Title: “Who May Approach God?” Script: Psalm 15
Type: Series on the Psalms Where: GNBC 8-23-20
Intro: We are living in what I have termed a “Siri Smart yet Philosophically Puerile (childish) world.” We can get answers to almost any question on our Smart Phones in moments. Siri is pretty smart when comes to math: You can ask her to find the square root of any number and she can give you the answer in seconds. She can also be a little salty: Try asking Siri, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” “I am not perspicacious about the peregrinations of poultry.” But my favorite is when you ask Siri, “What is zero divided by zero.” Her answer is, “Imagine that you have zero cookies and you divide them between zero friends. See it makes no sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad because you have no friends.” Harsh! Funny. Yet, there are very important questions in life you cannot get a satisfactory answer from Siri. I would advise you to look to Scripture.
Prop: Psalm 15 asks one of life’s most important questions. Do you know the answer?
BG: 1. Psalm 15 is another Psalm of David’s. Unlike others so far, not certain the background.
2. This is a reflective or meditative psalm. David has one thought in mind he’s going to mull over.
3. Need to reflect of David’s example. Take time to deeply consider important questions.
Prop: Ps. 15 asks the question: “Who may approach God?” Do you know the answer?
I. The Question: Who May Approach God? V.1
A. David asks one of the most important questions man should ask.
1. “How can I approach God?”
a. V. 1 – “tent” – tabernacle. Don’t forget the temple had not yet been built. It would not be built during David’s lifetime, but rather by his son, Solomon. The tabernacle was the focal point of the worship of God during the early history of Israel. The tabernacle had great theological and symbolic significance. The tabernacle declared an amazing truth: God was willing to meet with man!
b. Illust: Not everyone could enter the Tent of Meeting/tabernacle. There was no democratic access in God’s economy at that time. Only the Levites could serve the Tent of Meeting. Only the priests were allowed to come near the Tent of Meeting and only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the Tent of Meeting, and only 1x per year, Yom Kippur (Lev. 16:2). They were warned to wash themselves first before entering (Ex. 30:19-21) and to put on the priestly clothes (Ex. 28:35). The priests were warned to hide their nakedness (Ex. 28:42-43). They were not allowed to drink wine or “strong drink” before entering the Tent of Meeting (Lev.10:9).
2. The Tabernacle and later the Temple, foreshadowed the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
a. There was only one entrance into the tabernacle’s court. There is only one way by which any person may come to God the Father: through the merits of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn.14:6). Entering that door into the tabernacle, one would see brass altar which spoke of two more great truths: a. The sinfulness of man. B. The willingness of God to accept a substitutionary sacrifice for our sin! (Lev. 1:3-9; 17:11). A veil stood separating the two rooms of the tabernacle symbolizing that before Christ tore the temple’s curtain in two at His death, there was no direct access to God for man.
b. Illust: Jn 1:14 tells us: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” “made his dwelling” – “tabernacled” among us. Jesus Christ, in His incarnation, became flesh and “made His dwelling” with man! The sacred body of our Lord Jesus Christ, became by the incarnation the tabernacle of God. The Son, which is the Word of God, begotten from the Father, very and eternal God, took man's nature upon Him in the womb of the Blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures were joined together in one person, never to be divided.. His human body and soul were the tabernacle in which He, the Eternal Word and Son, deigned to dwell, not for thirty-three years only, but forever.
B. Does David’s Question Register Any Concern for You?
1. Have you ever considered David’s question: “Who may approach God?”
a. Again, I ask you, have you asked the question David asked? It may be asked out of idle curiosity, out of despair, godly fear, earnest seeking, a troubled soul, or holy faith. Ask the question. Don’t ignore it.
b. Illust: Ravi Zacharias once said: “Whether Hitler or Hugh Hefner, religious or irreligious, everyone has a worldview. A worldview basically offers answers to four necessary questions: origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. In turn, these answers must be correspondingly true on particular questions and, as a whole, all answers put together must be coherent. The three tests for truth must be applied to any worldview: logical consistency, empirical adequacy, and experiential relevance. When submitted to these tests, the Christian message is utterly unique and meets the demand for truth. Consider the empirical test of the person, teaching, and work of Jesus Christ. A look at human history shows why he was who he claimed to be. A comparison of Jesus’s teachings with any other claimant to divine or prophetic status quickly shows the profound differences in their claims and demonstrations. In fact, none except Jesus even claimed to be the divine Savior. His offer of grace and forgiveness by being the perfect sacrifice of our offense is profoundly unique.” (Think Again, RZIM)
2. On what basis do you think you an approach God?
a. All too many people are deluding thinking they can earn the ability to approach God based on their own supposed righteousness and good deeds. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul: ““If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin … as to the law, a Pharisee … as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Phil. 3:4b-6) In calling himself “blameless,” the Apostle is not confessing that he was sinless before coming to Christ. The term blameless is a standard description of old covenant saints who were exemplary in keeping the Mosaic law (Ps. 18:20–24). They were those who kept the festivals and Sabbaths, tried to put the commandments into practice daily, and offered the proper sacrifices to atone for transgression. Yet, at the end of the day, every single one knew he/she was a sinner.
b. Illust: Evangelist and author Ron Hutchcraft writes: One of the exciting episodes of my life was working on the Billy Graham Crusade at the Meadowlands in northern New Jersey. It was incredibly organized. One thing that was especially well organized was security. There were thousands of people coming and going, so of course, security had to be very well thought through. Now, it was my privilege to be the Chairman of that crusade. And I'll tell you, if I was stopped I still had to have my badge on. It didn't matter what your title was, because if you didn't wear your badge, you weren't going anywhere. One night we were entering the arena, and one of Billy Graham's staff was with me. But he had forgotten his badge. Well, when the guard stopped us, I had my badge. He knew who I was. I said, "Now, this is really a good guy, honest. He's OK. In fact he's on Billy Graham's staff." But do you know how he finally got in? On my credentials. On the basis of my badge and my vouching who he was.” (RHM 4-15-2015)
C. Applic: Who may approach God? Do you know the answer?
II. The Answer: The Righteous Man May Approach God. V. 2
A. The Psalmist gives the answer to his own question.
1. David begins to answer his own Question.
a. David gives 3 characteristics of the qualified individual: “he who walks in integrity and works righteousness and speaks truth in his heart.” Notice these three characteristics are actually concepts emanate from within a person, not something that is performed without. Integrity is a concept. Righteousness is a concept. Truth is a concept. Its something we understand and obey from within a person.
b. Illust: Let’s ask a did David meet these requirements in his life? Last week we examine Ps. 51 and the king’s great sin with Bathsheba. Did David demonstrate integrity? Not an ounce! Did he work works of righteousness in that event? NOPE! Did he speak truth from the depts of his heart? Not a bit! Lied and deceived for nearly a year! Does this statement make David a hypocritical liar? Not at all. Illust: I was recently watching a video in which Ray Comfort was debating angry people on California beach. “Why are you judging us?” “I am not judging you.” “I am telling you that God is going to judge you when you die.” “Are you telling us that you have never lied, stolen, blasphemed, looked on a woman with lust, etc.?” “I have done every one of those things and more! I am a horrible sinner who needs the grace of God in Jesus Christ for salvation!”
2. What is God’s standard of righteousness? In this Psalm we see that David is in one sense speaking from an Old Covenant perspective. Though the Old Covenant place importance on sacrifice and atonement through the blood of sacrifice, it also based blessing and cursing on obedience (Lev. 26; Dt. 28). The disobedient could not expect God’s blessing, including the blessing of His presence. In the New covenant we realize the completion of what the OT was pointing to, the grounds for blessing and relationship with God is the finished work of Jesus at Calvary. Under the New Covenant, faith is the basis of our salvation, and yet still, obedience is expected of believers.
B. What Does God expect when He uses the term “Righteous”.
1. The Bad News is He expects absolute moral perfection!
a. If you or I can read v.2, wipe our brow and emit a sign of relief, we are strangers to the moral law of God. If you think your “good” is good enough, you believe the silly notion that God grades on the curve and not with the absolute standard of moral perfection.
2. The Good News is His Son, the only Person to ever Perfectly Fulfill the Law offers you His Righteousness.
a. Romans 8:1-4 offers us great hope! (Read) First, sin has already been condemned. What does that mean? It does not mean that sin has been criticized and called condemnable – as when we say, President Bush "condemned" the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. We know it does not mean this because this is something the law could do and did do quite well. The law criticized sin and called it condemnable. The law says, for example, "You shall not covet" (Exodus 20:17). And the law pronounces punishments on law breakers (Deuteronomy 28:15). So the law clearly "condemned" sin in this sense. But Romans 8:3 says, "What the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did." So God did something more than merely criticize sin and call it condemnable. What then does Paul mean when he says, "God condemned sin in the flesh"? He means that in Jesus' flesh – in his suffering and dying body on the cross – God executed a final sentence of condemnation on the sin of everyone who is in Christ. In other words, "God condemned sin" means God found sin guilty and sentenced sin to be finally punished and carried out the penalty of suffering in the death of his Son.
b. Illust: Saturday is usually cleaning day at our house. Have you ever noticed how many bottles and potions we own to clean what’s in our homes: bathroom cleaners, furniture polish, there’s surface cleaners, there are window and mirror cleaners, there are carpet and floor cleaners. There is special silver polish, special dish and dishwasher detergents, rinse aids, there are grout and tiles cleaners, there are special cleaners for wood, special rags and special tools to get into those difficult crevices! Then there’s my favorite: Pine Sol! I love the smell of Pine Sol. Nothing says: “Clean!”, like Pine Sol! Why so many cleaning agents? Can’t I just use Pine Sol on everything? Dishes? Carpets? Clothes? NO! No one cleaning agent fits all. Is that how it works in life? For our souls?
C. Applic: Brothers and sisters, there is ONLY ONE cleansing agent in all the universe that can clean your conscience, besides this one. There is no other shield that can protect you from the white hot wrath of God, besides this shield. There is no other argument that will hold up in the final courtroom of heaven than this argument: Christ died for my sins. Christ bore my condemnation. Christ absorbed all the divine wrath that would and should have come on me.
III. The Explanation: The Character of the Redeemed Man. Vv. 3-5
A. David Details the Character of the Redeemed Man.
1. Look at the List the King Creates
a. We see 8 characteristics that represent the redeemed man or woman in this Psalm: 1. Doesn’t slander, 2. Does not do evil towards a neighbor, 3. Doesn’t bring a reproach against a friend, 4. Doesn’t admire reprobates, 5. Honors those who fear the Lord, 6. He keeps his word in spite of the consequences, 7. He does not exact usury, 8. He does not take a bribe to pervert justice. Now if we look at this list we notice that it is horizontal in its application. Each of these characteristics define how I am to relate to my fellow man. Yet, we need to ask, what is the motivation for this behavior? I would argue that it is vertical! David so wanted to honor God that he wanted his character, speech and behavior to reflect to man what his relationship was with God.
b. Once we were darkness; now we are light in the Lord (vv. 7–8). Therefore, we can no longer live as if we were still in Adam and approve of sin; rather, we must walk in the light of Christ (1 John 1:7). We must expect others who profess to be in the light to walk in the light as well — to exhibit the virtues of goodness, righteousness, and truth (Eph. 5:9). Sinless perfection is not what we demand of ourselves or others. Instead, we look for a desire to live consistently with God’s law, a desire that manifests itself in repentance and a striving after holiness. When we partner with professing Christians who approve of sin, we implicitly make the gospel a license for ungodliness and confuse the world about the true nature of biblical faith. Illust: Our brother, Eric, has given his testimony this morning. His life has been forever changed by an eternal encounter with Christ. Pulled out of darkness and into light. Cannot go back into the darkness!
2. God Expects us to live in a way that demonstrates we have been redeemed.
a. A recent survey by George Gallup Jr. revealed a startling trend in our culture. According to Gallup the evidence seems to indicate that there are not clear behavioral patterns that distinguish Christians from non- Christians in our society. We all seem to be marching to the same drummer, looking to the shifting standards of contemporary culture for the basis of what is acceptable conduct. What everybody else is doing seems to be our only ethical norm.
b. Gal. 5:22-23 (Read) The Fruit of the Spirit, not the Fruit of My Effort. The HS does this internally as we rely upon Him and grow in His grace daily. New nature.
B. The Change of Character in the Christian’s life will naturally attracts others.
1.
a. v. 5 is the summary statement. Those who live in covenant with God and their brothers/sisters will never be shaken. TEV translates it as "will always be secure." Isaiah 33:15 seems to parallel the glorification of those who can approach and dwell with YHWH. If so, then Isa. 33:16 is parallel to Ps. 15:5c. The purpose of salvation is not just individual-focused but societal! A love for God should issue in love for each other! The Fall of Genesis 3 affected all mankind (cf. Ps. 14:1-3). The image of God (cf. Gen. 1:26-27) in mankind was damaged. Mankind has turned inward. Selfishness and independence now characterize his/her thoughts and actions. A new encounter with God changes this focus. The new person again has a sense of dependence. He/she lives for God/for others.
b. Once we were darkness; now we are light in the Lord (vv. 7–8). Therefore, we can no longer live as if we were still in Adam and approve of sin; rather, we must walk in the light of Christ (1 John 1:7). We must expect others who profess to be in the light to walk in the light as well — to exhibit the virtues of goodness, righteousness, and truth (Eph. 5:9). We look for a desire to live consistently with God’s Word, a desire that manifests itself in repentance and a striving after holiness. When we partner with professing Christians who approve of sin, we implicitly make the gospel a license for ungodliness and confuse the world about the true nature of biblical faith
2. As we live in Christ and for Christ, expect your life to be used by Christ to lead others to Christ.
a. Illust: “God rarely uses just one person to bring someone through the process of coming to faith. More often God orchestrates a number of people, places, and events, to lovingly move a person toward Christ. Cliff Knechtle used the image of a chain with many links to depict that process: A person’s coming to Christ is like a chain with many links. There is the first link, middle links, and a last link. There are many influences and conversations that precede a person’s decision to convert to Christ. I know the joy of being the first link at times, a middle link usually, and occasionally the last link. God has not called me to only be the last link. He has called me to be faithful and to love all people.” (Cliffe Knechtle. Give Me An Answer (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1986).
b. Illust: Today we are celebrating John Seller’s lifetime of ministry and the publication of his book. Some are here today who John led to Christ. Others here he helped take steps towards Christ or to grow in Christ. How many were the individuals who influenced John to come to faith in Christ? Ultimately we don’t know. The same can be said for each one of us. Before you came to Christ you saw something different in that person. Once you came to Christ, someone else saw that in you!
C. Applic: Christian, live in a way that is pleasing to and honoring of the Savior!
