God's Righteous Society.

Steve Gentry

[0:09] We’re going to have a seat. [0:10] Welcome to Village Church. [0:11] This is your first time here. [0:12] My name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:14] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:18] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to Joshua, Chapter 20.

[0:22] We’re going to be covering verse, excuse me, chapters 20 and 21 this morning, [0:26] even if we don’t read every verse. [0:28] Our focus will be on the first six verses of Joshua, Chapter 20. [0:32] But we are far into our series by which we are going through the entire book together. [0:38] And so over the course of this book, we’ve seen Israel come out of the wandering [0:42] years in the wilderness to miraculously cover, excuse me, cross the Jordan River

[0:46] and to begin to actually take conquest over the land that God had promised to give to them. [0:51] God called them in Joshua one to be strong and courageous, [0:55] because that is actually what they needed to do to physically take the land. [1:00] When God promised in Joshua, Chapter one, that no one would be able to stand [1:04] before the Israelites, what he means is, is they were going to try. [1:08] And since they were going to try, it was going to require faith

[1:10] on the part of Israel to continue to move and conquest over all of the land. [1:15] But his promise was sure even if people tried, they wouldn’t be able [1:19] to actually stand in front of the Israelites and they would be able [1:23] to take the land because God was faithful to his promises. [1:27] When Israel trusted God and obeyed his mandate to take the land, [1:30] no one could stand in front of them.

[1:32] And it was only when Israel refused to move in faith. [1:36] It was only when they lived by fear or misplaced trust [1:40] that they actually couldn’t take land, because there’s this amazing reality [1:45] that we see in the book of Joshua. [1:47] There’s this synergy between faith and the promises of God, [1:50] where in order to take hold of his promises, you’ve got to have the faith

[1:53] that it takes to actually move. [1:55] And you’ve got to move forward. [1:56] You’ve got to keep moving forward because you believe that God’s promises [2:00] will become a reality. [2:01] And ultimately, we know that Israel would fail. [2:04] And from the book of Judges onward, they would struggle in disobedience

[2:09] and the nation would struggle in unfaithfulness. [2:12] The vision for Israel was that they would live as the people of God [2:15] and set up a society that reflected the righteousness of God, [2:20] the people of God, the people of the world around them. [2:21] And so this week, we see kind of a transition in the text [2:25] because God did not just give his people the promise land

[2:29] so that they could set up whatever society it was that they saw fit, [2:34] because God has a vision for what a righteous society looks like. [2:39] And the people of God were called by him to set up [2:42] that type of society in the promise land. [2:44] And what we’re going to see over these two chapters is that God actually [2:47] the righteous society that he had in mind.

[2:51] The society that was set up with righteous laws and even [2:54] systems designed by God to enforce and ensure that justice [2:58] was done in a society that did have sinful people and even [3:03] experienced the consequences of the curse of sin all around [3:07] them. The fact is that God’s word tells us how to live as a [3:10] people, both redeemed by the grace of God, but also good for

[3:15] our neighbors and good for the world around us, even in dealing [3:19] with the most heinous of sin and its consequences. As I want to [3:23] begin reading in Joshua 20, I’m only going to read the first three verses to begin. [3:27] It says, then the Lord said to Joshua, if you ever want an easy [3:31] memory verse, verse 1, then the Lord said to [3:35] Joshua, say to the people of Israel, appoint the cities of

[3:39] refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the manslayer who [3:43] strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee [3:47] there. They shall be for you a refuge from [3:51] the avenger of blood. And so what may seem, [3:55] if you’re actually reading through these verses in your quiet time or in your [3:59] devotions, this may seem like a monotone narrative of just

[4:03] kind of meeting out some rules from God’s law, and you may even struggle and [4:07] say, these seem totally unapplicable, these seem like irrelevant [4:11] verses in the life that I am actually living. What you’re actually seeing in this [4:15] narrative is the justice of God and the righteousness of God in [4:19] the society of God. And so you see three things that are [4:24] of vital importance to our purpose this morning. First, you see what

[4:27] is kind of mentioned in aside, and that is the city of refuge. [4:31] And then you’re going to see the manslayer, and then you’re going to see what [4:35] the title that I’ve been trying to get the church to give me for years, because I think it’s so cool, [4:39] the avenger of blood. I just feel like that describes [4:43] my personality so well, but yet it keeps getting voted [4:47] down over and over. I don’t get it. But we see these

[4:51] three distinctions that we struggle to kind of say, and we don’t really know what [4:55] they are, because they’re actually reminders to Joshua of a law [4:59] that God gave Moses. And God, as it says, is reminding [5:03] Joshua of a law that was supposed to take place once they began [5:07] to set up society. Thus we see the transition. And so my hope [5:11] today is to kind of talk to you about what it was that God was seeking to set

[5:16] up in Israel in the promised land and how we are to [5:19] apply that concept, that philosophy, that reasoning to [5:23] our society today. The first thing you need to see is that God is just [5:27] in the way that He judges sin. God is just in the way [5:31] that He judges sin. And we start with a very important attribute [5:36] of God there at the very beginning, and that is just that God is just.

[5:40] And so we’re dealing with, as I said, a different type of narrative [5:44] where Israel is called by God, and here’s where it begins, [5:48] they’re called by Him to bring order into a very disordered [5:52] Canaan. The Canaanites, as we said weeks ago, were a wicked [5:56] people, and all of God’s vision for society and law [5:59] is meant to bring order and repentance of sin within the

[6:04] land. And so we see this from what God reveals to Joshua in [6:07] chapter 20 here, that He’s begun the distribution of what’s called the [6:11] cities of refuge, and then from the end of chapter 20 through chapter 21, [6:16] He begins to then lay out where the Levitical priesthood [6:20] are meant to live and what cities they could have so that they could install [6:24] what is a righteous order in the sacrificial system of Israel.

[6:28] But what we’re focusing on in these first six verses begins with a [6:32] partial application of a total concept of order that [6:36] began in the book of Exodus and then on through the book of Leviticus and [6:40] Numbers and even Deuteronomy that are now coming into play. [6:44] And so God, understand this, did not give [6:48] His law to be disconnected from the society that

[6:52] existed outside of the religious order. [6:55] And that challenge is the way that many of us view how to apply [7:00] the law of God in our lives and even in the society around us. [7:05] And so many of us will live as though there are two compartments. There’s the holiness [7:08] of God, and I live that in my spiritual life. That’s for discipleship. [7:12] That’s for the church. That’s for me in my quiet time

[7:16] and my prayer and devotion to the Lord. And then in another compartment is the way [7:20] that you view society around you. And that compartment can be defined very easily [7:24] by the word secular. And we live as though there are two distinct [7:28] realities. There’s the sacred and then there’s the secular. [7:32] But what we see throughout the Old Testament is that is not the vision that God has for the [7:36] world. God has a vision for the world that it’s all His.

[7:41] Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior is a very [7:44] famous way that Christians describe themselves. And while that is [7:48] true, He’s not only my personal Lord and Savior. [7:52] He’s the Lord of all. On the day that I came to faith in Christ and I said, Lord, [7:56] please come in, be my personal Lord and Savior. That wasn’t me giving [8:00] permission. That was me admitting reality.

[8:04] That was me saying a factual statement. I didn’t say, Lord, you are [8:08] my Lord. And then magically He became Lord. No, He’s [8:12] Lord whether I admit it or not. Everyone in your life can deny [8:16] the Lordship of Christ. That does nothing to disqualify it. That does [8:20] nothing to negate the reality that He is Lord of all whether we want to [8:24] admit it or not. As the fact of the matter is, there are not sacred

[8:28] and secular. There’s just gods. The great theologian once said [8:32] there’s no square inch of the entire universe that God does not look at and proclaim [8:37] mine. He’s the King of everything. He is the [8:40] Lord of all. Absolutely everything belongs to God and through [8:44] His law in the Old Testament, what He’s doing is He’s giving us a [8:48] revelation of what His righteousness looks like

[8:52] both in soul, that’s that personal part. Yes, He [8:56] is personal in the way that He exists but also in [9:00] society at large. God defines, [9:04] demands and promises that everything belongs to Him and [9:08] ultimately what we’re going to see through the gospel of Jesus Christ is that there is coming a day [9:12] where His authority will be felt over all of the world.

[9:16] And so understand that the authority of God in this order that He is setting up [9:20] is not just for the benefit of what He wants to be [9:24] sacred for Himself, no, it’s for the benefit of everything [9:28] to be sacred according to His law. And so the law is [9:32] a picture of His holiness applied to a sinful world [9:36] that was never designed by God to exist with a

[9:40] separation of that which is holy and that which is [9:44] not holy that He doesn’t exert His Lordship over. It is all [9:48] that He is and His people were meant to live seeking to apply His [9:51] righteousness in every sphere. And so if you look backward, if you want to know [9:56] what this means, in Deuteronomy chapter 32, Moses writes a [10:00] song and starting in verse 4, here’s how part of it goes, he says

[10:04] the Rock, God, His work is perfect for all His ways [10:08] are justice. A God of faithfulness [10:11] without iniquity, just and upright is He. And so pause right there [10:16] and he says, it tells us four attributes of God. Moses notes that He is a [10:20] just God, He is a perfect God, He is a faithful God [10:24] and He is an upright God. If you add all those up, you know what they amount to?

[10:29] Righteousness. God is righteousness. But note [10:32] what he says about sinners. In verse 5 he says they have dealt [10:35] corruptly with Him. They are no longer His children because they are blemished. [10:40] They are a crooked and twisted generation. And so what is the [10:44] opposite of righteousness? Man who would destroy everything with [10:48] sinfulness. Moses writes they are corrupt, they are blemished, they are crooked,

[10:53] twisted. Add them all up, what do you get?

[10:57] Unrighteousness. And so what is it that you need to be [11:00] redeemed from? Because I know, nobody wants anybody to look at them and say, hey, [11:04] you’re twisted. I mean some of you do this because you’re a weirdo. [11:08] Nobody wants anybody to look at them and say, hey, you’re corrupt, you’re blemished, [11:12] you’re crooked. Nobody wants to admit their unrighteousness [11:16] but that’s what we are in sin. And we actually need God to

[11:20] redeem us from those things. We need His righteousness. [11:24] And when you gravitate or when you just willfully rebel [11:28] against those things, which all of us have, what do you get? You get depravity [11:33] and you get it in soul. But here’s the thing, [11:36] your depravity has consequences that affects everything [11:40] around you. Therefore, there is no sin

[11:45] that is relegated only to the personal. [11:48] Sin has an effect on society around you. [11:52] Therefore, the righteousness of God also [11:56] has ramifications for society around the redeemed. [12:01] As you live out your redemption, it changes [12:04] the world around you, it influences the world around you, and yes, it

[12:08] also seeks to build something that is righteous [12:12] rather than only being condemned to build that which is [12:16] unrighteous. And that is what God is doing through the nation of Israel. [12:20] It never makes sense to look to sinful [12:24] man for the answers to what will bring order to society. [12:29] Yet every one of us, part of having the image of God in us

[12:32] is that that’s what we want. We want [12:36] a just world. We want a just society. [12:40] We want righteousness to reign over everything [12:44] because that is what God has put in us, and if you are redeemed, even [12:48] more so, that is what you want. The issue comes [12:52] when you begin looking in the wrong areas for those things.

[12:56] There is no righteousness that can be defined apart [13:00] from God. And so followers of Jesus Christ [13:04] will never find a righteous society if you don’t look [13:08] to the just judge of what is righteous, and that [13:12] is God. And so when we begin dealing with [13:16] sin in society at large, it is vital

[13:20] for us to begin with that worldview because that is what God [13:24] has revealed to us about himself. He has revealed that he is [13:28] righteous and everything disconnected from him is [13:32] unrighteous. And so you have to begin with that rubric, especially [13:36] when you begin to define the specifics of how to deal [13:40] with sin, and that is what we are dealing with here between verses

[13:44] 1 and 6, we’re dealing with what we would call the most heinous of sin, and that [13:48] is the murder of another person. And so it’s important for us to [13:52] then have the guideline that God has put in place for how to [13:56] deal with that specific reality, and he’s given Israel three [14:00] things. He’s given them, as I said, he’s given them the city of refuge, he’s given [14:03] them the definition that a manslayer is, and so there’s no hidden meaning there,

[14:07] do you know what a manslayer is? Well, that’s the killer, alright? And then there’s the avenger [14:12] of blood, and that can be described as the one who is responsible [14:16] for enforcing the law through a family member [14:19] of the victim they’re supposed to seek justice, and this is all defined by the [14:24] law of God for us. And it shows us a very important principle.

[14:29] All sin is wrong, [14:32] but not all sin is equal. And so followers of Jesus [14:36] Christ try to kind of reason with the world, and [14:40] many of us try to be marketers for Jesus, because we want to make him look good, and sometimes [14:44] we try to make him look better than he wants to make himself, and that’s when [14:47] you know you’re lying about him, alright? And so we will say, I

[14:52] think, well-intentioned things to the world around us, to try [14:56] to pacify them in their sin, but it teaches them the opposite of what [15:00] God’s word teaches, and I’ve heard many people do this by making a statement that, I understand, [15:04] I’m not saying you’re a bad person, I’m just saying you’re wrong, okay? [15:08] When you make a statement like, well, sin is sin is sin.

[15:12] I think you have a great intention of saying that, [15:15] but that’s not the way God views it, because that’s not the way that God deals with sin. [15:20] And what I mean by that is, is that you have what I believe [15:23] inside of you, the breath of God, the image of God, that gives you [15:28] a bit of natural revelation about these issues. Would you rather me punch you [15:31] in the face or stab you in the heart? If you’re a smart person, you say neither.

[15:36] Alright? But if you gotta choose one, I hope you’re [15:39] choosing the punch, that’s what I would choose. Both of them are gonna hurt, [15:43] but one of them is most likely gonna have a less severe consequence than [15:48] the other, and that’s why you would choose it. And so that’s why I would [15:51] say, well, one’s probably a little worse than the other one. [15:56] When you try to say sin is sin is sin, what you’re actually trying to

[16:00] do is relieve the most heinous of sins [16:04] from the stigma that God himself [16:07] has intended for them to have. And so the God of [16:12] the New Testament is not different in the way that he [16:15] views sin from the God of the Old Testament. Here’s a picture of what I mean by that. [16:20] Look in 1 John chapter 1 and verses 5 and 6. It says,

[16:23] This is a message that we have heard from him and proclaimed to you, that God is light, and in him [16:27] is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we [16:32] walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [16:35] And so you can see between Deuteronomy 32 and 1 John 1, we have a [16:39] different analogy. He proclaims just the [16:43] attributes of God’s justice, his uprightness, his incorruptible

[16:48] nature in Deuteronomy 32. But the outcome of Deuteronomy 32 [16:52] and 1 John 1 are exactly the same. A completely [16:56] holy and righteous God who despises sin. [17:00] And so we then can reason from that that while the metaphors [17:04] between the Old Testament and the New Testament might be different, the conclusion must be the [17:08] same. If you want to know what righteousness is, you have to go to God.

[17:12] And we see this even how God informs [17:16] Joshua on how he’s supposed to deal with sin. He’s [17:20] dealing with the issue of murder here, but he does not treat it the same [17:24] as any other sin, because the consequences [17:28] are graver for the victim, therefore the [17:32] punishment in a just society will match God’s

[17:36] view of sin. And so when we make the statement sin is sin [17:40] is sin, what we’re trying to do, no matter how well-intentioned [17:44] we are, is to flatten sin so that people don’t feel [17:48] judged for heinous evil. And even the way [17:52] that we would deal with it in society, True Crime podcasts are [17:56] very popular right now. You go on Netflix, you got a documentary about

[18:00] every serial killer in the history of mankind, every streaming service, and you [18:04] love it. I don’t think anybody’s saying Ted Bundy is the same [18:08] as a kid that steals a butterfinger at 7-Eleven. [18:11] Nobody would say that. If you do, [18:14] you have an inability to reason. There’s something not working in your [18:19] brain. The consequences on the victim

[18:23] is vastly different, and therefore what God is saying in his [18:27] law is the consequences for the perpetrator [18:31] must be different as well. Murder in the [18:35] Old Testament and in God’s view in general is a [18:39] sin that must be dealt with. Here’s why. Because we mean [18:42] one of two things when we say sin is sin is sin. The first thing some of us mean

[18:47] is actually true. We’re just saying it wrong. We’re saying that all [18:51] sin is wrong and justly earns you condemnation [18:55] from God. This is true, but it does not lead [18:59] to the conclusion that all sin is then [19:02] equal. What we mean when we say number one is that all [19:07] sin is against the righteousness of God, and God is so

[19:11] holy that sin cannot be in his presence. Therefore [19:15] to break one of God’s laws, no matter how insignificant [19:19] you think it is, is to earn an eternal [19:23] separation from God because your sin would [19:27] corrupt his integrity, and no one can do that. That is a true [19:31] statement, but in dealing with sin in the world, that doesn’t

[19:35] equalize all sin, and it certainly doesn’t flatten all sin. [19:39] Because what some people mean by sin is sin is sin is a second thing. [19:43] They mean all sin is equal, therefore, don’t [19:47] judge anyone too harshly. You see, that [19:51] statement is ridiculous, and it is a total [19:55] lie. And I know that because of the way that you’ve responded

[19:59] to me comparing two different sins. I mean, if somebody gossips about [20:03] me, that’s going to hurt my feelings, and that’s not good. That’s a sin against God. [20:07] But if somebody cuts my head off, well, we’re dealing with a different thing [20:11] altogether. If you gossip about me, guess what? I’m going to wake up [20:15] tomorrow morning with one less friend. If you cut my head off, I’m [20:19] not going to wake up tomorrow morning. All right?

[20:23] The consequences for me are worse in one than [20:27] they are in the other one, and that is why God deals with [20:31] them differently when he is setting up his law. [20:35] It’s ridiculous and a total lie to flatten sin, because [20:39] to flatten all sin as though it is equal is a foolish [20:43] concept, but here’s what’s bad about it. It’s absolutely

[20:47] destructive in its application, because then [20:51] that which will have great harm [20:55] on people in society and, yes, to their souls [20:59] is equated to smaller sins that [21:03] while you still need to deal with them, they do not have [21:07] the grave effect on society at large that other things have.

[21:11] And we can’t treat God as though he is unreasonable [21:15] in the way that he gives his law, as though he is unreasonable in the way that he sets up [21:19] society, because the way that he sets up society is to meet out [21:23] the right punishment for the right crime. Therefore, [21:27] yes, all sin deserves the righteous wrath of God because it is [21:31] unrighteous, but not all sin is equal, and a

[21:35] just God does not tell us to deal with lying about your [21:39] weight the same way that he does about the intentional murder [21:43] of a person. And we wouldn’t like the outcome of that either, because imagine [21:47] you’re driving down 64 at some point, you want to go to the Blue Ridge Parkway [21:51] and a state trooper pulls you over, you’re already having a bad day, [21:55] and they just write at that statement, but then they come up to you, they’re looking at your

[21:58] driver’s license, and they’re like, 150 pounds? [22:03] Maybe in your neck.

[22:07] Please step out of the car. Throw the cuffs on you, [22:11] throw you in a cell, you go before the judge, death [22:15] penalty. You’re like, what? For lying about my weight?

[22:20] See, it’s laughable [22:22] in concept, but that’s what we do when we say all sin is equal. [22:27] We play this great game of pretend, as though they all [22:31] have the same consequences, they all deserve the same punishment. [22:34] None of us would look at a report where you’re like, they lied about their weight [22:39] and you’re going to kill them? There should be an

[22:43] uproar from society. This is unjust. [22:47] Yet, deep down inside, even the [22:51] greatest person that’s against the death penalty [22:55] looks at a heinous murder, or two, or three, [22:59] or four, or five. And somewhere deep down inside us all, [23:03] when a death penalty is laid down for a person that’s clearly guilty,

[23:07] we look at that and we say, well, [23:11] it’s not unjust that they have to pay with their very lives. [23:15] You see, friends, left to ourselves, we have [23:19] no righteous measure of how to deal with unrighteousness in society. [23:24] But God gives a just [23:27] weight and measure for how to build a righteous

[23:31] society, therefore that leads us to point number two this morning. [23:34] God’s law is the basis for all morality. [23:39] God’s law is the basis of all morality. [23:44] And here’s the key. You can be [23:47] moral without God. And so I’m not saying that anybody who’s [23:51] an atheist or anybody who’s not a Christian or anybody who doesn’t

[23:55] ascribe to the concept of morality, that they’re just out there, they’re [23:59] as depraved as they could possibly be, they can’t even hope to live a moral lifestyle. [24:03] That’s not what I’m saying. You can live a moral life [24:07] without the law of God, but here’s the problem. You can’t [24:11] ultimately explain why. And that’s the problem [24:15] with society today, is that we have many people

[24:19] seeking to be moral, but at the end of the day, they have [24:23] no objective anchor that they’re attached to [24:27] for why they are moral. Therefore, what’s the outcome of that? [24:31] The outcome of that then, therefore, is a person who would ten years [24:35] ago say that some specific thing is [24:39] completely wicked, it will rot society, we can’t allow it,

[24:43] it’s bad, it’s evil, it’s wicked. And just a decade [24:47] later, that same person [24:51] will say, oh no, it’s good, it’s righteous, it’s holy. The very [24:55] thing that you condemned ten years ago is now all of a sudden righteous, holy, [25:00] good for society, and not just good for society, it’s a right [25:03] that if you deny that right, you are a bigot.

[25:07] How do you get there from here? I’ll tell you how you get there. [25:11] You don’t have an objective anchor for why you believe that in the first place. [25:14] So while the culture around you [25:19] parroted a belief, you held to it. [25:22] But as soon as the sand beneath your feet shifted and the society around you [25:27] decided that certain things that used to be evil and wicked are now

[25:31] culturally acceptable, well you changed your entire [25:35] moral compass to fit what was popular in society. [25:39] And that is why it’s so important to understand that [25:43] that which is good for the soul from the law of God [25:47] is also good for society from the law of God as well, because it gives [25:51] us an objective anchor to where we are not measuring what is

[25:55] right and wrong by that which is popular around us, we are measuring what is [25:59] right and wrong by the society that God has defined. Look in verse [26:03] four, and verse four, God through Joshua says,

[26:08] And if the avenger of blood [26:23] pursues him, they shall not give up [26:27] the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor [26:31] unknowingly and did not hate him in [26:35] the past. As soon as the [26:37]

[26:37] [26:37] And so we have two things at work here. The first thing, we actually [26:41] through this get a response to the critics [26:45] of faith in Jesus Christ who would look at the Old Testament and say, [26:49] Were the Israelites bloodthirsty genocidal maniacs [26:54] for killing the Canaanites? And the answer to that

[26:57] is obviously no, because bloodthirsty maniacs [27:01] do not set up a society in which they actually [27:05] have judgment and weights and measures for how to determine [27:09] whether or not something is killing or whether or not something is murder. [27:13] And Israel actually brought that order into [27:17] Canaan with them, because that type of order did not exist

[27:21] within Canaan before they were there. [27:24] Because before they were there, Canaan was such a wicked nation, history of antiquity [27:29] actually tells us that these were a people that would kill for all [27:33] sorts of reasons that would nauseate us today, even to the point where they [27:37] would kill people and sacrifice them for their pagan worship [27:41] and their cultic worship services.

[27:45] And so this monotone narrative actually has great implications [27:49] for the way you even view the calling of God on their lives. [27:54] What God is actually instructing Joshua to do here is [27:57] to enforce laws that were actually given to Moses. [28:00] And this is actually a defense of the eternality of God’s word. [28:05] And so the law that God gave Moses in Deuteronomy

[28:08] and Numbers is the same law that he’s giving here. He doesn’t go against [28:13] his revelation, rather the scripture is very good about this. [28:16] God only ever reiterates and reminds us of his revelation. [28:20] And so in Deuteronomy chapter 19, starting in verse 4, [28:24] God had told Moses to make these districts called the cities of [28:28] refuge when they came into the land. He says in verse 4,

[28:33] this is the provision for the manslayer who by fleeing there may save his [28:37] life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having [28:41] hatred, excuse me, hated him in the past, as when someone goes into the [28:45] forest with his neighbor to cut wood and his hand swings the axe [28:49] to cut down a tree and the head slips from the handle and strikes [28:52] his neighbor so that he dies, he may flee to one of these cities and live.

[28:57] And I love that text because he actually gives an example. [29:00] There’s a big difference between chasing someone full of rage with an axe and killing [29:05] them and trying to chop down a tree and your palms get too sweaty and it slips [29:09] out of your hand and you’re like, oh, no, cousin Ralph.

[29:15] Is there a big difference between [29:17] the two of those scenarios? All right. And he says, [29:21] one is intentional murder and the other is an accidental death. [29:25] And the motivations matter, therefore, [29:29] not everything is equal. And what we actually see here and here’s a [29:33] beautiful thing about even the society that we live in. This is a shadow

[29:37] of what we in the modern era called due process. [29:41] Details matter. The facts of the situation [29:45] matter. And we deal with this in our era where people want us to stop [29:49] worrying about facts and only care about feelings. [29:53] With all of the things that have happened in the media over the last five, six, [29:57] seven years, I’m losing count how many years into this game we are.

[30:00] Or people say, oh, no, you can’t ask about the details of the situation. You can’t [30:04] ask about the facts that led to the situation. All that matters is what [30:08] actually ended from that situation. And they will tell us even to think [30:12] facts don’t matter. And what God is saying in Joshua 20 [30:16] that’s reiterated from Deuteronomy 19 is a very simple [30:20] concept in the Steve International version. I would say don’t jump too quickly to

[30:24] conclusions. [30:26] So you need to study the situation. The facts [30:30] do matter. Some would even say facts matter more than your feelings.

[30:36] And God says you need to actually use proper sober [30:40] judgment so that you can figure out what happened before [30:44] you too quickly start playing the blame game. [30:48] And so he looks to Israel and there was that first thing where he says [30:52] he’s bringing order into a disordered society. [30:56] And then there’s a second thing where he’s actually looking

[31:00] to his people and he’s enforcing a morality with [31:04] a reason. And that reason is that it comes [31:07] from God himself. And so in a situation [31:12] like this, you shouldn’t rush to judgment. And the reason that you shouldn’t [31:16] rush to judgment is because God wants to stop [31:20] a miscarriage of justice from happening before it happens.

[31:25] And so God is revealing ultimately the [31:28] dignity of human life by showing the consequences [31:32] of taking a human life. This is [31:36] again a picture of the image of God in man from Genesis [31:40] chapter 1. But jump down to Deuteronomy 19 starting in [31:44] verse 11 and it reveals that if you intentionally unlawfully

[31:47] take a human life, it’s murder. He says, but if anyone hates his neighbor, [31:52] lies and wait for him, attacks him, strikes him fatally [31:55] so that he dies and flees into one of these cities, then the elders of [31:59] his city shall send and take him from there and hand him [32:03] over to the avenger of blood so that he may die. [32:08] Your eyes shall not pity him, but you shall purge

[32:12] the guilt of innocent blood from Israel [32:15] so that it may be well with you. [32:21] And here’s a very important thing for you to realize [32:25] is that God judges by a standard that [32:28] is higher than what your feelings may lead you to stand by. [32:32] And an important aspect of this text in verse 13 is he says, your eyes shall

[32:36] not pity him. We have a thread [32:39] through the evangelical church now that would say, well, if you’re going to be [32:43] pro-life in the womb, well, it’s [32:48] only reasonable that you have to be pro-life to the tomb. And what they mean [32:52] by that is you have to be against the death penalty, to which I say [32:56] I’m as against the death penalty as God is, which means I’m not against it

[33:00] at all. I’m pro-life from womb to tomb, I just [33:04] think some of them need to get there quicker. And according to [33:07] God’s righteous law, that’s what he’s setting up for society. [33:12] He’s saying that if you thank God’s [33:16] righteous thoughts, because the dignity [33:19] of human life is so important to God,

[33:23] because the image that he put inside of us to have an eternal [33:27] soul that reflects him is so important in this [33:32] world, the only just consequence for the [33:36] taking of a human life, if it is murder, [33:40] is that you forfeit the rest of your life. [33:44] If it’s proven. God sets up just weights

[33:48] and measures that sometimes we’re a little too uncomfortable with. [33:52] And he says your eyes shall not pity him because he’s [33:56] teaching you a very important discipleship principle. And that [34:00] discipleship principle is the dignity of human life. And who do you think you are [34:04] to take someone else’s? You think just because somebody [34:08] makes you mad in a moment, if you just explode in a fit of rage and you kill

[34:12] someone, you’re trying to be God. [34:16] And that is blasphemous. No one has given you the authority to [34:20] judge such an issue. And then in the next book [34:24] forward in Numbers chapter 35, starting in verse 24, it reveals that if it is [34:28] proven to the elders of the city and the congregation that there is innocence, [34:31] or that it was some sort of accident, then the person will

[34:35] stay within the city of refuge so as to remove the temptation [34:40] of revenge in the life of the avenger of blood. Here’s what he says. [34:43] He says, then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood in accordance [34:48] with the rules. And the congregation shall rescue the [34:52] manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood and the congregation shall [34:55] restore him to his city of refuge to which he had

[34:59] been led. And he shall live in it until the death of the high priest [35:03] who was anointed with the holy oil. We will deal with that last point in the [35:07] or that last phrase in the final point, but note what he’s setting up. [35:12] He’s setting up a process by which you weigh [35:15] the evidence. A process by which the elders of the [35:20] city with the congregation gathered make a decision

[35:23] as to a person’s guilt or innocence. And so my question [35:27] then out of that is by what standard do you judge [35:32] what is right by? By what standard [35:35] do you understand right and wrong by? By the [35:39] revelation of the God who created all that is, is the only [35:44] righteous answer to that. Because you have to admit

[35:47] that inside of yourself, you do not just naturally [35:52] always know what is righteous, what is just, how [35:56] to deal with crime, how to deal with sin, what needs to happen [36:00] because your mind is at minimum corrupted [36:04] by the sin that you were born into and by the grace [36:08] of God, he has not left us to just be principle

[36:12] pluralists. Rather, God has left us with his [36:16] law so that we can look at it and engage his righteous standard [36:20] by which these things must be applied in society. [36:23] Friend, I know there are many non-Christians in this [36:28] world that act and even hold to these very moral [36:31] realities. But the issue that as a follower of Jesus, we must tell the

[36:35] world they are robbing from our playbook. [36:40] Even if they deny it, this is the [36:43] objective anchor that society must be tied to. [36:47] Yes, you can act and hold to morals without God, but [36:52] epistemologically speaking, you can never truly [36:55] explain why. The only just reason

[36:59] why we must be moral is [37:03] if there is a God who is there and as Francis Schaefer said, he is [37:07] not silent. He is a God that we are all accountable to. [37:11] He is a God that we must look to and be responsible to. [37:15] Otherwise, our morals will shift with whatever [37:19] cultural decay tends to be happening in society right now.

[37:23] And this is the rot in our current society. It is the opposite of God’s [37:27] vision. It’s the only explanation that we can have [37:31] as to why all of a sudden it is acceptable that a 43-year-old [37:35] man named Adam can show up to an elementary school [37:39] next week and say, no, I’m not actually Adam. My name is [37:43] Eve and I’m an eight-year-old girl.

[37:47] There’s no objective reason [37:50] behind that. It is the rot of society that is based on [37:53] autonomous reasoning to where there is no God that you are [37:57] responsible to. There is only an identity within myself to [38:01] proclaim. That’s what people mean when they say that’s my [38:06] truth. What they’ve actually done is disconnected every

[38:10] one of us from a reality outside of us and they have said the greatest [38:14] authority in my life is the authority that is inside of me. Therefore, [38:18] whatever I decide inside, you are responsible for [38:21] holding up for me. And so in society we struggle with this [38:26] because again, sin is sin is sin and if it is all equal, I’ve got to deal [38:30] with it all the same. And Christians, even well-intentioned

[38:33] Christians will blasphemously redefine love [38:38] so that other people will feel accepted. [38:43] Friends, the problem with that is cultural rot [38:46] does not only affect the individuals causing it. [38:51] As we’ve seen, it has grave consequences [38:54] for everyone around you. And so what God is doing in this

[38:58] text is He is actually setting up a system by which [39:01] we can know right and wrong. A system by which we don’t [39:06] appeal to the authority inside of us, we appeal to the God who is there. [39:10] We appeal to His righteousness that He has given us [39:14] through His word. And this of course is the foolishness [39:18] of those that want Christians to be non-political, those that want pastors

[39:22] to be neutral. Friends, there is no neutrality with knowledge [39:26] especially with the knowledge of God. You are either striving [39:30] for a just society according to the law of God or you are even if you don’t [39:34] intend to, advocating for wickedness to win out at the end [39:38] of the day. And I’ll tell you, I don’t think that’s God’s vision [39:42] for the future. My mommy told me when I was young that I’m a winner.

[39:47] And so I don’t want to lose anything. But here’s the [39:50] beauty of God’s righteousness. He sets up a system by which He is [39:54] in control. He is the authority. Therefore we do not [39:58] lose. We must be vocal in society, not [40:02] just in our own souls about passages like this that attest to His righteousness. [40:06] God has a law and it is supreme over

[40:11] all other options. There is no [40:15] secular option for society with God. [40:20] Because number three, quickly, sin must [40:23] be dealt with in soul and society. So many [40:27] of you are comfortable with that first term because of your personal [40:30] Lord and Savior. You want to deal with it in soul, but here’s the key.

[40:34] You cannot heal souls until you begin to have a vision [40:38] for the society that will be set up once you do that. Discipleship [40:42] has ramifications for culture. If we [40:46] truly believe that we can reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, [40:50] then I’ll tell you what else we believe. We believe that as more people get [40:54] saved in society, we’ll get more righteous. And God has given

[40:58] us a system by which that can happen. Verse six is a reiteration [41:02] of Numbers 35. It talks about how do you deal with the [41:06] manslayer? Once he’s been freed from the avenger of blood, it reinforces [41:10] the principle of justice. The intention of your heart matters. You [41:14] reach this conclusion because God has written it on the heart of man to [41:18] realize that motivation matters in all things, and He’s given

[41:22] it in His word in special ways, as does [41:26] proportionate punishment for crimes. The reality that we deal [41:30] with in these issues is that we can only trust God with justice. [41:35] Everything else is subjective in the hands of human beings. [41:38] The laws of society cannot be based on autonomous wills [41:43] from individuals or even populations because that is the source

[41:46] of so much injustice in our society. [41:50] That is why the concepts of God’s law are used to describe how the [41:54] church should seek governmental authority in Romans chapter 13. [41:58] Quickly, verse four of Romans 13, speaking of those that seek [42:01] to bring crime to justice, says that the magistrate is God’s [42:06] servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid.

[42:10] For he does not bear the sword in vain. He’s the servant of God. But here’s [42:14] a term again from Deuteronomy and Joshua, an avenger. [42:19] It’s the same word. He’s not talking about Iron Man. He’s talking about the avenger [42:22] of blood who carries out God’s wrath on the wrong [42:26] God. He’s talking about the avenger of the good. [42:27]

[42:27] [42:27] This is a term that can be applied to the enforcement and judgment [42:30] based on law. But here’s the question. How do you then define [42:34] the good? What standard do you use? [42:38] The popular societal standard? We’re seeing how that’s going all wrong. [42:42] The personal standard? We see the chaos that could

[42:46] ensue from that. Do we vote on that? How’s that [42:50] working out? Good must be [42:54] objectively rooted in God. Because [42:58] as we saw at the beginning in Deuteronomy 13, only God is truly good. [43:03] The good magistrate then, yes, he bears the [43:06] sword. And the sword is to serve God’s good.

[43:10] Therefore the Church of Jesus Christ must always advocate for the goodness of God’s [43:14] moral law in soul and society. Here’s how great [43:18] apologist and theologian Greg Bonson once put it.

[43:43] We see that in the Bible, it says that God [43:48] is the rightful God of all men.

[44:00] He’s the rightful God of all men. He’s the rightful God of all [44:01] men. He’s the rightful God of all men. [44:02] He’s the rightful God of all men. [44:03] He’s the rightful God of all men.

[44:06] He’s the rightful God of all men. [44:10] How do we know that societal good [44:13] is done when it is anchored to love [44:17] that fulfills the law of God? But that, again, [44:22] it demands that you define love. You see, where do you find that kind of love? [44:27] Of course you find it in Scripture. And you see

[44:29] its ultimate conclusion in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. [44:33] That is the God you can trust with justice. [44:36] That is the righteous God. We fail and we [44:40] sin against our neighbor, yet God found a way [44:44] to be both just and the justifier according [44:48] to Romans chapter 3. You see, friends, Jesus sacrificed his life on the

[44:52] cross to bring full atonement for sin.

[44:57] Going back to numbers 35, 25, and Joshua 26,

[45:02] you see, some point to this, and they see a foreshadowing [45:05] of the death of the high priest, the death of the high priest, [45:06] of Jesus’ atoning for sin on the cross. [45:09] It says that the manslayer waited for the death of the current high priest [45:13] before he could leave the city of refuge, and there was no [45:17] revenge that could lawfully be taken by the avenger of blood.

[45:21] To kill the manslayer at that point would make him a murderer.

[45:26] You see, the death of the high priest, many say, foreshadows [45:28] the death of the greater high priest, and his sacrificial [45:33] special death pays the price for eternal [45:37] redemption, thus atoning for the manslayer. [45:41] But see, when you apply that, you have to understand that grace is never elevated [45:45] by ignoring or accepting sin and its consequence.

[45:49] Do not miss the societal implications of God’s law. [45:53] The grace of God in Jesus is no excuse for sin because it brings [45:56] redemption from sin, so those who are redeemed [46:00] look at the law that could easily condemn us, but finds [46:05] fulfillment in Jesus, and then you seek to apply [46:08] that righteousness with equity to contemporary

[46:12] society and say, how can we as Christians [46:16] influence and build society with God’s [46:21] righteousness? You see, friends, you cannot answer that apart from [46:25] God’s law, and you cannot understand God’s law [46:29] without the love of Jesus Christ. See, you need to trust Jesus [46:33] and live for righteousness.

[46:37] A few application points this morning. First, define justice according to God’s word. [46:42] It’s the only place you can truly define what is just. [46:45] Secondly, measure sin according to God’s standards. [46:48] There is no other just measure other than God’s standards. [46:52] Thirdly, define morality by God’s law and don’t negotiate. [46:57] The problem with many is that you seek to negotiate

[47:00] just how sinful something is, and can we just equate [47:04] it all and we don’t want to be too judgmental? Friends, [47:08] just apply God’s law, proclaim God’s law, live for the righteousness [47:12] of God. Thirdly, influence society with God’s righteous [47:16] standards, and it has to be God’s righteous standard. You want to know why? [47:19] Because you don’t have one.

[47:23] And if you want righteousness, you can only find it in one source, and that is God, [47:28] and by His grace He’s revealed Himself to us through Jesus Christ.