Sermon on the Mount XI

Subtitle:  Correcting the Righteousness of the Hypocrites II

Matthew 6:5-9.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 18, 2024.

We continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus exposes, or corrects, the supposed righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, which he calls “hypocrites” in this section.

Last week we looked at the issue of charitable giving.  We now deal with the area of prayer.

Let’s look at our passage.

The way of Righteousness in prayer:

This section is expanded compared to the section on deeds of mercy (charitable deeds) and the coming section on fasting.  In fact, it has three sections: this first one that explains the teaching of Jesus regarding prayer (5-8), a model prayer (9-13), and then a last section that gives a further explanation (14-15). 

An explanation (v. 5-8)

This section does exactly the same thing with prayer that Jesus did with the section on charitable deeds.  It contrasts how the hypocrites pray with how Jesus wants his followers to pray.  It essentially boils down to wanting to be seen and heard by people versus wanting to be heard by God.

We should take this as a challenge to us from the master not only to pray, but to pray rightly.  Today, the Spirit of God helps us to sense that original challenge that Jesus gave to the people when he taught.  Do I pray?  And, how do I pray?

Just as the hypocrites did charitable deeds only to be seen by others, so they pray in order to be seen by others.  In fact, Jesus adds the descriptive word “love.”  They love to pray in the synagogue or on the street corner because people will see them.  They love the glory that people give to them for their apparent righteousness.  Yet, they neither love God, nor love others.  In truth, they pretty much love themselves.  They for sure do not love praying in secret.

If you are the kind of person that marvels at certain people when they pray- maybe their flowery language stirs your heart, then you should be careful.  Seek to become a praying person yourself, rather than marveling at the praying abilities of others.  In fact, when are We the People going to stop being so easily stirred up by the presentations of others, both for the good or for the bad?  We should stop being so easily amazed because we are atrocious at knowing whether the image that is presented is only skin deep, or whether it goes all the way to the bone.  When we are not in tune with the Holy Spirit through prayer, we do things like help out in stoning Stephen in Acts 7.

Jesus tells us that such praying receives the reward it wants, the glory of people.  God may be offended by such praying, but He lets them have what they want, the adoration of the people (at least as much as the people will give).

God is not offended like we are as humans.  Rather, He removes the restraints would have spared you great damage.  Humans were never designed to have the adoration of crowds, the worship of them as people do for Musicians, Actors, Athletes, etc.  If you look at the lives of people who reach the top of glamor and glory, their lives collapse under the weight of such false worship.

Of course, not everyone who prays in public is fake.  In fact, we could not even have a public worship service without praying, singing, preaching in public.  However, the point is not to put more value on such public acts than they are truly worth.  If public prayer does not have a foundation of secret prayer, then it is worthless, whether people know so, or not.

Thus, Jesus tells his followers not to love to pray like that.  Instead, we are to find a secret place to pray in.  The word for “room” in verse six is a word that was used for a storage closet.  They were typically small rooms in the middle of a structure that would not have windows.  His point is not so much the exact place, but that it is a place where no one will see you.  It could actually be translated “hidden place.” 

I know, I know.  Mom’s are saying right now that there is no such thing as a hidden place!  Of course, how much glory would you expect to receive from your child seeing you pray, or knowing that you are praying?  Jesus is not creating a law of prayer.  He is doing heart surgery here, and we should not become bogged down in snarky retorts. Jesus is pointing us to the intention of our prayer.  A person who only prays in public has a heart problem.  They are not in relationship with God, but seeking satisfaction somewhere else.

Jesus emphasizes that your (singular) Father in heaven is also in the secret, or hidden, place.  This phrase would have reminded them of the same phrase in the Old Testament, like Psalm 91.  David learned that,  even though God was in heaven, He was also in those hidden places when no one was looking.  David spent tons of time praying out in the field with the sheep.  God met him there. 

Even though God is everywhere, He recognizes that prayer done when no one is watching truly has the intention of relating with Him.  This private audience with the King of the Universe happens to also be a private audience with your heavenly Father.  Have you ever thought about the reality that our minds are the original secret place?  You can be in public, but meet with God in the secret place of your mind, and those in the place would never know.

Let me just point out that God as a Father is mentioned 17 times in the Sermon on the Mount.  One time it is “our Father” (The Lord’ Prayer, Matthew 6:9).  Also, Jesus refers to God as “My Father” one time in Matthew 7:21.  The other 15 times Jesus says that He is “your Father.”  Five of these are a singular “your/you.”  The other ten are plural.  Yes, God is individually your heavenly Father, but the emphasis is on us as a group.

Again, Jesus promises that secret prayer will have its reward in the open.  He doesn’t guarantee what that will look like.  In fact, the resurrection and being with Jesus is put forth as our ultimate reward.  We must be careful of thinking that if we pray alone enough, then God will have to give us some really cool things publicly.  Pray because you want to know God, not because you want stuff from Him.  He is your reward!

Jesus gives another warning in the practice of prayer in verse 7, but this time, he looks to the religious practices of the Gentiles, instead of the hypocrites within Israel.  The word translated “vain repetition” is hard to translate without more context.  It is clear though that it has to do with praying many words.  The point has to do with lack of true heart-content.  It is more about rituals, incantations, or techniques that are supposed to help gain the attention of the “gods.”

In Gentile spirituality, the so-called gods did not care for humans, so they had to learn techniques and formulas for drawing their help.  They would even hedge their bets by worshiping many different gods.  Surely one of them would come through for them.  We should not repeat phrases like a mantra over and over.  We should not speak a certain power syllable over and over.  There really is no end to the empty techniques that false religion will conjure for its acolytes.

The One True God in heaven, your heavenly Father, is not impressed by such empty tricks.  We cannot treat God like some sort of cosmic machine that we can put in the right amount of quarters, or pull the lever just right, in order to get what we want.  Instead, we are to speak to our Father simply, and clearly.

Can you imagine speaking to your earthly dad in such ways?   He would probably call the men in white coats to come and take you away, if you did.  God wants us to approach Him as a child to a Father.  He wants to have real relationship with us as that signals.

Jesus even tells us that our heavenly Father already knows what we need before we ask.  God is omniscient.  He knows what you need way better than even you do.  He is intimately aware of your needs.  He is paying attention to your life, regardless of what it seems like to you.  You think you are cursed because of your experience of life, but Jesus tells you that you are blessed (Matthew 5:3-12).  You don’t have to employ tricks and techniques to draw His attention.  You just have to really pray to Him in the hidden place.  Don’t pray rote prayers over and over again in particular sequences while making certain signs.  This is not what Jesus wanted our prayers to become.

A Model Prayer (v. 9-10)

Let’s look at the first part of this prayer.  It starts out with the words, “In this manner, therefore, pray.”  The emphasis is that this creates a template or model that we can use in our own praying times.  Yes, we can pray it, but it is not a mantra or incantation that “always works.”  If we will pay attention to the components of this prayer, then we will be instructed in how to pray, and in what to pray about.

I will lay the prayer out to demonstrate the structure of the prayer.

“Our Father in heaven,

          Hallowed be Your name.

          Your Kingdom come.

          Your will be done.

                  On earth as it is in heaven.”

The first line is the address.  Who am I addressing when I pray?  It is interesting that Jesus has made the point that God is “your (singular) Father.”  Yet, in this model prayer, he uses the plural concept of “Our Father.”  Think of it.  You are approaching God alone in a hidden place, and yet you address Him as a part of a group. 

There is an obvious lack of the concept of “I” and “me” in this prayer. I am reminded of the prayer of the Pharisee in Luke 18:12-14.  His prayer keeps repeating “I,” and when he does mention others, it is in contempt and derision.  Yes, the tax collector also uses the first person pronoun of “me.”  However, the prayer of repentance and humility is always heard.  This is not about never using first person pronouns.  Rather, it is recognizing that Jesus is signaling something important to us by their absence.  Perhaps my prayers are far to self oriented?  Do you think?

The key is not so much never using the pronouns, “I,” “me” or “mine.”  It is about being fully aware that your heavenly Father is also your brother’s heavenly Father.  We should approach God alone, but not as ones who are alone.  Even people who are not God’s child are desired to be so by Him.  He is bringing us into a larger community, His family.  And, He wants us to care for one another, even in our secret prayers.

This address is followed by three requests that focus on God and His purpose, rather than on me and my purposes.

Israel had fourteen centuries of wavering between focus on God’s purposes and focus on their own purposes.  At some point, we must become a broken person that realizes “our purposes” generally get in the way of God’s.  Also, His purposes are more beneficial to us and others than the purposes that we come up for ourselves.

We generally even pray for God’s purposes selfishly.  You can pray for God to bring in the Kingdom, but why do you do so?  Do you want the Kingdom because then you will be bossing people around?  Are you focused more on how good your experience will be instead of the glory of God blessing all the earth?

Israel, in general, had come to a place where they couldn’t wait for God to put the Romans in their place under the boot of Israel.  Yet, Jesus showed the remnant the heart of God wanted to take the light of the Gospel to that Gentile world and invite them into the Kingdom in a good way.

Let’s look at the form of the three request first.  The form of the first one, “hallowed be Your name,” is true of them all.  The verb is first followed by the subject.  The other two would look something like this: “Come be Your Kingdom.  Done be Your will!”  These are also imperatives (commands).  However, they are in the third person singular.  This has the effect of begging the question of just who is to do these things.  Perhaps, it is both God and us.

The first request speaks of God’s name.  This is His reputation, and the way people view Him.  The prayer is that God’s name, person, and reputation be seen and treated as holy.  In fact, the most holy thing in the universe.  Holy means that something is set apart for God’s purposes.  This may seem redundant (how can God not be holy, i.e., about His own purposes).  Yet, the emphasis is on how others see Him.  God is perfect in His character and attributes.  He is not like sinful humans, nor like the sinful spiritual beings.  However, we don’t always see and treat God as such.  People have no problem slandering God, and attributing things to Him that are not true.  It is a prayer for God to be respected by all.  So, this should start with me.

The second request is that the Kingdom of heaven would be brought in, or that it would come.  This is clearly a reference to the Kingdom of Messiah.  We are praying for its full realization on earth, instead of just being in heaven.  This does involve living out the Kingdom today in our lives.  We are to be an expression now, of a coming Kingdom later when Christ returns.

Is my life an ever-clearer expression of the values of Jesus?  May God help us to give ourselves to being an expression of the coming King and His perfect Kingdom that is coming.

The third request is that God’s will would be done.  Sometimes God’s will seems to be at odds with His Kingdom.  When Jesus went to the cross, it seemed to be the opposite of bringing in the Kingdom.  Submission to God’s will as the All-Wise One is important.  We can be a person who expects God to do particular things in our life, and when He doesn’t, we can be disillusioned.  “God, you said I would be blessed, but now there is a cross in front of me!”  We don’t always understand why God does what He does.

When we pray for God’s purpose, we are praying for the greatest good to come about.  In fact, there are layers to the will of God.  God put a curse upon the earth.  Is it His will that it last forever?  No!  What I do with it is important.  Wrestling with God like Jacob did is rewarded with intimacy.  Yes, the wicked man will be judged and go to the Lake of Fire, but God wants us to resist that by telling him the Gospel, the love of God.  God wants us to plead with the man that He resist God’s will properly, that is, through repentance and seeking mercy.

All of this connects to the greatest commandment.  When you love God with all of your being, you will pray for His purposes to come first.  All of this is a desire to have the goodness of God expressed on the earth, and not just in my secret times of prayer with Him. 

For the sake of time, we will pause here and pick up on the second half of the Lord’s Prayer next week.

Correcting Righteousness II

The Identity of Jesus

Colossians 1:15-20.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on May 6, 2018.

We have been looking at the book of Colossians.  Paul in the verses before this section has focused on how thankful Christians should be.  The apex of this is to be thankful that we are in “the Kingdom of the Son of His love.”  Though the world of darkness is still around us, believers are part of the Kingdom of Jesus and need not fear the darkness.

In verses 15-20, Paul expands on just who this Jesus is for whom he says we should be thankful.  What Jesus did for us ultimately hinges upon who He is.  Both are important.  So who is this Jesus who has redeemed us to God by His blood at the cross (see verse 14)? 

We are in the Kingdom of the Son of His Love

All kingdoms have a king and Jesus is the King of all believers.  However, he is far more than this.  The Colossians had been influenced by several different views about Jesus.  Some who had a Jewish background saw Jesus as something to be added to the law.  Thus they promoted circumcision and the prohibition of certain foods etc.  Some, who had a Greek background-especially Gnostic ideologies- had difficulty mentally accepting that Jesus could be both fully God and fully human.   Thus you would run various ideas that made Jesus less than the Apostles had taught.  Paul here reminds the Colossians just who Jesus is.

The first point we run into is that Jesus is the image of the invisible God.  This is an important concept because in Genesis we are told that mankind was created in God’s image.  We have the ability to reflect attributes of the God who created us.    This is different than being God, but is important nonetheless.  The fall in the Garden of Eden impacted the ability of people to reflect God’s attributes.  The interference of that ancient serpent, the devil, led mankind to experience sin and its death.  Since the Garden no human has perfectly reflected God’s image nor even come close.  This is compounded by the fact that sin separates us from God.  Jesus in his totality is the image of the invisible God in its totality.  He is the only way we have to truly understand what the invisible God is like.  To see One of them is to have seen the other.  Hebrews 1:3 makes this even clearer by saying that Jesus is the “express image” or “the exact imprint” of the Father.

For everyone who has ever wanted God to come down out of the heavens and show Himself, God sends Jesus.  Jesus doesn’t just look like the Father, but He is the manifestation that the Father has given to us so that we may know exactly what He looks like, how He thinks, and just exactly what His plan is.  This is why it is important for us to take the time to find out what God’s Word says about Jesus, not just what people in their wisdom are saying about Him.  Sure we need the help of those who are mature in the faith to get insight into the Word.  But we can never abdicate our responsibility to find out just who Jesus is for ourselves.  Do you want to know what God is like?  Take time to read the Bible, but also spiritually ask God to open your eyes to what the Word is saying about just who Jesus is.  Thus there is a natural part and a spiritual part that go hand in hand.

Next we are told that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation.  Some have tried to make this mean that Jesus is part of the creation and is merely the first created thing.  To them Jesus is not divine in the sense that He is the same essence of the Father.  Rather they would call him divine in the same way that we call angels divine (i.e. that which comes from God).  The problem with this is that this is not what the phrase is emphasizing.  To call Jesus the firstborn is not a way of removing distinctions between Him and creation, but rather inserting one.  If we are talking literally, the firstborn is just as human as his brothers.  But this is clearly a metaphorical use.  The firstborn is not just another brother.  He not only receives a double-portion of the inheritance, but He will be the patriarch when the Father dies.  Thus the firstborn is distinct from his younger brothers.  To say that Jesus is the firstborn of creation emphasizes His authority and place over all of creation.  He is heir to all that belongs to the Father, that is, all of creation.

Now the following words go on to make the last point obvious.  Notice that the creation, both heavenly and earthly, was created by Jesus.  This is made even more explicit in John 1:3.  “All things were made through Him [The Word who is Jesus], and without Him nothing was made that was made.”  Thus Jesus stands outside of the created order, or all things that were made, as The One through who all created things were made.  The logic of these verses makes it impossible to see Jesus as a part of the creation, except for the human form that He took upon Himself at a particular point in time.

Thus the firstborn is used to present the man Jesus in a category that is different than all of creation.  He is the heir and the one who is Lord over all of creation, even though he looked like a man.  In fact in verse 16 three prepositional phrases are used to expound the relationship between Jesus and creation.  Creation was created “by Him.”  This means He is the active agent of its existence.  Next we are told that creation was created “through Him.”  This is not to contradict the prior statement, but instead to add to the meaning.  Jesus is the means by which God the Father brought all things into existence.  Lastly, creation was created “for Him.”  The purpose of creation is found in Jesus.  All things exist because He has a purpose in bringing them all into existence.  It is important for all humans to look to Jesus as their Lord, source of being, and source of purpose.  Without Jesus we will continually bump up against the reality of this as we try all manner of our own purposes for living.

Verse 17 reminds us that Christ is “before all things.”  Before anything existed that has been created, Jesus existed in a relationship with the Father.  At this time He did not have a human body, but was as the Father is.  This is similar to the functioning of Genesis 1:1.  Here we find that before anything was brought into existence, God was already in a state of being.  John emphasizes this in his gospel (John 1:1) by referring to Jesus in His pre-creation state as “The Word.”  This preexistence of Jesus was hard for the religious leaders of His day to swallow (read John 8).  However, to the apostles and those who experienced the powerful words and wonderful acts of Jesus, it was proven in every way and was the only logical explanation (not to imply that they determined this through human reasoning).

Verse 17 also says that in Jesus “all things hold together.”  The idea is that in Jesus all things have been set in relation to each other.  Another way to see this is to look deeper at the word translated here.  The word is translated as “consist” in some translations.  We can compare the word “consist” with the word “exist.”  Existence emphasizes the individual thing has being.  It exists.  However, consistence or to say that something consists is to emphasize its being in relation to everything around it.  Thus even the phrase “all things holds together” falls short of the full spectrum of this word.  Our existence and we fit into all the systems of this creation, whether natural or spiritual, are His doing.

Verse 18 says that Jesus is the head of the body [or Church].  Body is a reference to the Church being the “body of Christ.”  Head refers to the authority, but even more importantly it points to a vital influence that it cannot be without.  Jesus isn’t just the head authority of the Church, but just as a body cannot live without connection to a brain, so the Church has no existence without Christ who is its head.  Thus the image of the headwaters of a river could be used.   The vitality of the Church depends upon its connection to Christ who is our head.  He is the source of our relationship to all of creation (including Father God), but also the source of our purpose and function within it.

The phrase that “He is the beginning” most likely goes with the next phrase that Jesus is the firstborn from the dead.  However it can just be another way of saying He created all things.  So let’s deal with this second firstborn phrase.  Again, the firstborn is intended to set Jesus apart from all that have died.  He alone of all who have died has firstborn status.  This is important because typically if the firstborn dies, someone else has to take his place.  However, Jesus is such a being that his firstborn status is not overcome by death.  Just as He is the firstborn of the living, so He is to those who have died.  This is proven in that He is the only one to enter into death and come back by His own power.  John 10:18 says, “No one takes it [his life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from my Father.”  Thus, those who are dead have not “missed out” on Jesus.  They are included in His authority and as such will be given the right to one day take up their bodily life again, as He has.  In Jesus an emptying of the grave is begun. Throughout history all of humanity has come into being, lived, and then died.  This cycle is overcome and brought to an end in Jesus.  In fact 1 Corinthians 15:22 uses the phrase that Christ is “the firstfruits of those who have died.”  His resurrection is a signal that a greater resurrection is coming and for which we can hope.

Verse 18 ends with the statement that it is God’s purpose that Jesus should have first place in all things.  All spiritual beings, such as angels and cherubim, and all physical beings, such as mankind, are to look up to Christ as the One who has first place and authority over them.  John 5:22-23 says, “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”  Also Philippians 2:9-11 says it this way, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Verse 19 states that, it is the Father’s pleasure that in Jesus all the fullness dwells.  “The Fullness” is a phrase that was used at the time to refer to the totality of divine powers and attributes.  This is important for those Greek thinking peoples who had the concept of hybrid beings that were only partially divine.  Jesus wasn’t just full of the Holy Spirit, although that is true.  He embodies the totality of the divine powers and attributes.  Thus He is the source of all that we need and could ever ask for.  When one is in right relationship with “The Fullness” then one never needs to worry.  The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.

As we end this section, Paul points out that it is through Jesus that all things are reconciled to God.  Jesus started the process of reconciling the creation back to The Father.  The chaos of individual choices and sin, whether in the heavenly beings or earthly, has put all of creation out of whack and proper order.  But the work of Jesus at the cross was the place where this reconciliation process was made possible and began.  How about you today?  Are you in right relationship with the Father and His Son, Jesus?  Has your life been reconciled to God by Christ?  Let Jesus become the Lord of your life and He will help you set all things in proper order before the Father as you walk with Him.  How can you say “No” to such an amazing savior?  Trust Jesus as Lord today!

Identity of Jesus Audio

The Unshakable Kingdom

Hebrews 12:25-29.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 03, 2017.

Today we will finish this chapter as we look at the importance of believers in Jesus living each day by faith in Him.  Last week we were reminded of the heavenly city in which we have citizenship.  In this last passage, the Holy Spirit reminds us that we are receiving an unshakable kingdom.  As we close out this section, I pray that you are able to see both the wonderful grace of God that we have been given, and the amazing responsibility we have to keep trusting Jesus, no matter what we may face in this life.

Don’t refuse the voice of the Father

By itself, vs. 25 begs the question, “What voice is being referenced?”  However, as you move back through the passage it is clear that the voice of God is what we are talking about.  If we tie the Old Testament allusions to the earlier references that God disciplines us as a Heaven Father, then it becomes clear that Christians are being told not to ignore the voice of God.  Even today, we can be guilty of ignoring or refusing to obey the voice of God.  But, before we get into what that can look like, let’s first deal with this exhortation to obey God’s voice.

We are reminded of those who rejected God’s voice under the Old Covenant and how they did not escape His judgment.  They did hear an audible voice while they were at Mt. Sinai.  However, the majority of God’s Word was given to them by the prophet Moses and confirmed by the amazing signs and wonders that God did among them.  That first generation that came out of Egypt heard the voice of God and even embraced it by agreeing to a covenant with God at Sinai.  Yet, they did not follow God through the desert in faith.  Most of them perished in the wilderness, not because they lost faith one time or in an instance, but because they continually refused to trust God all along the way.  His judgment was sometimes a quick and instantaneous thing such as when Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were swallowed up in an earthquake’s rift, or the many that died from the fiery serpents, or those who perished in the deception of the Moabites.  The testimony of Scripture is that most of them did not walk by faith and complained with unbelief.  The majority perished by simply growing old and dying in their unbelief.  Later generations of Israel who were not at Sinai to hear “The Voice” had to make a choice.  Were they going to listen to the Word of God’s voice that had been recorded or were they going to refuse to listen to it?  We are in the same position.  Though we are not under the Law of Moses, we have heard the record of the New Covenant that God has made clear through His Son Jesus.  Jesus was the Voice of God and He guaranteed that His Holy Spirit would speak through His Apostles to direct His Church.  This has all been recorded faithfully for us.  We have a choice to make.  We either believe it, or refuse and go on in our disbelief.  All generations are accountable to the record of the God’s voice.  On top of all this, if we walk in faith and trust God’s Word, He speaks to our hearts by His Holy Spirit and leads us through the wilderness of this world.  So the point is clear.  Be like Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, rather than like those who refused to believe and perished.  Physically hearing God’s Word is not enough to save us.  We need to put our faith in what it says.

Verse 26 then reminds us that God is shaking the heavens and the earth with His New Covenant through Jesus.  Just as the voice of God shook Mt. Sinai, so the earth would be shaken by the Gospel.  But, more than that, God was also shaking the heavens.  The devil and his angels were being told that they would be cast down into the Lake of Fire, and the Church would be raised up in their place and even higher.  Now this part about shaking the heavens and the earth is a quote from Haggai 2:6.  Its point is that God would shake things to remove that which can be shaken and replace it with something that would be permanent.  It would be easy to see this shaking as something that started and ended in that first year as the disciples went out into the world.  However, when we think through what the Scriptures say about the removal of the old order, on earth and in the heavens, then we can recognize that the shaking started in the first century and will continue until Jesus comes back and concludes removing the old.  Yes, the Law of Moses and the nation of Israel passed away in that first century and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church were set up.  But, this shaking is not over.  Throughout the New Testament we are given a sense that all that God has promised is both now, and not completely yet.  God has much more to do in this shaking that even involves the restored state of Israel and the Jewish people.  The key to this point is to recognize that in Jesus we are a part of what is going to remain.  Why would you try to go back to that which will not remain, the Law of Moses or the world, and refuse that which will remain?  The shaking has begun to knock down the shakable things of this world and that which cannot be shaken has begun to take its place, but it is not yet completed.

So we are told that believers in Jesus are receiving an unshakable kingdom.  By faith in Jesus we have a part in that kingdom that cannot be taken from us.  As Joshua and Caleb led the next generation into the Promised Land, so we can rejoice at the 2^nd Coming of Christ and the inheritance that will be made manifest at that time.  When all the nations of this world have fallen, the Kingdom of Jesus will remain.  We should not be arrogant at such words because we stand by faith in God and by His grace, not by our own power.  So the unshakable kingdom is here, at least in our hearts, but not complete.  The book of Revelation is about the completing of the Kingdom of God.  Just as Israel could not survive its continual refusal to listen to God’s voice, the nations of the world today (America included) cannot survive their refusal.  Think about it.  Is there any nation on the earth today whose government makes every decision based upon what will please Jesus Christ and God the Father, based upon God’s Word?  None do so, not even the United States of America.  So I fear for our country as I watch the federal government, state governments, and local continuing to reject the leadership of Jesus and going their own way.

Let us walk in grace

Surrounded by this sea of unbelief, it would be easy to doubt God’s Word and seek compromises with the world and our own flesh.  The whole point of this chapter has been to strengthen our faith so that we can continue to walk in the grace of God (vs. 28).  It is called grace because we cannot obtain it by obeying a list of outward commands.  It truly is a gift of God to those who repent of their sins, and put their faith in Jesus.  It is also called grace because we give to others what God has given us, love, forgiveness, and the offer of salvation.

To those first century Jewish believers (the book is called Hebrews for a reason) the temptation was to quit following the grace of Jesus and go back under the Law of Moses.  However, there was no going back in God’s eyes.  The Old Covenant was fulfilled and had served its purpose.  It was time for the New Covenant and the faithful would hear the voice of God and leave the spiritual Egypt behind in order to follow Jesus, who is greater than Moses in every way.  Today many Jews continue to cling to the Old Covenant hoping to find salvation in it.  But salvation can only be found in God.  For most Christians the problem is not trying to go back to the Law of Moses, although some do struggle with this.  Instead we are often tempted to create a kind of Christian Law, by which we attempt to justify ourselves through outward conformity, rather than through inward transformation.  The point is not so much what you turn back towards, but what you are leaving behind in order to do so.  If God is going east and you turn back and go west, then you are headed away from life.  Don’t turn your back on God and His amazing grace.  Other Christians turn towards a kind of intellectual trick that says we can live anyway we want because we are under grace.  They turn grace into a license for immorality.  This too is a refusal to follow God.  The New Covenant has not removed the need for living out the righteousness of God.  Rather, it has provided a safe platform on which we can become more and more like Jesus as His Word transforms us from the inside to the outside.

Thus verse 28 mentions acceptable service.  Though some versions use the word “worship” it intends worship in the sense of everything we do to show God’s worth.  What makes our life acceptable?  I believe the Holy Spirit’s continual reminder in these passages of those who didn’t believe under the Old Covenant reveals it to us.  Acceptable worship is to do what God says to do.  It is to obey and to do so from a heart broken over its sin and overflowing with thanksgiving to God for His mercy.  Acceptable worship is to walk by faith in Jesus and trusting His Word.  No, not just the parts that we think He said.  Jesus guaranteed that the Holy Spirit would guide the Apostles into all truth.  They faithfully recorded what Jesus taught and what the Spirit taught them.  We are accountable to those words. 

It is also acceptable because it is done in reverence and godly fear.  Why does passage end with such a fierce verse?  “Our God is a consuming fire.”  At Mt. Sinai, Israel was instilled with the fear of a slave towards a master.  But at the cross we are instilled with the respect and healthy fear that a child should have towards their father.  We should always be aware that no matter how close God draws us to His side and no matter how much He loves us, He will not put up with rebellion, unbelief, and refusal to obey.  His very nature of being a consuming fire requires us to approach with understanding.  In fact, it is worth contemplating that the same fire that is able to burn up all our sin and make us a refined product that is 100% pure, can also consume us in judgment.  Faith is what makes the difference.  So let’s fully follow Jesus.  And let’s not do so as we imagine him or want him to be.  Let us hear the word of the Lord and say, “Yes, Father.  I hear and want to follow you!”  Let's not trade an unshakable kingdom for that which cannot last, and a heavenly birthright for the temporary pleasures of sin.

Unshakable Kingdom audio

The Narrow Way

Today we will be looking at Luke 13:22-30.

In this passage a man in the crowd asks Jesus a question, “Are those being saved few?”  It is not clear if this was a subject of debate for that day, or whether the teachings of Jesus have stirred this question within him.  Regardless, the answer that Jesus gives is to the crowd.  Thus he uses the man’s question to launch into important teaching for all. 

However, Jesus does answer his question.  We ask questions typically for the sake of satisfying curiosity.  But Jesus always points us back to ourselves.   He teaches us to ensure we are right with God rather than speculate on others.  Jesus gives a short parable to answer the question; a parable about a narrow gate.

Strive To Enter The Narrow Gate

His answer begins in verse 24 with the instruction to strive to enter the “narrow gate.”  Clearly being used as a metaphor, we must ask to what the narrow gate corresponds.  In the passage he goes on to talk about the Master’s house, being shut out of it, and the Kingdom of God.  Thus the narrow gate is access to the Master’s house and the Kingdom of God.  God restricts access to the Kingdom and only those who satisfy His requirements are able to get through. 

This narrow gate shows up in the teaching of Jesus elsewhere.  In Matthew 7:12-14 the narrow gate leads to life and is contrasted with a wide gate that leads to destruction.  In that passage many go through the wide gate, but few go through the narrow gate.  Thus being a part of the Kingdom is equated with receiving life and not being a part of the Kingdom is equated with being destroyed.

In John 10 Jesus refers to himself as the door (or gate) that leads into the sheep pen.  The picture here is clearly being a part of the “flock of God” (i.e. God’s people).  Later on in chapter 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  With all of these verses we can see that the narrow gate is Jesus himself.  Jesus becomes the point of access to the Father, being a part of his people, being a part of His Kingdom, and having life.

It is the narrow nature of the gate through which few are able to enter that answers the man’s question.  Yes, in some ways few are being saved.  Many will attempt to enter, but in the end they will go through the wide gate instead.  Why?  Clearly it is easier to go through the wide gate.  The restrictive nature of the narrow gate is a tight fit.  They will, no doubt, have to leave some things behind in order to get through it.  Yet, too many will not pay such a price.  Instead they cling to the things of this world and find a wider gate.  This brings up an important point.  Few are being saved because of the difficulty, not because of a quota nor because the gate is hard to find.

In the midst of this we can see why Jesus doesn’t give a simple answer to the man.  In some times and in some places many people can be saved.  On the Day of Pentecost after Peter’s sermon 3,000 people came to know the Lord.  Yet, at other times precious few repent and believe.  The question is not are only a few being saved.  The real question is, “Am I pressing through the narrow gate?”  The more people who ask that question the more likely we will see many people coming to the Lord.  Even then, historically it is clear that the majority of the world will continue to go through the wide gate.  Ultimately a large number of believers will be brought together before the throne of God, but they got there by choosing to be a part of that small remnant that follow Jesus in spirit and in truth.

Thus seeking for God is not enough to surmount the obstacles you will incur.  Those who seek will find because God wants to be found.  Yet, then the challenge to enter through Jesus presents itself.  The call to pick up our cross and follow Jesus presents itself.  In Acts 17:30 we are told that, “truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”  Also, in Acts 4:12 it says, “nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Up to Jesus God had overlooked the sins of the nations.  But, now that His solution, His messiah, has shown up it is a new day.  He requires all men everywhere to repent of sin and believe on Jesus.  This is presented in the metaphor as going through a narrow gate.  Thus if you feel that this idea is to simplistic and too narrow-minded, you might pause at this point and recognize that even God says it is narrow.  Only those who will humble themselves and put their faith in Jesus can continue on into Life and this will require striving.  This word in the context of enemies would be translated as “fight.”  Thus we must recognize that I will run into resistance to going through the narrow gate.  This resistance will come from within me (flesh) and from my own past choices.  There will also be resistance from people around me, family, friends, and enemies.  A spiritual enemy also fights against us going through the narrow gate.  Through temptations and difficulties (trials) he seeks to discourage us and seduce us back to the wide gate that doesn’t require so much effort.

Enter Before The Gate Is Shut

In verse 25 the parable shifts.  Now the gate has become a door to God’s house.  In fact this could be included with the previous inability to enter.  Once the door is shut no one will be able to enter.  Much like the door of the ark shutting, the judgment rain began to fall, but it was too late to get into the ark. God had shut the door.  We can wait too long to put our faith in Jesus.  We live in an Age of Grace, in which the door to God’s Kingdom is available to all.  Yes, you must strive and it won’t be easy.  But any one (whosoever) can go through the narrow gate if they want it more than this world.  In 2 Corinthians 6:2 we are told, “Now is the day of salvation.”  Like a spouse who doesn’t try to shape up until divorce papers are filed, we can be guilty of too little too late.  When Christ comes at his second coming, it will be too late to make things right.  The die has been cast and the time to pay the piper will be here.  Yet, this shutting of the door also has a personal application.  It is possible that we can cross a line of taking God’s grace for granted for too long.  We may ruin our own hearts ability to respond to the grace of God.  Ultimately we may do so right up to the day of our death.  Once we die, it will be too late to try to make amends with God.  Now is the day of salvation.  Then will be the day of judgment.  Either way, this time of grace is coming to an end.  We need to be pressing in now and encouraging others to do so rather than traveling the wide and easy path.

On that day that the door is shut no amount of pleading and crying will help us.  They will all be rejected.  In the parable the master tells those pleading to be let in that he doesn’t know them (vs.27).  Here the word is one of recognition.  “You do not look like mine.”  Also, he calls them workers of iniquity.  They may have heard his teachings and even attended his “churches.”  However, in the end they lived a life of working (doing) sin rather than pressing through the gate of Jesus.  Jesus truly is a litmus test of whether we love God or love our sin.  Not in the sense of an instantaneous test, but over the course of our life, Jesus forces us to choose.  Or, better yet, to follow Jesus forces us to choose.  Such people will weep and gnash their teeth as they watch others entering into the Kingdom and yet, they see themselves being shut out.

Not All Is As It Seems

Verse 30 ends this section with a warning.  We become so used to trusting our senses that we can forget that God deals with truth not imagery.  God makes decisions based upon the Truth of the matter, not upon what a person looked like.  Thus not everything is as it seems and not everyone is as they seem.  There are some who are great in the Church in this world.  They have high positions of authority, or people think highly of them.  The first of this life will not necessarily be first in the Age to come.  In fact many great people will not make it into the Kingdom of God.  They will be shut out.  And some of those who do make it in will be the least in the Kingdom.   The opposite is also true.  Many who are nothing in this life will be the greats of that Kingdom.  Those who appear to greatly serve God and have a high place within the Church today may end up in the same place as the High Priest of Israel in the days of Jesus; shut out.  We must be careful of not letting such praise of our fellow man mislead us in any way.  We must also make sure that we do not let such great people mislead us from the narrow way, simply because we think they are close to God.  Jesus is the gate.  It is the revelation that He gave us through His Apostles that we are to believe upon and follow.  There is much deception, both intentionally and unintentionally, happening under the umbrella of the Church.

Yet, these things are not categorical.  What I mean is that it is not an automatic thing, that the greatest will be the least and vice versa.  Rather it is a warning to us about the reality of being judged by a holy God who is not affected by sinful desires.  It is not ours to worry about future greatness, but to ensure that we are striving to enter.  No, salvation is not up to our works, but salvation will be met with resistance from our flesh, the world, and the devil.  We are going to have to want Jesus more than this world.  Without such a battle, there will be no place in God’s kingdom.  Thus we must take hold of the Faith that has been once and for all delivered unto those who believe God.  We must also stand fast in the Grace of Christ as we follow His teachings and grow to become more and more like him every day.  May God help us to press through the narrow gate and enter His Kingdom and the place that He has for us.

NarrowWay Audio