An Eye for an Eye

Introduction and Review of Sermon on the Mount Context

0:09 Matthew chapter 5.

0:13 I was reading this past week in a little manual on practical helps for the Christian life, a section on prayer and illustrating the fact that we should pray with our understanding. They had the little story of a young lad who when he finished his evening prayers said as his conclusion, and now Lord, here are the headlines again. And then he gave the Lord the main points of his praying, gave the Lord the headlines, and said amen and went to bed. Well, it points out a principle that the little fellow knew what he was asking.

0:51 He had a lot of details, but he remembered the main things he was asking of the Lord. I wonder how many times we could give the Lord the headlines of our prayer. And so each morning when we turn to this passage each Lord's Day morning, I'm forced to say, here are the headlines. My way of review to try to catch those high points of truth, so that those of us who've been here week by week might begin at least, I trust more than begin, to feel the whole sweep of the truth of God as found in this passage, and then that those who are visiting with us might somehow not come into the passage cold, but that you might feel some acquaintance with what preceded and what follows, that you might understand the truth that we're seeking to discover together. So once again, we turn to Matthew 5 and to this section in which our Lord Jesus is expanding the statements he made in verses 17 to 20. He stated that he did not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but that he came to fulfill them. He did not come to set aside the truth revealed through Moses and the prophets, but he came to fill them to the full, to bring them to their completion.

2:11 Then he gave that very searching word in verse 20, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and of the Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. And so our Lord in the next section is expanding the greater righteousness of all true Christians. He's showing us the true intent of the law of Moses, and then he's showing us that in the life of Moses, in the lives of those who truly know him and who are his true followers, there will be a living out of the practical righteousness as taught in the holy law of God. In each of these six portions in which Christ introduces them by saying, ye have heard that it was said, but I say unto you, you have those three common denominators. Christ is not contradicting Moses, but he's breaking the shackles from off the law that had been put there by the scribes and the Pharisees. Secondly, in every case, our Lord is asserting his own authority. I say unto you, our Lord Jesus is standing as God's last word to men and declaring that truth which he said would never pass,

3:38 though heaven and earth would pass away. And then in every case, the Lord is illustrating a basic principle by some detail, but he's concerned that we get the principles and not just get the details. We've considered four of these sections. Our Lord's dealing with the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill.

4:00 Our Lord's exposition of the seventh commandment, touching adultery and lust, and then subsequently the matter of divorce. And then we've considered our Lord's teaching on the subject of oaths, which is really an application of the third commandment, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Now we come this morning to the fifth of these six sections, found in Matthew 5, verses 38 to 42. Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

4:37 But I say unto you, our Lord Jesus is standing as God's last word to men and women. And then we've considered our Lord's teaching on the subject of oaths, that ye resist not evil, or better translated, literal translation, that ye resist not the evil one. But whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

5:00 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain or two. Give to him that asketh thee. And from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. This section could be called the Christian and personal revenge.

The Christian and Personal Revenge: The Problem

5:23 The Christian and personal revenge. In this passage, our Lord is giving us clear instruction as to what our attitude and reaction should be in those cases where someone touches my heart. My person slaps me on the cheek, touches my property, he that would take away thy coat. Where someone touches my money, give to him that asketh of thee.

5:58 Where someone touches my rights, a man would compel me to go one mile, go with him two. Now all of us live constantly in situations in which we feel people wrongly touch us. Our persons, our possessions, our rights. Where someone we feel abuses our property or our possessions.

6:23 And perhaps there's no clearer revelation that man is a fallen, depraved, sinful creature who needs to be transformed by the power of God than the fact that man continually wants to strike back with personal revenge when anyone touches his... His person, his property, his rights, his reputation, or his possessions.

6:52 We see it in the little child who very early in life sticks his chin out and says, You touch mine and I'm going to touch yours. You see it in the little ten-year-olds in the schoolyard standing there chest to chest and shoulder to shoulder. And one bangs the other fellow's shoulders and he gets banged a little bit harder and before long they're going at it head down, fists flailing. This matter of...

7:14 This matter of dog-eat-dog, you touch my chin, I'll touch yours. A very real problem in the home, in the school, in business, and in nations. And our Lord has given us in this passage that we're about to begin to study today. We won't finish the study.

7:32 We'll be at least two, possibly three, Lord's Day mornings on this section. Our Lord gives us perhaps the clearest teaching in all of Scripture on what you and I are to do. when someone wrongly touches us or our possession. But it's a crime to the high heaven that the clearest passage, perhaps in all the word of God, as to what we're to do in those situations has become the very seedbed of all forms of heresy and foolish teaching.

Guidelines for Interpreting Matthew 5:38-42

8:08 Perhaps there's no passage in the Sermon on the Mount outside of the first part of chapter 7, Judge not that you be not judged that has been more abused and more misinterpreted and misapplied than this passage in which we find something about turning the other cheek, about going the second mile. And so if we're to understand what Jesus Christ meant in this portion, we must have a few guidelines for our interpretation. We must set before us a few guidelines that will help us as we actually dig into the passage to keep us from shooting off into some strange teaching that will nullify the very intent of the words of Christ. Now the first guideline that we must keep before us is this, that this section is not a code of conduct for the affairs of states and nations in their dealing with evil.

9:09 Our Lord Jesus is not giving a code of conduct for the courts of the land or for the courts of the land or for the courts of the land. Or for nations in their attempts to somehow restrain the forces of evil which are always at work in any given society. You will notice that our Lord Jesus is giving this instruction to individuals. For notice in every illustration, it's an individual who is wronged by another individual.

9:39 Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek. And if any of you are wronged, any man will sue thee. And whosoever shall compel thee, give to him that asketh of thee. Now what could be clearer than that our Lord Jesus is telling us not what nations are to do in controlling the problems of crime, not what the state is to do in dealing with offenders of law, but he's talking about what individuals are to do when other individuals, wronged them.

10:17 And you will also notice that each of these illustrations deals with something that's incidental. Striking you on the cheek is not putting a gun to your head and shooting you. You see, some would, as we'll see later, completely abolish the Bible teaching on capital punishment by saying Christ said if someone strikes a cheek, let him strike the other. Ah, but wait a minute.

10:39 Striking the cheek and taking the life are two different things.

10:44 Someone's taking your coat. That's an insult. That's an incidental possession. If someone would come and rob me of my home, am I to just stand back and let him take it?

10:53 Some would say yes, and they get it out of this passage. But notice, every instance is an incidental thing. The cheek, the coat, the second mile, and give to him that would borrow. And with most of us, if people want to borrow anything, it'll be an incidental amount.

11:09 We just don't have that much to make a difference. And those to whom Christ spoke didn't either. For remember, he was speaking to those who followed him, the great masses who came out of Galilee and listened to his teaching, who for the most part were not wealthy people. So we must lay down as a guideline that this is not a code of conduct for the affairs of states and nations, but it's given as a guideline as to what our individual reaction is to be when we are wronged by another individual.

11:44 And then the second thing we must say, under this general heading, is that this is given only to those who fit the description of the Beatitudes.

11:55 Remember the Beatitudes, Matthew 5, 2-10, precede this portion of instruction in the latter part of the chapter. The only ones to whom these words are spoken are those who know what it is to be poor in spirit, who've seen themselves as helpless sinners in need of the grace of God, who've mourned their sinfulness, who've hungered and thirsted after righteousness and have found Jesus Christ as their righteousness and as their salvation. They have been born of the Spirit. They've been given a new disposition.

12:35 They've been made new creatures. It's only to these people that Christ is speaking. For only they have any kind of capacity to obey this injunction. For Christ, to tell unregenerate men to keep this standard is trying to tell men to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps.

12:57 It cannot be done.

12:59 And our Lord is speaking to redeemed men and women and He's telling those of us who've been born of the Spirit how we are to act and react when people have personally wronged us. God's Word to all others is not Matthew 5, 38-42. God's Word, to you, is not turn the other cheek and go the second mile. God's Word to all those who have not experienced the new birth, who have not come to Christ and been born of the Spirit, His Word is repent, turn from sin, flee to Christ, embrace the salvation that is freely offered in the wounds of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Misinterpretation and the Danger of Applying Individual Ethics to the State

13:47 Now what governments and states are to do is found, elsewhere in the Bible. You don't find it here in Matthew chapter 5. We're going to see some of that later on in the message but let me show how foolish this is to try to prove what nations and governments are to do from this passage. Here's a man who's got some trouble with his car.

14:06 He goes out to start it up Monday morning and something sounds funny. And he picks the hood up and sure enough it sounds like something in the engine that maybe a loose rod in there or bearing or something that's really in bad shape. So he's had a little mechanical experience so he gets out the manual that he sent to Detroit for that has the whole repair system of his car. And so knowing there's a problem with the engine he turns the index under the section on transmission.

14:36 And so he turns up to page 477 which has all the parts of the transmission diagram and it has in detail how you're to take the transmission apart and how you're to fix it. And so to fix the problem that's under the hood he turns to the section on transmission and begins to follow it in perfect detail. Well he's never going to get his problem solved. He's gone to the wrong place.

14:57 And you'd say anyone who's that foolish? Well this is exactly what people do in the realm of spiritual problems. They want to know what should we do in relationship to capital punishment? Is it right for the state to take the life of a man who murders?

15:14 And immediately some people turn to Matthew 5 and say nope, nope you're not to resist evil. Now wait a minute. You don't turn to the section on transmissions to fix your motor.

15:25 If you want to know what the state is to do with evil and with crime and with criminals the Bible speaks very clearly in two particular passages in the New Testament that we're going to see later Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 and that's where you get the answer. Young men here do you want to know whether or not it's God's will for you to serve your country? Do you want to know whether it's right for a Christian to take up arms? No.

15:50 Don't turn to Matthew 5. You turn to Romans 13 or 1 Peter 2. So the first principle that must guide us in our interpretation is this section is not a code for states and nations in the problem of restraining evil. Then secondly we must remember that this section is not a detailed catalog of how a Christian is to act in dealing with wrongs that are done to him.

This Section is Not a Detailed Checklist, but a Principle

16:22 Now how often have you had anyone come up and slap you on the cheek take you into court to take your coat meet you on the street and say look carry this load for a mile or come up and say look I want you to loan me five hundred dollars. Now it's seldom that we're confronted with any of these four illustrations. Our Lord is not giving us a detailed code of conduct. He's giving us four illustrations of a principle.

16:53 But that's all they are is illustrations. Our job is to find the principle behind them and apply it to our own lives. And though you never have been slapped on the cheek though you never have been taken into court for your coat though you've never been asked to walk a mile with someone's burden and though no one's ever asked to borrow five hundred dollars from you if you get the principle applied here you'll see it touching your life every single day of your life.

17:24 And our Lord is not giving us a code.

17:29 And the human heart is such that all of us want what I call checklist morality. We like to have a list all worked out either by the church or by some authority over us that tells us in every single case what we're to do what we're not to do. All of us by nature want checklist morality or checklist Christian ethics. We want all our answers worked out.

17:53 And we want to know I can do this I can't do this I shouldn't do this I ought to do this the Lord doesn't give us that.

18:01 Churches have set up such lists even evangelical churches. We point to some of the churches that are bound by tradition and say look they've got a list for everything. Listen we've got our own unwritten list. Want me to illustrate?

18:16 On the checklist of most Bible believing churches for young people on the checklist is thou shalt not dance. And so young people say alright the preacher and parents say I should not dance I won't dance. But they'll go out and sit and neck in a car every Saturday night after a youth meeting.

18:35 And never think anything about it. Why? Because they've got checklist morality. They haven't got the principle.

18:42 What's the principle? The principle is young people and adults flee youthful lusts. 2 Timothy 2.22 Give no place to the devil.

18:53 Ephesians 4.27 The word of God says thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. That's the principle. Now if I'm not I get the principle no one needs to tell me that I shouldn't waltz around the floor with a young girl next to me and kindle and awaken my passions.

19:12 No one will need to tell me that sitting out in a parked car and necking half the night is playing with fire. If I get the principle I don't need a checklist.

19:22 But all of us by nature want a checklist. Christ is not giving us a checklist. He's giving to us a basic principle illustrated in four ways. But he wants us to find the principle.

Interpretation Must Not Nullify Other Scripture

19:38 And then last of all in guiding us through this section we must remember that this section must not be interpreted so as to nullify the rest of scripture.

19:51 Some people come to this passage and they get a doctrine of pacifism.

19:56 No nation should ever take up arms. Jesus said don't resist evil. Now wait a minute if you take that position you're going to nullify evil. A lot of other things said in the Bible.

20:07 I must never interpret one passage in such a way that it nullifies the rest of scripture. Some people come up with an idea of non-resistance to the spread of evil. They say we shouldn't have policemen we shouldn't have law enforcement agencies. Resist not evil Christ said.

20:24 So he meant what he said. But wait a minute the Bible says an awful lot about this business of resisting evil in society. So I must never come up with an interpretation that nullifies the rest of scripture. Now again whole religious systems are built on this.

20:43 They take one or two passages of the word of God and so interpret them as to completely nullify the rest of the word of God. The Pharisees did this. Jesus said ye make void the word of God by your traditions. While they outwardly said we believe the Old Testament scriptures we believe they so interpreted certain passages as to completely nullify the whole drift of what God was saying through the Old Testament.

21:13 He said in Mark chapter 7 ye make void ye cancel out the whole word of God to keep your traditional interpretation of a few sections of the word.

21:25 So with these three guidelines before us number one this section is not a code of conduct for the affairs of states and nations. Secondly it is not a detailed catalog for a Christian. It's giving a principle not a detailed catalog. This section must not be interpreted so as to nullify the rest of the word of God.

What Moses Taught: 'An Eye for an Eye' as Judicial Law

21:49 Now with these guidelines before us let's follow the same basic outline that we followed with every other section. What exactly did Moses teach? What did the scribes and Pharisees teach? What did Christ teach?

22:02 Oh you say Pastor that makes me think. Well wonderful what do you think God gave you your mind for?

22:10 Why do you think God stuffed some gray matter between your ears?

22:15 And what more noble use of the human mind is there than to employ it diligently seeking to discover what God has spoken in his word?

22:27 What more noble use of the human mind than this? So I make no apology for asking you to think with us now as we seek to discover first of all what exactly did Moses teach? Did Moses teach that which the scribes and Pharisees taught? Verse 38 Christ said ye have heard that it hath been said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

22:49 Now is this what Moses taught? That in our dealings one with another if you step on my toe I've got a right to trample on your toes. If you take a piece out of my left ear I've got a right to come and take a piece out of your left ear. Is this what Moses taught?

23:05 Did Moses teach this? Well the scribes and Pharisees said yes. Well did he? Well let's turn and see.

23:12 We find these exact words eye for an eye tooth for a tooth in three places in the Old Testament. Let's look at them together. First of all in the book of Exodus chapter 21 Exodus chapter 21 and in verse 24 for tooth hand for hand foot for foot verse 25 Exodus 21-25 burning for burning wound for wound stripe for stripe. Well it seems that's what Moses taught didn't he? Eye for eye tooth for tooth hand for hand foot for foot burning for burning. Well just keep your finger in Exodus 24 there will you?

24:10 Let's turn over for a moment to Leviticus 24 Leviticus 24 and we'll find the second reference. Leviticus 24 in verse 20.

24:26 Well we could start back with verse 19.

24:30 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor as he hath done so shall it be done to him. Breach for breach eye for eye tooth for eye tooth for tooth as he hath caused a blemish in a man so shall it be done to him again. Well it looks like the Pharisees got a good case. Eye for eye tooth for tooth breach for breach.

24:50 Well we'll really see their case really built up now when we turn to the third passage in Deuteronomy 19. Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 21.

25:06 Deuteronomy 19-21 And thine eye shall not pity but life shall go for life eye for eye tooth for tooth hand for hand foot for foot. Well I guess Moses did say eye for eye tooth for tooth hand for hand foot for foot. Yes he did.

25:27 Yes he did. These words actually teach that there was to be a punishment equal to the crime. If someone injured a man's hand he was to have his hand injured. It was not to be less than a hand nor more than a hand.

25:41 There was to be punishment equal to the crime. Those are the exact words. But now here's the question. To whom were these words spoken?

25:51 Who had the authority of eye for eye tooth for tooth? Was this given to individual Israelites so that if my neighbor came over and behind my back booted me in the shins when I wasn't looking couldn't be behind my back but sneaked up behind me and kicked me in the shins does this mean that I could say Moses said I've got a right to kick him back?

26:16 No. To whom were these words given? Exodus 21 and the passage in Deuteronomy 19 revealed that they were given to a special class of people. Notice carefully now in Exodus 21 and verse 22.

26:34 If men strive and hurt a woman with child so that her fruit depart from her and yet no mischief follow he shall surely be punished according as the woman's husband will lay upon him and he shall pay as the what? The wife. The wife. The wife.

26:51 The wife. The wife. The wife. The wife.

26:51 The wife. The judges determine.

26:55 See the word judges? Here's a man who's been wronged.

27:01 He comes to the judges to present his case and the judges in dealing with this civil matter in the court of law that God had set up amongst the children of Israel the judges had the right to mete out punishment not beyond the crime but equal to the crime. And you see and you find the same truth expanded in Deuteronomy 19 and verse 15 beginning with verse 15 one witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or for any sin if any sin that he sinneth in any sin that he sinneth at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established. Here's the matter of a legal trial. If a false witness rise up against a man to testify against him that which is wronged then both the men between whom the controversy is notice shall stand before the Lord before the priest and the judges which shall be in those days and the judges shall make diligent inquisition and behold if the witness be a false witness and if testified falsely then shall ye do unto him as he hath thought to have done unto his brother so shall ye put away the evil from among you and those that will remain shall hear and fear and thine eye shall not pity but life for life eye for eye tooth for tooth hand for hand.

28:30 Now do you see how it changes the whole complexion of the thing? Eye for eye tooth for tooth was taught by Moses but to whom was it given? It was given as a legal guide for the judges of Israel. It was not given as a code of personal conduct to justify personal revenge.

28:51 It was as far from that it was given in fact to check that very tendency. For the tendency of the human heart is if you take my hand in anger I want to take both yours.

29:04 Isn't that the tendency of the human heart? Someone insults me with words and I want to abuse him with my fist. The human heart always wants to retaliate with a punishment that's greater than the crime done to us. So to check that tendency what did God do?

29:23 God had Moses set up a court of law consisting of the priest and of the judge and so that a man had a time to cool off and if he still wanted to press the claim he was not commanded to do so but if he wanted to he could come before the judges but he had to bring at least two or three witnesses to prove it and then if it was proven he could not have vengeance meted out greater than the crime done to him but the punishment inflicted by the judges was to be equal to and not beyond the crime done to the ones who come before the court. Now all of this is absolutely necessary if we're to understand the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 5. You say, why is it necessary? Well, because it's only when we see that the eye for eye tooth for tooth principle was ordained of God for the courts of Israel to deal with crime that we'll have any understanding of what we're to do as Christians in the situation of personal wrong and what we're to do as Christians in the situation when men would be criminal and wrong society and seek to carry out the wickedness of their hearts in the destruction of others. And there's a lot of shoddy thinking in this area and I believe through our study this morning

30:52 God can perhaps clear away some of the cobwebs of our thinking. Now what was the ultimate purpose of this legislation? You find it stated very clearly in Deuteronomy 19.

31:05 Notice carefully Deuteronomy 19 verse 19. Then shall ye do unto him as he thought to have done unto his brother so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. There would be a dealing with the wicked person. Punishment for the wicked person.

31:24 Secondly, verse 20, and those which remain shall hear and fear and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. There would be a restraining influence.

31:40 Suppose a master who had slaves knew that if he abused his slave and knocked his tooth out that tooth would have them in court next week and he'd have his tooth knocked out. It'd be a tremendous check and that's exactly what God says here. Others will fear. They'll realize that you can't abuse another man and get away with it.

32:00 Take his life you'll suffer with your life. Take his hand you'll lose yours. This was a merciful injunction of God to restrain the tendency of the human heart to take revenge or to abuse others with no fear of punishment. And so you have this purpose clearly stated of God.

32:19 Punish the one who has sinned. Give him a taste of his own medicine. As one man said, people who are careless about the lives of others are usually very careful about their own skin.

32:31 And that's true. People who are careless with the lives of others are usually careful about their own skin. So this was to punish the one who sinned. It was to restrain wickedness by example.

God's Two-Pronged Purpose: Redemption and Restraint by Law

32:45 It was to restrain the tendency of revenge which would want to mete out unequal punishment. God said, no, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Now what's the conclusion of all this? God in the Old Testament and in the New Testament has a two-pronged purpose in dealing with sin.

33:05 The great problem of humanity, individually and into nations and societies is sin. That's the great problem. Every other problem has its roots in that. Now God has undertaken to solve the problem of sin.

33:23 His most glorious purpose is that of redemption by which he has purposed to take out of the world of sinful men a people whom he will forgive, and will transform by his grace so that they will have the capacity to live holy lives and one day he will actually make them as holy as his own son. For the Bible says we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. That's one way God is dealing with evil. He's dealing with evil by the purpose of redemption.

33:55 But God's dealing with evil another way. He is also restraining evil by the purposes or the principles of his law. He's delivering from evil through redemption. He is restraining evil by his law.

34:15 Now you see this wonderfully illustrated in the Old Testament. God gave all these laws about sacrifice. He was teaching an Israelite how he might come to himself a holy God through the shedding of blood. He was teaching them by types and symbols how they might be delivered from the love and practice and penalty of sin.

34:38 But at the same time he set up laws that would restrain the breaking out of evil. And the God of redemption and the God of law is one God.

34:51 He's one God. And he's doing exactly the same thing today. How is God dealing with the problem of sin in the world? Well, he has sent his son who is right now all over the world by the Holy Spirit to be a God.

35:05 Bringing men and women out of the penalty and bondage of sin by the power of his own grace. For he says whom the Son sets free is what? Free indeed. Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins.

35:21 But God is not only dealing with sin through redemption, he still determines to restrain sin by his laws. And God has never changed that purpose and has never And you and I and I trust God will break in upon our hearts with this realization. We are cursed in 20th century America and the curse has started in the church. When 50 years ago Bible teachers spread out across us and began to nullify the effect and the impact of the law of God as a restraining influence in society.

36:04 God's law can never save me. But God's law can restrain the corruption of my heart. That's exactly what God said here that those that remain shall hear and fear and shall henceforth no more commit sin. Now I remind you that nothing in the New Testament cancels out this principle that God is working in two ways to deal with sin, redemption and by law restraining.

36:35 The God of grace is also the God of love. And where grace is not present in a heart we need the external restraint of the law. Let me illustrate it this way.

36:48 Here's a temptation to sin.

36:52 Ideally a saved man one who's been born of the spirit and has a new disposition given by the grace of God he looks upon that sin and though he's tempted he loathes that sin because he knows it offends his Christ. He knows that it crucified the Lord of glory and he's going to cry to God for deliverance and he trusts the Lord to give him victory. He has an internal constraint that keeps him from sin. He wants to be a holy man.

37:22 But now what do we do with people who don't have the internal constraint of grace? God's law is set up that there might be an external restraint from that sin. And simply the fear of its consequences or the fear of its punishment acts as a restraining influence upon the corruption of the human heart.

37:48 Now the church is God's instrument to propagate grace which gives internal constraint. Now who is God's instrument to propagate his law which is an external restraint? You know what that instrument is? It's human government.

The State as God's Minister for Justice (Romans 13, 1 Peter 2)

38:07 God has given to the church the message of proclaiming to all men Christ can set you free from your sins. Turn to Christ. But to the state God has given the responsibility to uphold his laws and say if you break those laws you'll be punished. And I want you to turn to two clear passages in the New Testament which make this so clear that only a man who wants to shut his eyes to truth can fail to see this principle.

38:37 Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13 verses 1, to 5.

38:54 Paul says let every soul or every person be subject unto the higher powers. The word of powers there means authorities. For there is no authority but of God. The authorities that be are ordained of God.

39:11 Now here's a clear statement by the Apostle Paul that human authorities, governments are appointed ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resists the authority resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation or judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil. Now notice Paul says the function of human government is to cause terror in the hearts of evil men.

39:45 That's what he says. Now notice Wilt thou then not be afraid of the authority? Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same. Now here's the key text.

39:57 He is the minister of God to thee for good but if thou do that which is evil be afraid for he beareth not the sword in vain. And the Greek word Paul used for sword was the Roman short sword which was used in execution. It was used for capital punishment. And Paul says God has made human government his minister to hold the sword of execution notice carefully for he is the minister of God a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

40:40 Now beloved what could be clearer than that? That human government is God's instrument to carry out God's wrath upon those who flaunt law. Now you find essentially the same statement in Peter's first letter 1 Peter chapter 2 and these are your two key passages in the New Testament on this subject 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 13 and 14 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake whether it be to the king as supreme or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for what purpose? For the purpose of the king for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well. You have essentially the same phrase they are the ministers of God for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of those that do well.

41:51 Now what do we derive from these statements? We derive the very simple and obvious conclusion that capital and corporal punishment is an ordinance of almighty God in any society. Do you know in the November third election that there was a referendum in the state of Idaho whether or not to continue capital punishment and the citizens of Idaho voted by a vote of three to two to abolish capital punishment. I submit to you that no citizen of any state or country has a right to set aside the ordinance of God.

42:32 For God says that human government is his minister to carry the sword of execution to punish evil doers. And the principle of the scripture laid out so clearly in Genesis 9 and verse 6 where God said to Noah when he started as it were a second race he blotted out that whole race through the flood and now Noah and his family are the only ones left and God is going to propagate the race again through this family. God says whoso shed man's blood by man shall his blood be shed for in the image of God made he man. This is the principle that whoever takes a life shall give with his life.

43:17 Whoever takes the hand shall give with his hand. This is not the principle that operates in the realm of my personal reaction to personal wrong. This is the principle that operates in the realm of the human government dealing with those who would offend and those who would break the laws of that government and the laws of God. The function of human government is not the reformation or even the restraint of criminals.

43:48 It's the punishment of evil doers. Do you see that? Do you get that? He is the minister of God to avenge evil doers.

43:56 I read a very interesting article this past week in the Newark Evening News.

44:02 I get that paper because it's the least bad of all of them I guess.

44:12 Written by a man who spent thirty-three years in the Newark Evening News. He was a man who spent thirty-three years in prison. Notice what he says as a conclusion after thirty-three years. He says, Imprisonment serves no useful purpose in a free society.

44:23 I'm quoting just several parts. The article rejects retaliation, deterrence, and rehabilitation as justifications for prisons. Now notice what he says here. Rehabilitation of the individual which ought to be the purpose of the action of the society is not accomplished by imprisonment.

44:41 I submit to you dear friends the rehabilitation of the criminal individual is not the purpose of society. God says that the human government is to be an avenger of wrath to punish the evildoer. Now I know that some of you will go out of here angry this morning but beloved your anger is not with me it's with the word of God. We have been brought up in a thaw flabby effeminate pseudo kind of sentimental atmosphere that says well we just care too much for the criminal to punish him so what do we do?

45:19 We punish dozens of others who are left at the mercy of that criminal because he is not brought to justice. The question is who will suffer the criminal or the innocent?

45:31 The man who's been taken in on morals charges two or three times and let out after a few months and someday takes a little ten year old girl and sexually abuses her and mutilates her and kills her go to that mother and say well we've got to make more attempts to reform the man.

45:53 If he had been dealt with in justice by the state initially he never would have been free to perpetrate his foul deed.

46:03 The dope peddlers who put in their six months to a year and a half and are free to go out and push their dope and cause slow death and harlotry and murder and theft and all kinds of sin and those that they get involved in this terrible foul enslaving habit. We say let's go easy on them so what do we do? We punish the innocent by our lenience to the evil. We say we're wiser than God.

46:33 God says avenge the evil doer that others may fear. I'm convinced that these young thugs knew that if they carried a gun and shot somebody they'd be in the electric chair in six months a lot of them wouldn't care. But there's no fear anymore. You read just this past week of the two young men who in premeditated murder slew this woman to try to get her riches a relative of one of them and one of them has gotten off scot-free by a legal loophole he won't spend one day in prison.

47:04 Young people look at these laws and say no matter how wrong there is there's no fear. God says that the punishment of law is to operate through the restraint of fear. Now does that mean we write such people off? No.

Application to Parents and Church Discipline

47:20 It means this that I go to the man who's murdered a man who sits in death row and I say by the grace of God it might dying in your place would mean you'd be saved I'd be willing to but at the same time it does not relax the demands of justice that it be life for life. You see it? We must not mix what God has separated. My attitude as a Christian is never one of revenge.

47:45 It's the attitude of not resisting him that would do evil to me. He that would abuse me I'll let him abuse me. But now in terms of the state and its dealing with crime of totally different law is in operation because the law of grace does not operate in the state. It's the law of justice.

48:06 And I trust that somehow this has gotten through to our hearts this morning because the church has failed to be the salt of the earth and because we have failed we see the failure in the world. May I apply this word to you as parents? Only grace can change the heart of your children. Only the grace of God can change the heart of that boy or girl so he's going to love righteousness and hate sin.

48:34 Only the grace of God is going to want to make him choose the things that are right. But remember until grace operates your law as parent is to be the restraining influence. That's why the Bible says foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child but the rod of correction driveth it far from him. That's why the word of God says in Proverbs 23 in verse 13 about thou shalt beat thy son with the rod that thou spare his soul from hell.

49:05 Oh but we're wiser than God. We just love our children too much to do that to them. Beloved you don't love them. The word of God says if you spare the rod and the discipline you hate the child.

49:19 And oh that God might somehow break through to our hearts to teach us that the God of grace and the God of love is the one God of the Bible.

49:32 What conclusion do we draw from all of this this morning?

49:37 May I say to those of you who are Christians who've experienced the grace of God who've been born of the Spirit will you pray that God will deliver you from the shoddy sloppy unscriptural thinking that has infected the church? That's why there's no church discipline anymore. Someone can wreck a church and is never dealt with when the Bible says the man who would wreck the church is to be dealt with. You're to take the brother who sins and won't confess and you're to deal with him and if he won't be dealt with you're to count him as a heathen man and a publican.

50:09 Why don't we practice church discipline anymore? People with wagging tongues and nasty attitudes can wreck a church and they stay on year in and year out. I've been to places in evangelists where it's a known fact that one woman or one man has driven away a half a dozen preachers and still they stay on in the church. Why?

50:27 Because we've got this idea oh we've just got to love them we just don't want to

50:35 let the whole work of God be ruined let the whole community look with a frown upon the church that has a reputation for running off its preachers and we say we don't want to offend them so what do we do? We make hundreds suffer by our flabby unwillingness to deal firmly in love with the one that doesn't mean we hate him that means if that person comes up to us individually and spits in our face we say father forgive them but at the same time it means we deal with them as God has told the church to deal with them you see there's no contradiction between the two no contradiction because it's the one God working in us so I submit to you as Christians let's ask God to give us a proper perspective of who he is he's the God of grace he's the God of love let's ask him to give us in our attitude toward crime in our society toward the state and its functions let's ask him to give us a biblical perspective then we're going to have to ask him to help us to die to the desire for personal revenge we haven't come to deal now exactly with what Christ meant we've dealt with what Moses taught and how much of that applies today but as we move into it next week you're going to see how can I ever get rid of this idea of personal revenge it's as much a part of me as my nose yes it is the Lord Jesus can

Conclusion: Embrace God's Grace and Law

52:04 deliver us from it and give us the very spirit he had that when they took him to the cross he said Father forgive them for they know not what they do and then may I say to those of you who are in our midst this morning who know not our Lord Jesus Christ you've never come as a guilty sinner and fled to Christ for mercy I remind you that the God of grace offers a free pardon this morning he says to you come now let us reason together though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow , though they be red like crimson they shall be as blue the God of grace extends the arms of mercy as this but I'd also remind you that that same God's the God of law and if you won't be wooed and subdued by his grace you force God to deal with you by his law and in the court of God it's going to be eye for eye and tooth for tooth for the scripture says the soul that sinneth it shall die the rages of sin sins death and because you and I have broken God's holy law if we go to the bar of God to the judgment bar of God on the basis not of grace but of law then we'll have to meet all of our crimes against the holy God and here God thunder the sentence to our own hearts and to our everlasting shame depart from me I never knew you but oh

53:33 dear one the God of grace offers a pardon for offers free and full pardon will you come to him as the God of grace that you might escape the penalty of his law or will you run your risk and say well I'll run the risk I think I'm a pretty good fellow a pretty nice woman I haven't done too much bad I think I'll let God give me what I deserve oh dear friend I don't want to be in your shoes I don't want what I deserve for I deserve nothing but the wrath of a holy God I want free grace which gives me the opposite of what I deserve forgiveness and eternal life ye have heard that it was said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth Moses never taught that in personal revenge and justification for it what he did teach is what the word of God continues to teach that the God of grace who constrains by grace is also the God of law who restrains by the operations of his law I trust we'll know him , as the God of the Bible don't make a little God out of the stuff of your own imagination and project it upward to infinity and worship that it's still your own God can you fall on your face and worship this God do you have any secret resentments that God has appointed the state to bear the sword of execution do you have some controversy with God and you say it's not fair

55:03 beloved don't argue with God who art thou to reply against the maker shall the thing for Say to the thing that formed to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus the part of creatures is to press their face to the dust and say Lord thou art wise in all thy ways and let's pray that at least in some degree we'd see a return in our own society to an enforcement of the laws of almighty God that will put a little bit of the fear of God back into the fiber of our nation and into the fiber of our church shall we pray