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The Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Mercy and Faith
June 15, 2008
TEXT: NKJ Luke 6:36 "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is
merciful. 37 " Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you
shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 "Give, and it will
be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over
will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be
measured back to you." 39 And He spoke a parable to them: "Can the blind lead
the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 "A disciple is not above
his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41
"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the
plank in your own eye? 42 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me
remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank
that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.
Jesus just finished telling the disciples to love their enemies—He said “do good
to those who hate you”—“bless them that curse you”—if they hit you on the cheek,
offer the other cheek—if they take away your coat, give them your shirt
too—after all this, He delivered our text
NKJ Luke 6:35 "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in
return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.
For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
There are those who believe that if you do good things for God—He will let you
into heaven—Jesus is teaching us that we should not waste our time doing things
for God—what could you possibly think you could do for God that He could not do
for Himself?—God created the heavens and the earth from nothing—yet some
arrogant souls consider that they might do something of value for God—God
doesn’t need our help nor our good deeds—He needs our loving hearts to do good
for our neighbor—He desires to be glorified by our obedience to His Word—that’s
the lesson Jesus is teaching us—we cannot make God greater, richer, or stronger
by anything we do—we can only glorify Him through our obedience to the Word—this
lesson is nothing new—God spoke it through the prophet Jeremiah
NKJ Jeremiah 2:11 Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods? But My
people have changed their Glory For what does not profit. 12 Be astonished, O
heavens, at this, And be horribly afraid; Be very desolate," says the LORD. 13
"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of
living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns -- broken cisterns that can hold no
water.
Israel was the only Old Testament nation that served the Living God—and they
traded the Living God for the false idols and gods of others—and later in the
same chapter God shows the people that thinking they had not sinned was itself a
sin
NKJ Jeremiah 2:35 Yet you say, 'Because I am innocent, Surely His anger shall
turn from me.' Behold, I will plead My case against you, Because you say, 'I
have not sinned.'
It is no different today—those that think they please God with their works are
sinners—they are denying the mercy and love of God—we have often discussed at
length the relationship of the Bridegroom (Christ) and the Bride (the Church on
earth)—just as in marriage the bride looks only to the bridegroom for comfort
and fulfillment of all her needs—so it is that the Church (Christians) must look
only to Christ (God the Son) for comfort and salvation—to do otherwise is
blaspheme against the Holy Spirit—an unforgivable sin
NKJ Matthew 12:31 " Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be
forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
None of us can do good deeds to go to heaven—we all gain salvation by faith
alone—God gives us everything we have—He gives us our family—He gives us our
wealth—He gives us our knowledge of Him and the things of His Word—He gives us
our salvation—then God asks us to share all that we have with everyone who is in
need—consider the example in Scripture—Abraham and Isaac—Abraham waited all his
life for a son—God finally provided the son He promised when Abraham was 100 and
his wife Sarah was 90—just as so many other examples in God’s Word, this baby
was a miracle gift given by God
KJV Genesis 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his
heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall
Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that
Ishmael might live before thee! 19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee
a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my
covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
God gave Abraham the son he desired—then God asked Abraham to offer his son as a
sacrifice—God didn’t want or need the son of Abraham—God wanted to test
Abraham’s faith—not that God didn’t know that Abraham had faith and would offer
his son—but God needed Abraham to understand the strength of his own
faith—Abraham was about 127 years old and Isaac was 27—27 is the age that a man
is his strongest in life—Isaac could have easily overpowered Abraham and avoided
the sacrifice—but he offered himself in obedience to God
NKJ Genesis 22:7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!"
And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood,
but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 And Abraham said, "My son, God
will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went
together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham
built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son
and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand
and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him
from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He
said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know
that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from
Me."
Abraham and Isaac loved God and listened to His Word—they obeyed God and were
willing to give up anything and everything in obedience to God—God’s people
cannot cling to the things of this world—our citizenship is in heaven—we need
nothing in this world
NKJ Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also
eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Our eternal home is in heaven—we are in this world to bring glory to God—there
is no better example of bringing God glory than the example of Isaac and
Abraham—God chose Abraham and Isaac to provide this faith-strengthening example
for us—just as God chooses all who are His—Luther uses an interesting
illustration—he says the sheep do not choose the shepherd—and man cannot choose
to be God’s—God gives us the resources and things in this world—and asks us to
give it all up in obedience to Him—what do we have that compares with the
sacrifice of Abraham’s son?—it has been this way throughout the history of the
world
NKJ Isaiah 65:1 "I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by
those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here I am, here I am,' To a nation that was
not called by My name.
And near the end of that same chapter
NKJ Isaiah 65:24 " It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
NKJ Romans 4:4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as
debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the
ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
Paul is saying that our work that is a product of our faith is God pleasing—that
is, works done in obedience to the Word—work done to earn heaven is in vain
NKJ Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace
is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work
is no longer work.
The true works of God are continual, spontaneous fruits and proofs of faith
NKJ 2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call
and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so
an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It is important to understand that we should do good works so that we are
called—he is saying that our spontaneous acts of the love of God give us
assurance that we are called for the work of God
There is one more Scriptural example that will help us understand what kind of
works we are to focus upon
NKJ Luke 12:13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to
divide the inheritance with me." 14 But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a
judge or an arbitrator over you?" 15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware
of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things
he possesses."
This life is not about accumulating wealth in this world—it is about applying
the gifts and resources God gives you to do His work—and what is the work God
gives us to do?—consider Jesus’ instruction to the disciples at the last supper
NKJ John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I
have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all will know that
you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!