Civil Government: Public Order Review

Learning the Righteousness of God - 6

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Civil Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2005-09-18

Synopsis: In this final sermon of the series, John Weaver expounds the principle that Christ honors those who honor Him, using Phinehas's zeal in Numbers 25 as the primary example. He reviews six previous points about God's righteousness and then teaches that God is no man's debtor, rewarding faithful service even though we have no inherent claim to reward. The sermon emphasizes that honoring God includes exposing and fighting sin, and that those who dishonor God will be lightly esteemed. Applications call believers to daily examine their lives and to honor God even when it means dishonoring men's beliefs.

[John Weaver] Alright, let's open our Bibles into Micah chapter 6. Micah chapter 6. And we're going to just pick up with verse 5. Micah chapter 6 and verse 5. And this is the sixth and final message on this short series of learning the righteousness of God. And look, if you would please, at verse 5 where God says, Oh my people, remember now what Balak King of Moab consulted and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal that you may know the righteousness of the Lord. So God tells us in this verse that we are to remember particularly and specifically what Balaam consulted and what Balaam answered in Shittim and in Gilgal that we might know specifically the righteousness of the Lord. Then we went back to Numbers chapter 25, where I ask you to turn back there now. That is the passage which explains what happened at Shittim where the judgment of God fell upon those people. And here we can see and learn once again another aspect of the righteousness of God.

[John Weaver] Now, before I begin with this final point today, let me just refresh your memory. by giving you all of the main points so far that we've learned. And once you begin to tie these things together, I think you can come up with a full picture of God's righteousness. The very first truth we learned was this, that God's law word is our standard for righteousness, and any deviation from that truth is sin and wickedness. God's law word is our standard for righteousness. And any deviation from that is sin and wickedness. And I told you under this point that when God forbids any sin, at the same time He forbids anything and everything that leads up to that sin. So our dispositions, our attitudes, our lusts, all of these things are just as condemned as the physical act themselves. The second truth we learned was this, that sin places us under the judgment and the curse of God no matter how we get there. It doesn't matter if we purposely, deliberately, malignantly, and willfully walk into sin, or whether or not we're tempted, enticed, seduced, and get there ignorantly.

[John Weaver] It doesn't matter. Once we are involved in sin, we're under the curse and judgment of God. The third principle that I enunciated is this, that partial obedience is disobedience. Our Lord demands that we obey Him personally, perfectly, and perpetually. But what some people try to think is this, well, I'm obedient in this area, and so therefore He's going to excuse my disobedience in another area. No, that does not work like that. And so partial obedience is disobedience. The fourth principle I enunciated was this.

[John Weaver] I tried to show you the intimate connection between immorality and idolatry. And I showed you that every immoral person was indeed an idolater. You cannot violate the seventh commandment. You cannot violate the tenth commandment without having first violated the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Anytime you violate any of God's law, you've already violated the first commandment. You've dethroned God and enthroned yourself. And saying, I don't care what God says, this is the way that I'm going to do it. So very obviously, then, immorality and idolatry go together.

[John Weaver] The fifth principle that I enunciated was this. We must see the connection between sin and the righteous judgment of God upon disobedience. So we must see the connection between sin and judgment and disobedience and the righteous anger of God. And in this point, I showed you how that God had to righteously judge sin. If you understand in any degree His sovereignty, His holiness, and His justice, you will see how God then has to not only hate sin, but has to judge sin. And then last week, I dealt with this point that we must see that when God's designated rulers fail to exercise His judgment, He always raises up alternative judges. This is what is known as the doctrine of interposition, and I went through the Bible and I tried to show you how that this is enunciated in the Bible.

[John Weaver] It is exemplified in the life of Christ, and it was certainly exercised in the American Revolution. If you don't understand this principle, you don't understand how our country came into existence. Moreover, I tried to show you how that any lesser magistrate could step in and fulfill the office of a higher magistrate when that higher magistrate failed to do his duty, because a magistrate is a magistrate. It is only a matter of degrees, and the doctrine of interposition showed that magistrates not only have the right and the authority to quell rebellion among the people, but they also have the right and the authority to quell rebellion among other civil magistrates. And, of course, I tried to show you that not only historically, but biblically as well.

[John Weaver] Now, today we're going to come to this last and final seventh point, and that is simply this. that Christ honors those who honor Him. Look, if you would, please, beginning with verse 7, Deuteronomy 25. And when Phineas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand. And he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were 24,000. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Then he is the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron, the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consume not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore, say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace, and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel."

[John Weaver] Now I want you to know what Phineas did. Phineas in a righteous anger and in a righteous act went in and killed those whom God had already said should be killed. I pointed out how Moses and some of the other judges were in front of the tabernacle praying and crying according to what the scripture says. But when Phineas saw this prince Bring this Moabitish woman into the camp. He took matters into his hands, since he too was a magistrate, albeit a lesser one, and went in and took care of the problem. Now, God says, because he did that, I'm going to give him my covenant. And it's going to be the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. Now, I want you to understand, here's a simple truth, that God honors those who honor him. God will be no man's debtor, period.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, whole Numbers 25, but look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11, and let me show you why it is absolutely impossible to bring God into your debt. Why it is absolutely impossible for God to be any man's debtor. In fact, you're going to hear me say that over and over today. Look in Romans 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 33.

[John Weaver] Here the Apostle Paul writes, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

[John Weaver] Now look at verse 35. Or who hath first given to him? And it shall be recompensed unto him again.

[John Weaver] Now, what in the world is God telling us? God is telling us that no one can first give to God. God says, you just show me anyone who's first given to me and I'll pay him back again. Why is it impossible to give to God first? God gave us our life. God gave us our being. God gave us our health. God gave us our intellect. God gave us everything that we have and everything that we possess. So we cannot first give to God.

[John Weaver] Doesn't matter who you are. Doesn't matter where you are. God has already given to you first. And the only thing you can do is give back to God. a portion or a partial amount of that which God has already given you. And so God is telling us that He always blesses and He always rewards those who faithfully serve Him.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30. You've heard me quote this verse many times. It's one of my favorite verses in the Bible. And I want today to really expound upon this verse, and I think you're going to see it all the way through. 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30, God says this, Wherefore, the Lord God of Israel, Seth, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever. But now the Lord, Seth, he's talking now to Eli or concerning Eli, but now the Lord, Seth, be it far from me, here's the principle of the enunciating, for them that honor me will I honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. God says them that honor me will I honor, and them that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Now, this is a principle from which God will not depart.

[John Weaver] There will be no alteration. Every promise that God has made is in reference to this principle. Those who honor God shall be honored by God, and those who despise God shall be lightly esteemed.

[John Weaver] Now, I just read to you from Numbers chapter 25. where Phineas honored God and did that which was right and well-pleasing in his eyes. And then God turned around and honored Phineas. It is absolutely impossible to out-give, out-bless, and out-reward God. And let me just point out the fact it is even impossible to out-bless and out-give and out-reward God even in this life.

[John Weaver] You said, what are you talking about? Well, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 19. Look at Matthew chapter 19. And there's an interesting verse that our Lord gives here, Matthew chapter 19. And look, if you would please, in verse 27. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold. We have forsaken all and followed thee. What shall we have therefore? The words we've given up everything. And by the way, Peter. James and John.

[John Weaver] If I were to take you through the scripture, they not only gave up their fishing vessels and fishing nets, but they even walked off when their greatest catch of their life. Was there in front of them? And they walked off and left everything. Look what our Lord said, and Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that you who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, you shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[John Weaver] Well, that's good for them, but what about us? Here it is. And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or fathers, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, Shall receive a hundredfold. And shall inherit everlasting life. What did God say? God said, if you've lost anything, if you've given up anything for me, you will end up receiving a hundredfold more even in this life. Now, that's why I'm telling you, you cannot out give God. You cannot out reward God. You cannot out bless God.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something that I have told innumerable people. How many listen to me? I never know. How many apply the truth? I never know. But I want to tell you something, you will never, ever advance financially. Until you first learn to honor God with your time. Them that honor me will I honor, said the Lord. If you honor God through thick and thin, God will honor you. I've had people tell me, Pastor, I can't afford the tithe. The truth is you can't afford not to.

[John Weaver] And let me tell you, if I'm doing business with Doc and he cuts me off and will not give me any more credit, I might could go over and get some credit from Brother Ernie. But if God cuts me off, I can't get credit from anybody. Now, listen to what I tell people. I tell people you ought to do two things. The very first thing you ought to do. Is to recognize God's sovereignty, recognize God's ownership of this earth and everything and give him his. The second thing you ought to do is take another 10 percent minimum. And save it.

[John Weaver] And then you live on the rest. You will never, ever get ahead until you, first of all, recognize and honor God first. That's a principle. Them that honor me will I honor, saith the Lord. Then you certainly ought to have enough brains about you to say, hey, I've got to put something back for a rainy day as well. And as God prospers you, you can put more and more and more back. And let me tell you something.

[John Weaver] I realize that sometimes this is difficult. It is hard. But my wife can tell you there have been times in our lives when we have eaten peas all week long. Peas, water, and bread, and nothing else. Because we didn't have it. But we still tithed. The most difficult thing is being consistent and being faithful. But once you recognize God and you honor Him, God says, I'm honoring you.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you this principle in Scripture. Look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter six. Here it is, Hebrews chapter six. And let's begin reading there with verse 10, Hebrews six, verse 10. And I want to spend a few minutes on this verse because it's an exceedingly important verse, because you remember. The whole series has been learning the righteousness of God. And I'm showing you from Scripture that those that honor God, God will honor. And let me point out, it is a matter of righteousness to Him. Look in Hebrews chapter 6, if you would please, at verse 10.

[John Weaver] The Bible says very plainly, for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which you have showed toward His name, and that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. Now look at that. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward his name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. First of all, I want you to note in Hebrews 6 and verse 10, this verse expressly states that God is not unfaithful to his own gracious promise.

[John Weaver] He has promised blessings and rewards to those who lovingly and obediently serve him. Now, let me get your attention. Because I want you to understand what I'm about to say. Although God has promised rewards to those who lovingly and faithfully and obediently serve him. These rewards are not ours by inherent right. In other words, we don't deserve them. They're based upon God's graciousness. We have no claim upon them. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bible to the book of Luke chapter 17, Luke 17. In other words, the principle is simply this. The servant absolutely has no claim upon his master. Luke chapter 17. And notice what our Lord says. Luke 17, let's suppose before I read this passage, let's suppose that today, tomorrow and all this week, you are perfectly obedient. You do not disobey God in any way whatsoever, mentally, physically, emotionally, financially. Let's suppose you were just perfect.

[John Weaver] You've done everything that was commanded you. Does that mean that you are a reward? And the answer is absolutely not. Look in Luke Chapter 17. Beginning there, verse seven, our Lord says, but which of you having a servant plowing or feeding cattle will come to him by and by when he has come from the field? Say, go and sit down to meet. and will not rather stand him, make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken, and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink." Now watch. Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. Look what God says. So likewise you, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we're unprofitable servants. We've done that which was our duty to do.

[John Weaver] Do you see what he's saying? If we were a perfect servant, if we were obedient at everything, that's just our duty. You don't get rewards for doing your duty. You don't get rewards for doing what you've been commanded to do. So that's why I'm saying that although God is thankful to his own gracious promise, we've got to understand that we have no inherent claim to reward. Because whatever we do is just simply our duty to do. And once we've done our duty, what does he say we must say? We're in profitable service.

[John Weaver] We haven't gone over and above and beyond what you required us. We've just simply done our duty.

[John Weaver] Secondly, we must also consider that our best performances bear no proportion to what we leave undone. Isn't it wonderful that one of these days everything seems to go right? And man, you just, and I hate to use this word, but here it is, you just feel so good about it. But look at the days that things didn't go right and you didn't do what you were supposed to do. You follow me? So just because we happen to be obedient one time certainly does not bearing proportion to all those times when we were not obedient. And by the way, we must also confess and acknowledge that when we are obedient and when we do right, that we do right only because of the grace and the power and the mercy of God that is in us.

[John Weaver] That's why I said in Isaiah 26 in verse 12, Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us. Why? For thou hast wrought all our works in us. So the very first thing we've got to remember is this, that God is faithful to his own promise. And when God promises to reward and bless us, it is not due to our inherent right to any reward. It's God is being faithful to his own gracious promise.

[John Weaver] Now, go back to Hebrews chapter six, because there's a second thing I want you to see, and that is simply this, that our works and that our labor of love is not and will not be forgotten by God. Look what he said in Hebrews six and verse 10, for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and your labor of love. Good works and labor proceeding from the love to God are commendable and when done in the name of God, they will not go unrewarded. By the way, I'm not going to take time to deal with it today, but a good work is explained in the scripture. A good work is what God demands.

[John Weaver] It's not what we say it is. OK. Now. Look in your Bibles, whole Hebrew six, but look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter twenty five. I want you to notice what our Lord says in relationship. He's talking about that and he is not going to forget our works and our labor of love in this passage is going to tie right in. With what? I'm going to say next, look at Matthew chapter twenty five and let's begin reading their verse thirty one.

[John Weaver] When the Son of Man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another. His shepherd divided the sheep from the goats, and he shall set the sheep on the right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say to them on the right hand, Come, you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

[John Weaver] Now look what our Lord says. For I was a hungered, and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. Naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when so we thee hungered and fed thee, or thirsty and gave thee drink? When shall we be a stranger and took me in and naked and clothing or when shall we be sick or in prison came into being and the king shall answer and say them verily I said to you in as much as you've done it in one of the least of these my brother you have done it unto me.

[John Weaver] Then shall he say to them on the left hand depart from me you cursed in everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Why? Where I was a hungred and you gave me no meat, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you took me not in, naked and you clothed me not, sick and in prison and you visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we the hungrier, thirstier, stranger, naked, or sicker in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Lord, if we had seen you, surely we would have done it. Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. And these shall go away in everlasting punishment, but the righteous in the life eternal."

[John Weaver] Now notice what he said. Here are these good works, just some of them. Here's this labor of love. And he said, inasmuch as you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you've done it in me. And what he's saying is that good works are never, ever going to be forgotten by God. They're not going to be overlooked. Here's a third point, and I'm I'm tying this together, and that is simply this. It's important to understand that we minister to God by ministering to the saints. What does God need that we have? Nothing. He has everything. He owns everything.

[John Weaver] And in other words, if we want to bless God, we must be a blessing to His people, fulfilling their needs, lifting them up, even a cup of cold water given in his name will not go unrewarded. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 10, since you're there, Matthew 10, verse 42. Our Lord says it very plainly, Matthew 10 and verse 42. Look what he says. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water, Only in the name of the disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his what? Reward. In other words, it's just as we minister to God's people that we minister to God. It is indeed an act of righteousness on God's part to encourage, to uplift and reward those who serve him. Remember what I said at the beginning, God will never be any man's debtor. You cannot out-give God, out-bless God, and out-reward God. Now, I want you to note something about Numbers 25. What did Phinehas do?

[John Weaver] Phinehas took a spear and went in and eradicated the evil that was among the people. Let me just put it to you in a general sense. What Phineas was doing was exposing and fighting against sin and wickedness, even when it was in a higher level. Remember, it was a prince that he killed. And by the way, the Moabitish damsel was a princess as well. So what God is telling us, it is a service to God. And it is a ministry to God's people to expose and fight against sin and wickedness. And as he was exposing and fighting against sin and wickedness, he stopped the plague that had fallen upon the nation. 24,000 people had been killed.

[John Weaver] Now, stop and think about this. We think about giving a cup of cold water. We think about providing food. We think about providing someone with comfort and care when they have needs, but certainly that is a good work. Certainly that is needed and necessary. But Phineas was not giving a cup of cold water. Phineas was not giving comfort and consolation. He was exposing and taking care of sin and wickedness.

[John Weaver] It is absolutely amazing to me how God's preachers and I'm emphasizing the term God's, how God's preachers are criticized, persecuted, hated, and maligned simply for doing that which God has commanded us to do. And that is to expose and fight against sin and wickedness. Have you ever wondered why people hate it when preachers rebuke them and expose them? and reprove them? Here's the answer. Because they love their sin more than righteousness. They love their wickedness more than truth. Therefore, they take up a view of God's preachers and they think all of God's preachers are narrow minded, bigoted, old fashioned and just plain hard to get along with. You know, I get so upset listening to the news. And especially to the preachers that are on the news.

[John Weaver] I got so angry, I just turned it off and walked off because Joel Osteen and I don't even know the man, he's got a big church, thousands of members. He was on and someone asked him about the hurricane and he said, well, it's just A natural catastrophe in those things happen. Oh, Lord, have mercy. You've missed a perfect opportunity to explain the righteousness of God and the anger of God and expose wickedness and sin and ungodliness. But yet you take someone who will just simply make a statement like that and like Billy Graham, you know what his statement was. Here's how Billy Graham explained Katrina.

[John Weaver] He said, Evil is a mystery. And we don't understand it now, but someday we will. Oh, what an in-depth statement. What an in-depth statement. Here he had a perfect opportunity and he blew it. You know what the Bible said in Isaiah 58? Here's what God commands. Cry aloud, scare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgressions and the house of Israel their sins. God said, expose it. He didn't say cover it up and pretend like it's something that's normal and natural. You say, but Brother Weaver, that's in the Old Testament. Oh yeah, I know.

[John Weaver] How about 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 2? Is that in the Old Testament? Where God told Timothy, preach the word, the instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke with all longsuffering and authority. You see what I'm saying? Here Phineas is exposing and dealing with and judging sin and wickedness. It's amazing how all of us would sin. And then when we're caught in our sin, we get embarrassed. Let me tell you something, folks, if you're just embarrassed because you're caught in your sin, There's no repentance in your life. You know, the Bible talks about in second Corinthians, a worldly sorrow and a godly sorrow, a godly sorrow work of repentance, the Bible says not to be repented of, you know, the worldly sorrow. A worldly sorrow just means you're upset and you're humiliated and you're embarrassed that you got caught. There's no sorrow for your sin. It's not that you violated God's law. It's not that you displeased God and dishonored him. You're just embarrassed that you got caught in your sin. But let me tell you something, folks, when God will have mercy upon a people, when God will have mercy upon an individual, the first thing he does is expose their sins.

[John Weaver] The very first thing he does. Do you remember when David committed adultery with Bathsheba? You remember how the Great pains he took to cover it up. How he got Uriah, her husband, back. And he tried to make him go down and sleep with his wife and he wouldn't do it. And then David made him drunk and he still wouldn't do it. And then finally David said to Joab, put him in the foremost front of battle and retire from him that he may be smitten.

[John Weaver] And that's exactly what happened. And David murdered the man by the hands of his enemies. And that's how God charged him with that. But when David had taken all these great pains to cover it up, when you come to 2 Samuel chapter 12 and verse one, the Bible says this. And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And what did Nathan say? There were two men in one city, the one rich, the other poor, and he goes into this story And boy, David is so incensed at the arrogance and the wickedness of this rich man who spares of his own flock and takes the only little lamb, the only little sheep of the poor man. And David said, the man that has done this thing, he shall restore fourfold and he shall surely die. And old Nathan with that long bony finger said, Thou art the man. But you know something? Forgiving David. God was getting David back in a position to be used by him.

[John Weaver] And what did he do? He began by exposing his sin. God can never use us until our sins are dealt with openly and honestly. Now, what God does for an individual, He also does for a people. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 15. You'll see the same truth of their second Chronicles 36 and verse 15. Second Chronicles 36 verse 15. Look what happens and the Lord God of their fathers sent to them that is to his people. The Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up at times and sending. Why? Because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. So when God is going to have compassion upon someone, what does He do? He sends them preachers.

[John Weaver] And not just any preacher. He sends them preachers that will expose their sin and bring them back to repentance and faith. You see, when God curses a people, God either removes or silences his preachers. Those who are rebuked, listen carefully, those who are rebuked, reproved and exhorted by God's preachers really do not understand how blessed they really are. Because if God did not care about you, He would not send someone to rebuke you and reprove you and expose your sin that you might repent by His grace and be brought back under His blessings. So it's really the blessing of God when you have somebody who's going to preach hard and teach hard and say, here's your sins, here's your wickedness, here's your ungodliness, and I'm going to rebuke you in the name of Christ and reprove you according to Scripture. Why? Not because I hate you, but to bring repentance in your life, to bring you back to submission and obedience to God, to put you back under the place of blessing.

[John Weaver] Do you remember what David said concerning commandments of God in Psalm 19, verse 11? Let me just quote it. Now, remember, he's talking about the commandments of God, he said, Moreover, by them is thy servant warned. And in keeping them, there is great reward. So what does God's commandments do? They warn us. And as we keep them, we are rewarded, we are. Honored by God, what's he say?

[John Weaver] Those that honor me will honor, said the Lord. Those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. It's just that simple. Our Lord. Said it like this in Luke six and verse forty six. Woe to you when all men speak well of you. For so did their fathers of the false prophets. If you can go through this life and everybody thinks you're hunky dory, you're all right. And you're a good guy and you're a number one.

[John Weaver] Something is really wrong with your Christianity. You haven't taken a stand somewhere. You haven't exposed wickedness somewhere. What did our Lord say in Matthew 5, 11 and 12? Listen to this. In Matthew 5, 11 and 12, he tells us that God's blessings are upon us irrespective of the world's hatred and irrespective of the world's cursing. Here's what he said. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you. and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.

[John Weaver] Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. What? Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. What is he saying? God's honor and God's blessing does not hinge upon man's recognition. Thank God for that. It does not hinge upon man's appropriation. God will honor us even when others dishonor us.

[John Weaver] I've taught you A principle in Scripture that I want to remind you of, and that is this. There are two sides to every coin. That is, in Scripture, there is always a positive and a negative. The two go together. You cannot have one without the other. And if you don't believe that, you just go out to your automobile And you either remove the positive cable from your battery and try to start it or remove the negative battery cable and try to start it.

[John Weaver] You've got to have both. Now, what I'm trying to make is this. God always gives us a positive and a negative. When he says, I shall not steal. What's he saying? The positive is that we're to work with our hands, labor honestly, that we may have to give to those who need, according to Ephesians chapter four. When he said thou shalt not kill, the positive is thou shalt preserve life. When God says them that honor me will I honor, that's the positive. The negative is for those that despise me shall be like they esteemed. Isn't that amazing? Not only will Christ honor those who honor him, he will dishonor those who dishonor him.

[John Weaver] This is known, once again, as the Lex Talionis. It is the law of retribution. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. So if God says, you dishonored me, fine, I shall dishonor you.

[John Weaver] Now, David understood this principle. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 3. I hope you'll remember that Joab and Abishai, his brother, murdered Abner, the son of Mner. And the reason they murdered him was because he killed Asahel, their brother, in battle. And by the way, it was not Abner's fault. Abner begged Asahel to turn back, and he wouldn't. And so finally, Abner had to kill him just to keep him from killing himself. And so now, Abner comes to David And David and Abner enter into a covenant together. And Joab and Abishai hear about it, and when they come in, they call Abner to the side and they murder him. Look what David said in 2 Samuel 3 and verse 39. David said concerning these two men who murdered Abner.

[John Weaver] And I am this day weak, though anointed king, and these men, these sons of Zeruiah, be too hard for me. Now look what he prays. The Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness. Joanne, Abishai, you took care of Abner, but now God's going to take care of you. The Lord rewards you look in your Bibles to Psalm 94 and verse two. In fact, this prayer, I could multiply the scripture, but this prayer is prayed over and over in scripture. Look at Psalm 94 and verse two. Psalm 94, verse two, here it is. In fact, let's read verse one. He says, Oh, Lord, God, whom vengeance belongeth. Oh, God, whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself. Now, look, here's the prayer. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth. Render a reward to the proud.

[John Weaver] Give them what they deserve. Well, that's a prayer, isn't it? Then he asked the question, Lord, how long shall the wicked? How long shall the wicked triumph? And he talks about their wickedness. David praying for that God would smite them, that God would reward them. They are dishonoring God, so he wants them to be dishonored by God. Please pray tell, what did God do to Biotharo? He destroyed him. Did he honor or dishonor wicked Haman? Consider what God did to Balaam, to Cain.

[John Weaver] And to those men who opposed Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Look in the Bible, as well as history, at the tyrannical rulers that God deposed. Look at the wicked priests that He defrocked and destroyed. Hophni, Phinehas, Abiathar, and I don't know how many others, but those are specifically pointed out in Scripture. And once again, I can hear someone saying, oh, but Brother Weaver. Oh, that's in the Old Testament. I mean, you know, God in the Old Testament, he was a God of vengeance. But when you get to the New Testament, all he is is a God of love.

[John Weaver] He's so loving and so forgiving. Listen, I know that God is love. Scripture says that. I know that God is a forgiving God. Scripture says that as well. But the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament, and God does not change. God is immutable. He will not be one thing in one era and something totally different in another era. God does not change. Do you know what the Apostle Paul prayed concerning Alexander the coppersmith?

[John Weaver] And you'll find this in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 14. Alexander the coppersmith was a wicked, vile man. And Paul prayed this. He said, Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his works. The Lord reward him according to his works. In other words, give back to him that which he has done. He's dishonored God. Let God dishonor him. If you look in your Bibles. The second Peter, Chapter 2. Second Peter, Chapter 2, you'll find Peter says exactly the same thing. Second Peter, Chapter 2. And look, if you would please, at verses. Verse 13 and 14, we'll read both of them. He's talking about wicked people. Verse 13. He's talking about these people. In fact, go back to verse 12.

[John Weaver] But these as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not and shall utterly perish in their own corruption. Now watch and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness as they that count it pleasant pleasure to ride in the daytime spots they are in blemishes sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls, a heart that they have exercised with covetous practices, cursed children. But notice verse 13,"...and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness."

[John Weaver] Do you think our Lord It's going to allow those who dishonor him. To get away without being dishonored. The answer is no. It's the lex talionis. Look in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 18. Everyone knows about wicked Babylon. Commercial Babylon, religious Babylon, but look what the scripture says. Revelation 18 beginning there with verse four. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached them to heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Are you looking now?

[John Weaver] Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her, double according to her works. And the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. What's God going to do? He's going to see to it that those who dishonor him are dishonored. Look at what our Lord said in Revelation 22 and verse 12, since you're right there. Revelation 22 and verse 12. Our Lord says, and behold, I come quickly. And my reward is with me. To give every man according as his worth shall be. My reward is with me. God says, I'm going to pay you back.

[John Weaver] Those that honor me will I honor. Those that dishonor me shall be lightly esteemed. And we shall see exactly how lightly esteemed they are. When according to Psalm 58, the judgment of God falls upon them, And it falls upon them in such devastation that we say with the psalmist and Psalm 58, verse 11, so that a man may say, verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, he is a God who judges in the earth. What's the psalmist saying? He most definitely knows. How to honor those who honor him. And how to dishonor those who dishonor Him.

[John Weaver] Now let me make some applications. The first one is this. We either honor or dishonor our Lord in our lives on a daily basis. Do you realize if we want to be considered of God, we need to be considerate of him as well. If we wish to be honored by him, we must honor him. In other words, we must learn on a daily basis to stop, examine our thinking, examine our attitudes, examine our dispositions, examine our actions and see whether or not they are pleasing or displeasing, honoring or dishonoring to the Lord.

[John Weaver] So we have opportunities every day. But the second application is this, and listen carefully, we must honor Him even when it seems and appears that we are dishonoring men and their beliefs. There is that cry today to be tolerant. to be politically correct. And I've got news for you folks. Scripture. Is exceedingly. Discriminating. And God is a discriminating God. And even when Scripture draws the ire and the wrath and the vindictiveness of the politically correct and the religiously tolerant, we still must stand for his truth. Let me give you a quote, and I want you to listen. Dennis Johnson said this. Listen carefully.

[John Weaver] The Lord's witnesses are to challenge the gods in which people trust, revealing all their emptiness and impotence. To bring God's salvation to the ends of the earth, Jesus' witnesses must unmask treasured idols, encountering hostility from those whose security is shaken by God's truth. Although the community of Lord's service witnesses is characterized by tangible love that is attractive to outsiders, Their testimony makes no peace with any alternative faith to Christ. Religious solutions, apart from Christ the Savior, are dangerous frauds with which there can be no compromise or polite toleration." What did he say? He said it's our duty to challenge and unmask the false idols. of other people. It's our responsibility to make sure that we do not compromise his truth and say that, yes, there is a middle ground somewhere that we can all meet on. No, there is no middle ground.

[John Weaver] As Moses drew that line and said, whoever's on God's side, let him come over here. There's no middle ground. The simple truth is this, folks. We either stand for Christ or we stand against Him. We either honor Him or we dishonor Him. We both believe and declare all of God's Word or we stand against Him. We work with Him in obedience to the totality of His Word or we work against Him. Christ summed it up beautifully in Matthew 12 and verse 30. What did He say?

[John Weaver] He that is not with Me is wanton. against me. And he that gathereth not does what? He scatters. This last principle of learning God's righteousness must be indelibly pressed upon our minds. Christ will always honor those who honor Him. And we must also remember those who dishonor Him. shall be lightly esteemed." You cannot be disrespectful, disobedient, and dishonorable to the Son of God and expect the Father to be pleased with you. But Christ will be no man's debtor. You honor Him, and He will honor you. Even when you have no inherent claim to reward, it's still a righteous thing with God to reward those who faithfully and obediently serve Him. Let's pray. Father, we are so thankful for Your righteousness.

[John Weaver] Thou art God, and besides Thee there is none other. Give us grace, Lord, that we may honor Thee in all that we say and do in every area of our lives. Teach us these principles. Teach us these truths. And bring our lives in conformity to Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

Learning the Righteousness of God - 6

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	9220510220
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Public Order Review
Genre	Sermon
Date	2005-09-18
Dictation Name
Book	Book 165: Learning the Righteousness of God — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	72

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Alright, let's open our Bibles to Micah chapter 6. Micah chapter 6. And we're going to just pick up with verse 5. Micah chapter 6 and verse 5. And this is the sixth and final message on this short series of learning the righteousness of God. And look, if you would please, at verse 5 where God says,

Scripture Reading — Micah 6:5

"O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD."

So God tells us in this verse that we are to remember particularly and specifically what Balaam consulted and what Balaam answered in Shittim and in Gilgal, that we might know specifically the righteousness of the Lord. Then we went back to Numbers chapter 25, where I ask you to turn back there now. That is the passage which explains what happened at Shittim where the judgment of God fell upon those people. And here we can see and learn once again another aspect of the righteousness of God.

Review of Previous Points on God's Righteousness

Weaver recaps the first six principles: God's law-word as the standard of righteousness, sin placing us under judgment, partial obedience as disobedience, the connection between immorality and idolatry, the connection between sin and judgment, and the doctrine of interposition when rulers fail.

Now, before I begin with this final point today, let me just refresh your memory by giving you all of the main points so far that we've learned. And once you begin to tie these things together, I think you can come up with a full picture of God's righteousness. The very first truth we learned was this, that God's law-word is our standard for righteousness, and any deviation from that truth is sin and wickedness. God's law-word is our standard for righteousness. And any deviation from that is sin and wickedness. And I told you under this point that when God forbids any sin, at the same time He forbids anything and everything that leads up to that sin. So our dispositions, our attitudes, our lusts, all of these things are just as condemned as the physical act themselves. The second truth we learned was this, that sin places us under the judgment and the curse of God no matter how we get there. It doesn't matter if we purposely, deliberately, malignantly, and willfully walk into sin, or whether or not we're tempted, enticed, seduced, and get there ignorantly.

It doesn't matter. Once we are involved in sin, we're under the curse and judgment of God. The third principle that I enunciated is this, that partial obedience is disobedience. Our Lord demands that we obey Him personally, perfectly, and perpetually. But what some people try to think is this, well, I'm obedient in this area, and so therefore He's going to excuse my disobedience in another area. No, that does not work like that. And so partial obedience is disobedience. The fourth principle I enunciated was this.

I tried to show you the intimate connection between immorality and idolatry. And I showed you that every immoral person was indeed an idolater. You cannot violate the seventh commandment. You cannot violate the tenth commandment without having first violated the first commandment. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Anytime you violate any of God's law, you've already violated the first commandment. You've dethroned God and enthroned yourself. And saying, I don't care what God says, this is the way that I'm going to do it. So very obviously, then, immorality and idolatry go together.

The fifth principle that I enunciated was this. We must see the connection between sin and the righteous judgment of God upon disobedience. So we must see the connection between sin and judgment and disobedience and the righteous anger of God. And in this point, I showed you how that God had to righteously judge sin. If you understand in any degree His sovereignty, His holiness, and His justice, you will see how God then has to not only hate sin, but has to judge sin. And then last week, I dealt with this point that we must see that when God's designated rulers fail to exercise His judgment, He always raises up alternative judges. This is what is known as the doctrine of interposition, and I went through the Bible and I tried to show you how that this is enunciated in the Bible.

It is exemplified in the life of Christ, and it was certainly exercised in the American Revolution. If you don't understand this principle, you don't understand how our country came into existence. Moreover, I tried to show you how that any lesser magistrate could step in and fulfill the office of a higher magistrate when that higher magistrate failed to do his duty, because a magistrate is a magistrate. It is only a matter of degrees, and the doctrine of interposition showed that magistrates not only have the right and the authority to quell rebellion among the people, but they also have the right and the authority to quell rebellion among other civil magistrates. And, of course, I tried to show you that not only historically, but biblically as well.

Now, today we're going to come to this last and final seventh point, and that is simply this: that Christ honors those who honor Him. Look, if you would, please, beginning with verse 7, Numbers 25. "And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel."

Introduction of the Seventh Point: Christ Honors Those Who Honor Him

The final point is introduced from Numbers 25, where Phinehas's zealous act of killing the sinful prince and Moabitish woman turned away God's wrath and earned him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood.

Now I want you to know what Phinehas did. Phinehas in a righteous anger and in a righteous act went in and killed those whom God had already said should be killed. I pointed out how Moses and some of the other judges were in front of the tabernacle praying and crying according to what the scripture says. But when Phinehas saw this prince bring this Moabitish woman into the camp, he took matters into his hands, since he too was a magistrate, albeit a lesser one, and went in and took care of the problem. Now, God says, because he did that, I'm going to give him my covenant. And it's going to be the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. Now, I want you to understand, here's a simple truth, that God honors those who honor him. God will be no man's debtor, period.

God Is No Man's Debtor

Using Romans 11:33-35, Weaver argues that no one can first give to God because God has given us everything; therefore, God always blesses and rewards those who faithfully serve Him.

Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Numbers 25, but look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11, and let me show you why it is absolutely impossible to bring God into your debt. Why it is absolutely impossible for God to be any man's debtor. In fact, you're going to hear me say that over and over today. Look in Romans 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 33. Here the Apostle Paul writes,

Scripture Reading — Romans 11:33-35

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?"

Now look at verse 35. "Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?" Now, what in the world is God telling us? God is telling us that no one can first give to God. God says, you just show me anyone who's first given to me and I'll pay him back again. Why is it impossible to give to God first? God gave us our life. God gave us our being. God gave us our health. God gave us our intellect. God gave us everything that we have and everything that we possess. So we cannot first give to God.

Doesn't matter who you are. Doesn't matter where you are. God has already given to you first. And the only thing you can do is give back to God a portion or a partial amount of that which God has already given you. And so God is telling us that He always blesses and He always rewards those who faithfully serve Him.

The Principle of Honor and Dishonor from 1 Samuel 2:30

God's unalterable principle is that He honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him. This is illustrated by Phinehas and applied to tithing and financial stewardship.

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30. You've heard me quote this verse many times. It's one of my favorite verses in the Bible. And I want today to really expound upon this verse, and I think you're going to see it all the way through. 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30, God says this,

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 2:30

"Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me;"

here's the principle He's enunciating,

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 2:30

"for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."

God says them that honour me will I honour, and them that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Now, this is a principle from which God will not depart.

There will be no alteration. Every promise that God has made is in reference to this principle. Those who honor God shall be honored by God, and those who despise God shall be lightly esteemed. Now, I just read to you from Numbers chapter 25 where Phinehas honored God and did that which was right and well-pleasing in his eyes. And then God turned around and honored Phinehas. It is absolutely impossible to out-give, out-bless, and out-reward God. And let me just point out the fact it is even impossible to out-bless and out-give and out-reward God even in this life.

You said, what are you talking about? Well, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 19. Look at Matthew chapter 19. And there's an interesting verse that our Lord gives here, Matthew chapter 19. And look, if you would please, in verse 27.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 19:27-29

"Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?"

The words we've given up everything. And by the way, Peter, James, and John.

If I were to take you through the scripture, they not only gave up their fishing vessels and fishing nets, but they even walked off when their greatest catch of their life was there in front of them. And they walked off and left everything. Look what our Lord said, "And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Well, that's good for them, but what about us? Here it is. "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." What did God say? God said, if you've lost anything, if you've given up anything for me, you will end up receiving a hundredfold more even in this life. Now, that's why I'm telling you, you cannot out give God. You cannot out reward God. You cannot out bless God.

Let me tell you something that I have told innumerable people. How many listen to me? I never know. How many apply the truth? I never know. But I want to tell you something, you will never, ever advance financially until you first learn to honor God with your time. "Them that honour me I will honour," saith the Lord. If you honor God through thick and thin, God will honor you. I've had people tell me, "Pastor, I can't afford the tithe." The truth is you can't afford not to.

And let me tell you, if I'm doing business with Doc and he cuts me off and will not give me any more credit, I might could go over and get some credit from Brother Ernie. But if God cuts me off, I can't get credit from anybody. Now, listen to what I tell people. I tell people you ought to do two things. The very first thing you ought to do is to recognize God's sovereignty, recognize God's ownership of this earth and everything and give him his. The second thing you ought to do is take another 10 percent minimum and save it. And then you live on the rest. You will never, ever get ahead until you, first of all, recognize and honor God first. That's a principle. "Them that honour me I will honour," saith the Lord. Then you certainly ought to have enough brains about you to say, hey, I've got to put something back for a rainy day as well. And as God prospers you, you can put more and more and more back. And let me tell you something.

I realize that sometimes this is difficult. It is hard. But my wife can tell you there have been times in our lives when we have eaten peas all week long. Peas, water, and bread, and nothing else. Because we didn't have it. But we still tithed. The most difficult thing is being consistent and being faithful. But once you recognize God and you honor Him, God says, I'm honoring you.

Now, let me show you this principle in Scripture. Look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 6. Here it is, Hebrews chapter 6. And let's begin reading there with verse 10, Hebrews 6, verse 10. And I want to spend a few minutes on this verse because it's an exceedingly important verse, because you remember the whole series has been learning the righteousness of God. And I'm showing you from Scripture that those that honor God, God will honor. And let me point out, it is a matter of righteousness to Him. Look in Hebrews chapter 6, if you would please, at verse 10.

The Bible says very plainly,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 6:10

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

Now look at that.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 6:10

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

First of all, I want you to note in Hebrews 6 and verse 10, this verse expressly states that God is not unfaithful to his own gracious promise.

God's Righteousness in Not Forgetting Our Works

Hebrews 6:10 shows that God is not unrighteous to forget our labor of love. However, rewards are based on God's gracious promise, not our inherent right, as Luke 17:7-10 teaches that we are unprofitable servants even when obedient.

The Bible says very plainly,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 6:10

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

Now look at that.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 6:10

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

First of all, I want you to note in Hebrews 6 and verse 10, this verse expressly states that God is not unfaithful to his own gracious promise. He has promised blessings and rewards to those who lovingly and obediently serve him. Now, let me get your attention. Because I want you to understand what I'm about to say. Although God has promised rewards to those who lovingly and faithfully and obediently serve him, these rewards are not ours by inherent right. In other words, we don't deserve them. They're based upon God's graciousness. We have no claim upon them. Let me show you.

Look in your Bible to the book of Luke chapter 17, Luke 17. In other words, the principle is simply this. The servant absolutely has no claim upon his master. Luke chapter 17. And notice what our Lord says. Luke 17, let's suppose before I read this passage, let's suppose that today, tomorrow and all this week, you are perfectly obedient. You do not disobey God in any way whatsoever, mentally, physically, emotionally, financially. Let's suppose you were just perfect.

You've done everything that was commanded you. Does that mean that you are a reward? And the answer is absolutely not. Look in Luke Chapter 17. Beginning there, verse 7, our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — Luke 17:7-10

"But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?"

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Luke 17:7-10

"Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not."

Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — Luke 17:7-10

"So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."

Do you see what he's saying? If we were a perfect servant, if we were obedient at everything, that's just our duty. You don't get rewards for doing your duty. You don't get rewards for doing what you've been commanded to do. So that's why I'm saying that although God is faithful to his own gracious promise, we've got to understand that we have no inherent claim to reward. Because whatever we do is just simply our duty to do. And once we've done our duty, what does he say we must say? We're unprofitable servants.

We haven't gone over and above and beyond what you required us. We've just simply done our duty. Secondly, we must also consider that our best performances bear no proportion to what we leave undone. Isn't it wonderful that one of these days everything seems to go right? And man, you just, and I hate to use this word, but here it is, you just feel so good about it. But look at the days that things didn't go right and you didn't do what you were supposed to do. You follow me? So just because we happen to be obedient one time certainly does not bear proportion to all those times when we were not obedient. And by the way, we must also confess and acknowledge that when we are obedient and when we do right, that we do right only because of the grace and the power and the mercy of God that is in us.

That's why I said in Isaiah 26 and verse 12,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 26:12

"LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us."

So the very first thing we've got to remember is this, that God is faithful to his own promise. And when God promises to reward and bless us, it is not due to our inherent right to any reward. It's God being faithful to his own gracious promise.

Ministering to God by Ministering to the Saints

Good works done to the least of Christ's brethren are done to Him (Matthew 25:31-46) and will not be forgotten. Even a cup of cold water given in His name will be rewarded (Matthew 10:42).

Now, go back to Hebrews chapter 6, because there's a second thing I want you to see, and that is simply this, that our works and that our labor of love is not and will not be forgotten by God. Look what he said in Hebrews 6 and verse 10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love." Good works and labor proceeding from the love to God are commendable and when done in the name of God, they will not go unrewarded. By the way, I'm not going to take time to deal with it today, but a good work is explained in the scripture. A good work is what God demands. It's not what we say it is. OK. Now, look in your Bibles, hold Hebrews 6, but look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 25. I want you to notice what our Lord says in relationship. He's talking about that and He is not going to forget our works and our labor of love in this passage is going to tie right in with what I'm going to say next. Look at Matthew chapter 25 and let's begin reading there verse 31.

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Now look what our Lord says. "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

Now notice what he said. Here are these good works, just some of them. Here's this labor of love. And he said, inasmuch as you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me. And what he's saying is that good works are never, ever going to be forgotten by God. They're not going to be overlooked. Here's a third point, and I'm tying this together, and that is simply this. It's important to understand that we minister to God by ministering to the saints. What does God need that we have? Nothing. He has everything. He owns everything.

And in other words, if we want to bless God, we must be a blessing to His people, fulfilling their needs, lifting them up, even a cup of cold water given in his name will not go unrewarded. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 10, since you're there, Matthew 10, verse 42. Our Lord says it very plainly, Matthew 10 and verse 42. Look what he says.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 10:42

"And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."

In other words, it's just as we minister to God's people that we minister to God. It is indeed an act of righteousness on God's part to encourage, to uplift and reward those who serve him. Remember what I said at the beginning, God will never be any man's debtor. You cannot out-give God, out-bless God, and out-reward God. Now, I want you to note something about Numbers 25. What did Phinehas do?

Exposing and Fighting Sin as Service to God

Phinehas's act was not just giving comfort but exposing and eradicating sin. God's preachers are often hated for this, but exposing sin is a blessing that leads to repentance, as seen in David's confrontation by Nathan.

Phinehas took a spear and went in and eradicated the evil that was among the people. Let me just put it to you in a general sense. What Phinehas was doing was exposing and fighting against sin and wickedness, even when it was in a higher level. Remember, it was a prince that he killed. And by the way, the Moabitish damsel was a princess as well. So what God is telling us, it is a service to God and it is a ministry to God's people to expose and fight against sin and wickedness. And as he was exposing and fighting against sin and wickedness, he stopped the plague that had fallen upon the nation. 24,000 people had been killed.

Now, stop and think about this. We think about giving a cup of cold water. We think about providing food. We think about providing someone with comfort and care when they have needs, but certainly that is a good work. Certainly that is needed and necessary. But Phinehas was not giving a cup of cold water. Phinehas was not giving comfort and consolation. He was exposing and taking care of sin and wickedness.

It is absolutely amazing to me how God's preachers—and I'm emphasizing the term God's—how God's preachers are criticized, persecuted, hated, and maligned simply for doing that which God has commanded us to do. And that is to expose and fight against sin and wickedness. Have you ever wondered why people hate it when preachers rebuke them and expose them and reprove them? Here's the answer. Because they love their sin more than righteousness. They love their wickedness more than truth. Therefore, they take up a view of God's preachers and they think all of God's preachers are narrow minded, bigoted, old fashioned and just plain hard to get along with. You know, I get so upset listening to the news. And especially to the preachers that are on the news.

I got so angry, I just turned it off and walked off because Joel Osteen—and I don't even know the man, he's got a big church, thousands of members—he was on and someone asked him about the hurricane and he said, well, it's just a natural catastrophe and those things happen. Oh, Lord, have mercy. You've missed a perfect opportunity to explain the righteousness of God and the anger of God and expose wickedness and sin and ungodliness. But yet you take someone who will just simply make a statement like that and like Billy Graham, you know what his statement was. Here's how Billy Graham explained Katrina. He said, "Evil is a mystery. And we don't understand it now, but someday we will." Oh, what an in-depth statement. What an in-depth statement. Here he had a perfect opportunity and he blew it. You know what the Bible said in Isaiah 58? Here's what God commands. "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." God said, expose it. He didn't say cover it up and pretend like it's something that's normal and natural. You say, but Brother Weaver, that's in the Old Testament. Oh yeah, I know.

How about 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 2? Is that in the Old Testament? Where God told Timothy,

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 4:2

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

You see what I'm saying? Here Phinehas is exposing and dealing with and judging sin and wickedness. It's amazing how all of us would sin. And then when we're caught in our sin, we get embarrassed. Let me tell you something, folks, if you're just embarrassed because you're caught in your sin, there's no repentance in your life. You know, the Bible talks about in 2 Corinthians, a worldly sorrow and a godly sorrow, a godly sorrow worketh repentance, the Bible says not to be repented of, you know, the worldly sorrow. A worldly sorrow just means you're upset and you're humiliated and you're embarrassed that you got caught. There's no sorrow for your sin. It's not that you violated God's law. It's not that you displeased God and dishonored him. You're just embarrassed that you got caught in your sin. But let me tell you something, folks, when God will have mercy upon a people, when God will have mercy upon an individual, the first thing he does is expose their sins.

The very first thing he does. Do you remember when David committed adultery with Bathsheba? You remember how the great pains he took to cover it up. How he got Uriah, her husband, back. And he tried to make him go down and sleep with his wife and he wouldn't do it. And then David made him drunk and he still wouldn't do it. And then finally David said to Joab, put him in the foremost front of battle and retire from him that he may be smitten.

And that's exactly what happened. And David murdered the man by the hands of his enemies. And that's how God charged him with that. But when David had taken all these great pains to cover it up, when you come to 2 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 1, the Bible says this.

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:1-7

"And the LORD sent Nathan unto David."

And what did Nathan say?

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:1-7

"There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor."

And he goes into this story. And boy, David is so incensed at the arrogance and the wickedness of this rich man who spares of his own flock and takes the only little lamb, the only little sheep of the poor man. And David said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:1-7

"The man that hath done this thing shall surely die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold."

And old Nathan with that long bony finger said, "Thou art the man." But you know something? Forgiving David. God was getting David back in a position to be used by him.

And what did he do? He began by exposing his sin. God can never use us until our sins are dealt with openly and honestly. Now, what God does for an individual, He also does for a people. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 15. You'll see the same truth there. 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 15. Look what happens. "And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place." So when God is going to have compassion upon someone, what does He do? He sends them preachers.

And not just any preacher. He sends them preachers that will expose their sin and bring them back to repentance and faith. You see, when God curses a people, God either removes or silences his preachers. Those who are rebuked, listen carefully, those who are rebuked, reproved and exhorted by God's preachers really do not understand how blessed they really are. Because if God did not care about you, He would not send someone to rebuke you and reprove you and expose your sin that you might repent by His grace and be brought back under His blessings. So it's really the blessing of God when you have somebody who's going to preach hard and teach hard and say, here's your sins, here's your wickedness, here's your ungodliness, and I'm going to rebuke you in the name of Christ and reprove you according to Scripture. Why? Not because I hate you, but to bring repentance in your life, to bring you back to submission and obedience to God, to put you back under the place of blessing.

The Negative Side: God Dishonors Those Who Dishonor Him

The lex talionis (law of retribution) means God will reward the wicked according to their works. Scripture examples include David's prayer against Joab, Paul's prayer concerning Alexander the coppersmith, and Revelation's judgment on Babylon.

You've got to have both. Now, what I'm trying to make is this. God always gives us a positive and a negative. When he says, "Thou shalt not steal," what's he saying? The positive is that we're to work with our hands, labor honestly, that we may have to give to those who need, according to Ephesians chapter 4. When he said "Thou shalt not kill," the positive is thou shalt preserve life. When God says "Them that honour me I will honour," that's the positive. The negative is "for they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." Isn't that amazing? Not only will Christ honor those who honor him, he will dishonor those who dishonor him.

This is known, once again, as the Lex Talionis. It is the law of retribution. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. So if God says, you dishonored me, fine, I shall dishonor you.

Now, David understood this principle. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 3. I hope you'll remember that Joab and Abishai, his brother, murdered Abner, the son of Ner. And the reason they murdered him was because he killed Asahel, their brother, in battle. And by the way, it was not Abner's fault. Abner begged Asahel to turn back, and he wouldn't. And so finally, Abner had to kill him just to keep him from killing himself. And so now, Abner comes to David and David and Abner enter into a covenant together. And Joab and Abishai hear about it, and when they come in, they call Abner to the side and they murder him. Look what David said in 2 Samuel 3 and verse 39. David said concerning these two men who murdered Abner.

"And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me." Now look what he prays. "The LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness." Joab, Abishai, you took care of Abner, but now God's going to take care of you. The Lord rewards. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 94 and verse 2. In fact, this prayer, I could multiply the scripture, but this prayer is prayed over and over in scripture. Look at Psalm 94 and verse 2. Psalm 94, verse 2, here it is. In fact, let's read verse 1. He says, "O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself." Now, look, here's the prayer. "Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud."

Give them what they deserve. Well, that's a prayer, isn't it? Then he asked the question, "LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?" And he talks about their wickedness. David praying for that God would smite them, that God would reward them. They are dishonoring God, so he wants them to be dishonored by God. Please pray tell, what did God do to Biotharo? He destroyed him. Did he honor or dishonor wicked Haman? Consider what God did to Balaam, to Cain.

And to those men who opposed Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Look in the Bible, as well as history, at the tyrannical rulers that God deposed. Look at the wicked priests that He defrocked and destroyed. Hophni, Phinehas, Abiathar, and I don't know how many others, but those are specifically pointed out in Scripture. And once again, I can hear someone saying, oh, but Brother Weaver, oh, that's in the Old Testament. I mean, you know, God in the Old Testament, he was a God of vengeance. But when you get to the New Testament, all he is is a God of love.

He's so loving and so forgiving. Listen, I know that God is love. Scripture says that. I know that God is a forgiving God. Scripture says that as well. But the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament, and God does not change. God is immutable. He will not be one thing in one era and something totally different in another era. God does not change. Do you know what the Apostle Paul prayed concerning Alexander the coppersmith?

And you'll find this in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 14. Alexander the coppersmith was a wicked, vile man. And Paul prayed this. He said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 4:14

"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works."

The Lord reward him according to his works. In other words, give back to him that which he has done. He's dishonored God. Let God dishonor him. If you look in your Bibles, 2 Peter, Chapter 2. 2 Peter, Chapter 2, you'll find Peter says exactly the same thing. 2 Peter, Chapter 2. And look, if you would please, at verses 13 and 14, we'll read both of them. He's talking about wicked people. Verse 13. He's talking about these people. In fact, go back to verse 12.

"But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children." But notice verse 13, "and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness." Do you think our Lord is going to allow those who dishonor him to get away without being dishonored? The answer is no. It's the lex talionis. Look in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 18. Everyone knows about wicked Babylon. Commercial Babylon, religious Babylon, but look what the scripture says. Revelation 18 beginning there with verse 4. "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Are you looking now?

"Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double." What's God going to do? He's going to see to it that those who dishonor him are dishonored. Look at what our Lord said in Revelation 22 and verse 12, since you're right there. Revelation 22 and verse 12. Our Lord says, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." My reward is with me. God says, I'm going to pay you back. Those that honor me will I honor. Those that dishonor me shall be lightly esteemed. And we shall see exactly how lightly esteemed they are when according to Psalm 58, the judgment of God falls upon them, and it falls upon them in such devastation that we say with the psalmist in Psalm 58, verse 11, "So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth." What's the psalmist saying? He most definitely knows how to honor those who honor him, and how to dishonor those who dishonor Him.

Applications: Honoring God Daily and Without Compromise

Believers must daily examine their lives to honor God and must honor Him even when it means dishonoring men's beliefs, rejecting tolerance and political correctness. There is no middle ground; we either stand with Christ or against Him.

Now let me make some applications. The first one is this. We either honor or dishonor our Lord in our lives on a daily basis. Do you realize if we want to be considered of God, we need to be considerate of him as well. If we wish to be honored by him, we must honor him. In other words, we must learn on a daily basis to stop, examine our thinking, examine our attitudes, examine our dispositions, examine our actions and see whether or not they are pleasing or displeasing, honoring or dishonoring to the Lord.

So we have opportunities every day. But the second application is this, and listen carefully, we must honor Him even when it seems and appears that we are dishonoring men and their beliefs. There is that cry today to be tolerant, to be politically correct. And I've got news for you folks. Scripture is exceedingly discriminating. And God is a discriminating God. And even when Scripture draws the ire and the wrath and the vindictiveness of the politically correct and the religiously tolerant, we still must stand for his truth. Let me give you a quote, and I want you to listen. Dennis Johnson said this. Listen carefully.

"The Lord's witnesses are to challenge the gods in which people trust, revealing all their emptiness and impotence. To bring God's salvation to the ends of the earth, Jesus' witnesses must unmask treasured idols, encountering hostility from those whose security is shaken by God's truth. Although the community of Lord's service witnesses is characterized by tangible love that is attractive to outsiders, their testimony makes no peace with any alternative faith to Christ. Religious solutions, apart from Christ the Savior, are dangerous frauds with which there can be no compromise or polite toleration." What did he say? He said it's our duty to challenge and unmask the false idols of other people. It's our responsibility to make sure that we do not compromise his truth and say that, yes, there is a middle ground somewhere that we can all meet on. No, there is no middle ground.

As Moses drew that line and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me." There's no middle ground. The simple truth is this, folks. We either stand for Christ or we stand against Him. We either honor Him or we dishonor Him. We both believe and declare all of God's Word or we stand against Him. We work with Him in obedience to the totality of His Word or we work against Him. Christ summed it up beautifully in Matthew 12 and verse 30. What did He say?

"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." This last principle of learning God's righteousness must be indelibly pressed upon our minds. Christ will always honor those who honor Him. And we must also remember those who dishonor Him shall be lightly esteemed. You cannot be disrespectful, disobedient, and dishonorable to the Son of God and expect the Father to be pleased with you. But Christ will be no man's debtor. You honor Him, and He will honor you. Even when you have no inherent claim to reward, it's still a righteous thing with God to reward those who faithfully and obediently serve Him. Let's pray. Father, we are so thankful for Your righteousness.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God's Righteousness in Rewarding Faithful Service

Summary: God is righteous in not forgetting the works and labor of love shown toward His name, and He promises to honor those who honor Him.

Evidence: Hebrews 6:10 states, 'For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.'

The Principle of Honor and Dishonor

Summary: From 1 Samuel 2:30, God declares He will honor those who honor Him and lightly esteem those who despise Him, a principle from which He will not depart.

Evidence: 1 Samuel 2:30: 'them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.'

God Is No Man's Debtor

Summary: No one can out-give or out-bless God because He has already given us everything; He always rewards those who serve Him.

Evidence: Romans 11:35: 'Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?'

Exposing Sin as a Service to God

Summary: Phinehas's act of killing the sinners was a service to God that stopped the plague, showing that exposing and fighting sin is a ministry to God's people.

Evidence: Numbers 25:7-8 describes Phinehas taking a javelin and killing the man and woman, staying the plague.

The Necessity of Honoring God Even When It Dishonors Men

Summary: Believers must stand for God's truth even when it brings the wrath of the politically correct and religiously tolerant, as there is no middle ground.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Dennis Johnson: 'The Lord's witnesses are to challenge the gods in which people trust...'

The Lex Talionis: God Dishonors Those Who Dishonor Him

Summary: God's law of retribution ensures that those who dishonor Him will be dishonored, as seen in prayers for reward against the wicked and Revelation's judgment.

Evidence: Revelation 18:6: 'Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works.'

Key Arguments

Phinehas's zeal earned him an everlasting priesthood because he honored God by executing judgment on sin.

Summary: Phinehas's act of killing the sinful prince and Moabitish woman turned away God's wrath, and God rewarded him with a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood.

Evidence: Numbers 25:11-13: 'Phinehas... hath turned my wrath away... I give unto him my covenant of peace... even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.'

No one can put God in their debt because He has given us everything.

Summary: Romans 11:35 asks who has first given to God that He should repay, emphasizing that God is the source of all we have, so we cannot out-give Him.

Evidence: Romans 11:35: 'Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?'

God's promise to honor those who honor Him is unalterable.

Summary: 1 Samuel 2:30 establishes a fixed principle: God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him, and He will not depart from it.

Evidence: 1 Samuel 2:30: 'them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.'

Rewards from God are based on His gracious promise, not our merit.

Summary: Luke 17:7-10 teaches that even perfect obedience is only our duty; we are unprofitable servants with no inherent claim to reward, so God's rewards are gracious.

Evidence: Luke 17:10: 'So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.'

Ministering to the saints is ministering to God and will be rewarded.

Summary: Matthew 25:40 shows that acts of kindness to the least of Christ's brethren are done to Him, and Matthew 10:42 promises that even a cup of cold water given in His name will not lose its reward.

Evidence: Matthew 25:40: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.'

Exposing sin is a necessary work of God's preachers and a blessing to bring repentance.

Summary: God sends preachers to expose sin as an act of compassion (2 Chronicles 36:15), and David's restoration began with Nathan exposing his sin (2 Samuel 12).

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 36:15: 'And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers... because he had compassion on his people.'

God will dishonor those who dishonor Him according to the lex talionis.

Summary: Scripture shows that God rewards the wicked according to their works, as in David's prayer (2 Samuel 3:39), Paul's prayer (2 Timothy 4:14), and Revelation 18:6.

Evidence: 2 Timothy 4:14: 'Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works.'

Believers must honor God without compromise, even when it means dishonoring men.

Summary: There is no middle ground; we either stand with Christ or against Him (Matthew 12:30). Honoring God requires unmasking false idols and rejecting tolerance that compromises truth.

Evidence: Matthew 12:30: 'He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.'

Scripture References

Micah 6:5

Context: God commands His people to remember what Balak consulted and what Balaam answered from Shittim to Gilgal, that they may know the righteousness of the Lord.

Numbers 25:7-13

Context: Phinehas kills the Israelite man and Moabitish woman, staying the plague; God gives him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for God.

Romans 11:33-35

Context: Paul extols the depth of God's wisdom and knowledge, asking who has first given to God that He should repay, emphasizing God's self-sufficiency.

1 Samuel 2:30

Context: God declares that He will honor those who honor Him and lightly esteem those who despise Him, a principle He will not alter.

Matthew 19:27-29

Context: Peter asks what they will have for forsaking all; Jesus promises that those who forsake houses or family for His name's sake will receive a hundredfold and inherit everlasting life.

Hebrews 6:10

Context: God is not unrighteous to forget the work and labor of love shown toward His name in ministering to the saints.

Luke 17:7-10

Context: Jesus teaches that a servant who does all commanded is still an unprofitable servant, having only done his duty, showing we have no inherent claim to reward.

Isaiah 26:12

Context: The Lord ordains peace for us and has wrought all our works in us, emphasizing God's grace in our obedience.

Matthew 25:31-46

Context: The Son of Man separates sheep and goats, rewarding those who ministered to the least of His brethren as doing it to Him, and condemning those who did not.

Matthew 10:42

Context: Whoever gives a cup of cold water to a little one in the name of a disciple will by no means lose his reward.

Isaiah 58:1

Context: God commands to cry aloud and show His people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins.

2 Timothy 4:2

Context: Paul charges Timothy to preach the word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

2 Samuel 12:1-7

Context: Nathan confronts David with the parable of the rich man and the poor man's lamb, exposing David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah.

2 Chronicles 36:15

Context: God sent messengers to His people rising up early because He had compassion on them, showing that exposing sin is an act of mercy.

Psalm 19:11

Context: By God's commandments His servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.

Luke 6:26

Context: Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

Matthew 5:11-12

Context: Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake; rejoice for great is your reward in heaven.

2 Samuel 3:39

Context: David prays that the Lord will reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness, referring to Joab and Abishai's murder of Abner.

Psalm 94:1-2

Context: The psalmist calls on the Lord God of vengeance to show Himself and render a reward to the proud.

2 Timothy 4:14

Context: Paul says Alexander the coppersmith did him much evil, and prays the Lord reward him according to his works.

Historical References

Phinehas's zeal in Numbers 25

Context: Phinehas, son of Eleazar, killed an Israelite prince and a Moabitish princess to stop a plague, earning God's covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood.

David's sin with Bathsheba and Nathan's confrontation

Context: David committed adultery and murder, tried to cover it up, but God sent Nathan to expose his sin, leading to repentance.

Joab and Abishai's murder of Abner

Context: Joab and Abishai murdered Abner in revenge for their brother Asahel's death; David prayed that God would reward them according to their wickedness.

Alexander the coppersmith

Context: Paul prayed that the Lord would reward Alexander according to his works for the evil he did to Paul.

Babylon in Revelation 18

Context: God commands to reward Babylon double according to her works, illustrating the lex talionis.

American Revolution and the doctrine of interposition

Context: Weaver mentions that the doctrine of interposition was exercised in the American Revolution, where lesser magistrates stepped in when higher magistrates failed.

Joel Osteen and Billy Graham's responses to Hurricane Katrina

Context: Weaver criticizes Joel Osteen for calling Katrina a natural catastrophe and Billy Graham for calling evil a mystery, saying they missed an opportunity to expose sin.

Important Quotes

Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Significance: This is the central principle of the sermon, quoted from 1 Samuel 2:30, establishing that God's honor and dishonor are based on our response to Him.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Significance: This verse from Hebrews 6:10 is used to show that God's righteousness includes remembering and rewarding the service of His people.

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Significance: This quote from Luke 17:10 emphasizes that even perfect obedience does not earn reward; it is only duty, highlighting God's grace in rewarding.

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Significance: From Matthew 25:40, this shows that ministering to the saints is ministering to Christ Himself, and such works will not be forgotten.

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Significance: Isaiah 58:1 is used to argue that God's preachers must expose sin, not cover it up, as a necessary part of honoring God.

He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Significance: Matthew 12:30 is the concluding call to uncompromising allegiance to Christ, with no middle ground.

Discussion Questions

How does Phinehas's act of zeal in Numbers 25 demonstrate the principle that Christ honors those who honor Him, and what does this teach us about dealing with sin today?

Context: Weaver uses Phinehas as the primary example of honoring God by executing judgment on sin, which earned him an everlasting priesthood.

In what ways does the truth that 'God is no man's debtor' (Romans 11:35) affect our motivation for serving and giving to God?

Context: Weaver argues that we cannot out-give God because He has given us everything, so our service is a response to His prior grace.

How should the principle from 1 Samuel 2:30 ('them that honour me I will honour') shape our daily decisions and priorities?

Context: Weaver applies this principle to tithing, financial stewardship, and consistent faithfulness, even in difficult times.

Why is it important to understand that our rewards from God are based on His gracious promise rather than our inherent right (Luke 17:10)?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that even perfect obedience is only duty, so rewards are entirely gracious, preventing pride and entitlement.

What does it mean to minister to God by ministering to the saints, and how can we practically do this in our church community?

Context: Weaver points to Matthew 25:40 and Matthew 10:42 to show that acts of love to believers are done to Christ and will be rewarded.

Why is exposing sin considered a service to God and a blessing to His people, and how should we respond when our own sins are exposed?

Context: Weaver contrasts worldly sorrow (embarrassment at being caught) with godly sorrow (repentance), using David's confrontation with Nathan as an example.

How does the lex talionis (law of retribution) operate in Scripture, and what does it teach us about God's justice toward those who dishonor Him?

Context: Weaver cites David's prayer, Paul's prayer, and Revelation 18 to show that God will reward the wicked according to their works.

In what areas of life are we tempted to compromise honoring God in order to honor men, and how can we stand firm in truth?

Context: Weaver warns against political correctness and religious tolerance, calling for unmasking false idols and refusing middle ground.

Applications

Daily Examination to Honor God

Summary: Believers must daily examine their thinking, attitudes, dispositions, and actions to ensure they are honoring God, not dishonoring Him.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'we must learn on a daily basis to stop, examine our thinking, examine our attitudes, examine our dispositions, examine our actions and see whether or not they are pleasing or displeasing, honoring or dishonoring to the Lord.'

Honoring God Even When It Dishonors Men

Summary: Christians must stand for God's truth even when it brings the wrath of the politically correct and religiously tolerant, refusing to compromise.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'even when Scripture draws the ire and the wrath and the vindictiveness of the politically correct and the religiously tolerant, we still must stand for his truth.'

Faithful Tithing and Financial Stewardship

Summary: Honoring God with the firstfruits of our income (tithing) and saving a portion is a practical way to honor God and trust His provision.

Evidence: Weaver advises, 'The very first thing you ought to do is to recognize God's sovereignty, recognize God's ownership of this earth and everything and give him his. The second thing you ought to do is take another 10 percent minimum and save it.'

Exposing Sin as an Act of Love

Summary: God's preachers and believers should not shy away from exposing sin, as it is a means of bringing repentance and restoration to God's blessing.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'when God will have mercy upon a people, when God will have mercy upon an individual, the first thing he does is expose their sins.'

Rejecting Worldly Sorrow for Godly Repentance

Summary: When sin is exposed, believers should respond with godly sorrow that leads to repentance, not mere embarrassment at being caught.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'if you're just embarrassed because you're caught in your sin, there's no repentance in your life... A worldly sorrow just means you're upset and you're humiliated and you're embarrassed that you got caught.'

Ministering to the Saints as Ministering to Christ

Summary: Practical acts of love and service to fellow believers, even small ones like giving a cup of cold water, are done to Christ and will be rewarded.

Evidence: Weaver cites Matthew 25:40 and Matthew 10:42 to show that ministering to the least of Christ's brethren is ministering to Him.

No Middle Ground in Allegiance to Christ

Summary: Believers must recognize that there is no neutral position; we either honor Christ by full obedience or stand against Him.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Matthew 12:30: 'He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:45:59Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:37:56Z

Clean Transcript

Learning the Righteousness of God - 6

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Alright, let's open our Bibles to Micah chapter 6. Micah chapter 6. And we're going to just pick up with verse 5. Micah chapter 6 and verse 5. And this is the sixth and final message on this short series of learning the righteousness of God. And look, if you would please, at verse 5 where God says, "O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD." So God tells us in this verse that we are to remember particularly and specifically what Balaam consulted and what Balaam answered in Shittim and in Gilgal, that we might know specifically the righteousness of the Lord. Then we went back to Numbers chapter 25, where I ask you to turn back there now. That is the passage which explains what happened at Shittim where the judgment of God fell upon those people. And here we can see and learn once again another aspect of the righteousness of God.
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Now, before I begin with this final point today, let me just refresh your memory by giving you all of the main points so far that we've learned. And once you begin to tie these things together, I think you can come up with a full picture of God's righteousness. The very first truth we learned was this, that God's law-word is our standard for righteousness, and any deviation from that truth is sin and wickedness. God's law-word is our standard for righteousness. And any deviation from that is sin and wickedness. And I told you under this point that when God forbids any sin, at the same time He forbids anything and everything that leads up to that sin. So our dispositions, our attitudes, our lusts, all of these things are just as condemned as the physical act themselves. The second truth we learned was this, that sin places us under the judgment and the curse of God no matter how we get there. It doesn't matter if we purposely, deliberately, malignantly, and willfully walk into sin, or whether or not we're tempted, enticed, seduced, and get there ignorantly.
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It doesn't matter. Once we are involved in sin, we're under the curse and judgment of God. The third principle that I enunciated is this, that partial obedience is disobedience. Our Lord demands that we obey Him personally, perfectly, and perpetually. But what some people try to think is this, well, I'm obedient in this area, and so therefore He's going to excuse my disobedience in another area. No, that does not work like that. And so partial obedience is disobedience. The fourth principle I enunciated was this.
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I tried to show you the intimate connection between immorality and idolatry. And I showed you that every immoral person was indeed an idolater. You cannot violate the seventh commandment. You cannot violate the tenth commandment without having first violated the first commandment. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Anytime you violate any of God's law, you've already violated the first commandment. You've dethroned God and enthroned yourself. And saying, I don't care what God says, this is the way that I'm going to do it. So very obviously, then, immorality and idolatry go together.
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The fifth principle that I enunciated was this. We must see the connection between sin and the righteous judgment of God upon disobedience. So we must see the connection between sin and judgment and disobedience and the righteous anger of God. And in this point, I showed you how that God had to righteously judge sin. If you understand in any degree His sovereignty, His holiness, and His justice, you will see how God then has to not only hate sin, but has to judge sin. And then last week, I dealt with this point that we must see that when God's designated rulers fail to exercise His judgment, He always raises up alternative judges. This is what is known as the doctrine of interposition, and I went through the Bible and I tried to show you how that this is enunciated in the Bible.
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It is exemplified in the life of Christ, and it was certainly exercised in the American Revolution. If you don't understand this principle, you don't understand how our country came into existence. Moreover, I tried to show you how that any lesser magistrate could step in and fulfill the office of a higher magistrate when that higher magistrate failed to do his duty, because a magistrate is a magistrate. It is only a matter of degrees, and the doctrine of interposition showed that magistrates not only have the right and the authority to quell rebellion among the people, but they also have the right and the authority to quell rebellion among other civil magistrates. And, of course, I tried to show you that not only historically, but biblically as well.
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Now, today we're going to come to this last and final seventh point, and that is simply this: that Christ honors those who honor Him. Look, if you would, please, beginning with verse 7, Numbers 25. "And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel."
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Now I want you to know what Phinehas did. Phinehas in a righteous anger and in a righteous act went in and killed those whom God had already said should be killed. I pointed out how Moses and some of the other judges were in front of the tabernacle praying and crying according to what the scripture says. But when Phinehas saw this prince bring this Moabitish woman into the camp, he took matters into his hands, since he too was a magistrate, albeit a lesser one, and went in and took care of the problem. Now, God says, because he did that, I'm going to give him my covenant. And it's going to be the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. Now, I want you to understand, here's a simple truth, that God honors those who honor him. God will be no man's debtor, period.
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Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Numbers 25, but look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11, and let me show you why it is absolutely impossible to bring God into your debt. Why it is absolutely impossible for God to be any man's debtor. In fact, you're going to hear me say that over and over today. Look in Romans 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 33.
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Here the Apostle Paul writes, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?"
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Now look at verse 35. "Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?"
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Now, what in the world is God telling us? God is telling us that no one can first give to God. God says, you just show me anyone who's first given to me and I'll pay him back again. Why is it impossible to give to God first? God gave us our life. God gave us our being. God gave us our health. God gave us our intellect. God gave us everything that we have and everything that we possess. So we cannot first give to God.
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Doesn't matter who you are. Doesn't matter where you are. God has already given to you first. And the only thing you can do is give back to God a portion or a partial amount of that which God has already given you. And so God is telling us that He always blesses and He always rewards those who faithfully serve Him.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30. You've heard me quote this verse many times. It's one of my favorite verses in the Bible. And I want today to really expound upon this verse, and I think you're going to see it all the way through. 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30, God says this, "Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me;" here's the principle He's enunciating, "for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." God says them that honour me will I honour, and them that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Now, this is a principle from which God will not depart.
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There will be no alteration. Every promise that God has made is in reference to this principle. Those who honor God shall be honored by God, and those who despise God shall be lightly esteemed.
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Now, I just read to you from Numbers chapter 25 where Phinehas honored God and did that which was right and well-pleasing in his eyes. And then God turned around and honored Phinehas. It is absolutely impossible to out-give, out-bless, and out-reward God. And let me just point out the fact it is even impossible to out-bless and out-give and out-reward God even in this life.
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You said, what are you talking about? Well, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 19. Look at Matthew chapter 19. And there's an interesting verse that our Lord gives here, Matthew chapter 19. And look, if you would please, in verse 27. "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" The words we've given up everything. And by the way, Peter, James, and John.
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If I were to take you through the scripture, they not only gave up their fishing vessels and fishing nets, but they even walked off when their greatest catch of their life was there in front of them. And they walked off and left everything. Look what our Lord said, "And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
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Well, that's good for them, but what about us? Here it is. "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." What did God say? God said, if you've lost anything, if you've given up anything for me, you will end up receiving a hundredfold more even in this life. Now, that's why I'm telling you, you cannot out give God. You cannot out reward God. You cannot out bless God.
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Let me tell you something that I have told innumerable people. How many listen to me? I never know. How many apply the truth? I never know. But I want to tell you something, you will never, ever advance financially until you first learn to honor God with your time. "Them that honour me I will honour," saith the Lord. If you honor God through thick and thin, God will honor you. I've had people tell me, "Pastor, I can't afford the tithe." The truth is you can't afford not to.
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And let me tell you, if I'm doing business with Doc and he cuts me off and will not give me any more credit, I might could go over and get some credit from Brother Ernie. But if God cuts me off, I can't get credit from anybody. Now, listen to what I tell people. I tell people you ought to do two things. The very first thing you ought to do is to recognize God's sovereignty, recognize God's ownership of this earth and everything and give him his. The second thing you ought to do is take another 10 percent minimum and save it.
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And then you live on the rest. You will never, ever get ahead until you, first of all, recognize and honor God first. That's a principle. "Them that honour me I will honour," saith the Lord. Then you certainly ought to have enough brains about you to say, hey, I've got to put something back for a rainy day as well. And as God prospers you, you can put more and more and more back. And let me tell you something.
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I realize that sometimes this is difficult. It is hard. But my wife can tell you there have been times in our lives when we have eaten peas all week long. Peas, water, and bread, and nothing else. Because we didn't have it. But we still tithed. The most difficult thing is being consistent and being faithful. But once you recognize God and you honor Him, God says, I'm honoring you.
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Now, let me show you this principle in Scripture. Look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 6. Here it is, Hebrews chapter 6. And let's begin reading there with verse 10, Hebrews 6, verse 10. And I want to spend a few minutes on this verse because it's an exceedingly important verse, because you remember the whole series has been learning the righteousness of God. And I'm showing you from Scripture that those that honor God, God will honor. And let me point out, it is a matter of righteousness to Him. Look in Hebrews chapter 6, if you would please, at verse 10.
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The Bible says very plainly, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Now look at that. "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." First of all, I want you to note in Hebrews 6 and verse 10, this verse expressly states that God is not unfaithful to his own gracious promise.
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He has promised blessings and rewards to those who lovingly and obediently serve him. Now, let me get your attention. Because I want you to understand what I'm about to say. Although God has promised rewards to those who lovingly and faithfully and obediently serve him, these rewards are not ours by inherent right. In other words, we don't deserve them. They're based upon God's graciousness. We have no claim upon them. Let me show you.
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Look in your Bible to the book of Luke chapter 17, Luke 17. In other words, the principle is simply this. The servant absolutely has no claim upon his master. Luke chapter 17. And notice what our Lord says. Luke 17, let's suppose before I read this passage, let's suppose that today, tomorrow and all this week, you are perfectly obedient. You do not disobey God in any way whatsoever, mentally, physically, emotionally, financially. Let's suppose you were just perfect.
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You've done everything that was commanded you. Does that mean that you are a reward? And the answer is absolutely not. Look in Luke Chapter 17. Beginning there, verse 7, our Lord says, "But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?" Now watch. "Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not." Look what God says. "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."
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Do you see what he's saying? If we were a perfect servant, if we were obedient at everything, that's just our duty. You don't get rewards for doing your duty. You don't get rewards for doing what you've been commanded to do. So that's why I'm saying that although God is faithful to his own gracious promise, we've got to understand that we have no inherent claim to reward. Because whatever we do is just simply our duty to do. And once we've done our duty, what does he say we must say? We're unprofitable servants.
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We haven't gone over and above and beyond what you required us. We've just simply done our duty.
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Secondly, we must also consider that our best performances bear no proportion to what we leave undone. Isn't it wonderful that one of these days everything seems to go right? And man, you just, and I hate to use this word, but here it is, you just feel so good about it. But look at the days that things didn't go right and you didn't do what you were supposed to do. You follow me? So just because we happen to be obedient one time certainly does not bear proportion to all those times when we were not obedient. And by the way, we must also confess and acknowledge that when we are obedient and when we do right, that we do right only because of the grace and the power and the mercy of God that is in us.
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That's why I said in Isaiah 26 and verse 12, "LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us." So the very first thing we've got to remember is this, that God is faithful to his own promise. And when God promises to reward and bless us, it is not due to our inherent right to any reward. It's God being faithful to his own gracious promise.
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Now, go back to Hebrews chapter 6, because there's a second thing I want you to see, and that is simply this, that our works and that our labor of love is not and will not be forgotten by God. Look what he said in Hebrews 6 and verse 10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love." Good works and labor proceeding from the love to God are commendable and when done in the name of God, they will not go unrewarded. By the way, I'm not going to take time to deal with it today, but a good work is explained in the scripture. A good work is what God demands.
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It's not what we say it is. OK. Now, look in your Bibles, hold Hebrews 6, but look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 25. I want you to notice what our Lord says in relationship. He's talking about that and He is not going to forget our works and our labor of love in this passage is going to tie right in with what I'm going to say next. Look at Matthew chapter 25 and let's begin reading there verse 31.
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"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
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Now look what our Lord says. "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
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"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
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Now notice what he said. Here are these good works, just some of them. Here's this labor of love. And he said, inasmuch as you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me. And what he's saying is that good works are never, ever going to be forgotten by God. They're not going to be overlooked. Here's a third point, and I'm tying this together, and that is simply this. It's important to understand that we minister to God by ministering to the saints. What does God need that we have? Nothing. He has everything. He owns everything.
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And in other words, if we want to bless God, we must be a blessing to His people, fulfilling their needs, lifting them up, even a cup of cold water given in his name will not go unrewarded. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 10, since you're there, Matthew 10, verse 42. Our Lord says it very plainly, Matthew 10 and verse 42. Look what he says. "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." In other words, it's just as we minister to God's people that we minister to God. It is indeed an act of righteousness on God's part to encourage, to uplift and reward those who serve him. Remember what I said at the beginning, God will never be any man's debtor. You cannot out-give God, out-bless God, and out-reward God. Now, I want you to note something about Numbers 25. What did Phinehas do?
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Phinehas took a spear and went in and eradicated the evil that was among the people. Let me just put it to you in a general sense. What Phinehas was doing was exposing and fighting against sin and wickedness, even when it was in a higher level. Remember, it was a prince that he killed. And by the way, the Moabitish damsel was a princess as well. So what God is telling us, it is a service to God and it is a ministry to God's people to expose and fight against sin and wickedness. And as he was exposing and fighting against sin and wickedness, he stopped the plague that had fallen upon the nation. 24,000 people had been killed.
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Now, stop and think about this. We think about giving a cup of cold water. We think about providing food. We think about providing someone with comfort and care when they have needs, but certainly that is a good work. Certainly that is needed and necessary. But Phinehas was not giving a cup of cold water. Phinehas was not giving comfort and consolation. He was exposing and taking care of sin and wickedness.
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It is absolutely amazing to me how God's preachers—and I'm emphasizing the term God's—how God's preachers are criticized, persecuted, hated, and maligned simply for doing that which God has commanded us to do. And that is to expose and fight against sin and wickedness. Have you ever wondered why people hate it when preachers rebuke them and expose them and reprove them? Here's the answer. Because they love their sin more than righteousness. They love their wickedness more than truth. Therefore, they take up a view of God's preachers and they think all of God's preachers are narrow minded, bigoted, old fashioned and just plain hard to get along with. You know, I get so upset listening to the news. And especially to the preachers that are on the news.
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I got so angry, I just turned it off and walked off because Joel Osteen—and I don't even know the man, he's got a big church, thousands of members—he was on and someone asked him about the hurricane and he said, well, it's just a natural catastrophe and those things happen. Oh, Lord, have mercy. You've missed a perfect opportunity to explain the righteousness of God and the anger of God and expose wickedness and sin and ungodliness. But yet you take someone who will just simply make a statement like that and like Billy Graham, you know what his statement was. Here's how Billy Graham explained Katrina.
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He said, "Evil is a mystery. And we don't understand it now, but someday we will." Oh, what an in-depth statement. What an in-depth statement. Here he had a perfect opportunity and he blew it. You know what the Bible said in Isaiah 58? Here's what God commands. "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." God said, expose it. He didn't say cover it up and pretend like it's something that's normal and natural. You say, but Brother Weaver, that's in the Old Testament. Oh yeah, I know.
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How about 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 2? Is that in the Old Testament? Where God told Timothy, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." You see what I'm saying? Here Phinehas is exposing and dealing with and judging sin and wickedness. It's amazing how all of us would sin. And then when we're caught in our sin, we get embarrassed. Let me tell you something, folks, if you're just embarrassed because you're caught in your sin, there's no repentance in your life. You know, the Bible talks about in 2 Corinthians, a worldly sorrow and a godly sorrow, a godly sorrow worketh repentance, the Bible says not to be repented of, you know, the worldly sorrow. A worldly sorrow just means you're upset and you're humiliated and you're embarrassed that you got caught. There's no sorrow for your sin. It's not that you violated God's law. It's not that you displeased God and dishonored him. You're just embarrassed that you got caught in your sin. But let me tell you something, folks, when God will have mercy upon a people, when God will have mercy upon an individual, the first thing he does is expose their sins.
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The very first thing he does. Do you remember when David committed adultery with Bathsheba? You remember how the great pains he took to cover it up. How he got Uriah, her husband, back. And he tried to make him go down and sleep with his wife and he wouldn't do it. And then David made him drunk and he still wouldn't do it. And then finally David said to Joab, put him in the foremost front of battle and retire from him that he may be smitten.
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And that's exactly what happened. And David murdered the man by the hands of his enemies. And that's how God charged him with that. But when David had taken all these great pains to cover it up, when you come to 2 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 1, the Bible says this. "And the LORD sent Nathan unto David." And what did Nathan say? "There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor." And he goes into this story. And boy, David is so incensed at the arrogance and the wickedness of this rich man who spares of his own flock and takes the only little lamb, the only little sheep of the poor man. And David said, "The man that hath done this thing shall surely die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold." And old Nathan with that long bony finger said, "Thou art the man." But you know something? Forgiving David. God was getting David back in a position to be used by him.
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And what did he do? He began by exposing his sin. God can never use us until our sins are dealt with openly and honestly. Now, what God does for an individual, He also does for a people. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 15. You'll see the same truth there. 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 15. Look what happens. "And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place." So when God is going to have compassion upon someone, what does He do? He sends them preachers.
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And not just any preacher. He sends them preachers that will expose their sin and bring them back to repentance and faith. You see, when God curses a people, God either removes or silences his preachers. Those who are rebuked, listen carefully, those who are rebuked, reproved and exhorted by God's preachers really do not understand how blessed they really are. Because if God did not care about you, He would not send someone to rebuke you and reprove you and expose your sin that you might repent by His grace and be brought back under His blessings. So it's really the blessing of God when you have somebody who's going to preach hard and teach hard and say, here's your sins, here's your wickedness, here's your ungodliness, and I'm going to rebuke you in the name of Christ and reprove you according to Scripture. Why? Not because I hate you, but to bring repentance in your life, to bring you back to submission and obedience to God, to put you back under the place of blessing.
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Do you remember what David said concerning commandments of God in Psalm 19, verse 11? Let me just quote it. Now, remember, he's talking about the commandments of God, he said, "Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." So what does God's commandments do? They warn us. And as we keep them, we are rewarded, we are honored by God. What's he say?
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"Them that honour me I will honour," saith the Lord. "They that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." It's just that simple. Our Lord said it like this in Luke 6 and verse 26. "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets." If you can go through this life and everybody thinks you're hunky dory, you're all right, and you're a good guy and you're number one.
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Something is really wrong with your Christianity. You haven't taken a stand somewhere. You haven't exposed wickedness somewhere. What did our Lord say in Matthew 5, 11 and 12? Listen to this. In Matthew 5, 11 and 12, he tells us that God's blessings are upon us irrespective of the world's hatred and irrespective of the world's cursing. Here's what he said. "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."
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"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." What? "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." What is he saying? God's honor and God's blessing does not hinge upon man's recognition. Thank God for that. It does not hinge upon man's appropriation. God will honor us even when others dishonor us.
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I've taught you a principle in Scripture that I want to remind you of, and that is this. There are two sides to every coin. That is, in Scripture, there is always a positive and a negative. The two go together. You cannot have one without the other. And if you don't believe that, you just go out to your automobile and you either remove the positive cable from your battery and try to start it or remove the negative battery cable and try to start it.
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You've got to have both. Now, what I'm trying to make is this. God always gives us a positive and a negative. When he says, "Thou shalt not steal," what's he saying? The positive is that we're to work with our hands, labor honestly, that we may have to give to those who need, according to Ephesians chapter 4. When he said "Thou shalt not kill," the positive is thou shalt preserve life. When God says "Them that honour me I will honour," that's the positive. The negative is "for they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." Isn't that amazing? Not only will Christ honor those who honor him, he will dishonor those who dishonor him.
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This is known, once again, as the Lex Talionis. It is the law of retribution. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. So if God says, you dishonored me, fine, I shall dishonor you.
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Now, David understood this principle. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 3. I hope you'll remember that Joab and Abishai, his brother, murdered Abner, the son of Ner. And the reason they murdered him was because he killed Asahel, their brother, in battle. And by the way, it was not Abner's fault. Abner begged Asahel to turn back, and he wouldn't. And so finally, Abner had to kill him just to keep him from killing himself. And so now, Abner comes to David and David and Abner enter into a covenant together. And Joab and Abishai hear about it, and when they come in, they call Abner to the side and they murder him. Look what David said in 2 Samuel 3 and verse 39. David said concerning these two men who murdered Abner.
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"And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me." Now look what he prays. "The LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness." Joab, Abishai, you took care of Abner, but now God's going to take care of you. The Lord rewards. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 94 and verse 2. In fact, this prayer, I could multiply the scripture, but this prayer is prayed over and over in scripture. Look at Psalm 94 and verse 2. Psalm 94, verse 2, here it is. In fact, let's read verse 1. He says, "O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself." Now, look, here's the prayer. "Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud."
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Give them what they deserve. Well, that's a prayer, isn't it? Then he asked the question, "LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?" And he talks about their wickedness. David praying for that God would smite them, that God would reward them. They are dishonoring God, so he wants them to be dishonored by God. Please pray tell, what did God do to Biotharo? He destroyed him. Did he honor or dishonor wicked Haman? Consider what God did to Balaam, to Cain.
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And to those men who opposed Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Look in the Bible, as well as history, at the tyrannical rulers that God deposed. Look at the wicked priests that He defrocked and destroyed. Hophni, Phinehas, Abiathar, and I don't know how many others, but those are specifically pointed out in Scripture. And once again, I can hear someone saying, oh, but Brother Weaver, oh, that's in the Old Testament. I mean, you know, God in the Old Testament, he was a God of vengeance. But when you get to the New Testament, all he is is a God of love.
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He's so loving and so forgiving. Listen, I know that God is love. Scripture says that. I know that God is a forgiving God. Scripture says that as well. But the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament, and God does not change. God is immutable. He will not be one thing in one era and something totally different in another era. God does not change. Do you know what the Apostle Paul prayed concerning Alexander the coppersmith?
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And you'll find this in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 14. Alexander the coppersmith was a wicked, vile man. And Paul prayed this. He said, "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works." The Lord reward him according to his works. In other words, give back to him that which he has done. He's dishonored God. Let God dishonor him. If you look in your Bibles, 2 Peter, Chapter 2. 2 Peter, Chapter 2, you'll find Peter says exactly the same thing. 2 Peter, Chapter 2. And look, if you would please, at verses 13 and 14, we'll read both of them. He's talking about wicked people. Verse 13. He's talking about these people. In fact, go back to verse 12.
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"But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children." But notice verse 13, "and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness."
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Do you think our Lord is going to allow those who dishonor him to get away without being dishonored? The answer is no. It's the lex talionis. Look in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 18. Everyone knows about wicked Babylon. Commercial Babylon, religious Babylon, but look what the scripture says. Revelation 18 beginning there with verse 4. "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Are you looking now?
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"Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double." What's God going to do? He's going to see to it that those who dishonor him are dishonored. Look at what our Lord said in Revelation 22 and verse 12, since you're right there. Revelation 22 and verse 12. Our Lord says, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." My reward is with me. God says, I'm going to pay you back.
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Those that honor me will I honor. Those that dishonor me shall be lightly esteemed. And we shall see exactly how lightly esteemed they are when according to Psalm 58, the judgment of God falls upon them, and it falls upon them in such devastation that we say with the psalmist in Psalm 58, verse 11, "So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth." What's the psalmist saying? He most definitely knows how to honor those who honor him, and how to dishonor those who dishonor Him.
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Now let me make some applications. The first one is this. We either honor or dishonor our Lord in our lives on a daily basis. Do you realize if we want to be considered of God, we need to be considerate of him as well. If we wish to be honored by him, we must honor him. In other words, we must learn on a daily basis to stop, examine our thinking, examine our attitudes, examine our dispositions, examine our actions and see whether or not they are pleasing or displeasing, honoring or dishonoring to the Lord.
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So we have opportunities every day. But the second application is this, and listen carefully, we must honor Him even when it seems and appears that we are dishonoring men and their beliefs. There is that cry today to be tolerant, to be politically correct. And I've got news for you folks. Scripture is exceedingly discriminating. And God is a discriminating God. And even when Scripture draws the ire and the wrath and the vindictiveness of the politically correct and the religiously tolerant, we still must stand for his truth. Let me give you a quote, and I want you to listen. Dennis Johnson said this. Listen carefully.
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"The Lord's witnesses are to challenge the gods in which people trust, revealing all their emptiness and impotence. To bring God's salvation to the ends of the earth, Jesus' witnesses must unmask treasured idols, encountering hostility from those whose security is shaken by God's truth. Although the community of Lord's service witnesses is characterized by tangible love that is attractive to outsiders, their testimony makes no peace with any alternative faith to Christ. Religious solutions, apart from Christ the Savior, are dangerous frauds with which there can be no compromise or polite toleration." What did he say? He said it's our duty to challenge and unmask the false idols of other people. It's our responsibility to make sure that we do not compromise his truth and say that, yes, there is a middle ground somewhere that we can all meet on. No, there is no middle ground.
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As Moses drew that line and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me." There's no middle ground. The simple truth is this, folks. We either stand for Christ or we stand against Him. We either honor Him or we dishonor Him. We both believe and declare all of God's Word or we stand against Him. We work with Him in obedience to the totality of His Word or we work against Him. Christ summed it up beautifully in Matthew 12 and verse 30. What did He say?
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"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." This last principle of learning God's righteousness must be indelibly pressed upon our minds. Christ will always honor those who honor Him. And we must also remember those who dishonor Him shall be lightly esteemed. You cannot be disrespectful, disobedient, and dishonorable to the Son of God and expect the Father to be pleased with you. But Christ will be no man's debtor. You honor Him, and He will honor you. Even when you have no inherent claim to reward, it's still a righteous thing with God to reward those who faithfully and obediently serve Him. Let's pray. Father, we are so thankful for Your righteousness.
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Thou art God, and besides Thee there is none other. Give us grace, Lord, that we may honor Thee in all that we say and do in every area of our lives. Teach us these principles. Teach us these truths. And bring our lives in conformity to Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:45:59Z

Learning the Righteousness of God - 6

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this final sermon of the series, John Weaver expounds the principle that Christ honors those who honor Him, using Phinehas's zeal in Numbers 25 as the primary example. He reviews six previous points about God's righteousness and then teaches that God is no man's debtor, rewarding faithful service even though we have no inherent claim to reward. The sermon emphasizes that honoring God includes exposing and fighting sin, and that those who dishonor God will be lightly esteemed. Applications call believers to daily examine their lives and to honor God even when it means dishonoring men's beliefs.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Micah 6:5

"O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD."

Review of Previous Points on God's Righteousness

Introduction of the Seventh Point: Christ Honors Those Who Honor Him

God Is No Man's Debtor

Using Romans 11:33-35, Weaver argues that no one can first give to God because God has given us everything; therefore, God always blesses and rewards those who faithfully serve Him.

Scripture Reading — Romans 11:33-35

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?"

The Principle of Honor and Dishonor from 1 Samuel 2:30

God's unalterable principle is that He honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him. This is illustrated by Phinehas and applied to tithing and financial stewardship.

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 2:30

"Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me;"

here's the principle He's enunciating,

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 2:30

"for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed."

God says them that honour me will I honour, and them that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Now, this is a principle from which God will not depart.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 19:27-29

"Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?"

The words we've given up everything. And by the way, Peter, James, and John.

The Bible says very plainly,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 6:10

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

Now look at that.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 6:10

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

First of all, I want you to note in Hebrews 6 and verse 10, this verse expressly states that God is not unfaithful to his own gracious promise.

God's Righteousness in Not Forgetting Our Works

The Bible says very plainly,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 6:10

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

Now look at that.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 6:10

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

You've done everything that was commanded you. Does that mean that you are a reward? And the answer is absolutely not. Look in Luke Chapter 17. Beginning there, verse 7, our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — Luke 17:7-10

"But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?"

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Luke 17:7-10

"Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not."

Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — Luke 17:7-10

"So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."

That's why I said in Isaiah 26 and verse 12,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 26:12

"LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us."

Ministering to God by Ministering to the Saints

Good works done to the least of Christ's brethren are done to Him (Matthew 25:31-46) and will not be forgotten. Even a cup of cold water given in His name will be rewarded (Matthew 10:42).

Scripture Reading — Matthew 10:42

"And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."

Exposing and Fighting Sin as Service to God

How about 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 2? Is that in the Old Testament? Where God told Timothy,

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 4:2

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:1-7

"And the LORD sent Nathan unto David."

And what did Nathan say?

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:1-7

"There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor."

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:1-7

"The man that hath done this thing shall surely die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold."

And old Nathan with that long bony finger said, "Thou art the man." But you know something? Forgiving David. God was getting David back in a position to be used by him.

The Negative Side: God Dishonors Those Who Dishonor Him

This is known, once again, as the Lex Talionis. It is the law of retribution. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. So if God says, you dishonored me, fine, I shall dishonor you.

And you'll find this in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 14. Alexander the coppersmith was a wicked, vile man. And Paul prayed this. He said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 4:14

"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works."

Applications: Honoring God Daily and Without Compromise

Learning the Righteousness of God - 6

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	9220510220
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Public Order Review
Genre	Sermon
Date	2005-09-18
Dictation Name
Book	Book 165: Learning the Righteousness of God — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	72

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of Previous Points on God's Righteousness: Weaver recaps the first six principles: God's law-word as the standard of righteousness, sin placing us under judgment, partial obedience as disobedience, the connection between immorality and idolatry, the connection between sin and judgment, and the doctrine of interposition when rulers fail.
Introduction of the Seventh Point: Christ Honors Those Who Honor Him: The final point is introduced from Numbers 25, where Phinehas's zealous act of killing the sinful prince and Moabitish woman turned away God's wrath and earned him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood.
God Is No Man's Debtor: Using Romans 11:33-35, Weaver argues that no one can first give to God because God has given us everything; therefore, God always blesses and rewards those who faithfully serve Him.
The Principle of Honor and Dishonor from 1 Samuel 2:30: God's unalterable principle is that He honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him. This is illustrated by Phinehas and applied to tithing and financial stewardship.
God's Righteousness in Not Forgetting Our Works: Hebrews 6:10 shows that God is not unrighteous to forget our labor of love. However, rewards are based on God's gracious promise, not our inherent right, as Luke 17:7-10 teaches that we are unprofitable servants even when obedient.
Ministering to God by Ministering to the Saints: Good works done to the least of Christ's brethren are done to Him (Matthew 25:31-46) and will not be forgotten. Even a cup of cold water given in His name will be rewarded (Matthew 10:42).
Exposing and Fighting Sin as Service to God: Phinehas's act was not just giving comfort but exposing and eradicating sin. God's preachers are often hated for this, but exposing sin is a blessing that leads to repentance, as seen in David's confrontation by Nathan.
The Negative Side: God Dishonors Those Who Dishonor Him: The lex talionis (law of retribution) means God will reward the wicked according to their works. Scripture examples include David's prayer against Joab, Paul's prayer concerning Alexander the coppersmith, and Revelation's judgment on Babylon.
Applications: Honoring God Daily and Without Compromise: Believers must daily examine their lives to honor God and must honor Him even when it means dishonoring men's beliefs, rejecting tolerance and political correctness. There is no middle ground; we either stand with Christ or against Him.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Phinehas's zeal earned him an everlasting priesthood because he honored God by executing judgment on sin.

Phinehas's act of killing the sinful prince and Moabitish woman turned away God's wrath, and God rewarded him with a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood.

Numbers 25:11-13: 'Phinehas... hath turned my wrath away... I give unto him my covenant of peace... even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.'

No one can put God in their debt because He has given us everything.

Romans 11:35 asks who has first given to God that He should repay, emphasizing that God is the source of all we have, so we cannot out-give Him.

Romans 11:35: 'Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?'

God's promise to honor those who honor Him is unalterable.

1 Samuel 2:30 establishes a fixed principle: God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him, and He will not depart from it.

1 Samuel 2:30: 'them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.'

Rewards from God are based on His gracious promise, not our merit.

Luke 17:7-10 teaches that even perfect obedience is only our duty; we are unprofitable servants with no inherent claim to reward, so God's rewards are gracious.

Luke 17:10: 'So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.'

Ministering to the saints is ministering to God and will be rewarded.

Matthew 25:40 shows that acts of kindness to the least of Christ's brethren are done to Him, and Matthew 10:42 promises that even a cup of cold water given in His name will not lose its reward.

Matthew 25:40: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.'

Exposing sin is a necessary work of God's preachers and a blessing to bring repentance.

God sends preachers to expose sin as an act of compassion (2 Chronicles 36:15), and David's restoration began with Nathan exposing his sin (2 Samuel 12).

2 Chronicles 36:15: 'And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers... because he had compassion on his people.'

God will dishonor those who dishonor Him according to the lex talionis.

Scripture shows that God rewards the wicked according to their works, as in David's prayer (2 Samuel 3:39), Paul's prayer (2 Timothy 4:14), and Revelation 18:6.

2 Timothy 4:14: 'Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works.'

Believers must honor God without compromise, even when it means dishonoring men.

There is no middle ground; we either stand with Christ or against Him (Matthew 12:30). Honoring God requires unmasking false idols and rejecting tolerance that compromises truth.

Matthew 12:30: 'He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.'

Scripture References

Micah 6:5: God commands His people to remember what Balak consulted and what Balaam answered from Shittim to Gilgal, that they may know the righteousness of the Lord.
Numbers 25:7-13: Phinehas kills the Israelite man and Moabitish woman, staying the plague; God gives him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for God.
Romans 11:33-35: Paul extols the depth of God's wisdom and knowledge, asking who has first given to God that He should repay, emphasizing God's self-sufficiency.
1 Samuel 2:30: God declares that He will honor those who honor Him and lightly esteem those who despise Him, a principle He will not alter.
Matthew 19:27-29: Peter asks what they will have for forsaking all; Jesus promises that those who forsake houses or family for His name's sake will receive a hundredfold and inherit everlasting life.
Hebrews 6:10: God is not unrighteous to forget the work and labor of love shown toward His name in ministering to the saints.
Luke 17:7-10: Jesus teaches that a servant who does all commanded is still an unprofitable servant, having only done his duty, showing we have no inherent claim to reward.
Isaiah 26:12: The Lord ordains peace for us and has wrought all our works in us, emphasizing God's grace in our obedience.
Matthew 25:31-46: The Son of Man separates sheep and goats, rewarding those who ministered to the least of His brethren as doing it to Him, and condemning those who did not.
Matthew 10:42: Whoever gives a cup of cold water to a little one in the name of a disciple will by no means lose his reward.
Isaiah 58:1: God commands to cry aloud and show His people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Timothy 4:2: Paul charges Timothy to preach the word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2 Samuel 12:1-7: Nathan confronts David with the parable of the rich man and the poor man's lamb, exposing David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah.
2 Chronicles 36:15: God sent messengers to His people rising up early because He had compassion on them, showing that exposing sin is an act of mercy.
Psalm 19:11: By God's commandments His servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
Luke 6:26: Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
Matthew 5:11-12: Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake; rejoice for great is your reward in heaven.
2 Samuel 3:39: David prays that the Lord will reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness, referring to Joab and Abishai's murder of Abner.
Psalm 94:1-2: The psalmist calls on the Lord God of vengeance to show Himself and render a reward to the proud.
2 Timothy 4:14: Paul says Alexander the coppersmith did him much evil, and prays the Lord reward him according to his works.

Historical References

Phinehas's zeal in Numbers 25: Phinehas, son of Eleazar, killed an Israelite prince and a Moabitish princess to stop a plague, earning God's covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood.
David's sin with Bathsheba and Nathan's confrontation: David committed adultery and murder, tried to cover it up, but God sent Nathan to expose his sin, leading to repentance.
Joab and Abishai's murder of Abner: Joab and Abishai murdered Abner in revenge for their brother Asahel's death; David prayed that God would reward them according to their wickedness.
Alexander the coppersmith: Paul prayed that the Lord would reward Alexander according to his works for the evil he did to Paul.
Babylon in Revelation 18: God commands to reward Babylon double according to her works, illustrating the lex talionis.
American Revolution and the doctrine of interposition: Weaver mentions that the doctrine of interposition was exercised in the American Revolution, where lesser magistrates stepped in when higher magistrates failed.
Joel Osteen and Billy Graham's responses to Hurricane Katrina: Weaver criticizes Joel Osteen for calling Katrina a natural catastrophe and Billy Graham for calling evil a mystery, saying they missed an opportunity to expose sin.

Important Quotes

Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

This is the central principle of the sermon, quoted from 1 Samuel 2:30, establishing that God's honor and dishonor are based on our response to Him.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

This verse from Hebrews 6:10 is used to show that God's righteousness includes remembering and rewarding the service of His people.

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

This quote from Luke 17:10 emphasizes that even perfect obedience does not earn reward; it is only duty, highlighting God's grace in rewarding.

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

From Matthew 25:40, this shows that ministering to the saints is ministering to Christ Himself, and such works will not be forgotten.

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Isaiah 58:1 is used to argue that God's preachers must expose sin, not cover it up, as a necessary part of honoring God.

He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Matthew 12:30 is the concluding call to uncompromising allegiance to Christ, with no middle ground.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does Phinehas's act of zeal in Numbers 25 demonstrate the principle that Christ honors those who honor Him, and what does this teach us about dealing with sin today?

[Context]

Weaver uses Phinehas as the primary example of honoring God by executing judgment on sin, which earned him an everlasting priesthood.

[Question]

In what ways does the truth that 'God is no man's debtor' (Romans 11:35) affect our motivation for serving and giving to God?

[Context]

Weaver argues that we cannot out-give God because He has given us everything, so our service is a response to His prior grace.

[Question]

How should the principle from 1 Samuel 2:30 ('them that honour me I will honour') shape our daily decisions and priorities?

[Context]

Weaver applies this principle to tithing, financial stewardship, and consistent faithfulness, even in difficult times.

[Question]

Why is it important to understand that our rewards from God are based on His gracious promise rather than our inherent right (Luke 17:10)?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that even perfect obedience is only duty, so rewards are entirely gracious, preventing pride and entitlement.

[Question]

What does it mean to minister to God by ministering to the saints, and how can we practically do this in our church community?

[Context]

Weaver points to Matthew 25:40 and Matthew 10:42 to show that acts of love to believers are done to Christ and will be rewarded.

[Question]

Why is exposing sin considered a service to God and a blessing to His people, and how should we respond when our own sins are exposed?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts worldly sorrow (embarrassment at being caught) with godly sorrow (repentance), using David's confrontation with Nathan as an example.

[Question]

How does the lex talionis (law of retribution) operate in Scripture, and what does it teach us about God's justice toward those who dishonor Him?

[Context]

Weaver cites David's prayer, Paul's prayer, and Revelation 18 to show that God will reward the wicked according to their works.

[Question]

In what areas of life are we tempted to compromise honoring God in order to honor men, and how can we stand firm in truth?

[Context]

Weaver warns against political correctness and religious tolerance, calling for unmasking false idols and refusing middle ground.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:37:56Z