What Then Shall We Do?
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
“What then shall we do?” This is an important question, and we see people ask it several times in Luke’s writings.
This is an important question, and we see people ask it several times in Luke’s writings.
It was asked three times in this passage by three different groups.
In , it was put to Jesus by an expert in Jewish religious law, who asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ().
In , the crowds asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?,” after they heard Peter and the other Apostles preach on the day of Pentecost.
And in the Apostle Paul said that he asked this question when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Blinded by the glory of Jesus, humbled by his power, and responding to Jesus’ words, Paul asked, “What shall I do, Lord?”
[INTER] The question we should ask ourselves this morning as we are confronted with the Word of God is, “What shall we do?”
[ILLUS] Now, sometimes we are confronted with something, and we aren’t sure what to do about it. And sometimes what we are to do about that something doesn’t seem to make any sense.
For example, children who refuse to the eat food so lovingly prepared by their parents might hear, “Well, there are children starving in Africa!”
The child at the table might be wondering what he is supposed to do about the children starving in Africa.
Perhaps he will be brave enough to ask what he is to do about the children starving in Africa, and his mother may respond, “You need to eat the food I made for you!”
Perhaps he is brave enough to ask what he is to do about the children starving in Africa, and his mother may respond, “You need to eat the food I made for you!”
Then the child wonders (silently if he is smart) how his eating the food on his plate helps the children in Africa who have no food on their plates.
That’s how John’s listeners felt when he confronted them with the Word of God.
He told them to bear fruits in keeping with repentance, but they weren’t sure what to do.
And perhaps what he told them to do didn’t make sense to them or perhaps it doesn’t make sense to us.
But as we’ll see, John’s answer was both clear and cogent.
[CONTEXT] The Word of God came to John in the wilderness and he prepared the way for the coming Messiah by proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
For example, a child sit at the dinner table and refuses to eat the food prepared so lovingly by his or her mother.
Those convicted of sin and committed to repentance where baptized by John as a testimony of the work of God in their hearts.
John, however, turned some people away. When the religious leaders and their followers came to be baptized by John, he knew that their hearts had not been changed. He knew that they still loved sin and self, so he told them to repent and bear fruit in keeping with repentance or suffer the wrath of God.
After telling the child to eat 100 times, the mother gets frustrated and asks, “Don’t you know that their are children starving in Africa?”
John said, “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,” ().
And those listening asked the question, “What shall we do?” In other words, “If we are to bear fruit in keeping with repentance, what should that fruit look like?”
Now,
[CIT] John told his audience that a person who was truly repentant before God would show it in the way he handled possessions in relation to people.
[PROP] How we handle possessions in relation to people reveals the true condition of our hearts before God.
loving people in relation to possessions.
[TS] We see this in the three ANSWERS John gave to the three different groups that asked him that question three times, “What shall we do?”
The first ANSWER is in vv. 10-11...
MAJOR IDEAS
MAJOR IDEAS
Answer #1: John said, “Share,” (vv. 10-11).
Answer #1: John said, “Share,” (vv. 10-11).
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
[Exp/App] The tunic was a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin. Typically a person would only were one tunic although two provided extra warmth.
When Jesus sent out the Apostles to minister in , he told them to take nothing for their journey except a staff - no bread, no bag, no money in their belts - but to wear sandals and “not put on two tunics,” ().
Since the Messiah had come and they were his messengers, they were to travel light and trust God as they fulfilled their ministry.
John the Baptist’s teaching regarding tunics and food in is much the same.
Since the axe is laid to the root and the judgment of God is at hand, it is not time to store up extra tunics and extra food, but to store up treasure in heaven by sharing with those in need.
Thinking about this truth, I was reminded of Jesus’ parable of the rich fool in . It was the one prompted by someone in the crowd saying to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me,” (). But Jesus responded, “…one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions,” (), and then he told them this parable...
And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
[] The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do (and doesn’t that question sound familiar!?), for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
The point of the parable (as with many parables) is in the last line: “...the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God,” ().
Now, that should prompt us to ask, “How do I get rich toward God?” Well, listen
Now, that should prompt us to ask, “How do I get rich toward God?” Well, listen to what Jesus said after that parable...
Now, that should prompt us to ask, “How do I get rich toward God?”
[; ; ] Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. … Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. … Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
And that line spoken by Jesus in Luke 12:34 - “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” - is the genius of John the Baptist in .
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
John knew what Jesus knew; that what people do with things like tunics and food reveals the owner of their hearts.
A heart that belongs to God will share with those in need, store up treasure in heaven, and become rich toward God!
A heart owned by stuff will build bigger barns here on earth but leave it all behind at death and walk into eternity impoverished of soul.
One leads
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
What about us?
Who or what owns our hearts?
Are we willing to bear the fruit of sharing with those in need?
[Illus/App] It’s not easy for us to share. It literally goes against our sin nature. Sin wants to take rather than give. It prefers to stinginess to generosity, and we see it early in life.
I live with the sweetest and most beautiful almost 2-year-old the world has ever known. (And that’s not a biased opinion either because Cheryl also lives with precious little Madelyn and has confirmed my evaluation.)
But Madelyn has a habit and that habit is “have it.”
Anytime her brother or sister have something that she wants, she walks up, lays her hands on it, and says, “Hab it!,” which is supposed to be “Have it!” but its the best she can say it right now.
We try to tell her no and sometimes she listens and sometimes she still wants to hab it.
But that “Have-it Habit” is something that some people never grow out of. And it’s not just the people we consider rich, it’s nearly everyone (including us) in this consumer-driven materialistic culture that we live in!
It seems like nearly everyone is just buying stuff so that later they’ll have stuff to put in their yard sales!
“There’s no need for that,” Ford replied, and promptly wrote a check for the additional eighteen thousand pounds.
But rather than feed into the have-it habit, we should be bearing fruit by sharing with those in need.
[App] When disaster strikes and people lose everything, there is a need we should be meeting by sharing what we have.
We can give to Christian organizations that feed the hungry and clothe the cold.
We can give to Christian organizations that meet the needs of persecuted Christians around the world.
We can give to Christian organizations that meet the needs of indigenous ministers so they can be freed up to do the work of the ministry full-time.
We can give to the benevolence fund here at the church.
There are lots of ways that we can bear the fruit of sharing with those in need.
And if our hearts have truly been changed by God, we will.
The parable of the good Samaritan -
Beyond giving to an individual person, there are many Christian organization
Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.
[App]
[TS] Answer #1: John said, “Share.”
John also said...
Answer #2: John said, “Be fair,” (vv. 12-13).
Answer #2: John said, “Be fair,” (vv. 12-13).
Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”
[Exp] Tax collectors were despised in John’s day because they took advantage of people by overtaxing them.
Tax collectors were told by the Roman government to collect a certain amount from people, but tax collectors often collected more to not just cover incidental expenses but to make themselves rich.
Getting rich by taking advantage of fellow Jews while working for the Romans, made Jewish tax collectors prime examples of the worst kind of people in most people’s minds.
They were excluded from temple worship.
When Jesus taught on restoring a sinning brother in , he said that if that brother wouldn’t listen to anyone, not even the church as a whole, they were to be treated like a “Gentile and a tax collector.” (I.e., he was to be treated as one outside the covenant community of God’s people and as one who had betrayed the covenant community of God’s people).
It was not a compliment when the religious leaders in Jesus’ day accused him of being a friend of “tax collectors and sinners” ().
Tax collectors were thought to be the worst if not the worst of the worst!
That’s why its interesting that John doesn’t tell these tax collectors in to stop being tax collectors. Instead, he told them to practice their tax collecting with fairness, saying, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do,” ().
Taxes had to be paid. As Jesus taught, what belonged to Caesar had to be given to Caesar (), but the tax collector had to go about his business with fairness if his heart had been changed by God’s grace.
[Illus] There’s a great example of God’s grace changing the heart of a tax collector in . You may know the story of Zacchaeus well.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and he was rich, but he heart that jesus was passing through and Zacchaeus wanted to catch a glimpse of the man everyone was talking about.
But there was a problem. Zacchaeus was short, and many other people came out to see Jesus too. Not too many of those people would’ve been eager to make room for a man who had gotten rich by taking advantage of them. So, Zacchaeus was forced to climb a tree.
When Jesus passed by, he looked up in the tree and called Zacchaeus by name, saying, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today,” (). Zacchaeus hurried down and off he and Jesus went.
The people who say
The people who saw Jesus and Zacchaeus walk off together grumbled, saying, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner,” (), but Zacchaeus did something incredible for a rich chief tax collector. In it says...
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
And Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house...” ().
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Now, Jesus wasn’t saying that Zacchaeus was saved by what he did in giving to the poor or by what he did in giving even more back to those he once took advantage of as a tax collector.
[Luke 19:9
Jesus was saying that Zacchaeus’ actions proved that his heart had been changed.
He didn’t do those things in order to be saved.
He did those things because he was saved!
He was done dishonoring God by taking advantage of people in order to get rich!
And that’s precisely the point that John was making to the tax collectors that came to him for baptism. If they were still defrauding people, then their hearts had not been changed.
If their hearts were still willing to sin against God by cheating people in order to get more money for themselves, then their hearts had not been changed.
If their hearts had been changed, they would have borne the fruit of fairness by only collecting what they were authorized to do. That would have honored God.
[App] We live in an entitlement age that masquerades as fairness.
So the age in which we live gives a trophy to every kid who plays even if they don’t win because, as this age sees it, it wouldn’t be ‘fair’ for some kids to get trophies while others don’t.
Or in the adult world we might hear people say that its not ‘fair’ for so and so to make so much money when others don’t make as much.
But, as I said, this is often just entitlement masquerading as fairness, because fairness at least in the context of is simply this - you pay what you owe, and you get paid for the work you do.
You don’t try to get out of paying your bills, and you labor as unto the Lord knowing that the laborer deserves his wages.
That kind of simple fairness (we could even call it honesty) is becoming rare in our age, but it is a good fruit produced by a heart that has truly repented of sin by turning to God.
The heart transformed by God’s grace doesn’t take advantage of someone just to make a dollar.
No, they operate with biblical fairness, with godly honesty, because the opposite is an abomination to the Lord.
God hates unfairness in the marketplace.
A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.
A just balance and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag are his work.
Proverbs
God hates unfairness in the courts.
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
God hates unfairness in the church. In , James spoke to some rich people in the church who worshipped God with their mouths but worshipped money with their hearts, warning them with these words in ...
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
In other words, those laborers deserved to be paid.
[Illus] Matthew (Matthew 9:9) / Zacchaeus ()
They had done the work and they deserved their pay!
But these so-called ‘Christians’ refused to pay, and James said God would hold them accountable because in their unfairness they had ultimately sinned against God.
We too will be held accountable if we sin against God by refusing to act fairly with others.
The heart changed by God’s grace doesn’t take advantage of someone just to make a dollar or a thousand dollars or a million-billion dollars.
[App]
They heart made alive to God through faith in Christ operates with biblical fairness, with godly honesty, even if they are a tax collector because they know that fairness and honesty is pleasing to God.
[TS] Answer #2: John said, “Be fair.”
Answer #3: John said, “Be Content,” (v. 14).
Answer #3: John said, “Be Content,” (v. 14).
But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
[Exp] Most think these soldiers were not Roman soldiers but soldiers from the temple who had come along with the religious leaders or perhaps were the enforcers for the tax collectors who had come.
It seems likely that they worked with the tax collectors based on what John said, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation...” ().
That word “extort” or “take” or “do violence” in v. 14 is the idea of shaking someone violently.
We might think about a bully at school holding another child upside down by the ankles and shaking him so that the coins in his pockets fall out.
That’s what these soldiers were doing with their threats and false accusations.
These soldiers were basically blackmailing bandits if not outright thuggish thieves.
But John doesn’t tell the soldiers to give up being soldiers, but to instead be content with their wages.
That contentment with their own wages would keep them from extorting others.
We wouldn’t be a country for very long without them.
[Illus] William Randolph Hearst invested a fortune collecting art treasures from around the world.
One day he read the description of a valuable piece of art which he sent his agent overseas to find.
After months of searching, the agent reported that he had finally found the treasure.
To the surprise of Hearst, the priceless piece of art was stored in the warehouse of one William Randolph Hearst!
The multi-millionaire had been searching all over the world for a treasure he already possessed.
Had he read the catalog of his treasures, he would have saved himself a lot of time and money.
Instead his discontentment cost him a lot of both.
Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.
[App] If all discontentment cost us was time and money, that would be enough.
But discontentment costs us more.
It costs us a right relationship with God because (1) we often do sinful things to get what we think will make us content whether that’s overspending or actually extorting people like the soldiers here in , and (2) we should find our contentment in God whether we have a little or a lot.
In we are given this command...
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Jesus never leaving us nor forsaking us; his very presence with us at all times was not some nice exercise in imagination for someone like the Apostle Paul who said in ...
[] ...for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
People love to quote ...
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
But I wonder how many of us would include “be content” in that “all things” as Paul intended.
Could we with a full heart say along with the Apostle Paul...
[] godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
But godliness with contentment is great gain,
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[TS] {see below}
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[TS]
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
So how does sharing, being fair, and being content reveal that a heart has or hasn’t been changed by God’s grace?
Well, remember that everything John told the people in this passage had to do with how they handled their possessions in relation to people, and those two things - possessions and people - definitely reveal the condition of our heart before God.
Man cannot serve God and mammon. He cannot serve two masters.
Man cannot serve God and mammon. He cannot serve two masters.
Jesus said as much In when he said...
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Jesus also that that the totality of the law was summed up in the first great commandment - “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” - and the second great commandment -
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus also that that the totality of the law was summed up in the first great commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength,” and the second great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Logically, you can’t obey the second unless you’ve obeyed the first.
Logically, you can’t obey the second unless you’ve obeyed the first.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.,” and the second great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Logically, you can’t obey the second unless you’ve obeyed the first.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. Logically, you can’t obey the second unless you’ve obeyed the first.
And you can’t obey the first unless you’ve come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, his Son.
It was Jesus who loved God perfectly as we should have.
It was Jesus who died to pay the price for our rebellion against God.
It is only Jesus who can transform our hearts and cause us to bear fruit in keeping with righteousness.
Have you trusted Jesus? Have you given yourself to him? Are you willing to lay everything aside all the material things of this world and be satisfied with Jesus alone?
If you’ll turn from your sin and trust Jesus as the sacrifice for your sin and give him control of your life as Lord, then the fruit of your new heart will show up in everyday life.
So, this is where the fruit of a changed heart will first show up in everyday life; what we do with our possessions in relation to people.
And one of the places it will show up first is in what you do with your possessions in relation to people.
Though he was rich, Christ became poor for our sakes. Through faith in him we become more than content with him and are set free to give as we have received.
Are we sharing what we have with those in need or are we keeping it all for ourselves?
Are we paying our bills and charging a fair wage or are we taking advantage of others?
Are we content with what we have or are we willing to extort others to get what we want?
[PROP] How we handle possessions in relation to people reveals the true condition of our hearts before God.
Though he was rich, Christ became poor for our sakes. Through faith in him we become content with a little or with a lot and are set free to give as we have received.