2013 3-17 ‘A Call for Christian Discernment’ Luke 12 54-59

“A CALL FOR CHRISTIAN DISCERNMENT”
LUKE 12:54-59

I. Introduction
“Discernment” is a word few of us use every day. But that doesn’t mean we don’t exer-cise discernment all the time. We do! Every time we determine that one thing is differ-ent than another, every time we separate one thing from another, every time we make a decision about what to do and why, or where to go and how, we use discernment.

The simple fact is that whenever we make a value judgment of any kind, we’re exercising discernment. We do so much of this discerning that we aren’t even consciously aware of most of it. We just do it.

Man’s very survival in this world depends on his ability to discern what is good, what is right, what is clean, what is safe, and what is healthy from everything that is not. Such discernment is used by everyone regardless of whether they’re Christians or not.

It’s no exaggeration to say that our very physical lives are dependent upon such discern-ment. If that’s true of life in the physical realm, how much truer is it of life in the spirit-ual realm? If the use and exercise of wise discernment can protect and enhance physical life, how much more can it protect and enhance spiritual life?

How do people learn to exercise discernment in the physical realm? Where do they turn? Most people turn to their upbringing, their education, their training, and their natural instincts and fears. Beyond all of that, common sense also plays a role in teaching people to separate one thing from another, and make proper determinations and value judgments.

But how do Christians make proper determinations and value judgments in the spiritual realm? Those who have been raised in Christian homes, educated and trained in biblical values, are at a distinct advantage over those Christians who have not been so raised, edu-cated, and trained.

However, whether a believer is a life-long Christian and mature in the Lord, or brand new to saving faith, God’s plan has always been that the home and the church are the places to learn God’s Word, to grow in the grace and knowledge of His Son, and be trained to dis-cern what is right from what is wrong and what is truth from what is error – simply put, that which is of God and that which is not.

But what happens when the church and its leaders can no longer discern right from wrong and truth from error? What then? As we enter the twenty-first century the Church of Jesus Christ, at least the church in Europe and North America, is rushing headlong away from biblical truth. This can be seen in numerous ways, but one of the most blatant is the church’s refusal and subsequent inability to discern. In its desire to appeal to the world, it is becoming like the world in more ways than we could imagine just a few decades ago.
Examples of this lack of Christian discernment can be seen every day. So many churches are trying so many tricks to get the world in the door that it has become nothing short of ludicrous. In the last few years too many in church leadership have decided to “help God out” in filling their pews. So they’ve begun to host things like skateboard competitions, motorcycle shows, heavy-metal rock concerts, and body-piercing events.

How can any of that be bad? Their motives are good, aren’t they? Don’t they just want to bring young people and unbelievers into the church? But where is their discernment?

Do competitions, shows, rock concerts, and body-piercings grow the body of Christ? Well, they grow attendance, but do they grow the body of Christ? And how does any of it enhance the church’s God-given role as the sanctuary for the saints? Does any of it serve to make the world more like the church? Of course, it doesn’t! It only serves to make the church more like the world.

Case in point 1: Southern Hills Church of Christ, Abilene, TX (3-6-13 – CBS TV)
They will begin holding “Bar Church” on March 24 (Palm Sunday). Why? Because they want to “reach out” to those people who are uncomfortable in regular churches that have things like pews and crosses. So the new church will just have barstools and beer taps. They say the sermons will be short and alcohol will only be served after the service.

So I went to the church website’s FAQ. In answer to the question, “Will alcohol be served?” the pastor says, “Yes. Bar Church meets in a bar, so alcohol will be present and available beginning at noon on Sundays. With Bar Church’s stated mission to meet people where they are, we anticipate that alcohol most likely will be consumed sometime during the meeting of Bar Church.” But where is the discernment?

Case in point 2: Valley Methodist Church, Allendale, MI (3-9-13 – Wall Street Journal)
During a “What Would Jesus Brew” meeting the music director said, “And I’d like me a 30-pack of Busch Light!” The pastor says the goal of the church is not to be “churchy.” “We just want to reach out to people in a loving, grace-filled way that meets them where they are.” So they have started their own microbrewery. But where is the discernment?

Case in point 3: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wilmington, NC (3-9-13 – Wall Street Journal)
The church was struggling with membership so they came up with the idea of brewing beer and challenged other local churches to do the same. Their motto is, “Brew unto others.” But where is the discernment?

Case in point 4: Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Dallas, TX (3-9-13 – Wall Street Journal)
The church is operating a microbrewery from its kitchen. The pastor says, “It’s in keep-ing with the tradition of hospitality. If you have a high concentration of young adults, I think things like this work well. I just like to drink beer and hang out with people.”

These are not isolated cases. This is where more and more of the professing church is going. What’s next? Well, the Hess Brewing Company in San Diego and Monday Night Brewing in Atlanta started out as Bible Study projects. But where is the discernment?
Assuming all of these ministries are successful, that is, their churches draw more people and their income grows, do you think other churches will follow suit? Why would any-one think they wouldn’t? And if microbrewery churches and “bar churches” can make money and “be successful,” how much more successful could a casino church be? Many Catholic Churches already raise funds by doubling as bingo halls, don’t they? How much more successful could a “gentlemen’s club” church be? What about a “brothel church?”

“Oh,” someone says, “Now you’re just being provocative.” Am I? Do you remember what the primary problem was in the church the Apostle Paul established in Corinth? The following is from Phil Johnson’s website. If you aren’t familiar with him, he is one of the associate pastors at John MacArthur’s Grace Church in California.
“At the heart of all the problems in the church at Corinth was a tendency to let the values of that debauched culture seep into the church. That’s something for missional Christians (seeker churches) to consider today: Cultural assimilation as a strategy for church growth in a pagan culture is fraught with serious dangers. Especially in a city filled with both temples and brothels – where fornication was literally deemed a religious rite – the worst thing the church could do would be to take a lax attitude toward sexual sin. The vast majority of the Jewish community in Corinth had rejected the gospel. So the church was made up of mostly Gen-tiles who, of course, came from a culture that was not inclined to see sexual sin as unspiritual. Just the opposite. Most of the ‘religion’ in Corinth involved tem-ple prostitution and debauched sexual behavior.”

Since such things have existed in the church before, why would anyone think that here, in these last days and in this culture, that they wouldn’t be seen again? But where is the dis-cernment? That’s the question the Lord asks us this morning as we turn to Luke 12.
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II. Review
We come to this point immediately after Jesus has driven home the point that He did not come to earth to unite everyone, but to divide, even to divide families, and to “draw a line in the sand.” In Luke 12:51, referring to His First Coming, He said, “Do you sup-pose that I came to bring peace on earth? I tell you no, but rather division…” The line He has drawn demands that a person must either step over it, be joined to Him, and be saved – or stay where they are, reject Him, and be lost. This is an urgent matter because none of us know, no one knows, just how much time they have left.
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III. Text
In this morning’s text Jesus is asking the multitudes (now please understand that I am para-phrasing here), “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Are you all blind? As time goes on the division I bring becomes clearer, does it not? Can’t you read the signs of the times? These signs are far more significant than the signs of approaching weather, aren’t they? Why aren’t you paying attention? Where is your discernment?”
*Luke 12:54-59 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
54 And He was also saying to the multitudes, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out.
55 “And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way.
56 “You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze the present time?
57 “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?
58 “For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magis-trate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, in order that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the con-stable, and the constable throw you into prison.
59 “I say to you, you shall not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”

This is a plea for repentance, a plea to be reconciled to God, a plea to leave the world behind, to step over the line, and be joined to Christ. It’s a call for spiritual discernment.

Let’s take a moment to delve into what this spiritual discernment really is. The word “discern” and its derivatives are translations of the Greek word “anakrinō,” which is an intense form of “krinō.’ It means “to divide, to separate, to make a distinction, and to judge.” It is what God will do when He condemns the lost to an eternity without Christ. The writer of Hebrews tells us that it’s His Word that separates, divides, and judges.
Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

A person with a spiritually discerning mind is a person who tends to be wise in the things of God. Brock read about King Solomon’s wisdom and discernment to open the service. Such wisdom and discernment are gifts from God, and they’re readily available to any sincere Christian who asks God for them. And let’s be very clear about this: Knowledge in the ways of the world and human intelligence, as they are measured by human stand-ards, have virtually nothing to do with godly wisdom and discernment.
*Proverbs 2:1-10
1 My son, if you will receive my sayings, and treasure my commandments within you,
2 make you ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding;
3 for if you cry (out) for discernment, lift your voice for understanding;
4 if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 then you will discern the fear of the LORD, and discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and under-standing.
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.
9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul…

James says, “…the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, (and) without hypocrisy (James 3:17).” And Paul says that we are to, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good (Romans 12:9).”

If the multitudes to whom Jesus was speaking were not hypocrites, if they had sincerely sought wisdom from above, if they had any real spiritual discernment at all, they would have recognized and acknowledged the gravity of Jesus’ presence among them, and they would have understood what He was saying. But the majority of them were hard-hearted and stiffed-necked people who could not discern the significance of the moment.

There was no excuse for their failing to understand what they were seeing and hearing. Even His most ardent opponents knew that Jesus’ healings, exorcisms, and other miracles meant something of great importance. But most of the people refused to open their hearts to the Lord, and His patience wore thin.
*Luke 12:54-55
54 And He was also saying to the multitudes, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out.
55 “And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way.”

Jesus’ directs His words to the crowds. The disciples still had much to learn, but they were already becoming aware of the implications of the Lord’s presence among them.

In these two verses He commends the multitudes for their ability to discern the local weather. They know that when a wind blows off the Mediterranean Sea, clouds will come ashore and it will rain. They know that when a wind blows off the desert, it means that it will be a hot day. They can discern the physical signs from the heavens. So why can’t they read the spiritual signs from the heavens? Where is their discernment?

Where is the church’s discernment today? The examples I gave earlier were just some of those that have made the news in the last few weeks. But such things are going on all the time. The modern church is pouring vast amounts of its time, energy, and precious resources into being relevant to the world.
In the process it forgets that the only thing that is truly relevant is the truth that saves men’s souls. Real relevance is found in the person of Christ. All the rest, no matter how good, no matter how honorable, and no matter how valuable it may be, needs to take a back seat to that one eternal truth. As the world charges blindly toward destruction and the Second Coming, the only things that really matter are Jesus Christ and His Word.

If Jesus and His Word aren’t the church’s focus, it may be sensing the felt needs of this generation and be trying to meet them, but it isn’t discerning the spiritual needs of a lost and dying world. In Matthew’s account of this incident he quotes Jesus as saying…
Matthew 16:3b
3b “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot dis-cern the signs of the times?”

Listen, Christian, the signs of the times are everywhere, but far too many churches have their collective heads in the sand. Jesus says as much.
*Luke 12:56
56 “You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze the present time?”

The Lord Jesus has shown them who He is. Why is it that they can look at the sky and discern truth, but they can’t look at Him and discern who He is? They claim they don’t have enough evidence to make a decision. “We just can’t tell who you are. Maybe if you did another trick for us. Maybe if you walk on water again. That was cool (epic), man.”

But Jesus knows these people have all the information they need to read the signs and come to the right conclusion. This whole thing, this lack of ability of these hypocrites to discern truth, had happened before.
Matthew 12:38-40
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the Prophet;
40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

If you get the sense that Jesus is beginning to run out of patience with this deliberate un-belief, I think you’re right. I think you may be “discerning” something. Jesus knows that the people He is addressing here in Luke 12 are in imminent danger of judgment and eternal destruction. It’s as if Jesus is saying, “Look, you have everything you need to correctly identify Me and to respond accordingly. Please stop playing games. Your very souls are at risk.”

You and I often think that people who refuse to see the truth of Jesus and their need for Him are hard-headed, but I would suggest that their heads have little to do with it. The problem is not hard heads. The problem is hard hearts.

Just as Belshazzar could not read the handwriting on the wall when it proclaimed coming judgment, so too these people could not read the signs of the times when Jesus literally stood in their midst and proclaimed coming judgment in their day. What’s different today? Where’s the church’s discernment at the dawn of the twenty-first century? The questions Jesus asks in Luke 12 are for us too, aren’t they? “Why do we not analyze the present time?” And the next question…
*Luke 12:57
57 “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?”

This salient point of this question is open to some debate. Is Jesus asking the people why they follow the scribes, the Pharisees, and other false teachers and let them do their think-ing for them? Or is He asking the people why they don’t follow their consciences and think for themselves? I don’t know. There may be a little of both in the question. In any case, Jesus is calling on these people to address their spiritual condition. Now the Lord gives us an illustration of the consequences that will befall anyone who fails to do so.
*Luke 12:58-59
58 “For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magis-trate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, in order that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the con-stable, and the constable throw you into prison.
59 “I say to you, you shall not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”

This illustration of police, courts, judges, and prisons is one we can readily understand. It begins with the assumption that you have been accused of a capital crime. The sad fact is that you are guilty. The evidence against you is ironclad. You are going to be convicted and thrown into prison with no hope of eventual release or even parole.

This is essentially the illustration the Roman Catholic Church uses to justify their Doc-trine of Purgatory. They say the convicted sinner can “work off” his or her sins. But that only serves to illustrate how hard-pressed they are to find biblical support for what is a completely unbiblical concept of a temporary jail.

The point in Luke 12:58-59 is not that there is such a temporary jail where you can work off, i.e., pay off, your spiritual debt. There is not. There is, however, a permanent prison called hell, and no one who is sentenced to hell will ever be released or paroled.

Jesus is saying that there is a capital case against us. We are guilty, we will be judged, convicted, sentenced, and condemned. This will happen unless someone pays the debt for us. Jesus has already paid the debt we owe, and He has paid it in full.
I think we will more readily comprehend what Jesus is teaching here if we identify the four “players” in the illustration of v. 58. Who are they?
• Opponent/Adversary – God, the One against whom you committed the crime
• Magistrate – God, the One who brings you to the court
• Judge – God, the One who rules, makes the decision, and imposes the sentence
• Constable/Officer – God, the one who carries out the sentence

Jesus doesn’t want us who have committed the crime(s) against God to get to the sen-tencing stage. We can receive forgiveness right now by discerning who Jesus is and confessing our sin. We can appease the judge right now by discerning who Jesus is and clinging to Him. There is no need for us to ever be sentenced to hell because Jesus has already paid the price in full.

We need to recognize that. We need to believe that. We need to trust Him to save us from ever going into that permanent prison called hell. But there is so little time left before the court will be in session, so little time before the Second Coming, when the judge returns, makes his decision, hands down his sentence, and the lost are condemned. People must discern the truth and act on it now.

In v. 59 Jesus’ point is obvious. If you are condemned, you will pay off every last bit of your debt, but since your debt is infinite, you cannot do so. So if you are condemned, you will never be set free because you will never be able to work off, to pay off, or to purge out the debt you owe an infinitely Holy God for the sins you have committed against Him. Remember David and his plea after his sins of adultery and murder?
*Psalm 51:1-4
1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only I have sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak, and blameless when You judge.

David understood that if he was to be condemned for his sin, it wasn’t God’s fault, it was his. Just as David was to blame for his sin, so too are we to blame for ours. God, the righteous Judge, is blameless. So what are we to do? We are called to be wise and to discern the situation as it really is. If we do so, we will step across that line and get on Jesus’ side as quickly as possible. But unless and until we see who Jesus is, we will never be able to discern the truth He reveals.
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IV. Conclusion
Far too much of the professing church in today’s world disdains talk of the inerrancy of Scripture, the offense of the cross, the reality of sin, the horrors of hell, or the desperate need for repentance.
Instead they do their so-called good works and use the world’s methods to fill their churches with people whom they refuse to offend with the truth of their lost condition. Where is their discernment? And what will be the outcome? Can we read the hand-writing on the wall? Can we understand the signs of the times?

In 1994 John MacArthur wrote a book entitled “Reckless Faith.” The sub-title was, “When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern.” He closed the book with a short exposi-tory message from 1 John 4, wherein he emphasized what a church that is guided and directed by the Holy Spirit, a discerning church, should be doing.

~ A discerning church will exalt Jesus Christ above all else.
*1 John 4:2-3
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

~ A discerning church will oppose Satan’s interests.
*1 John 4:4-5
4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.

~ A discerning church will point people to the Scriptures and elevate truth.
*1 John 4:6
6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

~ A discerning church will love God and others.
*1 John 4:8
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Exalting Christ, opposing Satan, pointing people to the Scriptures, elevating eternal truth, and loving God and others – these are the marks of a discerning church. May we, by God’s grace, ever and always be such a church!

~ Pray ~