Text: Luke 14:25-33<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. A Christian came to me and handed me a note one which was written \u201cLuke 14:33 cannot\nbe a disciple unless give up possessions. Why? 2 Cor. 8:14 for equality\u201d\n
A. I immediately told him he was wrong.<\/p>\n
B. His reply was how can he be wrong, he just quoted what the Bible said.<\/p>\n C. This particular brother believes that Christians should give up their personal\npossessions to the poor. That such a gift is required to become a Christian.\n 1. It is not unique. A person who claims that Jesus was not divine, does say\nthis: \u201cIf you are a Jesus worshiper and believe all that he said is truth, then\naccording to Luke 14:33 you must give away everything you own. \nOtherwise, you cannot be one of Jesus’ disciple. How many so-called\nChristians actually follow Jesus all the way? How many wealthy (and not\nso wealthy) so-called Christians really believe in Jesus when they don’t give\nall their possessions to the poor, needy, street people, welfare people, etc.?\nThe answer is that they are not true followers of Jesus — and we know\nwhat Jesus says happens to them after death.\u201d\n 2. He uses this point to say that Jesus wasn\u2019t being reasonable, and hence not\ndivine.\n
3. Catholic orders which give up all possessions<\/p>\n
D. The problem is that his conclusion is wrong. <\/p>\n 1. Pulling out a passage does not necessarily prove a point unless it is\nconsistent in the context\n
2. Jesus demonstrated this in Matthew 5:21-48<\/p>\n
a. Most of the quotes in whole or part come from the Old Testament<\/p>\n
b. Jesus uses them to show why the Jews were wrong in their thinking<\/p>\n c. It is not that the statements in their original context were wrong –\nRomans 7:12\n
d. The wrong occurred in the usage<\/p>\nII. Does Luke 14:33 teach that you must give up your possessions to the poor to become a\ndisciple of Christ?\n
A. Move back to verse 26.<\/p>\n
1. Is Jesus speaking of a literal hatred?<\/p>\n 2. No, we understand that it is hyperbole to make the point that unless God\ncomes absolutely first in our lives and everything else comes a distant\nsecond, we will not have what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus.\n
3. Example: Did not love their own lives – Revelation 12:11; Mark 8:35<\/p>\n
4. But it doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t enjoy life – I Peter 3:10<\/p>\n
5. It would make fulfilling this commandment difficult – Matthew 19:19<\/p>\n a. Unless you understood the point you would think that honoring\nmother and father and hating mother and father would be\ncontradictory commands\n b. Unless you understood the point you would think loving others as\nyou love yourself and hating your own life were contradictory\ncommands\n
c. Oh, and don\u2019t forget Ephesians 5:28 and Titus 2:4<\/p>\n
B. Verse 27<\/p>\n
1. Is Jesus speaking of carrying a physical cross?<\/p>\n 2. No, we understand that it is a metaphor to make the point that unless we\nare willing to bear up under the load of trials and persecutions that comes\nto Christians, we do not have what it takes to be disciple of Jesus. – II\nTimothy 3:12\n
3. It was the point in the parable of the seed – Matthew 13:21<\/p>\n
C. Verses 28-32 are illustrations about counting the costs.<\/p>\n 1. Understanding the level of commitment to being a Christian in advance of\nbecoming a disciple\n 2. Too many make an impulsive leap into Christianity and then don\u2019t have the\nstrength to bear up under its load.\n
D. Verse 33<\/p>\n
1. \u201cGive up\u201d means to renounce, to separate oneself from<\/p>\n 2. The verse does not say to give up ones possessions to the poor. The point\nis the releasing of their importance in your life, just as he was talking earlier\nabout relationships.\n
3. Paul makes the same point – Philippians 3:7-8<\/p>\n
E. It is illustrated in the apostles – Luke 5:11<\/p>\n
1. They left everything behind – Luke 18:28-30<\/p>\n 2. Does this mean that they sold their boats and nets and gave the proceeds to\nthe poor?\n
3. Simon still had his house, where Jesus sometimes stayed – Luke 4:38<\/p>\n
4. Even after Jesus died, the disciples still had their own homes – John 20:10<\/p>\n
5. Peter still had his fishing equipment – John 21:3<\/p>\n
6. Peter remained married, and he did not leave her behind – I Corinthians 9:5<\/p>\n
7. The point was that what they had and owned was not a priority to them.<\/p>\n a. Sure, Peter had a family to support and a fishing business to run,\nbut he willingly left it behind to follow Jesus and learn at his feet.\n b. \u201cGiving up\u201d didn\u2019t mean they were gone, but they become far less\nimportant in his life.\n
III. What about the rich young ruler? – Mark 10:21<\/p>\n
A. The young man desired to serve God. He showed his desire by keeping the law. <\/p>\n B. But Jesus pointed out that he still lack something. He brought it to the surface by\nasking him to sell all that he had.\n C. What did he lack? He didn\u2019t love the Lord God with all his heart, soul, mind, and\nstrength.\n
D. Does that remain a problem for some? <\/p>\n
1. Most definitely – Matthew 13:22<\/p>\n
E. Luke 12:33 – Sell your possessions and give to the poor<\/p>\n
1. Does this mean everything? Or of what a person has to spare?<\/p>\n
2. Remember I Timothy 5:8, we all have obligations<\/p>\n
3. Ephesians 4:28 – Gain extra so you will have something to share<\/p>\n
4. Seen in John\u2019s teaching – Luke 1:11<\/p>\n 5. Acts 2:45 shows an attitude, but it doesn\u2019t say everything was sold. The\nvery next verse shows they still met house to house.\n 6. Acts 4:34-37 again shows the same attitude, but it doesn\u2019t say that\neverything was sold, but also note that even the possessions they did have\nto sell were not all sold at once. It was sold as there was need, but\nmeanwhile the owners retained possession.\n
7. If it was all<\/p>\n a. How did Lydia still have a house after becoming a Christian? – Acts\n16:15\n
b. How did Christians have property seized? – Hebrews 10:34<\/p>\n
c. How could there have been rich Christians? – I Timothy 6:17-19<\/p>\n
F. The point is where is your heart? What is it that you love? – I Corinthians 13:3<\/p>\n
1. Again, it is an attitude of what is important to you – Luke 12:22-23, 29-34<\/p>\n
IV. What about equality? II Corinthians 8:12-15<\/p>\n
A. The encouragement was based on excess – II Corinthians 8:12<\/p>\n
B. It is the same principle taught in II Timothy 6:17-19<\/p>\n
C. The equality was between brethren and not all the world<\/p>\n
1. II Corinthians 9:1 – a ministry to the saints<\/p>\n
2. II Corinthians 9:12 – supplying the needs of the saints<\/p>\n 3. II Corinthians 9:13-14 – Notice the \u201cthey\u201d who pray as a result. This is\nreferring back to the them and all in verse 13.\n 4. The unrighteous would not be praying to God, so the \u201cthem\u201d in verse there\nare the saints in Judea and the \u201call\u201d is all Christians in the world.\n 5. It doesn\u2019t mean that the worldly poor are not to be aided. These verses are\nnot the ones to be used to prove it.\n
D. The example was taken from the gathering of manna – Exodus 16:18<\/p>\n
1. Each person was only to have a omer (five pints) per day<\/p>\n 2. Some would be able to easily gather more. Others with difficulty, such as\nthe ill or infirm.\n 3. The Israelites were distributing the gathering so all had equal amounts,\nsince the excess could not be kept. God did not command them to do this,\nbut once they found they could not keep an excess, they voluntarily did it\nof there own accord.\n 4. Paul applies the principle to Christians, where they should voluntarily help\nthose less fortunate.\n
E. The request was not a command – II Corinthians 8:8<\/p>\n
1. It was important, but to make it a requirement would nullify its purpose<\/p>\n
2. It was to be voluntarily done – II Corinthians 9:7<\/p>\n
F. Nor was absolute equality required<\/p>\n 1. There were still rich Christians – Matthew 27:57; I Timothy 6:17; James\n1:9-10\n 2. The equality was more in the flow, the rich would aid the poor, but since\nwealth is fleeting, those who are wealthy may one day be aided by those\nwho once had received aid – Ecclesiastes 11:1-3\n
V. God wants His people to be generous, to have concern for those less fortunate.<\/p>\n A. But He also wants that generosity to be sincere; hence, He asks us to voluntarily\naid the poor among us. It cannot be by compulsion, but by a willing desire to help\nour fellow man.\n B. Some have altered the message by pulling a few verses out, making it appear to be\na command to be unilaterally done. Worse is to make it appear as a requirement\nfor salvation when such was not stated.\n
C. Let us remain faithful to what God has taught<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Luke 14:25-33 I. A Christian came to me and handed me a note one which was written \u201cLuke 14:33 cannot be a disciple unless give up possessions. Why? 2 Cor. 8:14 for equality\u201d A. I immediately told him he was wrong. B. His reply was how can he be wrong, he just quoted what the Bible…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[194,257,258,688],"class_list":["post-7411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-benevolence","tag-finances","tag-money-management","tag-poverty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-elder-brother-of-the-prodigal-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":7411,"position":0},"title":"The Elder Brother of the Prodigal Son","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Myhan Many people fail to realize that the third parable of Jesus recorded in Luke chapter 15, is nowhere, in the inspired text, called \"the Parable of the Prodigal Son.\" In fact, the parable is given no name either by Jesus or by Luke. A more accurate designation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53607,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/take-up-your-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":7411,"position":1},"title":"Take Up Your Cross","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 14:25-32 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many people see religion as something done out of convenience. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They attend when there isn\u2019t something important going on \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They select a church to attend because it is close, or because of the events going on, or if there are kids for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33119,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-get-baptized-my-father-is-a-muslim-and-wont-allow-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":7411,"position":2},"title":"How can I get baptized? 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He had been moving goods for many years and was quite good at it. This family needed to be moved across town, so he piled their worldly possessions onto his wagon. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20867,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":7411,"position":4},"title":"The Parable of the Prodigal Son","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Fancher I. The Prodigal Son Leaving Was His Fault Alone Luke 15:20-21 \"And he arose and came to his father. 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