The Faithfulness of God

You may be seated.

Good morning.

My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.

A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us.

We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good,

they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,

which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.

This week we are continuing our series in the book of Romans,

and before we jump in, I want to make a couple corrections from last week.

A couple of you reminded me that Daniel, in fact, does not appear in Daniel chapter 3.

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

It's just Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And it is Moses, not Abraham, who's almost killed for failing to circumcise his son.

So I'm going to keep on the straight and narrow path.

This morning I got into the shower. I still have my glasses on, so I'm just trying to make it here, you know.

We are continuing our series in the book of Romans,

and you'll remember that the book of Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s A.D.,

and it is called Romans for a very simple reason,

which is that it is written to the churches in the city of Rome.

This letter is about the gospel.

It's about the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection.

And Paul's hope, as we saw in chapter 1,

is that those who receive this letter would be established in the gospel.

Paul will make many applications, as we've already seen, as we go throughout this letter,

but he is especially focused on the mission and the unity of the church.

And while we will go on many spokes,

we're going to go on many different side quests like we did last week,

we will be constantly returning back to the hub of the gospel.

It is tempting, as I've said many times now,

to come to passages like the one we come to this morning

and believe this is a random section of Scripture making random points.

But in fact, Paul is actually making one argument

from chapters 1 through 3 of Romans,

and it's summed up in verse 23, which we'll get to in just a couple weeks,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Chapter 1, he's establishing that non-religious people fall short of God's glory.

Chapter 2, he established that religious people fall short of God's glory.

Chapter 3, he's been responding to some potential objections from chapter 2,

and soon he will tie it all together.

This week is our last week dealing with these objections

before he really ties it together for us in chapter 3.

Following up from last week, remember we talked about the fact

that the Bible is this great blessing,

that one of the greatest privileges of growing up in the church

is having access to the Word of God.

And so another objection then rises up that Paul wants to respond to,

and it's this, if the Bible is such a great blessing,

why do so many Christians fail?

The Bible is such a great blessing,

why do so many Christians still fail?

And on that theme,

is it actually fair for God to judge the world?

So with those two questions,

I invite you to turn with me now to Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

We're going to start at verse 3,

and as we come there,

remember that Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5,

Proverbs 30:5

tells us,

every word of God proves true.

He's a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

And so that's why we read now Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

starting at verse 3.

What if some were unfaithful?

Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

By no means.

Let God be true,

though everyone were a liar,

as it is written,

that you may be justified in your words

and prevail when you are judged.

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God,

what shall we say?

That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us?

I speak in a human way.

By no means.

For then how could God judge the world?

But if through my lie,

God's truth abounds to His glory,

why am I still being condemned as a sinner?

And why not do evil that good may come,

as some people slanderously charge us with saying,

their condemnation is just.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.

Our Father in heaven,

we do again praise You and we thank You

that You have given us Your very words,

that You as a loving Father instruct Your children,

that You guide us and direct us.

Even more than that,

You show us the great mercy and grace

that You offer us through Your Son.

We ask that You would do that again this morning,

that You would pour out Your Spirit here among us,

that You would make Your Word clear and alive

to our hearts and our minds,

and most of all,

that You would show us, Jesus,

that we would see Him

in all His glory and beauty and authority

and holiness and majesty

and mercy and grace and love.

We ask all of these things

in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Just a few weeks ago,

on October the 3rd,

the New York Times published an article

with this title,

Around Dallas,

the church scandals seem to have no end.

And then the subtitle was this,

In this part of Texas,

a pastor with a clean reputation

is not to be taken for granted.

The article then goes on to discuss

the number of scandals that have happened in Dallas

over the last year.

They tell us that there's a radio station in Dallas

that has been keeping a tally,

and it now contains 17 names,

including five involving criminal charges.

Now, those sorts of articles

raise a lot of questions for us.

One of them is this.

It seems like the Bible perhaps is not so great after all,

and perhaps God isn't so faithful after all.

Because, of course,

if the Bible was and if God was,

how in the world would this be happening?

Is God actually true to his word?

Paul here in this section of Romans 3

is responding to an almost identical objection.

Verse 3 here, he says,

What if some were unfaithful?

Does their faithlessness nullify

the faithfulness of God?

Last week, we talked about the fact

that the Old Testament

was this tremendous blessing to the Jews,

and I told you it was a blessing ultimately

because it showed them Jesus.

If God's word is so powerful,

Paul is saying,

why did the Jews fail so magnificently?

If God's word is so powerful,

why did the Jews fail so magnificently?

If it was such a great privilege,

if it was such a great blessing,

why didn't they do better?

And you just have to think back

to our previous sermon series,

right in the book of Judges,

what did we see time and time again,

if not God's people failing over and over?

Not just the Old Testament.

We could also talk about the New Testament.

If the Jews were so blessed,

if this was such a great thing

for them to have the oracles of God,

why did so many of them reject Jesus when he came?

If the great blessing of the oracles of God,

if the great blessing of the word

is that it shows Jesus,

and yet the people who have it reject Jesus,

how can you say that God is actually faithful?

That doesn't sound like a blessing.

It sounds like a waste.

That's the objection that Paul is raising here,

and he immediately gives a response in verse four.

And he says essentially this,

God's faithfulness shines brightly even in man's sin.

God's faithfulness shines brightly even in man's sin.

Verse four, he says,

by no means let God be true,

though everyone were a liar,

as it is written,

that you may be justified in your words

and prevail when you are judged.

And he's making a quotation from the Old Testament there.

He's quoting from Psalm 51.

And if you're familiar with the Psalms,

you know that Psalm 51 is King David's psalm of repentance

after his great sin with Bathsheba.

He's been exposed.

He's in a sense this religious leader,

this king of God's people,

who's been caught in this extramarital affair.

And he says, look, when God has condemned me in this,

he's actually being faithful.

He's faithful in his judgment.

He's faithful in his punishment.

We saw the same thing.

Deuteronomy chapter seven,

which Jim read for us earlier this morning,

God makes these promises of faithfulness,

promises of his steadfast love.

And then he also makes promises of punishment.

Both of those things are part of God's word.

And so whichever one falls,

God is being true to what he has said.

And so Paul's making a simple point.

Whether God shows mercy or he shows judgment,

God is still faithful.

Whether God shows mercy or judgment,

he is still true to everything that he's promised.

Even in and as he judges,

he's showing that we can trust his character.

And so as we go back and think about these churches in Dallas,

we can ask, how was God faithful?

How is he faithful?

I'm sure there's a number of ways we could answer that.

I'm going to give you three examples

of God being faithful to his promises.

First, he's faithful to Jesus' promise in Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Jesus says this,

nothing is covered up that will not be revealed

or hidden that will not be known.

Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark

shall be heard in the light

and what you have whispered in private rooms

shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

Why is it that we know about these 17 pastors

and their failure?

We know because God has honored his promise

that what has been whispered in private rooms

will be shouted from the rooftops.

God's faithful to his people.

He's kept his promise.

He's kept his promise in Galatians chapter six.

Do not be deceived.

God is not mocked.

For whatever one sows, that he will also reap.

We see this failure, right?

We see these things being brought into the light.

That too is an expression of God's faithfulness.

That too is God doing what he said he would do.

And in the midst of that, we might think,

okay, good, God is being faithful.

He's saying that he's going to bring things to light

and he has,

but what about his promise to the church?

We could look again, Matthew chapter 16, verse 18.

Matthew 16:18

Jesus says this,

on this rock, I will build my church

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

How can God be faithful?

How can the word be so powerful

in the midst of such failure?

And the answer is this,

God's kingdom continues.

17 pastors are not powerful enough

to derail the mission of the living God.

Let God be true,

though everyone is a liar.

Paul's reminding them,

God is faithful in every situation.

God is faithful in every circumstance.

Nothing can thwart his purposes.

Nothing can stop his promises.

God is faithful when he shows mercy.

He is faithful when he shows judgment.

We've talked before,

2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 20,

2 Corinthians 1:20

reminds us all the promises of God

are yes and amen in Jesus Christ.

Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

which we'll get to, you know,

in a few decades,

reminds us, it says,

look, if God gave us his own son,

will he not also with him give us all things?

In other words,

in the midst of the imperfection and scandal

and sin of God's people,

he will build his church.

The gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Let God be true,

though everyone were a liar.

There's a deeper point here for us as well,

that God will accomplish his purposes

no matter what.

One pastor has put it this way,

you cannot stand in the way

of the freight train of God's kingdom.

Your imperfection and sin and failure

cannot thwart or stop

God's purposes and his plan.

Your flawed and imperfect parenting

is not powerful enough

to block God's work

in the life of your child.

Your trauma

from your past

is not so powerful

to stop God

from using you

as his instrument

in this world.

And pastor's failures

are not so great

that God has been blocked

somehow

from working his will

in the city of Dallas.

Let God be true,

though everyone

were a liar.

Now I'm not saying

there aren't real,

deep,

and painful consequences.

I am not saying

it doesn't matter

how you live.

What I am saying

is this.

God is faithful

to his word.

He's faithful

to his people.

What I reminded you of

multiple times

during the series

in Judges,

2 Timothy 2,

2 Timothy 2:13

verse 13,

if we are faithless,

he remains faithful,

for he cannot deny himself.

Nothing's changed

since Paul wrote

Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

God was faithful

to his people then.

God is faithful

to his people today.

God gave us his son,

Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Will he not also

with him

give us

all things?

Nothing can separate us

from the love of God.

In the midst

of man's failures,

God's kingdom

marches on.

God's faithfulness

after addressing that,

Paul goes on

to lay out

another objection.

Okay, Paul,

if man's unfaithfulness

shows God's faithfulness,

isn't sin

kind of a good thing?

That's what's happening

here in verses 5 and 6.

Verse 5,

but if our unrighteousness

serves to show

the righteousness

of God,

what shall we say?

That God is unrighteous

to inflict wrath

on us?

In other words,

hey, look,

you've said here

that when we sin,

it shows God's glory

somehow.

It shows that he's faithful.

Great.

Let's sin more

so we can show

his faithfulness more.

Now, if that doesn't

really make sense,

I want you to think

about it this way.

Many pastors

will explain the gospel

like this.

The gospel is this

bright diamond,

and diamonds look best

on a black background.

Right?

So what you want

is you have to understand

that the gospel

is beautiful

against the background

of our sin,

the backdrop

of our sin.

Now, one of the most

interesting jobs

I think that someone

could have,

maybe it's a boring job,

I'm not sure,

it's to pick the names

of paint colors.

Right?

Who is it that imagines

up all of these things?

And I looked into this,

there are actually

a variety of shades

of black

that you can get.

You might be thinking,

well, if it's a shade

of black,

then it's gray.

False.

Okay?

Here's a list.

You have obsidian black.

There is ink black.

There's also jet black,

coal black,

and leather black.

And so what Paul's

objectors are saying

is, look,

the more we sin,

the darker the shade

of black.

And the brighter

the diamond shines.

So let's sin more.

The more we sin,

the brighter that diamond is.

So why would God judge us?

We're helping him.

We're making God's jewels

look great.

He shouldn't judge us.

We're making his diamond

shine brighter and brighter.

Wow, God,

you're welcome.

Aren't you so glad

for having people like us?

How can you punish us

for making you look so good?

Paul in verse five,

at the end,

starts his response.

He says,

I speak in a human way,

which is his way of saying

only a human

could say something

that stupid.

And then he goes on

in verse six,

by no means,

of course,

this can't be true.

Why?

For then how could God

judge the world?

In other words,

if you follow that logic out,

no one will ever be judged.

You might think that Paul here

would defend the idea

of judgment,

but he doesn't.

He's speaking to a Jewish audience

who are all in

on the concept

of judging the Gentiles.

And so Paul's saying,

your beliefs actually

don't match up.

You want the Gentiles

to be judged,

then you can't make

this argument

end of discussion.

If we follow it through,

then we end up

with zero judgment.

And of course,

you,

my Jewish receivers

of this letter

and me,

Paul,

know that that's

not going to work.

Now,

that might not be

as obvious to us today

because most of us

are in fact not Jewish.

And in our culture,

we are not committed

as people were

in Paul's culture

to the idea

of a judgment.

And so this argument

is not necessarily,

at least on the face,

of it as powerful to us

as it was

to them.

It ended the discussion

for the Jews.

It may not end it for us.

However,

I'd like to suggest this.

If we are truly honest

with ourselves,

we also believe

in judgment.

If we're truly honest,

whether you're a Christian

or a non-Christian,

you believe

in judgment.

You might say you don't.

You might say that

as your stated belief,

right?

And yet,

you cannot live

consistently with that.

Just think for a minute

about the way people

talk about their

political enemies.

Think about the way

people talk about

other people

who vote differently

than they do.

We hear this all the time.

These are words

filled with judgment,

right?

Filled with judgment.

We all make sorts

of moral valuations,

on the one hand,

claiming that we're

more merciful than God,

and then the other hand,

when someone crosses us

or violates us,

our anger rises up.

We actually,

deep down,

long to see justice done.

Whether we admit it or not,

all of us

believe in judgment.

We are closer

to first century Judaism

than we'd like

to admit.

Now, this is on the back

of your worship guide,

speaking of Paul's words here.

Paul asks us

to imagine a world

where there is no judgment,

no accountability,

and no recompense

for evils that are done.

Such a world

is intolerable

and senseless,

degrading our humanity

since what we do

with our lives

would be insignificant

and have no moral value.

Without judgment,

everything would be permitted.

Nothing would be verboten,

and goodness

would vanish

into the midst

of nothingness.

In other words,

do you believe in goodness?

Then you believe

in judgment.

Do you believe

that your actions

in this world

matter at all?

You believe in judgment.

Are there moral things

that you find reprehensible

and believe

should be punished?

you believe

in judgment.

I speak in a human way

by no means,

for then how could God

judge the world?

We all want judgment.

We all want justice to come

if we're truly honest.

In fact,

we demand it, right?

What are protests

about

if not a cry for justice?

The only problem is this.

The catch is this.

We want justice

for other people,

not for ourselves.

We want to be

the dispensers of judgment,

not the receivers

of judgment.

That's the catch.

That's the dark backdrop

against the diamond

of the gospel, right?

That is what Paul

is trying to push us towards.

Back all the way

in chapter one

where he says

there's a righteousness

that comes from faith,

for faith.

Judgment is coming

not just to those

who have hurt us,

but to us as well.

And so there must be

another answer.

We want,

we demand

to live in a world

with judgment.

We just don't want

to receive judgment.

Paul then goes on

to push things

one step further.

Verse six,

how could God

judge the world?

Then verse seven,

he says,

hey,

if you think

that your sin

shows God's glory

even more,

then let's take that

to its logical conclusion.

But if through my lie

God's truth

abounds to his glory,

why am I still

being condemned

as a sinner?

And why not do evil

that good may come?

As some people

slanderously charge us

with saying.

Okay,

so first he responded

to this objection.

Every time we sin,

we're helping God,

so why stop?

Next,

okay,

let's continue it.

Every time we sin,

we're helping God,

so let's sin

more and more.

Let's do it.

Let's do as much

as possible

because every time

we do it,

the more we do it,

the greater God

appears.

and Paul basically

says this,

if you argue for that,

you are arguing

for evil.

If you're arguing

for that,

you're arguing

for evil.

You're not on the

side of the good,

you're on the side

of the wrong.

It's a very simple

argument.

Paul doesn't spend

much time responding

to it.

He concludes with this,

their condemnation

is just.

He's saying,

look,

your argument's so bad.

It's self-condemning.

I'm not going to

waste time

responding to it.

If that's what you think,

then judgment

is coming

for you.

Remember,

I've been telling you

that Paul here

is responding

to this idea

since chapter 2

from the Jews

that somehow

they can presume

on God's grace

that since they're

God's chosen people,

they have access

to circumcision

and the law.

There's nothing else

that they need

to worry about.

And Paul again

is telling them

as he's told them

many times before,

no.

No,

you can't presume

on that.

You will show

God's faithfulness

whether he has mercy

on you

or whether he judges you.

You cannot presume

and live

however you want.

I've also been telling you

that this Romans

is the fifth gospel.

that what Paul teaches

Jesus taught first.

In Matthew chapter 3,

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

John the Baptist

comes to prepare

the way for Jesus

and he says this,

Do not presume

to say to yourselves,

We have Abraham

as our father.

For I tell you,

God is able

from these stones

to raise up children

for Abraham.

Even now,

the axe is laid

to the root

of the trees.

Every tree,

therefore,

that does not

bear good fruit

is cut down

and thrown

into the fire.

God's glory

is shown

in his mercy.

His glory

is shown

in his judgment.

And so to tie

all of these things together,

I'll simply say this.

No one

wants to live

in a world

without judgment.

And

no one

is prepared

to face

God's judgment.

Say that again.

No one

wants to live

in a world

without judgment.

No one

is prepared

to face

God's judgment.

We want

to be the ones

dishing it out,

not the ones

receiving it.

That second point

drives us back

to the first point.

Our only hope

is this,

that God

is faithful

no matter

what.

That's the only way

we resolve

those things.

How do we

handle it

that we can't

live without judgment

and we can't

face it?

Our only hope

is in Jesus

and Jesus

alone.

After John the Baptist

introduces him,

Jesus goes on

to say this,

John chapter 3,

John 3 · chapter mention

again,

whoever believes

in the Son

has eternal

life.

Whoever does

not obey

the Son

shall not

see life,

but the wrath

of God

remains on him.

God's judgment

is coming

and it is just.

God's justice

is shown

in his mercy

and his justice

is shown

in his wrath.

Do you believe

in the Son?

Do you have

eternal

life?

If you do,

then you can sing

with us

in our closing hymn.

We're going to say

exactly what it is

that's our hope.

Those he saves

are his delight.

Christ

will hold me fast.

precious

in his holy sight,

he will hold

me fast.

He'll not let

my soul

be lost.

His promises

shall last.

Right?

Let God be true

through everyone

be a liar.

Bought by him

at such a cost,

he will hold

me fast.

Let's pray.

Our Father

in heaven,

we do

thank you

and praise you

that you are

true to your words.

That your faithfulness

is proved

no matter

what man does.

We ask

that you would,

for those of us

who are Christians,

that you would

establish

our belief

in the Son

who has eternal life.

For those of us

who are not,

you would show us

the contradiction

that we want judgment

but we can't face judgment.

That we would run

to the only one

who's offered

to take it for us.

We ask all of these things

in his name,

the mighty name

of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

I invite you to stand

for our closing hymn.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.