The Strong Words of Christ

The Strong Words of Christ in Matthew 23

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Why Strong Language Can Be Loving in Evangelism

So if there's a title, I guess I can give this sermon many titles, but I would title it, The Strong Words of Christ. The Strong Words of Christ Seen in Matthew 23. Jeff asked me to talk about really the strong language that Jesus uses when he addresses the Pharisees in Matthew 23.

Whenever you get to that point in Matthew, you're like, wow, Jesus is kind of letting it loose and seemingly has an assertive or maybe an aggressive tone. And I think what I want to do, because I am the pastor of local outreach, I kind of want to look at this evangelistically.

I think Christians are very puzzled or confused about strong language that Christians use, especially in evangelism. Jeff has done an incredibly thorough job in explaining the context of historical background in the ins and outs of chapter 23.

You can find that that sermon. It's called Jesus on Hypocrites in YouTube. It's absolutely excellent. You got to go check it out. I listened to it a couple times this week. But my kind of overall goal through this sermon is to focus on Jesus's example and the way that we evangelize the lost.

Two main goals here. The way that we evangelize the lost and the way we collectively protect ourselves and our brothers and sisters from false teachers. So I'm really answering only one question. It's hot.

I'm going to move through this as quickly as I can. But the umbrella question that I'm kind of asking as you look at Matthew 23 is this. Why did Jesus use such strong language when he addressed the Pharisees and the scribes in Matthew 23?

That's an overarching question. What was the purpose? And maybe a sub question would be should Christians use strong language as Jesus is seen doing in Matthew 23? Should we be doing that? Is there a wrong way and is there a right way to accomplish this task?

Now if you if you look at our abortion mill videos on YouTube, if you come out with us on any type of evangelism, you are going to hear us say strong words. Words like coward. Words like murder. Murderer.

Fool. Hell. And then we do as we minister at the the death clinics. We describe abortion procedures and it can get pretty graphic. I know that since I started doing that I've received tons of questions and remarks about our terminology.

And if we're being biblical in what we're doing. Are you guys just being jerks? Are you being mean-spirited? Is this how Jesus would have you to communicate using such seemingly harsh language to people out on the streets?

I know my sister myself and everybody that's went out to a clinic have interacted with many Christians and have been accused of being hypocrites or like I said, just bullies or mean-spirited. So I kind of want to answer that.

Look at these texts. Look at these verses and see if we can come to an answer about that tonight. I think the people with the biggest problems with this are professing Christians. You know those that we receive the most amount of pushback in our biblical evangelism and our evangelism of abortion clinic are people who profess Christ.

They say things like this. That's not the right way you should speak to people. You're not you're judging and condemning people. If only we had a penny for every time we heard stop judging people we would be billionaires.

It happens. That happens every second. Just a five dollar little tip for you today. When Jesus is talking about judging in Matthew chapter 7, he's talking to the Pharisees and he's commanding not to judge based upon the wrong standard.

Not self-righteously, but based upon the standard of God's law and God's word. That's what the Pharisees were not doing. But as we go out proclaiming the truth and exposing sin like Ephesians chapter 5 tells us to do, we're judging based upon the standard of God's word.

That's just a two dollar little tip for you. So you're you're judging and condemning people. You're the pot calling the kettle black. You're being unloving and unkind. So let's take a look through this and see if we can't shed light on on that subject.

Matthew 23 as Jesus’ Last Public Sermon and the Seven Woes

Just a little bit of context. Jeff, like I said, has gone thoroughly and exhaustively into the background context all the way back to the Old Testament and explaining how we can properly understand this chapter.

So I don't want to be redundant and I don't just want to I don't want to repeat what he's saying. But Matthew 23, it's Jesus's last public sermon. I didn't know if you knew that. It's his last public sermon and he chose in his last public sermon to really aggressively indict the Pharisees and scribes.

So he chose he's not talking about spiritual health. He's not talking about warm and fuzzy feelings during his last public public sermon. He is letting them have it. It's a lamb bast attack on false teachers.

And so I think what we can learn from that is publicly warning and rebuking false teachers seems to be very important to God. It's exactly what he took time to do in this sermon of Matthew 23. So Jesus came to accomplish a multifaceted mission.

We knew that and we know that he came to destroy the works of the devil. He came to what? Luke 19, seek and save the lost. He came to declare judgment on the house of Israel and we know right before God rolls over a nation with judgment comes the final straw before he does that and it's the wrath of abandonment.

You can see God's moving of judgment upon a nation in the book of Romans first chapter, but right before he really lets it loose 70 AD when Titus came in and just destroyed the temple, it's the wrath of abandonment where he says I'm done with you.

We're good here. We're done.

Matthew 15 14 says this. Then the disciples came and said to him. Do you know that the pharisees were offended? When they heard the saying he answered Every plant that my heavenly father has not planted will be rooted up.

And some of the scariest words I think you can ever hear from God Jesus says this let them alone. They are blind guides and if the blind lead the blind both will fall into a pit. So Jesus is coming as judge declaring the reasons why God is about to pour out his.

He's about to pour out his judgment upon the house of Israel. So really encapsulated in Matthew 23 are the seven woes. And those seven woes really descriptively and very, you know adequately explain the sin that was just so completely rampant within the spiritual leadership of Israel right before Titus comes.

I mean, of course Generations before he came. About a generation before he came Jesus is coming and saying woe to you. Judgment is headed your way. So here's the big question Why does Jesus use such strong language towards the pharisees.

And i'm going to unpack that question. But I kind of want to condense everything i'm saying into kind of a nutshell form. So you can kind of get the gist of where i'm going. Jesus uses strong terms for the benefit.

Of the pharisees.

Or the false teachers and for the benefit of those being influenced or potentially influenced by the pharisees. Or we could just put in false teachers because of course, that's what they were. So why does he use such strong language?

It's for.

Their benefit and for the benefit of those that are going to be potentially influenced by them. Because what will people tell you? Why are you being so negative? How many times have I heard that when we biblically evangelize and preach the gospel?

Why are you being so negative and we kind of front load the word negative with our own meaning? But it's a positive thing to do. To use strong language when you need to it's a positive Act because it's for their benefit.

You're thinking about their souls. You're thinking about the state of their souls. The answer jesus uses strong language to warn the pharisees of the doom. And destruction headed their way if anybody comes at you and says whoa.

You gotta you gotta make a u-turn. I mean you got to put on the brakes in your life. Especially the son of god who's causing eyes to see blind eyes to see and deaf ears to hear. I mean the son of god is coming and saying woe to you.

I mean, you got to stop everything and put everything in reverse. That word means grievous distress. Affliction or trouble. What is jesus saying to the pharisees. Trouble is coming your way distress and judgment is coming your way spiritual.

And eternal doom for them. Matthew 23 33 says you serpents you brood of vipers. How are you to escape being sentenced to hell? So their activity is bringing upon themselves eternal and spiritual doom.

Not only that but temporal and earthly destruction. Matthew 23 35 through 36 says so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth. From the blood of innocent abel to the blood of zachariah the son of barakaya whom you murdered between the sanctuary of the altar.

Truly I say to you all these things will come upon what this generation and of course it did in dramatic form. I know jeff was going to get into really the description of what titus did. I know he already has but of course that was visited upon the house of israel in 70 ad when titus came and sacked the temple.

Warning Unbelievers About Hell and the Need for a Real Gospel

Evangelistically and i'm going to what i'm going to do is kind of break down portions of. Kind of unpack portions of chapter 23 and then look at it evangelistically. I think it's safe to say if we're not Warning unbelievers of the consequences of sin in this life.

And the hell that awaits them we are loveless and not communicating as jesus did. So if we are not warning unbelievers About the destruction of sin and the hell that awaits them if they continue to spurn and disobey the gospel.

We are not Loving people as much as we would want to say that as much as we might have some jovial demeanor or Just be kind of the uplifted person and the positive person all the time. If we're not warning people of of the fire that they are about to walk into.

Then are we truly loving those people as we should? Look what jesus says to the masses when it comes to this component of your evangelistic life that that that essential component of warning. He says in luke 12 4 through 5 he's saying this to the masses this is going out like a megaphone.

He said I tell you my friends do not fear those who kill the body. And after that have nothing more that they can do but I will what here's the operative words here. But I will warn you whom to fear fear him who after he has killed his authority to cast into hell.

Yes, I tell you fear him. I'm a question for you is when's the last time you told that to your friend? When's the last time he told that to a co-worker if the time was right? Are we really warning people our family members that there is the legit?

There's the the actual that that hell is an actual destination. It's an absolute destination for all those who are outside of jesus christ. Are we loving them enough and it it takes a lot of death to self, but it is absolutely Essential to our evangelistic activity if we're going to be like christ and if we're going to be biblical.

What about the rich man in torment in luke 16 27 through 28. And he said then I beg you father to send him to my father's house for I have five brothers so that what he may warn them. Lest they may come into this place.

Of torment.

Can you see why this jesus loves you? And say this prayer gospel presentation is a false gospel presentation.

Right.

Can you see that? It's missing the crucial aspect of warning an unbeliever if there is no. If there's no exposure of hell if there's no warning to the unbeliever of where the road is going to lead them.

That is a false gospel. It's missing a crucial aspect of warning as well as other essential components. I think it's important any supposed gospel presentation. That is missing essential biblical components is no gospel message at all.

Right. If it's missing these components, it is powerless. It is impotent to save anyone. We can't just pick and choose and cut and paste. The gospel presentation that we want to present to people because you are doing nothing when you're doing that.

Your your your mission in life if you're doing that presenting that type of gospel presentation is absolutely futile. It's absolutely impotent and you are wasting your time. And you're leading people to a false assurance of their own conversion.

Just jesus loves you to say this prayer and heaven awaits you then those people stand before the god Our god and lord on the day of their judgment and they he says department for me for I never knew you.

Having believed that that was the right gospel presentation that that was the right means of salvation. It's it's a pretty serious subject if you think about it as gospel proclaimers. We have to think long and hard about the reality of hell until it motivates.

It motivates us to warn unbelievers in it. You have to think long and hard of it. I don't know about you, but I don't like sitting around thinking about hell all the time thinking about. People who are not in christ are going to spend an everlasting amount of time in eternity in punishment in torment in fire.

Have you allowed that to really soak into your heart and mind. Am I being too dramatic up here? I don't think so. I don't think so. If you look at the way jesus is speaking to people. We have to you know, i'm not i'm not saying just being.

Getting the dark in the closet all the time to think about hell.

No.

What i'm thinking about is think about that essential component of warning. And the reality of hell to where it would motivate you now to come outside of your yourself. To love your neighbor by telling them the true gospel.

Here's just a couple verses about hell mark 9 42 through 48. This is one verse that we That we preached when we were ministering at christie's cabaret the other night mark 9 42 through 48. Whoever causes one of the least.

One of these little ones who believe in me to sin which they were doing there at a strip club. It would be better for him to have a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

And if your hand causes you to sin cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go into the hell to the unquenchable fire. That's how hell is described. And if your foot causes you to sin cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life lame with two feet. Than to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of god with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell.

Where the worm does not die and the fire Is not quenched. Are you looking around the people in your life? Your children and your relatives. Maybe a spouse and are you seeing them? Inching closer and closer to that reality.

Now, of course god is sovereign and all this but we are the means to his ends. The gospel presentation that we present to them. Is the means to his salvific ends. So we have to allow these verses to change us and to keep us up at night.

This is one that keeps me up at night. I think this revelation 20 11 through 15 probably motivates me more than anything else as I go out there. Revelation 20 11 through 15 says then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.

This is for telling the judgment that awaits everyone the lost right. From his presence look at this. From his presence earth and sky fled away. And no place were found for them. Just that verse right there just captured just captivates my heart.

Where we're not jesus in his judgment is not coming as a lowly meek galilean servant, right? He's coming as the Unmitigated son of god fully effulgent. I mean he this is god the son the one that spoke.

And all the universe leapt into existence. This is jesus unveiled the judge and as he comes to judge the earth and the sky are like I don't want anything to do.

With this guy.

Hey, they are fleeing from and this is the reality of of the loss. They're going to be standing before god the son in judgment. And I saw the dead great and small stand before the throne and books were open.

Then another book was open which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and hades gave up the dead who were in them.

And they were judged each one of them according to what they had done. Then death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire. Death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death the lake of fire.

And if anyone's name was not written in the book of life He was thrown into the lake of fire. Can you imagine god throwing hell into the lake of fire and then picking you up and throwing you in? Too because of your sin against him.

I can't I can't imagine.

How Jesus Exposes Sin and Calls People to Repent

Jesus in matthew 23 warns the pharisees by showing them how god sees them and so he's using terms here when he's Indicting the pharisees so that they can see themselves As god sees them because they were blinded by their sin.

They didn't see themselves as needing saved, right? That's what sin does. He used hypocrites here six times. Blind guides blind fools. You serpents you brood of vipers. He's using such strong language.

The same thing that we would do if someone was walking into a house on fire. We would use strong language to call to them to get out. To get out to stop. You have to turn around. And go back the other direction.

Jesus was revealing to them the sin that will damn and destroy them so that they Will repent. Jesus is not only pronouncing judgment the judgment to come as a prophet here. But he wants them to repent.

He reveals his heart here in matthew 23 37. He says oh jerusalem jerusalem the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to him. How often when i've gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.

And you would not. Listen, this is this is this is important. We use biblical language. And biblical terms to inform the unbeliever about how god sees him. Because the lost spiritually dead man is absolutely blinded to his true sinful condition and status before god.

He thinks he's good and fine without jesus. How many times you ever spoke to someone? Hey, can I share the gospel with you? And what do they say 99 of the time? I'm i'm good. I'm good, and we're like no.

No, you're not josh. Haskins is so great at that. He's he's quick at that. Somebody says good. He's like, no, you are not good. There's no unrighteous. No, but they're not good. They think that they're good.

But that is what the sinful mind does corrupted by the sin. My sin it corrupts the way that you discern and the way that you see it. Sin absolutely Destroys every last part of who we are as human beings.

That's why we are totally depraved. But proverb 16 2 says all the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes. But the lord weighs the spirit. I think the most destructive Aspect of sin is its deception. Is the blinds that go over your eyes is the way that it programs you to see life and self incorrectly not according to god's word.

But absolutely in a distorted way. At the abortion mills we do use the term coward quite often. I mean if you go on az clinic defense, uh, Fund, I don't know az clinic defense force on facebook. That's the death squirts that go there to uh, usher women into the clinic to kill their babies, but we're all named.

They have names for all of us and pictures. I have this weird picture of me like looking back like i'm about to get hit in the face with a pie or something. But i'm zach coward morgan. That's how they describe me on their on their page and they do that because I do use that word quite often.

We use the word murderer for the abortionist. The abortionist comes out. We say you are a murderer. And you're going to stand before god and he sees you as a murderer and the women that are going in we say If you do this, you're going to be seen as a murderer on the day when you stand before god.

Do we do this?

Um.

To verbally abuse them. No, I mean we got to stop if that's our intention. Do we use this type of language to put them down? We're no better than anyone. We make that very clear. No one's sin. No one's sinless except christ.

It's a shock to people and I think it's a shock to christians as they come out and hear that. But I think in what we're hoping is it's more of a a shock to them that are hearing it. We use biblical language and you can call it strong or load that load that word with whatever you would want.

But it's biblical language is what it is. We use the biblical language to help them see themselves as god sees them. We inform man who is bringing his wife or his girlfriend in to have an abortion. That he is playing the coward in that instance.

Because he does not want god to inform him of his cowardice in the day of his judgment, right? We're saying this is how god is viewing you regardless of what they're telling you what you're telling yourself.

This is your classification before the living god. It sounds like this brother. I'm calling you a coward now. So you'll repent. Because you do not want to hear coward out of the mouth of god on the day of your judgment.

Then it's hell for you forever. For revelation 21 8 just just listen to the words here. But as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers the sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and Sulfur, which is the second death using biblical language to help unbelievers see themselves as god sees them is truly loving them.

It is.

It's truly loving them. Those that love people at the highest level are those the ones that will tell them the truth of the gospel. Those that love people at the highest level are those that care about that which is the most important.

To the to an individual which is the status of their soul. It's it's truly loving them. Of course, the world's not going to tell you. It's loving them, right? That's loving warning of doom warning of destruction.

Warning of an eternity in hell is is loving. I just don't see any any other way around it proverbs 27 6 we use this often out there. Faithful are the wounds of a friend but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

Faithful are the wounds of a brother or of a friend. What does that mean? It's talking about yeah, it hurts to know to hear the truth about who you are. It hurts to hear the truth that everything you claim to to know is wrong.

But to hear the truth not according to our opinion not according to our spin on it but according to god's word. Even though it might be Might be hard to hear it is faithful. It is it is better than the kisses of an enemy.

Just telling you i'll just go along with what you want to do. This is your life. You just you carve out your own path. No, that's the words of the enemy, right? That's kisses of an enemy. What we are constantly saying out there Is those who love you the most in life are those who will tell you the truth, what do we need the most in life?

A slimmer waistline, it would be nice more money. More stuff. No what you are designed to need the most in life is truth. And what we do, I think the most Honorable and faithful people on this planet are those that will tell you the truth and tell the world the truth.

At any cost whatever it costs. Think about your life and think about it, too. And I feel so convicted how much you know, i'm prone to like exaggerate or prone to like shirk the truth for my own welfare.

Or I should be telling this person the truth. I shouldn't spin it this way just so they see me in a different light. No, I just god help me every day to have integrity. I want to be a man who just says it as it is according to your word.

Because even if it may cost me it's what you require of me. I want it with all my heart being have a life of integrity. And be a man of truth. Can we do this wrong when it comes to using strong language to warn people?

Can we do it wrong? Yeah. Yeah, we can do it wrong. I mean you got somebody like reuben israel or the screech creatures. You can look up them on youtube and see these guys blasting people. And just being maliciously aggressive towards the unbeliever.

No, we're not saying that you can look that up that that's the wrong way to do it. We're not we're not going there. Of course, there's westboro baptist whole bunch of guys. Out there in the field just thinking that they have to abuse unbelievers and that they're doing the will of god.

No, that's what we're talking about. The bible commands us to communicate the truth and what in love ephesians 4 15 Says rather speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up in every way. Unto him who is the head into christ?

I'll say it again rather speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head. Into christ if you're going to be an evangelist and work in the field with evangelism, which we all are called to do.

In some capacity i'm not telling you you're supposed to stand on a street corner like we do and preach the gospel. No, we are a body. We all have our different gifts, but god has called you to evangelism in in some way.

But that is one of the most important verses. A tattoo verse for evangelists. This is one of the most important. Second timothy 2 24 26. I want to just encourage everybody out on the field that goes out in the field.

Uh on our church to tattoo this right on your forehead. I'm just kidding. Just remember it committed to. Commit it to memory. Second timothy 2 24 through 26. Second timothy 24 to 24 through 26. And the lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone able to teach patiently enduring evil.

Correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may god may perhaps and look what follows that god may perhaps grant them repentance. Leading to a knowledge of the truth. I mean our way of doing this when it comes to not quarreling and being gentle in kind works in tandem with god.

Granting the individual's grace or faith and repentance. That's what we're crying out to at the abortion clinic. God give the women. Give them repentance give them faith because that is not self-generated.

But that works in tandem with our way of communicating truth to them. If we are doing it in a very harsh way in an aggressive in an unloving way. Are do we really expect god to be faithful to this if we are not being faithful?

To the way that he's prescribed us to do it, right? Using biblical language to warn and rebuke Christians, even though we may do it wrong and you may see that example don't let the bad example. Just throw the baby out with the bath water.

Using biblical language to warn and rebuke is not inherently unloving or hypocritical again it is if done in the right way. My sister who i'm a huge fan of in a facebook post. She was explaining the inconsistency and the hypocrisy of the pro-choice movement.

She was at planned parenthood. And she got cussed out really bad by one of the by one of the discourts. And she was just really showing and exposing the fact that you know, they stand for tolerance. But if you don't agree with them, if you don't come into line with their perspective on life.

Then they're not too tolerant of that. And they stand for tolerance but become quickly intolerant with those who don't agree with their perspective. Desi's professing christian friend commented this she said to me this is hypocritical.

We won't agree and that's okay. You name called and feel justified. It's never okay to verbally attack another person. It's awful in front of your kids. I would be livid but in this circumstance, it's the it's the little of the pot.

Calling the kettle black now what i'm trying to tell you that have done in the correct way using biblical terminology. This is not Verbally attacking another person. This is properly evangelizing. Desi was like christ utilizing biblical language to rebuke and warn unbelievers.

Where their sin where their sin will lead them. It's far from the verbal abuse she received which is purely to attack and to harm her. So I just use that example to say, you know as you hear those words put them in the right category understand that if we are and put us to the test to put yourself to the test if you're going out if you're using words that are outside of the framework of The canon extra biblical terminology.

I don't agree with that. I think you should use the words christ Was using so it's biblical terminology that we're we're using because it is it's such a practice that comes under scrutiny and under attack and we could I think cause our weaker brother to stumble if we if we just do whatever we want.

We're not really doing is Doing what jesus showed us and what he's commanded us. Why are and here's a question i'm not going to spend too too long in this. But why are professing christian christians the biggest opponents of biblical evangelism doesn't that kind of blow your mind that some of the most I think in my own life and I haven't I am old but I haven't done evangelism for that long.

It's just kind of mind-boggling and and really causes so much frustration mentally when those that I guess when you're trying to look at the book of acts and you're trying to look at christ as your example and you're trying to do your best not to Evangelize the way man thinks you should but you're trying to look at the scriptures that you and you go out to do that.

Which is not conceptually difficult. It's it's much less conceptually difficult than we think it's not cerebral. You pretty much just go to a lost person and you tell them the true biblical gospel. But it's it's frustrating when you attempt to do that and your biggest opponents are professing christians.