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e good morning everyone welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church for this very special day when we have the blessing of witnessing the baptism of two of our young members Mike luttin and Steve Lut welcome all the visitors that are here for that occasion just a couple other announcements before we get started uh the Lord's Supper we'll be celebrating this evening as is our our practice the first Sunday of every month so that's at 5:00 P p.m. if you can join us um also this morning after the morning service there's going to be a brief meeting for the nursery workers just at the front of the church so anyone that works in the nursery downstairs if you could just stay behind for a few minutes for a brief meeting after the morning service on Wednesday night we'll have our usually usual Bible study at 7:30 p.m. and then another announcement we will be having another baptism upcoming uh in a few weeks time Rebecca Hall has also requested baptism m membership so we rejoice in the work that God is doing in the young young people of our church for our call to worship this morning please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 92 Psalm 92 a Psalm a song for the Sabbath day it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name oh most high to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness every night on an instrument of 10 strings on the loot and on the harp with harmonious sound for you Lord have made me glad through your work I will Triumph in the works of your hands oh Lord how great are your Works your thoughts are very deep a senseless man does not know nor does a fool understand this when the wicked spring up like grass and when all the workers of iniquity flourish it is that they may be destroyed forever but you Lord are on high forever more for behold your enemies oh lord for behold your enemies Shall Perish all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered but my horn you have exalted like a wild ox I have been Anointed with fresh oil my eye also has seen my desire on my enemies my ears hear my desire on the wicked who rise up against me the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God they shall still bear fruit in old age they shall be fresh and flourishing to declare that the Lord is upright he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him amen for our first hymn we're going to sing Psalm 98 c as in Charlie from the Trinity Salter Himel Psalm 98 c as in Charlie please stand with me as we sing together for the wers he has holy Tri to his his love and mercy he the of creation his right to the mercy for his he has and ande Sal he has sh to all s all Mery to pring of shall be the king all your H in pra to the of your glory GL is com Al will the Nations and his shall be amen you may be seated let's take a moment to go to the Lord in prayer and ask his blessing upon this meeting this morning our gracious God in heaven we thank you for this glorious day thank you for this day of Celebration this day when we celebrate what Christ has done in the hearts of two young men in our congregation we thank you that Christ continues to build his church and we know that all over the world this day the church has gathered for worship and has gathered this morning will gather later on in other places in this world where the gospel is being preached where Ministers of the Gospel continue to carry out that Great Commission Lord we pray that all over the world there would be Souls added to the church this day we thank you that we have this visual picture of the work that you have done in the hearts of these young men we thank you that we can witness the the death the burial the resurrection that Christ has accomplished when we watch this this baptism take place thank you oh God for the picture that you have given us for this ordinance that the Lord has commanded us to continue until the day that he returns we thank you for the the great work of the Gospel in the hearts of these and many many others Lord we thank you that the gospel is being preached in other churches here in this city this day we pray that your blessing would rest upon those Ministers of the Gospel as they enter their pulpits and preach we pray for churches all across this land of ours where the gospel is being preached we know that Canada like many other countries is struggling we live in a wicked and perverse generation and we know that nothing has changed since the day that Adam and Eve fell in the garden Garden except that Christ continues to build his church and continues to call his elect out of Darkness into Marvelous Light and we pray that you would do that this day all across this land and throughout the world Lord we pray that you'd be in our midst here as Pastor Butler preaches to us even today as the gospel Goes Forth in this congregation we pray that you would draw Sinners out of Darkness into Marvelous Light Lord those amongst us that have not yet tasted and seen that the Lord is good may this be the day of salvation for them be gracious to Pastor Butler as he preaches give him anointing and unction from on high and Lord we pray that your blessing would continue to rest upon us we thank you for the freedom that you have given us to Worship in this place the freedom to gather publicly we know that not all of our Brethren around the world have this privilege and we pray for those who are suffering this day because they are Christians in difficult situations in countries where the gospel is hated and where the Christian people are persecuted we pray you'd be merciful to your Saints especially to those who are in prison for the sake of the Gospel be gracious to them and comfort them this day and continue to draw them near to yourself Lord we look forward to the day when we can gather with all of the Saints Before the Throne of Christ to worship the lamb who sits upon that Throne Lord we pray that your will would be carried out all over the face of this Earth we pray for the the government of our nation that you would be gracious and Lord that you would cause them to rule righteously cause them for the good of your people in the good of your church to make proper laws and Lord those who are insistent on violating your law we pray that you would convert them or remove them and Lord we pray that you would do a good work on the streets of our nation an Awakening towards the things of Christ we ask these things for your own glory and for your name's sake amen for our next hymn we'll turn to number 195 in the Himel 195 please stand with me as we sing shine thou Upon Us [Music] Lord to my and through [Music] the so heart with all myor the by graise bre th Upon Us my living so [Music] with the hearing here [Music] and [Music] great s for us Lord all according to heart so there true [Music] sh his love with us Lord by my and will we the All My Children for and we for with you can turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Proverbs Proverbs chapter 28 Proverbs 28 not a baptism text per say but certainly a text connected with baptism in our confession of faith when it speaks concerning baptism it says in chapter 29 paragraph 1 baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection of his being in grafted into him of remission of sins and of giving up unto God uh uh giving up into God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life well Proverbs 28:13 speaks concerning the remission or forgiveness of sins I'll read the text and then we'll pray he who covers his sins will not Prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for the Lord's day we thank you for the the high privilege that is ours to gather together and to come to the father through the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit we thank you for the Blessed opportunity to worship you in spirit and in truth and to that end we pray that you would guide us now by your Holy Spirit help us as we approach this text to to receive the teaching of it and may it be a great encouragement to those of us who know the saving grace of God and may it be a great enticement to to those dead in their trespasses and sins may this be the day of salvation and may you grant The Graces of faith and repentance so that Sinners may lay hold of that blessed shity of the New Covenant even Jesus Christ Our Lord we give praise to you for the gospel of our Salvation we give praise to you for your effectual calling and Grace we give praise to you that salvation is of the Lord and we pray that many more would come to a knowledge of that and we ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well as we come to this particular passage it breaks down quite nicely into two sections first it identifies the problem and then secondly it prescribes the remedy for the problem now you've probably come here this morning having no shortage of problems we all have those days where we get out of bed and it seems like things are against us for instance I forgot to fill up the baptistry tank yesterday I usually do that on Saturday morning and at 6:15 this morning I remembered this this is going to be a dry baptism unless I head over to the church building and that just caused things to go from there so you you've got problems we've got issues we' got challenges we hear wars and rumors of wars we have an oppressive government we have false religion we have a lot of things but this text addresses the big thing IT addresses the issue of sin sin is the universal problem sin is comprehensive sin is total and sin is the reason for our enmity with God and and God's enmity toward us so let's look at what Solomon says under inspiration of the spirit teaching the word of Christ to us in this present generation as I said first we'll look at the identification of the problem and secondly the remedy for the problem under the identification I have four thoughts or four observations first notice the assumptions in the text it says he who covers his sins will not Prosper there are two assumptions there that we need to wrestle with the first is that people sin he who covers his sins will not Prosper so that first assumption is what we call in theology the doctrine of total depravity the teaching that man is sinful man has rebelled against God man like sheep has gone astray and man therefore stands liable to God's justice his wrath his curse and his punishment both in this life and that which is to come now when I say the doctrine of total depravity I don't mean that's a that means as we're that that every one of us is as bad as we could be but I do want to caution us to reflect that without the grace of God we would certainly be as bad as we could possibly be we'd all be Paul poot we'd all be Joseph Stalin we'd all be Charles Manon we'd be a whole host of wickedness because of our Rebellion against that living and true God now this doctrine of total depravity is taught throughout scripture we see it beginning in Genesis CH 6 and we see it all the way up to the Book of Revelation there is this problem concerning sin one specimen passage is in Ephesians chapter 2 and you can turn there Ephesians chapter 2 deals with what we call in theology the doctrine of total depravity in Ephesians 2 veres 1:3 the Apostle gives a before picture of what the Saints in Ephesus looked like in other words what they had come to be in terms of Saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus had not always been the case they had been sinful they had been rebellious they had been at odds with God and this is the description of them prior to their coming to Jesus so in Ephesians 2:1 and knew he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins in which who once walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the sons of Disobedience among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of of the Flesh and of the mind and were by Nature children of Wrath just as the others in Psalm the Apostle says we were lifeless we were helpless and we were hopeless and the Apostle Paul includes himself in that lot sin is a universal problem all have sin and fallen short of the glory of God there is none righteous know not one there is none who seeks after God there is no fear of God before the eyes of men why because of our Rebellion our fallenness in Adam but coupled with this doctrine of total depravity is another thing we call Total inability and if you turn to the Book of Romans in chapter 8 you'll see that underscored Romans chapter 8 and what I mean by this is that man unaided by God's grace man left to himself cannot repair the ruins man cannot fix his problem if man could fix his problem then the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to live to die and to be raised again the third day doesn't make any sense if we had it in us then why the death of the Son of God we don't have it in US unless God undertakes on our behalf we will suffer forever in Hell notice in Romans 8:7 the Apostle says because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can be so when we go back to our text in Proverbs 28:13 and we consider that f first assumption the reality that people sin we need to consider the second assumption is the reality that those people try to cover their sin notice again in 2813 he who covers his sins will not Prosper now the covering in view is to hide it it's to ignore it it's to try to pretend it's not there it's to try to act like things are a lot better with you than they really are it's not covering somebody else's sins Solomon says that's a good thing love covering a multitude of others sins toward you is a blessed virtue but your attempt to cover your sin so that you don't look so bad so that you don't have to ponder the consequences of of a life without God so that you don't have to think about those things that that at times haunt the hearts of men in silence we need to consider the reality that this is an assumption that Solomon presents not only people sin but then they try to cover that sin and that brings us secondly to biblical examples of this particular text if the Bible sets forth this Doctrine then it certainly shows us in terms of example persons who did this if you go back with me to the Book of Genesis Genesis chapter 3 the first occasion of somebody trying to cover sin and not in the way that God authorizes you need to remember God and man seek to cover sin just God does it effectively and efficaciously through his own son the Lord Jesus Christ man does it in Rebellion man does it in a in a way that that pacifies his conscience but doesn't fix his situation so Genesis chter 3 is that first instance where we see covering of sin in a way that is not good notice the serpent temps Eve and then we see in verse six so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise she took of its fruit and ate she also gave to her husband with her and he ate then the eyes of both of them were open and they knew that they were naked and they seed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings they sinned they were conscious of that rebellion and what do they do in response they try to cover it they try to hide themselves they then run to the trees that God the Lord had made thinking somehow that he wouldn't be able to attack them so this covering of sin is obviously futile this covering of sin doesn't work this covering of sin is something that the Bible condemns in fact that's what Solomon is doing in Proverbs 28:13 and nevertheless Sinners continue to cover their sin and I want to speak to you this morning if you happen to be one of those Sinners who is trying to cover his or her own sin stop it's vain it's futile it's a losing Prospect I would suggests that you wave the white flag that you surrender that you realize that Christ Alone is the one who can cover sin his Precious Blood clo uh cleanses us and his glorious righteousness clothes us that is the means by which there is an authorized covering for sin so don't tar or don't resist or don't reject or don't say well you know I'm going to keep trying to do it on my own let's just continue to see how that goes look at Joshua chter 7 Joshua chapter 7 remember God told the children of Israel to go in and to utterly dispossess the land of Canaan from all the Canaanites other words go in and Destroy them break their sacred pillars destroy their property kill them take no prisoners sanitize the land because these altogether Wicked Sinners are being displaced Now by God's people now don't forget when God's people act like the Canaanites they then get displaced as well for our God is Not capricious and he is not arbitrary the same sort of judgment he imposes upon the Canaanites he gives to the Israelites when they ate the Canaanites but in this context in Joshua chapter 7 they're given a a relatively simple task all they've got to do is conquer Ai and this wasn't you know Russia or China this wasn't you know a nuclear power this should have been you know chump change there should have been a foray with several troops in an afternoon and you'd be drinking coffee and and eating dinner later on but that's not what happened God judges them God defeats them through these people at AI why is that because there was sin in the camp there was rebellion in the camp there was a man by the name of aad who coveted certain things that that was under the band they weren't supposed to take but he coveted those things took them back to his tent and hid them underneath the ground why to try to avoid detection can you avoid detection with the forign God can you hide among the trees that God made and him not find you out doesn't the author in the chronicle say that your sin will always find you out well that is specifically what happens and it's not until the sin is dealt with in the camp of Israel that they then go and engage in a Victorious Warfare over the CH uh people of AI turn over to 1st Samuel chapter 15 1st Samuel 15 The Man by the name of Saul the first king in Israel Saul had big problems Brethren really big problems and one of them was that he tried to cover his sin God gave very clear instructions to Saul I want you to go in and utterly destroy the amalekites and kill egg a their their president or their their their King that that's it it it's a simple project it's not you know too difficult to sort of figure out so what happens they engage in the foray but instead of killing all the amikit instead of killing AAG what does Saul do Saul wants stuff Saul wants things Saul wants the spoils that these particular persons have and so when Saul is called to account by Samuel guess what Saul does does he say I've been found out I'm a transgressor of God's law I have been found in my sin I need to confess it and forsake it and find Mercy in the Lord Jesus now he covers it he blames the people it was the people they didn't want me to kill the amalekites they didn't want me to kill egag they didn't want me to do that because we wanted all this livestock and we wanted all these blessings you don't cover sin Saul and prosper and then you've got the case of David we don't even need to term there I've preached on that so many times the sin of David what happens it's the time of the uh the year when kings go out to battle and instead of David going out to battle he sends joab in his place and so what does David do he gets up on his roof he sees a beautiful woman and he takes her she becomes pregnant or he impregnates her she doesn't become pregnant it's not some magical sort of process there biologically he was very much involved in that foray but then what does he do to cover it does he confess it does he forsake it he lay his hand upon the great shy of the New Covenant no he doesn't do that first he tries to get UAH to take the fall he tries to get Uriah drunk so that Uriah will go to his house and that Uriah will have relations so that when it's discovered that b IBA is pregnant well everybody will conclude it was that it was Uriah seemed like a great plan didn't it except for the Integrity of Uriah David didn't account for that David didn't account for the fact that Uriah would say I'm not going to go to my wife's bed when the the the armies of Israel and the Ark of the Covenant are out in the battlefield so what does David then do does he retool does he say I need to confess I need to forsake I need to lay my hand on the shirt no he commits murder conspiracy to murder is murder he plans uh uh uriah's death at the hottest part of the battle so you see David as well understands this concept of covering sin what about the New Testament does it show us any examples in terms of covering sin you've got Judas scariot what does Judas a scariot do he feels bad Brethren feeling bad isn't repentance feeling bad any miserable Heathen can do when they've had enough of their corruption feeling bad is not the way of salvation it's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and that faith is always mingled with repentance and this is what our text enjoins but whoever confesses and forsakes it will find Mercy so you've got Judas he has remorse he gets rid of the money and he hangs himself that's not repentance that's covering he felt bad I mean I'll give him that but you don't just go out and do those sorts of things when you feel bad what about Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate knew that Jesus was an innocent man he says it three times he says I find no guilt in this man I find no guilt in this man I find no guilt in this man always rehearses or recalls to me the the three-fold pronouncement of the Holiness of God in the prophet Isaiah when those angels were before the The Throne of God most high and holy holy holy well that's essentially what Pontius Pilate does he says Jesus is Holy Holy Holy he understood the Envy of the Jews he understood that this was a k kangaroo court and yet he stands before them and in an attempt to cover his own sin and pacify his own wretched conscience he cleanses his hands and he says I am Guiltless concerning the blood of this just man oh no you're not pal not one bit are you Guiltless from that you endorse these bloodthirsty unbelieving Jews in their call for the crucifiction of the only holy harmless and undefiled man that ever lived Brethren just imagine if you and I got framed for a particular crime and sentenced to to the death penalty maybe we didn't commit that crime but we're not Guiltless we're not altogether harmless Jesus was he was innocent and then what about the case of ananas and saf remember what they did Acts chapter 5 we don't like to talk about that because that sounds kind of wrathful that sounds sounds kind of old testen is God kills people in churches when they lie to the holy ho Spirit yeah he kills people in churches when they lie to the Holy Spirit not every instance not every time but that's certainly within his realm and that's what happens with ananas and saf it wasn't wrong that they had property it wasn't wrong that they sold property it was wrong that they said that we giving all the proceeds to the apostles they lied God's not anti- private property God's not prami God is pro truuth and so when these people lie to the Holy Spirit God kills them why didn't you just come clean why didn't you just confess it and forsake it and find Mercy in the Christ who saves you see Brethren as we consider the implication here with reference to the the fact that people said the fact that people cover said as we consider these particular examples I think it brings us thirdly to consider the applications of this text he who covers his sins will not prosper ER how do people do that I don't want to get psychological here but all you have to do is kind of look at human history or human nature starting with yourself and perhaps others that you know and the the people that you live and move and have your being with there seems to be some common themes among the sons of men as to why or how they attempt to cover their sin again this isn't rocket science I'm not a brain surgeon I'm not here developing or telling you you know I figured out how to split the atom this this is pretty simple Brethren the way that people mitigate the effects of sin the way that people just try to explain away sin the way that people just want to assume that they're really not as bad as the Bible suggests first there is just the denial of sin this is a tough one I remember being with a brother and we went to evangelize or meet with a guy that was on his deathbed we tried to tell him he's a sinner oh no no no not me never sinned really you've never sinned what what's that like Holy One it's an impossibility Brethren all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God now this denial of sin is something that Solomon treats elsewhere listen to proverbs 30 and verse 20 this is the way of an adulterous woman she eats and wipes her mouth and says I have done no wickedness not me whatever I do cannot be classified as wickedness but but Solomon just said you're you're an adulteress the the the definition of of wicked is right there in that word adulteress isn't it not me denial of sin Bridges says he who would cover it if possible from himself putting it out of mind banishing all serious thoughts stifling conviction and then trying to persuade himself that he is happy so I often think when we have a a a Lord's day service and when when we preach the word and there's you know some some touching on sin or you know hopefully the spirit of God is working conviction in sin let's not try to blow that up after a service you know maybe somebody's got their their conscience haunting them a bit maybe there's the work of the spirit sort of post preaching that that needs to obtain that needs to go on so we don't want to give an occasion for somebody to further deny their say well well you know he said a lot of stuff there it's true for you most of the people there but but not me cuz you know I'm awesome and all that secondly there is the minimizing of sin the minimizing of sin you you see this as well again this isn't rocket science you see it in redefinition adultery let's just pick on that particular sin again it's it's it's playing around we're just flirting you know theft well you know the the government really shouldn't tell me what I can and can't do anyway there there's this redefinition when when God calls something theft or God calls something covetousness or God calls something you know idolatry that's another one that's a that's a Hot Topic not just for the the nonp people of God but John ends his first epistle on that note my little children keep yourselves from Idols why would you write that John because the propensity of the human heart even Redeemed by God's good grace is prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love so my little children keep yourselves from Idols we are not to redefine as well we're not to engage in rationalization again Sinners do that well well I'm not as bad as my brother I'm not as bad as my neighbor I'm not as bad as that guy you know sitting down the aisle from me in church don't everybody look to your left or right I'm just not that bad so there's this redefinition and then there's this rationalization and then of course there's the attempt to shift BL blame for sin we're all pretty good at that one too it began in the garden if we' had continued reading in that narrative in Genesis 3 guess what Adam does Lord I've sinned I've rebelled I've transgressed where's the shity of a better Covenant let me lay my hand of faith on him no he first blames God the woman whom thou Hast given me think of that arrogance God if you hadn't to put her here I'd be fine I wouldn't have eaten that fruit I would have been happy and content and everything would have been great so the woman whom thou Hast given me but also that woman he's supposed to lead his wife he's supposed to love his wife he's supposed to care for his wife he's supposed to protect his wife we're going to see that when we return to to our studies in Ephesians chapter 5 husbands love your wives you're to function as Christ to your wives he's the savior of the body he's the head of the body he's supposed to wash her and and cherish her and and and and tend to her well Adam doesn't do that he throws Eve right under the bus it was her fault blame shifting I mentioned the case of Saul same sort of a situation he blamed the people Samuel said if you've done your task why am I hearing these oxen and why am I hearing these cattle it's because the people wanted to preserve them that's blame shifting what about Exodus chapter 32 that sort of foray into idolatry God gives detailed plans on how to build the Tabernacle before they get to building the Tabernacle let's just go ahead and sin in an anti- Tabernacle sort of an event let's just do exactly what God has commanded us not to well how do they do that they invoke Aaron they say well Moses has been on that mountain for you know for a long time we don't know when he's going to come back Aaron satisfy our religious longings okay give me whatever gold you have and I'll throw it into this the this Forge and and we'll see what pops out that's actually how Aaron argues he he blames the people and then he blames chance I I just took the gold I I threw it in the Forge and and out came this calf imagine that you see what covering sin looks like kids I don't want to pick on you and I won't look at anyone in particular but your parents are usually smarter than you are you know at this level I I didn't do anything oh really you you didn't do anything you you got it written all over you criminals right on your forehead and your parents usually see it with with absolute Clarity this covering of sin is an exercise in futility as well there are people who try to cover sin by their own religious methodology their own religious methodology Proverbs 7:14 you can turn there we're not far Proverbs chap 7 we have the the the Wayward woman seducing the young man and notice how Solomon writes in 76 for at the window of my house I looked through my lattice and saw among the simple I perceived among the youths a young man devoid of understanding could Solomon say it any more candidly this guy's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier he he he say he says it right there I saw among the simple I perceived among the youths a young man devoid of understanding passing along the street near her corner and he took the path to her house in the Twilight in the evening in the black and dark night don't miss that sinners like to cover sin in the hours of Darkness there are things that Sinners don't typically do in Noonday that they might do at midnight because Darkness provides a foil it provides a cover of sort so that people don't find out what you're doing and then notice in verse 10 and there a woman met him with the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart she was loud and rebellious her feet would not stay at home at times she was outside at times in the open Square lurking at every corner so she caught him and kissed him with an impudent impudent face she said to him I have peace offerings with me today I have paid my vows so I came out to meet you diligently to seek your face and I have found you skill said she's not a common strumpet it's Old English word for that kind of a woman she's married her husband's away on business she has a degree of respectability she's gone to Temple that day or Tabernacle that day she has paid her offerings she she's got a religion in check and yet she's seducing this dumb young man this is the case when Sinners try to cover their sin look at the prophet Micah look at the prophet Micah chapter six specifically a passage that probably we all know out of Micah I mean if given the the sword exam it's going to take me a minute to find Micah but we all know Micah 68 he has shown you oh man what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God Brethren that text is in a context you don't just lift that out and put it on your fridge and say okay God that's how I'm going to be today I mean you can do that it but that's not really the function of the passage in the context the the function of the passage in the context is God through Micah upgrading the children of Israel see the prophets function like Prosecuting attorneys they would go to the courtroom and they would say God hasn't ask to grind with you for these reasons you need to repent you need to renew Faith you need to get it together and that's the context in Micah 6 so notice in verse one here now what the Lord says arise plead your case before the the mountains and let the hills hear your voice here oh you mountains the Lord's complaint and you strong foundations of the Earth for the Lord has a complaint against his people and He will contend with Israel oh my people what have I done to you and how have I wearied you testify against me for I brought you up from the land of Egypt I redeemed you from the house of bondage and I sent before you Moses Aaron and Miriam oh my people remember now what Balo king king of Moab counseled and what balum the son of beor answered him from AAA Grove to gilgal that you may know the righteousness of the lord it's the opening argument God through Micah says what have I done register your complaint bring your evidence bring your receipts as they say today show me my offense now look at their response with with what shall I come before the Lord and and bow myself before the high God shall I come before him with burnt offerings with calves a year old will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams 10,000 rivers of oil shall I give my firstborn for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul of course not God's never commanded you to function the way molok worshippers function and throw their babies into the fire in order to pacify The Angry God Jehovah's not that way and that's when he comes and says he has shown you oh man what is good he doesn't require you know blood from your babies he doesn't require all of these things that you put together see their religiosity sufficed for them to think that everything was just fine everything was just dandy with them and then of course that Pharisee don't want to leave him untouched notice in Luke chapter 18 Luke chapter 18 how does this man hide his sin well he does it under the guise of being super spiritual super religious just an excellent specimen of a human being notice in Luke 18 at verse 9 also Jesus spoke this Parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others don't miss that self-righteousness always produces hatred for others it's just the way it goes when you are righteous with yourself and content with your abilities typically you have problems with everybody else and that's what happens two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector the Pharisees stood and prayed thus with himself God I thank you that I'm not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this tax collector so he's righteous in his own eyes but he despises the tax collector this poor wretch that can't even look up into heaven but he beats his breast and says God be merciful to me The Sinner what does this Pharisee think he's going to hear Heaven open up and say wow you're just awesome you have done over and above the Call of Duty your fasting your tithing your your religiosity it is just spotless and Sterling this man was a fake Jesus tells us he was a fake he goes home condemned the the Pharisee or rather the the Publican is the one who goes home Justified so when it comes to this covering of sin Beware of the religious attempt to cover sin and then finally with reference to our text Proverbs 28:13 just looking at the first section he who covers his sins will not Prosper we've seen the assumptions we've seen the examples we see the applications notice third uh fourthly the cursed result the cursed result in verse 13 He Who covers his sins will not Prosper don't forget that brief Clause we will not Prosper see that's kind of built into US isn't it we we want to prosper I don't mean riches and houses and all that sort of thing but I mean hard work and Industry be left alone by people that should leave us alone and seek to be diligent just do what God calls us to do I I think that's in us it's it's there it's we image God he built us that that way so there's this longing this desire this inkling to to prosper but what happens if you cover your transgression you will not Prosper you cover your sin and you will not go forward you cover your sin and you will not be blessed and if we had to speak to this we could break it down into two points first you'll not prosper in this life and second you'll not prosper in the Life to Come something else that Solomon says in the Book of Proverbs specific specifically at chapter 13 and verse 15 he says the way of the Unfaithful is hard now I realize that sometimes evidence suggests otherwise we go through those Asaf moments in Psalm 73 where we see the the righteous suffer we see the unrighteous abound it perplexes us it vexes us but for the most part when it comes to passages like these we need to understand that what may appear to be prosper erity we don't know what it's like for that person it's because somebody has a lot of stuff doesn't mean they're happy just because a lot they have a lot of things doesn't mean they're prosperous the way of the transgressor is hard doesn't mean that if you're righteous everything's going to be easy you don't forget to fill baptistry tanks you don't forget to do this you know no no there's always going to be challenges in this present evil age but the way of the trans agressor is hard betwix him and God he has no peace in his conscience he can't say with Romans 51 therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God whatever the condition of God's people whatever their outward Affliction whatever the turmoil or trial that they face they nevertheless have peace with God that cannot be taken away from them it cannot be stripped but for the unrighteous for the Unfaithful their way is hard Jesus speaks to this in John's gospel John 8:34 he says most assuredly I say to you whoever commits sin is a slave of sin slavery isn't a happy life slavery isn't a a good existence so the way of the transgressor is hard so in this life for those who cover their sin they will not Prosper but certainly the Bible speaks to the life to come it speaks to the age to come it speaks to the Eternal State see what we experience in the Here and Now isn't all there is there is a life after this there is heaven or there is hell and the Bible is Crystal Clear concerning this in fact you can turn to the Book of Revelation Revelation 21 specifically at verse 8 Revelation 21:8 so the way the transgressor in life now is hard but the way of the transgressor in the Life to Come is harder it is punctuated by pain and suffering and turmoil and exclusion from all the goodness of God most high notice in Pro uh Revelation 21:8 but the Cowardly we need to qualify that because some of us have some native fears about things and we might think we're going to the lake of fire because we don't like spiders or we don't like snakes or we get a little uncomfortable in the dark that's not what the Cowardly is when you read the seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor they all end with this emphasis they all end with this benediction or blessing to he who overcomes to he who overcomes to he who overcomes there's seven of them so we could keep going you get the point to he who overcomes so when we get to 218 we see cowardly it doesn't mean spiders it doesn't mean snakes it means the Civil state it means false religion it means the pressures that we receive when we side with Jesus in this present evil age it's those who are identified as cowards it's those who are excluded from the good presence of God it is those who find themselves in the lake of fire with all these other derelicts and reprobates so notice in 218 but the Cowardly unbelieving abominable murderers sexually immoral Sorcerers idolators and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death so back to our text he who covers his sins will not prosper in this age or in the age to come the way of the transgressor is hard now the way of the transgressor is going to be eternally harder in the age to come so there's great impetus in this text to continue with reference to the prescription of the remedy how do we find relief what do we do if what you're saying is true and I've just seen a few verses that have convinced me so then what's the hope of Escape what's the sanctioned or authorized way to cover the sin that is teeming in my heart well back to our text in 2813 he who covers his sins will not Prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy now I want to break this down first the exercise of Faith secondly the place of repentance and then third the Blessed result but notice the exercise of Faith he who covers his sins will not Prosper but whoever confesses some of you have perhaps been brought up in the Roman Catholic church or you know somebody that's in that particular uh uh church and you'll know that they have confession they have a confessional you go in there as young papist you get on the kneeler and you say bless me Father for I have sinned it has been you know 25 years since my last confession or you say 25 days and if it was 25 years your first confessed sin is I lied so there is this this this sort of AER doal which refers to a Priestly office that mediates blessing from God to the worshipper that's not what this text is advancing that's not what this text is advocating find a priest and give him your confession no that's not it it's the beauty of the Bible we confess right to God we come right through the mediator the high priest even our Lord Jesus Christ he is an advocate with the father and he ever lives to make intercession for us those Earthly corrupt priests we don't have any need for them there is the priesthood of all believers we can actually come to God through Christ in the spirit it's a blessed and wonderful provision but this idea of confessing has to do with expressing expressing faith in God faith in our lord Jesus one commentator Bruce walkey mentions this word confession in six passages it means confess sins more specifically in these passages it means give God public praise and glory by acknowledging one's need of his forgiveness and deliverance from sin this entails praising God for his greatness I.E one cannot hide it hide Sin from him his Justice I.E he has the right to punish the transgressor and his grace he forgives and delivers from sin so when we come to this passage and it says but whoever confesses I would argue this is an expression of Faith the object is our lord Jesus more on that in just a moment but when we do this The Sinner agrees with God right because if the alternative is covering then the right response is to say yeah God you're right I am a ratch if you ever wondered how David the man described as the man after God's Own Heart in 1 Samuel could have been described that way I mean face it most of us in the this room anyway I don't want to say universally haven't done the sorts of things David did the time when the Kings went out to battle God or David sends joab David commits sin David compounds sin H how could he be the man after God's Own Heart because he sides with God against himself he's not trying to be something else oh no I'm actually this really holy righteous wonderful guy it's not the way you're supposed to read the alter that is not how David is rehearsing his his life before a Thrice holy God so when we confess our transgression we agree with God as well the sinner believes in the mercy of God why else would we do this why would we confess to God if we didn't think there was Mercy to be had from God and spoiler alert that's precisely the teaching in Proverbs 28:13 when it comes to this Bridges says God needs needs not confession for his own information but he demands it for our good it brings no claim on his Mercy but it is a means for the reception of it Christ has fully satisfied the claims of divine Divine Justice now make sure we we keep that clear I'm not forgiven because I've confessed my sins I am forgiven because of the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ the lord same for you but this act of confession this laying hold as it were upon the offered mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ is an act of faith in the last hour we had a prayer meeting and in that prayer meeting we read from voice of the martyrs and voice of the martyrs reports on what you might think Martyrs and persons suffering for the cause of God and Truth in various countries there was a woman that was accused of the dastardly crime of selling Bibles in China and one of the things she did at her I think it was that woman what she does when she gets her day in court what would we do oh I was framed I bought them from the state church just kind of wanted to cut a deal to you know my my friend that's what she does she recites the Apostles Creed praise God Almighty for that that might have been the reason that she was on the earth and she went to this jail that she stood before this this group so that she could rehearse the Apostles Creed you know one of the things that we rehearse in the Apostles Creed it's very near and dear to this text I believe in the Forgiveness of sins but whoever confesses side with God you're not okay you're not just a little off you're as messed up and probably a whole lot more than the Bible says you do not find you know any comfort or you should not find any comfort in trying to evade that or you know it really isn't my fault it really wasn't that no no side with God believe in the offer of Mercy that comes through Jesus Christ talk to some of the people here talk to Steve and Mike why are you going into that water oh because we're we're great young men and we've always done no because Jesus is a a great savior because his blood and righteousness is is is for me and it's received by faith alone confession means to lay my hand upon that that blessed shity and then as well the sinner follows David 2 Samuel 11:12 again I've alluded to it but when David is confronted by Nathan what does David say very simple I have sinned against the Lord that's it you didn't have to get on your knees and plead and beg you didn't have to gravel in the dirt he said everything that needed to be said he didn't try to redefine it well it wasn't really adultery I'm the king after all he didn't try to rationalize it you know I live a busy and stressful life and you know that woman that was out there she she shouldn't have been doing that he doesn't do that when he's confronted by the prophet he says I have sinned against the Lord what else can I say what other thing needs to be said he lays his hand upon that Mercy offered in our Lord Jesus Christ there's an old German study Bible called the Burber I'm probably mispronouncing that from 1726 to 29 and it comments on the Simplicity of David's confession it says the words are very few just as in the case of the Publican in the gospel but that is a good sign of a thoroughly broken Spirit there is no excuse there is no cloaking no pation of the sin there is no searching for a loophole no pretext put forward no human weakness pleaded he acknowledged is his guilt openly candidly and without prevarication that is accurate that is spoton and that is what it means to confess it means to lay hold of Jesus Christ he is the object of faith when we consider that we obviously think to the New Testament the Old Testament teaches that as well Genesis 3:15 promised a man born of a woman the seed of the woman that would crush the serpent as we move through the Old Testament we get various facets of the life of the Redeemer King he's going to be a prophet he's going to be a priest he's going to be a king what do you think the old Covenant Saints believed in or who do you think they believed in they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ the Old Testament is full of Christ the Old Testament is all about Christ the Old Testament has as the scope of scripture Jesus Christ and of course the New Covenant certainly reinforces that in the birth narrative in Matthew's gospel goel you shall call his name Jesus why for he will save his people from their sins Jesus says the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many he's the object of Faith it's why Sunday in and Sunday out that's why every day every out every day out that that parents and pastors and friends and evangelists are are are pointing you to the Lord Jesus because that's what you need that's who you need it's through Christ Alone that forgiveness comes it's through Christ Alone that a righteousness comes he is the object of faith and then notice the high note upon which the text ends the Blessed result is simple you confess you find Mercy isn't that beautiful well gravel suffer pain for 15 years do all the right things according to no no no you confess other words you believe on the Lord Jesus and with that belief comes repentance I'm not going to continue to go down that path I'm not going to continue to pursue those things that are that are vile and filthy and wretched and would ultimately land me in the Lake of Fire faith and repentance are always hand in hand faith is Bel a a penitent faith and repentance is is believing repentance so they're always two sides of the same coin but the Blessed result isn't you you may find Mercy there's a a world of probability and possibility that you could perhaps find no Brethren isn't that one of the beautiful things about the Christian religion it's not hypothetical it's not maybe it's not kind of it's not you're okay I'm okay you confess your sins and he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness you lay your hand upon the shity that's Bridge's Language by the way and I think it is very excellent he speaks in that way specifically this this laying of the hand of faith upon the head of the shity Jesus Christ there is the Blessed result that you will find Mercy now just let that sink in here for a moment you're a wretch God is a holy God he's going to punish you in this life and that which is to come but he's given a way out he's given an escape means he's given a way of Salvation so my encouragement to you today is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to look unto him in faith to lay your hand of faith upon the head of the shity and find that hope find that Mercy find that forgiveness that the Apostle Paul celebrates in his writings in Ephesians 13 He says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ every spiritual one I need justification you got it I need sanctification you got it I need glorification you got it Christ has done the work Christ is the shity Christ is the one in whom there is salvation and that was the apostolic emphasis in the early church look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and be ye saved well in conclusion just a few thoughts first we us all of us should at times explore this problem a bit more heidleberg catechism says how do you know your sin and misery well the law of God tells me right sometimes we get pretty puffed up and arrogant we think we're doing quite well get your face in the Commandments of God get your face in the Old Testament get your face in the New Testament and realize you're not righteous in yourself it really is about Jesus it really is the fact that he is to us wisdom from God that is righteousness sanctification and Redemption Jesus is for us so with that Believers should reflect upon this and ponder it but unbelievers should as well don't run from your problems because that's an attempt to cover it trust me you you know this anybody over two knows that running from problems never solves them does it the warning engine light comes on I'm just going to pretend it's not and see how that work no you can't live that way right oh I've got this issue at work I'm I'm just going to pretend like no no you you you you got to deal with it and you know you do don't you because somebody will say that well you just got to deal with it I know but I don't want to deal with it well don't be that sinner I I know I got a problem I know there's a promise of Mercy to be had in other words a solution to the problem but instead of dealing with that I'm going to run from it and continue to cover my sin again may we just say no stop take the the law of God shine it upon your heart you'll probably find out things about yourself even more disturbing than you ever had thought but again there is Mercy to be had with the god of Heaven and Earth secondly in terms of the the the the explanation of the remedy I think this serves both God and man other words if I sin against God and I confess it and forsake it I find Mercy from God but horizontally it works too if you got a problem in your marriage you got a problem with your kids you got a problem with your parents you got a problem in your church what should you do run from your problems hide from your problems treat that person like they're dead to you no you deal with it you seek Mercy you seek forgiveness for unbelievers you need to understand that man and God both cover sin God just does it effectually Bridges says God and man each cover sin God in free unbounded Grace man in shame and hypocrisy the answer the solution is to flee to the Savior and the final admonition is for our young Brothers today you're here because of God's mercy in fact I want to just read this so I don't get Misty eyed here the mercy of God brings the forgiveness of sin why does God send his son well it's love he so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son when God forgives a sinner what is that an expression of it's his it's his Mercy isn't this what the psalmist just rehearses over and over again in in in Psalm 136 for his Mercy endures forever his Mercy endures forever his Mercy endures forever he just keeps saying that why because it just keeps being true the prophet Micah chapter 7 he says who is a God Like You forgiving iniquity pardoning sin why because he loves Mercy these young men go into the water today not because they're bright I'm not saying they're not but they're going into that water because of God's mercy the mercy of God is foundational to Christian baptism this signifies outwardly what has happened to them inwardly by the power of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ their sins are forgiven they understand remission they know the Bliss of being found in Jesus Christ not having their own righteousness which is from the law but that which is from God and received through faith alone and that is what we should all look to on this day as we see these young men baptized in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit understanding they're not the last Sinners they're not the last ones there's hope and mercy and Grace available in our blessed God through his son the Lord Jesus well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for the Simplicity of this text the clarity of it and I pray PR that you would bring it home and seal it to our hearts as the people of God may we rejoice in that Mercy received as well may we rejoice in that object of Faith even our Lord Jesus Christ in his life death and resurrection and for unbelievers we pray that you'd open their eyes open their hearts to receive the truth and may they see Jesus Christ as altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 and may they by that Grace lay hold of him for salvation and we pray in jesus' name amen well brother Mark is going to come up and lead the congregation in a hymn while we go and change our clothes here if any of the parents that have children in the nursery could go and collect your children bring them up that would free up the nursery workers to join us for the baptismal and we're going to get things prepared here while they're changing we're going to sing Amazing Grace it's number 433 in the Himel 433 Amazing Grace please stand with me and we will sing together PR sa my I was was l i PR my heart to how preious the pra of we are my through gra has be sa us and praise will be the Lord has good to my you [Applause] and and shall see [Music] I and [Music] the we know to sing our pra and when we first [Music] be Stephen Mike's dad is one of the deacons here and he had hoped that the water would be cold and brother you got your wish Wherever Doug is it is certainly chilly so good their young strong sturdy sturdy men I did want to rehearse our confession of faith I think it's always a good reminder I read the first first paragraph at the outset of the sermon but I'll just repeat it so we've got baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection of his being engrafted into him of remission of sins and of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life and then in terms of the proper subjects this distinguishes us as a Baptist Church we believe in a credible profession of faith and repentance prior to baptism those who have been forgiven should take the sign that communicates that forgiveness and so in paragraph two we read those who do actually profess repentance towards God faith in and obedience to our lord Jesus are the only proper subjects of this ordinance and then the last two paragraphs deal with the outward element so water God uses water in baptism to communicate truth of the Gospel tonight we take the supper that means the bread and the wine he uses those physical elements to communicate to us truth of the Gospel so in those sacraments we see the gospel in the way that God has ordained for our benefit so in paragraph three it says the outward element to be used in this ordinance is water wherein the party is to be baptized in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit and then finally immersion or dipping of the person in water is necessary to to the due administration of this ordinance so that's why we have a a tank filled with water because we believe that the the symbolism of of Romans chapter 6 is upheld and communicated in the ordinance of baptism Paul appeals to their baptism in terms of their need to live holy lives he says you died with Christ you were buried with Christ and you were raised again with Christ and imersion of the body in water communicates that very beautifully in terms of the significance with reference to baptism and what it signifies it's good to have these young men I watch them be born and it's a pleasure to see them born again and confessing faith in our lord Jesus they both asked that I I asked them the questions uh for a baptismal candidate so do you believe there is one true and living God who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit yes do you believe that you have sinned against God and justly deserve his punishment for your sins yes do you believe that Jesus Christ the son of God lived in obedience to God's law died as a sacrifice and substitute for Sinners and Rose on the third day yes do you believe in Jesus Christ Alone to save you from your sins yes and do you commit to walk in obedience to God through faith in Jesus Christ yes amen all right I baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit nice and cold all right Mike same questions do you believe there is one true in living God who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit yes and do you believe that you have sinned against God and justly deserve his punishment for your sins yes do you believe that Jesus Christ the son of God lived in obedience to God's law died as a sacrifice and substance subtitute for Sinners and Rose on the third day yes and do you believe in Jesus Christ Alone to save you from your sins yes and do you commit to walk in obedience to God through faith in Jesus Christ yes amen I baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy [Applause] Spirit just a final exhortation whenever persons come into the membership of our church we obviously have the uh responsibility but privilege to pray for them and to encourage them and they to us as well and we ought to be especially thankful to see God's hand of Mercy in our young people it's such a blessing to see this I had another meeting with Rebecca Hall uh Friday and as I've said before it's a privilege of the office to be able to talk to to to sinners in general young sinners in particular who have come to embrace the reality of the Christian faith and to see Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior for that we give praise to our God I will pray and bless him for his goodness to us and then brother Mark will come up and lead the singing of the doxology so let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we rejoice in your goodness we rejoice in your loving kindness we know that that you are the god of absolute sovereignty and power and Glory a God that abounds in Mercy and Grace and loving kindness demonstrated most vividly and clearly in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ you so loved the world that you gave your only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life may this gospel go forth today May it go forth and accomplish the purpose for which you sent it and may many come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ from every tribe tongue people and Nation bless these young men bless Steve and Mike and give the give them Grace and the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in a manner that is consistent with their High Calling in the gospel of our salvation and again we thank you and we praise you through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen all bless PR him all Crees here Praise Him praise father son and gated