Proclamation will lead to Persecution
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
8 “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
Introduction
Introduction
This morning we will be considering together a very important passage that outlines a sharp contrast between hypocritical preaching that was typical of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, and true Gospel preaching that Christ would call His disciples to.
of the proclamation of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, what we may expect as Christians as we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how God will most graciously help and provide for those who engage in the work of the proclamation of Jesus Christ.
Now, before we delve into the details of this text, I do want us to understand that all of us have been called to not only proclaim this true gospel, but to live out the Gospel in our daily lives. As those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, we are both proclaimers of this Gospel, and representatives in terms of how we live out that Gospel in every area of our lives.
Recall that the context unfolds as Jesus has just finished having a meal at the house of the Pharisee (that’s if he got to finishing it before being asked to leave!). After he had been challenged by various groups of people that didn’t believe that He was the Messiah, he had been invited by a particular Pharisee to have a meal. He there confronted the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who loved to have external cleanliness without internal transformation of heart.
In that same context, an expert in the law had confronted Jesus as he was offended by what Jesus said. This led Jesus to confront the experts in the law on their own hypocrisy.
And so the broader context here is hypocritical living, and setting up man’s religion rather than the ways of God as the standard by which we are called to live.
With that in mind, let us read together Luke 12:1…
1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Despite Christ’s strong words against those who have failed to believe Him, we see in this verse the extent of the crowds that were continuing to gather around Him. Many thousands had gathered and the extent of the gathering was such that they were trampling on one another in order to get to Jesus and to hear him speak.
But even as these crowds are gathering around Jesus, he faces his disciples and begins to teach them some very important lessons concerning the religious teachers in the context of his day. And what he does is to teach his disciples that they need to be on their guard. There was a situation at hand that presented a danger for the people, and even for the disciples of Jesus.
The warning that Jesus then gives them concerns what He calls the "yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Now, I’ve already mentioned during the course of this introduction the fact that Jesus has confronted both the Pharisees and the Experts in the law about their hypocrisy. And now Jesus turns to his disciples and warns them specifically against this hypocrisy.
I do want us to take note at this point that the warning that Jesus gives to the disciples here has remained relevant through the course of history. In fact, the Scriptures are just as applicable to life in our own day as they were in Jesus’ day. God’s word deals with the reality of man in relation to God, and the reality of man in his before God.
These warnings are applicable in our day, as we will go on to see.
What we will see thorugh this passage is that the Gospel of God’s grace, and the Gospel that teaches that man desperately needs a redeemer, was far removed from the Pharisees and Experts in the Law. And we need to be careful that we are living by the Gospel, rather than in light of our own wisdom and strength, or our own standards of righteousness.
With that in mind, let us consider first main point from this text.
1. Graphic Publication (v.2)
1. Graphic Publication (v.2)
As Christ continues to speak to his disciples here, he reminds them about a very important reality that the hypocrites fail to take into consideration in their lives. We read in verse 2…
2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
As the religious leaders of that day were living their lives, putting on a show for the people around them in terms of their own religiosity, and placing burdens on others, they were living a different life behind the scenes. Their hearts were far from God, and they were filled with a pride and self-righteousness.
While it was not so easily seen by others around them, Christ knew that although they claimed to be religious, and performed many acts that were religious in their appearance, the true self was something quite different. The hypocrites were living their lives with a mask.
Christ warns his disciples in this verse about the one thing that these religious leaders were failing to take into consideration, and that is the fact that their hypocrisy would eventually come to light. It would be revealed.
As a general biblical principle, this fact is true.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
In Romans 2:16, Paul speaks about the day when God...will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
We also have in Scripture the examples of some who tried to conceal their sin, but God ensured that such sin was revealed. We can think particularly of Achan in the Old Testament, as he stole some spoils of war, which led Israel to lose a battle against a very small and insignificant town, that should easily have been conquered.
The reality is that to live your life as a lie, portraying yourself in one way in front of people, and then living in another way behind the scenes, is a dangerous place to be.
There are two ways that this sin will be exposed. It may be that it is exposed in the course of time, even as the hypocrite is still living. Or it may that it is never exposed in this life, but rather is exposed only on the day of Christ.
But the fact is, hypocritical living, continuing to live in unrepentant sin, will lead to that sin being exposed by God.
9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.
5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.
Even the very motives of men’s hearts will be exposed. God knows these motives. We need to remember that God sees everything. He knows our lives. He knows our sins. He knows our deeds. And there is nothing that we can hide from Him.
Scripture is abundantly clear that the things held secret in this life would not be concealed indefinitely.
This leads us to consider our second main point…
2. Gospel Proclamation (v.3)
2. Gospel Proclamation (v.3)
As Christ continues, he says to his disciples in verse 3...
3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
As Christ speaks these words to his disciples, the way in which Luke writes these words, suggests that what they have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what they have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs / housetops.
There have been two ways in which people have interpreted these words. The first is to directly continue the theme from the previous verse, where Christ was talking about the exposure of hypocritical conduct; living one way in front of people, and another in secret.
If that’s the case, some believe that Christ is here telling his disciples that those things that are whispered in the dark where no one sees, those things said in secret places, whispered into the ears of others where no one else can hear them, will be brought to light.
If that were the case (which I don’t believe it is) then the disciples may have felt very uneasy at this stage. Certainly there is some continuity in the idea in terms of revealing secret things.
But what Christ is saying here goes beyond that. What Christ is saying in these words is that the Gospel message, that was once concealed, the message of the Kingdom that Christ was teaching his disciples in the secret places - giving them the message and the meaning away from others, must be proclaimed.
Why do I argue that this is the case? Three reasons…
Firstly, if we look at the parallel account in Matthew 10, we see that Matthew records these words of Jesus slightly differently, although in the same context.
26 “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.
In the account in Matthew, Jesus is clearly talking to his disciples about the words that He has spoken to them. And he essentially tells them that the words that He has told them in the dark, they are to speak in the daylight.
In this present account in Luke, it is conveying the responsibility that will rest on the disciples to go out and proclaim to others what they had been speaking about in a limited sense. The Gospel would need to be proclaimed to all.
That is the first reason that I say that this is what is meant in this verse.
The second reason that I argue for this position is in light of the practice of the day which related to shouting things from the rooftops. One person, in writing about the land and customs of the day, explains the practice of shouting from the rooftops like this (he speaks in terms of current practices)…
"At the present day, local governors in country districts cause their commands thus to be published. Their proclamations are generally made in the evening, after the people have returned from their labors in the field. The public crier ascends the highest roof at hand, and lifts up his voice in a long-drawn call upon all faithful subjects to give ear and obey. He then proceeds to announce, in a set form, the will of their master, and demand obedience thereto." Dr. Thomson ("The Land and the Book," vol. i. p. 51, 52)
That is the practice that continues even into our day. And the practice was to issue the commands or instructions of the leader, and then call people to obedience. And that is what the Gospel proclamation would be about. This practice clearly supports the idea, not that everything you’ve said and done is going to be shouted from the rooftops, but rather that the Gospel would be proclaimed from the rooftops.
The third reason that I argue for this position from this verse is that the remainder of the passage deals with the confrontation that Christ’s disciples are going to face as they proclaim the Gospel.
Now, we must not think that there is just a sudden change in thought process by Christ, and that there is no link between verses 1-2 and verse 3. Rather, the thought of “concealing” and “revealing” comes through. But as Christ transitions from the revealing of the lives of the hypocrites in terms of their secret lives being brought into the open, and then speaks about the Gospel message being openly proclaimed, we must recognise a very important link between the two.
It is precisely this Gospel message that will be proclaimed publicly and expose the hearts of the hypocrites. When the Gospel message of repentance and faith would be proclaimed loudly, it would lead to those who were guilty of sin before God being confronted with their own inability to save themselves, something that they were so desperately trying to do.
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Later on, as Paul gives instructions to the church in Ephesus, he says to them…
11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;
Friends, this is what the Gospel does. It exposes the heart of man.
And so, here is the transition… the hypocrites of the day were living a lie. They presented themselves in one way, all the while living in another way when not seen, or living contrary to that which they preached.
But the Gospel would need to be proclaimed. It would need to go out loud and clear. This message of the Gospel would not remain a secret, but rather, all men everywhere would be called to repentance from sin. They would be called upon to trust in Christ alone for their salvation.
That leads us to consider our third main point.
3. God’s Protection (vv.4-7)
3. God’s Protection (vv.4-7)
We must see that in light of the hypocrites being exposed by the truthful proclamation of the Gospel message, there would come opposition. The religious leaders of the day, and even those who were not religious leaders, but were merely content to continue in their life of sin, would be confronted by the message of the Gospel, and they would stand in opposition. Already we’ve seen that this opposition was coming to Jesus. Remember Luke 11:53...
53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,
By this time, the disciples were getting a taste of the opposition. They realised that there was this opposition to the Gospel.
It’s precisely for this reason that Christ goes on to give some words of warning and encouragement to his disciples.
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
In light of the inevitable opposition that would come to the disciples, Jesus carefully reminds them about who it is that they should fear.
Keep in mind, that when Christ speaks these words, it’s on the basis of the fact that he understands people. He understands his disciples. He knows that the potential is there that they will be afraid to speak out and proclaim this Gospel in the face of opposition.
But in light of this, he reminds them of who they are truly to fear in life - and that is God alone!
The natural response from the disciples would be to be afraid of the religious leaders. They were, after all, powerful individuals within the society in which they lived. They wielded their power and authority, and would do so in order to intimidate and threaten. They even had a good measure of authority to inflict pain and suffering on people.
We can understand that these disciples, basic and ordinary men, some of them entirely untrained, would face the opposition of the religious leaders.
This is precisely what would happen in the book of Acts as the Gospel started to go out. There would be great opposition.
Paul was opposed and put in prison, more than once. He faced great opposition, and mostly at the hands of the religious leaders.
Paul writes in his letter to the Thessalonians (in light of Acts 16, 17)…
1 You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2 We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
This is what Jesus was warning his disciples about in these verses. He gives them a warning that they are not to fear these people that will bring opposition. Why?
Because at worst, these that oppose them can kill them.
Now, Jesus was not in any way intending to minimize the horrendousness of death, or the pain of death. Death is terrible. Death is the ultimate consequence of man’s rebellion against God. The curse upon man was that if they rebelled against God, they would surely die. That’s the curse.
Christ is not minimizing the death of the body. Rather, he is placing the death of the body in contrast to something far more significant - and that is the eternal damnation of people that refuse to believe in God and His way of salvation.
Jesus tells his disciples that there are essentially two paths here. You can be fearful of the people that will inflict pain upon you. You can live in fear of them, and so be ashamed of Christ and not preach the Gospel. But when you do that, you have failed to carry out the task for which Christ called you. And in doing this, you place yourself in opposition to God who sent you.
When you do that, you make a grave mistake!
The physical is very real to us. We don’t like pain in our bodies. We don’t like suffering. We don’t like death. And rightly so…
But we struggle to comprehend the reality of eternal judgment from God. But this is what we must keep in mind.
As those called by Christ, we must not fear the man that will oppose God’s message that is to be given through us to them. Rather, we must fear the God who sends us.
This is precisely what happened with some of the religious leaders when they actually believed the message of the Gospel…
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Christ says to his disciples that this is a dangerous place to be, and they need to be weary of this.
The same is true in our day. When the Gospel is faithfully proclaimed, it will by its very nature be opposed. Man does not like his sin exposed. The truth of the Gospel will confront man… But we must not fear man, but rather we must fear God.
25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
And this is what Jesus goes on to tell his disciples.
The message that he had just conveyed to them was a difficult one to hear. It was not easy. They must have been taking some time to process this in their minds…
But Christ gives great encouragement to them in the next two verses, as he speaks about the protection that God gives…
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
In these two verses, Christ encourages his disciples with the reality of the fatherly care of God over their lives.
God knows and is concerned about the sale of five sparrows for two pennies. The point here is just how cheap sparrows were. It didn’t cost a fortune to buy sparrows. They were common, and they were available at a very low price. And yet, even these inexpensive birds were not forgotten by God.
Contrast that with man… God even knows the number of the hairs of your head!! Every single one is numbered. God knows us better than we could ever know ourselves. And He is concerned for us.
What should flow out of knowing this?
Don’t be afraid!!! God cares for His children. They are precious to Him. He will look after every single one of His children according to His great love and care. Never underestimate how glorious that promise is!!
God’s love and care for you if you are in Christ is assured. But friends, we must realise that the love of God for us is extremely precious. It is exceedingly valuable.
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul was utterly amazed and deeply moved to know that God loved him, and that God cared for him. Furthermore, Paul recognised the extent of the blessing and the riches that were his because of God’s love for him. There was nothing more precious for Paul in this world. That’s why he could write those words.
The simple knowledge that God loved Paul was sufficient to be content in every circumstance.
And we must be encouraged by this… to grasp just how much God loves us… and to know just how precious it is to be known by God, to be counted as one of His children… that is exceedingly precious…
Jesus encourages his disciples here… do not fear… you are precious to God. This is not a promise that they will never suffer. It’s not a promise that they will not be killed. It’s a promise that God’s love is overwhelming, and that his loving hand will ultimately not deliver his children over to eternal death and wrath, but will usher his children into his very presence.
Who then will you fear? Man… who can merely kill your physical body, that is in any case destined to die? Or God, who can afflict far worse eternal judgment upon you.... or deliver you into eternal glories?
Christ doesn’t stop with these words of encouragment. Rather he continues to give a...
4. Glorious Promise (vv.8-10)
4. Glorious Promise (vv.8-10)
There is a reward for those who will trust in God. There is a reward for those who will live in obedience to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, and proclaim that Gospel to others.
8 “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.
This is the promise to those who are faithful to proclaim the message of the Gospel.
These words of Christ refer to the end of the times when the books will be opened, and God will give judgment upon men for their lives and their actions.
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.
This will be done in the heavenly courts, in the presence of myriads of angels.
This must be an encouragement to us. It must be an encouragement for us to go out and proclaim Christ. It must be an encouragement to us to live before all men in a manner pleasing to Christ, and to put Him on display in our own lives.
If we confess before all the world that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we are not ashamed to do that, then He will confess before God in heaven that we belong to Him. He will be our advocate before the Father, and we will be presented as acceptable before God, not on the basis of our works earning us salvation, but on the basis of the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
This promise is a great encouragement.
But there is another side to this promise, for those who are ashamed of Christ…
9 But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.
That is the warning to everyone who would refuse to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. If anyone refuses in this life, before men, to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, then he will be disowned before God.
There is no such thing as a private Christian. There is no such thing as a person that confesses Christ in secret, but refuses to do so before the world, before man.
Christ must be confessed with our lips, having been believed on in our hearts.
Jesus goes on to say...
10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
This verse has been the cause of much confusion. But it’s meaning is quite straightforward when taken in the light of Scripture as a whole.
In the first part of the verse, Jesus says that theone that speaks a word against the Son, against Him, will be forgiven. in other words, when a person has spoken a word against the Son, but come to repentance, forgiveness will be granted.
Think about the thieves on the cross next to Jesus.
44 The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.
Notice that it was both robbers. But one of them had a change of heart. He realised that Christ was indeed the Messiah.
42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”
43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
Forgiveness, even though he had spoken a word against Christ.
Paul is another example. He spoke much against Christ, and was persecuting the church. But Christ saved him. He was brought to repentance and faith.
But what about the second half of that verse?
Anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
As we consider these words, we must recognise the context. We recently considered that the religious leaders were attributing the works of Jesus to Satan. They saw his miracles. They listented to his teaching. But instead of attributing this work to the Spirit of God, they claimed that it was a work of Satan.
15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
We see similar accounts in the Gospel of John…
20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?”
48 The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’
20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?”
In all these accounts, they were attributing the clear work of God to Satan. They had hardened their hearts against the truth, and so were found to be in opposition to God.
William Hendriksen is helpful…
Luke 12:8–12 Fear Not
we learn that the bitter opponents of Jesus have been ascribing to Satan what the Holy Spirit, through Christ, was achieving. Moreover, they were doing this willfully, deliberately. In spite of all the evidences to the contrary they were still affirming that Jesus was expelling demons by the power of Beelzebul. Now to be forgiven implies that the sinner be truly penitent. Among the opponents such genuine sorrow for sin was totally lacking. For penitence they substituted hardening; for confession, plotting. Thus, by means of their own criminal and completely inexcusable callousness, they were dooming themselves. Their sin was unpardonable because they were unwilling to tread the path that leads to pardon. For a thief, an adulterer, and a murderer there is hope. The message of the gospel may cause him to cry out, “O God be merciful to me, the sinner.” But when a man has become hardened, so that he has made up his mind not to pay any attention to the promptings of the Spirit, not even to listen to his pleading and warning voice, he has placed himself on the road that leads to perdition. He has sinned the sin “unto death”
He goes on to say…
Luke 12:8–12 Fear Not
The essence of the sin against the Holy Spirit can be condensed into, just one word—i m p e n i t e n c e.
If anyone is truly sorry for his sins, he cannot at the same time be guilty of “the sin against the Holy Spirit,” “the unpardonable sin,” for true sorrow is the work and fruit of the Holy Spirit, and shows that this Spirit is dwelling in the heart of that penitent.
There is a wonderful promise for the one that will confess Jesus Christ. But there is also warning to the one that will blaspheme the Spirit, and refuse to repent.
Finally from our text...
5. Gracious Provision (vv.11-12)
5. Gracious Provision (vv.11-12)
This proclamation of the Gospel, says Jesus, would certainly lead to persecution. Christ saw this coming. He knew that a day would come when these disciples, in proclaiming the truth of the Gospel, would be confronted. They would be persecuted. They would be hauled before the courts on account of the Gospel that they proclaimed.
11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
Here, again, is a promise. God would provide them with the words that they were to say.
You know what it’s like when you’re going to be taken to court (well, I hope you don’t). But you know what it’s like when you are going to have to defend your position before men. There is a fear that can arise. You plan and think about what to say, how you’re going to say it. You probably will have some sleepless nights.
It would have been little different for the disciples. To be brought before these high-powered leaders (whether Jew or Gentile) would have been intimidating. This particularly for these disciples that were “unskilled” when compared with the Jewish leaders in particular.
Christ says here that the Spirit would give them the words to say in the moment. Not before. Not carefully prepare them in advance. They would arrive, and in that moment the Spirit would help them.
And that’s precisely what happened…
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,
9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.
11 “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.
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.”
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.
There are further accounts of this in the book of Acts. But the fact is, God was with them and guided them.
Application / Conclusion
Application / Conclusion
A.1. Beware of Hypocrisy
A.1. Beware of Hypocrisy
We must take this lesson from the religious leaders. And we must not think it impossible for us to live in this way.
A.2. Rejoice in the Gospel
A.2. Rejoice in the Gospel
We must place our trust in Jesus Christ!
Although it is true that hypocrisy will be exposed, it is equally true that there is salvation in Jesus Christ. There is forgiveness of sins.
Luke 12:8–12 Fear Not
For anyone who is truly penitent, no matter how shameful his transgressions may have been, there is no reason to despair (Ps. 103:12; Isa. 1:18; 44:22; 55:6, 7; Mic. 7:18–20; 1 John 1:9).
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A.3. Be Bold in Gospel Proclamation
A.3. Be Bold in Gospel Proclamation
Let us not be those who fear man… and are afraid to proclaim the Gospel.
Rather, let us fear God. Let us live in joyful, humble submission to Him…
25 The fear of man brings a snare,
But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.
Christ has called us to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom. Let us do so with boldness, trusting in God to provide grace and strength, and to keep us in His love, even as we do this.
Amen.