Decision And Division
Notes
Transcript
Open you bible with me to Luke 12:49-59.
We have been tracking our way through Luke’s gospel
and making good headway thus far.
Luke is writing to THEOPHILUS (whose name means beloved of God)
to declare the things they have seen and heard of the Christ, that we might be have certainty of the things been taught.
That Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah.
And the narrative has picked up.
There was a massive shift in Jesus’ focus and resolve in Luke 9:51 -
that is going to come with a lot of significance in this text.
Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem
and the cross and suffering await him there.
He’s warned his disciples of the conflict and cost of following Jesus.
A cross they must be willing to bear.
Suffering they must be willing to endure,
and also a coming glory they must anticipate and long for.
The Kingdom of God, is coming, and is NOW here,
and will be realized in the ESCHATON - the 2nd coming of Christ.
The full and final redemption of Christ’s work in the world.
And this passage referenced here by Luke,
can really summarized in this way
Sermon Summary: Christ’s cross divides the world and calls for reconciliation.
This passage has really three simple sections,
but I’ve divided in 4 separate points.
The three sections highlight that
the work of Jesus will bring division.
Secondly, is an encouragement to the crowd to read the signs correctly,
and then finally an exhortation to settle debt before it’s brought to the magistrate.
49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? 57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
I. The Reality of Christ Ignites Conflict Through The Cross (v.49-50)
I. The Reality of Christ Ignites Conflict Through The Cross (v.49-50)
49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
Jesus gives two purpose statement
One in verse 49 and the other in Verse 51.
Jesus tells us why He has come.
this isn’t the only purpose statement of Jesus.
But its the one set before us.
So we must ask what Jesus means.
He says I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled.
I’ve come to cast fire.
Some take this to mean the FIRE of the Holy Spirit.
Others take this to mean, the FIRE of the gospel preaching.
But throughout Luke’s gospel,
FIRE is intended to communicate a FIRE of judgement.
In Luke this means judgement - Luke 3:9, 16-17; 9:54; 17:29
9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
And finally this is what John the Baptist longed to see in Luke 3:16-17
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
And Jesus says fire is coming and I wish it was already kindled.
Jesus has set his face towards Jerusalem in Luke 9:51.
He knows that the cross is coming and here he desire that it be kindled - LIT: set ablaze!
And this judgement is further clarified in verse 50.
You notice that logic furthered in
v.50. I have a baptism to be baptized with.
This baptism -
The word there is Baptizo - it means to dip or to immerse.
So here you have both FIRE and WATER.
And it’s contrasted further, of Verse 49,
Jesus says there is JUDGEMENT coming on the earth
and an emersion coming onto him!
Jesus says I have a immersion coming.
What does he mean?
Well, he CAN’T mean a baptism of John,
that’s already happened.
Jesus must mean a baptism into something else.
And the baptism that Jesus speaks is
a baptism into the JUDGEMENT of God.
Jesus knows this is coming -
38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
This is why Jesus speaks of both
a FIRE cast on the earth and a baptism to be baptized into.
Namely that Jesus will be subject unto Judgement.
He will be engulfed into the waters of JUDGEMENT.
And through this baptism,
will be the means of Jesus redemption for His people!
In other words, it is through the JUDGEMENT of Christ,
that Christ’s people receive SALVATION.
And this is a theme demonstrated all throughout scripture.
That SALVATION is extended through JUDGEMENT!!
You see that in the Exodus.
That God’s people are delivered through
the JUDGEMENT of God’s wrath in the water of Jordan River,
in which JUDGEMENT falls on the Egyptians
and God’s people receive SALVATION.
The same when David defeats the Jebusites and the Philistine,
that Israel is delivered while God’s enemies are subject unto JUDGEMENT.
This pattern repeats throughout the Old Testament
when God SAVES his people,
he delivers them by brining JUDGEMENT on their enemies.
The same is true in the gospel.
The SALVATION of God’s elect was made possible
because of God’s righteous JUDGEMENT
would fall upon His only Son, Jesus Christ at the cross.
The cup that Christ would partake was the cup of God’s JUDGEMENT against SIN.
All of God’s wrath was to be pour out in JUDGEMENT at the cross!
And when Jesus is SWEATING drops of blood in the Garden,
it was NOT hesitation or surprise of what He was to accomplish.
It was sobriety of the GREAT EXTENT OF SUFFERING
HE MUST ENDURE to SAVE FALLEN HUMANITY!
And if anyone is to be SAVED.
It is NOT because of their righteous deeds.
But it is through the finished work of Christ on their behalf.
Jesus knows this is the only means of SALVATION,
that He take on the divine JUDGEMENT and be engulfed into God’s JUDGEMENT,
that He might redeem a people for His own glory!!
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
And This is Jesus longing!! -
HOW GREAT is my DISTRESS.
The word there means to be emotionally distressed - Phil 1:23
23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
Like a mother in labor pains.
She is in agony, but longs for the coming reward of her suffering.
And it’s worth it when she beholds her offspring!!
This is how John Owen summarized this reality…..
“He was pained as a woman in travail to be delivered, to come to be baptized in his own blood. And when he was giving himself up to the utmost of it, he professes his readiness to it” - JOHN OWEN
And so Jesus says, I am in distress until it is finished!!
Until it is accomplished - telesthe.
This word echos a coming cry from the CROSS of JESUS -
TELESISTI, when Jesus cries out, IT.IS.FINISHED!!
Jesus is NOT aloof of what is coming.
He knows it is rejection and suffering and death.
He’s told his disciples. He’s prepared them for what is coming!!
The Son of Man MUST SUFFER, and BE REJECTED,
as the PROPHETS foretold (Luke 17:24-25; Luke 18:31)
And He longs for that passion, with passion,
BECAUSE this was HIS PURPOSE!!
Jesus was NOT begrudging to save a people.
He delighted in giving himself for THEM!!
This was the Father’s GOOD PLEASURE to give a people unto the Son.
It was the Son’s DESIRE to SAVE A PEOPLE to HIMSELF!
This is GREAT love that weds CHRIST to His CROSS!!
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
“Nothing could fasten Christ to the cross, but the golden link of his free love. Christ was big of love, and therefore he freely opens all the pores of his body, that his blood may flow out from every part, as a precious balsam to cure our wounds.” - Thomas Brooks
And it’s through Christ finished work on the cross.
That, now God’s continued work of JUDGEMENT
falls on those apart from Him!
In other words, because Christ has suffered and died.
His basis of JUDGEMENT is NOW condition
on ones relationship with Christ as Messiah.
And it’s to that end, that Jesus speaks next.
II. The Reality of Christ Brings Division (v.51-53)
II. The Reality of Christ Brings Division (v.51-53)
51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Christ identifies a second purpose.
NOT to give peace but division.
Now, if you have followed Luke’s writing,
this would catch you ALL off guard and it should.
His name shall be called Immanuel......PRINCE OF PEACE!!
At His BIRTH, the ANGELS said
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Jesus healed people and sent them away in PEACE (Luke 7:50, Luke 8:48),
and PREACHES a gospel of PEACE (Acts 10:36)
This is what the MESSIAH is to bring,
so what does Jesus mean that
He hasn’t come to bring PEACE, but DIVISION!!
And the reality is that the PEACE that Jesus brings
is a PEACE that is found in HIM.
But it is NOT necessarily a PEACE
that is found in the earth. Or in this world!
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
And the only PEACE that Christ brings,
is the PEACE that is found in Him.
But those that are separated from Him,
will be subject to great judgement.
And because of Christ’s work.
Christ will bring great division.
Because of who Jesus is,
allegiance to Christ as Lord, means there will be SEPARATION.
This is happening today. Because of the TRUTH of CHRIST!
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If that statement is TRUE, and it is!
then it requires exclusivity of CHRIST as LORD,
to follow Jesus means to align and surrender one’s life to him.
All throughout Luke’s gospel Jesus has been DIVIDING the crowd.
And when Jesus goes to the Cross.
His gospel is going to DIVIDE the entire world.
Because His cross means
that JUDGMENT is now based on the finished work of Jesus.
Because Jesus is LORD, surrender to Christ matters greatly!!
And that DIVISION will cut
to the deepest and intimate corners of the human heart.
The family. - - Notice the connection in verse 52 - FOR from now on…..
52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
There will be DIVISION - A DIVISION of the household.
5 DIVIDED - FATHER, SON, MOTHER, DAUGHTER, and IN-LAW.
And it’s split, 3 against 2, and 2 against 3.
There is internal strife and conflict.
Jesus says expect it!!
Jesus is showing that it cuts
across unthinkable and deep terrain and it cuts mutually.
Micah 7:6 foretold this to be expected with the Messiah’s coming
6 for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
And Luke see this as fulfilled of the Christ finished work!
This is what the reality of the Messiah will bring.
You can’t remain neutral. And you can’t go against His truth.
And the DIVISION is going to be widespread, and it’s going to CUT deep.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Jesus’ point is NOT that family relationships will be destroyed because of Jesus,
but that Christ demands an allegiance above familial ties (Matt 10:37).
A bond that is CLOSER and HIGHER
than even the closest earthly relationship in the family.
You know, DIVISION is a scary thing.
When we hear that none of us, hopefully, would say,
you know what
I’m looking for discord and DIVISION, and fight.
I think when most of us consider DIVISION, we think of chaos,
but we rarely consider the CLARITY of separation.
You see this in the Genesis account.
In fact, that is a major theme in the opening words of the bible.
Of God separating the NIGHT from the DAY,
the water above from the waters below.
The Sea and the dry land,
Kinds of creature, and humanity from the rest of God’s creation.
It’s the CLARITY of separation.
And so, we ought to rightly strive for unity as much as possible.
That is TRUE in life, and family,
and among churches and certaintly within the church.
But unity can only be a real
as the truth it is anchored upon.
There is such a thing as false unity.
But TRUE unity is anchored in substance.
It’s anchored in TRUTH…
the TRUTH of scripture and the TRUTH of CHRIST.
And so there is also a reality of needing to SEPARATE for purity.
And this is the separation here.
one based on the TRUTH and the TRUTH of CHRIST.
That because we follow CHRIST, we are to live distinctly,
we can’t compromise on TRUTH. We instead must stand.
But know in standing, it will come with conflict and often with DIVISION.
Sometimes that is separating from the world.
Sometimes that means separating from false teachers.
And sometimes that means separating
from professing CHRISTIANS, who show NO signs of repentance!!
In fact, this principle is very near the reason for CHURCH DISCIPLINE.
It’s NOT to be mean, or hurtful.
It’s actually LOVE, and desiring purity and clarity to separation.
But it is a church declaring,
what it means to follow Jesus is NOT that we are perfect.
We all stumble and fall, and we all sin,
but following Jesus means that REPENT.
It means we bow our knee to CHRIST and FOLLOW HIM!!
And that will always come with a fork in the road, and separation!
See this with Peter and the Son’s of Zebedee,
leaving their NETS to follow Jesus! - Luke 5:1-11
See this with the women - Luke 8:1-3,
who left their former way of life in bondage
to evil spirits and darkness, to follow Jesus instead.
See this with the Disciples - Luke 9:3; Luke 10:4 ,
who were willing to follow JESUS even into hardship and bearing a CROSS!
So when the crowd walks away from JESUS in John 6,
and JESUS responds, do you want to leave as well…..
and the disciples said, LORD, to where else will we go??
And when Christ is your devotion.
When you mean to follow HIM in that way.
It will cause separation.
Even to the deepest and most intimate parts of your world.
maybe those, you love the most.
Some of you know this even now.
you are counting the cost of following Jesus
in very tangible ways related to this text.
Jesus says, don’t be surprised by it.
Expect it!
REMAIN faithful to Christ! He’s worth it!
III. The Reality of Christ Warns of Coming Judgment (v.54-56)
III. The Reality of Christ Warns of Coming Judgment (v.54-56)
You know I’m amazed.
We have the most sophisticated equipment and technology.
We have weeks of preparation for coming weather
we can’t even see with our eyes…..
and you know what I’ve found….
That the better the technology, it seems the WORSE off we miss the forecast.
you can’t predict the weather.
The best prediction is the ol FARMER’s Forecast!
There is a rain cloud, looks like it about to rain.
And you know, as simple as that it.
It’s pretty reliable and pretty fool proof.
You are reading the signs
of the climate and atmosphere and making predictions.
And the same was true in Jesus day as well.
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Jesus gives a two fold, weather tradition of the reading the skies.
A cloud forming in the West,
meant very logically that a rainstorm or a thunderstorm was coming.
Moving from the Mediterranean Sea.
Jesus says, You see it, and predict it’s coming,
and it happen, just like you thought!
In the same way, you feel the wind shifting,
and blowing from the south, from the dessert .
He say, there is going to be a scorching heat come in…..
and you feel it, you predict it and it happens.
Just like You thought!!
Verse 56.
Jesus says - you do that for the skies.
But you aren’t able do that for the present time!!
Understanding the day and time in which we live is important.
You can’t just have your head buried in the sand.
12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
There is a TIME for everything.
To time to gather and seek, and keep and cast,
a time to speak, a time to love and time to hate, for war and for peace.
This was the WISDOM OF ISSACHAR in 1 Chr 12:32
32 Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command.
It’s important for us to understand the TIME and HOUR we live!!
And Jesus says here, if you knew the time in which you lived,
you would know that the SON OF MAN has come,
and the right response is to respond
in REPENTANCE and FAITH to HIS LORDSHIP!!
RESPOND RIGHTLY what God is doing through HIM,
right before your eyes!!!
the language here is pretty strong! - V.56!
He says you HYPOCRITES!! -
Jesus is expressing extreme displeasure.
Because he is once again see the PROBLEM of the HEART!!
They don’t see,
NOT because they can’t recognize what it taken place,
but because they refuse to take it to heart!!
You know the IRONY is that this crowd was seeking for a sign.
It’s what an evil generation does. Luke 11:29-32.
But the reality is, for those with eyes to see,
the evidence is clear, unless you suppress it!!
He says, in fact you can see just fine!
You have no trouble knowing how to,
examine, test, and interpret -
the appearance of the earth and sky.
But you do NOT know how to interpret the present time,
of the MESSIAH’s COMING and of the CHRIST
who is SPEAKING in your MIDSTS - ….
and the word there for time - is Kairos.
There are two greek words to indicate “time” - CHRONOS and KAIROS
One is CHRONOS - means AGES or sequence.
where we get our word, CHRONOLOGY from
KAIROS isn’t focused so much on ages,
but on timing and season!!
CHRONOS is more concerned with
the moving and sequence of the clock.
KAIROS the word, here, is concerned with the FULLNESS of time
and the significance of time in the PRESENT MOMENT!!
And Jesus says you don’t have eyes to see
the timing and season we are currently in!!
They should have known that when JESUS COMES
and reads from the scroll of the PROPHET ISAIAH and says,
TODAY this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:21)!!
They should have trusted and believed that Jesus
had NOT come to ABOLISH the LAW AND THE PROPHETS but to FULFILL THEM!! (Matt 5:17-20)
They should have seen HIS WORKS of casting out DEMONS was FROM THE FINGER OF GOD (Luke 11:20)
And instead of RECEIVING THIS
and reading the SPIRITUAL WEATHER AND CLIMATE!!
WHAT DO THEY DO?
They begin to PLOT, seeking a scheme
a way to catch HIM in something HE MIGHT SAY (Luke 11:53-54)!!
They begin to DEVISE a plan to put HIM TO DEATH!
The Messiah has come!
He is right before your eyes.
The Kingdom of God has come!!
God’s work in the world is on the move!!
And the time to PREPARE is OVER.
There are clouds of judgement building.
You must ACT now!!
And Jesus is saying.
You are NOW with the CHRIST,
and you have no clue how to gauge how cloudy the future is
and the judgement that is coming, and on the horizon!!
Christ is coming and He will be put to death and crucified!!
God’s kingdom is here….
and if you aren’t right with the MESSIAH
you will miss out and be judged!!
And you don’t even have eyes to see it!
You don’t know how to interpret the present time and season
of what God is doing right before your eyes!!
They ignored the very obvious indications of reality.
They suppressed the truth
And such is the hearts of man,
to deny, cover, and ignore the very pressing spiritual realities around them.
Instead of recognizing the reality of coming DEATH and to prepare.
Most men and women, just want to EAT DRINK and BE MERRY.
Notice the STOCK MARKET, KEEP A WATCH on the NEWS,
KEEP A CLOSE WATCH on INTEREST RATES.
Keep a close WATCH THEIR TREASURE HERE!!
LIVE for this life, and go unprepared for a coming JUDGEMENT!!
YOU KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET
the appearance of the EARTH and SKY,
but do you NOT know how to interpret the PRESENT TIME!!
That one day, they will STAND before GOD
and give an ACCOUNT for their life.
NOTICE THE TIMES.
NOTICE the the reality of the CROSS Of CHRIST and the EMPTY TOMB!!
DON’T ignore that reality, LEAN IN and consider!!
IF JESUS is LORD, This TRUTH DEMANDS a response!!
If JESUS is LORD, MY HEART is OWED to SURRENDER to HIS LORDSHIP!!
The time of PREPARATION is NOW!!
DON’T ignore it!! Interpret rightly!!
Consider the spiritual reality now and prepare!
REPENT!!
BEFORE It’s TOO LATE!!
And that is precisely what Jesus is pressing towards
in the concluding verses here.
IV. The Reality of Christ Means We Must Settle Accounts (v.57-59)
IV. The Reality of Christ Means We Must Settle Accounts (v.57-59)
Jesus helping us to recognize
the implications of HIS LIFE AND MINISTRY.
He’s come to bring FIRE and be BAPTIZED
in HIS OWN BLOOD to redeem a people!!
This will bring DIVISION in the deepest parts of our life.
And give two parables to help us measure and gauge
the reality and implications of his coming!!
The FIRST is WEATHER and the SECOND is A COURT ROOM.
The WEATHER would indicate urgency and certainty of coming judgement.
And the COURT ROOM, adds weight and logic to matter at hand.
That if JUDGMENT is coming, and it is, it better to settle accounts NOW,
rather than waiting until it’s too LATE!!
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Jesus says you can’t judge for yourself what is it right.
And appeals then to a law court.
In which the accuser or plaintiff
brings you before the magistrate, to be judged!
Jesus says it would be better for you to make the effort to settle out of COURT! -
literally to be released of the debt,
than to be called to account for the debt!!
You make the effort and make the debt right and You are freed.
It’s settled. You are released!!
But if you don’t - You’ll be drug to the JUDGE.
the word there for DRAG means to be pulled by force.
And it also caries with it the emotion of SHAME!
You’ll be taken against your will to the JUDGE
and the JUDGE will make sure that you pay what you owe!
He’ll summon the officer -
LITERALLY the Bailiff,
who was a tax collector of sorts
and carried an official position in the office of finance in the debtor’s prison!
and the job of the Bailiff, was pretty simple.
Do whatever the JUDGE told them to do.
And here they are to go get a debtor and put them into prison.
And Jesus says, if there is a debt that needs to be paid.
Then you ought to pay it NOW.
Than the risk the shame of public guilt,
of a verdict and prison punishment for you crime!!
It’s better to pay accounts and to settle,
than for the force of the law render a final verdict on your case!!
v.59 -
Because one way or another the debt is going to be paid!!
Jesus means this to be a tragic ending of events.
You mean to tell me, you have a debt that is owed.
You ignore it, and SUPPRESS it,
and THINK you are going to get away with it?
JESUS says, you aren’t going to get by.
Your accuser is going to bring you before the courts,
and when that day comes.
It’s NOT going to be pretty!!
I tell YOU!!! You will NEVER get out until you have paid the very last penny!
Matthew uses a word in Matthew 5:26.
The word there means a small amount. Like a penny…
But Luke’s word choice here is even smaller.
It’s really fractions of the amount Matthew references.
Every LAST PENNY - the word there is LEPTON. - 1/8th of a penny
And Luke’s point here is that the tiniest crumb of what is owed will be required of you!!
You are going to pay the entire debt and make it right!!
And the point of the parable
is NOT that you can pay your way out,
and that you can eventual pay the DEBT….
CATHOLIC use this verse to wrongly teach
a man-made doctrine of PURGATORY….
But the POINT is NOT you can get out once you pay the debt….
THE POINT is that YOU WILL NEVER GET OUT!!
The POINT is that you can’t pay the debt.
The POINT is prepare now
The STORM is coming, THE CASE AGAINST YOU IS BUILDING!
SETTLE NOW!!! NOT when it’s too late!
The point Jesus INTENDS to invoke
is a serious, permeant, judgement
that is coming, so serious, and SEVERE.
It is better to plan ahead, get ahead of it, and make it right NOW.
Than to suffer the shame and torment of PUNISHMENT COMING
from the JUDGE when He renders you GUILTY!!
and man debtors prison was a serious deal.
It was a harsh treatment.
the prisoners were usually beaten daily
as incentive to any family and friends to pay the debt owed.
UNLESS YOU PAY THE DEBT, YOU WILL PERISH!!
Some have said the accuser is the devil and evil vice, our conscience,
the magistrate and judge is JESUS.
The officers are the ANGELS.
Others have opted for other interpretations.
And there is a way we could take this too far
and analogize everything. and MISS THE POINT.
But notice Jesus says here, we are to agree with the accuser.
We are to make settlement.
We are make the effort to come to terms with our indebtedness…..
And so I cannot take the accuser her to mean SATAN.
But RATHER the truth of God’s word!!
And the debt we owe to God, and the punish that is to come
is the very real suffering and punishment of the torment of HELL!
OF which, NONE will ESCAPE the judgement rendered there!
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
We must judge what is right.
And what God has declared to us is RIGHT!!
And we have been given God’s righteous LAW!! His word
That is intended to be our GUARDIAN to LEAD US to A REDEEMER!!
It is intended to BIND US, so that CHRIST the JUDGE MIGHT FREE US!!
That God’s word commands us to live
as righteous and HOLY, unto the LORD, and we have FAILED!!
God’s word is WITNESS AGAINST US!!
It declares WE ARE VIOLATORS and have earned a WAGE before GOD!!
That when God’s word says, don’t LIE and we have lied,
we are VIOLATORS and deserve a place with LIARS in the LAKE OF FIRE (Rev 21:8)
God words says do NOT steal, and we’ve robbed from GOD, HIS GLORY OWED TO HIM!!
We are VIOLATORS and deserve a guilty sentencing
God’s words tells us to regard HIS NAME as HOLY.
And How often we profane HIS NAME. We use it flippantly.
We live for ourselves, and NOT HIS NAMESAKE!!
WE BLASPHEME without much though or REGARD TO HOLINESS OF GOD! -
We deserve to be CONDEMNED!
God’s word tell us NOT to commit adultery,
and that even lustful thoughts, we are libel to JUDGMENT.
And yet, our AGE AND TIME is FILLED
with SEXUAL PASSION and PERVERSION!!
And we think God will NOT JUDGE!!
God’s word says do NOT murder,
and even if you have HATRED IN YOUR HEART, you have murdered.
15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
We are LIARS, BLASPHEMER , ADULTERER, THEIFS! AND MURDERS,
and we’ve NOT even gotten
HALF WAY THROUGH God’s MORAL LAW, the 10 COMMANDMENTS!
James and Galatians tells us, if we broken one, we’ve broken them all!
That HAVE TRANSGRESSED GOD’s LAW -
HIS WORD RENDERS this accusation AGAINST US!!
WE. ARE. GUILTY…….YOU. ARE. GUILTY!!
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and that the WAGES OF OUR SIN - IS DEATH!! ROMANS 6:23
This is what WE OWE! this is what we deserve!!
THIS IS OUR DEBT!!
AND IT MUST BE PAID!!
AND NONE OF US have what is required to PAY THE FINE….
AND A FINAL JUDGMENT IS COMING!!
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
And what will you say on THAT DAY!!!!!
Jesus WARNS us here….BETTER TO PREPARE NOW!!
BETTER TO SETTLE UP NOW,
than the SHAME AND GUILT AND SUFFERING, COMING!
Unless our debt is paid to God we will perish.
There is JUDGMENT coming, and we reconcile our account with God.
And the ONLY WAY we can be reconciled, that the DEBT can be paid,
is through REPENTANCE and FAITH IN CHRIST….
through His FINISHED WORK on the CROSS
The only means by which God becomes our FATHER and NOT OUR ADVERSARY
is through the ARBITER of HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST!!
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
The word there for mediator -
means a medium of communication, arbitrator….
one To stand in the GAP!!!
our means of settling before the FINAL JUDGMENT!!
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Do you see the connection?
The very means of God’s JUDGMENT on His SON,
through the cross and empty tomb,
will become the very JUDGMENT on the WORLD!!
You are either IN CHRIST and SAFE from the coming WRATH,
or SEPARATED from HIM,
in which there is A FINAL JUDGMENT COMING!!
And you’ll NEVER PAY THAT DEBT!! -
THE TIME IS NOW.
SETTLE ACCOUNTS NOW, by trusting in the ONLY SAVIOR!
JESUS CHRIST, who could PAY the FINE ON YOUR BEHALF!!
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And without Christ, we have no peace with God….
we only have A PROMISE OF COMING JUDGMENT!!
And the response is clear -
for those apart from CHRIST - REPENT today!!
BEFORE it’s TOO LATE!
TRUST IN CHRIST FOR SALVATION!!
And for those in CHRIST -
KNOW that following CHRIST means hardship,
but a coming glorious promise and reward!!
And declare and proclaim the reconciliation that CHRIST brings
to those who REPENT and TRUST HIM AS LORD!!
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This means we who have been redeemed by Christ
are active in the mission of Christ to reconcile sinners to God
before the FINAL JUDGMENT comes and it’s too late.
Sermon Summary: Christ’s cross divides the world and calls for reconciliation.
That concludes my sermon….
so let me give just a brief, SPOKEN RESPONSE
I mentioned to you the GOAL
in our MEMBER MEETING A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO
of our church striving to have 100 GOSPEL CONVERSATIONS!
That as you GO and LIVE,
to be mindful of sharing CHRIST with those around you!
To do what I just did in this sermon.
Warn of a coming judgement and point to SAFETY
and REFUGE IN CHIST through repentance and FAITH!!
And we will have several training opportunities and RESOURCES TO HELP YOU!!
And as we do this -
it is simple a measure of our faithful to do
what God has called us to do!!
That’s NOT save anyone - we aren’t responsible for that!
GOD ONLY, DOES THAT WORK!!
We are responsible to do
what God has commissioned us to do -
PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL!
So my hope is that we would do that!! ……In TWO ways -
ONE IS THROUGH GOSPEL SEEDS -
of which, let’s just have as many as possible
And that is simply sharing ANY truth about Christ
that leads someone to consider the reality
of CHRIST and COMING JUDGEMENT.
It’s to encourage spiritual thought.
Invite to CHURCH, giving a GOSPEL TRACT,
OR and INTENTIONAL WORD to INCREASE awareness
of the SPIRITUAL SKY and CONDITION OF THEIR SOUL BEFORE GOD!!
AND THE 2nd is a GOSPEL CONVERSATION -
of which, our goal is 100
That is taking more time to explain the reality of God,
our FAILURE to LIVE ACCORDING TO HIS LAW,
the TRUTH of a COMING JUDGEMENT BECAUSE OF SIN,
and an INVITATION to REPENT and TRUST CHRIST FOR SALVATION!!
And then, As you HAVE those,
to DISPLAY that on the map in the FRONT FOYER -
We have color coded push pins
indicating the type of conversation
and where they took place!!
And I pray that as we do that,
it will be a reminder of what we are to be doing!
AS an encouragement to God’s work through us
as we seek to cultivate FAITHFULNESS for CHRIST,
right HERE AT GRACELIFE CHRUCH!!
And so, as you leave today, you will receive a little message bottle,
with 3 green colored push pins.
YOU CAN THANK, ALLIE for putting those together, BTW
These represent A CONVERSATION of GOSPEL SEEDS!!
PRAY ABOUT THAT,
PRAY FOR THAT!!!….
PRAY FOR GOD to give you opportunities!!
PRAY for BOLDNESS….
and SOW SEEDS OF THE GOSPEL, EVEN THIS WEEK!!
And when you DO, display that on the board to encourage others!!
BUT CHURCH, let’s be MINDFUL.
Let’s be INTENTIONAL….
Let’s BE FAITHFUL to what GOD has called us to,
in light of a coming JUDGMENT!!
THERE IS A DEBT OWED, that SINNER CANNOT PAY!!
And the world is concerned
with reading the conditions of the WEATHER….
they are concerned with the state of the WORLD….
HERE AND NOW
And LEST they LEARN TO JUDGE SPIRITUAL TRUTH NOW!!
And RECOGNIZE THEIR NEED
FOR REPENTANCE AND FAITH IN CHRIST!!
THEY .WILL.PERISH!!
the JUDGE will soon give a final verdict on their SOUL,
and they will be condemned.
They’ll never pay what’s owed!
And the only hope and the only way of SALVATION!!
THAT THE JUDGE
BECOME THEIR FATHER is by trusting HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST!
To PAY THE SIN DEBT, they OWE and SETTLE THE ACCOUNT!
OH, that we would SHARE that news with others!!
Oh that we would be faithful as God’s people,
to warn and tell others THIS GLORIOUS GOOD NEWS OF JESUS!!
