Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Matthew 5:38-42

Transcript

Matthew 5:38-42 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
Please take your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you. It's well read and treasured in your heart.
0:05
Turn with me to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5.
0:12
It's Matthew chapter 5.
0:17
Our text this morning will be Matthew chapter 5, verses 38 through 42.
0:24
We've been working on an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount,
0:28
which is found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7 since mid-February of this year.
0:36
And we are getting close to concluding chapter 5.
0:40
Those of you who were with us in the spring and then not with us in the summer, here we are,
0:46
still in chapter 5 of this most precious of Jesus' teachings.
0:52
Across our study so far, we have considered two prominent themes that I want to remind you of
1:01
before we look at our text today.
1:04
First is the theme of human flourishing, these declarations of blessedness.
1:12
We commonly call the Beatitudes, found at the beginning of chapter 5.
1:17
Jesus has this repetition of statements, blessed is.
1:21
And tells us what it is like, what it looks like to live as a citizen of God's kingdom.
1:31
This blessedness that Jesus teaches is not the same as the blessedness of the world.
1:40
Jesus says, blessed are those who are poor in spirit and mourn
1:46
and are meek and hungry and thirsty for righteousness and merciful, pure peacemakers.
1:56
He even says that those who are persecuted for righteousness call blessed.
2:05
The second theme is the theme of whole person righteousness.
2:10
Jesus has taught us that citizens of his kingdom are keepers of the law.
2:18
Not that they gain their citizenship by keeping the law, but that they have been granted citizenship
2:27
and their keeping of the law is the evidence of their citizenship.
2:33
And this law keeping, this righteousness is meant to permeate us.
2:41
It's meant to be every part of our being.
2:45
We are to be righteous in thought, feeling, intention, as well as action.
2:53
It's to have an inward expression as well as an outward expression.
2:58
And this is what Jesus means when he says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 20,
3:05
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,
3:11
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
3:15
The scribes and the Pharisees were seen as the most righteous people of the day,
3:21
the most outwardly expressive followers of God.
3:24
They seemed to have everything right.
3:27
And they certainly told others that they did and placed burdens upon them.
3:33
And he goes on then to press this point by using a series of phrases beginning in Matthew chapter 5 verse 21 and 22.
3:43
You'll see it there.
3:44
You have heard that it was said.
3:47
And then in verse 22, but I say to you.
3:52
There's a repetition of this through the end of chapter 5.
3:56
Six different times.
3:59
And what Jesus is doing here is correcting the common misinterpretations of the law in his day.
4:06
He's saying, see the scribes and Pharisees?
4:09
They haven't even gotten this stuff right.
4:11
Those that you would declare as righteous are not at all righteous.
4:18
This morning's text is the fifth in this series.
4:22
And it concerns revenge.
4:24
Or as some of your subtitles in your Bibles might say, retaliation.
4:30
So join me as we look at Jesus' careful correction and application for our day.
4:37
Before I read the text, beloved, I want to remind you that this is God's word to us.
4:44
It was written for his glory and our good.
4:48
And as such, we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
4:57
I'll begin reading in verse 38.
4:59
Verse 38.
5:29
Now this morning we will consider this text by employing the following outline.
5:39
And I'll repeat these, of course, but I want you to see where we're headed before we even start.
5:45
Number one, the original intent of the law.
5:51
Number two, the scribes and Pharisees' perversion of the law.
5:57
Number three, the modern perversion of Jesus' teaching.
6:05
And number four, and most importantly, the correct understanding of Jesus' teaching.
6:12
I find so often, as Jesus finds here, that we have to correct, we have to say the what is not in order to say what is.
6:21
So let's look first at the original intent of the law.
6:27
Verse 38, Jesus says,
6:28
You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, which is a direct quotation from the Old Testament.
6:37
So their saying an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was not wrong to say.
6:43
They just misapplied the law.
6:47
You can find this in Exodus chapter 21, verse 24.
6:51
Leviticus chapter 24, verse 20.
6:53
And Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 21.
6:57
And this law was given to place limitations on punishments for crimes.
7:06
It was meant to place boundaries on the severity of punishments and was given as a limiting law to the judges of Israel.
7:18
So God is saying, let's be fair as we enact punishments for crimes that are committed.
7:25
Let's not go above and beyond the crime itself, but rather an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
7:35
God, in His graciousness, in His mercy, was putting a line that the judges could not cross.
7:45
They couldn't create a severity.
7:47
If you steal a piece of fruit, we'll cut off your hand would be an example of what this type of thing was limiting.
7:56
And this is most clearly seen in Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 18, and then leading up to verse 21, where we see this phrase repeated.
8:05
So beginning of verse 18, it says,
8:09
The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely,
8:19
then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother.
8:22
So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8:26
And the rest shall hear in fear and shall never again commit any such evil among you.
8:30
Your eye shall not pity.
8:32
It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
8:39
So you see, in the case of a false witness, the judges are charged to enact punishment, but only so far.
8:50
So God gave a good law that would restrain unfair punishments from being administered by Israel's judges.
9:00
But this was not its use in Jesus' day.
9:05
Jesus says,
9:07
You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
9:12
The previous four times we have seen Jesus say,
9:16
You have heard that it was said, but I say to you,
9:21
He has been correcting a misinterpretation and practice.
9:26
And this is no different.
9:29
So let's look at what the scribes and Pharisees were doing with this law in their day.
9:34
So number two, the scribes and Pharisees' perversion of the law.
9:38
The main trouble of the scribes and Pharisees' teaching was that they failed to connect the teaching to judges,
9:49
but rather made it a point of personal application.
9:53
They believed the commandment was given for the sake of retaliation and revenge,
9:58
and in their typically legalistic way, viewed exacting revenge as a duty and an honor.
10:07
They were taking a negative injunction,
10:12
do not punish beyond what is just,
10:15
into a positive one,
10:18
punish to the degree of what is just.
10:23
Did I say that word?
10:26
And they took and taught that the power to do so belonged to the individual.
10:32
What they were promoting was vigilantism, not justice.
10:39
It is into this background that Jesus is speaking and says,
10:44
But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.
10:50
It's that context he's speaking into,
10:52
where they would, at every turn,
10:55
defend their own rights,
10:57
stand up for themselves.
10:59
And it's important to know that,
11:02
to rightly understand what the rest of Jesus says means.
11:07
There is much misinterpretation and misunderstanding in our day of what Jesus is saying here.
11:13
So let's look at what Jesus is not teaching in our contemporary setting in this text.
11:21
So number three,
11:23
the modern perversion of Jesus' teaching.
11:27
The modern perversion of Jesus' teaching.
11:31
Certainly there are those of us in our day
11:33
who want to defend our own rights in the same way that the Pharisees did.
11:40
This is typically not the text people run to,
11:43
though, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth to justify such a thing.
11:47
But there are many who run to this text to make an argument for national pacifism.
11:54
And I suggest to you that that is not at all what Jesus is teaching here.
12:00
We must be very careful in how we go about interpreting such a text.
12:04
And there are a number of interpretive principles
12:06
that must be applied to the Sermon on the Mount to understand it well.
12:12
Number one, if our interpretation contradicts the plain and obvious teaching of Scripture elsewhere,
12:22
then our interpretation is wrong.
12:27
James chapter 4 and verse 7.
12:30
James writes,
12:31
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
12:32
Resist the devil or the evil one,
12:36
and he will flee from you.
12:39
So how are we to reconcile these two things
12:42
if we're not supposed to resist the evil one?
12:44
And yet James commands us in the Holy Writ to resist the evil one.
12:50
Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 17.
12:54
Isaiah prophesies,
12:56
Learn to do good.
12:58
Seek justice.
13:00
Correct oppression.
13:03
Bring justice to the fatherless.
13:04
Plead the widow's cause.
13:07
So if our interpretation contradicts the plain and obvious teaching of Scripture elsewhere,
13:13
then our interpretation is wrong.
13:16
This text is not a cry for national pacifism.
13:21
Secondly, if our interpretation makes the teaching appear impossible,
13:26
then our interpretation is wrong.
13:29
Jesus nowhere requires something of us that cannot be done by His grace.
13:38
Tolstoy believed and wrote that our Lord's word should be taken at face value.
13:45
And therefore, because soldiers, police, and magistrates all resist evil,
13:50
to have any of these positions would be to be unchristian.
13:57
But Paul writes in Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 4,
14:01
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.
14:04
For there is no authority except from God,
14:08
and those that exist have been instituted by God.
14:13
Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed,
14:16
and those who resist will incur judgment.
14:20
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.
14:24
Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority?
14:28
Then do what is good, and you will receive His approval.
14:32
For He is God's servant for your good.
14:35
But if you do wrong, be afraid.
14:36
For He does not bear the sword in vain.
14:39
For He is the servant of God,
14:41
an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
14:47
Seems that Tolstoy also needed to read Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 4 at face.
14:53
To see that those placed in authority,
14:58
the magistrates, the soldiers, the police,
15:00
are given to us as a good gift from God
15:03
to restrain the evil of men.
15:08
The world would descend into absolute chaos
15:11
without the restraining grace of God.
15:15
And authorities are part of that grace to us.
15:18
Not the totality of it, but they are part of that grace to us.
15:23
So, if our interpretation makes the teaching appear impossible,
15:26
then our interpretation is wrong.
15:30
Third interpretive principle.
15:32
If our interpretation ignores the context of the text,
15:35
ignores the context of the text,
15:39
then our interpretation will likely be wrong.
15:43
Will likely be wrong.
15:44
As they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut from time to time.
15:47
It is possible to ignore the context and still arrive at the proper meaning.
15:53
But it's not probable that this will happen.
15:58
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount is not teaching a new law.
16:02
He is not explaining a new code of ethics.
16:07
The Sermon on the Mount is harmonious with the moral law of God.
16:11
Jesus rather is working to give his listeners an understanding of the spirit of the law.
16:19
The scribes and the Pharisees were all about the letter of it.
16:22
And they misunderstood it all together.
16:26
But Jesus is concerned about the spirit of it.
16:29
An understanding of the law leading to human flourishing
16:32
and to whole person righteousness.
16:35
Further, in the context,
16:39
Jesus is speaking about what citizens of his kingdom will look like.
16:43
Citizens of his kingdom.
16:46
This is teaching meant to be applied to individuals called apart for his praise.
16:52
Not nation states or local governments.
16:56
Now I won't labor any longer on the matter of pacifism.
16:59
Because it is not really the point.
17:00
I will say I'm not a pacifist.
17:04
And I believe in just war theory.
17:06
But that's a topic for another day.
17:10
All I mean to show you this morning
17:11
is that national pacifism is not what Jesus is teaching here.
17:17
That is not the point of this text.
17:20
And I believe it's unfaithful to the text
17:22
to think that's what it teaches.
17:26
So, what is he teaching?
17:28
The all-important question.
17:30
What is he teaching?
17:33
This brings us to our fourth and final but longest point.
17:37
The correct understanding of Jesus' teaching.
17:41
Right?
17:42
So, if he's correcting what the scribes and Pharisees thought and practiced in the day,
17:47
certainly he's not supporting the national pacifism cries of our day.
17:52
What is it that he's teaching in this text?
17:56
And let me begin by rereading verses 39 through 42.
17:59
Let's get it fresh back in our minds again.
18:02
Jesus says in verse 39 and following,
18:04
But I say to you,
18:06
Do not resist the one who is evil.
18:08
But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek,
18:10
turn to him the other also.
18:12
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,
18:14
let him have your cloak as well.
18:17
And if anyone forces you to go one mile,
18:19
go with him two miles.
18:21
Give to the one who begs from you,
18:22
and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
18:26
So, after Jesus says,
18:29
Do not resist the one who is evil.
18:32
I say to you,
18:34
Do not resist the one who is evil.
18:37
He graciously gives us five examples.
18:41
He wants us to understand what he means when he says,
18:45
But I say to you,
18:46
Do not resist the one who is evil.
18:50
And of these five examples,
18:52
the first three seem pretty straightforward.
18:57
Fairly basic.
18:59
If anyone slaps you on the right cheek,
19:01
turn to him the other also.
19:02
So if someone hits you,
19:05
don't hit him back.
19:06
There's the summary of it.
19:09
And,
19:10
if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,
19:14
let him have your cloak as well.
19:16
So if someone sues you to take your jacket,
19:20
give them your coat also.
19:23
Grip tightly what is yours,
19:25
but be willing to give,
19:26
and to give freely.
19:28
And if anyone forces you to go one mile,
19:30
go with him two miles.
19:34
Roman soldiers in this day
19:35
could force citizens of Israel,
19:37
or any other foreigner for that matter,
19:39
to carry their backpacks.
19:41
They could demand that of them,
19:42
as the conquering nation.
19:45
But,
19:46
as the Romans were somewhat fair at times,
19:50
they could only demand that they would go a mile.
19:52
So along the Roman road,
19:54
they would go from one mile marker
19:55
to another mile marker,
19:56
and then that conquered citizen
19:59
could give the backpack back to the soldier.
20:03
Jesus here is saying,
20:04
if you're forced to walk one,
20:06
volunteer to walk a second mile.
20:10
So,
20:11
certainly we have to work on applications of that in our day,
20:16
and I'm going to leave you to that,
20:17
mostly,
20:18
yourself.
20:19
How is it that I'm supposed to be
20:21
gracious in this way?
20:24
But,
20:25
when we come to verse 42,
20:27
this pattern seems to break up a bit,
20:29
and I think that verse 42 is key
20:32
in helping us interpret this teaching of Jesus.
20:36
Jesus.
20:37
He gives us the final two examples
20:39
of what he means by,
20:41
do not resist the one who is evil.
20:45
They seem a little out of place.
20:48
We've tracked through.
20:49
If someone hits you,
20:50
don't hit them back.
20:50
If someone sues you,
20:52
give a little extra.
20:52
That's okay.
20:53
And if someone makes you serve them,
20:55
serve them a little more.
20:58
But then he says in verse 42,
21:00
give to the one who begs from you,
21:02
and do not refuse the one who would borrow for you.
21:07
Doesn't it seem inconsistent
21:08
to equate the beggar and the borrower
21:12
against, right,
21:14
alongside a slapper, a sewer, and a sluggard?
21:18
I like to alliterate.
21:20
Doesn't it seem inconsistent
21:23
to equate the two together?
21:25
How is it that the beggar and the borrower
21:28
are the one who is evil?
21:33
Have you ever borrowed money from somebody?
21:35
I don't think you did so from evil intent.
21:40
I believe that what Jesus is doing here
21:42
is speaking to our perspective of ourselves
21:47
and our perspective of others.
21:51
That's how these examples fit together.
21:55
We are so apt to think
21:57
that we are always in the right
22:00
and that others are always in the wrong.
22:04
This would have been the great error
22:05
of the scribes and Pharisees' day.
22:07
They were so self-righteous.
22:11
Everything they did was right and good.
22:14
And therefore, anything anybody else did,
22:17
anybody who didn't look just like them,
22:20
demanded or asked something of them,
22:22
must be evil.
22:25
Must be in that category.
22:26
Since they were so righteous,
22:29
everyone else must be evil.
22:33
So, how would Jesus have us live
22:37
in light of this text?
22:39
What are we meant to do with the text?
22:44
Number one,
22:46
we should live in light of this text
22:47
with a proper view of self.
22:53
A proper view of self.
22:56
We must have the right attitudes
22:59
toward ourselves.
23:02
In our sinfulness,
23:03
we are so quick to jump to our own defense
23:06
when any wrong is done to us.
23:10
I like to classically use traffic as an example
23:13
because I think we all readily experience this.
23:16
Have you ever pulled out
23:18
in front of somebody accidentally?
23:19
I have.
23:20
I do it out here on this road all the time.
23:22
People come over that hill so fast.
23:25
And I drive a Prius,
23:26
which is not a spry vehicle.
23:29
And I think,
23:30
Oh, no.
23:31
That guy clearly was going faster
23:33
than I can get up to speed.
23:35
How often have you shook your fist
23:38
at somebody when they pull out
23:39
in front of you?
23:40
Probably accidentally.
23:42
Probably didn't recognize
23:44
how fast you were barreling down the road
23:47
when they pulled out in front of you.
23:49
We're so quick
23:51
to even call things wrong that aren't wrong,
23:53
but to defend our own rights.
23:56
We want to be so autonomous,
23:58
so independent.
24:00
I deserve.
24:01
My, mine.
24:02
We would be so likely
24:05
to slap back.
24:08
Just imagine if somebody,
24:10
when you headed to the restaurant
24:12
after you're here
24:13
and somebody just walked up to you
24:14
and slapped you.
24:15
What is your knee-jerk reaction
24:17
going to be?
24:20
Would it be humility?
24:22
Or would you rear back
24:24
and let it fly?
24:25
We would be so likely
24:29
to grip tightly
24:30
our tunic
24:31
and our cloak.
24:33
Right?
24:34
How dare anyone take from me
24:36
what is mine?
24:38
We would be so likely
24:40
to grumble
24:42
the whole mile
24:44
and begrudgingly
24:47
throw down the backpack
24:48
at the mile marker.
24:50
Not a step further.
24:52
I have rights.
24:56
We would be so quick
24:59
to begrudge the person
25:01
asking for help
25:02
and think so much of ourselves
25:05
when someone needs
25:06
to borrow from us.
25:09
Of course,
25:10
I put myself in the position
25:11
to be the loner
25:13
and not the borrower.
25:15
I am so good with money
25:17
and clearly you
25:18
are not.
25:20
Beloved,
25:22
we think far too much
25:23
of ourselves.
25:26
Anything that we are,
25:28
we are by the grace
25:29
of God.
25:32
Don't forget
25:33
that this teaching
25:34
comes in succession
25:35
to the beginning
25:36
of Jesus' sermon.
25:39
We started that
25:40
back in February.
25:42
His original listeners
25:43
sit and listen
25:43
through the whole thing
25:44
at one time.
25:48
Remember,
25:48
he's declared blessed.
25:51
Those who are,
25:52
in verse 3,
25:53
poor in spirit,
25:54
recognize their spiritual poverty
25:56
before God,
25:57
recognize they have nothing
25:59
of any value
26:00
spiritually to offer
26:01
to God.
26:03
Verse 4,
26:04
those who mourn,
26:05
who are heartbroken
26:06
over this,
26:07
right?
26:07
Humbled,
26:09
see their great
26:10
spiritual poverty.
26:12
Who are meek,
26:13
although they have
26:14
the strength
26:15
to retaliate,
26:17
the strength
26:17
to find revenge,
26:19
rather lay aside
26:21
their own self-interest
26:22
for the sake of others.
26:25
Verse 6,
26:26
those are hungry
26:27
and thirsty
26:28
for righteousness,
26:29
right?
26:29
Recognizing that they have
26:30
no righteousness
26:31
of their own longing
26:32
to do good
26:34
and to walk uprightly
26:35
before God.
26:37
Those in verse 7
26:38
who are merciful.
26:41
Those in verse 9
26:43
who are peacemakers.
26:46
Those in verses 10-12
26:48
who are persecuted.
26:50
There has been wrong
26:52
delivered to these people
26:54
and they're persecuted
26:55
for righteousness' sake.
26:56
And Jesus here
26:58
is turning,
26:59
as you've heard me say,
27:00
an upside down world
27:01
right side up.
27:02
And He's saying,
27:03
these are the blessed
27:04
of the world.
27:05
And why?
27:06
Because the kingdom
27:06
of heaven
27:07
is theirs.
27:09
They'll rejoice
27:10
with me forevermore
27:12
because the kingdom
27:12
of heaven
27:13
is theirs.
27:17
Beloved,
27:17
we ought not
27:18
defend
27:19
ourselves.
27:21
We ought to join
27:22
with Paul
27:22
in thinking ourselves
27:24
the worst
27:24
of sinners.
27:25
we ought to think
27:27
less about
27:28
our rights
27:29
and more about
27:31
the grace of God
27:31
to us
27:32
in Jesus Christ.
27:34
We ought to think
27:35
more about
27:36
having received
27:37
that which we
27:38
do not deserve
27:39
and less
27:41
about what we
27:42
think we deserve.
27:45
So we're to live
27:46
in light of this text
27:46
with a proper view
27:47
of ourselves.
27:50
We're also to live
27:51
in light of this text
27:52
with a proper view
27:53
of others.
27:55
we found
27:59
ourselves
27:59
in need
28:00
and God
28:02
graciously
28:03
met
28:03
that need.
28:06
He now
28:07
intends
28:07
to use us
28:08
to meet
28:09
the great
28:10
need
28:10
of others.
28:13
We encounter
28:14
people every day
28:15
who act
28:16
wretchedly,
28:17
but should we
28:18
expect
28:18
anything else?
28:21
Beloved,
28:21
we need to view
28:22
people with the
28:23
eyes of Jesus
28:25
who wept
28:26
over unrepentant
28:28
Jerusalem.
28:30
We need to see
28:31
all people
28:32
as eternal
28:34
and consider
28:36
their eternality.
28:38
Where will this
28:40
person go?
28:41
Are they a citizen
28:42
of the kingdom
28:42
of heaven
28:43
as I am?
28:44
Are they a citizen
28:45
of the kingdom
28:46
of darkness?
28:47
And how might
28:48
I be about
28:49
the work
28:50
of rescuing
28:50
them
28:51
from that
28:52
darkness
28:53
by the grace
28:54
of God?
28:56
Paul wrote
28:56
in 2 Corinthians
28:57
chapter 5
28:58
verse 14
28:59
and following,
29:00
For the love
29:01
of Christ
29:02
controls us
29:04
because we
29:05
have concluded
29:05
this,
29:06
that one
29:07
has died
29:08
for all,
29:09
therefore all
29:10
have died.
29:11
And he died
29:12
for all
29:12
that those
29:13
who live
29:13
might no longer
29:14
live for themselves
29:15
but for him
29:17
who for their
29:18
sake died
29:18
and was raised.
29:21
From now on,
29:22
therefore,
29:22
we regard no one
29:24
according
29:25
to the flesh.
29:27
You see that?
29:28
The love
29:29
of Christ
29:30
controls us.
29:32
The one
29:32
who died
29:33
on our behalf
29:34
that we might
29:34
live in him.
29:36
And now,
29:36
living in him,
29:39
we live
29:40
in such a way
29:41
to bring others
29:42
to the life.
29:44
that is found
29:45
in Christ.
29:46
We regard
29:47
no one
29:48
according
29:49
to the flesh.
29:52
I want to read
29:52
to you two examples.
29:53
This is from
29:54
a commentary
29:55
by Martin Lloyd-Jones.
30:01
And he writes,
30:02
Let me give you
30:04
two illustrations
30:05
of men
30:05
who,
30:06
we must all agree,
30:08
put this teaching
30:09
into practice.
30:11
The first is about
30:12
the famous
30:13
Cornish evangelist,
30:15
Billy Bray,
30:16
who before his conversion
30:17
was a pugilist.
30:19
Anybody know
30:20
what a pugilist is?
30:21
A professional boxer.
30:23
A much cooler name.
30:25
Boxer.
30:27
Before his conversion,
30:28
he was a pugilist
30:29
and a very good one.
30:32
Billy Bray
30:33
was converted
30:33
but one day
30:34
down in the mines
30:36
before he became
30:36
an evangelist.
30:37
Another man
30:38
who used to live
30:39
in mortal dread
30:40
and terror
30:40
of Billy Bray
30:41
before Bray's conversion,
30:43
knowing he was converted,
30:45
thought he had at last
30:46
found his opportunity.
30:48
Without any provocation
30:49
at all,
30:49
he struck Billy Bray
30:51
who could very easily
30:52
have revenged himself
30:54
upon him
30:54
and laid him down
30:55
unconscious
30:56
on the ground.
30:57
But instead of doing that,
31:00
Billy Bray
31:00
looked at him
31:01
and said,
31:03
May God forgive you
31:04
even as I forgive you
31:07
and no more.
31:09
The result was that
31:11
the man endured
31:12
for several days
31:13
an agony of mind
31:14
and spirit
31:15
which led directly
31:16
to his conversion.
31:18
He knew what
31:19
Billy Bray could do
31:20
and he knew
31:21
that the natural man
31:23
in Billy Bray
31:23
wanted to do it
31:25
but Billy Bray
31:27
did not do it
31:28
and that is how
31:29
God used him.
31:32
The other is a story
31:33
of a very different man,
31:34
Hudson Taylor,
31:36
standing on a river bank
31:37
in China one evening,
31:39
hailed a boat
31:39
to take him
31:40
across a river.
31:42
Just as the boat
31:43
was drawing near,
31:44
a wealthy Chinese
31:45
came along
31:46
who did not recognize
31:47
Hudson Taylor
31:48
as a foreigner
31:48
because he had
31:50
affected native dress.
31:52
Hudson Taylor
31:53
wore the clothes
31:54
of China
31:55
to relate to the Chinese
31:56
more closely.
31:58
So this Chinese man
31:59
did not recognize him
32:00
as a foreigner
32:01
which would have been
32:01
a thing of honor.
32:03
So when the boat came,
32:05
he struck and thrust
32:07
Hudson Taylor aside
32:08
with such force
32:09
that the latter fell
32:10
into the mud.
32:12
Hudson Taylor,
32:13
however,
32:14
said nothing
32:15
but the boatman
32:16
refused to take
32:17
his fellow countrymen
32:18
saying,
32:19
no,
32:20
that foreigner
32:21
called me
32:21
and the boat
32:22
is his
32:23
and he must
32:24
go first.
32:26
The Chinese traveler
32:27
was amazed
32:28
and astounded
32:28
when he realized
32:29
he had blundered.
32:31
Hudson Taylor
32:32
did not complain
32:33
but invited the man
32:34
into the boat
32:35
with him
32:35
and began to tell him
32:37
what it was in him
32:39
that made him behave
32:40
in such a manner.
32:42
As a foreigner,
32:42
he could have resented
32:43
such treatment
32:44
but he did not do so
32:45
because of the grace
32:46
of God in him.
32:48
A conversation followed
32:49
which Hudson Taylor
32:49
had every reason to believe
32:51
made a deep impression
32:52
upon that man
32:53
and upon his soul.
32:56
So how would we respond,
32:58
right,
32:59
if we have a proper view
33:00
of others
33:01
to these types
33:04
of offenses,
33:06
would you respond
33:07
in the same way
33:08
that Billy Bray
33:09
and Hudson Taylor
33:10
responded
33:10
in these cases?
33:13
So we must live
33:14
in light of this text
33:15
with the proper view
33:16
of ourselves,
33:17
with the proper view
33:18
of others,
33:19
and finally,
33:21
and in closing,
33:23
with the proper view
33:24
of God.
33:25
Beloved,
33:28
God is ours
33:30
and we are God's.
33:33
What else
33:35
could a rationally
33:36
enlightened person
33:38
possibly want?
33:42
Read to you Romans chapter 8
33:44
verse 31 and following.
33:48
After Paul has talked about
33:50
the trouble of the world,
33:52
living in the tension
33:54
of our bodies,
33:56
the flesh,
33:56
and our spirit of life.
34:00
He says,
34:01
What then shall we say
34:03
to these things?
34:05
If God is for us,
34:07
who can be against us?
34:10
He who did not spare
34:11
his own son
34:11
but gave him up
34:12
for us all,
34:14
how will he not
34:15
also with him
34:16
graciously give us
34:17
all things?
34:19
Who shall bring
34:20
any charge
34:20
against God's elect?
34:22
It is God
34:23
who justifies.
34:24
Who is to condemn?
34:26
Christ Jesus
34:27
is the one who died
34:28
more than that
34:29
who was raised,
34:29
who is at the right hand
34:30
of God,
34:31
who indeed
34:32
is interceding
34:33
for us.
34:35
Who shall separate us
34:37
from the love
34:37
of Christ?
34:39
Shall tribulation
34:40
or distress
34:40
or persecution
34:41
or famine
34:42
or nakedness
34:43
or danger
34:44
or sword?
34:46
As it is written,
34:47
For your sake
34:48
we are being killed
34:49
all the day long.
34:50
We are regarded
34:50
as sheep
34:51
to be slaughtered.
34:54
No,
34:55
in all these things
34:56
we are more than
34:57
conquerors
34:57
through him
34:58
who loved us.
35:00
For I am sure
35:01
that neither death
35:02
nor life
35:02
nor angels
35:03
nor rulers
35:03
nor things present
35:04
nor things to come
35:06
nor powers
35:07
nor height
35:08
nor depth
35:09
nor anything else
35:10
in all creation
35:11
including
35:12
offenses
35:13
against our
35:14
perceived rights
35:15
will be able
35:17
to separate us
35:18
from the love
35:19
of God
35:19
in Christ Jesus
35:21
our Lord.
35:23
Beloved,
35:24
we have Christ
35:26
and he is better
35:27
than anything
35:28
we could possibly
35:29
imagine
35:30
that we deserve.
35:33
And
35:34
he is for us
35:36
and he will finally
35:38
make all things
35:40
right.
35:41
We have the God
35:43
of the universe
35:44
on our side.
35:46
Why do we think
35:47
we have to go around
35:48
stamping our feet
35:49
and pounding our fists
35:50
and trying to get
35:52
what's ours?
35:56
Paul writes
35:56
in Romans 12
35:57
verse 17
35:58
and following
36:00
Repay no one
36:02
evil
36:03
for evil
36:05
but give thought
36:06
to do what is
36:07
honorable
36:07
in the sight
36:08
of all.
36:10
If possible
36:11
so far as it
36:12
depends on you
36:13
live peaceably
36:14
with all.
36:16
Beloved,
36:16
never avenge
36:17
yourselves
36:17
but leave it
36:19
to the wrath
36:20
of God
36:20
for it is written
36:22
vengeance
36:23
is mine
36:24
I will
36:25
repay
36:25
says the Lord.
36:28
To the contrary
36:29
if your enemy
36:31
is hungry
36:31
feed him
36:33
if he is thirsty
36:35
give him
36:37
something to drink
36:38
for by so doing
36:39
you will heap
36:40
burning coals
36:41
on his head.
36:43
Do not
36:43
be overcome
36:44
by evil
36:45
but overcome
36:47
evil
36:48
with good.
36:50
You see Paul
36:51
picking up
36:52
the teaching here.
36:53
How is it that we
36:55
are in fact
36:56
to resist
36:57
the evil one
36:58
with good?
37:01
We're to turn
37:02
the other cheek
37:02
and give also
37:04
the cloak
37:05
and walk
37:06
the extra mile
37:07
and lend
37:08
and give
37:10
generously
37:11
that people
37:12
would come
37:13
to saving
37:13
faith
37:14
in Christ.
37:17
Beloved,
37:18
may we be a
37:19
people
37:19
with a proper
37:20
perspective
37:21
of ourselves
37:22
others
37:24
and God.
37:26
May we be
37:26
individuals
37:27
that do not
37:27
seek our own
37:28
self-interest
37:29
but look
37:29
to the interests
37:30
of others.
37:32
May we be
37:33
citizens
37:33
of the kingdom
37:34
of heaven
37:35
who are not
37:36
retaliators
37:37
but trust
37:38
in the mighty
37:39
hand
37:39
of our sovereign
37:40
and gracious
37:41
God.
37:43
May we be
37:43
a church
37:44
that glorifies
37:45
God
37:46
by experiencing
37:47
proclaiming
37:49
and displaying
37:50
the supremacy
37:51
of Jesus Christ
37:52
in all things
37:53
to all peoples.
37:56
Let's pray together.