God's Foolish Church - 2 An outline of the texts on the topic with minimal commentary. Laurie L. DeWitt Today I want to talk about one of the most misunderstood things in Christianity. It is an issue that has not been settled in over 2000 years, and I am not sure that we will hear the end of it today. As a matter of fact, I hope that our conversation today will encourage discussion and thought among you as the church family. We begin with one of Jesus' best known parables. Matthew 7:24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." As we look at this parable we find that Jesus is trying to make it clear that anyone who does not listen to Him and hear His teachings is headed for a major crash. And I believe that that crash can be physical, emotional, as well as spiritual. We have an example of this in the Bible. Turn with me to Luke 24. We are watching a walk on the road to Emmaus. Two disciples who have just had their world turned upside down are shuffling along, heads down, in obvious grief, going over the events of the last 48 hours. A stranger going the same way that they were strikes up a conversation. In response they begin to recoung the story. We join them in: Luke 24:23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see." 25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. I don't have the Bible study that Jesus gave that day, but I can imagine what some of the texts might have been. Perhaps the first would have been Isaiah 53... Then in describing the work that he had to do on the earth He might have gone to Isaiah 42 which lays out the ministry of Christ, and the ministry that his followers were to have. Isa 42:5 Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory (when we work, we are taking glory.) I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. Isaiah again describes the ministry of the Messiah. Is 46:12 "Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, Who are far from righteousness: 13 I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, For Israel My glory. Notice carefully what it says here. It is God's righteousness that brings salvation to Zion, for his glory and honor. Another scripture that we know Jesus used on another occation was: Is 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, Again from Isaiah. Is 54:14 In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake. 16 "Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy. And this: Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD. Isaiah was not the only one to recognize the salvation of the Lord. Perhaps the one who understood it next best was David. He had expereinced the goodness of God and his forgiveness on a one to one personal level. See if you find any gospel in this passage: Ps 85:1 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah 3 You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger. 4 Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. 5 Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? 6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation. 8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. 11 Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway. Or this one: Psalm 71:14 But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. 15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. 16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. 17 O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. 19 Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. 8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. Here is is well not note what is NOT said. It is not said that I will get my act together and the Lord will plead my case. He pleads it BECAUSE I have sinned. You will find that the hardest thing for a Christian to absorb is the fact that there is absolutely nothing that we can do to gain God's favor. We have just seen that over and over in the Old Testament. Least you continue to think that the gospel is only found in the New Testament era let's look at a couple of more passages: Ps 23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Ever heard that one before? Isaiah 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. I hope by now you are appreciating the OT Gospel message. So you may ask, "Pastor, where is the foolishness of the church that you are talking about? How do I avoid the crash that the disciples experienced after Jesus' crucifixion?" Well since you asked..... This is also described in the OT, but let's look at the more vocal message of brother Paul. Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain; if indeed it was in vain? 5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?; 6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. How do we respond to this beautiful doctrine? Isaiah 55:1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. 3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you; The sure mercies of David. 4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people. 5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you." 6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Let's go on. Matt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. And this: 1 Cor 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; I have shared this with you before, but I believe that the milk of the gospel is our trying to earn our way to salvation. At first a Christian may have to be "discipled" in lifestyle, but that is not the saving gospel. The meat of the gospel is when we begin to realize that the only thing that we can do is cultivate a relationship with our Lord Finally, what is the effect of preaching this gospel and living it? Isa 32:17 "The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever." Now someone may be asking right now, "Pastor, you did not say anything about works." That question reflects the foolishness of the church. Works are not salvation. Works through the power of the Holy Spirit are not salvation. Works done because the Lord is in our lives are not salvation. Therefore we will not discuss these today. The second foolishness of the church is in the fact that we always try to have some way of putting ourselves in the Salvation picture. That picture, which by the way we are to reflect, is a picture of Jesus. Jesus as a human baby taking the difficulties of human flesh. Jesus ministering to his world. Jesus dying for His church. Jesus expereincing the sleep of eternal separation from the Father for us. Jesus rising victoriously to claim victory over death for us. Jesus sitting at the favored hand of His Father in heaven representing us. He has done all of the necessary work for our salvation. Next week we will look at part 3 of God's foolish church. Where he wants us to be foolish. But today, as we close, are you willing to give up on your own efforts at salvation? What foundation is your faith resting on? The wishwashyness of your own strength, or the solid immovable platform of the Rock of Ages? Are you ready to let His ministry, manhood, sacrifice and resurrection stand in the place of your works?