You Deal With God
God's mercy and patience allow for forgiveness and salvation, even for those who are deeply sinful.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes God's mercy and longsuffering nature in his sermon 'You Deal With God,' reminding listeners that despite their sins and the weight of their guilt, God is not like man who would quickly condemn. He encourages those feeling despair to recognize that God's ways are far above human ways, and His anger is not everlasting. Spurgeon assures that if one turns from sin to Jesus, there is forgiveness available, as God is patient and willing to save. The sermon calls for confession and belief, urging individuals to approach God with their burdens and receive His grace.
Text
I will not execute the fierceness of mind anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man. (Hosea 11:9)
The Lord thus makes known His sparing mercies. It may be that the reader is now under heavy displeasure, and everything threatens his speedy doom. Let the text hold him up from despair. The Lord now invites you to consider your ways and confess your sins. ff He had been man, He would long ago have cut you off. If He were now to act after the manner of men, it would be a word and a blow and then there would be an end of you: but it is not so, for "as high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are his ways above your ways."
You rightly judge that He is angry, but He keepeth not His anger forever: if you turn from sin to Jesus, God will turn from wrath.
Because God is God, and not man, there is still forgiveness for you, even though you may be steeped up to your throat in iniquity. You have a God to deal with and not a hard man, or even a merely just man. No human being could have patience with you. You would have wearied out an angel, as you have wearied your sorrowing Father; but God is longsuffering. Come and try Him at once. Confess, believe, and turn from your evil way, and you shall be saved.
Sermon Outline
- God's Sparing Mercies
- The Lord invites us to consider our ways and confess our sins
- God's ways are higher than ours
Key Quotes
“You rightly judge that He is angry, but He keepeth not His anger forever: if you turn from sin to Jesus, God will turn from wrath.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Because God is God, and not man, there is still forgiveness for you, even though you may be steeped up to your throat in iniquity.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“You have a God to deal with and not a hard man, or even a merely just man.” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- Recognize your sin and confess it to God.
- Turn from your evil way and seek salvation through Jesus.
- Take advantage of God's longsuffering and mercy to be saved.