The Perfect Man

Well, let's open up our Bibles to Psalm chapter 15 this morning.

Psalms 15 · chapter mention

Psalm chapter 15, if you don't have your Bibles with you, that's okay.

Psalms 15 · chapter mention

We got them there in the seat back in front of you.

But let's open them to Psalm chapter 15.

Psalms 15 · chapter mention

And when you found it, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.

Psalm chapter 15.

Psalms 15 · chapter mention

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.

Amen.

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.

Psalms 15 · chapter mention

David, here in Psalm chapter 15,

Psalms 15 · chapter mention

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,

Ezekiel 28 · chapter mention

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,

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

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,

and 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.

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,

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

and 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

deep

love

that you

have

for us

in christ

we pray

all this

in jesus

name

amen