NEVER!
NEVER!
J. Mike Minnix
Introduction
Romans 4:6-8:
"Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven
and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the person
the Lord will never charge with sin." (CSV)
When you read the Bible you find the word "Never" from beginning to end. It is an absolute negative in the Greek language, and it is the same in the English language. It is a word that seals a matter. When you say, "Never," it is like saying forever. It is something very hard for us to comprehend. Forever! Never! It is an absolute. It speaks of something that is forever fixed and will never change. In an ever-changing world it can be hard for us to imagine forever, yet with God forever is His timeless nature.
Sometimes this word is used in a way that will chill you to the bone. Jesus said of hell that it is a place where the worm NEVER dies, and the fire is NEVER quenched. One phrase in the Bible that can cause a serious person to shutter is the passage where Jesus says that one day the righteous Judge will say to those who are lost, "Depart from me you worker of iniquity, for I NEVER knew you."
On occasion the word NEVER is used in a beautiful way. In Genesis we recall the story of the great flood and that God spoke to Noah after the flood saying, "I will NEVER again destroy the world by water." The rainbow is a sign of the promise of God that He will NEVER again destroy the world with water.
When we read of Jesus in the New Testament we find that people who heard Him speak said, "NEVER spoke a man like this."
Throughout the Bible the word NEVER has a tremendous impact on our understanding of who God is and what God does. Our text today contains this significant word, so let’s look together at the subject: NEVER!
In our text today Paul is pointing out that no man is saved by works and that no one can be made right with God by human effort. He preceded this by pointing to the fact that the Jews are not saved simply because of the Law. Paul reveals that Abraham was saved, not because he kept the Law (for it had not been officially given in his lifetime) but was saved because he believed God and God counted it to him as righteousness. Abraham had his name inscribed in the Lamb's Book of Life by faith and not by works.
Our text today speaks of David, who was a man after God's own heart, but David was also a great sinner. Look at Psalm 32:1. David was not saved by works but by faith.
Note please note that Abraham and David were saved in the same manner. They were not saved because they kept the Law, but because they believed God. They put their faith in God's provision for their sins. NEVER would David's sin be counted against him at the judgment bar of God.
If we were to start naming all the sins that each of us here today has committed it would be a sad service, indeed! No doubt, however, some present would leave here feeling a little self-righteous, for you would say that your sins were not as awful as those of others who testified. You might feel somehow that you are not quite as bad as some of the others in this worship service. You might possibly feel that you are more acceptable to God than others because you have not done some of the things that others have done. In reality God does not look at sin like that. Sin - all sin, every sin - separates men and women from God.
- Sin makes us unfit for fellowship with God
- Sin assigns us a place in Hell
- Sin is a horrible thing - not just big sins, but any and all sins
So, if God were not to count your sins against you, it would indeed be a beautiful thing. That is exactly what God is willing to do, if meet the conditions God sets for forgiveness and salvation. Abraham and David met the condition required - Faith. By breaking any part of the Law they were guilty of breaking the entire Law, but when God forgave them he forgave them entirely, completely, emphatically, totally, absolutely and eternally! Now you see why that little word NEVER is so important.
Observe three things with me regarding this text.
I. The word NEVER does not Deal with the Results of Christian Sin
This promise of not having our sins counted against us says little about the immediate results due to Christian sins. When a person becomes a child of God, sin is forgiven. The eternal destiny of the person is permantly altered, but what about the immediate results of the sins that have been committed? When we sin as believers we do harm to ourselves, to fellow believers, to the unsaved, and even to the Lord.
- David's sins cost him more than he meant to Pay
- David's sins took him further than he meant to Stray
- David's sins kept him longer than he meant to Stay
Sin always does that!
You remember how David pronounced a 4-fold judgment on the man mentioned in Nathan's story? Well, Nathan told David that he was the man in that story. So the 4-fold judgment that David pronounced actually came back upon David's own house and family.
- The son conceived in the adulterous relationship with Bathsheba died
- David's daughter was raped
- One of David's sons killed the other
- David's son Absalom rose up against him and was killed by David's army
Four horrible and immediate consequences took place due to his sins. In fact, we recall that Nathan said to David, "The sword will NEVER leave your house." All of David's remaining days he paid for the sin of lust, adultery and manslaughter.
So, just because God forgives you does not mean that you can sin and pay no cost for it. God will NEVER forsake you, but your sin in this life might NEVER grant you complete peace during your lifetime. Sins have consequences in the immediate and the future. Thus, we can say that being saved does not remove all the consequences of our sins. For example, a man kills a person and is sent to prison for life. In prison he becomes a genuine Christian. Yet, that does not remove the judgment of the court against him, nor does it bring back to the family the life of the man he took. Sure, God gives inward peace to the Christian, a peace that goes beyond understanding, but the sorrow created by sin may never be fully removed in this lifetime.
Note also …
II. The word NEVER does not Deal with the Rewards regarding Christian Sin
The Bible teaches me that one day there is going to be a judgment for believers, and we will face our works and actions as believers. We are saved, but that does not mean that we will avoid facing a Christian judgment. In fact, every Christian will face a judgment for how she or he lived after being saved. This will not be a judgment to determine our eternal destiny, since that was settled the day we accepted Christ as our Savior. Once a person is saved heaven is a settled issue, yet that saved person will still face Jesus in what the Bible calls the Bema Seat Judgment. There we will stand before Christ, our Lord. He is going to judge not only our works, but our motives n regard to those works as well. In addition, we will be judged for that which the Lord willed for us to do but which we left undone.
But, let me share the wonderful truth in our text today…
III. The word NEVER does Deal with Our Relationship to God
A. God will NEVER Deceive Us
The Greeks believed that their gods wore wool on their feet so they could sneak up on them and deceive them. We do not serve a deceiving God, for God always keeps His Word – His Word is Truth. He says what He means and means what He says.
How wonderful to have God’s promise that He will NEVER leave the believer - not in this world or the world to come. He will NEVER change His mind about you. That is one reason we are told in scripture not to worry or be anxious. Once you come to Christ as Lord and Savior, repenting of your sin, you have a Savior who will NEVER forsake you.
A poem reads:
“The worried cow would have lasted till now
If she hadn't run out of breath.
But she feared that the hay would not last all day
So she mooed herself to death!”
We never have to live with the fear that God’s goodness, provision and grace will run out.
So, God will NEVER deceive us, but also note that …
B. God will NEVER Depart From Us
God said He would NEVER leave you! Hebrews 13
When you have strayed like a sheep, He will come looking for you on the stormy mountain side. When you fear and doubt, he will appear to show you his nail-scarred hands and riven side to serve as a reminder of his love for you. Thus you will say with Thomas, "My Lord and My God."
- Joseph learned this in prison
- Moses learned this at the Red Sea
- Daniel learned this in Lion's den
- John learned this on the isle of Patmos
God will never leave You!
It is said that John Wesley's last words were, "And best of all is, God is with Us." (March 2, 1791) Yes, that is best of all. He is with us in life and in death. He will NEVER forsake us.
Jonathan Edwards was the third president of Princeton University. He had a daughter with a violent temper. A man asked for her hand in marriage but Edwards refused. He told the suitor of her terrible temper and warned him that the marriage would never work. The young man said, "Isn't she a Christian?" Edwards replied that she was, but that the Lord could live with some people that no one else can live with. Isn't that true?
Thank God that He NEVER gives up on us, even when others do. He never leaves us, no matter who else may walk out of our lives.
C. God will NEVER declare Us to be Sinners!
When I think of my biography, it is marred with words, thoughts and deeds that I am ashamed of. Yet, the Lord revealed a truth to me recently that I had not thought of in the same way before. He opened a wonderful truth to my heart in a new way. Christ showed me that he took my sin at Calvary and gave me His righteousness, so my life has His purity in it and His life has my sin in it. He became what I have been so that I might be what He is. Now that is a love unsurpassed in all of time and eternity. He became what I was so that I could become what He is! How amazing and wonderful to be a Christian - to have the life in Christ indwelling one's life.
Conclusion
NEVER! He will NEVER forsake you. What a promise. Do you know Him as your Savior? You can – right now – come to Him. He is the "Never" Lord:
- Never Forgetting You
- Never Failing You
- Never Forsaking You
If you fail to receive Christ in this lifetime, you will NEVER get another opportunity to do so.
If you accept Christ in this life, you will NEVER lose what He gives you.
Come to Him today. He will NEVER, EVER, SEVER the relationship that will begin in your life right now, if you will turn from your sin and by faith receive Christ as your Lord and Savior.