177. True And Not True.

Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. - John 9:31.

IT is ill to wrench passages of the Bible out of their context, and treat them as infallible Scripture, when they are only the sayings of men.

By acting thus foolishly we could prove that there is no God (Ps. 14:1), that God hath forgotten his people (Isa. 49:14), that Christ was a wine-bibber (Matt. 9:19), and that we ought to worship the devil (Matt. 4:9).

This will never do. We must enquire who uttered the sentence before we begin to preach from it.

Our text is the saying of a shrewd blind man, who was far from being well instructed. It is to be taken for what it is worth; but by no means to be regarded as Christ's teaching.

The Pharisees evidently admitted the force of it, and were puzzled by it. It was good argument as against them.

This remark of the blind man is true or false as we may happen to view it.

I. IT IS NOT TRUE IN SOME SENSES.

We could not say absolutely that God heareth not sinners, for—

1. God does hear men who sin, or else he would hear no one: for there is not a man upon earth that sinneth not (1 Kings 8:46).

· Not a saint would be heard; for even saints are sinners.

2. God does sometimes hear and answer unregenerate men.

· To show that he is truly God, and make them own it (Ps. 106:44).

· To manifest his great compassion, whereby he even hears the ravens' cry (Ps. 147:9).

· To lead them to repentance (1 Kings 21:27).

· To leave them without excuse (Exod. 10:16-17).

· To punish them, as when he sent quails to the murmurers (Num. 11:33), and gave Israel a king (1 Sam. 7:17), in his anger.

3. God does graciously hear sinners when they cry for mercy.

· Not to believe this were to render the gospel no gospel.

· Not to believe this were to deny facts. David, Manasseh, the dying thief, the publican, the prodigal, confirm this testimony.

· Not to believe this were to deny promises. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:7).

II. IT IS TRUE IN OTHER SENSES.

The Lord does not hear sinners as he hears his own people.

1. He hears no sinner's prayer apart from the mediation of our Lord Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5; Eph. 2:18).

2. He will not hear a wicked, formal, heartless prayer (Prov. 15:29).

3. He will not hear the man who willfully continues in sin, and abides in unbelief (Jer. 14:12; Isa. 1:15).

4. He will not hear the hypocrite's mockery of prayer (Job 27:9).

5. He will not hear the unforgiving (Mark 11:5, 26).

6. He will not hear even his people when sin is willfully indulged, and entertained in their hearts (Ps. 66:18).

7. He will not hear those who refuse to hear his Word, or to regard his ordinances (Prov. 28:9).

8. He will not hear those who harden their hearts against the monitions of his Spirit, the warnings of his providence, the appeals of his ministers, the strivings of conscience, and so forth.

9. He will not hear those who refuse to be saved by grace, or who trust in their own prayers as the cause of salvation.

10. He will not hear sinners who die impenitent. At the last he will close his ear to them, as to the foolish virgins, who cried, "Lord, Lord, open to us!" (Matt. 25:11)

One or two things are very clear and sure.

He cannot hear those who never speak to him.

He has never yet given any one of us a fiat refusal.

He permits us at this moment to pray, and it will be well for us to do so, and see if he does not hear us.