September 2023 – jeffersonvann

STAY READY

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STAY READY

Luke 12:35-48 NET.

Penny and I have spent a lot of our time in our decades of ministry teaching others how to teach the Bible. For me, I always begin with four questions. First, “What is the Background of this text that I need to know in order to understand it?” Second, “What special words appear in the text that I need to understand?” Third. “What is the theological focus of the text?” Finally, “How should I apply this text?”

Today’s text is a continuation of the discourse Jesus is having with his apostles as the crowds of Judea look on. That answers one of the background questions. The speaker is Jesus, and his primary target is his apostles. But some of what he says will also be relevant for the larger crowd of disciples and potential apostles who are looking on.

But the background involves more than that question. It also consists of the culture that the speaker shares with the listeners. For example, when I say the words “Dale’s Store” everyone at Piney Grove knows what I am referring to. I don’t have to explain the history and background of Dale’s Store to you, because you all know it.

The people who were listening to Jesus on the day in which he spoke the words of today’s text knew some things in their cultural background that helped them understand what Jesus was talking about. We might be able to understand the gist of what Jesus is talking about by just reading the text as it is. But we will understand it much better and see its relevance if we also know what his audience did.

For that reason, I want to explain a cultural phenomenon that the Jews in the first century called the Shoshabin. The Greeks in the first century called it the paranymph. It had to do with weddings. After the wedding ceremony, the groom and the bride would enjoy a long wedding party that would last for several days. At some point during the party, the groom would tell his special friend – his Shoshabin – to take his bride to his house, so that she could get ready for their honeymoon. The Shoshabin was often a brother or other relative of the groom – someone he intrinsically trusted. Sometimes it was his chief steward – the slave that he trusted to manage his household. The Shoshabin would then organize all the other slaves in the household to stand watch and stay ready for their master to return from the party.

The Shoshabin also had another responsibility. It was not unheard of for some unscrupulous character looking for a wife to break into a house where a bride awaits her new groom and to steal the bride for himself. The Shoshabin was primarily responsible for protecting the bride from this thief.

My point in telling you this set of facts about the first-century culture is that it provides the background we need to hear the words of Jesus as someone living in that time and place would have heard them. It is easier for us to get what Jesus is commanding if we know about the Shoshabin and his role.

With that in mind, let us now listen to Jesus’ words from today’s text.

We should stay ready because we don’t know when the Lord will come (35-40)

³⁵ “Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; ³⁶ be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns! I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, have them take their place at the table, and will come and wait on them! ³⁸ Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves! ³⁹ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

The first command from Jesus we hear is the command to get dressed for service. Does he mean that we should get dressed for the worship service? It used to be common for those going to church to dress in their finest suits and most expensive dresses. Is that what Jesus is talking about/ Hardly. In fact, to be dressed for service means to be dressed appropriately to serve the master when he returns from the wedding celebration.

When I go out into the garden in the morning, I dress for gardening. I wear clothes that I can work in. I wear shoes that I don’t mind getting muddy and clothes that protect me from mosquitoes. I wear a hat to protect my head from the sun. I wear a bandana to catch the sweat. I don’t wear gloves because they interfere with pulling weeds.

When Jesus tells his apostles to be dressed for service, he is painting a picture for them. It is a picture of a group of slaves waiting for their master to come home from his wedding party. They know he will probably be tired from walking, and they are ready to provide him with the rest he needs. He might be thirsty, so they have a pitcher of cool water ready. He will need his feet washed. They have a new robe ready for him to put on before he retires to the bedroom where his new bride awaits him.

When Jesus tells his apostles to keep their lamps burning, he is telling them to provide enough light so that they can see their master the instant he returns. A burning lamp was also a way for a slave to keep himself from nodding off during the long wait for his master. They wanted to stay ready for their master.

In the story that Jesus told, he mentions the owner of the house. The οἰκοδεσπότης could refer to the owner of a house, and if it does so here, it means that the master has a trusted Shoshabin in place to protect his new bride from the thief. But an οἰκοδεσπότης can also be the chief steward who is charged with protecting the house and its contents while the master is away. Either way, when Jesus is talking about protecting the house, he is not changing the subject. He’s not introducing a new parable. Protecting the house from the thief is also the responsibility of the Shoshabin because the new bride is in the house and she would be the thief’s target.

We should stay ready because our Lord expects us to manage his household (41-44).

⁴¹ Then Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” ⁴² The Lord replied, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work when he returns. ⁴⁴ I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Peter has a habit of blurting out statements and asking questions that turn out to be less than helpful. But his question here is right on the money. We have already seen that Jesus is preaching to his apostles, but the onlooking crowd is also listening. Peter wants to know who Jesus wants to stay ready. Is this a general command or is it specific to the apostles only?

Jesus reminds Peter that there are two levels of readiness in his story. There is the general readiness of all the slaves. All the slaves are required to be ready for their master when he returns. But among the slaves, there are some who are charged with being faithful and wise managers. These are the slaves who organize the whole household. They are the chief stewards. They are responsible not just to stay ready themselves. They are charged with seeing to it that the whole household is ready and stays ready.

So, to answer Peter’s question: the whole crowd is responsible for staying ready for Christ’s return. However, the spiritual leaders are responsible for managing and supplying the household, protecting the bride, and ensuring that all the slaves are ready for the Master when he returns.

Those who take this responsibility seriously are promised a great blessing when the master returns. The master will put them in charge of all his possessions. Proving faithful as a spiritual leader in this life will lead to a higher status in Christ’s kingdom when he returns. The leaders in the coming kingdom will not be arbitrarily appointed – like James and John’s mother wanted. They will be appointed based on the work that is being done to serve Christ now. Staying ready for the coming Christ and preparing his Bride – the Church – to meet him is a high priority for us.

We should stay ready because our Lord will punish those who are unfaithful (45-48).

⁴⁵ But if that slave should say to himself, ‘My master is delayed in returning,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, ⁴⁶ then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷ That servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked will receive a severe beating.

⁴⁸ But the one who did not know his master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

Here Jesus introduces a scenario in which slaves charged with managing the household ignore the command. The bride is forgotten, left to fend for herself when the thief comes in to kidnap her. The other slaves are abused and mistreated. The chief steward focuses on his own wants. He eats all the food and drinks all the wine. What is going to happen to that household when the master returns from the party? The chief steward is cut in two. He failed his assignment.

His new assignment is the place where all the unfaithful will be sent. The other slaves will be punished as well. Some will be beaten severely, others lightly – depending on how much they knew about their responsibility to stay ready for the master and protect his bride.

Now, this story that Jesus taught is a parable, and it is not intended to teach us the details. But we can figure out that Jesus is talking about the lives we are to live today so that we are ready for his return – whenever that may be. The focus of the story is not the timing of Jesus’ return. We cannot discern from this story whether Jesus is going to come today or a thousand years from today. The focus of the story is what you and I should be doing in the period before Jesus comes back.

If we are not serving him now, we will not be dressed to serve him when he returns. Learning and following the commands of Christ help us to stay ready for his arrival.

If the light of God’s word is not shining in our minds today, our lamps will not be burning when he returns. Getting a steady diet of God’s word daily helps us to stay ready for his arrival.

If we are not providing for and equipping the rest of his servants in his household today, we will not be ready to do so when he returns. Learning to lead and disciple others helps us to stay ready for his arrival.

If we are not protecting the bride today, we will anger the groom when he returns. Keeping the church pure by watching our lifestyle and our doctrine helps us to stay ready for his arrival.

Stay ready. That’s the point. If we are not ready now, we need to get ready. If we are ready today, we need to stay ready because there just might be a long wait. So far, we have been waiting thousands of years. Jesus may not come in our lifetime. The point of today’s lesson is not for us to figure out when he is coming. The point is for us to understand what he wants us to be doing in the meantime.

STAY CALM

STAY CALM

Luke 12:13-34 NET

In the Anxiety Handbook, we read that the “symptoms of anxiety can be divided into four slightly overlapping categories of symptoms: the physiological (what your body is experiencing), the cognitive (your thoughts), the emotional (your feelings), and the behavioral (what your body is doing externally).”[1]

The physiological symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and other gastric problems, frequent urination, flushing of the skin, light-headedness, headache, muscle tension, rapid heart rate, palpitation, recurrent localized pain, shortness of breath, sleeping problems, sweating, involuntary twitching of muscles and tingling sensations.

The cognitive symptoms include confusion, poor memory, decreased problem-causing skills, difficulty concentrating or paying attention, distorted perception, morbid thoughts, obsessions, and oversensitivity.

The emotional symptoms include anger, rage, lashing out, fear and even terror, fear of losing control, feeling as if one is not in one’s body, feelings of apprehension, loss of one’s sense of reality, and panic: an extreme need to escape the situation.

The behavioral symptoms include erratic behavior, failing to complete tasks by avoiding challenges or avoiding the tasks altogether, fidgeting, hand wringing, finger tapping, irritability, perfectionism, pressured and rapid speech, restlessness, pacing, nervous shaking or moving of the limbs, trembling, withdrawal from people and lack of participation.

Some of these symptoms may apply to you. I know some of them apply to me sometimes. Anxiety comes to us all at times. The problem is when anxiety stays. That is when it becomes a disorder. In today’s text, Jesus encounters someone with anxiety, and he uses that as an opportunity to teach his disciples how to avoid it. So, in addition to his encouragement for us to stay real in the first part of this chapter, he teaches us to stay calm in this part.

Stay calm because life is not about taking care of ourselves (13-21).

¹³ Then someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ He then told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, ¹⁷ so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”‘ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ²¹ So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.”

Last week, we saw the setting of this discourse. It is very similar to that of the sermon on the mount. Jesus is teaching his apostles, and there is a very large crowd looking on, and listening in. This section begins with a rude interruption. Someone from the crowd blurts out a request for Jesus to arbitrate a dispute over his inheritance. I think we can add rudeness and lack of consideration as symptoms of anxiety. This man interrupted the Lord’s sermon to his apostles with a personal request. It had nothing to do with what Jesus was preaching about. Jesus said as much in reply to his request. He essentially said to the rude interrupter that the man’s inheritance was none of his business.

So, Jesus turns back to the twelve, but he uses that interruption as a segway to a new topic. He warns the apostles to watch out for greed because life is not about taking care of yourself by getting as much as you can. By saying this, Jesus links two problems: greed and anxiety. Being greedy gives you something to worry about. Wanting more makes you anxious when you don’t get what you want. That was this man’s problem.

Jesus proceeds to tell another parable. Remember that parables are designed to illustrate something that is usually taught elsewhere. Avoiding the two related evils of greed and worry are identified by Jesus as the subject matter of this parable. He said in verse 15 for us to guard ourselves against greed, and he will go on to tell us not to worry in verses 22 and 29, and not to be afraid in verse 32.

The parable is about a farmer who has anxiety because he is greedy. As a farmer, he is a tremendous success. He had such an abundant crop that his current barns would not be able to hold his whole harvest. Now, if this man had not been greedy, he might have seen this as an opportunity to be a good Samaritan to all his poor neighbors. In so doing, he would have been obeying the second great commandment of the Law. But he was greedy. All he could think about was keeping all his harvest. So, he decides to tear down his barns and build bigger ones – to take care of himself at the expense of the needy all around him.

The rude interrupter was like that. He was anxious to get what was coming to him, and so worried about it that he interrupted the preaching of the gospel to feed his greed.

In the parable, the LORD calls this rich anxious man a fool. He had been a success as a farmer but a failure as a person. His greed for more stuff caused him to waste his life on stuff he could not keep. He would die, and all that stuff he had accumulated would go to someone else. You could call such a man stupid. He worried about the things of this life but never gave a thought to preparing for the next. That is what happens to someone who stores up riches for himself but is not rich toward God.

Stay calm because the ravens are teaching us something (22-26).

²² Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For there is more to life than food and more to the body than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life? ²⁶ So if you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about the rest?

Jesus gives us three examples of those who are not overcome by greed and who are not eaten up by anxiety. The first is the ravens. These are birds of prey. They live in the same world that the rich fool lives in. But they don’t sow or reap, and unlike the rich farmer, they don’t have any barns. They find what they need because God feeds them.

Jesus asks a question in this section that is very revealing. He asks which of us by worrying can add an hour to our lives. We know that worrying does the exact opposite. Anxiety takes away from our lives. It doesn’t add to it.

Imagine if the ravens got together and decided that they needed to figure out how to plant berry bushes and build worm farms. If they spent their time worrying about doing what they could not do, they would not have time to hunt for what God has already provided for them. The best thing for the ravens to do is to be ravens.

Now, God knows what you and I need too. He wants to feed us, just like he feeds the ravens, but he is insulted if we keep trying to do his job for him.

Stay calm because the flowers are teaching us something (27-31).

²⁷ Consider how the flowers grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these!

²⁸ And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you people of little faith! ²⁹ So do not be overly concerned about what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, pursue his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

The flowers and the wild grass are two tremendous gifts from our creator. They adorn this world we live in. They give it a glorious color. I remember on our thru hike in 2018 I was talking to a young lady who was hiking with us for a time. We were looking out over a meadow of some of the lushest green grass we had ever seen. I said to her “That’s what God can do with only one crayon out of the box.”

In the culture in which Jesus and the apostles lived, the grass was also an abundant source of free fuel. It could be harvested, dried, and burned in the ovens to cook food. Imagine that – something to do with grass that doesn’t require spending thousands of dollars on a lawn mower!

Jesus tells us not to worry about the things that all the nations of the world pursue. In fact, the words “do not be overly concerned about” in verse 29 is the same word translated as “pursue” in verse 31. We are to spend our time pursuing God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God is either his rule in our lives today or his rule of the restored universe when Christ comes again. Either way, we are to be concerned about God’s will and his plan, not the mundane things like food and clothing. The contrast is that the nations of the world without God pursue mundane things. In fact, the word pursue is a stronger word in verse 30. The nations of the world eagerly seek the things of the world. When they don’t get enough to satisfy their greed, they become anxious.

Stay calm because the sheep are teaching us something (32-34).

³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out — a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The little flock of verse 32 is not a flock of ravens. It is a flock of sheep. Jesus uses the shepherd and sheep metaphor a few times in the Gospels to describe his relationship with believers. For that reason, one of the words describing a church leader is pastor, another term for shepherd. Jesus is the chief shepherd, and we pastors are undershepherds.

I have seen actual sheep following their shepherds on four continents. I’ve seen it here in America, in Europe, in Oceania, and in Africa. Not once have I ever seen a sheep carrying something on its back. Sheep don’t have to collect things and carry them with them. No, the shepherd provides all the flock’s needs.

Sheep can teach us something about how to live our lives. Instead of pursuing all the things we might need or want, we would do much better if we focused on just being sheep. That is all a sheep is responsible for, so it leaves it to the shepherd to take care of all its needs.

Now, the sheep, the ravens, the flowers and the grass are all teaching us to calm down and trust God to take care of us. We can get nervous and excited and fearful and anxious about the stuff of this world. Or we can choose to let God take care of those needs. We can choose to focus our lives on being who God says we are. We are his creatures, and we glorify him when we choose to depend on him. Instead of building bigger barns for us, if he gives us more than we need, we will just share it with those who do need it. Instead of putting ourselves into early graves by anxiety, we can live our lives to their fullest – grateful that we have a Father who is fully capable of taking care of his children.

[1] The Anxiety Handbook: The 7-Step Plan to Understand Manage and Overcome Anxiety. Callistoga Press 2013. p. 10.

STAY REAL

STAY REAL

Luke 12:1-12 NET.

Today I want to talk about a problem that has caused more loss in the kingdom of God than anything else I can think of. The problem is hypocrisy, dishonesty, and lack of integrity among those who claim to be men and women of God. That problem has destroyed individual believers, ministers and their ministries, denominations, and entire gospel movements. It has brought shame and dishonor to Christianity as a whole and is currently one of the main reasons that people who have been exposed to the gospel give when asked why they reject it and are not believers.

It stands to reason, then, that Jesus would have spent some time with his disciples addressing this problem. One of the places where Jesus did so is right here in today’s text. I want to walk through this text this morning and ask ourselves how Jesus motivated his disciples to remain true to him and their profession of faith in him.

There is one thing we need to keep in mind, and that one thing is dramatically demonstrated for us in the story as it unfolds in the life of Jesus and his disciples. One of the twelve was proven to be untrue, unfaithful, and an unbeliever. He had been pretending for the three years that he sat at the feet of Jesus, being trained by him. Yet, on the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus listened to each of his apostles ask him the same question — “Is it I?” After three years of serving our Lord, listening to his truth, and even preaching the gospel themselves, none of the apostles were confident that they were not imposters.

One of the reasons the problem of hypocrisy is such a problem is that it is very easy to fool most of the people most of the time. As children, we learn to lie when the truth is not convenient. As adults, we perfect that talent. We also learn that even the truth sounds better when we embellish it. So, even when we are telling the truth, we are tempted to dress it up with a few lies to make it more exciting or interesting. We learn that appearance is more important than essence. If we are not careful, even our preaching of the word of God or living it out by our witness will become infected with dishonesty and lack of integrity.

In today’s text, Jesus zeroes in on the problem of hypocrisy among professed believers and gives us all some motivations to stay true, stay honest, and stay real. He highlights several reasons that we as believers have to hold on to our integrity.

Stay real because all hidden sins will be revealed (1-3).

¹ Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ² Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. ³ So then whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

Luke starts out by describing the scene of the discourse Jesus was having with his disciples. There was a crowd so large that many thousands were stomping on one another, trying to get to Jesus. Have you ever noticed that it is easier to hide in a large crowd than it is in a small group? A good illustration of this is “Where’s Waldo?” Waldo is a strange-looking dude, and he is easily noticed with his bug eyes, striped shirt, and ugly hat. But when the illustrator puts his picture of Waldo among a large crowd of others, suddenly it becomes a puzzle to find him.

What makes finding Waldo so puzzling is that he is hidden in plain sight, but there are so many others around him that have some similarities with him, it is hard to spot the real thing. The problem that Jesus is talking to his disciples about is similar because he knows that they will be tempted to look like everybody else.

He had challenged them to be salt and light in this world. But they would be tempted to live on the edge of that challenge. They would be tempted to be the blandest salt and the darkest light possible. The other day I was looking in the cupboard and I noticed the salt container we had just bought. It was dark blue, and it was made by the same company that usually produces the salt we buy. But I looked at the ingredients, and I noticed something missing. There was no iodine. I felt gypped. Here I am, taking medicine to produce thyroid hormones, and that is something that iodine helps with. What we had bought looked like salt, but it was missing an ingredient that we usually get from salt.

Jesus was encouraging his apostles to stay real because there will come a day when all the hidden elements of our lives will be revealed. Some day everyone is going to know all the ingredients in your salt container. They will know what was there and what was missing.

Jesus used the Pharisees as examples of hypocrisy. The Pharisees were the people in Judean society with a reputation for being super-spiritual and meticulously obedient. They didn’t just tithe their crops, they went to the small plants in their container gardens and harvested a tithe of them too. But Jesus knew all the sins and omitted acts of righteousness that these Pharisees had kept hidden.

So, Jesus challenges his apostles to stay away from the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and stay true to their commitment to him and the gospel. He wanted them to say real because all the unreal is going to be exposed.

Stay real because all hypocrites will be destroyed in hell (4-5).

⁴ “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. ⁵ But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

One of the reasons we are tempted to blend in is that we are afraid of what others might think of us if we stand out. We fear the judgment of others. That is a real problem. Nobody likes to be criticized. Nobody wants to be belittled. We want other people to like us, and we are careful not to offend them if possible. The problem is you can’t always please everybody. Trying to please everybody might work for a while, but we will eventually realize that we left somebody out of the count. And that somebody is the one who counts the most.

The hell that Jesus is describing in today’s text is not the made-up hell that people talk about. It isn’t a place where the souls of bad folks go when their bodies die. No, Jesus is talking about the fiery hell into which God is going to throw unbelievers after judgment day. This is the place in which God is going to finally destroy all sinners. It is not just a place for disembodied souls to suffer. It’s a place where bodies and souls will be destroyed. Matthew’s version of this statement has Jesus saying, “Fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Jesus’ point is that if we are going to fear somebody, we should fear the one who can do the most damage.

If we are being real, we are going to offend some people. That is a done deal. It’s going to happen. We shouldn’t worry about that because the gospel is offensive to them. There’s no sense crying over spilled milk. One of Penny’s relatives painted a picture of some people crying over spilled milk in their house, but outside their window, you can also see an approaching tornado. Those people in the house were so busy crying about what they couldn’t prevent (the spilled milk) that they failed to see the danger they could prevent (dying from the tornado.

Stay real because you matter to God (6-9).

⁶ Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows. ⁸ “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before God’s angels. ⁹ But the one who denies me before men will be denied before God’s angels.

In this section of the discourse, Jesus abruptly switches from talking about God as the one whom you should fear (because he can destroy you in hell) to why you should not fear because God will not forget you. The logic of what he is saying is this. Those who are faithful in their mission to share the gospel will not be forgotten. But those who are unfaithful and untruthful and hypocritical and deny God by their words and actions will find that God will deny them before his angels on judgment day. So, he’s still talking about the reality of hell. But he’s saying that true believers who stay real have nothing to worry about from God. If we stay true to him, he will stay true to his promises to us.

I’m not sure that you can buy five sparrows for two pennies anymore. In fact, I think the hunters here spend a lot more than that on shotgun shells so that they can shoot the doves. But Jesus’ point was that sparrows were cheap, but that does not mean they don’t matter. Everyone matters to God. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He has invested himself in us and he wants to see us succeed. That is why Jesus warns us to stay real because nothing will destroy our chance at permanent life like hypocrisy. God has poured out his grace on us. Christ has shed his precious blood for us. It would but the utmost shame if after all that The Father and Son have invested in us, we end up short by means of hypocrisy.

Stay real because the Holy Spirit is in you (10-12).

¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.¹¹ But when they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense or what you should say, ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you must say.”

The Holy Spirit is also investing himself in us, enabling us to say what we need to say when the devil sends his servants to accuse us. We have a power at work in us that can help us overcome and triumph even if we are persecuted. So, once again, Jesus tells us not to worry.

But I need to explain what Jesus says about blasphemy in verse 10. Pay attention to the context. According to verse 12, the Holy Spirit is God at work in the life of a believer who is sharing his faith when brought to trial. So, in that context, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to reject that testimony and punish believers anyway. To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to condemn people for believing the gospel. There is no way for a true Christian to “accidentally” blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in us, and that is another reason for us to stay real.

We live in a world full of sheep and goats, and it is sometimes very hard to tell the difference. But in today’s text, Jesus challenges us to be so authentic that the people around us have no doubt that we belong to him. He wants us to stand out, not to hide. He wants us to fear God but be fearless among his enemies. He wants us to understand how valuable we are, and how much has been invested in us. He wants us to stay real, so people will be drawn to the Christ we serve and the gospel we preach.

JUSTIFIED BY HIS GRACE

JUSTIFIED BY HIS GRACE

Romans 3:20-24 NET.

²⁰ For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. ²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed — ²² namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ²⁴But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Today’s message is about the basics of the gospel message. Every Christian should know what the gospel message is so that she or he can share the gospel with others. A believer should also have confidence that she or he has a relationship with God that cannot change and know the reason for that confidence. So, I have decided to investigate the gospel message as it is presented in various places in the Bible and examine these texts one by one.

The book of Romans is a good place to start because the Apostle Paul laid out the gospel message and its implications throughout that book. Today’s text has five verses, and what I plan to do is summarize the message of each verse.

The Bible cannot save you (20).

Paul told the Romans that no one is declared righteous before God by the works of the law. Paul had been making a point in his letter that no one can come to God by means of their own righteousness. But he knows that some of his readers are Jewish by birth, so he answers an objection that they might bring. Some Jews might think that they already have a relationship with God because of being born Jewish. Others might think that God has already adopted them by reason of their having the Jewish law and obeying some of it.

That kind of argument can go through our minds as well. Some might think that because they own a Bible, and sometimes go to church, and sometimes pray – maybe they will be accepted on judgment day. But when Paul says that no one is declared righteous before God by the works of the law, he is speaking to us as well. Anything we try to do to become a Christian without putting our faith in Christ is just a work of the law. That includes reading and studying our Bible, or listening to a teacher who has done it. The Bible itself cannot save you. Church attendance cannot save you. Church membership or baptism or communion or any of the other trappings of Christianity – all these things are lumped together in that phrase “works of the law.” They are all good things, but they are not good enough to erase the stain of sin from our lives. They are all healthy activities, but they cannot arrest the corruption of sin from our inner beings.

Then what is the Bible for? Paul says that through the law comes the knowledge of sin. The word he uses for knowledge here indicates more than a simple understanding that there is such a thing as sin. It indicates an awareness of how sinful sin is and how much it has permeated our whole being – like yeast permeates the whole loaf of bread. Even the good things we do are imperfect, so even they cannot reverse the corruption that we are presently experiencing. Sin is not something that we have the power to stop.

Paul would later write to Timothy these words: “We know that the law is good if someone uses it legitimately, realizing that law is not intended for a righteous person, but for lawless and rebellious people, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers — in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching” (1 Timothy 1:8-10).

The Bible cannot change sinners into righteous people. It is not intended for that purpose. It can only make a lawbreaker realize how many laws she or he is breaking. It can only make it clear how rebellious a rebel is. Even so, having a Bible is a good thing because …

The Bible has revealed how you can be saved (21).

Paul says that the Bible has disclosed a means of righteousness from God. God has provided a means of salvation for us and has revealed that message in his word. So, even though we cannot get saved by obeying the commands in the Bible, we can get saved by accessing the means of salvation that the Bible reveals. What is this means of salvation? It is not a prayer that we can pray. It is not a gift that we can give. It is not a promise that we can make. In fact, the means of salvation is not anything that we can do. We are condemned sinners, and we deserve to be permanently destroyed for our sins.

Nevertheless, the Bible assures us that salvation is possible, not by means of something we can do, but by means of someone. Jesus himself is the means of salvation that the Bible has revealed.

Believing in what Jesus Christ did can save you (22).

God’s righteousness through Christ is available to us as revealed in the Bible. Jesus has done what needed to be done. All we are told to do is believe it. That is the essence of the gospel of grace. That is why Paul says that this righteousness is available through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. It is not our faithfulness to Christ that makes salvation possible. It is his faithfulness.

In what ways was Christ faithful? He faithfully lived a sinless life. He faithfully taught God’s perfect will. He faithfully sacrificed himself on the cross to pay the price for our unfaithfulness. Christ is the means of salvation because he obeyed perfectly. He did not deserve to die, but he took our place on the cross. His death purchased for us something that we could not afford to purchase for ourselves – an eternal future.

We access the promise of eternal life by believing in Christ – who he was and what he did for us. Note the words “all who believe” in verse 22. It is important that we pay attention to those words because they indicate that the subject has changed. In verse 20, we read that no one is declared righteous before God. Another way of saying that is that everyone is declared unrighteous before God. So, the subject in verse 20 is everyone. But in verse 22, the scope is narrowed. The subject is now “all who believe.” So, when we get to verse 23, we read “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Most people read that verse as if it is talking about all human beings. It is true that all human beings are sinners. But remember that Paul had changed the subject.

Every believer has sinned and falls short of God’s glory (23)).

What Paul is doing here is saying that every saved believer begins his life as an unsaved sinner. He talks about sin in our past by saying that we have sinned. Then he talks about sin in our present by saying that we presently continue to fall short of God’s glory. He did not say that believers used to fall short before they were saved. He said we have sinned, and we do fall short – even now. Salvation is not based on our getting ourselves right with God. It is not picking ourselves up by our own bootstraps, straightening up, and flying right. We have sinned and we keep falling short of God’s glory. According to Romans 2:7, the glory of God is something believers are seeking, but presently fall short of.

That means that no matter how sincere we are, no matter how hard we try, we are not going to be able to save ourselves. We don’t have what it takes. If salvation is going to happen, it will have to come from outside us. The good news of the gospel is that it did.

Every believer is justified freely by God’s grace through Christ’s redemption (24).

When Paul says “They are justified” he has not changed the subject. The “they” in verse 24 is the “all who believe” in verse 22. So, the subject is every believer. The message is that every believer is justified. The promise is not that we might be saved. The promise is not that we are potentially saved. God does not put believers on a waiting list to see if they measure up. Every believer stands justified.

But what does it mean to be justified? It is important that we ask that question because the English word justified can mean different things. We sometimes use the word justified to mean that someone has committed a crime, but they are excused from paying the penalty for that crime because of the circumstances. For example, we say a person has committed justifiable homicide because the deed happened in such a way as to make the person not criminally guilty. That is not what Paul meant when he said that all believers are justified.

If you look back up in the text to verse 20, you will see the words “declared righteous.” That phrase translates the same Greek verb as the word “justified” in verse 24. A person who is justified is not excused for a crime that she or he has committed. We are not justified in the sense that God simply refuses to punish the crimes we have committed. We are justified because God has taken the punishment for those sins and placed that punishment upon Jesus as he hung on the cross.

Think about every sin you have ever committed. Now, look at Jesus as he hangs upon the cross at Calvary. When he hung upon that cross, all your sin hung there with him. When he died on that cross, all your guilt died there with him. He did not excuse your sins, he paid for them.

Paul says we are justified freely. We have problems understanding that concept today as well because we are used to all kinds of “free” things that come with strings attached. I got a text the other day saying that I qualified to get a free iPad, and all I had to do was fill in a survey. I filled in the survey, and they said I got the free iPad, and all I had to do was send some money for shipping. That’s not getting something freely. We are justified as a gift. Nothing we could do would ever pay the price for that gift.

Paul says we are justified by God’s grace. Grace is unmerited favor. Grace has no qualifications. Grace is “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” We are justified by grace. If you are in Christ today, it is because God made a choice to draw you to him, and he didn’t make that choice based on what you deserve.

Paul says we are justified through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. He would later write to the Galatians that the only thing he can boast about is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14). Christ’s death on the cross is the only means of redemption. It is the only answer to our universal condemnation. It is the only reason anyone anywhere can ever say “I am saved.”

In what way did Christ’s death on the cross redeem us? The term “redemption” comes from the world of bondage and slavery. You redeem someone by paying a ransom to release them from their bondage. Our redemption is in Christ Jesus. Christ’s death on the cross paid in full the debt that had kept us in bondage to sin. We are redeemed because of what he did for us. We will still struggle with sin in this life. Paul did. That is what Romans 7 is all about. But thanks be to God, we have God’s assurance that he will not condemn us. That is what Romans 8 is all about. That chapter begins with these words: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Why? Because of what Jesus did for us, we are redeemed from the permanent consequences of our sins. We have been set free from the law of sin and death and can now walk in the law of the Spirit of life.

Are you justified by his grace? Do you believe? If you cannot positively answer those questions, then don’t wait another minute. Come to Christ today.