Founders Baptist

This is a sermon from 2011 on 1 Corinthians 16.

Lessons Of Love | 1 Corinthians 16: 19-24

This is a sermon from 2011 on 1 Timothy 6.

A Final Charge | 1 Timothy 6:20-21

This sermon is from a series on Biblical Manhood, Womanhood, Marriage & Family in 2014.

Wise Parenting - Part 2  | James 3:17-18

Introduction: 
False assurance. 
Believing that you are saved when you are lost. 
Believing that you are safe and secure when you are headed for everlasting judgment. 
It is an awful thing to truly believe that you are saved when in fact you are outside the family and kingdom of God. 
HOW WILL THOSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DECEIVED? 
Some of those people will have been deceived by resting in their own words. They found their confidence in what they said about Jesus, the gospel, the church. Maybe even a prayer that they associated with salvation. A decision that they made. 
Some will have rested in a demonic kind of faith. 
Some will have rested in their activities — preaching, teaching, serving. 
Some will have rested in what others thought of them. 
Some will have rested in false signs and wonders — their feelings and experiences. 
Some will have rested in their relationship to the visible church. 
SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE WILL HAVE RESTED IN EARTHLY RELATIONSHIPS. 
That is what our text relates to today. 
What we have before us today is both an encouragement and a warning. 
It is encouraging because it points to the family nature of the saving relationship that God gives us in His Son. 
ESV 1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 
It is a warning because it points to the fact that nothing, but that saving relationship will count when the judgment day arrives. 
ESV 1 John 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 
Today we think about Christ’s family. 
 • A REQUEST MEANT TO EXPRESS CONCERN (vs.46-47) 
Our Lord is in a house. The house is so packed full of people that no one else can get in the door. 
Luke tells us about the crowded conditions. 
ESV Luke 8:19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you." 21 But he answered them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." 
Mark’s account gives us a sense for why our Lord’s mother and brothers come to speak to Him. 
ESV Mark 3:20-21 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind." 
To be clear, the Bible doesn’t say that his family believed that He was out of His mind. It says that when His family heard that IT WAS BEING SAID that He has lost His senses, they went out to get Him. 
To say that He had lost His mind is very little different than saying He has a demon. 
“He claims He is greater than the temple. 
He claims that He is greater than Jonah. 
He claims that He is greater than Solomon. 
HE HAS LOST HIS MIND!” 
Well, He had not lost His mind. He was telling the absolute truth. But it demonstrates, again, that you can’t stand in the middle when it comes to Jesus. 
The claims are so outstanding that either He is the Son of God, or He’s a madman. 
IT IS ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT JESUS’ BROTHERS DID NOT BELIEVE IN HIM UNTIL LATER. 
ESV John 7:1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 
If you don’t believe in Him, then maybe the claims that He’s out of His mind concern you a little also. 
 
So, why has His family come? 
I think the best understanding is that they want to rescue Him from trouble. 
They recognize the rising tide of hatred and opposition against Him. 
They hear the comments that are being made about Him and His state of mind. 
They are concerned that He is headed for a major confrontation, and they are wanting to rescue Him from it. 
So, they arrive at the house, they can’t get inside, they send word to Jesus that they wish to speak to Him. 
 • A QUESTION MEANT TO ARREST ATTENTION (vs.48) 
Jesus responds with what must have seemed like a very strange question. 
“Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 
It seems that Joseph has already died. This is why it is Mary and the brothers of Jesus who come. Jesus also had half-sisters as well His half-brothers. 
ESV Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

Introduction:
False assurance.
Believing that you are saved when you are lost.
Believing that you are safe and secure when you are headed for everlasting judgment.
It is an awful thing to truly believe that you are saved when in fact you are outside the family and kingdom of God.
HOW WILL THOSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DECEIVED?
Some of those people will have been deceived by resting in their own words. They found their confidence in what they said about Jesus, the gospel, the church. Maybe even a prayer that they associated with salvation. A decision that they made.
Some will have rested in a demonic kind of faith.
Some will have rested in their activities — preaching, teaching, serving.
Some will have rested in what others thought of them.
Some will have rested in false signs and wonders — their feelings and experiences.
Some will have rested in their relationship to the visible church.
SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE WILL HAVE RESTED IN EARTHLY RELATIONSHIPS.
That is what our text relates to today.
Wh

Christ’s Family | Matthew 12:46-50

Introduction: 
The passage that we come to tonight is unique and fascinating. 
It gives us information that only the Son of God could give us access to. 
He takes us into a world that we cannot see. 
We see the results of that world. Sometimes in God’s sovereign purposes He has allowed manifestations of that world. But if we are left to what belongs to the powers of human observation, we have no access to that world. 
We know it exists because God tells us it exists. 
What is equally fascinating about what our Lord says, is the consideration of how it fits into the conversation. 
He has responded to the evil desire of an unbelieving generation for a sign. 
He now talks about a demonic exit from a human life that results in the reordering of that life, only for the demon to return with other demons, and the life, as a result, to be in worse condition than before. 
HOW DOES THAT FIT WITH OUR LORD’S COMMENTS ABOUT AN EVIL AND ADULTERIOUS GENERATION? 
Tonight, we consider how this all connects, and as we do, we think about the ruin of reformation that doesn’t represent the fruit of transformation. 
We consider deliverances that are not the result of regeneration. 
 • THE DESCRIPTION OF A DEMONIC TRAGEDY (vs.43-45a) 
This is a parable, but it speaks of spiritual reality. 
It is amazing that our Lord describes these things in such matter-of-fact terms. 
He speaks of these things as if they are the most natural things to know about in the world. And the fact that He can do this is another testimony to His unique identity. 
He knows about these things because He is Lord over every realm. 
The one who formed the angels and who witnessed their fall and who assigned them their present realm, and who will judge them in the end, knows exactly how they operate. He knows their desires. He knows their behaviors. 
The fallen angels know that He knows them. THEY KNOW HIM. 
 
 
ESV Matthew 8:28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" 
ESV Mark 1:23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-- the Holy One of God." 
ESV Luke 4:41 And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. 
What He describes here can only be understood and accepted if we understand that people are sometimes delivered from demons without being saved. 
It is true, that once a person is saved, they can no longer be demonized in the way an unbeliever can. 
ESV 1 John 5:18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 
1Co 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 
1Co 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 
But it also seems plain that there are people who find temporary relief from demonic harassment and possession without permanent deliverance. 
This is something we need to recognize about the earthly ministry of our Lord. 
Not everyone He healed was saved. 
Not everyone He delivered from demons was saved. 
Our Lord worked signs, demonstrated kingdom power, and kingdom mercies, in the case of some who did not exercise personal faith in Him as the Son of God. 
And I actually believe that this is pertinent to WHY JESUS USES THIS PARABLE IN THE FIRST PLACE (We’ll talk about that in a moment). 
IN THIS PARABLE WE ARE NOT TOLD HOW THE MAN WAS TEMPORARILY FREED FROM THE DEMON’S HARRASSMENT. 
 
 
 
John MacArthur — “We are not told by what means this unclean spirit went out of a man. It may be that the man made a moral decision to forsake the sin in which this demon had entrapped him and that the demon no longer had control over the man. It may be that the man had been cleansed of the demon but, just as many people whom Jesus cleansed and healed, did not trust in Him for salvation. For whatever reason or by whatever means, the man was temporarily freed from the demon’s presence and influence.” 
Now before we talk about the USE of this parable, lets note some details from it. 
 • OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE OPERATION OF DEMONS 
Our Lord gives us some insight about a realm He knew perfectly. 
 • DEMONS INHABIT PEOPLE 
This was not new information. The fact that Jesus is casting out demons demonstrates that.

Introduction:
The passage that we come to tonight is unique and fascinating.
It gives us information that only the Son of God could give us access to.
He takes us into a world that we cannot see. 
We see the results of that world. Sometimes in God’s sovereign purposes He has allowed manifestations of that world. But if we are left to what belongs to the powers of human observation, we have no access to that world.
We know it exists because God tells us it exists.
What is equally fascinating about what our Lord says, is the consideration of how it fits into the conversation.
He has responded to the evil desire of an unbelieving generation for a sign.
He now talks about a demonic exit from a human life that results in the reordering of that life, only for the demon to return with other demons, and the life, as a result, to be in worse condition than before.
HOW DOES THAT FIT WITH OUR LORD’S COMMENTS ABOUT AN EVIL AND ADULTERIOUS GENERATION?
Tonight, we consider how this all connects, and

Reformed For The Worse | Matthew 12:43-45

Introduction: 
Let it register with us that what might be described as the strongest warning in all of Scripture is a warning about words. 
All by itself, that observation is highly instructive. It speaks to the importance of words. 
The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a sin of speech. 
As we said this morning, and as we will see again tonight, it is not a sin that is like magic. It is not that you have uttered some magic words that cannot be taken back. 
Words matter because they have a source. The source is the heart. 
The danger of blaspheming the Spirit is on display by what the Pharisees ARE SAYING. 
ESV Mark 3:29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-- 30 for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit." 
But what they are saying reveals the EVIL THAT IS IN THEIR HEARTS. 
WORDS ALSO MATTER BECAUSE THEY HAVE A JUDGE. 
Some words are more carefully considered than others. 
Some words more faithfully reflect what you are by character than others (we can speak words that don’t tell the truth about how we feel, or what believe, most of the time). Some sins of speech are sins of weakness — momentary acts of sin — not a settled belief system. 
BUT ALL WORDS HAVE A SOURCE AND HAVE A JUDGE. 
We see that in our text. 
ESV Matthew 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." 
YOUR WORDS ARE EVIDENCE OF WHO YOU ARE. 
Christ addresses His antagonists in very PERSONAL TERMS. 
He speaks directly TO THEM. 
It is a challenge at the personal level. 
HE CALLS UPON THEM TO DO THREE THINGS. 
Three messages delivered to a people who will be justified or condemned by their words. 
 
 • IDENTIFY WHAT IS PLAIN TO SEE (vs.33) 
The brief parable of the tree communicates a very simple and straightforward message. 
IF A TREE IS GOOD THE FRUIT IS GOOD 
IF A TREE IS BAD THE FRUIT IS BAD 
If you want good fruit do what is necessary to make a tree good. If you do that, you’ll have good fruit. If you don’t do that, you’ll have bad fruit. Because the fruit reflects the condition of the tree. 
The question, in this context, is how we are to understand the application of the analogy? 
Some understand the trees to be the Pharisees. 
John Calvin understood it that way. 
Declare yourself. That is what our Lord would be saying. 
Stop with the masquerading. 
Stop with the attempt to present yourselves as righteous and honest seekers after the truth, when the fact of the matter is that you have reached a conclusion contrary to the evidence. 
YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT THE EVIDENCE, because the evidence would require your repentance. 
Can you be honest about the fruit of your life? 
THE CONDITION OF A TREE IS DECLARED BY THE CONDITION OF ITS FRUIT. 
Dishonesty with evidence is not good fruit. 
Good trees produce good fruit. 
Bad trees produce bad fruit. 
WILL YOU MAKE YOURSELVES GOOD? 
Will you repent? 
Will you change your ways? 
AND IF YOU DO, YOUR CONFESSION WILL MATCH THE TRUTH. 
OUT OF YOUR MOUTH WILL COME THE GOOD FRUIT OF FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD. 
John Calvin — “Wishing to remove this mask, Christ desires them to be either good or bad; or, in other words, declares that nothing is more inconsistent with honesty than hypocrisy, and that it is in vain for men to boast of pretensions to righteousness who are not sincere and upright.” 
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE APPLICATION OF THE SAYING ABOUT TREES. And it is the one that I prefer. 
It is to understand the analogy as applying to the Lord Jesus Himself. 
If it is understood that good trees produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit, then how can you conclude that Jesus is an emissary of Satan? 
NO ONE WOULD SAY THAT THE FRUIT IS EVIL. 
When demoniacs are set free. 
When lame people are healed. 
When the blind people receive their sight. 
When sick children are made well, or dead children raised and restored to their families 
When people hungry for truth are fed with truth and fed physically with bread miraculously multiplied 
IS THIS THE FRUIT OF EVIL? 
And if the fruit is good, then isn’t the conclusion about Jesus inescapable? 
JESUS WOULD BE SAYING, YOU CANNOT STAND IN THE MIDDLE IN YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF ME. 
IS THE TREE GOOD IN YOUR ESTIMATION? 
IS THE TREE BAD IN YOUR ESTIMATION?

Introduction:
Let it register with us that what might be described as the strongest warning in all of Scripture is a warning about words.
All by itself, that observation is highly instructive. It speaks to the importance of words.
The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a sin of speech.
As we said this morning, and as we will see again tonight, it is not a sin that is like magic. It is not that you have uttered some magic words that cannot be taken back. 
Words matter because they have a source. The source is the heart.
The danger of blaspheming the Spirit is on display by what the Pharisees ARE SAYING.
ESV Mark 3:29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-- 30 for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."
But what they are saying reveals the EVIL THAT IS IN THEIR HEARTS.
WORDS ALSO MATTER BECAUSE THEY HAVE A JUDGE.
Some words are more carefully considered than others.
Some words more faithfully reflect what you are by char

Justification & Condemnation By Words | Matthew 12:33-37

Introduction: 
If you ask any faithful shepherd about his list of “most common questions received,” one of those questions will be “what does it mean to commit the unpardonable sin?” 
What is especially weighty about that question is that it often comes from people who are afraid that they have committed it. 
Someone is troubled, they are afraid, they are despondent, and sometimes convinced that they have committed the unpardonable sin. 
What this reminds us of is that we do not approach this text, or any text of Scripture, to merely satisfy curiosity. This is not a theological question that we toss around for entertainment. This is about souls. And as our Lord’s words indicate, this is about ETERNITY. 
Jesus didn’t issue strong warnings where there were no real dangers. 
What is the blasphemy against the Spirit of God? 
What is the sin that will not be forgiven, either in this age, or in the age to come? 
Can someone who desires to be saved, lose their opportunity to be saved by committing it? 
Can this sin be committed casually? 
How would we know if we have committed it? 
We think about these things and seek to answer these questions today. 
 • WHAT THIS BLASPHEMY IS 
The first issue we need to address is whether we can gain an understanding of the sin that Jesus is warning about? 
When we look at this text, and the others that address this sin, what do we learn about it. 
 • IT IS SPEECH THAT EVIDENCES BLASPHEMOUS EVIL IN THE HEART 
βλασφημία, … speech that denigrates or defames, reviling, denigration, disrespect, slander 
ⓐ gener., of any kind of speech that is defamatory or abusive, w. other vices Mk 7:22; Eph 4:31; Col 3:8. πᾶσα β. all abusive speech Hm 8:3; cp. Mt 12:31a. Pl. (Jos., Vi. 245) Mt 15:19; 1 Ti 6:4. 
ⓑ specif., against humans and transcendent entities 
α. humans (Cleanthes [IV–III b.c.] 1 p. 135, 21 [in Diog. L. 7, 17, 3]; Polyb. 11, 5, 8; Jos., Ant. 3, 307, Vi. 260) β. ἔκ τινος slander of (i.e. emanating from) someone Rv 2:9; cp. IEph 10:2. 
β. the devil κρίσιν βλασφημίας a reviling judgment Jd 9 (but s. Field [Notes 244], who favors ‘accusation of [the devil for] blasphemy’). 
γ. God and what is God’s (Comp. II 153f [Menand., Fgm. 715 Kock] ἡ εἰς τὸ θεῖον β.; Ezk 35:12; 1 Macc 2:6; 2 Macc 8:4; 10:35; 15:24; Philo, Leg. ad Gai. 368) Mt 26:65 (OLinton, NTS 7, ’61, 258–62); Mk 2:7 v.l.; 14:64; Lk 5:21 (pl.); J 10:33; Rv 13:5 (pl.); 2 Cl 13:3; D 3:6; β. πρὸς τὸν θεόν (Iambl., Vi. Pyth. 32, 216; cp. εἰς τὸν πατέρα Hippol., Ref. 9, 12, 19) Rv 13:6. βλασφημίας ἐπιφέρεσθαι τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου 1 Cl 47:7; προσέθηκαν κατὰ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου βλασφημίαν Hs 6, 2, 3; β., ὅσα ἐὰν βλασφημήσωσιν Mk 3:28, s. βλασφημέω bβ; ἡ τοῦ πνεύματος (obj. gen.) β. Mt 12:31b, s. βλασφημέω bδ. ὀνόματα βλασφημίας (gen. of qual.) Rv 13:1; 17:3. ῥήματα βλασφημίας Ac 6:11 v.l.—The passages in β and γ generate an emotive aspect associated with denigration of a prestigious entity (cp. Origen’s rejoinder to Celsus: C. Celsum 8, 38 with reff. to Ex 22:27; Ro 12:14; 1 Cor 6:10). Hence the caution about denigrating the devil. Impious denigration of deity is esp. heinous and many translations reflect this emotive value in the loanword ‘blasphemy’. But Greco-Roman and Semitic minds would first of all, as Ac 19:37 and Rom 2:24 indicate, think in terms of disrespect shown or harm done to a deity’s reputation, a fact obscured by the rendering ‘blasphemy’, which has to some extent in Eng. gone its own emotive way semantically and has in effect become a religious technical term, which is not the case with βλασφημέω. On the range of expressions for denigration of God s. ESanders, Jewish Law fr. Jesus to the Mishnah ’90, 57–67.—DELG s.v. βλασφημέω. M-M. TW. 
The SPEECH THAT IS BLASPHEMOUS is not blasphemous because there are certain “magic words” that should not be uttered. 
The words that are blasphemous are blasphemous because you’re saying something that you believe, and what you believe is blasphemous. 
The words express an attitude. 
Whoever “speaks” (will speak, shall speak (subjunctive mood)). 
Mark 3:28–30 (ESV) 
28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” 
“FOR THEY WERE SAYING He has an unclean spirit.” 
What Jesus is warning about in these verses has to do with what the Pharisees were SAYING (“therefore” vs.31). 
So, we are talking about words, but the words are important only because they reflect the HEART. In fact, the verses that we will look at tonight make that clear (vs.33-37). 
 • IT IS SPEECH THAT EVIDENCES A UNIQUE KIND OF EVIL IN THE HEART 
This SPECIFIC SIN is a sin of blasphemy, but it is a unique kind of blasphemy.

Introduction:
If you ask any faithful shepherd about his list of “most common questions received,” one of those questions will be “what does it mean to commit the unpardonable sin?”
What is especially weighty about that question is that it often comes from people who are afraid that they have committed it.
Someone is troubled, they are afraid, they are despondent, and sometimes convinced that they have committed the unpardonable sin.
What this reminds us of is that we do not approach this text, or any text of Scripture, to merely satisfy curiosity. This is not a theological question that we toss around for entertainment. This is about souls. And as our Lord’s words indicate, this is about ETERNITY.
Jesus didn’t issue strong warnings where there were no real dangers.
What is the blasphemy against the Spirit of God?
What is the sin that will not be forgiven, either in this age, or in the age to come?
Can someone who desires to be saved, lose their opportunity to be saved by committing it

An Unforgivable Blasphemy | Matthew 12:31-32

Introduction: 
As we follow Matthew’s account of the life and ministry of our Lord, the intensity of opposition to the Lord Jesus grows stronger and stronger. 
The opposition has moved from questions to conclusions. 
The battle lines are fixed. 
There comes a time when boldness in evil means no more reservations. It results in a person or a people telling you exactly where they stand. 
Maybe for a time, they attempted to appear neutral. 
Maybe for a time they seemed friendly. I think about the religious leaders of the Jews coming out for John’s baptism. 
But eventually they are forced by the truth, by the power of God, by the exposure of their true character, to take the mask off. 
And in our verses, they are unmasked. 
When evil is unmasked it is disturbing, but it is also valuable. It makes clear what exists in the realm of WHAT GOD KNOWS. 
ESV Hebrews 4:13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 
When evil is unmasked men now see what God has known all along. And what becomes plain is on which side of the spiritual divide a person exists. 
THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND. 
When R.C. Sproul dealt with these verses he entitled it “War Between Kingdoms.” And He was correct. This is precisely how our Lord saw it, and we will see that in our verses. 
THE QUESTION EVERYONE MUST ASK WHO COMES TO THESE VERSES IS, “WHICH SIDE OF THE DIVIDE AM I ON?” 
We see this great divide on display in four parts. 
 
 
 
 
 • AN AMAZING MIRACLE (vs.22) 
The Holy Spirit not only reveals a man’s problem, He reveals the source of the man’s problem. The man was blind, and he was mute, and it was due to demon oppression. 
Once again there are two kingdoms in conflict. 
The kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. 
And, once again, the authority of Jesus over the kingdom of darkness is proven. 
The man is brought to Jesus and walks away whole. 
He can see. He can speak. 
HE IS IN HIS RIGHT MIND. 
 • AN ASTOUNDED CROWD (vs.23) 
And, once again, you have an astounded crowd. 
The word translated “amazed” (ESV) and “astounded” (LSB) is ἐξίστημι 
One lexicon has this: 
25.220 ἐξίστημι ἐξιστάνω: cause someone to be so astounded as to be practically overwhelmed—‘to astonish greatly, to greatly astound, to astound completely. 
BDAG, the standard lexicon has this: 
be amazed, be astonished, of the feeling of astonishment mingled w. fear, caused by events which are miraculous, extraordinary, or difficult to understand 
The healings that Jesus performed produced a sense of wonder on the one hand, and uneasiness (overwhelmed) on the other, because you were witnessing a power that was other-worldly. 
And the result of this sense of awe was the voicing of a possibility that was unavoidable. 
“CAN THIS BE THE SON OF DAVID?” 
Is this the Messiah? 
And, of course, they are not wrong. This is the Son of David. This IS the Messiah. This IS the explanation for an explosion of the supernatural. 
 • A PREJUDICED EXPLANATION (vs.24) 
In fact, as we saw last week, what Jesus was doing no one could deny was SUPERNATURAL. 
When Jesus healed the man with the withered hand in a synagogue, and the Pharisees saw it as an opportunity to accuse Him — the Pharisees condemned themselves. 
THEY KNOW THAT HIS HEALING POWERS ARE REAL 
THEY KNOW THAT HE CAN PERFORM THESE MIRACLES AT WILL 
THEY KNOW HIS COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE IN NEED 
THEY KNOW THEY ARE AT ODDS WITH HIS VIEWS (SABBATH VIEWS DEMONSTRATING THAT) 
So, they are left with only two choices. 
HE IS THE MESSIAH AND THEY ARE REALLY, REALLY, WRONG —THEY NEED TO BE SAVED 
OR 
HIS POWER HAS TO BE EXPLAINED IN SOME WAY THAT REFUSES TO ADMIT THAT IT’S GOD’S POWER 
And that, of course, is where they settle. 
THE PHARISEES HEAR THE COMMENTS ABOUT JESUS AS MESSIAH AND THEY SEEK TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE. 
THEY BEGIN TO VOICE AN ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION FOR THE MIRACLES THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE OR SINCE. 
How do you explain these healings and deliverances? 
BY BEELZEBUL! 
This is the power of Satan. Beelzebul was the name of a Philistine deity that the Jews rightly associated with Satan. 
“He’s not the Messiah, he’s a deceiver like the world has never seen.” 
Now, don’t underestimate what I just said. 
IF THEY WERE TRYING TO SELL WAS TRUE, NOT ONLY WOULD JESUS HAVE BEEN A DECEIVER, BUT HE WOULD ALSO HAVE BEEN THE MOST POWERFUL HUMAN REPRESENTATIVE OF SATAN IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD! 
I mean, on a spectrum of explanations we are on polar opposites. 
THE SON OF GOD OR THE GREATEST SON OF THE SERPENT? 
 • AN INESCAPABLE ARGUMENT (vs.25-30) 
 Our Lord answers the accusation in a way that demonstrates the truth. 
 • THE CAUSE OF HIS ANSWER (vs.25) 
In great irony, Jesus answers the charge that He is in league with Satan by displaying an attribute that doesn’t belong to Satan. Jesus KNOWS THEIR THOUGHTS. 
This is the exercise of omniscience. And this is not the first time nor the only time that Jesus demonstrates such an ability.

Introduction:
As we follow Matthew’s account of the life and ministry of our Lord, the intensity of opposition to the Lord Jesus grows stronger and stronger.
The opposition has moved from questions to conclusions.
The battle lines are fixed.
There comes a time when boldness in evil means no more reservations. It results in a person or a people telling you exactly where they stand.
Maybe for a time, they attempted to appear neutral.
Maybe for a time they seemed friendly. I think about the religious leaders of the Jews coming out for John’s baptism.
But eventually they are forced by the truth, by the power of God, by the exposure of their true character, to take the mask off.
And in our verses, they are unmasked.
When evil is unmasked it is disturbing, but it is also valuable. It makes clear what exists in the realm of WHAT GOD KNOWS.
ESV Hebrews 4:13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
When evil is unma

No Middle Ground | Matthew 12:22-30

ntroduction: 
In almost every way, Jesus of Nazareth defied the common way that the people of Israel thought about the Messiah. 
Many were expecting someone who would deliver them from the rule of the Romans. 
Many were expecting someone who would affirm their religious leaders and vindicate their traditions. 
Many were expecting someone who would affirm and lead those who were already seen as wise, holy, influential, powerful. 
Instead, they met with someone who defied their expectations. 
We will see this in the next chapter: 
Matthew 13:53–57 (ESV) 
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 
But we see it other places also: 
John 7:15 (ESV) 
15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” 
They met with someone who wasn’t the product of their religious educational processes. 
They met with a carpenter’s son. 
They met with someone who chose His disciples from commoners and worse — outcasts. 
They met with someone who sat down at dinner with sinners. 
They met with someone who seemed more interested in correcting their religious leaders than Roman authorities. 
ALL OF THAT COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN EXPLAINED AND DISMISSED BY SAYING THAT THE CLAIMS WERE FALSE REGARDING JESUS AS MESSIAH — EXCEPT FOR ONE MAJOR PROBLEM. 
No one ever spoke like this man, and no one could do the deeds that He did unless God was with Him. 
Any honest assessment of Jesus of Nazareth could not dismiss His words and His deeds. 
HE WAS AMAZING THE TEACHERS IN THE TEMPLE WITH HIS WISDOM WHEN HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD. 
Luke 2:41–51 (ESV) 
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. 
HE HAD AMAZING WITNESSES — PROPHECIES UTTERED IN SETTINGS THAT WERE UNEXPECTED, INCLUDING JOHN THE BAPTIST (the people knew him to be a prophet) WHO BORE WITNESS TO JESUS. 
JESUS CONTINUED TO POINT OUT HOW HIS WORDS AND DEEDS WERE IN AGREEMENT WITH OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE MESSIAH. 
In Word and in deed, Jesus could not be ignored. 
John 7:45–49 (ESV) 
45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 
John 3:1–2 (ESV) 
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 
And what we find, in our text today, is another biblical witness that explains what so many found unexpected. The Bible describes the Messiah, not just as Son of God, Sovereign King, but also as Suffering Servant. 
 • A SOVEREIGN WITHDRAWAL (vs.15) 
The withdrawal of Jesus coincides with His awareness of the plans of the Pharisees to destroy Him. 
He withdraws in a way that makes plain that the withdrawal is not due to a lack of strength. 
Why do I say this?

ntroduction:
In almost every way, Jesus of Nazareth defied the common way that the people of Israel thought about the Messiah.
Many were expecting someone who would deliver them from the rule of the Romans.
Many were expecting someone who would affirm their religious leaders and vindicate their traditions.
Many were expecting someone who would affirm and lead those who were already seen as wise, holy, influential, powerful.
Instead, they met with someone who defied their expectations.
We will see this in the next chapter:
Matthew 13:53–57 (ESV) 
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these thi

Sovereign Servant | Matthew 12:15-21

This video is one of a series of videos delivered from Luke 6:20-26 in 2012.

The Blessed or The Cursed? | Luke 6:20-26

This is a sermon delivered from John 15 in 2008.

Why The World Hates Christians - John 15:18-25

This video is a sermon delivered from Luke 12 in 2013.

The Testimony of The Spirit | Luke 12:10-12

Confessing The Son | Luke 12: 8-9

Introduction: 
A right reading of Scripture requires a knowledge of its author. 
ESV 1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 
“spiritually discerned” 
Requiring something in the spiritual realm that the natural man does not have. 
Requiring the Spirit of God, whom the natural man does not possess. 
Requiring a circumcision of the heart, which the natural man has not experienced. 
That inability with Scripture is especially true when it comes to the APPLICATION of Scripture. 
There is one sense in which the accurate interpretation of God’s Word comes down to the application of laws of language. 
But to understand what you have read— in its relationship to God, and men, and yourself, — you must be regenerate. 
Without God: 
There is no true understanding of it. 
There is no appetite for what it teaches. 
I think we can illustrate it by the way that we understand friends or family members in ways that others cannot. We hear the same words, but the person who knows the SPEAKER of those words, has a better grasp on what was MEANT by those words. 
The words mean what they say. The words are accurate. But how they are used and to what end they are used is more easily discerned by those who know the speaker. 
The scribes and Pharisees didn’t know the author of Scripture. 
They spent their lives in the study of God’s Word. 
They taught people. 
They sought to govern people with Scripture. 
 
 
But they did not possess a true knowledge of Scripture. 
They lacked that knowledge because they were not spiritual men. They didn’t know God. Satan was their father. 
As a result, they were blind guides. 
ESV Matthew 23:16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' 
ESV Matthew 23:17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 
ESV Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! 
IN THAT KIND OF BLINDNESS THERE IS ALSO A HARDNESS. 
One unmistakable trait when you look at the religious leaders of the Jews is that they were men who were hateful and harmful to others. 
They were like their father, who was a murderer from the beginning. 
ESV John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 
Legalism is compassionless. 
Judgmentalism — in its pride, its confidence of superiority — is COLD and swift to condemn. 
What our Lord taught about the spiritual ignorance of the Pharisees, in verses 1-8, is now illustrated on a Sabbath day in a synagogue. 
 • THE HEARTLESS WHO USE MEN (vs.9) 
Jesus enters a synagogue. Luke tells us that it was on another day. 
ESV Luke 6:5 And he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." 6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 
A few things stand out as you look at the 9th verse. 
 • THE LOCATION FOR THE TEST (vs.9) 
A place for worship. The synagogue. A place for spiritual instruction. A place for the people of God. 
And yet, IT ISN’T. 
Instead, for some who claim to be SPIRITUAL LEADERS it is a place for schemes and strategies designed to entrap the Son of God. 
It is a place for the display of wickedness instead of worship. 
How sad it is when places of worship become places of dishonor to God. 
How sad it is when places that should be full of the love of God, become places of hatred for everything that truly comes from God. 
There are churches where Christ is not welcome, where His Word is not welcome, where faithful servants are not welcome. 
What is RIGHT is RESISTED. 
 • THE FOCUS FOR THE TEST (vs.10) 
A man is present who has a withered hand. 
This man becomes a tool, an instrument, for something the Pharisees wish to accomplish. 
THEY ARE NOT TRULY CONCERNED FOR THE MAN. 
THEY SIMPLY WANT TO MAKE USE OF THE MAN. 
When they SEE the man they do not see A NEED, they see A WICKED OPPORTUNITY.

Introduction:
A right reading of Scripture requires a knowledge of its author.
ESV 1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
“spiritually discerned”
Requiring something in the spiritual realm that the natural man does not have.
Requiring the Spirit of God, whom the natural man does not possess.
Requiring a circumcision of the heart, which the natural man has not experienced.
That inability with Scripture is especially true when it comes to the APPLICATION of Scripture.
There is one sense in which the accurate interpretation of God’s Word comes down to the application of laws of language. 
But to understand what you have read— in its relationship to God, and men, and yourself, — you must be regenerate. 
Without God:
There is no true understanding of it.
There is no appetite for what it teaches.
I think we can illustrate it by the way that 

True Religion & The Value of People | Matthew 12:9-14

Introduction: 
Jesus offers rest to the weary laborer — to the one who is under a heavy burden. 
It is the rest of forgiveness, but it is also the rest of liberation from every false religious standard. 
People are not just weary in their sin; they are wearied by the false religious attempts to answer for sin. 
He speaks to a people working to the point of exhaustion. 
“weary” LSB 
“labor” ESV 
κοπιάω (kopiao) 
Meaning: to grow weary, toil 
“to work to the point of exhaustion” 
How many people, throughout the ages, have been delivered by Christ from false religion that wore them out in their attempts to earn salvation? 
The Jewish spiritual leaders, at the time of Christ, represented that kind of oppressive religion. 
John called them a brood of vipers. 
ESV Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 
Jesus called them a brood of vipers. 
ESV Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons." 
ESV Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 
ESV Matthew 23:29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 
That brood of vipers represented THE SERPENT OF OLD — their father. They represented a demonic distortion of true religion. 
ESV Matthew 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. 
The result is that people were oppressed. 
ESV Matthew 23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 
The truth of God’s Word had been distorted. 
What was meant to be observed in the power of faith and love, had become an oppressive, works righteousness, system. 
What was meant to be a matter of true worship, came to be distorted into the hard labor of human traditions. 
When truth is mixed with error, it is no longer the truth. 
Right after Jesus gives an invitation that represented liberation, we are told of an encounter that GIVE US INSIGHT INTO TWO VERY IMPORTANT TRUTHS. 
Truth about the religious leaders of the Jews. 
Truth about Jesus Himself. 
THE TEACHERS OF THE LAW DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE LAW, NOR DO THEY RIGHTLY REPRESENT THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW. 
JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW AND THE LORD OVER EVERYTHING THE LAW ADDRESSES. 
These lessons come to us following the actions of the disciples of Jesus in a grain field on a Sabbath day. 
And through this encounter we are taught that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. 
 • THE ACTION THAT OFFENDED (vs.1) 
Around the same time that Jesus gave His invitation to the weary, He was making way through the grainfields on the Sabbath with His men. 
Those men become hungry. 
The disciples take heads of grain from the fields they are passing through and turn those heads of grain into handfuls of snack food. 
Somehow (and we are not told how), the Pharisees see this. 
It is not hard to imagine how they saw it. 
Jesus certainly had their attention. 
His disciples and He would have been on their radar. 
No doubt, having already been bothered by Him, and already increasingly opposing Him, they are LOOKING for what they can charge Him with that would discredit Him (see verse 10). 
Regardless of how they saw him, they confront him. 
 • THE ACCUSATION THAT FOLLOWED (vs.2) 
THEY CHARGE THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS WITH SABBATH VIOLATION. 
Now, as you know, the Sabbath was a day (the 7th day), set aside by God as a day of rest. It commemorated what God did when He created the world in 6 days and ceased His activity on the 7th. 
God did this for the sake of mankind. He did this for the sake of man’s rest. God did this as a matter for man’s faith, not only commemorating God as Creator, but also remembering God as supplier. God promised to supply for what Israel needed in 6 days if the 7th day was honored. 
The Sabbath law required Israel not to work on the Sabbath

Introduction:
Jesus offers rest to the weary laborer — to the one who is under a heavy burden.
It is the rest of forgiveness, but it is also the rest of liberation from every false religious standard.
People are not just weary in their sin; they are wearied by the false religious attempts to answer for sin. 
He speaks to a people working to the point of exhaustion.
“weary” LSB
“labor” ESV
κοπιάω (kopiao)
Meaning: to grow weary, toil
“to work to the point of exhaustion”
How many people, throughout the ages, have been delivered by Christ from false religion that wore them out in their attempts to earn salvation?
The Jewish spiritual leaders, at the time of Christ, represented that kind of oppressive religion.
John called them a brood of vipers.
ESV Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Jesus called them a brood of vipers.
ESV Matthew 12:24 But when the Ph

Lord of The Sabbath | Matthew 12:1-8

The Shrewd Manager | Luke 16:1-13

Introduction: 
In the early church, and in the world of the New Testament, there were two polar-opposite errors that were often championed in a world of licentious living. 
We understand living in a licentious world. The longer that we live in our time, the more our world looks like the world of the 1st century church. 
A world filled with gross immorality. 
A world that assaults every godly standard. 
A world that normalizes perversion. 
A world in which false Christianity relaxes Biblical truth. 
How do faithful churches live faithful lives, pure lives, holy lives, in such a world? 
FAITHFUL CHURCHES MUST RESIST THESE POLAR-OPPOSITE ERRORS. 
In the New Testament, on the one end of the spectrum, there were those who held to a false view of grace. They excused, and sometimes even gloried in, the deeds of the flesh. God’s grace was used as an excuse to go in the sins that Christ died to set us free from. 
1Pe 2:16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 
Jud 1:4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 
ESV Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 
We understand that error quite easily. That error has often been recognized and acknowledged by churches that take the Word of God seriously. 
Churches that believe the Bible, that believe in church discipline, that understand our calling to holiness, do not usually struggle with embracing a perversion of grace that excuses sin. 
But on the other end of the spectrum there is another error addressed in the New Testament. 
IT IS JUST AS DEADLY AS THE FIRST ONE, BUT PERHAPS NOT AS EASILY DISCERNED IN CHURCHES LIKE OURS. 
We often tip our hat at this error — acknowledging that it can exist — but then we struggle to recognize where we are guilty of practicing it. We struggle to resist it as much as we resist the first one. 
THE ERROR THAT I’M REFERRING TO IS THE ERROR OF BEHAVIORAL LEGALISM. 
I qualify it with the word BEHAVIORAL because I am referring to something that CHRISTIANS can be attracted to. 
I’m not talking about legalism as a system by which you think you are saving yourself. 
I’m talking about people ON THEIR WAY TO HEAVEN, who are looking for an answer to the fleshly indulgences all around them — and to the fleshly lusts that they recognize within themselves. 
When you look at the New Testament you see both errors addressed. 
When we examine legalism in the New Testament, we DO find people trying to save themselves by behaviorism — I do not deny that — but you also see BELIEVERS being influenced by those people. 
ESV Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain-- if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith-- 6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 
ESV Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 
ESV John 17:15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 
ESV 1 Corinthians 5:4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler-- not even to eat with such a one.

Introduction:
In the early church, and in the world of the New Testament, there were two polar-opposite errors that were often championed in a world of licentious living.
We understand living in a licentious world. The longer that we live in our time, the more our world looks like the world of the 1st century church.
A world filled with gross immorality.
A world that assaults every godly standard.
A world that normalizes perversion.
A world in which false Christianity relaxes Biblical truth.
How do faithful churches live faithful lives, pure lives, holy lives, in such a world?
FAITHFUL CHURCHES MUST RESIST THESE POLAR-OPPOSITE ERRORS.
In the New Testament, on the one end of the spectrum, there were those who held to a false view of grace. They excused, and sometimes even gloried in, the deeds of the flesh. God’s grace was used as an excuse to go in the sins that Christ died to set us free from.
1Pe 2:16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as 

A Powerless Answer For Powerful Problems | Colossians 2:16-23

Introduction: 
To receive the light that is God’s revelation — to receive the light of truth — makes for true joy wherever it is received, but also makes for tremendous judgment wherever it is rejected. 
TRUE JOY WHEN RECEIVED. 
TREMENDOUS JUDGMENT WHEN REJECTED. 
AND WHAT IS FRIGHTENING ABOUT THAT TRUTH IS THAT MOST HUMAN BEINGS ARE NUMB TO IT. 
Most people (and in some ways ALL people) find ourselves insensitive to the privileged opportunities we have received in the form of knowledge from God. 
Exposure to truth imparts responsibility. 
ESV James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. 
WE DESPARATELY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT: 
We understand sins of commission, but we rarely consider sins of omission. 
We think about what we have done, but do we think about what we have not done with what we have been given. 
Exposure to the truth is both a tremendous blessing and a weighty responsibility. 
To be left without truth is a judgment. 
To refuse truth results in judgment. 
It results in greater judgment than if we had never encountered the truth. 
This is what our Lord teaches in the verses we have arrived at today. 
Our Lord has described a foolish generation. 
They have met with the kingdom of heaven. 
It has been announced by an Elijah, the King’s messenger, John the Baptist. 
It has been offered by the King Himself, Jesus of Nazareth. 
But they have proven to be like sinful stubborn children playing wedding and funeral in the marketplace. 
They cannot be pleased. 
 
John came in funeral mode, and they slandered him. 
Jesus came in wedding mode, and they slandered him. 
They pretend that their problem is in the messengers, when in reality they simply hate the message. 
BUT IN THE END, WISDOM WILL BE PROVEN TO BE WISDOM. 
The rightness of wisdom is proven in the end. 
IT IS THAT END THAT JESUS NOW SPEAKS OF. 
What will it be like for the generation that refuses the kingdom of heaven? 
What will it be like for those who meet with truth and reject it, and slander it? 
IT WILL BE WOEFUL. 
This morning we begin considering three woeful results when truth is refused. We will consider the first one this morning, and the other two tonight. 
 • REFUSING TRUTH RESULTS IN GUILT (vs.20) 
And what we must bear in mind as we talk about this, is the fact that God’s truth comes to people who are ALREADY guilty. 
In fact, God’s truth comes to sinful mankind offering deliverance from that guilt. So, that when the truth is rejected, the guilt is CONFIRMED. 
ESV John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 
ESV John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 
Jesus is now “denouncing” some specific cities. 
ὀνειδίζω 
② to find justifiable fault with someone, reproach, reprimand, w. acc. of 
The cities are at fault, and Jesus is citing their faults, and His reproofs of them are entirely justified. 
NOTE: BEWARE THINKING THAT ALL CORRECTION IS UNKIND. BEWARE THINKING THAT ALL REBUKE IS UNKIND. 
Correction, that is godly, truthful, justifiable, needful, is compassion. 
Rebuke, that is godly, truthful, justifiable, needful, is compassion. 
ESV 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 
In fact, our Lord is mixing warning with compassion throughout these verses BY USING THE WORD “WOE.” 
You see compassion in the word “woe.” 
Leon Morris — “‘Woe to you’ is not a grim call for vengeance, but an expression of regret (many translations render it as JB, “Alas”; GNB has “How terrible it will be”); it combines warning and compassion.” 
You see the same thing when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and declares the destruction that city will suffer because it was blind to its time of visitation. 
ESV Luke 19:41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation." 
 • WHAT CHARACTERIZED THE SELECTED CITIES 
The cities Christ reproves are those who have received the greatest demonstrations of His confirming signs. 
“Most of His mighty works” had been done in these cities. 
ἐν αἷς ἐγένοντο αἱ πλεῖσται δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ (wooden: In which were done the many miracles of His). 
Christ mentions three cities in these verses. 
 • CHORAZIN

Introduction:
To receive the light that is God’s revelation — to receive the light of truth — makes for true joy wherever it is received, but also makes for tremendous judgment wherever it is rejected.
TRUE JOY WHEN RECEIVED.
TREMENDOUS JUDGMENT WHEN REJECTED.
AND WHAT IS FRIGHTENING ABOUT THAT TRUTH IS THAT MOST HUMAN BEINGS ARE NUMB TO IT.
Most people (and in some ways ALL people) find ourselves insensitive to the privileged opportunities we have received in the form of knowledge from God.
Exposure to truth imparts responsibility.
ESV James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
WE DESPARATELY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT:
We understand sins of commission, but we rarely consider sins of omission.
We think about what we have done, but do we think about what we have not done with what we have been given.
Exposure to the truth is both a tremendous blessing and a weighty responsibility. 
To be left without truth is a judgment. 
To refuse truth resul

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