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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 9. It's not a mistake. We are going 
to look at Matthew chapter 9 this morning. In our study last week, 
as we finished up chapter 19, verses 23 to 30, we focused, 
or we noticed rather, the apostles' question in verse 25. In chapter 
19, after Jesus indicates that it's difficult for a rich man 
to enter the kingdom of heaven, the disciples then ask, who then 
can be saved? sought to explain a bit about 
the Christian gospel and I thought by way of extended application 
we would look at the conversion of Matthew this morning, something 
we have considered in the past obviously, but hopefully by way 
of reminder for the people of God and encouragement for those 
who are not the people of God to see what genuine conversion 
looks like, to see what salvation by grace through faith in our 
Lord Jesus Christ does indeed look like. So I want to read 
beginning in Matthew chapter 9 beginning in verse 1 and we'll 
read to verse 13. So he got into a boat, crossed 
over and came to his own city. Then behold, they brought to 
him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he 
said to the paralytic, Son, be of good cheer. Your sins are 
forgiven you. And at once some of the scribes 
said within themselves, This man blasphemes. But Jesus, knowing 
their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts? 
For which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or 
to say, Arise and walk? But that you may know that the 
son of man has power on earth to forgive sins. Then he said 
to the paralytic, arise, take up your bed and go to your house. 
And he arose and departed to his house. And when the multitude 
saw it, they marveled and glorified God who had given such power 
to men. As Jesus passed on from there, 
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And he said 
to him, follow me. So he arose and followed him. 
Now it happened as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that 
behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with 
him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, 
they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax 
collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard that, he said 
to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those 
who are sick. But go and learn what this means. 
I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the 
righteous, but sinners to repentance. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for the word of the living God. 
We thank you for the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 
And I pray now that by your spirit, we would have ears to hear and 
hearts to receive the truth. I pray that believers would be 
encouraged afresh at what Christ has done on their behalf. And 
I pray that unbelievers would be encouraged to flee to the 
Lord of glory, to that one alone in whom there is forgiveness 
of sin and the righteousness that avails with you. Our Father, 
may the Spirit truly guide us and direct us and illumine minds 
and hearts. May you now forgive us for all 
of our sins and unrighteousness. Help us to take every thought 
captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. and help us, God Most 
High, to think your thoughts after you. And we pray these 
things through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, we're 
going to look specifically at the conversion of Matthew, the 
author of our particular letter. under that consideration of who 
then can be saved. Oftentimes when we talk about 
salvation, or we talk about faith, or when I preach, believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes persons don't always know what 
that means. And so this morning is an attempt 
to try and flesh that out. What does conversion look like? 
What did it look like in the life and context of Matthew, 
this evangelist who gave us the first gospel. As well, what ought 
it to look like in our lives and how ought we to respond to 
the Lord of glory and to the preaching of his most holy word. The larger, broader context in 
chapter 9, what we find in chapters 5 to 7 is that Jesus taught as 
one having authority. His doctrine was not like the 
scribes. Remember the Sermon on the Mount? 
The end of chapter 7, that's what's highlighted. He taught 
them not as one, or he taught them as one having authority. 
And then in chapters 8 and 9, what we see is the deeds of Christ, 
or the power of Christ, or the ability of Christ. Essentially, 
after teaching in 5 to 7, He goes about healing in chapters 
8 to 9. He goes about engaged in miraculous 
deeds. And one of the conspicuous elements 
in chapters 8 and 9 is the display of the power of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. So both in His doctrine and in 
His activity, what we see is that Jesus Christ is indeed the 
Son of God Most High. So let's look specifically at 
verses 9 to 13 under three considerations. In the first place, the call 
to discipleship in verse 9. Secondly, the supper at Matthew's 
house in verse 10. And thirdly, the confrontation 
with the religious leaders in verses 11 to 13. Then we will 
try and tease out some implications or applications concerning this 
particular subject. Note in the first place the call 
to discipleship in verse 9. As Jesus passed on from there, 
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office and he said 
to him, follow me. So he arose and followed him. Now, the other gospel writers 
tell us that Matthew's name was Levi. This was not uncommon for 
a man to have two names. Think of Simon Peter or John 
Mark. In this instance, we have Matthew 
alternately called Levi by the other gospel writers. And notice 
his particular occupation. He is sitting at the tax office. 
The reason I read the first section in verses 1 to 8 is simply this. There is a strong connection 
between 1 to 8 and 9 to 13. In 1 to 8, we learn that there 
is a problem that surpasses paralysis. There is a problem that exceeds 
what physical difficulties or challenges one might have. In 
verses 1 to 8, we have the account where the paralytic is lowered 
down into the midst of where our Lord Jesus Christ is teaching. 
And the Lord Jesus Christ, when he sees this man, says to him 
specifically, Son, your sins are forgiven you. This sends 
the scribes and the Pharisees into a bit of a tizzy. They start 
to imagine, or they start to think, or they start to contemplate. 
Who but God alone is able to forgive sin? Jesus knew precisely 
what their thoughts were. Jesus knew the heart of man. 
He knew their evil machinations, to use an older word. And so 
Jesus asks this question, which is easier, to say your sins are 
forgiven you, or to say, arise, take up your mat, and walk? Well, 
it's easier to say your sins are forgiven you, because we 
can't verify whether or not that takes place. I may say to God, 
or I may say to Michael, or I may say to anyone, your sins are 
forgiven you. We can't objectify that, or we 
can't quantify that with the naked eye. So it is easier to 
say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, than to say, 
arise and take up your mat and walk. That we can see. If I say 
to Dot or I say to Michael, take up your mat and walk, I'm proved 
to be a fake within 30 seconds. Notice what Jesus then says. But that you may know that the 
Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. He says to the 
paralytic, take up your mat and walk. What's the point? The point is that Christ uses 
the taking up the mat and walk as a proof or a confirmation 
or an affirmation or illustration that He is indeed the one who 
has power to forgive sins. You know, men in our day come 
to this passage and the healers and the health, wealth, prosperity 
guides preach, you should never hobble, you should never be crippled, 
you should always be healed in Jesus. And they come to passages 
like these and they tell people, take up your mat and walk. Brethren, 
we've missed the significance if we focus on the reality that 
the man picked up his mat and walked. The reality is that that 
man now had forgiveness of sins, that he was heaven bound, going 
to be with Jesus. That was just illustrative of 
the reality that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive 
sins. Now enter Matthew. What kind 
of sinners does God have power to forgive? What kind of sinners 
does Christ have the ability to forgive? He has the power 
to forgive notorious sinners. Really bad sinners. Horrible sinners. It always amazes 
me how persons outside the church look at the church and they say 
things like, well, you know, I don't belong there because 
those are respectable people. No, we're not. We are hell deserving, 
wrath of God deserving sinners against the high and holy king 
of heaven and earth. The only reason we are in the 
church is because of grace alone, because of the blood of the gospel. 
I've learned when I go to these old people's homes, that doesn't 
sound politically correct, does it? Of course, as I'm getting 
closer to being an old person myself, I don't think it will 
ever bother me to be called an old person. You're old! Sorry, it's a matter of being 
able to read clocks and calendars. You are old. One of the things 
I've noticed that the saints of Christ there respond well 
to hearing about sin. You treat these old dolls like 
they're blue-haired, innocent persons that have never done 
a thing, and you're not treating them biblically. All of these 
old dolls have a wretched past. All of these old men have a wretched 
past. And Matthew illustrates for us 
the kind of power that Christ has to save sinners. So on the one hand, verses 1 
to 8 underscore the reality that Christ has that power. Verses 
9 to 13 underscore the reality that it's a power that saves 
the wretched. Matthew's a tax collector. Matthew's 
a horrible person in the first century. Matthew is a wretch. Not for only the obvious reasons. Certainly, persons hate tax collectors 
because tax collectors take their money. There were several reasons 
why tax collectors were looked down upon in this context. In the first place, they collaborated 
with Gentiles. Secondly, they handled currency 
with pagan inscriptions and iconography. Thirdly, they took money from 
fellow Jews to give to the magistrate who oppressed them. And in the 
fourth place, they were often greedy and corrupt. This is just 
simply the reality of it. Consider the fact that they are 
linked with sinners in 910. They are linked with heathen 
Gentiles in 1817. They are linked with harlots 
in 2131 and extortionists, unjust and adulterous men in Luke 1811. You see, what we need to appreciate 
and what you need to appreciate if you're here this morning and 
you're not saved, you've not been forgiven. You can never, 
ever, ever argue that I am too sinful to be forgiven by God. 
I am too wretched to be cleansed in the blood of Jesus Christ. 
There is no hope for me whatsoever. Oh, there's hope in the Christian 
gospel. There is great hope in the glory 
of the Savior. The blood of Jesus Christ, His 
Son, cleanses us from all sin. The prophet Zechariah foretold 
a day when there will be a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. The hymn writer says, and sinners 
plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. It truly 
is good news. It truly is gospel. In this instance, 
our Lord, to demonstrate the power that He has, comes to this 
notorious sinner. Frantz says, for Jesus to call 
such a man to follow him was a daring breach of etiquette, 
a calculated snub to conventional ideas of respectability, which 
ordinary people, no less than Pharisees, might be expected 
to balk at. He says fishermen may not have 
been high in the social scale, but at least they were not automatically 
morally and religiously suspect. Matthew was. He's a wretch. He's a sinner. He's a bad man. He's a horrible specimen of a 
human being. He has sinned against a holy 
God. So in order to underscore the 
power to save, it's as if Matthew says, not only does the Son of 
Man have power to save on earth, but look at the kind of a wretch 
that He saved. Look at the kind of a monster 
that He saved. Look at the kind of a beast that 
He saved. And He gives us this snapshot into His own conversion 
and to how, by God's grace, He came to the Lord Jesus. Notice, 
Jesus sees him sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, 
follow me, so he arose and followed him. The tax collector here didn't 
wait, did he? The tax collector didn't say, 
you know what, I'm going to think about this, I'm going to ponder 
my options. I suspect, and I fear at times, 
within this place, so many people hear the gospel every Sunday, 
and instead of coming to Jesus, they say, well, I'm just going 
to wait. I'm just going to put it off. Just going to think about 
other things. I'm young. I want to go out and 
do my thing. And then I might come to Jesus Christ. Note what 
Matthew does. And he's sitting at the tax office. 
He's sitting with his sin. If he is a covetous man, if he 
is a greedy man, if he is a money-grubbing man, he is sitting with the very 
idols that captivate his heart. And yet when Jesus, who has the 
power to enable compliance with the command, commands him, follow 
me, Matthew gets up immediately and he follows after Jesus Christ. 
Have you done that? Have you followed? Again, we're 
going to tease that out in a bit. I realize it's hot. I realize 
it's a difficult time to receive certain things from the Word 
of God. But just consider, some, at least, like to go sit in the 
sun. If it's not in the church, they 
like to go sit in the sun. It baffles me. I don't understand 
it. The idea being that if I can see a body of water, somehow 
it's okay to sit in the sun. And I thought about, maybe you 
should just put a picture of a body of water on your phone and you 
can look at that when it gets overwhelmingly hot in here. But 
then I thought, no, we'd probably click on a YouTube video of a 
cat jumping in a lake. And I don't want you to do that. One of the things that's difficult 
for gospel preachers is when they go after sinners. They come 
to a place like this, they got a lot of things fighting against 
them. Yes, the heat. Yes, time. Yes, the desire for 
comfort. But a real devil, a real Satan, 
a real foe that is seeking to snatch up seeds planted, lest 
sinners hear and believe and are saved. Pay attention this 
morning. Please. We got maybe 30, 40 more 
minutes. Don't think about, oh, 40 minutes, 
just pay attention. If you followed Christ. Can you 
see with that bride in the song? He is altogether lovely and chief 
among ten thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper 
in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. What 
a Sabbath ethic that is, isn't it? Oh, the Sabbath, what a drudgery. Not for the psalmist. He would 
rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the 
tents of wickedness. Have you followed? Have you taken 
up the cross and walked the Jesus path? Have you denied yourself? Have you sought by the grace 
of God to pursue those things which are pleasing to our blessed 
Lord? Matthew did. He followed Him 
immediately. Calvin says the custom house 
has usually been a place noted for plundering and for unjust 
exactions, and was at that time particularly infamous. In the 
choice of Matthew out of that place, not to be admitted into 
the family of Christ, but even to be called to the office of 
apostle, we have a striking instance of the grace of God. Matthew 
stood up and he followed him, intriguingly as well. It says, 
So he arose and followed him. Luke fleshes this out for us 
in a little bit more detail. In Luke 5.29, it says, then Levi, 
remember that's Matthew, I'm sorry, so he left all, rose up 
and followed him. He left all. He left all. Matthew doesn't tell us that 
himself. Luke, however, tells us that 
he left all. Why does Matthew leave that out? I don't know particularly, but 
perhaps the idea is this. He didn't want to draw any attention 
to himself. He didn't want persons to say, 
you're such a great man, you left it all. You don't want to 
go on the testimony circuit and point himself or portray himself 
as this majestic specimen of a human being. You know, you 
hear testimonies in the life and context of the church. You 
don't know whether to praise God or congratulate that sinner 
because he's done such a splendid job. Matthew wants that. Matthew's not going to say, guess 
what, I left it all for Jesus. He just did. Remember last week 
we considered that reality? Jesus is infinitely worth everything. It's no sacrifice to leave earthly 
all for the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord. Matthew did what is 
fitting in light of such a great Savior. Now notice, in the second 
place, the supper at Matthew's house, verse 10. Now it happened 
as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many 
tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his 
disciples. The location, it is Matthew's 
house, Luke 5, 29. Then Levi gave him a great feast 
in his own house. What does Matthew do? He leaves 
his loot. He leaves his idols. He follows 
the Savior. And if we were to interview him 
and we asked him, how has your life fundamentally changed? Oh, 
I've lost everything. I've given up everything. No. 
Matthew wants to celebrate. He calls together a feast. He 
invites the tax collectors. He invites the sinners. He invites 
those like himself. to be recipients of God's grace. 
We ask, why, Matthew, do you do this? It's a time to honor 
the Lord Jesus, isn't it? I mean, if somebody does a great 
thing for you, don't you want to take them out for lunch? Imagine if I pushed you out of 
the way of a speeding bus. You'd probably want to take me 
over to Chili's and have some spicy food. Right? It's legit! We can't pay back! It's not somehow greasing the 
wheel, but it's a sign and a token and a symbol of our appreciation 
and our gratitude. He saved me from my sins. I want 
to gather people together. I want to honor Him. I want to 
celebrate in His presence. And I want everybody to know 
what great things this Jesus has done for me. As well, there's 
an evangelistic angle as well. What happens? Matthew invites 
fellow sinners. Many tax collectors and sinners 
sat down with him and his disciples. So Matthew comes to thank and 
praise the Lord. He comes to celebrate and rejoice 
in the goodness of his God. And in the third place, he is 
there to evangelize his fellow sinners. I love the way Spurgeon 
captures it. He says, the new convert most 
naturally called in his old friends that they might have the advantage 
of our Lord's teaching. They would come to a supper more 
readily than to a sermon. And so he gave them a feast and 
thus attracted them to the place where Jesus was. And it is an 
intriguing guest list, isn't it? Many tax collectors and sinners 
came. France again says, the attentive 
reader of the gospel might recall the vision of the messianic banquet 
in 8, 11, and 12. That's when many from outside, 
many from east to west, would come and sit down with Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. He says, here as there, the guest 
list is not at all what most Jews would have expected. Jesus 
doesn't care about what you think is good. Jesus doesn't care what 
you think is acceptable. Matthew says, tax collectors 
and sinners come and eat with me and Jesus because I want you 
to make contact with this man who is able to save to the uttermost 
all who draw nigh unto God through him. It's interesting to look 
at the text. Verse 10. Now it happened as 
Jesus sat at the table in the house that behold, That's one 
of Matthew's words. I mean, it's a Greek word. Matthew 
just uses it a lot. This, behold. What he's saying 
is, pay attention to this. See. Look. It's underscoring 
something. Matthew throws the feast and 
behold, Matthew invited many tax collectors and sinners to 
be in the presence of our Lord Jesus. Now certainly, this caused 
a bit of problem. And that brings us in the third 
place to see the confrontation with the religious leaders. Notice the nature of the complaint 
in verse 11. And when the Pharisees saw it, 
they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax 
collectors and sinners? These are cowardly men, aren't 
they? They're cowardly men. They would fit well in the 21st 
century. If you have a question for Jesus, ask Jesus. Don't ask His disciples. Don't 
whine to His disciples. Don't play your political games. If you have a concern or you 
have an issue with somebody, go to that somebody. And they're 
not seeking information. They're not genuinely curious 
about this guest list. Does he see something in them 
that we've perhaps overlooked? This is a mask to cover their 
grumbling and their whining and their complaining. Why does your 
teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? They're cowardly 
men and they're men who are holding the Lord Jesus in contempt for 
this choice of dinner guests or for the fact that he is present 
with such scoundrels. Carson explains the question 
this way, the Pharisees question, put not to Jesus but to his disciples, 
was less a request for information than a charge and contemptuously 
it lumped together tax collectors and sinners under one article. 
You know, this is a blessing. The Psalter, it says that the 
wrath of man praises God. Isn't that amazing? The wrath 
of man praises God. If you ever wonder what that 
means, read the gospel accounts. The wrath of man in this instance 
praises God. Why? Because the nature of the 
complaint serves as the foil for our Lord Jesus to respond 
to the complaint. And when Jesus responds to the 
complaint, essentially He is identifying for His audience 
the very purpose for which He came into this world. So while 
they're complaining, and while they're whining, and while they're 
grumbling, and while they're saying, why does your teacher 
eat with such low lives like these? Jesus uses the opportunity 
to underscore that these are the sorts of low lives that Jesus 
came to seek and to save. It's beautiful. Even the wrath 
of man shall praise God. Notice Jesus' response. Three 
Ps. His role as a physician, his 
appeal to the prophet, and his statement of purpose. Note in 
the first place, when Jesus heard that, he said to them, those 
who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are 
sick. Everybody understands that, don't 
they? When do you go to the doctor? 
When you feel well? No, when you're sick. When do 
you need an ambulance? When you're just walking the 
dog and everything is cool? No, when you've been hit by a 
car. Jesus uses this simple proverb for simple men so that they can 
understand that the nature of their complaint is completely 
unfounded. Why does your teacher eat with 
tax collectors and sinners? Jesus' first response, those 
who are well have no need of a physician but those who are 
sick. To whom else should the Savior go? To whom else should 
the doctor visit? To whom else should the healer 
approach? It's a no-brainer, isn't it? 
This is why I said earlier, don't ever say, oh my sin is so bad 
he can't ever fix me. Jesus is the divine healer. Jesus 
is the divine physician. One touch from Jesus and you'll 
be made whole. Belief on the Lord Christ ushers 
in the forgiveness of sins. That's the blessing and the beauty. 
Notice in the second place his appeal to the prophet. In case 
they miss that easy statement, those who are well have no need 
of a physician, but those who are sick, but go and learn what 
this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Now there's a bit of a cut here, 
a bit of a reproof, a bit of a dig. Now the gospel writers 
indicate to us that Pharisees and scribes were present. because 
of the heat and because I want to spend a little time teasing 
this stuff out. We're not dealing with every 
jot and tittle or every detail. The Pharisees and the scribes 
are who? They're the religious teachers in Israel. They are 
the men that should know the law of God. They are the men 
that should know the prophets. They are the men that love to 
stand on the street corner and they love to pray when everybody 
can see them. They are the sorts of men that 
wear phylacteries and they have scripture all over them. These 
are the sorts of men that look askew at others who do not know 
the law as they do. So for Jesus to say to them, 
but go and learn what this means. In many respects, it was a dig 
from a rabbi to fellow rabbis who should have already known. 
This is not an obscure text. It's not an obscure lesson. It's 
not something that is cryptic. It's not esoteric. It is not 
hidden away from the rank and file and only available to the 
few. It's Hosea 6.6. For I desire 
mercy and not sacrifice in the knowledge of God. more than burnt 
offerings. Of course they knew the text. 
Of course they had recited the text. Of course they had probably 
given lessons on the text in the synagogue. They didn't learn 
it. They didn't know it. They didn't 
understand it. They didn't realize that they 
themselves in the first century were acting just like the persons 
that Hosea was preaching against. The sorts of persons that prided 
themselves on going to the temple, and on bringing the sacrifice, 
and on tithing, and on all those fastidious obediences to the 
external requirements of the law, and yet they did it without 
a heart. They'd walk by some poor man lying on the street 
and say, well, I can't be late for the Sabbath service, I can't 
be late for Temple. I see that you're bleeding out 
of the eyes, but I can't defile myself on the Sabbath day, you 
know, and pick you up. That's the sort of things that 
was going on or were going on in Hosea's day and in the history 
of Israel at most of its junctures. And this is precisely what the 
scribes and the Pharisees are guilty of. He says, go and learn 
what this means. It's our mercy, not sacrifice. He's not saying no sacrifice 
ever. It's an idiom, to be sure. Certainly 
God told Israel, yes, I want you to have your heart right. 
When your heart's right, bring the sacrifice to the Lord God 
Most High. Kind of like us. You know, we 
go through these religious motions. We say that we love Jesus. We 
go to church. Our minds are a hundred miles 
away. We're at family devotions, our fathers opened the Bible, 
our minds are a hundred miles away. I realize there's a struggle 
and I realize there's a battle and I realize that difficulty 
is harder as the temperature increases. But if the fundamental 
defining aspect of your life is to absent your mind when the 
Word of God is proclaimed or taught, you've got big problems. If you are content with the externals 
of Christianity, but you are not a worshipper and a lover 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you don't know Christ. It's just 
that simple. I was reading the prophet Jeremiah 
this morning, and I thought, wow, wouldn't this be wonderful 
if this was all of us? And again, allowing for the struggle, 
allowing for the difficulty, allowing for the trials, and 
allowing for the fact that there's an ebb and flow in the Christian 
life. Is this you? Your words were found and I ate 
them. And your word was to me the joy 
and rejoicing of my heart. For I am called by your name, 
O Lord, God of hosts." That's not a man committed only to the 
externals. I was thinking about something 
else this morning, too. When I was a kid, I played baseball. And sometimes the encouragement 
from the stands, whether it be the parents or the coaches, was 
to look alive out there. Do you realize to be good at 
baseball, all one has to do is look alive? That's incredible, 
isn't it? Talk about a lowering of the 
bar. I don't follow professional sports, 
but if I did, it wouldn't be a sport that the only requirement 
or one of the requirements is to look alive. Brethren, in the Christian church, 
there's a sense where we need to look alive. Remember one of 
those challenges I said when a preacher comes and he knows 
he wants to plead with sinners to be reconciled unto God. One 
of the things that at least creeps up in my mind is if I was a sinner 
and I was unconverted and I saw a lot of professing people of 
God around me and they weren't receiving the word, they weren't 
happy about the word, they weren't joyful about the word, I would 
wonder why I need to be. If they can't look alive, then 
why must I? There's a lot of things militating 
against the salvation of a sinner. Let it not be the case that our 
half-heartedness when it comes to the reception of God's Holy 
Word, which as the Puritans and the Reformed saw was a violation 
of the third commandment, is to dishonor God's name when we 
don't open our ears to God's Word. There's an externalism 
that paralyzes the professing people of God. Your kids look 
good, you show up at the right place, you do the right things, 
but is there a heart for Christ? Is there a love for the Savior? 
I'm not saying it has to be this mystical turn-off and tune-in 
experience. But can you say, praise God Almighty 
that He has saved my guilty soul? Now notice, in the third place, 
His role as a physician, his appeal to the prophet, notice 
his statement of purpose. I did not come for, he says, 
this is a reason, for I did not come to call the righteous, but 
sinners to repentance. Isn't that beautiful? The Pharisees 
rumble, the scribes complain, Jesus preaches the gospel. You see a similar instance in 
Luke's gospel, 15-2. All the sinners drew near to 
him, and the Pharisees and the scribes, they grumbled, saying, 
this man receives sinners and eats with them. You know how 
Jesus answers that? He says, I most certainly do. 
I do it like a man who seeks out his one lost sheep. I do 
it like a woman who finds her one lost coin. I do it like the 
father who receives back home his dead son. Christ is about 
saving sinners. Christ is about saving sinners. I did not come to call the righteous, 
but sinners to repentance. Well, in terms of some concluding 
thoughts, in the first place, we cannot miss the authority 
of Jesus here. The authority of Jesus. No other 
religion has Jesus. No other religion provides forgiveness 
and a righteousness that avails with God. No other religion has 
a savior. Christianity in the first place 
is a redemptive religion. It's not a list of how-tos. It's not a list of go-do-better. 
It's not a list of principles to have a better existence. It 
is the message of Christ crucified and resurrected. And all those 
who by grace look to that Christ will have redemption. They will 
be bought out of the slave market of sin. They will be washed in 
the precious blood of Jesus. They will be given a righteousness 
that avails with God. And in that light, when by God's 
grace they are redeemed, that blessed Savior points us back 
to the law, as Pastor Cam alluded to, as Mike mentioned this morning, 
or stated this morning, the law then serves to instruct us on 
how we are to pursue our beloved God. In the second place, what 
are some lessons that we can draw out of this passage concerning 
discipleship? We're going to illustrate with 
other portions in Matthew's Gospel as well. In the first place, 
Matthew believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew believed 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that Shema in Deuteronomy 
6.4? Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 
God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Matthew 16.16 
is a bit of a new covenant Shema, a confession, the central confession 
of the new Israel's faith. When Peter says to Jesus, Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. What does Jesus then 
go on to say? Blessed are you, Simon Barjona. 
Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who 
is in heaven. He has revealed this to you. 
Faith in Christ. You are simply not a Christian 
unless you believe the Gospel, unless by the grace of God you 
trust in Jesus, you believe in Him, you follow Him. That's involved 
in that whole idea. What does the Confession say 
concerning belief? Our Confession of Faith, when 
it teases out the doctrine of saving faith, talks about what 
saving faith looks like in a whole bunch of ways, and then it says 
this in 14 too. But, the principal acts of saving 
faith have immediate relation to Christ. Accepting, receiving, 
and resting upon him alone for justification, sanctification, 
and eternal life by virtue of the covenant of grace. So if 
anyone ever says to me, what does faith look like? In the 
first place, faith has, as its principal concern, the person 
and work of Jesus. I want you to believe that there 
was an ancient Hittite civilization. I want you to believe in the 
fact that Egypt was indeed an oppressor of God's people. I 
want you to believe in how many cubits the east wall of the temple 
or tabernacle was high. I want you to believe every jot 
and tittle of God's holy word that the principal act of saving 
faith is to locate Christ and to believe on him. That's the 
first. The second is that Matthew repented 
of his sin. Now I need to clarify something 
I just said that was a bit of a misstatement. I want you to 
pay attention here with me. Look alive. I said that belief includes the 
following of Jesus. No, the belief will lead to the 
following of Jesus. See, salvation is by grace alone 
through faith alone. We need to get this. I fear that 
sometimes preachers preach repentance as a work. You repent and then 
you will be saved. No. Because who gets credit in 
that arrangement? I repented and God saved me. Faith is that aspect that is 
definitional for justification. Justification by faith. Now, genuine biblical faith, 
again, as our confession states, Faith, thus receiving and resting 
on Christ and His righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification, 
yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied 
with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh 
by love." Let me explain it this way. It's a difference between 
a condition and a consequence. Again, look alive. You know, 
every Sunday morning, or at least every alternating Sunday morning, 
from 9.30 to 10.30, we take pains to explain this confession of 
faith. So that we'll be smarter than the Arminians? Yeah, that's 
a good idea. So that we'll know more than 
the Hyper-Calvinists? Yeah, that's a good idea. But 
we'll know what God's Word says concerning these most crucial 
issues. I am going to cite something 
from our confession in a few minutes that I challenge you 
to find a modern devotional manual that contains as rich and practical 
soul-stirring, comforting Christianity as what this old dry, stodgy 
document from the 17th century does. We've lost our way. We look at 
these old confessions and say, well, it's old. If it can't be 
modernized, then we don't want it. You know, maybe these men 
were more brilliant than we are. Maybe they made nuances and qualifications 
so that we didn't preach repentance as a work. That goes on all the 
time, brethren. Repent and you will be saved. 
Believe and repent are the response to the gospel, to be sure. But 
it's because of God's grace They're not the condition for salvation, 
it is the consequence of God's gracious giving to us. God gives faith and repentance 
and we respond by grace to Him. It's very important and you may 
not think about it now, think about it someday. There's a big 
difference between a condition and a consequence. I challenge 
you to think through that someday and understand that what we at 
times think are conditions are actually consequences, and if 
we botch that, we're going to send sinners into a tailspin. 
The bottom line, that was for the Christians who've looked 
alive, thankfully, the non-Christian. What does it look like? Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. And repent from your sin. What's 
repentance? What is repentance? In the first 
place, it's a change of mind. So we look at somebody and say, 
wow, he stopped going there. He repented. We look at somebody 
and we say, oh, he stopped smoking that. He repented. Or he stopped 
looking at porn. He repented. Those are the fruits 
of repentance. But repentance begins in the 
mind. It's a change of perspective. It's a change of view. Belief 
on the Lord Jesus Christ will always usher in alongside of 
it repentance. Because when we walk to Jesus, 
guess what we're leaving behind? I've said it before, when a man 
has walked down this aisle to marry his newly beloved bride, 
in my history of marrying people, I have never seen a man bringing 
his girlfriend along with him. I've never seen a woman with 
her boyfriend as she's come to meet her new bridegroom. Never 
seen that. Faith and repentance. We leave, 
or we flee to Christ, we leave our sin. It's a very basic, simple 
test. What do I think about sin? Does 
it still hold me? Does it still captivate me? Does 
it still enamor me? Is it still that which I pursue 
with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength? Do I want my loot? 
Do I want my drugs? Do I want my sex? Do I want my 
whatever? You know, not just bad things 
can be idols. Good things can be idols. Family 
can be an idol. Children can be an idol. We don't 
ever want to disrupt the delicate psyche of our children. Brethren, 
disrupt them and bring them to church. Teach them that God's 
more important than they are. It's a good lesson to impress 
upon your dainty little ones. Repentance, a forsaking of, a 
leaving of, a turning the back on. See, sometimes people say, 
well, it seems so confusing the way... I don't think it's confusing 
at all. You come to Christ, you stop your sin. Is that hard? Really? At least conceptually, 
it should be easy. Practically, man, a man would 
rather swim through the fires of hell to pursue his lust than 
to come after the Lord Jesus Christ. So faith, repentance, 
coming to Christ, leaving sin. In this instance, what does Matthew 
do? He immediately follows Jesus 
and he leaves his idols. In the third place, he pursues 
the kingdom first, Matthew 6.33. Seek first the kingdom of God 
and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto 
you. You know, one of the men made a good observation. The 
fishermen could and did return to their trade, didn't they? 
After the resurrection of Jesus, what are the fishermen doing? 
They're fishing. Do you think Matthew could return to his tax 
house? Do you think the Internal Revenue Service or Revenue Canada 
would be happy with the fact that he got up and left piles 
of loot unattended? Matthew probably became public 
enemy number one in terms of the revenue of Israel's service 
at that particular time. They're not going to give him 
his job back. He sought first the kingdom of God and his righteousness 
and realized all these other things will be added to him. 
That's a kingdom priority. It's another good sign. What 
comes first in your life? I'm sure we've told you at our 
home, at least when the kids were little, if I got my food, 
we'd call it IGM. You know, honey, let's pray, 
because that means I got mine. I got mine. I know that most 
of you ladies here who have little children, you eat cold food, 
you eat after everybody else because your husband maybe doesn't 
have it as professed as I did, but an IGM attitude. I got mine. There's stuff we like and there's 
stuff that we hold to and there's stuff that we're attached to 
that gets in the way of this kingdom priority. Where's your 
priority this morning? Is it Christ? Is it His kingdom? Is it the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ? Is He the priority? Look alive, 
brethren. If He is, your life will manifest. In the third place, he sees Christ 
as altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. A terrible 
thing has occurred in the last generation or two. Persons have 
taken the Song of Solomon and turned it into a sex manual. 
That's not what the Song of Solomon is about. The Song of Solomon 
shows God's covenantal love for His bride, Israel. The Song of 
Solomon shows, in typical manner, Christ's love for His bride, 
the Church. And you know how the Church sees 
her bride according to Solomon's song? which is the chief of his 
songs, by the way. I mean, Solomon was no slacker. 
This man wrote songs. He wrote a lot of songs. His 
arm hurt because he wrote so many songs. But this is the song 
of songs because it extols the glory of God. And the bride says 
to her bridegroom, you are altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. 
See, that's how the saint sees Christ. The saint doesn't always 
see Christ that way, and the saint needs to work on seeing 
Christ that way. But the saint wants to see Christ 
that way, doesn't he? The saint strives to have that 
mindset. The saint wants to know Jesus 
as the altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. He wants 
to pursue the Lamb wherever he goes. He wants to be about putting 
off sin, killing unrighteousness, and doing those things which 
are pleasing to his beloved. That's what Matthew has in this 
instance. And then in the fifth place, 
and there are other things we could say to be sure, but in 
the fifth place, he takes seriously the doctrine of sanctification. 
He seeks to live in a manner that is pleasing to his Lord. 
So again, I don't think these concepts are difficult conceptually. Sometimes you kid, I don't really 
understand what it is to be a Christian. Believe on Jesus and stop being 
sinful. Is that hard to understand? I 
don't think it is. In fact, I know it's not. Here, it's hard when we want 
to sin. It's hard when we want to do 
things that are ungodly. The saint takes seriously the 
doctrine of sanctification. In the third place, I want to 
highlight some challenges that face disciples. Do you think 
Matthew just skipped away from that tax office and never had 
a bad thought for the rest of his life? He doesn't tell us 
he did, but if he's like every other Christian that's ever lived, 
he most likely did. You see, when we are converted, 
it doesn't mean that everything just magically changes. We're 
new creatures in Christ Jesus. All things are new, but there 
is something continuous in us. With the first Adam, we have 
remaining corruption. The second Adam has saved us. 
He has redeemed us. And there is a time when he will 
transform our lowly body. But up until that time, we have 
remaining corruption. Romans 7, Galatians chapter 5. There is a struggle in the Christian 
life. So do not take these five things 
that I've said and say, well, everybody always does all of 
these things all the time. No, they don't. Believers struggle 
with reference to faith. Believers get battered. Believers 
get tried. Believers struggle. Believers 
don't always manifest repentance as they ought. Yes, they should 
have a change of mind, and yes, they should leave off those horse, 
and they should pursue only their bridegroom. But you know what? 
They oftentimes stumble. Brethren, the remaining struggles 
for a Christian are manifold. There are many. Remaining corruption 
is one of the chief among them. Take the illustration of the 
conquest of Israel. They went into the Promised Land. 
What did God say to them? Dispossess the land of the Canaanites. 
Did they always successfully dispossess the land of the Canaanites? 
No, they did not. There were these remaining Canaanites 
in the land. We have that. There's struggle. I mentioned earlier that our 
confession deals with this sort of thing. Again, if you have 
the idea that this document is simply to promote a highfalutin 
orthodoxy that has no concern for anything practical, it is 
this that drives practical religion. Again, what manual on modern 
devotions ever say this? And though they may, talking 
about believers, through the temptation of Satan and of the 
world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them and the neglect 
of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins and for 
a time continue therein. whereby they incur God's displeasure 
and grieve His Spirit, come to have their graces and comforts 
impaired, have their hearts hardened and their consciences wounded, 
hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon 
themselves. I produce or I promote this statement 
of faith for the practical encouragement and comfort that it affords God's 
hurting people. How many times I've heard brethren 
say, man, this is me, I'm struggling, I'm hurting, I'm falling, I've 
got corruptions, I still have this sin, I'm hurting my family, 
I'm hurting my people. This confession then goes on 
to say, Yet they shall renew their repentance and be preserved 
through faith in Christ Jesus to the end. May I suggest, not 
only chapter 17, but chapter 13, 2 and 3, and chapter 18, 
4 on assurance. In fact, assurance. True believers 
may have the assurance of their salvation. Diver's ways shaken, 
diminished, and intermitted. It's a struggle. Don't ever go 
from your, oh, he preaches, believe on Jesus and repent from your 
sin. Your life will just be filled with smiles. No, I don't. I don't think I've ever preached 
that. Benny Hinn will preach that. Joel Osteen will preach 
that. But I doubt you've ever heard 
it in this pulpit. We don't preach the version of the old World 
War II song. I mentioned this, I think, on Wednesday night. 
Put your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile. That's not Christianity. Christianity 
is the Psalter 42 and 43. Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God. Christianity is the prophet Jeremiah 
crying over the abominations that are done in his nation. 
Christianity is the suffering and the travail and the trial 
that oftentimes happens with the people of God. Amazing, beautiful 
thing, even in the midst of those there is that joy, that peace 
which does surpass all understanding. I just wanted to at least allude 
to 18 there. We need to understand, brethren, 
that there are struggles and trials in the Christian faith 
with remaining sin. There are struggles and trials 
in the Christian faith that aren't necessarily sin. We backed up 
a little bit in chapter 8. Remember when the disciples are 
on the boat with Jesus? What happens? There's a storm. The 
Bible doesn't teach that when Jesus is in your life, you'll 
never have difficulties. The Bible teaches just the opposite. 
We've seen that in our studies in 1 Samuel. As soon as the Spirit 
comes upon David, guess what happens to his life? He becomes 
a man on the run, hunted, like a dog. The Spirit comes and the troubles 
begin for David. I mean, at least in the shepherd's 
field, all he had to deal with were lions and bears. Now he's 
got to face this nine-foot monstrosity named Goliath, and then he's 
got to face a king who wants to kill him for, you know, no 
reason whatsoever. So there is difficulty. One of 
the final challenges that a disciple faces, and again, these are just 
a sketch. You ought to be thankful we're 
not going to flesh this whole thing out. He will never be in 
this life what he ought to be, but should always be thankful 
that he's not what he once was. Listen to what Newton said, I 
am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be in 
another world. But still, I am not what I once 
used to be. And by the grace of God, I am 
what I am. Doesn't that capture for the 
Christian where he's at? So yes, we tease out what faith, 
what repentance looks like in those who profess the saving 
faith so that unbelievers here this morning will hear the call 
and look and live. But we flesh out to believers 
that life as Christians often times is like this. Often times 
it's two feet forward and five back. You get up to go back. You get up to go back. You get 
up to go back. And by the grace of God you go 
forward a little bit. You praise Him and you adore 
Him and you love Him and you thank Him for that. So for unbelievers 
flee. Believers continue to hold to 
Christ. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for your word and we thank you for your grace and we thank 
you for every spiritual blessing that is ours in Christ Jesus. I pray that you would give us 
ears to hear and hearts to receive these things and I pray for sinners 
this morning. They may feel picked on, God. 
I hope that's not the case. I hope they know that this is 
born out of love and a desire to honor God with the truth and 
to see sinners saved by grace through faith. I pray that they 
would believe the gospel. We live in a wretched, wretched 
world. We are filled with wretched, 
wretched sin and the only hope is in the Savior Christ. By your 
grace and for your glory, Lord God, draw men and women and boys 
and girls unto yourself and demonstrate in our midst that Jesus Christ 
has power to forgive sin. And we pray these things in Christ's 
name. Amen.