072 One Thing Is Necessary
Luke 10:38-42
March 17, 2018

This morning we approach a story here in Luke’s gospel
That is quite familiar to many of you.

It is the story of the first time our Lord approached the home
Of the infamous Martha and Mary.
Luke is the only gospel writer to include this incident.

Certainly it fits Luke’s narrative of Jesus being a NECESSITY since Jesus speaks to that exact point.
• For Luke it also works as a transitional story since we are about to enter a long section in Luke which deals with the authoritative teaching of Jesus.
• It fits Luke’s theme of highlighting the difference between self-righteousness vs being poor in spirit
• It fits nicely with the previous parable of “The Good Samaritan” since there we learned what it means to love your neighbor as yourself, and here we get a glimpse of what it means to love God with all your heart.
• It fits a continual pattern of Luke with references to hospitality

So it’s not hard to figure why Luke would include this story
That every other gospel writer omitted. It fits nicely.

But we would still ask Luke’s main purpose in including this story,
I think more than anything Luke includes this story
Because it answers the important question regarding

WHAT JESUS DESIRES TO RECEIVE FROM HIS FOLLOWERS.

Here we have a woman breaking her back to serve Jesus
And yet it is ultimately deemed unnecessary by Jesus.

In fact, according to Jesus, only 1 things is necessary.

NOW MORE THAN ONCE WE HAVE FOCUSED ON MARTHA

Carrie and I even discussed these ladies a little further
As we drove to see our parents Thursday night.

And I think the typical idea that arises when you look at this story,
And when you ask, what was Martha’s problem,
Most will quickly say, “Martha was too busy”.

You see words like “distracted” and “preparations”
And “serving” and “worried” and “bothered”
And you couple that with the fact that Mary is sitting
And we quickly just sort of assume that busyness is the problem here.

And I don’t want to throw that out altogether here this morning, for certainly Martha’s propensity to be busy could affect here negatively.

But you should know that busyness in and of itself is not the problem.

In fact, I have a tough time finding
Where the Bible condemns people just for being busy.

I can read however:
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”

I can read:
Ephesians 5:15-16 “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”

I can even read specific instructions for women in the Bible
That would have been directly applied to a woman like Martha.

Things like:
1 Timothy 5:11-15 “But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach; for some have already turned aside to follow Satan.”

Obviously there, keeping busy is not a bad thing.

Or:
Titus 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”

There was work to be done.

We are all familiar with the Virtuous woman of Proverbs 31.
• That woman who is rising while it is still dark to cook meet for her family,
• Who travels a far distance to buy groceries,
• Who tends to her fields and her maidens,
• And whose candle burns into the wee hours of the night finishing her tasks.

Busyness is not the problem in and of itself.
Read the gospels, our Lord was busy.

I think we could make a much stronger case
By talking against laziness or idleness than busyness.

Busyness is not the problem here.
Really, for Martha it all comes down to motive,
And that is what I hope to show you this morning.

So let’s look at our text this morning about this one necessary thing.
3 points
#1 A CASE OF BIBLICAL HOSPITALITY
Luke 10:38

Luke isn’t really interested in giving the full context of the event,
Merely saying “Now as they were traveling along”

Which indicates that Luke is more interested in using the story here
Than he is about the timing of when it occurred.
This story fits the current point Luke wishes to make.

“He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.”

Based on John’s gospel we know who this woman is.
• Martha and Mary are the sisters of Lazarus, the man Jesus raised from the dead in John 11.
• They would come to be dear friends of Jesus during His earthly ministry.
• Their home was in Bethany which is 2 miles outside of Jerusalem.
• And it seems that this was the first meeting that Jesus had with this family.

And so what you have here is A CLASSIC CASE OF HOSPITALITY.

And while we know that Martha will receive the correction from Jesus here,
I do want you to understand a little of the backstory to her mindset
So you can see why she is upset.

In the culture of the day, even all the way back to the O.T.,
You could not overstate the importance of hospitality.

• The terrain of the area is rugged and harsh.
• Water is scarce and food can be scarce.
• Travelers depended on hospitality to survive.
• And it was an ultimate offense and grave sin to refuse it.

You are aware that it is commanded:
Hebrews 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Even in Paul’s letter to Timothy when giving instruction about widows,
Those women who refused to show hospitality while married
Are disqualified from the widow list.

1 Timothy 5:9-10 “A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.”

And just so you understand the implications.
JEWS WERE COMMANDED TO DO THIS
For both the resident alien and for their traveling brethren.

It was understood when you welcomed them in,
• That you would bow in honor,
• Wash their feet,
• Give them a kiss,
• Feed them and care for their animals,
• And even give them preference in the home.

Consider stories like Abraham welcoming the strangers into his home, even before he knew who they were.
Genesis 18:1-8 “Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.”

And this was the norm and was expected.

In fact, a failure to offer hospitality could be taken as an act of hostility.

Remember Gideon when the men of Succoth refused to feed him?
Judges 8:4-9 “Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” The leaders of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?” Gideon said, “All right, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” He went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.”

And Gideon did both.

Remember David nearly being moved to war because Nabal refused to feed his men, and only Nabal’s wife Abigail stopped a war because she fed David’s men?

This hospitality was so important that
The host was even responsible for the well-being of his guests.

We remember Lot defending the same messengers that had previously been with Abraham from the men of Sodom.
Genesis 19:6-8 “But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. “Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.”

I’m just giving you these stories because
I want you to understand what a big deal hospitality was.

It was expected, and it was to be done well.

You should also know that hospitality plays a big role in Luke’s gospel.
A lot of the stories Luke shares about Jesus come in this context.

For example, we remember Luke 7
And the Pharisee who really offended Jesus for his lack of hospitality.

Remember?
Luke 7:44-48 “Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

Perhaps you remember James and John being ready to annihilate the Samaritans for a lack of hospitality.
Luke 9:52-54 “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. 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?”

Perhaps you remember Jesus instructing the 70 when they would go out in ministry:
Luke 10:5-11 “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. “Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ “But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’”

Hospitality was expected and Jesus even announced that
Those who refused it would come under judgment.

And we could go on in Luke’s gospel.
• In Luke 11 Jesus gives a parable about prayer using hospitality as the backdrop
• In Luke 11 Jesus will have lunch again with a Pharisee
• In Luke 14 He enters a Pharisee’s home again
• In Luke 19 Jesus will announce to Zaccheus that He is staying with him

You get a lot of references to hospitality.

AND IN THAT SENSE IT WOULD SEEM THAT MARTHA IS DOING WELL.
• She is working to the detail to make her home hospitable.
• No doubt cleaning and cooking and making beds and doing all the necessary preparations to make the scene perfect.

Even in that sense it would seem like Mary is the one in the wrong here
For not bothering herself to be a good host.
And yet, it is Martha who earns the correction.

This tells us that there is something important to learn here.

So we have a case of Biblical Hospitality
#2 A CASE OF BREWING HOSTILITY
Luke 10:39-40

Well Martha is really probably the matriarch of the home.
In fact, it is called “her home” in verse 38.
• It is likely that Martha was a widow.

Well, now we find out that Martha was not alone.
Living with her was her sister Mary.
(And it is likely that others would have been there too, even Lazarus)

(39) “She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet listening to His word.”

Jesus has entered and Mary is mesmerized.
• She has just scooted up to Jesus as close as she can,
• She is glued to every word He is speaking.

Even in her amazement,
She has lost all sense of any of the chores going on around her.
Mary has dropped her broom and she is just focused on Jesus.

Mary was SITTING, but Martha was SERVING.
(40) “But Martha was distracted with all her preparations;”

“distracted” comes from a Greek word that means
“to draw away” or even “to be dragged away”

Martha was lost in her work.
• It wasn’t necessarily that she liked the work,
• It’s just that she felt the pressure of the work.
• She was a slave to the cultural expectations of hospitality.

• The floor wasn’t going to mop itself…
• The lamb wasn’t going to roast itself…
• The bed wasn’t going to make itself…
• And all these were things that had to be done.

Martha was chained to it.

You can imagine her frustration then,
• When already frazzled
• She finds Mary with a can of Pledge in one hand and a washrag in the other
• And instead of dusting she’s just sitting there listening to Jesus.

I tend to think that Martha probably made a little racket in the other room
To just give a reminder that she was still working hard…
• There were a few extra powerful sighs coming from the other room,
• Maybe even a few forceful throat clearings going on…

But Mary didn’t get the hint.
She either didn’t get it or she didn’t care.

AND FINALLY FRUSTRATION BOILS OVER.

But here is the interesting part.
Martha doesn’t jump on Mary, Martha confronts Jesus.

(40b) “she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

There is no doubt that Martha is frustrated with Mary,
But here we see that she is also frustrated with Jesus.

• Could He not see that the house was not ready?
• Could He not see how hard she was working?
• Could He not see that there were still things to get done?

Then why in the world would He be content
To just let this woman sit and dodge all the work?

And so Martha actually gives Jesus one of the harshest accusation of anyone in the gospels.
• She doesn’t accuse Him of being demon possessed.
• She doesn’t accuse Him of being a blasphemer.
• She accuses Him of not caring.

Now let me make sure you pick up on one important theme to Luke.

Throughout his gospel Luke has made sure to distinguish
Between the self-righteous and those who were poor in spirit.

We saw that all the way back to Luke’s highlighting people like:
• Zacharias and Martha
• Mary and the shepherds
• Simeon and Anna

At the same time Luke has also exposed the self-righteous:
• Like the people of Nazareth
• Or the people of Capernaum
• Or the Pharisees

Well this story highlights another one of those contrasts.
Martha is obviously the self-righteous one and Mary the poor in spirit.

• Martha is the worker.
• Martha earns her reputation.
• In Martha’s mind she deserves certain treatment.

And nothing frustrates a self-righteous or legalistic person more
Than when they don’t get the recognition they deserve.

In fact, they hate it.
Beyond that, they take great issue with those who don’t earn it and are yet accepted.
• This will be the issue of the older brother verses the younger brother in that
parable of the prodigal.
• This will be the issue of the Pharisee and tax collector who both go to pray in
the temple.
• This will be the issue of Zaccheus and the Pharisees who were blown away
that Jesus went to stay with him.

It’s a common theme for Luke.
That Jesus accepts the poor in spirit
And that is infuriating to the self-righteous.

Martha is there right now.
• Not just mad at Mary,
• But also mad at Jesus because He’s not recognizing the value of her efforts.

Just as an off shoot I would remind you that it is a common theme in Scripture that children of the flesh hate children of the promise.

Galatians 4:28-29 “And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.”

That is what is happening here.

Martha was willing and committed to do the work of hospitality,
But she expected to be honored because of it.

But, you see a case of biblical hospitality and a case of brewing hostility
#3 A CASE OF BRUTAL HONESTY
Luke 10:41-42

So here comes the point.
• Martha is standing there red faced, huffing a little.
• No doubt the room and all the other guests have fallen into that awkward silence.
• Mary is likely already trying to get up and get to work.

And Jesus answers.
(41) “But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;”

Jesus had noticed how hard she was working.
Jesus had seemingly even pitied Martha for the prison she was in.

“worried” is the same word used 5 times in Matthew 6
When the Lord told us not to worry.

It is translated “anxious” in
Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

“bothered” comes from a word that means
“to make an uproar”

And so if you can catch Jesus’ observation and rebuke here,
He just answer Martha by saying:

“Yes, I can see how hard you’re working. Who couldn’t?
Your anxiety and frustration and the uproar you’ve been making this whole time is obvious to everyone.”

• We all caught that slam of the cabinet door…
• We all noticed the fury of the broom while you swept…

Jesus revealed to Martha that He was certainly aware
Of the scene she had put on to demonstrate
What a hard little worker she was.

You know Martha don’t you?
Sometimes you are Martha aren’t you?

Willing to do it,
But somebody had better darn well notice how much work it required.

Can I remind you that legalism and self-righteousness
NEVER IMPRESS JESUS?

What do we expect Jesus to do here?
Applaud Martha for all her hard work when He knew very well that applause was what she was seeking?

Martha is busy trying earn favor and accolade
And she is upset when it doesn’t work.

I’ve seen this many times in my life in the church.
People want to “serve” or “give” or “contribute” but when you don’t put their name on a plaque or at least in the bulletin or call attention to their every deed they are furious.

Well there is Martha, and Jesus is dealing with her here.

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary”

Martha, I can see how busy you are, but in all your commotion
You have actually failed to take care of
The most important aspect of your hospitality.

But don’t worry, Mary has your back!

“for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

• “Martha you did everything on your list that a good homemaker should do when welcoming a guest.”
• “You did everything EXCEPT the most important thing.”

YOU DIDN’T LOVE YOUR GUEST.
But Mary did.

MARTHA’S PROBLEM IS NOT BUSYNESS.
MARTHA’S PROBLEM IS THAT SHE DIDN’T LOVE JESUS.

She is the counterpart to that Pharisee who invited Jesus over earlier.
• He didn’t love Jesus, so he didn’t serve Jesus.
• Martha did serve Jesus, but it wasn’t for Jesus, it was for her own reputation.
• And she proved that because she actually scolded Jesus.

Now let me remind you of another account just like this one,
That we have also looked at a couple of times.

Revelation 2:1-7 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place — unless you repent. ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’”

If you’ll listen, you can hear the exact same rebuke of Ephesus
That Jesus gave to Martha.

You work hard, you try hard, you’re checking off that list.
• “deeds and toil and perserverance”
• “you cannot tolerate evil men”
• You call out false teachers

“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love”

You did everything a church should do
Except the absolute most important thing!

Do you know what that is church?
LOVING CHRIST!

Is that not the greatest commandment?
Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

If you get all the other nuances right, but miss that one, what good is it?

Take Martha as an example here.
• So the house is spotless…
• The meal is flawless…
• The bed is wonderful…
• The breakfast is perfect…

But the whole time you are there you get this feeling
That Martha is just a little put out with the hassle of you being there.

She checked off the list,
But you couldn’t really tell if she actually wanted you there.

Now look at Mary.
• We can’t tell if Martha was happy about having Jesus in her home,
• But there’s no doubt that Mary was.

And Jesus said, this “shall not be taken away from her.”

“Martha, don’t think for one second I’m gonna make Mary leave my side to go dust that cabinet. She recognizes the rare blessing of what is happening here.”

It’s not that dusting a cabinet doesn’t have its place,
But try to keep this in perspective.
It’s about loving Me!

IT IS THE ONE NECESSARY THING.

In fact, it is so necessary that Jesus told the church at Ephesus if they didn’t get that fixed that He was about to shut down their church altogether.

Or listen to this one:
Matthew 10:37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

Does that spell it out for you?
And so we would ask:
What good is a church that has everything but love for Christ?
What good is a church where Jesus doesn’t feel welcome?
• So what if the programs are booming…
• So what if mission trips are on the books…
• So what if the budget is stable…
• So what if the sanctuary is clean…
• So what if the musicians are talented…
• So what if the preacher is polished…

What does all that matter if the church doesn’t love Jesus?

It was the only need Jesus had that Martha wasn’t taking care of.

It wasn’t that she was busy.
It was that she was busy for the wrong reason.

EVERYTHING THE CHURCH DOES
MUST SPRING FROM A GENUINE LOVE FOR CHRIST.

Should I remind you of David’s “one thing”?
Psalms 27:4 “One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.”

Should I remind you of Paul’s “one thing”?
Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

When Jesus reinstated Peter can I remind you of the one thing that Jesus wanted to know from him?
John 21:15-17 “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

This story ISN’T JUST ABOUT the importance of taking time to be with Jesus before you get busy. Sure that’s true.

This story is about being busy for the wrong reason.
• Yes, love Jesus enough to put the world on hold and sit at His feet.
• But also let even your busyness be driven out of love for Him, not your own
satisfaction or glory.

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”

It is true that everything Martha did, was technically for the Lord.
The problem is that she didn’t love Him when she did it.

And that is the even better application here.
• Don’t fool yourself that reading your Bible daily is the same thing as loving Jesus.
• Don’t fool yourself that praying daily is the same thing as loving Jesus.
• Don’t fool yourself that going to church or going on mission or working with kids or youth is the same things as loving Jesus.

Now certainly if you love Jesus you’ll do those kinds of things.

After all, that woman in Luke 7 showed her love for Jesus by washing His feet and kissing Him, and anointing Him with perfume.
I KNOW FOR SOME THAT SERVICE IS A GENUINE LOVE LANGUAGE

But you can do all those things without loving Jesus.
MARTHA PROVED THAT.

And according to Jesus, living Him was the only thing that really mattered
That was the only thing that was necessary.
That was the only thing that was needed.

SO WE ARE CALLED TO LOVE CHRIST
Now, I also believe in being practical in application.

It’s one thing to tell people to love Jesus,
And I most certainly don’t want to just leave you saying, “How?”

Well let me remind you of that previous hospitality scene:
Remember that woman who wet Jesus’ feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair, and anointed His feet with perfume?

Do you remember what Jesus said to Simon the Pharisee about her?
Luke 7:47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

And this is also the problem of Martha.
• She is self-righteous.
• She is still focused on what she has done and what she deserves.
• She is actually angry at Mary for being so unworthy
• And angry at Jesus for accepting her

In many ways this story is just like the one in Luke 7.

The reason people love Jesus a lot
Is because they realize they have been forgiven by Jesus a lot.

Love for Christ occurs
When you come to grips with the reality of what you are,
And what Christ did on your behalf.

1 John 4:19 “We love, because He first loved us.”

And if you want to love Christ more then get to know that love.
• Get in the word, and learn what you are.
• Continue in that word and learn who Christ is.
• Go even farther in that word and see what Christ did for you.

Love will be the response.

Without that, all we are is a church where Jesus feels unwelcome.
Love is the one necessary thing.

Because God Is Opposed To The Proud
Psalms 30
March 10, 2019

You are most certainly familiar with the reality:
Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

That statement is repeated by Jesus
A couple of times during Luke’s gospel.

James reminded us:
James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

David said:
Psalms 138:6 “For though the LORD is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly, But the haughty He knows from afar.”

Isaiah wrote:
Isaiah 5:15-16 “So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased, The eyes of the proud also will be abased. But the LORD of hosts will be exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.”

It’s not an uncommon truth.
We’ve all heard it.

The bigger problem with that verse is that
It tends to be so easy for man to ignore it.

We so badly want to be able to take pride in our accomplishments.
We so badly want to get just a share of the credit.

Maybe we’ve been financially successful, so we want some credit for our savvy or our work ethic.
Maybe we’re athletic and can run faster or jump higher than someone else.
Probably the worst area is found in ministry where we think ourselves to be more gifted, or our ministries to be more successful because of our efforts.

And all the while we forget simple things like:
Acts 17:25b “…He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things”

Or as Paul says moments later:
Acts 17:28a “for in Him we live and move and exist…”

We forget what Paul told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 4:7 “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

It’s like we forget that our success has very little to do with us.
• So you’re smart…well who gave you your mind?
• So you’re strong…well who gave you your strength?
• So you’re successful…and that was all you?

Even ministers who boast in their great successes in ministry.
• As though they spoke to the dead and brought up dead souls into salvation.
• As though they actually bore the sin of the wicked and redeemed them before God.
• As though they imputed their righteousness to the sinful in their midst.

That’s why Paul also told the Corinthians when some were boasting in the fact that they followed him. He wrote:
1 Corinthians 1:13 “Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

That was Paul deflecting any credit.
He understood that it was not his doing.

He even makes a point later in the chapter to say:
1 Corinthians 1:30 “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”

You get the point.
It is so tempting to take credit for the successes in our life,
But that is so dangerous because God is opposed to the proud.

God does not deal kindly with boasters.
God does not share His glory.

Well, that’s what Psalm 30 is all about.
It’s specifically about a time in David’s life when he learned this lesson,
And it’s the song he wrote to remind his flock about this reality.

You see that this Psalm comes with a setting:
“A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David”

Charles Spurgeon has a theory on when this specifically was, and I’m inclined to believe him, but I’m not going to show it to you yet. We’ll get there in a moment.

I first just want to begin working through the Psalm.
There are 3 main points, but I’m going to give you
sub-points all the way through this one too.

#1 DAVID’S PERSONAL EXALTATION
Psalms 30:1-3

These aren’t difficult verses to understand,
They are just verses of praise to God.

1) PRAISE FOR VICTORY (1)
“I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.”

It is simply David praising God for placing him in a position of authority
And for keeping him there.

David is giving God all the glory for all the victories he has won;
Both to become king and to remain king.

Let me give you a picture of this.

TURN TO: 1 Chronicles 18.
(read it)

You just feel how victorious the Lord had made David.
God just continued to establish his kingdom.

If you read chapter 19
• You get a story about Hanun the new King of Ammon who insulted David and
humiliated David’s messengers.
• When he saw that David was angry the king of Ammon hired 32,000 Aramean
chariots to fight with them against David and David defeated them all.

Chapter 20
• Is story after story about how David’s mighty men continued to defeat the
relatives of Goliath.

Chapters 18-20 are just victory after victory after victory.

And in verse 1 of Psalms 30 David is praising God for that.

For Victory
2) FOR HEALING (2)
“O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.”

This can be personal physical healing on David,
Or this can be corporate political restoration of the nation.

Either way David is praising God
For being the One to restore what was sick and broken.

It reflects on a time when David was down and God restored him.
And David simply praises God for it.

3) FOR DELIVERANCE (3)
“O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.”

The idea being that God preserved his life, his throne and his kingdom.

So you have David praising God for bringing him to power,
Restoring a nation from its trouble and then keeping him in power.

It’s basically David praising God for everything God did.

It’s the opposite of pride, instead it’s full humility.

It is a statement like what Paul said several times.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

Romans 15:18 “For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,”

2 Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,”

That is certainly the personal exaltation from David here.
I’m not taking credit for anything, I’m giving all the credit to You!
Victory, Healing, Deliverance: they’re all because of You.

That’s an easy praise to see.

And that moves naturally into the next point:
#2 DAVID’S PASTORAL EXHORTATION
Psalms 30:4-5

Now we read the command of David.
He is telling all the “godly ones” that they also need to join in the song.

1) THE REQUIREMENT (4)
“Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name.”

Praise and Gratitude.
This draws our minds again to the reality of Romans 1
And the problem of unbelievers.

Romans 1:21 “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.”

No honor, No gratitude.
That certainly is not the attitude of the godly.

So David here commands the flock to sing to God.
Praise Him and give Him thanks.

2) THE REASON (5)
“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”

Here DAVID GETS SPECIFIC about a reason
Why they should praise and give thanks to God.

And that specific reason is that God does not hold His anger forever,
But that He returns to a position of favor.

Certainly we know that even as God’s children
We can undergo the discipline of the Lord.

• At times this is just necessary discipline to work out our sanctification,
• Other times it is punishment type discipline because we have sinned and we
need correction.

God does this.
Every believer knows this.

It is not a pleasant thing to feel the conviction of God’s displeasure.

But the joy of the believer and the reason David calls for praise
Is that though God may get angry, He doesn’t hold a grudge.

Though God may cause weeping through discipline,
He brings about a morning of restoration.

“His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”

As believers we don’t confuse His discipline with condemnation.
He isn’t condemning us.

In fact, His discipline is to spare us condemnation.
1 Corinthians 11:32 “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

God’s plans for us are still good, even when we are being punished.

And the believer is to praise God that
Even when we blow it in a major way
And bring upon ourselves God’s discipline,
We can rejoice in knowing that He will never totally forsake us.

In short, “mercy triumphs over judgment”

So David is clear to begin the Psalm.
• He is praising God for all that God has accomplished on his behalf.
• And he is calling the congregation to praise God that God doesn’t hold a
grudge, but that He will always restore us.

Now if that seems like it comes a little out of left field,
It’s because you need the background to fully understand it.

So let me give you this third point
#3 DAVID’S PRODIGAL EXPLANATION
Psalms 30:6-12

And let me give you the first sub-point
1) HIS ABSURDITY (6)
“Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.”

David is recounting a time
When he had achieved a prosperous situation
And in that prosperity he reached a point of boasting.

The heading of the Psalm says it was
“at the dedication of the House” (temple)

TURN TO: 1 Chronicles 21

Now you read that first verse and it says, “Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.”

If you read that same account in 2 Samuel it says this:
2 Samuel 24:1 “Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

You put them together and you understand what is happening.
Obviously it’s not that numbering the nation is bad.
God has an entire book called Numbers where He does just that.

What is actually occurring here is that David has developed an attitude that has moved God to anger.
• And in that anger God has decided to punish David.
• The method God has chosen to use is to allow Satan to sift David by tempting
him to number Israel.

While ordinarily having a census is not in and of itself sinful,
Numbering the nation so that you can boast
In what a great nation you’ve built is.

Remember, David has just come through chapters 18-20 and he has experienced victory after victory.

It is apparent that in his heart he grown a little proud of that fact.
He was self-confident “I will never be moved”

He actually sounds like THE WICKED he already wrote about back in Psalms 10
Psalms 10:6 “He says to himself, “I will not be moved; Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity.”

He sounds like NEBUCHADNEZZAR, whom the Lord judged:
Daniel 4:28-33 “All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. “Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. “The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ “Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

He sounds like the rich man the Lord judged:
Luke 12:15-21 “Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”‘ “But God said to him, ‘ You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

He sounds like the boaster the Lord condemned:
James 4:13-17 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

It is what Paul warned the Gentiles about as they contemplated God breaking off Israel and grafting them in.
Romans 11:17-22 “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”

Are you picking up on the problem?
• You just don’t start boasting that your salvation was because of your goodness
• Or that your prosperity was because of your ingenuity
• Or that your victory was because of your strength

God did it all.

And by the way, God had specifically warned
Against developing this type of arrogant attitude.

Deuteronomy 8:11-14; 18 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery…”But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

God had specifically told them not to let their prosperity go to their head.
Don’t let your success cause you to get proud of all that you’ve done.

Well, that’s where David was and so God allowed Satan
To incite David to count the people.

This was a boasting act
Wherein David could relish in his own accomplishments,
And even David’s subjects knew it was all pride.

(READ 2-7)
• Well there’s the problem.
• Now David has offended God and he has brought upon himself God’s discipline.

(READ 9-17)
• So David gets the option of 3 different punishments and David chooses the one that only involves God. 3 days of plague, and 70,000 people died.
• And God in His mercy stopped the angel and the threshing floor of Ornan.

Now you say, “What does this have to do with the dedication of the temple?”

(READ 21:18 – 22:1)
This became the site of the temple mount.
This is where it would the holy of holies would sit.

So perhaps now David’s Psalm is becoming a little clearer;
• Specifically why he is praising God for accomplishing everything
• And why he is telling the people to praise God for being merciful even when He
is angry.

So you see David’s Absurdity
2) HIS ADMISSION (7)
“O LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong; You hid Your face, I was dismayed.”

Boy it didn’t take David long to change his tune did it?
He went from a self-confident boaster
To one who readily admitted that all credit goes to God
And apart from God I can accomplish nothing.

I’d say it is true that God knows how to humble those who walk in pride.

Nebuchadnezzar would agree:
Daniel 4:34-37 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

David would “Amen” that statement.

3) HIS APPEAL (8-10)
“To You, O LORD, I called, And to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness? “Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me; O LORD, be my helper.”

Now you could read that and say,
“But David wasn’t near death. In fact David actually prayed that God would just be angry at him and not Israel.”

But if you back up, you read the story a little differently.

David numbered the people and then we read:
1 Chronicles 21:7-8 “God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel. David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

• We read in verse 7 that God “struck Israel”
• We don’t know what that was, but whatever it was it led David to full repentance.

THE PLAGUE WAS the necessary discipline
TO MAKE SURE David never made the mistake again.

It is clear that David initially feared that God would kill him,
And part of that supplication was that
“If You kill me, then I can’t praise You in the earth”

THE POINT IS that David obviously learned the point of his existence.
It was to praise and honor and glorify God.

David hadn’t done that.
In fact, he was taking God’s glory for himself,
And God had no use for that and so God had threatened his life.

David figured it out, repented, and said,
“God don’t kill me, I’m going to praise You.”

The 3 options came after that.

Here is David’s prayer of repentance
And begging to God as he appeals for his life.

David wanted God to deliver him again.
(10) “Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me; O LORD, be my helper.”

That’s the appeal
4) HIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (11-12)
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”

What is that?
• It is David praising God for relenting.
• It is David praising God for not keeping His anger forever.

• David is praising God for stopping the plague.
• David is praising God for not completely wiping out all of Israel or for not leveling Jerusalem.

And there you also better understand the first part of this Psalm.

“I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”

So the song makes sense to us for sure now.

But what do we learn from it?
• DON’T BOAST – what do you have that you have not received?
• PRAISE GOD – He gets the glory for all that has happened
• GIVE THANKS – that God has not totally discarded you for the times that you
did take His credit.

This is certainly a great song for the church to learn and sing!

A Story To Condemn
Luke 10:25-37
March 10, 2019

As you know we are in the middle of Luke 10 and it is a chapter which we have said has one main theme and that is: “The Necessity of Jesus”

We see that in the sending of the 70
• 70 evangelists sent ahead of Jesus to make sure that people don’t miss Him when he comes.

We see that in the response of Jesus to the 70
• The reminder that no one can know the Father unless the Son reveals Him

We see that at the end of the chapter
• Jesus specifically tells Martha that only one thing is necessary

AND WE SEE THAT HERE.

Now, at first that may surprise you
Because we are clearly looking at a familiar parable.

To say the term “Good Samaritan” is not a foreign term.
We even have good Samaritan laws in our legal system.

Our world is familiar with the parable.
Unfortunately most people have no clue why Jesus preached it.

• Most assume it is a story meant to inspire humanitarian aid.
• Most assume it is a story meant to encourage compassion.
• Most assume it is a story meant to shame people into action for the poor.

Let me just go ahead and tell you:
THAT IS NOT THE PURPOSE OF THIS PARABLE.

Every parable Jesus preached was for the purpose of salvation,
And this one is no different.

The parameters of the story make that clear.

We are faced with a man who approaches Jesus and asks this question: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

This story is part of Jesus’ answer to that man.
It is a story about eternal life (i.e. salvation).

But this story is not so much a “how to be saved” story.
The purpose of the story of the Good Samaritan is to condemn.

The purpose of the story is to render this self-righteous lawyer a violator of God’s perfect Law, and therefore a sinner in need of salvation.

Don’t miss the point.
• It is NOT a warm example of the compassionate human condition that we can all learn from.

It is an unreachable explanation of obedience
Meant to show how far men fall from God’s holy standard.

It is a story to condemn.

It is also another example of Jesus at work in personal evangelism.
This is Jesus witnessing.
• Just like He did with Nicodemus
• Just like He did with the Rich Young Ruler

This is how Jesus preached to the lost in personal evangelism.
There is obviously something to be learned simply from His example.

But at the core, it is not even a story meant for evangelistic training.
IT IS A STORY MEANT TO CONDEMN SINNERS.

Or perhaps I should say it is a story meant TO EXPOSE SINNERS
That that they are condemned.

WHY DO I SAY THAT?
Because here we have a man with the worst spiritual problem known to man.

What is the problem?
THE PROPENSITY TO JUSTIFY YOURSELF.

(29) “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

• He is a man who seeks to be his own judge and justifier.
• He acts as his own defense attorney.

That is the worst spiritual problem man can have.
It leaves you under a sense of false assurance,
And yet still headed for judgment.

What could be worse than to be headed for eternal judgement and yet to have convinced yourself that you are fine?

It rears its head in places like:
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

What a terrifying reality.
To be internally convinced that you are fine based upon your own criteria,
Only to have the real Judge tell you otherwise.

And yet, Jesus knew that self-justification
Was a major problem with the nation of Israel.

Luke 16:15 “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

Or certainly we are familiar with the Pharisee who went to the temple boasting in his own goodness.
Luke 18:9 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:”

And yet this man, despite his own judgments was not justified.
Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

John the Baptist exposed the issue:
Matthew 3:7-10 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Those of you who are working through the book of Romans in that Mission Malawi workbook.

This is the entire point of Romans 2.
• It is to take a people who have justified themselves and prove to them that in spite of their own evaluations, they are not acceptable to God.

Romans 2:17-29 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written. For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

Paul was dealing with a people who had convinced themselves that they were justified because they had the Law, and because they had circumcision.

And Paul reminded that those were faulty hopes.

It’s the problem of self-justification.

And rest assured that problem is not just limited to the religious.

If you looked at your bulletin this morning.
All I had to do was type in “good enough” in search engine and it was flooded with books about how you are “good enough” and reminders that you are “good enough”.

I can’t think of a more Satanic deception in our world
Than the deception that you are “good enough”.

Good enough for what?
Heaven?

Just to make sure your theology is in order let me remind you that
None are good enough to go to heaven.

Matthew 19:17 “And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Romans 3:12 “ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

Make sure you grasp that. You are not good enough to go to heaven.

If you think you are, then this parable is for you.

We’ll just break it down into 3 points.
#1 A DOCTRINAL TEST
Luke 10:25-28

Now, I will go ahead and tell you that this man has problems,
BUT IT IS NOT the fact that He asked Jesus about eternal life.

Many people take issue with that statement. “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Many complain that it is a works-based theology
Because he is asking about something he should do.

Well, what else is he supposed to ask?

The first church members asked that:
Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”

The Philippians jailor asked that:
Acts 16:30 “and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The Apostle Paul asked that:
Acts 22:10 “And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’”

That’s the RIGHT QUESTION.
And he asked the RIGHT PERSON.

There’s no problem there.
In fact, we would not be aware of the problem, except Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is able to SHOW US THIS MAN’S MOTIVES.

That’s where we find THE PROBLEM.
“And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test”

That gives us the information we need to know here.
• This isn’t a sincere question.
• It is a question meant to stump Jesus or discredit Jesus or embarrass Jesus,
or perhaps even to condemn Jesus as a heretic.

This man is “a lawyer”
Not an attorney in the sense that we think of a lawyer.
This man is an expert on the Law of Moses. He’s a scholar.

And here in the crowd, he stands up and determines to interrogate Jesus,
No doubt to discredit Him before the people.
THAT’S THE PROBLEM.

AND THE REALM OF DISCUSSION IS SALVATION.
This man wants Jesus’ answer on how to go to heaven.

“And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Well here is Jesus in “Personal Evangelism 101”
But His answer may surprise you.

We would expect something like:
• “Believe in Me”
• Or “Deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Me”
• Or “Come to Me all you who are weary and heavy laden”

But Jesus doesn’t do that, and there’s a very good reason.
That message is only for one type of person,
And this man is not that type of person.

THAT MESSAGE IS FOR one who is poor in spirit, and mourning over sin,
And who is hungering for righteousness that they know they don’t have.

The message to that person is believe, trust, run to Jesus.

This man is NOT in that condition.
• This man is not poor in spirit,
• This man is not mourning over sin,
• This man is not hungering for righteousness.
• This man thinks he is already righteous.

Telling him to believe in Jesus is not the right message,
And Jesus doesn’t give it.

What does Jesus preach to this man?
Get this: THE LAW

Now Jesus doesn’t have to preach the Law, because He lets the expert on the Law do it, but that is what Jesus appeals to.

THIS IS IMPORTANT IN EVANGELISM.
You don’t preach mercy to a person who is convinced they are righteous.
Mercy doesn’t interest them.

What do you preach to a person who thinks they are righteous?
You preach the Law.

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

Galatians 3:22 “But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”

• It is the Law that exposes men.
• It is the Law that condemns men.
• It is the Law that drives men to Jesus.

This man was self-justified, he needs to be exposed;
Jesus runs to the Law.

And He does it in an interesting way:
(26) “And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”

That is to say: “You’re asking me how to inherit eternal life, well aren’t you the expert on the Law? What do you think?”

And the man answers:
(27) “And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

• The man quotes from Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19.
• It is the same passages preached by Jesus as the 1st and 2nd greatest commandments.

1. So this man asks how to go to heaven.
2. Jesus says, “What do you think?”
3. He said, “Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself”

And Jesus said, “Correct!”
(28) “And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”

And everyone gets a puzzled look on their face.
Wait! What?

At Camp REGEN this past year John MacArthur preached on the Rich Young Ruler where Jesus in essence tells him the same thing.

Jesus told him:
Matthew 19:17 “And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

And MacArthur noted that there’s not a seminary professor in the country
Who wouldn’t fail Jesus for that answer.

It’s the same thing here.
• This man wants to know how to go to heaven.
• Jesus asked him what he thought.
• He said, to keep these 2 commandments.
• And Jesus said, “You have answered correctly; Do this and you will live.”

HOW CAN THAT BE?
Because the Law outlines the very righteous requirement of God.

God says, “You shall be holy, as I am holy”
And then God gives the Law to spell out what that would look like.

And if a person fully obeys that Law, then yes, they will inherit eternal life.

John 5:28-29 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

Romans 2:6-11 “[God] WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”

• Righteousness is required to inherit heaven.
• God’s Law reveals what that righteousness looks like.
• If you perfectly keep God’s Law you inherit heaven.

And, we are taught in the New Testament that
If you want to fulfill the whole Law,
You can sum it up in two commands.

Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Paul later would write:
Romans 13:8-10 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

SO YES, if you are able to love God with all your heart,
And to love your neighbor as yourself, you will inherit eternal life.

That’s all you have to do.

But the problem is that people don’t do that.
And Jesus is about TO PROVE IT to this man.

A Doctrinal Test
#2 AN ELEVATED STANDARD
Luke 10:29-35

Clearly you see the problem.
(29) “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Now let me tell you why he said this.
He was part of a Jewish system that was able to justify themselves
Because of their convenient reading of the Law.

Let me give you an EXAMPLE:
Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

Where did the Jews get that type of theology?
From:
Psalms 139:21-22 “Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.”

And so they would convenient take that passage and say,
• “Well clearly not everyone is my neighbor. Some people are my enemies,
• And so I am not expected to love my enemies, only my neighbor.”

Of course Jesus crushed that thinking in the Sermon on the Mount
That even your enemies are considered your neighbor.

BUT THAT IS WHY THIS MAN ASKS THE QUESTION.
He wants to check off the list
That he has loved everyone he is supposed to love.

He is self-righteous,
• Obviously convinced he loves God enough since he doesn’t even bring that up.
• And he just wants to know who his neighbor is so that he can prove to everyone that he is in fact good enough.

And to that undiscerning, self-righteous man Jesus gave this parable.
(READ Luke 10:30-35)

Well you know it, it’s not unfamiliar.
I would WARN YOU that people often try to allegorize it and turn everything into some sort of symbol.

You know:
The man is Adam, the robbers are sin, The priest is the Law, the Levite is the prophets, the Samaritan is Jesus, the donkey is His body, the oil and wine is the Holy Spirit, the inn keeper is the church, and the return is the second coming.

Don’t do that. That has nothing to do with the purpose for which Jesus preached this parable.

Jesus is preaching this parable to condemn this man.

Because here you have two people
Who had knowledge and religious activity,
But who did not love their neighbor as themselves.

• Perhaps they wanted to avoid being unclean
• Perhaps they wanted to avoid being late
• Perhaps they wanted to avoid danger

We aren’t told, and it doesn’t matter.
THE POINT IS that these men, although very religious,
Did not obey the simple command to love their neighbor as their self.

However, a Samaritan did.
• A Samaritan would have been considered an enemy.
• A Samaritan would have had no interest in aiding an injured Jewish man.
• It was not too long ago we saw Samaritans not letting Jesus lodge in their city.

But in Jesus’ story this Samaritan does the unthinkable.

(33-35) “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’”

And incidentally, the whole point is to show you that
THIS MAN DID WHAT NO ONE DOES.

• COMPASSION “he felt compassion for him”
• ACTION “and came to him”
• EFFORT “and bandaged up his wounds”
• COST “pouring oil and wine in them”
• INCONVENIENCE “put him on his own donkey”
• ENDURANCE “brought him to an inn and took care of him”
• RESPONSIBILITY “whatever more you spend…I will repay you”

With complete disregard for his own safety or plans,
This man uprooted his life to take care of an enemy
That even his own countrymen wouldn’t care for.

This is ONE example of ONE time when a person
Loved someone else like they would love themselves.

• Notice those with the Scriptural knowledge didn’t do it.
• Notice those with the religious training didn’t do it.
• It was an act of love fulfilled by a pagan.

Now, Jesus chose a pagan on purpose.
He did so to elevate the importance of obedience over knowledge.

Again, those of you working the Romans devotion.
Do you remember Romans 2?
Romans 2:12-16 “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 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, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”

Paul was quick to point out that
“It’s not the hearers who are just…but the doers”

See it’s not people who know the right answer who go to heaven.
It’s the people who do what God commands.

So just because this lawyer knew the right answer,
That did not justify him.
He had to obey the command.

Which is why Jesus told him, “Do this, and you will live”

But when the man pushed Jesus,
• He gave an example of two men with knowledge who did not obey, and a man without knowledge who did.

And it elevates our understanding of
What it means to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Doctrinal Test, Elevated Standard
#3 A CONDEMNING COMMAND
Luke 10:36-37

You notice Jesus stops short of the full explanation.
Instead he turns back to the lawyer.

(36) “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robber’s hands?”

• Jesus is forcing this man to give an answer he does not want to give.
• Jesus is forcing this man to say whether knowing the command was the same as obeying it.

Earlier it was this lawyer who said that to go to heaven all he had to do
Was love God and love his neighbor.

Jesus gave a story and asked, “Who in this story did that?”

It wasn’t the one with Bible knowledge
And it wasn’t the one with the ministry position.
It was that detestable Samaritan.

(37) “And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.”

TRUST ME, THIS LAWYER JUST GOT THE POINT
“It is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”

MAKE SURE YOU GET THE POINT:
• The Law presents an impossible standard.
• No one can fully obey it all the time.

And yet, notice the command.
“Go and do the same.”

Now all that is, is an explanation of the command Jesus gave him earlier.
(28) “And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

What is Jesus saying?
If you will do for everyone you meet, every time you meet them, just like this Samaritan did, then you will inherit eternal life.

And that’s the truth.
That’s an example of what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself”.

And if you do that every time then you also can go to heaven.

Now, does that truth make anyone in here feel better about their chances to go to heaven?

If it does, you’re lying to yourself.

I don’t have time to go through all the times
I had the opportunity to do this and did not.

If what this Samaritan did for this man on this day
Is the standard for what I must do every time to inherit heaven,
Then I have already lost it.

• I can identify with the Levite; I have the Spiritual Pedigree…
• I can identify with the Priest; I have a religious job…
• I can identify with this Lawyer; I have Bible knowledge…

But as we see in this story,
None of those are good enough to earn you a place into heaven.

• It’s not the hearers of the Law…
• It’s not the quoters of the Law…
• It’s not the experts of the Law…
• IT’S THE DOERS OF THE LAW

This story doesn’t encourage me
This story doesn’t inspire me
This story condemns me

And if you measure your life by it, it condemns you too.

AND THAT IS WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO DO.
WHY?

Because, as we said, at the beginning.
• When you have a man who comes poor in spirit; that is he already knows he is not righteous…
• When you have a man who comes mourning over sin…
• When you have a man who comes hungering for righteousness he does not have…

Then yes, at that moment you simply tell them to believe in Christ.

It is Christ who did perfectly love God.
It is Christ who did perfectly love His neighbor.
It is Christ who perfectly fulfilled the Law in every way.

And when we believe in Christ,
The Bible says that His righteousness is credited to us.

Remember?
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

Jesus came to accomplish what we could not,
And He accomplished it on our behalf.

When a man is already convinced of his sin,
We just point them to Christ for the salvation and righteousness
That he so greatly desires.

But for a man like this:
• A man who already thinks he is righteous…
• A man who justifies himself…
• A man who sees no need for a change…

We don’t tell that man to take up his cross and follow Jesus.
He won’t see the need.

• For that man we use the Law.
• For that man we uphold the high standard of righteousness that God set
forth in His word.

The goal simply is to condemn that man in his own heart.
We seek to get him lost, that we might get him saved.

And if this man had really listened to what Jesus said,
He would have changed his motive and asked the same question again.

He should have looked at Jesus and said, but it’s too late, I’ve already blown it, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

And to that you know the answer.
Jesus would have told him to believe.

DO YOU SEE THAT THIS STORY IS ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF JESUS?

• Can you honestly make a claim to having fulfilled the Law?
• Can you honestly say you love your neighbor as yourself?

Well then, Jesus is necessary.

And whatever it costs to follow Jesus;
Well that’s a cost you should gladly pay.

We need Him so badly! He is so necessary!
We will never inherit heaven without Him.

The Proper Response
Romans 3:27-31
October 28, 2007

As we have studied over the last several services.
• Mankind does not deserve, nor can he earn salvation.
• But despite this flaw, God made a way of salvation.
• Because of His grace, He sent His Son as a propitiation.
• Jesus died on the cross to redeem sinful man.
• And so sinful man can be saved by faith in Jesus.

THAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE GOSPEL
AND WHAT GLORIOUS TRUTHS!

Tonight is not really a closing argument to that truth,
But Paul does take a moment here
To cast some perspective into the situation.

If that is true…
If God really did mercifully save unworthy sinful man by sacrificing His own Son…

THEN HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO THAT?
WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SAY?
WHAT IS THE PROPER RESPONSE?

You would think the response would be obvious,
But sadly it is widely overlooked.

PEOPLE TODAY SEEM TO IMMEDIATELY THINK
THAT THIS SALVATION IS ALL ABOUT THEM.

We live in a day of selfishness like never before.
We are consumed with our rights…
We are consumed with our comforts…
We are consumed with our own glory…

Even in Christian circles people get overly consumed with self.

Today, it’s almost as though Christians received salvation from God, AND WE STILL DESIRE TO SQUEEZE MORE OUT OF HIM.

Now we want God to jump through hoops…
Now we want God to provide our wants as well as our needs…
Now we want God to provide a church that is what I want…
(Look no further than the great music debate of our era)

The constant grumblings about things only reveal that we have apparently missed the point in regard to salvation.
Let me say this:
SALVATION IS ALL ABOUT GOD’S GLORY

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

Even this morning, it should have motivated us to glorify God.
Romans 3:23-26 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 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; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

God, and not man, is worthy of worship, glory, and honor.
2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,”

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

When you read those amazing doxologies in the New Testament,
None of them end by giving glory to man.

1 Timothy 1:16-17 “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Romans 11:30-36 “For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

Each time Paul recounted the amazing salvation of God,
His heart leaped into the proper response of worshiping God.

Perhaps the best picture of this is seen in heaven.
Revelation 4:8-11 “And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY,WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.” And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
If you want to know who heaven is for, it is not about you either.
Heaven is about the glory of God for all eternity.

THE POINT IS THAT BECAUSE GOD MADE SALVATION POSSIBLE, HE IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP.

Still we are tempted to fall into self worship, which is selfishness.
We forget about what God might want,
And look only to our own desires.

It doesn’t matter how long God might want us here to worship Him…
The service can only be so long…

It doesn’t matter what kind of music God wants to hear…
I want to sing the songs I like…

It doesn’t matter who God wants to hear the message of salvation…
I don’t have time to go and tell them…

DESPITE THE GREAT SALVATION THAT GOD HAS GIVEN,
MANY TIMES WE DO NOT GIVE GOD THE PROPER RESPONSE.

SO WHAT IS THE PROPER RESPONSE?
That is what we are going to look at this evening.

Obviously worship is implied.

But it is more than just the singing of songs,
It is the devotion of the heart.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.’

But let’s get more specific, and see what worship is.

Here are three ways we should respond to the salvation of God,
If we truly desire to glorify Him for it.
#1 LOOK IN: HUMBLE YOURSELF
Romans 3:27-28

Paul gets right to the point in verse 27,
“Where then is boasting?”

And I don’t think I have to go into any deep explanation
Of what Paul is speaking of here.

It is the idea of worth.
It is the idea of arrogance.
It would be seen a person who actually thinks
They deserved the salvation God gave them.

Certainly it was an attitude of the Jews.
Romans 2:23 “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?”

But after what Paul has taught in the last 3 chapters,
Paul rightly asks the question, “Where then is boasting?”
And of course the proper answer is “It is excluded.”

There is not a human in the world
Who has the right to walk around with their nose in the air
As though God owed them salvation.

Paul then asks:
“By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.”

We know that the law does not exclude boasting,
Salvation by the law encourages boasting.

If man is saved by the Law, then he has something to boast about.
Romans 4:2 “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”

It is not the law of works that excludes boasting,
It is the law of faith that excludes boasting.

(If you are boasting, maybe you haven’t accepted the law of faith)

When you grasp the fact that you were saved in spite of your works, and not because of them, there is no more room to boast.

And the law of faith is precisely what we accept.
Vs. 28, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

And by the way, if you don’t maintain that same truth,
You need to go back and re-read Romans 1-3.

MAN HAS NO RIGHT TO BE ARROGANT

Paul would remind the Corinthians of this. Remember they, used to boast about who they followed.
“I’m best because I follow Paul…”
“I’m best because I follow Cephas…”
“I’m best because I follow Apollos…”
“I’m best because I follow Christ…”
Paul put them in their place.
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “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. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
The only reason God chose you,
Is not because you were the obvious choice,
But because in choosing you,
God made Himself look really powerful.

Is this not the same thing God told Israel?
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

And so it is obvious, there is no room for an arrogant Christian.

If you are an arrogant Christian,
You are not properly responding to the salvation of God.
You have missed the point.

And furthermore, you are way outside of God’s will.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

The proper response to God’s great salvation
Is that you look inwardly and humble yourself.

And humility is not just a concept.
It is an attitude and it is an act.

To properly respond to God’s salvation,
Then humble yourself before Him. Submit yourself to Him.
Fully trust Him, and give Him the honor and glory.

THAT IS WORSHIP
Look in: Humble Yourself
#2 LOOK AROUND: HELP OTHERS
Romans 3:29-30

Now in recording this verse,
It helps us understand Paul’s statement about boasting even more.

Apparently their boasting was not just limited to a nose lifted high in the air, but was also manifested by an attitude that excluded others.

And we know this was an attitude of the Jews.
Remember Peter?
Acts 10:9-18 “On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.”

Remember when Paul was arrested?
Acts 22:17-22 “It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ “And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. ‘And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ “And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'” They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, ” Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

Their arrogance was still manifested in thinking that even though they were sinners, they were still better than the Gentiles.

Paul squashes such arrogance.
“Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.”

There is only One God.
There is only One way of Salvation
And every man receives it the same.

Jewish works were no more valuable than Gentile works.
BOTH WERE LOST
BOTH WERE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH

The best way to honor God, is for you to submit yourself to Him.
The second best way is for you to tell someone about Him.
(1st and 2nd commandment)

God showed now favoritism when He sent His Son.
To exclude men from the kingdom of God for any reason
Is not the proper response.

JESUS HAD NO FAVORITISM
He asked for the water of a Samaritan woman…
He asked for the stones of a woman caught in adultery…
He touched the lepers…
He ate with tax collectors…

John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Matthew 9:12 “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”

Luke 9:54-56 “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?” 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.”

Yet still men seek to uphold this biased attitude towards the lost.
Like there are some men too bad to be saved.

“They were mostly sex-offenders any way, I had no interest in them.”

Are sex offenders worse in the sight of God than other sinners?
NO

COULD YOU IMAGINE A FILTHY DIRTY ROTTEN SINNER GETTING SAVED AND THEN ACT LIKE OTHER SINNERS DON’T DESERVE IT?

That is not a proper response to God’s salvation.
James 2:1-9 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

The idea here is that if you truly want to honor God for His salvation, then go and share it with others.

THAT IS TO SPREAD HIS GLORY.

John Piper said, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t”

Look in: Humble self
Look around: Help others

THAT IS WORSHIP

#3 LOOK TO: HOLD UP THE LAW
Romans 3:31

Obviously here Paul sees the argument coming.
If the Law doesn’t separate who is good from who is bad,
should we just get rid of it?

AND MANY TIMES THIS HAPPENS
PEOPLE ARE SO CONCERNED
WITH NOT BEING SELF-RIGHTEOUS
THAT THEY FORCE GOD TO NOT BE RIGHTEOUS EITHER.

“Oh I don’t want to tell that person they are sinning,
Because I can’t judge them.”

IT’S NOT YOU WHO IS JUDGING THEM, IT IS GOD
WE ARE WARNING THEM

Don’t condemn others,
But don’t stop encouraging righteousness in them either.
Matthew 7:1-5 “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.”
And so we establish the Law,
Because the righteousness of God leads men to salvation.

Romans 1:16 “For 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.”

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

Isaiah 55:11 “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

Don’t be arrogant, don’t exclude people…
But don’t get so worried about offending people
That you won’t even share the truth with people.

WHAT HAS YOUR RESPONSE TO THE GOSPEL BEEN?
The proper response is humility
The proper response is love
The proper response is evangelism

If that is not us,
We are not responding to God as He desires us to respond, And we are walking more in love of self, than in love for God.

THE POINT TONIGHT
IS TO CONSIDER THE GREAT SALVATION OF GOD
AND THEN TO RESPOND ACCORDINGLY.

Salvation (submission)
Love for others
Evangelism

Romans 3:27-31 “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”

The Motive of Salvation
Romans 3:25-26
October 28, 2007

Last Sunday morning we saw,
Despite the fact that there is none righteous
Despite the fact that being religious can’t help
Despite the fact that you can’t obey the Law enough to help
Despite the fact that we are spiritually bankrupt

THERE IS A WAY TO BE SAVED
Romans 3:21 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,”

There is a way to be saved apart from being good enough to be saved.
God’s righteousness can be achieved by sinful man.

God’s righteousness is achieved by faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:22 “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;”

God will grant you His righteousness if you will place your faith in Jesus.

Last Sunday night we began to examine
How this righteousness works.

HOW CAN A WICKED PERSON BE SAVED APART FROM OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW?

Because salvation doesn’t rest upon man’s ability,
But upon the Redemptive Attitude of God,
And the Redemptive Action of Jesus.

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

Salvation is available to sinful man
Because God chose to be forgiving,
And because Jesus paid the penalty of our sin.

And that is wonderful news, but it does still bring up another question that Paul seeks to answer her in our text.

WHY WOULD GOD BE WILLING TO DO THIS?
WHAT WAS GOD’S MOTIVE?

It is beyond our human comprehension to understand
Why God would punish His Son for something you and I did.

And really, this is no small question.
WHAT IS THE MOTIVE OF SALVATION?

Well some motives we are very familiar with,
In fact we speak of them often.
1) LOVE
John 3:16 “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.”

Romans 5:7-8 “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.”

2) MERCY / GRACE
Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

We talk about the motive for salvation,
These are usually the first two motives listed.

But this morning, I want to show you a THIRD MOTIVE
God had for giving salvation in this way.

It is a motive that is commonly overlooked,
But it still remains vitally important.

So let’s pick back up with the salvation Paul has been revealing to us.

There are three things I want to show you in our text this morning.
#1 A PUBLIC DISPLAY
Romans 3:25a

“whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”
And there again, we have said a mouthful.
And when that verse is read with verse 24,
We know that we are talking about Jesus.

God made a public display of Jesus as a propitiation.
A propitiation that is available “in His blood through faith.”

And let’s talk about that for a second.

First, Paul says that “God displayed publicly”

“displayed publicly” is actually one word in the Greek
PROTITHEMI (prot-ith-ee-mee)

PRO – means before
TITHEMI – means to place

And so the idea is that God literally placed Jesus before everyone. He set the death of Jesus on display.

What happened to Jesus was not private,
It was not done behind the scenes.

God wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of it.
It was done publicly.

In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a more public time
Than at Jerusalem during the Passover at 9:00am.
This was as public as it gets.

AND WE KNOW IT WORKED.

On the road to Emmaus
Luke 24:18 “One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”

When Paul witnessed to Agrippa
Acts 26:26 “For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.”

The point is God did it out in the open.
Jesus was “lifted up” for all to see.

We tend to hide things that would appear to be a blemish.
We tend to sweep embarrassing things under the rug.
We don’t particularly like to suffer open shame.

But here was Jesus stripped, beaten, mocked, crucified,
And in the most public way possible.

Paul is still teaching us more here.
“whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”
“propitiation” translates HILASTERION
(hil-as-tay-ree-on)
It means appeasement
WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT IT IS HOW IT IS USED.
In every religion in the world, since man has offended deity,
It is up to man to offer appeasement or propitiation.

But Christianity is exactly opposite.
Even though man offends God,
It is God who is offering the appeasement.
It is God who is bridging the gap between God and man.

AND THERE IS STILL SOMETHING ELSE
The Septuagint (The Greek Old Testament) uses this very same word in translating “Mercy Seat”.

In other words the mercy seat is called the HILASTERION

WHY IS THAT SIGNIFICANT?
Exodus 25:21-22 “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.”

The mercy seat is where the sacrifice was presented for the Day of Atonement, and it was there that God promised to meet sinful man.

Now Paul says, that Jesus is our HILASTERION.
His blood is the place where God meets sinful man.

AND GOD DID IT PUBLICLY.
WHY PUBLICLY?
Certainly God wants His salvation to be well known.

But there is another reason God made a public sacrifice of Jesus.

First a Public Display
#2 POWERFUL DEMONSTRATION
Romans 3:25b-26a

WHY DID GOD MAKE A PUBLIC DISPLAY OUT OF THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS?

“This was to demonstrate his righteousness”

Again in verse 26, “for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time,”
When we speak of the sacrificial death of Jesus,
We often speak of God’s love and grace to offer it
Both His love and grace have been appropriately labeled, “Amazing”.

But don’t forget the other thing God was wanting to reveal,
And that is His righteousness.

In order to remind us that He is righteous,
He publicly displayed Jesus as a sacrifice for sin.

WERE PEOPLE FORGETTING THAT HE IS RIGHTEOUS?

Look at what Paul said,
“because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;”
Adam and Eve sinned…
Noah sinned…
Abraham sinned…
Moses sinned…
David sinned…
And yet God did not punish them for it.
(At least not with the punishment they deserved, i.e. “hell”)

BUT DIDN’T THEY OFFER SACRIFICES?
Sure, but:

Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Everyone in the Old Testament had sinned,
But God did not send them all to hell for it.

Because they had faith, “He passed over the sins previously committed;”

But there sin was still unatoned for.

CERTAINLY THAT MAKES GOD LOOK MERCIFUL,
BUT IT DOESN’T REALLY MAKE HIM LOOK RIGHTEOUS

Some may even begin to see God as a pushover

People start saying things like,
“I don’t believe a loving God would send anyone to hell.”

Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.”

That is what happens in our day.
That is what was happening in the days of the Bible.
People were aware of God’s mercy.
Exodus 34:6 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;”

Psalms 86:15 “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.”

The only problem is they became so consumed with His mercy
That they forgot that He is also holy.

We saw it in the Old Testament.
Zephaniah 1:12 “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good or evil!’

We saw it in the New Testament
Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

And we also see it today
PEOPLE TODAY GET SO CONSUMED WITH GOD’S MERCY
THAT THEY AREN’T EVEN CONCERNED WITH HIS HOLINESS.

The lost have been told so many times about the mercy of God,
That even they don’t really believe God is going to judge mankind.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD HAS SEEMINGLY DISAPPEARED
God is only seen as merciful, but seldom seen as angry.
God is only seen as loving, but seldom seen as holy.
God is only seen as gracious, but seldom seen as Judge.

AND THAT IS TRAGIC
FOR GOD IS HOLY

Take that passage in Exodus that spoke of His mercy
And read further:
Exodus 34:6-7 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

BECAUSE MANKIND SO EASILY FORGETS
THAT GOD WILL JUDGE SIN.
GOD SACRIFICED JESUS PUBLICLY

Yes the cross teaches mercy
Yes the cross teaches grace
Yes the cross teaches love

BUT THERE WAS ALSO NEVER A BETTER TEACHER
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS THAN THE CROSS

God hates sin so much, not only would He kill His own Son
He would do it publicly…
He would add to the severity…
He would turn His back on Him…
He would be pleased to do it…

When Jesus was on the cross, God turned His back on Him.
Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
We also know that when Jesus was on the cross,
Darkness covered the land from high noon until 3:00pm.
When the light shined back on the cross mankind held their breath.

For they had beaten Jesus, they had mocked Him,
But by the time God got through with Him,
He didn’t even look the same.

Isaiah 52:13-15 “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.”

And thus the Centurion said, “Surely this was the Son of God”

The Bible says, He was pleased to do it.
Isaiah 53:7-10 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”

And perhaps Paul summed it up best:
Romans 8:32a “He who did not spare His own Son,”

GOD PROVED HE IS RIGHTEOUS
If you ever doubted the holiness of God – look at the cross
If you ever doubted that God will judge sin – look at the cross
If you ever doubted that God will judge sinners – look at the cross

So many people today act like God won’t judge them for their sin.
So many people today act like God is too merciful to punish sinners.
THEN HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WHAT HE DID TO HIS SON?

When sin went on His Son;
God crushed Him, God turned His back on Him,
And God was pleased to do it.

He hates sin, He judges sin, He always has, He always will

God publicly displayed the crucifixion of Jesus
So that He could powerfully demonstrate His righteousness.

#3 PERFECT DESCRIPTION
Romans 3:26b

What a perfect statement.
IT IS WHO GOD IS BECAUSE OF THE CROSS.

DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY GOD WOULD SEND HIS SON TO DIE INSTEAD OF SINFUL MAN?

“so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Please do not miss the condition on the end of that statement.
We are still only talking about the person
Who places their faith in Jesus.

But to the person who has faith in Jesus,
God reveals Himself as “just and the justifier.”

“Just” = holy.
He is perfectly righteous. His standard always stands.
Sin is never overlooked. Sin is never forgotten.

“Justifier” = merciful.

Man didn’t bring a offering of appeasement to God,
God presented an offering of appeasement to man.
Man didn’t justify himself, God justified man.
THIS IS WHERE GOD’S WISDOM
IS LEAPS AND BOUNDS ABOVE MAN’S WISDOM.

Isaiah 55:7-9 “Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

And the cross certainly proves that.

We know there are basic core attributes about God.
God is Love
God is Holy
God is Merciful
God is Perfect

BUT HOW DO YOU BALANCE THOSE, WHILE DEALING WITH SINFUL MAN?
How do you remain both holy and merciful?
How do you maintain a strict stance on sin, and yet still reveal mercy?

AND THIS IS THE QUESTION THAT GENERALLY CAUSES FALLEN MAN TO MISUNDERSTAND GOD.
FOR MANKIND USUALLY ACCEPTS ONE TO THE REJECTION OF THE OTHER

Some take the approach that He is holy and not merciful.
And so they constantly try to appease God through self-justification.
They are terribly afraid of this holy God
Who will take pleasure in crushing them
If they miss one single requirement.
(LEGALISM)

Others take the approach that He is merciful and not Holy.
Hence they don’t even worry about the “Thou Shalt Not’s” of Scripture, Assuring themselves that God won’t really judge them.
(LIBERALISM)

MAN DOESN’T UNDERSTAND HOW GOD COULD BE
BOTH HOLY AND MERCIFUL AT THE SAME TIME.

HOW COULD HE?
HE PAID THE PRICE HIMSELF

That is what makes the cross such an amazing and lofty truth.
Because of the cross, God revealed Himself as merciful.
Because of the cross, God revealed Himself as holy.
ONLY OUR GOD CAN MAKE A CLAIM
TO TRULY BE BOTH HOLY AND MERCIFUL

Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Only our God is truly Holy, never allowing one single sin to slide.
Only our God is truly Merciful, not giving man what he deserves.

The point is:
MERCY IS AVAILABLE – JUDGMENT IS COMING
2 Peter 3:9-10 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

LET ME BRING IT HOME TO YOU
Mankind is totally wicked and incapable of saving himself (1:18-3:20)
But salvation is possible through faith in Jesus (3:21-22)
Because Jesus died to redeem us (3:23-24)
This reminds us that God is both holy and merciful (3:25-26)

Do not assume you can bargain your way out of hell. God is holy
Do not assume your sin is too great to be saved. God is merciful

GOD WILL MEET YOU AT THE BLOOD OF JESUS

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”