Sunday, May 1, 2011

Gospel of Luke Sundays at 10:30am

Grace vs. Law Part 3

1.5.2011

Luke 6: 6- 11

Good morning everyone. It´s wonderful to see all of you here this morning. We thank God for everyone of you.

As most of you know…..at Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden….. We teach through the Bible verse by verse……

Why ? I´m glad you asked …… It´s because in order to understand our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ….you need to see the big picture……

This book is true all of it…… every page points to Jesus….

1…. the promises…..

2….. the prophesies…..

3….. the word pictures …. the symbolism found in the tabernacle and in the feasts….. It all points to JESUS

Everywhere we look in the Bible……. we see God´s unfailing love and mercy…… everywhere we look we see the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World……

As we continue in our study of Luke…. Jesus is again showing the difference between the religion of the Pharisees….. and the GOSPEL ……….. Religion makes us proud and judgmental……. The Good news of the gospel produces true repentance……. true repentance comes from a changed heart ………

Grace vs. Law It´s a Battle!

The New birth vs. tradition and religious activity

Jesus vs. The scribes and Pharisees

Today we look at round 3 ….. But First….. Let´s review for a few minutes…..

In round 1……. the conflict was about fasting and prayer……..The Pharisees were specialists in these matters…… everyone knew how diligent and careful they were to pray and fast often….. They were experts in the fine points of the law…..

They made sure that everyone knew how carefully they followed the law and the rules …… rules that they thought would help them win God´s blessing….. rules they had made to demonstrate their spiritual superiority to all others….. They prayed in public…. loudly…… they made sure that they looked like they were fasting……..The common people were very impressed…..Jesus said on another occasion…..they already had their reward…….the people praised them constantly……and the Pharisees ate it up…… they loved the rules…. They took great pride in their traditions….they were certain that God was pleased with them ….. not…..

Really…… they knew that they were hypocrites……. They comforted themselves in the praise of the People……They tried to make the people do everything exactly the way they did it……do this…… do that…… don´t do that …… They put the heavy…. really ……. impossible yoke of the law …… on themselves and everyone who wanted to be godly……

They had a joyless legalistic relationship with God……. They knew nothing of grace and mercy……….

Now Here is Jesus ….. Full of grace and truth……preaching repentance and grace ….. Grace is joyful and liberating….. Jesus and his disciples were feasting and celebrating….. enjoying the presence of the Messiah….learning about grace and mercy and forgiveness…….

The Pharisees stayed away from sinners……. Jesus ….The great Physician went to them….. He loved them……… He showed them Father…

Rules and The law condemn….. The law is there to show us our sin…….. and to cause us to repent ……… to cry out to God for forgiveness……

We know we don´t obey the law of God….. not from our hearts…… not in the natural…..not until we come to know the Lord Jesus……without Jesus we cannot keep the law…..

Then as we continued in the Gospel of Luke….. we saw in Luke 6: 1- 5 ……round 2 of Grace vs. the Law……. The players are the same….. Jesus vs. the scribes and Pharisees……. The issue in this round …. Keeping the Sabbath rules ….. Jesus´ disciples were picking and eating grain on the Sabbath….

Of all of the rules of the Pharisees……the most important to them were the rules regarding the Sabbath ……. God´s Sabbath rules were not complicated…….

1 rest……..don´t work

2 Worship Me Worship the LORD……..

Easy right? …… Too easy for the super spiritual of Jesus´day …… The scribes and Pharisees wrote hundreds of pages of rules in order to perfectly obey these commands…. Remember back in verse Luke 6: 2…..

V2 …..The Pharisees said ……… Why are you breaking the Law????

Grumble ….grumble…… What Law were the disciples breaking?..... The disciples weren´t breaking God´s laws ……

1. Don´t work ….

2. Worship me…..

They were upset about their rules being ignored …….. speaking about rules….. Remember…..they demanded that others obey the law…… even though they knew that they were not obeying them…..not from their hearts…..

Religious people struggle under their rules and laws…… they end up with a joyless…… relationship to the Father….. They are unforgiving and unkind to others……. Laying a heavy (Amish) burden of rules and rules about rules ….. on everyone else…..even though they know they are not really obeying them themselves……. Jesus continues to tell the truth to them….. and they didn´t like it……. They hated Jesus….. In your own Bible study times read John 8……The Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery………Jesus got to the heart of the matter…… They hated the truth….so they hated him…..let´s read a few verses…..

John 8: 44- 47 NLT

44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

John 8: 44- 47 Neues Leben

44 Ihr habt den Teufel zum Vater, und ihr tut mit Vorliebe die bösen Dinge, die er tut. Er war von Anbeginn an ein Mörder und hat die Wahrheit immer gehasst. In ihm ist keine Wahrheit. Wenn er lügt, entspricht das seinem Wesen, denn er ist ein Lügner und der Vater der Lüge.

45 Wenn ich euch also die Wahrheit sage, ist es nur natürlich, dass ihr mir nicht glaubt!

46 Wer von euch kann mir zu Recht eine Sünde vorwerfen? Und wenn ich euch aber die Wahrheit sage, warum glaubt ihr mir dann nicht?

47 Wer Gott zum Vater hat, der hört Gottes Worte. Dass ihr nicht darauf hört, zeigt, dass ihr nicht Gottes Kinder seid.«

Jesus showed them the truth about themselves…… But when Jesus told them the truth….

He was showing them Mercy…. Because there was still time for them to see their own hearts in the light of God ´s word ….. there was still time to repent and believe the Gospel……

THE TRUTH!

This is exactly what many people ….. cannot accept……. So they inent a religion that they can feel good about….

I will earn my salvation…. I will do works….. I will give alms…… Surely God will be happy with me then ……

They don’t believe that what God really wants is mercy rather than ( Stat) sacrifice (Hosea 6:6) They won´t accept that loving others is more important than religious rituals (Isaiah 58:1-9, Psalm51……)

Remember in Luke 6…. v5….. Jesus declared that He is LORD of the Sabbath ……. This is a quote from Daniel 7…… Jesus really said…. I am God ….I am LORD of the Sabbath…..

Everyday Jesus shined the light of truth on their hearts …… Because He is kind to his enemies…….. Jesus told them the Truth because He loves them…… He wants them to repent….. but they hate Him for it ……. In less than 2 years they will kill Him……. They want to shut him up!

Today as we continue in the Gospel of Luke….. we are again in Luke 6 ……round 3 …..Grace vs. the Law……. The players are the same….. Jesus vs. the scribes and Pharisees……. The issue is again the same…..…. Keeping the Sabbath rules…..

Jesus again gets to the heart of the matter in the text for today…………. Is it lawful to do good or to do evil…… Let´s continue in Luke 6 …… Round 3……. Are we to do good?

Luke 6: 6- 9 NLT

6 On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. 7 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

8 But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. 9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

Luke 6 : 6- 9 Neues Leben

6 An einem anderen Sabbat befand sich ein Mann mit einer verkrüppelten Hand in der Synagoge, während Jesus lehrte.

7 Die Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer passten genau auf, ob Jesus den Mann am Sabbat heilen würde, denn sie suchten nach einem Vorwand, Anklage gegen ihn zu erheben.

8 Doch Jesus wusste sehr wohl, was sie dachten. Er sagte zu dem Mann mit der verkrüppelten Hand: »Komm her und stell dich hier in die Mitte.« Da stand der Mann auf.

9 Dann sagte Jesus zu ihnen: »Ich habe eine Frage an euch. Entspricht es dem Gesetz, am Sabbat Gutes zu tun, oder ist der Sabbat ein Tag, um Schaden zuzufügen? Ist er ein Tag, um Leben zu retten oder zu vernichten?«

Luke 6 : 10- 11 Neues Leben

10 Er sah einen nach dem anderen an und sagte dann zu dem Mann: »Streck deine Hand aus.« Der Mann streckte seine Hand aus, und sie wurde wieder gesund!

11 Darüber gerieten die Gegner von Jesus außer sich vor Zorn und sie begannen, Pläne zu schmieden, was sie gegen ihn unternehmen könnten.

v6….. on another sabbath……. Jesus went to church….. to fellowship and Worship……. He taught the scriptures …… He opened the scriptures and taught everywhere He went……. a man with a withered hand was in the meeting….….. in greek…..his hand was like a dry branch…. useless……

This is Surely God´s judgment on him! …… That´s what the Pharisees taught……….. remember they had no interest in Mercy ……. Only in proving that they were better than others……making sure that everyone knew that they were Godly …… Judgmental attitudes and unforgiveness are not Godly …..They are wicked….

Many years ago…. Pastor Giles had a deformed hand….. Probably polio ……. He was a genuine believer…… and a Wonderful Bible teacher…. He wasn´t cursed by God…. He received God´s mercy and unfailing love …… He was joyful and wonderfully used by God…..

v7….. even worse….. the Pharisees were looking to accuse Jesus of blasphemy….….. they were the ones who were plotting evil…..

v8……. He knew their thoughts …..

Jesus…. discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart….. Jesus is the living word of God…….He discerns the thoughts of hearts….. Hebrews 4: 12- 13…..

stand up …… A public display of His power and authority……

v9…… He asked a perfect question……. Jesus knew what they were thinking……. He was planning to do good…… they were planning to do evil……to kill him….. He said….Is the Sabbath a day for doing good ….or for doing evil…….. To save life or destroy……

They could not answer….. If they said evil……. They would be proven to be the wicked deceivers that they really were…….

If they said Good…..Then they would grant that Jesus should do good and heal this man…… they were silent…… speechless ……

The Rabbi´s had decided that to help or heal someone on the Sabbath……. was a violation of the Sabbath…… It was a sin to help a person ……. It was OK to get an animal out of a ditch…… But not to help a person…… The only exceptions were babys and someone who was dying…… Crazy…….

Healing….. Doing good is not a violation of the law….. it´s the fulfilling of the law…… it´s genuine religion……

Listen…….not helping someone in need….is evil …… do you hear me…. It´s evil……. If we are not willing to help someone in need …. We are hypocrites…… just like these Pharisees…… We are not demonstrating the love of God at all……..

Doing nothing is wicked….. Isaiah 1, Is 58…..

I don´t care how wonderful my prayers are…… It does not matter if I fast or tithe ……….. or wash my hands perfectly…..It ´s all pointless…..it´s a lie….a joke……. If I refuse to help those in need …..

If I judge and criticize the poor……… or the unbeliever….. or my brothers and sisters in Christ….. I am showing what is in my Heart…… it´s not a pretty sight……

Even we born again…. Bible believing…….. Godly CCWiesbadeners are in danger of letting pride get in our way….. We forget that we are sinners….. saved by grace…..WE think that we are more Godly than …… brother so and so…. Or sister so and so…… we are in danger of becoming the Pharisees of the 21st century…… Amish stories

v10…. Stretch out your hand…….. Jesus always moved toward the need….. because of his mercy and unfailing love……

Application

We don´t have a list of rules and rules about rules….do this don´t do that……. But

We have got other things that we do……

quiet times ….

scripture memory ……..

tithing……

visiting the sick…….

Fasting and prayer ….. etc ……

None of these things are wrong……..

It isn´t wrong to fast or pray lots……. It is not wrong to tithe…… It´s good to tithe……It´s not wrong to do any of these things…… they are good…….

But they don´t make us more Godly……They don´t make us super Christians…… The things we do because of Jesus work in our hearts…… do not make us better than others…..

We can become self righteous and hypocritical …….. proud and stubborn…… loving rules….obeying rules……. we can preach ourselves…. Our goodness……… Our righteousness….. Instead of preaching the love and forgiveness found in Jesus alone……. Paul said this about his ministry …… Acts 20: 24……. so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

The Good News of our LORD Jesus….. Is The Gospel of the grace of God….. Faith and trust in Jesus is incompatible with religion …… even traditional religious forms of Christianity …..… It´s not the Gospel…..

The Gospel is Good News because…..we can never earn our salvation………We need a savior…..We need a new heart….we need to repent of our sins ….. and then we find forgiveness at the foot of the Cross….. We receive Grace …….

Grace covers everything ….. It replaces all of our religious activities…… with Gods´s work for us……. A transformed life…. A new heart…..His mercy …..His unfailing Love……….His grace…..shown to us in Jesus…. He saves us……

If He didn´t there would be no hope ……. And ….this is very important …..

He saves us because of who He is ……not because we deserve mercy…….we deserve to die ….. we are dead in our trespasses and sins……..

but God who is rich in mercy…… He redeemed us…. because of His unfailing Love! ...... Ephesians …….

No one can ever earn the forgiveness and blessing of God by doing stuff…….

No system of works can ever make anyone righteous…..

The Pharisees have totally forgotten to show grace and mercy…….. They will not forgive ………… or cover their neighbors faults with love and mercy…… Hard hearted and merciless……. Judging and condemning anything short of perfection…… demanding perfection of others……. But ……

All the stuff they did to earn favor…. And impress men didn´t help them ….. because their hearts were empty ……. their relationship with the Father was based on their efforts…… they were pretending to love the Lord their God with all of their heart and soul and strength ……. They knew they were hypocrites….

Why were they pretending? Because……..

Rituals and rules are very attractive…..we love rules….. Why?...... rules are much easier than repentance…… the problem is that they profit nothing ……. nothing….

Jesus shakes the religious Leaders to the core….…. He shows them the joy of true religion …… They had lots of rules……they even told themselves that they are Godly…….. and spiritual ………. God´s perfect chosen people….

But they knew they were hypocrites…….pretending to be perfect….. hiding their pride and selfishness…… hiding their hatred of others…… washed and clean on the outside…… but full of dead men’s bones……they thought others were undeserving of the grace they worked so hard for….….

The Pharisees loved their rules and rituals…they were very religious…..very spiritual……

Rituals and rules…… Our traditions can comfort us ….they can provide a religious experience…….they can help us to feel good about ourselves……. because they feed our pride…..We can be proud of ourselves because we are not like that hypocrite…… We sit around and judge others…….even calling them hypocrites…. Pointing the finger at others….. sinner….. hypocrite……..What pride and foolishness….

The biggest sinner I know is me…. not you…….. because I know all the garbage that I wrestle with….

v10….. they were filled with rage….. Matthew´s Gospel records that they plotted to destroy Him….. They were filled with fear….and hatred…..

Pharisees…. An age old problem…… Isaiah preached about it….. The Israelites went thru the motions……..they were hypocrites….. Rules and legalism……. they make us judgmental and unloving…… of others……. We become selfish and ungodly……..turn to Is 58: 4…..

Isaiah 58: 4- 10 NLT

4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. 5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? 6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. 8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

Isaiah 58: 4- 10 Neues Leben

4 Während ihr fastet, zankt und streitet ihr und schlagt mit gottloser Faust zu. Ihr fastet zurzeit nicht so, dass ihr eurer Stimme damit im Himmel Gehör verschaffen könntet.

5 Soll das ein Fasten sein, wie ich es liebe? Und soll das bei mir als der Tag gelten, an dem sich ein Mensch selbst erniedrigt? Ihr senkt den Kopf wie ein Grashalm. Dazu kleidet ihr euch in Sack und Asche. Nennt ihr das Fasten? Glaubt ihr, dass so ein Tag dem Herrn angenehm sein könnte?

6 Fasten, wie ich es liebe, sieht doch vielmehr so aus: Lasst die zu Unrecht Gefangenen frei und gebt die los, die ihr unterjocht habt. Lasst die Unterdrückten frei. Zerbrecht jedes Joch.

7 Ich möchte, dass ihr euer Essen mit den Hungrigen teilt und heimatlose Menschen gastfreundlich aufnehmt. Wenn ihr einen Nackten seht, dann kleidet ihn ein. Verleugnet euer eigenes Fleisch und Blut nicht.

8 Wenn du so handelst, wird dein Licht aufleuchten wie die Morgenröte. Deine Heilung wird schnelle Fortschritte machen. Deine Gerechtigkeit geht dir dann voraus und die Herrlichkeit des Herrn folgt dir nach.

9 Dann wirst du rufen und der Herr wird antworten. Du wirst um Hilfe schreien und er wird antworten: `Hier bin ich.´ Entferne die Unterdrückung aus deiner Mitte. Lass die höhnischen Fingerzeichen und das trügerische Reden!

10 Öffne dem Hungrigen dein Herz und hilf dem, der in Not ist. Dann wird dein Licht in der Dunkelheit aufleuchten und das, was dein Leben dunkel macht, wird hell wie der Mittag sein.

Close

Last week we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus…… The proof of the resurrection?......

It´s us……. Jesus moved to the need He ministered to the lost and hurting ……..We prove the resurrection of Jesus to this 21st century generation when we show our changed lives……loving and caring for each other ….. reaching out to the hurting…… and the lost…..

Ephesians 2: 1- 10 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2: 1- 10 Neues Leben

1 Auch ihr wart früher tot aufgrund eurer Sünden.

2 Ihr habt genauso in der Sünde gelebt wie der Rest der Welt, beherrscht von Satan, der im Machtbereich der Luft regiert. Er ist der Geist, der in den Herzen derer wirkt, die Gott nicht gehorchen wollen.

3 Wir alle haben früher so gelebt und uns von den Leidenschaften und Begierden unserer alten Natur beherrschen lassen. Wir wurden mit dieser Natur geboren und waren Gottes Zorn ausgeliefert wie alle anderen Menschen auch.

4 Doch Gott ist so barmherzig und liebte uns so sehr,

5 dass er uns, die wir durch unsere Sünden tot waren, mit Christus neues Leben schenkte, als er ihn von den Toten auferweckte. Nur durch die Gnade Gottes seid ihr gerettet worden!

6 Denn er hat uns zusammen mit Christus von den Toten auferweckt und wir gehören nun mit Jesus zu seinem himmlischen Reich.

7 So wird er für alle Zeiten an uns seine Güte und den Reichtum seiner Gnade sichtbar machen, die sich in allem zeigt, was er durch Christus Jesus für uns getan hat.

8 Weil Gott so gnädig ist, hat er euch durch den Glauben gerettet. Und das ist nicht euer eigenes Verdienst; es ist ein Geschenk Gottes.

9 Ihr werdet also nicht aufgrund eurer guten Taten gerettet, damit sich niemand etwas darauf einbilden kann.

10 Denn wir sind Gottes Schöpfung. Er hat uns in Christus Jesus neu geschaffen, damit wir zu guten Taten fähig sind, wie er es für unser Leben schon immer vorgesehen hat.