Luke: Undivided

Introduction

Recap of sermon on the plain

Don’t judge but here Jesus seems to be saying we can tell by fruit.

Matthew ties this to false teachers in his gospel

Here Luke leaves it free standing

So what is Luke doing here?

What I believe Jesus and Luke are getting at is an undivided heart

That those truly in God’s kingdom will be those who’s hearts are undivided towards Him because it’s not something we can fake

Look back at vs 42

You Hypocrite - so Jesus put judgement that condemns as Hypocritical because it puts us as judges with logs in our eyes. - Blind leading the Blind

This was a problem in Jesus’ day

And it is one of the most common condemnations laid against Christians by unbelievers today.

David Kinnaman - Unchristian - pg 47 top paragraph

“There’s no difference”

The hypocrisy is that we claim to be different and call out the world for how they live but there is no difference

Antidote: purity, integrity, transparency

But it’s not just about our moral choices but something much deeper

The reality is a divided heart

Let’s read our passage

The first thing Jesus gets at is our inner reality

I. Inner

Trees - common picture in scripture

Psalm 1:1–3 ESV

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Our apple trees - always produce apples - Slide

The fruit shows what type of tree it really is

Jesus says;

from good, good

from evil, evil

What is in your heart?

Heart - Proverbs calls the heart the “wellspring of life”

It’s our core, the center of our being

In exercise world the “core’ is the center muscles that affect all others

“the group of muscles that surround and support the trunk of the body”

ie abdomen, back etc

spiritually/morally it is our heart

Jesus says whatever is actually in our hearts is going to overflow (abundance) out of your mouth

II. Outer

So he says to those around him, why do you say one thing and do another

Why do you call me Lord (master, teacher) - Palm Sunday

look at vs 40

You call me Lord or teacher but you don’t look like me

Specifically, the good Jesus called them to do is:

Love enemies, show mercy instead of judgement

But they were not doing these things

Perhaps Jesus had in mind the religious leaders of that day but more likely he had us all in mind

They, and us, are hypocritical because our hearts are divided.

Why the mouth, not actions?

First it’s all tied together

But also because the mouth is the ultimate revealer

Either we say one thing and do some thing different or we do one thing and then use our mouth to hide or defend our actions

Have you ever been in a conversation in which something slips out that reveals the truth of your heart or someone asks about something you were doing or did and you find yourself covering.

Our tendency as humans and as Christians to put on pretense

Things to make us look good in others eyes

For us as Christians we often do it with our language - ie. Christianese

But we go and use our mouth to harm

Slide: Image of taming tongue

James 3:7–12 ESV

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

you can’t have both

III. Undivided

In Mark 3 - Jesus says “if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.”

Now Jesus was responding to the claim that he was casting out demons because he was possessed by the “prince of demons”.

But Jesus is there getting to the same idea as the last part of this passage

A divided heart will fall

in other words, hearing Jesus’ words but not doing them leaves a person on unstable ground

We might say to not know Jesus’ words and not doing them is more stable then the converse described

But ultimately hearing and doing create a strong foundation

Pretense seeks to hide the log but in the meanwhile creates in us an instability

When we were looking at acreages, we looked at a few where part of the house had really sunk.

And undivided heart, acknowledges the log, deals with it and seeks to follow Christ

I think we have tended to hold up perfection as the immediate but rather Jesus calls us to journey towards it

by the way, the biblical picture of perfection is not just about being without sin but of being complete/whole

teleios - perfect, mature, complete, fully developed.

To be complete, is to be fully human according to God, which means an alignment of heart and action through Him. ie. good vs evil

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

And the firm foundation is not just living a moral life perfection(obedience) but rather a heart that seeks him more fully that shows itself in a growing undivided heart which is shown by loving enemies and showing mercy.

Conclusion