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.
jeffersonvann 