Settle with Your Accuser
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Mark Twain gave some interesting quotes during his lifetime.
One such amusing statement was,
“Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.”
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He along with others, do not realize how horrible Hell will be.
We do not hear much about Hell these days from the pulpits.
Many preachers want to give the friendly upbeat sermons that please the congregations.
I like the statement that, as pastors, we should “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
If pastors do not warn their flocks about Hell, they should resign.
For if they do not believe that there is such a place, then their flock does not need them to shepherd them.
Our Master, King, Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ took the time to speak about Hell, in fact he spoke about Hell 70 times...
So, as His representatives, we must also remain faithful and obedient to warn others of it...
And that is exactly what we are going to do this morning.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 12 and focus on verses 57 through 59.
Our message this morning is titled, “Settle with Your Accuser”
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As you are turning to our passage today please keep in mind that Jesus is presenting us with an urgent warning that we all have to take very seriously.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Judgement
2) The Accusation
And...
3) The Warning
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are holy...
And You are on a whole other level than all of us...
For You are the Creator...
And we are the created.
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May Your name be glorified and honored more and more...
For You are holy, holy, holy...
And You are all together good...
And You are the Alpha and Omega!
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Thank You for having mercy on your children...
And thank You for gifting us with grace instead of the wrath that we deserve.
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Help us lean on You more each day...
And help us to trust in Your Word more each day.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.
59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Judgement
1) The Judgement
Verse 57: “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
Now, before we start to examine our text...
We need to first take a look at what Jesus said right before our main passage for today...
And Beloved, that takes us to the section of Scripture we covered the last time we were in our study of the Gospel of Luke...
And that would be Luke 12:54-56 which says:
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens.
55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.
56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
As we previously discussed a few weeks ago...
This teaching by Jesus was about having discernment and the willingness to accept what the signs of the times was showing...
And for those in the 1st century...
The sign of the time pointed to the arrival of the Messiah and the coming of the Kingdom of God...
In our time...
The sign of the time points to the second coming of Christ and the consummation of the Kingdom of God...
And it is those facts that we need to keep in mind as we study of passage for this Sunday.
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So now, let’s pick up where our text begins with Jesus saying, “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?”
What Jesus was doing was calling the crowd to consider the correct judgment they should have...
And He was calling for the crowd to consider the wise course of action based on the warning He just gave regarding the signs of the times.
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That is why Scripture instructs us to not just judge but to judge rightly...
Just look at what John 7:24 says:
24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
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So, if we are using right judgement then we will come to the conclusion that Jesus is in fact the long promised Messiah...
And that means the Good News He was preaching is true...
So, although the wages of sin is death...
And although we as sinners on our own are enemies with God the Father...
Surrendering and trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Savior leads to our salvation...
For the ones who repent and believe in Christ are covered by His blood...
And His blood washes us so that our filthy rags are turned to royal white robes...
And we are a peace with God the Father...
And that takes us to our next point.
2) The Accusation
2) The Accusation
Verse 58: As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.
In this verse Jesus chose a situation that the crowds would all have been familiar with.
You see Beloved, Jesus asked the crowd to picture themselves going with their opponent to appear before the magistrate on a legal matter...
And, based on the context from verse 59, we can safely presume that this matter involves a financial debt.
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Now, the magistrate was the official who conducted the preliminary hearing...
And if he found sufficient cause to proceed with the case, he would turn it over to the judge...
Then the judge, if he found the accused guilty, would turn him over to the officer in charge of the debtor’s prison...
Then the officer would throw the guilty party into prison.
If that happened, Jesus warned, the guilty party would not get out of there until they had paid the very last cent they owed.
As Proverbs 25:8 says:
8 do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?
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Therefore, Jesus calls for the crowd to seek reconciliation eagerly, aggressively, and quickly.
This brings to mind passages like Romans 12:18–21 which says:
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
In either case...
Whether we are the guilty party or someone else has sinned against us...
We need to strive to live in peace when at all possible.
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Beloved, I understand that that is not always easy...
It can be challenging dealing with people who have hostile feeling toward us...
But we must respond with Christ-like love...
And if we are the one who has sinned against someone else...
Well, then even more so are we to seek forgiveness from the ones we hurt...
And if possible attempt to right what wrongs we have commited if that is an option.
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Forgiving others and asking forgiveness are both tasks we may want to avoid...
But there is a blessing from the Lord to be the one who seeks peace in a dispute...
As Matthew 5:9 says:
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
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Now, reconciliation with all we interact with is very important...
Beloved, I want you to imagine that reconciliation with anyone in general would be of a third level of importance or imagine a bronze medal in degree of priority...
However, the next level up...
I would say of second most importance...
Or at the silver level in terms of priority over reconciling with the general population is reconciling with a fellow believers...
For example, consider with me what it says in Matthew 5:23–24:
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
So, reconciliation always takes a priority...
Even to the point that one was to even leave their gift before the alter and immediately go and seek reconciliation with anyone in whom they had something that could be said against them...
Especially so with a fellow believer.
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Likewise in Matthew 18:15–17 consider what it says:
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
What you are seeing presented in Matthew 18 that we just read is church discipline...
That is why is is so important to not just attend a Bible believing church...
But it is vital to actually be an official member of that local church...
Without it, it makes church discipline impossible.
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That is why before we as a church come together and take communion I give a warning that any under church discipline...
Whether from our church or another church need to refrain from communion or they would be taking in in an unworthy manner...
Communion is only ment for believers...
And specifically...
Communion is only meant for believer not under church discipline.
For when Jesus said that is a person refuses to listen even to the church that he is to be treated like a Gentile...
That meant the individual under church discipline was treated like a visitor at church....
He was a “friend” but not a “brother.”
He could attend service with everyone else but was not allowed to serve or participate in communion until he acknowledged his sin.
So, reconciliation is of significant importance, Beloved!
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Furthermore, please consider the truth found in 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 which says:
1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?
2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?
3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!
4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?
5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,
6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?
7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?
8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Regarding this passage, the ESV Study Bible says:
“Although some have argued that Paul is prohibiting Christians from ever going to court against another Christian, Paul seems in these verses only to be addressing disputes related to property or money, rather than criminal cases, which fall under the jurisdiction of the state.
It is doubtful, therefore, that Paul’s intention is that this specific example should be applied in every situation, since not every situation today matches the circumstances of this specific case in Corinth, where the two parties are in the same local church, and where the dispute is specifically related to property or money.
Whatever the circumstances, it is clear from Scripture that disputes between believers need to be handled with the utmost care:
In a wise and godly manner before the watching world;
Wherever possible under the disciplinary authority of the church;
And with the counsel of spiritually mature Christians who have no stake in the matter and who can give objective, biblical advice.”
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So, even if there is a major dispute among believer regarding a matter that could very well be taken to court...
We as believer need to do all we can to avoid taking the matter to court and settle it as believers together...
However, it is vital to understand that this only works out with two genuine born-again believers.
If one party is a genuine believer and the other is not then it won’t work for an unbeliever has not surrendered to Christ...
Likewise, if one party is a genuine believer and the other simply identifies as a believer but is not truly one then it won’t work for even is the person identifies as a Christian the reality is that they are an unbeliever who has not surrendered to Christ.
So, in disputes like these, much discernment is needed and a faithful Bible believing church is needed to help manage those situations.
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Any questions on official church membership, please see me after service or reach out any time...
Any questions on matters of reconciliation or conflict with someone else, please see me after service or reach out any time...
Some of these issues can be difficult to navigate as every situation has its own unique challenges...
However, we can work on it together, Beloved.
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Overall, we need to be driven by Christ-like love...
As the Word of God says in Romans 13:8:
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
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Now that we have walked through reconciliation with the general public...
And we have walked through reconciliation with fellow believers...
We need to go to the highest level...
This is the gold medal standard in terms of priority and urgency...
And that is reconciliation with God...
And it is this fact that is the main point of Jesus’ illustration.
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Look at it this way, Beloved...
In legal matters, anyone with a weak defense does well to secure an out-of-court settlement before the case comes to trial...
And in relation to our spiritual life...
We as sinners should be reconciled to God now...
For to wait or delay is to be gambling with our life...
It is to be gambling with where we will spend he rest of eternity...
As those who ignore Christ’s urgent warning will perish if they wait until judgment day.
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As the ESV Study Bible puts it:
“This parable offers practical advice:
It is better to settle with one’s accuser before the dispute is brought before a judge.
But within its broader context, the parable seems also to have in view the arrival of the kingdom—
That is, the need to be in right standing with God, the Judge of the universe, before it is too late.”
So, we are to make peace with God, the judge, now, while there is yet time.
If one delays, it may very well be too late...
And that takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Warning
3) The Warning
Verse 59: I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Beloved, I love how theologian James R. Edwards puts in regarding what Jesus is saying:
“How wise is it to initiate a legal process that will squeeze the last penny from you if you lose;
And even if you win, it will cost you no less in time and energy?
Would you not be better off to settle out of court!”
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You see, in ancient life, the debtor who was incarcerated was beaten in prison as incentive to his family and friends to pay the debt off.
In fact, generally there was little possibility that one would get out of debtor’s prison...
And it is that image that Jesus is painting for His audience.
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Furthermore, in regards to our debt with God...
We will never be able to pay back every last penny without Jesus to save us...
For the wages of sin is death!
There may be different degrees of sin...
But even the most “insignificant” of sins is very much significant in the eyes of the Lord...
And the most “insignificant” of sins comes with a death penalty.
So, the point of this illustration is to show how impossible it is to escape one’s debt with God unless they surrender their lives to Christ.
As 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 says:
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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You see Beloved, before we surrendered our lives to God...
Before we were born-again...
We were considered traitors in the eyes of God...
We were considered enemies of God...
And we were at constant war with our Creator...
Yet, allegiance with Jesus is to make peace with God...
As Ephesians 2:14 says:
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
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So, why did Jesus save us and reconcile us to God the Father?
Why leave His royal throne in Heaven and humble Himself by taking on flesh?
Why endure hatred?
Why endure insults?
Why endure persecution?
Why endure mockery?
Why endure beatings?
And why lay down His life for those who were His enemies?
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The answer to those questions can be summed up in one word, Beloved...
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Love!
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As 1 John 4:10 says:
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Did you see that, Beloved?
It is not because you loved God that lead to your salvation...
It is because God first loved us despite our wicked lives!
He loved the unlovable!
He loved what was vile!
He loved what was wretched!
As Romans 5:10-11 says:
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
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So, He loved first...
And now we are able to love Him back...
For our love is a byproduct of His overflowing love!
And our love is a byproduct of His overwhelming love!
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So, let all hear this message...
Repent and believe!
Repent of ones sinful life...
And believe in the only name that saves...
And that requires a genuine surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior...
As the New International Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“But, above all, everyone should see that his attitude towards Christ is put right while the time of grace is still present (i.e. before death or the end of the age).
He who is not reconciled to Him in time, and is not bound to Him in faith, will meet with irrevocable sufferings—
He will never be able to pay off his debt of sin.”
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I like how John Calvin once said it:
“By His obedience, He has wiped off our transgressions;
By His sacrifice, appeased the divine anger;
By His blood, washed away our sins;
By His cross, borne our curse;
And by His death, made satisfaction for us”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider this:
Centralia was a small mining town in the eastern part of Pennsylvania with about 1,000 residents making their income off of the coal dug just underneath the crust.
The town had existed the same way for over a century when pre-Civil War settlers moved out to dig up the anthracite from the earth.
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But in 1962, a small fire created from trash burning near the dump swept slowly into the tunnel causing a problem that the city couldn’t figure out how to deal with since they couldn’t come up with the couple thousands dollars needed to extinguish the flames.
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Today, the fire rages.
At the heart of this underground inferno are blazes that register hotter than Mercury, an atmosphere that is as poisonous as Saturn, and lethal clouds of carbon monoxide and gaseous chambers that would frighten even the strongest and most distant star.
Spurred on by mild flows of oxygen that cannot be prevented unless every hole in the county was adequately covered, it would appear that the fire in Centralia will continue to burn.
The cost of containing the fire has been put in the billions of dollars, and that would be the cost of just containing it—not stopping it.
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The town’s population of 1,100 back during the Kennedy administration has since dwindled down to 21 at the last census, and now has only 5—all of which are there illegally as they refuse to leave their property.
Not long ago a twelve year old boy fell into a sinkhole that opened up 4 by 150 feet wide, obviously, just walking through town can be considered dangerous.
The 2 parochial schools, 7 churches, 5 hotels, 2 theaters, bank, office, 14 general stores, 27 saloons are all closed.
Even their own zip code has been declared extinct.
The good news is that scientists point out that over time the fire will burn out, we have to just wait around 250 years or so.
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When I first read about this story, I found it fascinating that some place in the world there is actually a place that is constantly under fire.
Then I discovered that Centralia is not alone in the world as Burning Mountain in Australia has been on fire for over 6000 years (the fire actually moves southward about one meter per year; scientists do not have a time they expect that fire to end).
There is another place that is constantly under fire and the flames there will never go out.
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The Bible calls it Hell and, as we have mentioned before, the Bible talks a lot about Hell.
If the Bible mentions the place of everlasting suffering once, it mentions it 100 times.
Acts 2 calls it a place for disembodied spirits.
Luke 16 states it’s a place of torment.
Matthew 25 states hell is on fire, and also describes it as a place for punishment.
Matthew 3 says it is unquenchable, which makes it many. many times more dangerous to the fire that breeds under Centralia because at least that 1000 degree inferno in Pennsylvania will go out some day.
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Friends, where are you going to go?
And why?
Friends, the most important question for all eternity, is where are we going to spend eternity.
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Are you Heaven bound?
Or are you on the highway to Hell?
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Are you following the Lord?
Or are you following the world?
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Have you surrendered your whole life to Him?
Or are you the “ruler” of your own life?
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The choices you make today will effect you whole entire eternity...
As Jesus said in our passage today, “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?”
So, chose wisely.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
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Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way...
Then by whatever means it takes...
Bring them to a saving knowledge of You...
And let them see all things brand-new with spiritual eyes!
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I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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For those hearing this message who already know You...
Equip us to the tools we need to spread the Good News to the farthest ends of the world...
By whatever means it takes...
Let Your name be gloried on the lips of your elect throughout the whole earth!
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Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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It is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
