What comes to mind when you hear the word worthy?  What do you think of?  Do you think of yourself?  Do you think of others?  Who do you think is worthy?  

Then I saw in the righthand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, " Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?"  But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.  I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside.  - Revelation 5:1-4

In order to understand who is worthy, we must first understand what would make someone worthy.  What would be the standard or measurement of worthiness?  Maybe we can measure it against the 10 Commandments.

• You shall not have any God's before me.  That means to keep God first.
• You shall not make yourself any graven image or idle whether it's by your hands or mind.
• You shall not take the name of your God in vain.  Using God's name in a way that does not honor or bring glory to Him.
• Remember the sabbath to keep it holy.
• Honor your mother and father so that you may have a long life.
• You shall not murder.
• You shall not commit adultery.
• You shall not steal.
• You shall not lie.
• You shall not covet or want something someone else has.

Matthew 22 sums it up this way.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

So how do we measure up?  I know I'm guilty of breaking God's law.  But does keeping the law make us worthy?  No one can keep the law.  For all have sinned and broken the law.  Romans 3:23. ⁠ But some people might say, "I don't break them anymore, I have asked God for forgiveness.  I said I'm sorry."  Will that make us worthy?  Some people might say, "Why are you using the law?  I live under God's grace."  Most Christians say they live under grace, but do they truly understand what grace is?  Do they live by grace or mercy?  Why do I use the law?  It's simple.

• Psalm 19:7, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul
• Romans 3:19, Every mouth may be silence and the whole world held accountable to God
• Romans 3:20, Through the law we become conscious of our sin
• Galatians 3:24, The law is ours until Christ came that we may be justified by faith

Paul used the law.  Jesus used the law. The greatest preachers used it.

John C. Ryle - " People will never set their faces decidedly towards heaven and live like pilgrims until they really feel that they are in danger of hell. Let us expound and beat out the Ten Commandments, and show the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of the requirements. This is the way of the Lord on the Mount.  We cannot do better than to follow His plan."

D. L. Moody - " It is a great mistake to give a man who has not been convicted of sin certain passages that were never meant for him.  The law is what he needs.  Do not offer the consultation of the gospel until he sees and knows he is guilty before God.  We must give enough of the law to take away self-righteousness.  I pity the man who preaches only one side of the truth, always the Gospel and never the law.

Is this hard to take in?  Do you think I'm harsh?  I have more!

Martin Luther - " Satan, the god of all dissension, stirreth up daily new sects, and last of all, which of all other I should never have foreseen or once suspected, he hath raised up a seat as such as teach...  that men should not be terrified by the Law but gently exhorted by the preaching of the grace of Christ."

The church needs to, has to, must thunder God's Law from the pulpits.  It will not only awaken the sinner in the pew, but it will separate those who are tares among the wheat, God's Law will arouse the false convert to his true condition before a holy God.

Charles Finney - "This Law... should be arrayed in all its majesty against selfishness and enmity of the sinner.  All men know that they have sinned, but all are not convicted of the guilt and ill desert of sin.  But without this they cannot understand or appreciate the Gospel method of salvation.  Away with this milk and water preaching of Christ that has no holiness or moral discrimination in it.  Away with preaching a love of God that is not angry with sinners every day."

Charles Spurgeon - "I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the law."

• Psalm 5:5,  The foolish stand in your sight; you hate all workers of iniquity.
• Psalm 7:1,  God is angry with the wicked every day.
• Ecclesiastes 12:13-14,  Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the duty of man.  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing whether it be good, or whether it be evil

Now do you understand why I preach the Law.  Grace is important, but without law there can be no grace.  The Law shows us we are under God's wrath.  This wrath will be revealed on the day of judgement.  In order to understand God's grace, we must understand God's wrath to come.  If you don't understand God's wrath against sin, you will never fully understand God's grace.

In Colossians 3, you will see the wrath of God coming against fornication, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed.

• Romans 1:18,  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

In Ephesians 5, you again see the wrath of God on those who are disobedient.  They are fornicator, Whoremongers, coveters, greedy, talk in obscene ways, with foolish talk or joking.  Verse 7 tells us not to even be around those kinds of people.  

God is slow to anger, and His mercies are new every morning, but don't wait until judgment day to see His wrath.  I can't ever imagine how that day will be.  Some people think because God is love He will overlook their sins on the day of judgement.  They think God's love will save them. but it is this love that will cast them out.  If God is Holy and just, He must punish sin wherever He finds it.  Many people don't understand.  God said, "My people perish for lack of understanding."

• Matthew 7:21-23,  "Not everyone who says to me ' Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven.  Many will say to me on that day 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, preform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, ' I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!"

That doesn't make sense.  They prophesy, cast out demons, and many wonderful works.  Why would He cast them out?  If you think about it, they seem to be "active" Christians who expect to go to heaven.  They are out and about doing things for God in His name and people know it.  They aren't idle Christians who are only saved so they will not go to hell.  So why would God cast them away?  How many people across our nation, at home or at church, expect to go to heaven because they believe in God and say I'm sorry?  As you can see many continued in their sinful native, iniquities, or law breaking'

• Luke 13:21-23,  " Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow gate, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and not be able to."

Examine your faith.  Where do you stand?  Do you seek to enter?  Will you enter?

Grace vs Law
Grace is important, but without the law there can be grace.  Grace puts us at a higher standard actually.

• Law says, "Do not murder." but Grace says, "Do not hate."
• Laws says, "Do not commit adultery", but Grace says, "Do not lust."

God looks beyond our actions.  He looks at our mindset and our hearts.  So, when you say, " I live under grace." Remember what that means.

I heard a pastor once say something like this, " Because we broke God's Laws, God has to bring us to justice.  He has to give us what we deserve.  That's justice.  Mercy is not giving us what we deserve, many people live in mercy.  Grace is giving us what we don't deserve. 

In other words, it is the justice of God to send me to hell.  But it is the mercy of God not to send me to hell, and it is the grace of God that I get to go to heaven.  But I'm still not worthy.  Then who is worthy?  Only God.  You see, God gave us a covenant with his law, but we couldn't keep it.  So, God gave us another covenant.  He said He would protect us, provide for us, and care for us THROUGH JESUS.  We couldn't keep His covenant, so God did it for us.  We deserve God's wrath to be poured out on us.  We deserve His punishment.  We deserve to burn and be in anguish forever, NOT Jesus.  He was perfect but God loved us so much He allowed His wrath to be passed from us to His only begotten Son.

The Purpose of Jesus' Death

To Demonstrate God's Hatred of Sin

Jesus endured a brutal death to reveal the extent of God's aversion to sin. If Jesus had died a painless death, the severity of our punishment might seem lessened. However, because Jesus faced unimaginable suffering—suffering none of us would willingly endure—we see the profound gravity of sin. Remember, no one killed Him; He gave up His spirit.

Every Step Was for Us

 Every time you lie the hammer hits the nail.  Every lustful or hateful thought you have, the hammer hits the nail.  When we blaspheme His holy name, when we dishonor our parents, steal, covet, or forget the things of God.  The hammer hits the nail. Every time you make God something to fit your wants or desires, an idle in your mind of who you want God to be.  a loving God of mercy who looks at our sins. Bam! Bam! Bam!  Every beating, every thorn, every moment of agony was for us. Each act of suffering was a manifestation of God's love:

"Every sin we ever committed, God said, 'I Love You.'"

The Personal Call to Repentance

Peter's Remorse

Peter denied Jesus three times. When the rooster crowed, Jesus looked at Peter. Remorse filled Peter's heart, and he wept bitterly. Have you cried? Have you looked into the eyes of Jesus?

The Weight of Our Sins

Every time we sin—whether through lying, harboring lustful or hateful thoughts, blaspheming His holy name, dishonoring our parents, stealing, coveting, or neglecting the things of God—the hammer hits the nail. Each act is a reminder of our need for repentance.

 The Love of Jesus

His Sacrifice for Us

Jesus looks at us with arms outstretched, nails driven into Him, bearing our sins, and says,

"I Love You, I'll die for you, I'll pay your debt."

A Love That Conquered Death

This love couldn't keep Him in the grave. It is a love that shows He is a living God, seated at the right hand of the Father—the one who is worthy to give grace and bring judgment.

The Call to Humility and Righteousness
The Beatitudes

Jesus seeks those who are poor in spirit, who mourn over their sins, who hunger and thirst for righteousness. He desires those who are merciful, pure in heart, and willing to endure persecution for His sake. These are the ones who will see God and inherit the kingdom of heaven.

A Heart Transformed

Will you become bankrupt before God? Will you mourn and cry over your sins that nailed Him to the cross? Will you remove all pride and humbly come to the altar? Only God's righteousness can heal a self-righteous heart.

Jesus said if you love me, keep my commandments.  Do you go out into this world and share the full message of who is worthy? Do you care about those around you who are not saved?  If they died, you realize that they will go to hell for all eternity.  Are you scared of what others think?

If you are out of God's will, if you are fearful of men, then come and cry out to the living God who washes away sins.

God has worth.  God has Value.  God has merit.  God is a person of outstanding worth and importance.  GOD IS WORTHY.