The Book Of Lamentations – Part 22 – No Complaint Against God But Self Examination Necessary; Repentance And Confession - Chapter 3:39-43 Series

THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS – PART 22 – NO COMPLAINT AGAINST GOD BUT SELF EXAMINATION NECESSARY; REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION - CHAPTER 3:39-43

Last time we finished with the way God dispenses good and ill (or good and evil) according to His sovereignty and the next verse, 39, follows on from that and is where we begin today.

PART [34]. SMILE – YOU ARE ON CANDID CAMERA

{{Lamentations 3:39 “WHY should any living mortal, or any man, OFFER COMPLAINT in view of his sins?”}}

There used to be a television series called, “This is Your Life,” where notable people had presented to them snippets of their lives from childhood to the present. It was always done in the good way – nothing incriminating would be presented. In that way the program was selective in chosen material.

Let us consider a man who stands before God, and “this is your life” is presented. All those ugly sins, hidden sins, unconfessed sins, they are all there on display. Now imagine that man remonstrating against God claiming his sins are not too bad and it is not his fault that those sins happened. He was born that way so it is not really his/her fault the life is what it was. After all he/she can’t be blamed because he/she did not ask to be born, so God THEREFORE is to blame for the sins!

Well, no person can complain to God about personal sins and excuse himself. In the judgement it will be 100% ownership and not even one feeble semblance of an excuse can be offered. Be warned, when you as a sinner stand before God at the great white throne you will claim 100% of the guilt. As for the Christian at the judgement seat of Christ, that is another natter we are not doing right now.

In the context of what Jeremiah wrote, I think the thrust is, “Why should any mortal man under the judgement of God at the overthrow of Jerusalem/Judah, try to offer any complaint against God for what happened? Don’t blame God. Blame your sins, that is, blame yourselves. Take ownership of it. You were warned over and over by the prophets what would happen if you continued in your disgraceful sins. You ignored the prophets, persecuting them and killing them, and now your sins have earned their wages.”

Jeremiah uses the words, “any living mortal,” so he must be referring to the people in his own time in the sense I just mentioned. I like the word “mortal” for here is puny, insignificant man, living in the power of the universe, trying to stand up to God. Man’s sins condemn him and we are without excuse. {{Romans 1:20-21 “for since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so THAT THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE. Even though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”}}

Man has no excuse, no complaint against the decisions of the Sovereign God. He is condemned by his own sins. He stands or falls on his unconverted record or any decision after that.

PART [35]. SELF EXAMINATION IS UTTERLY NECESSARY

{{Lamentations 3:40 “LET US examine and probe our ways, and LET US return to the LORD.”}}

Jeremiah addresses the remnant who remains after so many have been killed by Babylon, with stern and decisive words. Surely the people have learned their lesson! Have they truly learned their lesson or will they be like the people of the past who made all the promises to God, but history shows they immediately returned to their own ways back into sin. He calls for self-appraisement followed by a return to the LORD. When God chastises individuals and nations, this must be the next and vital step to take. Do we learn from God’s intervention? Does it have any lasting outcome on us? Nationally, the answer is NO, but individually, we sure hope so and many of us know so.

I believe a lot of these people, having realised the power of God, and understanding what they lost, did return to the LORD, examining themselves. What would that reveal? Well the sin of idolatry and the reprobate behaviour of the nation had to be acknowledged. For the backsliding Christian, that is where we must all begin in turning around to the Lord. We go back to where we left the rails and repair the damage. That repair is done through confession. It begins with conviction by the Holy Spirit, then action on our part according to 1 John 1:9-10.

In the preaching of the gospel, the preacher must make unsaved people aware of their sins and of the horrible penalty hovering over them. That will lead to conviction. The easy-believeism of certain of the Charismatic movement is a disgrace. It is “easy to come to Jesus”, just as easy as losing your salvation which is why at their meetings you see people constantly going out to be saved again. Easy-believing says, “All you need to do is just believe in Jesus.” It bypasses sin and the deep conviction of sin and genuine confession.