Sermon #43 Luke
Sermons
Title: “Wisdom Justified”
Text: Luke 7:31-35
Subject: Believers Justify God
Date: Sunday Evening—
Tape # W-24b
Introduction:
Lindsay
began teaching the blessed gospel doctrine of justification in our Sunday
morning Bible class this morning. How we rejoice in that grand, soul comforting
doctrine!
“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s
elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that
died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at
the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate
us from the love of Christ?”
·
We are justified freely by the grace of God.
·
We are justified through the precious blood of God’s own dear Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
·
We are brought into the knowledge and enjoyment justification by God
the Holy Spirit, when he gives us life and faith in Christ.
We do rejoice in that
blessed gospel doctrine. It is our bread and butter as a church. It is the
staple diet of our souls. That is the message we preach. But tonight, I want to
talk to you about another kind of justification. The title of my message is Wisdom
Justified. Our text is Luke 7:31-35.
[Luke
7:31-35] “And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? [32] They are like unto
children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have
mourned to you, and ye have not wept. [33] For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He
hath a devil. [34] The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye
say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and
sinners! [35] But wisdom is justified of all her children.”
Proposition: In these few, short verses, our Master teaches us a great, glaring
difference which is always manifest between believers and unbelievers.
Divisions: I want to show you three
things from this short paragraph.
1. "This Generation"
2. Another Generation
3. A Great Savior
I.
This Generation
First our Lord speaks about
a group of people called, "this generation." At first glance,
it looks as though he is using the word "generation" the way we
commonly use it, to speak of that specific group of people living at the time.
But that clearly is not the case. If you look through the Scriptures, every
time those words are used together, they are used to described
self-righteous religionists. They always refer to lost religious people, like
the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians of our Lord's day.
And those people called "this generation" are always hostile,
persecuting people. They are the people of whom our Lord spoke specifically
when he said, "In the world you shall have tribulation."
Let me
show you this in the Book of God. "This generation" is
the generation of the enemies of our God and of our souls in every age.
[Psalms
12] "Help, LORD; for the godly man
ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. [2] They
speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with
a double heart do they speak. [3] The LORD shall cut off all flattering
lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: [4] Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are
our own: who is lord over us? [5] For the oppression of the
poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will
set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. [6] The
words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times. [7] Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for
ever. [8] The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are
exalted."
[Psalms
71:12-18] "O God, be not far from
me: O my God, make haste for my help. [13] Let
them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let
them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt. [14] But
I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. [15] My
mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day;
for I know not the numbers thereof. [16] I will go in the strength of
the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine
only. [17] O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I
declared thy wondrous works. [18] Now also when I am old and greyheaded,
O God, forsake me not; until I have showed thy strength unto this generation,
and thy power to every one that is to come."
[Matthew
12:41-42] "The men of
[Matthew
23:29-38] "Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because
ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the
righteous, [30] And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we
would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. [31] Wherefore
ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the
children of them which killed the prophets. [32] Fill ye
up then the measure of your fathers. [33] Ye serpents, ye generation
of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? [34] Wherefore,
behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of
them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in
your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: [35] That
upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood
of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew
between the temple and the altar. [36] Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. [37] O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them
which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."
Now, look
at our text again, and learn what our Master teaches us about "this
generation" (Luke
[Luke
7:31-34] "And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? [32] They are like unto
children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have
mourned to you, and ye have not wept. [33] For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He
hath a devil. [34] The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye
say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and
sinners!"
Our Lord here shows us that unbelieving
religionists are always opposed to, find fault with,
and quick to slander God's servants and his people, because the carnal mind is
enmity against God.
We ought to always take care
not to offend the people of this world. We should always strive to be kind, gracious, thoughtful and caring of those people among whom
we live and with whom we work in this world. As much as possible, live
peaceably with all men. Try to get along with people. Make sacrifices to do so.
Endeavor to live blamelessly before your neighbors, for Christ's sake, for the
honor of God, for the gospel's sake.
Yet,
having said that, we must not concern ourselves with the cavils of men. If men and women are
determined to set themselves in opposition to us, as we endeavor to serve our God, that should not disturb us. We must not court the favor
of men and we must not fear the frowns of men.
"This
generation" is a hard, implacable, peevish, childish
generation, which will never be made friends to the cause of Christ. The cross
of Christ has always been an offense to them and always will be.
This is
the lesson to be learned by our Lord's comparison, describing "this
generation" as children. If we would be saved, we must become as
little children, meek, humble, inoffensive, trusting.
Yet, lost religionists are also like little children, not adorable, sweet
children, but peevish brats. Our Master compares "this generation"
to perverse, rebellious children who can never be pleased with anything.
·
Nothing satisfied them.
·
Nothing contented them.
·
They found some fault with everything and everyone, but themselves.
John the Baptist came,
leading a stern, austere, separated life, of self-denial; and they said, "He
hath a devil." After him, the Lord Jesus came, adopting the habits of
a more social man, a man who mixed with people; and the very same men of "this
generation" said of him, he is "a glutton and a
winebibber."
A.
Their animosity was not really against the preachers, but against the
preachers' message and the God the represented.
The men and women of "this
generation" really do not care, at all, what kind of man the
preacher really is. They know they can make their kind of preachers become
whatever they want them to be. You see, John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus
Christ preached exactly the same thing.
·
Repentance toward God
·
Faith in Christ
But the men and women of "this generation"
are determined not to hear God's Word, bow to his Son, confess their sin, and
seek salvation by free grace alone. The fact is, "the carnal mind is
enmity against God." Nothing will ever change that, but grace
itself.
The
pretended objections of this generation to God's servants are only a smoke
screen to cover their rebellion and hatred of God. Anyone who would hear God's
message from the lips of the Master, would also gladly
hear it from John's lips. And any who would hear God's message from the lips of
John the Baptist, would gladly hear it from the lips of the Lord Jesus.
How often
we see religious men and women who have a blind attachment to a preacher! They
follow not the Shepherd's voice through the preacher, but the preacher's voice.
Such people are always fickle and unstable.
·
Bro. Fortner is too stern, too loud, too plain
spoken.
·
Bro. Nibert is too mild, too gentle, too quit.
·
Bro. Simpson is too didactic, too unemotional, too
teacher-like.
·
Bro. Richardson is too blunt.
·
Bro. Bell is too emotional.
·
Bro. Mahan is getting too old. He doesn't preach like he use to.
The plain truth is rebels
will always find an excuse for their rebellion. The carnal mind will always
attempt to cover its hatred of God and justify its unbelief. For proud,
self-righteius, self-willed religious men and women, no matter who the preacher
is --
·
Free grace is too easy.
·
Faith in Christ is too simple.
·
Substitution is too dangerous.
B. But notice this, too. -- Most
of those things which divide the unbelieving religious world are matters of complete
insignificance and indifference.
What was it that caused
these people to talk? What was it that kept some from hearing John and others
from hearing the Lord Jesus, and all of them from hearing either?
·
John the Baptist was a strict separatist, a Nazarite.
·
The Lord Jesus was far more free in his
conduct.
Let us not behave as such
peevish, silly children. Rather, let us ever behave as mature men and women.
·
We have no right to make indifferent matters needful.
·
We dare not make essential matters indifferent. -- The Gospel --
Believer's Baptism -- The Lord's Supper.
This generation is a wicked,
perverse generation. But our Lord also speaks of…
II.
Another Generation
There is another generation,
called "his generation," "the generation of thy
children," "the generation of the upright," and
"a chosen generation." Look at verse 35. Here our Master draws
a direct and distinct contrast between those of "this generation"
and his own elect.
[Luke
7:35] "But wisdom is justified of
all her children."
A. Certainly there is at least
a reference here to the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is our Wisdom (1 Cor.
Christ is the wisdom of God.
He lived in wisdom here and shows us the way of wisdom. The Lord Jesus stood
for us as our Wisdom in the counsel chambers of the Almighty in eternity. He
fulfilled the wisdom of the covenant. He makes believing siiners wise unto
salvation. And he gives us wisdom as we need it in the face of our numerous,
subtle foes.
B. All God's elect justify him
in all his person and work.
Read the text again, "Wisdom
is justified of ALL her children." All who are born of
God, born of wisdom, repent before him, and thereby justify God (Ps. 51:4).
[Psalms
51:4] "Against thee, thee only,
have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be
justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest."
Repentance
is taking sides with God against ourselves, coming
into agreement with God, and justifying God in the way he saves sinners.
Yet, there is more.
C. Believer's justify God's
wisdom in all things and thereby prove themselves wise
indeed.
The Scriptures make us wise
unto salvation through faith in Christ (2 Tim.
[Psalms 36:6]
"Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy
judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast."
[Psalms
48:11] "Let mount
[Psalms
72:1] "A Psalm
for Solomon. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy
righteousness unto the king's son."
[Psalms
97:8] "
[Psalms
119:75] "I know, O LORD, that thy
judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted
me."
[Psalms
119:108] "Accept, I beseech thee,
the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments."
[Isaiah
26:8-9] "Yea, in the way of thy
judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is
to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. [9] With my soul have I
desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee
early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the
world will learn righteousness."
[Revelation
19:1-6] "And after these things I
heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and
glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: [2] For true and
righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which
did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his
servants at her hand. [3] And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke
rose up for ever and ever. [4] And the four and twenty elders and the
four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen;
Alleluia. [5] And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God,
all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. [6] And
I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying,
Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
There is
noe more thing I want you to see in our text. Even
when he is spoken of in derision, our Lord Jesus Christ proves himself to be…
III.
A Great
Savior!
His enemies constantly
derided him, calling him "a friend of publicans and sinners."
How I rejoice to declare that that is exactly who and what the Lord Jesus
Christ is. In fact, he is the only friend of Publicans and sinners, the only
friend we have; and he is the Friend only of Publicans and sinners.
[Matthew
9:12-13] "But when Jesus heard that,
he said unto them, They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick. [13] But go ye and learn what that
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
[Mark
[Luke
5:31-32] "And Jesus answering said
unto them, They that are whole need not a physician;
but they that are sick. [32] I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance."
Oh, how
willing God is to be gracious! Did you ever notice how often the Lord God
refers to our sins as sicknesses, diseases, and infirmities? Listen to me, now.
-- In Christ God views the sins of his people as sicknesses, calling for pity,
not as crimes calling for punishment!
Come, ye sinners, poor and
needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and
sore.
Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall.
Come, ye sinners, come and
welcome,
God's free bounty glorify!
True belief and true
repentance,
Every grace that brings us
nigh!
Application:
1. There is a generation called
"this generation," from whom the people of God must never
expect anything but trouble, adversity, and opposition. -- (The Seed of the
Serpent and the Seed of Woman -- Cain and Abel -- Ishmael and Isaac!)
2. There is a generation in
every generation called the people of God, the children of Wisdom.
3. The Lord Jesus Christ is a
great, gracious Savior for poor, needy sinners.