WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.339 Well, good morning friends. It's good to see you here. Glad you could join us on this sticky, 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:21.699 hopefully the last one of the year. It's not right. It's the cry of the school child who is punished 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:27.980 along with the rest of his class because one of his classmates has broken a rule and they don't 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:37.359 get to go out for recess. It's not right, says the citizenry when they realize that their government 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:45.100 has been taking tax dollars to pad their own accounts and fund their own vacations. 00:00:47.179 --> 00:00:57.000 It's not right, the cry goes out, when a congregation hears that their pastor has used his position 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:05.040 to take advantage of a woman in their congregation in an illicit affair. 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:13.980 It's not right, is the heart cry that comes out in so many different places in our life 00:01:13.980 --> 00:01:22.359 because we long for justice. What is justice? Well, the Cambridge Dictionary says that it's fairness 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:28.159 in the way people are dealt with. The Bible talks about the justice in a number of ways. 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:32.700 If you were here in the spring, you remember we preach on the book of Micah, to do justice, 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:40.060 love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. That is, to do right towards others in the way that God 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:47.000 would have us do it. Justice can have a positive sense of doing what is right and good often applied 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:52.620 to treating people equally. Justice also can have a negative sense of responding to people 00:01:52.620 --> 00:02:00.879 who were not doing right, bringing restraint or even judgment on those who have violated that standard. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:10.400 In our society, the cry for justice has been a loud one in the last five years, and for good reason. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:19.879 Whether global inequality has caused great suffering, whether individuals have been badly mistreated 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:26.860 and even killed at the hands of others, there's a lot of injustice in our world. 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:32.819 Friends, I want to be very clear on this. I do not mean this from any political position. 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:38.719 For if you think through the voices of the last five years, both progressives and conservatives 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:44.159 have cried out for justice. Both Democrats and Republicans have said, that's not right. 00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:51.979 And we will all disagree, probably humanly, on what we think are the things that most need to be dealt with. 00:02:53.500 --> 00:03:01.000 But at the core of it, we recognize there is a heart cry in our human soul for justice. 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:06.340 And how do we respond? 00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:11.659 Well, in this day and age, it seems we respond with outrage. 00:03:14.139 --> 00:03:20.939 Outrage that is characterized by anger, often violence, whether it be in words or actions. 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:30.060 But the Bible has a different way for us to go as we think about the heart cry for justice. 00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:33.939 And that brings us to our passage and our new series today. 00:03:34.579 --> 00:03:37.319 We're starting a new series in the book of Habakkuk. 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:42.719 Habakkuk was a prophet in the late 6th century B.C. 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:47.039 If you want to turn there in your pew Bibles, you can start going there because it's not easy to find. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.579 It's page 737. It's one of the minor prophets. 00:03:53.079 --> 00:03:59.439 And we're going to be looking for the next three weeks at what Habakkuk has to say to us this morning. 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:03.539 As you're turning there, let me give you a brief introduction to the book. 00:04:03.959 --> 00:04:07.599 And it's going to be very brief because we actually know very little about Habakkuk. 00:04:08.019 --> 00:04:14.879 Often prophets in the Old Testament have a father, a place where they were from, a historical context. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:17.639 Next, we have almost none of that for Habakkuk. 00:04:17.939 --> 00:04:23.740 The only reference that we can pin down to give any kind of context is that in verse 6, 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:29.379 the Chaldeans, which actually in the Bible is referring to the Babylonian Empire, is referred to. 00:04:29.659 --> 00:04:33.199 And you'll see how that plays out as we get to it. 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:39.300 But what we do know is that because that's the time marker that we have, 00:04:39.659 --> 00:04:47.000 Habakkuk most likely was speaking or receiving this oracle, as it's described in verse 1, 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:55.060 during the latter half of the 7th century, so 650 to 600 B.C., something like that. 00:04:55.060 --> 00:05:03.600 And it's likely that he was receiving this during the time of one of the bad kings of Israel. 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:13.879 So maybe the reign of Manasseh before 640 B.C., or the reign of Jehoiakim after 609 B.C. 00:05:14.220 --> 00:05:18.480 And in case you're wondering what kinds of things he was encountering in the context 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:20.840 and in the life of God's people at that time, 00:05:20.839 --> 00:05:24.979 here's a description of what Manasseh did as a king of Israel. 00:05:25.919 --> 00:05:31.439 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:34.299 and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. 00:05:34.659 --> 00:05:39.019 He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to answer. 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:44.519 Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:48.579 whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel. 00:05:48.579 --> 00:05:53.859 And then describing the reign of Jehoiakim, it says, 00:05:53.979 --> 00:05:58.579 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 00:05:58.779 --> 00:06:01.139 That is, he did the same thing Manasseh did. 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:04.479 That's not right. 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:12.500 Habakkuk speaks in the midst of these kings as a prophet. 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:18.399 Often the prophets in the Old Testament are speaking to God's people on God's behalf, 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:22.120 speaking to them about who God is and what he's going to do. 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:30.740 But interestingly, the book of Habakkuk is actually the prophet speaking to God about the people 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:33.319 and interacting with God. 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:39.959 And his cry is this, God, how can you, a just God, stand by 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:44.800 when injustice happens under such evil kings? 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.759 Friends, we may not be asking the same question today about justice and injustice, 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:54.420 but certainly in our world it's a question we ask as well. 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:57.759 God, how can you just stand by? 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.060 And it raises a question for all of us. 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:08.279 How could we imagine living in relationship to a just God in an unjust world? 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:12.959 If you're taking notes, that's our big picture. 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:20.680 Living in relationship to a just God in an unjust world has three parts to it. 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:22.039 And this is what we'll look at. 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:28.600 First, the first aspect is a cry of lament to a just God. 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:33.000 The second one is a surprising reply of a just God. 00:07:33.760 --> 00:07:37.980 And the third one is the amazing hope from a just God. 00:07:38.780 --> 00:07:41.040 So that's what we'll be talking about this morning, 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:45.600 how we live in relationship to God in an unjust world. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.920 With that introduction, I'm going to invite you to pray with me. 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:51.920 Let's ask God to help us as we look at his word this morning. 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:52.600 Let's pray. 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:57.319 Oh Lord, we do ask you, Lord, it is hot in here. 00:07:57.700 --> 00:08:02.720 And we have launched our fall schedules. 00:08:03.020 --> 00:08:04.020 And some of us are busy. 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:05.340 Some of us are distracted. 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:10.220 Many of us are weary from the beginning of our new schedule 00:08:10.220 --> 00:08:12.200 and coming off of our summers. 00:08:12.460 --> 00:08:15.900 But Lord, we ask now that you would help us by your spirit. 00:08:15.899 --> 00:08:20.519 Lord, awaken our souls to receive your word. 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:24.219 Help us to know our thirst and our need for your word. 00:08:24.779 --> 00:08:29.199 Lord, I would pray for your help that I might speak your word as I ought. 00:08:29.699 --> 00:08:33.500 And that we together might sit under it today. 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:38.539 That we might see you and know you in all of your greatness. 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:41.219 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:08:42.099 --> 00:08:42.360 Amen. 00:08:43.439 --> 00:08:44.579 So, Habakkuk. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:46.000 Habakkuk. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:49.159 And we had a whole conversation. 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:51.159 Some people say Habakkuk. 00:08:51.719 --> 00:08:56.539 We say Habakkuk because that's what Kristen Getty and David, 00:08:56.679 --> 00:09:00.259 what's his Cochran say in the ESV audio Bible. 00:09:00.599 --> 00:09:02.159 So, Habakkuk. 00:09:02.459 --> 00:09:03.899 That's where we're landing here. 00:09:03.899 --> 00:09:09.439 So, Habakkuk chapter 1, we're going to start by just looking at verses 1 through 4. 00:09:10.939 --> 00:09:13.899 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:19.759 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear? 00:09:20.259 --> 00:09:24.360 Or cry to you violence and you will not save? 00:09:25.379 --> 00:09:28.500 Why do you make me see iniquity? 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:32.039 And why do you idly look at wrong? 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:35.000 Destruction and violence are before me. 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:36.799 Strife and contention arise. 00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:41.879 So that the law is paralyzed and justice never goes forth. 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:44.259 For the wicked surround the righteous. 00:09:45.419 --> 00:09:47.599 So justice goes forth. 00:09:48.599 --> 00:09:49.059 Perverted. 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:56.819 In its opening words, the prophet is crying out to God. 00:09:57.219 --> 00:09:58.539 A cry of lament. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:09:59.899 A cry of complaint. 00:09:59.899 --> 00:10:02.039 How long? 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:06.480 How long, God, will this injustice that you are making me see, 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:10.860 that surrounds me, that infects, that fills your people, 00:10:10.959 --> 00:10:16.019 how long will this continue and you not act? 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:20.179 And it's not the people out there. 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:22.480 It's not the people outside the people of God. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:23.500 It's not the nations. 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:25.699 There are other prophets who speak of that. 00:10:25.700 --> 00:10:31.000 Isaiah 12 through 25 is a great picture of all that the prophets have to say about the nations 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:32.560 and what God has to say about them. 00:10:32.620 --> 00:10:34.100 But this is about God's people. 00:10:36.420 --> 00:10:39.020 It says God's people are characterized by. 00:10:39.140 --> 00:10:41.379 And there's this pile on of words. 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:42.800 There's violence. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:43.920 There's iniquity. 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:45.000 There's wrong. 00:10:45.420 --> 00:10:46.440 There's destruction. 00:10:47.140 --> 00:10:48.240 And violence again. 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:49.700 Strife and contention. 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:56.879 It says it is so bad that the law that was given by God to his people to constrain evil 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:01.280 and to instruct the people on how to live rightly is paralyzed. 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:03.900 It has no effect on the people anymore. 00:11:03.900 --> 00:11:11.360 It no longer has any hold to control or to guide the nation as a whole. 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:19.200 And so because of that wickedness is surrounding and even the righteous ones can't penetrate through 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:28.980 the cloud of evil that has surrounded their people such that justice cannot go forth at all. 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:36.519 And Habakkuk says, God, you are the God of justice. 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:44.779 If we are your people, then we need to be a just people to reflect you as a just God in the world. 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:47.259 And you're not doing that. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:50.779 We're not doing that. 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:52.860 And you're letting it happen. 00:11:53.419 --> 00:11:55.960 God, how can this be? 00:11:59.699 --> 00:12:04.759 Habakkuk cries out this lament and this complaint to God. 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:12.319 And friends, it's not just thousands of years ago that we have to wrestle with this. 00:12:13.319 --> 00:12:13.519 Right? 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:17.659 We ourselves here at Trinity are a part of the Southern Baptist Convention 00:12:17.659 --> 00:12:27.500 where we've seen leaders unjustly cover up and lack in their response to women who've been abused by pastors. 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:33.460 The injustice does continue. 00:12:34.759 --> 00:12:42.860 We need to recognize that and not say, oh gosh, well that was so bad back then, but aren't we glad we're better now? 00:12:43.819 --> 00:12:44.259 No. 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:47.740 And we need to recognize that Habakkuk. 00:12:47.939 --> 00:12:49.439 Sorry, Habakkuk. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:50.379 There we go. 00:12:50.759 --> 00:13:00.220 Habakkuk is inhabiting a place of when I'm living among these people, this is an oppression to me. 00:13:00.319 --> 00:13:02.279 This is an overwhelming pressure. 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:09.299 This injustice is bringing upon me a hopelessness, a despair, a resignation. 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:19.179 Perhaps some of you have felt that way, whether it be your circumstances now or in the past. 00:13:19.179 --> 00:13:24.179 In the face of such injustice. 00:13:26.179 --> 00:13:27.139 What are we to do? 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:27.779 Respond. 00:13:28.779 --> 00:13:31.139 Well, first, the text doesn't say this. 00:13:31.659 --> 00:13:41.099 But as we've already mentioned, it is right and good at times for us to respond with our own action. 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:45.100 That we are to do justice, as Micah says. 00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:52.820 That we are to be active in bringing God's justice into our world, into God's people, in the ways that we ought to. 00:13:53.300 --> 00:13:57.860 And so there's a right place for us to call for change and work for change. 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:00.680 But that's not the only way. 00:14:01.460 --> 00:14:08.100 We live in a society where activism seems to be the only role, the only way that we think we should address this. 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:13.300 But Habakkuk actually gives us, I think, some other ways to do it, too. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:22.360 Because Habakkuk seems to say, rather than, I'm going to fix the problem, he says, I'm going to turn to the one who is the ultimate fixer. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:28.360 I'm going to turn, in face of the injustice that I see, to the God of justice. 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:31.620 And I'm going to cry to him for help. 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:44.360 And when we do that, we have a heart that is shaped not with anger, rage, outrage, violence towards others. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:47.659 There is a righteous anger we can have towards injustice. 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:55.899 But there is a, we all know, in our own hearts, as well as in our society, how easy it is for that anger to become one of vengeance. 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:57.000 One of violence. 00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:58.820 One of retaliation. 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:14.520 But Habakkuk can have its heart of lament, of brokenheartedness, of crying out humbly to the God of justice, how long, how long will you do it? 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:19.740 He doesn't cover it over and say, there's nothing bad here. 00:15:20.780 --> 00:15:28.300 He doesn't deny it and say, well, you know, God works all things for good, so cheer up and let's get on with it. 00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:31.500 But he cries out in lament. 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:36.320 How long, oh Lord, will you let this evil continue? 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:37.760 Will you not act? 00:15:40.060 --> 00:15:49.540 And this is the first thing we learn, is that as Habakkuk faces injustice, the first thing he does is to go to God. 00:15:50.260 --> 00:15:51.860 And he cries out to God. 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:57.659 And this then leads us to God's response to this cry. 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:02.620 Starting in verse 5, let's go ahead and read the next section of the text. 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:05.940 God responds. 00:16:05.940 --> 00:16:07.100 The voice changes. 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:09.299 You can hear it pretty quickly. 00:16:09.299 --> 00:16:13.299 Look among the nations and see, wonder and be astounded. 00:16:13.560 --> 00:16:18.279 For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:29.440 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation who marched through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:32.460 They are dreaded and fearsome. 00:16:33.060 --> 00:16:36.360 Their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. 00:16:37.880 --> 00:16:43.120 Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves. 00:16:43.540 --> 00:16:46.040 Their horsemen press proudly on. 00:16:46.140 --> 00:16:47.680 Their horsemen come from afar. 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:51.440 They fly like an eagle, swift to devour. 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:56.640 They all come for violence, all their faces forward. 00:16:57.780 --> 00:16:59.820 They gather captives like sand. 00:17:00.520 --> 00:17:02.240 At kings, they scoff. 00:17:02.540 --> 00:17:04.279 And at rulers, they laugh. 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:06.440 They laugh at every fortress. 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:09.019 For they pile up earth and take it. 00:17:09.620 --> 00:17:17.680 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men whose own might is their God. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:31.920 And they say, God, how long will you let this happen? 00:17:32.580 --> 00:17:35.160 God says, I hear you. 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:37.840 I understand. 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:39.100 I see. 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:40.539 I am not blind. 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:43.759 I am not unable to act. 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:47.680 And he says, I will come and bring justice. 00:17:48.099 --> 00:17:50.480 That is, I will come and I will judge. 00:17:52.879 --> 00:17:59.619 But surprisingly, he says, and I will use the Chaldeans to do it. 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:05.639 And this is what the Chaldeans will be like. 00:18:06.459 --> 00:18:09.459 This is what this passage, this section is all about. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:10.500 Right? 00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:15.619 In verse 6, they come quickly to swallow up cities and civilizations. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:22.439 In verse 7, they come dreaded and fearsome, driven by their proud self-confidence. 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:23.219 Right? 00:18:23.299 --> 00:18:24.139 Look at verse 7. 00:18:24.419 --> 00:18:28.219 That's what it means by saying their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. 00:18:28.220 --> 00:18:30.460 They're not serving a just God. 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:36.420 They're making it up for their own self-benefit. 00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:42.319 Verse 8, they come swift, fierce, pressing like eagles, swift to devour. 00:18:43.120 --> 00:18:46.559 Verse 9, they are driven by a lust for violence. 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:49.420 They scorn all other authorities. 00:18:49.620 --> 00:18:55.460 Verse 10, they laugh at kings, scoff at fortresses like bullies on a playground. 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:57.960 They say, my dad is bigger than your dad. 00:18:58.079 --> 00:18:58.779 What do you got? 00:19:00.180 --> 00:19:01.779 And then they come at you. 00:19:02.980 --> 00:19:08.900 Verse 11, they come and they scour like the desert wind, leaving nothing behind. 00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:14.120 And they go on self-exalting in their power. 00:19:16.360 --> 00:19:18.780 Like a pack of wolves converging on a deer. 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:22.340 A swarm of hornets streaming out of their nest. 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:25.200 Like a group of sharks in a feeding frenzy. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:33.100 This is how God says he's going to bring judgment upon his people. 00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:39.059 It's going to be terrible beyond what you can imagine. 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:45.759 And in fact, if you turn to 2 Chronicles 36, you will see that this is exactly what happened. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:55.980 When Babylon came and finally conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem, they slaughtered young and old, men and women, even in the temple. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:05.640 They pillaged everything of value, destroyed the rest, systematically burned the city, tore down the temple, and broke down the walls. 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:17.540 Everyone who was not killed was taken off in slavery, except the poorest of the poor who were left to watch the abandoned flocks and vineyards. 00:20:18.340 --> 00:20:20.120 It was a total war. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.100 And it was terrible. 00:20:26.800 --> 00:20:28.620 Now we balk at this, don't we? 00:20:29.020 --> 00:20:29.700 Really? 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:38.039 And I will just say, next week, Pastor Nick's going to come back because Habakkuk's second complaint is, 00:20:38.180 --> 00:20:40.200 you're going to use them to judge our people? 00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:43.080 And that's what Pastor Nick's going to preach on next week. 00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:45.819 So, I'm just going to put that question aside. 00:20:47.340 --> 00:20:53.039 But we balk at this picture of God as a God who will bring this kind of judgment. 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:57.779 It just offends our modern sensibility. 00:20:57.779 --> 00:21:01.599 Because this picture is worse than we can imagine. 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:04.379 Why would this be true? 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:16.619 Friends, it's because true justice requires a response that is appropriate, that is commensurate to the wrong that has been committed. 00:21:18.819 --> 00:21:21.059 And this is where we really struggle, isn't it? 00:21:21.059 --> 00:21:28.700 Because we can think of a few people that we think, yeah, torn apart by wolves, yes, that's my plan. 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:31.179 And we would choose different people for that. 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:36.419 But we probably can think of a few that we would say, yes, they probably deserve to be torn apart by wolves. 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:39.659 Some of you are far too civilized to even think that. 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:49.540 But there are some of us who might think, okay, okay, yeah, there are some people who are so bad that they would deserve that. 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:53.120 But not most people. 00:21:53.119 --> 00:22:07.599 But friends, when we stop and we think about the world we live in, and we think about the evils that are out there, we think of unjust wars. 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:10.000 We think of murder and rape. 00:22:10.439 --> 00:22:13.899 We think of torture, trafficking, and abuse. 00:22:13.900 --> 00:22:24.280 And we long, don't we, for those wrongs to be righted, for those who perpetrate those things to have a day of judgment. 00:22:26.060 --> 00:22:31.740 And if we're honest, sanitized rehabilitation for people who do those things often isn't enough. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:43.240 Habakkuk sees the sin in the people of God, and he cries out for God to act. 00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:45.380 For God to stop the judgment. 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:48.920 For God to bring a judgment upon it. 00:22:50.180 --> 00:22:55.340 For Habakkuk, it was too terrible to look on. 00:22:56.340 --> 00:23:01.259 And so God responds, I will not tolerate injustice forever. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:07.280 What a good thing this is when we see how bad evil is. 00:23:09.120 --> 00:23:12.240 God promises to bring this justice. 00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:14.740 And this judgment. 00:23:18.120 --> 00:23:23.780 But it leaves us, friends, if we think about ourselves honestly in a terrible place. 00:23:23.779 --> 00:23:43.079 Because if we recognize that this is true, that God is a just God, and that he is not uncaring, but that he is watching, and he is looking, and that he will not tolerate injustice forever, but that he will bring judgment. 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:47.139 Where does that leave us? 00:23:47.140 --> 00:23:56.000 We go to the New Testament, and we realize the Apostle Paul writes this in Romans chapter 3. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:58.000 No one is righteous. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:00.000 No one is righteous. 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:02.660 No, not one. 00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:04.900 No one understands. 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:07.400 No one seeks God. 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:09.480 All have turned aside. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:11.240 Together they have become worthless. 00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:13.339 No one does good. 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:14.960 Not even one. 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:19.940 Friends, we all really want to be semi-Pelagians. 00:24:20.380 --> 00:24:26.480 We really want to believe that the human heart is really going to be good if we can just give it a chance. 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:29.900 And the Bible tells us it's not true. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.660 The Bible tells us that this is true of us. 00:24:33.660 --> 00:24:39.779 That our hearts will continually turn towards wickedness and evil. 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:49.080 And it may be a very sanitized, polite version of it with pride and arrogance and scorn and lack of mercy. 00:24:49.800 --> 00:24:54.880 Or it may be a more brutish kind of violent, angry evil. 00:24:55.580 --> 00:24:56.779 Sometimes we're both. 00:24:56.779 --> 00:25:04.660 But friends, the human heart, as Paul goes on to say in Romans 3.23, 00:25:05.059 --> 00:25:08.139 all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:25:08.899 --> 00:25:16.819 If this is true of us, and if the Bible says there is justice that is coming onto the whole world for all people, 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:22.559 oh friends, we are not in a good place. 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:28.399 And listen, I know how many of you have read Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. 00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:31.200 Because it's classic American literature. 00:25:31.500 --> 00:25:33.740 It's in the Norton's Anthology of American Literature. 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:35.339 So everyone reads it in high school. 00:25:35.639 --> 00:25:39.559 And I don't know what it was like in your high school, but in my high school, when we read that, 00:25:39.899 --> 00:25:43.940 it was, do you see how these Puritans have a terrible view of God? 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:45.899 God is a vengeful God. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:51.700 God is a God just waiting for us to mess up so that he can punish us and knock us down. 00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:53.860 And stuff us in the mud. 00:25:54.660 --> 00:25:57.400 God is waiting to curse us. 00:25:58.360 --> 00:26:03.600 God is a capricious God who is looking for these opportunities to bring judgment. 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:09.480 And because we've been raised in that kind of world and with that kind of influence, 00:26:09.600 --> 00:26:12.819 we think God can't be that terrifying. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:16.460 But the Bible says that he is. 00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:26.220 And the judgment that God brought upon Judah through Babylon in the 6th century BC 00:26:26.220 --> 00:26:32.640 is just a foretaste of the judgment that he will bring upon all people, 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:38.799 upon me and you for our sin if we stand before him. 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:48.899 And this leaves us in a terrible place. 00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:52.759 Because we know that there should be justice. 00:26:54.639 --> 00:26:56.399 But then it gets pointed at us. 00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:02.080 But the God of the Bible is not only just, 00:27:02.800 --> 00:27:04.820 but he is also gracious. 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:08.980 And in that we find our third point, 00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:13.920 our amazing hope in a just God. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:16.500 Let me go back to Romans again. 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:18.280 Romans 3, 23. 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:22.259 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God 00:27:22.259 --> 00:27:25.299 and are justified by his grace as a gift 00:27:25.299 --> 00:27:28.759 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:34.359 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:37.660 This was to show God's righteousness 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:43.399 because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:46.519 It was to show his righteousness at the present time 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:49.960 so that he might be both just 00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:54.780 and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 00:27:57.300 --> 00:28:01.220 Friends, as we process the reality of injustice in the world, 00:28:01.380 --> 00:28:05.340 we have to go to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:08.259 Because God looked at this world 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:10.500 and if he were just a just world, 00:28:11.340 --> 00:28:13.360 if he were just a just God, 00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:14.900 if you were only a just God, 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:15.900 let me say it that way, 00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:18.080 if you were merely a just God, 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:19.900 he would simply have wiped us out 00:28:19.900 --> 00:28:21.300 and we'd be done. 00:28:22.360 --> 00:28:24.220 But he's not just that. 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:27.300 And so he, in his love, 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:30.580 foreknew the sin that we would commit. 00:28:30.780 --> 00:28:33.080 He planned before the creation of the earth. 00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:34.640 If you were in Sunday school today, 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:35.900 I know you dealt with this. 00:28:36.460 --> 00:28:38.259 Before the foundations of the world, 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:42.100 God knew the sin that would come upon the world 00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:44.719 and God knew the judgment that it would deserve. 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:49.899 And he saw that there would be a need for him to intervene 00:28:49.899 --> 00:28:52.879 so that he would not destroy his creation. 00:28:53.719 --> 00:28:55.519 And so in his great mercy, 00:28:55.519 --> 00:28:57.439 he sent his son, Jesus Christ. 00:28:57.819 --> 00:28:58.879 And Jesus Christ, 00:28:59.019 --> 00:29:02.039 the only human who walked the earth without sin, 00:29:02.459 --> 00:29:04.439 therefore deserving no judgment 00:29:04.439 --> 00:29:07.119 because he lived in perfect justice, 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:10.039 he lived a perfect life for us 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:12.279 so that he could go to the cross 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:14.500 and die in our place. 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:17.139 He, the just, 00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:20.239 died for us, the unjust. 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:25.339 God, who in his justice must punish sin, 00:29:25.899 --> 00:29:27.859 poured out his wrath and anger, 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:30.339 not on us, but on Jesus. 00:29:31.339 --> 00:29:34.039 And when you look at the gospel stories, 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:37.019 you realize that even the creation knew 00:29:37.019 --> 00:29:40.259 how amazing this was, 00:29:40.259 --> 00:29:45.319 that the God of justice would take on injustice for us. 00:29:45.879 --> 00:29:48.899 The sky went dark and the earth shook 00:29:48.899 --> 00:29:55.619 because of the injustice of Jesus' death for us. 00:29:56.159 --> 00:29:58.559 And yet because he did that for us, 00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:02.419 he is now able to give to us 00:30:02.419 --> 00:30:05.259 who by faith are joined with Christ. 00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:08.919 Not judgment, but mercy. 00:30:13.339 --> 00:30:15.039 This is the grace of God. 00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:18.500 This is the good news of the gospel. 00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:28.179 So how do we face injustice in our world? 00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:33.899 We cry out to God to bring justice 00:30:33.899 --> 00:30:36.740 because we know it's good and right. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:42.000 We look and know that God will respond 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:45.599 and that God will not let injustice go on forever. 00:30:46.980 --> 00:30:48.679 But in the midst of it, 00:30:49.399 --> 00:30:52.299 we walk in the gospel of grace. 00:30:52.299 --> 00:30:56.059 We know that he is the perfect judge, 00:30:56.059 --> 00:30:57.019 not us. 00:30:57.339 --> 00:31:00.299 He is the ultimate inflictor, 00:31:00.819 --> 00:31:01.680 adjudicator, 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:03.460 enactor of righteousness. 00:31:03.980 --> 00:31:04.839 We are not. 00:31:05.919 --> 00:31:08.159 And yes, we can work for righteousness, 00:31:08.460 --> 00:31:09.799 but let us do so 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:12.220 standing in a place of grace, 00:31:12.859 --> 00:31:14.319 the grace of God, 00:31:14.779 --> 00:31:17.019 because apart from him, 00:31:17.099 --> 00:31:19.819 we would be under that same judgment, 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:21.980 but because of what he has done. 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:26.639 We stand in relationship 00:31:26.639 --> 00:31:27.980 and with great joy 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:30.240 to a just God 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:32.679 who in his mercy has saved us. 00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:35.179 Let's pray together. 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:42.620 Lord Jesus, 00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:44.299 we come to you this morning. 00:31:49.820 --> 00:31:51.140 We've already done it once, 00:31:51.279 --> 00:31:52.600 but in light of this text, 00:31:52.680 --> 00:31:53.539 we want to do it. 00:31:55.180 --> 00:31:56.960 We confess our sin to you. 00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:00.660 I have sinned. 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:02.160 Lord, we have sinned. 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:05.960 We've not done what we ought to have done. 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:08.799 We've done what we have not, 00:32:09.160 --> 00:32:10.600 ought not to have done 00:32:10.600 --> 00:32:11.819 in your sight. 00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:16.039 Oh Lord, have mercy on us. 00:32:20.620 --> 00:32:23.279 Lord, even as we long for a just world, 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:25.440 Lord, we long for you 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:27.579 to be a just and merciful God. 00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:32.579 We long to know you 00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:34.720 as a just and merciful God. 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:42.220 Lord, I pray this morning 00:32:42.220 --> 00:32:44.639 that you would restore our hope 00:32:44.639 --> 00:32:47.379 for those who are facing injustice, 00:32:48.500 --> 00:32:50.039 for those who are feeling 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:51.299 the despair, 00:32:51.299 --> 00:32:52.779 discouragement. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:55.419 Lord, strengthen them 00:32:55.419 --> 00:32:57.279 because you have heard their cry 00:32:57.279 --> 00:33:01.000 and you will not let injustice win 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:02.740 forever. 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:07.440 Lord, for those of us 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:11.180 who feel the weight of our sin 00:33:11.180 --> 00:33:13.579 and who know, Lord, 00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:16.019 the judgment that we deserve, 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:18.879 I pray that you might bring 00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:22.040 the comfort of grace 00:33:22.040 --> 00:33:25.840 that you might turn our hearts 00:33:25.840 --> 00:33:27.100 to believe in you 00:33:27.100 --> 00:33:30.240 and trust in Jesus' death for us 00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:33.360 and so be saved. 00:33:36.040 --> 00:33:38.940 And Lord, we all want to stand 00:33:38.940 --> 00:33:40.180 before you and tremble, 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:42.520 but for your grace, Lord, 00:33:42.580 --> 00:33:44.000 we would be under your judgment 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:46.000 as we stand before you 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:47.019 as a holy God. 00:33:48.700 --> 00:33:49.839 Lord, help us 00:33:49.839 --> 00:33:51.680 to come to you 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:52.619 in humble worship. 00:33:53.880 --> 00:33:55.640 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:33:56.960 --> 00:33:57.299 Amen. 00:33:57.299 --> 00:33:57.400 Amen. 00:33:58.400 --> 00:33:58.940 Amen.