Fearing the Right Things 02/11/2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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the importance that they live as faithful disciples with view to the certain future judgment of God.

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And that will be a theme that is increasingly presented as we continue through Luke's gospel as Jesus is journeying to Jerusalem.

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Jesus revealed that there would be a future crisis in which all people will be held accountable to God on how they have lived in this fallen world.

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And so as the gospel account of Luke unfolds, this future crisis is shown to occur both in the short term, that is that the present generation of Jewish people will be held to account, but also the longer view is considered and that Jesus alludes to the worldwide general judgment of mankind that would take place at the end of the age.

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We'll focus today on the first 12 verses of this chapter in which our Lord pressed upon his disciples the importance that they maintain a fearless confession of their faith and allegiance to him as their

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Lord and Savior. Our Lord pressed upon his disciples several pertinent matters.

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First, his disciples were to be on guard against hypocrisy, which characterized the

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Pharisees, verses one through three. Secondly, they were to live according to a proper and principled fear of God, seeking to please

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God rather than having the foolish and futile desire and effort to please those who do not believe on him.

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Thirdly, his disciples were not to fear the possible consequences of their devotion and commitment to him, for they may be assured that their

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Father in heaven would preserve them and provide for them, verses six and seven.

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And fourthly, they should not shrink from confessing Jesus Christ before others, for he promised that he would stand on their behalf and in their defense when they were brought before their judge on the day of judgment.

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And then lastly, Jesus taught them that even if they do fail on occasion in a measure, they may be assured that God will not hold their failure against them, but rather he will pardon them.

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However, he gives this warning as well. They were to be very mindful and careful never to commit the unpardonable sin against the

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Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit will be a source of encouragement, strengthening, and wisdom to stand faithful in the day of trial.

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So that's basically the summary of these 12 verses that we want to address this morning.

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Let's read these verses now. Luke 12, one through 12, and this is from the New King James Version.

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In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together so that they trampled one another, he began to say to his disciples, first of all, beware of the leaven of the

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Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed nor hidden that will not be known.

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Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

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And I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who killed the body, and after that have no more that they can do, but I will show you whom you should fear.

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Fear him, who after he is killed has power to cast into hell.

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Yes, I say to you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?

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Not one of them is forgotten before God, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

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Do not fear, therefore. You are of more value than many sparrows.

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Also, I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, him the son of man also will confess before the angels of God, but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

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And anyone who speaks a word against the son of man, it will be forgiven him, but to him who blasphemes against the

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Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. Now, when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say, for the

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Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

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And so, looking over these 12 verses, we just might consider this outline.

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First, beware of hypocrisy. Second, be not afraid of men. Third, be not afraid of God's care and concern for you.

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Four, confess Christ openly. And fifth, esteem highly the Holy Spirit.

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Before we begin to consider these verses in detail, let's first recognize a theme that emerges through the larger passage before us.

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Not just these 12 verses, but further on in the chapter as well. Although the

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Lord spoke to his disciples about many different matters on this occasion, we could say the first 34 verses of this chapter show forth a common theme in all his words, and this theme is fear.

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Fear is expressed explicitly in several verses, including the following. Verse four, and I say to you, my friend, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.

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Verse five, but I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he is killed has power to cast into hell.

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Yes, I say to you, fear him. And then we drop down to verse seven. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

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Do not fear, therefore, for you are more value than many sparrows. And verse 32, do not fear, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

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And so those are the verses that speak about fear directly. But the idea of fear is expressed implicitly in other verses of Luke chapter 12, including the following.

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Verse 11, now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say.

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Verse 22, he said to his disciples, therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, nor about the body, what you will put on.

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Verse 25, and which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

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And then verse 29, do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.

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Fear, worry, and anxiety are related terms. They are terms that express degrees of the same emotion, fear, fear, worry, anxiety.

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It would seem that our Lord throughout this portion of his sermon stresses the matter of fear. He spoke with respect to things that should not be feared, as well as things that should be feared by those who call themselves his disciples.

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In places he told them do not fear, but in other places he said this, fear this. And so we might give the heading to this section or this message, fearing the right things.

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People are by nature fearful creatures, you are, I am.

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In general, whereas animals are governed by instinct, man for the most part is governed by what he fears.

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For example, we fear the consequences of law breaking, so we conduct ourselves within the parameters of the law.

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We fear starvation, difficulty, and insecurity, and so we're faithful to our work and we pay our bills.

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We fear what others think of us, and so we conform to societal norms where we live.

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We all conduct our lives in relation to our fears, whether Christian or not. One might say, however, well the

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Christian does not nor should not be governed by fear, but rather love. And certainly the scriptures hold forth love.

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We concede that. The believer who is walking according to the will of God, who sees himself accepted and beloved of Christ is free from all terror, for peace guards his mind and heart where it should.

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After all, the scriptures say there's no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment.

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But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. But though we need not be subject to terror, the

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Christian fears also, for he has a godly fear, as described in verse five of our passage, which reads, but I will show you whom you should fear.

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Fear him who he has killed, after he is killed, excuse me, has power to cast into hell.

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Yes, I say to you, fear him. Another might say, I know many who have no fear, they indulge themselves, say anything, do anything they please, for they fear nothing.

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But I would argue that this is really not so. Generally, those types are very fearful people.

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They fear what others think of them. Their manner of dress is governed by the fashion of those of whom they want acceptance.

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Their behavior is conducted in such a way that others might accept them or regard them favorably.

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Many men fear what others, that others may think of them as not real men, so they go about acting hardened, mean -spirited, arrogant, speaking language that should cause them to blush.

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But they see this as a means of presenting themselves as real tough guys. They're fearful, too.

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Given the right situation, they reveal their underlying fears as well. And so I was reminded of an occasion that I experienced years ago while in Austria.

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We traveled to Berchtesgaden, Austria. We took a bus trip up to the walking path which led to the

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Eagle's Nest, which was Adolf Hitler's tea house on a mountain top in the

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Austrian Alps. We actually took this bus trip to the parking lot and walked down this long tunnel, maybe 200 yards, and got into this elevator that had polished bronze walls because Hitler was claustrophobic.

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And then it went up several hundred feet up to the mountain top to the tea house.

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Well, during this short bus drive, my brother -in -law struck up a conversation with an American who happened to be a retired colonel.

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And he was rather loud, brash, and certainly proud. Everybody on the bus was aware of his presence.

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He really didn't represent America very well. You can get the picture. The bus arrived and we walked to the top of the mountain in a large house retreat.

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And in the patio area, I saw this same man sitting by himself, so I just said a word to him out of politeness and asked him a casual question.

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But out of him came this utterly profane language. I mean, it was just incredible.

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And it just went on and on and on. I kept a straight face, or tried to, finished our conversation, walked on.

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Well, later back in the bus, we again struck a conversation. He asked me what I was doing in Germany.

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So I told him I was pastoring a church in Munich. And all of a sudden, this man shriveled.

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He blushed terribly. And so this full -bird colonel wilted and he gave me a little bit of perverse pleasure in seeing it.

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I didn't let him off the hook, frankly. He began to stutter in speaking with me, assuring me that he and his wife were good

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Episcopalians and attended church faithfully. And he was fearful of what others thought of him and it affected how he behaved before others.

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As long as he thought others respected a tough guy, he would play the tough guy. But when he perceived one respected a godly man, he would play the godly man.

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Hypocrisy. And so he and I had a meeting of souls on that bus. He looked this way, that way.

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He wouldn't look right at me. I continued to look directly at him. He was a fearful man.

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He just feared the wrong things. Everybody is characterized by fear in a measure.

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Human beings are inherently fearful creatures. But herein lies the problem. Because of our fallen

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Adam and the result and sinful nature that we all possess, we tend to fear the wrong things.

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And we tend to fear not the right things. And if we could but not fear the wrong things and begin to fear the right things, we'd begin to see our lives ordered rightly before the righteous

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God. For by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. And so our passage before us will help us in our task of determining what things we should fear as well as the things we should not fear.

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This is a theme that runs throughout this passage. Now let's consider the details of our passage.

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The first warning our Lord gives is beware of hypocrisy. He's basically saying be afraid of hypocrisy.

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Fear hypocrisy. Okay, let's read the first three verses again. In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together so that they trampled one another, he began to say to his disciples, first of all, beware of the leaven of the

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Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There's nothing covered that will not be revealed nor hidden that will not be known.

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Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear, in inner rooms, will be proclaimed on the housetops.

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Excuse me. And so as our Lord continued his journey to Jerusalem, the crowds continued to increase in number.

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They had grown larger just before, we read in Luke 11, 29, the crowds were thickly gathered together.

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But then here in Luke 12, one, we read that the multitudes were becoming nearly unmanageable.

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An innumerable multitude of people had gathered together so that they trampled one another.

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Jesus had just had a direct confrontation with the religious leaders, the Pharisees and the scribes.

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We've been considering that in Luke 11. Due to their tendency toward jealousy and the increasing sight of the crowds, the

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Lord knew that the time would come when a final conflict would occur between them and him.

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But Jesus also knew that the Pharisees' opposition toward him would result in great conflict for his disciples.

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They too would be called upon to bear witness of the kingdom of God in the face of opposition and persecution.

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We read about that a few moments ago in Acts chapter four. But knowing that they were a fearful lot,

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Jesus addressed them on this occasion about the need to proclaim him fearlessly. And so turning to his disciples, he said, "'Beware of the leaven of the

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Pharisees, "'which is hypocrisy.'" Excuse me.

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Luke records that this issue headed a list of matters that our Lord was going to teach. Excuse me.

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Luke wrote, Jesus began to say to his disciples, "'First of all.'"

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And so here is the first principle in learning how to fear right things. "'Beware of the leaven of the

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Pharisees, "'which is hypocrisy. "'First of all, be on your guard.'"

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What is hypocrisy? Well, essentially, it's to put on an act. It is to pretend you are something you are not.

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It is to put on a show outwardly that is not true to that which is internal. It is concealing of who a true person is.

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Hypocrisy is to live differently in your private life than in your public life. The Pharisees were a hypocritical lot, and so the

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Lord Jesus warned his disciples, lest the same corrupting influence that corrupted the

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Pharisees corrupt them also. And certainly, hypocrisy is corrupting.

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Jesus intimated this when he said, "'Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, "'which is hypocrisy.'"

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Hypocrisy is like yeast, like leaven, which may be present yet initially undetected.

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But leaven increases until it permeates the entire batch of dough. And if you begin to live a different life before others than what you live in private, the contrast will grow greater over time.

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Your private life will grow more wicked while your public life may appear more righteous. Hypocrisy can become a damning sin, and it's such an easy sin to commit.

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It only takes a little yeast, eventually, to leaven a whole batch of dough, and even a little bit of hypocrisy will stand still, will not stand still, but begin to permeate one's life, one's being.

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To talk is easy, to walk is hard. A Christianity of the lip is an easy thing to produce.

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Any hypocrite can skillfully do so. But a Christianity within one's life is something only grace can produce, which

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God grants to the humble, transparent soul. Now, it's true that each of us has enough hypocrisy to damn our souls apart from Christ's atoning blood.

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We are each infected with this virus. But though hypocrisy infects us, it should not and cannot control us if we belong to Christ.

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Every Christian may have a measure of hypocrisy, but no Christian goes so far as to become a hypocrite, and we must distinguish that.

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Being a true hypocrite can only characterize a Christian in name only, but not a true Christian. The Christian may be found to be fallible, but not found to be false, wrote one years ago.

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And that each of us are capable of being characterized by further degrees of hypocrisy is evident by our

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Lord's warning to his disciples, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees.

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This is a problem I have, it's a problem you have, hypocrisy. Now, why should hypocrisy be feared?

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Well, Jesus reasoned because of the inability to escape exposure, verses two and three.

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For there's nothing covered that will not be revealed nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light.

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Whatever you have spoken in the ear and inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. There's nothing secret.

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Hypocrisy is folly, it's a mask of pretense, which the Lord will one day expose.

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And there will be a day when the hideous reality will be made known, then the true character of a person will be made manifest.

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In God's chastisement of his people, he'll commonly expose their hypocrisy during this life, which results in them becoming more humble and repentant.

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Our spiritual physician, our great physician will spiritually extract the hypocrisy from his people.

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But for those that are pretentious Christians, Christians in name only, he may withhold their exposure until the day of judgment.

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And of course, the scriptures speak about that day in many ways in different places. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

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For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, hidden that will not be known, nothing.

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In the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel, wrote

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Paul. Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.

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And therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well -pleasing to him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, Paul includes himself as a

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Christian, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

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Does this not cause us to shudder in a measure? It should.

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And that great day believers will be shown to have been true to their profession. And the true character of hypocrites will be shown, their pretense will not stand.

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And so we're to be on guard of ourselves, especially in secret, for it's the things in secret which shall either justify or condemn the saving nature of our faith.

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And so we are to be true, live in secret as though it were going to be played out on a screen before all the world, because it will be.

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Everything you say in secret, it's like you have a microphone in front of you broadcasting to everybody.

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And we should be mindful of that always, because that will probably teach us to be silent rather than speak up carelessly or needlessly.

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So watch your words. Live and speak as though every word and every act were being recorded, for they are.

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I was reminded some years ago, the US had a new embassy constructed in Moscow, this was under the

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Soviet Union. They built the embassy. And within the concrete walls, they put listening devices.

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The building was eventually destroyed because the Americans didn't want every word recorded, for their secrets would be revealed.

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But we should guard our words as though there were bugs in the walls, taps on our phones, cameras in the light fixtures, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will be made known.

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What you say in private, what you think in your heart will be made known on the day of judgment. That should affect us, should it not?

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But having said that, let us remember precisely our context, for actually the Lord was using the

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Pharisees as a negative example in order to encourage his disciples in witnessing.

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The Pharisees were not behaving outwardly in a fashion consistent with their inward condition, and the

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Lord was telling his disciples that they should not keep the fact that they were his disciples' secret, but were to proclaim the fact openly.

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The fact is, people should know that you are a Christian. This fact, too, cannot and will not be hidden.

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It will come out in the open, and so proclaim your profession openly and boldly. The whole point of this passage is for his disciples to be courageous and faithful when the trial comes, when the difficulty comes, the crisis comes.

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Now, what is the main thing that deters Christians from bearing witness to Christ? It's the fear of man, and so this leads us to the second principle for fearing right things.

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Be not afraid of man, but rather fear God. The words of Jesus, I say to you, my friends, he assuredly calls his disciples his friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no power that they can do, but I will show you whom you should fear.

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Fear him who, after he is killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear him.

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Matthew Henry addressed this. God is to be feared more than the most powerful men. I will forewarn you whom you shall fear, that you may fear man less, fear

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God more, and that's how you deal with the fear of man, frankly. You're not gonna escape it.

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All of us have a fear of man. The only way you can properly deal with it is have a greater fear of God.

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Moses conquered his fear of the wrath of the king by having an eye on him that was invisible.

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By owning Christ, you may incur the wrath of men, which can reach no further than put you to death, and that without God's permission, they cannot do that, but denying

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Christ and disowning him, you will incur the wrath of God, which has power to send you to hell, and there's no resisting it.

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Now, of two evils, the less is to be chosen, and the greater is to be dreaded, and therefore,

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I say unto you, fear him. It is true, said the blessed martyr Bishop Hooper, life is sweet, and death bitter, but eternal life is more sweet, and eternal death more bitter, and so each of us possess the fear of man to a degree.

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We have this fear in that we want to be accepted, appreciated, commended, respected by others. Each of us has this fear, and we may be largely governed by it.

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This fear will cause us to be silent when we should speak up. Paul exhorted Timothy that the

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Lord would enable him to overcome his natural fear of man in order to be faithful in testifying of him, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, that doesn't come from God, but of power and love and a sound mind.

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Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings of the gospel according to the power of God.

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This fear of man will lead us to behave in certain ways before others, even behavior which is unbecoming a

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Christian, because we're afraid to say no to the world about us.

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Think about Peter, who denied the Lord that fire, it can't fire, because a damsel said, you are with him.

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What is peer pressure? Nothing less, nothing more than the fear of man. How can we deal with this?

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How can we not fear man? How can we immunize our children against peer pressure?

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Jesus said, fear him who after he is killed has power to cast a dale. Yes, I say to you, fear him.

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If we have a greater fear of God than we have of man, that is if our desire for pleasing

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God, for gaining his approval is greater than that of gaining the approval of those about us, we may be delivered from the tyranny of other standards and expectations.

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And I've told you this before with regard to myself, you know, I'm just as fearful as anybody in speaking to another person about the gospel of Christ, because you know what kind of reaction you're gonna get generally.

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And whenever I'm confronted with this fear, I ask myself, you know, who's favored or I want, this man by keeping silent or God's pleasure by speaking up?

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And as soon as I think in those terms, the Lord gives me courage to speak up to that person.

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I want God to be pleased with me rather than gain the pleasure of this person by keeping silent.

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Well, the consequences are enormous. Fear him who has the power to throw you into hell.

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Yes, I tell you, fear him. Hell, the Lord Jesus used the word frequently and here he uses it before his disciples to warn them against hypocrisy and to warn them not to shrink back from confessing the fact before others that they are his followers.

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Where does the word come from? I won't read that lengthy block quote, but basically, it comes from the

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Greek word Gehenna. It speaks about the Valley of Hinnom, which was just outside of Jerusalem, which eventually became the burning garbage pit that seemed to have a fire that never went out and that came to be understood as an emblem for damnation, eternal hell, eternal punishment.

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Gehenna, the place of never -ending torment. You drive up toward our house and you drive through Westminster and you come through an area that was probably flooded by beaver dams at one time and it's called

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Tophet and the Tophet Swamp, basically, at one time.

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And Tophet is another name for hell. You know, it's like driving, I think of that all the time when

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I'm driving through there. It's like driving through hell. Tophet, it's a Hebrew word in the

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Old Testament for hell. The place of abhorrence, the place of burning.

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And so the Bible speaks of heaven to win, hell to avoid. But remember this, beware the hypocrisy of the

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Pharisees. Do not fear man, but rather fear God. Now, after this rather direct warning, we can be thankful for this next word from our

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Lord. For after hearing this solemn word about hell, a believer in the truth of Jesus' words could easily become alarmed and a sensitive soul might even despair.

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And so our Lord gives this next word. Be not afraid of God's concern for you.

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That is, if you're a Christian. If you're not a Christian, you ought to be afraid of God's attention toward you.

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So after this stern warning, Jesus gave this comforting word, are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?

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Not one of them is forgotten before God, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.

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The disciples of Jesus Christ may be assured of the Father's concern and care for them. The believer, particularly the new believer, the one with weak faith, can forget this quite easily.

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He has his own besetting sins, the aggravating lies of the devil, the seeming many verses of scripture that would condemn him before God.

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He has enough faith to believe everything that God has said, but he only has enough faith to believe the warnings and the words of condemnation as applying to himself.

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But he's slow to believe the promises or the words of God that would bring peace to his troubled soul.

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We are all too ready to fear. He does not love us. We may fear he does not have favorable regard for us.

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We may fear we are insignificant. He's forgotten us, at least until the judgment. But take heart in this, whereas he will come and judge severely all unbelievers, hypocrites, he regards his son's followers as we would regard, say, a little sparrow with tenderness and care.

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He sees your weakness as a Christian, your frailty, and he has determined that he will care for you in your weak state.

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If God cares for the sparrow, and he does, then he cares for you, though you be a weak follower of Jesus you're of much more value to God than sparrows.

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And he even keeps track of the number of hairs that may come out on your comb or airbrush each day.

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If you're a disciple of Jesus Christ, you should never fear his concern, nor doubt his love.

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He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

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If he spared not his son for you, Christian, but delivered Christ his son up on a cross for you, how can you doubt his concern for you now, you who trust in him?

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But again, we are fearful creatures, and we can doubt that. Be not afraid of God's concern for you.

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Then he gives the word, confess Christ openly. Also I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, him the son of man also will confess before the angels of God.

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But he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. Have you acknowledged

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Christ as your Savior and Lord before men? I can remember the first time

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I did so. I didn't realize it, but a Christian lady I worked with, and I ended up going to church where she went, and I told her in the steam laundry,

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I was just a kid, and told her one day that I was a Christian. She just burst out in tears, so grateful, but it was the first time

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I'd confessed Christ as mine, and it was so significant to her. Have you confessed

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Christ openly to others about you? It should be something that we do always.

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Have you declared him to be your master before others? Have you made known to others your resolve to order your life according to his will?

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Have you confessed him in baptism? This is essentially what baptism is, a public confession of your faith in Jesus, his death and resurrection, as well as your confession of your own death to a self -directed existence, and your resolve as you trust him to live life to his glory.

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If the Lord Jesus felt compelled to be baptized, though he knew no sin, in obedience to his

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Father who had commanded that his people be baptized, how much more should a child of God who knows the depth of his sin from which

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God has saved him, and the debt of sin which God has forgiven him desire to be baptized?

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He does so not only because God commands him to do so, but because he wants to publicly confess Christ before others, to own him, to go on public record owning

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Christ as his Savior and Lord. Now when Jesus said also to you, whoever confesses me before men, him the

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Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God, he was speaking of what he will do for his people on the day of judgment.

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On the last day, the final day of the history of this fallen world, Jesus Christ will take his seat upon his throne in order to judge the human race,

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Matthew 25. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory, and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

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Entire human race, a general judgment of all mankind on the last day.

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And Jesus Christ will judge all people on behalf of God his Father. The holy angels will also be present on judgment day.

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The holy angels will observe and affirm the pronouncement of Jesus Christ upon the saved or damned of the human race.

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When disciples of Jesus Christ are brought before Jesus Christ their judge, he'll pronounce before the gathered angels that they belong, those

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Christians belong to him, that he had redeemed them from the guilt of their sin through his death upon the cross.

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The parallel passage in Matthew's gospel declares that Jesus Christ will confess his people before the

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Father in heaven. Therefore, whoever confesses me before men, him

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I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But here he mentions the angels.

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And then at some point, perhaps after Jesus Christ has judged humanity, he will also pass judgment on the fallen angels.

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And Christians will have a role to play with Jesus in passing judgment on the angels, according to the

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Apostle Paul. But the point that Jesus was stressing was that his disciples who confesses him to others in this life, in this fallen world, he will confess as having been saved from their sin by him on the day of judgment.

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Formal declaration, exoneration, vindication of disciples of Jesus Christ.

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But failing to confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior will have eternal consequences.

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Jesus says, but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

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And then the parallel account in Matthew reads that whoever denies me before men,

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I will deny before my Father who is in heaven. And so to fail or refuse to own

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Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior will result in Jesus Christ pronouncing guilt, condemnation, and eternal banishment from his glorious presence in eternal hell.

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One wrote these words with regard to the Christian profession. From these solemn words, we gather that Christianity centers in the person of Jesus Christ.

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Our Lord taught us much concerning ourselves, the inestimable value of our spiritual nature, the real source and spring of evil in our souls, the true excellencies of a human life whom we should regard as our neighbor, et cetera.

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But he taught us still more of himself, of his relations with the divine Father, of his essential superiority even to the greatest among mankind, of his sorrow and his death on behalf of the human race, of his mission to enlighten, to redeem, to satisfy the souls of men.

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And he not only affirmed but frequently emphatically urged the doctrine that if we would enter into life, we must come into the very closet, closest personal relation with himself, trusting in him, loving him, abiding in him, following him, making him refuge of the heart, sovereign of the soul,

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Lord of the life, not his truth but himself is the source of our strength and our hope,

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Christ himself. And so from these solemn words, we gather that Jesus Christ demands an open confession of our faith in him.

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More than once, he insisted upon a clear recognition of his authority and regal position as king.

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He will have us confess him before men. How should we do that? Well, in a heathen country, this person wrote, by avowing the

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Christian faith, renouncing Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism.

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I was thinking of our brother, Pastor Prem, his preaching to the people in India when

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I read this quote and declaring before all that Jesus Christ is the one teacher of truth and Lord of men.

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And second, in a Christian country, so called, by making it clear that we have accepted him as the

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Lord whom we are living to serve, we shall probably think it right to do this by attaching ourselves to some particular

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Christian community and also by regular public worship of Christ, by certainly in all cases, by paying honor to his name, by upholding his enemies the truth and worth of his religion, and by translating his will into active life, human life, and all its departments, domestic, social, commercial, political, ecclesiastical.

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We're confessing Christ by being here this morning, aren't we, and every Lord's Day when we're with the people of God as Christians.

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Lastly, the Lord urges his peak disciples to esteem highly the Holy Spirit. This section of Jesus' teaching, his disciples, concludes with a few of our

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Lord's words regarding the Holy Spirit. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but to him who blasphemes against the

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Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. And now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authority, do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say, for the

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Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. And again, we saw that played out in Acts 4 that we read a little earlier.

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Jesus declared that all sins are pardonable, but one, here in these verses we have the comforting thought that all sins and blasphemy may be forgiven by God through Christ.

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Again, Matthew Henry expounded, here is a gracious assurance of the pardon of all sin upon gospel terms.

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This Christ says to us, and it's a comfortable saying, that the greatest sin shall be no bar to our acceptance with God if we truly repent and believe the gospel.

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All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, though the sin has been as scarlet and crimson, though ever so heinous in its nature, ever so much aggravated by its circumstances, and ever so much repeated, how often repeated, though we reach up to the heavens, yet with the

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Lord there is mercy that reaches beyond the heavens. Mercy will be extended even to blasphemy, a sin immediately touching

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God's name and honor. Paul obtained mercy, who had been a blasphemer. Well may we say, who is a

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God like unto thee, pardoning, iniquity, even words spoken against the Son of Man shall be forgiven, as theirs were reviled to him at his death, many whom repented and found mercy.

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Christ herein has set an example to all the sons of men to be ready to forgive words spoken against them.

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I, as a deaf man, heard not, observe they shall be forgiven unto men, not to devils, demons, this is love to the whole world of mankind, above the world of fallen angels, that all sin is pardonable to them.

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And so in these verses we have a very comforting thought, that all sins and blasphemy may be forgiven by God through Jesus Christ.

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That is all except one, and this is the troubling idea of the unpardonable blaspheming of the

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Holy Spirit. Again, the weak soul with little faith will tend to trouble himself with respect to this.

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But we may say that only an unregenerate person, one who's not born again, may commit this sin. This just requires just a couple moments of explanation.

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All other sins are forgivable. A lifetime of sin can be pardoned in a moment because of the satisfaction of Jesus Christ dying upon the cross.

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But not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Why not? Well, it's essentially the one who blasphemes the

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Holy Spirit has refused to heed the promptings, urgings, convictions. Withdraws his presence, the

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Holy Spirit ceases his work. If the

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Holy Spirit blasphemes against the

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Spirit as a result of a gradual process of sin, first, there's a grieving of the Spirit, if unrepented of, leads to resisting the

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Spirit, if continued, results in quenching the Spirit. Every week, dirt bikes.

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He was married to a Christian woman who I went to high school with. Pat dated her throughout their teen years.

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He would attend church weekly with her for years. But he was no Christian. Later, I became a

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Christian. I would witness to him regularly. And one night,

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I was pressing him pretty hard. And he said to him, I don't doubt anything you're saying.

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What you're saying may be indeed true. He said, I just can't bring myself to worry about it.

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The man was totally void of any working of the Holy Spirit upon his soul. He was a man who had so long resisted the

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Spirit that no influence of the Spirit was present in his life. No concern for sin, no interest in biblical truth, no desire to be or live as a

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Christian. He had, perhaps, blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Others argue the sin of the blasphemy of the

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Holy Spirit must be seen in a more limited way. It was Jesus, during his earthly ministry, that these men resisted.

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They knew what he was doing was due to the power of God, but they purposely accused Jesus of performing his miracles by the power of Satan.

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And therefore, they committed the unpardonable sin. And so, there's different views about this.

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It's been rightly said that if you're concerned about having committed the unpardonable sin, you probably haven't, because if you had, you wouldn't be concerned, because the

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Holy Spirit would not be convicting you at all. Perhaps the man in the iron cage in John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress illustrates the sad case of such a man.

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This is one of the most fearful passages in all of literature outside the Bible, in my opinion.

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In the story, Christian is speaking with Interpreter who is guiding him through his house, the house of Interpreter, and in each room, there is a scene which was to illustrate or instruct

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Christian on his Christian life that lay before him. They came into this room, and here is the scene.

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Now, said Christian, let me go hence. In other words, let me continue on my pilgrimage, my Christian life.

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Nay, stay, said the Interpreter, till I've showed you a little more, and after that, you should go on thy way.

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So he took him by the hand and led him into a very dark room where there sat a man in an iron cage.

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Now, the man to look on seemed very sad. He sat with his eyes looking down to the ground, his hands folded together, and he sighed as if he would break his heart.

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And then said Christian, what means this? At which the Interpreter bid him, talk with the man.

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Then said Christian to the man, what art thou? The man answered, I am what I was not once.

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And so here's a man who is lost in despair, and he's basically saying formally, earlier I was a professing

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Christian. The man said, I was once a fair and flourishing professor, one who professed

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Christ, both in mine own eyes and also in the eyes of others. I once was, I thought, a fair for the celestial city, for heaven, and had been even the joy of the thoughts that I should get there hither.

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Christian, well, but what art thou now? I am now a man in despair, am shut up in it, as in this iron cage

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I cannot get out. Oh, now I cannot. But how camest thou into this condition?

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I left off to watch and be sober. I laid the reins upon the neck of my lusts.

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I stand against the light of the word and the goodness of God. I've grieved the Holy Spirit, he is gone.

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I tempted the devil, and he's come to me. I've provoked God to anger, and he has left me.

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I've so hardened my heart that I cannot repent. Then said Christian to the interpreter, but is there no hope for such a man as this?

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Ask him, said the interpreter. Said Christian, is there no hope, but you must be kept in the iron cage of despair?

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Man in the iron cage, no, none at all. Why, the son of the blessed is very pitiful.

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He'll show mercy to you. Man in the iron cage, I've crucified him to myself afresh,

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Hebrews 6 .6. I've despised his person, Luke 19 .14. I've despised his righteousness.

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I've counted his blood an unholy thing. I've done despite the spirit of grace.

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Therefore, I've shut myself out of all the promises, and there now remains to me nothing but threatenings, dreadful threatenings, fearful threatenings, and of certain judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour me as an adversary, quotation from Hebrews 10.

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Christian, for what did you bring yourself into this condition? For the lusts, pleasures, and profits of this world, in the enjoyment of which

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I did promise myself much delight, but now every one of those things also bite me and gnaw me like a burning worm.

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That'll be the condition of the lost soul in hell for eternity, but canst thou not repent, now repent and turn?

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God hath denied me repentance. His word gives me no encouragement to believe.

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Yea, himself has shut me up in this iron cage, nor can all the men in the world let me out. Oh, eternity, eternity, how shall

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I grapple with the misery that I must meet with in eternity? And then the interpreter said to Christian, let this man's misery be remembered by thee and be an everlasting caution to thee.

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Well, said Christian, this is fearful. God help me to watch and be sober and to pray that I may shun the cause of this man's misery.

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Sir, is it not time for me to go on my way now? And so what should be done to prevent committing this sin?

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When the spirit prompts you to do something, do it and don't delay. Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart, writes

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Hebrews 3 .15, to professing Christians. That's not out there to the world, that's talking to people in the church.

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Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart. Well, we read lastly, our

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Lord encourages disciples that the Holy Spirit will enable them to confess him before the world. When they bring you to the synagogues, magistrates, and authority, do not worry, do not fear about how or what you should answer or what you should say for the

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Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Some disciples of Christ feel afraid to speak out on behalf of Christ because they fear that they will give such a poor witness.

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The Lord says, don't fear. I'll put words in your mouth. We are always to be ready and able to give an answer for the hope that lies within us, but it's a promise that you will not be alone at that time.

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The Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak. And I can testify to this over my 50 plus years of the

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Christian life when witnessing for the Lord Jesus, there's a power that he grants you.

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You all of a sudden begin to quote scripture that you never thought you memorized. And you know as you're speaking, the words that are going forth are true words, and you know that person listening to you, whether they accept them or not, they know they're true words too.

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And it's a powerful and it's a wonderful thing to be filled with the Holy Spirit on the occasion when you're witnessing for Christ.

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And this is what we all need, to rely on the Holy Spirit. So be encouraged in this.

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When these principles here in chapter 12, verses one through 12 are properly understood and observed, that disciple of Jesus Christ will be an effective witness for his master.

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He'll be a follower of Jesus Christ, being used of the Lord to further his kingdom.

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And that's what we all desire, isn't it, as Christians? Let's pray. Thank you,

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Father, for your word. Thank you, our God, for these words of instruction. Help us to take them to heart, our

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God. Help us to fear the right things, the good things. And help us, our

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God, not to fear that which is temporal, fleeting, and which is actually no true threat to us that are in Jesus Christ.

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And so give us faith, our God. Help us to be faithful. Give us courage. Give us opportunity to speak to others about the need for Jesus Christ.

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And again, our Father, we pray for that one that has failed to confess you before men, that you would move him or her to do so, to announce to the world,

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Jesus Christ is Lord and I am his disciple. We pray these things,