Sermon #104 Luke
Sermons
Title: How Must A Sinner Come To God?
Text: Luke 14:7-11
Subject: A Show of Humility and True Humility
Date: Sunday Evening—
Tape # X-79b
Introduction:
You may have noticed that it has been almost two
months since I preached to you from the book of Luke. My last message to you
from this book was taken from Luke 14:1-6, which describes our Lord’s miracle
of grace on the sabbath day in healing the man with
the dropsy in the house of one of the chief Pharisees.
You may have thought that I
have forgotten that I have been preaching through the book of Luke, or just
decided to stop at Luke 14:6. That is not the case. I have been studying this
chapter for these last two months, trying to seek God’s message to our souls in
the passage. I am confident that the Lord has given me that message. Let’s pick
up in verse 7. The title of my message is this—How
must a sinner come to God?
(Luke
14:7-11) "And he put forth a
parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief
rooms; saying unto them, {8} When thou art bidden of any man to a
wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou
be bidden of him; {9} And he that bade thee and him come and say to
thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
{10} But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in
the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee,
Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that
sit at meat with thee. {11} For whosoever
exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be
exalted."
If we are to understand this
portion of Scripture, we must read it and interpret it in its context. Our Lord is not here
giving us a lesson on moral virtue. This is obvious for three reasons:
1. He is addressing a band of
lost, self-righteous religious Pharisees.
2. That which he says here
simply is not true with regard to earthly things.—In
this world, if you want to get ahead, you must push your way ahead. If you want
the highest seat, you must take it. If you are willing to settle for the lowest
place, you are sure to get it. Everyone around you will gladly accommodate your
wish.
3. In his Sermon on the Mount
(Matt. 6:1-8), our Savior taught us plainly that we must never attempt, in any
way, to show our religion, to show godliness, or to show spirituality and
devotion to God by any outward action.—Let us adorn the gospel (Tit. 2:10) by our
behavior, always. But we must never make a show of godliness.
Having said that, be sure
you understand
Christ’s Example
Clearly, our Lord teaches us, by the parable in
these verses, throughout the Scriptures, and by his own example that we ought
to be, and always behave as, truly humble people. One passage will be
sufficient to show this—Philippians 2:1-11.
(Phil
2:1-11) "If there be therefore
any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, {2} Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be
likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
{3} Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. {4} Look not every
man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. {5} Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: {6} Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: {7} But
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men: {8} And being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
{9} Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name: {10} That at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under
the earth; {11} And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Here (Luke 14:7-11) our Master teaches humility in
two ways. First, he tells those who are bidden to a wedding to “sit down in
the lowest room.” Second, he declares a great principle, which frequently
fell from his lips: “Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
KEY
The key to this parable is found in Proverbs 25:6-7.
(Prov
25:6-7) "Put not forth thyself in
the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: {7} For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up
hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince
whom thine eyes have seen."
The Lord must have had this passage in mind when he spoke this
parable. He is the King to whose wedding feast sinners are bidden, before whom
we must come in humility.
The shame and confusion of face which in this parable is
represented as the lot of mortified pride does not always follow it in this world.
Self-assertion, self-assumption, forwardness, and boasting, do not always
entail a disgraceful fall upon the man who displays them. The meek do not as
yet “inherit the earth,” though they assuredly will. David asks, how is it that ungodly men “speak so disdainfully,
and make such proud boastings.”
Men who are ambitious and self-seeking at times attain to the
height of their ambition, provided, of course, that they have other qualities,
such as prudence, cleverness, and perseverance. But a day is coming when the
words of Christ with which the parable concludes (v. 11), will be verified in
the case of every man. He is the King before whom all pride displays itself,
and before whom it will be abased.
And there is the greater reason that He should do so, for when He
had the highest place in the universe next to the Eternal Father, He abased
Himself, and took the lowest place, even the place of the cross of death, in
order to save and exalt forever all who humble themselves
before. The Judge at that day will remember and humble every act of pride, just
as he will remember and reward those who humble themselves before him. He will
bring every idle word into judgment, and make manifest the secrets of all
hearts.
Yet, this humility is so contrary to our nature that we can
never attain it. We can never perform it. We must be humbled by our God,
or we will never humble ourselves before God. Oh, may God graciously humble us
here rather than hereafter? It may be very bitter to have our pride mortified
now, but it will be indescribably more bitter to have
it mortified before men and angels, and before the presence of the great King
and Judge of all the earth!
J. C. Ryle wrote, “Humility may well
be called the queen of the Christian graces.” To know our own sinfulness and
weakness, and to know our need of Christ, is the very beginning of salvation.
This thing called “salvation” begins with the conviction of sin. Abraham, and
Moses, and Job, and David, and Daniel, and Paul, were all truly humble men.
They were men who knew themselves sinners before the thrice holy Lord God,
sinners chosen, redeemed, called, forgiven, justified, and accepted in Christ.
What is humility? One word describes it. The
root of humility is right “knowledge.” It is wrought in us by the revelation of
Christ to us in that day when the Fountain of redemption is opened to us (Zech.
(Zec
12:10) "And I will pour upon the
house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and
of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall
be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."
(Zec
13:1) "In that day there shall be a
fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of
The man who really knows
himself and his own heart, who knows God and his infinite majesty
and holiness, who knows Christ, and the price with which he has been redeemed,
that man is a humbled man. He counts himself, like Jacob, unworthy of the least
of all God’s mercies. He says of himself, like Job, “I am vile.” He
cries, like Paul, “I am chief of sinners.” (Gen. 32:10; Job 40:4; 1 Tim.
1:15).
He considers anything good enough for him, and indescribably better
than he deserves. In lowliness of mind he esteems his brethren better than
himself (Phil. 2:3). Ignorance—nothing but sheer ignorance—ignorance of self,
of God, and of Christ, is the cause of all pride. From that miserable self-ignorance
may we daily pray to be delivered! He is the wise man who knows himself; and he
who knows himself, will find nothing within to make him proud and everything to
humble him.
But our Lord does not here
set humility before these Pharisees as a virtue to be cultivated. Rather, he is
here exposing and rebuking the pride of that self-righteousness and unbelief
that keeps sinners from trusting him.
Look at the context in which
this parable is given. Our Lord has just healed a poor, despised, needy man of the dropsy on
the sabbath day, thereby condemning the Pharisees who
used him to bait a trap by which they hoped to destroy our Lord’s credibility
as God’s prophet (vv. 1-6).
Now, notice that the opening
word of verse 7, though it begins a new paragraph, is a conjunction. When the
Pharisees could not answer him, we read…
(Luke 14:7) "And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms."
Then, after giving the
parable, the Lord declares to the proud Pharisee who had invited him to dinner
that true humility, true goodness serves those who can give nothing in return,
from whom no benefit can be derived (vv. 12-14).
(Luke
14:12-14) "Then said he also to him
that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor
thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they
also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. {13} But when thou
makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: {14} And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee:
for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Again, I must tell you what
the Lord is not teaching. He is not teaching this work monger how to earn God’s
blessing in the resurrection. Rather, he is teaching this man how God dispenses
his favor—FREELY! The gospel of Christ is likened to an invitation to a
great feast. And the Lord God, our great Savior graciously calls the
poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, those who cannot recompense him, to
his banqueting table.
One man in the crowd
understood exactly what the Master was saying. Look at verse 15.
(Luke
14:15) "And when one of them that
sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed
is he that shall eat bread in the
Then, our Lord continues his instruction. Remember, he is still in the
Pharisee’s house. He is still talking about how men are to behave when they are
invited to a wedding feast, specifically how poor sinners must come to God’s great
wedding feast.
(Luke
14:16-24) "Then said he unto him, A
certain man made a great supper, and bade many: {17} And sent his
servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things
are now ready. {18} And they all with one consent
began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of
ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. {19} And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go
to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. {20} And
another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. {21} So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then
the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into
the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the
maimed, and the halt, and the blind. {22} And
the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is
room. {23} And the lord said unto the servant,
Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my
house may be filled. {24} For I say unto you,
That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper."
Now, let’s go back to verse
11 and learn what our Lord is teaching us here. How must a sinner come to
God?
Proposition: We must come to God, we
must come to Christ as humble, worthless, doomed, damned, helpless, bankrupt
sinners, taking our place in the dust before him.—"For whosoever
exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
This is a mystery that
natural men do not understand. This is something no man will ever understand
until he is born of God and taught by his Spirit (1 Cor. 2:7-14).
(1
Cor 2:7-14) "But we speak the
wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God
ordained before the world unto our glory: {8} Which
none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory. {9} But as it is written,
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. {10} But God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. {11} For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of
man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth
no man, but the Spirit of God. {12} Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we
might know the things that are freely given to us of God. {13} Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things
with spiritual. {14} But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned."
·
In the natural world the way up is up, but in the spiritual world the
way up is down. "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
·
In the natural world, to live is to live, but in the spiritual world
the way to live is to die (Matt.
(Mat
·
In the natural world men find satisfaction in their own strength, but
Paul declared, "When I am weak, then
·
The greatest thing God can do for a person (whatever the cost) is to
show him in heart and soul the vanity of all things in this world (Eccles. 1:2,
14) and to turn his interest, affection, love and concern from the world to
Christ (Matt. 5:3-12).
(Mat
5:3-12) "Blessed are the
poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {4} Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted. {5} Blessed are the meek: for
they shall inherit the earth. {6} Blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be
filled. {7} Blessed are the merciful:
for they shall obtain mercy. {8} Blessed are
the pure in heart: for they shall see God. {9} Blessed
are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
{10} Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {11} Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for
my sake. {12} Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your
reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before
you."
To be full is to be emptied
of self, to be wise is to become a fool for Christ's sake, to be clothed is to
be stripped, to receive is to give, to reign is to serve and to be rich is to
become poor.
(Prov
16:18-19) "Pride goeth before
destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
{19} Better it is to be of an humble spirit
with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud."
(Mat
5:3) "Blessed are the poor
in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
(Mat
(James
4:6) "But he giveth more grace.
Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the
humble."
Would you come to God and obtain the mercy and grace that only he can
give?
Come on. Come, taking the only ground he gives, as a poor sinner with nothing
to give, trusting Christ alone for everything.
(1
John 1:7-10) "But if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. {8} If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. {9} If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. {10} If we say that we
have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
Let us ever come to God just as we came to him in the beginning.—“As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.”
Nought have I gotten, but what I received.
Grace hath bestowed it, since I have believed.
Boasting excluded, pride I abase—
I’m only a sinner, saved by grace!