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The Truth Hurts
A sermon based on Jeremiah 26:8-15
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sometimes, the truth hurts. It's not pleasant to hear I need to lose a few pounds. Or that I need to change my diet. When my wife, who's opinion I value most, says, "That really wasn't your best sermon today, honey" it hurts. When I talk to someone about their sin or rejection of a part of God's Word and they stop talking to me or ask to leave the church, it's because the truth hurts.
But sometimes the truth hurts in a different sense. It hurts the one who lovingly speaks the truth. When the truth hurts the recipient of the message, they will sometimes act violently. In the mid-sixteenth century, a man by the name of John Foxe wrote a book listing all those who had been martyred -- killed for daring to preach the truth. Countless Christians have given their lives in the centuries since the writing of that book and countless more still give their lives today because God calls his people, even us, to speak the truth, even when it hurts to do so. Listen to the account recorded in Jeremiah 26:8-15...
8 But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, "You must die! 9 Why do you prophesy in the LORD's name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?" And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
10 When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the LORD and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD's house. 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!"
12 Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard.13 Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. 15 Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."
I. The Truth of Our Sin Hurts Us
The truth hurts. In the time of the Judges, the tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant rested in Shiloh. The Israelites thought that nothing could hurt them then, because they had the true God on their side. But they got it wrong. God wanted to be on their side, but they didn't want to be on his side. And for their rebellion, God would lovingly spank them so they woudn't lose the promise of the Savior. Time and time again he let an enemy nation beat up on Israel so they would repent. And eventually Shiloh itself was destroyed.
Now, centuries after Shiloh had been destroyed, history was repeating itself. The people again rebelled against God and his truth and, in love, he threatened disaster to lead them to repent of their sin. And Jeremiah had the fun job of being the messenger of those threats.
But the people didn't like to be threatened. They didn't like hearing the law. The truth was uncomfortable. The truth hurt. So the priests and the prophets, the very ones assigned the job of proclaiming the truth, tried to silence it. "Shut up, Jeremiah! Or we'll make you like Shiloh! We will put you to death. Don't think we won't."
But Jeremiah took a bold stand for the truth. The LORD had sent him to deliver this message. And he had to answer first to the LORD, no matter what anyone else said or did. The LORD sent him, so he would continue to speak up, even if it would hurt... even if they should take his life for it.
"The LORD sent me to prophesy... As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right... put me to death... for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."
Now how about us? Are we so bold?
You know that people hate to hear the law. They hate to have someone tell them that they're wrong and that they deserve punishment for their sins. That truth hurts. God tells us in Romans 8:7 that, "the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." And Jesus himself told us how people would then respond to the truth of the law. In Matthew 10:22 he said, "All men will hate you because of me." In Luke 6:22 he made it clear that people would hate us, exclude us, insult us and reject our names as evil because of him. In Matthew 24:9 he promised, "you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."
It should be no surprise then, that when we speak the truth about sin, about hell, about false teaching, that people will say to us, "Shut up! That's just what you think. And I don't want to hear it, you close-minded Christian." The truth about sin hurts.
And when that happens are we as bold as Jeremiah to say, "Do with me whatever you think is good and right."? Do we boldly speak up? Or do we timidly clam up? Do we take a stand for the truth? Or take a seat for our comfort? I admit that I don't speak up as boldly as I should. I too often let my love for the world and my love for the good opinions of others take precedent over my love for God and love for the truth of his Word.
Why? Because my "sinful mind is hostile to God." My sinful nature prefers comfort to problems, and therefore timidity over courage. In fact, my sinful nature still hates the law, especially when it's directed toward me. The truth hurts.
It's not comfortable for me to hear that for loving "praise from men more than praise from God," (John 12:43) and for letting my fear of rejection by people silence me, I deserve to be rejected by God. God says in 1 John 2(:15), "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." And in John 12(:25), "The man who loves his life will lose it." For my cowardice (and I've never even had to put my life on the line, like Jeremiah, the prophets, and the apostles all did!), I deserve hell. And so do you. And I know that that truth is uncomfortable. The truth of our sin hurts. I feel it too.
But there's hope. If we repent, God too will repent. But wait a second! Doesn't repent mean "change your mind"? And doesn't God say in Numbers 23(:19) that he, "is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind"? So how can God change his mind about the hell that we deserve? How can God repent, or, as the NIV editors put it in verse 13, "relent"? Well he can because the truth hurt... Jesus.
Now, centuries after Shiloh had been destroyed, history was repeating itself. The people again rebelled against God and his truth and, in love, he threatened disaster to lead them to repent of their sin. And Jeremiah had the fun job of being the messenger of those threats.
But the people didn't like to be threatened. They didn't like hearing the law. The truth was uncomfortable. The truth hurt. So the priests and the prophets, the very ones assigned the job of proclaiming the truth, tried to silence it. "Shut up, Jeremiah! Or we'll make you like Shiloh! We will put you to death. Don't think we won't."
But Jeremiah took a bold stand for the truth. The LORD had sent him to deliver this message. And he had to answer first to the LORD, no matter what anyone else said or did. The LORD sent him, so he would continue to speak up, even if it would hurt... even if they should take his life for it.
"The LORD sent me to prophesy... As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right... put me to death... for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."
Now how about us? Are we so bold?
You know that people hate to hear the law. They hate to have someone tell them that they're wrong and that they deserve punishment for their sins. That truth hurts. God tells us in Romans 8:7 that, "the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." And Jesus himself told us how people would then respond to the truth of the law. In Matthew 10:22 he said, "All men will hate you because of me." In Luke 6:22 he made it clear that people would hate us, exclude us, insult us and reject our names as evil because of him. In Matthew 24:9 he promised, "you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."
It should be no surprise then, that when we speak the truth about sin, about hell, about false teaching, that people will say to us, "Shut up! That's just what you think. And I don't want to hear it, you close-minded Christian." The truth about sin hurts.
And when that happens are we as bold as Jeremiah to say, "Do with me whatever you think is good and right."? Do we boldly speak up? Or do we timidly clam up? Do we take a stand for the truth? Or take a seat for our comfort? I admit that I don't speak up as boldly as I should. I too often let my love for the world and my love for the good opinions of others take precedent over my love for God and love for the truth of his Word.
Why? Because my "sinful mind is hostile to God." My sinful nature prefers comfort to problems, and therefore timidity over courage. In fact, my sinful nature still hates the law, especially when it's directed toward me. The truth hurts.
It's not comfortable for me to hear that for loving "praise from men more than praise from God," (John 12:43) and for letting my fear of rejection by people silence me, I deserve to be rejected by God. God says in 1 John 2(:15), "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." And in John 12(:25), "The man who loves his life will lose it." For my cowardice (and I've never even had to put my life on the line, like Jeremiah, the prophets, and the apostles all did!), I deserve hell. And so do you. And I know that that truth is uncomfortable. The truth of our sin hurts. I feel it too.
But there's hope. If we repent, God too will repent. But wait a second! Doesn't repent mean "change your mind"? And doesn't God say in Numbers 23(:19) that he, "is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind"? So how can God change his mind about the hell that we deserve? How can God repent, or, as the NIV editors put it in verse 13, "relent"? Well he can because the truth hurt... Jesus.
II. The Truth of Our Sin Hurt Jesus
When he hear about Jeremiah's bold resolve to do the right thing regardless of the consequences, even if it meant giving his own life, we can't help but think of Jesus, who always said and did the right thing not if, but even when it cost him his life.
Jesus spoke the truth boldly even to his enemies who he knew were out to kill him. He spoke the truth boldly to governors and kings who, as Pilate put it in John 19(:10), had the power to either free him or to crucify him. But Jesus loved the truth more than his own life because he loved you and me more than he loved his own life. He knew that there was no other way for our sins to be forgiven than that he take them on himself and die in our place.
In fact, for Jesus, it was far, far worse than being rejected by men who sought to take his life. He was rejected by the Father himself, who looked in disgust at Jesus covered in the filth of our cowardice and sin, of every time we've failed to speak up, of every time we've love our comfort more than the truth, and God the Father turned his back on Jesus. So Jesus didn't just cry, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how... I have longed to gather your children together... but you were not willing," (Matthew 23:37) but he also cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). You see, the truth of our sin, hurt Jesus.
But that's the only way that God could repent, that he could relent and change his mind about the threats of hell that were preached against us. Did God change his mind? Not really. It was always his plan to rescue us by his own sacrifice. Someone had to pay. And that someone was Jesus -- God himself.
Now, the Gospel that Jeremiah preached applies to us just as much as it did to those Israelites. As we turn from our sins in repentance and turn to our Savior in trust, "the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against [us]." Because the truth of our sins hurt Jesus, the truth of hell will not hurt us.
And now, this good news of forgiveness and peace with God empowers us and emboldens us to speak the truth in love, even if it means that to speak the truth will hurt...
In fact, for Jesus, it was far, far worse than being rejected by men who sought to take his life. He was rejected by the Father himself, who looked in disgust at Jesus covered in the filth of our cowardice and sin, of every time we've failed to speak up, of every time we've love our comfort more than the truth, and God the Father turned his back on Jesus. So Jesus didn't just cry, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how... I have longed to gather your children together... but you were not willing," (Matthew 23:37) but he also cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). You see, the truth of our sin, hurt Jesus.
But that's the only way that God could repent, that he could relent and change his mind about the threats of hell that were preached against us. Did God change his mind? Not really. It was always his plan to rescue us by his own sacrifice. Someone had to pay. And that someone was Jesus -- God himself.
Now, the Gospel that Jeremiah preached applies to us just as much as it did to those Israelites. As we turn from our sins in repentance and turn to our Savior in trust, "the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against [us]." Because the truth of our sins hurt Jesus, the truth of hell will not hurt us.
And now, this good news of forgiveness and peace with God empowers us and emboldens us to speak the truth in love, even if it means that to speak the truth will hurt...
III. We Boldly Speak the Truth Even if It Hurts
In thanks to our Savior and for his work for us, we are "not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16) And as Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
And so we are bold to live our faith and to speak the truth, not with a sense of obligation as if we had to because we're Christians, but out of a sense of love to God -- we want to serve him in thanks -- and out of a sense of love for our neighbor -- because we don't want our co-workers to go to hell, because we don't want our friends to be on the wrong side come Judgment Day, because we don't want our kids to face God's wrath forever. The truth may hurt -- both them and us -- but we only preach the law that hurts to preach the gospel that comforts.
And if they reject you (and some will and it will hurt) then take heart. They're not rejecting you, but are rejecting God. "For in truth the LORD has sent [you]... to speak all these words." If the neighbors don't invite you over for dinner, it may hurt, but rejoice that you can look forward to the banquet feast of heaven! If others say you're no longer their friend, it'll hurt, but rejoice that you have Jesus as your brother and God as your Father! And if they make you a martyr and take your life, it will most certainly hurt. But rejoice that you have eternal life in your Savior and should you die, you will go to glory.
It's true that the truth hurts. But in thanks to our Savior for saving us from a much worse hurt, we're bold -- even eager -- to speak the truth, come what may and say with Jeremiah, "Do with me whatever you think is good and right... put me to death... for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing." In Jesus' name, and by the courage that he gives, dear friends, amen.
And so we are bold to live our faith and to speak the truth, not with a sense of obligation as if we had to because we're Christians, but out of a sense of love to God -- we want to serve him in thanks -- and out of a sense of love for our neighbor -- because we don't want our co-workers to go to hell, because we don't want our friends to be on the wrong side come Judgment Day, because we don't want our kids to face God's wrath forever. The truth may hurt -- both them and us -- but we only preach the law that hurts to preach the gospel that comforts.
And if they reject you (and some will and it will hurt) then take heart. They're not rejecting you, but are rejecting God. "For in truth the LORD has sent [you]... to speak all these words." If the neighbors don't invite you over for dinner, it may hurt, but rejoice that you can look forward to the banquet feast of heaven! If others say you're no longer their friend, it'll hurt, but rejoice that you have Jesus as your brother and God as your Father! And if they make you a martyr and take your life, it will most certainly hurt. But rejoice that you have eternal life in your Savior and should you die, you will go to glory.
It's true that the truth hurts. But in thanks to our Savior for saving us from a much worse hurt, we're bold -- even eager -- to speak the truth, come what may and say with Jeremiah, "Do with me whatever you think is good and right... put me to death... for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing." In Jesus' name, and by the courage that he gives, dear friends, amen.
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