Judgment Must Begin at the House of God if We Are to Be Witnesses to the World
For God's people to be effective witnesses to the world, judgment must begin with them, making them subject to God's holiness and its judgment.
Andrew Murray emphasizes that judgment must start within the house of God, as seen in the prophetic vision of abominations in Jerusalem. He highlights that God is aware of the sins committed by His people, and His anger is directed towards those who take His grace lightly. The sermon stresses that the closer one is to God's holiness, the greater the accountability for sin, and that God's love for His people demands a response to His judgment. For believers to effectively witness to the world, they must first submit to God's judgment and allow the Holy Spirit to work through them.
Text
After God's declaration in chapter 7 that he would judge his people, he takes the prophet in chapter 8 to see all the wicked abominations that were being done in the house of God in Jerusalem.
While the men who committed them said, "The Lord seeth us not," God saw, and felt, and was angry. And so in chapter 9 the prophet hears the command given, to go through the city and smite, and slay utterly without mercy old and young.
And then the word came in, "And begin at my sanctuary."
The higher the privilege, the greater the sin. The nearer to God's holiness and its judgment. The more God loves us as his people, the more jealous he is of our sins. From the very nature of things, from the very nature of God, and of our relation to him, it cannot be otherwise.
Judgment must begin at the house of God. God's people must be subject to it, must yield themselves to it, if they are to be witnesses to the world of God's saving power, if through them the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin.
(Excerpted from The Coming Revival, by Andrew Murray , pg. 43)
Sermon Outline
- Judgment Must Begin at the House of God
- The Necessity of Judgment in God's People
- The Role of the Holy Spirit
- The Higher the Privilege, the Greater the Sin
- God's Love and Jealousy
- Subject to Judgment
- Witnesses to the World
Key Quotes
“The higher the privilege, the greater the sin. The nearer to God's holiness and its judgment.” — Andrew Murray
“The more God loves us as his people, the more jealous he is of our sins.” — Andrew Murray
Application Points
- We must yield ourselves to God's judgment and be subject to it if we are to be effective witnesses to the world.
- God's love and jealousy for us as His people mean that He is more concerned with our sins than we are.
- We must recognize the higher privilege of being close to God's holiness and its judgment, and the greater sin that comes with it.