What do I know with Isaac Carroll
What do I know with Isaac Carroll
Finding Childlike Faith in a Complex World: Matthew 18's Wisdom for Believers
Welcome to the podcast. I'm Isaac Carroll, and this is what Do I Know. All right, in today's Bible study we are going to be in Matthew 18, starting in verse 1. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and said who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? They called a child to himself and he set him among them and said Truly, I say to you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.
Speaker 1:But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. Who believe in me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks, for it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come. But woe to the person through whom the stumbling blocks come. If your hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to end your life maimed or without a foot than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell. See that you do not look down on one of these little ones, for I say to you that there are angels in heaven continually. See the face of my Father, who is in heaven. What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go and search for the one who is lost? If it turns out that he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than the 99 that have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your father, who is in heaven, for one of these little ones to perish. All right, let's stop here at verse 14.
Speaker 1:There are several things I'd like to talk about in these passages, and the first one is what Jesus says in verse three, and it says truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whenever Jesus says something that's a requirement for salvation, my heart always catches in my chest. Now you are free to interpret scripture any way you want. That's between you and God. But as for me, if God's word says it, I have to take it as truth and I have to learn to seek the spirit to guide me into understanding this truth and to apply it to my life. If Jesus says it, obviously it's important and it's something that we need to take to heart.
Speaker 1:So what does becoming like a child look like? Now I have read commentary after commentary and how it explains a childlike faith and their complete dependence on the parent. But I believe it's so much more than that. Have you ever witnessed a child? But I believe it's so much more than that. Have you ever witnessed a child?
Speaker 1:When they meet another child for the first time, they don't judge the child's color, ethnicity, whether they're rich or poor, what they can get out of that other child or what that child is looking to get out of them. No, they simply want to meet that person, that kid. They want to play with them and have a good time. They want to experience joy with each other. They don't look at things the way we do as adults.
Speaker 1:The innocence and the character of a child is a loss we don't truly appreciate. When we get older we think when I was a child I was gullible, I was easy, manipulated. I was gullible, I was easy and manipulated, I was ignorant. But now that I'm older I'm more wiser. I don't have the weaknesses of a child. People can't just take advantage of me any way they want. When we get older we have a tendency to be more weary, a lot more judgmental, because the world is evil and we know that the world is evil. So we try to prepare ourselves to face that world. Jesus says this to the disciples when he sends them out into the world Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes, but innocent as doves. You know, a sheep, which Jesus calls us, is not a predator, it's prey. So be weary and stay innocent is the point of the objective. I can only pray that God guides our heart to be more childlike in our faith and in our dealings with one another, to see people as people made in the image of God.
Speaker 1:The next thing I'd like to discuss is stumbling blocks what they are and how we can get rid of them in our life. Jesus tells us to cut off from ourselves things that offend. Now first, let's clarify what a stumbling block is. In the Greek, the word that Jesus uses is skandalon, and what it's used for in the Greek culture is a snare or a trap set for an animal, and that's what a stumbling block is to us. It's something in our life that leads us into sin against God. Jesus goes on to elaborate and gives an example of what this might look like In verse 8.
Speaker 1:8 it says If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into a fire. If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. Better for you to enter life with one eye than enter life with two eyes and be thrown into hell. How would your foot or your hand cause you to sin? Well, in one example, it would be whether that hand or foot is a pain to you is maybe it's crippled and it's keeping you from doing the things that you want to do.
Speaker 1:Maybe you weren't born with a complete hand or a complete foot and it's caused resentment in you. And maybe it was whole and now it's not, and you pray to God often to get that back and God hasn't answered that prayer and you don't know why God's healed other people. Why hasn't he healed you? Why are you facing pain and discomfort? Why are you kept from doing the things that you would? Maybe you felt like you were born to do and these things can cause resentment. Your resentment is towards God, because he's the one who is able to heal these things. He's the one able to take these things away from you. But that's because we're more concerned about our own comforts or our own desires than we are in our relationship with God.
Speaker 1:Now, this is just one example of a million examples of how something might come between you and God, and what Jesus is saying is that we have to find these things in our life, whatever they are, and consider them a cancer to us, because, if allowed to grow and spread, they will consume us and cause our death, Death being separation from God. It is imperative that we find these things that cause resentment in our life and we root them out, call them for the lie that they are and cut them out of our life. Now, we don't necessarily mean cut off your hand or your foot, because they're just a hand and a foot and we have to understand that that's all they are. What makes us complete is God, not being whole in body, but being whole in the spirit and in fellowship with God. Now, this hand or foot might be a person, it might be a thing. Whatever it is that is coming between you and God needs to be rooted out and exposed and cut away from yourself.
Speaker 1:Now, this third thing I'd like to talk about has more to do with the first part and it's more of a question Do you consider change work? Jesus says, unless you change and become like little children. Do we consider change a work? Does fruit in our life? Is that an example of works? So we're not saved by works, we're saved by grace. These are the two things that Jesus stated that we are required in our life to be in the kingdom of heaven, that we're required to have fruits and become like children.
Speaker 1:I have a friend who is constantly reminding me of grace. He would be sending me right now, very enthusiastically, that God would provide these things for us. By his grace, we don't have to worry about anything. God's going to take care of everything, and I too believe that. I believe God does provide all things. But I'm also reminded that God provides all things for all people, both saved and unsaved. The air we breathe, the life we live, the ability to accomplish, the strength that we have in our arms and legs, the understanding that comes in the mind and our ability to learn all this is gifts of God. Without God, none of these things exist. God provides all things for all people, and if God has provided grace for all people, well, why hasn't everyone taken advantage of it? The opportunity is there. God's freely given it. Why the need for any of this? What truly separates the sheep from the goat? Now, I remember Paul stating this in Philippians 2. I think it's verse 12.
Speaker 1:After telling the church what is right and the right way to act and conduct themselves, he says this my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Work is something that God has given us to do. We don't work for our salvation. We work because it's a joy to us. It's a gift from God. Having an accomplishment at the end of the day is a reward. It's a joy. He has provided every good thing and has set works for us to accomplish, and he says this in Ephesians 2.10. For we are all God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance as our way of life. Now, just because works don't save us doesn't mean that works aren't important. God has already set for us works to be done. It's for our benefit. It helps us in every way. It helps us in every way.
Speaker 1:God's word speaks of idleness and the disciples teach about. People should work with their own hands. It's important for us to be busy, busy for the kingdom. It's important for us to be productive for the benefit of others, not just ourselves. And the last thing I like to talk about starts in verse 12, and it reads like this what do you think If any man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search for the one who is lost? And if it turns out that he finds it truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than the other 99 that hath not gone astray. So it is not the will of your father, who is in heaven, for one of these little ones to perish. God doesn't want anyone to go to hell. He doesn't want anyone to be separate from himself. He's made a way, and he wants us to have that same attitude towards our fellow man, to desire for them to be saved, to not want anyone to be lost. It says that when one goes astray, god leaves a 99 and goes to look for the one, and when he finds it he rejoices greatly. And he wants us to rejoice. He wants us to seek and rejoice in bringing others to salvation.
Speaker 1:Paul says this in 1 Timothy 2, starting in verse 1. First of all, then, I urge you that petition, prayers and intercessions and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and in all those in authority, so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity. That it is good and pleasing in the sight of God and Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. That's the heart of God. Now we may get angry at people and not understand why.
Speaker 1:People who are totally against Christianity, totally against God, atheists in every way, and they hate anyone who brings Christianity. Totally against God atheists in every way, and they hate anyone who brings up Christianity or brings up Jesus and we might have the scoffers. Or God wants them to be saved just as much as he wanted you to be saved, and it breaks God's heart when people, when they're ignorant and things in our life that have drawn them away from a belief in God and God. If they could only know the truth of all that God has in store for them and to be saved, then separation from God would not exist. I'm going to end this one here on verse 14. And our next Bible study we'll pick back up in verse 15. Until then, I love you guys, keep the faith. Goodbye.