Date:      27th January 2002                                                                                                                                                  Ref: A0061

Place:     Kambah P.S.

Title: Not Faith but Obedience

Text:        & Luke 17:1-10

Illust:     Some diseases are incurable, but not because there are no drugs or other forms of treatment to stop their course. Some diseases are incurable because the patient refuses to get cured. There is a big group of individuals who come under the category of “uncooperative patients.” Painstakingly, the physician outlines a detailed program of treatment—what medicines are to be taken and how much, a list of permitted foods, graduated exercises, the kind of baths that might be taken. But all that labor is wasted, for his patient merrily goes on eating what he pleases and taking his medicines when and if he remembers. – In our text this morning Jesus is traveling towards Jerusalem & he is taking this opportunity to teach His disciples important lessons that they would need when He was gone.

I.                   Jesus Warns of Offences

A.               Watch yourself

i.                 He opens by turning to them & warning them of possible sin in their lives. The danger was that as they began to minister for Him they would get carried away & they would allow sins to creep into their lives that would bring offence to others

ii.                This is a danger you & I face especially as we grow in God, we can get so carried away with what we think we know, what we think we have achieved that we start to take people for granted & in our pride & carelessness we cause offence with our words, our actions.

iii.              We need to be constantly evaluating our life against what Jesus requires. And we need to make sure we do not put a stumbling block in any-ones way as this is a serious offence. Rom 14:12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.[1] ~ Remember we are all prone to sin & that Jer 17:9“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?[2]

B.               Forgive

i.                 The truth is that since we are all capable of this & \we are likely to be offended by others. I can say something that might hurt you or offend you. Anybody might. ~ Your responsibility is to stew on this, never speak to that person again. Wrong! You are “in love” to go to that person & tell them. & v.3. ~ Notice here that it says “sins against you”. This is not a license to rebuke people over every misdemeanour you might witness.

ii.                As mature Christians when someone sin’s against us we should go to them Eph 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love,[3] This is not to embarrass or hurt, but to encourage them to repent. If they do then we must forgive. No matter how much they sin against us.

iii.              We must be in the habit of forgiving for one day we may want them to forgive us. The Anglican pastor & poet George Herbert wrote, “He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.”[4] Forgiveness like this is not a cheap exchange of words {like children “I’m sorry”}, ~ true forgiveness always involves pain, that’s maybe why we find it so difficult.

II.                 How much Faith

A.               Increase Our Faith

i.                 In response to what the disciples recognised was an incredibly hard thing to do they plaintively cry out to the Lord “increase our Faith”.

ii.                Faith is to trust in God & to depend upon him to meet all our needs. ~ Heard a beautiful song “prayer is the key to heaven but faith unlocks the door.” “Prayer without faith is like a boat without an oar.” ~ The increase of our faith is something we should earnestly desire & pursue & we should petition God for greater faith, a stronger faith & a clearer faith.

B.               Mustard Seed Faith

i.                 Jesus does not seem to sympathise with them, he simply tells them that the amount of your Faith is not important. Faith the size of the smallest seed can achieve amazing things, uproot a 20ft tree & cast it into the ocean.

ii.                Remember these were the disciples who had been with Jesus for the better part of 3 years. They had seen incredible miracles. They themselves had been sent out to preach the Gospel & to heal the sick (Lu 9). They did believe. They did have faith.

III.              A Servant of Christ

A.               A Strange Twist

i.                 Then in a really strange twist He says & v.7-10. The Gk implies this is the same conversation, with the “And/But”. ~ This threw me as I was reading this. ~ What have these 4 verses got to do with the answer to the disciple’s question?

ii.                Jesus is asking them about a servant, the master assigns tasks & expects them to be carried out. He also points out to them that both Master & servant expect the servant to put the master’s needs before his own. Then when the servant has done what was required does he deserve any special recommendation? ~ Obviously not.

B.               Bondslave

i.                 Let’s look at this servant; he is literally a bond servant, a slave. He is the possession of his master. One who works without pay

ii.                Here Jesus is laying a foundation that Paul would pick up on, as he describes himself as Ro 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God[5] He uses the same term as Jesus used here. What he is saying in effect is that I am a slave of Jesus Christ. I am His, I belong to Him as His bondservant.

iii.              The same applies to you & I, we are His for we were 1 Cor 7:23 bought with a price.

C.               Duty

i.                 Therefore as Jesus bondservants we have a duty to do his bidding. This is an obligation. Forgiveness \has less to do with Faith & is more about obedience. It is our duty, an obligation – This word duty – speaks of us having accrued a debt, to commit a sin against someone & thus to incur a moral debt. To be under an obligation to make a payment as the result of having previously received something of value. E.g. obligation to the bank with a car lease or house repayment.

ii.                This applies to you & I. We have an obligation, a debt we can never repay, we have received a treasure of priceless value, our sins have been forgiven we are truly His bondservants.

iii.              In regards to the forgiveness of others no matter how often they offend Jesus is in essence telling us that it is not a question of Faith but a question of obedience. Jesus had given a command. When a person sins he is to be rebuked & forgiven. This is not an optional activity. ~ When General Montgomery, came into command in North Africa, to rescue the allied forces from that dreadful debacle, General Montgomery expected his commands to be carried out. He says, “Orders no longer formed the basis for discussion, but for action. … Previously orders had generally been queried by subordinates right down the line. I was determined to stop this state of affairs at once.”

iv.              When we do what we are supposed to do as His servants then we are simply to say & v.10 ~ “unprofitable”: Obviously we are not worthless, It cost Him everything to purchase us. ~ We are valued. & Lu 12:22-28. It means “unworthy” we are servants who do not particularly deserve any special praise we have done what we should do.

IV.             Altar Call

----

[1]The New King James Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1998, c1982.

[2] ibid

[3] ibid.

[4] The Bible Exposition Commentaries Vol 1, P244, Warren W. WIERSBE

[5]The New King James Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1998, c1982.