“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith"

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 12:1-3:

At the end of the previous chapter, the Lord having been invited to dine with a certain Pharisee took opportunity because of their traditions to pronounce an oral indictment on both the Pharisees and scribes. As we begin chapter 12, the Lord will now bring this indictment to a public forum.

The first three verses of this chapter are the key to understanding the lessons in this chapter and the first twelve verses express the proper attitude that should be held at this time towards God and His Christ!

Text #1:

Luke 12:1-3 “In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

In The Meantime: This is given to show that the crowds were gathering while Jesus was speaking in the house of the Pharisee. There are some translations that use thousands, where here it is recorded innumerable. The focus should be on the vastness of the crowds gathered so that rash movement caused them to tread upon one another.

His Disciples First: This is not meant as to say that He spoke to His disciples first, then the multitudes. The entire message is given to His disciples! The Lord is stating to His disciples that as an introduction to the sermon to follow, they should know this first.

As we will find out, the crowd is also intently listening to His words; as a man from the crowd will interject a request upon the Lord in the middle of His lesson (Vs 13). After dealing with the request, the Lord will resume His teaching to His disciples (Vs. 22). Not until the end of the chapter does the Lord turn to the crowds and actually address them directly (Vs. 54).

Leaven: The leaven here being referred to by the Lord is that yeast that was to be left out of all sacrificial grain offerings to the Lord (Exodus 29:2, 23, 32; Leviticus 2:1-16; 6:14-23; 7:9; 8:2; 26, 31; Numbers 15:1-9, 17-21; 18:9). To the children of Israel this leaven represented corruption and the Lord is symbolically inferring that the Pharisees are corrupt.
In addition, the Apostle Paul writing to Christians would realize the teaching value of the representation of leaven as corruption or sin, note:

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Hypocrisy: The Lord would additionally define that the corruption of the Pharisees was deeply rooted in their hypocrisy. The word Hypocrisy is ingrained in the Hebrew language by the definition, “polluted” or “profane”. However, the Greek word being used here; “ hupokrisis ”, which means “to act a part in a play”.

The Lord is describing that the Pharisees are those that feign themselves or portray someone different than their true self.

Pharisee-ism: The Lord in this first portion of this text is pronouncing a general prognosis of illness and is telling His disciples that they should quarantine themselves from such an illness.

This illness in all of its symptoms was those who sought honor from men and demanded fear from men instead of giving honor and fear to God. It was a spirit that yielded to public opinion and though seemingly religious was truly devoid of loyalty to God.

For the disciples of Christ, there where difficult times that would lie ahead for them in which a spirit of hypocrisy would not survive or provide comfort. In addition, the word of God that was to come from God's beloved Son would reveal the hearts of men, note:

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

Like the Pharisees who fooled many until their hypocrisy was made known by the Lord, there would also be false teachers who would come in the same fashion after the establishment of the kingdom, note:

2 Timothy 3:1-9 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.”

As Paul would describe to Timothy, these false teachers who are motivated by covetousness and self-elevation, would lead many astray; however, even though they might deceive the weak and lead many from the truth, their judgment is set in the end and they can be exposed when compared to the truth of the word of God!

This is exactly what is being said by the Lord in verse 2. These Pharisees have deceived for their own purposes, but there is coming a time when all would be exposed.

You Have Spoken: Jesus concludes this portion of the introduction to His sermon by expressing to His disciples that their message may be considered hidden to the leaders and the disobedient, but there will come a time when their words spoken as given by the Lord would be so prominent that it would be impossible to cover or hide!

As the next section of this sermon is a little too lengthy to continue in this lesson, we will take it up in the next lesson.

Next: “The Proper Attitude Towards God and Christ”