Title: One Doctrine, Two Works
Text: Deuteronomy 32: 2
Date: October 19, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Deuteronomy 32:2: My doctrine shall
drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the
tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
Our
subject is “One Doctrine, Two Works.”
Notice, it is one doctrine—“my doctrine.” But this one doctrine does two works on two
very different things upon which it falls.
One, it “shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as
the small rain upon the tender herb.” The doctrine drops as small, light rain,
even as light as dew. This work is done
upon the tender herb. Two, the same
doctrine comes “as the showers upon the grass.”
The doctrine drops as a heavy downpour.
This is upon the grass.
ONE DOCTRINE
First,
the message of the gospel is one doctrine, “My doctrine.” I heard a brother
point this out once in a message—when the scripture speaks of falsehood, it is
usually in the plural “doctrines”, but when speaking of the truth it is always
singular “doctrine.”
Concerning
lies scripture says:
Matthew 15:9: But in vain they do worship me, teaching
for doctrines the commandments of men.
Colossians 2:22: Which all are to perish with the using;)
after the commandments and doctrines of men?
1 Timothy 4:1: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in
the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of
devils;
Hebrews 13:9: Be
not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be
established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have
been occupied therein.
But speaking of the truth, scripture says:
Matthew 7:28: And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended
these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mark 4:2: And he taught them many things by parables, and
said unto them in his doctrine,
John 7:16: Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is
not mine, but his that sent me.
The
doctrine of God and our Savior Jesus Christ has many branches of teaching, but
it is all one doctrine. It all stands vitally connected, giving the triune God
in Christ all the glory. The doctrine of total depravity is vitally connected
with the necessity for God to elect a people unto salvation in Christ Jesus,
else none would be saved. Then the
doctrine of election is vitally connected with the doctrine of particular
redemption—it is only the elect for whom Christ died. It is because we are depraved, elected,
redeemed, that the Holy Spirit must and shall irresistibly, invincibly
regenerate us to life and faith in Christ.
And because justice has been satisfied, since redemption is accomplished
by Christ, for each particular, elect child, they must be preserved unto the
end and thus, by God’s grace, they shall persevere. It is impossible for
justice to be poured out on them a second time.
God works all of this without fail, doing as he pleases, because he is
absolutely sovereign to work his will in the earth. Every other doctrine stands connected to each
other. By simply teaching error in one
doctrine it is necessary to teach error in the rest because they make up one
doctrine.
TWO WORKS
Yet,
though we preach one doctrine there are two works produced by God.
First,
this one doctrine works upon the tender herb, “My doctrine shall drop as the
rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender
herb.” The gospel “drops.” The word of God comes down from above from
Christ himself through his gospel preacher who Christ sends. This gospel drops “as the rain. It “distills
as the dew.” This is a light and easy
rain, small rain. And this work is
performed “upon the tender herb.”
Secondly,
notice the word “And.” This same doctrine works differently upon the grass, “and
as the showers upon the grass.” While
the gospel falls gently upon the tender herb it comes “as showers” upon “the
grass.” The gospel falls as a heavy
downpour, like in a thunderstorm, upon the grass. This “grass” is like the
grass that grew upon the rooftops of the flat houses or the tall sage grass
that grows in fields
Psalm 129: 5: Let them all be confounded and turned back
that hate Zion. 6: Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth
afore it groweth up: 7: Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that
bindeth sheaves his bosom.
These
two different works can take place by the same doctrine in the same person. It
is because every believer has two natures.
When a sinner is born again, the nature created is a new heart, broken
and contrite, receiving the doctrine of God with gladness. (Eze 36: 27; Ps 51:
10, 8, 17; 4: 7) God said,
Ezekiel 36:27: And I will put my spirit within you, and
cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
David
described the new heart:
Psalm 51: 10: Create in me a clean heart, O God; and
renew a right spirit within me…17: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a
broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
The new
heart is tender—like the “tender herb” in our text. But the old nature, which
is of Adam, is that which the scripture to in Is 40 as grass.
Isaiah 40: 6: The voice said, Cry. And he said, What
shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the
flower of the field: 7: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the
spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8: The grass
withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
The old
man within a believer is referred to in Rom 7.
This is a believer speaking because only a believer knows this about
himself.
Romans 7: 18: For I know that in me (that is, in my
flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to
perform that which is good I find not.
There
is a new willingness in the new man, but the old man is too strong for us to
perform that which is good. So how will
a believer be brought to obey God? We are taught in the doctrine of God to put
off the old, grassy man of flesh and put on the new man.
Ephesians 4: 22: That ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23: And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24: And that ye put on the new
man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Yet,
since it is not by any power in our grassy flesh by which the deeds of the
believer’s body are mortified and since we have not strength enough in the new
man, of ourselves, to mortify our flesh, how then shall we put off the old and
put on the new? How can we be renewed in the spirit of our mind in the new man?
This
work is the work spoken of in our text. It is done by the same doctrine—the
gospel of our Lord Jesus. The Holy
Spirit makes the power of the doctrine of God effectual in the new man.
Romans 8: 11: But if the Spirit of him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you…13: For if
ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
We publish
the name of the LORD by preaching Christ and him crucified. The gospel ascribes all greatness to our
God. We speak only of Christ, declaring
he is the Rock. His work is perfect. The
truth declares all God’s ways are judgment. He is a God of truth and without
iniquity, just and right is he. We preach this doctrine because this is the
message whereby the Spirit mortifies the flesh.
To preach the truth and wait on the Spirit to mortify the flesh is the
opposite of preaching works and trying to mortify the flesh by the works of the
law. To do the latter is walking after the flesh, to do the former is walking
in the Spirit.
1Corinthians 1:18: For the preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God.
We
preach the gospel and by the gospel, the Holy Spirit also renews the inward
man. It is not by any strength in us
that the new man is renewed but only by the same doctrine, blessed of God by
the Holy Spirit in the newly created heart.
TWO WORKS ACCOMPLISHED BY ONE DOCTRINE
Thirdly,
back in our text, we see both these great and spiritual works are accomplished
by the same doctrine at the same time. As
we hear of God’s sovereign, particular, redemption accomplished by Christ Jesus
through his precious blood, the word comes softly and full of life upon the inner
man, “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as
the small rain upon the tender herb.” As
the gospel drops from Christ through his preacher, God in his greatness enters
into the new man in Spirit. Christ is formed in us. He makes the inner man spring forth fragrant
and full, like as the tender herb is renewed by the gentle dew.
Yet, at
the same time, the same doctrine comes upon our old man and subdues the flesh, “and
as the showers upon the grass.” Have you
ever seen sage grass in a field after a heavy rain? It lays flat. That is what the gospel does to
our grassy, fleshly man. The gospel lays low the old grassy man of our flesh,
even as the heavy showers make the grass of the field lay flat. Moses tells us
why this one doctrine works these two different works in the new man and in the
old man.
It is “Because
I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.” (Deut
32: 3) The doctrine of the greatness of
God—feeds the inner man which delights for God to have all the glory. But the
same doctrine lays low the old man because it declares there is no greatness in
our flesh.
My
doctrine accomplishes this work because I will publish, “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.” (Deut 32: 4) The new man is renewed because
the new heart delights to hear Christ our Rock.
Our old man of flesh makes us look to the law, to our works, to our life
of faith. When we do we see nothing but
sin and unfaithfulness. It brings us to
worry and fret, wondering if we are really the children of God. But the gospel speaks in our inner man
declaring that Christ’s “work is perfect.”
It means his work is finished and complete and we are complete in
Christ. (Col 2: 10)
The
reason Christ’s work is complete is “For all his ways are judgment.” Christ is “the God of Truth and without
iniquity.” He put away all the iniquity of his people on the cross by bearing
our iniquity away in the just judgment of God.
Christ took the place of his people and took all that we deserved. He did so “in Truth!” Therefore, “just and righteous is he.” In Christ all his people are justified and
made righteous. This is food for the new man. It renews the inward man and
strengthens the inner man. But this same doctrine takes away all the glory and
all boasting, from our old man of flesh. It brings the old man of flesh low.
This
work is done because I will publish, “They have corrupted themselves, their
spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked
generation.” (Deut 32: 5) Our new man delights
to hear the truth about our old, fleshly man. We corrupted ourselves in Adam
and in our corrupt sin-nature. By nature our spot was not the spot of God’s
children. Our flesh is perverse and
crooked. This same doctrine strengthens
the inner man to pay no attention to the old man—to mortify the old man, to
treat the old man as dead. Therefore, as
the gospel strengthens the inner man, it lays low the grassy old man like heavy
showers upon the grass.
POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD
Brethren,
this is another reason why the preaching of Christ and him crucified is to us
who are called, both, the power of God and the wisdom of God. By this one doctrine, God does two things: he
says, “I kill and I make alive.” (Deut 32: 39) By one doctrine God kills the
old man—mortifying the flesh. And by the same doctrine Christ makes alive the
new man. The word of God is a two-edged sword—
Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.
One
side of the sword slays the old man. The other side renews the new man. And it
always divides the two and keeps them divided. God’s doctrine falls softly as
dew distilling upon the tender herb of the new man while it is a heavy
downpour, beating down the grassy flesh.
Sinner,
if all you are is flesh, if you have not been born again, this is why the
gospel is offensive to you. The gospel gives your flesh no room to glory, no
work to do and gives Christ all the glory. But keep coming to hear, because if
God gives you a new man, this will be the word by which he says, “Let there be
light.”
And believer, this is why we must have the
gospel. It is not stretching Paul’s word to the Corinthians to use it in this
application. He said, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man
perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” (2 Cor 4: 16) “My doctrine shall drop as the
rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender
herb, and as the showers upon the grass.”
Amen!