God is not Mocked (2)
Last time I spoke on Galatians chapter 6 verses 7 and 8. There the apostle Paul tells us, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." These verses imply the disturbing reality that there are people who are indeed deceived about this obvious truth. They are deceived into thinking that God can be mocked, and that one can sow to his flesh and not reap destruction.
There is another place in Paul's letters where he uses the phrase, "Do not be deceived," and if for no other reason than to further our understanding on this passage in Galatians, it will be worthwhile for us to take a look at this other passage. I have in mind First Corinthians chapter 6, and when you get there, you can read with me, verses 9 and 10. He writes, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
Here Paul again tells us not to be deceived, and the thing that he does not want us to be deceived about is the fact that "the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God." And so we are again faced with the disturbing reality that people can be deceived about something as clear and as obvious as this, so that they would think that the wicked will indeed inherit the kingdom of God. Their thinking about right and wrong, about what pleases God, and about what God requires from them, is the very opposite of what God has revealed.
So lest anyone be confused, and lest anyone be deceived, Paul wishes to make his point clear, and that is the unalterable fact that "the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God." Notice that Paul says it twice. He says it once in verse 9, and then after giving us a list of specific types of sinners, he says it again at the end of verse 10. He says again, "the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God." He is saying, "Do not be deceived. Make no mistake about this. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. And don't you dare think differently. The wicked it will never, never, never inherit the kingdom of God. God will not welcome them into heaven, but he will send them to hell to be punished and tortured forever."
And notice that here he does not give us only a list of sins, but he gives us a list of the people identified by the sins. Our society often separates the people from their actions, and if they condemn wickedness at all, they tend to condemn the actions, but excuse the people, perhaps as victims of their upbringing and circumstances. This twisted way of thinking has infiltrated the church and its theology, so that many believers even think that "God hates the sin, but he loves the sinner" is part of the gospel.
In one biblical dictionary, one scholar pointed out that the Hebrews did not separate the people from their actions, but from this premise, he immediately concluded that therefore God hates the sin but loves the sinner. I can't tell you exactly what was happening in his mind when he wrote this, but this conclusion is the very opposite of what the premise produces. You see, the premise came from his studies, but his conclusion came from his ingrained assumption that God cannot hate anyone in any sense. This assumption, of course, came from the world, and is now taught through the church. It was so much a part of this biblical scholar, that although his premise logically demanded the opposite, he blindly assumed that it led to his conclusion.
And this is how many people read the Bible today, they assume that their current beliefs are true and right, so that they think whatever they read from the Bible will lend support to them, even if the Bible teaches exactly the opposite of what they believe, and even if it condemns their beliefs and actions as wicked. Christians also often think this way because they have been influenced by the world. They have remaining sin in their hearts, and their minds are not yet completely renewed by the word of God. So, whether we are examining ourselves or helping somebody else, we must use the word of God to break through this spiritual blindness. This deception is real, potent, and stubborn. And so Paul emphasizes to us twice, that the wicked cannot inherit the kingdom of God. In all your thinking about God, sin, and salvation, don't get this wrong, and don't compromise this point.
If the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God, then who are these wicked people? Is someone wicked because he eats meat? Is someone wicked because he believes in capital punishment? Is someone wicked because he disciplines his children? Is someone wicked because he preaches the gospel, and "imposes" his beliefs on other people? Well, this seems to be what many unbelievers think today. And because the church has been weak in resisting their influence, even many professing believers seem to think so as well.
But Paul tells us who these wicked people are. They are fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, and homosexuals. They are the greedy, they are thieves, they are crooks, and they are drunks. In other words, the wicked people are what the unbelievers consider as normal people. The wicked people are the non-Christian people, and those whom non-Christians approve or even glorify.
Do not be deceived. These people will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will not enter heaven. If you are a fornicator, you will go to hell. If you are an idolater, you will go to hell. If you are an adulterer, you will go to hell. If you are a homosexual, you will go to hell. And if you are a fornicator, or an idolater, or an adulterer, or if you're a homosexual, don't think that you will enter heaven that way – that is, without repentance and faith – because you will not enter. You are one of the wicked people that God will send straight to hell when you die.
And the same goes with those of you who are greedy, those of you who are thieves, those of you who are crooks, and those of you who are drunks. Don't think that you can enter heaven that way. You may hope, and you may assume, but God is telling you that you will not enter heaven as an adulterer or a homosexual, and he is telling you that you will not enter heaven as a thief or a drunk. If you think otherwise, then you have been deceived, and you must stop taking comfort in your delusion, but wake up to the truth instead.
It is true that Paul is addressing the church. In verse 8, he says, "Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers." So what Paul says to the Corinthians ought to serve as a severe warning to them. As he says to them in another place, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves" (2 Corinthians 13:5).
There is one school of thought that maintains that God has one set of requirements for his people, and another set of requirements for those who do not know him. In other words, according to this way of thinking, something like the Ten Commandments were given to the people of God, and so they reason that God never said that the Gentiles could not fornicate and commit adultery, or worship idols. Even some professing Christians believe this and think that God's moral laws have been given to believers only, because they have been saved by grace, and because they have received revelation from God. Certainly, they think, the same set of requirements cannot apply to others.
As a matter of fact, this is just not true. Even in the Old Testament, the prophets hold the Gentiles accountable for breaking God's moral laws, including such things as idolatry and adultery. And Paul says in the first and second chapters of his letter to the Romans that the Gentiles had the law of God written on their hearts. So the same moral requirements have been imposed upon both believers and unbelievers. Fornication, adultery, idolatry, homosexuality, thievery, greed, and all things that the Bible calls sins, are sins for both believers and unbelievers.
We do not have time to make a detailed digression on this issue, but what Peter wrote ought to settle it: "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, 'If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?'" (1 Peter 4:17-18). So unbelievers are not exempt from God's moral laws, nor are they exempt from believing the gospel, but because, according to God's sovereign and active reprobation, they break God's moral laws and reject his gospel, their damnation is sure.
But of course, Paul is not saying that only Christians must not be adulterers and homosexuals, for his point is precisely that these people cannot be saved and that these people are wicked, and that these people are unbelievers. He says to the Corinthians, "Why are you acting like the unbelievers? Don't you know that the wicked will not enter heaven? Don't be unclear about this. Don't be deceived about this. Wicked people like fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, and homosexuals will never inherit the kingdom of heaven."
Then, he continues in verse 11, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." He says, "some of you were these people." Of course, he says "some" because although all were sinners, he has not given a complete list of sins or sinners. The point is that the wicked cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, and some of these Corinthians were these wicked people that Paul listed. But they were changed. He says, "But you are washed, you were sanctified, you were justified."
In the Greek, the word "but" appears before each verb, and the same is true with the word "you." The New International Version and the English Standard Version have the word "you" before each verb, but they do not repeat the word "but" before each verb. The more literal translations on this verse are the King James Version, the New King James Version, and the New American Standard Bible. So the proper translation should be, "But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified." By repeating the words "but" and "you" before each verb, Paul emphasizes the difference between Christians and non-Christians, the difference between the righteous and the wicked, and the difference between the saved and the unsaved: "The wicked are that way, and they will not enter heaven. But you are this way – God has made you this way – and you will enter heaven." To blur or to deny this distinction is to be deceived.
So there is hope for the wicked, since these Corinthians that Paul is writing to were once such wicked people, but God changed them by his grace. So there's hope for the wicked, but they cannot enter heaven as they are. The deception that Paul is talking about is to be confused on this point. If you're one of these wicked people, there is hope, there is a way out. These sins can be forgiven – you can be forgiven. But that is it, isn't it? To receive forgiveness, you can no longer justify your sins, and you can no longer ignore the fact that you're a sinner. You need forgiveness, and it is found only in Jesus Christ.
Our passage mentions homosexuals, and since this is a much debated topic in our day, I would like to quickly say something about it, and to use it as an example, as we think about the other kinds of sinners that this passage mentions. We do not have a lot of time left, so I cannot be exhaustive about this.
There are a number of arguments by which homosexuals seek to justify themselves. They say, "We love each other." But what is the definition of love? If we define love as the Bible does, as obedience to the moral law of God in our relationship with God and with one another, then the homosexuals do not love one another. In fact, the Bible says that they lust after one another and use one another. They say, "We are not hurting anyone." But what is the definition of hurt? And why is right and wrong judged by whether an action hurts another person? They call their behavior an "alternative lifestyle," and indeed it is, for it is an alternative to decency and righteousness.
They say that they are born homosexuals, so that they really have no choice in what they become. And if they have no choice about it, then it could not possibly be wrong – at least one can never say that it is their fault. But this assumes a necessary relationship between freedom and responsibility, and as I have repeatedly refuted this assumption, showing that it is both unjustified and unnecessary, I would not say anything more about this right now.
But there is something related to this that I would like to mention, and that is the way that many Christians have tried to handle this argument. Because the homosexuals have tried to use scientific arguments to prove that sexual orientation is determined by birth and not by choice, many Christians have tried to deal with them on that level. And so that they have tried to use scientific arguments against the belief that homosexuals are born homosexuals. For example, one battle may be fought over what DNA research can tell us about this.
As in many similar cases in debate, I say that the whole battle is pointless. Rather, I can answer the homosexuals with a plain, "So what?" So what if a person is a homosexual by birth and not by choice? What difference does it make? The question is whether homosexuality is a sin and not what makes a person a homosexual. If a person is a homosexual by birth, then all this means is that God made this person into this particular type of sinner by birth. But this does nothing to change the fact that homosexuality is a sin.
It is indeed possible for homosexuals to change, but this has nothing to do with whether homosexuality is genetically determined. That point is completely irrelevant. Paul says that the wicked people who will not inherit the kingdom include homosexuals, and then he reminds the Corinthians that some of them were homosexuals, so that they were among those people who could not inherit the kingdom of God. But then he adds that they have been washed, that they have been sanctified, and that they have been justified.
Given the assumption that people's theories about genetics is correct in the first place – an assumption that has no rational justification – it does not matter whether a person is a homosexual by birth. Even if homosexuality is genetic, it makes no difference to God – he can still change the person. Therefore, even if I yield the entire scientific aspect of the debate to the homosexuals, I can still say to them, "So what?"
The homosexuals, of course, go much further than trying to justify themselves, and saying that they're not doing anything wrong. They go on to portray themselves as victims, and then as heroes, and as reformers, as pioneers against discrimination and injustice. Some would even claim that God is on their side all the way, and that he is even behind them and supporting their cause. They have convinced themselves that lust is love, that depravity is decency, and that rebellion is reformation.
The sodomites said concerning Lot, "now he wants to play the judge!" (Genesis 19:9), and this is another argument that the homosexuals use against us. They say, "Who are you to judge us?" Well, I know full well who I am, who we are, and also who they are. I am an ambassador of Christ, sent to preach and to enforce his word with spiritual authority. We are the people of God, and the apple of his eye. And as Paul says, we are even to judge angels, and it would seem that "even men of little account in the church" (1 Corinthians 6:4) should be competent enough to judge a matter as obvious as homosexuality. As for them, we also know who they are – they are the wicked people that Paul says will never inherit the kingdom of heaven, that is, unless they repent and change.
Of course we must not give the false impression that we are teaching salvation by works or by personal holiness. And certainly salvation does not come by just not being a homosexual, but the problem is whether homosexuals admit that they are sinners and that they need Christ at all. The fatal spiritual problem is that they do not admit their sin and their need. Instead, many of them are hardened, and even boast against the command of God, saying that, "We have done no wrong. God is on our side." They say, "Peace, Peace. God will not judge us. We are in the right, and they are in the wrong. We are the victims, and then we are the heroes, and we are reformers. As for these people who oppose us, they are full of hate and prejudice." As long as the homosexuals think this way, they will remain far from the kingdom of heaven.
In Romans chapter 1, Paul mentions those who are given over to shameful lusts. He says, "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion" (v. 26-27). And then, he says in verse 32, "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."
It is for this reason that God's wrath is poured out upon them. Today there are many, including some who call themselves Christians, who might not be homosexuals themselves, but they have taken up the cause to promote acceptance of homosexuality in the church and in society. Some of them might be homosexuals themselves, but they approve and encourage those who are homosexuals. These people will share in the condemnation that God will pour out upon the homosexuals. What would God do with a person who votes to keep a homosexual pastor or to ordain a homosexual?
Sometimes people rightly point out that the Bible condemns all kinds of sins, and not only homosexuality. This objection has been repeated so often, and the church has answered it so weakly, that it has been at times effective in neutralizing the church's condemnation against this abomination. When we are talking about homosexuality, we should insist that it is a sin that will keep a person out of the kingdom of God; in other words, it will send him to hell. Rather than weakening our outrage against this particular sin because of the objection that the Bible mentions many other sins, we should increase our outrage and then broaden it to include all sins.
The truth is that all sins lead to hell, and that any sin would keep a person out of the kingdom of God. If not for the sovereign grace of God, all of us would be excluded from the kingdom of heaven. So let us remind ourselves of the passage from Galatians once again. There, Paul says, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
What is your excuse for putting off spiritual things? What is your excuse for putting off repentance? Hurry, and seek him while he may be found. Some people say to themselves, "He will wait for me. He will be there when I'm ready." Yes, but maybe you won't be there. Maybe you will never be ready. The "prodigal son" came back to his father because "he came to his senses" (Luke 15:17). And Scripture tells us elsewhere that it is the Spirit of God that awakens the elect to his spiritual senses. Some people try to sound clever, and say, "He will forgive me. After all, that's his job." But if we can speak this way about God at all, then it is also his job to condemn people like these. God will not mocked. You cannot make a fool out of him.
Now we are out of time. But before we conclude I would like to mention another kind of deception that we can find in our passage from Galatians chapter 6. Paul says, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction." But you see, Paul does not stop there, for he continues to say, "the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
In our struggle for personal holiness and in our fight of faith, there is sometimes the temptation to become discouraged, or to think that we will not reap God's blessings. But just as the sinner is deceived into thinking that he will not reap destruction, this temptation to discouragement is based on a deception.
So the apostle exhorts us in verse 9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Today we are not deceived. We are sure that God is not mocked. We are sure that a man will reap what he sows. We are sure that a man who sows to his flesh, from his flesh, he will reap destruction. And we are not deceived, because we know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. We know and we are sure that fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, and homosexuals, as well as thieves, liars, and slanderers, will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
So now do not be deceived, for the same principle works in a positive direction as well. If we would not grow tired, if we would not grow complacent, if we would not become discouraged, and if we will continue to do good, and do what God has commanded us to do, then we will surely reap a harvest of life and glory at the proper time. The writer of Hebrews says that "anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (11:6). Such is the nature of true faith, the kind of faith that will sow to the Spirit and reap life everlasting.
December 16 2005 | Expositions, Spirituality