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The Purpose of Works
Romans 4:9-12
November 11, 2007

We began last week studying Romans 4,
Which is focused solely on the doctrine of “Justification by Faith”.

By lifting up the example of Abraham,
We see there is only one way a man is made just before God,
And that is by believing God.

Man cannot possibly do anything good enough to get to God,
But because God is so merciful,
If man will place his faith in God,
Then God will credit that faith as righteousness.

It is the absolute blessing of being forgiven.

Romans 4:6-8 “just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”

It is a blessing to be freely forgiven by God.

So Paul has been hammering “Justification by Faith”
Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

Romans 4:4-5 “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”

But you and I know, there is a flip side to every argument.
If works don’t get us to God,
Then why do you always talk about works?

Do I work, or not work?
Does it help, or no help?

WHERE IS THE BALANCE BETWEEN FAITH AND WORKS?
It is that point that Paul will explain to us this morning.

And in our text, I want you to learn two main points.
#1 FAITH PRECEDES WORKS
Romans 4:9-10

“Is this blessing..?”

Of course he is referring to the blessing
He mentioned in verse 6 that David spoke of.
The blessing of having your sin forgiven…
The blessing of having your sin forsaken…
The blessing of having your sin forgotten…

Paul is here asking the question.
“Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also?”

And that is a very critical question to ask.
He is wanting to know, exactly when forgiveness of sin takes place

Does it occur immediately after faith,
Or does it occur after faith and a few works.

Many of you will remember the “Caprock Bible Study” about a year ago
In which the preacher quoted from the gospel of Mark.

Mark 16:16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

He then commenced to say that in order to be saved,
A person must have faith and baptism or else he could not be saved.

It was faith plus this one work.

That is the question that Paul is asking here.
When does forgiveness occur?

The Jews said, it was faith plus circumcision before you could be forgiven.
Paul is asking if that is true here.

And so Paul begins to answer the question.
“For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?

AT WHAT POINT DID GOD FORGIVE ABRAHAM?
AFTER FAITH OR AFTER FAITH AND CIRCUMCISION?

“Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;”

Abraham’s forgiveness came after faith and before circumcision.

Forgiveness:
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Circumcision:
Genesis 17:24 “Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.”
Please notice that the time span had to be at least 13 years, for Ishmael was born in chapter 16, and Abraham isn’t circumcised until Ishmael is 13 years old.

And the point is OBVIOUS
FAITH PRECEDES WORKS
FORGIVENESS FOLLOWS FAITH AND PRECEDES WORKS

In order for a person to get to God, faith alone is required.
There is no moral pre-requisite,
There is no standard of goodness to first be attained.

Only faith in Jesus is required.
Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

In regard to the preacher who wrote the Bible study.
He quoted one half of one verse
And built his entire theology upon it.

Look at that verse again.
Mark 16:16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

When the second half of that verse is read,
It becomes most apparent that believing and not working determines salvation.

IF A PERSON TAKES SCRIPTURE AS A WHOLE,
You will see that Scripture overwhelmingly teaches
That faith and faith alone is required for salvation.

John 3:14-18 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”

John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 12:44-46 “And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”
And that is just the book of John.

In order for God to forgive a person and credit righteousness to their account, the only thing required is faith in Jesus.

WHY?
BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T HAVE FAITH, WORKS ARE USELESS

Jeremiah 7:22-23 “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘ Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’”

Jeremiah 9:25-26 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised — Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
Going to church…
Lord’s supper…
Baptism…
Are not means of attaining salvation,
And if they occur before salvation, they are out of order.

In fact, in many cases,
They only succeed in giving the lost a false sense of salvation.
That is what Paul spent chapter 2 revealing.

Forgiveness occurs directly after faith.
Not directly after works.

Therefore, we conclude that FAITH PRECEDES WORKS
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
But there is a second truth that we must understand
In order to have a complete understanding of Scripture.

#2 WORKS PROVE FAITH
Romans 4:11-12

Paul really gives us some tremendous
Insight there in the first part of verse 11.

Paul called circumcision two different things, did you catch that?
1) SIGN
2) SEAL

Works don’t precede faith, they prove your faith is real.
If a man has no works – he has no faith.
If a man has no faith – he has no salvation.

James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

We would have to be blind to miss James’s point.
The idea is that if a man’s faith is not accompanied by action,
Then that man has no real faith.

He would continue.
James 2:18-19 “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

Here James lays down a challenge for all to answer.
“show my your faith without the works,”

And of course you can’t.
Which is why James says next, “I will show you my faith by my works.”

If you don’t have works, then you don’t have faith.

James 2:20-26 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

And that also fits our example of Abraham.
We know he was saved by faith alone.
But how do we know he had faith?

WORKS PROVE THAT FAITH IS REAL
And this is seen even in the New Testament.

John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Matthew 7:16-20 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits.”

It is not works that save you.
Works aren’t even required to be saved.
But if you don’t have works, then you don’t have faith.

That is what Paul is speaking of here,
And he gives 3 ways that works prove faith.

1) WORKS SIGNIFY YOUR FAITH
“and he received the sign of circumcision”

Paul is very clear when he says that circumcision was a sign.

“sign” translates SEMEION (say-mi-on)
That which distinguishes a person or thing from others.

It is the word that is used when the crowd wanted to see proof from Jesus that He really was the Son of God.

Matthew 12:38-39 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;”

They heard Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah
They heard Jesus’ claims to be the Son of God
They wanted proof.

So it is with our faith.
We can claim to have it, but is there any way to prove it?
Sure, we call it works.

In Abraham’s case, the first was circumcision.
And ultimately the willingness to sacrifice his son.

Isn’t that when God said:
Genesis 22:12 “ He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

It was proof that his faith was no fluke.

Today, the first step of faith is baptism, but that is just the first.
Righteous living…
Loving your brother…
Loving the poor…
Loving the lost…
ARE ALL WORKS TO PROVE OUR FAITH IS REAL

But that is what works do.
They prove to God, that when you claimed to believe in Him,
You meant it.

But there are more.
2) WORKS SEAL YOUR FAITH
“a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised”

In one sense, we present that sign to God, that we really do believe.
But that is not the only purpose of works.

Works also are a seal of our faith.

“seal” translates SPHRAGIS (sfrag-ece)
A signet, the stamp impressed as a mark of privacy or genuineness.

We may present our works to God as a sign that our faith is real, But here Scripture says that God presents works to us
As a seal that our faith is real.

WE PROVE OUR FAITH TO GOD
GOD APPROVES OUR FAITH TO US
BOTH ARE DONE WITH WORKS

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Satan loves to try and knock a Christian out of the saddle.
Satan loves to cause doubt in the mind of true believers.

And at times he is quite effective.
It will leave you begging God,
“If I’m yours, please tell me I’m yours.”

Paul says here, He already has.
God has given you His seal to prove your are His.
THAT SEAL IS YOUR WORKS

When you get to a point, where you doubt your salvation.
Then do exactly what Paul has said to do.

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

HOW DO I DO THAT?
Look at your fruit.

FRUIT ONLY COMES FROM A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

That means if you have fruit, you are the real deal,
Because you can’t have fruit if you are not.

Matthew 7:17-18 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.”

That is why John wrote his first letter.
1 John 3:13-20 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”

John said, we will know we are true believers when our fruit is of God.
And that is only one type of fruit, but you get the point.

Works are not only a sign that you give God to prove your faith,
But works are also a seal that God gives to you
To show your faith is approved.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Works serve as a seal.

It is a constant stamp of approval
That we can look at to know we are God’s.

And it has been true throughout Scripture.
Ezekiel 9:4-6 “The LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. “Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders who were before the temple.”

You will see it again in the end times.
Revelation 7:1-3 “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ” Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”

Revelation 9:3-4 “Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”

When God sees our faith is genuine
He gives us the ability to do good works
Which serve as a seal that we really are righteous

This is what John had in mind.
1 John 3:7-10 “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

If God gives you the ability to be righteous,
Then let that keep someone from deceiving you that you aren’t.

DON’T LOOK BACK TO SOME POINT IN THE PAST
LOOK AT YOUR FRUIT TODAY, SEE IF YOUR FAITH IS REAL

They signify your faith to God They seal your faith in God
3) WORKS SHOW YOUR FAITH
“so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”

Here Paul lists two different categories.
The lost Gentile who is not circumcised.
The lost Jew who is circumcised.

Abraham’s works were meant to show each of them what God required.

The fact that Abraham was justified by faith apart from works
Shows the uncircumcised sinner that he can be saved
And it shows the circumcised Jew that he still needs faith

Works don’t save you, but they are a powerful testimony
To an unbelieving world.

This is why I love to see a baptism.
Baptize a thug, it only reveals that God will save anyone.
Baptize a religious person, it only reveals that God must save everyone.

WORKS ARE A POWERFUL TESTIMONY TO LEAD OTHERS TO FAITH.

That’s what James said wasn’t it?
James 2:18 “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Works don’t save you.
They never have, they never will.
BUT WORKS DO HAVE A PURPOSE
They signify your faith – They seal your faith – They show your faith

THIS MORNING, I ASK THAT YOU DO JUST AS PAUL COMMANDS.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

What do your works say to God?
What do your works say to you?
What do your works say to other?
Faith precedes works & Works prove faith

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

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Romans 4:1-8
November 4, 2017

This morning we did a brief character sketch of the man Abraham,
And the reason is because he is a great picture of faith.

But also because Romans 4 is all about Abraham.
He was the poster boy for the Jews.
He was the first and chief patriarch.

And by using Abraham as an example,
Paul could make a powerful point.
If Abraham was saved by works, then we need to be like Abraham.
If Abraham was saved by faith, then we must be saved that way too.

That is why Paul reminds the Jews in verse 1, that Abraham is “our forefather”.

The Jews might not believe Paul,
But surely they would believe Abraham.

And Paul begins this chapter by picking up
The theme of chapter 3 and running with it.

Romans 3:27-28 “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

We talked about this last Sunday night,
Despite the wickedness of man,
Despite the fact that the Bible continually says that all men are this wicked.
Despite the fact that it is only by the divine mercy of God that any man is saved,
Man still has the propensity to slip into arrogance and act as though he deserved the salvation he received.

We call it “boasting”

The Jews certainly did it, but sadly, we even do it today.

Remember Jesus parable of the vineyard.
Matthew 20:1-7 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. “When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. “Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ “They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’”

And the point thus far in the parable
Is that salvation is completely by the mercy of God.
Every hired hand is at the mercy of the employer.
They only get the job if he chooses to hire them.

Matthew 20:8-9 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ “When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.”

BECAUSE IT IS BASED ON MERCY
Everyone gets a denarius for accepting the vineyard owner’s offer

But some didn’t grasp that.
Matthew 20:10-16 “When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.” When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘ Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ “So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

They had devised in their mind that they were worth more,
Because they had worked more.

Now, from human perspective, that might be true.
BUT FROM GOD “whose thought are higher than our thoughts”
THAT IS NOT TRUE

ACCORDING TO GOD, NO ONE DESERVED THE DENARIUS

No one can boast before Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

But at times we still boast.
We think we are more worthy than others.

That is also what the vineyard workers were doing.
They thought they deserved their wages.
They thought they deserved eternal life.

Paul confronted this thought in the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 4:6-7 “Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

And that is the question.
WHO IN HERE GAVE THE MOST FOR THEIR SALVATION.
LET’S SEE WHO WORKED THE HARDEST…
LET’S SEE WHO DESERVED IT THE MOST…

That is human logic.
Luke 7:1-5 “When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.”

So this guy deserved healing
Because he was sympathetic to Israel, and benevolent with his time.

IS THAT ALL IT TAKES TO GET THE BENEFITS OF GOD?

This man wasn’t healed out of merit,
But because Jesus was merciful and Jesus was powerful.

And perhaps that is the greatest problem.
When you take credit for your salvation,
You are robbing it from the One who deserves the credit.

And that was Paul’s point to end chapter 3.
There is no room for boasting,
God deserves every ounce of credit for what happened in your life.

And it is that theme Paul continues in Romans 4.
This time using as an example
The one man the Jews thought did actually deserve salvation: Abraham.

But by looking at what Paul teaches about Abraham (and even David for a moment) we can learn three important truths.
#1 BOASTING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Romans 4:1-3

Paul starts this out with a very intellectual argument.
He is in essence asking the readers to deliver their verdict.

“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?”

In other words, why do you think Abraham was saved?

And then Paul tells them why he asked that question.
(2) “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about”

Because if Abraham could boast, then there is room for us to boast,
But if Abraham could not boast, then we can’t either.

But then Paul reveals the answer, “but not before God”

Maybe he could brag about being the best rock thrower in Canaan…
Maybe he could boast about being a great financial wizard…
Maybe he could boast about his ability to marry a beautiful woman…

But in regard to salvation, Abraham could not boast.
WHY?

(3) “For what does the Scripture say?”

And before we move on, that is a great question.
He started by asking, “What then shall we say..?”

The only answer that matters is “What does the Scripture say?”

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK,
IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.

SO WHAT DOES IT SAY?
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Paul lists all Abraham did to make God accept him, what was it?
“believed”

We saw pretty clearly this morning,
That Abraham’s works were not all that impressive.
But the faith of Abraham was truly amazing.

Abraham didn’t do anything to earn salvation,
Which is evidenced by what the Bible says.

“it was credited to him as righteousness.”

“credited” translates LOGIZOMAI (log-id-zom-ahee)

It is an accountant’s word used when someone pays off a debt.

If Abraham had earned salvation, it would use a different word.
Possibly the word used in Romans 6:23
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

But Scripture doesn’t say, “his wages were righteousness”

Righteousness is not what he earned, it is what God gave him.

And I hope you see Paul’s point.
Even Abraham, the father of Israel, did not earn salvation.
Even he was not good enough to force God to save him.
Even Abraham’s salvation was an act of divine grace.

And think about it.
Abraham was from a pagan land.
Nowhere in Scripture does it say
Why God chose Abraham from the rest of the pagans.

It was only because of God’s divine grace.
There was no merit involved.

BOASTING IS IMPOSSIBLE

The next time you want to raise your hand
And act like you did something great in getting saved, don’t.
The glory for salvation belongs solely to God.

Boasting is impossible
#2 BELIEVING IS IMPERATIVE
Romans 4:4-5

Here Paul continues with his reasoning, revealing that
If Abraham had indeed earned salvation,
God would not have used the word
“credited”

(4) “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.”

God was pointing out that Abraham did not work for salvation.
SO WHAT DID ABRAHAM DO?

(5) “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”

There is only one thing that God credits, and that is faith.
There is only one way to be justified before God, and that is faith.

SALVATION REQUIRES FAITH, AND THAT FAITH MUST BE IN JESUS.

Any other offering than faith…
Any other subject than Jesus…
SALVATION CANNOT HAPPEN

IF A PERSON BELIEVES THAT THEY ARE SAVED
BECAUSE OF ANYTHING OTHER THAN FAITH IN JESUS,
THEY ARE NOT SAVED.

Listen to what Paul told the Galatian church.

Galatians 5:2-4 “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

They were trying to add circumcision to Jesus,
In order to make their salvation truly effective,
But it doesn’t work like that.

WHY?
Because if you try to add anything to Jesus,
It immediately renders Jesus ineffective.
“if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.”

But there is another reason.
“I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.”

If you are trying to please God through works
YOU DO NOT GET TO CHOOSE WHICH ONES.

And then Paul delivers the verdict
“You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

If you are going to try and earn it,
You don’t need Jesus, and you don’t need grace.

You have rendered them absolutely useless.

HERE IS MY POINT:
Mankind is justified by faith in Jesus Christ.
If you think you are saved because of Jesus and something you did,
You are lost.
YOU CANNOT ADD WORKS TO THE EQUATION.
It is not imperative that you do something.
It is imperative that you believe in Jesus.

“to the one WHO DOES NOT WORK, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”

So according to God’s salvation:
Boasting is Impossible
Believing is Imperative
#3 BLESSING IS INVALUABLE
Romans 4:6-8

Some people will absolutely fight you over that previous point.

There are some who get absolutely furious at the notion
That God will save you apart from any effort of your own

They hate the notion that God forgives freely.
They hate the notion that grace is freely bestowed.
They are like the grumbling vineyard workers.

They fight because they want to be able to boast.

BUT WHAT A TRAGEDY
THEY ARE MISSING A BLESSING

It is a blessing to have the forgiveness of God.

“just as David also speaks of the blessing of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:”

Turn with me to: Hebrews 3.

In Hebrews 3:7-11, the writer is quoting from Psalms 95.
Of course that is in reference to the fact that the children of Israel wouldn’t believe God, and so God would not allow them to enter the promised land.

In verse 12, the writer applies their faithlessness to us.

Hebrews 3:19 “So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”

Then in chapter 4, the writer continues with why they didn’t enter rest.
Hebrews 4:1-3

Since David says, “Today”, then obviously
The only rest God was referring to wasn’t the promised land.

Hebrews 4:8-9

And then the writer gives the golden nugget.
Hebrews 4:10

THIS IS HUGE!
And it falls in line with what Paul is talking about here.
“the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.”
That person is FREE.
They are no longer living their lives under the pressure
Of trying to live up to some unattainable standard.
THAT PERSON CAN REST

That is why Paul told the Galatians.
Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

Paul told the Colossians the same thing.
Colossians 2:20-23 “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Don’t let someone steal your REST
Or your FREEDOM, or your BLESSING.

But to help you understand why it is a blessing,
David gives you three reasons.

It is the three things that God, because of His mercy, promises to do with your sin.

1) HE PROMISES TO FORGIVE IT
(7a) “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,”

Notice David didn’t say those deeds have been “paid off” or “worked off”
There is no blessing in that.

Psalms 103:8-14 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”
Lamentations 3:22-25 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.”

That is a blessing to have God be merciful enough to forgive your sin.

2) HE PROMISES TO FORSAKE IT
(7b) “And whose sins have been covered”

Not only does God forgive
But notice what God does here.

He puts your sin away and doesn’t look at any more.
Isaiah 38:17 “Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”

Micah 7:19 “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.”

3) HE PROMISES TO FORGET IT
(8) “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account”

That word “account” is the same word as “credited” earlier.

God credits righteousness, but He doesn’t credit sin.
That was credited to Jesus.

But the main idea here is that not only has God put it away,
God has forgotten it. It will never come up again.

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.”

Jeremiah 31:34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

That is the blessing of being justified by grace through faith.

There is no other way to try it.
If you desire to earn it, you never pay off your sin,
God always remembers it, and your debt is never forgotten.

And yet people try that way just so they can boast about it.

HOW FOOLISH
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

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Justified By Faith
Romans 4:1-5
November 4, 2007

At the end of Romans 3 Paul revealed a truth
That is one of the most foundational to the Christian faith.

Romans 3:21-22 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;”

And of course this is after he had reminded us:
Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

Paul reminded that in order to justified before God,
Man should not seek out to be perfect according to the Law,
Man should respond to God with faith.

It is not that faith saves. It doesn’t.
God saves, but there is something in the heart of God
That is motivated by the faith of mankind,
So when man responds to God in faith, God responds to man with mercy.

Romans 3:24 “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

Although Romans 3 is the first time Paul stated it in such direct terms,
HE HAS ALLUDED TO THIS ALREADY TO THE ROMANS.

Romans 1:5 “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,”

Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”

Romans 1:11-12 “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.”

Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

And then last Sunday night he gave perhaps
The most direct statement about this truth in all of Scripture.

Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
In that statement, not only is Paul giving truth, he is defending it.
“For we maintain…”

Paul was defending, because the truth of “justification by faith”
Is always under attack.
(What greater ploy could Satan have than to pervert salvation?)

AND TODAY, THERE ARE STILL TWO GREAT ENEMIES OF THIS TRUTH

1) LEGALISM
LEGALISM SEEKS TO ADD TO GOD’S REQUIREMENT OF FAITH.

In Paul’s day legalists claimed it was faith + circumcision
That is why Paul opposed Peter to his face, when Peter catered to the Judaizers.
Peter’s actions threatened the truth that every man is equally acceptable by faith.

Galatians 2:15-16 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

Legalism attacks the justification end by saying God’s justification must be earned by something more than faith.

There is still however a second major enemy to the doctrine of “justification by faith”

2) LIBERALISM
LIBERALISM TAKES AWAY FROM THE REQUIREMENT OF FAITH.

They water down the faith that God wants.
They claim God will accept you without giving Him true faith.

Liberals are those who say “Lord, Lord, but do not do what He says”

Liberals are those who claim to believe,
But if it were not for the fact that they say they believe,
You couldn’t tell it at all.

Legalists promote a justification that is not what God offers.
Liberals promote a faith that is less than God requires.

This morning, we are going to look at
“THE FAITH THAT GOD ACCEPTS”

IS THERE A FAITH THAT GOD DOESN’T ACCEPT?
James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
We want the faith that God accepts.

But first we will divide our text in Romans into 2 points, and go from there.
#1 EXAMPLE OF FAITH
Romans 4:1-3

Now the main point to those three verses is obviously the fact
That justification was credited, not earned.

BUT THIS MORNING I WANT US TO SEE SOMETHING ELSE
All of Romans 4 deals with justification by faith
And all of Romans 4 centers on a man named Abraham

PAUL IS LIFTING ABRAHAM AS AN EXAMPLE FOR US TO SEE

And after asking if Abraham has the right to boast Paul answers the question at the end of verse 2. “not before God.”

The point is Abraham had no right
To be arrogant or boastful before God in regard to being justified.

“WHY?”
Vs. 3, “For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

THIS MORNING WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT ABRAHAM, FOR HE OBVIOUSLY HAD THE TYPE OF FAITH GOD WAS LOOKING FOR.

You can break Abraham’s life up into 5 basic segments,
Each relating to how God was working in his life.

Turn with me back to the book of Genesis, (12)
And let me quickly walk you through Abraham’s life.

1) THE PLOWING OF ABRAHAM’S HEART
Genesis 12

When I say “plowing” this is what I mean.
Just as a farmer has to get the soil ready for the seed.
God has to get the heart ready for his word
• Revealing Truth
• Conviction
• Tasting of Heavenly gifts

Hebrews 6:4-5 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,”

That person isn’t saved, God is giving a taste of what being saved is like

It is when God first starts drawing, or wooing a person to Himself.
And this is what God is doing in Genesis 12.
(We know Abraham isn’t saved, because that doesn’t happen until chapter 15)

Genesis 12:1-4 “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”

And obviously at that point, Abraham was willing to give a little faith.

Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

But despite responding correctly,
We know Abraham is not fully there yet,
• Ch. 11 commanded to leave family, but took them with him.
• Ch. 12 still took Lot with him
• Was supposed to go to Canaan, ends up in Egypt (vs. 10)
• Passes Sarah off as his sister

But at this point, God is plowing Abraham’s heart.
2) THE PRUNING OF ABRAHAM’S HEART
Genesis 13-14

In this section of Abraham’s life,
God begins to reveal more of His plan to Abraham,
And Abraham is showing more of an interest in God.

Genesis 13:3-4 “He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.”
So Abraham is searching out this God.

Abraham is really feeling this God out.
And it is then that God reiterates the promise to Him.
Genesis 13:14-17 “The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”

What you have here is very much like a dating relationship.
Both are interested, both are seeking the other out,
BUT THE COMMITMENT HAS NOT BEEN MADE.

But it is obvious Abraham is interested,
For after delivering Lot from the three kings,
Abraham pays tithes to God’s priest.

Genesis 14:18-20 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.”

Up to this point, they’ve been courting…
Now it is apparent that Abraham is ready to commit

3) THE PARDONING OF ABRAHAM’S SIN
Genesis 15

This is the moment when after hearing the truth, and counting the cost, You determine that you want to be saved,
You want to enter covenant with God, you want to be married to Him.
AND SO YOU COMMIT YOURSELF TO HIM.

This is what Abraham does.
Genesis 15:1-6 “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

So right there, Abraham gets saved.
Abraham responds in faith, and God responds with grace.
Abraham didn’t do anything but believe, and God justified him.

But now is when I really want you to pay attention,
Because through Abraham,
We are now going to see what his faith really looked like.

WAS HIS FAITH A MERE INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE THAT REQUIRED NO CHANGE (as a liberal would claim)?
OR IS THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM SOMETHING MORE?

Let’s look and see.
4) THE PERFECTING OF ABRAHAM’S FAITH
Genesis 16-21

This encompasses the longest section of Scripture.

We know now that Abraham is saved,
But now it is time for him to grow.
God will now grow Abraham through various experiences in life.

(16:1-6) The first incident of Abraham’s life is a really bad choice.
He was trying to make God’s promises happen by his own wisdom.

Abraham is saved, but he is still a work in progress.

In chapter 17, God begins to work on Moses some more.

After seeing Abraham make the mistake with Hagar,
God reiterates a promise to him.
Genesis 17:1-8 “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

But of course the life of faith is more than just receive so
Next God has some requirements for Abraham.
(17:9-14) God requires circumcision.
And please notice that this occurred after salvation, and not before.

THEN GOD REVEALS MORE TO ABRAHAM
Genesis 17:15-22 “Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” When He finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.”
NOW THIS WILL PROVE TO BE A CRUCIAL POINT FOR ABRAHAM

Abraham doubts that Sarah will have a son, and actually asks for Ishmael
BUT NOTICE HOW EMPHATIC GOD IS
“No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and his descendants after him.”

Sometimes God has to correct you and get you properly focused.

The chapter ends with the circumcision of Abraham (17:23-27)

And then another key moment.
God states the promise again.

Genesis 18:9-14 “Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

GOD IS DRILLING IT IN TO ABRAHAM

CH. 20 WE LEARN THAT ABRAHAM STILL HAS SOME GROWING TO DO

WHY?
Because he passes off Sarah again.
Genesis 20:1-3 “Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”

God makes promises to His people that cannot be revoked,
But Satan still seeks to nullify them.

If Satan can get Sarah pregnant by another man, the whole thing is shot.
But God would not allow it.

Not only does he warn Abimelech,
But seems to make it physically impossible
For him to have relations with her.

Genesis 20:17-18 “Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. For the LORD had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”
And so early in Abraham’s Christian walk he is up and down.
He is growing, having obeyed in some things,
But it is obvious he struggles at times.

And then something happens.
Genesis 21:1-7 “Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

God comes through on His word.

AND ABRAHAM’S FAITH GROWS LEAPS AND BOUNDS

Our faith grows enormously
When the God we have trusted comes through.
That is what God has been doing all this time. (perfecting)

He has been setting Abraham up through various experiences
To prove Himself to Abraham, and thus perfect Abraham’s faith.

And now look at Abraham.
He drives Ishmael away (21:8-21)

His faith is apparent to others.
Genesis 21:22 “Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do;”

And Abraham is now trusting God with everything.
Genesis 21:33 “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.”

All of that sets us up for what we really need to see.
After tracing Abraham’s life we understand why chapter 22 takes place.

5) THE PROVING OF ABRAHAM’S FAITH
Genesis 22

Genesis 22:1-2 “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

Certainly that seems strange – But it isn’t to God.
Genesis 22:3-5 “So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”

And apparently it isn’t to Abraham, for Abraham doesn’t even hesitate.

WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE ABRAHAM WAS SO WILLING?
Because of what the writer of Hebrews said.

Hebrews 11:19 “He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”

HOW COULD ABRAHAM BE SO SURE?
Abraham had tried over and over to do it another way.
But God was emphatic that Isaac was the franchise.

And we know Abraham believes this.
Genesis 22:6-8 “Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.”

And of course Abraham reveals the measure of his faith.
Genesis 22:9-10 “Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.”

Boy that is quite a difference from the man who has so much doubt that he went in to Hagar isn’t it?

BUT THEN WE FIND THAT ABRAHAM’S FAITH IS PROVED.
Genesis 22:11-14 “But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”

The preacher in Santa Fe made a huge thing of God’s statement.
God said, “now I know that you fear God”
That preacher said, “now you know?” “now you know?”
WHY WAS THE VERDICT STILL OUT ON ABRAHAM?
Because until this point, Abraham had done nothing but receive.
Abraham proved he trusted God through sacrifice.

DO YOU SEE WHAT REAL FAITH IS?
DO YOU SEE WHAT THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM LOOKS LIKE?

His faith was not some intellectual belief.
His faith was so certain,
That he would risk everything to exercise it.

AND PLEASE NOTICE
Abraham’s faith was not PERFECT.
Abraham’s faith was REAL.

That is the example of faith.
#2 EFFECTS OF FAITH
Romans 4:4-5

When you come to God with the type of faith that Abraham had.
God will give you righteousness.

“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

That is what I want you to understand this morning.
Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

But that faith is not some sort of intellectual exercise.
Faith is to really trust in God for salvation,
So much so that it is revealed in your actions.

DO YOU HAVE THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM?
Romans 4:16 “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”

AND IF YOU HAD TO PROVE IT, AS ABRAHAM DID, COULD YOU?

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

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Whatever My Lot
Psalms 55
November 17, 2019

Tonight we come to the 55th Psalm.
You likely recognize it as a Psalm of betrayal and backstabbing
As David laments a close companion who turns against him.

Many have also seen a parallel here to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus
But honestly, I think it’s a stretch to force that comparison.

While certainly Judas did betray Jesus,
It is hard to see a point in Jesus’ life when He would have sang this song.
I’ll show you why.

• Verse 2 reveals David as “distracted” and it appears to me that our Lord
was always focused.
• Verse 4 speaks of “anguish” and “terrors of death”
• Verse 5 speaks of “trembling” and “horror”

Some might point to the garden where Jesus was certainly in anguish,
But He was not in anguish because of the betrayal of Judas. He was in anguish because He was about to bear the full fury of the wrath of God.

• Verses 6-8 indicate that if he could David would have fled. Christ could flee
and yet did not.
• In verse 15 David actually prays for the death of his enemies, whereas
Christ prayed for the forgiveness of His.

Now I don’t say that to insinuate that David’s prayer is sinful.
What he wrote here was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
I merely point out that I’m not sure this Psalm references the betrayal of Judas
As clearly as so many have wanted to assume.

Instead of seeing Christ’s burden here,
I find it much more comforting to see Christ in this Psalm
As the One David is running to.
Christ in this Psalm is the burden bearer.

I do think this Psalm however greatly depicts a different setting
And that is the betrayal of David by Absalom and Ahithophel.

TURN TO: 2 SAMUEL 15

While you turn there I’ll remind you briefly of the back story of Absalom.
• Absalom was David’s 3rd born son. (the oldest was Amnon)
• Absalom had a sister named Tamar.

The story goes that
• Amnon (the older ½ brother of Absalom) loved Tamar and wanted her.
• Through a series of events he lured Tamar to his house, raped her, and then sent her away.
• David didn’t really do anything about it and Absalom was ticked.
• Through a plot of his own Absalom killed Amnon and then fled.

• David grieved for his son and eventually was persuaded to bring Absalom home, but did not see him. (And Absalom’s bitterness grew)
• After a prolonged period Absalom worked his way back into the king’s presence where David felt remorse and the relationship seemed to be repaired.

But it was not.
Absalom was merely working to overthrow his dad.

(READ: 2 SAMUEL 15:1-14)
• So Absalom is conspiring against the king and David is forced to flee.

(READ: 2 SAMUEL 15:30-31)
• There we see again that Ahithophel had also agreed to join Absalom.

Now Ahithophel was a smart man and a trusted counselor
And he knew how to capture and kill David.

Now, if you read on you find that
• There was another man named Hushai who loved David
• But David told him to stay in Jerusalem, pretend loyalty to Absalom,
• And do everything he could to get Absalom not to listen to Ahithophel.

SO
• You’ve got David on the run.
• You’ve got Absalom in Jerusalem.
• You’ve got 2 counselors (Ahithophel and Hushai)

(READ: 2 SAMUEL 16:20 – 17:4)
• Ahithophel has a plan to kill David and by all accounts it would have worked.
• So you see the conspiracy and the danger David is facing from his son and former counselor.

Now if you read the rest of chapter 17
You’ll find that Hushai steps in and convinces the king
Not to follow Ahithophel’s advice and this ultimately saves David’s life.

Hushai counsels Absalom to gather a mighty army to himself
And to personally lead them after David, and Absalom takes the advice.

And the result is tragic for “Team Absalom”
• First concerning Ahithophel:
• (READ: 2 SAMUEL 23)
• And then concerning Absalom:
• (READ: 2 SAMUEL 18:9-15)

I just think that’s a fitting backstory

Now, in saying that it is important for you to note that
David DOES NOT SING this song as a testimony.

That is to say, this song is not written after Ahithophel and Absalom are dead.
This song is written while they are very much alive and in power.

In fact we read when David fled:
2 Samuel 15:31 “Now someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O LORD, I pray, make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.”

And that corresponds very well to verse 9 of Psalms 55,
“Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues…”

This is not an after-the-fact song.
This is a during-the-fact song.
David is not singing this song in gratitude, he is singing it in faith.

That means he is singing it to himself
Just as much as he is singing it to those around him.

And the point of the Psalm is clear.
CAST YOUR BURDEN ON GOD

We see it in verse 22, “Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you.”

That is the point of Psalms 55.

And it is being sung by the man who wrote it
That he may first encourage his own heart
And then encourage the hearts of those around him.

This is a great song to sing when we are under a great burden.
Indeed it is the song David sang under his great burden.

I think it’s easiest to look at if we break it down into 4 points tonight.
#1 DAVID’S GENUINE BURDEN
Psalms 55:1-11

We could probably break this down even more,
But I think it’s just as easy to see if we keep it together.

When you look at these 11 verses as a whole, there are some words that just sort of jump out at you.

• (2) “restless”
• (2) “distracted”
• (4) “anguish”
• (4) “terrors of death”
• (5) “trembling”
• (5) “horror”
• (5) “overwhelmed”
• We could sort of sum up verses 6-8 with the word “retreat” as David admits he’d like nothing better than just to run from the problem.

When you look at those words it becomes apparent that
THIS IS A REAL BURDEN.
David is really shaken here.
He is overcome with anxiety
He is overcome with fear
He is overcome with desperation

This is not some person living a life of ease
Just mindlessly preaching to you to “relax and trust God”.
David understands a burden.

But we also want to look at little closer at these 11 verses.

It begins with David’s cry to God.
(1-2) “Give ear to my prayer, O God; And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. Give heed to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted,”

Can you hear David’s desperation?
He’s not just praying, but he wants to make sure that God is listening.
• “Give ear to my prayer”
• “do not hide Yourself”
• “Give heed to me…answer me”

It was not enough for David to just pray some token prayer
So that he might say, “There I did it”

No David was committed to prayer.
This was serious. He needed God.

“I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted”

I so understand that statement.
It comes from a man who would say, “I know I shouldn’t be letting this get to me, but it is. I know I should be focused on other things, but I cannot get my mind off of it.”

Perhaps you’ve had a burden like that.
You know the answer is “not think about it” or “don’t worry about it”
But somehow you can’t put it out of your mind.

It’s a burden so great that it consumes your mind
And causes you to be distracted from everything else.
That is David here.
And it (3) “because of the voice of the enemy, because of the pressure of the wicked”

• David can’t get their threats out of his head.
• David can’t get their plans out of his head.
• They threatened him and he just keeps playing it over and over.

“For they bring down trouble upon me and in anger they bear a grudge against me.”

That is to say, they plot against me and I just can’t seem to let it go.
I can’t escape it in my own mind.

We call that worry.
We call that anxiety.
David just can’t put it away and so he is crying to God for help.

Beyond that, his fear here is real.
(4-5) “My heart is in anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me.”

This is a guy who says, “I can’t quit shaking. I’m filled with fear and terror. I can’t quit thinking about the horrible things they want to do to me.”

Do you see how David is consumed and overcome here?

And he has to turn to God because he can’t escape it.

Believe me, if he could escape it, he would.
(6-8) “I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. “Behold, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah. “I would hasten to my place of refuge From the stormy wind and tempest.”

There are some burdens that you just can’t escape.
Things like illness or poverty or the loss of a loved one
• You just can’t run from it.
• Wherever you go it runs with you.
• You just can’t escape it.

And that is what David is talking about here.
He’s got a terrible and terrifying burden that he cannot get away from.

In David’s world it is a death threat.
And all he can seem to do is muster up a request
That God not let them accomplish what their tongues are threatening.
(9-11) “Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around her upon her walls, And iniquity and mischief are in her midst. Destruction is in her midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets.”

• They are talking up a storm and spreading their violence and strife.
• Day and night they spread their iniquity and their mischief.
• They are pushing everyone to the same oppressive destruction.

And as David sits here all he can do is wonder how successful they are being?
• He can’t stop them.
• He can’t escape them.
• He’s terrified of them.
• He’s overrun with fear of what they are doing.

And all he can do is desperately run to God for supernatural intervention.
That God would “Confuse…divide their tongues”

His prayer brings to mind the incident of the tower of Babyl
• Where men came together to build a tower to the heavens
• And it appeared that anything was within their ability
• Until God confused their speech and all at once all their plans fell aside.

That is the sort of disruption David is hoping God will accomplish here.

AND ALL OF THAT REALLY JUST POINTS TO THE REALITY
THAT DAVID HAS A BURDEN THAT IS HUGE.

David’s genuine burden
#2 DAVID’S INTIMATE GRIEF
Psalms 55:12-15

We could probably have included this in with the first 11 verses, but I chose to separate it out because it just makes the burden that much worse.

On top of all of David’s pain.
On top of all of David’s fear.
On top of all of David’s anxiety.
Now we find that at the heart of it is the sting of betrayal.
(This just keeps getting worse)

(12) “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it;”

That is to say, I could overlook it.
• If it was the Philistines this would make perfect sense.
• If this was some adversary, I could probably let it go.
• But the fact that it is not an enemy makes this all the worse.

“Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, The I could hide myself from him.”

That is to say, I could ignore it.
• If this was just some noted enemy, this wouldn’t be getting to me as bad.
• I could overlook it, I could ignore it.
• But this I can’t.

BECAUSE
(13) “But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and familiar friend; We who had sweet fellowship together Walked in the house of God in the throng.”

We understand why the sting is even worse.
• This great danger David faces.
• This great threat…
• This vicious verbal attack…
• This horrible grudge…
• This malicious plan…

It was coming from that David regarded as a friend.

This is why Ahithophel fits so easily here.
• He is a man whom David had confided in.
• He is a man whom David had trusted.
• He is a man whom David had worshiped with.

And now this man was plotting his death
And David says, “I just can’t let it go. I just can’t ignore it.”

And then comes the most difficult verse of the Psalm.
(15) “Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.”

What do we do with it?

Well, WE COULD just take it at face value
And see it as yet another of David’s imprecatory Psalms.

And that is certainly fine.
We’ve already seen such statements in the Psalms:

Psalms 5:10 “Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.”

Psalms 10:15 “Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none.”

Psalms 35:1-8 “Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of buckler and shield And rise up for my help. Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.” Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me. Let them be like chaff before the wind, With the angel of the LORD driving them on. Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the LORD pursuing them. For without cause they hid their net for me; Without cause they dug a pit for my soul. Let destruction come upon him unawares, And let the net which he hid catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall.”

We understand that the Psalms are filled with such imprecations.
• And as we have said repeatedly, we are not comfortable just ignoring them or overlooking them,
• Or saying as so many do that Christians should never pray in this way.
• Even these declarations of judgment are the inspired words of Holy God.

And so we are certainly fine with an imprecation here.
If that is what David is doing,
Who are we to argue with the inspired word of God?

But I think there is more here than just righteous indignation.
The wording seems to suggest that he has A HISTORICAL SCENE in mind
• Perhaps you remember when Moses’ associates revolted against him.
• There was a day when Korah, and Dathan, and Abiram all conspired against Moses to remove him from his leadership role before Israel.

Several things played out in that story, but this is how it ultimately ended.
Numbers 16:23-35 “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'” Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin.” So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones. Moses said, “By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. “If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. “But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD.” As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.”

This seems to be the type of incident David has in mind
When he prays “Let them go down alive to Sheol”

And that event WAS NOT ABOUT God taking up for Moses
Because Moses got his feelings hurt.

That was about God defending His sovereign right
To place whomever He wanted as ruler in Israel.

God had selected Moses and Korah, Dathan, and Abiram had no right to try and usurp God’s authority by seizing leadership for themselves.

And that seems to be the mindset here behind what David prays.
• That God would intervene in this terrible situation
• And let it be known for sure and for certain that David is God’s anointed ruler
• And these men are only evil men seeking to seize the throne.

David asks God to stop them as God stopped Korah.

And incidentally, as you already saw, God did.
• Ahithophel hanged himself.
• And God hanged Absalom.

But even in that you still see the backdrop.
• David is bearing an intense burden and it is one that has caused
him intimate grief.
• It is a situation so bitter that David has asked God t
supernaturally intervene.

And all of that is really serving as a backdrop for you and me
To understand that when David asks us to trust God,
He understands how hard it is.

When David asks you to cast your burden on God,
He understands all the little difficulties associated with that.

He had a genuine burden He had intimate grief
#3 DAVID’S DECISION TO TRUST GOD
Psalms 55:16-21

Here is David, from the middle of his burden,
Telling everyone around him what he is going to do.

“As for me, I shall call upon God”

David has decided that this burden must be entrusted to the Lord.
“And the LORD will save me.”

David is confident that God will come through as He always has.

And this is NOT BASED upon the fact that
God never lets His children suffer or even die,
But rather IT IS BASED on the confidence that
God has decreed that David is His anointed king.

David knows God will not let the enemy overturn His sovereign decision.

And in this reality David will rest.
(17-18) “Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice. He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who strive with me.”

DO NOTICE the level of David’s commitment when he says he is going to call upon God.

“Evening and morning and at noon”

This is not token prayer at the beginning of the day just to be able to say you did it.
• Prayer is David’s strategy.
• Prayer is David’s great hope.
• Every time the fear comes…
• Every time the terror comes…
• Every time his mind is overrun with anxiety…
• The answer is that he will pray.

And I even like the terminology he uses.
“I will complain and murmur”
• This wasn’t ceremonial.
• This wasn’t always pretty.

It is a man who is honestly taking his entire burden to the Lord.
Everything about the entire ugly situation
And David is presenting it all to the Lord.

Have you ever been in the role of helping bear another person’s burden?
• Perhaps an illness and they need your help…
• Perhaps a financial struggle and they come to you…
• Perhaps an addiction or a relationship problem…

When people throw their entire burden on you
Then you know that often times
You get way more than you likely wanted to get.

It’s not all pretty
It’s not all enjoyable
That’s why it’s called a burden
And when they want to share it, they give it ALL to you.

Well David is throwing all of that on God all day long.
• He is holding nothing back.
• God gets it all.

And David says
“He will hear my voice”
“He will redeem my soul in peace”

David is going to let God have the entire burden
And David is going to enjoy the peace.

It is our folly when we are unwilling to lay our entire burden on God.
When we try to maintain some distance, or only give God a little of it.
David hits God 24/7 and he hits Him with the full ugly reality of it.
For David also trusts how God will deal with his enemy.
(19-21) “God will hear and answer them — Even the one who sits enthroned from of old — Selah. With whom there is no change, And who do not fear God. He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has violated his covenant. His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.”

You pick up again on the bitterness of David’s soul for this individual.
Phrases like:
• “who do not fear God”
• “put forth his hands against those who were at peace”
• “violated his covenant”
• “speech was smoother than butter”
• “his heart was war”
• “his words were softer than oil”
• [his words] “were drawn swords”

You feel the betrayal
You feel the sting
It is a hard burden for David to let go of.

But David does and he believes that “God will hear and answer them”

David is trusting God to fix it.
“I’m giving it all to You God. I’m giving that weasely, backstabbing, no good, lying, phony, and all his evil intentions to You God because I know You will deal with it.”

That’s a real prayer isn’t it?
That’s a raw prayer isn’t it?
That’s the messiness of taking your real burden and laying at God’s feet.

AND THAT IS THE EXAMPLE.
THAT IS THE MODEL DAVID GIVES.
• He is in a terrible spot of grief.
• It has consumed him in every way.
• But now, through song, he is letting the entire congregation know that he is
giving the entire messy affair to God for Him to deal with.

And David says the result for him will be peace.
“He will redeem my soul in peace”

Well, it obviously worked for David
Because the very next verse of this song
Has David encouraging you to do the same.

#4 DAVID’S ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE CHURCH
Psalms 55:22-23

“Cast your burden upon the LORD”

The word for “cast” means just that.
It means “to throw” or “to fling”
(I picture like when a grasshopper jumps up on your finger)

The interesting word here is “burden”
It is the Hebrew word YEHAB (yee-have)
And it literally means “my lot” or “that which has been given to me”

As in “my lot in life”
As in the old hymn
“Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, ‘It is well with my soul’”

And David here now gives that advice.
What is your lot in life?
What is your unique yoke that you’ve been forced to bear?
• It may be different than everyone elses.
• It may be yours specifically.

• Maybe an illness
• Maybe a disability
• Maybe a relational dilemma
• Maybe a burden or a war

What is your lot?
(And regardless of what it is)
FLING IT ON THE LORD!

That’s what David did wasn’t it?
He took that whole ugly affair and threw it at God like it was God’s problem not his.

And if casting it on God is still a little confusing,
Let me show you some parallel verses
That USE A LITTLE DIFFERENT WORDING.

Psalms 27:14 “Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”

• There the word is “wait” as in let Him have it and don’t give up on Him.

Psalms 37:5 “Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.”

• There the word is “commit” as in give Him time to do His work.

Casting your burden on God cannot be a provisional or temporary thing.
It cannot be done on a trial basis.

• Also there is “Trust”. Don’t be skeptical with God.

Psalms 42:11 “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”

• There the word is “hope”. Put your future on God’s back.
• Put it in God’s hands. Trust it all to him.

Psalms 63:8 “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

• And there he uses the word “clings”
• Like a man holding to a tree in a tornado.
• Like God is the only hope you’ve got.

That is what it means also to “cast your burden on the LORD”
• Wait on Him
• Commit your way to Him
• Trust Him
• Hope in Him
• Cling to Him

You can even take a practical cue from David in this Psalm.
• He is praying continually
• He is singing
• He is standing on solid theology
• He is remember God’s past deliverances
• He is resolving to trust God

That is all the practical way in which David is transferring this great burden from his shoulders to God’s shoulders.

And David says when you do.
“and He will sustain you;”
God will carry you through it.

And this is based on a theological reality.
“He will never allow the righteous to be shaken”
• God never lets His people fall.
• It’s just who He is.

So cast your burden on God.

And then I love how the Psalm ends.
(David is still casting his burden on God)
(23) “But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.”

He is still throwing that burden on God.
And we learn there that it is often NOT A ONE-TIME THING.
David had to KEEP FLINGING his burden on God.
“Evening and morning and at noon”, David said.

But you get here the point of the Psalm.

“Cast your burdens upon the LORD”
Fling your lot in life on God

And do we not see this same reality in the New Testament?
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So there you have the song for the church.
• Whatever your lot
• Whatever your burden
• No matter the depth
• No matter the pain
• No matter the grief

The solution is the same.
Fling it on God, let Him have it, and you accept His peace.

There is no peace in handling it yourself.
He is the burden bearer.

Download Here

The Sermon At The Pharisees House – Part 2
Luke 14:1-24 (12-24)
November 17, 2019

Jeremiah 4:19-22 “My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot be silent, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war. Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant. How long must I see the standard And hear the sound of the trumpet? “For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know.”

Jeremiah was a prophet in Jerusalem.
And the Lord had shown him the coming destruction of the city
As a result of Israel’s sin.

In response Jeremiah said, “My heart is pounding in me; I cannot be silent, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war.”

Jeremiah couldn’t help but preach.
• He couldn’t help but confront sin.
• Because he could clearly see the consequence of that sin upon the people.

That attitude is the same we see in Jesus here.

We already listened in chapter 13
• As Jesus revealed how there would be many Jews in Israel who would not be saved.
• Jesus said they would be outside knocking on the door but would not be allowed to enter.

And we saw how this grieved Jesus.
• We heard Him say, “How often I wanted to gather you children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you would not have it.” (13:34)

And so we see the same heartbeat in Jesus that was in Jeremiah.
• He sees the coming judgment.
• He knows what that means for the people.
• And so, like Jeremiah, He “cannot be silent”

And that is clearly seen here in this dinner at the Pharisee’s house.

• Jesus has been invited on the Sabbath into the home of a leader of the Pharisees in order to eat bread.

• And Jesus is so disturbed by the actions going on around Him that He cannot keep silent.

• He grieves their hypocrisy, He grieves self-righteousness, He grieves arrogance, and He cannot help but confront it.

That is a good barometer for us today in the church.
Do we grieve the destruction of sinners?
Do we grieve it enough to confront their sin?

Jesus could not keep silent.
Jesus had to speak.

And that is what is unique about this encounter.
There is only one recorded statement by anyone other than Jesus at this meal.
• Most of the dialogue here is initiated by Jesus.
• He brings it up.
• He is not answering questions here, He is confronting sin.

And He is confronting it because
The sin He sees is that which keeps men out of heaven.

It is ultimately the sin of self-righteousness.

And again, you should know why self-righteousness is so dangerous.

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Take all the good that you have ever done
And it holds absolutely no value to God.

Isaiah 1:11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.”

Even Jesus carried this idea into the New Testament when He said:
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

We know that the only righteousness God will accept
Is perfect righteousness; Jesus’ righteousness.

We KNOW that Jesus is acceptable.
We KNOW that Jesus is pleasing.
• On one hand because twice God said that He was from heaven.
• But also because God raised Him from the dead.

So only the righteousness of Jesus is acceptable to God,
And men must be clothed in it.

Yet, men do not appeal to be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus
When they are certain their own righteousness is good enough.

And this is what makes self-righteousness so dangerous.
It causes men to reject the salvation they need
Because they don’t think they need it.

Self-righteousness leads to judgment.
And so, since Jesus came to save,
It is not shocking at all to find Him
Directly confronting self-righteousness whenever He sees it.

And at this luncheon self-righteousness appears to be everywhere.

We’ve already seen the first two appearances of it.
#1 CONCERNING HYPOCRISY
Luke 14:1-6

It was a familiar scene:
• The Sabbath
• A sick man
• Jesus
• Religious leaders

Only this time they said nothing.
• But Jesus knew they were watching Him closely
• And He knew what they thought.

He spotted in them hypocrisy.
• If they had a son or an ox fall into a ditch on a Sabbath they wouldn’t even hesitate to pull them out.
• And yet they would condemn Jesus for delivering a sick man on the Sabbath (something the Law did not forbid)

They were hypocrites, which is an evidence of self-righteousness.
A man who has no problem condemning others
For the sin he also commits clearly
Has over-valued his own acceptance before God.

And Jesus could not leave that unexposed.
He took hold of the sick man and healed him
And then confronted the Pharisees for their hypocrisy.

He could not keep silent.
#2 CONCERNING HUMILITY
Luke 14:7-11

Not only was Jesus willing to confront the Pharisees and lawyers
While healing a sick man,
But apparently Jesus also noticed what was going on in the background.

The invited guests had been
Picking out for themselves the places of honor.

It may seem like an insignificant move.
• Surely it’s not like murder or adultery or stealing.

AND YET JESUS TAKES THE TIME TO ADDRESS IT.
Because their action, though seemingly insignificant,
Was an indicator of pride and arrogance
Which is also a fruit of a self-righteous heart.

It is people who think too highly of themselves.
It is people who feel like they belong.
And those types of people do not inherit the kingdom of Heaven.

• The beatitudes make it clear that only the “poor in spirit” inherit the kingdom of heaven.
• That story about the Pharisee and the tax collector make it clear that only those who see their unworthiness are justified before God.

It may seem like nothing that these people felt entitled,
But it was an indication of a terrible spiritual disease
AND JESUS COULD NOT KEEP QUIET.

He addressed the entire group reminding them that “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

So here at this luncheon
Jesus is confronting the self-righteousness around Him.

Those were the first 2 areas. There’s 2 more.

Concerning Hypocrisy, Concerning Humility
#3 CONCERNING HOSPITALITY
Luke 14:12-14

Again, nothing is said to Jesus, He just picked up on the circumstances of the room and felt compelled to address a spiritual problem.

• He has confronted the Pharisees and Lawyers
• He has confronted the invited guests
• And now He turns to the host

Some might see this as rude, ungrateful, and a terrible breach in protocol
To call out the host of the luncheon in front of everyone else.

But the reality is that in order to lead men to salvation
Jesus was confronting all the sin in the room,
And this man was not innocent.

THIS MAN HAD GREEDY MOTIVES.

Not only had Jesus noticed where the invited guests were sitting,
But Jesus had also noticed WHO THE INVITED GUESTS WERE.

And there was no poor among them.
• There was no cripples there.
• There was no blind there.
• There were no lame there.

They were all “friends” or “brothers” or “relatives” or “rich neighbors”

Now that in and of itself may not seem like a terrible thing.
• Odds are good in a few weeks many in here at Thanksgiving will do the exact same thing, perhaps with the exception of rich neighbors.

The problem was that Jesus knew the motives
Of why this man invited who he did.

(12b-13) “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.”

It represented an integral part of the social system in Israel.
• It was the “you-owe-me” system.
• It was the “favor” system.

It was sort of similar to the infamous God-father approach that says, “I’m going to do you a favor, but in the future, and that time may never come, I may be inclined to call upon you for a favor.”

Jesus knew that is what was going on here.
• This man didn’t throw a luncheon out of a hospitable heart.
• This man had this luncheon to build up social capital.
• He was building favors and climbing in social status.

He did what he did because it would benefit him in the long run.

It should not surprise us that the Pharisees used hospitality in this way.
Jesus taught us in Matthew 6 that
They used GIVING, PRAYER, and FASTING in that way.

Matthew 6:2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Matthew 6:5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Matthew 6:16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Giving, praying, and fasting are all fine practices,
But not if the goal is to obtain earthly glory.

And here we see the same motive in having this luncheon.
And in all cases their total reward is the glory they will receive.

THEY GET NO OTHER CREDIT THAN THE SOCIAL CREDIT THEY EARN.

Which is why Jesus said:
(13-14) “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

• Jesus wanted to see some pure motives.
• Jesus wanted to see something done for eternal purposes.

And just to sort of second what Jesus said here.
Psalms 112:5 “It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment.”

Proverbs 19:17 “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.”

When you do good for those who cannot repay you
It is only done that it may please the Lord.
IT INDICATES PURE MOTIVES NOT SELFISH ONES.

Well this man had selfish motives.
• This man did not have eternal interests in mind
• This man wasn’t concerned about pleasing God or glorifying God
• This man was only seeking to up his earthly social status.

And Jesus saw that also as an expression of self-righteousness.

TURN TO: JAMES 2:1-13

There James refers to a similar type of issue.
• ONLY HERE it is not in regard to who is invited,
• But rather how you treat those who show up.

But the same distinct line can be seen.
(1-3) “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”

That is basically the same thing.
It is doing for the socially elite what you won’t do for the social outcast.

But what is the problem there?
(4) “have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?”

James spotted the motives in such an action.
Clearly the only reason you would honor the rich man above the poor man
Is because the rich man has the ability to make this life better for you
While the poor man does not.

• It is a hypocritical distinction
• It is a self-righteous judgment
• It is an evil motive

James goes on to reveal that you may in fact be REJECTING the very one that God accepts and ACCEPTING the very one that God rejects.

(READ 5-7)

JAMES KNEW THE RICH TO BE PRIMARILY those who lack faith, who oppress the poor, who sue their brothers and sisters, and who blaspheme God.

So why would you honor them?

The same can be said in Luke 14.
This man had filled his house with people who reject Jesus.
He was seeking to honor and receive honor from those who had rejected God.

The other problem with such behavior is it indicates a lack of mercy.
(READ 8-13)

By rejecting the poor man it was a judgment of sorts.
• And James said you are in effect expecting God to treat you mercifully while you refuse to do that for others.

That is also a problem.
Since “judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy”

Even Jesus taught us:
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

And that all speaks to the same problem
We have with this man who invited Jesus.

He had made a judgment in his heart.
• There were those who could benefit him and those who could not.
• He invited those that would help him out and rejected the others.

Jesus saw in this an evil motive.
Jesus saw in this a self-righteous judgment.
Jesus saw in this a lack of mercy.
And all of these are again indicators of the sin of self-righteousness.
Where men think too highly of themselves.
Where men are not concerned with obtaining God’s favor, only mans.

IT IS PROBLEMATIC AND JESUS CANNOT LEAVE IT ALONE.
He exposes this man in the middle of the dinner.

And THE POINT that I think Luke is driving at here
Is that all of these offenses SEEM SO INSIGNIFICANT.

Think about what you have here.
• You have Pharisees and lawyers “watching Him closely”
• You have invited guests “picking out the places of honor”
• You have the host inviting friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors

If I asked you to list for me this morning some of the worst sins you encountered this week, I doubt any of those would have made your list.

But they were so serious to Jesus
That He confronts them all at this dinner He was invited to.

And perhaps that will help you learn to rank sin a little differently.
Jesus didn’t rank sins from bad to worse
Based upon their perceived level of vileness.

Jesus ranked them based upon that sins propensity to
Keep someone from running to Christ for mercy and forgiveness.

And here is the simple fact.
• A murderer is far more likely to run to Christ than a self-righteous person.
• An adulterer is far more likely to run to Christ than a self-righteous person.
• A homosexual is far more likely to run to Christ than an arrogant person.
• A drunkard is far more likely to run to Christ than a proud person.
• A tax collector is far more likely to run to Christ than a hypocritical person.

That is why Jesus is so adamant about confronting those sins.
Those are the sins that keep men out of hell
Because those are the sins that convince men that they don’t need Christ.

Jesus was rooting out self-righteousness.
• He saw it in hypocrisy of the Pharisees and lawyers
• He saw it in the lack of humility in the invited guests
• He saw it in the lack of hospitality in the host

And He confronted it.

We must examine ourselves
To see if self-righteousness exists in our own lives.

Because self-righteousness is the enemy of salvation.
The call of Jesus is that we be:
• “poor in spirit”
• “mourning” over sin
• “hunger and thirsting for righteousness” which we know we do not have
• “meek” (submissive)
• “pure in heart” not hypocritical
• “merciful” understanding the value of mercy

That is the man who is saved, not the self-righteous man.
And that is further illustrated in this last point.
Concerning Hypocrisy, Concerning Humility, Concerning Hospitality
#4 CONCERNING HEAVEN
Luke 14:15-24

Here we have the only other recorded statement by anyone in the room.
(15) “When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

It’s hard to get a good gage on this man’s motives
Since we aren’t told what they are.
(and because he didn’t use any emoji’s)

John MacArthur sees him as being downright antagonistic toward Jesus here.
In effect, raising his glass to toast all those whom Jesus has just confronted as if to say, “Don’t worry fellas, we’re all going to heaven.”

Perhaps that is the mentality, I don’t know.

What is clear is that regardless of what Jesus just said,
This man DOES CLEARLY THINK that
Pretty much everyone in that room is headed to heaven.

He’s practically singing the hymn, “When we all get to heaven”

REGARDLESS OF HIS MOTIVE,
What is clear is that the words of Jesus have not really sunk in.

This man does not see the self-righteousness Jesus just exposed
As that which will keep men out of heaven.

BUT HE IS DEAD WRONG.

BUT HERE IS WHERE IT ALSO GETS INTERESTING.

We should ask the question:
WHY DO THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS NOT GO TO HEAVEN?

Is it because that’s just one sin that God won’t allow?
NO, I might remind you that God won’t allow any sin in heaven.

Is it because that’s a sin that God just won’t forgive?
Well, He clearly forgave Paul who identified himself as
The most self-righteous man who ever lived.

WHY IS IT THAT THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS DON’T GO TO HEAVEN?

It is because in their self-righteousness
They don’t see their need for Christ
And so they never run to Him pleading for mercy.

That is the problem with the people at this luncheon.
They have everything they need and they don’t need Christ.
• THEY EVEN HAVE a man here, in spite of their rejection of Christ, talking about how great it will be when they are all in heaven.

Jesus is about to show this man why that won’t happen.

He has a story.
(16-17) “But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’”

Coincidence that Jesus used a dinner here as the setting?
I doubt it.

There was a “big dinner” and “many” had been invited.
• Invitations in that day worked like this.
• You received an initial announcement that a party was coming.
• Then when it was ready you received the invitation to come now.

This man had done both.
• It would have been a prestigious invitation to be a part of this.
• And to the Jews it would have been unheard of for anyone to reject it.

And yet:
(18-20) “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’”

This is a shocking revelation Jesus was making to this Jewish crowd.
• On one hand it is absurd that they would reject the feast.
• But on the other hand their excuses are pathetic.

The first man says “I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it”

• I think we all understand the necessity of surveying land when you are purchasing it,
• But everyone knows you do that before you buy the land not after.

This is a lame excuse.
This man just doesn’t want to come.

The second man is no better saying, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out”

• Also absurd is the thought that you aren’t going to try out your oxen until after you buy them.

Both of these excuses are fishy.
And EVEN IF looking at land and trying oxen is necessary,
IT IS HARDLY URGENT.
That land and those oxen aren’t going anywhere.

These excuses are so much like the excuses we so often hear today
Regarding the things of God.

They don’t reflect people who are truly stuck, they reflect people who just don’t want to be there and so they come up with an excuse not to be.

The third excuse in Jewish culture is downright laughable.
“I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.”

• Now I understand the importance of husbands loving their wives and sacrificing for them.
• Certainly the New Testament clarified for us the need for a husband to be considerate of his wife.

But this is a Jewish audience.
(More than that a Pharisee audience)

Every day a Pharisee would get up in the morning and pray this prayer:
“Blessed are You, O Lord God, ruler of the universe. Thank you for not making me a Gentile or a slave or a woman.”

So you understand why this excuse to this audience would have been laughable.
• And a wife in this audience had no authority.
• To this audience a wife’s opinion meant nothing.
• And no respectable Jewish man would let his wife tell him what to do or not to do.

“I cannot come” is a statement that was laughable to this audience.

THE POINT IS THAT IT, LIKE THE FIRST 2, IS A BOGUS EXCUSE.
These weren’t men who couldn’t come.
These were men who didn’t want to come.

Now, let me pull you back into the context
Of what Luke has been trying to teach us.

Go back one chapter.
Luke 13:34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!”

Remember the grief of Jesus?
WHY was Jerusalem not being saved?
• “you would not have it”

They didn’t want to come to Jesus.

At that point we might have asked WHY they didn’t want to come to Jesus,
But when we get to Luke 14 we find out why.

They were full of hypocrisy, arrogance, and self-righteousness
And they didn’t think they needed Jesus.

They all thought they were all headed to heaven just like they were.
And so they saw no need for Christ.

They would not have it.
They all made excuses.

And notice then the response of the host.
(21-22) “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’”

• Clearly the desire of the master is a full banquet hall.
• Clearly the desire of the master is for everyone to come.

But when some won’t come the search widens.

It is apparent that the first group invited must have been the well-to-do’s of society
• Because when the search widens now it includes “the streets and lanes of the city”
• And those who are “poor and crippled and blind and lame”

But we find that even after they come there is still room.
(23) “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.”

And here the search widens even more to those outside the city, living in the highways and hedges.
• They may have been the unclean, or even the vile or guilty.
• And yet they are invited.

And I hope you are getting Luke’s point.

THE FIRST GROUP INVITED WAS CLEARLY ISRAEL.
• Jesus went from synagogue to synagogue inviting men to salvation.

Remember?
Luke 4:18-19 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

But if you’ll also remember that message was so repulsive to the self-righteous crowd that they tried to throw Him off a cliff.

Israel rejected the message.

But not all of them.
There were some who would believe.
• It was the outcasts.
• It was the poor and crippled and blind and lame

That is to say it is those who knew they were unworthy to come.
It is those who saw such an invite as a true honor.
It was those who jumped at the chance to go where they did not deserve.

And when even they could not fill the hall, the search widened even more and we see people like the SYROPHONECIAN WOMAN or the CENTURION and other Gentiles being saved.

Do you remember those two and their attitude?

The Syrophonecian woman wanted her daughter healed:
Matthew 15:26-28 “And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”

• Did you hear her humility?
• Did you hear her desperation?
• There was no self-righteousness there and she was saved.

Remember the Centurion who wanted his servant healed?
Matthew 8:7-12 “Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

• Do you see the humility?

No one was worthy of salvation,
But those who knew they were unworthy
Were those who ran to Jesus for it.

JESUS CONFRONTS SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
Because it leaves men in their sin while thinking they are fine.

And the end result for them is judgment.
(24) “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.”

And what did we learn back in chapter 13?
Luke 13:23-30 “And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘ Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. “And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. “And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

Is Luke’s message getting through yet?

HE IS TALKING ABOUT SALVATION.
AND THE QUESTION IS “Who will be saved?”

AND THE ANSWER IS “Not many and not who you’d think.”

Because there are so many steeped in self-righteousness
That they are unwilling to run to Jesus.

Are you hearing Luke’s message?
Are you hearing the point?

So now let me ask you:
DO YOU NEED JESUS?

• Do you need to be clothed in His righteousness?
• Or are your good deeds enough on their own to save you?
• Or are you pretty confident that you don’t need help?

• And if you see that you need Jesus are you willing to turn your back on this lift to obtain Him?
• Are you willing to call all your righteous works what they really are – UNACCEPTABLE?
• Are you willing to deny yourself, embrace His cross, and follow Him?

If you are, you will be saved.
If not, then your self-righteousness will condemn you forever.

That’s been the point.
That is what Jesus has been addressing.
That is what Luke wants you to see.

You need Jesus, are you humble enough to run to Him?