The Expectations of a Glorious God
Psalms 95
June 3, 2018

A few weeks ago I had one of “those” moments in youth.
Anyone who has ever worked with youth knows that it takes a special amount of patience which on this day I lacked.

While singing in our worship time, as we always do, they were unruly
And disinterested, laughing and joking and carrying on.
We’ve talked about this before, but on this day, it was more than I wanted to deal with.

I turned off the TV, chunked the remote, and told the youth to go home.

And as I told the youth when we met the next week,
And can say here tonight, “I’m still not over it.”

In my mind the church has one clear and primary purpose
For gathering and that is for the worship of God.

Certainly this not the sole function of the church,
We will talk later about the requirement that we evangelize.

But when we meet together as a body,
When we enter a worship service,
There is certainly one function that trumps them all, and that is worship.

If we meet and fail to worship,
Then I don’t see any way that we can call our gathering a success.

As we quoted many times while looking at SOLI DEO GLORIA,
“The Chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Why else are we here?

And it struck a chord with me in youth, that many of them don’t know that.
• They don’t know that worship is the priority
• They don’t know why worship is expected
• They don’t know why worship is fitting

And so, when we gathered again the next week,
This was the Psalm that I shared with them,
And it is so profound in my mind that I wanted to share it with you as well.

Furthermore it fits the point we have been making.

Namely that the SOLAS do not lead to apathy or complacency.
If they do, then you misunderstood them.

• The understanding of grace does not lead to licentiousness, it expects holiness.
• The understanding of faith does not lead to laziness, it expects good works.
• The understanding of being in Christ does not lead to an undisciplined life, it expects us to walk as Christ walked.

And the same can be said for SOLI DEO GLORIA
The understanding of all things being for God’s glory
Does not lead to passionless, ho-hum, boring, unenthusiastic, uncommitted, lackadaisical praise.

A true understanding of SOLI DEO GLORIA
Should produce in us the greatest
And most enthusiastic worship imaginable.

But, like our youth, I’m concerned that maybe people just don’t know that.

And so tonight we’re going to look at this 95th Psalm
To try and grasp a little bit of what is expected
When we begin to grasp the concept of SOLI DEO GLORIA.

I would break this Psalm down into 2 main points tonight.
#1 THE CALL TO WORSHIP
Psalms 95:1-7a

And here there are in these 7 verses 2 very important distinctions
That do need to be made about the worship that is called for.

1) WORSHIP BECAUSE OF WHO GOD IS (1-5)

Now if you will notice the call is extremely clear,
Not only that we are to worship God, but how we are to do it.

(1-2) “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”

What becomes most evident are the expected actions:
• “sing for joy”
• “shout joyfully”
• “come…with thanksgiving”
• “shout joyfully”

3 joys and 1 thanksgiving.
And called for here are vibrant, emotional, enthusiastic shouts to God.

Somewhere in our past someone decided that
Joy and reverence where opposites and incompatible.

It produced generations of churches that expected worship
That was quiet and still and unenthused.
That is not what is being asked for here.

Here the Psalmist asks for singing and shouting “joyfully”.
• It calls for the same type of enthusiasm that is generated at a sporting event.

And I don’t want to take it any deeper than that
Except just to make it obvious that there is
A passionate and enthusiastic moment of expression
Being called for here by the Psalmist.

He wants those in the congregation to voice their excitement about God.
• Sing, and sing loud
• Shout, and shout joyfully
• And when you assemble before Him, be thankful

WHY DO WE SING AND SHOUT JOYFULLY TO GOD?
(3) “For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods.”

And I really think this might be the
MOST OVERLOOKED and forgotten reality in all of worship.

• We are accustomed to thanking God for His provision.
• We are accustomed to acknowledging God’s deliverance.
• We are accustomed to rejoicing in God’s salvation.

But here the call has nothing to do with God’s benefits
And everything to do with who God is.

The Psalmist says we should shout to God
For no other reason but that He is “a great God”

I’m always reminded of the book of Malachi
Which speaks heavily to the sin of apathy.

One of the problems is that Israel was bringing flawed sacrifices to God.

To which God responded:
Malachi 1:10-11 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you. “For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts.”

God responded to the apathetic worship
By reminding the people that I deserve far more than that!

He said, “My name will be great among the nations”

It’s the same acknowledgment here.
God is a great God!

Jeremiah 10:6-7 “There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.”

Jeremiah 10:12-13 “It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses.”

God should be worshiped if for no other reason
Than the fact that He is a great God!

(4-5) “In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land.”

As we said the worship of God here
Is NOT linked to any specific benefit that He has worked for you today.

It is linked to His greatness as revealed in creation.
• He formed “the depths of the earth.”
• He formed “the mountains”
• He made “the sea”
• He formed “the dry land”

It all points to His pure greatness.

Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?”

The realization here of the size of God is simply astounding,
That He can measure all the waters of the sea in his palm.
We are talking about an enormous God.

Isaiah 40:22 “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.”

There is a comparison in sizes between us and God

Isaiah 40:26 “Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.”

The God who names the stars.

Psalms 33:6-8 “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.”

It’s just the reminder of the greatness of the God of creation,
And the reminder that the God of creation
Deserves the loudest and most emphatic praise.

Consider heaven:
Revelation 4:9-11 “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.”

It’s a constant theme.
God is a great God, and He deserves the most enthusiastic worship.

Beyond that, could I remind you of Romans 1 and the reality that God recognizes that He deserves worship for this?

Romans 1:20-21 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 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.”

Not only does God deserve worship for His greatness,
But He also takes it personal when He doesn’t receive it.

But you see the point.
The first call to worship is just because of who God is.

He is a great God.
The God who owns all of creation.

But there is a second reason in the call to worship listed here.
2) WORSHIP BECAUSE OF REDEMPTION (6-7)

Now the first thing we notice here is that
The Psalmist is asking for A DIFFERENT RESPONSE.

At first it was singing and shouting joyfully, but here that is not the call.

• Here the call is to “worship and bow down”
• And to “kneel before the LORD our Maker.”

Here we don’t talk about enthusiasm, here we talk about submission.

It is the type of worship we are familiar with in Romans
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.”

And the reasoning is drastically different.

(7) “For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.”

Where as God’s greatness demands our exaltation,
God’s redemption demands our submission.

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

The fact that God paid the price of our redemption
Only necessitates that we now glorify Him
Through our submissive obedience.

And of course we are familiar with that statement from Jesus:
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

There again, we are called to glorify God through the way that we live.

Again:
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;”

The point is just made so clearly that redemption demands obedience.
Redemption demands submission.

The entire world is called to exalt God with shouts of joy
Simply because He is a great God who deserves it
And because He created this world we enjoy.

But the level of expectation goes even higher when we talk about the redeemed.
• Those of us who have been purchased by Him
• Those of us who have been redeemed by Him
• Those of us who enjoy His care and leadership

We most certainly are called to worship through our humble submission.

• Just as SOLA GRATIA demands holy living
• Just as SOLA FIDE demands good works
• Just as SOLUS CHRITUS demands Christ-likeness
• So does SOLI DEO GLORIA demand submissive obedience

There is no apathy hidden anywhere in those SOLAS,
We are called to live an active life of enthusiastic praise
And humble obedience which is meant to bring glory to God.

Worship matters.
We are called to do it.

And I hope you understand that.
I hope you understand that God deserves and demands our worship.

But honestly there are any number of passages
We could have selected which reveal that truth.

There are many passages that speak of passionate praise to God
And submissive service to God.

The reason we pick this Psalm is not because of the call to worship,
But because of the second point.

The Call to Worship
#2 THE WARNING ABOUT WORSHIP
Psalms 95:7b-11

You may recognize that passage.
It was quoted in the book of Hebrews in order to warn the fickle not to fall away from God, but to hold fast to Him.

And the same warning is reiterated here.
• Since God deserves worship
• Since God’s people are under obligation to serve Him

Here is the warning
“Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wolderness, When your fathers tried Me, though they had seen My work.”

Listen to the call to worship and don’t be like your fathers.

What was their problem?
They had hardened and ungrateful hearts.

TURN TO: Exodus 17:1-7

There you have the children of Israel,
Fresh off the heels of all of God’s miraculous deliverance of them.

He revealed His greatness
He revealed His love for them

And already we have Israel questioning both.

The wording says that they tested God.
And of course testing God is the total opposite of worshiping Him.

To test God is to withhold His worship and to withhold His praise
Until He steps up and earns it again.

This is what Israel did over and over.
“Massah” means “test”
“Meribah” means “quarrel”

And that is Israel.
• Never just worshiping God for His greatness and redemption,
• Israel always required God to earn it over and over and over again.

Their praise was performance based, and it was never long-lasting.
God had to jump through the same hoops over and over and over.

In fact, you will remember that this incident would be very closely duplicated again later in their journey.
TURN TO: Numbers 20:1-13

There is the same incident again occurring,
Only this time Moses is also disciplined.

But you get the point, it was never enough for Israel.
They never simply worshiped God for who He was, or what He had done.
They always required Him to jump through hoops and earn their gratitude.

There was always a quarrel
There was always a test

Psalms 78:15-22 “He split the rocks in the wilderness And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths. He brought forth streams also from the rock And caused waters to run down like rivers. Yet they still continued to sin against Him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert. And in their heart they put God to the test By asking food according to their desire. Then they spoke against God; They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? “Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?” Therefore the LORD heard and was full of wrath; And a fire was kindled against Jacob And anger also mounted against Israel, Because they did not believe in God And did not trust in His salvation.”

Israel did not worship
Israel sought only to use God

And in Psalms 95, after revealing how much God deserves worship,
We hear the warning issued.

“Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, When your Fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work.”

Emphatically, God says, “Don’t be like them.”

They had unwarranted rebellion.
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.”

And what you must see in this Psalm
IS GOD’S MINDSET TOWARD THOSE PEOPLE,
Who should have worshiped Him, but did not.

(10-11) “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

Do you see what God thought of those people?
“For forty years I loathed that generation”
• They were a people who did not honor Him as God.
• They were a people who were not grateful for deliverance.
• And God was furious with them for it.

And when God began to explain their lack of worship,
He did it in 2 ways.

First
“they are a people who err in their heart”

Indicating that there is something wrong with a people
Who can receive the benefits of God, and see the power of God
And still refuse to worship Him.

There is something wrong with people like that.
They have an obvious heart problem.

And secondly
“they do not know My ways”

Which is to say, “They don’t have a clue who I am”

Do you understand that a failure to worship God indicates a failure to comprehend God?

Again we see that knowledge and worship are linked.
We’ve said it before that our worship
Will never outdistance our understanding.

The height of our worship is directly proportional
To the depth of our understanding.

And that is proven true here with Israel as well.

God can only deduce that their lack of worship
Means that they don’t know Him at all.

And that friends, is a sad indictment.

• What does it say about the church of God when they refuse to sing
joyfully to God?
• What does it say about the church of God when they refuse to
humbly bow before Him?

It says that they have a heart problem and that they don’t know God at all.

And what is even MORE TERRIFYING is that
They invoke upon themselves the anger of God.

“For forty hears I loathed that generation”

And this DID NOT result in some silent sentiment.
God’s wrath produced judgment.

(11) “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

People often think of this only in terms of
Those who did not get to enter the Promised Land,
But that was merely the analogy.

• The Promised Land, was to be the land flowing with milk and honey, it was to be the place where Israel enjoyed rest from her enemies.

• It pictured that glorious state of blessing in the life of a believer who no longer felt the burden of labor, but who was able to rest in all that God accomplished.

• It was a state of blessing in the life of the one who knew that God had everything under control, and who could be at peace in all circumstances.

And God said, these people will never have either.
They will never enter My land, they will never enter My rest.
They can work and strive for the rest of their lives.

What are we to take from that?
That our rest is directly linked to our worship of God.

And this should make sense.
If you want peace and rest in your life,
The best way to obtain it is to begin to recognize
Who God is and what He has done.

• He is the powerful God of creation, who can do whatever He desires.
• He is the loving God of redemption, who has chosen to bring you into His fold.

And when you dwell on those things
And as you glorify Him for those things,
The fears and anxieties and concerns naturally melt away.

It is the old song
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

It speaks of the rest in acknowledging, trusting, and exalting God.

Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Notice the beginning of that passage:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”

What is that?
It’s focusing on who God is and what He has done
And rejoicing in those things.

And then according to Paul the acknowledgement of God’s greatness and rejoicing in Him
IS FOLLOWED BY “your gentle spirit” which should be evident.

What is that?
It’s that same submission the Psalmist spoke of.

(First there is rejoicing, then there is submission.)

And finally, it is the recognition that “The Lord is near”

Was that not the problem of Israel?
“Is God with us or not?”

But Paul reminds that
• When we rejoice in God and in effect shout joyfully to Him,
• And when we submit to God contemplating that He is our God and He is near,
• That the result of that is that we can be “anxious for nothing” ultimately walking in His peace.

But Israel refused those things and thus no peace; no rest.

And I just bring that to you tonight
Because I want you to understand that
SOLI DEO GLORIA is not optional.

• God deserves and demands this glory that we speak of.
• He demands it of the natural world simply for His creation,
• He certainly demands it of those whom He has redeemed.

And it is not ok to fail to give it to Him.
• He deserves your joyful shout
• He deserves your joyful song
• He deserves you present gratitude
• He deserves your bended knee
• He deserves your humble submission

Failure to give it to Him only reveals a flawed heart and ignorance of God.

But beyond that, a failure to worship God isn’t even beneficial.
Since it costs us our rest.

SOLI DEO GLORIA is not optional for God’s children.
• You don’t get to say, “I just don’t like to sing”
• You don’t get to say, “Worship isn’t really my thing”

It’s not about what you like, it’s about what God deserves,
And He does not respond well to those who withhold it.

The Evidence of Christ
1 John 2:1-6
May 27, 2018

Having completed our study of the SOLAS
We are sort of in an appendix section to the study.

I didn’t feel it wise to move on from that study
Until we took at least a moment to examine
The expectations of those SOLAS in our lives.

Thus far we have looked at the practical expectations
Of SOLA GRATIA and of SOLA FIDE in our lives.

I think we can sum up those expectations or evidences like this.
GRACE IS NOT INDIFFERENT
• Grace isn’t some blanket emotion that doesn’t care how you live.
• It is not some sentiment that simply removes the penalty of sin while
allowing you to stay in it.

Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,”

It is true that grace by definition is given to those who do not deserve it,
But it is also true that once grace is given it expects a change.

Ephesians 1:3-4 “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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

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

Grace most certainly is given to the vilest of sinners,
But grace is given with the expectation
That those vile sinners will then pursue godliness.

If your understanding of grace allowed you
To become more comfortable in your sin
Because you thought it merely eliminate the consequences
Then you have not understood SOLA GRATIA

Grace is not indifferent

Regarding SOLA FIDE we would say.
FAITH IS NOT INVISIBLE

And we remember the cry of James
James 2:18 “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

And of course the point of James is that genuine faith is verifiable.
• It shows up in our compassion
• It gives weight to our confession
• It powers our convictions

IT’S NEITHER USELESS NOR DEAD

In short, the faith of SOLA FIDE is not just some intellectual assent
To a series of doctrinal statements.

The faith that SOLA FIDE spoke of
Is the type of belief that changes your life.

And that’s the point we’ve been making.
• Those SOLAS are not merely educational.
• Those SOLAS are meant to transform your life.

• Your understanding of grace should lead you to pursue godliness.
• Your understanding of faith should lead you to change your behavior.

Well tonight I want to look at SOLUS CHRISTUS

And if you’ll remember the doctrine of SOLUS CHRISTUS simply reminds us that salvation is found “in Christ alone”

• It is the doctrine that reminds us of Christ’s active obedience which speaks to how He lived a righteous life and perfectly fulfilled God’s righteous expectations.

• It is the doctrine that reminds of Christ’s passive obedience which speaks to how He died on a cross to suffer the punishment for sins He did not commit.

• It is the doctrine that reminds of the actual atonement of Christ whereby He perfectly satisfied God’s wrath on the elect.

• It is the doctrine that reminds of the miracle of imputation. Whereby our sin was imputed to Christ and He was treated as a sinner, and His righteousness was imputed to us and we are treated as righteous people.

All of that is contained in our understanding of SOLUS CHRISTUS

And of course the beauty of it is that we stand before God “in Christ”.
• That is to say we are clothed in His righteousness.
• He is the Rock of Ages and we hide ourselves in Him.

And in Him we are saved from the wrath which is to come
And we are made pleasing to the Father.

That is SOLUS CHRISTUS in a nutshell.

But tonight I would remind you that
SOLUS CHRISTUS IS NOT INDEMONSTRABLE

That means it is not that which cannot be demonstrated.

Again, a major fallacy which has swept over Christianity is that
It is not possible to tell who is really a believer and who is not.

The church has bowed to the cries of “Don’t Judge Me!” and “May Faith is Private!” And the sad thing is we have believed them.

BUT THAT ISN’T TRUE.
Salvation; being in Christ, is absolutely verifiable.

And honestly there are so many passages to this regard
That we could probably about a yearlong study on it.

In fact, I tend to think that proving this point and enforcing it is the main thrust behind both the book of James and the book of 1 John.

So if tonight feels like we are cramming a little I do apologize,
But really the goal is just to make the absolute point that
IF YOU CLAIM TO BE IN CHRIST THAT IT SHOULD BE EVIDENT.

We are going to look at this passage in 1 John, but I first want to give a couple of other important passages just for you to sort of place in your memory bank.

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

The very fact that Paul calls for a test here should settle the debate
About whether Christianity is verifiable.

If it cannot be verified, then a test is pointless.
But since Paul tells us to test ourselves that should indicate
That we most certainly can tell if a person is in Christ.

Another important passage here is:
Colossians 2:6-7 “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”

This doesn’t speak so much to the verification of salvation
As it does to the EXPECTATION of it.

If you have received Christ then should walk in Christ.
And really you’d do good to spend some time in Colossians 3
(we almost studied that one instead)

Continually there we are told to “lay aside the old self” and “put on the new self” which is a reference to the expectation of Christ-likeness.

And the chapter is filled with practical expectations for the person who claims to be in Christ.

Things like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, gratitude, wisdom, praise, submission, obedience, justice and fairness.

The idea being that if you claim to be in Christ
Then you ought to live like Christ.

And those are just two passages I wanted to drop on you
Just to put in your storage bank.

But tonight we’re going to settle in on 1 John 2:1-6
Because I think it makes the most complete and definitive statement
Regarding the question we are addressing.

So let’s break this down into 2 main points.
#1 THE PATH TO FELLOWSHIP
1 John 2:1-2

John begins this chapter with a statement
That must be understood in the context of his letter.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”

Well we know the goal, it’s “so that you may not sin”.
But what are “these things” that he is “writing” which are supposed to motivate us to “not sin”?

He is referring to chapter 1 where he gave the basis for this letter.

1 John 1:1-4 “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life — and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us — what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”

You understand from the opening verses of this letter is that John is speaking of our having fellowship with the Father.

• John says we’re writing to you so that you can have fellowship with us, which incidentally is fellowship with the Father.

• So, we’re writing so that you will be able to fellowship with God.

And in that first chapter John gave some pretty clear parameters
About having this fellowship with God.

1) You can’t have fellowship with God in the DARK
1 John 1:5-7 “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

2) You can’t have fellowship with God in DECEPTION
1 John 1:8-9 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

3) You can’t have fellowship with God in DENIAL
1 John 1:10 “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

So you see that our fellowship with God
Has a great deal to do with how we handle sin.

And that makes sense to us.
We know about the veil and the holiness of God and how sinful man was separated from Him.

What is more, we know what is required if fellowship with God is to be enjoyed. We must be perfect.

Deuteronomy 18:13 “You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.”

Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”

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

And based upon that reality
John’s advice to us in chapter 2 makes perfect sense.

“My little children, I am writing thee things to you so that you may not sin.”

Well, yeah!
Because in order to have fellowship with God all sin and darkness and deception and denial must be done away with.

God is not going to fellowship with the wicked.
He never has, He never will.

So the opening statement makes perfect sense.

It is however wrought with problems for us,
Namely because we know that we have sinned.

And that is why John continues.
“And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

Well, there again is the good news of SOLUS CHRISTUS
• That even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
• And more than just in death, He is now our living Advocate before the Father
on our behalf.

And if we weren’t trying to get through the whole passage tonight we could swim in this rich doctrine yet again.
• He is called the “Advocate” because He intercedes on our behalf.
• He is called “the righteous” because He actively obeyed all the commands
of God.
• He is called “the propitiation” because He satisfied God’s wrath on the
elect
• He is called such for “the whole world” because He saves Jew and Gentile
alike.

1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

And hopefully you are familiar with those truths.

The main point of John is that if we want fellowship with God
Then we must not have sin,
And there is only One who can present us before God as sinless.

There is only One in whom we can hide that we might stand boldly in God’s presence and fellowship with Him.

That One is Jesus Christ
And if we want to draw near to God it must be through Him.

We must be in Christ if we are to fellowship with God.
Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

So that is the pathway to fellowship,
And that is what we discussed all during our study of SOLUS CHRISTUS.

But as we said,
Tonight we are not discussing the necessity of being in Christ.
Tonight we are discussing THE EXPECTATION OF BEING IN CHRIST.

We said that SOLUS CHRISTUS IS NOT INDEMONSTRABLE
That is to say, you should be able to tell whether or not you are in Christ.

So that brings us to our second point.
#2 THE PROOF OF FELLOWSHIP
1 John 2:3-6

We are going to answer the question.
• How can I know if I am in Christ?
• How can I know if I have fellowship with God?

Well that is John’s main thrust.
In fact at the end of the letter he will say:
1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

I would make the distinction at this point that John DOESN’T say “that you may feel that you have eternal life”

But rather “that you may know”

We are talking about facts not feelings
• I’ve had lots of feelings in my life.
• I’ve had intense moments of anxiety
• I’ve had terrifying moments of fear
• I’ve had warm tingly moments of joy
• I’ve had emotional moments of joy and peace

But those are emotions.
And don’t get me wrong there is a place for emotion in the Christian life.
We just talked this past Wednesday with our youth
That we are called to “shout joyfully to the God of our salvation”

That is emotional.

But emotion is not what we rest upon
When seeking to test the validity of our salvation.

In fact, in chapter 3 of this letter
John even seems to address that he is talking about an assurance based on fact that will stand even when you don’t “feel” saved.

1 John 3:19-20 “We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.”

Even in those moments when your emotions are working against you and not for you, John wants you to have a truth that supersedes your feelings.

We are talking about facts, not feelings.

That being said, John doesn’t put much stock in the fact that you feel saved.
• So did the Pharisees…
• So did the people who cry out “Lord, Lord” in Matthew 7

We want to pass the test Paul was talking about.
We want assurance based on reality.
We want to know that we are in Christ.

So let me break this final point down a little more and put it like this.
1) BEING IN CHRIST IS DETERMINED BY HOW YOU FOLLOW (3-5a)

“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.”

And again we start with knowledge not feelings.
• “By this we know” (not feel)
• “By this we know that we have come to know Him”

Here’s the first test.
Here’s the first criteria.

“if we keep His commandments.”
• Not “if we KEPT His commandments”
• Not “if we plan on keeping His commandments”
• But “if we keep His commandments”

It is a present and ongoing obedience to the Lord.

And this is a drum that John is going to beat throughout his letter.
1 John 3:4-10 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

Well that paints a pretty definite picture doesn’t it?
“No one who is born of God practices sin”

Obedience is a clear indicator of one who is redeemed.
One who is not obedient is not redeemed.

I mean how much clearer can John say it than “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God,”?

Later in the chapter he’ll say again:
1 John 3:24 “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”

Do you want to know if you are “in Christ”?
Well “the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him”

The obedient person is the person who is hiding in Him.

Apart from just stubborn blindness,
There really isn’t any way to miss the obvious nature of those passages.

And just in case you’re wondering, John got that notion from Jesus in the upper room.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”
It just rings true doesn’t it?

No wonder John says next:
(4) “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;”

In other words, there will be plenty of people who claim to be in Christ,
But who are not actually obeying Him.

John tells you how to address that person.
“You are lying”
(Don’t forget that John was one of the sons of thunder)

(5a) “but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.”
• It’s the person who obeys Christ that is actually in Christ.
• It’s the person who keeps Christ’s word that is abiding in Him.

John will also say:
1 John 2:24 “As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”

There’s just an inseparable link between being in Christ
And obeying His word.
It is absolutely verifiable.

This notion today of carnal Christianity
Where people are supposedly Christians even though they have no desire for obedience to Christ is a blatant distortion of the truth.

That’s how you tell if people are in Christ or not.
That’s the test Paul was talking about.
How do you follow?

So there’s the first criteria: How you follow
2) BEING IN CHRIST IS DETERMINED BY WHO YOU FOLLOW (5b-6)

“By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

I don’t know if there’s a more straightforward verse to answer our question
About the evidence of being in Christ than this one.

John says this is how you know you “are in Him”.

“the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

How does this differ from the previous point?
It sharpens the focus.

Certainly there are great number of people who claim to be Christians
Who are blatantly disobedient to Christ.
John just revealed that they are lying and are not in Him.

BUT IT IS ALSO TRUE that many of them are adhering to some religious system, they just are not actually walking like Christ.

• This is where we would put people like the Pharisees,
• Or those in Matthew 7 who cry “Lord, Lord”
• Or those in Matthew 25 who did not show compassion to the “least of these”.

They are people who are very religious and do a lot of religious things
And because of that they assume themselves to be very obedient.

They would have no problem reading those first verses and saying,
“Well, that’s me, I’m very obedient”

So did the Pharisee in Luke 18 who said, “I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all that I get”

So to make sure we aren’t confused John sharpens his focus.
When He is talking about obeying Christ
John actually has 1 basic command in view.

What is that command?
LOVE

Throughout this letter there is an inseparable link
To love being the specific obedience that John is referring to.

TURN TO: 1 John 3:11-22

Do you see that command and the similarity of consequence?
• Here again John gives the same grave consequence to a lack of love as he
does to a lack of obedience.

• He says in verse 14 that “he who does not love abides in death” (as
opposed to abiding in Christ)

• Verse 15 says that people who hate their brother does not “have eternal life
abiding in him.”

• John says if you don’t practice action and evident love like benevolence then
he asks “how does the love of God abide in” you?

And to join the two concepts together, look at verse 23.
1 John 3:23 “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.”

So when John spoke of obeying Christ, what was he talking about?
He was talking about loving like Christ loved.

It gives an important distinction.
Don’t just assume that because you go to church and give money and do churchy things that you are obedient and therefore most certainly in Christ.

JOHN WOULD BALK AT THAT.
He would say, “No, the type of obedience I’m talking about is the command to love, like Christ loved.”

It’s not just THAT you follow
(for many follow manmade traditions)
It’s WHO you follow, namely Christ.

John has more to say on this.
1 John 4:11-14 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”

1 John 4:20-21 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

1 John 5:1-3 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”

Do you see the full-circle there?
• If you want to claim to be in Christ, then you had better obey and follow Christ.
• And by that we don’t mean being a carnal Christian.
• And by that we don’t mean being a faithful church person with no love.

According to John it is absolutely verifiable rather or not you are in Christ.
DO YOU LIVE LIKE CHRIST?

And the chief characteristic? Self-sacrificing love.
Does that make sense?

It is preposterous for people today to say they are Christians,
And to claim assurance of eternal life
When Christ is not evident in them at all.

And I share that just to further clarify what we mean when we declare SOLUS CHRISTUS.

SOLUS CHRISTUS is an absolutely beautiful doctrine which explains to us how sinful men like us can have fellowship with a holy God.

But don’t dumb it down to be something it is not.

• In order to stand before God you must actually be “in Christ” not just say you are in Christ.

• You must have actually taken off the old self and you must have actually put on Christ, and that transaction is absolutely verifiable.

• If it is not in your life, then it hasn’t occurred and you are lying both to yourself and to others.

Does that make sense?

SOLA GRATIA IS NOT INDIFFERENT – it does not mean that we can just go on sinning now with no fear of punishment.
Grace expects godliness.

SOLA FIDE IS NOT INVISIBLE – it does not mean that we just have some sort of intellectual assent that doesn’t change our behavior.
Faith expects works

SOLUS CHRISTUS IS NOT INDEMONSTRABLE – it does not mean that we can claim to be in Christ without actually putting on Christ.
Christ expects Christlikeness (namely love)

And I just want to make sure we are all clear on that.

Please understand that the justification described in the SOLAS
Brings with it an expectation of sanctification
Described throughout the New Testament.

And I just want to be clear on that before we leave this study altogether.

Regarding John the Baptist
Luke 7:24-35
June 3, 2018

If you were with us last week you will remember that
Luke just used a question by John the Baptist
To make a very definitive statement regarding who Jesus is.

• John was in prison
• He was suffering and suffering alone
• And he was suffering unjustly
• And John’s predicament had led him (like many prophets before him) to enter a
phase of doubt in his life regarding Jesus.

John sent messengers to Jesus to ask,
“Are You the Expected One, or should we look for someone else?”

And while we discussed the nuances to that question,
The final reality was that it allowed Jesus
To make a definitive statement on the issue.

Luke recorded in verse 21 “At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.”

Jesus dropped the mic.
It was as clear and emphatic of an answer as Jesus could have given.

He is in fact the One that God promised throughout the Old Testament,
And He is in fact the One the Jews had been expecting.

So Jesus used the doubt of John
To make a definitive statement about Himself.

Now, Jesus addresses who John is.
And MORE IMPORTANTLY what the ministry of John says about the people who witnessed it.

• Jesus just sent a warning to John that he should not “take offense” at Jesus.
• He should not forget who Jesus is just because life’s circumstances have taken a difficult turn.

And now Jesus will turn that same warning
Toward the crowd that witnessed it all.

To put it plainly.
• What John did with Jesus would prove the wisdom of John.
• And what these people did with John also proves their wisdom.

In fact if you’ll skip to the final verse of our passage
You can see where we’re headed and perhaps it will cause
The entire passage to more easily come into focus for you.

(35) “Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Matthew’s gospel records it as “wisdom is vindicated by her deeds”.
Both obviously mean the same thing.
You recognize wisdom by what it produces.

We’re going to find out if the crowd Jesus is addressing
Is wise or foolish.

And it is determined by how they have responded to John and Jesus.
So let’s listen as Jesus speaks about John the Baptist
And ultimately as He exposes those who heard him.

4 points this morning
#1 THE REPUTATION HE EARNED
Luke 7:24-26

Luke reveals that “When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John”

It’s the perfect opportunity to address a very important issue.
• John just questioned the validity of Jesus.
• Jesus just addressed the validity of John.
• But they aren’t the only ones who are here addressed.

Now Jesus turns to the crowd
And He begins with the subject of John the Baptist.
His questions are meant to prove what the people believed about John.

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see?”

Jesus begins by helping them remember what they thought about John.
• These people did crazy things for John.
• They left the city and traveled out into the wilderness.
• There are people in our day who won’t drive 5 minutes in an air-conditioned car to listen to the word of God, yet all these people faced the elements to hear him.

Jesus wants to know why.
WHY DID YOU GO?

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?”

You understand His imagery.
A reed is not sturdy, as the wind blows it rocks to and fro.
A reed succumbs to any pressure put on it…
A reed gives way to any external force…

“Did you go out to see a wishy-washy man?”
“Did you go to hear a man who would tell you what you wanted to hear?”
Many people do that today.

2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,”

Well the masses were flocking to John and Jesus wants to know why.
• Was he funny?
• Did he tell you what you wanted to hear?
• Was he entertaining?

And of course you know the answer.
NOT IN THE LEAST

John preached about as unpopular a message as a man can preach.
• He told people to repent.
• He told people they didn’t measure up.
• He told people they weren’t good enough.

If that wasn’t enough,
John even challenged the rock solid Jewish establishment.

John was calling for baptism
WHY?

Baptism is how a Gentile converted to Judaism.
John was in effect telling all these Jews that they were such lousy Jews
That they actually needed to be baptized.

Remember his message to the religious elite?
Luke 3:7-9 “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to 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. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

It is obvious that they did not go to hear “A reed shaken by the wind?”
John was no such reed.

Well if he wasn’t a reed, what was he?
(25) “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing?”

The obvious answer is no.
Matthew 3:4 “Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”

John was no wealthy man.
He didn’t dress in fine clothes.

“Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces!”
Certainly John wasn’t there.

But what Jesus was really asking,
“Did you go to listen to some prosperity preacher?”

We’ve seen them today haven’t we?
Men who wear $10,000 suits promising that God gave it to them, and for a small love donation to their ministry God will bless you in much the same way.

It is foolish to us, but obviously people flock to that sort of doctrine.
Prosperity gospel churches are some of the largest in America.

And so Jesus wants to know,
Did you go listen to him because of his promise of prosperity?

And certainly that wasn’t the case.

John didn’t tell people how to get more money in God’s name,
John told people to give their money up.

Luke 3:10-14 “And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

That is just the opposite of the prosperity gospel.
They most certainly did not flock to John to find out how to get rich.

So if you didn’t go to be entertained…
And if you didn’t go to learn how to get rich…
THEN WHY DID YOU GO?

(26) “But what did you go out to see? A prophet?”

Then did you go to hear the actual words of God?
“Yes”

That is exactly why you went to John.
• You didn’t go because he told you what you wanted to hear, you went because he told you what you needed to hear.

• You didn’t go because you wanted to be rich on this earth, you went because you wanted to be rich in eternity.

• You went to see a true prophet of God.

He is reminding them of what they thought about John.
• These people knew that John the Baptist was a prophet sent by God.
• And they knew that John spoke the words of God.

That was the reputation he earned.

We read about Herod, even after he imprisoned John.
Matthew 14:5 “Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.”

At the end of His ministry we read about an argument between Jesus and the religious leaders
Mark 11:30-32 “Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ “But shall we say, ‘From men’?” — they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet.”

The people were in agreement that John was no men-pleaser.
He was a prophet of God who spoke the words of God.

That was the reputation he earned
#2 THE ROLE HE FULFILLED
Luke 7:26b-28

Was John a prophet? “Yes”
But Jesus continues, “I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet.”

Jesus says, “I know you went to see a prophet, but what you didn’t realize is that John is much more than just a prophet.”

WHO IS HE?
(27) “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’”

Jesus says, John is not just an ordinary prophet,
John actually functions in a dual role.
John is also the forerunner.

Malachi 4:1-6 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. “You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the LORD of hosts. “Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

The Old Testament ended with the promise of the coming Messiah,
And also with the promise that Elijah would come before Him.
Jesus says, “John was more than a prophet, he was also the forerunner.”

So John was a prophet and after John the Messiah was coming.

So Jesus continues.
(28) “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John;”

Now that is a strange statement.
Most people read that statement to mean that
There was never another human as righteous and good as John.

And I certainly couldn’t refute that.
Filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb…
Totally forsook the comforts of this world…
Spoke the word of God without compromise…
Even died a martyr’s death for his boldness…

John was certainly a good man.
Of course John was not without fault, for just last week
We saw him struggle with doubt and get a rebuke from Jesus.

But John was a good man.
And that is what most point out there.

But that is not necessarily the point that Jesus is making.

After pointing out that John was a prophet Jesus was in effect saying, “And as far as men go, you could do no better than to follow John”.
Everyone who chose to follow him and listen to him
Made a great decision, for I can’t think of another single human
Who would have been better.

“Yet, he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN?

Perhaps it will help if you understand it
IN TERMS OF CONDITION NOT CHARACTER.
It’s not that people in the kingdom are better people
(though you could argue that since they are now clothed in the righteousness of Christ)

The point Jesus is making is that those who follow Christ are in a greater condition than those who follow John.

Let me say it like this:
THE MOST PATHETIC CHRISTIAN
IS IN A BETTER CONDITION THAN THE MOST PIOUS JEW.

So while following John is good, it’s not as good as following Jesus.
John represented the end of a previous era.
• John was the last of the Old Testament prophets.
• He was the last of those who foretold of the coming Christ and pointed people to the promise.

Jesus came offering the kingdom that was formerly promised.
Matthew 13:16-17 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Peter wrote it like this:
1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”

THEY SAW THE KINGDOM, BUT DIDN’T ENJOY THE KINGDOM.
There was a very real sense in which
The greatest men and women of God saw the promises,
But never fully enjoyed the fulfillment.

Hebrews said it like this, referring to the saints of old who died in faith:
Hebrews 11:39-40 “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

John would have been like one of them.

And John, like every other Old Testament prophet,
Could prepare you for the coming kingdom,
But they could not place you in the kingdom.
Only Christ can do that.

So while it’s certainly accurate to recognize John as a prophet,
It’s more important to see him as the forerunner
So that you’ll recognize Jesus who can actually save you.

And we can’t dwell long here, but it is so important to understand.
• Every prophet and preacher in the world can certainly lift high the righteous
standard of God.
• They can lead exemplary lives of piety and integrity.
• BUT NOT ONE OF THEM (including John) CAN GRANT YOU THE
NECESSARY RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.
ONLY CHRIST CAN DO THAT.

More than simply preaching righteousness
Every Old Testament prophet and every New Testament preacher
Has an even greater responsibility and that is to point you to Christ,
Because the most pathetic Christian
Is in a better condition than the most pious keeper of the Law.

AND THAT WAS REALLY JOHN’S ROLE.
Prophet? Yes
But more than that he was the forerunner.

The reputation he earned, the role he fulfilled
#3 THE REJECTION HE SUFFERED
Luke 7:29-30

Jesus just revealed that the most pathetic Christian
Is in a better condition than the most pious Jew.

Well, look at this crowd.
• You have here the pious (Pharisees)
• You have the pathetic (tax collectors)

And Jesus just said that the pathetic (with Christ)
Are in a better condition than the pious (without Him).
(Jesus just preached the gospel)

THAT CERTAINLY EXPLAINS THE RESPONSE
(and I see this as a parenthetical explanation by Luke)

(29-30) “When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”

You have here the PATHETIC:
“the people and the tax collectors”

They “acknowledged God’s justice” (literally “justified God”)

They heard John preaching of the necessity of repentance
They agreed they were in need and they ran to Jesus.

And then you have the PIOUS:
“the Pharisees and the lawyers”

They “rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”

When John told them they were sinners, they wouldn’t believe it
So they rejected John and the Jesus he pointed to.

I think Adrian Rogers stated it better than anyone:
“The worst form of badness is human goodness.”

And of course this is a point Luke has made over and over
And that explains why Luke adds in this little tidbit of information here.

Jesus is preaching about how much better it is
To be a forgiven human than it is to be a good human.

And the sinful agree while the self-righteous reject.
It’s a constant theme.

The Reputation he earned; the role he fulfilled; the rejection he suffered
#4 THE RESULT HE PRODUCED
Luke 7:31-35

That is to say that in being rejected by the self-righteous,
John actually proved who they really are.

“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like?”

Jesus is referring to those self-righteous men who rejected God’s word
And refused John’s baptism and the repentance it symbolized.

Jesus is saying, “How do I best describe these people to you?”

And here is His answer
(32) “They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’”

Jesus says, “They are like children”

I suppose you could twist that to be a good thing.
You could suppose Jesus was speaking of the innocence of a child…
You could suppose Jesus was talking about the simple faith of a child…

But Jesus is not here speaking of a child’s innocence or faith.
Jesus is here speaking of a child’s selfishness.

While children can be innocent and children can demonstrate great trust,
Children also have a propensity to be selfish and stubborn.

THEY CAN BE SPOILED ROTTEN BRATS

And that is what Jesus references here.
(possibly even pointing out some children doing this very thing)

(32) “They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’”

Now this isn’t a hard comparison.
We all know children love to play games which emulate grown-up activity.
Kids love to play “store”
Kids love to play “house”
Little girls have “tea parties” and little boys “work with their tools”

In Jesus’ day kids played the same types of games,
Only then they played “funeral” and they played “wedding”.

And with good reason.
Funerals and weddings were about the most excitement
Children saw on a regular basis.

Each lasted about a week, and each involved large numbers of people.

But because they were kids, you know there were times when one kid wanted to play funeral and the others wanted to play wedding.

To which a kid says, “I’ll take my ball and go home”
“If you aren’t gonna do it my way, then I’m not playing”

We’ve all seen this incident before.
And Jesus says, “That is what you are like”.

You are like a bunch of spoiled children
Who are only interested in doing what you want,
But unwilling to change in order to take part with everyone else.

Well that is obviously a pretty harsh rebuke.

YOU ARE BRATS – YOU ARE BABIES
• You are unwilling to see your own fault
• You are unwilling to see anyone else’s point
• You are unwilling to give in or yield; you only want your way

DO YOU HAVE ANY EVIDENCE OF THIS JESUS?
(33-34) “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a frined of tax collectors and sinners!’”

That is to say, you’re impossible to please.
• You find fault in everyone.
• You won’t listen to anyone.

John came abstaining from all worldly desires (some see this as “playing the funeral game”) and commanding you to repent.

But you wouldn’t listen to John, and wrote him off as demon possessed.

Jesus came befriending sinners (some see this as “playing the wedding game”) and calling for you to love one another,

But you didn’t want to do that so you wrote Him off as being a drunkard.

John told you to repent so you could enter the kingdom.
Jesus offered the kingdom to the repentant.
But because of your selfishness…
Because of your spoiled nature…
You would listen to neither of them.

You wouldn’t listen to John and you won’t listen to Me.

You are like spoiled kids who would rather John and I
Change our standards to fit your desires.

Jesus exposed a people who were utterly unsubmissive
And unwilling to enter the kingdom according to God’s standards.

And then comes His main point.
(35) “Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

How do you know if a person is a good parent?
You look at their kids don’t you?

• I mean it doesn’t matter if a person can write books about parenting…
• It doesn’t matter if they have parenting degrees and doctorates in child raising…
• If their kids are spoiled rotten brats you are not going to call them a good parent.

Well in that same way, you don’t call a person wise
Who makes the dumbest decision of all eternity.

You measure a person’s wisdom by what they do.

We’ve said it many times.
Wisdom is not what you know.
Wisdom is what you do with what you know.

No one explained this better than the writer of Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

Wisdom isn’t what you know, it’s what you do with what you know.
• Jesus taught us that the wise man is the man who hears and acts on what he hears, like the wise man who built his house on the rock.
• But the foolish man is the man who hears but does not act on what he hears, like the foolish man who built his house on the sand.

Here Jesus is taking that same concept of wisdom
And confronting this crowd with it.

You think yourselves to be such wise men and yet
• You have failed to obey an obvious prophet
• You have failed to admit your obvious sin
• You have failed to follow an obvious Messiah

I don’t care about all the religious stuff you do, you are fools.

Those tax collectors may have been immoral,
But they weren’t fools.
That is a title reserved for the self-righteous.

Do you want to know who the biggest fool in the world is?
It’s the person who doesn’t think he needs forgiveness.

1 John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

What can be more foolish than to have the only means of salvation standing in front of you and to choose instead to try it your own way?

But that’s exactly what the self-righteous do.
Because they are selfish, spoiled, brats.

Friend today, I simply remind you of the glory of the gospel.

Which reminds us that
• “All have fallen short of the glory of God.”
• “There is none righteous, not even one.”
• “And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.”

But it also reminds us that there is salvation found in Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:1-2 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

• Christ first lived the perfect life God required, satisfying God’s holy standard.
• Then Christ suffered the punishment for offending God’s holy standard.

And now, salvation is available for the most wicked.
And only the most foolish would think they didn’t need it.

The Expected One
Luke 7:17-23
May 27, 2018

If you will remember, the gospel of Luke opened with
An explanation by Luke as to why he was writing this gospel account.

Luke 1:1-4 “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”

• We noted that in Luke’s day there must have been a number of stories circulating about this Jesus who had turned the world upside down.

• One can only imagine how the stories must have grown given the propensity of people to exaggerate and “spin” the news to fit their own agendas.

Luke wrote to cut through all of the speculation
And deliver “the exact truth” about this Jesus.

It was and is extremely important that people know who Jesus is.

But also important to the purposes of Luke
Is to reveal who Jesus is supposed to be.

It is that continued link to the Old Testament
Which Luke is so committed to.

• On one hand you have the Old Testament promises regarding the Messiah,
• On the other hand you have this Jesus who has arrived claiming to be that
Messiah.

We want to know if the two mesh.

Luke is seeking to help you answer the question: Is this Jesus the one that the Old Testament prophets were talking about?

THAT IS PRECISELY THE QUESTION WE DEAL WITH TODAY.

And it’s actually a question that Luke has been setting up for us
Over the last 2 weeks.

Over the last 2 weeks we have read about two rather remarkable miracles.
• First Jesus healed the slave of a centurion who was apparently about to die and Jesus did it without ever physically seeing the man.
• And then last week Jesus raised a widow’s son to life right in the middle of his funeral.

And certainly those were tremendous miracles in their own right.
• We learned of Jesus’ authority
• We learned of Jesus’ compassion

And those were certainly worthwhile stories.
But Luke had more on his mind than just relaying those random stories.

Those stories prompted a conversation
That Luke most certainly wanted to share.

After those two miracles we read:
(17) “This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.”

• It’s hard to imagine that Jesus’ popularity wasn’t already well established, but if it wasn’t, it certainly is now.
• Jesus is working some amazing miracles, and the word is spreading.
• And this provokes a conversation.

(18) “The disciples of John reported to him about all these things.”

Luke wants you to know about a report that occurred.
• What Jesus was doing had become so remarkable that John’s disciples thought it best to visit John and tell him all about what they were hearing.

If you will remember, John has been taken out of circulation.
Luke 3:18-20 “So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.”

• We don’t know exactly how long John has currently been in prison, but it’s conceivable to say it could have been at least a year by now.

• And while in prison John receives word of all the miraculous things Jesus is doing, especially regarding the healing of the slave and the raising of the dead man.

And this report brings about the question
That we want to answer this morning.

There are 3 points we’ll make here.
#1 THE QUESTION
Luke 7:19-20

John gets word of all that Jesus is doing
And it sparks a question that John wants Jesus to answer.

“Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”

Even down in verse 20 when the 2 disciples arise, they reiterate that question to Jesus. “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”

Now there’s a lot of history to that question, and we need to understand at least a little of it to be able to grasp Luke’s point here.

First of all let’s deal with the concept of “the Expected One”

It certainly implies that at least among the Jews
There was a certain expectation of One who was coming.

Why wouldn’t there be?
You’ve read the Old Testament promises and prophecies.

Consider:
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

And trust me there are many, but I’ll leave it at one just for the sake of time.

There were promises of a King and a Kingdom
And a time when Israel’s enemies would be defeated
And Israel would be liberated and exalted
And God’s King would reign on the throne.

Jews were aware of the promises
And they expected that this King was on His way.

THEY WERE WAITING FOR THEIR KINGDOM.
And this is evident in the New Testament.

When John the Baptist showed upon the scene remember the stir He caused?
John 1:19-22 “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

• Israel was certainly looking for the Christ,
• But due to a misunderstanding of Old Testament Scripture they were also looking for a slew of prophets who would come before Him.

They come asking John are you the Messiah?
Are you at least one of those prophets?

The same expectation is revealed in Matthew 16
Matthew 16:13-14 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

There was an expectation in Israel about the coming King.

Of course we remember:
Luke 2:25 “And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”

Luke 2:38 “At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Or we read of people like Joseph of Arimathea:
Luke 23:50-51 “And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;”

It was His disciples who asked:
Luke 21:5-7 “And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.” They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

And even after His resurrection we read:
Acts 1:6 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

And apparently it wasn’t even limited to the Jews.
Even the Samaritan woman weighed in on this.

John 4:25 “The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”

I think you get the point about expectation.
There was a national expectation about the Messiah
Who would come and usher in the kingdom of God.

Well John was also clearly one of those who shared that expectation.
Why wouldn’t he, he was sent to prepare the way for Him.

THE PECULIAR PART to us is that
John here is considering that Jesus might not be the guy.

Does that seem strange to you?
I sort of think so.

We could expect that question from a lot of people, but not from John.

TURN TO: JOHN 1:29-37

I mean there, not only is John still preaching about Jesus,
But he also sends his own disciples after Him.

TURN TO: JOHN 3:25-36

There John willfully states that
My ministry needs to get out of the way of His ministry.

And then John preached the gospel that in order to be saved
A person must believe in and obey Jesus.

John was a beacon of conviction.
He was certain of who Jesus was.

And now John sends the question to Jesus, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”

That does seem a little strange.
I think we have to address a little here the root of John’s doubt.

• As was already noted, John was in prison.
• He had been arrested for preaching the gospel to Herod.
• What is more, Jesus has left John in prison.

• Jesus’ ministry is flourishing, Jesus disciples are even beginning to minister, and yet Jesus has left John in prison.

• John had expected the kingdom.
• John had expected to submit under the rule of this new King.
• John expected Him to come and baptize with fire.

And thus far, none of that has happened.

I think there is a Psalm that probably better grasps the mindset of John than anything I can say about his current condition.

TURN TO: Psalms 89
(It is a little lengthy, but I think it is worth it)

Let’s run through it here quickly.

It begins with Ethan (the Psalmist) remembering God’s faithfulness and the specific promise God made concerning His reigning King.

(READ 1-4)
• So he recounts that God is faithful and that God has promised to build up David’s throne forever.

And it’s not just that God is faithful to His promises,
It is also that God is more than able to fulfill His promises.
(READ 5-10)
• Point being, if God wants to do it, none can stop Him.

Beyond that, we also have the reminder that this powerful God always does what is right.
He never walks in deceit or evil. He is always righteous and just.
(READ 11-18)
• And there we learn that it is God’s righteousness, coupled with His power that makes Him a sure and steady hope for His people.
• He is a faithful shield in whom we can rejoice.

And so according to Ethan, if you’re dealing with a God like that,
Then you can take His word to the bank.

Well then Ethan begins to recount the promise God made concerning David and his kingdom.
(READ 19-29)
• Ethan recounts that God had promised to anoint David and appoint David and to keep David and his line forever.

And according to Ethan this promise is good even if David’s sons somehow blow it and offend God completely.
(READ 30-37)

So taking inventory on the whole situation,
We see that God has promised to exalt David’s line, regardless of merit,
And because God is always faithful and always just,
Ethan is taking the promise to the bank.

That’s his expectation.

THEN COMES THE CONFUSION
(READ 38-52)

DO YOU SEE HIS PROBLEM?
• He knows the promises of God
• He knows the character of God

But he does not see these promises being fulfilled like he expected.
And the Psalm ends with a simple declaration of faith even while not understanding.

Now do you understand John’s problem?
• He knows who Jesus is.
• He knows the promises concerning Jesus.
• But John never expected that Jesus would be running around and leaving John in prison.

HIS SUFFERING WAS UNEXPECTED.

Incidentally we could place John in here in a long list of God’s servants
Who grew disillusioned with God when the suffered unexpectantly, especially when they had done nothing wrong.

Remember Job in his affliction?
Job 7:20-21 “Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? “Why then do You not pardon my transgression And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me, but I will not be.”

Remember Elijah after he expected revival and only received a death threat. He ran to the mountain of God and confronted God:
1 Kings 19:9-10 “Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Remember Jeremiah in all his persecution?
Jeremiah 20:7-8 “O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the word of the LORD has resulted In reproach and derision all day long.”

These were all men like John
• Who were suffering when they didn’t deserve it
• Who were suffering alone
• Who were suffering when they didn’t expect it

And that certainly has John rattled.

And we could quite easily take a second and focus on John’s despair
And how we often times fall into that same category
When life takes an unexpected turn for us.

• God is always faithful
• And God always keeps His word
But it is also true that in doing so that
God doesn’t always demonstrate His faithfulness in the way we expect.

The greatest example of this will always be the cross.
Jesus’ followers are going to be absolutely blown away that Jesus will be crucified.

• They didn’t see that one coming at all, and it caught them all off guard.
• Now actually, His death was a perfect fulfillment of prophecy, but they didn’t
fully understand all that prophecy and so God’s work there certainly
confused them.

And so we must consent that our confusion is based on our ignorance,
Not God’s failure to do what He promised.

And we certainly could talk about the necessity of faith in God
Even when we don’t understand.

John is there now.

But the reason Luke includes this story is NOT because
He wants to focus on the day John doubted,
Or because he wants some sentimental association
With our doubts and struggles.

Luke includes this story for 1 reason.
Namely that in his doubts John asks a question
That Luke thinks needs answering.

And that question is:
“Are you the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”

We’ve been looking for the Messiah whom God has promised for years.
And we want to know, are you Him?

What a great and direct and straightforward question to answer.

Is Jesus the One God has promised all throughout the Old Testament?
• God promised a King
• God promised a Priest
• God promised a Savior
• God promised a Deliverer

We’ve been waiting for Him, are You that guy?

And I hope you understand the importance here.
This is an area where great deceptive attempts are promised.

Matthew 24:24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”

2 Peter 2:1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”

The point being,
• We aren’t just looking for a “Messiah”, we are looking for God’s Messiah.
• We aren’t just looking for a Savior, we are looking for God’s Savior.

Even in our world we’ve seen our Jim Jones’ and our David Caresh’s
Who claim to be God’s Messiah.
Their claims mean less than nothing. We are looking for God’s Messiah

This is Luke’s opportunity to let Jesus answer for you
Whether or not He is God’s sent Savior, Priest, and King.

That’s the question
#2 THE ANSWER
Luke 7:21-22

I like the way Luke begins the answer; “At that very time”
• Jesus didn’t answer with a debate…
• Jesus didn’t answer with a history lesson…
• Jesus didn’t appeal to logic…

“At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.”

Talk about an emphatic statement!

Jesus just put on a full blown power and authority clinic
Right in front of their very eyes
And then basically looks at John’s disciples and says,
“What do you think?”

(22) “And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.”

All of those are direct fulfillments of the promises
God made about the One He would send.

Isaiah 35:3-6 “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.”

Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

These miracles were an emphatic statement from Jesus
That He is exactly the One whom God promised.

Imagine the scene that just unfolded.

We know Isaiah’s prophecy about the blind seeing, the lame leaping like a deer, the deaf hearing and the mute shouting.

And imagine what John’s disciples must have just witnessed.
• For when they asked if Jesus was the expected One, He immediately worked those miracles.

And can you imagine what the crowd around Him looked like?
• There’s a deaf man listening to the first words the mute man ever spoke.
• There’s a blind man watching the first steps the lame man ever took.
• There’s a dead man returning to his family.
• There’s a poor man being offered the forgiveness of the gospel

The scene must have been astounding
And Jesus says, “What do you think?”

It is an emphatic “Yes!”
I am the One the Father promised.

John 5:31-37 “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. “There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. “You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. “But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. “He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.”

That was Jesus there revealing that He is in fact the Father’s Savior.

And this is the point Luke wants you to catch.
It is a foundational point to Luke’s gospel.

When God in the Old Testament promised a Savior,
We see that Savior in Jesus Christ.

There is no other.
He is the One.
If you miss Him, you miss everything.

The Question, The Answer
#3 THE REMINDER
Luke 7:23

I’ve always liked to refer to this as “The Doubter’s Beatitude”
It is actually a subtle rebuke of John.

And don’t think this rebuke is unusual.

We read of Jeremiah’s complaint earlier, here is what God had to say to him.
Jeremiah 15:19-21 “Therefore, thus says the LORD, “If you return, then I will restore you — Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them. “Then I will make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; And though they fight against you, They will not prevail over you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” declares the LORD. “So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.”

We read of Elijah’s complaint, here is how God responded.
1 Kings 19:15-18 “The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. “It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. “Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

In other words, “I’m going to replace you”

And Job gets the harshest response of all. God gives him 4 chapters of rebuke.
Job 38:1-3 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!”

And of course THE POINT to all of that is this.
• It’s one thing to have some doubts…
• It’s one thing to have your expectations challenged…
• It’s one thing to be confused…

But if those doubts end up causing you to leave Christ,
Then you have made the gravest mistake of all.

Was John considering that?

Well what did he ask?
“Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”

In his confusion and unfulfilled expectation
John was actually debating rejecting that Jesus was the Messiah
And beginning a search for a different one.

And Jesus gives John a soft, yet stern rebuke.
• John, I am the One you’re looking for.
• John, I am the One God promised.
• And if you want the blessing then you had better not stumble over Me.

That is to say, “Don’t let the hardships associated with following Me, cause you to give up and quit.”

WHY?
Because Jesus is the One.

And if you allow circumstances to drive you from Him,
Then you are the one who misses out.

And so this wonderful revelation also comes with a stern warning.

Jesus is in fact the One God promised,
And the blessing comes only for those who do not fall away.

DO YOU SEE LUKE’S POINT?
• It is all about the exclusivity of Jesus.
• It is all about the absolute necessity of Jesus.

Luke ISN’T just revealing to you
That Jesus is a Savior, or a healer or a deliverer.
Luke IS revealing that Jesus is THE Savior; He is the only Savior.

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is the One you need, even He’s not the One you expected.
That is Luke’s point.

So this morning I just lay that truth before you again.
• We aren’t talking about 1 option of many.
• We are talking about the arrival of the One God promised.
• And God didn’t promise to send any others.

Salvation is found in trusting in Him.
Don’t miss Him.

045 The Evidence of Faith
James 2:14-26
May 20, 2018

We have now completed our doctrinal study of the SOLAS,
But before we wrap up the study completely
I do think it important to cover a bit of the application side of this study.

And namely I just want to make sure you understand that
These SOLAS should result in the sanctified life.

If your understanding of the SOLAS
Leads you to more apathetic and sinful life
Then it is obvious you did not understand them
And you most certainly have not believed them.

Those SOLAS represent the truth of the gospel
And the gospel should produce righteous living.

Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

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

Or even:
1 Thessalonians 4:3a “For this is the will of God, your sanctification”

It doesn’t get much clearer than that.

Now last week we quickly looked at the reality of SOLA GRATIA and what it should produce.

Paul said it clearly:
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

Grace should produce godliness.
If it doesn’t then you have missed the point of grace.

Tonight I want us to look at another SOLA and what is should produce;
Namely SOLA FIDE.

And tonight we look at this passage in James to remind us
That while we are saved by faith alone, true faith is never alone.

It is always accompanied by works; namely works of righteousness.
Tonight James specifically targets your faith.
He wants to know if it is real or not.

And it all stems on this one belief of James:
FAITH IS NOT INVISIBLE

I don’t know where the idea came from
That all spiritual attributes were invisible.
People just sort of want to spiritualize everything and make it all personal and private.

But that just isn’t Biblical.
And that is precisely what James is talking about here
Throughout the end of chapter 2.

Look down at verse 18:
“But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; SHOW me your faith without the works, and I will SHOW you my faith by my works.”

Look down at verse 22:
“YOU SEE that faith was working with his works…”

Look at verse 24:
“YOU SEE that man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

It is clear that James is talking about FAITH YOU CAN SEE

There are three main points to this passage as we examine different types of faith.
#1 EFFORTLESS COMPASSION REVEALS DEAD FAITH
James 2:14-18

James wastes no time with two very penetrating and important questions.

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works?”

You really need to key in on the word “says” there.
• James is referring to the person who claims to be a Christian.
• James is referring to the person who claims to believe in Christ.

They “SAY” they believe, but if it wasn’t for their outward confession,
You’d have no idea that they were a Christian.

And James says, “What use is it..?”

Another way to ask that is,
• “How much value does your confession have?”
• “What is your worth?”
• “What can your accomplish?”

And if you want to know specifically what James is getting at,
Look at the next question:

“Can that faith save him?”

Now we’re getting to the heart of the issue.

You have a verbal faith that is void of any other evidence…
What can that faith accomplish?

Well, here’s a few things it can do
• It can make you feel better about yourself
• It can also get those evangelistic nuts off your back
• It can help your reputation around other Christians
• It might even gain you access into Christian circles

The reality is that there is value in faith that is only verbal.
The problem is that it has no eternal value.

For all the things that it can do for you,
One thing it can’t do is save your soul from hell.

It may gain you access into the church, but it will not gain you access into heaven.
It may get the evangelist off your back, but it won’t keep you out of hell.
Namely because it is not the kind of faith that God accepts.

James actually alluded to this earlier in his epistle:
James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Even in that verse James revealed that there is a definite MEASURABLE ACTION side that is required in our faith or our religion.

He spoke of VISITING orphans and widows and KEEPING oneself unstained.

And that is the type of religion that God accepts.

But religion or faith that has no action and is not measurable
Is not acceptable to Him.
And so it is not a faith that can save.

And please let this sobering reality sink in a little tonight.
THERE IS SUCH A THING AS FAITH THAT CANNOT SAVE

John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

We know that true faith requires confession, so whatever it meant that they “believed” it certainly did not result in salvation.

Here’s another:
John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

Again, there is a group of “believers”.
I don’t know what type of faith they had, but whatever it was,
It was clear that Jesus didn’t accept it.
He would not give Himself to them.

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

There again, they claimed belief but Jesus wouldn’t buy it.
He wanted to see obedience.

So again, we are confronted by people who “believe” or people
Who have some kind of faith, but they still are not saved.

And that is what James is trying to say.
Your faith cannot be this surface only intellectual claim,
It must be verifiable.
It has to be something that can be seen.

HOW ABOUT A “FOR INSTANCE”?
(James likes hypothetical illustrations)

“If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food”

Now there is the hypothetical

1) You have “a brother or sister”
• This isn’t even some pagan
• This isn’t even your enemy
• This is a fellow “brother or sister”

2) And they are “without clothing”

James doesn’t say they don’t have the latest fashions,
He says they are “without clothing”
They are either exposed to the elements
Or exposed in an indecent manner.

3) They also need “daily food”

Now in our culture we don’t know much about “daily food”
We have deep freezers and refrigerators and our food is packed full of preservatives that let it survive on the shelf for hundreds of years.

But when the Bible says “daily food” it means food for today.
They have nothing to eat.

They are a fellow believer, they are naked and they are hungry.
That is a real situation.

And I shouldn’t have to tell you what a Christian should do there.
The word is COMPASSION

And Scripture is clear about it.
You are to care for your brother.
You are to treat him as you would want him to treat you.

But here is what the person with fake faith did.
(16) “and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,”

Your answer to their dilemma was
To SPEAK A BLESSING OVER THEM

There is some more of that WORD-FAITH junk
We see floating around today.
AND SUCH IDIOCY FRUSTRATES JAMES

Do you want to know about useless faith?
“one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”

What you did for that poor brother is just about as pointless
As telling God you believe in Him.

It isn’t verifiable – it isn’t real

And to that James makes a solid point.
(17) “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

You have faith that consists of effortless compassion.
James as a word for that kind of faith – “DEAD”

I don’t know what you have, but it isn’t saving faith.
• You have religion without compassion
• You have religion without love
• You have a belief that has thus far been unable to rid you of selfishness and fill you with divine love.

If you don’t have measurable compassion for the poor,
Then you have a major problem.

1 John 3:17 “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

You get the point.
Faith that is void of compassion is not saving faith.

AND HERE IS THE KICKER
If all you have is verbal faith with no works
ANYONE CAN SHOOT A HOLE IN THAT!

(18) “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

This isn’t James challenging you,
This is James giving you another hypothetical.

James says, “lets suppose all you have is that verbal faith that is void of any measurable compassion.”

You claim to be a believer, though it is hardly evident.

Do you know how easy it is to prove you a fraud?
“someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

In other words, all someone has to do to discredit your faith
Is walk up to you and say, “Do you have faith?”
You’d say, “Yes”
And they say, “Show me”

Perhaps you answered, “That’s not possible for faith is spiritual and private and invisible.”

And then they will answer, “I will show you my faith by my works.”

This man basically said – “Put up or ___________”

DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM?
You have a faith that cannot be verified
This does no good for your mission in the world
This does no good for your eternal hope of heaven
This is NOT what SOLA FIDE was pointing to.

Effortless Compassion Reveals Dead Faith
#2 EMPTY CONFESSION REVEALS USELESS FAITH
James 2:19-20

James is still speaking of that faith with no works.
He is talking about that man who “says he has faith but he has no works.”

And James really squares in on the religious here.

He is referring to people who make an outward claim “that God is one”

Where did he get that statement?
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Israel was steeped in a world of polytheism.
All of their neighbors believed in numerous gods

And God told Israel – There is one God, Me! And you should give Me all your love.

So a good Jew quickly learned that “God is one”
Or that there is only one God.

James’ problem was not their lack of belief in Deuteronomy 6:4,
It was in their LACK OF adherence to Deuteronomy 6:5
In which they were to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind.

That was the problem.
And it is a real problem even today.

People all over our culture, people all over our churches who say,
“I believe in God”

James says “You do well;”

Of course the problem is this:
“the demons also believe”

I’ll tell you something about Satan and his demons.
They are monotheistic.

• They believe in the one true God.
• They know God is real.
• Satan is more sure of the nature and work of Christ than anyone.

If you tell a demon there is only one God, they will agree.

But where a condemned demon goes even farther than most who claim to believe in God today, at least they “shudder”

At least they fear God.

Matthew 8:29-31 “And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”

Mark 5:7 “and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”

Those demons believed in Jesus, they believed in the judgment,
They knew there was only one God – they even swore by Him.

And James’ concern is that most of the “believers” he sees
Don’t even do that.

(20) “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”

And boy does James hit the nail on the head!

What he reveals is precisely the problem
People are unwilling to “recognize”
That faith without works cannot save.

People so badly want to pronounce their friends and family “saved” simply because they claim to believe.

But their friend or family member
• Exhibits no love of Christ,
• No faithfulness to His church,
• No commitment to His word,
• No desire to share His truth,
• No concern for His commands.
• No evidence of His Spirit
• No hunger for His righteousness

But they hold relentlessly to the fact that one time in VBS as a child
They claimed to believe and was even baptized.

They are unwilling to even consider the possibility
That their faith may not be genuine.

And James says that is “foolish”

That is to make a mockery out of faith
That is to disregard the requirements of God
That is to dispense false assurance by the bucket loads

And attitude like that won’t glorify God or save the lost – it is foolish!

Instead you ought to recognize what Scripture teaches,
And that is that genuine saving faith is accompanied by works.

1 John 2:3-6 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

And if you don’t have those works, I don’t see any way in the world
You can actually believe your faith is real.

In fact it would be “foolish” to assume it is.
James says the faith that you have is “useless”

Effortless Compassion reveals Dead Faith Empty Confession reveals Useless Faith
#3 EVIDENT CONVICTIONS REVEAL PERFECT FAITH
James 2:21-26

Now here comes the fun part of the text.
(In fact these verses nearly kept the book of James out of the New Testament)

On the surface it can seem very contradicting
To other passages of Scripture.

For example:
(21) “Was not Abraham our father justified by works..?

Romans 4:1-5 “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”

Paul said Abraham was justified by faith,
And James just said he was justified by works.

(24) “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

You have to admit it appears to be quite a contradiction.

But it isn’t.
In fact I would go so far as to tell you that Paul, James, and the writer of Hebrews would all stand in perfect agreement with one another.

TURN TO: HEBREWS 11
Now you know the writer takes you through
Example after example of people with faith.

Let me ask you a question as we look over this group of people.
HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY HAD FAITH?

Abel (4) – “Abel OFFERED to God a better sacrifice”
Enoch (5) – “he OBTAINED the witness…”
Noah (7) – “PREPARED an ark”
Abraham (8) – “OBEYED by going out”
Abraham (9) – “LIVED as an alien”
Sarah (10) – “CONCEIVED”
Abraham (17) – “OFFERED up Isaac”
Isaac (20) – “BLESSED Jacob and Esau”
Jacob (21) – “BLESSED each one of the sons of Joseph & WORSHIPED”
Joseph (22) – “GAVE ORDERS concerning his bones”
Moses’ Parents (23) – “HID Moses”
Moses (24) – “REFUSED to be called the son of…”
Israelites (29) – “the PASSED through the Red Sea”
Rahab (31) – “she had WELCOMED the spies”

And the writer goes on and on.
DO YOU CATCH THE POINT?

The writer of Hebrews certainly believed that it was by faith
That the saints of old gained approval before God.
But he was under no misconception that their faith
Was some sort of empty, useless, dead, intellectual claim.

Their faith had weight, it was verifiable, you could see it.

And Paul would have been right on board with this.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

Well what do you think you were supposed to test?
What do you think you were supposed to look at?

All of these men believed in verifiable faith.

SO HOW DO YOU SETTLE THE APPARENT CONTRADICTION?

Here it is:

Both of those men would wholeheartedly agree
That you are justified before God by faith.

What James wants you to know is that you don’t have works,
Then you don’t have the type of faith that justifies.

When James talks about being justified by works,
He is NOT talking about justification of your soul,
He IS talking about justification of your faith.

And that is what he is about to show you.

He gives two examples.
(21-24) “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

James first brings up that famous event in Abraham’s life.
He brings up the event where Abraham offered up Isaac on the altar.

James says that when Abraham did that, “the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

In other words, what Abraham did on Mt. Moriah
Proves that Abraham really did believe.

We remember Abraham’s salvation:
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

That is the day when Abraham was saved.
We know that because that is the day that God gave him righteousness.

Now, God can see the heart and so He knew Abraham’s faith was real.

But if God hadn’t said so, based on that passage, how would you know that Abraham really believed God?

You wouldn’t.
In fact, if God hadn’t said so, you’d be really concerned about Abraham
Based on what is coming next.

• Chapter 16 he goes in to Hagar
• Chapter 17 he laughs when God tells him Sarah will conceive
• Chapter 20 he passes off Sarah again
• Chapter 21 he tries to keep Ishmael even though Sarah knows he has to leave

I mean let’s face it, if God hadn’t said he was justified, we would see nothing in his life that gave us any indication that it was true.

But then we come to CHAPTER 22, and God gives that command to sacrifice Isaac, which Abraham does.

Genesis 22:10-12 “Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Did Abraham save himself when he offered up Isaac?
No, Abraham proved that he was saved.

In that act of obedience “the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

And to that James says, (24) “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

That is to say, WORKS ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
AS A VALIDATION OF YOUR FAITH.

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

Well, let’s look at the next example:
James is making that same point again, “In the same way…”

(25-26) “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

Take Rahab for an example.
She “received the messengers”

Did that save her before God? No
(It did save her from destruction)

But Rahab’s actions were because of her faith.

Let me show you:
Joshua 2:8-13 “Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. “When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. “Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”

She believed, she trembled, and her action proves that.
Her faith was proved real.

And the reality is that James could bring up every single person
In the faith hall of fame and ask the exact same question.

• Was not Able justified by works when he offered up a better sacrifice than
Cain?
• Was not Enoch justified by works when he lived righteous in a pagan land?
• Was not Noah justified by works when he built the ark?

Do you see?

Through their works “faith was perfected”

And then comes the conclusion:

(26) “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
And what an analogy.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE CALL A “BODY WITHOUT THE SPIRIT”?
A corpse.

And with that you understand his point.
“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

It is a question geared at the mass of people who claim to be Christians,
Who claim to believe in God, who claim SOLA FIDE,
But whose lives have no verifiable evidence of that claim.

And the question is,
Are you prepared to ride that type of faith into eternity?

And that is also the expectation of SOLA FIDE.

The Reformers fought to the death for the belief
That we are justified by faith alone,
But they always held to the belief that it must be real faith.

And faith is verified by works, namely righteousness.