Sermon #15581 Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: INIQUITY
REMOVED
Text: Zechariah 3:9
Subject: The
Forgiveness Of Sin
Introduction:
Zechariah 3
1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before
the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O
Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood
before the angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before
him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said,
Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee
with change of raiment.
5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So
they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the
angel of the LORD stood by.
6 And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua,
saying,
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt
walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my
house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among
these that stand by.
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy
fellows that sit before thee: for they are
men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua;
upon one stone shall be seven eyes:
behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will
remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
10 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call
every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.
This third chapter of Zechariah
is a field of diamonds. These ten verses are full of sparkling gems of grace.
Joshua, the high priest, stood before the Lord, with Satan standing at his
right hand to accuse and resist him. His garments were filthy. But he was
chosen of God. The Lord plucked him as a brand from the burning. And the Lord
God himself took up his cause. Blessed
is that man whose cause God undertakes!
Joshua stands before us in
this chapter as a representative of God’s elect. His experience here is a
picture of the conversion of chosen sinners, the restoration of fallen
believers, and the revival of God’s church.
The entire work of God’s
grace is based upon and arises from the redemptive work of Christ spoken of in
verses eight and nine.
Zechariah 3:8-9 "Hear now, O Joshua the high
priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will
bring forth my servant the BRANCH. (9) For
behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will
engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the
iniquity of that land in one day."
God’s church is a great host
of men and women who shall be “wondered at” forever,
because of what the Lord’s grace has done and shall yet do for us through
Christ, “the Branch.” Our God shall, in the last day, display to
wondering worlds the riches of his grace to us through Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:7).
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he
might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
The Lord Jesus Christ is “the
Stone” of
1 Peter 2:1-10
"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies,
and envies, and all evil speakings, (2) As
newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (3) If so be ye have tasted that the
Lord is gracious. (4) To whom coming, as unto a
living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, (5) Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house,
an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ. (6) Wherefore also it
is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone,
elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall
not be confounded. (7) Unto you
therefore which believe he is precious:
but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed,
the same is made the head of the corner,
(8) And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient:
whereunto also they were appointed. (9) But
ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (10) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not
obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."
“Upon (that) one Stone shall be seven eyes.” — Perhaps these seven eyes
upon the Foundation Stone speak of our Savior’s omniscience. He who is our
Savior is himself the all-seeing, all-knowing God. But these seven eyes may
represent something else. They
may speak of the faith of God’s elect. Perhaps they speak of the eyes of all God’s elect. (Seven is the number of
grace, the number of perfection, the number of completion, the number of
fulness.) All who were chosen by the Father in eternity and redeemed by the Son
at
Isaiah 45:22 "Look unto me, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth: for I am God,
and there is none else."
“Behold, I will engrave
the graving thereof, saith the Lord
of hosts.” The Lord God himself has engraved the names of his elect upon Christ,
the Stone, the Rock o
·
Upon His Hands As Our Surety.
·
Upon His Breastplate As Our High Priest.
·
Upon His Heart As Our Representative.
Now, look at the last
sentence of verse nine. “I will remove the iniquity of that land
in one day.” That is what I want to talk about today ― INIQUITY REMOVED. What a
subject!
Proposition: Our text speaks of the blessed removal of sin by the Lord our God.
Keep your Bibles open on
your laps. I want us to look at this sentence word by word. May God the Holy
Spirit graciously grant that some here today may experience INIQUITY REMOVED for Christ’s
sake!
“I Will”
I.
The Lord God says, “I will remove
the iniquity of that land.” Let’s meditate for a minute or two on those first two words — “I will.”
How I love to hear God
almighty say, “I will.” Whenever God
says, “I will,” the work is as good
as done. What can God not do? He can make the sun stand still, or snuff it out
altogether. He can cover the stars and the moon, or remove them as he sees fit.
He can shake the heavens and the earth. He can dry up the sea. And he can flood
the desert. Nothing is too hard for God. — “With
God, all things are possible!.”
When almighty God puts his
hand to something, the work is done. God says, “I will remove the iniquity of that land.” When we speak of the
removal of sin, the work is God’s work alone. None but God can remove, forgive
and pardon iniquity. He says, “I will
remove the iniquity!”
The pardon of sin is God’s work, only God’s work,
and all God’s work (Psa. 103:1-3; Isa. 43:25; 44:21-22; 55:6-7). Absolution must come
from God alone. He alone has the right to forgive. He alone has the ability to
forgive. And he here declares that he will forgive!
Psalms 103:1-3 " Bless the LORD, O my soul: and
all that is within me, bless his holy name. (2) Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: (3) Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
who healeth all thy diseases."
Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am he that
blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy
sins."
Isaiah 44:21-22 "Remember these, O Jacob and
Isaiah 55:6-7 "Seek ye the LORD while he may be
found, call ye upon him while he is near:
(7) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts:
and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our
God, for he will abundantly pardon."
Now, pause for a
moment to consider this word “I”.
Let me translate it for you. The “I”
here is one God, but three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (2
Cor.
(2 Cor
(1 John 5:7) "For there are
three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and
these three are one."
A. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has removed
the sins of his people by the sacrifice of himself (Heb. 1:1-3;
Hebrews 1:1-3
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past
unto the fathers by the prophets, (2) Hath
in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high."
Hebrews
B. God the Father, having received the sacrifice of
Christ, his justice being satisfied by the blood of his own dear Son, has
removed our sins from us (Psa. 103:8-14; 130:4; Lk.
15:2-24).
·
The Lost Coin Found!
·
The Lost Sheep Brought Into The Fold!
·
The Lost Son Coming Home!
Psalms 103:8-14 "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. (9) He will not always chide: neither
will he keep his anger for ever. (10) He hath not dealt with us after
our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. (11) For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that
fear him. (12) As far as the east is
from the west, so far hath he removed
our transgressions from us. (13) Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the LORD pitieth
them that fear him. (14) For he
knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are
dust."
Psalms 130:4 "But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."
C. God the Holy Spirit removes the guilt of sin from us
by sprinkling our hearts with the blood of Christ, effectually applying the
merits of Christ’s blood atonement to our hearts and giving us faith in him (Heb. 9:14).
Hebrews 9:14
"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?"
Forgiveness is the work of the triune God! Forgiveness spells,
“Release! Signed in tears, written on heavenly parchment,
recorded in eternal archives. The black ink of the indictment is written
all over with the red ink of the cross: —‘The
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.’” (DeWitt Talmage).
“I will remove”
II. Look at the next part of the
text — “I will remove the iniquity
of that land.”
“that land”
“That land,” is not the
Isaiah 8:8
"And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he
shall reach even to the neck; and the
stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O
Immanuel."
God’s concern is not for all
lands, or for any geographical land. God’s concern is for Immanuel’s land, “that land,” the church of his elect, his covenant people, those for whom Christ suffered
and died. God’s grace is sovereign, distinguishing grace. And his forgiveness
is sovereign, distinguishing forgiveness. It is for “that land.”
A. Our sins are described as “the iniquity of that land.”
I want so much for everyone
here to see that the greatness of our sins is no barrier or hindrance to God’s
grace and his forgiveness. It is written, “Where
sin abounded grace did much more abound!”
1.
The word “iniquity” is a very comprehensive
term.
It means “in-equity.” It includes everything that is not equitable and right toward God and man. It encompasses the entire fulness and foulness of sin, both our transgressions and our omissions, both inward sins and outward sins. Iniquity means everything that is evil and everything that falls short of perfection.
2.
In that land, among God’s elect, there is a great
variety of sin, a great quantity of sin, and a great vastness of sin.
There is no evil that can be
named among men for which you cannot find an example, many examples of forgiveness
among God’s elect.
Illustration: “Since God saved me, I have
despaired of none.” (John
Newton).
The sins which God here
promises to remove are...
·
Many.
·
Committed By Many.
·
Often Repeated.
·
Completely Removed.
The inference is clear — God almighty can remove
your sins too! David prayed for forgiveness and urged his plea by aggravating
his guilt. He said, “Pardon mine
iniquity, for it is great!” He will “abundantly
pardon!” Your sin is no hindrance to God’s grace! In Jesus Christ there is
great grace for great sinners, grace that is greater than all your sin.
Old John Newton
said this, too, when he was an old, old man ― “I’m an old man now and can’t remember things like I used to; but I
remember two great things. I remember that I am a great sinner; and I remember
that Jesus Christ is a great Savior.”
“remove”
B. God here promises to “remove the iniquity of that land!”
Sometimes God promises to
“cover” our sins ― “Blessed is the
man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psa. 32:1).
Truly, that man is blessed whose sin has been covered by God!
Sometimes the Lord speaks of
“blotting out,” or “erasing” our sins. “I
am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not
remember thy sins” (Isa. 43:25). The Lord God has blotted out our sins from
the ledgers of justice.
But I sure do like this word
“remove”. Don’t you? Our sin, like a
great, high mountain stood between us and God. We could not climb over
it And God could not cross it. So he says, “I will
remove it!” Sin laid upon us like a heavy, heavy burden on a man’s shoulders. And God says, “I
will remove the burden.”
And our God and Savior has
kept his word. He took the burden off our shoulders, put it upon himself, carried it
up to
Psalms 103:12 "As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our
transgressions from us."
Jeremiah 50:20 "In those days, and in that time,
saith the LORD, the iniquity of
Numbers
Illustration: The Scapegoat
Now, listen carefully to the
meaning of that word “remove”. What
does it mean for God to “remove” the
iniquity of his people? The removal of sin involves at least seven
things.
1. The Removal Of Sin’s
Punishment (Gal.
That person whom God pardons
cannot be punished for sin again. Christ was punished in our stead.
“Payment God cannot twice demand,
First at my bleeding Surety’s hand,
And then again at mine!”
2.
The Removal Of Sin’s Guilt.
To be justified is to be
declared, “Not guilty!” In the court of heaven, we were declared not guilty when
Christ died (Rom.
(John 16:8-11) "And when he
is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment: (9) Of sin, because they believe not
on me; (10) Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me
no more; (11) Of judgment, because the prince of this world is
judged."
(Heb 9:14) "How much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God?"
3.
The Removal Of Sin’s Defilement.
Though in ourselves we are
yet aware, increasingly aware of sin’s defilement, before God, through the
blood of Christ, we are pure and holy. Our Savior says, “Ye are clean!” (John 13:10)
(John 13:10) "Jesus saith
to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is
clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all."
4.
The Removal Of Sin’s
Dominion.
“The position of sin in a
natural man is that of a king on his throne, the position of sin in a Christian
is that of a bandit hiding in secret places trying to get back its old usurped
dominion, but failing in the attempt, for ‘sin
shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under
grace’” (C. H. Spurgeon).
5.
The Removal Of Sin’s Being.
Soon we shall be delivered
from this body of sin (Rom.
Illustration: The Robin’s Egg Shells
6.
The Removal Of Sin’s Sorrow.
It is written, “God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes” — In heaven’s glory there shall be “no more sorrow,” not even for sin!
7.
The Removal Of Sin’s Consequences.
God has removed from his
people all the consequences of sin. And soon, he shall remove the very slime of
the serpent’s trail from his creation.
Sin is the attempt of men
and devils to rob God of his glory. But he has foiled his enemies. He will get
glory to himself even by the wrath of man (Psa. 76:10), “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” But the
righteous God makes even the wrath of man to praise him.
Psalms 76:10 "Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain."
“in one day”
III. Now, read the last three
words of our text — “I will remove the
iniquity of that land in one day!”
This great work of grace, this work of removing sin, is the work of one day. Sin has been growing, multiplying and spreading for many years; but our text says that it shall be removed in one day.
A. It is not an easy thing to remove sin (Heb. 10:1-4).
Hebrews 10:1-5
"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things,
can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually
make the comers thereunto perfect. (2) For
then would they not have ceased to be offered? because
that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. (3) But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. (4) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats
should take away sins."
1.
The legal sacrifices of the
Mosaic economy could never remove a single sin.
2.
Repentance cannot remove any
transgression.
3.
Providential chastisements
can never remove corruption.
4.
Religious duties, services,
and sacrifices cannot remove iniquity.
5.
Not even the sufferings of
the damned in hell can remove iniquity, transgression and sin.
When sinners have God’s
wrath endured
In hell for countless years,
They shall not from one sin
be cured
By wrath,
and fire, and tears.
But Jesus Christ, the Lamb
of God,
For sinners sin was made!
Our sins He has removed by
blood
And full atonement made!
B. The Lord God declares that the removal of our sin is
his work, and that it is the work
of “one day”.
1.
In a legal, judicial sense,
all the sins of God’s elect were removed in one day when Christ died as our
Substitute at
Colossians 2:13-14
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (14) Blotting out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of
the way, nailing it to his cross."
·
“It is finished!” (John
19:30).
·
“He hath made him to be sin
for us!” (2 Cor. 5:21).
·
“Christ, his own self bare
our sins in his own body on the tree (2 Pet.
Isaiah 40:1-2 "Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God. (2) Speak ye
comfortably to
2.
Experimentally, our sins are
removed, instantaneously, in that one day when we look to Christ in faith.
“The moment a sinner
believes,
And trusts in his crucified
God,
Free pardon at once he
receives,
Salvation
in full through Christ’s blood.”
3.
Ultimately, our great God
will remove all the iniquities of his people on that day when he makes all
things new (Isa. 65:17-19; 2 Pet.
a.
Our very bodies, souls, and
spirits shall be purged of all sin.
b.
Our God shall soon purge the
heavens and the earth of all sin. Christ shall redeem his entire creation from
the bondage of corruption!
Isaiah 65:17-19 "For, behold, I create new
heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into
mind. (18) But be ye glad and rejoice
for ever in that which I create: for,
behold, I create
2 Peter
IV. Now, I want us to look at
verse ten for just a moment. ― This verse
describes that blessed
state which follows the removal of iniquity
and the complete forgiveness of sin.
Zechariah
In times of war fig trees
are cut down and vines are destroyed. If they are not, the people are driven
into hiding and overwhelmed with other concerns. But here we see every man
sitting with his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree. What does that
mean?
A.
This is an emblem of peace,
prosperity and security.
B.
It is also a picture of
happiness, fellowship and communion.
C.
And this is a scene of
contentment and satisfaction.
·
Wine To Drink.
·
Figs To Eat.
·
Ease To Enjoy Them.
Those who know, indeed, that the Lord God has removed their iniquities, have reason to reason. In Christ we have all and abound. Indeed, the Lord God has made a covenant for us with the beast of the field and our very enemies (though they know it not) are in league with us!
Illustration: Bro. Burk’s Testimony
Application: Would you have our
iniquities removed today?
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
AMEN.
1 See #990 The Blessed Removal of Sin -
See
#1327, Tape #U-88a —
Rescue,
CA (Sunday AM –
Tape # X-67b