Sermon Notes By Pastor Arthur H. Coleman Sr. for Sunday December 29, 2013
Text: Deuteronomy 4:1-2 “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. (vs2) Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
Revelation 22:16-20 “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. (vs17) And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (vs18) For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (vs19) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (vs20) He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen’. Even so come, Lord Jesus.”
PREMISE
The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, Page 551, a comment on Rev.22:18-19. “It would be deemed an unpardonable offense foe an ambassador to add words to, or to subtract them from any royal mandate which he was commissioned to deliver. And if anyone dispensing a physician’s prescription, which the life or death of a patient trembled in the balance, were recklessly to tamper with it, what condemnation could be too severe? Yet we fear that the tendency of many in our day is to treat a message in this book far more lightly that they would any important official human document; and instead of sympathizing with the words before us , and adding their reverent “Amen” they would in all probability either condemn the severity of these words, or else pass them as out of date and altogether exhausted or worn out.
The words of the text evidently embrace any kind of treatment of this Book of the Apocalypse which seemed to assume that a man was at liberty to take the book into his own hands, and to deal with it as he thought fit. Men do this : 1. If they put any merely human production alongside of it as if it were on a level therewith.
2.If they distort the book at pleasure to make it fit in with a preconceived theory about it; e.g. human history, science or philosophy. 3. If they summarily reject the account which the book gives of itself, out of dislike to the supernatural, or from hostility to the principle of authority in religion. 4. If they make a human interpretation of the book of equal dignity or authority with the book itself. 5. If they deny or disown any of those great doctrines which are inwrought into the very texture of the book; e.g. the glory of Christ’s Person; the meaning of his work; the reality of his administration; the freeness of his grace; the certainty of his victory. These and other doctrines related in origin pervade the entire Apocalypse, and to omit, ignore, deny, or condemn them, from willful refusal to submit to Divine authority, would be to commit the sin which is here exposed to view. The words of the Apocalypse as a whole, and of these two verses in particular, are not human; they are Divine. We should hear a voice saying, “Take thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standeth is holy ground.”
The Immutable Counsel Of God (His Divine And Engrafted Word) Assures Us Of The Hope And Consolation We Have At The End
The Immutability of God is “that perfection of God by which He is devoid of all change, not only in his Being, but also in His perfections, and in His purposes and promises. In virtue of this attribute, God is exalted above all becoming and is free from all increase or addition or diminishing, lessening, reduction, or decrease. And from all growth or decay in His being or perfections, His knowledge and plans, His moral principles and His will, choice, preference, or decisions.”
The Immutable Counsel Of God is “the unchangeable, unalterable, and permanent; advice, wisdom, recommendations, suggestions, consultations, deliberations, opinions, admonishments, deliberate purposes, designs or plans of God.”
EXPOSITION
1. The Immutable Counsel Of God (His Word The Bible) Is Based On The Eternal Immutability Of God Himself---Exodus 3:13-14 “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? (vs14) And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
2. The Immutable Counsel Of God Should Be Regarded In Highest Esteem Because Of The Purpose For Which It Was Given--- Romans 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
3.The Immutable Counsel Of God Is Not A Product Of Mans’ Device And Must Not Be Regarded As Such --- 1 Peter1:19-21 “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (vs20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. (vs21) For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
1 Thessalonians 2:11-13 “As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, (vs12) That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. (vs13) For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”
4. The Immutable Counsel Of God (His Holy Word) Is Necessary To Address The Evil Of The Last Days---2 Timothy 2:2-4 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. (vs3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (vs4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
5. The Immutable Counsel Of God (All Of Scripture) Is The Only Necessary Probing Instrument Of the Heart And Spirit Of Man--- Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
6. The Immutable Counsel Of God (His Divine And Engrafted Word) Assures Us Of The Hope And Consolation We Have At The End--- Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (vs4) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
7. The Immutable Counsel Of God (The Final Authority) Is The Only Authorized Means Of Salvation --- Acts 4:12 “ Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Acts 2: 38-40 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (vs39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.(vs40) And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward (difficult to manage or restrain) generation.”