Luke 6:46-49 (3)
Notes
Transcript
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Let me invite you to turn one last time to Luke 6.
We’ve come to verse 46...
…and to the final section of the S.O.M...
…that we find in Luke’s account.
-The last time we were here...
…we looked at verses 43-45.
In them, Jesus was juxtaposing...
The reality of who a person is on the inside...
With,
What they appear to be on the outside.
Philosophers call this ontology:
“The study of the nature of being”
I.e., “what/who you really are at the most fundamental level”
Jesus had told us that…
The fruit...
Would show the nature of the root! . . .
That what a person does and says...
…is going to display the reality of who/what they are fundamentally.
-This morning’s verses are very similar.
They show us the reality of:
True Faith
True Discipleship...
…and conclude for us this long treatise...
…on the true nature of Christ’s theocratic Kingdom.
Let’s read them together...
…and entreat the Lord’s help...
…one more time.
Luke 6:46–49 (ESV)
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
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Verse 46:
Notice that verse 46 begins...
…with what verse 45 had ended with:
The topic of speech!
Verse 45 had said:
Luke 6:45 (ESV)
45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
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That was pretty straightforward, right?
Your inner nature is going to be evidenced by the words you speak.
-But, some (in their iniquity) could corrupt that saying.
They could come up with an idea that says...
...All that Christ is requiring of the citizens of His Kingdom, is for them to:
Believe the right things...
Speak the right things.
-Well, in verse 46, Jesus begins to refute that notion sternly.
We can see the connection better in the NKJV:
Luke 6:45–46 (NKJV)
45 ...For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
-This is a good place for us to slow down a bit...
…and really consider what He’s saying.
For starters, He’s acknowledging the presence...
...of a verbal profession/acknowledgment of Him as “Lord” or “Kurios.”
Now, It is important, here, that we remember what this word/title meant:
One Lexicon defines it as:
κύριος
I. of persons, having power or authority over, lord or master of… — IGEL
So, what’s being confessed here, is...
…That Jesus of Nazareth is:
Kurios:
Lord
Master
Sovereign
King
Nothing wrong with that, right?
Now, in addition to that...
...notice the repetition of the affirmation.
“Lord, Lord,”
Do you remember what that meant?
The Editors of the NET Bible explain:
The double use of the vocative (words of address) is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. — NET Notes (Emphasis Mine)
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Understand what that means for our text:
This isn’t just a profession of Christ as King that’s offered reluctantly...
This is a Bold, Emphatic verbal acknowledgment of who He is.
And therein lies the problem that Jesus is seeking to correct.
If He is “Lord” or “Kurios” then...
…He is Master… and He must be obeyed! . . .
…not merely professed!
If He is (as we profess) our “Lord,” then:
We belong to Him
He has complete authority over our lives
We are obligated to do whatever He says! . . .
...Not just profess His Lordship enthusiastically...
…But to actually submit to it!
This is what He’s saying in verse 46:
Luke 6:46 (ESV)
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
He will not accept pretence or platitude.
He demands your heart...
…not just your words.
He is Adonai
He is Kurios
He will be:
Respected
Honored
Obeyed...
…by those who are truly his subjects
-Jesus said a similar thing in Matthew 7.
It parallels our text in many ways.
It is perhaps the most frightening verse in all of Scripture.
Matthew 7:21 (ESV)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven...
-Now, that’s concerning, isn’t it?
He’s talking about our eternal destiny...
And He’s saying that some will indeed...
…Emphatically profess Him as Lord...
…but yet be barred from His Kingdom!
Should we take that seriously?
He goes on:
Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (antinomian — forsaking the Law)
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Do you see how the warning got deeper?
He went from saying:
That mere verbal profession was inadequate...
To saying that...
...even the “doing” of signs and wonders...
(which appeared to be miraculous attestations)
…doesn’t NECESSARILY mean anything either.
He says that you could be doing those miraculous things...
…and Still. Not. Know. God! . . .
...And be (in fact) a worker of “Lawlessness!”
Meaning, you’re doing extravagant religious things...
…but transgressing previously written commands.
-This tells us two very important things:
1.) Scripture trumps experience.
Jesus said that it’s:
“those who do the will of The Father” . . .
Who go to heaven.
How do we know what His will is?
Scripture!
Wicked men can claim anything to be from God.
i.e., “God told me this… that...”
But God’s word holds the words of men to account.
It is the final and supreme authority!
That’s Sola Scriptura!
2.) Faith and obedience are inseparable
Calvin said:
These words, therefore, do not EXCLUDE faith, but PRESUPPOSE it as the principle from which other good works flow. — John Calvin (Emphasis Mine)
J.C. Ryle said:
“obedience is the only sound evidence of saving faith, and the talk of the lips is worse than useless, if it is not accompanied by sanctification of the life.” — J.C. Ryle
More importantly, Jesus said this:
John 14:15 (ESV)
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
John 14:21 (ESV)
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
John orders the “cause and effect” for us:
1 John 2:29 (ESV)
29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
He goes on to say:
1 John 3:3–4 (ESV)
3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
Notice “makes a practice of” sinning...
NOT, simply “Sins!”
Participles in the Grk.
“the one doing” (present and ongoing)
(ESV conveys the sense better)
He goes on:
1 John 3:5–10 (ESV)
5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
Because you’ve been transformed ontologically
10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
-In Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan had a character named Talkative.
He was always talking about spiritual things...
…but wasn’t really living the Christian life.
At one point Christian warned Faithful about him saying,
He talketh of prayer, of repentance, of faith, and of the new birth; but he knows but only to talk of them… The soul of religion is the practice part...
James: True Religion is...
This... Talkative is not aware of; he thinks that hearing and saying will make a good Christian, and thus he deceiveth his own soul.
Hearing is but as the sowing of the seed; talking is not sufficient to prove that fruit is indeed in the heart and life, and let us assure ourselves that at the day of doom, men shall be judged according to their fruits…
The end of the world is compared to our harvest, and you know men at harvest regard nothing but fruit, not that anything can be accepted that is not of faith. — The Pilgrim’s Progress
Was Bunyan a legalist?
He was (pardon the expression) a “Biblicist!”
We all know James’ troubling words, don’t we?
James 2:14–17 (ESV)
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
He gives another example:
James 2:19 (ESV)
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Do the demons not say to him “Lord, Lord?”
They tremble before His sovereign majesty!
Will they be let into His kingdom?
Then he gives the examples of:
Abraham in offering up Isaac in faith
Rahab protecting the spies in faith
Then he concludes with one final similitude:
James 2:26 (ESV)
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Jesus said:
John 10:27 (ESV)
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Luke 8:21 (ESV)
21 . . . “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
And when...
Luke 11:27–28 (ESV)
27 ...a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”
28 ...he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
-We see a similar description in the verses that follow in our text:
Luke 6:47–49 (ESV)
47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:
48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
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This is why we believe in the perseverance of the Saints:
“All true Saints will finally persevere in the faith”
All true Saints:
Call him “Lord, Lord”
AND:
Do what He tells them.
Start with Faith:
In Who He IS,
In What He says...
Act upon that faith in their deeds!
All of these true Saints:
Have anchored their hope in the Firm Foundation of God’s Word...
Will be held fast by Power of Almighty God...
…against the rising tides and torrents of:
Temptation
Persecution
Disaster
Despair
He will hold you fast, Christian...
But, He’ll do so through the means of your:
Confidence in...
Commitment to...
His Holy Word!
It is a supernatural work of His Holy Spirit, to be sure! . . .
But, that work will produce faith in His Word within you!
-So many in our day are being swept away by the flood of:
Iniquity
Unbelief.
It didn’t happen overnight.
It happened through a series of small pragmatic compromises:
The word of God says this...
…but the culture says that:
We’ll meet halfway!
Christ commands this...
…but the culture demands that:
We’ll straddle the fence!
No!
We’ll “fall...”
“...and the ruin of our house will be great!”
You cannot serve Two Masters.
-Consider everything we’ve read for these last several months...
…as we’ve studied the S.O.M.
Consider how:
Counter-intuitive
Counter-cultural...
…it has all been!
And then heed Joshua’s words to Israel, and:
Joshua 24:15 (ESV)
15 ...choose this day whom you will serve...
He has made the Stipulations of the Covenant very clear in the S.O.M.
He hasn’t hidden the terms of citizenship from us...
…only to surprise us with them later.
He has told us plainly, what it means to be his servants:
Will you serve Him?
I pray that you will.
Pray