Sermon Audio: The Law and the Kingdom of God
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 16:14-18
Duration: 21:03
Size: 9.63 MB
Luke-The Investigative Gospel
The Law and the Kingdom of God
Luke 16:14-18
Just as there was resistance in some states ratifying an end to slavery in the United States, so there is resistance in some people accepting God’s kingdom.
I. The Ridicule of the Pharisees
The Pharisees apparently regarded money as their rightful reward for their faithful observance of the law.
Which master are you serving? Is Jesus Christ the master of your heart, or are you still slaving away for money?
II. The Response of Jesus
A. The Misunderstanding of Possessions
The Pharisees believed that the abundance of their possessions proved that God had blessed them.
Therefore, they presented themselves to people as justified before God.
We may try to justify ourselves before others – and God – by means of our church attendance, or ministry activity, or financial giving, or any one of a number of religious activities.
Money and possessions do not save us. Jesus saves us. And Jesus teaches that disciples serve God and not money.
B. The Misunderstanding of the Kingdom
John began preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, and Jesus and his disciples continued to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.
Religiosity has never and will never save anyone.
C. The Misunderstanding of the Law
The civil and ceremonial aspects of the law found their fulfillment in Jesus, while the moral law has ongoing and continuing validity.
The Pharisees thought that they were pleasing God by keeping his law. But, in fact they were perverting God’s law and were displeasing him.
What gets us into the kingdom of God is the work that Jesus did in his life by his perfect obedience to the law of God and by his death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.