“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 12:49-59:

The kingdom of heaven was to come in the same fashion as a thief might come upon an unsuspecting household. So in order to avoid having their goods plundered; Jesus is preaching to His disciples the need to prepare for its coming. Starting back in verse 35 and ending with verse 48, He would use three illustrations all focusing on this point.

Although the points of His sermon where directed at His disciples (those which would have the burden of care for the domestic establishment of the kingdom), He did not exclude the multitudes that were listening.

In this lesson, the Lord is now going to establish a severe test of fidelity and vigilance that would be necessary to enter the coming kingdom.

Text #1:

Luke 12:49-53 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

See also: Matthew 10:34-39 for similar teaching.

Send Fire: The Lord starts by expressing that His coming would; among the other important things He came to accomplish, arouse men to spiritual conflict. Good verses bad stewards of God. Purifying the good and destroying the bad! This was the symbolic nature of fire, to purify the better and destroy the worse.

A Baptism: Jesus also states that the time for this separation was not this very moment. The word “baptism” (Greek, ‘ Baptisma '), means to be submerged. Here the Lord states that He must be immersed with something before this fire is set. He would describe this baptism for His chosen, note:

Matthew 20:17-19 “Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

In addition to the announcement of this baptism which He alone would endure, Luke includes the first mention of the distress of the Lord over this event, see also Luke 22:44.

A Question: Coming back to the subject, the Lord asks a question in order to establish the conflict that would arise from the completed work of the Lord; “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?”

The answer to this question was probably not what they expected! “I tell you, not at all, but rather division.”

Since the conflict is between good and evil as established by the word of God, the division would exist in the conflict between those whom would be close and who cannot relinquish the evil.

This does not teach that the true servant of God cannot know peace! It establishes that peace can only be known to those who are purified by the fire of suffering (the suffering of rejection by those who do not love the Lord).

This teaching would be enforced to those who would see the kingdom and thus to all Christians, note:

1 Peter 4:12-16 “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.”

Conclusion: For those who would be prepared to enter the kingdom of heaven, they would need to know that they would suffer rejection, just as the Lord would suffer rejection from His own people.

Text #2:

Luke 12:54-56 “Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming'; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather'; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?”

See also: Matthew 16:1-4 for similar teaching.

Multitudes: Up to this point the messages of the Lord's sermon have been for His disciples; however, we know that the multitudes are pressed together listening to His words (remember the interruption from the one in the crowd – Verse 13). Here the Lord now draws attention to the crowds and points His words directly at them (this will continue into Chapter 13).

The Face of the Sky: The Lord illustrates that these people could look at the condition of the sky and based on known patterns; know the kind of weather that was to come.

Hypocrites: The same ability to know the sky, should have been used to know the spiritual storm that was coming now. Both John the Baptist and the Lord have come with the power of God, just as it was prophesied (Malachi 3:1).

They have established that the coming of the kingdom is at hand, but the people have chosen not to recognize what their eyes and ears have told them to be true!

Note the result that would be foretold for their ultimate rejection of the instruction of this time:

Luke 19:41-44 “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Text #3:

Luke 12:57-59 “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”

The last three verses of this chapter are given in an attempt to appeal to them to avert the coming disaster. Jesus counsels them to come to terms with His teaching before they are judged by it!

John 12:48-50 “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

These final thoughts actually become the introduction to the thirteenth chapter and we will continue to look at the words of the Lord for the multitudes.

Next: “Repent or Perish!”