant.
God comes to David and he says,
I am gonna provide a king.
Your throne will be established forever.
Your seed will rule forever
in an eternal kingdom.
The near fulfillment of that is in his son Solomon.
But the ultimate fulfillment of that
is in the person of Jesus Christ,
not only in his first coming,
but ultimately in his second coming
when he establishes his kingdom.
So when we look at biblical prophecy,
we see God delivers a message.
He uses a near fulfillment
that foreshadows the ultimate
or future fulfillment of his great work.
And we must remember then
that prophecy is not fortune telling.
This is not the guesswork of a man.
This is the true message from the mouth of God
who cannot lie.
Therefore, what we have in Habakkuk's vision
is a message of certainty.
It is sure to come about.
Verse three assumes that many people
will doubt the validity of the message
because of what they will perceive as a delay.
But since it doesn't happen immediately,
they doubt that it will happen at all.
But God reminds us that his work is sure to take place.
Just because it doesn't happen on our timeline
doesn't mean that it won't happen.
And there's two ways that I believe God
reveals the surety of this promise
in verse number three.
The first thing we see is that there is a certain time,
a certain or a sure time.
Look at the first phrase.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time.
Now, the destruction of Babylon
had a specific date set on God's calendar.
It wouldn't take place immediately
following the exile of Judah,
but it would be less than 70 years
when it would find its fulfillment.
And the ultimate fulfillment of this judgment
has yet to take place.
But we are still assured that it will.
It is on God's calendar.
It has an appointed time.
It's not only an appointed judgment,
but it's an appointed salvation.
We have to look at the book of Revelation to see it.
In Revelation chapter 20,
we see that the ultimate fulfillment
of this prophecy of Habakkuk
is seen in an appointed judgment.
John writes in Revelation 20,
he says,
I saw a great white throne
and him that sat on it,
that is Jesus,
and I saw the dead,
small and great,
stand before God,
and the books were opened.
And another book was opened,
which is the book of life.
And the dead were judged
out of those things
which were written in the books
according to their works,
the way that they lived their lives.
And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire.
Listen to me.
There is a coming judgment.
It has already been prophesied
all throughout the scripture.
One day it is appointed.
God has put it on his calendar.
We will all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ.
And when we stand there,
the books will be opened.
And if your name is not
in the Lamb's book of life,
you will be cast
into the eternal lake of fire,
into eternal hell.
That prophecy,
that message from the mouth of God
is true,
and it is certain,
and it is coming.
It's also an appointed salvation.
Immediately after this,
in Revelation 21,
we read of the other part
of this promise.
John says,
I heard a great voice
out of heaven saying,
Behold,
the dwelling place of God
is with men,
and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people.
This is a picture
of God's eternal reign.
And God himself
shall be with them,
and he will be their God.
And listen to what he will do.
God will wipe away
all their tears
from their eyes,
and there shall be
no more death
and neither sorrow
nor crying,
neither shall there be
any more pain,
for the former things
are passed away,
the former sinful things,
the curse of this sin,
wretched world
will be passed away.
And he that sat
upon the throne
said,
Behold,
I make all things new.
And he said unto me,
Right.
Why?
Because the words
that I am saying
are faithful
and they are true.
It is said,
there is an appointed time
for judgment.
And for those
that follow Christ,
there is an appointed time
for salvation.
Though it may seem
to delay now,
don't think that God
is not going to fulfill
his promise.
It's on his calendar.
It is coming,
and it's coming
at a certain time.
But then we also see
that what seems like a delay
has a certain purpose.
There's a certain time.
There's a certain purpose.
Look again at verse 3.
Though it tarry,
wait for it.
Because it will surely come,
will not tarry.
Now don't be confused
by the usage
of the word tarry
in this verse.
There's two perspectives
at play here.
The first time
tarry is used
is from the perspective
of man.
And the second time
it's used
is from the perspective
of God.
In other words,
our perspective
views God's fulfillment
of promise
as a delay.
But he views it
as exactly on time.
His work may seem
delayed for us,
but it's working
exactly as he has
divinely determined.
He doesn't work
on our timeline.
He's not bound
by time in the way
that we are bound
by time.
He has said
it's a point in time.
And what may seem
like a delay to us
is right on time
from his perspective.
But that brings up
the question.
If God is so intent
on judging sin
and establishing
his kingdom,
why would he delay
it all?
What's the purpose
in all these years
that have passed?
And the early church
in the New Testament
faced this same question.
They believed
that Jesus Christ's
second coming
was very near,
but because it still
continued,
life still continued
on without Jesus
returning,
many people began
to doubt whether
or not it was
actually true.
So Peter writes
about it.
In fact,
you may want to
turn in your Bibles
to follow along
with me.
2 Peter 3.
Peter addresses
it first in verse 2,
that ye may be
mindful of the words
which were spoken
before by the
holy prophets,
including Habakkuk,
and of the commandment
of the apostles
of our Lord and Savior,
knowing this first,
that there shall
come in the last days
scoffers walking
after their own lusts,
saying,
where is the promise
of his coming?
For since the fathers
fell asleep,
all things continue
as they were
from beginning
to creation.
There will be those
that will mock,
they will laugh at us,
they will laugh
at the church,
they will laugh
at the Bible,
they will laugh
at this proclamation,
saying,
where is this coming?
You say he's coming soon,
where is it?
And they will doubt it,
and they will mock at it.
But Peter wrote
that what seems
like God's delay
is actually a sign
of his love
and long-suffering
to us.
Look at verse 8.
Beloved,
be not ignorant
of this one thing,
that one day
is with the Lord
as a thousand years,
and a thousand years
is one day.
He doesn't work
on our timeline.
He's got his own timeline.
It doesn't matter
if it's a day
or a thousand years,
it's all the same
to God.
And then he says,
the Lord is not slack
concerning his promise.
He's not lazy.
He's not a liar.
He's not delayed.
What it is
is that he is long-suffering
to us,
not willing
that any should perish,
but that all should come
to repentance.
God's love
this scene here.
What is this delay about?
We long for the coming
of Christ.
Why does it continue
to delay?
But it's not a delay
because God has determined
he will not return.
He will not institute
this final
and ultimate judgment
until all that belong
to him
come to faith
in Jesus Christ.
He is long-suffering
and loving to us.
And if he were to
come and return today
and institute this judgment today
knowing that a month
from now
someone would have come
to faith in Jesus Christ,
he is unwilling
to come back now.
He is unwilling
for that person
to perish
before they have
trusted Christ.
What love
and patience
and long-suffering
that is for us.
That's the answer
to God's delay.
It's not a delay at all.
It's love.
And then Peter
reminds them again
of the certainty
of Christ coming.
Verse 10,
But the day of the Lord
will come as a thief
in the night
in the which the heavens
shall pass away
with a great noise
and the elements
shall melt
with a fervent heat.
The earth also
and the works
that are therein
shall be burned up.
And then he says
in verse 14,
Wherefore, beloved,
seeing that you look
for such things,
be diligent
that you may be found
in him in peace
without spot
and blameless.
And account that
the long-suffering
of our Lord
is salvation.
Why does God tarry?
Because he loves us.
But there will come a time
when his patience
has run its course.
Now is the time
to repent
and turn to Christ.
So we see
the significance
of the promise.
We see the surety
of the promise
and we're out of time.
But we must see
the substance
of the promise.
Now if you're watching
this video at home
and you're in your living room
wherever you're at,
I know it's gone long
and I know there's
a tendency maybe right now
for you to lose focus.
If you're gonna focus anywhere,
focus here.
What is this promise
that God is actually making?
Please listen to me now.
Look at verse four.
Behold,
his soul
which is lifted up
is not upright in him,
but the just
shall live by his faith.
This verse
contains the key
to God's eternal,
urgent,
and certain promise.
And here's what it is.
God
will judge
all sin,
but salvation
is available
by faith
alone.
This is the promise
of Habakkuk's prophecy.
And it's also
the answer
to his question.
No sin
will go unpunished.
The sin
of the wicked
Chaldeans
will not go
unpunished,
Habakkuk.
The wicked
will not prosper.
The sin
of what would
seem to be
the righteous Israelites
will not go unpunished.
All
will
be judged,
but salvation
is made available.
But it's not made available
on our terms.
It's made available
on God's terms.
Habakkuk's first question
had to do with
the absence
of judgment
on Judah.
And the second question
had to do with
the absence
of judgment
on Babylon.
But God's message
clearly states
that every single
person on earth
will answer
for their sin.
The vision
given to Habakkuk
narrows everything
down into two
groups of people.
Those who follow
after self
and those
who follow
faith.
Let's first look
at the one
who follows self.
This is where
verses 5-20
come into play.
It provides
a specific
description
of the destruction
that will come
to the Chaldeans
or the Babylonians.
Now in Habakkuk's
prophecy
the Babylonians
represent
all people
who reject
God
and follow
after their
own self.
They follow
after their own
heart,
after their own
way.
They do what
they want
in opposition
to what God
has commanded.
This section
of verses
is a literal
song.
Scholars refer
to it
as a taunt
song.
Now a taunt
song is a
judgment
that is
sung
by a
formerly
oppressed
people
towards the
people that
oppressed
them.
In this
case,
God's
judgment
on Babylon
is delivered
as one of
these songs.
There's five
stanzas to
the song.
Each
stanza
consists
of three
verses
and each
stanza
pronounces
a
woe
against
Babylon.
It highlights
a specific
category
of their
sin
and then
it announces
God's
judgment
against
that
particular
sin.
Now we're
not going
to explore
all of
this,
but let
me just
mention
the five
stanzas
to you
for your
own
study.
Verses
six
through
eight
is the
first
stanza
and the
sin
that God
is judging
is greed.
It's a
reference
to piling
up wealth
through
extortion
and insatiable
appetite
for more.
Verses
nine
through
eleven
is
injustice,
covetousness.
One of the sins
listed in the
Ten Commandments
is what's at the
heart of this
particular
stanza.
Verses
twelve
through fourteen
is violence.
They were
ruthless
and merciless
in their
greedy
pursuits.
Verses
fifteen
through seventeen
is immoral
self-indulgence.
This element
of judgment
involves
gross
immorality.
Verses
eighteen
through twenty
is idolatry.
This went
well beyond
for the
Babylonians
the worship
of idols
and of
carved images.
They were
the headquarters
in that
day of
spiritism
and sorcery
and divination
and even
what would
modernly be
called
astrology.
It was all
wicked
and pagan.
The song
doesn't include
an exhaustive
list of
sins
but it's
a summary
in verse
five
that holds
us all
guilty.
The wicked
person
that is
pictured
by the
Babylonians
is consumed
with self.
They follow
their own
way
which only
leads
to eternal
death.
As Proverbs
tells us
Proverbs
sixteen
twenty
five
there is a
way that
seems right
unto a
man
but the
end thereof
are the
ways of
death.
The promise
of God's
message is
that all
sin will
ultimately be
judged by
sin.
It's an
eternal
promise and
it will
result in
a certain
judgment.
And we
must remember
then Paul's
writing in
Romans that
we are all
guilty.
We've all
sinned.
We all fall
underneath the
scope of
God's judgment
from the
greatest to
the least
from the
oldest to
the youngest.
We are all
guilty.
So we see
the one who
follows self
but fortunately
we finish
with the
one who
follows
faith.
Look again
at verse
four.
Behold
his soul
which is
lifted up
is not
upright in
him but
the just
shall live
by faith.
Verse
four is the
most important
verse in the
entire book
of Habakkuk.
It's the
verse that
brings hope
to the
prophecy.
Without
it there
would be
no hope
at all.
We would
be utterly
hopeless as
a people.
And so
significant is
this part of
the prophecy
that it's
quoted three
different times
in the New
Testament in
regards to
salvation.
Let me give
you the three
times.
First we see
it in Romans
chapter one
and the
context of
its use
there is
that salvation
comes by
faith alone.
Salvation
comes by
faith alone.
Paul writes
I am not
ashamed of
the gospel
of Jesus
Christ for
it is the
power of
God unto
salvation to
everyone that
believes.
Not to
everyone who
does their
best and
tries their
hardest but
to everyone
who believes.
And then he
says for
therein is the
righteousness of
God revealed
from faith to
faith as it
is written the
just shall
live by
faith.
Salvation
comes by
faith alone.
And as we
understand the
New Testament
and the
New Covenant
that salvation
that faith
is specifically
in the
finished work
of Jesus
Christ on
the cross
and in his
resurrection
and making
him our
Lord.
Then we see
it in Galatians
chapter three.
The context
here is that
works cannot
save us and
that Christ
has paid the
penalty for
our sin.
He has taken
our death.
Galatians
chapter three
in verse
ten.
For all
who rely
on works
of the
law are
under a
curse.
For it is
written,
cursed be
everyone who
does not
abide by
all the
things written
in the
book of
the law
and do
them.
Now it
is evident,
Paul says,
that no one
is justified
before God
by the
law.
For the
righteous
shall live
by faith.
But the
law is not
of faith.
Rather,
the one
who does
them shall
live by
them.
Christ
redeemed
us,
Paul says,
from the
curse of
the law
by becoming
a curse
for us.
For it
is written,
cursed is
everyone who
is hanged
on a tree,
so that in
Christ Jesus,
the blessing
of Abraham
might come
to the
Gentiles,
so that we
might receive
the promised
spirit through
faith.
Christ became
a curse
on our
behalf.
And he
says,
if you
will just
trust me,
that salvation
that awaits
in Revelation
21 will
be yours.
Just believe
me.
You can do
nothing on
your own.
Surrender
all of your
works and
trust in
me.
Follow
me.
Let me be
your Lord.
The third
place is in
Hebrews 10
in the
context here
is that those
with true
faith will
continue in
faith and
in righteousness.
They will
not fall
away.
Verse 35,
cast not
away therefore
your confidence
which hath
great recompense
of reward for
ye have need
of patience
that after
you have
done the
will of
God you
might receive
the promise.
And then the
writer says,
for yet a
little while
and he that
shall come
will come
and will
not tarry.
That's a
quote of
verse number
three.
And then
comes the
quote of
verse four.
Now the
just shall
live by
faith.
That is the
just will
continue to
live by
faith and
that faith
will result
in a
righteous
behavior.
But if
any man
draw back,
the writer
says,
my soul
shall have
no pleasure
in him.
But we
are not of
them who
draw back
unto
perdition,
but of
them that
believe to
the saving
of the
soul.
Just as
eternal judgment
will come
on those
that continue
in sin
by rejecting
Christ,
so will
eternal life
come to
all of those
who live
by faith
in Jesus
Christ.
The promise
of salvation
is absolutely
certain,
but it only
applies to
those who
trust in
Christ alone
for it.
As James
Boyce said,
the foundation
of our
Christian
life is
not what
we can
do for
God,
but what
God has
done for
us.
Therefore,
the entrance
into that
life is
not by
working,
but by
receiving.
Receiving
what?
The free
gift of
salvation
that Christ
offers,
if you
will,
but believe
in
him.
According
to Habakkuk's
prophecy,
if salvation
comes as a
result of our
goodness,
we would
all be
doomed,
but praise
be to
God that
salvation is
not of
works,
it is of
faith,
and it is
offered freely
by the
gracious hand
of our
loving and
merciful God.
We each
and everyone
belong to
one of these
two groups.
We are
either living
by faith in
Christ alone,
or we're
not.
Judgment
day is
coming,
and we
will all
give an
account of
our lives
to God,
and in
that judgment
you will
not be
declared
righteous for
working hard
and doing
your best.
Only those
who have
trusted Christ's
sacrifice for
sin and
followed him
as Lord
will be
declared
righteous.
And this
is ultimately
the message
of the book
of Habakkuk.
The promise
of judgment
is urgent,
and it is
certain.
The question
is,
to which
of these
two groups
do you
belong?
Will you
be judged,
or will
you stand
justified?
God.
Thank you for
listening to
this sermon
made available
by Lakeside
Bible Church.
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