“Carnality Crouching at your Door”

Series: The Gospel Truth

Txt: Mt 16:1-23

Introduction: (What?)

Have you ever seen a professional athlete go from great to goat in the same game or match? One moment they are performing extraordinary feats on the field of play. The next they commit errors that costs them or their team a victory. In just the same manner we can go from being used by God to being used by the devil like the flip of a switch. In 1 Cor 10:12 Paul cautioned “So whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.”

Carnality is defined as “preoccupation with, or indulgence in, the flesh or the body and its passions and appetites; sensuality:Giving in to the lures of carnality—whether that means porn or real-life promiscuity—is damaging to everyone concerned.”

Examination: (Why?)

1. Don’t you get it??? (vv 1-12)

Just after Jesus had fed 4K men plus women and children with seven loaves of bread and a few fish, the following unfolded.

Mt 16:1-12 “The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and tested him, asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away. The disciples reached the other shore, and they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus told them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They were discussing among themselves, “We didn’t bring any bread.” Aware of this, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves that you do not have bread? Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you collected? Or the seven loaves four thousand and how many large baskets you collected? Why is it you don’t understand that when I told you, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,’ it wasn’t about bread? Then they understood that He had not told them to beware of the leaven in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Sometimes we are so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good. And sometimes the reverse is true. The latter was the case with the disciples. Their minds were on their stomachs rather than on the danger inherent in the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Although these two groups differed in their theology, they agreed on getting Jesus out of the picture. One of their favorite methods was to ask Jesus for a sign regarding some theological issue. In this case they wanted a nebulous “sign from heaven” to validate His credentials as Messiah. This time Jesus didn’t answer with a question, but rather with an accusation. In essence He said, “You guys pride yourselves on reading all kinds of “signs” regarding the weather but you can’t read the signs that related to God’s plan. You know what, you will not be given any more signs other than the sign of Jonah.”

These guys prided themselves on their knowledge of the Torah and the writings of the prophets but, as Jesus pointed out, they didn’t understand what they thought they knew. They never connected the dots between prophecy and its fulfillment. Maybe it was because Jesus was yet to die and rise again, however even after that occurred they still didn’t get it. They were spiritually blind. Modern day Pharisees and Sadducees are those who ask, “How could a good God allow evil in the world?” They really don’t want or expect an answer to their question. They are just seeking to cast doubt on God and to put believers on the defensive. We have the Bible to verify everything that God is and does that can be understood by finite man. He doesn’t need to do anything else to prove Himself.

In this passage we find that not only did the unbelieving Pharisees and Sadduccees not “get it”, but neither did the disciples. By now they had been participants is two miracles of Jesus feeding thousands with just a little food. Yet their primary concern was “O my! We forgot to bring any bread!” To me Jesus sounds a little exasperated when He heard them gripping. They had already forgotten the miracles. Faith would have said, “O well, even though we didn’t bring bread, we have Jesus and He will meet our needs.” Jesus reminded them of what had just transpired and then warned them not to fall into the carnality trap of the religio-political parties of the day. Jesus wanted them to grasp the spiritual significance of His miracles and not be sucked into just having their stomachs or their curiosity satisfied.

2. God delegates (vv 13-20)

Mt 16:13-20 “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.” Then he gave the disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah.”

Catholics will say that in this passage Jesus was appointing Peter as the first Pope. However, a careful study will show that Jesus was making an analogy using the nickname He has given Peter. In essence Jesus said, “You are Rocky, and on this pebble I will build my church.” When He referred to Peter He used the word “Petros” (rock). But when He referred to building His church He used the word “Petra”, a feminine form of the word which could have been interpreted “Pebble”. So what is the pebble? It is the declaration that Peter made in answer to the question “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus made sure that Peter would not become puffed up because he got the right answer by telling him that he didn’t think that up by himself. Sometimes today people think that they are so smart to have come up with an answer or solution without realizing that it was the Holy Spirit in them that brought the answer to mind.

The delegation of authority that Jesus spoke of was not to Peter, but to His Church which He would establish and build (not speaking of a physical edifice.) Some people misunderstand this and think that it is carte blanche for them to begin binding and loosing all over the place. The only things that can be bound are those things which are already bound in heaven. The only things that can be loosed are those things that have already been loosed in heaven. The binding and loosing is done by the CHURCH not by individuals. In the case of the individual in the Corinthian Church who was living in sin, Paul urged the church to corporately“bind” him from fellowship until he repented of his sin. Later, after repentance, Paul urged them to “loose” him and restore him to fellowship. In Jn 20:23 “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” This is akin to church discipline. John McArthur noted that this must be understood in the context of Mt 18:15-17 “If your brother sins against you, go tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen, take one or two others with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he doesn’t pay attention to them, tell the church. If he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you.” We don’t DETERMINE what is and isn’t sin, but rather we ADMINISTER the judgment on sin as scripture does.

Not only do we have delegated authority to do this, but we have an obligation to do it as well. In 1 Jn 5:16 the Apostle“If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that.”

3. Oops! (vv 21-23)

Mt 16:21-23 “From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

From the moment Peter uttered the words in v 16, the devil crouched behind the door looking for an opportunity to cause him to stumble. That opportunity came just 6 verses later when Peter rebuked Jesus. Peter, perhaps remembering how Jesus commended him earlier, thought he was doing a good thing, but he was actually interfering with God’s plan of redemption. Jesus quickly and sharply rebuked Peter. We should learn from this that we are most vulnerable when we have been the most successful. By that I mean that we can never conclude that just because God has used us in some way we are forever out of bounds from the enemy. We know that Peter got it because he wrote in 1 Pet 5:8 “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.”

Application: (How should I respond to this message)

Have you ever surrendered your life to Christ? If not you can do so right now. Just say to Him, “Lord, I give you my life.” Recognize that this surrender must be on-going and may need to be renewed.

Has God used you to lead someone to Christ or to encourage a fellow believer? Then be on your guard because carnality is crouching just outside your door.

If you are aware of sin in the life of a brother or sister in Christ, follow the teaching of Matt 18:15-17. But first examine yourself and make certain that you are clean before the LORD.