O wash me in
the water of redeeming love:
living water
from
the fountain of salvation.
The water of life renews
the soul:
Your gift to us all the source of life
O cleanse us! Cleanse us Lord and refresh us!
Renew the spring of Your spirit in us.
Creator of life, of all we are:
forgive us our weakness and our fear.
Deliver us from the darkness of evil;
from danger free us body and soul.
You stretched out Your hand to calm the sea:
the people of Israel You set free.
O freedom! Lead Your people to freedom
Psalm 126:6 say,
"They weep as they go to plant their seed,
but they sing
as they return with the harvest.”
Well first I want to
point out
Psalm 126:5 which says,
“Those who sow with tears will
reap with songs of
joy.”
The harvest can not come without first sowing and often
the sowing is met with tears of desperation.
Despite any tears of frustration or
exhaustion or desperation
one might feel, they must
still plant
their seed if they want the
harvest right?
The same holds true for you. To receive your harvest takes a lot of work. It takes work that sometimes looks dry and barren. It takes physical, spiritual and emotional work and that work can often cause tears. But the work still needs to be done. The sowing must happen.
The beautiful thing about a person who still decides to plant their seed, even if they weep through the whole planting process? God will restore to them a harvest. I love that this verse says, “they go out, but return.” Think of that process. You go out to the grocery, but you return with food. You go out to church, but you return with hope. You go out to the mailbox, but you return with your mail. Any of these take time, effort and money, but you return with something!
Just as it is inevitable that plants will
grow out of seeds when sowed,
God can use any tears from
you and turn them into a harvest of joy
Don’t let your drought devastate you, because God can restore it. No matter how dry or desolate your season might look or feel, keep sowing. Keep planting. And soon? Your sadness will be turned into joy as you receive your harvest. God’s so good that he not only restores to you a harvest, but that harvest is so good that it brings joy along with it. He brings physical healing and emotional healing too.
Keep moving forward, because you will return with something.
Your harvest of joy will come!
Don’t let your tears
go to waste, but instead
use them
to water the harvest
that you
are believing for
God will restore his fortunes to you.
Jesus is in the temple surrounded by a throng of worshipers. He suddenly cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37–39, emphasis added).
Here Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the living water. External influence of the Spirit had always been given in the conversion and sanctification of the Old Testament saints and prophets, but the gift of the Spirit who would indwell believers had not yet been received (Acts 10:44–45). So, though many people say that Jesus is the living water, Jesus Himself intended the phrase to mean the Holy Spirit who dwells in believers and seals them for salvation (Ephesians 1:13–14). It is the ministry of the Spirit, flowing out of a heart redeemed by God, that blesses believers and, through them, brings life and light to the world.
The joy of harvest generally shows itself by the farmer giving a feast to his friends and neighbours; and, usually, those who find Christ express their joy by telling their friends and their neighbours how great things the Lord hath done for them. The grace of God is communicative.
Colossians 1:27 is a powerful verse:
God has chosen
to make known
among the Gentiles the
glorious
riches of this mystery,
which is
Christ in you,
the hope of glory.”
Let’s start by clarifying that the apostle Paul is writing to believers in Jesus Christ—the “you” whom he addresses. He calls them “the Lord’s people” in the previous verse (Colossians 1:26). The “Gentiles” are non-Jewish people. A “mystery” in the New Testament is simply something that was hidden in times past but has now been revealed by God. The former mystery, now understood, is that Christ in us is the hope of our future glory.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon certain people to empower them for service, but then He would leave again. New Testament believers have a different experience, as the Spirit indwells us permanently. The permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit given to New Testament believers was a “mystery” to the Old Testament saints. After Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live within us, never to leave (John 14:16–17; 16:7). Jesus told His disciples, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father . . . and I am in you” (John 14:20).
The Holy Spirit seals us for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). In other words, the Spirit’s presence in our hearts guarantees our ultimate salvation. Though we are in this world, we are not of it (John 17:16). God will continue to work in us until He is finished perfecting us (see Philippians 1:6). This forward-looking guarantee of perfection is what is meant by “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The J. B. Phillips translation of Colossians 1:27 puts it this way: “The secret is simply this: Christ in you! Yes, Christ in you bringing with him the hope of all glorious things to come.”
The hope
of
glory is the fulfillment
of God’s promise
to restore
us and all creation
(see Romans 8:19–21 and 1 Peter 5:10). This hope is not a wishful thought, but the confident, expectant, joyful knowledge that we are being changed by God and will one day see Christ face to face, having been conformed to His image (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2).
The hope of glory includes our resurrection: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11). It includes a heavenly inheritance: “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3–4). The Spirit of Christ within us is the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14).
Christ’s presence in us is the hope of glory, and this truth is full of “glorious riches.” Our once dead, darkened spirits are made alive. Christ is in our hearts, and we know that there is life beyond this earthly existence—a life that will be glorious beyond all imagination.
When the Pharisees
saw Jesus
eating and socializing
easily
with tax collectors and sinners
in
Matthew’s-home,
they were scandalized. They questioned why Jesus would hang out with the most despised “lowlifes” of society. According to their self-righteous standards, no truly godly teacher would fellowship so intimately with the world’s “scumbags.” Unashamedly, Jesus responded to their hypocrisy by saying, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matthew 9:12–13, NKJV).
Jesus presents Himself as a doctor and healer of those who are spiritually sick (the unrighteous sinners of the world). God loves sinners (Romans 5:8) and sent His Son into this world to save them (1 Timothy 1:15). Repentance is the treatment plan, and forgiveness is the cure Jesus offers. “Those who are well” or “the healthy” (NIV) don’t need a doctor. Jesus’ critics thought they were healthy and saw no need for a doctor, but, in reality, they were deceived. Jesus is not implying that the Pharisees were righteous. Removing all sarcasm and irony from Christ’s statement, the verse might read, “I haven’t come to call on those who think they’re righteous, but to treat those who know they’re sinners.”
Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6—“I desire mercy and not sacrifice”—as an indictment against the Pharisees. They do not understand the verse’s true meaning and therefore do not perceive their own spiritually reprobate condition. The Pharisees observe the letter of the law perfectly. They are flawless in their execution of religious rituals and sacrifices. But, if they were truly righteous, they would appreciate the spirit of the law by demonstrating God’s kindness, compassion, and mercy toward the outcasts of society.
When doctors call on sick people, they must get up close and personal with them to have any hope of helping and healing them. So, too, Jesus calls sinners to Himself. His love for the lost compels Him to come down to where they are and get mud on His feet with them (Hebrews 2:9; Philippians 2:7; 1 John 3:16). “The Pharisees prove their religion by keeping clean. Jesus proves his love by getting dirty” (Knowles, A., The Bible Guide, Augsburg, 2001, p. 419).
Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He did not leave heaven to pat self-satisfied religious people on the back and ignore everyone else who fails to measure up to the Pharisees’ meticulous standards. Jesus came to call “all who are far off” (Acts 2:39) and bring them near by His blood shed on the cross (Ephesians 2:13).
Tax collectors and sinners know they are spiritually sick. They long for God’s healing forgiveness. They are “the poor in spirit,” “the meek,” and “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:3, 5–6). On the other hand, the Pharisees are blind to their own neediness. They think they are healthy but are instead “blind fools” (Matthew 23:16–17, 23–24; see also Luke 6:41).
Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” The “righteous” are respectable people in the eyes of the world and those who are righteous in their own eyes. “Sinners” are the outcasts of the world. If we are to follow in Christ’s footsteps and not be like the Pharisees, we will get our hands dirty, too. We will reach out to the rejected, the homeless, addicts, prostitutes, criminals, afflicted, diseased, abused, and marginalized in our society. We’ll love the unlovable, dine with the undesirable, and befriend the forsaken of the world. Like Jesus, we’ll have compassion for the single parent, the widow, the divorcees, and the elderly (Matthew 9:36)—compassion that moves us to act on their behalf (Matthew 15:32; Luke 7:11–17). Like the Good Samaritan(Luke 10:25–37), we’ll show mercy with deeds of kindness by walking “in the way of love, just as Christ loved us” (Ephesians 5:2).
Hosea 6:6 reads, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Why does God desire love and knowledge of Him instead of burnt offerings?
The key to answering this question is found in the words of the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Love for God was the number-one priority for the people of Israel. The whole Law, including the offerings and sacrifices, was to serve as an expression of this love for the Lord.
However, over time the Israelites began to worship other gods while continuing the ritual of the sacrifices. They “obeyed the Law,” yet they did not display love toward God, and they did not truly know Him. Hosea’s message was a response to Israel’s hypocrisy. God desired their love over external practices of piety. He longed for His people to long for Him rather than simply continue a religious tradition.
Scripture often notes that sacrifices to God are incomplete and even offensive without a changed heart that loves and knows the Lord. First Samuel 15:22 says, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (See also Isaiah 1:11-17; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8 and Matthew 7:21-23.) The same is said of other religious rituals, such as circumcision (Romans 2:28-29).
Jesus would later use Hosea’s teaching against the hypocritical Pharisees, saying, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13; cf. 12:7). Without a loving relationship with God, all the rituals in the world couldn’t help the Pharisees.
With the coming of Jesus Christ, the Law was fulfilled (Matthew 5:17). As a result, Christians have no command to obey the Jewish Old Testament ceremonial laws. However, the principle of Hosea 6:6 is still relevant. Many religious people participate in Christian rituals, yet their hearts do not love God and seek to know Him. Those who practice empty rituals should heed Hosea’s words. God cares more about our heart’s love for Him than the things that we do in His name. We must not substitute religious traditions for a relationship with God. May we never be like those whom Jesus described: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:6).
The Bible does not talk about spiritual sickness, except in metaphorical terms. Spiritual sickness can be thought of as an unsoundness of spirit, caused by sin. Just as physical sickness weakens the physical body, spiritual sickness weakens the spirit. Unbelievers are “spiritually sick” because they are separated from the Lord and stand in need of a relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, they are more than sick; they are dead “in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Believers can also be spiritually sick in the sense that they are living in unconfessed sin or they are failing to pursue personal spiritual growth.
The Bible promotes what is spiritually enriching as opposed to what would cause us to be spiritually sick: “The fear of the LORD leads to life” (Proverbs 19:23). And, “Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death” (Proverbs 11:19). “Physical training is of some value,” Paul says, “but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). Godliness, righteousness, and the fear of the Lord are the remedy for spiritual sickness.
Believers in Christ are taught the importance of “wholesome teaching” (Titus 2:1, NLT) and the danger of unhealthy, false teaching (1 Timothy 1:3–7). Paul notes the goal of godly teaching is “love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5).
Jesus spoke of sickness in a spiritual context in Matthew 9:9–13. When Jesus ate dinner at the home of a tax collector named Matthew, the Pharisees questioned why He ate with such sinners. Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12–13). In this metaphor, Jesus compares Himself to a doctor who had come to help those who are sick. Matthew was a patient in need of healing. The sickness was sin, and Jesus was the Healer; that is, Jesus can forgive sin and restore the spiritually sick. Those who see themselves as “righteous,” however—those who, like the Pharisees, refuse to acknowledge their spiritual sickness—deny their need of a spiritual Doctor and thus remain in their sin.
Spiritual sickness can be closely related to physical and emotional sickness. In Psalm 32, David writes of the impact his sick spirit had on other areas of his life: “My bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer” (verses 3–4). He also outlines the path to wholeness: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin” (verse 5). And David rejoices in the freedom that spiritual health brings: “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. . . . Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” (verses 1–2, 11).
God desires us to be spiritually healthy. He wants us to live in His forgiveness, free from the penalty of sin, the power of Satan, and the accusations of a guilty conscience. “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Any spiritual sickness or malaise of the soul has at its root a sin in the heart that should be confessed to the Lord, who promises to forgive (1 John 1:9). The will of God is for us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).
What does Matthew 19:27 mean?Peter is infamous for saying and doing exactly what comes to his mind, in that instant, for good or bad. That's a blessing to modern believers. Often, Peter blurts out honest things which we, too, might have said. In this case, he once again misunderstands Jesus' meaning about the difficulty of the rich being saved (Matthew 19:23–24). Peter remembered what Jesus had told the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:21–22) and wanted to know how it applied to him and the other disciples.
When Christ told the rich man to give up his money, he did it to prove that the man lacked real sincerity. Even this action would not have made the young man truly good, because only God is good. But Jesus was showing the man just how far from good he was; he would be unwilling to follow if God's will contradicted his will.
Peter, though, heard Jesus mention a condition and a promise. He and the other disciples had already lived up to the condition, by walking away from their previous lives. They did not likely start out wealthy, but they had left everything to follow Jesus. Jesus had told the young man that he would have treasure in heaven. Peter wanted to know if he and the disciples could expect treasure in heaven.
Abraham is best known for the depth of his faith. In the book of Genesis he obeys unquestioningly the commands of God and is ready to follow God's order to sacrifice Isaac, a test of his faith, though
in the end God substitutes a ram for his son.
Lot's Wife
Genesis 19:26
Her sin appears to some to be trifling:
She "looked back."
What she did may seem to be of little consequence, but it
reveals a great deal about
her character
She directly disobeyed the clear command of
God's messenger
given just a few verses before.
I Samuel 15:22-23 says that "to obey is better than sacrifice,
and . . .
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft."
She rebelled.
It is a solemn and a fearful thing for one to die quietly in his bed. But to die suddenly in a moment, in the very act of a sin, by God's direct imposition is dreadful indeed. Jesus warns, "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32). He did not say, "Remember Korah, Dathan, and Abiram." They also died suddenly. He did not say, "Remember Nadab and Abihu," who were burned by the fire of God. He did not say, "Remember Uzzah," whom God struck dead in a moment. He said, "Remember Lot's wife," for it has particular application to those who are living at the time of the end, who are facing the destruction of the very society, the very nation, in which they live. They will be living amidst the greatest contagion of worldliness that has ever existed on the earth since the time of Noah. Remember Lot's wife.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Faith (Part Four)
Related Topics: Disobedience | Disobedience, Consequences of | Korah | Looking Back | Lot's Wife | Love of the World | Nadab and Abihu | Obedience | Rebellion | Remember Lot's Wife | Uzzah | Worldliness
Genesis 19:26
Lot's wife did not merely look back—she dragged her heels from Sodom to Zoar, dawdling and wasting time. By conducting herself in this way, she gave unmistakable evidence that her heart did not believe what the angel had said to her--God would not really destroy all of their possessions. So she reluctantly left Sodom because she loved the world, not having the faith.
This has two direct applications to our lives. In Luke 17:32, Jesus said,
"Remember Lot's wife."
He says that she sought
to save
her life but lost it.
The first lesson is that when the time comes to flee, flee!
Do not look back.
This is corroborated by Matthew 24:17 and Mark 13:15,
in Jesus' Olivet prophecy.
He said,
"Let him who is on
the
housetop not come down.”
Jesus meant,
“Get out of the city. Flee.
Do not look back.
Do not get any of your possessions.
Leave!”
This is not to minimize the gut-wrenching choices that this requires of us. Scripture implies that when this occurs, our family might be spread all over the city, county, state, nation, or globe.
Will we have the faith to leave the city, not just without our material possessions, but without our children? Are we going to trust God that He will protect them and get them out, too? Though this is not easy, the word of our Lord says, “Remember Lot's wife.”
The second lesson is that saving one's life also pertains to one's way of life and manner of living. It includes one's hopes, dreams, aspirations, traditions, attitudes, and relationships. All of these have come from this world, which forms and makes us what we are, often in opposition to God (Romans 8:7). This is why John warns in I John 2:15 to “love not the world.” The world is cosmos, a system apart from God, being organized and regulated upon false principles and false values. It has made us what we are before God calls us, requiring our repentance and conversion.
Like science, conversion tells us there cannot be a vacuum in life. When we are swept clean by God's forgiveness and His Holy Spirit, something must be done to keep it clean, holy, and separated from the world. No man can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), and therefore, loyalty cannot be given with neutrality. It will either be God or the world.
The way to God was open to Lot's wife because of her husband's conversion (I Corinthians 7:13-14). The problem was that she failed to take advantage of all the privileges that were given to her. She dropped the ball. The lesson is to whom much is given, much is required.
We must remember Lot's wife, for never has so much opportunity been given to really know God through His Word than has been given to the end-time church. Yet, when Christ asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). The question requires each of us to answer individually. Will He find faith in us?
He will find faith if we take seriously His admonition to remember Lot's wife, who was totally unprepared because she had no faith. We need to be working diligently to build our faith in God by yielding to Him in loyalty in every opportunity life presents.
Remember Lot's wife.
Ezekiel 16:49
God pictures Sodom as proud. What led to the utter destruction of this city in a way that no other has ever been destroyed on earth is arrogance, a false sense of security, spiritual apathy, and disdain. This brings us to a daughter of Sodom—Lot's wife—lingering, dragging her heels along the way. Why did she look back? She had no faith in what the angels said. She had no need of God because she felt secure within herself. Her pride turned her into a pillar of salt because she did not have faith in God.
We badly need humility. Perhaps it is beyond our sense of appreciation to realize how much we need it. It means so much to God that we have a right perspective of ourselves in relation to Him because it establishes a right perspective of other people, of things, and of life itself. All the right values and standards spin off from humility.
We have such a need of humility that God will go to seemingly extreme ends to make sure that we feel our dependence on Him. He will humble us. He will sweep away our money. He will take away our jobs, our health, our possessions. He will do anything necessary in order to make us see our need—that every good gift flows from Him.
Luke 9:62
This "looking back" is not merely reflecting to evaluate the progress made since one decided to leave the world. Instead, it is like Lot's wife, who looked back with a degree of longing to return to what she had left. Her life was literally on the line, and rather than being fully engaged in surviving, she placed a higher priority on life's lesser matters than on the greater one of preserving her life through God's gift of protection.
She looked back, revealing her heart still to be in Sodom, a type of the world. Her action indicates regret for having left. Success in God's way requires following an awesome vision of future glory with devoted conviction. Abraham is a primary example: He looked for a city built by God, apparently leaving his homeland without ever looking back (Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16).
Once we commit to Christianity, God's calling becomes our vocation, which requires our concentrated attention going forward. A vocation is a person's regular occupation. What happens when a Christian looks back with a measure of longing is similar to someone talking on a cell phone while driving his car. He frequently drifts all over the road, swerving this way and that because, at best, his attention is split between conflicting priorities. He is setting himself up for trouble, and all too frequently, an accident occurs. A Christian cannot make a beeline for the Kingdom with his attention diverted elsewhere. We are not to be anything but altogether followers of the Son of God. The stakes are that high, for the fulfillment of His promise is so great.
Dramatic, sudden death, as happened to Lot's wife, will not likely happen to us if we gaze yearningly behind us. For this reason, a person who has begun to fall away will most likely take the second step backwards with hardly a pause. Hebrews 10:39 says, "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." Almost invariably, longing for the old life is followed by gradually and increasingly believing that God's requirements are too exacting and difficult.
In Jesus' parable in Luke 19:11-27, did not the man given one mina complain something similar to this when asked what he had gained with it? "Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow" (verses 20-21).
We must be prepared to put God first in all things. There will be times when this will be exceedingly difficult, especially if the surrender of a thing involves the sacrifice of someone or something deeply loved or desired. It can happen, but such occasions are quite rare.
It has been said that he who is unwilling to sacrifice everything for the cause of God is really willing to sacrifice nothing. Drawing back happens despite God's promise that every trial is measured to the exact specifications needed by the individual Christian. In I Corinthians 10:13, God promises to provide relief from every problem: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." The word-picture in Hebrews 10:39 portrays a person shrinking back from following through on the demands of faith. He is looking for an easy way out of some distasteful thing he does not wish to face. This eventually happens to us all.
A major appeal of the world's way is that it seems to be broader and easier. As Jesus says in Matthew 7:13, the easier, broader way it probably is - for a while. That deceptively effortless way draws the person ever-further from salvation, and he grows steadily weaker as he loses contact with God. The one who apostatizes thus permits himself to be drawn back.
The third step is taken when a person actually turns away. John 6:65-66 records such an occasion in Jesus' ministry: "And He said, 'Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.' From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." In this poignant scene, Jesus watched people who may have been friends leave His entourage because they could not comprehend His teaching. He undoubtedly had spoken of things of an order far higher than they were accustomed to hearing, but rather than patiently facing it, as the apostles did, they simply gave up, proving themselves unfit for the Kingdom of God. Their loyalty could not stand the strain of what may have been merely a temporary misunderstanding. They had been followers, but apparently, they were seeking for something else.
By this stage, it is still not too late for a person to grab hold of himself and move forward, but the world's appeal has become almost overpowering. Spiritual decline has reached the tipping point, and he is in serious peril.
The fourth and final step backward is illustrated by Isaiah in the Old Testament: "But the word of the LORD was to them, 'Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.' That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught" (Isaiah 28:13).
In examining the context carefully, we see that the people being described have reached the critical point where God's Word is falling on deaf ears. It is to them just jumbled noise. In New Testament terms, they had backslid beyond the reach of repentance and forgiveness. Here, the apostate reaches the point of no return; he has earned the Lake of Fire.
Luke 17:26-32
Jesus draws on the stories of Noah and Lot to warn that, even though life seems to be relatively normal, when God brings the judgment, it will be sudden and complete. Because God is just, there will be indicators and warnings. But when He decides that the time is ripe for Him to intervene, it will happen with breathtaking speed. If we are warned to flee, we dare not linger or look back, like Lot's wife.
Luke 17:32
Just before Lot's wife reached her place of safety—though she had made some effort to escape the impending disaster—Lot's wife disobeyed the angel's command and looked back. "She became a pillar of salt" (Genesis 19:26).
Why did she look back? The context does not specifically give a reason, but she probably had an inordinate love for the world and the material things she had in Sodom. Obviously, Lot was a wealthy man who had enough livestock and servants to cause a problem while he lived with Abraham (Genesis 13:5-7). He and his wife may have had a palatial house with many fine furnishings, servants to do her bidding, fine clothes, sumptuous food, and frequent entertainment.
Also, Lot had achieved prominence among the citizens of Sodom beyond his wealth. Genesis 19:1shows him sitting in the gate of the city, a place usually reserved for the elders and judges. Lot's wife may have been reconsidering her decision to forsake the privileges of her high social status and her prominent friends.
Maybe she just loved the ways of this world more than God. John writes:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (I John 2:15-17)
There may be more to it, however, than we have thought. Most people assume that Lot had only two daughters, but this is not the case. He says to the Sodomites, "See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man" (Genesis 19:8). He had two unmarried daughters. Later, in verse 14, he "spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters," meaning he had other married daughters who were not virgins. Finally, the angels tell him, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here" (verse 15), implying he had daughters elsewhere.
Since Lot and his wife had more than two daughters, they left more than just material possessions in the city. When God rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodom, their married daughters and sons-in-law—and possibly grandchildren—perished with the rest of the city's populace. What a poignant and tragic test of their faith!
Thus, when Lot's wife fled for little Zoar, her wealth, her house, and her social circle were not the only things on her mind. Those concerns were insignificant beside the certain death of her flesh and blood. Perhaps she did not believe that God would follow through on His threat. As a loving mother, her emotions for her doomed family in the city clouded her ability to make proper decisions.
Jesus makes a pertinent comment in this regard in Matthew 10:37-39:
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Though it goes against our human nature, God requires us to have more allegiance to Him than to the members of our own families. For His disciples, leaving family members behind to do God's will may be the most common hardship that they have to face as they come out of this world (Revelation 18:4). Perhaps this is why He reminds us to "remember Lot's wife." The day may soon come when we will have to heed God's warnings without hesitation to flee again.
"In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back" (Luke 17:31). When God commands His elect to flee to a place of safety, many of us will be required to entrust family members to God's mercy. Without doubt, this will be one of the greatest tests of our spiritual lives. We will know that before us lie life and hope and behind us death and destruction, just as Lot and his family experienced in fleeing Sodom.
Hebrews 3:16-19
The apostle Paul equates faith and obedience, or conversely, unbelief and disobedience. Unbelief and disobedience are directly linked. Unless faith motivates a person to obedience, it is not faith but merely an esoteric opinion. James corroborates exactly what the apostle Paul says: "Show me your faith without your works, and I will you show you my faith by my works. Faith without works is dead" (see James 2:17-18). It does not even exist.
What was Lot's wife's sin? She did not believe. It is that simple. She died for her lack of faith, which was revealed in her direct rebellion against the messengers of God. She looked back. The root cause of her rebellion, of her worldliness, was her unbelief. Due to her unbelief, she was not prepared to leave Sodom and did not really obey the command to leave.
This lengthy parable is found only in the gospel of Matthew. Jesus tells the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) in response to Peter’s question in Matthew 19:27: "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" Peter wanted to know what reward would be given to those who give up everything to follow Jesus. In response, Jesus explains this truth about the kingdom of heaven.
Planting, maintaining and harvesting vineyards in first-century Israel was strenuous work requiring hard physical labor in the heat of summer. Often, additional laborers were required to get all the work done. The owner of this particular vineyard went to the marketplace at the first hour of the morning (6:00 a.m.) to find workers for the day. His offered wage of one denarius, a Roman’s soldier’s pay for a day, was generous indeed. The workers in the first group were more than happy to work for the generous wage.
As the day progressed and more workers were hired, the specific wage was not mentioned, but the landowner promised to pay “whatever is right.” Apparently, the workers were sufficiently confident of the landowner’s character that they trusted him at his word. Altogether, four groups of workers were hired, the last group just one hour before the end of the day. When the time came for the wages to be paid, the first group of workers saw the last group being paid a denarius and were naturally thinking they would be paid more since they had worked the longest. Their anger against the landowner spilled forth when they saw they would all be paid the same, even though they got exactly what they had agreed upon when they were hired. The landowner was forced to defend his actions to the first group, even though he had dealt with them in perfect fairness according to the contract.
The landowner, whose decision to pay all the workers the same was an act of mercy—not injustice—represents God, whose grace and mercy are shed abundantly upon those of His choosing. “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:15-16). In the matter of salvation, His grace and mercy are given to those whose self-righteous works could never obtain it. We are all sinful and “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), but His grace is sufficient to redeem all who believe. Whether God calls someone early or late in life to partake of His grace, the glory and praise for our salvation is His and His alone and in no way amounts to unfairness. Just as the landowner has a right to do what he wishes with his own money, so does God have the right to have mercy on whom He will have mercy.
The first group of workers in the vineyard resented receiving the same wage as the last group. Their attitude was similar to that of the Pharisees, who were incensed at Jesus’ teaching that others could inherit a heavenly kingdom they thought was reserved for them alone. They despised Jesus for offering the kingdom to poor, oppressed, weak sinners whom He made equal to them. In verse 15, the landowner asks, “Is your eye evil because I am good?” The “evil eye” was a Hebrew expression referring to jealousy and envy. God’s goodness and mercy produced in the self-righteous Pharisees the evil eye of envy. The rest of the workers received their wages without complaint or envy of others. In the same way, as Christians, we should rejoice when others come to the Savior, as we should rejoice in the service others render to Him. He is faithful to reward us for our service as He has promised, and how He rewards others should be of no consequence to us, nor should it affect our devotion to Him.
The message in verse 16, “the last will be first, and the first last,” is that no matter how long or how hard a believer works during his lifetime, the reward of eternal life will be the same given to all—an eternity of bliss in heaven in the presence of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43), whose life of service was limited to a moment of repentance and confession of faith in Christ, received the same reward of eternal life as the apostle Paul. Of course, Scripture also teaches that there are different rewards in heaven for different services, but the ultimate reward of eternal life will be achieved by all equally.
The fact that Jesus is a friend of sinners means that He is our friend and is waiting for us to acknowledge His presence and availability. God’s love for us is almost beyond imagining. When we consider Jesus’ Incarnation—His leaving heaven to be born as a helpless human infant in order to grow and experience life among us—we begin to get a glimmer of the depth of that love. When we add to that His sacrificial death on the cross, it is staggering.
To be a “friend of sinners,” Jesus subjected Himself to living in a fallen, depraved world, for we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Despite our sinful condition, Jesus desires a relationship with us.
The phrase “friend of sinners” comes from parallel passages in the Gospels. “Jesus went on to say, ‘To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: “We played the pipe for you, / and you did not dance; / we sang a dirge, / and you did not cry.” For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, “He has a demon.” The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”’” (Luke 7:31–34; cf. Matthew 11:16–19).
In this passage Jesus is pointing out the level of spiritual immaturity among those who considered themselves the “righteous” and the most “spiritual.” They based their standing on their rigorous following of ritual, law, and external appearance instead of on a true understanding of God’s heart and a relationship with Him. They criticized Jesus for spending time with the outcasts and “socially unacceptable” people, calling Him a “friend of sinners.”
The story of the lost sheep shows the importance of the lost and vulnerable, those who have wandered away from the place of security. To God the lost are so important that He will search for them until they are found and brought back to safety. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?’” (Luke 15:1–4).
Jesus made it clear that He had “come to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He was willing to associate with those who were, by the standards of the self-righteous Pharisees, not good enough. But it was those who were open to hearing Christ, and they mattered to God!
Matthew 9:10–13 relates another time when Jesus was ridiculed by the religious leaders for His associations. He answers them by saying, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (verse 13).
In Luke 4:18, Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1–2: “The Spirit of the LORD is on me, / because he has anointed me / to preach good news to the poor. / He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners / and recovery of sight for the blind, / to release the oppressed, / to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.” In order to preach the good news to the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed, Jesus had to have some contact with them.
Jesus did not condone sin or participate in the destructive behaviors of the ungodly. Being a “friend of sinners,” Jesus showed that “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). Jesus led a perfect, sinless life and had the “authority on earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:24). Because of that, we have the opportunity to experience a transformed heart and life.
Jesus, our friend, spent time with sinners, not to join their sinful ways but to present them the good news that forgiveness was available. Many sinners were transformed by His words of life--Zacchaeus being a prime example (Luke 19:1–10).
When Jesus’ enemies called Him a “friend of sinners,” they meant it as an insult. To His glory and our eternal benefit, Jesus endured such slights and became “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
When the Bible speaks of our sins being washed away, it means we are forgiven. Our sins, which had defiled us, are gone. By the grace of God through Christ, we are no longer spiritually corrupt; we stand justifiedbefore God.
The concept of having our sins washed away is first introduced in the Old Testament. When God gave instructions for consecrating the Levites, He said, “Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves” (Numbers 8:7). Isaiah 1:16 commands the rebellious people to “wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil.” God often used physical illustrations to help us understand spiritual truths. We understand that washing with water makes us physically clean, so the Bible takes that concept and applies it to our spiritual state.
Throughout the Old Testament, God commanded people to purify themselves by following rigorous instructions about sacrifices, ritualistic bathing, and types of clothing to wear (Exodus 30:20; Numbers 19:21; Joel 1:13). From ancient times, God’s people understood that sin makes us dirty, and dirty people are unworthy to enter into the presence of the Lord. Many of the laws in the Old Testament were given for the purpose of contrasting God’s holiness with man’s unholiness.
David wrote of his need to have his sins washed away. After his sin with Bathsheba was exposed by Nathan the prophet (2 Samuel 11), David repented with great sorrow. In his prayer of repentance, he says, “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). Jesus refers to Nicodemus’s need to have his sins washed away: “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). Human beings have always needed some way to have our sins washed away.
The New Testament continues the theme of washing sins away. Ananias told Paul to “be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). God had demonstrated through the Law that we cannot purify ourselves; only He can. So when Ananias instructed Paul to be baptized to wash away his sins, Paul understood that, despite his exalted status as a Pharisee, he was as sin-covered as the lowest tax collector (1 Timothy 1:15–16).
The Bible makes it clear that every human being is born into this world as a sinner (Romans 3:23). That sin makes us ceremonially unclean and unfit to enter into the presence of God. The blood of Christ is what washes our sins away (1 John 1:7; 1 Peter 1:19). Hebrews 9 contrasts the old methods of cleansing with the new covenant that came through Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth to establish a new way of being made right with God. Hebrews 9:13–14 says, “The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
When we, through faith, apply the blood of Jesus to our unclean souls, God pronounces us clean (Titus 2:14; 3:5). He washes our sins away, as it were; He places our sin debt upon His own Son and declares us righteous in His sight (Colossians 2:14; 2 Corinthians 5:21). God chooses to forget our sin and remove it far from Him (Psalm 103:12). We are still sinners in practice, but righteous in position. An adopted child becomes a son the moment the judge declares him so, even though he may not know the parents well, understand their house rules, or be deserving of their love in any way. Over time, he grows to know and love them, assimilating into their family life, and becoming in practice what he was already declared to be in position.
So it is with us. Our sins are washed away the moment we place our faith and trust in the saving work of Jesus on our behalf (Acts 2:21). Over time, we grow to know and love our Father, assimilate into our Christian family, and become in practice what we have already been declared to be in position (2 Peter 3:18; 1 John 3:3). The joy of the Christian life is that, even though we are not perfect, we can live every moment with the confidence that our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus and we have been pronounced “clean” by the final Judge (see Genesis 18:25 and Romans 8:33).
The “washing of regeneration” refers to being born again. The Greek word for “washing” in Titus 3:5 describes the act of cleansing something all over thoroughly. Regeneration means taking an already existing thing and making it new again or starting over. In literal terms, it means “birth again.” This renewal work of the Holy Spirit is described as “cleansing” and “purifying” in Ezekiel 36:25–27: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Speaking about the washing of regeneration, Jesus said, “No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5, NLT). “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life,” continued Jesus (John 3:6, NLT).
Before we surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ, we were dead in our transgressions and sins, obeying the devil, following the ways of the world, and living only to satisfy our sinful desires (Ephesians 2:1–3). By nature, we were dead, and by nature we deserved to die. Nothing we could have done or said would change us. We were hopeless without God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). This explains why Jesus told Nicodemus, “‘You must be born again” (John 3:7).
At salvation, the corrupt human nature undergoes a radical and miraculous transformation by the Holy Spirit. We cease to be spiritually dead and are made alive in Christ. Water baptism is a beautiful picture of the washing of regeneration: “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins” (Colossians 2:12–13, NLT; see also Hebrews 10:22; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21).
The “washing of regeneration” is a metaphor for complete spiritual cleansing and removal of our sins. When we call on the name of the Lord, our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16; cf. Psalm 51:1–2). When a sinner trusts in Jesus Christ, he or she is justified or declared righteous by God through the sacrificial death of His Son. Christ’s work is justification. Simultaneously, through the power of God’s indwelling Spirit, the washing of regeneration purifies us from all sin. At once, we are made righteous, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus Christ by God’s Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11). “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT).
Salvation and the radical, transformative washing of regeneration are all God’s doing; therefore, believers have no room for spiritual pride. We must remain humble and compassionate toward unbelievers, remembering to demonstrate the same kindness and love God showed us.
the Bible is clear that the Christian experience involves the death of our old selves and “rising to walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4), and that new life is characterized by thoughts about Him who saved us, not thoughts about the dead flesh that has been crucified with Christ. As we abide in Him (John 15:5) He transforms our hearts and heals us. But the key is focus on the Lord, not focus on ourselves.
Objective truth centers on the great doctrines of the faith and their relevance to life: the sovereignty of God, the high priestly intercession of Christ, the promise of the Holy Spirit, and the hope of eternal glory. Understanding these great truths, centering our thoughts on them, and rehearsing them in our minds will enable us to reason from truth in all of life’s trials, and our faith will be strong and vital. Reasoning from what we feel about ourselves—rather than what we know about God—is the sure path to spiritual defeat.
That said, it isn’t wrong to work through emotions. God created us as emotional beings, and if we try to “shut down” those parts of ourselves in an effort to avoid reliving painful moments, we can become like a volcano ready to blow. The Lord understands that emotional pain is a part of life—He created us! The best way to find true inner healing is to be honest with yourself about what you feel, and then go to God with those things, seeking answers. His Word will give you the answers you are seeking. The Bible is supernatural and wonderful and brings true inner healing. And if there is no concrete question in your mind—just a negative feeling—the answer is still to read the Word, because His Word is His Voice, and His voice has powerful creating, healing power.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1–2).
James observed a widespread problem of worldliness infiltrating the lives of Christians in the early church. He beckoned his readers to repent from their sinful ways and return to the Lord: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8, ESV).
James’ use of the phrase cleanse your hands linked his command in a spiritual and moral sense to the language of the ancient Jewish ceremonial rituals of worship. Whenever the priests entered the wilderness tabernacle and approached the altar to minister to the Lord, they were required to cleanse their hands and feet with water from the bronze basin: “They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations” (Exodus 30:21, ESV).
James may have also had these words of King David in mind: “Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god” (Psalm 24:3–4). James’ charge to “cleanse your hands” focused more on the people’s worldly actions and outward deeds. God had issued a similar order through the prophet Isaiah: “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil” (Isaiah 1:16, HCSB).
We get our hands dirty when we play in the world’s sandbox. We cleanse our hands by removing them from sinful pursuits and moral compromises and then seeking God’s forgiveness. We purify our hearts through the inward renewal of the mind and spirit (Psalm 51:10). The apostle Paul taught believers to give their bodies—including their hands—to God as “a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:1–2, NLT).
James called the people “double-minded” because they continued to grasp tightly to the world while claiming to love and worship God. A parallel indictment characterized the people of Isaiah’s time: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13).
James saw that it was time for the people to tear down the walls of denial and get honest with themselves before God. He encouraged them to draw near to God in genuine repentance by experiencing gut-wrenching sorrow for their sins: “Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor” (James 4:9–10, NLT).
Jesus Christ taught that inner purity is more important than outward, ritualistic cleansing: “The words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you” (Matthew 15:18–20, NLT; see also Mark 7:1–9, 14–15, 20–23; Luke 11:37–41). When James said, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners,” he was speaking figuratively, using the washing of one’s hands as a symbol of repentance and the washing away of sin.
In truth, we cannot cleanse ourselves from sin. Only God, through “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7, ESV). Christ shed His blood on the cross, providing the necessary sacrifice for our sins so that we could receive God’s forgiveness and complete cleansing (John 1:29; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12–22; 1 Peter 1:18–19). We can now draw near to God “by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19–22, ESV).
How would Jesus be judged today?
We were musing about how Jesus and his disciples were viewed in his day. If the authorities or religious leaders saw them walking down the street or hanging out on the corner, what would they have thought of them? It suddenly hit us. They would’ve been seen as troublemakers. And Jesus was their ringleader.
Matthew, one of his followers, was a Jew who formerly collected taxes for the Romans. In essence, he was seen as a lowlife traitor. Some disciples violently opposed Herod, the King. Others were seen as uneducated dropouts. They were labeled and called many harsh things. But more importantly, they were seen as a threat to the establishment, which meant the people in power and the upper classes didn’t want them in their neighborhoods or synagogues.
It’s no different today. If we see youths of a different race or culture dressed a certain way or wearing their hair differently, we often make immediate judgments about them. Usually negative ones. It might make us uncomfortable or even unfriendly toward them. It’s an unconscious bias we all have towards people who are different from us. We don’t know the individual, yet we’ve already labeled them.
Jesus didn’t judge others by their looks. He looked at their hearts. That meant reaching out to people who were outside his circle or society’s mainstream to get to know them individually. He was criticized, even mocked, for doing so, but he didn’t care because he loved all, even if it meant he would be wrongly judged for the friends he made and the company he kept.
One of the interesting things that happened while we were producing this was the casting. We wanted to use people that we thought would immediately elicit judgment from others. You’ll see that nobody is doing anything wrong or illegal. Maybe they’re running down an alley, skateboarding, hanging out on a corner, or hopping a fence, but viewers have been conditioned by society to make assumptions that they’re up to no good. Probably doing something illegal or criminal.
It was very intentional to point out the
unconscious bias we all
have and that we need to overcome if we’re going to
build trust, love, and peace with each other.
Scripture References:
Matthew 11:19, Luke 5:29-32, Luke 6:6-11
The most famous verse in the
book of James may be the assertion
that faith without works
“is dead” (2:17).
What is the relationship between faith and works in the Christian life? Does James contradict Paul’s teaching that we are saved by faith apart from works (Rom. 4:6; Eph. 2:9; Titus 3:5)? In fact, James and Paul agree. James assumes the priority of faith, and Paul acknowledges that those who are saved by faith have been “created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Eph. 2:10).
We do not add our actions to faith in order to be saved. Faith expresses itself in action. For this reason, James speaks of action as the evidence of a faith that already exists. James affirms what Paul teaches by contrasting true faith with false or “dead” faith. Works or actions are the fruit of a faith that saves, not the basis for our salvation. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ apart from any effort of our own. Yet those who are saved in this way are enabled to put their faith into practice by the transforming work of Christ and the power of His Spirit.
When considering the relationship between faith and works, the order is critical. In the Christian life faith always precedes works. If we reverse the order, the relationship between the two becomes toxic. Our acts of obedience are grounded in the knowledge that Jesus earned our righteous standing by His own obedience, and He paid the penalty for our sins by shedding His blood on our behalf. This is the only work sufficient enough to reconcile us to God (Heb. 9:14; 1 Peter 3:18).
Consequently, our good works are not an attempt to earn salvation after the fact. Instead, they are expressions of gratefulness for a salvation already received. The believer’s good works belong to the realm of sanctification, the progressive work of God’s Spirit by which He makes us holy. Sanctification follows justification, God’s declaration of our righteous standing based upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. We contribute nothing to our justification, but we cooperate with the process of sanctification. As Martin Luther observed, before we take Christ as our example we must first receive Him as a gift.
Matthew, or Levi, was a tax collector. Now, what is a tax collector? Well, a tax collector is someone who collects taxes.
You see, the Jewish people owed certain taxes to the Jewish religious temple, known as the temple tax. Since they lived under the rule and authority of the Roman empire, they also owed taxes to the Roman government. The taxes to the Jewish temple were relatively small, but the taxes owed to the Roman government were often excessive and burdensome.
The Romans set-up Jewish tax collectors to collect from their countrymen in order to make sure all of the taxes were paid. This was the system.
Matthew was one of these guys; he was a tax collector.
Let’s look at three lessons from Jesus’ encounter with Matthew.
The first lesson we’re going to learn is . . .
I. What it means to follow Jesus
Look again at verse 9.
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the toll booth, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.
Notice the immediate obedience of Matthew. Jesus said, “Follow me,” and Matthew simply followed Him.
Luke recorded this event in his gospel account as well and he says that Matthew left everything in order to follow Jesus.
Matthew didn’t waste any time, or hold anything back. He followed Jesus!
Compare this to the warnings that Jesus gave us in Matthew 8:18-22.
Think back with me. Jesus said what was required to follow Him: immediate obedience and willingness to sacrifice. Remember? Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Also, let the dead bury the dead, but follow me now. These are things that Jesus said concerning what it means to follow Him!
Matthew is living out this kind of obedience and commitment!
Jesus’ call was direct and clear. Matthew obeyed clearly and directly. Are you obeying Jesus clearly and directly? Are you faithfully following Him?
As a tax collector, Matthew probably had a good amount of money. He probably had wealth, means, and some sense of power. Yet, he gave all that up to follow Jesus!
How are you doing when it comes to following Jesus?
Matthew followed Him immediately. Some of us supposedly committed to follow Jesus decades ago and He’s still waiting on us to surrender completely to Him!
We can learn a lesson here about what it means to follow Jesus.
Second, we can learn . . .
II. What it means to questionJesus (10-11)
Have you ever questioned someone’s motives? Perhaps you’ve had your motives questioned. It’s a terrible feeling, isn’t it? It makes you angry to have someone question your motives particularly when you’re doing something good.
Here Jesus is changing the life of a man and seeking to change the lives of others, and the Pharisees, the supposed holy ones among the Jewish people, are questioning His actions.
Look at verses 10 and 11.
10 While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Reclining at the table was how they sat down to eat. We know from Mark’s and Luke’s gospel that Matthew hosted a feast for his friends and fellow sinners and tax collectors.
So, here’s what we know: Jesus is changing the lives of people left and right; healing, teaching, and forgiving; Jesus has just called a tax collector to a new way of life and the man followed; then, the tax collector, after being changed wants others to hear about Jesus, so he throws a feast.
This is a good thing! Jesus is changing lives and those who are changed are inviting others to Jesus! Praise God!
“No! Don’t praise God,” say the Pharisees! They have an issue with Jesus.
They think to themselves, “How dare this man associate with people like tax collectors, sinners, and the sort. These people are wicked! Who does He think He is?”
They even ask Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher hang out with thesetypes of people?”
You see, tax collectors were not well received by the Jewish people.
Tax collectors and sinners went together like peas and carrots.
First of all, the tax collectors worked for the bad guys. They worked for the Roman government. The Romans were the big bad oppressors for God’s people, the Jewish people.
Secondly, tax collectors were in a position where they could take advantage of people by collecting more taxes than what was actually due and keeping the rest for themselves.
The average Jewish person did not care very much for tax collectors.
The Pharisees are acting like a bunch of Pharisees! They thought that they were the holy ones and they didn’t want Jesus to have anything to do with sinners, even if that meant that the sinners’ lives were changed.
Listen, church! Learn, church!
What does it say about the Pharisees when they question Jesus, who is God in the flesh?
In the same manner, some of us at times may question the commands of Jesus on our lives. What does that say of us?
They were acting as if Jesus Himself was defiled if He hung around sinners. Not so! Jesus recognized that in order for Him to get His saving message to sinners, He was going to actually have to be around them at some point.
The Pharisees failed to recognize who Jesus was: God in the flesh, and they failed to recognize who we are: sinners.
This takes us to our final lesson learned from this passage:
III. What it means to callsinners (12-13)
Look at verses 12 and 13 again.
12 Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.
For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus heard what the Pharisees were saying and so He answered them with this penetrating and convicting statement.
He even schooled them a bit. They were supposed to be the experts on the Bible, yet, Jesus said, “Go and learn what this means . . .”
He quoted to them Hosea 6:6, which says,
“For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
God had been saying for centuries that He wanted true devotion, not fake formalities.
Jesus is calling the Pharisees out.
He’s saying that they think that they have it all figured out when it comes to worshiping God, but they are really just pretending.
Jesus is following up on this theme, which we have come to time and time again: God desires faithful followers, not fakers.
Jesus put it very simply in verse 12: “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick.” Again in verse 13, He says, “I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus was telling the Pharisees that they had it all wrong.
They thought they were well. They thought they were righteous. Jesus is basically saying, “I didn’t come for people like you who think they have it all figured out and everything is good. I came for those who know that they are messed up and know that they need help. I came for the sick. I came for sinners.”
Think about it: if you’re not sick, you don’t need a healer. If you’re already righteous, you don’t need to be made righteous.
Jesus is calling sinners to Himself. Matthew understood this. He followed Jesus and he took his friends to Jesus.
Are you faithfully following Jesus? Are you doing so with the knowledge that you were a sinner who desperately needed to be healed? Are you doing so realizing that you must take other sinners to Him as well?
The irony of the situation is that the Pharisees
desperately needed Jesus as well.
They were just as bad as the
tax collectors and the sinners, but they
didn’t know it.
Jesus is calling all of us to faithfully
follow Him:
Pharisees, tax collectors, sinners,
and everyone in between.
We must follow Him and call others
to follow Him.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line:
Jesus is calling sinners to follow Him and so should we.
Jesus is not calling people to Him who have everything figured out. He’s not calling perfect people. He’s not calling people who are righteous by their own effort. He’s calling sinners!
Just as Jesus changed Matthew, He can change you. He can give you a new life.
He’s still calling sinners and we should be calling sinners to Him as well.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
- Be all in when it comes to following Jesus.
Sometimes we’re tempted to follow Jesus but not give Him everything.
Perhaps we want to hold onto certain relationships.
Perhaps we want to hold onto certain possessions.
Perhaps we want to hold onto certain habits.
Don’t hold anything back! Be all in when it comes to following Jesus.
- Seek out sinners and take them to Jesus.
Additionally, some of His final words before He left the earth were for us to, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
We, as a church, exist to develop disciples who love God, love the church, and love others.
Folks, we need to seek out sinners.
Sinners cannot be saved without interaction with them.
This will probably involve you having contact with people that at times may make you uncomfortable. This may require you to spend time with those that the world does not esteem highly. This may even involve you doing some things that the religious elites will frown upon.
However, you can be encouraged that when you seek out sinners and bring them to Jesus, you are not only obeying Jesus, but you are modeling Jesus’ own behavior.
My prayer is that our church would be full of people who were once the worst sinners, but are now the most devout followers of Jesus Christ. Amen?
Flee sin greatly, but seek sinners diligently, and bring them to Jesus.
Matthew is pointing us to Jesus as the promised Messiah who changes lives. He changes our lives greatly and He is still changing the lives of sinners today. He is seeking the lost. He is healing the sick. He is saving sinners.
Are you calling sinners to Jesus? Are you living a changed life? Are you faithfully following Jesus?
If you’re not following Jesus today, know that He came to heal you, He came to save you, He came to rescue you from the curse of sin.
If you have any sort of spiritual decision that you would like to make, you can contact me or Pastor Richard and we would be glad to talk to you anytime.
Join us tonight at 5:30 as I give a report on my trip to Central Asia. I’d love to share with you what God did that week as well as how we as a church can partner in Central Asia in the future.
Each of the four gospels includes the calling of Jesus’ first disciples; the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) also provide lists of the Twelve, whereas John simply mentions them as a group (Matthew 4:18–22; 10:2–4; Mark 1:16–20; 3:16–19; Luke 5:4–11; 6:13–16; John 1:35–51). The order in which the disciples were called and the order in which their names are given in the lists vary by account.
In Matthew 4:18–22, the first disciples to be called are listed like this:
Simon Peter and Andrew
James and John
Mark 1:16–20, lists the first disciples in the same order:
Simon and Andrew
James and John
Luke 5:4–11 lists the first disciples as
Simon Peter
James and John
John 1:35–51 relates Jesus’ early encounters with these men:
Andrew and an unnamed man—almost certainly John, who never names himself in his own gospel
Simon Peter
Philip
Nathanael (also called Bartholomew)
The first six disciples, then, were Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, and Bartholomew. The differences between John’s account and the Synoptics’ account are easily explained. John relates the first, introductory meeting of Jesus with Andrew, John, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael. The Synoptics describe the actual calling of these men to follow Jesus. When Jesus told Peter in the fishing boat to “follow Me,” and Peter immediately left his nets and obeyed, Peter was not following a total stranger. He had met Jesus previously and had spent time with Him. The same is true for Andrew, James, and John.
Matthew (also called Levi) was called separately, sometime after the first six (Matthew 9:9–13; Mark 2:13–17; Luke 5:27–32).
The Bible does not describe the calling of the other five disciples. Jesus had many people following Him early on in His ministry. Luke 6:12–16 tells us that, after a night of solitary prayer, Jesus officially named His twelve disciples, whom He also called apostles:
Simon Peter
Andrew
James
John
Philip
Bartholomew (Nathanael)
Matthew
Thomas
James son of Alphaeus
Simon who was called the Zealot
Judas son of James (elsewhere called Thaddaeus)
Judas Iscariot
The order in which the apostles were called is not the primary focus in the accounts of their calling. Rather, the emphasis is on the fact that they were called at all. None of them were worthy of Jesus’ calling. Few, if any, were of noble background, and none of them had religious clout. At least four of the disciples were fishermen. Simon was a Zealot, part of a political group that sought to overthrow the Roman government. Matthew worked for the Roman government as a tax collector and would have been viewed essentially as a traitor to the Israelites. Judas Iscariot eventually betrayed Jesus.
Despite the diversity of backgrounds and education levels among these men, they had an important calling as the original twelve disciples of Jesus. Theirs was an honorable work. They became eyewitnesses of Jesus’ works on earth as well as His resurrection. It was these men (excluding Judas Iscariot) who laid the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). It was through their Spirit-empowered witness that the church began (Acts 2). Their work helped provide the New Testament writings we have today. The twelve foundations of the wall of the future New Jerusalem will have engraved on them the names of the twelve apostles (Revelation 21:14).
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
John 15:1-5
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
Matthew 7:15-20
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
James 3:17
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Matthew 3:8
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Ephesians 5:8-11
For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Matthew 12:33
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
Isaiah 37:31
And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
Psalm 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Genesis 3:6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Ephesians 5:9
(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),
Leviticus 26:4-5
Then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.
Matthew 7:16
You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Colossians 1:10
So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
John 15:8
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Genesis 1:29
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food."
Luke 13:6-9
And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”