Four Warnings for the Disciple

Luke 6:39-45

In Peter’s first letter to Christians spread across the region of Asia Minor (regions associated with modern-day Turkey), he reminds these Christians of who they are in Christ:

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

Because of Christ believers have been called “out of darkness into His marvelous light,” and are grafted in to the family of God. The light believers have been given is the truth and life of Jesus Christ.

Scripture also teaches we are also light bearers; Jesus Himself explains to His disciples.

““You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14)

Not only have believers themselves been called out of darkness (spiritual blindness), they’ve been called to lead others out of their spiritual blindness—finding life through Christ and learning to live lives for Christ—this is what is known as discipleship, an emphasis we have been studying over the course of several weeks

A disciple has the privilege of leading others to know Christ and grow in Christ, they lead people to see the care, the compassion, and the covenant love of God, where they can stand in live in strength of God’s grace.

A disciple is a conduit of sorts. The light a disciple receives is, again, to be the beacon to others; said this way, what’s poured into the disciple is to be poured out of the disciple. But what happens if the light grows dim? What happens when a believer, a church body allow what Christ refers to as “their first love,” that intimate close walk with Christ to grow dim. In short, not only does the disciple find themself “in the ditch,” but those who they disciple are at risk for ending up in the ditch.

Jesus’ teaching in our Scripture today, focus our attention on four warnings, four areas where we are to be on guard with to ensure we are walking and leading others in the light of Jesus Christ.

True disciples:

I. (v.39) Guard against their own spiritual blindness, so as not to lead others down the same path

Luke 6:39 “And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?”

What we know of spiritual blindness:

We are all born spiritually blind—w/out spiritual sight (sinful nature)

We bring blindness on ourselves (through active, un-repented/confessed sins)

We allow others to lead us astray—to lead us into darkness

Some are blinded through circumstances, heritage, or where we live (places which keep us from opportunities to escape the darkness)

WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT THESE LATER

(CONTEXT) Through the lens of the O/T we can see an example of this and from there we can draw out our application (Please turn to Genesis 13)

Where spiritual blindness lead us:

Genesis 12-19 (Lot himself)—See the progression

Genesis 13:10–11 “And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.”

Lot, in “lifting his eyes” towards the plain of Jericho, lifted his eyes (focus) off of the Lord—which led him to make a decision from the lens of self.

Lot, in making decision thru the lens of self, led him to walk in some spiritual blindness—he was enticed and drawn away, as James says, “by his own desires.”

Genesis 14 teaches us it’s one thing to make decisions in spiritual blindness…it’s another thing when we stay in those decisions

Lot’s capture

Lot’s rescue

Lot’s return to Sodom

Genesis 19 teaches us where spiritual blindness can lead us

Spiritual blindness leads to spiritual compromise)

Lot started living next to Sodom, yet ended up in the gateway of the city (Genesis 19:1)

Lot cowardly offered his daughters to the immoral crowd of men (Genesis 19:8)

Spiritual blindness leads to spiritual numbness (a reluctance to move out of blindness/darkness)

Genesis 19:16 “And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.”

How spiritual blindness leads others:

Genesis 19 (Lot’s wife and daughters)

What can we learn about spiritual blindness in all of this:

What the N/T teaches us about Lot is a glaring lesson for all believers (2 Peter 2:7 “and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked”)—the righteous (those counted righteous by God) are just at risk for drifting into spiritual blindness. How do we come to walk/drift into spiritual blindness

A spirit of self, which is to walk in spirit of self-reliance/self-sufficiency/or self-righteousness—

It is to elevate “self” rather than “deny” self

It is elevate oneself as lord, rather than Christ as Lord

Living with unconfessed sin(s) and a lack of repentance

Sin distorts our spiritual sight and the more calloused we become, the more we blind oneself to the Light (the Truth)

Allowing others (through deliberate acts or careless acts) to lead us astray and into darkness

God’s instructions to Joshua serve as instructions to us—guarding us from being led astray

Joshua 1:7–9 “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.””

Paul’s instructions to the church in Ephesus also serves as a means to guards ourselves from worldly compromise

Ephesians 6:14–17 “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;”

Circumstances, our heritage (family), or our location (where we live) can keep a person from the opportunity to escape darkness

Sadly, when people focus on the stress of circumstances, they fail to see the light which will see us through those circumstances

Sadly, even our own families can keep us from escaping darkness

There exists a divine call on husbands to lead their wives to live and walk in the light. Husbands…are you?

There exists a divine call on wives to to come alongside their husbands to help the live in the light/spiritual sight. Wives…are you?

There exists a divine call for parents to teach, example, and exhort their children to live in the light/spiritual sight. Parents…are you?

Sadly, where a person lives/their environment can serve to keep them

This directs us to the mission of the local church, which is to serve as beacon of God’s light (truth) in the communities God has planted them in

Must know that spiritual blindness is a choice—even as a disciple

Man can choose to be in the dark

Man can choose to find darkness enjoyable and comfortable, refusing to see the truth of things

Man can choose to close our eyes/turn our attention, and refuse to give space to the light

The church can choose to be closed off to the needs of the community—but if it does—it’s not going to last long

Must know that walking in blindness causes us

To stumble and fall “into the ditch.”

To risk others falling, “into the ditch.”

To guard against being blind, a disciple must

Make the choice to hide God’s Word in your heart and live according to the light of the Word

Psalm 119:9–11 “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

Embrace godly discipline, knowing that as He chastens us, fruits of righteousness are produced

Hebrews 12:5 “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;”

Hebrews 12:11 “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Embrace conviction and allow God, through the Holy Spirit, burn away any dross & defect off of our hearts

2 Corinthians 7:9–10 “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Purpose our heart to honor God above all else

Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

James 5:8 “You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

Diligently continue in developing spiritual fruit and spiritual disciplines

2 Peter 1:5–8 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

A disciple’s life—lived to these things of God’s Word help to ensure and guard against walking blind and blindly leading others—enabling disciples to walk in the light of truth as well

Secondly, true disciples

II. (v.40) Diligently watch/emulate the life of Christ—to “be as his Master.”

Luke 6:40 “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.”

This first instruction, that the disciple, “is not above his Master,” is forceful and teaches those who are disciples two things:

FIRST: A disciple is to know they will never be better than the Lord (we never “graduate the Gospel.”)

A disciple cannot expect to be treated better or receive more in this world

A disciple cannot expect to have more honor, praise, recognition, or esteem

A disciple cannot expect to have more comfort/rest/or pleasure

A disciple recognizes that Christ suffered, humbled, and denied Himself for the sake of the world and it’s deepest need and does the same—denying himself to reach the world for the sake of the Gospel

Second: A disciple, remember is a life-long learner,

Whose goal to be “as his Master,” seeking

To be conformed, mended, repaired, and restored into the very image of Christ

Whose goal is to be “perfected;” which is

To complete, to render fit, and to mend; it is often used of restoring broken things such as nets

A process, whereby we are matured through our yielding to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit

A process of being conformed in thought—in attitude—and in action, so that our lives emulate Christ and give off the fragrance of Christ

Possessing a heart of

Good soil

Mark 4:20 “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.””

Being moldable

Jeremiah 18:4–6 “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!”

Being obedient; which

Brings glory to God’s name

Serves as a witness to others

Builds godly character in the disciple

Thirdly—True Disciples

III. (v.41-42) Guard themselves recognizing—not deflecting—known sin in their lives

Luke 6:41–42 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

The word, “hypocrite” will be useful for us as we go through these verses:

A hypocrite—in Biblical definition is the person who

Pretends & puts on a show; they act out something they are not

Is nothing more than a play-actor, one who wears a mask in order to hide their real self;

Is one who acts one way but who really is another way

A hypocrite, when it comes to the things of God is the person who

Pretends to seek God—but inside they seek after things of self and of this world

Pretend to care for the things of God—but inside concern is only anything other

Pretends to live humble/helpful—but inside pride/envy/possessiveness/and selfishness make their home

Scripture—specifically Christ—has a lot to say about the hypocrite, but for the purposes of today’s message, the Bible—Jesus Christ measures those who live in hypocrisy the same as He does the Scribe and Pharisee (Matthew 23)

Note the backdrop to this parable:

Jesus was speaking to everyone seated and listening to Him—no matter how moral, how decent, how strong, how religious, or how free of visible sin a person may be/seem—He was speaking to everyone—no one was exempt. Why?

Because, no person is free from sin; however small a person’s sin (speck) may be—it is serious in the eyes of the Lord

Even a speck causes eyes to water, squint, blink, and close (think of that physically—when one speck of dirt gets in your eye)

Even a speck hinders a person’s sight (life & walk), holding them back from forward movement

Note some facts of this parable

Both people in this parable have a problem

No one is free from dirt (sin); we know this through God’s Word

Romans 3:10 “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;”

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

No one lives in perfect obedience; again this is seen through God’s Word

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”

No one is absent at least a “speck” of sin

The criticizer—however—has the bigger problem (notice their problem is a plank or beam compared to the others’ speck)

Criticism of others is a beam/plank, first, b/c in pointing at another’s sin and in neglecting personal sin—a person blinds themselves to the need of continued confession & repentance

The criticizer is a hypocrite (remember who they are)

The hypocrite is a person just like any other—full of faults and failures—who would rather find fault in others before themselves, condemn & judge others, labeling them guilty, while ignoring/neglecting/refusing to label themselves the same

The hypocrite is a self-righteous person, who in pointing judgmental fingers, only serves to elevate themselves on a house of cards

The hypocrite does nothing more than align himself with the Scribes and Pharisees:

John 8:1–7 “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.””

What do we—in order to be true disciples—need to learn from this?

To be on guard against and daily do battle against our sin nature

As we’ve talked about before—the nature of sin brings about a spirit of fear

Adam operated in that spirit (Genesis 3:10)

Abram operated in that spirit (Genesis 12:11-13)

Sarai operated in that spirit (Genesis 18:15)

Jesus’ disciples, time and again, operated in fear

Operating in a spirit of fear causes to minimize our sin

We begin defending

We fake it

We hide it

We blame shift

We downplay or ignore our sin

To recognize our own daily need of repentance and confession in examining first and foremost, themselves—we must see ourselves clearly

Seeing ourselves clearly starts with seeing God clearly

Seeing God clearly, helps us to see ourselves clearly

That we are desperate sinners in need of a Savior

That we possess a divinely given identity—our worth and value have been assigned to us from before creation

That we do not have to create an identity for ourselves—having already been created in one

Seeing ourselves clearly, helps us to see and behave towards others clearly

Dealing with our sins first and Biblically, helps us direct others who are in sin to the cross—where they can find restoration and reconciliation not condemnation another believer’s sin(s) Biblically (not in judgment but with compassion and mercy)

Dealing with our sins first and Biblically, helps us demonstrate the love, grace, and mercy God demonstrated towards us

Dealing with our sins first and Biblically, enables us to teach others how to deal with their sin Biblically (confession & repentance)

Seeing ourselves clearly requires spiritual sweat, discipline, and humility.

Sin distorts our spiritual sight and a battle rages every day against operating in modes of self-preservation/self-protection/self-righteousness

Fourthly—True Disciples

IV. (v.43-35) Diligently seek to bear good fruit (Spiritual fruit)

Luke 6:43–45 ““For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

(CONTEXT)

A disciple is known according to his nature—they are known according to the good fruit they bear

We must come to understand that as disciples—here and there we will bear some bad fruit—every person produces some; what we must guard against is developing a nature of leaning to bad fruit

When testing and examining ourselves and others—we must not observe single acts of the “here and their,” rather we must observe the lean/tenor/the whole behavior of lives

A disciple is known by the fruit he/she reproduces (an apple tree reproduces apples, not pears)

The fruit we gather is the fruit that will grow—are we gathering fruits of the flesh (worldly fruits) or are we gathering spiritual fruits?

The fruit we gather is the fruit that will grow and the fruit that others will partake of—that will feed others

What fruit are you feeding others with—thorns and thistles or grapes and figs *(Christ and His Word)

A disciple produces what is in his heart—here, Jesus is dealing with what comes out of our mouths

Our words expose

Our true nature

What we are really like beneath the surface

Our hearts:

Our motives, desires, and ambitions

Our true character:

Godly or worldly

Our minds & what we think

Pure thoughts or impure thoughts

Dirty thoughts or clean thoughts

Our true spirit:

What we truly believe (about ourselves, others, and of God)

What we need to learn from this, in light of being true disciples

What we say, how we speak—reveal the true nature of our hearts?

Are they words that speak truth in love?

Are they words that speak words of reconciliation?

Are they words that speak words of compassion, mercy, and forgiveness?

Are they words that speak words of life, encouragement, and admonishment?

Matthew 15:17–18 “Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.”

(CLOSING/WORHSHIP)

As we close—I have just four questions—but they are probing questions, which cause an examination of our lives, to see “if there is any wicked way,” in us. We are called—as those who have professed Christ—to be true disciples

When it comes to spiritual blindness, are there areas where you are lifting your eyes and being drawn away, where you are giving the enemy a foothold and sin is creeping at the door?

When it comes to spiritual growth, are you yielding more to the Holy Spirit or are you leaning more into a spirit of self? Are you being conformed more into the image of Christ or of the world?

When it comes to your sin(s)—are you examining your own life, walking in open repentance and confession

When it comes to bearing fruit—is more of your life leaning towards the things of Christ or the passing pleasures of this world/sin?