Responding To Jesus’ Instruction On Sin
Luke 17:5-10
February 9, 2020
The last couple of weeks we have listened
As Jesus gave His disciples some very pointed and practical instruction
Regarding how to view and deal with sin.
HIS COMMANDS WERE CLEAR AND CONCISE.
1. Don’t Ever Cause It
2. Guard Yourself From It
3. Rebuke Your Brother For It
4. Forgive The Humble Of It
That was Jesus’ instruction regarding sin.
It seems so clear and so simple, but let’s be honest.
THERE IS NOTHING EASY ABOUT WHAT JESUS SAID.
• It is hard to not be a stumbling block to others.
• It is hard to not fall into sin ourselves.
• It is hard to rebuke a brother for sin.
• It is hard to forgive a brother for sinning against us.
It is one thing to read what Jesus said, but doing it is quite another thing.
And while most of the crowd may have simply given Jesus
“A token head nod” or a shouted “a token amen”,
IT IS CLEAR THAT SOME TOOK WHAT JESUS SAID TO HEART.
There were some in the crowd who didn’t just hear the sermon,
They listened to it. They internalized it. They applied it to their lives.
And when they did that,
They saw the extreme difficulty of seeking to obey such commands.
It is there response that we see here.
There are 3 points in our text this morning, as we work our way through it and learn a very valuable truth about how to obey what Jesus just taught.
#1 THE ASSESSMENT
Luke 17:5
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
• There is no reason to separate this statement away from the previous statements made by the Lord.
• And because there is no reason to separate it, it is best to see their statement as a response to what Jesus said.
One thing we do notice first, however, is WHO is making the statement.
Luke records that, “The apostles said to the Lord”
This is a clear and obvious distinction from what we read in verse 1.
Where Luke said, “He said to His disciples…”
Clearly the “disciples” there was the large group of followers who were accompanying Jesus.
• They were those who had at least outwardly affirmed Him to be the Messiah.
• They were those who were no doubt intrigued by His power.
• They were those who wanted to see Him usher in His kingdom.
• And to some extent they had claimed to believe.
Jesus had preached that message on sin to that entire group.
But implied here is that the entire group
Sort of let it go “in one ear and out the other”.
We are aware (because we know what it is coming)
• That most of those disciples were only following Jesus for the earthly benefits
He could supply.
• Most of those who were presently following had no interest in hearing sermons
about sin.
• They were mostly just humoring Him by listening, no doubt hoping He would
soon get on to the next miraculous work.
But “the apostles” where different.
This is the group of men you know of as the 12.
• They have been missing in Luke’s gospel since Luke 9 when Jesus sent them out to proclaim the kingdom.
• No doubt they have been there, it’s just that Luke hasn’t really singled them out for us.
But here they immerge.
And the beautiful part is that they, unlike the rest of the followers, have clearly internalized this message.
• They have heard what Jesus said about sin.
• They heard Him say not to be a stumbling block.
• They heard Him say not to fall into sin.
• They heard Him say to rebuke your brother for sin.
• They heard Him say to forgive your brother.
And instead of just dismissing it, they internalized it;
They applied it to their lives.
And they, more so than anyone else in the crowd, realized how difficult a command this was.
• They could see the problem…
• They could feel the weight…
• They knew what Jesus was asking was extremely difficult.
Perhaps some of you did too over the last couple of weeks.
• Perhaps as we spoke of watching out for stumbling blocks, or rebuking your brother, or forgiveness…
• Perhaps you too, had someone pop into your mind that you needed to confront or that you needed to forgive.
• And when you sensed the Lord pushing you to do one of those things you also felt that inward struggle and knew that what He was asking you to do is very difficult.
That is where the apostles are.
And so they come to Jesus asking for help.
What is interesting, and so important for us to see,
Is what the disciples specifically asked for.
When they felt the struggle of obedience, notice what they requested.
“Increase our faith!”
• They don’t ask for better circumstances…
• They don’t ask for better brothers to deal with…
• They don’t argue with Jesus because He just doesn’t know…
They ask for faith.
And there is a reason for this.
They have already been with Jesus nearly 3 years
And they have learned that all of their failures and short-comings
Are the result of a lack of faith.
They had been rebuked for this many times already.
Remember when Jesus instigated that storm while crossing the sea?
Luke 8:24-25 “They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
Remember when Jesus had taken the disciples out but they had forgotten bread?
Matthew 16:5-8 “And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?”
Remember when Jesus was transfigured, but 9 of the disciples were down below trying to cast out a demon and couldn’t?
Matthew 17:19-20 “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
The point is that regardless of the mistake that the disciples made,
Jesus always seemed to bring it back to the same root problem.
Whether it was fear or lack of power or even failure to understand,
Jesus always seemed to identify the same problem.
It was the littleness of faith.
Certainly the apostles have figured that much out.
• So, when their hearts are struggling with commands like rebuke and forgive your brother they now realize what it is that they need.
THEN NEED MORE FAITH.
“Lord, “Increase our faith!”
Understand this now.
The disciples understand their struggle with obedience
To be a faith problem.
• Jesus told them not to cause sin.
• Jesus told them not to stumble in sin.
• Jesus told them to rebuke a brother in sin.
• Jesus told them to forgive a humble brother.
And the apostles understand that the reason those commands are difficult for them is because their faith is too small.
Do you see that?
SO OFTEN, IN OUR DAY,
A lack of faith is sort of the phrase tossed out there
• For people who don’t receive miraculous healings
• Or who don’t experience supernatural signs and wonders.
BUT THE REALITY IS THAT
The most obvious indicator of a lack of faith is a lack of obedience.
A lack of miracles or a lack of healing does not indicate a lack of faith,
But a lack of obedience does.
And consider all that Jesus just commanded.
What else could we say about a person..?
• Who leads others into sin,
• Or who dabbles in sin themselves,
• Or who won’t rebuke a brother for sin,
• Or who doesn’t forgive people?
What else could we say about such a person except that they clearly don’t believe what God has said about the judgment of sin?
• If they really believe that sin brings about the judgment of God…
• If they really believe that the judgment of God is horrible…
Then certainly they would view sin differently.
But as it is, their failure to obey these types of commands
Indicates that they don’t really believe what God has said about it.
LET ME JUST PUT IT TO YOU LIKE THIS.
THE BIGGEST BLUNDER YOU OR I COMMIT ON A DAILY BASIS
IS A FAILURE TO BELIEVE GOD.
NOW I DIDN’T SAY that our biggest blunder is a failure to believe in God.
Those are two different things.
Our biggest blunder is a failure to believe God.
WHEN WE FAIL TO BELIEVE GOD SIN IS ALWAYS THE RESULT.
This is the root of all disobedience…a failure to believe God.
The apostles where absolutely right to assess this situation in this way.
Their struggle here with obeying these commands
Was because their faith was too small.
If they were to obey these commands they needed more faith.
That is absolutely true.
AND YET THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE REMARKABLE HERE.
They understood that faith was a supernatural gift.
• They didn’t say, “Help us use our faith more”
• They didn’t say, “Help us show more faith”
They said, “Increase our faith!”
The understood their problem to be a lack of faith,
And they understood that Christ was the one who must increase it.
That is important on a number of levels.
We certainly believe in God’s sovereignty over salvation.
• We see that in order for a man to believe, that God must supernaturally grant him the faith to believe.
• We have never claimed that faith originates with man, we have always said that faith originates with God.
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”
2 Peter 1:1 “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:”
That is why salvation is first “by grace”,
Because even the faith God requires is first a gift from Him.
That is certainly true in regard to salvation,
But that is also true in regard to SANCTIFICATION.
While we are certainly commanded to be sanctified,
Or to obey His commands,
We also understand that the power to obey those commands
Comes from Him.
He must always be at work in us to help us obey.
1 Corinthians 6:11 “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
• We see there that not only does God justify us, but God also sanctifies us.
• He is active in equipping us to live the Christian life as He commands.
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”
• There again, God is at work in us to conform us to the image of Jesus.
• That is His work in us.
Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
• Again, God working to accomplish His perfecting and sanctifying work in us.
Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
• There we see both sides of the coin.
• We are certainly commanded to walk in righteousness,
• But we also see that the power comes from God who is at work in us.
That is the same thing the disciples are expressing.
• They understand the commands of Jesus not to lead others into sin, not to sin, to rebuke their brother, and to forgive others.
• They understand that these are things that they must do.
• But they also understand where the strength to do those things must come from.
And so, they come to Jesus and ask Him to increase their faith.
They have accurately assessed the situation.
• Christ is requiring obedience from them,
• Unless they have more faith they cannot obey it.
• And if they are to get more faith, He must increase it.
Now, I am also aware that some may balk at this.
If you studied walked through our reformation study with us you will remember that this was the very basis for the disagreement between Augustine and Pelagius.
Augustine had that famous prayer:
“Grant what Thou commandest, and command what Thou dost desire.”
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/pelagian-controversy/
And Pelagius saw that is incorrect.
• He thought all the burden for obedience fell upon man.
• God could certainly grant whatever He wanted, but the sole responsibility for obedience fell upon man.
And there are many who actually believe that still today
Even though the church condemned Pelagius as a heretic.
There are many see faith and obedience
As solely the responsibility of man
With no expectation that God should provide anything.
Clearly the disciples would disagree with that.
• Clearly the disciples saw faith as their biggest need and they recognized that Christ must grant that faith.
But what you should also notice is that Christ agreed with them.
The Assessment
#2 THE AFFIRMATION
Luke 17:6
“And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”
Now, if you’re paying attention here, then you notice that
The Lord DOES NOT directly answer their response here.
They asked for more faith,
But Jesus didn’t say anything here about how to get it.
Instead, He merely affirms that their assessment is correct.
• They are correct that they need more faith.
• They are correct in coming to Him for it.
The apostles assessed that the solution to their lack of obedience was more faith and Jesus affirms that by saying, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”
So Jesus simply affirms their assessment.
“That’s true, faith is what you need, because with faith anything is possible.”
The “mustard seed” was
• The smallest garden seed that they were regularly accustomed to,
• And yet it could grow into a plant around 15’ tall.
Jesus liked using it as analogy that small things can produce big results.
FAITH FITS THAT ANALOGY.
And here Jesus speaks metaphorically by suggesting that
Even faith as small as a mustard seed
Could command a mulberry tree to uproot and go plant in the sea.
Everything about that analogy is impossible, and borderline absurd.
• Mulberry trees have an extensive root system…
• Uprooting them is difficult…
• They certainly cannot uproot themselves…
• And no tree is ever planted on the sea…
The entire point is that for a mulberry tree to do that
Is for all intents and purposes IMPOSSIBLE.
It’s no different than the analogy Jesus gave after casting out a demon that the apostles could not.
Matthew 17:20 “And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
He is just making the point that faith can accomplish much.
The book of Zechariah contains a similar reference.
In regard to Zerubbabel rebuilding the temple, which seemed impossible at the time, we read:
Zechariah 4:7 “What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”‘”
• The “great mountain” was Zerubbabel’s project of rebuilding the temple,
• Zechariah revealed that by the grace of God this impossible project would get
done.
That’s the same sort of language Jesus is using here.
And the point is this:
A man can accomplish anything when he believes God.
SO
• The apostles assessed that they needed more faith to be able to obey Christ’s
commands,
• And Jesus said, “True, that’s exactly what you need.”
It’s just a simple truth affirmed again.
The biggest blunder we make on a daily basis is a failure to believe God.
When a man believes God and believes what God says
There is no limit to what he can accomplish
Because there is no limit to what God can accomplish.
Perhaps you remember the man who brought his demon-possessed boy to Jesus:
Mark 9:21-23 “And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
Outside the tomb of Lazarus Jesus reminded Martha:
John 11:39-40 “Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
As the Rich Young Ruler walked away and Jesus recounted how difficult it is for a rich man to be saved, Jesus went on to say:
Matthew 19:25-26 “When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
In the upper room on the night before Christ died, He told the apostles:
John 14:12-14 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
And this all hinges on the reality that Paul spoke of:
Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”
AND DON’T MISUNDERSTAND.
• THIS IS NOT the popular “Name it and Claim it” theology we see today.
• That is not at all what we are talking about.
This would be better characterized as
“Read it and Believe it” theology or “Hear it and Do it” theology.
James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
JESUS WAS NOT advocating that you can just wish up whatever you want
Or speak anything you desire into existence
As the charismatics so often want to suggest.
But Jesus was clearly reminding us that
There is no limit to what a man can do when he obeys what God says.
There is no limit to what God can accomplish through a man
Who believes Him and obeys His word.
That man can move mountains. That man can transplant mulberry trees.
Because there is no limit to what God can accomplish through us
When we believe Him and subsequently obey Him.
For that you only have to look to the faith chapter which is filled with example after example of men and women who simply believed God.
They didn’t just believe in God, they believed God.
And not only where they justified before God because of their faith,
But through these men and women,
God also accomplished impossible things.
Hebrews 11:32-35 “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;”
God did all those things through people who simply believed Him.
And following that line of thinking and the context of this passage,
We can say that
• God keeps these little ones from stumbling into sin,
• God keeps us from stumbling into sin,
• God brings sinning brothers out of sin,
• God reconciles offended brothers together
When people believe Him and do what He says.
Those are big mountains to move, and they may appear impossible.
• Have you ever grieved over a brother in sin and wished he would leave it?
• Have you ever wondered if reconciliation could ever occur between two
feuding brothers?
Sometimes it would appear even miraculous for such things to occur,
BUT GOD CAN ACCOMPLISH THEM.
HOW?
When you believe God and rebuke your brother…
When you believe God and forgive your brother…
Do you see why faith is so necessary?
When you believe God and obey Him, there is no limit to what He can accomplish.
So when these apostles hear the commands of Jesus regarding sin and assess that they need more faith, Jesus agrees.
But that still leaves us with the question.
HOW IS FAITH INCREASED?
The Assessment, The Affirmation
#3 THE ANSWER
Luke 17:7-10
After affirming their assessment Jesus is now answers their question,
And he does it in a sort of parable form.
But His point is great and so important to our understanding
Of how to receive the faith we need to obey Christ.
(7-9) “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?”
This is just A COMMON OBSERVATION from life that exists all around the apostles.
• You see it everywhere.
• The master/slave relationship.
You’d understand it better
In the terms of an employer and their employee.
(for slavery here was not like our mindset of pre-civil war slavery,
In many cases slaves in Bible times were better off than hired men)
Here we have a man who has a job to do, an “eight hour a day” type job.
Let’s say you have a job, and you work from 9am until 5pm.
• And that morning your boss sends you out to work on a project,
• And at 3pm you finish that job, so you come back to the office.
• Now, at that point the boss doesn’t send you home,
• Instead he finds you something else to do for the last two hours of the day.
And here is the point.
When you come in at 3 and do another job until 5,
The boss doesn’t pay you overtime or give you special recognition
Just because you worked those last 2 hours does he?
No, that is simply what you were expected to do.
And that is Jesus’ point.
Slaves (or employees) fulfill their obligations
Expecting no extra glory or compensation all the time.
Your boss doesn’t give you a trophy just for working a full day.
Right?
(10) “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
Clearly Jesus is referring to the necessity of humility.
• When you do what you’ve been told you should not expect extra glory for it.
• You shouldn’t expect a trophy just for doing the job you’ve been paid to do.
That we understand.
Jesus is calling for humility.
He is calling for the disciples to not seek glory.
In fact in verse 10 the word for “unworthy” is ACHREIOS
Which actually means “useless” or “good for nothing”
In Matthew 25:30 it is translated “worthless”:
Matthew 25:30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Now Jesus DOESN’T SAY here that a slave who does his job is worthless or unworthy, only that he should consider himself to be that.
It is the picture of one who is not looking for extra credit
Just because they did what they were supposed to do.
HE IS TALKING ABOUT HUMILITY.
We all see that.
But the question is:
WHAT DOES HUMILITY HAVE TO DO WITH THE DISCIPLES REQUEST FOR MORE FAITH?
And the answer is actually: EVERYTHING
Faith is a byproduct of humility.
Just as unbelief is a byproduct of arrogance.
All throughout Luke’s gospel, Luke has been making this point that it is the humble who believe God.
• It is those who do not trust in their own understanding…
• It is those who put no value in their own abilities or achievements…
• These are the ones who inevitably trust and believe God.
The thing that keeps men from believing God or from trusting God
Is that men would rather accomplish things by their own efforts.
You know this as legalism.
• Why would men rather do it on their own?
• Why would men rather work for it themselves than trust God for it?
• Why would men rather do it their own way instead of doing what God says?
The answer: GLORY
If I do it myself and I work for it then I get the credit.
That pride is the great enemy of faith.
Faith requires humility.
• It requires me to admit that my plans and my ways are not as good as God’s
plans and God’s ways.
And if I do it God’s way and it works,
Then God and not me will get all the credit.
I recently saw a quote circulating on Facebook so I know it is true.
It is attributed to Ronald Reagan and it says, “There is no limit to what people can accomplish when they don’t care who gets the credit.”
That’s sort of what we are saying here.
Except we see the point through eyes of faith.
“There is no limit to what a person can accomplish
When they don’t care if God gets the credit.”
The thing keeping the disciples
From having the faith they needed to obey Christ was pride.
So when they asked for an increase of faith,
After affirming this assessment,
Jesus then told them to humble themselves.
He told them to consider themselves as “unworthy slaves”.
This would be necessary for them to receive more faith.
Now, let me give you a few other examples
Of how great faith and genuine humility walk hand in hand.
TURN TO: LUKE 7:1-10
• Do you see there the great humility of the Centurion? “for I am not worthy”
• And do you see that Jesus marveled at his great faith?
TURN TO: MATTHEW 15:21-28
• Do you see the great humility of the woman? “even the dogs feed on the crumbs”
• And do you see that Jesus spoke of here great faith?
TURN TO: MATTHEW 17:19-21
• There Jesus references the little faith of the disciples.
• But you also see their lack of humility.
Jesus says the only way to accomplish this task is through prayer and fasting,
Which implies that the disciples were doing neither.
Perhaps they were waiving their hands, perhaps they were making bold claims, they were engaging in behavior meant to make them look good and get glory.
Their lack of faith was evidenced by their lack of humility.
Do you see how the two work hand in hand?
Pride is the enemy of faith.
So now we understand the situation.
Jesus gave a list of 4 difficult commands to obey.
• But you cannot obey them without faith.
• And you cannot have faith without humility.
So do you want to be able to obey the commands of Jesus regarding sin?
• Do you want to refrain from being a stumbling block?
• Do you want to guard yourself from sin?
• Do you want to be able to rebuke your sinning brother?
• Do you want to be able to forgive your repentant brother?
Then humble yourself, quit worrying about how it makes you look.
Quit worrying about what people will think of you.
Quit worrying about your reputation and your glory.
Instead, have faith, believe God, and do what He says.
And through you God will accomplish great and unspeakable things for His glory.
THAT’S REALLY THE KEY.
• Quit worrying about how it will make you look.
• Believe God and do what He says.
Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
