“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 17:1-10:

In the previous chapter, the Lord taught His disciples concerning the subject of greed. As the Pharisees perceived that He was referring to them and their doctrines (16:14), He responded to them.

Here in chapter 17, He re-engages His disciples and is for the most part a continuation from the previous chapter. He is still showing them that the path of the Pharisees is not one they should ever consider as viable towards God, and in fact, can cause not only their own destruction but that of those whom they may lead astray.

Text #1:

Luke 17:1-2 “Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”

See also: Matthew 18:6-7; Mark 9:42.

Offenses: The offenses here are those in a world where Pharisees and their doctrine abound.

• The word offense means “to place a stumbling block”. It is closely related to the word, ‘heresy' or ‘faction' (1 Corinthians 11:19).
• The depravity of human wisdom inserted into the righteousness of God makes sin inevitable. In addition, the insertion compounds the guilt of the individual teaching as doctrine the commandments of men (Matthew 15:7-8).

Millstone: In Matthew's account, the Lord states that offenses must come. This recognizes the nature of man to elevate himself above all that is called God (2 Thessalonians 2:4). However, just because the Lord recognizes that apostasy will come, does not mean that He will ever recognize this as acceptable. In fact, He establishes here a terrible judgment on those who introduce such human wisdom along side the righteousness of God.

The illustration used by the Lord is that it would be better for the one who introduces such an offense to hopelessly drown in the ocean, being drug down by a stone used to grind out grain.

Little Ones: These are those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness (Matthew 5:6), but at this point are beginners in knowledge and thus susceptible to the false doctrines.

Text #2:

Luke 17:3-4 “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,' you shall forgive him.”

See also: Matthew 18:21-22.

Take Heed to Yourselves: The Lord now draws the lesson to a command indicating personal responsibility. Righteousness demands a responsibility to rebuke and to restore.

It was not enough to just avoid causing offense. The true righteousness of God was given to rebuke sinful practices and restore back to God's pure word.

If He Repents: Just as righteousness demands the rebuke of error, it also demands the love of restoration. The word repent was defined by the ‘prodigal son' in chapter 15, as a return to God. Every journey back to God is to be met with open arms.

Leviticus 19:17-18 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

As we can clearly see, the Lord is re-establishing the righteousness of God as dictated within the Law of Moses. The oral traditions of the day (held by the Pharisees), which would become the Talmud, limited this teaching to just three times. In Matthew's account; Peter noted the language of the Lord demanded forbearance and asked the Lord to set a limit. Peter thought he was being generous when he suggested seven times in comparison to the tradition. The number the Lord would respond with suggested an unlimited number.

The lesson is that only God knows the hearts of men! We must simply obey the established righteousness. Rebuke when sinful practices are evident; love when repentance is made.

Text#3:

Luke 17:5 “And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

The realization of the teaching that the Lord has commanded His chosen has brought to their attention such a moral imperative, that they are unsure they can fulfill it. So, they are asking for the right thing. They knew that He was the source to strengthen them.

His response now comes in the form of illustrations.

Text #4:

Luke 17:6-10 “So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat'? 8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'”

See also: Matthew 17:20.

Mustard Seed: The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds in Palestine ; however, it grew into one of the largest trees with full branches. The Lord has used this seed to illustrate how the kingdom would begin small then thrive into the large tree (Luke 13:18-19).

Mulberry Tree: Also known as “Sycamine” or “Black Mulberry”. It was a tree in the same natural order as the fig tree, and distinguished for extremely deep roots.

The message is that the faith to accomplish all the Lord has commanded does not just happen. It requires a beginning and a growth. At the end of the process it becomes powerful enough to accomplish anything the Lord has commanded.

Unprofitable Servants: In the last of the illustrations, the Lord is denouncing supererogation, or the act of performing more than is required. The expectation of the growth of faith is that we likewise accomplish all the righteousness that God has prescribed through His word. Fidelity is the minimum requirement of true faith. When our faith grows to a point that we are accomplishing the will of God, we are simply doing that which is expected.

This was the teaching of the Lord in describing the faithful and evil servant (Luke 12:35-48).

This helps us understand that we, as disciples of Christ, should never find satisfaction in whatever level of attainment towards righteousness we may know. Note the words of the Apostle Paul:

Philippians 3:13-16 “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.”

With Paul, it was not about whether he would achieve perfection, it was about the diligent effort towards that goal.

1 Corinthians 11:1 “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

This is the message of the Lord to His chosen. Strive to achieve the righteousness He instructed them with all their might and faith would increase for them naturally.

Next: “On The Way To Jerusalem”