Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleThou Shall Not Revile the Gods
Bible TextExodus 22:28
Synopsis Our text speaks first and foremost of Christ Jesus who is THE AUTHORITY! All scripture speaks first and foremost of Christ. Listen
Date17-Feb-2019
Series Exodus 2016
Article Type Sermon Notes
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
Audio HI-FI Listen: Thou Shall Not Revile the Gods (32 kbps)
Audio CD Quality Listen: Thou Shall Not Revile the Gods (128 kbps)
Length 35 min.
 

Series: Exodus

Title: Thou Shalt Not Revile the Gods

Text: Exodus 22: 28

Date: Feb 17, 2019

Place: SGBC, NJ

 

Exodus 22: 28: Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

 

What does God mean by “gods”?

 

Ps 82:1: « A Psalm of Asaph. » God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods….6: I have said, ‘Ye are gods’ and all of you are children of the most High.

 

In John 10, our Lord Jesus Christ gives us the meaning and application of our text.

 

John 10: 31: Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

 

These were the pious, religious leaders of the day.  They were in the highest seats of authority.  They are those God refers to as “gods”—men that God has put in authority.  

 

What made them mad enough to pick up stones and try to murder the Lord Jesus in the very temple of God?  He declared himself to be the only Door of salvation. — “I am the Door” (v. 9).  The Lord Jesus declared himself to be the Good Shepherd who God promised to raise up over his elect, by whom he promised to gather his sheep unto himself. — “I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (vv. 11-15).  Then, he declared to these proud, racially bigoted Jews that the sheep he came to save were not just Jews, but Gentiles, too (vv. 16-18).  Then, on top of all that, the Lord Jesus, the Man Christ Jesus, plainly asserted that he is God, one with the Father. — “I and my Father are one” (v. 30).

 

John 10: 32: Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33: The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

 

Religious folks do not reject us for good works.  They reject us because we declare the Man, Christ Jesus, is God.  We declare it when we declare that he is the Alpha and Omega of salvation and that sinners contribute nothing to our salvation.

 

John 10: 34: Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

 

He is quoting from our text and from Psalm 82:1, 6. In the scripture—in their very law—he called men “gods” because they were ordained of God.  They were placed in positions of authority by God to administer justice in his name.  For example, God made his prophet, Moses, a god to Pharaoh (Ex 7:1  King David was a god to Israel and her enemies.  Joseph was a god in Egypt.  They were God’s faithful men who God put in place to execute justice for his people.

 

These religious leaders that Christ stood before were put in positions of authority by God, too.  As such God called them gods.  Yet, they did not administer justice.  Instead they killed the innocent Prince of life, God in human flesh.  Now, listen to our Lord’s point in quoting our text.

 

John 10: 35: If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36: Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”

 

Be sure to get what our Lord said:  “the scripture cannot be broken” His purpose in this is to show us that whatever the Scriptures declare on any subject is true, whether we understand it or not.  The word of God is to be received as fact and true because God declared it.   Every jot and tittle of Holy Scripture is true, and must be received as authoritative and conclusive as from God.

 

This is the point of the law that is our text: if God called mere sinners who he put in authority gods, then surely it cannot be blasphemy for the Lord Jesus Christ to declare himself to be the Son of God.  He is one with God.  He is God.  God put him in the greatest position of authority, making Jesus both Lord and Christ, our Mediator, our Prophet, Priest and King.

 

So we see, our text speaks first and foremost of Christ Jesus who is THE AUTHORITY!  All scripture speaks first and foremost of Christ.

 

THE KING OF KINGS

 

Exodus 22: 28: Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

 

Christ Jesus is the GodMan.  He is KING of kings and LORD of lords.  The righteous, faithful Son of God became the GodMan and paid all the debt his people owed to the law of God.  He purged our sins, justifying his people before the law of God.  He, not only put away our sin for breaking the law, Christ fulfilled the whole law of God fully for us.

 

As he did so he also declared God just.  He highly exalted God the Father.  The Lord Jesus highly honored God’s holy law.  He manifest the holy, just and righteous God of heaven and earth.

 

Therefore, God raised him as the glorified GodMan.  God gave him all power and all authority over all as the Prophet, Priest and King of his people as the GodMan!

 

Matthew 28: 18: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Mt 28:18).

 

Christ is the only Potentate, the King of kings

 

1Timothy 6: 14…our Lord Jesus Christ, 15: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16: Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

 

All who make war with Christ our King always loose.

 

Revelations 17:14: These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

 

Christ is ruling this earth in righteousness for his people, using a host of heavenly armies, and he is doing so through this gospel—his word!

 

Revelations 19: 11: And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12: His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13: And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14: And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15: And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16: And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.  17: And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18: That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19: And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20: And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21: And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

 

Christ is KING of kings.  He has, is and shall conquer all his enemies, all our enemies.  So, in our text, in his law, God says “Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.  We saw that Christ applied this law, first of all, to himself.  If those God put in authority deserve respect, how much more the Lord Jesus Christ who God has given all authority.

 

Brethren, would we revile and curse THE GOD, THE RULER OF ALL PEOPLE, CHRIST OUR KING?  No way!  Believers obey God by his grace, constrained by his love.  We do so, not by law or legal restraints with legal motives.  God’s gift of faith makes us behold Christ to whom all scripture applies.  God makes us know that Christ is the fulfillment and the glory of all scripture.  The grace of God makes us willing in the heart to believe no him and reverence him.  The love of Christ toward sinners like us constrains us to trust Christ to rule justly on our behalf!  So we see Christ is THE AUTHORITY—he is THE KING OF kings and LORD of lords.

 

THE GODS

 

Exodus 22: 28: Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

 

Knowing Christ is the authority who put all men in positions of authority, we know that to revile them is to revile him.  This is something we dare not do for the sake of our Redeemer!

 

Romans 13: 1: Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.  For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2: Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.  3: For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:  4: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.  5: Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6: For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

 

God our Savior, Christ our King, puts all men in positions of authority from his preacher to the president, senator and congressman to the governor, mayor and police officer.   Whether we like the ruler or not—whether we agree with him or not—“he is the minister OF GOD to thee for good…And the minister OF GOD to execute wrath on them that do evil.”

 

Therefore, our gracious King says to his people, "Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.”

 

We cannot earn a righteousness nor makes ourselves holy by our personal obedience.  Not one sinner has ever kept the law given at Sinai.  No believer, in ourselves, has kept the law of Sinai.  We all broke it in Adam.  When Adam disobeyed, we all reviled God.  Being born with Adam’s sin-nature, we cursed Christ in our hearts all our days of rebellion.  Our old man of sin still makes us revile those in authority and we ought not!

 

For instance, men will see others revile the candidate they are for.  They say, “They shouldn’t do that!”   Then we sit in our easy chair and run down the candidates we don’t like.  It is called hypocrisy!  It is our sin nature.  And it is direct rebellion against God!

 

Christ has fulfilled this law perfectly for us and put away our sin—past, present and future.  Before God we have never reviled any authority God has put in place.  It is because Christ honored them perfectly on behalf of his people.

 

For that reason, moved by that great love for us, Christ our Lord says to you and I who believe, if my love means anything to you—do not revile or curse those I have put in authority.  Do not write negative things about them.  Do not speak against them in public or in your heart.  The reason is because Christ put them there.  They cannot wiggle a toe without his consent.

 

You see brethren, we serve a sovereign Savior!  He rules everything in our salvation.  As David said, “He hath made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure and this is all my hope and all my salvation.”  There is not been one second out of God’s control since he made the first second to tick on the clock.

 

If we believe that is true then know the same is true of those in authority.  Do they say something you do not agree with.  Remember this,

 

Proverbs 16:1: The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

 

Do they do something you do not like.

 

Proverbs 16:9: A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

 

Constrained by Christ’s love alone, let us close our mouths to reviling and cursing those in authority, let us pay tribute to whom tribute is due.  Let us know that Christ is ruling those in authority the same as he is working all things in our salvation.  In fact, in some way, the people in authority, are being used of God to work our salvation.  “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will” (Pro 21: 1).  Therefore, let us be glad and rest content that we have a King who is the KING of all kings and he is our Savior!

 

Amen!