Three qualities that characterize the life of a self-righteous person...

This week we have been looking at an event from history that is recorded in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. In this event from history, Jesus was telling a parable, an earthly story that was designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth that was directed to those in the crowd who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt.

And it is in this earthly story designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus in that inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires the humility to extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus.  

Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we recognize that everyone needs the message of the gospel. Both religious people and irreligious people need the message of the gospel.

The gospel is neither religion nor irreligion. Instead it is something else altogether. You see, religion makes law and moral obedience a means of salvation, while irreligion makes the individual a law to self. The gospel is that Jesus pays the penalty of our disobedience, so we can be saved by grace through our trust in Jesus life, death, and resurrection.

The problem is that there are people who do not see their selfishness and rebellion that separates them from God and therefore do not realize that they need to change the trajectory of their life that is moving away from God back to God. That is why Jesus would point such self righteous religious people back to the commands of God, so that they might become aware of their rebellion and need for rescue.

Now a question has been could arise here is "Well Dave, how do you know whether or not you are self righteous. I mean if self righteous people have a hard time seeing that they are self righteous, then how can they know they are self righteous?"

 If that question is running through your mind, I just want to let you know that you are asking a great question. And my response to that question is this: When we read the letters that make up the Bible, we discover three basic qualities that characterize the life of a self-righteous person.

The first quality that characterizes a self-righteous person is that of pride. In the parable the Pharisee was not offering an acceptable prayer to God as a result of wanting to hear from and spend time with God. Instead, the was congratulating himself so that God would hear and recognize how good he was. The Pharisee felt good about himself because of what he did for God in comparison to others. The Pharisee, in his prideful comparison, saw himself as being better than most people, especially the tax collector. By contrast, the tax collector prayed in a way that cried out for the mercy of God because he accurately saw himself in need of God’s mercy as a result of his selfishness and rebellion against God.

The second quality that characterizes a self-righteous person is a critical spirit. The Pharisee, in his self righteousness compared himself favorably to others who he could then look down on and display a negative attitude towards. The Pharisees self righteous devotion toward God produced a negative view of others. And as a result, the Pharisees focus was on the selfishness and rebellion of others instead of on his own selfishness and rebellion. The Pharisee pronounced judgment upon others based on external appearances. For the Pharisee, living right with God was about seeing others sin, condemning the sin and the sinner, and keeping himself separated from those who sin.

The third quality that characterizes a self-righteous person is a lack of mercy. The Pharisee’s critical spirit led to him displaying a lack of mercy toward the tax collector. However, for Jesus, mercy is at the very heart of obedience to God’s commands to His people. Mercy is at the heart of God’s commands to His people because God’s commands are a reminder of the mercy of God. You see, God’s commands are a reminder of the mercy of God because God continued to pursue the Jewish people in spite of their rebellion against God’s commands. The Lord desires a heart that is devoted to Him and that demonstrates that devotion by demonstrating mercy and love to others, not simply external acts of devotion that are done in public.

And because of that reality, inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we have a heart of humility towards Jesus and toward those who are far from Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are to remember that we desperately need Jesus as much as those who are far from Jesus need Jesus. We are to reject pride based on our religious performance and live a life that constantly trusts in Jesus performance for us.

Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we criticize ourselves, not others. Jesus challenges us to focus on our own selfishness and rebellion, not the selfishness and rebellion of others. When we focus on our own selfishness and rebellion instead of others, we will end up thinking very differently about the selfishness and rebellion of others. If we have a hard heart towards those who are far from Jesus, this is a sign that we do not understand our own rebellion and our own need for Jesus and His continual mercy and forgiveness. 

And inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we show mercy towards those who are far from Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we reveal and reflect Jesus to others when we extend mercy towards those who are far from Jesus. The problem we can experience, however, is that extending mercy to those who are far from Jesus is uncomfortable because it reveals our need for mercy. 

Extending mercy to those who are far from Jesus is costly because it disrupts our lives and reveals the selfishness and rebellion that is present in our own hearts. Extending mercy to those who are far from Jesus is time consuming, as it takes far more time than simply attending church and having quiet times with Jesus.

And because of that reality, we can resist extending mercy because mercy receives very little praise and garners little or no attention to ourselves from others. However, the timeless reality is that inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires the humility to extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus.

So here is a question to consider. Are you willing to demonstrate the humility to extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus? Are you willing to experience the uncomfortable tension that comes when we extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus?  Are you willing to pay the price in terms of time and the disruption that can occur in our lives when we extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus?

Because Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires the humility to extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus...

Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires the humility to extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus..

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. Yesterday, Luke began to give us a front row seat to this event from history by explaining who a parable that Jesus was about to communicate was directed to. You see, this earthly story that was designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth that was directed to those in the crowd who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt.

In other words, the target audience for this parable were those in the crowd that trusted in what they did for God in order to be right with God. The target audience for this parable were those in the crowd who compared what they did for God with what others did for God. The target audience for this parable were those in the crowd that looked down on others and who viewed others as being of little value and worth because they did not do for God what they did for God.  The target audience for this parable were those in the crowd who looked down on others as being of little value and worth because their performance for God did not measure up to how they performed for God.

Jesus began His parable by introducing the two characters of the parable, a Pharisee and a tax collector. Now in the Jewish culture of the first century, the Pharisees were viewed by most Jewish people as the spiritual superstars of the day. The Pharisees held positions of power and status in Jewish culture and were viewed as being insiders who were close to God. By contrast, in the Jewish culture of the first century, Jews who were tax collectors were hated by their fellow countrymen.  Jewish tax collectors were viewed as outsiders who were far from God.

Jesus explained that both the Pharisee and the tax collector went into the Temple to pray. Jesus explained that while the Pharisee was having time in communion with God, the Pharisee was not communicating to God about God. Instead, the Pharisee was not communicating with God. No, the Pharisee was communicating with Himself so that God could hear the conversation that he was having with himself.

The Pharisees prayer to himself, if communicating in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: God, I thank you for me. I thank you that I am not like these other people who are all up in here. I am not like that robber over there; I am not like that guy over there who does not do what is just and right; I am not like that dude over there who is always sleeping around on his wife. After all God, just look at me and all that I do for you. I take two times a week to give something up to create space for You. I always give 10% of the money that I get back to You. Just admit it God, I am awesome. After all look what I do for You that makes me so much better than everyone else that is here in church today.”

After revealing how the Pharisee prayed about himself to God, we see Jesus transition to reveal the prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18:13:

 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'

Instead of following the custom of the day by praying out loud in the presence of others, Jesus explained that the tax collector, standing some distance away from everyone else so as to not be seen or heard by anyone else, was unwilling to lift up his eyes to look at anyone else, let alone towards Heaven. When Luke tells us that the tax collector was beating his breast, this was a sign that was used in the culture of the day to demonstrate one’s humility and shame.

This tax collector, while looking to the ground and beating his breast in shame, simply proclaimed to God “be merciful to me, the sinner!” You see, this tax collector recognized that he lived his life in a way that did not measure up to God and was an outsider with God. And because of that reality, this tax collector entered into the Temple with a desire to spend time in communion with God so that He could communicate with God and plead for mercy from God. After introducing the characters in the parable and their prayers, Jesus concluded His parable by making His point unmistakably clear in verse 14:

  "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.".

Now when Jesus stated that the tax collector went to his house justified rather than the Pharisee, the word justified is a big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word that means to be found in the right when it comes to a relationship with God. Jesus point was that the tax collector, not the Pharisee would be found to be in a right relationship with God.

Jesus then made a statement that many people may not realize comes from the Bible. This statement is very familiar for a great many people, regardless of whether or not they have attended church or read the Bible: “for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." This statement by Jesus, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: everyone who considers themselves to be better than others so as to place themselves above others will have their prestige and status taken away from them by God, but he who has an attitude that places others before themselves will be placed above others by God.

And it is here, in this earthly story designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires the humility to extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus. In order to invite people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus, we must strive to have the humility to extend the mercy we have received from Jesus to those who are far from Jesus.

Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we recognize that everyone needs the message of the gospel. Both religious people and irreligious people need the message of the gospel. The gospel is neither religion nor irreligion. Instead it is something else altogether.

You see, religion makes law and moral obedience a means of salvation, while irreligion makes the individual a law to self. The gospel is that Jesus pays the penalty of our disobedience, so we can be saved by grace. The problem is that there are people who do not see their selfishness and rebellion that separates them from God and therefore do not realize that they need to change the trajectory of their life that is moving away from God back to God. That is why Jesus would point such self-righteous religious people back to the commands of God, so that they might become aware of their rebellion and need for rescue.

Now a question has been raised in your mind. And if we were having a conversation out in the courtyard coffeehouse, the conversation would sound something like this: Well Dave, how do you know whether or not you are self-righteous. I mean if self-righteous people have a hard time seeing that they are self-righteous, then how can they know they are self-righteous?”

“If that question is running through your mind, I just want to let you know that you are asking a great question. And Friday we will answer that question…

Targeting Self-Righteousness...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled “Invite”. During this series we are looking at several events from history where Jesus engaged and invited those who were far from Him to follow Him and live in relationship with Him.

During this series, we are going to discover what Jesus said to invite those who were far from Him to follow Him and live in relationship with Him. During this series, we are going to discover how Jesus said what He said to invite those who were far from Him to follow Him and live in relationship with Him. And as we go through this series, our hope and prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands in a way that equips and empowers us to follow the example of Jesus when it comes to inviting those who are far from Jesus to follow Jesus and live in relationship with Jesus.  

This week I would like for us to look at an event from history that is recorded in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And it is in a section of the gospel of Luke that we see Luke give us a front row seat to a confrontation that reveals a timeless truth about how Jesus engaged and invited someone who was far from Him to follow Him. However, before we jump into this event from history, we first need to understand the context in which this event from history took place.

In Luke 18, we find Jesus engaged in a conversation with a group of people who were the Pharisees. The Pharisees, who were the self righteous religious leaders of the day, asked Jesus a question about when the Kingdom of God would arrive on the earth. Jesus after answering their question, proceeded to engage in a conversation with His disciples surrounding what would happen at the end of God’s story here on earth so that they would not be deceived by any false teachers and their teaching concerning the end of God’s story here on earth, when the Messiah would return to earth.

Jesus then told a parable to His disciples to encourage them to live a life that pursued God in prayer and that did not become discouraged when they did not receive an immediate answer to their prayers. Now, as we have talked about in the past, a parable is an earthly story designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth. And it is in this context that Jesus turned to the crowds that were following Him to proclaim another parable. Now, with that context in mind, let’s jump into this event from history together, beginning in Luke 18:9:

And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:

Luke begins to give us a front row seat to this event from history by explaining who the parable that Jesus was about to communicate was directed to. You see, this earthly story that was designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth that was directed to those in the crowd who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt.

In other words, the target audience for this parable were those in the crowd that trusted in what they did for God in order to be right with God. The target audience for this parable were those in the crowd who compared what they did for God with what others did for God. The target audience for this parable were those in the crowd that looked down on others and who viewed others as being of little value and worth because they did not do for God what they did for God.  The target audience for this parable were those in the crowd who looked down on others as being of little value and worth because their performance for God did not measure up to how they performed for God.

Because that is what self-righteous people do. Self-righteousness, by very definition is to believe that you are right with God because of what you do, or have done, for God. Self-righteousness. Self-righteous people believe that they are right with God and are awesome because of all that they do for God, while believing those who are not right with God are awful because of what they do not do for God.

You see, self-righteous people often view others that do not measure up to their standard of performance as being of little value and worth, while viewing themselves as being of great value and worth. Self-righteous people often view those who do not do what they do for God as being of little value and worth, while viewing themselves as being of great value and worth because of all that they do for God.  After revealing the target audience for the parable, Luke then reveals the parable that Jesus told in verse 10. Let’s look at it together:

 ¹⁰ "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'

Jesus began His parable by introducing the two characters of the parable, a Pharisee and a tax collector. Now in the Jewish culture of the first century, the Pharisees were viewed by most Jewish people as the spiritual superstars of the day. The Pharisees held positions of power and status in Jewish culture and were viewed as being insiders who were close to God.

By contrast, in the Jewish culture of the first century, Jews who were tax collectors were hated by their fellow countrymen for two reasons. First, these tax collectors were hated because they would often charge higher taxes than necessary in order to make a profit. Since the Roman Empire did not care what these tax collectors charged as long as they received what was due them, many tax collectors became wealthy by charging over and above what the Romans asked.

Second, Jewish tax collectors were hated and were viewed as traitors because they were working for the enemy. Jewish people so despised tax collectors that they had a separate category for them. There were tax collectors and there were sinners. There were those who sinned and then there were tax collectors. Jewish tax collectors were viewed as outsiders who were far from God.

Jesus explained that both the Pharisee and the tax collector went into the Temple to pray. Now to fully understand the picture that Jesus is painting in this parable, we first need to understand what prayer is and what prayer looked like in Jesus day. Now prayer simply put, is a time where people spend time in communion with God and in communication with God.  In the Jewish culture of Jesus day, people prayed out loud in the temple.

So, for those who wanted to show how spiritual they were, they would pray in a raised voice so as to attract attention and impress others. And if that wasn’t enough, they would also repeat their prayer requests over and over again. However, Jesus explained that while the Pharisee was having time in communion with God, the Pharisee was not communicating to God about God.

Instead, did you notice who the Pharisee was having time in communion with: The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself”. You see, the Pharisee was not communicating with God. No, the Pharisee was communicating with Himself so that God could hear the conversation that he was having with himself. The Pharisee was praying to Himself and letting God know how thankful he was that he was so much better than those whose performance did not measure up to the moral standards of the day and were who viewed as being outsiders when it came to a relationship with God.

The Pharisees prayer to himself, if communicating in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: God, I thank you for me. I thank you that I am not like these other people who are all up in here. I am not like that robber over there; I am not like that guy over there who does not do what is just and right; I am not like that dude over there who is always sleeping around on his wife. After all God, just look at me and all that I do for you. I take two times a week to give something up to create space for You. I always give 10% of the money that I get back to You. Just admit it God, I am awesome. After all look what I do for You that makes me so much better than everyone else that is here in church today.”

After revealing how the Pharisee prayed about himself to God, we see Jesus transition to reveal the prayer of the tax collector in verse 13. Tomorrow we will look at that prayer…

Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we strive to expose the motives of the heart...

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. We looked on as Luke gave us a front row seat to this event from history by revealing the reality that Jesus continued his previous confrontation with a group of self righteous religious leaders by telling a parable. In this parable, there are two characters. The first character was a rich man, who represented God. The second character was a manager, who represented a member of the crowd, and us here today. Jesus used this parable, this earthly story, to reveal the reality that those who are His followers will demonstrate the proof of their faith and their relationship with Him by how trustworthy they are in handling the money, possessions, and treasure of this world.

Jesus challenged the crowds listening to be as wise about our spiritual future as those who are focused on the things of this world are about their financial future. Jesus then explained that when it comes to how we handle the money possessions, and treasure we have been given, the issue is not about the amount of money, possessions, and treasure. Jesus point was that the reason that we are in the financial situation that we are currently in, whether good or bad, is due to how we have managed the money, possessions, and treasure that we have been given.

Just adding more money to the problem does not solve the problem, because the problem is not a lack of money; the problem is a lack of faithfulness with the money that we have been given. Jesus point here is that if we are unfaithful, we are unfaithful; whether it is with $10, $100, or $1,000,000. After exposing the problem, Jesus continues by explaining the implications that the level of our faithfulness with money, possession, and treasure can have on our relationship with God in Luke 16:11-12:

"Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

In these verses, Jesus reveals for us the reality that how we handle money, possessions, and treasure here on earth impacts the depth of our relationship with God and our spiritual maturity. Jesus used two rhetorical questions to hammer His point home. First, in verse 11, Jesus asked “if you have been unfaithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, then who will entrust true riches to you?” Jesus was not looking for the disciples to answer the question, because the answer to the question was obvious.

Jesus point is that if we are unable to demonstrate faithfulness with the temporary treasure that we are given while on earth, which Jesus described as a very little thing in verse 10, then we will be unable to demonstrate faithfulness with the vastly greater spiritual treasure, such as mercy, justice, and faithfulness in our relationships with others, that flows out of a growing and maturing relationship with Him. And so we can find ourselves in a place where we are not growing spiritually in our relationship with Jesus because Jesus is not going to give to us the true spiritual treasure that flows out of a growing and maturing relationship with Him if we fail to demonstrate faithfulness with the temporary things of this earth, including money, possessions, and treasure.

And to hammer His point home, Jesus asked a second rhetorical question in verse 12: “If you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?” Again, Jesus is not looking for an answer, because the answer is painfully apparent. Jesus point is that if we are unfaithful with someone else’s treasure, we prove to be unworthy of being given anything of our own. Could it be that the reason why we do not possess what should be ours as a result of our relationship with Jesus, such as the goodness, brotherly kindness, and love that flows from a right relationship with the Lord is not ours to possess because we are not faithful with what He has given us materially and financially?

Jesus point is that our spiritual lives and our relationship with God stagnates and suffers when we fail to be faithful with what He gives us materially and financially. Jesus makes that point unmistakably clear as He concluded His explanation of this parable in verse 13:

"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Jesus made it clear that we cannot faithfully serve two masters. When Jesus uses the word serve, He is referring to someone who acts in total allegiance and total commitment to someone or something. Jesus point is that you cannot be totally and faithfully committed to two differing options. Jesus is reminding His followers that we cannot serve God and money because we will only be faithful to what we are devoted to.

The timeless reality is that God and money, possessions, and treasure compete for our total devotion. You will either be totally devoted to God, or you will be totally devoted to money, possessions, and treasure. Jesus point is that how we manage the treasure that we have been given reveals who or what we place our faith and trust in. And the level of faithfulness that we demonstrate when it comes to managing the temporary treasure that we have while on earth serves to provide the proof and reveal the depth of our faith. Luke then revealed how the Pharisees and scribes responded to Jesus parable in verse 14-15:

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

Luke explained that the Pharisees responded to Jesus by scoffing at Him. What is so interesting is that the word scoffing here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, is a word picture of someone holding up their nose in disdain of another. These self righteous religious leaders sneered at Jesus with contempt for Jesus. Luke then revealed the reason for their harsh response to Jesus was due to the fact that they were lovers of money. And because they were lovers of money, Jesus parable exposed that reality for all to see by how they responded to Jesus.

Jesus then exposed the Pharisees to the fact that they had been exposed: "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.” You see the Pharisees, while attempting to make themselves look like they were right with God in the sight of men, had exposed the reality that, in their heart of hearts, they served and worshiped money instead of God. And while their worship of money may have resulted in them receiving honor and respect among men, their worship of money was repugnant in the sight of God. And because of that reality, the Pharisees were exposed as having need to be rescued from their rebellion as a result of the motives of their heart being exposed for all to see.

And it is here, in this earthly story designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to following the example of Jesus by inviting those who are far from Jesus to follow Jesus and live in relationship with Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we strive to expose the motives of the heart. In order to invite people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus, we must strive to help those that we are inviting to follow Jesus see the motives of the heart that drive their lives.

Inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we strive to help uncover the secret motives of the heart in a way that exposes their need to trust and follow Jesus.  As followers of Jesus, we are to strive to lovingly engage those who are far from Jesus in a way that helps them see the motives that are driving their lives away from Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are to strive to lovingly engage those who are far from Jesus in a way that helps them see where the motives that are driving their lives are driving them to, so that they can see their need to turn from those motives and turn toward Jesus.

As followers of Jesus, we are to strive to lovingly engage those who are far from Jesus in a way that helps them to be as wise about their spiritual future as they are about their financial future. And to do that, as followers of Jesus, we must strive to expose the motives of their heart that drive the decisions that they make about their spiritual and financial futures. As followers of Jesus, we are to strive to expose the motives of the heart that drive their behavior by asking great questions that expose the motives of the heart. Questions like “Tell me more why you believe that? Why did you decide to do that? What drove you to decide that?’

And inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we speak clearly about what how our culture views and handles money, possessions, and treasure without denouncing and condemning the culture. You see, instead of denouncing and condemning the culture, Jesus used the way that the culture handled money, possessions, and treasure as a way to invite people to turn from their rebellion against Him to instead follow Him.  Jesus used the way that the culture outside the church operated to challenge and judge who considered themselves insiders, not condemn those who were outsiders. Because this morning, the timeless reality is that inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we strive to expose the motives of the heart.

So here is a question to consider: Are you willing to lovingly engage those who are far from Jesus in a way that helps them see the motives that are driving their lives? Are you willing to ask those who are far from Jesus why they do what they do so that they might come face to face with what motives are driving them to do what they do? Are you willing to speak clearly about what or how our culture views or does things without denouncing or condemning culture so that those who are far from Jesus would be able to see what motives are driving their life when it comes to culture? 

Because inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus requires that we strive to expose the motives of the heart…

A surprising response to being swindled...

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. Yesterday we looked on as Luke began to give us a front row seat to this event from history by revealing the reality that Jesus continued his previous confrontation with the self righteous religious leaders of the day by telling another parable. Jesus explained that word came back to the rich man that his manager was squandering his possessions. After receiving the report that the money, possessions, and treasure that he owned was being wasted by the manager, the rich man called the manager in for a meeting. The owner confronted the manager in a very direct manner: “What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.”

           

Jesus then explained that the manager responded by coming up with a plan. That plan was that the wasteful manager contacted each person who owed money to his master and renegotiated the terms of their debt. The manager negotiated what we would call in our culture today a series of short sales. In these short sales, the manager would collect what he could on the outstanding debt instead of risking never receiving any money from the debt that was owed.

These short sales were a great deal for those who owed money to the rich man. And the great deals that would come about as a result of these short sales would earn the wasteful manager favor in the eyes of those whose debt was being eliminated from the short sale. However, these short sales were not a great deal for the rich man. The rich man would end up losing money. Which is why what Jesus says next is so surprising. So let’s look together at what Jesus had to say about the manager’s plan in Luke 16:8:

"And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.

Jesus explained that the rich man was not mad at the wasteful manager for losing him more money. Instead, the rich man expressed admiration and approval for the wasteful manager because he acted shrewdly. Now this word shrewdly, in the language that this letter was written in, refers to having an understanding that was associated with insight and wisdom. Jesus then revealed what gained the wasteful manager admiration and approval in the eyes of the rich man: “for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.” But, what does that even mean? I mean, what is Jesus talking about here?

Jesus point here is that people who are far from God tend to be more prudent in dealing with those who are far from God than those who are close to God are in dealing with those who are far from God. The unrighteous and wasteful manager displayed more insight and wisdom in dealing with others around him who were far from God than someone who was close to God would have demonstrated. What the master praised the manager for was not the fact that he handled his money well. That is not Jesus point here.

What the master praised the manger for was his cleverness and prudent self-interest that would result in him developing relationships that would provide and support him after he lost his job as manager. But not only would the manager be viewed in a positive light by those who owed a debt to the master. The master would also have been viewed in a positive light by those who owed him a debt.

After all, the master generously allowed such a short sale to take place. The master would be viewed as being generous, even right and just in the eyes of those who owed debt. And as a result of that perception, word would spread about the master and his generosity and people would want to line up to do business with such a generous, just, and right master. And as a result, the master would become even more prosperous. Now if you find yourself a little confused by this parable, just wait until you see what Jesus says next in verse 9:

"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

Now, I imagine that this was one of the times where Jesus followers looked at one another and said “why does He always have to talk like that? Why does He say things like this?” So what is Jesus saying here? Is Jesus saying that you can earn your way into Heaven? Is Jesus saying that we are to use money to somehow influence and buy our way into Heaven?

Because, that is what it seems that Jesus is saying, doesn’t it? At first glance, Jesus seems to be saying that we are to make friends with God with the treasure we have on earth, so that when those temporary treasures cease to exist upon our death that we can get into Heaven. So, is that what Jesus is saying here?

To understand what Jesus is saying here, we first need to understand what He is not saying. Jesus is not saying to those who are far from God that they should use their money to buy their way into Heaven. This is not a command to use ill-gotten gain for one’s own selfish desires. Instead, Jesus is using this parable, this earthly story, to reveal the reality that those who are His followers will demonstrate the proof of their faith and their relationship with Him by how trustworthy they are in handling the money, possessions, and treasure of this world.

Jesus is challenging the crowds listening to question whether or not they are planning for their eternal future to ensure that they have security for the life to come. Jesus is challenging the crowds listening, and us today, to be as wise about our spiritual future as those who are focused on the things of this world are about their financial future.

We know this to be the case because of what Jesus says next in verses 10-13. When we read the accounts of Jesus life that are recorded for us in the Bible, Jesus often will first tell a parable and then explain the parable to His confused followers. In Luke 16:1-9, Jesus tells the parable. And in Luke 16:10-13, we see Jesus explain the parable. So let’s look at the explanation together beginning in verse 10:

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

After telling the parable, Jesus then explained that when it comes to how we handle the money possessions, and treasure we have been given, the issue is not about the amount of money, possessions, and treasure. In other words, Jesus explained to His disciples that the amount of treasure is not the issue. Jesus point is that the amount of treasure that one possesses does not make one more or less spiritual, because money, possessions, and treasure are amoral; they are not inherently good or evil.

However, the thing about money, possessions, and treasure that makes it so powerful is that treasure exposes the motives of our hearts. That’s why we can find ourselves feeling so convicted, I mean uncomfortable, when the subject of money, possessions, and treasure is brought up in church.  Jesus point is that when it comes how we will be judged as managers of God’s money possessions and treasure, the standard is faithfulness.

Now you might be thinking “if I only had more money then everything would be okay. If I only had more money, I would be able to get out of debt and pay off my credit cards and make my house payments.” What Jesus is saying here is “no everything wouldn’t be okay”.

Jesus point is that the reason that we are in the financial situation that we are currently in, whether good or bad, is due to how we have managed the money, possessions, and treasure that we have been given. Just adding more money to the problem does not solve the problem, because the problem is not a lack of money; the problem is a lack of faithfulness with the money that we have been given. Jesus point here is that if we are unfaithful, we are unfaithful; whether it is with $10, $100, or $1,000,000. After exposing the problem, Jesus continues by explaining the implications that the level of our faithfulness with money, possession, and treasure can have on our relationship with God.  

We will discover those implications and a timeless truth about inviting people to follow Jesus in a way that follows the example of Jesus Friday…

Confronting irresponsibility...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled “Invite”. During this series we are looking at several events from history where Jesus engaged and invited those who were far from Him to follow Him and live in relationship with Him. During this series, we are going to discover what Jesus said to invite those who were far from Him to follow Him and live in relationship with Him. During this series, we are going to discover how Jesus said what He said to invite those who were far from Him to follow Him and live in relationship with Him. And as we go through this series, our hope and prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands in a way that equips and empowers us to follow the example of Jesus when it comes to inviting those who are far from Jesus to follow Jesus and live in relationship with Jesus.  

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together looking at an event from history that is recorded in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And it is in a section of the gospel of Luke that we see Luke give us a front row seat to a confrontation that reveals a timeless truth about how Jesus engaged and invited someone who was far from Him to follow Him. However, before we jump into this event from history, we first need to understand the context in which this event from history took place.

In Luke 15, as Jesus was traveling toward the city of Jerusalem, large crowds were accompanying Him. And part of these large crowds consisted of tax collectors and sinners. These tax collectors and sinners were people who did not measure up to moral standards of the day in a way that resulted in them being viewed as outsiders. These were people who were far from God and who were viewed as outsiders by others.

And as these tax collectors and sinners who were far from God and who were viewed as outsiders were listening to the message and teachings of Jesus, both the Pharisees and the scribes who were the self righteous religious leaders of the day, responded to Jesus welcoming and engaging them by grumbling and complaining out loud. "How can this Jesus want to be around these outsiders" they grumbled out loud. "How can Jesus be friendly, engaging and teaching people like these who are far from God" they complained.  "How can Jesus go out to eat and hang out with such people".

Jesus responded to the grumbling of these self righteous religious leaders by telling a series of parables. Now a parable is an earthly story designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth. Through this series of parables, Jesus exposed the reality that while the Pharisees and scribes thought that they were insiders with God the Father, while viewing those who were lost and far from God as outsiders, they themselves were also outsiders who were in danger of failing to enter the kingdom of God as well. Now, with that context in mind, let’s jump into this event from history together, beginning in Luke 16:1:

Now He was also saying to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. "And he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.'

Luke begins to give us a front row seat to this event from history by revealing the reality that Jesus continued his previous confrontation by telling another parable. In this parable, there are two characters. The first character was a rich man, who represented God. The second character was a manager, who represented a member of the crowd, and us here today.

Jesus explained that word came back to the rich man that his manager was squandering his possessions. In other words, the manager was wasting all that the rich man had given him responsibility to manage. After receiving the report that the money, possessions, and treasure that he owned was being wasted by the manager, the rich man called the manager in for a meeting. The owner confronted the manager in a very direct manner: “What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.”

In other words, the owner is saying to the manager “I have received a report that you are wasting my money, possessions, and treasure. I have seen the evidence in the report and believe that it is true. So, I want to know what you have to say for yourself. You were under obligation as the manager of my finances to manage my finances. But what I am hearing and seeing is that you are not fulfilling your obligation to responsibly manage my finances. And, because of that reality, you are going to have to give an account for why you have failed to fulfill your obligation to manage my finances. In addition, you are no longer going to be in a position to have access to or manage my finances. I am no longer going to enable your irresponsibility by continuing to provide for you financially. Jesus then explained how the manager responded as He continued the parable in verse 3-4:

"The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. 'I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.'

Now the manager’s response, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “Uh oh, I am about to lose my job because I have wasted my boss’s treasure; my irresponsibility is going to result in a loss of my job and income. What am I going to do? How am I going to support myself financially? I am too weak to work a job that requires manual labor. And I am too proud to beg. How am I going to survive?”

Jesus then explained that the manager came up with a plan; a plan that would result in the people around him being receptive enough to him that they would provide hospitality and support him financially until he would be able to find work. Jesus then revealed the wasteful managers plan in verse 5-7:

"And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' "And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  "Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'

Jesus explained that the wasteful manager contacted each person who owed money to his master and renegotiated the terms of their debt. The manager negotiated what we would call in our culture today a series of short sales. In these short sales, the manager would collect what he could on the outstanding debt instead of risking never receiving any money from the debt that was owed.

Now, as you might imagine, these short sales were a great deal for those who owed money to the rich man. And the great deals that would come about as a result of these short sales would earn the wasteful manager favor in the eyes of those whose debt was being eliminated from the short sale. However, these short sales were not a great deal for the rich man. The rich man would end up losing money. Which is why what Jesus says next, in verse 8, is so surprising.

Tomorrow we will look at what Jesus had to say about the manager’s plan…