Thinking About Unyielding Conviction
Psalms 119:113-120
January 30, 2022
One of the reasons I am committed to preaching systematically through books of the Bible is because this way the topic is selected for me.
• I can be a passionate guy about some things and I know that if I just preached where I wanted every week before long we’d likely notice a cycle where I remained on a few topics over and over and over.
• Preaching through books of the Bible keeps you balanced. It forces you to deal with subjects you might not otherwise deal with and keeps you from “pulling out your soapbox” every week.
However, every now and a then the two directly align
Where the topic of your heart matches the schedule of your sermon.
Tonight that is what I get.
(113) “I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your law.”
We study it tonight primarily because verse 113 comes after verse 112
And we studied 112 last time.
But at the same time, just to read that verse again out loud
Is like someone blowing into the coals of a fireplace.
It ignites a passion in me.
And so you notice tonight we’re going to
Think a little about “Unyielding Conviction”
(I realize that term is a little redundant but that’s the best I could do.)
I actually wanted us to think about “resolute · inflexible · uncompromising · unbending · unshakeable · unwavering · unpersuadable · uncooperative · immovable · intractable · rigid · hard-line · determined · iron-willed · obstinate · stubborn · diehard · adamant · relentless · single-minded · stiff-necked · conviction”
But I settled for “Unyielding Conviction”
It was June, 1989
I was 12 years old and knew nothing of politics.
But I will remember the image I saw that day forever.
• On June 4, 1989 the Chinese Communist part had opened fire on Tiananmen Square and killed those who protested the government.
• The next day a line of tanks came down the road in a massive display of force.
• And all of a sudden 1 lone Chinese man walked out into the road and stood directly in front of the line of tanks.
• HE REFUSED TO MOVE.
• The tank tried to maneuver around him, he just kept running back in front of that tank.
I had no idea what was going on that day
But I remember being blown away by this man who stood alone
To stare down the barrel of a tank and defend what he believed to be true.
To this day no one knows the name of that man
Or what eventually happened to him,
But tonight as we talk about unyielding conviction
THAT IS THE IMAGE I WOULD PUT IN YOUR MIND.
In short I’m talking about Christian people:
• Who drive their stake in the ground and refuse to give an inch.
• Who don’t just identify something as a hill on which to die, but who actually die on that hill.
• Who throw their reputations and comforts and cautions to the wind
• Who dare to be the monkey wrench that kills the agenda of the evil satanic world system.
I want to know where that person went.
I want to call that person out.
And if you are not that type of person I want to show you why.
Tonight, as has been the case during this second time through the 119th Psalm, we’re going to be all over the place on this stanza.
If you want the exposition go to the website
And look up the last time we preached through it.
Tonight I’m getting my soap box out and we’re going to think on this.
But let’s start with verse 113.
“I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your law.”
That language is likely stronger than most are accustomed to.
We walk away and sort of tell the Psalmist, “Don’t sugar-coat it, tell us straight.”
The Psalmist takes his cross-hairs and centers them
Directly over those who are “double-minded”
SAY-AFE in the Hebrew.
It means “a person of divided mind, who, being destitute of firm faith and persuasion as to divine things is driven hither and thither. A doubter; a skeptic.”
They are a person who has no conviction.
Any wind can blow them.
In Luke’s gospel
We see a day in which Jesus was approached by would-be followers.
• You remember one wouldn’t follow because following Jesus led to poverty since “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
• One wouldn’t follow because he wanted to collect his inheritance first.
And then we read:
Luke 9:61-62 “Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
• In order to plow a man hooked his plow behind the oxen and followed them, looking straight ahead, in order to play a straight row.
• But Jesus compared this man and his desire to say good-bye to a man who was looking backward and thus could not play straight.
This man’s desire was divided.
• Part of him certainly wanted to please Jesus, for he was contemplating following Him.
• But another part was worried about what those at home might think and so he wanted to go and check with them first.
Jesus refused to let this man follow saying that
He had no place for a man
Who was always concerned about the approval of others.
That man was “double-minded”
We could reference that man again in Jesus’ parable of the sower when He said:
Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
• This soil obviously represents a man who refuses to yield his entire heart to Christ.
• He wants the gospel to be planted within but he wants his idols to remain as well.
That is what it means to be “double-minded”
And thus this man could produce no fruit for the kingdom.
In Matthew 10 Jesus addresses it again.
Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
• There is no room for a man to love this life and Christ.
• A man must choose.
• He cannot have both.
On the day when Jesus rebuked Peter:
Matthew 16:21-23 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
Peter was “double-minded”
As he was no concerned with God’s interests, but man’s.
James spoke of this man.
James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
• James said that the double-minded man is unstable and should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
And again:
James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
There James reminded that the “double-minded”
Man must purify his heart of his idols
So that he might be able to draw near to God.
We are simply talking about a man who is not “all in”
We are talking about a man
• Who can’t seem to decide if he wants to serve God or men.
• He can’t decide if he loves the approval of God or the approval of men.
Joshua told them to “Choose you this day whom you will serve” and he still can’t make up his mind.
Elijah rebuked the Israelites at Mt. Carmel because they were hesitating between two opinions. They couldn’t decide of Baal was God or if God was God and Elijah confronted them for it.
This is the type of man we are dealing with here.
And the Psalmist says, “I hate” them.
AND ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID at this point is to remind you that
This passage, as is true with all Scripture,
Was authored by the Holy Spirit.
Now, in this stanza there are other names for this man besides that of “double-minded.”
In verse 115 this man is called an “evildoer”
“Depart from me, evildoers, That I may observe the commandments of my God.”
In verse 118 he’s seen as a deserter.
“You have rejected all those who wander from Your statutes.”
There they are wanderers.
The unfaithful.
The undependable.
In verse 119 they are called “the wicked”
“You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross;”
And so perhaps you understand a little better who we are talking about.
We are talking about the man who has no conviction.
He has no staying power.
You cannot depend upon him.
He may very well declare allegiance to God
And brag about God’s word,
But when the battle rages and conviction is needed, he is gone.
HE WILL NOT STAND.
And of course the Psalmist has
A FEW OTHER HARSH DESCRIPTIONS of this man.
(118-119) “You have rejected all those who wander from Your statutes, For their deceitfulness is useless. You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies.”
Two descriptions of this man jump off the page at us there.
• The Psalmist says “their deceitfulness is useless”
• And he compares them to “dross”
“dross” of course refers to all the impurities that are discarded after precious metals are thrown through the fire.
“dross” is the worthless trash that is not kept.
Which also explains why he calls them “useless”
Neither God, nor the church,
Has any use at all for those who have no conviction.
What good is a man or a woman who will not stand upon the truth they claim to believe?
• They do not benefit the mission of the church at all.
• They are spiritual invertebrates who have the ability to cower and conform to any outside pressure and never buck the tide.
THEY ARE USELESS DROSS.
Remember Jesus addressing those 7 churches in Revelation?
• Go read them all and see if a common theme doesn’t emerge to why Christ rewards or rebukes those churches.
• It all revolves around their tolerance.
• He commends them for their refusal to tolerate error and rebukes them for tolerating it.
He is not looking for a wishy-washy bride.
Revelation 3:14-16 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”
Remember Paul about to leave on his second missionary journey?
He and Barnabas had a fight.
Do you remember why?
Acts 15:36-40 “After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.”
So many over the years have confidently asserted that Paul was wrong there and even like to say, “Be a Barnabas”
• But it wasn’t Barnabas who was commended by the church it was Paul
• And it wasn’t Barnabas whom the Holy Spirit followed to write of his journey it was Paul.
There would come a day when Mark would repent and Paul would call for him
But on this day, because of his unwillingness to stand
He was useless on the mission trip.
Those who are double-minded are useless to the service of the church.
But that’s not the only problem they cause.
They also are A Tremendous Discouragement to those who are faithful.
(115-117) “Depart from me, evildoers, That I may observe the commandments of my God. Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Uphold me that I may be safe, That I may have regard for Your statutes continually.”
Not only are these people no help in the mission
But they actually are a threat to those who would stand.
HOW?
Notice the requests of the Psalmist.
• Certainly he wants them to depart, but notice what he is asking God while they are still present.
He asks:
• “Sustain me…”
• “Do not let me be ashamed…”
• “Uphold me…”
Quite often these faithless and double-minded men
Are not only those who offer no help in the battle
But can also often be found criticizing
Or even rebuking those who would fight.
In their cowardice and refusal to stand
All they know to do is take the side of the enemy
And publicly rebuke or chastise those who would stand.
• They claim to take some moral high ground.
• They act like these great compromisers and peace keepers.
• They seem to take this grand position of unity.
They rebuke and humiliate those who would stand
By painting them as too rigid or too harsh or unloving or too critical.
They actually work to get those who would stand to stop standing.
It’s no wonder then that the Psalmist says “I hate those who are double-minded”
• They won’t stand for the truth.
• They don’t help in the battle.
• They actually discourage those who would stand.
And I want to take a moment now and look at some examples in Scripture.
First let me take you to a couple of NEGATIVE ONES.
TURN TO: 1 SAMUEL 2:12
(Read 12-17)
• So you see the sin of Samuel’s boys.
• Here they are found taking for themselves the portion of the offering which was to be solely for the LORD.
(Read 22-25)
• There you also see that these two boys used the woman who served at the tent of meeting as their own personal prostitutes.
Now at this point let me also point out to you that
Eli DID in fact confront his sons.
He questioned their actions.
He called it sin.
He warned them of impending judgment.
And here’s my question: DID HE STAND?
(Read 27-31)
• From God’s perspective Eli did not take a stand.
• He rebuked his boys he did not remove his boys.
• By letting them stay in office Eli honored those who dishonored the LORD.
• That is being a double-minded man.
• Soon after the Philistines attacked and God arranged for the death of Eli’s sons in that battle.
• When Eli heard of it and that the Ark of the Covenant was stolen, Eli fell over and broke his neck and died.
TURN TO: EZEKIEL 22:23
(Read 23-29)
• There we read of the total defilement of the entire Israeli culture.
• We see the fall of prophet, priest, prince, and people.
• They are all corrupt and love corruption.
(Read 30-31)
“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me before the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”
What a tragic reality.
• No one was courageous
• No one had conviction
• No one would stand up and the result was judgment.
Do you see the dangerous realities?
Do you see the lack of benefit to a convictionless people?
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
There’s a calling for you.
Be “immovable”
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”
What a statement: “act like men”
I’m going to be honest with you, but I grieve over this.
And just to make sure we’re being honest.
I grieve over weak men.
When I see a culture of disrespectful children.
When I see a culture of blatant sexual immorality.
When I see a culture that prioritizes everything over church attendance.
I PUT THAT RIGHT AT THE FEET OF WEAK MEN.
Men who will not stand in the gap for their family.
Men who will not stand in the gap for their children.
Men who will not stand in the gap for their neighbor.
• It is not your wife’s job to make sure your family goes to Sunday school.
• It is not your wife’s job to make sure your family attends weekly worship.
• It is not your wife’s job to make sure your family returns on Sunday night.
• It is not your wife’s job to make sure your children know how to behave.
• It is not your wife’s job to make sure your family follows the Lord.
Oh, to be sure, she can be an invaluable help-mate in such endeavors
And I certainly benefit from such a help-mate.
BUT MEN, THAT’S ON YOU.
Where are you?
• Who is standing in the gap for your family?
• Who is putting an end to the sin and faithlessness and rebellion?
• Who is going to stop it?
• Where is the guy who’s going to stand in front of that tank?
Let me at this point introduce you to my wife’s favorite O.T. Bible hero.
TURN TO: NUMBERS 25
(Read 1-9)
That’s the story of Phineas who rose up and single handedly
Stopped the plague of God by snuffing out the immorality.
Psalms 106:28-31 “They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, And ate sacrifices offered to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and interposed, And so the plague was stayed. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness, To all generations forever.”
Boy where is that guy today?
That’s what you call standing in the gap.
• It’s called conviction.
• It’s called having an unmoveable and resolute commitment to truth.
• It’s doing the hard things.
And this is the calling of the men of God.
Daniel 3:17-18 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
You remember that story of 3 Hebrew boys who refused to yield.
Acts 4:19-20 “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
There was Peter and John bullied and threatened
To stop preaching about Jesus and the resurrection.
Acts 21:10-14 “As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”
Paul was repeatedly warned of persecution that awaited
If he continued going forward and still he went.
Even when men were compromising
• About the truth of the gospel
• And so many would to go ahead and add circumcision to the list of requirements for salvation,
Paul stood strong.
Galatians 2:4-5 “But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.”
How about our Lord?
Isaiah 50:5-7 “The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient Nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.”
Do you see the conviction?
Do you see the steadfastness?
You know of the Sunday we had two weeks ago to speak about “Biblical Sexual Morality”
• I told you how a Canadian pastor reached out to John MacArthur and asked for his help sort of rallying the troops.
Here’s what you may not know.
• The first thing Pastor John did was send an email out to his extensive contact list of pastors asking for us to sign a petition that we would stand with those Canadian pastors.
• About 2 weeks later we were informed that Pastor John wanted to do a zoom conference call with us to talk more about it. (I watched it a few hours later)
• In that call Pastor John revealed that he would be sending out his request again because his first request had seen mixed results. He had indeed had around 3,000 people sign that petition and send it back. However, he said, most of those who signed were women.
He sent out a petition to pastors
And got back a document signed in majority by women.
That doesn’t mean that these were women pastors signing, it means that pastors were neglecting the letter and women in their church were signing it instead.
He was noticeably grieved as he said, “I understand the feminization of the church. I understand there are women who would like their pastors to be men.”
And with that they sent out the request again.
IT IS A SHAME AND A DISGRACE.
There is a need for men of God who will not be double-minded,
But who will stand up and be men
And drive their stake in the ground and stand.
Oh, we get some in our culture who have this kind of courage.
Yet most of the time they are some political pundit who doesn’t even know God.
They just dominate the airways with their political stands.
And that’s all well, but it is the church who is the pillar and support of the truth, and it is the men of the church who are called to stand in the culture.
Now, I told you I want you to SEE THE ROOT of this.
I want you to see where double-mindedness comes from.
Look at the last verse of our text tonight.
(120) “My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.”
What is that?
Our Psalmist just described why he is not double-minded.
It is because he fears God.
Do you know why men don’t stand?
Do you know there is no one to stand in the gap?
Because men fear men more than they fear God.
• Men fear the repercussions of society more than they fear God.
• Men fear the backlash of their spouse in some cases more than they fear God.
• Men fear the anger of their children more than they fear God.
They don’t want to upset the apple cart,
They don’t want to put their neck on the line.
They fear what that might do.
And yet, the problem at its core is that they don’t fear God.
So one last text to look at tonight.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 10:21
(Read 21-25)
So clearly here the situation is dangerous.
• Jesus speaks of hatred and betrayal and persecution and being pursued and being blasphemed.
• There are dangerous times.
And yet the calling is clear:
(Read 26-27)
• You are still called to stand in the gap.
How do you do that?
(Read 28-31)
Do you see the answer?
You fear God more.
That is really the issue of this Psalm.
Here we have a Psalmist who fears God
And he hates those who don’t.
He is totally frustrated with
• Those who claim some sort of faith in God
• And yet it is clear that they have no fear of God.
They are useless to the mission of the church
And they are a threat to those who would be faithful.
And what they need to learn in order to be useful once again
IS THE NEED TO LEARN TO FEAR GOD.
That is the missing motivation in their lives.
