Proposition: We will be looking at seven occasions where individuals or groups had a golden opportunity to commit themselves to godly living but failed miserably. They failed in repentance and in faith.
Yeshua counsels a Rich Young Ruler.
Matthew 19: 16 – 22.
“Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No-one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “You shall not murder”, “You shall not commit adultery”, “You shall not steal”, “You shall not bear false witness”, “Honour your father and your mother” and, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
This young man approaches Yeshua addressing Him as “Good Teacher”. This is not a Messianic title. He could have addressed any rabbi thus. He cannot bring himself to see Yeshua as God incarnate.
Interestingly, he suggests that there is only one thing he needs to do to secure his salvation. Firstly, of course, he cannot achieve salvation by his efforts. By implying that only one thing is required for him to achieve perfection indicates an arrogance and false self-assessment. Yeshua tells him to keep the commandments. Again, his arrogance shows as he encourages Yeshua to list the commandments so that he can publicly claim to have followed them throughout his adult life.
Of course, this was a public not a private conversation. He probably expected the people round about to nod in agreement at his self-praise. Now indeed it may have been the case that this young fellow did show outward signs of being a decent man. Possibly he did not go out, get drunk, swear, and get into fights. He may well have respected his parents and did not harass women. He may not have generally lied or stolen.
Indeed, his wealth may have been seen as a blessing from God for his moral conduct.
However, Yeshua could see what the world could not see. His wealth provided a great deal more for him than freedom from concern about being hungry or the ability to buy the things he needed. It was a source of pride and self-righteousness for him. He was beholden to no-one. He could feel good about himself; superior to others. He was respected and no-one took advantage of him.
But Yeshua could see this young man’s most serious spiritual defect: his reluctance to confess his spiritual bankruptcy.
Of course, when Yeshua said to the young man that he should keep the commandments, He was not implying that a person could be saved by keeping the commandments (even if anyone could). Rather He was using the law to produce conviction of sin in the young man’s heart.
He was still under the delusion that he could inherit the kingdom by his actions. By reminding him of the commandment to love his neighbour, Yeshua pointed out that by hoarding money whilst others went without, he was failing in the second great commandment. In order to be saved he had to realize that he was sinning and had fallen short of God’s holy requirements. He walked away sorrowful having missed the golden opportunity of having been directly counselled by God.
Some people may have an excellent intellectual knowledge of God and scripture but still fall short of what is required.
Concerning the unrighteous Paul wrote “…. although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools….”
Great knowledge and verbal skill do not equate to great faith. Paul never claimed to have great oratorial skills but his straight-talking was certainly effective.
In Paul’s day, the Jews believed that they would all be saved because of their relationship to God. Indeed, they may have had great knowledge of God but Paul asks them whether their knowledge has changed their way of life. Knowledge and pride in heritage does not provide moral transformation. Knowledge without submission is useless.
“Indeed, you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor to the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery”, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonour God through breaking the law? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, as it is written.”
Except for the most determined atheist, people are generally conscious of God’s existence. They have an intellectual awareness of God knowing Him by his works. After all there could not be a creation without a Creator.
But they have no gratitude for what He has done. They try to ignore His divine power and nature. Then they fail to honour Him and to praise Him for His perfection, to thank Him and to acknowledge their obligation to obey Him.
Failure to give Him glory and acknowledge His work is man’s greatest afront to God. In denying Him, people give themselves over to futile philosophies and speculation about the supernatural. This only produces vain, meaningless conclusions.
Man is instinctively religious but most want to create a god who fits their ideas.
So those who have an intellectual knowledge of God are not guaranteed to have a genuine faith and commitment to God in godly living, obedience and reverence.
A third situation of a missed opportunity to commit to God are those very much involved in church life but who have failed to be transformed.
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” Then all the virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.” And while they went to buy the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut.”
The foolish virgins were in the right place but they were ill-prepared. They just did not think it through. They were there in body only.
The five wise virgins in this parable represent the true disciples of Yeshua at the end times. They are in the right place and know what to do. They have studied the word of God and are prepared. The lamp represents a profession of faith. But the oil represents the Holy Spirit which the foolish virgins lacked. They represent those who profess to hold Messianic hope but have never been genuinely born again. They do not know the Holy Spirit. They were off looking for oil when the bridegroom came. Despite their distress there is no second chance for them.
Some people who seem to have every opportunity to commit to God but then fail despite what seems to be a very active ministry.
“Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord”, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
This category of person could include professional, career clergy. It could include people who stand on street corners with racks full of pamphlets.
Here Yeshua is warning people who profess to acknowledge Him as saviour but have not experienced conversion. No matter how loud the voice of a street evangelist may be, only those who do the will of God enter into the kingdom.
The first step in doing the will of God is to believe in the Lord, Yeshua.
“Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
On judgment day, when unbelievers stand before Yeshua, they will claim to have done all sorts in His name. But Yeshua will not acknowledge them as His own. Their claim to have done miraculous works may or may not be true. Not all apparent miracles are of divine origin. Some other supernatural force may have been at work. They may be Satanic in origin aimed to deceive; he is of course a cunning plotter.
False teachers who apparently prophesy, cast out demons and perform wonders in Yeshua’s name can be attractive. However, we must remember that the word of God is superior to any miracle.
To refer to Yeshua as “Lord, Lord” is a title of highest respect and suggests submission to Him. But when these people ignore His teaching, they are guilty of hypocrisy. Faith that says but does not do is really barren unbelief and those involved have a very serious failure.
Let us consider the situation of the Roman Governor, Felix, when he questioned Paul who was his prisoner. Felix had many opportunities to hear form the man who was possibly the greatest evangelist. Felix was convicted of his sin but failed to take the opportunity to change his life.
“And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid …….”.
Let us look at the life and character of Marcus Antonius Felix. He was the Governor of Judea from AD52 to AD60. He had been a slave but had gained the status of a freed man under the emperor Claudius. His brother, Pallas, was a friend of Claudius and this helped Felix’s political career although he was not popular amongst his peers. Two marriages to noble women also helped to advance him.
Felix was known for indulging in every kind of lust and brutality. The writer, Tacitus, described him as “having the powers of a king with the character of a slave.”
His third wife, Drusilla, also had an interesting family history. She was a Jew. She was the granddaughter of Herod the Great who had ordered the Slaughter of the Innocents. She was the grandniece of the Herod who killed John the Baptist. Her father, Herod Agripa 1, who was the man who had the apostle James (the brother of John) killed by the sword and Peter imprisoned.
When Felix fell in love with Drusilla, she was married to Gaius Julius Azzus, the king of Emesa in Syria. Felix lured her away from her husband into an adulterous marriage with him. According to the historian, Josephus, the marriage was arranged through a man called Simon, a sorcerer from Cyprus. She was only seventeen years of age.
Among Felix’s crimes as Governor of Judea was the assassination of a High Priest called Jonathan who criticised his misrule.
So, this was the man who wanted to hear form Paul.
Felix and Drusilla arranged to hear from Paul in private apparently wishing to hear more about the Christian faith. Paul message to them concerned righteousness; self-control and judgment. Felix had no personal righteousness in his private or public life. He clearly lacked self-control. And Felix faced judgment in view of these short-comings.
Having heard from Paul, Felix was understandably afraid. He was acknowledging his sin and recognised that he needed pardon. Paul was clearly getting to him. Although shaken by Paul, Felix, despite being convicted of his sin, could not bring himself to change to embrace godly living. He fell back into his old ways demonstrating his lack of righteousness and self-control by hoping that he would be offered a bribe to let Paul go.
A golden opportunity was spurned by Felix.
Having assurance in one’s standing with God and being well-placed to know Him is no guarantee that one has not failed in godly living.
“Then Jesus spoke to the multitude and to his disciples, saying: “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’s seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”
Virtually the whole of chapter 23 is a critique by Yeshua of the stance of the Scribes and Pharisees. They were so sure of their standing with God and no doubt many people saw them in that light. Indeed, Yeshua recognised that they had authority in matters of the law and advanced the people to follow their correct instructions. That they sat in “Moses’s seat” indicated they were the highest human authority to instruct the people in the law. But they had extended their legitimate authority, adding human traditions to the word of God making a heavy burden of what intended to be a protection for the people.
From verses 13 to 36 of chapter 23, we have the eight “woes” of the Scribes and Pharisees. These are not curses but should be seen as charges against these groups. They stand accused of obduracy; refusing to humble themselves to enter the kingdom. They have been appropriating widow’s homes for personal gain. They had misdirected zeal; going to great lengths to make converts but leading them astray. They had deliberated through dishonest reasoning; by which they sought to evade fulfilling vows. They demonstrated ritualism without reality; tithing over small matters but failing to show justice, mercy and faithfulness to others. Typical of their conduct was externalism; an outward show of religiousness and morality but a heart filled with extortion and self-indulgence. With the concealment of hypocrisy and lawlessness, they were “white washed tombs”; looking clean on the outside but full of corruption inside. Finally, they were guilty of outward homage, inward homicide; they denied that they would have joined their forbears in killing the prophets whilst they were plotting against Yeshua.
So, when a person demonstrated great assurance in their standing with God, it does not necessarily indicate godly living even when they are in a very privileged position.
Identifying the crucial time of decision.
“Now the ones (seeds) that fell among thorns are those who, when they heard, go and are choked with cares, riches and pleasures of life and bring no fruit to maturity.”
The thorny ground hearers seem to go along nicely for a while. Indeed, they may have made a commitment to Yeshua in an emotional and effusive way. However, this may be superficial without real commitment. They remain interested only until there is a sacrificial price to pay because of “cares, costs and (their perception) of pleasures of life”. These take control and the word of God gets stifled. Ultimately, they abandon the faith, whilst the genuine believer endures in the faith, in fellowship and in truth.
It is a very serious matter to hear the word of God but to shrug it off or consider it to be an optional matter.
The time of real decision may not be immediate but the golden opportunity may come at that first time of trial. Those who allow immediate, material cares to take priority will fall away and ultimately fail.