Redemption Roadblocks

January 10, 2021   /   Hudson View Baptist Church

Redemption Roadblocks

Luke 11:37-54

-In today’s passage, Jesus is interacting with those who insist upon rejecting Him as God’s Solution for sin and He points out some of the deep-rooted attitudes and thought processes that keeps the heart of these kinds of people .

 

*4 categories of self-absorption that Jesus highlights that keeps a person from accepting the free offer of salvation from God:

-Must understand the Gospel message 1st: A. We’re helpless sinners, B. Our sin condemns us, C. Jesus (God) died and rose again as the ONLY sufficient Solution for that sin problem, D. We must accept that provision from Christ personally for ourselves.

 

I. Self-(Luke 11:37-41)

-Self-projection refers to a person who places their confidence upon who they look like/appear to be in the eyes of others–their perceived worth is in what they think others think about them.

-3 ways this Pharisee (religious person) embraced self-projection:

A. Dependence Upon Outward Actions (38)And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.

-This Pharisee’s display of surprise reveals his grossly dependence upon “keeping up appearances.”

B. Delusion of Show vs. Substance (39-40) – And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

-Beware of the DELUSION of thinking that if your life appears good, then you are good!

C. to be Genuine (41) – But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

-This was a call from Jesus to REPENTENCE of reliance on one’s self-image and a call to dependence upon what God wants to do in you / through you that is beyond mere outer appearances.

 

II. Self-Love (Luke 11:42-44)

-3 Dangers of Self-Love:

A. of God (42)

But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

-When you try to “cover your bases” by making sure you’re doing or giving the right things to God you can actually gloss right over actually loving God Himself.

B. Narcissistic Promotion (43)

-Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

-(T. Anyabwile) They want applause and , not God. They want to be worshipped, not offer worship. They think little of God but much of themselves. It’s possible to use religion for popularity and privilege.

C. Negligence Toward Influence (44)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

-The Pharisees were influential people and were, as a result, leading people toward being the same kind of hypocrites with no true hope of salvation.

 

III. Self-Righteousness (Luke 11:45-52)

-Self-righteousness leads to 3 characteristics of condemnation:

A. (46)

-And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

-A high view and value of self often leads to a refusal to see the need to help others. 

B. Similarity (47-51)

-Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

-In the Pharisees’ case, they were following their parents right to hell because, in their self-righteousness, they were rejecting the Gospel just like their fathers did!

C. Sufficiency (52)

-Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

-We CAN’T do it, but Jesus HAS DONE IT! We GET to trust Him for our eternal salvation and sufficiency to be rightly related to God!

 

IV. Self-(Luke 11:53-54)

-Oh what a disastrous mess people make when they are convinced they are right, but that assurance is no where close to being based on God’s Truth!

-2 evidences of self-assurance:

A. Forcefulness (53)

-And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently (grievously, excessively), and to provoke him to speak of many things:

-Because they were so self-assured (they just knew they were right), they kept pressing Him and pressing Him to see if He would say something wrong!

B. (54)

-Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.

-Self-absorption takes us down a dark road and it comes out in our treatment of those around us!

-These guys said they loved God, but their spite revealed otherwise!

 

*The more we are consumed with self, the harder it is to be to God!

*Cultivating a Soft Heart Toward God and His Word (Christ-Centered Exposition–Anyabwile)

  • for a soft heart.
  • Read and meditate on God’s Word daily.
  • God’s Word in faith.
  • Apply God’s Word and obey It.
  • God’s blessings and growth.

 

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