Happy New Year 2015

Wow, 2015 is here! Where did 2014 go? This can be a time to reflect on our past, and gaze into a hopeful future in the Lord. For some He has been elusive and just beyond our reach. Many and most really haven't cared about Him in the last year. And others, He has and is the center of their lives. Such a vast difference in the spectrum of the lives people choose. What will we do in the next year? What will we do with Him?

Are you happy and content with your relationship with God? Or are you skeptical and worrisome about your relationship. Who are you Christian? Are you a Christian? Is your minds-eye about your heavenly Father full of joy and is He your refuge, or does He look like a testy father full of mean and threatening looks upon you because you have feelings of guilt as you think you can never measure up to His standards? Or do you see a merciful and loving God who is long suffering waiting patiently for you to return to Him embracing His compassion, filling you with heavenly joy again? (Psalms 103:1-13)

Did you know there is not one single scripture in the bible that teaches we can forgive ourselves? That's right. The bible only teaches that God alone can forgive us. The world in its wisdom has fabricated and placed in the minds of mankind an alternate of forgiveness that is contrary to Gods design for His children. We would do well to learn from the Word, to accept our identity as children of God and in faith, believe the Word of God, forgetting whats behind and striving for the future in 2015. We really need to get past the past.

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:1-2)

Let me encourage you to resist the year in and year out promise to meet certain worldly resolutions, and resolve to hasten to Christ in 2015. As the hymn rings for us,

I am resolved no longer to linger,

Charmed by the world’s delight,

Things that are higher, things that are nobler,

These have allured my sight.

 I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;

Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.

I am resolved to go to the Savior,

Leaving my sin and strife;

He is the true One, He is the just One,

He hath the words of life.

I am resolved to follow the Savior,

Faithful and true each day;

Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth,

He is the living Way.

I am resolved to enter the kingdom

Leaving the paths of sin;

Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me,

Still will I enter in.

I am resolved, and who will go with me?

Come, friends, without delay,

Taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit,

We’ll walk the heav’nly way.

I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.

Click this player to hear a podcast by brother Mark on Getting Past the Past as we move into 2015 with hope and faithfulness to make pleasing the Lord our No.1 priority. Blessings will surely come.

Merry Christmas 2014

Christmas is a time of Peace and Joyful giving, Family gathering and the blessing of Salvation the Lord Jesus left us. It represents His gift is not just for the present, but for the future. But there is more to this story than good tidings and children being the center of attention that most people forget or might not even know that made this time of Joy possible. And how can we learn the most about Christmas and its true meaning?

Have you ever considered what the baby Jesus when grown up as a man freely went through as God in the flesh to make this gift of the future possible for us? The bible tells us that as early as the age of 12, the boy Jesus had a pretty good idea that he was a set-apart young man and most likely realized he would ultimately have to suffer doing Gods will on a cruel cross to bring salvation to man..


Luke 2:41-52 tells the whole context. The following verse 49 is the boy Jesus' mission.

And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Fathers business?"

His is an ugly, brutal and painful story but it’s also the most amazing gift we can ever receive.

Apostle Paul in Romans 5:15-17 says,

"But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."

Please view this video about the suffering Jesus chose in His human form to give the gift. And may you have a wonderful Merry Christmas remembering Jesus’ perfect gift of love for us.

"I owe a debt I cannot pay, He paid the debt He didn't owe"

Medical Perspective of Jesus Suffering

I have in my hands two boxes,

Which God gave me to hold.

He said, "put all your sorrows in the black box,

And all your joys in the gold."

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,

Both my joys and sorrows I stored.

But though the gold became heavier each day,

The black box was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black,

I wanted to find out why.

And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole,

Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused,

"I wonder where my sorrows could be!"

He smiled a gentle smile and said,

"My child, they're all here with Me."

I asked God, why He gave me the boxes,

Why the gold and the black with the hole?

"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,

The black is for you to let go."

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL...

Meaning & Purpose of Life

Words are important - Read Gods Word everyday... Click

Scriptures Weekly 75 - Why do People Refuse Jesus?

From the gospel of John we read, John 5:5-9,

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

_____________________________________

The Jews who witnessed this miraculous healing by Jesus immediately accused him of breaking the law by doing work on the Sabbath (Saturday). Never mind they didn't recognize the promised Messiah in front of them from which they knew about in the Old testament prophesies. They were spiritually blind just like we are today. Jesus did a great healing work of mercy, yet they insisted he be killed. Jesus then responds to them -

John 5:39-40,

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life."

The following are reasons most will not come to Jesus Christ to be saved, cleansed and free of their sins.

• Some are simply unaware that they are lost. (Luke 19:10)

• Some will not come to Christ because they are not convinced of his uniqueness.

• Some do not come to the Lord because, due to false teaching, they have concluded that they are already associated with him. (Acts 19:13-20)

• Some will not come to Jesus because they are unwilling to pay the price he requires. (Luke 14:25-35, Matt.19:16-22)

• Some will not come to the Lord because they fear failure. (Matt.28:20)

• Some do not come to the Christ because of what they see in professed Christians. (2 Cor.5:10)

Recalling my life before Christ, the reasons just listed were so true. But Christianity is a "taught religion" (John 6:45) one must study. It has nothing to do with what people term "blind faith." This video lesson goes into more detail explaining these reasons to the bible student. We pray you are blessed by Gods Word in the lesson.

Lesson by Wayne Jackson
Christian Courier

Is Jesus God?

Titus 2:11-14

The religious world holds diverse views in regards to Jesus. Is he a man or God? Or is it possible for him to be both?

Oneness Pentecostals argue that there is only one God, and his name is Jesus.

Jehovah’s Witnesses also claim there is one God, but state that his name is Jehovah. Jesus is just the first of Jehovah’s creation.

It is hard to answer all the arguments, since there are so many. But today I would like to focus whether Jesus is God.

• Jesus is distinct from the Father
• Jesus speaks of His Father as a separate being
• The Father and Jesus are working - John 5:17, 19
• Jesus speaks of the Father loving him - John 5:20
• There has been a delegation of authority - John 5:22, 26-27
• Jesus doesn’t do his own will - John 5:30

I.          Jesus mentions that self-witness is useless (John 5:31) and that there are separate witnesses to him (John 5:32), in that list of separate witnesses he mentions the Father (John 5:37-38)

A.        The Father speaks of Jesus as a separate being

1.         Matthew 3:16-17 - This is my beloved Son, also Matthew 17:5

2.         I John 5:9 - God has borne witness of His Son

B.        He is listed separately

1.         Ephesians 4:4-6 - One Spirit, One Lord, One God and Father

C.        Jesus was with God - John 1:1

II.       Jesus is the Son of God

A.        This is a point Jehovah’s Witnesses want to make: they claim that a son is not the same as the father.

1.         As one Jehovah’s Witness told me, “The son of a president is not a president.”

2.         The slight of hand is the mixing of terms

a.         To illustrate: The son of a dog is still a dog

b.         President is a position which only one person can hold at a time.

c.         Deity is not a position, but the nature of the being.

B.        The Jews realized that claiming to be the Son of God was a claim to being God - John 5:18

1.         The Jehovah’s Witnesses try to avoid this by saying that John only recorded what the Jews said.

2.         Look again. It isn’t a quote. The Jews sought to kill him for two things. The second one because it made him equal to God.

C.        God calls His Son God - Hebrews 1:8

III.      Jesus was also God

A.        Jesus was God - John 1:1

1.         Daniel B. Wallace, quoted by William D. Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek, p. 27-28

“Generally speaking, When a word is thrown in front of the clause it is done so for emphasis. When a predicate nominative is thrown in front of the verb, by virtue of word order it takes on emphasis. A good illustration of this is John 1:1c. The English versions typically have, “and the Word was God.” But in Greek, the word order was been reversed. It reads, “and God was the Word.” (καὶ θεός ᾗν ὁ λόγος) We know that “the Word” is the subject because it has the definite article, and we translate it accordingly: “and the Word was God.” Two questions, both of theological import, should come to mind: (1) why was “God” thrown forward? And (2) why does it lack the article? In brief, its emphatic position stresses its essence or quality: “What God was, the Word was” is how one translation brings out this force. Its lack of a definite article keeps us from identifying the person of the Word (Jesus Christ) with the person of “God” (the Father). That is to say, the word order tells us that Jesus Christ has all the divine attributes that the Father has; lack of the article tells us that Jesus Christ is not the Father.”

2.         To get what Jehovah’s Witnesses wish to claim, that Jesus was just a god in the sense that some men are “gods” in that they are God’s representatives you would need “and the Word was God” (καὶ ὁ λόγος ᾗν θεός) in the Greek. This is why no English translation, outside the Jehovah’s Witnesses own poorly done one and a handful of other bad translations, says that "the Word was a god."

3.         To get that Jesus and the Father are the same you would need “and the God was the Word” (καὶ ὁ λόγος ᾗν ὁ θεός).

4.         In other words John 1:1 says the same as Colossians 2:8-9, just in a concisely worded form.

B.        God with us - Isaiah 7:14

1.         The name Immanuel is “God with us” - Matthew 1:23

2.         There is no other God - Isaiah 43:10

3.         Yet Jesus is “God with us”

4.         In speaking of that Son - Isaiah 9:6

a.         Notice the names mighty God and everlasting Father.

C.        God alone is to be worshiped - Matthew 4:10

1.         The worship of others is rejected

a.         Acts 10:25-26 - Man is not to be worshiped

b.         Revelation 22:8-9 - Angels refused worship

2.         When one man received worship, he was killed - Acts 12:21-23

3.         The angels were commanded to worship Jesus - Hebrews 1:6

4.         Jesus received worship on several occasions

a.         Matthew 8:2 - Healing of the leper

b.         Matthew 9:18 - The ruler of the synagogue

c.         Matthew 14:33 - The disciples

d.         Matthew 15:25 - The Canaanite woman

e.         Matthew 28:9 - The disciples after his resurrection, also Matthew 28:16-17

5.         Jehovah’s Witnesses say none of this matters because David was worshiped (e.g. I Samuel 25:23).

a.         Where we make a distinction in English, both Hebrew and Greek use one word for bowing before another. Context demands whether it was worship or not

b.         Their response is that Jesus wasn’t receiving worship as God.

c.         But note Matthew 28:16-17 and compare with John 20:28.

d.         Jesus confirmed the truth of Thomas’ statement - John 20:29

e.         As Paul points out, there is no other God - I Corinthians 8:4-6

f.         Jesus must be God.

D.        God will not give His glory to another - Isaiah 42:8; 48:11

1.         Jesus had the glory of the Father - John 1:14

2.         All should honor Jesus, just as the Father - John 5:22-23

3.         Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that this is meaningless because Jesus shares his glory with his followers - John 17:22

a.         In essence they are saying that Isaiah 42:8 doesn’t have weight.

b.         But let’s just say it meant for that period of time.

c.         Jesus had that glory from the beginning - John 17:5

d.         That would have been at the time God said he would not share it with another

4.         Read Isaiah 6:1-10. How many glories are seen here? Just God’s.

a.         John 12:36-37, 39-43 - Isaiah 6:10 is quoted to say that they Pharisees refused to recognize Jesus.

b.         But notice that John says they preferred man’s glory to God’s. The implication is that Jesus was displaying, or had, God’s glory.

5.         In Philippians 2:6, Jesus “being in the form of God.”

a.         The Greek is active, that is Jesus remaining in the form of God

b.         Jesus has God’s form, that is, God’s nature (His glory).

E.        The spirit returns to God - Ecclesiastes 12:7

1.         Yet Stephen prays to Jesus to receive his spirit - Acts 7:59

F.        Only God knows the hearts of men - I Kings 8:39

1.         Yet Jesus knew the hearts of men - Luke 5:22; John 2:24-25

G.        God is the only Savior - Isaiah 43:11; 45:21

1.         God is our Savior - Titus 2:10

2.         But notice just a few verses later - Titus 2:13

a.         The appearance is something only used in connection with Jesus.

b.         Jesus is called both God and Savior!

c.         As does Peter - II Peter 1:1

H.        God is the only Rock - Isaiah 26:4; 44:8

1.         I Corinthians 10:4 - Jesus is the Rock

I.         God rules the seas and stills the waves - Psalm 89:8-9

1.         Jesus stills the sea - Matthew 8:23-27

J.         God alone made the world - Isaiah 44:24

1.         The world was made by the Word (Jesus) - John 1:3

2.         All things were made for and by Jesus - Colossians 1:16

3.         God made the world through Jesus - Hebrews 1:2

K.        God is, was, and will be - Revelation 1:4

1.         The Lord Jesus is, was and will be - Revelation 1:8

L.        God declares that He is the first and the last - Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; Revelation 21:5-6

1.         Jesus is the first and the last - Revelation 22:12-13

V.        Jesus is a member of God

a.        We cannot declare that the Father and the Son are the same being because many of Jesus’ statements about the relationship between he and the Father become nonsensical - Matthew 24:36

b.        We cannot declare that Jesus lacked deity or lacked deity while here on earth - Colossians 2:9

c.        John declares Jesus to be both God and with God - John 1:1

d.        The only reasonable conclusion is that there is one God who is composed of three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

1 x 1 x 1 = 1

Scriptures Weekly 74 - Religion versus Faith

Human wisdom can never reconcile with Gods wisdom. A man intellectually understands contextual scripture, but hasn’t the heart condition nor the Spirit of God to embrace and spiritually understand what God is communicating to them (1 Cor.3:18-20).

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”

Noted and vocal self-proclaimed atheist intellectual Mr. Reza Aslan says,

“I understand religion intellectually and the Scriptures are viewed incorrectly as inerrant and literal.”

The leading theoretical physicist Steven Hawking now says,

"Science can prove God doesn't exist, that there is no aspect of reality beyond the reach of the human mind."

How would they know unless these gentlemen were God? Intellectually or scientifically understanding religion does not crack the spiritual code of truth. These men are not spiritually discerning to be able to understand spiritual scriptures to make such a statement. They are just an opinion however they arrived at it in the sea of lost souls until they obey the one true Gospel.

Zealous atheist disciples claim they are experts in religion. It’s amazing to see these people attack and make light of the very thing they disbelieve in, feeding the fire with contaminated fuel. You see, they always put the blame on “religion” completely bypassing what the Lords people live by. The Lords people live by faith in Christ and His resurrection, not religion or science. Here is a sobering thought - Religion and Science are actually provided by God for the disobedient that choose themselves over Him.

Only the person who has surrendered his or her life and heart to Lord & King, Jesus Christ by obeying the Gospel has been gifted the discernment and the tools from the Holy Spirit to understand the scriptures. Incredible, the disciple actually knows more than Steven Hawking!

Thus, the great gulf and separation of the Lords people from worldly intellectuals such as Reza Aslan and Stephen Hawking. This will never change as God is in control - All things down to the microscopic molecule come from Him, and all Glory goes to Him. The great physicist and thinker Steven Hawking would do himself a great service by faith and evidence, to embrace Gods original design in order to finally possess the whole picture of life and the universe he so loves in its purest and complete form. Then, he would fully know what he is talking about...

God’s Word says,

“For as a woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.” 1 Corinthians 11:12

Blessings

Video courtesy Hoover Institution

A Resurrection Lie!

In the interest of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 being our purpose here at SCRIPTURES WEEKLY, that being the teaching of God’s written word given by holy inspiration for reproof and correction, and instruction in righteousness - at the alarming behest of this recently released story, we wish to utilize Gods word to correct an unfortunate misuse of scripture in the world today.

Click this LINK for the bazaar resurrection story. Then come back and finish the lesson.

This is another sad case of believing in a wrong Jesus Christ, a wrong Gospel! The supposed "strong faith" these folks had and prayed under, is clearly seen as a deception from God Himself (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) to hopefully jar them and others who are reading this tragedy, out of their human wisdom, and submit to the wisdom of God through His word.

The common mistaken faith practice of scripture people use today for their own purposes is Matthew 20:21-22. This scripture is grossly taken out of context in the case of this story where the family believed so hard that they were waiting for the dead loved one to be resurrected from the dead. They missed a fundamental point of what God is teaching us about faith.

Jesus had just withered a fig tree after rebuking it (Jerusalem) for not having a new found faith in their Messiah right in front of them. As the preacher C.H. Spurgeon noted in one of his messages:

"Finding no fruit upon the tree, it being a season when he had no right to expect that there would be any, he was vexed, and uttered a malediction against a tree, as though it had been a responsible agent. This view of the case results from the folly of the observer: it is not the truth. Our Lord desired to teach his disciples concerning the doom of Jerusalem. The reception given him in Jerusalem was full of promise, but it would come to nothing. Their loud hosannas would change to, "Crucify Him!"

After the fig tree immediately withered before their eyes, they were amazed, and they asked the Master how it withered so quickly?

Back to Matthew 20:21-22 and the family who prayed over their loved one in the article. Jesus says:

"If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

The missed Clue

Do you see and hear the clue these people and their strong faith missed in understanding Christ’s words? In a nutshell, Jesus was directly speaking to the 12 disciples for whom He would later bestow power from on high. Not to you or me today or even other bystanders alongside the twelve disciples Jesus chose to continue His work. We have the advantage to see what happened with the twelve He is speaking to in this conversation about the fig tree. Just 5 weeks after Jesus went back to heaven, they became empowered Apostles equipped with the power to heal and raise the dead through the power of God and not of themselves. This is the proper context of Matthew 20.

This demonstrates just how important it is to dig deeper into Gods word to hear Him, and not assume one understands. He is preparing the 12 for the ministry to the Jews first in Jerusalem, and beyond. Along with 3 years of intimately teaching the 12 disciples, it is after the resurrected Jesus in His glorified state that He breathed upon the 12 the Holy Spirit giving them power from on high to actually do what He said they and they alone could do in Matthew 20:21-22.

This isn’t to say God is unable to resurrect anyone at any time He chooses. He certainly could according to His will, but we have no indication from His perfect word that such is the case. Sadly, these people misunderstood the scripture context and believed a lie.

The resurrection power was only reserved for the 12 disciples soon to become apostles in Acts chapter 2 when the church was born in Jerusalem. His will was not to resurrect the corpse today as there is no need to do so. God’s revelation is already proven in His word, the Bible. Everything He wants us to know has already been done. What He is looking for from us is a life of faith in Him, not a random miracle to serve our selfish desires. We need to be preparing ourselves for an eternity with Him! That we are “Gods handiwork, created in Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10).

There is no further revelation to man that needs to come from heaven. The only revelation we need today is through the Gospel by an individuals, right and true relationship with Jesus Christ,

This news story is just one of thousands of false teachings and misinterpretations of scripture today that the Lords true church has to contend with. It’s a sad thing to see good people so deceived and taught a wrong doctrine of God’s word. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39).

We hope you have learned a little more of the mind of Christ today.

Many blessings…

7th Day Sabbath Faq's

This week we have a very informative lesson on the Sabbath. And as you can see by the banner, the question posed is one every Christian should study and be clear on as he or she worships our all powerful, just and loving God. There is much misinformation and wrong teachings about the Sabbath. So much so there are whole religious movements claiming to be Christians that cling to a Sabbath keeping practice week end and week out. Is Sabbath keeping biblical? Does God endorse and honor the practice or does he turn His face away from it?

Please take some time to visit and listen to a 3 part video lesson that covers the subject with a biblical approach allowing just Gods Word to explain. It will be worth your time.

Click this LINK to the lesson.

Many blessings...

Scriptures Weekly 73 - Jesus Authority Questioned

This parable being shared by Jesus is spoken to the Jewish religious leaders which illustrates their rejection of His authority, and pronounces judgment on Israel for their rejection of their Messiah. In the Parable of the Two Sons, the leaders of Israel are the second son who claimed obedience, but did not do the will of the Father. As you read the accounting below, envision the scorn and outright rejection of Jesus as the Messiah to the Jews, and of the world today!


Matthew 21:23-32,

23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

24 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

Parables which give reproof, speak plainly to the offenders, and judge them out of their own mouths. The parable of the two sons sent to work in the vineyard, is to show that those who knew not John’s baptism to be of God, were shamed by those who knew it, and owned it. The whole human race are like children whom the Lord has brought up, but they have rebelled against him, only some are more plausible in their disobedience than others. And it often happens, that the daring rebel is brought to repentance and becomes the Lord’s servant, while the formalist grows hardened in pride and enmity. (Mt 21:33-46)

The parable of the Two Sons is actually about questioning doing the will of the Father (Jesus authority) by disobedience. One needs to read the full context beginning with verse 23 to see the mind of Christ flow into the verses beginning at verse 28. Baptism, is it from heaven or from men? That’s the point Jesus first shares, then he goes into obeying Him or not. The tax collectors and harlots Jesus is talking about are ones that repented and obeyed Johns teaching and were baptized out of repentance for the remission of sins. They are in the kingdom continuing the process of repenting (as us) of their prior sinful lifestyle to one day being free of their particular sin(s). They aren’t just non-repentant haters of God as we all once were at one time in our lives. They are headed for Paradise because they obeyed the gospel of John or Jesus wouldn’t have said it so. The following lesson outline explains it pretty right on.

1. Jesus often responded to questions from His disciples with a parable.

a. Cf. “The Unmerciful Servant” (Mt 18:21-35), in reply to a question about forgiveness.

b. Cf. “The Laborers In The Vineyard” (Mt 20:1-16), in reply to a question about what disciples would receive who have given up all to follow Jesus.

2. He also used parables in replying to some of the challenges by those who opposed Him.

a. During His final week in Jerusalem, He was challenged by religious leaders – Mt 21:23-27.

b. In response, He told three parables…

1) “The Two Sons” – Mt 21:28-32.

2) “The Wicked Vinedressers” – Mt 21:33-46.

3) “The Wedding Feast” – Mt 22:1-14.

I. THE PARABLE OF THE SONS AND ITS EXPLANATION

A. THE PARABLE ITSELF IS QUITE SIMPLE…

1. It is an account of a man with two sons and a vineyard.

2. The father tells his two sons to work in the vineyard.

a. The first son says he won’t go, but later regretted it and went.

b. The second son said he would, but did not actually go.

B. JESUS EXPLAINS THE PARABLE…

1. He begins with a question: “Who of the two did the will of his father?”

2. The answer is obvious, and the religious leaders reply “The first”

3. Jesus’ reply to the religious leaders is then very direct.

a. “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.”

b. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”

4. Jesus was applying this parable to the religious leaders of His day.

a. They were like the second son, who said he would go, but didn’t.

b. Whereas those tax collectors and harlots who repented at the preaching of John were like the first son, who first said no, but then went.

5. It must have been a shock to hear Jesus tell them that those despised by the Jews would enter the kingdom of God before their religious leaders!

6. But as Luke records in his gospel…

a. The tax collectors (and others) who accepted John’s baptism “justified God”

b. Whereas those religious leaders who were not baptized “rejected the counsel of God for themselves” – Lk 7:29-30.

II. APPLYING THE PARABLE TODAY

A. THE MAIN POINT OF THE PARABLE…

1. Is it not that we must be “doers” and not “sayers”?

2. As Hendriksen says in his commentary: “That lesson is, of course, this: the doing of the will of God is the one thing needful.”

3. Jesus emphasized this truth on other occasions as well:

a. In His Sermon on the Mount – Mt 7:21-27.

b. In giving The Great Commission before His ascension to heaven – Mt 28:20.

4. As John Stott wrote: “Greatness in the kingdom of God is measured in terms of obedience.” (Authentic Christianity)

B. THIS LESSON IS ONE SORELY NEEDED TODAY…

1. The doctrines of “cheap grace” and “easy believism” have created a generation of “sayers” and not “doers”
a. Many profess Jesus as Lord, but then don’t do what He says – cf. Lk 6:46.

b. They are like the second son, who says he will do the father’s will, but doesn’t.

2. Misunderstanding the doctrine of “salvation by grace through faith”, many people have concluded that requiring obedience to God’s command is “legalism” or “salvation by works of merit”

a. Yet nothing could be further from the truth!

b. Keeping the commandments of God is essential to salvation – Mt 7:21-23; 28:20; Jn 14:15,21,23; 15:10,14; 1Cor 7:19;1Jn 2:3-4.

3. What we must remember is this…

a. When we keep God’s commandments, we in no way earn or merit salvation.

b. We simply do that which is our duty to do, and always remain “unprofitable servants” saved by grace – cf. Lk 17:10; Tit 3:4-7.

c. Yet, we still “should be careful to maintain good works”! – Tit 3:1,8,14.

CONCLUSION

1. Remember that it was the “religious leaders” in Jesus’ day…
a. Who “rejected the counsel of God for themselves” in not accepting John’s teaching for the need for repentance and baptism.

b. Who likely believed that they had good “theological grounds” for not heeding the simple commands of God given through His preachers.

2. In similar fashion, many “religious leaders” of our day…

a. Reject the clear teaching of Christ and His apostles concerning the commands to repent and be baptized – cf. Mk 16:15-16; Acts 2:38.

b. They reject the “counsel of God for themselves” based upon “theological grounds” – When the common man who reads without preconceived notions has no problem understanding what the Scriptures teach on the subject.

3. Could it be that today there are many people (even “tax collectors” and “harlots”) who will enter the kingdom of God before many religious people do?

Blessings All…