David Platt Messages
David Platt Messages is a podcast that highlights sermons from teacher, author, and pastor David Platt.
David Platt Messages
The Gospel Demands Radical Giving
God freely forgives our sin through the gospel, but he doesn’t intend to leave us in our sins. Genuine faith should lead to a change of heart, and according to Jesus’ teaching in Luke 16:19–31, that change of heart should be evident in the way we treat the poor. Sadly, we are often tempted to ignore the needs of others while prioritizing our own comfort. In this message, David Platt urges us to consider our treatment of the poor and needy as an indication of the condition of our hearts. At the same time, our use of money should not be motivated by guilt but rather by grace.
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You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor, author and teacher David Platt. If you have a Bible and I hope you do I want to invite you to open with me to Luke, chapter 16. I invite you to pull out the notes that are in the worship guide that you received when you came in as well. I'm thankful for Chris Nichols preaching the word in my absence last week. Had a few good days away with my family and had the opportunity to baptize a cousin of mine, but miss you, miss you greatly. I'm thankful for you, I'm thankful for the opportunity to be your pastor and I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve alongside men like Chris Nichols. We are halfway through the series on radical what the gospel demands and we're looking at seemingly startling words from Jesus, tough words from Jesus, life-shifting, challenging words from Jesus, life shifting, challenging words from Jesus. And as we're processing through these words, we've set up a couple of times to have some dialogue, just some question and answer kind of time where you can ask me any questions that you're wrestling with and just get my perspective on things based on our study in the Word, and I think the first one of those is October 15th, on Wednesday night at 6.30 in the Student Center, and then we're gonna have another one, probably on a Sunday evening, for those of you who either serve on Wednesdays or are not able to be there for that, and so we'll let you know about the exact date for the Sunday evening one and both of those will be online if you're not able to attend those, but I want to help shepherd you through this Word in any way that I can. At the same time, I want this morning see at the top of your notes some foundations. I want to put before you a couple of things that I think are extremely important for us to remember, especially as we go into the last half of this series, the next few weeks, and especially as we talk more about how the gospel affects our possessions.
Speaker 1:I think that the adversary does not want us to be focused on the right things. I believe he would like to be our focus to the wrong things and to distract us and to tempt us with the way we think and respond to his Word, and so I want us to guard against that in these ways. There's four of them that are listed there that I was praying as I was been praying for you and as I've been wrestling through these things in my own life and talking with individuals and families. These are some things I want to encourage you with. Number one we do not compare. Do not compare because Jesus' life is our standard. We don't compare because Jesus' life is our standard. Here's what I mean by that.
Speaker 1:I believe there's a dangerous tendency in this series and in the application of these truths to begin to look at each other in an unhealthy way. Cs Lewis, in a great chapter on pride and mere Christianity, talks about how pride is inextricably linked to comparison. We are constantly comparing ourselves to others and if we're doing better than others, we feel good about ourselves. We're doing worse than others, we begin to think poorly of ourselves and we're constantly looking at how we match up according to where others are. This is something the disciples were familiar with.
Speaker 1:You go to John, chapter 21, and Jesus says some hard words to Peter about how he's going to die, some very radical words. And the first thing Peter does is he turns around and he sees John standing there and he says, well, what about him? And he immediately turns to comparison and Jesus looks at him and says, if I choose to let him live until I return. What is that to you, peter? And he says these two words. He says follow me, follow me, fix your eyes on me, focus on me and follow me. And so it would be wrong for us, as we walk through this series, to begin to think. Or, as we continue to walk through this series, begin to think things like well, I hope that this family really has a lot of money, is thinking about listening to these things. Compared to them, I'm doing all right, or I'm giving more than this family is doing, or this person is doing I'm doing more. And we, constantly we start to compare ourselves. It's not the path we need to go on. Jesus' life is our standard.
Speaker 1:Now, I want to be careful here, because I think there's a healthy way in which we can look to each other to see the life of Christ. This is why I read biographies. This is why I need to read biographies in my life, because I need to see men who have given up everything. They have given away everything they have to give their lives to the lost and the poor. And I read stories like that and I see that there is another way to live. And they call me to a higher plane, but not in an unhealthy way, in a way that I see the life of Christ in them and I'm spurred on toward Christ, and so this is a good thing we do for each other. We need each other in this way. I need to see what the life of Christ looks like radically in action in you and you need to see that in me, and so we need to spur one another on toward Christ. God help us. We need to be delivered from examples of nominal Christianity that abound and we need to see brothers and sisters who are living out the Christ life and obeying these words radically and to spur one another on toward Christ in that in the process, to guard against unhealthy comparison that gets our focus off following Christ. So we do not compare. Jesus' life is our standard.
Speaker 1:Second, we do not despair. Jesus' presence is our hope. We do not despair because Jesus' presence is our hope. Here's what I mean by that.
Speaker 1:I think there's a tendency, when we look at some of these radical truths in Scripture, when we see Jesus saying if you don't hate your father and mother and your brother or sister, if you don't pick up your cross, an instrument of death and torture and follow me. If you don't give up everything you have, you cannot be my disciple. There is a tendency to hear those kind of words and to walk away and think I have so far to go. Where do I even begin? I don't think I'm ever going to be good enough.
Speaker 1:These words start to creep in, and this is where I want to remind you that that kind of despair is not coming from Christ. It's coming from the adversary, because Christ has never called you to be good enough. He's said I'm the only one that can make you good enough. And he's not called any one of us in this room to hear these words and figure out how to put them into practice on our own. This is the beauty of his presence as our hope. He lives in us, he lives in you, he dwells in you and he does not say hate your father and mother, brother and sister, pick up an instrument of torture and give up everything you have and follow me, and then say now figure out what it looks like in Birmingham. Instead, he says here's my word and I'm going to show you what it looks like in action. I'm going to change your thoughts, I'm going to change your desires. I'm going to transform everything about you so that you are enabled to put all of this into practice. So trust me, trust in him. Brothers and sisters, trust in Christ. He's good, go to him, pray before him, pray long, pray hard, pray together, pray alone, seek him and ask him to bring these truths to life in you. And he's good for that. He's honored with that kind of praying.
Speaker 1:Don't despair. Jesus' presence is our hope. You're not trying to earn kudos before Jesus. We're not trying to earn or get anywhere. We're experiencing the reality, the presence of Christ in us, more and more and more and more. And that is a journey not of despair, it's a journey of hope. So don't despair. Jesus' presence is our hope.
Speaker 1:Third, we avoid apathy because Jesus' words are our authority. We avoid apathy because Jesus' words are our authority. This is apathy, is one potential reaction, and I fear it's likely a common reaction across this faith family. When we hear words like we're looking at in the Gospels, there is a temptation to become indifferent toward these words. Some of you are thinking well, you're talking about wrestling with these truths, and the reality is there are many who are not wrestling with these truths, maybe teenagers who are thinking what does this really have to do with my life? For adults, they're so programmed toward a nominal Christianity to be in a room like this, hear a sermon, go through the routine and move on with our lives as soon as we can afterwards, and we need to avoid this at all costs. We need to.
Speaker 1:I want to urge you to avoid becoming indifferent or apathetic toward what Jesus is saying. I want to urge you in that way because, if you are a follower of Christ, this is simply not an option. It's not an option to be indifferent to the words of Christ if you are a follower of Christ. Now, some of us in this room have become Christians, so to speak, and we were told that all we needed to do was pray a prayer and we could live our life however we wanted and we would go to heaven. And that's what it means to be a Christian.
Speaker 1:And if you came to becoming a Christian under that illusion, I want you to know that, biblically, you are not a Christian. You have not come to Christ at all. This is not what it means to be a follower of Christ. To be a follower of Christ means to come to an awareness of your sinful rebellion against God and to see in Jesus the only substitute for your sins and, by His grace, to turn from your rebellion against God and to trust in Him as the Lord and sovereign king over your life. And when that is the case, then what Jesus says determines how you live. Let me repeat that one more time what Jesus says determines how you live.
Speaker 1:Therefore, it is not possible to be a follower of Christ and be indifferent to what Jesus says, because whatever he says determines how you live. So let me encourage you, urge you, not to be apathetic. His words are our authority. This radically affects the way we listen today, because we are listening to words, not to say let's hear what Jesus says and figure out if we want to obey them. What we are saying when we open up this book is we are saying this morning, whatever Jesus says, we will obey His words, have that kind of authority.
Speaker 1:Finally, we avoid lethargy. Being lethargic why? Because Jesus' glory is our goal. Apathy is indifference to what Jesus says. Lethargy is laziness in applying what Jesus says.
Speaker 1:And I want to be careful here because I believe this is a dangerous temptation for even the most devout follower of Christ in this room. I want to be honest with you and say that this is something that I struggle with. I think there is a dangerous temptation to look at words like we're looking at in this series, and to look at our lives and look at the culture around us and to think I just don't want to deal with these words. Besides, I cannot deal with these things and live a good life and be a good pastor and be a part of a good church, and we don't have to deal with giving up everything we have and examining how our lives and our possessions must be spent for the sake of the lost and the poor. We don't have to dive into these things and all of a sudden we can begin to think it's just not worth fighting the battle, and I want to encourage you this morning.
Speaker 1:This is a battle worth fighting. It's worth fighting against materialism and consumerism and professionalism and even legalism. It's worth fighting against self-saturated and self-indulgent culture that not only surrounds us, that consumes us. It's worth fighting against hypocritical, nominal, unbiblical Christianity. It's worth fighting, struggling, wrestling these are all words that are familiar to the New Testament. The New Testament nowhere gives a picture of Christianity. Like you're going down a hill and the wind is just blowing through your hair and it's this easy ride. No, you see, words like we're in a fight and a race and a battle and a war, and that's the picture here.
Speaker 1:To really wrestle with these truths, to fight through our tendencies that are so prone to the culture around us and the wisdom of the world around us that we have completely ignored much of the Word of God in the middle of us. And we need to fight this battle and it's worth fighting because Jesus' glory is worth it. He's our goal. We want His glory, we want to experience His glory. Not only do we want to experience His glory, but we want the lost and the poor to experience His glory. And it's worth diving into these things and wrestling through these things and working these things out in our lives.
Speaker 1:And it's not going gonna end at the end of this series. It's not gonna end a year from now. It's going to be a continual battle until the day when we will see Christ. And that's the beauty of it, because we're guaranteed the victory in this battle. And so I want to urge you, encourage you, to fight through these things, to wrestle through these things and how they look in your life. Let's fight together through these things as a faith family. Let's join with one African pastor who said we won't give up, shut up, let up, until we have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. We are disciples of Jesus and we must go till he comes, give till we drop, preach till all, know and work till he stops us, and when he comes for his own, he will have no problems recognizing us. Our banner will be clear. So let's fight like that, dive into these truths like that. I really need to get to the text, but Foundations it will lead us into the next few weeks.
Speaker 1:Luke, chapter 16. Before we read this passage, I want to show you who Jesus is speaking to. So I want you to hold your place and turn back just a couple of chapters to chapter 14. The end of chapter 14 is the passage that we studied a few weeks ago 14, 25 through 35. So when Jesus says if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife or children, brother or sister, take up his cross and give up everything he has, we study that passage. These are hard words.
Speaker 1:Then you get to Luke, chapter 15. It's one of the more popular, maybe most famous I guess, if you could use that word chapters in the New Testament, especially in the Gospels. It's the parable of the prodigal son, at the end, after the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin. And you remember at the very beginning. Look at what's happening. Tax collectors, chapter 15, verse 1, and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered this man welcomes sinners and eats with them. So here you've got a picture. The Pharisees, the religious establishment, the religious people of the day, are criticizing Jesus because of his concern for the spiritually needy, the tax collectors and the sinners, and Jesus is confronting their ideas about the fact that their lives are supposed to be lived for the sake of these people. And that's what he talks about, these parables in Luke, chapter 15, his love for them. It's exactly where we've been.
Speaker 1:This is following the development of this series. We spent the last two weeks looking at what it means to have radical compassion and radical urgency for the lost, for people who are headed to a Christless eternity, who are on a road that leads to an eternal hell, and how we must spend our lives on behalf of people who do not know Christ. That's the picture and he is confronting the religious establishment on that in Luke 15. And then he shifts, like we're shifting now to look at possessions. What happens is in Luke 16, verse 1, he starts speaking to his disciples and he tells a parable. And basically the point of this first parable in Luke 16 is that we should use our money not to serve ourselves but to serve the kingdom, and our resources and our possessions and our money are intended to be used for the advancement of the kingdom, not for the indulgement of ourselves. And again, he's confronting the religious establishment there and we know this by verse 14. Look at what it says there.
Speaker 1:After Jesus finishes speaking, he's talking about people who love money or devoted to money. He says in verse 14, the Pharisees who loved money heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them you are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight. So here's the context. That is the setup for what we're about to read in verse 19. Please don't miss it. Pay attention real close. Jesus is speaking to religious people who are so blinded by their affluence to the love of money, that they justify their affluence in the middle of their religious devotion. Let me say that one more time that Jesus is speaking to a religious people so blinded by their affluence, so consumed by their possessions, that they don't even realize it, and they're operating in devotion to their religion while indulging in love for stuff. That's the picture of who Jesus is speaking to. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a word for us and this is what Jesus says to people who love their money and justified it in their religion.
Speaker 1:There was a rich man verse 19, who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried in hell, where he was in torment.
Speaker 1:He looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I'm in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. He answered. Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so they will not also come to this place of torment. Abraham replied they have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. No, father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. He said to him, if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.
Speaker 1:God, we pray that you would help us not to respond this morning like the Pharisees responded. Not to respond this morning like the Pharisees responded, god, that you would help us not to sneer at your words or to justify ourselves when we hear them. Help us to hear them truly and to obey them quickly. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 1:I want us to look at this story through three different lenses. First, a contrast that dominates the story, a divine contrast. It's here in this story and it is all over Scripture. Here's the contrast. First, god responds to the needs of the poor with compassion. He responds to the needs of the poor with compassion. What you've got here is something very interesting in this story the rich man and Lazarus, and he's named. It's the only story parable like this that Jesus tells where you've actually got somebody named in it, which points us to a significance. Lazarus is named for a reason. His name means one whom God helps, or God is my helper. That's what his name means and it helps us to guard against thinking we need to guard. Let's just get this out on the table from the very beginning.
Speaker 1:Scripture here is not teaching, nor should we equate what Luke 16 is saying with the idea that if you have material poverty you automatically go to heaven, or you have material wealth, you automatically go to hell. Scripture's not teaching that we're going to see that unfold, but let's just go ahead and get that out on the table. At the same time, scripture is teaching that God is passionate about caring to, compassionate for the needs of the poor. He is their helper. That's the picture of this poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, sitting at a gate eating scraps from a table while dogs lick his sores, and this is the one whom God helps. This is a picture here in Luke 16. It's all over the book of Luke, it's all over Scripture. We're not going to have time to turn to all of these places, but I want to encourage you by giving you some listings of some different places in Scripture for you to go back and look at. That show us that God shows His greatness by His concern for the poor.
Speaker 1:1 Samuel 2, verse 8. 1 Samuel 2, 8. God raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats the poor with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. Now, this is contrary to what we would picture in greatness in other world religions then or other world religions today. You go to some of the poor countries in the world today and you will see a religious system that despises the poor. And God shows his greatness by showing compassion for the poor. He raises up the poor. 1 Samuel, chapter 2, verse 8. Job 34, verse 28. Job 34, 28 says God hears the cry of the poor and the needy. He hears their cry. He does not turn a deaf ear to the poor. He hears the poor.
Speaker 1:Psalm, chapter 22, verse 26. The rest of these are in Psalm 22, 26. The poor eat and are satisfied by God. They're neglected by the world. They eat and they're satisfied by God. Chapter 35, verse 10. Psalms 35, 10. God rescues the poor. Psalms 68, verse 10.
Speaker 1:God provides for the poor. When nobody else provides for the poor, god provides for the poor. Psalms 82, verse 3. God maintains the rights of the poor and the needy. He maintains their rights. Psalms 113.7. God raises up the poor. Same kind of picture we saw in 1 Samuel, psalm 113.7. He raises up the poor and then Psalms chapter 140, verse 12. God secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy that's the picture we've got all over the Old Testament and upholds the cause of the needy. That's the picture we've got all over the Old Testament. God is known as the God who cares for the poor. This is the God of the Bible.
Speaker 1:Then you get to the book of Luke. Hold your place here in Luke 16 and go back with me to Luke, chapter four. Let me show you how Jesus is the personification of this when we see him come on the scene in the New Testament. Jesus responds to the needs of the poor with compassion. I want to show you Luke, chapter 4. We're going to start in verse 17. This is the very beginning of Jesus' ministry in the book of Luke. This is how Jesus is introduced, right after the temptation. This is his introduction of his ministry. And I want you to hear how Luke introduces Jesus to his audience Verse 17.
Speaker 1:The scroll Jesus is in the synagogue. At this point, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written Of all the places that Jesus could point to in this very beginning part of his ministry. He quotes from Isaiah 61, verse 1. The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the who, to the poor. This is Jesus' introduction. This is who I am. I preach good news to the poor. This is who I'm defined by. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
Speaker 1:Then you get over to chapter 6. Look at chapter 6 in Luke, verse 20. I'm here to preach good news to the poor. What is he preaching to them? Look in verse 20, luke, chapter 6, looking at His disciples, he said blessed are you who are poor. This is the despised in that culture Poor, impoverished, despised, looked down upon. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom. The poor, the impoverished. This is who Jesus came for. In fact, you get over one more chapter to Luke, chapter 7. Look with me at verse 20. Look with me at verse 20.
Speaker 1:What happens here is some folks from John the Baptist come to ask Jesus some questions to find out whether or not Jesus is the promised Messiah. Listen to this in verse 20. When the men came to Jesus, they said John the Baptist sent us to you to ask are you the one who is to come or should we accept someone else? And this is how Jesus responds. At that very time, jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers this is how Jesus attests to the fact that he is the promised Messiah. Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight. The lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the who, the poor. This is how you know Jesus is real, because he's preaching to the poor.
Speaker 1:Jesus picks up on the picture of God's compassion, the needs of the poor, in the Old Testament and he continues it into the New Testament. This is the reality. The poor, ladies and gentlemen, the poor have God as their helper. The God who is worshipped in this room responds to the needs of the poor with deep compassion. Now here's the contrast that we see in Luke 16. God responds to the needs of the poor with compassion. God responds to those who neglect the poor in a very different way. He responds to those who neglect the poor with condemnation. This is how God responds to those who neglect the poor. Now I want to emphasize that picture Neglect the poor.
Speaker 1:Go back to what we said just a second ago. Scripture is not teaching here that people go to hell because they have money. We know this man had money in Luke 16. We know from the things that he dressed in and the things that he ate lived in luxury. This is the picture. But what's the reason he's in hell in Luke 16? Not because he had money. We're going to talk about this in the days to come. Money and possessions in and of themselves are not inherently evil. Wealth is not inherently evil. That's not the picture we're seeing here. What we're seeing is we're seeing a man who used his money to indulge himself and ignore the poor, and God sends people like that to hell, to those who indulge themselves and they ignore the poor. Those people will stand condemned before God.
Speaker 1:I want to point out at this juncture what I believe is obvious as we study this text together. Ladies and gentlemen, we are the rich man. We are the rich man. This is a mirror. Here's the scene in this room, we have gathered together in our fine linen in a multi-million dollar building Outside, in this parking lot. Today, there will be literally tens of millions of dollars worth of cars. After we have finished our routine, we will get in those cars, pay thousands of dollars on the way home on food for ourselves, where we will come to literally hundreds of millions of dollars worth of homes where we will be safe the rest of this week and the majority of us living in the wealthiest county in Alabama with the best school systems wealth can buy and we will come back together again next week, together again next week.
Speaker 1:Meanwhile, there's poor at the gate. They're here and around the world. You don't have to go very far north or south from here to find people who have no plumbing, no kitchen scraps for food. Expand that around the world and you will find hungry people at our gate. In just the time that we have gathered together in this room, approximately 1,000 children have died because they didn't have food. 30,000 of them will die today, either of starvation or a preventable disease. The reality is, if our children were at the gate, they'd all be dead right now All of them. But the good thing is we can flip the channels on our big screen TVs so we do not have to see these realities and we can ignore these realities. We are ignoring these realities. We are throwing scraps to the poor outside the gate and while millions of them, powerless and silent, hover on the edge of starvation, we live like they don't even exist. And the God of the Bible cares for the poor and he condemns the rich who neglect them. This is a warning passage to the religious affluent of the first century, and it's a warning passage not just this passage. It is all over Scripture. It's not an isolated incident.
Speaker 1:I want to show you we need to see this. We need to see this. We need to see this honestly. I want to show you what Scripture teaches about how God responds to those who indulge themselves and ignore the poor. Deuteronomy, chapter 15. Turn with me there, I'll show you. I want to show you these passages, maybe encourage you to underline them in your Bible.
Speaker 1:Deuteronomy, chapter 15, verse 7.
Speaker 1:I want to show you the picture here. I want you to see. We're going to look, just go ahead and warn you. We're going to look at some startling words from God that we're going to wonder. We're going to wonder if the God who's being worshipped in this room really says things like this to his people, and he does. These words give us a glimpse into his character. We'll start foundation.
Speaker 1:Deuteronomy 15, verse 7. This is the law, leviticus and Deuteronomy. This is one place amidst the law. It's all over the place of God's provisions for the poor. I want you to listen to what he said to his people, verse 7,. If there is a poor man among your brothers, in any of the towns of the land the Lord, your God, has given you do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your poor brother. Rather, be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs. Skip down to verse 10.
Speaker 1:This is God speaking to his people about the poor. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart. Then, because of this, the Lord, your God, will bless you in all your work and everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you, I command you. You know it's interesting. Sometimes people say you start talking about poverty and they say, well, there's always going to be poor people. That's just the way it is. We use that as an excuse to not give ourselves to the poor. God uses that as the basis for a command. I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. This is a command from God. You give to the poor. You be open-handed to the poor. You be liberal and generous in your giving to the poor and needy in your land. That was the command. Now, what happened? This foundation laid in Leviticus, deuteronomy. People of God began to ignore this command and to leave it behind.
Speaker 1:Fast forward with me to Isaiah, chapter 3. I'm just going to show you a few of the places in the prophets. They're all over the place in the prophets. I want to show you a few of them. Isaiah, chapter 3. What happened was the people of God had this command and instead chose to indulge themselves and ignore the poor. And this is what God says to his people when they indulge themselves and ignore the poor. This is what he says. Isaiah, chapter 3.
Speaker 1:Look with me at verse 13. Verse 13. Listen to this. Listen to how God addresses their affluence. Verse 13. The Lord takes his place in court. He rises to judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people. It is you who have ruined my vineyard. The plunder from the poor is in your houses. Poor outside, you're indulging in houses with all kinds of stuff. The poor need food. The plunder of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor, declares the Lord Almighty. So this is how he responds.
Speaker 1:The Lord says the women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles. Therefore, the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion. This is the people of God, women of God. The Lord will make their scalps bald and that day the Lord will snatch away their finery. The bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses and ankle chains and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings, the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls all the stuff. I'm going to snatch it away. Instead of fragrance, there will be a stench Instead of a sash, a rope Instead of well-dressed hair, baldness Instead of fine clothing, sackcloth Instead of beauty branding. Your men will fall by the sword. Your warriors in battle the gates of Zion will lament and mourn. Destitute, she will sit on the ground. These are strong words from God to people who are indulging themselves and ignoring the poor. Keep going to the right.
Speaker 1:Jeremiah, very next book after Isaiah. Jeremiah, chapter 5. Jeremiah, chapter 5. I want you to listen to what the prophet says there. These prophets were not popular guys. Nobody likes to hear these kinds of words. This is what God is saying to his people. Jeremiah, chapter 5, look at verse 26. Listen to this. God says among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men, like cages full of birds. Their houses are full of deceit. They have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit. They do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it. They do not defend the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this, declares the Lord. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? I punish things like this. God says Keep going to the right. You'll come to Ezekiel. Right past Jeremiah. You come to Lamentations. You'll come to Ezekiel. Right past Jeremiah, you come to Lamentations.
Speaker 1:The next book is Ezekiel. Ezekiel, chapter 16. Now I want to be careful here. We're not making a direct comparison between the people of God in the Old Testament and us today. However, we are seeing how God responds to people who neglect the poor in the Old Testament and we're going to bring that in to New Testament in just a moment.
Speaker 1:Ezekiel, chapter 16. This is particularly interesting because remember Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament Destroyed, annihilated. Does anybody remember why they were destroyed or annihilated? The first thought that comes to our minds. If we've read that story, the first thought that comes to our minds is because of sexual sin, homosexuality. That whole picture in Sodom and Gomorrah was so abhorrent and God destroyed them. We addressed this a little bit when we talked about the gospel and homosexuality and we think of sexual sin.
Speaker 1:I want you to look at what Ezekiel says. Ezekiel, chapter 16, verse 48. He's talking about Sodom. As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. In other words, you're doing worse than that. Listen to what he says, verse 49. This was the sin of your sister Sodom. She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned. They did not help the poor and needy. This was the sin of Sodom. Not that the other wasn't there, it was there. Scripture points to that, but this was there. This flies right in the face of our selective moral outrage.
Speaker 1:The majority of people in this room are appalled at homosexuality or same-sex marriage, and Scripture speaks clearly to those things. At the same time, where is the church that is appalled at neglecting the poor and the needy? I would point the finger. Look at what's going on in our culture. Look inside, brothers and sisters, look inside our hearts at what's going on in our culture. Look inside, brothers and sisters, look inside our hearts at what is going on here. Keep going to the right.
Speaker 1:Come to Amos, daniel, hosea, joel, then Amos, hosea, then Joel, then Amos. I want you to look with me at Amos, chapter 2. This is the last prophet we'll look at. Look at a couple different places in here. Amos, chapter 2. This is the last prophet we'll look at. Look at a couple different places in here.
Speaker 1:Amos, chapter 2, verse 6. Another unpopular prophet 2, 6. This is what the Lord says For three sins of Israel, even for four. I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. This is who God is speaking to.
Speaker 1:So go over to the next chapter, chapter four. Look at chapter four, verse one, and listen to what he says, what he's going to do. Chapter 4, verse 1. Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, and say to your husbands bring us some more drinks. In other words, those of you who say I want more, I want more. While the poor are crushed and the needy are forgotten, the sovereign Lord is shorn by his holiness. The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fish hooks. You will each go straight out through breaks in the wall and you will be cast out toward harm and declare this is how God is speaking to his people. These are astounding words.
Speaker 1:One more place in Romans and Amos here. Amos, chapter 8. Look at Amos, chapter 8., verse 3. Listen to these words. This is the God who's being worshipped in this room. His words we're listening to, verse 3.
Speaker 1:In that day, declares the sovereign Lord, the songs of the temple will turn to wailing, religious people singing all the time like everything's great. Your songs will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies flung everywhere, silence. Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying when will the new moon be over? That we may sell grain and the Sabbath may be ended, that we may market wheat? Skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales. Buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob. I will never forget anything they have done. Will not the land tremble for this and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile. It will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. And that day, declares the sovereign Lord, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts, religious feasts, into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day. God says this is what I'm going to bring on you as you feast on your indulgences and you ignore the poor.
Speaker 1:This is the Old Testament. Is this a New Testament deal? Absolutely. Come back with me to Luke. Look at Luke, chapter 6. Deliberately read just a couple of verses in this chapter a minute ago about how Jesus came to show compassion for the rich. This is a picture of the contrast here. Don't miss the contrast.
Speaker 1:Luke, chapter 6, verse 20. We read it a second ago. Looking at his disciples, jesus said remember God responds to the needs of the poor with compassion. Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. That's what God says to the poor. Listen to what he says down in verse 24. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Do you see this picture? This contrast with how God responds to the needs of the poor, and those who neglect the poor to indulge themselves, neglect the poor to indulge themselves. The neglect of the poor infuriates God and condemns man to hell. That's what Scripture's teaching. This is a warning to us.
Speaker 1:One writer said the story of the rich man and Lazarus ought to explode in our hands when we read it, sitting at our well-covered tables while the third world stands outside. That's the point it should explode in our hands. We've been talking the last couple of weeks about those who are headed to a road that leads to an eternal hell, and now we come to this passage and we see the danger here that you can be spiritually deceived and religious people and be headed down the exact same road. That's the point. Contrast leads to consequence, and eternal consequence here. This is the picture Luke 6 here and then over in Luke 16. There is a reversal doctrine that is being displayed here. There is coming a day when this upside-down world will be turned right-side up and for many, the conditions we've lived in in this world will be completely reversed. That's the whole picture here in Luke 16. There's coming a turn and the wise will spend their lives here preparing for the turn. There is an eternal consequence here.
Speaker 1:Scripture is teaching very clearly if we indulge ourselves and neglect the poor, don't miss it. Earth will be our heaven. It's what Luke 6 just said. It's what Luke 16 says. Luke 16 tells us about all the fine things this man had. The rich man had while he was on the earth Blessed. Are you who are rich now Blessed? Are you who have food now Blessed? Are you who have these things now? Earth will be our heaven. You will have things. This is just exactly what Jesus was talking about in Matthew, chapter 6, when he says if you want man's praise as your reward, you will get it. Enjoy it while it lasts, because that is your reward. If you want stuff and luxury on this earth and this community, you will get it and enjoy it. Enjoy it now, because earth will be your heaven and eternity will be your hell Hades, the place of the dead.
Speaker 1:Four times in Luke 16, the word torment is used. This is the picture used. This is the picture those who neglect the poor, ignore the poor and indulge themselves will find themselves separated from an uncrossable, unbridgeable chasm forever and ever and ever. This is what is so frightening about this passage, because the rich man here is pleading for grace and mercy. He's pleading for it, and the time for grace and mercy is gone, it's passed.
Speaker 1:There comes a day. There comes a day, ladies and gentlemen, when neglect of the poor, when indulging in selves and ignoring the poor, when it is no longer forgiven, it, is punished. It is eternally punished. Does this cause us to tremble? Can we really look at our lives and our culture and our community, our religious community? Can we really look at it and say that we are being obedient to God's command to care for the poor and not to indulge ourselves? Absolutely not. We could not say that in my life, in our lives, in this church. We cannot say these things in this community. We could not say these things. Then how can we believe that we will spend an eternity under His love instead of eternity separated under His judgment? I know that at this point people get really uncomfortable, thinking well, are you saying that my salvation is dependent on how much I give to the poor? That's absolutely not what Scripture is teaching. Not at all what Scripture is teaching.
Speaker 1:But here's the picture. It leads to that last part of your notes, a clear choice. There are two choices here. I want you to follow with me here. A clear choice. Choice number one, option number one one is to continue in hollow religion that neglects the poor. This is an option that is before the hearers in Luke 16, and it's an option before us in this room.
Speaker 1:Continue in hollow religion that neglects the poor. Don't miss it. This is a religious man in hell. It's a religious man in hell in Luke 16. He calls out Father Abraham. Abraham says son, this is a man thought he was in the people of God. He thought everything was okay. He was a deceived religious man thinking everything was okay, but he lived his life ignoring the poor and indulging himself Hollow religion. Now, the mistake we would make at this point is to think that if he would have given this much to the poor, then he would have been in heaven, because that would make heaven dependent on how much he'd given to the poor. And that's not what Scripture is teaching. Don't miss it to the poor. And that's not what Scripture is teaching. Don't miss it. Caring for the poor is not an optional extra in salvation. Caring for the poor is not an option. Spending our money and our possessions for the sake of the lost and the poor is not an optional extra in salvation. It is not a possibility for followers of Christ. Instead, caring for the poor is necessary evidence of salvation. It's necessary evidence of salvation. Let me show you this in two places. Luke 19. Turn over a couple chapters. Luke 19.
Speaker 1:There's a guy named Zacchaeus. He is a wealthy tax collector. Jesus is hanging out with Zacchaeus, getting a lot of grief for hanging out with Zacchaeus. I want you to listen to what happens. Look at this.
Speaker 1:Luke, chapter 19, verse 8. Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord look, lord, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor and if I've cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Can you imagine right now just standing up and saying half my possessions I give away, half my assets, everything, half of it I give away. Anybody I've wronged four times as much. So Zacchaeus says and listen to how Jesus responds. He says today, salvation verse 9,.
Speaker 1:Jesus said today salvation has come to this house. Did his giving away his possessions earn him salvation? Absolutely not. His giving away his possessions at that moment was clear evidence that something had happened in his heart that had radically changed things. It was evidence. Same picture. Go back with me to things. It was evidence. Same picture. Go back with me to Matthew. You've got to see this.
Speaker 1:Matthew, chapter 25. Matthew 25. Please don't miss this. Matthew, chapter 25. We'll start in verse 31. I want to read this picture. This is not just an isolated incident in Luke 16. This is Jesus speaking to his people, to religious people. Listen to what he says. Matthew, chapter 25, verse 31, and follow along with this picture. When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory, all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people.
Speaker 1:There is coming a day, ladies and gentlemen, when Jesus will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Sheep on his right, goats on his left. Here's how it's determined which one you're a part of. The king will say to those on his right Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance. The kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
Speaker 1:For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison. And you and the righteous will answer him, lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or need clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? And the king will reply I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. And then he will say to those on his left the goats depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They also will answer, lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or stranger and eating clothes, or sick or in prison Did not help you? And he will reply I tell you the truth Whatever you did for one of the least of these, did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
Speaker 1:Now we don't have time to study this whole passage today. Likely, jesus is speaking specifically, not just generally, about those who are poor or hungry or sick or in prison. He's likely speaking about his disciples. So this is a passage that's likely pointing us specifically to brothers and sisters of ours here and around the world who are poor and sick and hungry, regardless picture. In the whole New Testament it's clear that we love the righteous and the unrighteous. Don't miss it.
Speaker 1:Jesus is saying here that if you do not give to the poor and the hungry, whether they're Christians or not, then you will go to eternal punishment. Why? Because you didn't earn enough? No, because that's clear evidence that Christ is not in you. That's clear evidence that you have not been saved. This is the thing that haunts me. This is why, as I shared with you a few weeks ago when the series began, I've been wrestling through these things, kind of a crisis of faith and belief moment, because these are basic things. This is not a mature believer in Zacchaeus in Luke, chapter 19, who's giving away all of his possessions. This is the first thing he does, because it makes sense, it's obvious. It's obvious evidence of his salvation that he would do this. It's the picture here in Matthew, chapter 25.
Speaker 1:Those who do not give to the poor and the hungry are obviously not followers of Christ and will obviously be thrown into eternal punishment. And yet we live. We live in a community and we are a part of a religious culture that ignores these things. We ignore these things. These are not basic for us. We indulge ourselves and we turn to deaf ear. We give scraps to the poor. And Jesus says you're not my people, no matter what you say at 11 o'clock on Sunday morning, you're not my people if you live like that, my people don't live like that, not people who believe in me and have me in their heart, they don't live like that. So there's a clear disconnect here between claiming to have this Christ in your heart and indulging yourselves and ignoring the poor. Indulging ourselves and ignoring the poor.
Speaker 1:You say, david, I am justified by grace alone, through faith alone. And I say absolutely, you're justified by grace alone, through faith alone. And I say absolutely, you're justified by grace alone, through faith alone. But it is a faith that radically transforms a heart, that transforms desires, where desires are not for stuff and for selfish pleasures, desires are for Christ and the lost and the poor. It's a radically different change and you will be able to tell if that faith is real in you by the way you live. James, chapter 2, verse 14 through 17.
Speaker 1:What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food and one of you says to him go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, which is exactly what we have said to our brothers and sisters in third world countries with the way we indulge ourselves in this country. Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. It's dead.
Speaker 1:Verse John 3, verse 17,. He says how can anyone claim to have the love of God in him and not care for his brother? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with what Action sent. In truth, christ is not even real. You can't even claim to have the love of God in God if this is the way you live. The reality is, you will be able to tell, with the way people are giving to the poor, whether or not Christ is in them. And, ladies and gentlemen, the evidence in our community is just not good. It's frightening, and this is a choice that we have. We can continue in hollow religion that ignores the poor.
Speaker 1:Second option is to turn in honest repentance To care for the poor. This is where the dialogue shifts, at the end of this passage, to the rich man talking about his brothers. He's got five brothers. Don't miss this. This is hell crying out for us to listen to this text today. This is people in hell crying out for us to heed these words. Don't ignore these words, don't ignore these words, don't miss these words.
Speaker 1:And the rich man says send something miraculous, something extravagant. So they get it. They're sitting there and they don't get it. My brothers don't get it. He said send somebody to raise from the dead, just do something miraculous. And Abraham says they've got the power of the word right in front of them and this is how they will know if they hear this word. So Jesus says how do you respond in repentance if they'll do these things? Number one hear the word humbly. Hear the word humbly. He says their hearts are so hard and this is the reality I see in my own life.
Speaker 1:The hardest part of dealing with our materialism is the fact that we are so blind to it. We don't know what it's like not to be materialistic and our bent is consumed by it and it leads to a hardness that hears these texts, hears words like this, and says that's not for me, that attempts to justify ourselves. Our mechanisms go up and they're going up all across this room. They go up in my heart when I read what about? This is not me, this is other people, this is this or that I'm okay and Jesus says. He says you are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men. You justify yourselves by looking at the culture around you and thinking well, I'm sure it's okay. But God knows. God knows your hearts and knows what's really going on better than you know it or I know it. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight. The ways of the world are detestable in God's sight.
Speaker 1:The wisdom of the Word hear it humbly. Do not listen to this word. Justify ourselves. Hear the word humbly and obey the word quickly. We're going to talk more about this next week, but we must act.
Speaker 1:Sentiment is not enough here. This is a repentance, it's a change. We need to change brothers and sisters. We need to change the way we budget and the way we live and the way we spend. If this is true. If it's not true, we go on and we continue with business as usual. But if this is true and if this word determines our life and determines the church, we need to hear these warnings, not only for the sake of the lost and the poor, but for the sake of ourselves and our own souls. That's the picture here 30,000 children, 30,000 Joshuas and Calebs Today, with no food or preventable disease that will cause their death, our brothers and sisters, millions of Christian brothers and sisters around the world who do not have food today and have deformed bodies and deformed brains as a result.
Speaker 1:Obey the word quickly, church. Where are we going to stand? This is the question. Where are we going to stand With the poor and starving or with the overfed? Are we going to stand with the poor man on his way to heaven or with the rich man on his way to hell? Are we going to stand hoarding our treasures or are we going to give ourselves to abandoning our treasures for the sake of the lost and the poor? Where are we going to stand? How can we stand over here, with so many hovering in spiritual and physical need and call ourselves the people of God? Now I want to be very, very careful here.
Speaker 1:This is the most important point, most important moment in light of this text. Please do not miss it. It's the bottom line. Most important moment in light of this text. Please do not miss it. It's the bottom line. We are not motivated to care for the poor by guilt. We're not motivated to care for the poor by guilt. People will say you want to do this or change this in your life because you feel guilty. No, we are not motivated to care for the poor by guilt. Follow with me. We are motivated to care for the poor by the gospel.
Speaker 1:This is 2 Corinthians 8, verse 9. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor so that you, through his poverty, might become rich. This is the picture of the gospel. We need to see the warnings in Old Testament. We need to see the warnings in Matthew 25 and Luke 16. We need to see Jesus speaking strongly about these things. But don't miss it. Please don't miss this.
Speaker 1:We walk away thinking, well, that was quite a guilt trip. How do I cover from that missed? I miss the point. It's not the point. What Scripture's teaching, and I pray that if anything I've done has tried to communicate that, I pray that it blocks that out. That's not the point. The point is to see the gravity of these things and then to realize we obey Christ not because we're guilty, but because we are saved. We obey Christ because we're new creatures and we're redeemed and we don't need to indulge ourselves because we're living for another world. And so we gladly. We gladly invest our lives and our possessions and our everything and the lost and the poor, and we forsake the treasures of this world because we know there's coming a day when this upside down world will be turned right side up, and the gospel guarantees us this. This is why we obey these words.
Speaker 1:So I want to urge you today, people of God not this individual in this circumstance people of God, let's repent. We need to repent. If this is the God of the Bible, if this is the God of the Bible and this is what he says, then we are in danger and we need to repent. These folks are going to come up and they're going to lead us in prayer, in a song of prayer, and I want to invite you all, across this room, to pray. I want to invite you to pray. You can pray alone, but I want to encourage you You'd be willing to pray together, to pray with your husband or wife that's sitting next to you, your friend that you come with pray with your children. You can pray where you are. You can pray down here at the front. I want to open up this area at the front.
Speaker 1:I want to urge you to repent of hollow religion of indulging in ourselves and ignoring the poor. I want to urge you not to begin thinking about how you're going to indulge yourself when you leave this place. It's not the point. The point is for us to see ourselves in the mirror of this text and fall before him now and say God, we need you to bring the life of Christ in us in this way alive. Or maybe we need you to give us Christ for the first time in many of our hearts, because it's just not a reality. It's games and we don't want to play games. But if Christ is a reality to say, I need you to remove my selfish indulging and I need you to give me grace to know how to lay my possessions, my stuff, my life, my schedule, my priorities on the altar for the sake of the poor. We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Radical with David Platt. For more resources from David Platt, we invite you to visit radicalnet.