The Gospel of Luke (21) Sermon on the Plain (3) 04/09/2023

First Baptist Church Leominster

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:30

Pastor Jason is now going to come and read for us Revelation chapter 5.

00:37

Now there are many who look at this chapter as a future event, but that is really a mistaken understanding of this chapter.

00:47

When John was caught up into heaven and watched this unfold before him, he was actually transported back in time to the resurrection of Christ when

00:59

Christ ascended from death into the throne room of God. And Christ came to the ancient of days, it's a fulfillment of Daniel chapter 7, 13 and 14.

01:11

And Jesus came to the ancient of days and received a scroll from the Father's hand and then immediately praise is voiced in heaven.

01:21

And it's basically Jesus Christ receiving his kingdom. That scroll is an emblem of the authority of God for Jesus Christ to execute his decrees in history.

01:33

And this is what Jesus Christ has been doing for the last 2 ,000 years and will continue to do until his second coming.

01:41

And so this describes our Lord's ascension and his enthronement as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Revelation chapter 5.

01:58

Then I saw in the hand of him who was seated on the throne, a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

02:08

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?

02:15

And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.

02:22

And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

02:28

And one of the elders said to me, weep no more, behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that we can open the scroll and its seven seals.

02:41

And between the throne of the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

02:55

And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

03:01

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

03:13

And they sang a new song saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

03:29

And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God and they shall reign on the earth.

03:36

Then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

03:58

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.

04:12

And the four living creatures said, amen, and the elders fell down and worshiped.

04:21

Let's pray. Lord God, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

04:39

Lord, Jesus Christ is worthy of our praise because Jesus Christ did what we could never do.

04:46

He obeyed the father. He kept the will of the father. He obeyed the law of the father.

04:54

And Lord, because of his life, because of his death, his sacrifice, Lord, we have life because of Christ.

05:03

We thank you for the tremendous blessings that we have in Christ Jesus. And we pray,

05:09

Lord, that as we continue our worship, that you would be pleased. So Lord, help us now as we open up your word.

05:15

Help us to see clearly who you are. Help us to see clearly who Christ is and who we are in light of Christ.

05:23

Help us to see our great need for a savior. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus name.

05:28

Amen. Well, let's turn in our

05:38

Bibles to Luke six. We're continuing our study in this gospel.

05:47

Actually this morning, we're going to conclude our study of our Lord's Sermon on the

05:53

Plain that's recorded here in Luke chapter six. Actually from verses 20 to 49, this is the third

06:00

Sunday, of course. There are three divisions within this sermon, and they are, or they may be regarded as perspectives of kingdom citizens, which we addressed a couple of weeks ago, verses 20 through 26.

06:17

And then secondly, principles of kingdom living, verses 27 through 38. We addressed these last

06:24

Lord's Day, and today we want to consider this third division, proofs of kingdom citizenry, verses 39 through 49.

06:36

And so we first consider the new perspectives which the Lord Jesus desired for his persons, for his disciples to possess.

06:45

We're to see ourselves and the world about us quite differently than before we regarded the world, before we came to faith in Christ.

06:54

And so disciples of Christ are not to view this life as holding forth that which is truly life enriching or enduring, rather we are to order our lives as his disciples looking forward to a future time when the

07:08

Lord will establish his kingdom in fullness. When we will then live in a world in which righteousness reigns.

07:17

And then secondly, we considered that Jesus had set forth principles by which his disciples are to live.

07:24

And we saw, of course, the overarching ethic of the kingdom of God is love. Our loving concern and behavior toward others should characterize us, extending our loving actions even to our enemies.

07:39

And moreover, our attitudes are to reflect our kingdom citizenship. We are to be optimistic and encouraging and encouraging people as we enlist others through the gospel to join us in entering the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

07:55

Our attitudes toward others should not be judgmental or fault finding, but rather we are to be a forgiving and giving people, purposing to manifest the life of Christ before them so that they might observe our behavior and consider our witness for Jesus Christ.

08:14

And Jesus emphasized that we had better live in this manner of not judging and condemning others for with the same standard and degree with which we judge others,

08:24

God will judge us one day. As Jesus said, for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

08:34

And that's how that section ends with verse 38. Well today we'll address this third division, which we have called proofs of kingdom citizenry.

08:45

Verses 39 through 40. And here our Lord exhorts his disciples to be humble and aware of their personal weakness.

08:54

Jesus then concluded his sermon by stressing the importance of his disciples to be doing what they have heard him teach them.

09:03

This is a new emphasis in Luke's gospel, which we'll point out. Let's read this passage.

09:10

Here is Luke 6, 39 through 49. And he, Jesus, spoke a parable to them.

09:17

Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

09:24

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

09:31

And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?

09:47

Hypocrite. First remove the plank in your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.

09:58

For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit, for every tree is known by its own fruit.

10:07

For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good.

10:17

An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

10:26

Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does them,

10:36

I will show you whom he is like. He's like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.

10:45

And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

10:54

But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."

11:11

I came across a sermon by Charles Spurgeon on this passage, and I actually copied it, and I think

11:22

Mary copied it, and it's available to you this morning. I don't know if it got in your notes, did it get in your notes, you have it?

11:29

It's in the back if you care to have a copy of that. You know, I'll put together a sermon and then

11:35

I'll turn and read one of Spurgeon's sermons on the same passage, and I thought, why do I even try? It's just a wonderful, a wonderful sermon.

11:44

I commend it to you. They're available in the back after service. Well, as we examine this third section of our

11:51

Lord's Sermon on the Plain, we can affirm four major qualities or characteristics before us.

12:00

First, a true disciple of Jesus is a humble student of his master, verses 39 and 40.

12:07

Secondly, a true disciple of Jesus is one who should be aware of his own weakness, and this should influence how he relates to others.

12:15

Third, a true disciple of Jesus is one who has undergone a heart change. And fourth, a true disciple of Jesus both hears and obeys his

12:26

Lord. So let's work through these four points of emphasis. First, a disciple of Jesus is a humble student of his master.

12:37

Jesus gave an exhortation to his disciples to be very careful and discerning in choosing teachers who are suitable and qualified to teach and lead them.

12:49

Verses 39 and 40 again, he spoke a parable to them. Can the blind lead the blind?

12:56

Rhetorical question implying no. Will they not both fall into the ditch?

13:01

A disciple is not above his master, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

13:09

And so our Lord was warning his disciples of those who would stand before them and teach them regarding the things of God.

13:17

They were to make sure that their teachers saw the truth clearly so that they could and that they would teach their students the truth of the word of God.

13:28

Our Lord was certainly intimating that the Pharisees and their scribes who are always in the crowd were teaching them things contrary to what he was instructing them.

13:39

They were the blind guides, clearly. So Jesus was warning his disciples of them.

13:47

Matthew Henry wrote, I'm going to quote him a couple of times, he's so good. Those who put themselves under the guidance of the ignorant and erroneous are likely to perish with them.

13:58

Can the blind lead the blind? Can the Pharisees who are blinded with pride, prejudice, and bigotry lead the blind people into the right way?

14:08

Shall not both fall together into the ditch? How can they expect any other? Those that are led by the common opinion, course, and custom of this world are themselves blind and are led by the blind and will perish with the world that sits in darkness.

14:26

Those that ignorantly and out of venture follow the multitude to do evil, follow the blind in the broad way that leads the many to destruction, alluding to Matthew 7, 13, and 14.

14:41

Well Jesus gave two analogies. One is of blind teachers and then the second analogy is that of a pupil.

14:50

Our Lord was somewhat implying that all of his disciples are as blind persons in need of being led about by someone who sees clearly.

14:59

Each of us, when we came to faith in Christ, were in a helpless condition, knowing very little with certainty of the truths of God's words and ways.

15:09

We were blind, ones in need of direction and assistance. There's actually an

15:16

Old Testament prophecy of our Lord Jesus that he would restore sight, that is spiritual sight, to blind people,

15:25

Isaiah 42. Here we have God the Father speaking about his

15:30

Son. Here God the Father is referred to as Lord, calling forth his servant, and this is a prophecy of Jesus Christ, commissioning his

15:40

Son to instruct and guide his people. I the Lord have called you, notice you, it's probably capitalized, if you have a

15:48

New King James version, God the Father has called you, his Son, Jesus Christ, in righteousness and will hold your hand, the

15:56

Father will assist him. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, it's a prophecy of Jesus.

16:04

Drink this cup, in this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus is the covenant between his people and God the

16:12

Father, as a light to the Gentiles and here it is to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

16:25

Of course we sing the hymn of grace, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me,

16:32

I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. And it is true that we were blind to many essential matters, which we came to see clearly when we were first converted, we were blind but now we see.

16:49

But even after our conversion, none of us could see things clearly, we were in need of instruction.

16:57

And in some ways we were still blind, half seen, incapable, however seeing things clearly that were before us,

17:06

Puritans often use the miracle of our Lord healing a blind man recorded in Mark 8 to illustrate this reality.

17:15

It reads as follows, then Jesus, he came to Bethsaida, they brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.

17:23

So he took the blind man by the hand, led him out of the town and when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything.

17:32

He looked up and said, I see men like trees, walking, then he put his hands on his eyes again and made him look up and he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

17:45

And then he sent him away to his house saying, neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town.

17:52

Now we should not think that somehow our Lord made a first effort to heal this man of blindness but failed to do so completely.

18:00

And so he could only complete his miracle on a second effort, that's not true.

18:07

Our Lord healed this man in this two -stage manner to reveal a spiritual truth to his disciples.

18:14

When we first come to faith in Christ, we're unable to see spiritual reality but we do not see clearly like this man.

18:23

Whereas this man whose sight was being restored to him, for we see men like trees walking. When new in the

18:32

Lord, we did not see matters in right proportion or in right relationship with other things. But the

18:38

Lord does enable us in time to do so. And here again, Matthew Henry drew the application from this miracle story for Christians.

18:48

Thus Christ would show how in what method those are healed by his grace, who by nature are spiritually blind.

18:57

At first their knowledge is confused. They see men as trees walking but like the light of the morning, it shines more and more to the perfect day and then they see all things clearly.

19:08

Let us inquire then, if we see all of those things which faith is the substance and evidence of and if through grace we see anything of them, we may hope that we shall see yet more and more for Jesus Christ will perfect forever those that are sanctified.

19:26

Beautiful application. And so even as Christians, especially young Christians, or those who have not been taught well, they are as blind ones who do not see clearly.

19:40

They are as the Ethiopian eunuch who could not understand Isaiah's prophecy that he was reading.

19:47

We read in Acts 8, so Philip ran to him, heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, do you understand what you're reading?

19:56

This was a Jewish man probably, he'd been to Jerusalem for the celebration of the

20:01

Passover. He was informed in the scriptures, he was reading from the Old Testament prophets.

20:08

But he responded, how can I unless someone guides me? And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him and then

20:14

Philip explained, preached from that passage, Jesus Christ. And so even

20:19

Christians are in need of teachers. A measure of helplessness and ignorance characterizes all disciples of Jesus.

20:28

That's true of you, it's true of me. And as a result, they're dependent on their

20:33

Lord for direction and instruction. A blind man does not know where he's going unless somebody directs him.

20:40

A pupil is by definition one who is ignorant in a measure and is in need of instruction.

20:45

But Jesus warned his disciples, essentially saying, make sure that you have one who sees clearly to lead you who are blind.

20:56

Jesus said this by these words, can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

21:02

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

21:11

Most of my teachers are dead men. You know, thankfully we have a wonderful availability to the things they have left behind and right writing.

21:23

Well, let's remember the setting in which the Lord gave these words. He had just singled out 12 of his apostles. He came down from the mountain.

21:31

They had a special role. They were being, going to be his 12 apostles, and these apostles and those under them would be the ones who would carry out his work after his departure.

21:41

But with privilege and leadership comes the danger of pride, and so to counter the danger and tendency toward being puffed up,

21:49

Jesus spoke these words. These apostles were novices as such, unaccustomed to spiritual leadership and in danger, thinking more highly of themselves than they ought to think.

22:01

And for the rest too, they too were in danger of becoming puffed up. And so these words of Jesus were fitting on this occasion.

22:11

But again, we would say that these words are fitting for any occasion before the disciples of Jesus. Disciples are never to advance beyond viewing themselves in these terms.

22:23

This characterizes how true disciples are to view themselves. And yet I think we would have to admit none of us find this easy, for there is a tendency within our fallen natures to resist this need for us to be taught rightly and faithfully.

22:39

We presume that we already know and understand. This is certainly a good lesson for teenagers in particular.

22:51

Teen years are both an exciting but also a dangerous time in life, exciting in that as you are maturing, you're seeing things for yourself and judging things through your own thought processes rather than those of your parents.

23:06

You're becoming individuals, and that's healthy, that's normal. But the danger exists as you look about and see the flaws and weaknesses of those about you, your teachers and your parents.

23:18

I can remember vividly as a young man first recognizing the flaws in my mother's reasoning and thinking.

23:25

I held my dad to a high esteem, but later on I became more wise than he, or so I thought.

23:32

This is natural. You can become dangerously independent and self -sufficient.

23:39

The problem is that although you have a fully developed capacity to observe keenly and reason quickly, perhaps even more quickly than your parents, we don't think as quickly as we used to.

23:52

Yet you don't have the breadth of experience to observe clearly and to reason fully. So you tend to say,

23:59

I'm not blind, or I'm no longer a child, in other words, pupil. But the Lord tells you that you're just that, if you're one of his, you're a pupil in need of instruction and guidance, and that's why

24:12

God has ordained parents to be your guides and guardians as well as your counselors. But teenagers do not always resort to this divine provision, for they see all too clearly the splinters in their parents' eyes, but they don't see the plank in their own eyes, which can render them virtually blind to so many things.

24:34

The wise son or daughter will realize his or her ignorance in many areas of life and consider carefully the counsel of parents.

24:43

It's a foolish son or daughter which says, not only do I see clearly how I should govern my life, but I see more clearly than my parents.

24:55

And yet parents and adults, these words are no less applicable. The Lord was talking to grown people, and some among his apostles, he was speaking to successful tradesmen, businessmen, self -sufficient men of the world.

25:11

But Jesus likened them to blind students in need of his counsel and instruction. And again, that never changes.

25:18

For although we may grow and learn and see more clearly and become more like our teacher, it is only because we continually look to Christ and continually learn from him.

25:30

Humility and a teachable spirit should always characterize all of God's people, both those who are young and those who are not so young.

25:43

Of course, this leads quite readily into verses 41 and 42, which we see secondly, a disciple of Jesus is one who should be aware of his own weaknesses, and they should influence how he relates to others.

25:58

A proud man is of little use to anybody. Jesus said to his gathering of disciples, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?

26:11

Or how can you say to your brother, brother, let me remove the speck that's in your eye, when you yourself do not see the plank that's in your own eye, hypocrite.

26:21

First remove the plank from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.

26:28

Notice we're to be taking splendors out of people's eyes. The question is whether you're qualified to do that or not.

26:36

Well, there's much in these two verses. First, it reveals that we tend to think that we can see clearly the faults of others.

26:45

Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye? Is it not amazing how many of us have been so blessed with unusual gifted insight that we can see the faults in others so clearly?

26:58

That's the nature of us, isn't it? But we think that we can see so clearly the flaws and faults of others.

27:07

We think that we see so clearly we can at any given moment scan a person's situation, assess his character and personality, and then very accurately detail causes, effects, skewers, and even prophesize outcome.

27:20

You and I don't have that kind of wisdom. But secondly, although we tend to think we can see clearly the faults in others, at the same time, we think that we have no flaws.

27:33

Or at least we do not recognize them as such, or we believe that they are of no consequence. Jesus said, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but you do not perceive the plank in your own eye?

27:48

This is part of our remaining partial blindness. The faults of others are quite clearly displayed before us, or so we think, but our own faults are either not seen by us, or they're marginalized by us.

28:03

We have this propensity to justify ourselves. In fact, the plank in one's own eye actually diminishes the ability to see the splinter in someone else's eye.

28:13

And it's often the case that the bitter, complaining, and very critical -spirited person, who's always fault -finding of others, is actually betraying a large plank in his own eye that is a flaw or fault in his own character that he may not see at all.

28:34

But we have this tendency. We often assume the flaw in the other is greater than our own.

28:40

Jesus said, or how can you say to your brother, brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the plank that's in your own eye?

28:49

We're quick to inspect another, even when we do not think we have a problem which we may need to give attention.

28:57

But in reality, whereas we think our own problem is minor, in reality it's greater.

29:03

It's a plank, because it's in our own eye. The other may have a splinter, but we may have a plank.

29:11

The splinter in the eye of another is not going to hurt you, but the plank in your own eye has great potential for harm.

29:18

It blinds you in your ability to assess. And so the

29:24

Lord was making it clear, you have no business or ability to criticize another when you yourself have so many hangups.

29:32

And until you deal with your own problem first, you're in no position to judge others. This does not mean that until you get help, you're not to try to help others, but it does mean we're in no position to criticize others when we ourselves have serious problems.

29:50

So what should our attitude be? Well, we should be humble and approach the one we see in need patiently with genuine concern to help rather than to condemn.

30:00

Come on, brother, you've got a splinter, I've got a plank. Let us both go to the physician for help.

30:10

The old adage were fellow beggars showing another beggar where to get bread. That should be our attitude.

30:18

And so the disciple of Jesus is to be aware of his own weaknesses, perhaps better. He's aware that weaknesses exist, and so he examines himself, but further, he corrects his deficiencies as he looks to Christ.

30:31

And this in turn influences how he relates to others. He does not tell others to do what he himself has refused to do.

30:43

Well, in the third division of this third section of the sermon, a disciple of Jesus is one who has undergone a heart change.

30:57

Jesus taught the people, for a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit, for every tree is known by its fruit.

31:06

For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

31:25

First, we have in these words an analogy of the good tree and the bad tree. The Lord used the analogy of a tree to describe the kind of life that characterizes a true

31:37

Christian, in contrast to the kind of life that characterizes a non -Christian, whereas a good tree is one which has experienced the grace of God and salvation, a bad tree is one that has not experienced the saving grace of God.

31:54

Fruit may include everything that characterizes a person, his attitudes, his words, his teachings, his deeds.

32:02

It's impossible for a good tree to bring forth bad fruit, it's impossible for a bad tree to bring forth good fruit, that's what

32:09

Jesus declared. And once again, I think this is the last Matthew Henry quote of the day, but it's a good one.

32:19

The heart is the tree and the words and actions are fruit according to the nature of the tree.

32:26

If a man be really a good man, if he have a principle of grace in his heart and the prevailing bent and bias of the soul be towards God and heaven, though perhaps he may not abound in fruit, though some of his fruits may be blessed and though he may be sometimes like a tree in winter, yet he does not bring forth corrupt fruit.

32:50

Though he may not do you all the good he should, yet he will not do any material instance do you hurt or harm.

32:59

If he cannot reform your manners, he will not corrupt good manners, I like that statement.

33:06

If the fruit that a man brings forth be corrupt, if a man's devotion tend to botch the mind and conversation, if a man's conversation be vicious, if he be a drunkard or fornicator, if he be a swearer or a liar, if he be in any instance unjust or unnatural, his fruit is corrupt and you may be sure that he is not a good tree.

33:30

On the other hand, a corrupt tree does not bring forth good fruit, though it may bring forth green leaves.

33:38

For a thorn's men do not gather figs, nor of a brandle do they gather grapes. You may, if you please, stick figs upon thorns and hang a bunch of grapes upon a bramble, but they neither are nor can be the natural product of the trees.

33:52

In other words, they can maybe put on a show and look like a Christian, but they're not in reality.

34:01

Neither can you expect good conduct from those who have justly a bad character. If the fruit be good, you may conclude that the tree is so.

34:08

If the conversation be holy, heavenly, regular, though you cannot infallibly know the heart, yet you may charitably hope that it is upright with God.

34:17

For every tree is known by its fruit, but the vile person will speak villainy.

34:24

And the experience of the moderns herein agrees with the proverb of the ancients that wickedness proceedeth from the wicked.

34:32

It's going to be seen in your life, whether you're a Christian or you're not. And then the

34:39

Lord gives an analogy of a treasure chest. Jesus said, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

34:56

So the outward speech and deeds of a man or woman are the products of the heart.

35:03

If the treasure chest is empty, it can't bring forth anything valuable, but only evil. All of these things are revealed in the speech of a man, for the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.

35:16

The point is that disciples of Jesus think what they think, say what they say, and do what they do, because they have a good heart.

35:25

That's of course a product of God's grace. Good heart can only be the result of a work of God's grace by which this

35:34

Holy Spirit makes a person a new creature, a whole new and different kind of person. He creates a new heart.

35:44

So what our Lord was suggesting in these words was that the things he set forth in a sermon are not impossible to put into practice for the true disciple of Jesus Christ.

35:53

In fact, they are just the opposite. The Christian life is natural for the person who's been born anew by a work of God's mercy and grace.

36:04

That's not to say that they're easy. The things of living the Christian life is not easy, for it takes grace to live as a

36:11

Christian, but it does mean the things that our Lord has instructed us to live by are not hard, grievous things, but are natural.

36:19

John wrote that the commandments of the Lord are not grievous to the Christian. They might be very difficult, but they're not grievous.

36:27

No, what grieves us is that we don't do them or have trouble doing them. On the other hand, the things which are outlined here are impossible for non -disciples of Jesus.

36:41

Churches have so dumbed down the Christian life that an unregenerate person can live the Christian life in their gatherings.

36:49

If we're not presenting the Christian life as something that's impossible to do unless you're born again, we have dumbed down the standards of Scripture.

37:02

The things of Christ, living a Christian life is impossible for non -disciples of Jesus. It's not in their nature.

37:10

They don't want to do it. They don't love to do it. There's no treasure in the chest from which to draw.

37:17

There's no health in the tree which will generate this kind of fruit. But these things grow naturally from the good tree.

37:24

Some people who find themselves so unwilling and unable to live as disciples of Christ should stop pretending and even attempting to do that which is impossible for them.

37:36

Rather, they should flee to Christ where alone a new heart may be obtained. Only then will a change of affections be experienced.

37:47

Only then will desires of life be conformed to God's will. Only then will attitudes be changed.

37:53

Only then will a change of behavior be seen in one's relations to others. For the heart of a citizen of the kingdom of God is one that's been implanted by God himself.

38:05

God who alone can create a new heart where before there was but an evil heart of unbelief and rebellion.

38:14

And oftentimes when God begins to draw a person, that person will begin to make overtures and efforts to conform his thinking and his living to what the

38:22

Bible sets forth. And before long, if the Holy Spirit's working in his life, he sees, this isn't possible for me.

38:30

It's not natural for me. I'm unconverted. I need a new heart.

38:36

And so the Lord will often reveal to a person his sinfulness and his need for grace from God, a new heart from Christ.

38:48

So as a result of a new heart, through God's grace alone, things that were once primary in life are now secondary to the king's will and things which were once seen as weaknesses like humility, submission, obedience, goodness, kindness, patience, sympathy, are now viewed as treasured qualities which issue forth from the heart.

39:08

And our greatest frustration as Christians is that it's not as forthcoming as it ought to be and what we want it to be.

39:16

For the heart of a citizen of the kingdom of God is one that has been implanted by God himself who alone can create a new heart where before there was but an evil heart of unbelief and rebellion and as a result of God's grace alone, things that once were primary are now secondary to the king's will.

39:37

Well now we come to the fourth section of this portion of the sermon and it's the conclusion of our

39:47

Lord's Sermon where he emphasizes, Jesus emphasizes that his disciple is one who hears and obeys him, a true disciple of Jesus is one who hears and obeys his

39:58

Lord. And in this passage there is an emphasis on obedience, not just hearing.

40:10

Our Lord concluded his sermon, why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not the things which

40:15

I say, it's incongruent, whoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does them, hears and does, hears and heeds, hears and obeys,

40:26

I'll show you whom he's like, he's like a man building a house who dug deep, laid a foundation on the rock and when the flood rose the stream beat vehemently against that house, could not shake it for it was founded on the rock, but he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on earth, on the earth without a foundation against which the stream beat vehemently and immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great.

40:56

Now let's stand back a moment and consider the flow of the Gospel of Luke as we've tried to point out, we've emphasized this earlier.

41:06

Luke gave great attention and focus earlier in his Gospel on the authority of Jesus Christ. Jesus was shown to have authority over demonic forces, nature, disease, he even had authority to forgive sins.

41:21

But having established the authority of Jesus, Luke then emphasized his readers should therefore take great care to hear the teaching of Jesus because he has authority, what he says is true, they are to be taught by him for God his father had given him authority to speak forth his word, but now

41:40

Luke is carrying the matter further, not only are his disciples to hear

41:45

Jesus' words but they are to heed them, that is they are to obey him and this becomes an emphasis in Luke's Gospel now from this point onward.

41:55

This emphasis has begun here in Luke 6 in our Lord's Sermon on the Plain, it was suggested in verse 27 when

42:01

Jesus said, but I say to you who hear, you hear, love your enemies, this is what you are to do, this is how you are to obey, do good to those who hate you and then it's set forth clearly here in Luke 6, 46 -49 when he asks the question, why do you call me

42:17

Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say? Obedience is absolutely essential to being a true

42:25

Christian. We see in verse 46, true

42:31

Christians live according to the will of God, that only they may be regarded as the citizens of the kingdom, our

42:39

Lord's words would make, here make clear that the real evidence or proof of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, in other words a true

42:46

Christian, a citizen of the kingdom of God is when one hears the words of the king and he obeys them, that is he acts upon them.

42:56

A true disciple of Christ is one who lives according to Christ's words, according to his will.

43:03

The commentator Matthew Poole, probably few of us have ever heard of him, Spurgeon thought very highly of him, he wrote, the sum is men's hope of salvation built upon any other but Christ alone or built upon Christ without a sincere study and endeavor to keep the commandments of Christ are vain hopes, that our

43:27

Lord would have to say something like this before this large crowd of disciples and others suggest that there were those who do just that, they hear his words but they fail to heed them.

43:40

There's no salvation promised for hearers only, no salvation, no benefit will come to the one who claims to know or believe in Jesus whose life is unaffected by him.

43:54

For the essence of being a citizen of the kingdom of God is to be governed by the king of the kingdom, Jesus Christ.

44:03

I think several points need to be reinforced here for a misunderstanding of the implications of this passage for our faith can result in unsettling or troubling a timid and insecure child of God.

44:15

Let us understand this matter very clearly, our Lord's words recorded here do not explain the basis on which

44:21

God receives sinful persons, granting them forgiveness of sins and giving them eternal life, that's through faith alone but rather Jesus is describing the nature of persons who are his true disciples, who've received the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life, he's contrasting them with false disciples who make claims to believe on Jesus Christ but whose manner of living reveals their true condition.

44:48

This distinction is very important and you'll trouble yourself and others if you don't understand this.

44:56

God receives us because of who we believe, Jesus Christ alone but the one who truly believes on Jesus Christ follows him as his savior and Lord.

45:08

True disciples of Christ order their lives according to the word of God, all those who claim to believe on Jesus alone for salvation but who disregard order in their lives according to his words are deceiving themselves and the world is full of those, churches are full of these.

45:29

J .C. O 'Reil wrote of this problem, this was in the 19th century, let us mark in these verses that what an old and common sin is profession without practice, profession will be professing to be a

45:45

Christian. It's written that our Lord said, why call you me Lord, Lord, do not the things

45:51

I say, he's quoting Luke 6. The son of God himself had many followers who pretended to honor him by calling him

45:58

Lord with double emphasis, Lord, Lord, who pretended to honor him but yielded no obedience to his commandments.

46:09

The evil which our Lord exposes here has always existed in the church of God, it was found 600 years before our

46:16

Lord's time in the days of Ezekiel, they come unto thee. We read as the people cometh, they sit before thee as my people, they hear thy words but they will not do them for with their mouth they show much love but their heart goeth after covetousness.

46:35

It was found in the primitive church of Christ in the days of St. James, be you doers of the word, he says, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves, if you claim you believe on Jesus but you're not obedient, you're not obedient to Jesus' word, you're deceiving yourself if you think that you have salvation.

46:59

It is a disease which has never ceased to prevail over Christendom, it is a soul ruining plague which is continually sweeping away crowds of gospel hearers down the broad road that leads to destruction, open sin and avowed unbelief no doubt slay their thousands but profession without practice slays its 10 ,000s.

47:23

Some people assume that true Christians are great in number, a number that includes anyone and everyone who professes faith in Christ regardless of how they live, they look at the number of believers and they're very optimistic, they might argue from scripture this is so, they say do not the scripture say whoever believes in him is not condemned?

47:44

Whoever believes is very broad they say, many believe therefore the number of those who will be saved are many, even a majority of the population.

47:53

They might argue further, did not our Lord say truly, truly I say to you whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, he does not come into judgment but passed from death to life and there are tens of millions upon millions who have heard and have believed.

48:10

George Barna the well -known Christian pollster has a very optimistic opinion of the number of true Christians in America, this was back in 2004, currently 38 % of all adults and one third of all teenagers there are an estimated 98 million adults and children who have accepted

48:29

Jesus Christ as their savior, 98 million people in America are

48:35

Christian according to George Barna, we'd have the millennium on earth if there were 98 million

48:41

Christians in America. Bill Bright the founder of Campus Crusade believed there were 100 million born again

48:50

Christians in America, he wrote a book, he lamented that 50 million of this 100 million lacked assurance, he said it's my calling in life to give those 50 million assurance of salvation, in other words he saw his motivation in life to give false assurance in my opinion to 50 million people who were right in doubting their salvation, he wanted to assure them.

49:13

There's this optimism that has no biblical basis, when one examines the scriptures one learns what it is to truly believe not all faith is saving faith, faith must be of a saving kind, there are far fewer true believers than there are professing believers, lots of professing believers,

49:35

Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said on that day of judgment many will say to me

49:41

Lord, Lord, they will protest on the day of judgment, I'm a Christian, Lord, Lord, James wrote not all who had faith had saving faith, what's the prophet brethren if a man says he has faith but doesn't have work can that kind of faith save him?

50:00

No. And then Jesus was telling some they needed to persevere in their faith if they truly belong to him, so Jesus said to the

50:09

Jews who had believed on him, if you abide in my word you're truly my disciples, you must abide in Jesus' words, in the word of God if you're a true

50:19

Christian. And so it's apparent that not all faith is saving faith, true faith, saving faith must prove itself to be true under examination by the scriptures and here in Luke 6, 46 -49

50:34

Jesus made it clear true Christian, true believers are ones who order their lives according to the will of God, not perfectly, nobody does.

50:46

Not everyone who believes that Jesus Christ is Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, only those who believe him to be

50:53

Lord and lives with him as Lord will enter the kingdom of God.

50:59

And this is confirmed in other places that we will not refer to because of the time. And then we read in verses 47 -49 many nominal

51:10

Christians will be condemned on the day of judgment, this is one of the to me most terrifying passages of scripture.

51:20

The Lord Jesus said whoever comes to me hears my sayings and does them. That's what it is to build a foundation, to build on the rock, a lot of people say well the rock is

51:32

Jesus, the Bible clearly says the rock is Jesus but not in this metaphor, the rock, the foundation which is built is obedience to his words.

51:44

He is like a man building a house who dug deep, laid the foundation on the rock, why? Because he hears and does them.

51:51

When the flood arose an emblem of judgment, the stream beat vehemently against that house, could not shake it for it was founded on the rock.

52:00

But he who heard did nothing, he who hears, believes but doesn't obey is like a man who built his house on earth without a foundation.

52:09

The stream beat vehemently when judgment comes, immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great.

52:16

The foundation is obedience to the authority and teaching of Christ and the word of God.

52:22

And again this only takes place with a person to whom the Lord has given a new heart because this isn't natural for the unbeliever, it's natural for the one who has been given a new heart.

52:34

I want to live this way, I want to please Jesus, I lament that I don't always or I don't consistently or fully but that's my desire and my purpose as God enables me by the power of the

52:45

Holy Spirit to do so. And I confess my sin when I fail to do so, which is so frequent.

52:53

But the tenor of the Christian life is one forward, following Jesus, that's what a disciple is, following Jesus.

53:01

Charles Spurgeon wrote of these professing but unconverted Christians, our earnest attention will now be given to those who are hearers of the word of God and are somewhat affected by it.

53:12

All hearers are builders of houses for their souls. All that are mentioned in these last verses of the

53:22

Sermon on the Plain were hearers of the word of God and they were all professors if they believed these things that they heard.

53:30

All hearers are builders of houses for their souls, they're each one doing something to set up a spiritual habitation.

53:37

He's not talking about the unbelievers out here, the rebellious and the atheists, he's talking about those professing to be

53:44

Christians. Some of these go a considerable distance in their house building, even crown the structure by publicly confessing

53:52

Christ. They say unto him, Lord, Lord. They meet with his followers, join with them in reverence to the master's name but they do not obey the

53:59

Lord. They hear him but they fail to do the things which he says. Therefore, they are mistaken builders who fail in the foundation, make nothing sure except their house will come down about their ears.

54:13

And others there are and we trust they will be found to be many among us who are building rightly.

54:20

I hope that's true of us. Building for eternity, constructing the dwelling place with a foundation of rock and walls of well -built stone of which the

54:31

Lord Christ is both foundation and cornerstone. Nominal believers in name only, they will have regarded themselves as servants and ministers of Jesus Christ.

54:46

And according to Matthew 7, there will be many on the day of judgment who will protest their sentence of damnation saying, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, do many mighty works in your name.

54:58

There will be preachers there on that day claiming to have performed miracles and having been used by him in his service.

55:06

They'll claim to have known him but he will deny he ever knew them. Again the issue, the bottom line is not whether or not you've accepted

55:16

Jesus, the bottom line is has Jesus accepted you as a sinner coming to him humbly in repentance from sin and faith in him as Lord.

55:29

He'll say to many, I never knew you, depart from me you workers of lawlessness. In other words, you workers who live contrary to the laws of God, that's what lawlessness means and the word that's used there, anomia, the

55:47

Greek word is the oz and negation of namos law, anti -law, antinomian.

55:56

Well as we close, let each of us examine ourselves. After all we're commanded to do so by the word of God.

56:03

Examine yourselves as to whether or not you're in the faith. Do you not know that you're reprobates unless you pass the test?

56:11

Is there some command of God that you failed or you have refused to do? Ask the

56:18

Lord about that. What's your conscience say? Is there something God has commanded you to do clearly in the word,

56:24

I'm not talking about little minor things or some impressions you have but something the word of God has commanded you to do but you've refused?

56:32

You ought to be concerned. Have you failed to build your life's profession on a solid foundation, secured in the bedrock of obedience unto

56:41

Jesus the Lord? Well if not, purpose to do so today. Be resolved to do so as God enables you, amen?

56:49

May the Lord enable each of us to be true and right in these matters. May he grant us grace to repent of our rebellion and acknowledge it as that.

57:00

Lord, I see what you've commanded me to do and I have been wrong in hesitating or refusing or failing to do it.

57:08

Please have mercy on me, give me grace to do so, our God. Not that I'm trusting in that obedience in any way whatsoever but help me to show forth my faith in you by how

57:19

I live for you. It's as simple as that. May the Lord grant us grace to do so.

57:26

Father, thank you for your word and our Lord Jesus meant, our

57:31

God, for these concluding words to be very direct and very hard hitting to this mass of people that were sitting before him, standing before him, listening to his words in which we see pressed upon them not only to hear and to believe our

57:48

God but to hear and to order their lives accordingly. Help us, our

57:54

God, we pray. Give us grace and have mercy upon us, Lord, that we would resolve to do what you've commanded us.

58:01

Forgive us of our sins, our Father. Help each of us to look to Jesus Christ as our only basis and hope of salvation.

58:10

May we yield to him and Lord Jesus, may you give us fresh measure of the

58:16

Holy Spirit to enable us to do the things that you command us. For we pray these things, our