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good morning to everyone welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church a welcome back uh to all our members and regular attendees a fresh welcome to visitors here this morning it's always good to have you with us uh we hope that it'll be a blessing to be in the house of the Lord this morning uh with the Saints of Christ singing the Praises of our God before we get to that worship just a couple announcements um the first is that there is the hymn sing tonight at 45 uh I guess later this afternoon 4:15 so just prior to uh 45 minutes prior to the evening service if you'd like to come and sing some hymns uh we'll have uh the gang up in the fellowship hall and we can uh sing some hymns together again that's 45 uh up in the fellowship hall and the second announcement is uh we're now bringing Elise rmle into membership we announced that a number of Sundays ago so this is the morning where we welcome Elise I we'll call Alise up here to join me up front um you can come and and stand over here Alise um usually every time we do this we read a portion of the confession uh collecting the biblical data testifying to church membership it's a Biblical reality and calling uh we read these two paragraphs from our confession on this particular point this is chapter 26 paragraph 5 and six paragraphs 5 and six in the execution of the power wherewith he is so entrusted that is the Lord Jesus Christ the lord Jesus calleth out of the world unto himself through the ministry of his word by his Spirit those that are given unto him by his father that they may walk before him in all the ways of obedience which he prescribe to them in his word those thus called he commandeth to walk together in particular Societies or churches for their Mutual edification and the due performance of that public uh public worship which he requireth of them in the world the members of these churches are Saints by calling visibly manifesting and evidencing in and by their profession and walking their obedience unto that call of Christ and do willingly consent to walk together according to the appointment of Christ giving up themselves to the Lord and one to another by the will of God in professed subjection to the ordinances of the Gospel it is a good and a right and a proper thing that Christians join themselves to local churches and it's a a joy to welcome Elise rmle into the membership of free Grace Baptist Church well let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this new addition to our church membership we Rejoice that you have called uh Alise from out of Darkness into Marvelous Light uh that she has uh uh followed that command of baptism and that she is now uh in the membership of this our church and we thank you for her Fellowship among us we thank you for her joy in the gospel we do pray that you would continue to watch over her to strengthen her uh we pray or we thank you that her and Jonathan are uh engaged and looking forward to a marriage we pray that you would watch over these two you would strengthen them in their walk together and individually that they would daily rejoice in our blessed Christ and we pray that we would be a blessing to them in this church and uh we pray that they too would be a blessing to us so go with Elise we rejoice in uh this uh this blessed event and we do pray that you would cause her daily to rejoice in our Christ and to sing the Praises of your Amazing Grace and we pray in the name of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen thank you as we begin our worship now let's turn in our Bibles to Psalm 46 that's going to be our call to worship this morning Psalm 46 Psalm 46 the entirety of the psalm this is the word of the living and true God to the chief musician a Psalm of the sons of Kora a song for alamoth God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble therefore we will not fear even though the Earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea though its Waters Roar and be troubled though the mountains shake with its swelling say l there is a river whose stream shall make glad the city of God the holy place of the Tabernacle of the most high God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved God shall help her just at the break of dawn the Nations raged the kingdoms were moved he uttered his voice the Earth melted the Lord of hosts is with us the god of Jacob is our refuge sayah come Behold The Works of the Lord who has made desolations in the earth he makes Wars cease to the end of the Earth he breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two he burns The Chariot in the fire be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the Nations I will be exalted in the Earth the Lord of hosts is with us the god of Jacob is our refuge say la amen well let's Stand Together our first hymn that we're going to sing is in your red Trinity Salter this red book that's before you you can open up and turn to Psalm 24 and we'll sing that to a familiar tune Psalm [Music] 24 to the for of the J [Music] found his [Music] bless all [Music] Glory glor the mighty [Music] Glory [Music] Glory glor is [Music] please be seated let's go to our God In Prayer let us pray our righteous and our heavenly father we come to you now in prayer we sing your praises and we would call upon you to bless this time of worship we would ask first Lord God that your name would be hallowed in this place we pray that from the lips of your gathered assembly here Praises would Mount up to you we pray that we would give you that proper honor and that uh proper Glory that is due your most high name we pray that not only in this place would your name be hallowed but around the earth that the Praises of our glorious God would be sung from the lips of his Saints we do pray God that around the world today you would be gloried in and Lord that in this earth you would vindicate your most high name and that Sinners would Sing of Your Glory that today sinners by Amazing Grace would be called from Darkness to light that a multitude of newly redeemed tongues would sing the Praises of our blessed Triune God we thank you Father Son and Holy Spirit for giving us this place to gather together freely in worship we know that our brothers and sisters uh around the world in many places do not even have the freedom to gather together in a church and we thank you for this blessed Liberty here we thank you as well that we have full Bibles that we can open and read and follow along with preaching we do pray that you would help us to glory in these things to appreciate these things we do pray God that you would help us to call it a high and heavy honor to be able to gather in this place for the worship of our Triune God we do pray that none of us Lord would have brought our blind or our lame sacrifices as it were this morning but rather that we would worship you now in spirit and in truth we do pray that you would help us by your Holy Spirit to cast aside any thoughts that would cause us to wander any uh thoughts that would hinder the proper worship of our God might you keep us by your grace and For Your Glory attentive in worship that we might Render unto you that worship that is Du your name we do Rejoice God in the gospel of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you yet again that you did send him in the fullness of the times born of a woman and born under the law that he might redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the the adoption as Sons we thank you for that Most Blessed truth that Lord God that Jesus Christ came into this world Sinners to save we know that we have been saved not by Deeds of righteousness which we have done but rather according to your mercy you saved us we rejoice in the fact that salvation is of the Lord that from first to last midst and throughout salvation is of a Triune God who saves without a helper we thank you that by your grace and in your appoint anointed and accepted time you have called us your Saints from out of Darkness into Marvelous Light and that we're saved solely and alone by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and we rejoice in him and we do pray God that in this place this morning the Lord Jesus Christ would be exalted upon the Praises of his gathered assembly we would ask God that you would forgive us aresh of our sins knowing that we have perfect forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ by virtue of his shed blood and we thank you for the blood of our savior and we pray you would cause us Lord to in light of such a glorious gospel daily live to put sin to death and to live unto righteousness we do pray God that you would be with those who need prayer for physical things we know that there are many struggling with sickness and disease and injury uh recovering from medical procedures all of these things God we do pray for each and every one that you would strengthen your dear people physically that you would cause them even in the midst of physical Affliction and suffering offering Lord to look to you that they would be wholly resigned unto the will of the creator of Heaven and Earth that they would know that the judge of all the Earth does right by his Saints and for his glory and for their good and we do pray that you would just tend to the hearts of your weak ones and we think as well of JL Lord we do pray that you would bless this young one we pray that you would uh be with parents we pray that you would just watch over this whole situation that you would guide the hands of those who would be dealing with her and we do pray that you would bring much comfort for the family and much Glory out of this situation we do pray Lord that you would be with those struggling spiritually we know that we can go uh that our Christian lives can e and flow we do pray that you would strengthen each and every one of us in our walk with Christ do help us Lord to uh be brought out of any uh stormy places and be brought to the brought to a place where we're rejoicing in you where we have returned unto us the joy of our Salvation that we might all the more daily Live For Your Glory that we might daily rejoice in the savior singing his praises and seeking to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of grace we do pray Lord again for the persecuted church as we ought to come often in prayer for our brothers and sisters and many nations who are under tyranny who are under hot oppression who are uh under persecuting hands we do pray that you would be with our brothers and sisters that they would in the midst of much trouble know the presence of their God we do pray that in the face of much tyranny and opposition I they would know the comfort that the Triune God affords his Saints and we do just pray that you would help them to have courage and confidence that they would be able to as it were by your grace look away from the Terrors of Oppression and persecution and look with eyes of faith upon a risen Christ and find in him their strength and their King we do pray that you would deal with those who do oppress your people those who bring violence even unto death against the people of God we do pray that you would deal with them we do pray that you would bring judgment we know that there is a day where they will stand before you we pray even before then that you would bring temporal Jud judgment upon them you would cause them to be taken out of the way that they may no longer bring violence against the people of God do deal swiftly with the enemies of the church Lord and we do pray that you would save them we do pray that you would bring those who are presently opposed to the gospel of grace that you would by your Amazing Grace bring them to that place where they bend a knee to the king of kings and Lord of lords they find in him no longer an enemy but the blessed one the savior of men and that they might find in him their all in all we do pray God that you would then be with us now as we worship we know that the preacher Pastor Butler as he comes up here in a few moments that he requires not human strength and not his own strength but rather he leans upon and rests upon the strength that a Triune God affords Ministers of the Gospel we do pray that you would give that to him that he would know up here the confidence that God affords we do pray God that you would strengthen him to Proclaim your word with great accuracy precision Clarity Lord God that we might leave this place having been well instructed by God through the minister of the Gospel we do pray that the preaching of the word this morning would be done unto the salvation of Sinners that it would be done as well unto the edification of saints Lord God that you might receive all the glory so do be with us now and in all that is done might you Lord God be the re recipient of all the glory and praise and not men and might we bring these things to you now might we sing to you might we read the scriptures and might we engage in preaching and might this all be done For Your Glory sake through the name of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ we do now pray amen well let's stand and sing together our next hymn is going to be in the larger Trinity Himel and we'll stand and sing 457 let's stand as a church 457 [Music] I my [Music] soul all [Music] my good [Music] heart my [Music] my my [Music] be [Music] is the [Music] please be seated you can turn in your Bibles with me to Matthew 10 Matthew chapter 10 that's our our scripture reading this morning our New Testament scripture reading Matthew 10 we'll read from verse vers 1 to verse 15 Matthew 10 beginning in verse one just as Psalm 46 this is the word of the living and true God and when he had called his 12 disciples to him he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease now the names of the twel Apostles are these first Simon who was called called Peter and Andrew his brother James the son of Zebedee and John his brother Philip and Bartholomew Thomas and Matthew the tax collector James the son of alaus and leas whose surname was Thaddius Simon the Canaanite and Judas es scariot who also betrayed him these 12 Jesus sent out and commanded them saying do not go into the way of the Gentiles and do not enter a city of the Samaritans but go rather to the the lost sheep of the House of Israel and as you go preach saying the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand heal the sick cleanse the lepers lepers excuse me raise the Dead cast out demons freely you have received freely give provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts nor bag for your journey nor two tunics nor sandals nor staffs for a worker is worthy of his food now whatever city or town you enter inquire who in it is worthy and stay there till you go out and when you go into a household greet it if the household is worthy let your peace come upon it but if it is not worthy let your peace return to you and whoever will not receive you nor hear your words when you depart from that house or city shake off the dust from your feet assuredly I say to you it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for for that City amen well let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this the reading of your holy scriptures we thank you for what it discloses concerning the mission of the church that it is for the proclamation of the kingdom of God and we thank you that the 2,000 years removed from this Proclamation we now Proclaim that same message the kingdom of the Lord is at hand that you have been building your kingdom that in the Fulfillment of the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ to build his church the gates of Hades not prevailing against it we thank you that we have seen this and that we are the the Blessed beneficiaries of the Proclamation of the Gospel we pray that you would cause us to rejoice in this that Christ Jesus truly did speak true words when he gave that promise and we thank you that we can gather together now as a church rejoicing in our Triune God singing the Praises of the saving victories of the Lord Jesus Christ and we thank you now that we can sing another hymn prior to the preaching we do pray that we would be attentive in that preaching that you might uh collect the minds and the hearts of everyone in this building that we might be focused upon the word of God as it is proclaimed and once again God that by your spirit and word you would save Sinners this morning that you would by Amazing Grace Bing bring dead Sinners to life through Jesus Christ Our Lord and we do pray that we your gathered Saints would leave these two doors along with the newly redeemed singing the Praises of our God and singing Hallelujah What A Savior and it's in the name of Jesus Christ that we do now pray amen our last hymn then before the preaching if we'll stand one more time as a church is in the larger Trinity Himel it's 487 let's stand and sing 487 [Music] and our holy will [Music] beess children [Music] for to [Music] inly will will [Music] all holy we will serve [Music] please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 23 Matthew chapter 23 our Focus this morning will be on verses 14 to 22 we're taking up Jesus condemnation of the Rel religious leaders those scribes and Pharisees that he calls Hypocrites and blind guides and fools and blind he refers to them as a brood of vipers and serpents certainly our Lord did not take lightly those who would Proclaim falsity in the name of God the Lord and we as well need to embibe this ethic we need to condemn heresy and we need to honor the truth of God's holy word well I'll read the section beginning in verse 13 to the end of verse 36 but woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men for you neither go in yourselves nor do you allow those who are entering to go in woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you devour widows houses and for a pretense make long prayers therefore you will receive greater condemnation woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you travel Land and Sea to win one proelite and when he is one you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves woe to you blind guides who say whoever swears by the temple it is nothing but whoever swears by the gold of the temple he is obliged to perform it fools and blind for which is greater the gold of the temple that sanctifies the gold and whoever swears by the altar it is nothing but whoever swears by the gift that is on it he is obliged to perform it fools and blind for which is greater the gift of the altar the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift therefore he who swears by the altar swears by it and all things on it he who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it and he who swears by Heaven swears by The Throne of God and by him who sits on it woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you pay tithe of mint and Anis and common and have neglected the weightier matters of the law Justice mercy and Faith these you ought to have done without leaving the others undone blind guides who strain out a gat and swallow a camel woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence blind Pharisee first CLE cleans the inside of the cup and dish that the outside of them may be clean also woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites because you build the tombs of the prophets and Adorn The Monuments of the righteous and say if we had lived in the days of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets fill up then the measure of your father's guilt serpents brood of vipers how can you escape the condemnation of Hell therefore indeed I send you prophets wise men and scribes some of them you will kill crucify and some of them you will Scourge in your synagogues and persecute from City to city that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of bariah whom you murdered between the temple and the altar assuredly I say to you all these things will come upon this generation amen well let us pray our blessed God and Holy Father we thank you for this passage of scripture we see the seriousness of Rel religious heresy we see the seriousness of those who engage in hypocrisy and we see the seriousness with which our lord Jesus addresses such things we pray now for your Aid through the power of the Holy Spirit to help us to understand these things and to make relevant application in our own situation may the spirit guide us and lead us and help us in our discovery of gospel truth and as well Lord God may we indeed put these things into practice in our own hearts and lives we ask now that you would forgive us for all of our sins and our transgressions God as we see these condemnations as we see what Christ says concerning hypocrisy how many things are we Hypocrites when it comes to and God when we see our Lord's condemnation concerning an an outward display of piety and yet lacking the inner substance God we confess our own transgression we ask that you would forgive us for our sin and for our our our wickedness and we would pray that you would just cleanse us and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ your son and we pray in his Most Blessed name amen well there is a particular context here that we've been dealing with this is the Tuesday of the passion week our lord Jesus comes to the temple according to chapter 21 he's immediately confronted by the religious teachers they ask him by what Authority are you doing the things that you do and so that kicks off a whole series of disputes between Christ and these religious leaders Jesus tells three Parables the primary application is to the religious leadership in Israel in the first century but as a result of them the people of Israel as well the Covenant Unfaithful in first century Israel Jesus then disputes with these persons and four direct confrontations the last of which our lord Jesus asks them concerning the identity of the Lord Jesus or of the Messiah and now here in chapter 23 Christ brings specific condemnation to Bear upon his opponents in verses 1 to2 he warns his disciples and the multitudes concerning the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and then he turns his attention in verses 13- 36 to those religious teachers or religious leaders themselves and in a series of woses he condemns them for their Doctrine he condemns them for their practice he condemns them for their leading the nation into Covenant unfaithfulness this will all set the stage for the prophecy in chapter 24 later on on that Tuesday night Christ will give the all of it discourse he will speak the truth in chapter 24 concerning the Judgment of God to come upon first century Israel specifically in the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and in the temple well this morning we're going to take up the next three woses woes 2 3 and four last week we considered woe number one they Clos the doors of the Kingdom we saw that in verse 13 woe number two they exploit widows and engage in pretentious praying woe number three they are missionaries for hell and woe number four they pervert Oaths now just to set it in its larger Biblical context remember that we saw Christ is not doing anything new here Jesus is not an innovator he is not creative but rather Jesus finds himself in a long line of prophets concerning God's kingdom we saw that a backet pronounced woes upon those in his own generation but most uniquely Jesus is linked here to Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah 5 Isaiah tells a parable concerning the vineyard and how Israel had defected from the Living God Jesus does the same thing in Matthew 21 then Isaiah the prophet Propet pronounces woes upon his generation a series of woes because of their unfaithfulness that is precisely what we are in now in chapter 23 and then the prophet Isaiah ends that particular section by highlighting the Judgment of God to Bear upon that generation that is precisely how Jesus ends in verses 33-36 this then leads him to lament over the nation as a whole in verses 37 to39 and it provokes the question from the disciples concerning the destruction of the temple and I take I take this as a reference to ad70 and so Jesus stands in line with the prophets of God he is functioning specifically here as a prophet of God and I realize as I read this section I read it with a bit of a harsher tone than say I would read the Beatitudes well it's prophetic literature it wouldn't be right to come up here and say wo woe to you scri and Pharisees Jesus was not a wimp Jesus was not passive Jesus was not a man that would not stand in the face of wickedness and evil and condemn it we need more men like Jesus Christ today because as we work our way through these particular woses this is a condemnation of first century Israel but it serves as a warning to the church in our own day so let's take up that second woe they exploit widows and engage in pretentious praying verse 14 if you have a translation other than the King James or the new King James your translation either brackets this word or it puts it in uh this verse or it puts it in the margin it may just skip right from verse 13 to verse 15 there is a textual variant in the tradition but the passage is contained in Mark 12 at verse 40 and Luke 20: 47 so it's not something that one of the apost olic writers made up it is dominical in terms of its origin that means that Christ spoke it so we will treat it in this particular context notice they exploit widows and they engage in pretentious praying Jesus says woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you devour widows houses you devour widows houses now he's obviously speaking metaphorically he doesn't mean that they actually eat widow's houses he doesn't mean they put salt and pepper on widow's houses he means that they devour them in an ungodly and in an Unholy and in an unrighteous way they exploit widows now the scripture everywhere shows and highlights God's concern for widows psalm 68:5 for instance God is a defender of the Widow Exodus CH 22 God says that when Israel mistreats widows and orphans that God will Widow and orphan those men's wives and children James 1:27 pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and the father is this what is it to visit widows and orphans in their distress and to keep ones unspotted from the world that's not the case with these scribes and the Pharisees they don't honor widows they don't defend widows they don't imitate Yahweh and his concern for widows but rather they exploit them they devour widows houses I take this to mean that they abuse their positions of authority RT France explains what it means that they indeed exploit widows he says it could be through excessive legal fees through mismanaging to their own advantage in a state of which they were made trustees through taking their houses as pledges for unpayable debts through promoting the temple cult which eats up the resources of the pious poor or more generally through exploiting their hospitality and Trust whatever the particular violation in view was these men exploited these men abused these men mistreated those defenseless widows whom God the Lord said that Israel was supposed to protect when God in the psalm says that he is a defender of the Widow we need to likewise be Defenders of the Widow and that was not the case with these men remember scribes and Pharisees what are scri called elsewhere they're called lawyers so if a widow was recently widowed who would she go to she would go to a trusted ecclesiastical Authority who even had some civil Authority in terms of such matters and she would ask him for assistance you kind of get the idea they're like those sharks that capitalize or Prey Upon a woman in her most vulnerable moment she is in a place of hurting and despair and tragedy and these men instead of occupying their sacred office in a way that that reflects the goodness of the god of Psalm 685 they exploit them they use them they abuse them France goes on to say the vulnerability of widows is a recurrent theme in biblical literature so that to defraud them is particularly despicable I mean you have big problems if you're a man in a position of authority especially in the Church of Jesus Christ and you exploit widows I mean you can't escape the you know what one brother would call loow hanging fruit here in terms of televangelism you know these guys praying on these women behind their television sent sets if you want a blessing if you want encouragement if you want help send your love gift to whatever Ministry it is and we'll make sure that we pray for you send in your gift no matter what it is well with widows they don't have a whole host of money and yet nevertheless they send it in sometimes widows as they get more aged start to lose track of things like money and if somebody asks for it they'll just be more than happy to send it off and there ought not to be a wicked man on the other end receiving that exploiting abusing using misusing when the god of Heaven and Earth has sworn that he is the defender of widows but not only do they exploit widows they pray long prayers pretentiously they engage in Long prayers for pretense now some connect to two closets some say that they exploit the widows by their long prayers in other words Widow give me some money or give me a love gift and I'll pray long for you I don't know that the connection is that necessarily strong I think there's two particulars involved wherein he is condemning their religiosity this is one of the themes that recurs in these wos they are a religious looking folk and in this particular instance he condemns them for praying long prayers now is praying long prayers necessarily bad no be good if all of us would increase our amount of time at the throne of grace there's nothing virtuous in a 7c prayer there's not NE necessarily something virtuous in a 77 minute prayer if Devotion to Christ if communion with God if longing for the presence of the god of Heaven and Earth is your motivation to pray long then knock yourself out go pray long I mean don't do it to the neglect of you know feeding your kids and working your jobs and doing those things that God has called you to do elsewhere but if you want to pray long Jesus doesn't have a problem with you but he specifically highlights in this text what is problematic notice woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you devour widow's houses and for a pretense make long prayer for a pretense make long prayers he's already condemned hypocritical praying in The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6 he condemns the motivation those men who stand on the street corners when they pray why because they want to be close to God no so that men will see them if you pray long prayers or you pray in public or you pray in any way so that men will see you that's your reward that's all you get Jesus says but you go into your seek Place go into your closet and there the father who sees in secret he will reward you openly so Christ does not have you know neutral thoughts concerning praying or the act of piety when it comes and or when it's abused they prayed with long prayers they prayed with the motivation to be seen by men he goes on in Matthew 6 to condemn this this vain repetition thinking that they'll be heard because of their many words does God need 15,000 words and in order to to respond to what you ask him imagine you fall down a well and your foot just happens to get wrapped up on the Rope bucket and you're you're you're lying head toward the the bottom of that well you don't need 15,000 words you can cry out save me you can cry out send me help remember that instance where Nehemiah is standing before Artic Xerxes and Artic xeres asks him what's the matter why do you look downcast and Nehemiah tells us he prayed to the Lord and then answer you don't get the idea that he said art Xerxes can you wait 20 minutes cuz I need to go pray can you give me about 50 minutes because I no he prayed what the Puritans would call ejaculatory prayer he offered one up to God and then he answers art Xerxes there's no length specified in scripture but what is condemned is if you're praying in order to be seen by men or you're multiplying words in order to be heard by God as if he somehow bail and you have to go through some FR uh frenzy in order to get him to respond or if you pray long so that you can engage in pretense that's what's condemned our lord Jesus says it's wrong do not do this pray long by all means but don't pray long in a manner that is filled with pretense notice what he says concerning these men in this second woe therefore you will receive greater condemnation do you understand what's in view it's not the condemnation of an Earthly Court there's no earthly court that would charge a man or try a man for pretentious praying when he says that you will receive greater condemnation he is speaking in terms of the Divine tribunal he is speaking in terms of their place before God here they exploit widows does Yahweh take notice yes they may actually get away with the exploitation of these weak ones in society they may have actually patted their own bank accounts they may have actually run rough shot over these people and they may have thought they got away with it and others around them may have thought they got away with it but what does Jesus affirm here they will receive greater condemnation they thought that in their praying they impressed people through their pretense but God sees through it God knows the heart God is a Searcher of the hearts and he know know when we engage in these acts of piety if we are seeking God or we're seeking Applause and so Jesus assures them that they will receive greater condemnation in the Divine tribunal when they stand before a holy God you see this is one of the things that we ought to appreciate as we move through these woes you remember I shared with you that a couple of people in the history of the church have looked at Matthew 23 and have said things like wow it's the most unlovely chapter in all of the Bible it's the most unchristian chapter in all of the Bible because it contains such harsh invective it contains such harsh language I mean he pronounces woes he calls them Hypocrites he calls them fools and blind he calls them blind guides he even calls them serpents and and bags of snakes how in the world could our beloved Jesus ever do something like that because the stakes are so high in that first first woe what are these men doing they themselves do not enter into the kingdom of heaven and they slam the door in the faces of those who are seeking entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus is not dealing with peripheral matters he's not dealing with you know the issues and the trials and the travails of our day he is dealing with eternal truth and where man stand before God most high and this is what you ought to appreciate as we move our way through this passage whates Jesus says concerning these people is applicable to each of us if we engage in the kinds of things that are condemned here as a practice as a rule of Life as a habit it gives evidence to the fact that we're not converted that we're not saved if we slam the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven in the face of others if we exploit the weak among us if we engage in Long acts of piety simply to be seen by men we cannot conclude that somehow our souls are rightly connected to God the Lord through Jesus Christ there is a pure and undefiled religion and these scribes and these Pharisees did not embi it as I suggest I think that this sorts these sorts of things go on in the church today notice the second woe well it's the Third Woe numerically it's the second woe for us this morning I'm going to make this confusion a lot so please forgive me at the outset I don't know how better to sort of put this in a they are proposition than they are missionaries for hell because that's what Jesus says notice in verse 15 woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you travel Land and Sea to win one proelite that's a convert proelite is another word for a convert someone new someone converted someone who has come over to the other side he says woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites why for you travel Land and Sea to win one proelite and when he is one you make him twice as much as son of hell as yourselves now I think in the first place this language highlights their persistence and their determination and their Zeal maybe your children have asked the question if they haven't they probably will but I know it's been asked by at least a couple in my family when they're growing up and they're being taught the scriptures and they're being catechized and they're being instructed and we have family worship and they're they're confronted with the truth claims of Christ via the the scripture and hopefully as parents we have a high view of God's word it's inspired it's infallible it's an errant it's the authoritative word of God most high and then they see they get exposed as they get a bit older to other religions and they say things like wow but but but the Muslims are are so convinced that they're right I mean what drives a man to put a C4 vest on and go in and Target soft targets I mean that's Zeal isn't it that's devotion that's persistence that is commitment I remember many many years ago and some of the the particulars escaped me but we watched a documentary about a a particular ordinance that was done in Hinduism it's illegal in most countries it's very very Savage they put actual you know skewers metal skewers through their mouths and and then hang things on them and then they have this long track wherein they have to to to March and the the heat of the day carrying heavy objects with you know flesh being pulled down and apparently this is as routine as in you know Protestant Christianity reading your Bible on a day that's devotion isn't it I mean most of us or many of us struggle to make it to church on time could you imagine if we had a ceremony wherein we were skewering your mouths and hanging heavy things on there so you could walk in the heat of the day for miles and mil count me out right there's Zeal there's devotion there's commitment Brethren Zeal devotion and commitment does not authenticate the claim there's a lot of zealous committed and devoted persons out there that are flat out wrong I I know that's not popular today can't tell people they're wrong they're wrong what's the standard to the law and to the testimony they're not consistent with the written text of scripture they are wrong I don't care how devoted the Buddhist is I don't care how devoted the Hindu is I don't care how devoted the Muslim is I don't care and neither should you if they are not on board with the authoritative inspired infallible and inherent word of the living and true God they're wrong and it shouldn't affect us or hurt us or cause us any consternation to look our children in the eyeballs and say they're wrong devotion Zeal and commitment do not authenticate the truth what authenticates the truth is the self attesting scripture it is the spirit speaking in the scripture this is the authoritative word of God doesn't matter how zealous they be or they are perceived to be and in this particular instance I think this is what Jesus is highlighting here Davies and Allison say to Compass SE and dry land is a Biblical idiom connoting completeness to make one confort is convert is frightfully ironic when ju toos with verse 13 they themselves are not entering but they travel sea and dry land in order to make converts so that they can't enter either he says the converts of the of the scribes and Pharisees do not enter the kingdom but are shut out you know what's intriguing too moving through the New Testament documents in passages very specifically like these Jesus never condemns the scribes and the Pharisees for their lack of devotion he never condemns them because they weren't committed he never condemns them because they weren't zealous he condemns them because they were wrong now I realize Brethren that in our society in our given context often times the passionate speaker or the the charismatic man can win the day it just shows us how far we have fallen emotion the ability to whip up a crowd the ability to manipulate men does not legitimize a particular truth claim it is the truth that legitimizes the truth how many times do we get emotionally swayed how many times do we get suckered how many times do we get reeled in because we're not thinking we somehow think the emotions Trump the intellect in fact this is much of how the church functions today it's all about the emotional experience it's all about the high it's all about what we get no more do we hear it's all about what God Gets In Worship no more is the emphasis of Hebrews 12 emphasis where we're told to worship God acceptably does it ever Dawn on Modern Man to ask who defines what is acceptable worship it's not me it's not my emotional response to the service it is or it's the question is is God glorified are we obeying the written word are we using those means that God 's ordained and then with reverence and and godly fear not with emotivity and a disconnectedness and you know just this swayful feeling of goodness and Glee you can get that at story time at the library good night moon May give you some encouragement that doesn't legitimize its claims and Jesus will have none of it Jesus says wo to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites you TR Land and Sea to win one proelite and when he is won you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves now this winning one proelite there's a big debate in the commentaries as to what he means there because were were the scribes and Pharisees that Evangelistic or that missionary minded It's not necessarily initial conversion to the religion of Israel but it could have been the completion there were god-fearers there were Gentiles who came close to Israel's religion what these guys wanted to do is have them circumcised they wanted to have them fully enter in they wanted them to participate in the entire cult and ritual and they were zealous to do so they had a passion about it having said all that Brethren those with the truth really ought to be fired up maybe you have heard Hank hgraph that man that does the the Bible answer man show not a plug I don't know what he's talking about today I haven't listened to him in many many years he may be doing great things great but I remember him saying this very catchy phrase are we willing to do for the truth what the Cults are doing for a lie are we willing to get fired up about the truth of Holy Scripture are we willing to put ourselves on the on on that same sort of a a place I mean we actually have the truth how zealous should we be how devoted should we be how committed should we be when it comes to the Evangelistic and missionary Enterprise I mean if these sons of hell are going out to make twice the the sons of hell as themselves we actually can open the Kingdom of Heaven to man not by our own virtue or power but by the proclamation of the truth of the Gospel we ought to fling them wide open through the testimony as it is in Jesus we ought to Proclaim aloud we ought to spare not lift up our voices like a trumpet as God told Isaiah and we ought to tell people concerning this blessed Kingdom what he says he they make them twice the sons of hell I think what he's saying here is they become even more obnoxious you've seen that right you get a man a charismatic man he's not necessarily teaching the truth or he's deviated in some fine point his followers are even worse aren't they I you got a bad guy teaching bad Doctrine but his disciples are just absolutely obnoxious and they take it to the nth degrees that's typically what happens now this idiom it's a Semitic or Hebrew idiom that basically means they belong to and are destined for hell imagine that Jesus says they are twice the sons of hell as yourselves so what's he affirming he's affirming that you men are sons of hell you think you're doing great religious things you think you're on track you think everything is great but you are actually sons of hell and then those poor slobs that you actually win over those men that you convert those that you proze they become twice as much the sons of hell as you are yes they belong to and are destined for hell but typically they're even more obnoxious in their Zeal and fanaticism than even the original converter France says it this way the convert sometimes outdoes the Zeal of the converter with more fanaticism than discernment blae pastor SC men never sin more grievously than when they act from religious motives you see what Jesus is condemning here it is the fact that they are engaged in this missionary Evangelistic Enterprise and instead of it yielding the good fruit of gospel converts instead of it yielding the good fruit of Kingdom citizens those who actually shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation those who hold forth the word of Truth they are sons of hell they belong to hell they're destined for hell and they are more obnoxious than even the scribes and Pharisees that led them to this place take the Sabbath for instance what do the scribes and the Pharisees do they throw all of this legislation or details around the Sabbath and what happens with their followers well we've got to make even more and that's why Sabbath legislation became so spurious because the persons had missed the point of the Sabbath God gives us this beautiful Park so that we can go and rest in it on one full day but no for some reason that's offensive to men something I've never understood with the fourth Commandment why are we offended when we preach perpet the perpetuity of the Sabbath how dare God give me a day of rest we got problems in our heart if that's our attitude do you realize that there are swaths of theological positions out there that have a problem with the fourth Commandment have you ever scratched your melon and asked the question why it's a command to rest now when you're a child your parents say it's time to take a nap you don't really like that but you get to be our age and you say thank you I wish I had people in my life commanding me to take a nap you just go take a nap okay that's what the Sabbath is but because the scribes and the Pharisees messed it up they put a fence around the Sabbath and then their followers come along and they put another fence around the Sabbath so persons today whom we try to educate concerning the Sabbath they see the fences they don't see the park they don't see the rest they don't see the beauty that God has given to man but they see all of these additions because the sons of hell and those who are twice the sons of Hell have appended these details to a perfectly good piece of legislation that has now become defunct of any meaning or devoid of any meaning you see that's what these guys were about and this is what happens today when persons take in false Doctrine notice the third one woe number four they pervert Oaths this is one oath where Jesus refers to them three times as blind remember we have commented on how outlandish it would be for us to hire a blind guide I mean guide by definition means someone who's able to see right to hire a blind guide would certainly be foolish yet Jesus calls these men three times blind guides why because they are in positions of authority tasked with teaching the people of God and they are blind to the truth they are blind to its interpretation and they are blind to its application Jesus has already condemn their sorts of oath oath taking in Matthew 5: 33-37 if you go home later on this afternoon and you want to pursue this whole idea of Oaths more closely you can compare Matthew 5:33 to 37 to what Jesus says here in verses 16- 22 the previous or rather the Old Testament background is simply this Oaths were in joined by God in other words the oath serves a specific function it is a lawful part of worship Exodus 20 you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him Guiltless who takes his name in vain Leviticus 19:12 and you shall not swear by my name falsely nor shall you profane the name of of your God I am the Lord numbers 30 verse 2 if a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to to bind himself by some agreement he shall not break his word he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth Deuteronomy 6:13 you shall fear the lord your God and serve him and shall take Oaths in his name Jesus swore an oath in Matthew 206 God the Lord swears an oath in Hebrews chapter 6 Paul the Apostle swears an oath several times in his Apostolic Ministry our confession is right to say a lawful oath is part of religious worship wherein the person swearing in truth righteousness and judgment solemnly calls God to witness what he swears and to judge him according to the truth or falseness thereof so this whole idea of oath taking does impinge on the ninth commandment you shall not bear false witness but it also focuses upon the third commandment because an oath if taken properly is to swear by God and what better way to violate the Third word than to swear an oath falsely to blaspheme God in such a way so that's the background now Jesus deals with their abuse of the oath in Matthew 5 the emphasis seemed to be on the fact that they used Oaths for everything this is why jesus' instruction at the end of Matthew 5:37 is let your yes be yes and your no no he's not saying never take Oaths he's just saying that everything you say during a day doesn't need to be sworn by an MTH as a man you don't need to say I swear by God most high I'll be home at 5: as a woman you don't have to say I swear by God most high dinner will be ready at 5:30 that's the context wherein you let your yes be yes and your no be no but if called upon to testify at court and they want you to swear an oath yes by all means this is what we see fleshed out in scripture what else is condemned in Matthew 5 and what seems to be in Target here is this sort of an approach to the oath to make it so confusing that people couldn't follow in fact I think in many respects this is just a symptom of a larger problem they don't know how to interpret the Bible look at the way they try to avoid or try to evade the clear meaning of the oath they say if you swear by the temple it is nothing but if you swear by the gold of the temple you're obliged to perform it what does this create it creates a two-tier system of binding Oaths and non-binding Oaths when you have a non-binding oath gu guess what the end result is you can break it through their perversion and through their Distortion and through their abuse of what God had recorded so clearly in the Old Testament scriptures they had actually created a category wherein they could tell lies and get away with it I mean there's a lot of things said in this section but I think that's the basics of it whoever swears by the temple it's nothing but if you swear by the gold of the temple then you're bound to perform it whoever swears by the altar that's that's not really that big of a deal but if you swear by the gift that's on the altar well then it's binding what's Jesus reply what do you think dignifies the other do you actually think the gold gives the dignity to the temple or does the temple give the dignity to the gold I mean any fool should see this right what brings the dignity the gift that's placed on the altar no it's the altar that sanctifies the gift Christ is saying that they have created this category wherein they can lie wherein they can have a non-binding oath and wherein they miss the entire point of the oath because it is to swear on God's name whether it's temples whether it's altars whether it's gold whether it's silver whether it's whatever it is ultimately to swear by God and this is what Jesus points out if you swear by the temple you're swearing by him God who inhabits the temple if you use that other convention well I swear swear by Heaven you are swearing by him who occupies Heaven Christ condemns this perverted approach to the abuse of Oaths because it's simply wrong John Gil comments he says says thus swearing by anything that has any relation to God is implicitly swearing by him and therefore ought to be considered as binding as if he was expressed in it since an appeal can't be made to things inanimate nor indeed to any creature but to God the Searcher of Hearts so just real practically if you were to say well I swear on a stack of Bibles and then you don't keep your word you say but I didn't swear by God I swore by a stack of the B of Bibles you're wrong swearing is to invoke the god of Heaven and Earth whether it's altars whether it's temples whether it's gifts whether it's gold whether it's Heaven itself to swear and oath is to affirm before God and man that you are telling the truth imagine that it is to be a man or a woman of your word and to carry out what you have promised so that's the condemnation here again there's a lot of words and a lot of statements that Jesus makes but I think he is showing their Folly he is showing their foolishness he is showing their hypocrisy as if somehow the gold sanctifies the temple what a perverted thought what's temple in Bible Temple is the dwelling of God with men it's not the gold that makes it special it's the god that makes it special you know the Bible's about Temple you know that the Garden of Eden was a temple you know what returns in Revelation 21 a temple God is about Temple he's about dwelling with his people he's about I will be your God and you shall be my people they miss the point of Temple for them it was the gold that captivated their minds for them it was the gift on the altar not the fact that God had given an altar wherein man could by Grace find atonement for his sins that's what dazzled them it was the ritual it was the external it was the gold and it was the gift it wasn't the God who gave it wasn't The God Who who ordained it wasn't the God who promised to be their God and that they would be his people what do we learn from these o uh these woes in the first place we ought to see the contemp application of the second woe woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you devour widows houses and for pretense make long prayers I've already mentioned the T tele evangelists who pray on widows in front of their television sets that's terrible I mean it's almost just become so common place right send in however much money and we'll send you a little vial of holy oil from Israel wow it's sad that there are widows out there susceptible to such things it's sad that there are men out there that will take advantage of them in such circumstances consider the abuse of authority by any church leader seeking gain from those who hear him it's an intriguing reality that the New Testament is filled with prohibitions against such conduct one can remember the Apostle's words when he speaks to the Ephesian Elders yes you yourself I'm sorry in verse 33 of Acts 20 I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel yes you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who were with me 1 Timothy chapter 6 The Apostle indicates that there are men in this religion Church leadership for money 1 Timothy 6:3 if anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to Wholesome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which Accords with Godly he is proud knowing nothing but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words from which evil or from which come Envy Strife reviling evil suspicions useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth who suppose that godliness is a means of gain from such withdraw yourself now I have preached on this reality many times doesn't mean the Pastor needs to live in a hut doesn't mean the Pastor can't buy his kid shoes but it certainly means that that he ought not to be making money in the gospel in a Godless wretched sense what is one of Peter's prohibitions or admonitions concerning Shepherds 1 Peter 5 ver 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you serving as overseers not by compulsion but willingly not for dishonest gain but eagerly you see what's indicated in these passages is that there was money to be had in religion the fact that there are prohibitions against seeking money through religion indicates that there was money in religion but the man who abuses a position of authority in order to prosper a man who POS abuses a position of authority in terms of exploiting people so that he can somehow better himself economically that's condemned by scripture that is wrong mentioned before these Pastors in Africa that have their own jet pastors don't need Jets say but the Lord blessed you could do money do much more with that money than buy a jet you begrudge you legalist you're saying he can't have a jet yeah if that makes me a legalist yeah wo to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites because you exploit people you look at money as a means of gain or a religion as a means of of monetary gain that is condemned by Christ and this second wo teaches us the the use of the acts of piety for reasons other than communion with God is condemned again back in The Sermon on the Mount Matthew chapter 6 Matthew chapter 6 Jesus says when you give alms don't be like the Hypocrites what do the Hypocrites do when they give alms they make sure everyone sees them they tweet on their way out to church I'm going to drop a big check in the basket today Facebook status I gave a lot today they blow the trumpet so everybody can see them putting money in that's wrong you can't do that you're not supposed to give in order to be seen so that men will think you're something don't let the right hand know what the left man is doing blessed secrecy when it comes to giving do he say about praying he says the same sort of thing don't stand on the street corner and praying so that everybody can see you pray wow did you see that guy in City Square today he was praying boy that's terrible if that's what he's doing it for go into your closet be with God Alone he who sees in secret will reward you in the in the open or in the open places and then f fasting what does Jesus say about those who fast and walk around and whine all day says good for you no it's terrible you wake up you get to you know sixth hour of the day you still haven't eaten your stomach sounds like a construction site and you're unhappy and you're grumpy and you want everybody to know it I'm fasting today for God no you're not you're fasting so men will see you what does Jesus say says wash your face put some oil on look like a happy camper look like you just had a grilled cheese and a and a bowl of tomato soup look that content so nobody sees what you're doing how dare us to think that we can satisfy The God Who inhabits eternity The God Who is Holy Holy Holy that somehow by our religious acts we impress him or we impress men it's terrible that we get these things into our heads but it's not just the scribes and the Pharisees Brethren condemnation to Jesus contemporaries warning to the church at large do you boast about your acts of piety do you boast about how long you prayed do you boast about how much money you gave do you boast when you fast I fasted three times this week what do you want an award I I don't understand such a mindset you want a special parking place uh what is it what do you seeking here why would you tell me that don't tell me that secondly and I've already hit this I'll just remind us the Evangelistic Zeal of false teachers does not affirm their message Evangelistic Zeal of false teachers does not make them right their devotion their commitment their sold outness to their Theory or doctrine does not validate their message you need to to know the scripture you need to know the Bible you need to bring every thought to Bear upon God's holy standard and then the third thing specifically with reference to that fourth woe the one with reference to the Oaths I'm going to use a word here that may not be in your common vocabulary not that I'm up here and no just it's a word that you just don't hear a lot anymore it's called casual casuistry casuistry if you were five I'd have you all say casuistry just kidding casual casuistry has both a positive and a negative definition positively it's something we should all be doing the resolving of moral Problems by the application of theoretical rules to particular instances you all do casuistry especially if you're parents with children you are casuists can we do this you go to the scriptures you mine out principles if they're not explicit text you go for implication and you bring those findings to Bear upon your children casuistry is a lost art that we all need to be engaged in but here I use it negatively and it means this the use of clever but unsound reasoning especially in relation to moral questions another derogatory term is sophistry that's what these guys were doing it's evident here with the Oaths casuistry it was clever there was a a ring of truth to it I mean gold right gold gift gift yeah I mean altar gift yeah what's good about the altar if there's no gift on it what's good about the temple if it's not made out of gold there's a a sense Where It Sounds Clever right but it's unsound it's a casuistry that confuses and imposes artificiality upon the text of scripture and makes it more difficult for people to follow is everybody with me I I I really want us to see this because this kind of casual stre lives on today you ever heard certain teachers or preachers and it's like you need a PhD to follow the simplest things they're trying to say it's like I don't think it's supposed to be this hard is it it's like the gospel if you can't tell somebody the gospel in 4 seconds you don't understand it God's holy you're not believe on Jesus what three seconds at the most certainly you can expand that to a three-hour treatment on who God is who man is before man uh before God who Jesus is and his life and death and Resurrection certainly you can expand upon that but if you can't say to somebody God's holy you're a sinner and you need to believe the gospel that means believe in Jesus have you ever just heard people and maybe you're hearing it this morning I don't know maybe yeah I just can't get it I don't know what he's saying I'm really trying to make this clear and evident and obvious but casuistry and the way they practiced it they made it hard they took something like the oath and confus people to the point where the oath was perverted was abused it was misused I've used the example of the Sabbath here's the part God's day given to us so that we can rest and find joy and peace and happiness and refreshment for our souls and a place to commune with God on the Lord day in the presence of his people what better thing could there be well once the scribes and the Pharisees are done with it it becomes a burden once their disciples get a hold of it we don't want to go anywhere near it casuistry in a bad way keeping up things on the text of scripture that are not there either explicitly or implicitly simply to confuse people Bruner says it this way whenever we teachers claim to know the innermost mind of God on the basis of anything other than the clear and uncomplicated interpretation of clear and uncomplicated text of scripture I I I really think this drum needs to be banged over and over again because be aware of the guy that comes to you and says well I've got insights that nobody's ever had before don't buy a bridge from him please cover your wallet I'm not saying that men today can't make new discoveries but I am suggesting it is very rare I have this connection with God wherein he shows me things that he doesn't show to other people and I'm here to let you in on it if that's how a pastor started a sermon and I was a congregant I'd be out it's one of the blessings of having a confession of faith we are hedged in by the historic Orthodox Church there no deviation no flying away no jumping the tracks now that can happen but it happens with a lot more difficulty when you subscribe to a particular confession of faith that has stood the test of time rather than a guy who comes with fresh insights he knows the innermost Mind Of God apart from the text of scripture it's no such thing I'm always very cautious when people say the Lord told me the Lord said to me I always want to say and if I'm in a discussion with them I'll ask them what what do you mean by that well I was reading my Bible good great the Lord can say everything he wants to you right through that book he can tell you everything he wants to right through that book The Lord told me when I was mountain climbing the other day that the church is getting it all wrong when it comes to that oh wow okay those are a little bit more suspicious whenever we teachers claim to know the innermost mind of God on the basis of anything other than the clear and uncomplicated interpretation of clear and uncomplicated text of scripture we can be sure we are in the presence of false teaching he says tricky convoluted casuistic teaching is not the teaching of the Holy Spirit Spurgeon says it and it's very p way when men once quit the plain teaching of Christ it is easy for them to go into all manner of heresies and absurdities see that's what I think this perversion of Oaths illustrates they had a problem with hermeneutics they had a problem interpreting the Bible they didn't know where to begin and as a result they end up in very bad places now the Bible has some things that are difficult to understand nobody denies that but as our confession of faith says concerning the clarity of scripture it says all things in scripture are not alike plain in themselves nor Alik clear unto all yet those things which are necessary to be known believed and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of scripture or other that not only the Learned but the unlearned in a due use of ordinary means May attain to a sufficient understanding of that in other words how men are saved is pretty simple if we ask the Bible you know what's going to happen specifically when Jesus returns haul the particular de you know some men disagree on that some of that is a bit confusing it is a bit difficult but even then with some diligence and work and prayer you'll come out right my brother said yeah you need to come come around in my way of thinking that but but you see not everything is equally plain doesn't Peter say this about Paul Paul Peter says some things in Paul are hard to understand that's Peter wouldn't we all say there's some things in Peter that are hard to understand but the message of the Gospel the glory of God the salvation of men that is so clearly propounded it is so clearly put forth that if a man who occupies a Pulpit cannot explain to you the simple fact that God is a holy God righteous pure and just who cannot look approvingly upon any evil and you have sinned against this God I have sinned against this God all we like sheep have gone astray we have departed there is no fear of God before our eyes there is none righteous no not one and that the only hope for us is through the one whom God sent for man can't explain that don't give him the time of day If It's Tricky if it's convoluted if he practices obfuscation then bail but if the truth is taught if he's not a blind guide if the gospel is presented then may I say believe listen to the truth of God's holy word God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself and the means by which he does this is by sending his son into this world to live in obedience to The Father's Law to die as a sacrifice according to the father's penalty due to our sin and transgression and then he raises from the dead on the third day he ascends on high to the right hand of God most high and the scripture says that whoever believes in him will not be disappointed in other words if you look to Jesus if you believe the gospel you believe what I'm even saying right now by God's grace you will pass from death into life you will pass from Darkness into light you will pass from Hell into heaven you will pass from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the son of his love may God remove false preachers who do not declare the way of salvation but may God bless the truth of his holy gospel that as it goes forth today may we pray as Paul told the people of thessalonia to pray pray that the word of God runs swiftly and be glorified do not listen to the casuistry of men who will take the clear teaching of scripture and make it insurmountable or make it impenetrable but rather listen to the plain speech of God's Holy Scripture that whoever believes in him will be saved let us pray father we thank you for your word we thank you for its Clarity we thank you for its plainness and God I pray that you by your spirit now would take that word and apply it to Hearts here any and all who have come here this morning that are not Believers in Jesus Christ may you remedy that by your Sovereign Grace we know that you are powerful we know that you make men willing in the day of your power and we pray that you would do this even now For Your Glory for your honor for your praise and for the good and the salvation of Sinners and we pray these things through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then we'll be dismissed e