Tag: Gospel of Matthew

The Judgment of Rejecting the Gospel

In my most recent sermon on Matthew 10:5ff, I came to the verse in which Jesus says the following:

15 Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

This is part of the instructions that Jesus is giving the 12 disciples before He sends them out to preach to the House of Israel. He has already indicated that they will encounter two types of people in their mission work: those who are worthy, and those who are unworthy.

The worthy will open their doors to the disciples, invite them in, and listen to their preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven.  The message will be a blessing to them.

But the other group will refuse to listen to the message. For those in cities and households who refuse to listen, the disciples are not to stay with them. They are to leave, and to shake the dust off their shoes as they leave. This indicates that their wickedness is so pervasive, that it even infects the dust around them. Therefore, the disciples are to make sure and not spread that dust elsewhere.

It is after Jesus tell them this, that He gives the warning quoted above. The sin of rejecting the gospel is far worse than the sin committed in Sodom and Gomorrah.

This is not to say the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is to be taken lightly. Sodom and Gomorrah stand as an open testimony to the world about the wickedness that was committed there. The men of those cities were at the height of depravity and abominations. You can’t get much worse.

But, according to Jesus, there is something that is worse than the heinous sins committed in Sodom and Gomorrah: it is the rejection of the gospel, of the Kingdom of Heaven, and of the King Himself. This sin is far worse than that of S&G, and will receive much greater judgment than those who actually died in those fires of brimstone.

Why is this?

To be given the message of the gospel, of Christ, of the risen Savior, is the greatest act of God’s mercy and grace a person can receive. In the gospel, we are seeing the richest aspect of God’s love, grace, and kindness toward humanity that exists. There is no greater demonstration of God’s love than this.

Therefore, to reject the greatest act of love in history, is to basically say to God: your gift is worthless and I want nothing to do with it. This sin is far worse than that of S&G. While the sin of S&G was against God’s image, and a personal assault upon His nature and character, the sin of rejecting the gospel is against God’s mercy and His Son. This makes it far worse than what those in S&G did. They were acting in ignorance of His grace and mercy. This does not excuse them, but it is worth noting.

The people who hear the gospel are being given a true blessing in hearing of God’s mercy and His Son. Therefore, the responsibility to believe is far greater. The rejection of the greater gift, ends in greater judgment.

You can hear the rest of the sermon HERE.

 

The Gospels were written much sooner than we’ve been told.

When Were the Gospels Written?

When were the gospels written? Decades after the ascension of Christ, later, or actually, earlier?

Let’s walk through this together.

First thing to understand concerning the dates of the Gospels is that it is all speculation and consensus, depending on where you stand. From the liberal camp, they will say that the gospels were written after 70 AD because Jesus speaks of the destruction of the temple, which took place in 70 AD. For them, Jesus could only speak of something like that if it had already happened. So their decision is based upon unbelief. They don’t believe that Jesus was a prophet, or knew the future. For them, He was just a good man.

For the conservatives, they always seem to claim that the gospels were written at the earliest, in the 50s or late 60s. Their reason for this is actually the opposite of the liberals. They actually believe that Jesus was and is a Prophet. This is why Jesus speaks of the destruction of the temple in the future tense. And since the gospel, book of Acts, or the rest of the NT speak of the temple actually being destroyed, they hold that all were written before 70 A.D.

I completely agree with this assessment. Jesus was THE Prophet. He foretold of His death, resurrection, and ascension. Foretelling the future of the Temple was child’s play. If He was right on the former, which He was, then the prophesies of the temple’s destruction were nothing for Him. He did ascend to the right hand of the Father. He also came again in judgment in 70 A.D. to carry out what He said would happen.

(Obviously, I’ve gone to preaching.)

Back to the date of Matthew, which is my main goal.

I hope you have seen that we have placed the Synoptic Gospels before the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. But why do we claim that the gospels were written in the 50s or 60s?

This is what I was told while in seminary. The reasoning given was that it takes a while to gather the money to buy the paper, which was rare and expensive. The paper that could be had, was only used on the most important things in the world, like… grocery lists, love notes, and reminders to wash chariot, taxes, court records, contracts, leases, wills, and other such things.

We know all those things were written down in the days of Christ because of the great treasure trove of papyri found in Egypt in the late 1800s, and early 1900s. That discovery was a gift that showed us the life of the average Greco-Roman citizen.

This destroys the false notion that paper was hard to come by and so expensive that the disciples had to save their pennies in order to get enough paper before they started writing.

This is where the faith of the conservatives falls flat. They are trying so hard to be acceptable, scholarly, and responsible in their discussions of such a topic, that they  rule out the possibility that our King already had a plan on how the gospels would be written, who would write them, and where the money would come from to do so. It is almost as if they think that the King of kings, the omniscient Second Person of the Trinity was sort of winging it, and only thought to have the guys start writing all that happened down during the 40-day stretch between the resurrection and His ascension.

The truth is that Jesus knew that the events of His ministry needed to be written down, and would have had His disciples doing just that during His ministry. We know this, because the same Person of the Trinity was having the prophets write things down before His incarnation. Every time YHWH moved in the lives of His covenantal people, He would raise up a prophet to write those things down.

For example, YHWH told Moses to write things down, Exodus 24:4. Moses writes down all the words of YHWH, so that he can read them back to the Israelites all that they had agreed to do.

In Exodus 34:27, YHWH instructs Moses to write down the covenant He just made with the Israelites after the golden calf incident.

YHWH Himself, actually writes the Ten Commandments: Exodus 31:18, 32:16, 34:1, 34:28.

This would continue with Joshua and the Prophets. It was done during the period of Joshua, Judges, and Kings. Even David had access to paper and was in the habit of writing things down to record the Psalms.

All this shows us that God established a pattern of writing down what He was doing in history. God always ensures that there is someone to record these events when He begins to move, forf covenant people. YHWH actually wants us to know about how He has moved in history. He wants us to remember, so that we declare His magnificent works to the nations.

So why is it, that we think that Jesus, as the incarnate YHWH, would not do the same?

Peter Leithart

Now please understand where all this begins. I confess that it is not from me. It was a short article by Peter Leithart that opened my mind to this truth. Blame him. Yet, what he writes, has a ring of truth to it. I never liked the idea that the gospel writers sat around for decades before putting pen to paper. This makes no sense. See his article here, where he writes:

Late dating of the gospels is historically preposterous. Even the most “conservative” dating assumes that Jewish Christians, who believed that the long-awaited salvation had finally occurred in Jesus, would wait over a decade before putting an ordered account on paper. On the contrary: The very first thing a Jew would do if convinced that Jesus was Messiah would be to pick up a quill and papyrus and start writing. Matthew, who wrote the book cleverly called “Matthew,” was a literate tax collectors who in all likelihood jotted down sermon notes as he followed Jesus around Galilee and Judea. Whyever would he keep those hidden for a decade before writing his gospel?

Why would he? We don’t. When something happens of significance, we write it down. This is because we know the importance of something that is written down. This was true of the Bible as well. Especially given… that the Messiah, whom the Jews had waiting for thousands of years, finally showed up.

Our scholars seem to think the gospel writers waited like modern historians do, waiting to get the full picture, which takes a few decades. For example, William Shirer, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, was heavily criticized by academia because he put his book out so quickly after World War II. But why? Shirer was a witness to many of the events. He knew many of the people who lived under the Third Reich. He was writing down the events of history as they unfolded. And because of this, his book is one of the premier books on Hitler and the war.

I point this out to show it’s part of human nature to record great events in history. We should expect the same when the long-awaited Messiah shows up.

The Chosen Recorder

As for Matthew, I believe Jesus chooses him specifically to write down the things that Jesus is doing. Why is this? In general, we know that that all the disciples were chosen by Jesus for a specific reason. We may not know those reasons, but Christ does.

The best example of this is Paul. Jesus called him while he was on the Road to Damascus for the purpose of taking the gospel to the Gentiles, and to suffer many things for Christ. But Paul was also chosen because he was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was trained in the Old Testament. He would go on to write much of the New Testament in his letters to the churches explaining the Christian life (I include Hebrews among his letters). But he wasn’t just writing them simple letters. Paul was writing to the explaining the Old Testament in light of the New Covenant, and Christ. His background as a Pharisee helped him explain life as a Christian.

Jesus choosing of Matthew was no less specific.  Matthew was chosen because he was a man who paid attention to details. He was a tax collector and was educated. He knew how to write. He also knew how to get paper. It was a part of the trade to keep records of the work he did as a tax collector. So the need to wait 10, 15, 20 years before writing what Jesus did, was not necessary.

As Leithart suggests, Matthew probably started writing down things the moment of his calling, and may have even wrote things down before he was called. We don’t know with any certainty, but Matthew may have been part of the multitudes who actually heard the Sermon on the Mount, or witnessed the miracles of Christ. He may have known the Centurion, or others, who experienced the mercy and power of Christ.

I don’t believe for a moment that when Jesus said, “Follow Me,” that this was the first time Matthew had seen Jesus. But then again, I don’t want to take away from the possibility that it was the first time Matthew saw Jesus. Jesus could command as much. His calling on a man is effectual whether the man has seen Jesus or not.

What we do know is Matthew did follow Jesus, and immediately threw a banquet for his friends, the other tax collectors and sinners. Luke’s gospel gives us more details than Matthew’s does.

And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them (Luke 5:29).

This lack of the term banquet in Matthew’s gospel may be a testimony to his humility. He didn’t want to boast in being able to throw a banquet. Yet, he did just that. As a tax collector, he had the money to throw a banquet.

Why?

He threw the banquet so his friends could meet Jesus as he had done. He wanted them to know Jesus as He knew Jesus.

It is interesting how little we know of Matthew. His name is mentioned about five times in the Gospels and Acts, and his other name, Levi, three times. His name is found in the accounts of his calling, and in the list of the disciples. But no where else.

There are no recorded words between Matthew and Jesus. He never asks any questions that we know of. He is, silent…

But we do know he wants people to know Christ. The banquet shows us this. He invites everyone he knows to the banquet… and he writes. He records, and writes, so that people will know about Christ.

And it is after the Day of Pentecost, that Matthew sees the real need for all that he has written. There are all these Jews who have just come to know Christ who need to be informed. The Spirit has moved in them, but they need instruction. And Matthew is ready. He takes all his notes, put them in book form, and starts sharing so those who have come to know Jesus through the preaching of the word, can read the gospel for themselves. Matthew fulfills the purpose for his calling.

Conclusion

What I’m hoping you see, is that there would be absolutely no reason at all to wait a decade or two in order to put down on paper the events of the long-awaited Messiah. There was an immediate need for the gospel of Matthew. And Matthew filled that need for his countrymen. He was the first because he was on the scene for many of the events. He was THE eyewitness for the job. It was exactly why Jesus called Him.

If you like, you can listen to the sermon I preached on the calling of Matthew here. This post was the background work for that sermon.

“Do Not Sound a Trumpet”

Preparation for Worship: Ephesians 2:8-10

Call to worship: Psalm 15

Reading of the Law: Proverbs 11:29 (The wicked hardens his own heart. He doesn’t tremble when he commits iniquity. He is bold in his sin, and unrepentant. He will seek his own way. He is captain of his soul… but only for a time. The righteous, on the other hand, do not direct their own paths. He relies on the Father to do so, and submits to His providence.)

AOPG: Psalm 116:5-9

Confession of Faith: The Apostles’ Creed.

Old Covenant Reading :  Deuteronomy 15:1-11

New Covenant Reading: Matthew 6:1-18

In the following sermon, we see Jesus expanding upon how the Pharisees twisted God’s Law for their own gain, when it came to their acts of piety. Jesus will address three areas in chapter 6, charitable acts, prayer, and fasting. In all three, the hypocrites turned these acts of piety into performance before men. Their goal was to make themselves see pious and holy. But because they were seeking the pleasure of men, and not God, their acts were considered abominable to God and rejected by Him.
This is not to say, we are not to do good works, especially charity, prayer, and fasting. Jesus expects us to do just that. But we are to do it with an attitude towards our Father in heaven, not man.
The Law is supposed to show us God’s perfect character—His holiness, His righteousness—and act like guardrails to keep us on track in living holy lives. It’s not about earning salvation; it’s about growing in sanctification, reflecting God’s light through our actions. Leithart calls this “redemptive righteousness”—good works that point others to God, not to us.
Then He zeros in on three acts of piety: giving, praying, and fasting. The problem wasn’t the acts themselves—those are good and expected—but the heart behind them. The Pharisees were doing them for the applause of the crowd, not for God. Jesus calls them out as hypocrites, saying don’t be like that. Don’t give to the poor to get a pat on the back. Instead, give quietly, secretly, for God’s eyes only.
He assumes we’ll be charitable, and the Old Testament backs this up, like in Deuteronomy where the Jews were told to care for the poor generously, but with discernment—not just handing out cash to the lazy, but helping those genuinely in need while preserving their dignity. It’s not about showing off; it’s about righteousness flowing from a heart that fears God and loves His commands, like Psalm 112 says.
When Jesus warns against “sounding a trumpet” to announce your giving, it’s like He’s calling out our tendency to crave recognition. I feel that—wanting people to notice when I do something good. But Jesus says that’s a dead-end reward, just fleeting praise from people. Instead, give in secret, and God, who sees it all, will reward you in His way. That’s the kind of righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees’—a heart focused on God, not the spotlight. It’s a challenge, but it’s how we store up treasures in heaven, not just chase vanity here on earth.
Listen to the sermon below…

“Take Courage, Son.”

The following is an excerpt from the Sermon: “Take Courage, Son,” in which Jesus heals the paralytic after declaring the man’s sins forgiven. 

Forgiven Sins

“Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

The second monumental statement is one the paralytic did not expect… But it is what the paralytic needed the most: his sins were forgiven.

Do you see that? We want the miracles, the relief from suffering, the healings. Yet, what we need most is the forgiveness that Jesus gives us. We need the atonement. We need the cleansing.

And so often, we forget this truth. We need the forgiveness Jesus brings, more than temporal success. We need forgiveness more that temporal peace.

While the temporal healings, peace, and provisions, are helpful to us in the here and now, the forgiveness found in Christ is the eternal blessing that we need the most.

You can listen to the full sermon here.

Go!

My latest sermon is based on the incident in which the demons Legion confront Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It not only deals with the spiritual warfare that is taking place between Jesus and the Legion, but also ties together the sin of the sons of God in Genesis 6, along with 1 Peter 3 and 2 Peter 2. Both those Petrine passages deal with the demons in Sheol. In the first, Peter preaches to them. In the second, we see that they are bound.

Legion wants nothing to do with Christ because they fear He will send them into the confinement of Sheol, with the other fallen angels of Genesis 6. You can access the sermon here.

The Hypocrite Defined

The Hypocrite

In regards to the Covenants of God, the Old and the New, hypocrisy is demonstrated when one professes faith in God, has the signs of the covenant placed upon them, but never lives sincerely towards God. They are the ones of which Jesus said:

Matthew 15:7-9

7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
9 But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commands of men.’”

These are people that merely went through the motions, for the purposes of being recognized and praised by men. Yet, these three acts of piety (charity, prayer, and fasting) are never to be done for the praise of men, but for God alone. When we do them for the praise of men, we are being hypocrites. At the root of hypocrisy is pride and arrogance.

I got the following analogy from Doug Wilson:

“The hypocrites are like the man who is married. He has taken on the covenant of marriage, but only does so for the applause he can get for looking like a great husband and father, all the while, neglecting his wife. He doesn’t love her in the least, but uses her to make himself look good.

“He is indeed, married, but he is functionally unfaithful to his wife. He is a hypocrite.

“The hypocrite in our context (Matthew 6:1-18) is the one who is inside the covenant. It is the Jews under the Old Covenant that He is speaking too, but the same truths apply to those of us under the New Covenant.

“The hypocrite has the marks of the covenant. For us, that would be baptism. He is objectively inside the covenant, but he is not faithful to the covenant.

“His actions, are not directed towards God, but man, just like the married hypocrite. His actions are always focused upon himself, instead of his wife and children. So too, is the covenantal hypocrite. His actions are always focused on the praise he will receive, and not the glory and honor of our Father in heaven. He is one who is spiritually dishonest with himself, and others. Yet, God is not fooled.”

The hypocrite needs to repent and come to Christ.

(Taken from a portion of my sermon on Matthew 6:16-18 concerning fasting.)

The Law and the Prophets — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 26

When Jesus begins to preach the Sermon on the Mount, He starts with the nature of those who make up the Kingdom. Then, He turns to the Law and Prophets, showing that He is the fulfillment of both. He is not removing the Law and Prophets, but making it more effective for us.

One way to understand this fulfillment is to consummate the Law. We think of the consummation of a marriage when we hear the word consummate. This is actually helpful.

When the consummation of a marriage takes place, it doesn’t make the marriage go away, or the requirements of the marriage disappear. In fact, it brings the requirements of faithfulness, which should have been present before the marriage, to an even more important level in the marriage. Faithfulness in marriage, begins before marriage, and when the fulness of the marriage comes about, it heightens the need for faithfulness.

The same is true for God’s Law. The fulfillment of the LAW didn’t make LAW go away, but made it more important because Christ fulfills the Law.

This is what it means for Christ of fulfill the Law and Prophets.

He Went Up a Mountain — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 23

Just a quick note: this is one of those sermons when I was able to focus in upon the importance of mountains in Scripture. Everything has meaning, and we need to see the symbolism in Scripture. In this sermon, I explain why mountains are so vital. For a hint of it, read the Call to Worship and it will help you see what I mean.

Preparation for Worship: Matthew 21:21-22

Call to worship: Hebrews 12:18-24

18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard itbegged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Reading of the Law: Proverbs 10:27-29 (Note: Simple dichotomy)

AOPG: Isaiah 1:18-19

Old Covenant Reading (read first):  Isaiah 14:12-15

New Covenant Reading: Matthew 5:1-2

(This is the inspired and holy word of God.)

Sermon – He Went Up on a Mountain

Introduction –

I don’t know if you have notice this or not, but my sermon titles about Jesus have been about Christ’s movements.  Some of the titles are as follows: He Departed to Galilee,Jesus was led up by the Spirit, Walking by the Sea, and last week, Jesus went about… Today’s sermon is: He Went Up on a Mountain.

I’ve done this for two reasons. The first is that when I title a sermon, I want to use something from Scripture so that I can avoid the temptation to come up with some cheesy catch phrase. Cheesy titles are a bane to the pulpit because the one preaching is always having to come up with something clever, at least in his own mind. In one sense, that cheapens the word of God, and exalts the pastor for how witty he is.

I don’t want to do this.

But more importantly, by using a phrase directly from the text, I can bring Scripture to bear on the sermon, before I’ve uttered a word. Just by titling the sermon, He went up on a mountain, your minds are already thinking of the movements of Jesus. He is not stagnant in His ministry, but is moving about from place to place, preaching and teaching as many people as He can.

But secondly, the movement of Christ reminds us… that He was indeed, led by the Spirit, departed Galilee, walked by the sea, and went about…

All of these movements were purposely recorded by Matthew so that we would realize how much He moved around. These details help us see the truthfulness of Christ’s ministry.

And none does that more than what we are looking at this morning. Our text reads:

And seeing the multitude, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him, then He opened His mouth and taught them…

 

 

 

 

Jesus Went About — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 22

Preparation for Worship: Luke 4:36

Call to worship: Isaiah 61:1-3

Reading of the Law: Proverbs 10:26 (Note to me: we have been called by our LORD to work… where we find ourselves being lazy, we need to repent).

AOPG: Romans 4:7-8

Old Covenant Reading (read first): Isaiah 61

New Covenant Reading: Matthew 4:23-25

(This is the inspired and holy word of God.)

Sermon – Jesus Went About

Introduction –

It’s not often that you can read a book of fiction and find true biblical insight. That is what happened when I was reading the Lord of the Rings to Heidi recently. I had finished reading about the Ride of Rohirrim, and in the chapter called The Houses of Healing, I had the “aha moment.”

The old wife, Ioreth, was tending to the wounded Faramir, afraid for his life. She then said, “Would that there were kings in Gondor as there were once upon a time, they say! For it is said in the old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of the healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known.”

It was at that moment, that I realized where it was that Tolkien came upon this idea, of the king being a healer.

He got the idea from the gospels, that show that our King truly is a healer.

And, this is what we should expect to find when it comes to the Messiah. Remember what was promised about the Messiah in the Garden of Eden: And I will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.

We are also told:

Isaiah 53:5

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

Jesus has come to reverse the curse. He is not only coming to defeat Satan, but also the work of Satan. Jesus is our sacrifice. He is the One who redeems us. He is the One who heals us.

All this is necessary for us to be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are beneficiaries to all of these things in Christ and without the regeneration that is necessary, we cannot be citizens of His Kingdom.

In this, we begin to see that Christ’s Kingdom is a different kind of Kingdom, with a different kind of King. The world offers us messiahs that can only lead by applying different levels of coercion.

But not Christ. He leads us by regenerating our hearts so that we believe. He leads us by working faith in us to believe. He leads us by bringing freedom from sin. He leads us and works in us by giving us the Spirit of God Himself. He leads by dealing with all that plague us. He leads us by dealing with His and our enemies. He is a different kind of King. He is a healing King.

You Shall Not Tempt — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 18

LORD’S DAY WORSHIP – JANUARY 19, 2025

Preparation for Worship: Hebrews 3:12-13

Call to worship: Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Reading of the Law: Proverbs 10:8-11 (Solomon’s tidbits…).

AOPG: Psalm 85:1-3

Old Covenant Reading (read first): Deuteronomy 6:10-20

New Covenant Reading: Matthew 4:1-7

(This is the inspired and holy word of God.)

Sermon – You Shall Not Tempt 

Introduction – 

Last week we began working our way through the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. In that temptation, Jesus recapitulated Adam in the Garden of Eden.

(Recapitulation is to repeat something in concise form. For the purposes of Christ, He is repeating what Adam went through, without falling into sin. He is doing what Adam failed to do, but under far more severe circumstances).

For Adam had everything he needed to live in the Garden. There was only one thing withheld from Adam in the Garden. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam did not need the fruit of that tree to live. The tree was meant to be a blessing, once Adam proved his obedience.

Instead of living in obedience to YHWH, Adam stretched out his hand, and ate of the one thing God did not give him. He took what was forbidden to him.

At that moment of sin, Adam obtained for the first time in his short life, the knowledge of evil. His heart had become evil. He didn’t believe the LORD, and believed the serpent instead. In that moment, he fell from God’s grace.

Hopefully you see the contrast with Jesus, who is the Last Adam. He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where He fasted for 40 days. Then at the end of that fast, the devil came and tempted Him in two areas: the first on his Hunger, the second on His Deity.

This wilderness setting also shows us that this is a recapitulation of Israel’s time in the wilderness, when they were without water, and they tested God, instead of trusting Him.

Jesus is not only walking the steps of Adam, but the steps of Israel. The reason for this is because Israel was considered to be God’s son. By this, we mean the entire nation was to be a son to God, and He was to be their Father. Therefore, the true Israel does what is necessary to please the Father. He goes to wilderness, goes through a fast which included water, and please the Father.

Led By the Spirit: The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 17

Sermon – Led by the Spirit 

Introduction – 

One of the hardest lessons we all have to learn as Christians, is that there are times in our lives where we are tested by God. In other words, He removes things from us, or keep things from us, or allows Satan to offer things to us, to see what is in our hearts. This often falls under the category of “affliction.”

Thomas Boston wrote:

“Affliction does not rise out of the dust or come to men by chance; but it is the LORD that sends it, and we should own and reverence His hand in it.”

What Boston is telling us is that God is truly sovereign over all things, therefore when we fall into affliction, we know that it is by God’s hand. The question for is should never be: has God brought affliction, trials, or testing in our lives? He has and does.

The question for us is: how shall we respond to it?

God has used affliction in the lives of His people throughout human history. He does so to test them. He does so to refine them. He does so in order for them to see the wickedness in their hearts that still remains.

If we are wise, we will embrace that affliction from His hand and trust Him throughout the process.

This all started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Adam was given everything in the Garden; he had all the food he needed. He had the most beautiful woman in the world. He was completely blessed. There was nothing that he did not have, save one thing: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Father told Adam, that this tree was off limits. He could look at the tree, but Adam could not eat of the tree.

Now please note this: The Father wasn’t being unloving to Adam at all. He had blessed Adam with everything. Adam was not in want of anything. This is important to understand. In a lot of the affliction we see in God’s people, they are in true want of something when He tests them.

Yet, here, Adam was not in want of anything… except the knowledge of evil. That was the only thing he did not have. He wasn’t hungry. He had plenty of water to drink. He had all the love and affection a wife could bring. He had it all… except the knowledge of evil.

For Adam knew both goodness in theory and experientially. All that the Father had done with him, and for him, was God’s goodness on display.

We know the story. Adam quickly fell into sin by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

By eating that tree, Adam knew true evil for the first time. In fact, he didn’t just know evil as some idea, he knew evil experientially. He had known nothing but goodness before he ate of the tree, but now, evil was a reality in his heart. He had become… evil in his rebellion. Adam became the adopted son of the father of that evil. In listening to the serpent, he worshipped the serpent, and became like his new father the devil.

The relationship between Adam and God was broken. Just the fact that Adam tried to hide, and then blame his own sin on the woman that God gave to him, should show us just how far Adam had fallen.

We see only two things from that point forward in regards to God’s provision for Adam. The first is that God makes tunics for Adam, sacrificing sheep in order offer atonement and point to the coming of the Seed of the Woman.

Secondly, Adam is driven from the Garden, and into the wilderness. This was to protect Adam from eating of the tree of life, and thereby living forever in his fallen state.

All of this affliction came from that one event. While God tested Adam, he was not afflicted. Yet, the afflictions that follow are now because of the entrance of sin into the world.

The Father had allowed Adam to be tempted by the devil, and Adam failed miserably.

Baptized with the Spirit — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 15

Sermon – Baptized with Holy Spirit and Fire 

Preached December 29, 2024

Introduction – 

Last week, we left off this monumental verse that quotes John the Baptist calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers. It’s monumental because John is making a theological statement about the leadership, confronting them with their wickedness. They are wicked, because they are in positions of leadership, as shepherds, yet they are not being the shepherds they should be given the blessings of God that have been given to them.

What blessing have they been given?

Well, for one thing, they have the word of God at their disposal. Therefore, they should know the requirements for being in the covenant with God, the blessings and curses that come along with the covenant.

Now, one might hear that and think that it is better to not be in covenant with God at all. But all that means is that the attendant curses of the covenant rest on you continually, while being in the covenant, leads to true blessings.

The Pharisees and Sadducees should have known these things.

But they did not. They have become more a political group than a group that truly shepherds the people.

Yet, when given the sign of the covenant, which they boasted in, they were agreeing to be God’s covenant people. They had in their possession Deuteronomy 27 & 28, which spells out those blessings and curses, and makes it clear that blessings come to those who obey the voice of the LORD our God. The curses come when we reject the covenant, and live in disobedience.

All these things had been given to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but they chose their own way, instead of God’s way.

This is what leads John to saying what he does.

The Spirit of Elijah — The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 14

Preached December 22, 2024

Old Covenant Reading (read first):  Malachi 4:1-6

New Covenant Reading: Luke 1:13-17, Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon – The Spirit of Elijah 

 

Introduction – 

It seems odd that Matthew mentions how John the Baptist was dressed. You don’t see many descriptions of what the people were wearing in the First Century, so it seems to matter to Matthew for him to take the time and mention John’s attire.

Our text reads:

Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

This is one of those details that Matthew lists, because it means something. It is meant for us to understand what kind of man John was. While he was in the priestly line, his father Zacharias was a Levitical priest, John is not wearing the garb of a priest.

He was wearing the clothing of one who did live in the wilderness. As Luke recording in his gospel, Jesus said:

Luke 7:24-28

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.”

John was wearing the clothing of a prophet. He was set apart for a particular task and his clothing reflected his calling. His clothing was similar to the way that Elijah appeared.

Waco Reformed Church

Pastor Timothy Hammons

Lord’s Day Worship 12/22/24

We would love to have you join us for worship! Please visit WacoReformedChurch.com for further information or reach out at wacoreformedchurch@gmail.com. You can also visit the Waco Reformed Church Facebook page.

Intro Music Downloaded From Track: The Four Seasons Music by https://www.fiftysounds.com

 

 

The Voice of One Crying in the Desert: Gospel of Matthew Sermon No. 13

We have come to the portion of Matthew’s gospel where we are introduced to John the Baptist. If you recall from last week, we saw that he was the last Old Covenant prophet, whom God raised up in the wilderness, in order to prepare the people of God for their coming King.

John’s ministry was marked, not only by baptism, but by preaching the Kingdom, which required the need for repentance. Repentance, as we saw, is an outward action that comes about from an inward reality. In other words, the Spirit moves in us to help see that we need to turn away from our sinful lives, and turn toward Christ.

This repentance may be visible in our lives, as it was for the soldiers, who were to no longer to intimidate or accuse falsely; tax collectors, who were to collect no more than was fair, and everyday people, who were to give when they could to those in need. We also saw the outward evidence of repentance in Matthew’s own life. Jesus came to him and said, “Follow me,” which Matthew immediately did.

Listen to the full sermon below…

The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand: The Gospel of Matthew Sermon 12

Introduction – 

One of the modern themes that is being drawn out in Reformed circles over the past 25 years or so, is the idea that much of the New Testament, especially the gospels and Revelation, are actually legal documents written as lawsuits against Israel. I agree. This is a helpful way of looking at the texts.

Peter Leithart writes:

In every one of the gospels, the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is John’s ministry. John is the forerunner, the first witness in God’s final prosecution of His lawsuit against Israel” (Leithart, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 1, p. 80).

I believe this is one way to think of the gospels. The gospels are lawsuits against those who should have accepted the One born King of the Jews, but rejected Him instead. God will raise up witness after witness, give sign after sign, and proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind… yet the leadership will absolutely reject the Messiah.

Even with this understanding, we must not lose sight that the gospels serve a greater purpose that an indictment against the leadership. They serve as affirmation to those who didn’t reject the Messiah who was born King of the Jews. Matthew is giving those believers in the first century an account of Christ, showing how it is, that He is the long-expected Messiah.

Already, Matthew has shown that Jesus is the Messiah through a detailed genealogy, that Jesus was both tied to Abraham and King David. Matthew also took us through the birth narratives, showing us the worldly forces opposed to His coming, and opening our eyes to how God used a faithful man, Joseph, to help deliver THE Deliverer from the hands of Satan.

In our text before us this morning, we are seeing one of the first major witnesses of Christ: John the Baptist. Matthew will show us that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of prophecy, showing that God does indeed save His people.