The Evident Pride of the Disciples – Part 3
Luke 9:46-56 (51-56)
December 9, 2018

As you know we are currently in a section of Luke’s gospel
That we have referred to as “MESSIANIC MISCONCEPTIONS”
It is that segment in which we hear Jesus correcting the mindset of the disciples.

And really it all centers around 1 shocking reality and that is THE CROSS.
• The disciples were not ready for that.
• The cross didn’t fit their plan.
• They didn’t have room for a Suffering Servant
• They didn’t have room for a Dying Messiah

They expected Him to rule and reign and receive glory
And to ultimately share that glory with those closest to Him.

Jesus is having to address that misconception here.

It began with Jesus’ shocking statement to those who would follow Him.
Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

That is to say,
• Get all those notions of fame and glory out of your head
• Let go of your sense of advancement and authority
• I came to die and if you follow Me you should embrace that as well

If you’re going to follow Me, you must deny yourself.

But, as we said, the disciples had not yet fully understood this.
• We can actually go all the way back to Peter rebuking Jesus for even mentioning death…
• We could actually go back and listen to Peter speak out of turn on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured…
• We could go back to the disciples enlisting Jesus in a prize fight with a demon as a means to flex His muscle…

It has really been clear that the disciples
Had not yet embraced this notion of the death of cross
And the reality that they must also deny themselves to follow Him.

But if that reality was yet unclear, Luke sets out to prove it.
In verses 46-56 Luke includes 3 STORIES.

It is highly unlikely that these 3 incidents actually happened as close together as it appears when you read them here.

• Even our verses this morning (51) begins with “When the days were approaching…” Which indicates a period of time had passed in between the two events.

But Luke includes them so close together
Because he is making a point as to how far the disciples still needed to go
In order to understand the concept of self-denial.

And so we have said that the disciples remaining pride or lack of self-denial is actually illustrated here in these 3 stories.

We’ve already looked at 2 of them.
#1 THEIR DISDAIN FOR THE LEAST
Luke 9:46-48

The very fact that they argued as to which of them was the greatest
Indicated that they didn’t think much
Of those they considered to be the least.

And if they could in fact have disdain for they figured to be the least
It only indicates that they didn’t have an accurate view
Of how little they deserved to be there.

• None of us where chosen for our value or benefit or usefulness to the Lord.
• We were all chosen by grace.
• Any notion of my own personal greatness only indicates a terrible misunderstanding of how little worth I actually brought to the table.

And therefore Jesus rebukes the disciples and tells them that
They must learn to receive those whom they discern are the least.

Why?
Because the Lord has accepted them, and the Lord has chosen them, and the Lord has saved them.

If you reject the least then you are in effect
Also rejecting the Lord and the Father.

But their remaining pride is seen in the fact that they did disdain the least.

The last week we saw a second indication of pride or lack of self-denial:
#2 THEIR DISRESPECT FOR THE LAITY
Luke 9:49-50

John tells Jesus that they saw a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name
And they tried to prevent him.

Jesus again rebuked them.
Of all the people in Galilee, and of all the different things they are doing, the man you felt the need to stop was the man casting out demons in my name?

And of course we know the reason.
• It wasn’t because this man wasn’t helping people
• It wasn’t because this man wasn’t glorifying Jesus
• It was because this man threatened to steal the glory from the disciples.

And that is what John basically admitted.
“we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.”

They were concerned that this man might threaten their glory.

And again we saw an evidence of pride and a lack of self-denial
And we reminded ourselves that this entire venture
HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT OUR GLORY.

We don’t follow Christ for our own personal glory, we follow Christ for His glory.
• And if Christ is proclaimed…
• And if sinners are delivered…
• And if Christ is glorified…
• In that we rejoice!

The fact that the disciples couldn’t illustrated their lingering pride.
Their jealousy testified against them.

Well this morning we come to the third indicator of their lingering pride.
#3 THEIR DISREGARD FOR THE LOST
Luke 9:51-56

Before we get too deep into this story,
We do need to recognize a very important indicator verse.

(51) “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.”

This is now the 4th time in this chapter that Luke has referenced this RESOLUTE COMMITMENT OF JESUS to the cross.

Luke 9:20-22 “And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

Luke 9:30-31 “And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

Luke 9:43-44 “And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”

And here we see it again.
JESUS IS COMMITTED.
The word “determined” is a strong word that literally means “fixed”.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for worldly comfort…
• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for an earthly throne…
• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for fame and honor…
• Jesus had come to die on the cross, to be raised from the dead, and to ascend to the Father.

And although the disciples had seemingly balked at that notion
Jesus isn’t budging.
He is “determined to go to Jerusalem”

Jesus stands as a contrast to the disciples
• He has no pride…
• He has not selfishness…
• He is not simply seeking His own good…
• He is committed to the mission of God to die on a cross for sinners.

Nothing has been able to sidetrack Him from the cross.

And Luke continues to reference that reality
Because it only reinforces the truth that
If we are going to follow Him then we must also deny self.

You cannot walk a path of self-serving gratification
And follow Jesus at the same time.

Jesus was selfless, to follow Him you must be as well.

Well, the disciples struggled here and this morning we see another way and it is THEIR DISREGARD FOR THE LOST

As He is headed to Jerusalem,
He is cutting through the region of Samaria.

(52-53) “and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.”

Just A LITTLE BACKSTORY on the tension here
That will help you better understand the setting.

• You are familiar that under Saul and under David and Solomon Israel was a big as it ever was.

• But when Solomon’s son Rehoboam became King he was foolish and he actually split the kingdom.
• In fact the Northern 10 tribes defected and so throughout the period of the Kings you have Israel referred to, which was the north, and you have Judah referred to which was the Southern tribe.

The capital city of the Northern Kingdom was Samaria
The capital city of the Southern Kingdom was Jerusalem

Long story short, The Northern Kingdom of Israel rebelled against God and God destroyed them by the hand of the nation of Assyria.

TURN TO: 2 Kings 17
This is the story of their ultimate demise.

(READ 1-6) – So Israel was conquered and their people deported.

• Verses 7-17 explain why God was so angry with Israel, and then in verse 18 we read again. “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.”

And then in verse 24 we learn something of the root of the Samaritans.

(READ VS. 24-41)

Now there is a lot to see there, but basically you learn this.
• Assyria brought in foreigners to live in the land of Israel
• Those foreigners worshiped other gods and thus incurred God’s wrath
• So a priest was sent back to show them how to worship the true God
• They then added Him to their list of gods to worship

In short, you have a polytheistic people
Who do know something of worship of the true God.

• So you have foreigners living in Israel’s land while Israel is in exile.
• It is also generally believed that some of the poor of Israel had remained in the land and intermarried with these foreign refugees.

Now, 186 years later (after Judah is conquered and spends 70 years in captivity in Babylon) all of Israel is granted by God to return to their land.

And as Israel is setting up her new society and rebuilding the temple,
We run across these people living in the land.

Ezra 4:1-5 “Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

• There was no mix and no agreement.
• Perhaps you even remember the battles Nehemiah fought as he sought to rebuild the city wall.

This tension is seen all the way into New Testament times.
Remember the woman at the well?
John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

So between the two peoples you have a lot of disdain.
• The Samaritans resented the Jews for coming back to Israel and seizing their land and instituting worship in Jerusalem alone.
• The Jews resented the Samaritans for being idol worshipers and seemingly traitors who intermarried with Gentiles.

And here we run into a pocket of less than gracious Samaritans
Who will not allow Jesus and His disciples to stay in their village
Simply because He is headed to Jerusalem.

This had nothing to do with Him being the Messiah,
They just wanted to prevent any Jew from worshiping God in Jerusalem.

And this was more than the disciples can handle.
(54) “When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

This of course was “James and John” appropriately nicknamed “The Sons of Thunder” because they were callous and harsh and full of judgment.

The same John who just tried to prevent a man for casting out demons.

They approach Jesus after having been disrespected in Samaria and ask, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Now first you might ask, “Where did they even get an idea like that?”

Well they got that idea from their history book.

In 2 Kings 1 you have an Israeli King reigning in Samaria named Ahaziah
• And he injured himself and became sick and he wanted to know if he would get better
• So he sent messengers to “Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron”
• And when he did this God sent Elijah to rebuke the king for seeking a pagan god instead of the true God of Israel.
• This offended the King and he sent to apprehend Elijah.

Here is what happened.
2 Kings 1:9-15 “Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.'” Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.'” Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. “Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.” The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king.”

No doubt remembering that story and keenly aware of the power of Jesus,
And having recently seen Elijah on the mountain,
John and James want to know if it is time for history to repeat itself.

• Don’t you think it’s time that these pagan sinners know who they are dealing with?
• Don’t you think it’s time they learn a little respect?
• There’s no way they should have the audacity to treat You like that, how about we call down fire on them like Elijah did?

That’s the disciple’s response.

It is the response of Jesus that helps us understand
Just how little the disciples understood about self-denial
And the mission of Jesus.

(55-56) “But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.”

Now first of all you recognize that much of these [two verses is in brackets] indicating that it is not in the oldest manuscripts.
If you read the NIV you actually have to look down into the margin
To see the middle statement.

When a passage is found missing in an older manuscript it is an indicator that it is a phrase which must have been added later and not a part of the original text.
(There are several of these in Scripture: John 5:4 where the angel stirred the water, John 8 and the story of the woman caught in adultery, the end of the book of Mark)

What this means is that in copying the original text someone added the verse in to most likely give clarification.

What do we do with it?

1. We recognize it wasn’t part of the original and so are careful awarding full authority to it as the inspired word of God.
2. We recognize that God has allowed it to remain so we understand that while we may not treat it as fully authoritative, we don’t necessarily treat it as inaccurate.

Luke’s original statement was simply that Jesus rebuked the disciples
And they went on to another village.

The added statement just gives us insight into the specifics of the rebuke,
And since it is a statement consistent with what Jesus says in other places we have NO PROBLEM WITH IT remaining.

NOW, WHAT WE KNOW IS TRUE is that Jesus rebuked James and John for their desire to bring ultimate judgment down on the Samaritans.

And even if Jesus didn’t specifically give the clarification here,
He did plenty of other times as He reminded the disciples
That He did not come to condemn but to save.

AND THERE IS SOME IMPORTANT THEOLOGY THERE TO UNDERSTAND.

You are all familiar with John 3
John 3:16-18 “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.”

What do we learn there?
It is NOT AS THOUGH man is in a neutral condition before Christ came
And He either condemns them or saves them.

Man is already under divine condemnation by reason of his sin.
If Jesus wants men to be condemned all He has to do is “nothing”

He didn’t have to come to condemn, man was already condemned.

John the Baptist mentions this again at the end of the chapter.
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.”

Paul alludes to this in Romans 1
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

What that indicates is that there is only 1 reason
To explain why Christ came to this earth.
AND THAT IS TO SAVE MEN.

Man didn’t need to be condemned, he was already condemned.
Jesus came because they needed to be saved.

Everything about His ministry was all for this purpose.
• His birth
• His righteous life
• His miracles
• His preaching
• His death
• His resurrection
• His ascension

IT’S ALL ABOUT SAVING MEN, NOT CONDEMNING THEM

Paul said it as clearly as anyone:
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”

And if you understand the fundamental purpose of Jesus
Then you understand why this is such a bizarre question
From James and John.

“Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Seriously?
• You think I left heaven, was born of a virgin and dwelt among men,
• Lived a righteous life,
• And have repeatedly told you of my upcoming death on a cross
• SO THAT WE COULD CALL DOWN FIRE ON MEN?

Do you understand now the rebuke?

And the added informative statement indicates
That this is not an indicator of the Spirit of God, and misses the point.

“And they went on to another village.”

Now let’s talk about that statement for a moment
So that we can get full understanding.

I don’t want you to misunderstand what happened.
• The disciples asked if they should call down fire. Now that would be final
and permanent judgment.
• Jesus rebuked them because He came to save.

However, Jesus then DID PERFORM a symbolic judgment on them.

WHAT WAS THAT?
He left.

Let me remind you of the missionary call of Jesus.

Even when Jesus sent out the 12 the first time, He said:
Luke 9:5 “And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Matthew’s gospel expounds:
Matthew 10:14-15 “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. “Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

There was a temporal judgment here.
• That Samaritan village lost their opportunity to house the Son of God and to hear the gospel message (at least that night)

Jesus did enact a FORM of judgment,
But He did not enact a FINAL judgment of condemnation.

And this is SO IMPORTANT to remember
When dealing with an unbelieving world.
There are a couple of passages I want to put in your mind here.

1 is the infamous “Judge Not” passage.
Matthew 7:1-6 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Now I’m not going to work all through that one again right now.
• You know that the issue there is self-righteousness and how in your quest to
stomp out sin you should start with your own.
• Jesus doesn’t say you shouldn’t point out the splinter in your brother’s eye, it’s
just that you should clear out your own eye first.

But at the end of that Jesus does give a very important warning.
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pears before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

That is to say, if they don’t want to hear it,
You can’t make them. And you shouldn’t make them.

Things like the religious crusades are not proper evangelism.
You can’t kidnap a non-believer, tie him in a corner
And force him to hear the gospel.

The judgment is seen in that you take what is holy;
You take your pearls, and you move on.
You don’t call down fire on them, you don’t shoot the pigs,
YOU JUST MOVE ON.

Another important perspective is found in 1 Corinthians 5.

• You know that chapter as the chapter about the immoral sinning brother.
• The man who “has his father’s wife”.
• And Paul categorically calls for the church to pass judgment on that man and remove him from the body.

• It is arrogant to smile at what God condemns
• It is a dangerous influence to allow to remain in the church
• Paul commanded that church to hand that “so called brother” over to Satan

However Paul makes a very important clarification after that instruction.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”

I hope you pick up on Paul’s clarification.

When we are dealing with a professing believer.
• We are most certainly supposed to understand the role of discipline.
• Now it is not to condemn, but to redeem.
• We discipline so that his soul may be saved.

However non-believers are not treated this way.
• They don’t know any better.
• Why would we expect a non-believer to care about the righteous standard of God?
• We don’t shoot them…
• We don’t hand them over to Satan…
• We don’t call down fire on them…

What do we do?
We give them the truth!
We preach to them the gospel!

Consider Jesus:
Luke 5:29-32 “And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

In Luke 15 you’re going to see it again:
Luke 15:1-2 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Do you know how Jesus responded there?
He gave 3 parables:
• The Lost Sheep
• The Lost Coin
• The Lost Son

It was meant to show that His purpose was to save sinners…
NOT DESTROY THEM!

AND HERE WE HAVE THE DISCIPLES,
IN TOTAL CONTRAST TO THE PURPOSE OF JESUS
Ready to call down fire on the Samaritans all because they don’t like them
And they have inconvenienced them a little.

They would just as soon see the Samaritans burned with fire
As saved with the gospel.

And how tragically we see this.
• Remember Jonah?
• Didn’t want to go to Nineveh.
• In fact, when God finally carried there via the belly of a whale and Jonah did preach, and Nineveh did repent we see Jonah’s response:

Jonah 4:1-3 “But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”

Why was Jonah so angry?
• Because the Assyrians had been brutally awful to the Jews,
• And in Jonah’s mind they didn’t deserve saving.

Many years ago before coming to Spur, I preached in a little church in Byers and an older deacon there took me to lunch and shared his testimony with me.
• He told me how he had served in WW2
• He told me how he had fought on the islands of Japan
• And he told me how joyful he was when his daughter surrendered to be a
missionary
• But he was not ready to hear her say she had been called to Japan.

His words to me: “Rory, those were dirty Japs and they didn’t deserve saving.”

He then went on to share how God changed his heart and how he had been to Japan and had grown to love those people, but you get the idea.

That tells something of the disdain of James and John.
• They hated the Samaritans.
• The Samaritans represented everything that was wrong in that region.
• The Samaritans represented hardship and struggle and immorality and it was nothing but a pain to have to pass through that region time after time.
• It would be better if God just blasted them off the earth.

The disciples had JEALOUSY, PREJUDICE and BITTERNESS in their heart
And they still lacked the denial of self that is required.

And can I bring that a little bit closer to home for you?

Homosexuality is on the rise in America,
• Is it a sin? Yes, that’s clear
• Will they be judged? Yes, that’s also clear
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!

Muslims, militant to Christianity and even America.
• Is it sin? Yes
• Will they be judged? Yes
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!

Political tensions are high in America. People who support abortion and the spread of sexual immorality.
• Is it sin? Yes
• Will they be judged? Yes
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!

It’s your job to lovingly give them the gospel.

WE DO NOT DESIRE THE DEATH OF SINNERS
• Christ didn’t leave us here to desire the death of sinners
• He left us here to proclaim to them the gospel.

Want a good example of what this looks like?
• Paul went to Philippi where he cast a demon out of slave girl and ended up
being beaten and thrown in the stocks.
• About midnight he and Silas were praying and singing hymns and God sent an
earthquake and opened Paul’s cell door.

Acts 16:25-30 “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

How easy would it have been to just wait for that jailor to kill himself
So that you could be free with no roadblock?

And yet Paul knew he was not there to seek the death of the unredeemed.

Do you understand the point?

I am well aware that America has a growing population of people
Who do not share your values and who seek to make America
Into a land that we don’t want to live in.

It’s the whole: “Don’t California my Texas” bumper sticker…

And yet, this world wasn’t a pleasant place for the Holy Son of God either. But even in the midst of our filth,
He did not come to condemn, but to save.

AND WE MUST DIE TO SELF
AND SEE THOSE WHO THREATEN OUR WAY OF LIFE
AS A MISSION FIELD, NOT AN EXPENDABLE CASUALTY.

And we must understand this.
• If we are only concerned about our own comfort
• If we are only concerned about being around people like us
• If we are only concerned about not being inconvenienced
• Then we’ll never follow Christ.

Look, I realize we can talk about them offending God and deserving judgment. And that’s true, and they must be warned.

But we are talking about our treatment of them,
And that must be like Christ.

Jesus left the glories of heaven to walk among a sin-infested world. Everything about our world must have been an offence and inconvenience to Him. And yet He did not call down fire.

He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

So you want to know WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE if you have lingering pride and have not yet understood what it means to deny yourself?

1) Do you have Disdain for the Least?
• Do you think yourself more worthy than other less important believers?

2) Do you have Disrespect for the Laity?
• Do you think ministry is a means for you to get glory and are you jealous when
the Lord seeks to use someone else?

3) Do you have Disregard for the Lost?
• Do you see your mission field as an inconvenience and would rather see them
dead than redeemed?

Those were the struggles of the disciples,
And they are still indicators of people who have not yet fully understood
The necessity of denying self to follow Jesus.

The Song of the Saved – Part 2
Psalms 18 (4-50)
December 2, 2018

Well finally we are able to return to this Psalm we began 3 weeks ago.
I told you then you had homework which was to study this Psalm on your own for 3 weeks, and so take out a piece of paper for a pop quiz.

I suppose I could give you a quiz like one of my seminary professors did one day.
• He assigned a portion to read and when we came into class the next day he told us to take out a sheet of paper for a quiz.
• He then said, “This is an ethics quiz. If you read the material, give yourself 100 and if you did not read it, give yourself a 0 and pass your papers to the front.”

So we’ll just say that tonight.
If you read this Psalm at all, give yourself 100, if you didn’t, give yourself a 0.

Either way, since it has been 3 weeks since we looked at this Psalm
We do need to do a bit of recap and remembering
So we can get back into the flow of it.

We certainly again look to the context of the song in that subheading.

We see WHO sings this song:
“For the choir director”
• It is for the church to sing. It is a divinely inspired song for the church to sing.

We see HOW to sing this song:
“A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD”
• It doesn’t come from the king or from the warrior, it comes from the servant. We sing this song as one who is service to the LORD. Not in pride, not in arrogance, but in submission.

We who the song is FOR:
“who spoke to the LORD the words of this song”
• It is a song for God’s enjoyment. It is not sung for men’s applause, it is not sung for human entertainment. It is sung for God’s pleasure.

We see WHY & WHEN the song is sung:
“in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.”
• This is the song of the saved. We sing this song upon revelation of salvation.

And as we said.
That may refer to the day you were saved (i.e. JUSTIFICATION)
• On the day you are saved and forgiven you sing this song to God.

That may refer to the salvation you currently experience daily (i.e. SANCTIFICATION)
• As the Lord gives you daily victory over sin in your life you sing this song.

That may refer to the coming total and final salvation (i.e. GLORIFICATION)
• Certainly the saints of heaven who will never sin again sing this song rejoicing in the finality and completion of their salvation.

So that tells us the context and the setting of the song.
The who, the how, the for, the why, and the when of the song.

I also told you the easiest way I can find to understand this Psalm
Is to break it down much as you would a current song that you hear.

Every song has a main theme, a main point, a heartbeat.
• It is the most important part of the song, the part you should get and learn and repeat and sing if you get nothing else.

That part of the song is THE CHORUS
• It is typically the catchiest, it is the part typically repeated several times.
• If you don’t know the rest of the song you should at least jump in and sing that chorus.

Now, that is what we looked at last time.
#1 THE CHORUS
Psalms 18:1-3

And as we looked at the heartbeat of this Psalm;
As we looked at the chorus, we simply learned
What the main declaration was that David desired to make to God.

And since this is a song for the church
We also learned the main declaration
That David expects the church to make to God.

And we saw 3 things.
1) I LOVE YOU O LORD MY STRENGTH (1)

If you will remember,
• The word for “love” there is not the typical Hebrew word for “love”.
• The word David uses is typically translated “compassion” and it has to do with cherishing or valuing.

David is not just expressing a commitment to put God first,
David is expressing an emotional reality
That He actually cherishes God.

And the reason David cherishes God is because
God has always been “my strength”
• It wasn’t the strength of David’s arm that won his deliverance…
• It wasn’t the accuracy of David’s aim that won his deliverance…
• It wasn’t the cleverness of David’s mind that won his deliverance…
• It was God.

God was the most valuable and cherished asset to David.
God is the reason he defeated his enemies.

David first and foremost sings that.
“I love You, O LORD, my strength.”

2) I PRAISE YOU O LORD MY STRONGHOLD (2)

And there we saw those synonyms.
David gave 8.

“my rock” – “my fortress” – “my deliverer” – “My God” – “my rock in whom I take refuge” – “My shield” – “the horn of my salvation” – “my stronghold”

Those words really are all synonyms.
They all speak of God being David’s security and protection.

As David stood on the victor’s side of the battle,
• He doesn’t look back and credit his own steadfastness or endurance or resolve as the reason he was secure,
• He credits the fact that God protected him.

When we stand in glory, WE WON’T look back on our life
And give ourselves credit for getting to heaven
Because we were so perseverant or enduring.

We will most certainly credit the Shepherd of the sheep
Who refused to let any of us be snatched from His hand.

We will praise the Savior who kept us from stumbling and caused us to stand.
We will praise the One who protected us.

That is what David did.
I Love You O Lord my strength
I Praise You O Lord my stronghold
3) I TRUST YOU O LORD MY SALVATION (3)

This song says that David sang this on the day
When the LORD delivered him from all his enemies.

We might accurately say that David has “SO FAR”
Been delivered from all his enemies.

There was no way that David could have known that
He had fought his last battle at the time of this song.

What David was saying was that every single battle he had fought
Had been won by the LORD, and if he faced another battled
There was no doubt where he was going to turn.

He was going to call on the LORD
Because when he calls on the LORD he is saved.

David had been through enough battles to know God is a reliable Savior.

He had never known God to fail him and so David was confident.
• I Love You O LORD my Strength
• I Praise You O LORD my Stronghold
• I Trust You O LORD my Salvation

Now, as we said, that is the heartbeat.
• That is the main point of this Psalm.
• That is the part you are supposed to get
• That is the part you are supposed to sing.
• You are supposed to declare that same thing with David.

THAT IS THE CHORUS.

But hopefully you will remember that we said in any song
There is typically MORE THAN JUST A CHORUS.

The chorus is the main point and the heartbeat,
But most songs also include VERSES

And verses, we said, are typically information filled lines
That are meant to give you the understanding
That will drive you to the chorus.

They provide the explanation.

So after we see David’s chorus, which is bold and magnificent,
We might approach him and ask, “David, why do you sing all that?”

WELL THAT IS WHERE THE VERSES COME IN.
David is going to explain in the verses of this song
Why he is singing that chorus.

So tonight we move into the next segment of this Psalm.

We saw the Chorus
#2 THE VERSES
Psalms 8:4-45

Now, you also know from last time
That in this Psalm we see 3 verses that David sings.

There are 3 points that David makes and after each of those points
We could easily return and sing that chorus with David.

We hear David’s verse and we better understand
Why David sang that chorus.

We also see the similarities in that what God did for David
He has also done for us and then we sing that chorus with David.

So now we look at those verses.
• There are 3.
• They are all explanations of why to sing that chorus

Here’s the first one.
David Explains:
1) THE DELIVERANCE WHICH GOD EXECUTED (4-19)

This is the first main verse that David gives
As explanation for why he is singing that chorus.

Let’s work our way through it.

It begins with David giving us an idea of the distress in which he found himself.
(4-5) “The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.”

It paints the picture of David being caught in an undertow
And being hammered by each coming wave
And being helplessly pulled under.

• It was as though death “encompassed” him (surrounded him)
• And “the torrents” (waves) kept beating him.
• “Sheol surrounded” him
• He was caught in the “snares”

It is a picture of a man who can do nothing to escape his plight.
He is helpless – He is powerless

And based on the introduction to this Psalm
We can understand that David is REFERRING HERE
TO HIS ENEMIES who sought to kill him.

• Maybe a time when he was all but captured by Saul
• Perhaps the time when he had to feign madness before Abimelech

Who knows?
David just speaks of a time when he was a drowning man.

And in utter desperation he had but one choice.
(6) “In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help;”

There was no other option.

And the first beauty is seen in that:
“He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.”

First we note that God COULD hear, unlike the false gods of the world.
And then we note that God DID hear. As if to say, “God gave me His attention”

David was afflicted at the hands of the ungodly, he was all but dead,
He cried to God and God was willing to hear his request.

And then we note God’s response!
(READ 7-15)

When David recognized the way God responded
It is easy to see the main thing David noticed.
GOD WAS ANGRY!

• “the earth shook”
• “the foundations of the mountains were trembling”
• “smoke went up from His nostrils”
• “fire from His mouth”

God was livid!

And then God “came down” (9)

This is all poetic language speaking of the intervention of God.

Do you remember when God came down on Sinai?
Exodus 19:16-18 “So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.”

David is referring to an appearance like that.
God came down in full holiness and fury!

He came fast!
(10) “He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind.”

And He came in power!
(11-13) “darkness” – “hailstones and coals of fire”
“thundered” – “hailstones and coals of fire”

And the result?
(14) “He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.”

God arrived in swiftly in full fury and full demonstration of power
And scattered David’s enemies.

God, in effect, split the waters were David was drowning, (15) “the channels of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.”

God delivered Him!
(16) “He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.”

That follows that same poetic picture David began with.
• I was drowning among the wicked
• I cried out to God
• He came and split the sea and made the wicked flee
• He pulled me out of the waters

(17) “He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my stay.”

That word “stay” there means “support of every kind”

I wouldn’t have survived if God had not intervened and supported me.

(19) “He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.”

And so as David sings this song
He tells the audience about how God intervened in wrath
And delivered him from a powerful foe.

David was a goner
• The enemy was bigger, badder, more numerous, and David was caught
• He had no hope
• He had no chance

And yet, when he called upon God,
God intervened with fury and delivered him totally from all his foes!

And that is why David is singing that chorus!
“I love You, O LORD, my strength.” The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.”

If you want to know why I’m singing that song
It is because God proved to be my stronghold.

• God proved to be the place where I hid from the enemy.
• God proved to be that mountain crag, that mountain fortress, the unfailing refuge, that cave in the rock, that horn of salvation

(18) “But the LORD was my stay”
• That’s why I sing!
• That’s why I praise Him!

When I was afflicted He came in fury to deliver and He did not let me fall!
He did the same for us when in Christ He delivered us
And when Christ bore the fully fury of God’s wrath on our behalf.

THE DELIVERANCE WHICH GOD EXECUTED
Verse 2 – and the second explanation for why he sings
2) THE DEVOTION WHICH GOD EMPOWERED (20-29)

Alright, now be honest, that one seems difficult to deal with.
Verses 20-24 seem to fly in the face of everything we know
About human depravity and human goodness and the lack of it.

It almost sounds like David is out of touch with his own integrity
And even promoting a “works-based” righteousness
Whereby he actually earned God’s deliverance.

That’s what it sounds like doesn’t it?

Listen to it again:
(20-24) “The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also blameless with Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.”

Wow, again it just doesn’t seem right.
• “rewarded me according to my righteousness”?
• “I have kept the ways of the LORD”?
• “I was also blameless before Him”?
• “I kept myself from my iniquity”?
• “the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness”?

That just doesn’t seem right does it?

I suppose at this point we could say, “Oh, well this must be a Psalm about Christ not David since only Christ is righteous.”

You could go there, but then you’d have an awful tough time explaining that last section where David faced enemies that were too might for him.

This is a great explanation as to why
We don’t take Scripture out of context.
Keep reading.

David does say that God rewarded his righteousness,
But let’s get a better understanding of what he meant.

Next David reminds that IT WAS GOD WHO INSPIRED THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS.

(25-27) “With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless; With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute. For You save an afflicted people, But haughty eyes You abase.”

Now this doesn’t yet answer our main question,
But it does reveal to us something important about David.

David said that he was righteous.
Here we learn why David chose to be righteous.

Why did David choose righteousness?
Because God responds favorably to righteousness.
• God is kind to the kind
• God is blameless to the blameless
• God is pure to the pure
• God is astute to the crooked

God saves afflicted and humble people
And turns away from those who greedily pursue this world
(i.e. “haughty eyes”)

So after rejoicing that God delivered him because of his righteousness David then says, “That’s the whole reason I chose righteousness!”

“I determined to be righteous because I knew God rewarded righteousness, and now here I rejoicing that He did just that!”

So while we still don’t fully understand David’s statement in verses 20-24
We do understand at least part of the faith that was involved.

David chose to sacrifice the world and choose righteousness
Because he believed that God would honor that.

And now that God has delivered him, David is rejoicing.

But that still doesn’t answer our question
About David being able to boast in how good he was.

So:
(28-29) “For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness. For by You I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall.”

Do you hear what David is saying there?
He is giving all the credit for his righteousness to God.

• It was God who lit his “lamp”
• It was God who illumined his “darkness”

• God was the one who allowed him to walk in righteousness.
• God was the one who empowered to walk in truth.

In fact, through God I can do anything.
“For by You I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall.”

This is the Old Testament equivalent of Philippians 4:13
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

And if you are familiar with the accurate understanding of that verse
• You know that it wasn’t Paul saying “I can dunk a basketball if I have Christ”,
• Rather He was saying through Christ I can actually fulfill the most stringent
requirements of righteous living.
• In that specific case Paul was saying that through the strength of Christ he
could even endure having nothing and dwelling in prison.

That is what David is saying.
• I knew God desired righteousness and so I desired righteousness
• God then gave me the ability to walk in righteousness
• And when I did God then rewarded me for that righteousness

Do you know what David is talking about here?
SALVATION

Is this not what God does for us?
• He creates in us awareness and a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
• He then supplies the ability for that righteousness through Christ and through His Spirit
• He then rewards us for that righteousness in the world in which we live

We call that salvation

David says, that is what God did for me!
• He made me want righteousness
• He made me righteous
• He rewarded me for being righteous

NOW DO YOU KNOW WHY I SING?
“I love You, O LORD, my strength.” The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.”

• I sing that because of the DELIVERANCE WHICH GOD EXECUTED
• I sing that because of the DEVOTION WHICH GOD EMPOWERED

God gets all the glory and gratitude for what He did in me!

And then the 3rd verse of explanation…why I sing!
3) THE DOMINION WHICH GOD ESTABLISHED (30-45)

• Deliverance alone would have been enough…
• Devotion alone would have been enough…

BUT GOD WENT THE ABSOLUTE EXTRA MILE.
Not only did He make me righteous and save me because of that righteousness, but God saw fit to exalt me…ME!

And here you see the ABSURDITY whereby David accounts for his life.

David acknowledges that every one of his successes
Came only because of the power which God supplied.

LOOK at (30-36)
Do you see how David credits God for everything?

• “He is a shield”
• He is the “rock”
• He “makes my way blameless”
• He “makes my feet like hinds’ feet”

(Incidentally Carrie loves that analogy. David is referring there to a mountain goat, and if you’ve ever seen them climb a cliff it is absolutely unbelievable)

• He “sets me upon my high places”
• “He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze”
• “You have also given me the shield”
• “Your gentleness makes me great”
• “You enlarge my steps”

I mean it’s all because of God.
Every victory, every achievement, God gets credit for it all.

AND LOOK AT WHAT DAVID ACCOMPLISHED!
(READ 37-42)

I mean that is really unfathomable.
• “I pursued”
• I “overtook”
• “I shattered”
• “They fell”

“For You girded me with strength”

And when they cried to You for help, You said no!
Because they weren’t righteous!

(42) “Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.”

David speaks of an improbable and yet total victory.

Even today people use the phrase “David and Goliath”
As an analogy when someone is facing an insurmountable foe.

THAT VICTORY WAS THAT ABSURD.
And really, I’m not even sure Goliath was the biggest foe David ever faced.

We really should talk about it as “David and Saul”
That was a real battle.

• Killing one giant is one thing.
• One man overcoming a king and his entire army is quite another

And yet here David stood on the other side of victory
Seeing how God had given him total dominion.

And then David glories in that dominion which God provided.

And you can hear David’s shock that God would do such things for him.
(READ 43-45)

Do you hear how bizarre that all is?
• “A people whom I have not known serve me”
• “As soon as they hear, they obey me”
• “Foreigners submit to me”

That’s crazy!
It is total dominion which God has established for David.

SO DO YOU SEE WHY HE IS SINGING THAT CHORUS?
“I love You, O LORD, my strength.” The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.”

So there’s the first two points.
The Chorus, The Verses
#3 THE BRIDGE
Psalms 18:46-50

As I told you, the bridge is often the final great motivator to sing that chorus.
• It often comes with a crescendo
• It can reveal new information
• It can focus on the most important information
• It can reiterate how unbelievable the information is

The last is what David does here.
He summarizes for the congregation in a concise statement
All that he just explained in those verses.

We see all three verses summarized here.
• The Deliverance which God Executed
• The Devotion which God Empowered
• The Dominion which God Established

They are all revisited in this brief bridge.

(READ 46-50)

Look at it!
• GOD (the God) executes vengeance FOR ME!
• GOD (the God) subdues people UNDER ME!
• GOD (the God) DELIVERS ME from my enemies!
• He does it totally
• He does it despite their violence and power

AND THAT IS WHY I SING!
THAT IS WHY I AM GRATEFUL!

God is so faithful to me!
(50) “He gives great deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.”

And then of course you can go sing that chorus 3 more times!

“I love You, O LORD, my strength.” The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.”

So it all makes sense to me now.
• God you delivered me – I love You!
• God you made me righteous and rewarded me for it – I love You!
• God you exalted me into a position of authority – I love You!

David’s song makes sense to us.
And you hopefully now you see why we call it a song of salvation.

This is the song we sing at every point of our salvation.

On the day when Christ lifts you up out of the miry clay and saves you from the wrath of God. On the day He justifies you and delivers you from drowning in your sin. On the day He justifies you we sing – I LOVE YOU!

And then on the day when we fight battles against sin in this Christian life. We face temptations and struggles and the linger effects of the old man. And on that day when the Lord gives us the victory to put away a sinful habit or to resist a nagging temptation. On the day He sanctifies you we sing – I LOVE YOU!

And of course on the day of our exaltation. On the day when we stand in glory, exalted above this world and beyond our sin. On the day when the body of flesh no longer corrupts or tempts and we are totally saved. On the day He glorifies you we sing – I LOVE YOU!

This is the song we sing at every aspect of salvation.
• For it is God who has delivered us when we were weak and helpless
• It is God who has given us strength for every battle
• It is God who ultimately gives us victory over those battles

And at every realization we sing:
“I love You, O LORD, my strength.” The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.”

The Evident Pride of the Disciples – Part 2
Luke 9:46-56 (46-50)
December 2, 2018

The last time we met
We began looking at this set of 3 situations in Luke’s gospel.

As we noted then,
Luke doesn’t give us as much information as the other gospel writers do.

• Matthew in particular reveals that Jesus had a lot more to say about the issue.

• Luke is brief simply because he is highlighting the disciples pride.

We are in a segment which we have called “Messianic Misconceptions”.

Jesus is correcting the thinking of the disciples,
Both about Himself, and about what it means to follow Him.

And as we have noted now several times,
The first characteristic necessary to follow Jesus is a DENIAL OF SELF.

There is no room for pride in our desire to follow Christ.
• We come poor in spirit
• We come knowing that there is nothing worthy in us
• We come having completely tossed anything that we thought was of worth

The apostle Paul said it best:
Philippians 3:4-8 “If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”

Paul spoke of it as “confidence in the flesh”.
That is confidence in all that I have done as having some worth before God.

Paul learned that his works had no worth, and he tossed it all and ran to Christ.

That is what we are talking about as the necessity of following Christ.

And what we are learning from these 3 stories in Luke’s gospel
Is what it looks like when a person seeks to follow Jesus
With their pride still intact.

• These 3 stories are here to show us what denying yourself does not look like.
• These 3 stories give us 3 pictures of a person who has yet to become truly poor in spirit.
• These are 3 incidents in which the disciples revealed that pride and arrogance still remain.
And we started the first one last week.

#1 THEIR DISDAIN FOR THE LEAST
Luke 9:46-48

I don’t want to rehash all that we talked about last week,
But basically you remember that the disciples had gotten into an ARGUMENT as to which one of them was the greatest.

The very fact that they would have such an argument indicates that they DIDN’T THINK ALL DISCIPLES WERE EQUAL.
• Clearly some were more important than others.
• Clearly some were more valuable than others.
• Clearly some were more useful than others.

But what it ultimately revealed is that they had each
Way over valued their own personal worth for salvation.

• They had not understood that no one is worthy of salvation.
• They had not understood that no one is useful to God.
• They still seemed to believe that they each brought their own value to the table.

Now, while Matthew’s gospel does include that Jesus addresses this arrogance and tells them that they need to humble themselves and become like children,

THAT IS NOT THE POINT LUKE FOCUSES ON.

In order to expose the arrogance of the disciples
Luke doesn’t focus on how they view themselves,
But rather on HOW THEY VIEW OTHERS.

Their arrogance was seen in the fact that the do not receive the least.
They disdain those whom they see as less important.

And this is what Jesus corrects.
(47-48) “But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

THAT IS TO SAY,
If you have disdain for those whom you view as second-class Christians
All that proves is that you do not understand salvation at all.

That insignificant “least” brother or sister
Is actually chosen by God and saved by Christ.
To disdain them is actually to disdain Christ.

And the willingness to disdain them
Only PROVES that YOU THINK TOO HIGHLY OF YOURSELF.

Any person who has rightly seen themselves
As compared to the holiness of God
Does not see others as the least,
But rather themselves as the least.

And so Jesus tells these disciples to quit devaluing other believers.
That was an evidence that they still had much to learn about denying self.

And I want to speak to this a little more this morning before we move on.
• It is the importance of how you receive your brother.
• It is the importance of how you value your brother.

We read last time:
Philippians 2:1-8 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

The unique thing there is
While none of us are actually more important than the other,
JESUS ACTUALLY WAS.

• Jesus actually is more important than any of us and yet He decided to treat us as more important than Himself.

And Paul says that’s the attitude believers must have.
That is an attitude of self-denial.

And we alluded to it at the end of the service last week,
But let me give you some PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS to this.

Galatians 5:13-15 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”

If you are familiar with Paul’s letter to the Galatians you know that
• Paul spent over 4 chapters greatly defending your religious liberty.
• You are free in Christ!
• Don’t let anyone put you under a legalistic yoke of slavery.

The book of Galatians has even been called “The Christian Magna Carta”
But then, after violently defending Christian freedom, Paul says this:
“don’t turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh”

And specifically, don’t use your freedom to harm your brother.

Now Paul actually fleshes that out more in other letters.
1 Corinthians 8:9-13 “But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.”

There Paul was talking about his religious liberty and freedom to eat meat, even meat sacrificed to idols.
• As a free believer in Christ he had every right to do it.

However, there were some weaker believers
Who did not yet understand that eating that meat was ok.

They had just been saved out of that carnal practice and for them eating that meat brought back too many memories of their old sinful life.

To which Paul said, if that’s the case, “I will never eat meat again”

Which was more important to him, his freedom, or his brother?

Paul in effect says it again to the Romans:
Romans 14:15 “For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.”

Now in our selfish day we might be prone rather to say something like, “Well I don’t care if they like it or not, I’m eating the meat! If they don’t like I guess they can just go to another church.”

That wasn’t Paul’s attitude was it?
He considered his brother as more important.

Why?
• Because he saw that Christ had gone through just as much to save that
brother as He had to save Paul.
• Paul called them those “for whom Christ died”

Paul didn’t see them as least and him as greatest.
He saw them all as of equal value to Christ.

That’s what we’re talking about.
• A person who has truly denied self is a person who does not value self above their brother or sister.
• It is a person who realizes that I am also nothing without Christ.

Let me give you another illustration here
(because I think this is so important to understand)

TURN TO: Matthew 19:27

Of course this is on the heels of the story of the Rich Young Ruler who refused to give up his wealth to follow Jesus.
• As the Rich Young Ruler walks away rich, Peter takes a little inventory.

(READ 27-29)
• So Peter just wants to know if he made the right decision, and Jesus reassures him that he has.

However, Jesus makes another statement at the conclusion.
(30) “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”

And you say: WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THAT MEAN?

Now look over to chapter 20, verse 16.
Jesus tells a story in the first 15 verses and then says,
“So, the last shall be first, and the first last.”

That means that Jesus explains that mysterious statement in Mat. 20:1-15.

(READ 20:1-15)
• Now you are familiar with the story.
• A landowner hires a bunch of workers and he does so at various points of the day.
• But when it comes time to pay the workers, he pays them all the same regardless of how long they worked.
• And those who worked the longest take issue with the landowner, saying (12) “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.”
• They cry out, “That’s not fair!”

Do you see, they thought they deserved more? WHY?
• Because they had worked longer
• Because they had accomplished more
• They thought they had proven themselves as more valuable and more useful and more important

The workers were measuring their compensation
By their own perceived worth.
And they disdained, not only the least,
But also the master who made them equals

• They failed to understand that none deserved the job…
• They failed to understand that none were worthy…
• They failed to understand that all where there by grace and grace alone…

WE ARE ALL MERE BEGGARS DEPENDING ON GRACE
And that is again the point.
• If we think that we are more valuable…
• Or we think that we have earned more…
• Or if we think that we are more important…

That only indicates that we have yet to understand
Our true spiritual poverty and the tremendous grace of God.

AND THIS IS A ROOT OF CONTENTION AND STRIFE AND ARGUING
(You see that in the disciples don’t you)

Their lack of self-denial was seen in their disdain for the least.

Well, let’s move on to their next issue.
#2 THEIR DISRESPECT FOR THE LAITY
Luke 9:49-50

When I say laity here I am using it in the sense of a lay-minister.
In our culture this would be someone who serves Jesus and who preaches the gospel, but who isn’t an ordained or employed pastor.
• You are all lay ministers
• You are all lay preachers

And I think that is a fitting description
Of exactly who the disciples encounter here.

And yet again they are going to get corrected by Jesus
As they again reveal their pride and lack of self-denial.

(49) “John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name;”

Now, let’s just STOP there for a moment and TAKE INVENTORY.

Not much is known about this man that the disciples encountered,
But here is what we do know.

1) He was “casting out demons”
• And so just based on that knowledge let me ask you, was he doing a
good thing or a bad thing? (obviously good)

2) Furthermore we read that he casting them out “in Your name”
• No, I don’t know where he learned it…
• All I know is that this man encountered demon possessed people, and he told
them that Jesus had the ability to cast out that demon and in Jesus’ name
those demons were coming out.

That’s all we know.
And there’s no sense speculating beyond that.

But here is the interesting part.
John goes on to say, “and we tried to prevent him”

I think it is important to notice the word “tried”.
The obviously were not successful.

And it is important to see that they tried “to prevent him”
It doesn’t say they rebuked him, it says they actually tried to stop him.

The Greek word for “prevent” is KOLUO
It means “to hinder, or to prevent, or to deny”

These disciples actually tried to put an end to his ministry.

And the question here is WHY?
• Because he wasn’t really casting out demons just tricking people? (No)
• Because he was giving false truth about Jesus and deceiving people? (No)
• Because he was doing it for money and extorting the people? (No)

Then why did you try to stop him?
“because he does not follow along with us.”

HE’S NOT ONE OF US

Let me help you better understand what the disciples did here.

They see a man actually casting out demons and doing in such a way as to honor Jesus and the disciples tried to stop him.

Here’s the question:
WHOSE GLORY WERE THEY CONCERNED ABOUT?

It had to be their own.
They didn’t like that someone from outside the group
Might get some of the glory that they were accustomed to.

It wasn’t about Jesus here, it was about them.

John Martin commented this: “John must have thought that the disciple’s greatness was diminished if others who were not of the twelve could also cast out demons.”
(Walvoord, John F.; Zuck, Roy B. [The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament; Chariot Victor Publishing; Colorado Springs, CO; 1983] pg. 231)

To which Jesus said, (50) “But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”

In other words you need to reevaluate the goal here.
If the goal is to deliver people for the glory of Jesus
Then how is it that this guy was the problem?

Of all the people in Galilee, who are doing all sorts of things…
The guy you felt compelled to stop is the guy who was casting out demons in My name?

Let me ask you teenagers for a second. (Several of you play basketball.)
• If you go out and win your basketball game 65 to 64
• And one of your teammates comes out of the game and pitches a fit,
• And you say “What’s wrong?”
• And they say, “I’m mad that I only scored 20 points and so and so scored 21”

What do you call that teammate?
Selfish, glory hog, one man show

If the goal is victory why are you taking issue with someone who helped you achieve it?

The only explanation is that your goal wasn’t actually victory.
Your goal was personal glory.

And there we see the problem of the disciples.
• If they cared about the plight of the afflicted they would have rejoiced in what this man did.
• If they cared about the glory of Jesus they would have rejoiced in what this man did.

But as it is, they only cared about their own glory
And so they tried to stop this man.

And their lack of self-denial is revealed in their disrespect for the laity.

AND SO LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS FOR A MOMENT,
Though honestly I think it’s most urgent application
Is directed at the pulpit even more than the pew.

There is no mistake that pride can easily spring up among preachers
Who if truth be told would rather people remain lost
Than to see them all get saved in someone else’s church.

• This is one of the reasons I don’t like altar calls.
• This is one of the reasons I don’t like counting heads in church.
• This is why we take down boards like those in the hall tell how many people came to Sunday school.

My fallen ego does not need to know these things.
That’s just the truth.

It is also why I love Reformed Theology, (Calvinism) and why I am convinced other preachers hate it.
• If people are saved because God chooses to save them.
• If people are only saved when God resurrects them to life.
• If salvation is not a matter of human will or convincing people to “accept Christ”

Then it’s awfully hard for me to get any credit
For convincing a person to choose Christ.

Now, if salvation is nothing more than a choice of the sinner,
• And I am able to convince multitudes of sinners to be saved,
• Then there is a propensity for me to walk around with my head kicked back
• And say, “Yep, I went out Sunday and preached and had 152 decisions for Jesus”

It stinks of pride

THE GLORY OF THE PREACHER IS NOT THE GOAL.

I love the statement that “The donkey who carried Jesus at the triumphal entry knew the applause was not for him.”

That’s what we are, we are donkeys that carry Jesus to the people.
And what is more,
If you are a donkey and sees another donkey carrying Jesus,
You ought to be just as happy that the task still was accomplished.

So I understand that disrespect for the laity or for other ministers is a Problem that MUST FIRST BE ADDRESSED TO ME AND TO PASTORS.

A pastor who cannot rejoice at a salvation
Which occurs in another congregation
Only reveals that his pride remains
And that his glory and not the glory of Jesus was his goal.

Preachers must understand this.

However, that DOES NOT MEAN that there is no relevance in this for you to consider.
• Some of you work in children’s ministry.
• Some of you work in youth ministry.
• Some of you are involved in women’s groups.

What happens when it is another church’s children’s ministry or youth ministry or women’s ministry that sees a person saved?

I certainly hope you can rejoice in that.

Or what about
• When you have witnessed to a person hundreds of times
• And maybe even met some physical need
• And maybe even bore some emotional burden…

And then you find out they’ve started attending a different church?

NOW HONESTLY, THOSE ARE EASY ONES TO ANSWER.
You’d say, “I would rejoice”

But let me push this scenario a little farther,
• What if the other preacher was full of pride and only concerned about numbers?
• What if that other ministry was constantly trying to compete with yours?
• What if you don’t like that other church?
• What if the other youth group leader just had the selfish goal of getting all the youth in their group?

What then?

Philippians 1:15-18 “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,”

Did you catch that?
Paul was trapped in prison and others were preaching the gospel and reaping all the benefits.

And Paul knew that the only reason some of them were preaching the gospel was “out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives.”

Where they preaching the gospel? Yes
But they were doing for their own glory.

And what was Paul’s response?
“that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice”

Whose glory was it about?
Not Paul’s – Only Christ’s

He simply rejoiced that Christ was being glorified,
Even if Christ was glorified at his expense.

We just talked about this Wednesday night with the youth.
John 3:25-30 “Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John’s disciples are jealous because Jesus is getting all the baptisms.

John’s response is perfect!
• He’s the Christ, not me!
• I rejoice in His arrival!
• He must continue to increase and I must continue to fade away!

Do you have that kind of humility in your ministry?
Can you take the backseat for the glory of Christ?

How about this one?
• There was a day when the children of Israel grumbled and Moses approached
God
• That the burden was too much and so God told Moses to bring 70 elders to the
tabernacle
• And the LORD would put the Spirit that was on Moses and place it on those
70.

We go on to read:
Numbers 11:26-29 “But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”

• So what about when another preacher comes to the church who is a better
preacher than you?
• What about when another person joins the church who is a better cook or
pianist or singer or Sunday school teacher?
That’s what Moses was faced with.

Who was it about God or Moses?

You see that, it’s not about our glory.
And disrespecting or even hindering other people whom God is using is only an indicator that pride and a lack of self-denial remains.

But that’s not the only way we understand this problem.

TURN TO: 1 Corinthians 12:4

Now here we once again run into a pride and selfishness
Which is festering inside a church
And it all has to do with the areas of ministry.

The basic truth is stated in verses 4-13

YOU UNDERSTAND THE BASIC POINT that Paul is making.
• Spiritual gifts and even the ministries they inspire are all a result of the sovereign prerogative of God.
• If you are gifted or called or placed in a ministry it has nothing to do with your worth or talent or anything like that.
• It all has to do with God’s sovereign choice.

And simply that truth should tell us that
IF ANY OF US believe ourselves to be more important than someone else
By reason of our ministry or gift or position
Than we understand nothing about God’s purpose in giving them.

Stated clearly in verse 5 “Now there are a variety of ministries, and the same Lord.”

That alone would condemn the issue here with the disciples,
Who clearly think their ministry is better
Than that of this man they have encountered.

It is pride and arrogance to assume that what God chooses to do through me is more important than what God chooses to do through you.

BUT THERE’S MORE: It is also pride and arrogance to be jealous and envious of someone else’s ministry or gift simply because you think they are receiving more glory.

Look at verses (14-26)
Again, there is a lot of detail we could make of that passage, but I’m more interested here in the big picture of it.

Do you catch what Paul is saying?
• It doesn’t matter if God chose for you to be an eye, an ear, a mouth, or a foot, you are essential to the body.
• And as a part of the body you should not look down on another part as though it is not necessary,
• And as a part of the body you should not envy another part because you think they get more glory.

And that is exactly the point Jesus is making to His disciples

Here was a group of guys who thought their decision to follow Jesus,
And their new power to cast out demons which Jesus had given them
Was a means for them to obtain glory for themselves.

And that is evident because they don’t want anyone else
Having that same power or exercising that same authority.

(I wonder what they’re going to think in chapter 10 when the Lord gives that same authority to 70 others?)

• These disciples were not interested in the deliverance of the afflicted
• And they were not interested in the glory of the Lord.
They were interested in their own glory.

AND THAT IS AN INDICATOR THAT PRIDE REMAINS.
IT IS AN INDICATOR THAT SELF-DENIAL IS NOT FINISHED.

And it is so easy for the church to fall into that same trap.

Now, I most certainly would say,
(some of you will ask me)
One issue that we must recognize here is that we are NOT talking about endorsing all people REGARDLESS OF THEIR DOCTRINE.

THAT IS NOT WHAT WE ARE SAYING.

There are some issues that are non-negotiables.

If they don’t affirm the deity of Jesus…
2 John 9-11 “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

If they don’t hold that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone…
Galatians 1:6-9 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”

If they teach that grace is a license to sin…
1 Timothy 6:3-5 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”

Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

So I hope you understand here the point.
This is not to say that we just endorse and condone and accept
Every would-be preacher out there regardless of doctrine.

If they preach false doctrine we most certainly do silence them.
WE DO HINDER THEM.

Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

That is clear.

What we are talking about here however
Is people who are accurately preaching Christ.
(And as we learned from Paul we’re not concerned about their motives)
But they are preaching or teaching or singing or proclaiming the truth.

IN SUCH A CASE, CHECK YOUR PRIDE AT THE DOOR AND
Rejoice that Christ is being proclaimed.
Rejoice that Christ is being glorified.
Rejoice that sinners are being delivered.

And get over the fact that it didn’t come through you.
The goal here is the glory of God, not your glory and not my glory.

And it’s ok if Jesus chooses to ride a different donkey.

Jealousy and envy only reveal that we have yet to die to self.

So, we see 2 indicators of remaining pride in the disciples.
1) Their Disdain for the Least
2) Their Disrespect for the Laity

Next time we’ll see it also evidence itself in
THEIR DISREGARD FOR THE LOST

The Evident Pride of the Disciples – Part 1
Luke 9:46-56 (46-48)
November 25, 2018

We are currently in the middle of a section in Luke’s gospel
Where Jesus is trying to REPROGRAM the disciples.
We have called it “Messianic Misconceptions”

In short, the disciples didn’t get it.
• They had wrong thinking about the Messiah
• They had wrong thinking about what it meant to follow the Messiah
• Jesus has been correcting those misconceptions.

What I want to specifically remind you of this morning
As we get going was that first requirement Jesus gave
For any who would follow Him.

You’ll remember after revealing the necessity of His own suffering and death, JESUS WENT ON TO SAY:
Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

I’m not going to rehash that text here, since we just looked at it a few weeks ago,
But I simply want to remind you again that
The first requirement for following Jesus was SELF-DENIAL.
We talked about it as DISOWNING yourself.

Disciples aren’t determined through competition.
• You can’t bring your resume to Jesus proving why you deserve to be a
follower.
• It’s not a Bible-drill tournament or a missionary miles traveled competition.

Regardless of the good you think you’ve done,
The chief requirement is for you to burn your resume
And let go of all you spiritual collateral.

In the beatitudes it is stated like this:
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

It is that reminder that it is not the spiritually rich who inherit heaven,
But the spiritually bankrupt.

That is to say you will not enter the kingdom of heaven
• Until you understand that you have nothing that qualifies you to enter it.
• Until you realize that all your currency and all your experience and all your
morality is of no value then you are not yet ready to enter.

Denial of self is required.

The reason is because what you view as valuable spiritual collateral,
The LORD views as filthy rags.
God won’t accept it.
Let it go and follow Christ.

AND THIS IS SO FOUNDATIONAL, AND YET SO FORGOTTEN.

I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line
SELF-ESTEEM BECAME A VIRTUE.

I hear it all the time, “We need to build their self-esteem”, “They just think too low of themselves”

I even hear Christian music with lyrics like “You can’t love if you don’t love yourself.”

Self-esteem, and self-love, even having pride in oneself
Have all become positive qualities in our world.
• Teach people to love themselves for who they are
• Teach people to have a high self-esteem
• Teach people how valuable they are

It’s all been part of the educational system
Because PSYCHOLOGY HAS TOLD US that a high self-esteem
Is important to make successful individuals.

And indeed even at this moment
You may already be engaged in a mental debate with me
Because you can sense that I’m about to disagree with the status quo.

In my Bible it says that if people want to be disciples of Jesus
The first requirement is not that they esteem self or love self or promote self or value self but that they deny self.

THE ENTIRE PREMISE that self-esteem is a good thing
Is built upon the foundation that there is good in every individual
Which must be acknowledged and celebrated.

And yet my Bible again tells me:
Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

The fact of the matter is that
• If you have never reached a point of humility or brokenness or honesty regarding your sinful nature
• Or even some semblance of spiritual depression regarding what you are,
• Then you have yet to understand the message of the gospel.

GOD DOES NOT SAVE MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE GOOD.
GOD SAVES MEN BECAUSE HE IS GOOD.

Do we need to revisit it again?
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”

Or perhaps we need to remember:
Romans 5:6-8 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Or Paul’s statement:
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”

HOPEFULLY YOU GET THE POINT.
• The goal is not to teach people to love themselves more.
• The goal is not to teach people to esteem themselves more.
• The goal is to reveal to people that in and of themselves they have incurred nothing but wrath and are in need of the righteousness which only Christ can provide them.

Humility is absolutely essential to salvation.

How many times have we read:
Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

1 Peter 5:5b “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

I just want to remind you again that denial of self is essential.
Humility is essential.
Being poor in spirit is essential

If you don’t have those qualities
You are not ready to enter the kingdom of heaven.
I sincerely hope you grasp that.

But THIS MORNING we want to move forward
And stretch our understanding of that just a little.

This morning I can begin by telling you that
THE DISCIPLES HAD YET TO LEARN THAT.
(They had heard it, they just didn’t believe it yet)

And of course there have already been indicators to that extent.
• Peter’s arguing with Jesus about the cross revealed Peter’s lingering pride.
• Peter speaking up on the mountain revealed Peter’s dwelling arrogance
• The disciples entering Jesus in that demon battle in direct violation of Jesus’ teaching reveals their arrogance.
They still have a lot to learn in regard to what it means to deny self.
And this morning we begin a passage that demonstrates that.

If you were to ask: WHAT DOES AN ARROGANT PERSON LOOK LIKE?
• Or: How do you spot someone who has not yet denied self?
• Or: How can I know if I have denied myself or not?

This segment of Scripture can give you the answer.

HERE IN THIS SEGMENT
• We have 3 in which the disciples earn a rebuke from Jesus.
• We have 3 instances in which they demonstrate that their love of self was still
present.
• We have 3 instances with demonstrate that they still valued who they were and
what they had done.

They had not yet reached the necessary place of self-denial,
Or that poor in spirit humility that Jesus required.

AND IN THIS TEXT WE’LL SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE

The disciples reveal their lingering love of self in 3 ways.
WE’LL LOOK AT THE FIRST ONE THIS MORNING

#1 THEIR DISDAIN FOR THE LEAST
Luke 9:46-48

Now I will tell you from the outset here that
This is another one of those sections
Where Luke omits much of the information.

Matthew and Mark will fill in the scene in here much fuller regarding the entire conversation.

The reason Luke is brief
• Is NOT because he is trying to keep you from knowing the whole story;
• Rather Luke merely emphasizes the point of the story that he most wants you to see.

And that clearly here was the disciples disdain
For those whom they deemed less valuable.

Now saying that, we’re not above cross-referencing so as to get the whole story,
WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE LAND ON LUKE’S POINT.

But we simply read in verse 46 “An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.”

Very interesting.

John MacArthur commented:
“They were still focused on the crown instead of the cross; on the glory, not the suffering. Still anticipating the imminent arrival of the kingdom, an argument started among them as to their place in it. Ironically, while Jesus spoke of His personal suffering, they argued about their personal glory.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series: Luke 1-9; Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL; 2011] pg. 301)

We go on to read in verse 47 “But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,”

We can look at the other accounts and fill this in a little fuller.

When you look at Matthew’s gospel we find that
• After the incident with the demon,
• Jesus and His disciples traveled to Capernaum.

• While in Capernaum someone there approached Peter as to whether or not
Jesus paid taxes, Peter wasn’t sure, so when he asked Jesus that is when
Jesus told him to catch a fish with a shekel in its mouth and go pay their tax.
This was done to keep from being an offense.

And then when you get into Matthew 18 we read:
(18:1) “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

So from Matthew’s account the 12 approached Jesus with the question.

When you read Mark’s gospel we read:
Mark 9:33-35 “They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

You put all of that together and you find what occurred.
• As the disciples were leaving the bout with the demon which we studied last
week, they got into an argument as to who was the greatest.

• Jesus knew what they were arguing about because He knew their heart, and
so He put them on the spot asking them what they were debating?

• No one wanted to answer at first, but eventually one of them did speak up and
ask “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

So let all of that sink in,
Because I don’t think it’s hard to fill in the gaps of this story.

A WEEK TO 10 DAYS AGO
• Jesus asked that infamous question, “But who do you say that I am?”
• If you’ll remember it was Peter who answered, “You are the Christ of God”

And Matthew’s gospel says that Jesus immediately commended Peter saying:
Matthew 16:17-19 “And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

I don’t think it’s hard to see where a statement like that
Might have gone to Peter’s head.

Of course just a few moments later Jesus is going to call Peter “Satan”
For trying to be a stumbling block to Jesus.

If you travel forward you know that
• Jesus had promised to show the kingdom to some of them before they died
• And He did that with 3 of them: Peter, John, and James.
• The other 9 did not get to go.
• Instead, the other 9 where in a fight with a demon and it was said that they could not cast it out because their faith was too little.

And so with all of that having occurred in the last week and a half
I don’t think the argument is that far-fetched.

• Can’t you hear Peter, James and John wanting to know what the problem was with the 9’s inability?
• Can’t you hear Peter saying, “I could’ve done it.”?
• Or perhaps you have Peter, James, and John walking separately from the other 9 now considering themselves to be elite since they had seen the glory of Jesus.
• And maybe one of the other 9 calls them on it, “You’re not any better than us…”

I don’t know how it played out, but it’s not hard to see a scenario
In which they began to try to rank
Who was the most important among them.

And that in and of itself is problem enough.
It is the very essence of pride and arrogance
To try and rank yourself as more important than someone else.

THAT IS NOTHING BUT FOOLISHNESS.

And if you read Matthew’s gospel Jesus addresses that.
Matthew 18:3-4 “and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Mark 9:35 “Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

Jesus would indeed remind them that
The very notion of considering yourself greater than someone else
Is arrogance which prohibits entry into the kingdom.

BUT LUKE DOESN’T INCLUDE THAT STATEMENT.

The issue Luke really zeros in on is what this argument said
About what the disciples thought about other people.

MATTHEW’S GOSPEL REVEALS that Jesus tells the disciples that in order to enter the kingdom they needed to become like children.
MARK’S GOSPEL REVEALS that they need to be a servant of all if they want to be great.

Luke doesn’t include that.
Luke is focused instead on this one statement from the Lord.

(47-48) “But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

SO FOLLOW ME NOW.

Matthew and Mark both focus on Jesus measuring humility
BY THE ROLE YOU EMBRACE.
(i.e. Matthew said, be a child, Mark said, be a servant)

But Luke focuses solely on Jesus measuring humility
BY THE PERSON YOU RECEIVE.

IT’S ALL ABOUT WHO YOU RECEIVE.

And in this case, Jesus uses a child.
“But Jesus…took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

Now pay attention.
• Jesus took a child and said if you receive this child then you what? (Receive Me)
• If you receive Me, then you what? (Receive the Father)

So, if you don’t receive this child, then you don’t receive Jesus,
And consequently you don’t receive the Father.

Does that make sense?
Matthew 25:40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

SO WHY A CHILD?
Many at this point try to draw the analogy to “child-like” faith.
And that is an analogy to be made, but NOT HERE.

Jesus here chose a child for one reason.
In that room, that child was the most insignificant person there.
Socially – Financially – Politically – Ministerially – Skillfully

If faced with a dilemma no one in that room
Would have turned to that child for the answer.

SO FOLLOW THE STORY:
The disciples want to know which among them is the greatest
And Jesus says the one who receives this child in My name.

NOW WHAT DID HE MEAN BY THAT?

Well, look at it like this.
• The disciples had just gotten into an argument as to which was the greatest
• Obviously then they believe that some believers are more important than
others
• And since they argued who was greatest that tells us that they didn’t think
much of those considered least.

Now we don’t know their specific criteria.
That is to say, we don’t know if they measured greatness in terms of intellect or physical strength or faith or financial savvy.

We just know that they thought some were more important than others,
And their argument revealed that they didn’t think much
Of those who would be considered least.

If I start arguing this morning that I am the greatest preacher in this room,
• And then I start pointing out who else in here are good teachers,
• And then I start putting all the good teachers on one side, what have you
learned?

1) I think greatness is measured by ability to teach or preach
2) If you don’t teach or preach then I don’t think you’re very important
(or use “giving” as a criteria, it doesn’t matter)

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
That’s what the disciples were doing.

THAT IS HUMAN PRIDE.

And Jesus addresses it by saying, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me”

That is to say,
“If you can’t understand that the least among believers is just as important as the greatest among believers then you don’t understand anything about what it means to be saved at all.”

In fact Jesus goes on to say “for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

WHY IS THAT TRUE?
Because human ranking means absolutely nothing.

We could go back to that passage in Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:26 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;”

No believer was chosen because they were more valuable or more usable.

In fact Paul would go on to say:
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”

Believers aren’t chosen because they are valuable human beings.
They are chosen because they aren’t.

So do you see how foolish it is for them to get into an argument as to which of them is the greatest?

IT’S PURE ARROGANT STUPIDITY!

To assume that I am more important to Christ than someone else
Is only evidence that I’ve never understood how little value I have.
It is only evidence that I am not poor in spirit.

The fact that the disciples could even argue about their greatness
REVEALS THAT THEY STILL HAD SO MUCH PRIDE LEFT INTACT.

And so HERE’S YOUR FIRST MEASURING STICK
About where you stand regarding your own level of self-denial.

DO YOU THINK YOURSELF
TO BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OTHER BELIEVERS?

To ask another way: Do you have disdain for believers that you think aren’t as important as you?

And we need to discuss the foolishness in that.

Let’s say we are talking about the least among believers.
Let’s say that in your mind you have someone picked out as the “least” among us. The most expendable person here.
Let’s say you have that person picked out.

Now, thinking of that person,
Let’s examine what the Bible says about them, even as the least.

We’ve already read twice that passage in 1 Corinthians that God choose the least, but let’s add another.

Colossians 3:12 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;”

Paul identifies all believers there.
How does he identify them?
“as those who have been chosen of God”

So, even as the least among us, they are still the “chosen of God”
1) GOD CHOSE THEM.

1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

After choosing them, we find here the price of redemption
Which God paid for them.

They were “redeemed…with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 6:20 “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

So not only did God choose them, but…
2) GOD REDEEMED THEM AT A HIGH PRICE
That’s even the least important person in here.

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

There’s several things there we see.
• God made us alive,
• God forgave us all our transgression,
• God canceled out our debt.

All of that speaks of forgiveness.

AND THIS IS DONE FOR ALL BELIEVERS.

So even for the least, God chose them, God redeemed them at a high price, and…
3) GOD FORGAVE THEM

We go on:
Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

Galatians 3:28-29 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”

What do we learn there?
4) GOD HAS MADE THEM ETERNAL HEIRS
When the inheritance is divvied out, they’re getting the same thing you get.

Or how about:
1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”

Are you kidding me?
5) GOD PLACED HIS SPIRIT IN THEM

They have the same Spirit as you.
Even as the least, they received the same Spirit
And they are just as much a temple of God as you are.

We read:
1 Corinthians 6:17 “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”

All believers are joined to the Lord. (i.e. married to Him)

6) THEY ARE THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
Even the least among you is married to Christ.

Philippians 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”

7) THEY ARE CITIZENS OF HEAVEN

They have the same spiritual passport that you have.

1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

Look at that phrase “a royal priesthood”

8) THEY HAVE UNHINDERED ACCESS TO GOD

It’s not like you can go behind the veil and they can’t.
They can draw just as near to God as you can.

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

9) THEY ARE ALSO AMBASSADOR’S FOR GOD

He hasn’t just entrusted His message to you, He has given it to them as well.
They have just as much authority as you do.

Romans 8:16 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,”

10) THEY ARE GOD’S CHILD

1 Corinthians 3:9 “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

11) THEY ARE GOD’S BUILDING
(They are what He is building)

Now, that’s just a few, but let that sink in.
Even the “least” important person in this room
• Is God’s child, God’s heir, God’s temple, God’s priest, God’s ambassador, Christ’s bride.
• They are chosen, forgiven, redeemed, and citizens of heaven.

NOW TELL ME AGAIN
Why you think you are more important to God than they are.

CAN I GO A STEP FURTHER
And point out to you how important even the least is to God?

Matthew includes more of the sermon of Jesus and he writes:
Matthew 18:10-14 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. [” For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.] “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? “If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”

According to Matthew the Lord values even the least so much
That He would effectively leave the 99 to go and find it if it were lost.

What does that tell you about His view of who is expendable?
(No one)

Has He not said:
John 6:39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”

There are no classes, they are all valuable to Christ.
DO YOU SEE THAT?

But the disciples were disdaining “the least” as less important
AND JESUS REBUKES THEM.

If you can look at the “least” among believers and disregard them,
Then you are disregarding Me and the Father
Because we have chosen them, forgiven them, purchased them, and made them heirs of our kingdom.

IF YOU DON’T VALUE THEM THEN YOU DON’T VALUE US.

The tragedy is that this is such a struggle among believers.

Consider the early church.
The Jewish believers had a very difficult time welcoming in Gentile believers as fellow heirs of grace.

Remember when Peter went to Cornelius’ house?
Acts 11:1-3 “Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

But here was Peter’s response:
Acts 11:15-18 “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ “Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

Even later during a debate about circumcision, here’s what Peter said:
Acts 15:8-11 “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

Peter was saying,
“How can we value someone less whom God has valued equally?”

If you are able to look at other believers who have been redeemed
And still view yourself as more important than them,
Then obviously you have not yet come to understand how worthless you are without Christ.

It is obvious that you have yet to grasp
What it means to be poor in spirit or humble or to deny self.

You must still think that in some way your talents or abilities or net worth
Make you more important than some other believers.

Philippians 2:1-8 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Now there is the example of self-denial we have been looking for.
And Paul says, “do that”.

Jesus did not value His own high standing,
But relinquished it and became one of us that He might redeem us.
And Paul says, “There’s your example.”

Stop viewing yourself as so important…
Stop ranking yourself as above others…
“but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”

That’s the mark of a person who has denied self.
That’s the mark of a humble person.

So, the disciples first show their lack of self-denial in
THEIR DISDAIN FOR THE LEAST

So what about you?
• Are you more important?
• Is it more important that the church does things your way over someone else’s?
• Would we be better off offending anyone else but you?
• Should the church recognize that we had better learn to stroke your ego because without you this whole thing would collapse?

Or are you just grateful to be here and be a part of God’s redeemed?

JUST HOW MUCH DO YOU ESTEEM YOURSELF?
That’s the question,
And the answer is seen in how much you esteem others.

That’s the first test, there are two more here with the disciples.

The Sin of Ingratitude
Romans 1:14-23
November 18, 2018

I realize that
• When we typically gather at a Community event like this that the order of the day is to present something warm and uplifting and vanilla so that we can all just move along.
• So I realize that bringing a sermon on sin or even the wrath of God may seem a little out of place.
• But that’s what we’re going to do because it is necessary for us to understand.

(And don’t worry, we’ll cheer you up with desserts after this is over)

Many of you may already be familiar with this passage,
At the very least familiar with Paul’s famous statement in verse 16.

But in verses 14-15 we hear something of THE HEART OF PAUL as he mentions his obligation to preach the gospel.

(14-15) “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”

Paul understood that preaching the gospel was not optional for him.
• To the Corinthians he actually wrote, “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (9:16)

So Paul lays his foundation for his eagerness to come to Rome
And preach the gospel.

And then comes that famous statement.
(16) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel”

Which is to say that
• Paul is never embarrassed, or feels shame, or feels it out of place to proclaim the gospel.
• It is always relevant, it is always essential,
• He never feels the urge to omit it or replace it with other tactics.

He is not ashamed of the gospel.

And at this point Paul begins to defend that statement.

So we would ask:
WHY ARE YOU NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL?
(16) “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

In short, Paul says he’s not ashamed of the gospel
Because the gospel is what God uses to save people
(both Jew and Gentile).

The power to save is not bound up in gimmicks or games or cultural lingo
The power needed to save sinners and reconcile them to God
Is found in the gospel.

If you want a little more clarification as to what Paul means when he speaks of his commitment to the gospel,

We can read his statement to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 2:1-2 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

Paul believed totally in the power and necessity
Of preaching the cross of Christ.

• The cross shows men their wickedness, since the only reason for Christ’s death was the sin of humanity.
• The cross shows these wicked men how great God’s wrath is against sin, since on the cross God crushed His Son
• The cross demonstrates the love of God since God crushed His own Son instead of sinners who deserve it

And Paul knew that it is this message of the cross
That leads sinners to salvation.

That’s why he’s not ashamed of it.
HE SAYS IT IS THE POWER OF GOD FOR SALVATION.

But we could continue in his reasoning and say:
WHY IS THE GOSPEL THE POWER OF GOD FOR SALVATION?

And Paul is happy to oblige:
(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.”

Paul says that the gospel saves
Because only the gospel reveals the righteousness of God
And how sinful man can achieve it.

If man had any doubts as to the righteous nature of God,
Those doubts are squashed when God crushed His own Son on the cross.

Romans 3:24-25 “…redemption is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;”

THROUGHOUT HISTORY
Sinners had not been treated as they deserved to be treated by God.

Certainly there were events of judgment like the flood or Sodom and Gomorrah,
But even among God’s people Israel, they had not been treated as they deserved.

Surely there had been countless animal sacrifices,
But the writer of Hebrews reminded us that “the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins” (10:4)

Even David recognized:
Psalms 103:10 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”

As Paul noted, God had “passed over the sins previously committed”

And one might even say that He ran the risk of
Being counted as merciful, but not being considered holy.

After all a holy God cannot let sin slide.

On the cross God settled the question about His righteousness.

When our sin was imputed to Christ, God poured out the full fury of His wrath on Him.
• Isaiah 53 says “God was pleased to crush Him” (53:10)

Even from the cross
• We have Christ for the first time not referring to God as “Father” but rather saying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

God demonstrated His righteousness by crushing Christ,
Who bore our sin.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL THE GOSPEL REVEALS.
• It certainly reveals that God is righteous,
• But the gospel ALSO REVEALS how sinful man can obtain that righteousness.

And the answer? FAITH
“the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

Carried all the way back to the days of Abraham
We read that simple and yet essential text:
Genesis 15:6 “Then he [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Abraham believed and God credited righteousness to Abraham’s account.

It is called IMPUTATION
And it is one of the most beautiful words
The sinful human heart can ever hear.

Paul said it like this to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

That is to say that my sin was imputed to Christ,
So that His righteousness could be imputed to me.

To say it another way.
Even though He was sinless, God treated Christ as though He lived my life so that even though I am sinful, God can treat me like I lived His life.

I am not righteous, but I am clothed in Christ’s righteousness.
I am regarded as righteous.

We’ve often said it here as we study the gospel that
Christ did not come to make us righteous, but to be our righteousness.

He is righteous, I am in Him.
• I am counted righteous by God in spite of my sin because I am in Christ.

AND I AM PLACED IN CHRIST BY FAITH.

This is the gospel!
And hopefully you now see why Paul loves it so much.

The gospel shows sinful men
How they can be reconciled to a holy God
Through the sacrifice of Christ.

The gospel shows sinners how to be considered as righteous.

But that brings up another question.
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO BE CONSIDERED RIGHTEOUS?

Certainly in our day being “righteous” is not a priority.
• Our culture would much rather us be “tolerant” or “non-judgmental”

Why is it so important to be righteous?

I’m glad you asked
(18) “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

Well there’s your answer.
Because God’s wrath is poured out on the unrighteous.

That’s why you need righteousness,
Because the God who created the universe,
And the God who will judge the universe
Has determined that no quality matters more than that.

How many times do we hear Him say it? “You shall be holy as I am holy”

Even Jesus echoed it:
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

It’s not that righteousness is important to us,
It’s that righteousness is important to God
And so it must be important to us.

If you aren’t righteous then you are under God’s wrath.
(Again we see why the gospel becomes so important)

But what I WANT TO SHOW YOU TONIGHT beyond the importance of the gospel is what this unrighteousness that God is angry about looks like.

When we say that God’s wrath is on the unrighteous, what are we talking about?
• Rapists?
• Muslims?
• Canadians?

Who are these people who have so angered God as to abide under His wrath?

Well Paul gives you some indicators.
The first one is found there in verse 18.

(18) “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

The unrighteous are “men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness”
• It’s not men who have never heard the truth…
• It’s not men who are ignorant of the truth…
• It’s men who “suppress the truth”…

That is to say, they ignore it; they disregard it; they don’t’ want to hear it.

So now everyone ask: WHAT DO YOU MEAN PAUL?
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT MEN HAVE THE TRUTH, BUT THEY SUPPRESS IT?
What do you mean by that?
(19) “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”

Paul there says that God has delivered the truth to all humanity in 2 ways.
(I know we can talk about the native in Africa or in the jungles of South America who have never heard the name of Jesus, but what we see here is that every human has been given a certain knowledge of God)

And Paul says that they have that knowledge in 2 ways.

1) “that which is known about God is evident WITHIN them”

2) “for God made it evident TO them”

So all men have a certain knowledge of God WITHIN them and TO them.

We don’t have time to expound on this as much as we could,
But I can show it to you quickly.

Every man has knowledge of God WITHIN them through their conscience.

Romans 2:14-15 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,”

It is that inner moral compass that God hard-wired into every human.
They instinctively know that some things are right and some are wrong.

Now certainly man can sear their conscience and grow worse,
But that is part of the suppressing of truth that Paul is talking about.

But God has revealed basic morality to every man.

Secondly God has made Himself know “TO” all men.

HOW?
Through creation.

Which is what Paul says next:
(20) “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Paul said that from creation alone we can see God’s “invisible attributes”
• Things like “His eternal power and divine nature”

Paul says those things “have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made”

The very presence of a painting implies the presence of a painter
The very presence of a building implies the presence of a builder
And the very presence of creation implies the presence of a Creator

His power is seen, His glory is seen,
His grace is even seen if you read Psalms 8.

Psalms 19:1-2 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.”

It is referred to as GENERAL REVELATION
They are things that are generally obvious simple from creation.

So, Paul says that all men have a conscience
That bears testimony to the expectations of God
And all men have creation which testifies to the glory of God.

And this revelation is enough to render them “without excuse”

In other words.
• When men ignore even their conscience (i.e. suppress it)
• And when men ignore the obvious testimony of creation (i.e. suppress it)

That is enough to render them without excuse
And place them under the wrath of God, marked for eternal destruction.

SO CLEARLY YOU DON’T WANT TO SUPRESS THE TRUTH

So we can ask:
CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO SUPRESS THE TRUTH?
(What does that look like anyway?)

Are you readY?
(21) “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Here we are.
• We finally pealed back the onion.
• We finally get to the root of the problem.

What is it that sinful man did that was so infuriating to God that He determined to pour His wrath upon them?

What is it that man did that was so awful that it required the crushing of God’s own Son to be able justify and forgive them?

What did man do?
(Or rather, what did they NOT do?)

(21) “For even though they knew God” (and we just saw that all do through conscience and creation)

“Even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks”

AND THERE IT IS.
God had made Himself known to all creation
And the creature determined not to honor Him
Or to thank Him for what He had done.

And those seemingly simple sins
Pulled the full fury of the wrath of God down upon humanity,
Rendering him guilty, without excuse and awaiting judgment.

And had it not been for the mercy and glory of the cross
Sinful humans would have forever been consigned to eternal destruction.

Paul says that this disregard of God was both “futile” and “foolish”

That instead of honoring God these sinful arrogant humans decided to (23) “exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

• Instead of honoring the creator man decided to honor the creature.
• Instead of thanking God man decided to ignore God and pat himself on the back.

And because of this God’s wrath abides on humanity.

So can I tell you quickly this evening about the sin of ingratitude?
IT IS A BIG DEAL TO GOD.
• Thanksgiving is not optional.
• Thanksgiving is not lame.
• We cannot be too busy to give thanks to God.

We are required to do this. We are commanded to do this.
Not to walk in greed and discontentment and grumbling
(go read 1 Corinthians 10 about the grumbling of Israel and what that got them)

We are called to be thankful and to express that gratitude
To the Creator who gave us life.

And we must also be thankful that even though we sinned against God
He made a way of redemption for us.

That we, as sinful creatures can be justified
And counted righteous through the atoning sacrifice of His Son.

I am also grateful for that.
And I understand why Paul loves that gospel message so much.

Are you grateful?