God knows how to deal with sin

Turn with me please to the book of 2nd Peter. 2nd Peter in chapter 2, and we'll read together starting at verse number 4. 2nd Peter 2 verse 4, For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in a flood upon the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overflow, making them an example unto those that should live ungodly, and delivered just Lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. Drop down to verse 9. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

Back to the book of Romans please. Romans chapter 8 verse number 31. Romans 8 verse 31.

What shall we then say to these things if God before us? Who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? And the Lord will bless to us the reading of his word. What I've got on my mind this afternoon is the principle of God that God knows how. And in our context here in 2 Peter chapter 2, the context these people were dealing with was false teachers and false prophets.

And what he is addressing is that God knows how to deal with these people. But I want to take up in the gospel just for a few minutes this afternoon that God knows how to deal with sin. God knows how.

We read it together in verse number 9. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and the unjust to reserve them unto the day to be punished. God knows how. God knows how to deal with sin.

Think of it. When we come here to the angels that sinned, God that spared not the angels that sinned. I like to think of the angels there and you've got a group of created beings and they're of absolute privilege.

There they are in the presence of God. Can you imagine being created in the presence of God to serve God continually and to know what his glory is like and to know what his perfection is like and to know what his holiness is like. But the angels some sinned.

Some sinned. I'd like to look at this group as a very privileged group. Very privileged.

Can you imagine there can be no greater privilege to be in the physical, if you could put it that way, in the presence of God. There they are. Absolutely privileged.

Knowing what God is like and what God is about and what God stands for. And there they are in his holy presence. And they know his might and they know his majesty.

And they're privileged. They're privileged above all. And they sin.

I'm speaking to some in the audience tonight and you've heard the gospel since you're old enough to listen. Can I tell you tonight you're privileged above all. You're privileged.

The word of life has been presented into your ears. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ has been proclaimed into your hearing. And you're privileged above many.

In fact, you're privileged above all if you've had that opportunity to hear the gospel your whole entire life. And there you stand. You've been privileged to be raised in a Christian home.

You've been privileged to be brought into the presence of God when your parents are praying for you. Think of it. Mom and dad as they pray for you, whether it's at mealtime or whether it's beside the bed in the evening or whenever it is, there they are.

And you hear them praying your name into the very ear of God and the privilege. God knows how to deal with privileged sinners. He knows how.

He spared not the angels that sin. That word spare means to to not treat leniently. There's no leniency shown.

None. They got their just reward, didn't they? They do a reward of their deeds. Privilege brings responsibility.

Privilege. We come to the second group of here that are spoken of and it says he spared not the old world but save Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. And if the angels were privileged in the perfection, being in the presence of the perfection of God, what about the old world? What was special about Noah's day? Those people there alive on earth when Noah was building the ark, they were preached at.

They were preached to. What a privilege. What a privilege.

The heart of their imagination of their heart was only evil continually. Day in and day out, only evil, only sin, only wickedness, only unrighteousness. In God and his mercy, he sends a man to preach for one hundred and twenty years.

There's Noah. There's Noah. And he's building away and he's preaching away.

And what a group of people they are, huh? Preached to. Preached to. Do you think it's anything special to be preached to? You think it's anything special to be able to sit under the sound of the gospel? To hear words by where you could be saved? To hear and to be confronted with the reality of a God that hates sin but loves the sinner? To be confronted with the reality that God in love has sent his son to the cross of Calvary so that you could be forgiven? To have a way of escape? To have forgiveness and peace with God? And this people in Noah's day, they were preached to.

They were preached to. And some here have been preached to time and time and time again. And the Lord knows how to deal with sin.

The Lord knows how. You see, these people in the context, they were wondering what was going to happen with these false prophets and these false teachers. And what Peter's doing is he's taking them back and he's starting in heaven when those that sinned in heaven were reserved.

And he takes them to the old world where the whole entire world was engulfed in the judgment and the wrath of God. Except for those in the ark, those eight souls. God knows how.

I'm thankful God knows how. Because what God does, he does righteously. And he does perfectly.

And he does it absolutely correctly. And there can be no fault found with God. But here these people are and they're preached to.

We come to the next group. What are they? Oh, Sodom and Gomorrah. What was special about those cities? I think of Abraham.

And there he is in the presence of God. And he's praying for these cities. He's praying for them.

Why is he praying for these cities? There are loved ones in those in those cities. God said he's going to destroy those cities. And Abraham takes up dealings with God.

And he comes into the presence of God. And he's supplicating for those cities. And he's praying for the preservation of those cities.

What happened to those cities? The fire and the brimstone fell. And Lot and his two daughters were brought out. I was thinking about this today.

And it was mentioned this morning, monuments of grace, as we sang. Monuments of grace, sinners saved by blood. And I thought about Lot's wife.

She was a pillar of salt, not a monument to grace. A token, a monument to the judgment, to the righteous judgment of God. And there's Lot's wife.

And we remember Lot's wife tonight. God knows how to deal with sin. And these group of people were prayed for.

Would it touch your heart to know that maybe there are people in this world tonight that not one prayer has ever entered the throne of God on their behalf? Maybe there's some young souls in faraway places that have never heard the gospel, who've been raised in idolatry. And they know nothing of the goodness of God. And they know nothing of the grace of God.

And they really know nothing of the judgment of God. And there's never been one prayer made when someone lifted up their name to the very ear of God. And I'm speaking to some tonight.

And your name is lifted to the throne of grace every day. Every day. The Lord knows how to deal with sin.

So we've considered privileged, the angels that were privileged. We've considered just briefly those that were preached to in Noah's day. And you know those men in those days, they had problems that are the same as ours.

God's Spirit shall not always strive with man. Their days were numbered. Their days were numbered.

God knew the thought of their heart. It was only evil continually. But you know, the greatest problem that those people faced was this.

They rejected grace. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And those people that perished, they rejected the grace of God.

Rejected God's provision for them in the ark. And God knew how to deal with them. But I don't want to leave this in the past.

I want to bring this right into this meeting tonight. Dear unsaved one in this audience tonight, how will God deal with you? Yes, you. Young women and young men.

Older ones in the meeting tonight still in your sin. How will God deal with you? Privileged. Yes.

Heard the preaching of the gospel. Yes. Prayed for.

Yes. But still in your sin, God knows how to deal with sin. Let it sink down into our hearts just now.

Understand afresh if you've never understood it before, dear friend. God will deal with you and your sin if you die without his son. You think of those that were privileged in the angels day.

What was what was their outcome? Banished from the presence of God. Do you think it'll be any different for you? No. Banished for eternity from the presence of a living, loving, holy God because of your sin.

What about those that were preached to? They perished in unbelief and they faced the wrath and the billows of the judgment of God upon this world for their sin. And oh friend, think of it. To find yourself submerged under the wrath of God for your sin.

Wave upon wave. Billow upon billow. And those in Sodom and Gomorrah and all of their abomination to God.

The fire and the brimstone fell from heaven. Can I warn you tonight lovingly that there is a lake that burns with fire and brimstone. A lake which is called the second death.

A place that sinners go that are not found written in the book of life. They're cast into that place. Why? Because of their sin.

Do we understand tonight that God knows how to deal with sin? God spared not the angels. God spared not the old world. God spared not the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And my dear friend, why is it that you think that God will spare you? God knows how. We read together in Romans chapter 8. And there you've got the connection that God spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. God spared not his own son.

But yet we've been reminded in this conference yesterday and today, probably in every message if we would scrutinize it and take a closer look at every message, you'll find this the sinless perfection of Christ. His holiness and his beauty. And yet we find here in Romans chapter 8, he spared not his own son.

His own son. He spared him not. He didn't treat him leniently.

What is he speaking of? What is Paul writing about to the Romans? That God spared not his own son. Is he not speaking of Calvary? Is he not speaking of the judgment of God that was laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ there at Calvary for sin? But sin not his own. You know, I'm thankful tonight.

And I revel in the fact that God knows how to deal with sin. And if you're saved tonight, if you're born again, you'll understand what I'm talking about. You'll focus now for a moment at Calvary and you'll look at a son that was loved.

The son that was absolutely perfect. The son that brought great delight to the heart of God. And there he is upon the cross of Calvary.

Suffering for sin. The suffering, as I thought of the angels, banished from the presence of God as God dealt with them. You know what I thought? I thought of Calvary.

And I thought of the Lord Jesus Christ coming willingly from the heights of glory. Still in communing with God. Still enjoying the presence of God and going to the cross of Calvary.

And there is God is laying upon the sin bearer the wrath that sin deserved. What is the cry you hear? You hear, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Separated from his God. You come to the Psalms and you'll consider those that were preached to.

And you read that the waves and the bellows are gone over his soul. And he sunk in the deep mire where there is no standing. Tell me, friend, does God know how to deal with sin? Look to Calvary.

Oh, and then you've got the fire and the brimstone in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it reminds me of the verse, the fire went into my bones. And there we see the lovely man of Calvary, the man of sorrows.

The man who was acquainted with grief. And he's bearing sin's awful load and the wrath of God for sin. And he's satisfying God's throne.

And the blood is shed. I was thinking a little this morning, I never thought of it before, in this way. I was thinking of the Lord Jesus and the remembrance meeting and about the different places that he would have frequented or the things that he might have done frequently.

And I thought about, it says in the garden there, he frequented the garden. And it says he draws his disciples to the garden. And they had a time of communion and they had a time of teaching.

And he brought them there. It was a getaway. But there in John 18, it's different.

It's altogether different. There he is, a stone cast away. And he's sweating, as it were, great drops of blood.

And I thought of the Lord Jesus as he would be growing up and that his parents and the teachers would be teaching him of the sacrifices. Can you imagine? They're teaching the Lamb of God about sacrifice. And there they are explaining the offerings to him.

And in going through his mind, maybe that thought, I am the Lamb of God. And the Passover, they're explaining the Passover and the blood that must be shed. And that God said when he saw the blood, and the Lord Jesus could be thinking in his mind, I saw the blood on the door.

I know what it speaks of. I know what it means. Then he comes into the city of Jerusalem.

And I can just see him there as he's walking down the way. And he would look maybe over to where the crosses were. And he would understand this.

I've come for this purpose. To give my life in that spot over there. And I've come for the purpose to suffer the wrath of God.

To save the ones that I love. Friend, God dealt with sin at Calvary. And he dealt with it upon the sinless one.

He dealt with it upon the one that was his express image. The one who thought it not robbery to be equal with God. God manifests in the flesh.

Look to Calvary tonight, friend. And understand this. Without Christ, and without the work of the cross, if you never come to know the Savior, God will deal with you.

And God knows how to deal with sin. I want you to understand that he spared him not, but he delivered him up for us all. The Lord Jesus Christ delivered up for the sinner.

I love that tonight. I'm glad my sin was dealt with at Calvary. I'm elated that my sin is gone.

And I never have to fear the judgment of God for my sin. Oh, I deserve to be separated from God. If God would have put me in the farthest little depth of the lake of fire, farthest from him, that's exactly what I deserved.

But my sin was laid upon him at Calvary. Christ also hath once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh and quickened by the Spirit. The great work and the great plan of God's salvation seen at Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ suffering for sin, shedding his blood for sin.

He knew what it was to see the blood flow. He knew what it was to sweat great drops of blood. He knew what it was to shed his blood.

And the blood has made atonement for the soul. And the death has been full payment for sin. For the wages of sin is death.

The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You'll have one of two reactions when you ponder tonight as we go home. That God knows how to deal with sin.

If you're not saved, your reaction will be this. I wonder what it's going to be like for God to deal with me, myself under the judgment of Almighty God because of my sin. And those that are saved in this auditorium, they'll go away from this little gospel meeting and they'll marvel at this, that God knew how to deal with my sin.

God knew how to deal with all of my debts. God knew how to deal with all of my sin and iniquity and offenses against him. And he laid every single one of them upon his lovely son, the sin bearer there.

The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.

The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. What about your sin? Dealt with at Calvary? Or no? I'm thankful God knows. God knows how to deal with sin.

Trust him tonight. Be saved for time and for eternity, shall we pray.