Knowledge & Judgment

Nikolle Bauder • January 20, 2021

Summary of sermon on Matthew 12:38-45 from Pastor Ky Martin:

One of the main reasons Jesus had such a large following during His ministry on Earth was because of all the signs, wonders, and miracles He performed.

He turned water into wine, He healed the sick, He cast out demons… there was a buzz around Jesus that authenticated who He said He was.


Although Jesus had already been performing so many miraculous signs, the Pharisees (in our text this week) asked for another.


What’s interesting about this is how strongly Jesus rebukes them. He says, “it’s a wicked and evil generation that asks for a sign.”


The reason Jesus responds so strongly is because He knows the Pharisees’ hearts. He is talking to a group of people who have already made up their minds on what they think about Jesus. They don’t like Him; He has stolen their thunder. They think that if they ask Him to do something and he can’t, that will give them yet another reason to denounce Him.


The Pharisees were men who devoted their lives to studying God’s Word, yet they could not see what was right in front of them.


Jesus compares the amount of revelation they have to the amount of revelation of people in the past. 


First, the story of Jonah. It’s easy to get caught up in how wild Jonah’s story is (living in the belly of a fish for three days!) -- but it’s even more wild when you consider the Ninevites. They had never heard of God, yet when Jonah arrived and preached God’s love to them, the entire city repented and turned toward God! They had so little reason to trust what Jonah was saying, and yet they did.


Jesus’ second example -- the Queen of the South -- she had very little wisdom when she encountered Solomon, yet the information he gave her was enough for her to turn toward the God of Israel.


Jesus gives these examples to show how little revelation these people had, yet they repented. The Pharisees, on the other hand, had a deep knowledge of the Law and the Messiah stood right in front of them; yet, they rejected Him.


This goes to show that God will judge us in accordance with our knowledge. 


In the end, we all are accountable to God (see Romans 1:12-20; Acts 17:30-31a). The more knowledge we have about God, the more accountable we are for our response (see Matt. 11:23-24; Hebrews 2:2-4). (<-- this ought to get our attention in the Bible Belt Bubble we live in. We have more knowledge than the Pharisees, this side of the resurrection.)


God has provided one path to righteousness.


In verses 43-45, Jesus tells the story of how a demon-possessed man went from one form of hopelessness to another, worse form of hopelessness.


This relates to the Pharisees in that they were known for purging all sorts of evil from their lives: they were poster children for tithing, knowing God’s word, and avoiding shameful behavior. Yet, they were not believing in Christ, so they were not “allowing Him in”. They emptied their houses of evil things, but all of that purging was useless because they kept the Messiah from coming in and backfilling all of it with hope. All their efforts put in them a worse spot than if they had had no knowledge of the law.


Because they had knowledge, they were condemned to a greater judgement. With the knowledge they had, they should have been the FIRST to recognize Jesus as Messiah. They  knew all of the Old Testament prophecies well and, what’s more, they saw Jesus turning water into wine, healing the sick, casting out demons, and doing all things in accordance with God’s word. No one was ever able to stump Jesus or find fault in His teaching.


We never see Pharisees possessed in scripture, but we do see them plunge into deeper darkness as they go from not believing Jesus, to confronting Him, to accusing Him, to crucifying Him.


What was missing in the Pharisees was God’s Holy Spirit indwelling the person. To remove evil from one’s life, while simultaneously rejecting the Messiah, simply leaves one open and vulnerable to new kinds of sin and evil. 


Surely knowing God’s Law didn’t make it harder for the Pharisees to believe. But as esteemed leaders who were admired, their hearts became prideful.


How can we avoid making the same mistake as the Pharisees did? Because of their pride and religious accomplishments, they had a false confidence in their ability to attain righteousness.  They did not want to abandon the idea that they could, by their history, accomplishments, and law keeping, attain a right standing with God by their own efforts.


Whether a Pharisee or a tax collector, all of us need forgiveness. The ground is level. We have all sinned and need mercy.


We must actively abandon our own attainment of righteousness.


In our Bible Belt culture, being a member of a church is often synonymous with being a good citizen. We can get trapped in the mentality that simply coming to worship and trying to do the right thing puts us in right standing with God.


We must not simply avoid this kind of thinking, we must ABANDON it. The only way to do this is by remembering our need for forgiveness.


Second, we must learn in order to love.


We don’t spend time learning about Jesus to check off a box, we spend time learning about Jesus because we love Jesus and want to be near to Him!


Knowledge of God’s word is not enough. To go to church on Sundays is not enough.


We must put our hope and trust in Jesus, our Messiah, the only One with the power to forgive us our sins and declare us righteous.



--

Watch this sermon.

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
Show More