Excuses Not To Be Saved
Notes
Transcript
No One Greater
No One Greater
V 28 Jesus is praising John the Baptist
saying that there is no one greater born than him
not Moses Daniel or the rest of the prophets
Then Jesus says that the least in the kingdom will be greater
the least in the kingdom is greater than the greatest of this world
people tend to admire the rich and famous
playing the megabucks to win the lottery
feel small against a billionaire
the small people of this world are the oppressed
the ones who are despised, and rejected
the ones kicked to the curb
so when Jesus says V 28
the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the lame, the blind, and the down and out rejoice
we are looking at 2 people groups and their reaction to the good news
read 28-35
the Baptism of John
the Baptism of John
V 29 the baptism of John was to prepare the hearts of the people to receive Jesus
in Judaism there is a baptism of repentance when a gentile becomes a Jew
it is a demonstration of washing away your sins
a demonstration of repenting and turning away from your sins
so when John had the Jews do this it made some people angry
V 29 they acknowledged Gods justice
they knew they were a sinner before the throne of God
Isaiah 6:5 (LSB)
Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts.”
they like Isaiah before the throne of God
they realized their need of forgiveness
they realized their need of repentance
and God is a just God
they can agree with David when he wrote Psalm 51.
and
Psalm 32:1–6 (LSB)
How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh will not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
When I kept silent about my sin, my bones wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the heat of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not cover up;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Therefore, let every holy one pray to You at a time when You may be found; .
David acknowledges that sin is a crime against God
But Yahweh abides forever;
He has established His throne for judgment,
And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will render justice for the peoples with equity.
the wages of sin is death
the crimes against the Holy God is death
Death does not mean to cease from existing
death means the separation from God forever
in the death of a sinner there is just useless wasting away
there is no beauty, the stench is overwhelming
you have no purpose
“And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
Psalm 127:2 (LSB)
It is in vain that you rise up early, That you sit out late, O you who eat the bread of painful labors; For in this manner, He gives sleep to His beloved.
rest and sleep comes from God
“A mother will forget him;
The worm feasts sweetly till he is no longer remembered.
And unrighteousness will be broken like a tree.
God gives sleep, rest, beauty, good things to eat, light, a cool summer breeze.
and to be separated from God is to be separated from every good thing He gives
Isaiah 66:24 (LSB)
“Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an object of contempt to all mankind.”
V 29 acknowledge Gods justice
realizes without forgiveness God would be justified in sending them to Hell
God could declare them guilty ,without repentance
But
V 30
They were good enough
they have their own special deal with God
a alcoholic sinner that I knew said he had a special arrangement with God/ we have an understanding
well these religious leaders have a an understanding with God
you let me do things my way and I will pretend to love you.
I will pretend to serve you
I will pretend that you are in charge
The did not allow themselves to be baptized of John
these men chose to obey the law perfectly
knowing that is the surest way of death
their pride in their accomplishments would not allow themselves to be associated with the sinners
The Rebuke From Jesus
The Rebuke From Jesus
V 31 Jesus is now going to compare these leaders to children’s games
V 32 games in the market place
play a happy game did not want to play
play a sad game---
V 33 John preaching the gospel
V 34 Jesus preaching the gospel
they had an excuse for everything
sounds like some Christians and the excuses they give
for changing churches pastor is to loud, to soft, not theological enough, to theological...
these men have an excuse for not turning to Jesus
they have an excuse for not believing in Jesus
but Jesus command to repent goes to everybody
the apostles preached
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Paul preached
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent,
men are commanded to believe
And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He gave a commandment to us.
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your house.”
and those who do not believe
“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
these men used their free will and said no to the gospel
whether or not there was a change in the future??
the separation from God forever
V 30 they rejected their Savior
satan will provide you with every excuse in the book
are you going to be like a rebellious child who never listens to his parents
who when running into imminent danger seen only by the parent who tells him to stop an come back
at this point this child has a decision to make and can run in any direction he chooses
but chooses to continue running into the oncoming bus
His free will caused him to be run over by the bus
and he will Justly pay the consequences.
V 35 the wise action are those who believe
who realize their need of a Savior
who put their trust in Jesus
who call upon the name of Jesus