Introduction: We have all been taught from the time we were children that God can do anything.  In fact, many of us learned a song entitled "God Can Do Anything But Fail" when we were youngsters.  That song, praise the Lord, is so true, but there are some things that God cannot do, and the Word of God supports this thesis.  This may run against the grain in our thinking until I share with you what the Word of God truly says on this subject. 

 

To start with let's turn in our Bibles to Rev. 1:1-8.  Notice all the things that God is able to do in these verses: He is able to give His Word to mankind (vs. 1), God has always existed (vs. 4, 8), Jesus is a faithful witness (vs. 5), Jesus was raised from the dead (vs. 5), Jesus loved us, washes away all our sins with His blood (vs. 5), Jesus has made each believer a king and priest unto God (vs. 6), Jesus will return in the clouds and will be known by all that see Him (vs. 7).  As you can see, this passage of scripture, which opens up the glorious chapters of the Revelation of Jesus Christ and the events which are to take place, we find a number of statements that tell us much about the power and ability of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  It would appear once again that God can do anything.

 

The message this AM is for two groups of people that may be in the service today.  First, the believers, who are predominate, that they may glorify and praise God for the wonderful salvation that God has so freely given to them.  Second, to anyone in the service who has never yet placed their faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ who shed His precious blood for the sins of the world.  This message, especially the last point, ought to wake up any lost sinner here to their desperate and immediate need to fall down before the Lord and beg for mercy and forgiveness of sins.

 

Let us consider first,

 

I. GOD CANNOT LIE

Our nation is on the verge of another major presidential election.  It seems just four short years ago that we went to the polls to make our choices like we will Tuesday.  On inauguration day, Bill Clinton finally left office.  This was a man who on many occasions said he was telling the truth but eventually we all found out that he really wasn’t.

 

A few years ago I heard a report on TV about the need of telling the truth around young people so that they learn to tell the truth, but the survey went on to state that most everyone lies to cover themselves anyway.  On one hand people realize that lying is wrong and even sinful, but expediency calls for and seems to justify, the act of lying.  Situational ethics seem to ply their power in most people's lives. 

 

But can we really say that God cannot lie?  The Bible tells me so!

 

1. Hebrews 6:18 "That by two immutable (unchangeable) things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."

 

What are the "two immutable things" that the author of Hebrews is referring to as it has to do with the assurance of our salvation?  Simply, it is referring to the Will and Word of God.  God cannot and will not lie because His will and Word are unchangeable.  Now that is something worth saying "Amen" over, isn't it?  God's will is never going to change, and God's Word is never going to change, and when you put them together you have the strongest of consolations that the believer can trust in regard to his/her salvation.

 

2. Titus 1:2,3 "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;"

 

There you have it again - God, that cannot lie.   God said that eternal life was a gift that He was giving to mankind through the work of His dear Son, Jesus Christ.  This He promised, and all this came to pass.  It is through the preaching (proclaiming) of this sure word from God that people are brought to the place of realizing their sinfulness and their need of salvation through Christ.

 

3. John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

 

4. John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' "

 

Here in both of these verses we find the word "truth" being used to describe the character of the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is no other way to describe Him - He is all Truth, for there was and is no place for lying in Him.  This is the same Jesus who died for us and said He would.

 

The New Testament isn't the only portion of the Word of God that has a monopoly on verses that declare the truthfulness of God.  Note:

 

5. Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" 

 

What an amazing statement about the character of God, but it is sad to realize that the man whom God used to utter these words was none other than the wicked prophet, Balaam, who later instructed Balak in how he could corrupt the Children of Israel and see God fight against His people - send his women to them so that the Israelite men will lust after them, and marry them, thus breaking one of God's cardinal laws for His people.  It is always so sad when those who know better, and have had the privilege and honor of receiving God's Word turn away from it.  God gave those words to Balaam, and they are 100% true, but the man who uttered them was a liar and died for that reason.

 

6. Deut. 32:4 "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."

 

This passage is taken from near the beginning of Moses' Song as he neared the end of his days upon this earth.  In verse 5 he contrasts the truthfulness of God with the "corruption" the "perverse" the "crooked" generation that was alive then; who had seen and experienced the mighty hand of God in leading forth from the land of Egypt.  Moses reminded the people of Israel that God, their God, was a God of "truth", while they were a people full of iniquity.  The Children of Israel found out the hard way that they truly did serve a God of truth, and that He hated and judged falsehood.

 

7. Psalm 117 "O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD."

 

This passage of scripture clearly tells us that even the "truth of the LORD" endures forever.  It is forever because God Himself is everlasting, eternal.  The command to the nations and to His people to praise Him because of the eternalness of His truth is totally appropriate for God's people today as well.  It is only fitting that we praise the LORD as those who have benefited from the fact that God's truth and truthfulness is everlasting - we should be praising Him with their lips and with their lives.

 

Yes, God cannot lie, and He will never lie.  He is all truth.  Let us praise the Lord for that wonderful truth today.

 

II. GOD CANNOT REMEMBER FORGIVEN SIN

Here is another wonderful truth about God, something else He cannot do, and we can only glory that it is so true - He cannot and will not remember forgiven sin.  Is this really true?  The Bible tells me so!

 

1. Jeremiah. 31:34 "And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD:' for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

 

This verse is the last of four verses in this chapter that is presenting the wonderful truths concerning the New Covenant which God will make with His people Israel in that day when He sets up His Kingdom on this earth.  But is the forgiveness of sins, and God's remembering them no more, only for that future time?  Praise the Lord it isn't.  This New Covenant is repeated in Heb. 10:17 "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."  In this case, the passage is directed to a Christian Jewish audience who were slipping in their faithful walk with their Lord Jesus Christ.  The author of Hebrews was teaching them at this point that since their sins were totally under the blood of Jesus Christ, and no sin was being held against them, they now had the wonderful privilege of boldly entering into the holy of holies in worship, prayer and praise, because of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus.

 

2. Psalm 103:8-12 "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."

 

This last verse is especially comforting to have in the Word of God.  God has totally forgiven us of all our sins and He will never remember them again.

 

3. Micah 7:19 "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."

 

The implication of this verse is quite clear.  When God forgives people of their sins, they are gone, just like when something is dropped into the depths of the ocean.  True, in our day and time of ocean exploration with high-tech equipment and committed people, things long-lost in the ocean are brought back into the light of day again.  But don't let that fact take away the blessedness of this verse.  Between my junior and senior year in college I sang with group called the International Quintet.  One of the songs we sang was "Down in the Depths of the Sea"  Part of the chorus of that song goes like this - "The sins of the past are all gone at last - Down in the depths of the sea"  What a wonderful truth this truly is.

 

Friend, have all your sins and your past been cast into the depths of the Sea?  Only Jesus Christ can do that for you.  Only then can you know with perfect certainty that you have eternal life and nothing will be held against you.

 

Praise God - He cannot remember forgiven sin.

 

III. GOD CANNOT GET A PERSON OUT OF HELL ONCE THEY HAVE BEEN CAST THERE

What a powerful statement that is!  Is this really true?  The Bible tells me so.

 

1. Matt. 25:41,46 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil, and his angels: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

 

The word "everlasting" means just what it says - and never forget Whose word we are reading here - God's Word.  Therefore, if God says something is everlasting, He said it, not some man.  He has limited Himself in what He will do, and that includes rescuing people who have been cast into the lake of fire because they rejected Him in this life.  God will not take lost sinners out of Hell once He has cast them into that horrible place.

 

2. John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

 

The Word of God simply says that those who reject God and His plan of salvation through the finished work of Christ will never have eternal, everlasting life.  They are already considered by God to be dead in their sins, and when they physically die, they seal their own doom of remaining spiritually dead for all eternity.  What a horrible prospect, yet so many countless millions of people on this earth merrily continue on the road to destruction with nary a troubling thought about their soul's destiny.

 

3. Luke 16:20-31 - this passage recounts the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  Both died and both were conscious after death and knew where they were - one in Hell and the other in Abraham's bosom.  The rich man in Hell was totally aware of what was happening to him, experienced pain, and remembered his life on this earth, even his family.  Nowhere in this passage do we find any hope for this man once he has passed through the gates of death into the realm of eternity of ever getting out of that place of torment and pain.  He had reject the offered gift of salvation one too many times and lost it for all eternity.  Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that people can atone for their sins in a place called Purgatory after death and hopefully work their way out of Hell to a better place.  That simply is false teaching.  God will never rescue a person out of Hell once He has cast them there.

 

4. Rev. 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

 

Notice that the Word of God calls it the "second death".  What is that?  The first death is when our physical body perishes on this earth.  The second death is referring to when God casts a person into Hell and they are forgotten there for all eternity.

Conclusion: As I stated right at the very beginning of this message - it is for two groups of people - the only two divisions of people on this earth today - believers and unbelievers.  Friend, who may not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour - God cannot lie - His Word tells you what He will have to do with you if you persist in rejecting Him and his only means of escape through Christ.  Count it down, you reject this way of salvation and you lose big time.  Don't believe for a moment that God will change his mind just for one sinner who has rejected Him and finds them self in a Christless eternity.  No, now is the day of salvation.  Repent of your sins today and avail yourself of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which has been shed so that all your sins can be washed away, and so that you name may be written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

 

Believers, praise God that He cannot lie, he cannot remember forgiven sins.  Both of these truths have an eternal impact upon each of us who know Christ as our Saviour.  Our salvation depends totally upon the truthfulness of what His Word says.  Trust that and there is peace and joy and forgiveness of sins.