“THE SERMON ON THE PLAIN – TWO PARABLES”
LUKE 6:39-49
I. Introduction
God’s Word warns us about many things, but few if any of God’s warnings are as pointed and, quite frankly, as frightening, as the one Jeff read to open the service this morning. Please open your Bibles to Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia once more.
*Galatians 1:6-9
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.
The warning is clear. You don’t mess with the gospel and you don’t mess with the Word of God. But the fact is that there were, there are, and there will continue to be no end of preachers and teachers who do those things. They twist the truth, they “soften” the truth, they ignore the truth, and in some cases, they deny the truth. Paul tells us that they will be accursed. The Greek word is “anathĕma,” meaning “devoted to destruction.” Listen to the definition of the word from one Greek dictionary:
“(anathĕma is)…devoted to destruction for God’s sake…estranged from Christ and His salvation. The word does not denote punishment intended as discipline, but a being given over, or devotion to divine condemnation.”
Why are there so many false teachers who treat the Word of God so lightly and preach “another gospel?” They are, in a word, popular. One reason for their popularity is that they are usually warm and pleasant and appeal to the emotions. They preach love, accep-tance, tolerance, and unity. Beyond all that, false teachers often proclaim the “universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man.”
The truth is that all people are most certainly not children of God. Who are?
John 1:12-13
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become child-ren of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Who are the sons of God? Galatians tells us.
Galatians 3:26
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Who are the sons of God? Romans tells us.
Romans 8:14
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
So the children of God are those, and only those, who have received Christ, put their faith in Him, and are being led by the Holy Spirit. So it is that our spiritual brothers and sisters are those, and only those, who have received Christ, put their faith in Him, and are being led by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, “the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man” is a monstrous lie. Why? It does away with the need for Jesus and His gospel. It’s never taught in the Bible, yet it’s at the core of countless false teachings.
There is a second reason why so many people are drawn to false teachers. It is that so many Christians know so little about their Bibles. The result is that they are not prepared to recognize false teaching when they hear it. So they willingly accept lies as truth. Too much of the church is too willing to listen to anything that “tickles” their ears. Isn’t that exactly what Paul told his young protégé, Timothy?
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.
I believe we are seeing the truth of these two verses worked out all around us as at no other time since they were written nearly twenty-one hundred years ago. The tragedy is that churches today are filled with people who think they are saved but are not. They’ve had their ears tickled with a false gospel and false teaching.
Jeremiah 5:30-31
30 “An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophecy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?”
The “end of it” is eternal destruction. I can’t even imagine how many millions of pro-fessing Christians have, over the last two thousand years, blindly marched into hell while happily, even gleefully, following after the false teachers who have led them there.
Here are just three examples of the kind of false teaching I’m talking about. “Jesus isn’t the only way to God. Good and sincere people of any religious faith will go to heaven.” What about this? “There is no need to repent of your sins…just believe.” Or this? “My God wouldn’t send anyone to hell.” And what did we just hear from Jeremiah? “The prophets prophecy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so!”
Can you see why God speaks so strongly against false teachers and those who would per-vert the gospel? They are anathĕma!
It is for God’s sake and the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they will be destroyed.
This morning’s text in Luke is about that. It’s about the blind leading the blind. It’s about the need for you and me, as Bible-believing Christians, to be wise in the things of God so that we can make right decisions about those whom we follow and those whom we do not. It’s about the destruction of the deceivers who teach falsely. And it’s about the destruction of those who follow after such deceivers.
As we have come to see in the first two segments of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, He will address these issues head-on by speaking clearly and directly. In this third segment He will reveal the truth in two parables. As is always the case with Jesus’ parables, those who are spiritually blind and deaf will not understand them. But God’s truths will be revealed to those whom the Spirit has given the eyes to see and the ears to hear.
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II. Review
Two weeks ago we looked at the opening segment of Jesus’ sermon. We learned that there are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who live their lives focused on eternal values and the things of heaven, and there are those who live their lives focused on temporal values and the things of this world. The former will be blessed and the latter, to use Jesus’ own words, will be cursed.
Last week we saw the differences between natural human love of the sort that is found in the world, and supernatural divine love that can only be found coming down from above. We learned that natural love is based on human feelings and emotions and tends to be focused on self, whereas supernatural love, divine love, Kingdom love, is based on con-scious, deliberate decisions and focuses on the things of God.
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III. Text
*Luke 6:39-49 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
41 “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
42 “Or, how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
43 “For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit; nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.
44 “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
46 “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
47 “Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 “But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
Have you ever been accused of narrow-mindedness when it comes to the things of God? Have you ever been told you’re intolerant and unloving? Or have you ever been told you need to compromise your rigid stand on some of the things in the Bible? Sure you have!
But never forget this: When Jesus taught doctrine and truth He spoke of yes and no, of right and wrong, of life and death, and of heaven and hell. He did not speak in multiple shades of gray. He spoke in “black and white.” Do you know that Jesus never used the word “compromise?” Do you know that word isn’t even found in Scripture?
Never fear being accused of being narrow about Jesus Christ or the gospel. You may have heard the old saying, “all roads lead to Rome,” but only one road leads to heaven; and it is a narrow road. This passage we are studying in Luke has its parallel in Matthew.
*Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.
14 “For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”
Where “anathĕma” means “devoted to destruction,” Matthew uses a different word. In v. 13 “destruction” is “apōlĕia,” meaning the spiritual and eternal destruction itself. In other words, “apōlĕia,” is what “anathĕma” gets you. There are only two roads, two gates, and two destinations. Do you see? The inevitable result of following any religion is either heaven or hell, either salvation or damnation. So there is only one true teaching, but there are an infinite number of false teachings.
Thus there are two critically important questions that every Christian must answer. The first question is this: “Who is teaching you? Are you being taught the unfettered and unvarnished Gospel of Jesus Christ and the eternal truths found only in the Holy Scrip-tures, or are you being taught the thoughts, ideas, and philosophies of men?”
Then the second question is this: “Who is teaching your children? Are they being taught the unfettered and unvarnished Gospel of Jesus Christ and the eternal truths found only in the Holy Scriptures, or are they being taught the thoughts, ideas, and philosophies of men?” Someone may say, “Well, the second question doesn’t apply to me. My kids are all grown up and gone.” But wait.
Your children, your family, your friends, your neighbors, are all being taught something by somebody every day! How much of it is eternal truth given by godly men and women who love the Lord? How much of it is false teaching coming from false teachers? How do you know and how can you be sure? You must know your Bible. You must under-stand eternal truth and be able to discern and differentiate between truths and lies.
This is why we’re committed to teaching the Bible. “To Know God’s Word – To Do God’s Will!” This is why, by God’s grace alone, LIGHTHOUSE BIBLE CHURCH was founded. And it’s why, by God’s grace alone, we exist today. Have you received Christ? If so, that too was by God’s grace alone. If you have not, turn to Him in genuine repent-ance, ask His forgiveness, and trust Jesus with all of your mind, heart, soul, and strength.
And so we come to the third and final segment of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. He will speak to the critical necessity of avoiding false teachers and their deception.
*Luke 6:39
39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?”
Blindness here is a metaphor for the inability to understand truth and a lack of spiritual insight. The teaching is clear. Those who are headed for hell will ultimately lead many into the same fate, the same pit. In Matthew 23 alone Jesus refers to the Pharisees, the religious leaders, as being blind six times! They walk in spiritual darkness.
*Matthew 23:15
15 “Woe to you (“curse you – anathĕma”), scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte (convert to Judaism); and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
They are the blind leading the blind. But Jesus is the light of the world, isn’t He?
John 8:12
12 Jesus spoke to them saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
The false teachers walk in spiritual darkness and so, the ones who follow them are in the same spiritual darkness.
*Luke 6:40
40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”
The logic here is inescapable, isn’t it? Who is teaching you and what are you learning? Who is teaching your children and what are they learning? Who is teaching all those whom you love and care about, and what are they learning?
Jesus’ point is simply that a teacher cannot impart knowledge or wisdom that he or she does not possess. In the first century it was common for teachers to strive to replicate themselves in their students. After all, that’s what the Apostle Paul was trying to do.
Philippians 3:17, 4:9
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.
9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, prac-tice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.
It was true in the first century and it’s true today. When you are fully taught you will be like your teacher. So there is a great responsibility placed on all teachers, but especially on those who teach the Word of God.
James 3:1
1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.
What a responsibility for the teacher! But there will be great joy for those who follow hard after Jesus because we will be like Him.
1 John 3:2
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. (back to Luke 6)
*Luke 6:41-42
41 “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
42 “Or, how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
Here is a practical application based on these two verses. They next time you feel the need to point out a perceived deficiency in someone’s personality or lifestyle, you may want to consider your own flaws. As hard as it may be to admit you have any, chances are pretty good the person you want to “correct” may see one or two little flaws in you. I admit there is a little humor in that.
But when this is applied to false teachers there is no humor at all. False teachers assume they can lead, guide, and direct you, but if they aren’t leading themselves into truth, they can’t lead you there either.
They would be glad to “take the speck out of your eye” so you can see more clearly, but they can’t see at all. The sad fact is that there are people searching for real meaning and real truth who walk into their churches every week only to find themselves sitting under the guidance and direction of self-righteous false teachers. It is both a travesty and a tra-gedy. So Jesus’ description of the blind leading the blind is appropriate, isn’t it?
*Luke 6:43-45
43 “For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit; nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.
44 “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
In these three verses Jesus takes his teaching a step further. It isn’t that the false teachers are just pumping out a continuous stream of meaningless blather, although they are. It isn’t that they’re just trying to entertain people and make them feel good by filling them up with happy talk and reminders to be nice and do good deeds, although they are.
But it is that, as Jesus says in v. 43, they are producing “bad fruit” because they are “bad trees.” What they’re ultimately doing is sowing seeds of destruction. In v. 45 Jesus says they’re doing evil. Paul tells us they’re servants, not of the Christ, but of the devil.
*2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness…(bulletin insert)
That brings us to the second parable Jesus tells here. The truth it conveys is so clear and so pointed that only a blind man could miss it! It begins with a question.
*Luke 6:46
46 “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
Is this not one of the most penetrating questions Jesus could possibly ask us? Imagine standing there under the Lord’s gaze while He asks you that question? Do you see why obedience to Christ and His written Word is so critical both to your salvation and to your personal testimony before men?
How many people do you know who denigrate the cause of Christ because they claim to be Christians, they call Him “Lord,” but they live their lives in utter disobedience to, and in complete disregard for, core biblical principles? Listen, even the lost world under-stands that kind of hypocrisy.
There is much debate today about the need to obey Christ in order to be saved. Some say you only need to believe in Jesus and you will be saved. It doesn’t matter what you do or don’t do, it just only matters that you “believe.” Well, today’s “easy-believism” may fill churches but it doesn’t save souls. The NT teaches again and again that the proof of saving faith is obedience. We won’t take the time to look at all of these so just listen.
John 14:15, 23; 15:10
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word…”
10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love…”
Hebrews 5:8-9
8 Although (Jesus) was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.
1 Peter 1:1-2
1 …(you) who are chosen
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ…
1 John 5:3
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments…
Elsewhere this very same truth is expressed in a different way.
John 3:36
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.”
All of man’s arguments to the contrary cannot alter this one truth. If you are truly saved, you will learn to obey Christ and His Word. Of course, it doesn’t all come at once, but if you are truly saved, you are being sanctified. And if you are being sanctified, you are growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as you do, you will grow in humble obedience as well.
*Luke 6:47-49
47 “Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
49 “But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
If you hear Jesus and you listen to Him and you act upon His words, this passage says that you are a like a wise man or woman, and that you are building your eternal future on a rock. But if you hear a false teacher and listen to him or her peddling a false gospel and false teaching about Jesus, you are building on sand.
How can you shield yourself from the falsehood that is so prevalent today? When you visit a church, or hear a preacher on the radio or television, or read some religious or “spiritual” literature, ask God to give you discernment. Ask Him to protect you from lies and deception.
Jesus completes His Sermon on the Plain with a warning to those who would build their hopes for eternal life on the lies and philosophies of false teachers. Matthew’s account of it is somewhat more graphic than Luke’s.
*Matthew 7:26-27
26 “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
27 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.”
It is my prayer that no one here this morning is building on sand, but that every one of you is building on the solid rock.
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IV. Conclusion
What’s the point of all this? What’s the lesson? What can you take from this morning? May it be this –
*Ephesians 5:6-11
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them;
8 for you were formerly (in) darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them…
~ Pray ~
In a moment Jeff will lead us in singing “The Solid Rock.” But first I’m going to ask you to indulge me for just a few more minutes. I want read you a passage that did not fit into the sermon you’ve just heard, but it really convicted me about my ministry here and my responsibility to each one of you.
*1 Timothy 4:1-16 (Paul addresses this to Timothy.)