turning in our Bible this morning
to Luke chapter 7. Luke chapter 7, and I'm taking
the title or the message from the words found in verse 35. Luke 7, 35. But wisdom is justified, now
who is wisdom? Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
is justified or vindicated of all her children, talking about
the children of God. So the title of this message
will be Wisdom Justified. That is the children of wisdom,
his elect, justify the Lord Jesus Christ in everything he says. It's right, isn't it? It's true. everything he said and whatever
he does. We justify whatever he does. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? Never question the providence
of God. Whatever he does it is right. Whenever he does it with whomever
he pleases it is right. How he justifies the guilty sinner
in a just and a righteous way and how the Lord condemns those
who justify themselves and again he does it in a just and a right
way. how he justifies the ungodly
sinner in a just and right way, we say amen. And how he condemns
those who justify themselves, and we say amen. Again, the Lord says, turn just
a few pages over, we've read this several times in Luke 16
verse 15, he said to those Pharisees, who rejected the counsel of God
against themselves, remember? Verse 15, he said, you or they
would justify yourselves before men, but God knows your heart. That which is highly esteemed
among men, what is highly esteemed among men. Religious things that
are highly esteemed among men, religious ceremony, religious
tradition, the Lord says is an abomination in my sight. You see, there are only two kinds
of people found in this world. Look at verse 29 and verse 30
of Luke 7. There are just two kinds of people
found in this world. And all the people that heard
him And the publicans justified God being baptized, confessing
Christ as their Lord and Savior. But the Pharisees and lawyers,
those who were seeking salvation by the deeds of the law, they
rejected the counsel of God. They rejected the wisdom of God. They rejected the Lord Jesus
Christ. not confessing him in believer's
baptism. There are only two kinds of people
in this world, those saved and those lost. Those who are justified
by the blood and righteousness of Christ and those who are condemned
who go about to establish their own righteousness. Those made alive by the power
of God in the gospel, raved up from the dead, by the power of
the gospel, and those who remain dead in their sin. There are
just two kinds of people in this world. Those who are made to
see the beauty and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and those
who remain blind and see nothing of Christ. They say, away with
them, crucifying. We have no king but Caesar. Those
who have ears to hear the gospel of Christ, He said, My sheep
hear my voice, I know them. He's a good shepherd who laid
down their life, his life for the sheep, and those who do not
have ears, those who are deaf to God, his word, and his gospel. We see these two groups in our
study. today described in verse 31 down
to verse 35. Let's read these verses one more
time. Luke 7 verse 31. 31. And the Lord said, Whereunto
then shall I liken the men of this generation, this generation,
and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting
in the marketplace, calling one to another, saying, We piped
unto you, we played music for you, and you would not participate,
you would not dance. And then we switched our strategy,
we started to mourn and weep, and you wouldn't join in with
that, you would not weep with us. And then he makes this illustration,
he gives this and makes this point from that illustration.
For John the Baptist, God's prophet, the last of the Old Testament
prophets, the man who was sent in the power of Elijah. For John
the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, you
remember, his meat was wild honey and locusts, and you say, he's
a wild man, he's a demon, he's a devil. And then the Son of
Man, who is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, he's come,
and this generation The Son of Man has come eating
and drinking, and this generation, they say, well, he's a glutton. He eats too much. John didn't
eat enough. This man eats too much. And oh,
by the way, down there in Cana of Galilee, you know, he turned
water into wine and supplied six potfuls of wine to all those
people. Surely he's a drunkard. He's
a wine-bibber. He's a no count. And then to
top that off by way of criticism, they say of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what this generation, he's a friend of sinners, publicans,
publican, notorious sinners and sinners. Ah, but here's another
generation. Wisdom is justified of her children. See, there's two generations
there. to generate their sheep and goats. There's those saved
and lost, those made alive and those who are dead in sin. Now let's talk about this generation,
this first group, this first, this generation. Who are they? They're lost, self-righteous,
religious people, this generation. What are they like? The Lord
sums it up in true words. The people to whom the Lord is
calling this generation are the Pharisees, the scribes, the lawyers,
those who are going about to establish righteousness by the
deeds of the law. They're very religious, this
generation, they're self-centered, they're self-righteous, but they're
unbelieving, they're unbelievers, they're lost sinners. Always
finding fault with everyone and everything, but themselves. That's this generation. This
generation is a fit description of those who are the enemies
of God and of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who was the
generation of people to whom the Lord had the sharpest rebukes
and criticism? I tell you, turn back here to
Matthew 23 and I'll show you. He said, you are of your father
the devil. They said, we be Abraham's children.
Really? If you were Abraham's children,
you would believe what I say. Abraham believed the truth, and
God blessed him for believing the truth. God blessed him with
the truth. We be Abraham's children, oh
no, you of your father the devil. Look what the Lord says here
of this generation, Matthew 23, verse 25. Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrite, that's this generation. For you make
clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within
you're full of extortion and excess. You see, the Lord looks
on the heart. Out of the heart proceeds evil
thoughts, fornication. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse
first that which is within. Salvation is a heart work, the
cup and the platter. And the outside may be clean
also. You see, salvation is work of God in the heart. Verse 27,
Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees. That's this generation. This
generation of hypocrites. You know what a hypocrite is?
You look this word up in the original, you know what it means?
A play actor. One who plays and acts. Oh, they
act so pious and religious. For you're like unto a whited
grave marker. Whited sepulcher. all that beautiful
marble on the outside, but open up the door and what's inside,
which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full
of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Even so, also outwardly
you appear righteous unto men, but within you're full of hypocrisy,
you're full of iniquity, woe unto you scribes, Pharisees,
hypocrites, that's this generation. Because you build the tombs of
the prophets and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous.
And say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we wouldn't
have stoned Moses, we wouldn't have cast Jeremiah into the pit,
we wouldn't have done those things, we would not have been partaken
with them in the blood of the prophets, really. Well, until
you be witnesses unto yourself that you are the children of
them that killed the prophets. Fill ye up there the measure
of your fathers. You are serpents. You're a generation. Here's the generation. You're
the generation, this generation of vipers. How can you escape
the judgment of hell? Boy, those are strong words,
aren't they? This generation. What shall I liken this generation
unto? They always brag about the dead
prophets and seek to persecute the living prophets. They're
never satisfied. They found fault with John. They
said of John the Baptist, he's too austere. He's too strict. He's too serious. He has a devil. He's demon-possessed. He looks
like a wild man. He had that Nazarite vial upon
him. His hair was long, shaggy. His clothing was that of a leather
girdle. He was out in the wilderness.
He didn't look like a prophet of God. They said this man's
demon-possessed. No, this is God's prophet. There's
a man sent from God whose name was John. They found fault with
John. They said he's too strict, he's
too serious. And then they found fault with
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. A real man, yet totally
God in the flesh. Our Lord said, when you've seen
me, you've seen God. I am my Father, one. And they
picked up stones to stone him, didn't they? They said of him,
in verse 34, he's a wine-dibber. He's a gluttonous man. He's a
friend of sinners. You say you cannot satisfy this
generation of people. Just don't try to do it. You
can't satisfy this religious lost crowd. The Lord compares
them to peevish children, spoiled brats who are nothing but rebels
against God and enemies to the gospel of God. Don't cater to
them. Just ignore them. Just go on. God will deal with them in due
time. And here's the problem. Turn to Romans chapter 8. Here's
the problem. Romans chapter 8. I quote this
scripture all the time, but I want to turn and read it to you. Romans
chapter 8. For to be carnally minded is
death, verse 6. But to be spiritually minded
is life and peace, Romans 8, 6. Because the carnal mind, the
carnal mind, the minding of the flesh, is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be, so then they that are in
the flesh cannot please God. That which is born of the flesh,
after all it is. But you're not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. It so be that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you. Now here's this other generation
that we'll talk about in just a minute. If any man have not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. This generation, the
carnal mind is enmity against God. John's message and the message
of the Lord Jesus Christ was the same, wasn't it? Was it different? The message of John and the message
of the Lord Jesus Christ? It was exactly the same. I can
make good on that. Turn to Matthew chapter 3. And they criticized both of them.
Matthew chapter 3. John, God's prophet. Matthew
3 verse 1. In those days came John the Baptist
preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, Repent! For the
kingdom of God is at hand." What is repentance? It's a change,
a drastic change that's wrought upon the soul by the power of
God. What did the Lord Jesus Christ
preach when He went out preaching? Matthew chapter 4, turn one page,
verse 17. From that time, Jesus began to
preach. What did He preach? What did
He say? For the kingdom of God is at
hand. We're going to see later on in
our study, the Lord says, except you repent, you're going to perish.
John's message and the message of the Lord Jesus Christ was
the same. Repentance toward God and faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. But they rejected both, this
generation. of scribes and pharisees and
hypocrites. Not only is the carnal mind enmity
against God, the carnal mind will not have the message of
free and sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Now they'll have anything else
but that. Have you found that to be true?
Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14. You can have a gang
of men at work Gang of men at work, work all morning and you
break for lunch. Sit down at a table with a gang
of men and all the different religious folks can get along.
They can all get along. Put one sovereign gracer in the
middle of them, and you've got to fight. You've got to battle. I've been there, I've done that.
You tell sinners that God's on the throne, that God is sovereign
in salvation, that he'll have mercy on whom he will. All the
religious people can get along, but you put a man in the middle
of that group that will stand for the gospel of God's grace,
and you've got a fight on your hands. They say, well, that's
not fair. That's not right. You know what the problem is?
Turn over here to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God. Receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned, but he that is spiritual,
here's this other generation, judges all things, yet he himself
is judge or discern of no man, who hath known the mind of the
Lord, that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ.
Christ is our wisdom. He's our righteousness. He is
our sanctification. You see, they're pretended, back
in Luke chapter 7, they're pretended objections to John, the prophet
of God, and the prophet of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Their
pretended objections were only a smokescreen to cover up their
true hatred for God and his gospel. Sad to say, this generation of
religious lost people still exists today. Never satisfied, always
finding fault, always complaining against the way of salvation
by his free and sovereign grace alone. Where the scripture said,
he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, he will have
compassion on whom he will have compassion, and immediately they
will say, that's not fair. Every man has a chance, really. Salvation by chance, really? I thought salvation in this book
was according to the grace of God, not by chance. God doesn't
save sinners by chance, luck or fate, does he? God saves sinners
by his grace. Now, let's look at this other
generation. Who's this other generation?
Luke 7 verse 35, but wisdom, that is Christ our wisdom, Christ
the eternal wise God our Savior is justified or vindicated of
all her children. This is wisdom children. begotten
of God by God the Holy Spirit. Thank God there's another generation,
a chosen generation, His elect, His bride. To them Christ is
our wisdom. Christ is justified, vindicated,
worshipped by sinners, saved by grace. And that's who salvation
is for, sinners. They said this man, the friend,
a friend of sinners. Now you look at the last part
of verse 34, where they said, Behold, a gluttonous man, a wine-beaver,
a friend of publicans and sinners. Aren't you glad and thankful
that the Lord Jesus Christ is a friend of sinners? Jesus, what a friend we have. Hallelujah, what a Savior. He's
a friend of sinners. He is truly the only real friend
that a sinner has. Proverbs 18 says, there is a
friend that sticketh closer than a brother. And he, we read in
Hebrews chapter 2 verse 11, he's not ashamed to call us his children,
brethren. He said, behold I and the children,
they're all right here. He said, I'll lose none of those
that the Father had given to me. He's not ashamed to call
us brethren. Look back over here in Luke chapter
5 verse 31. Luke chapter 5 verse 31. Let's
go back up and read beginning of verse 27. We see the Lord
Jesus Christ calling out a sinner named Matthew, Levi. Verse 27
in Luke 5, After these things he went forth and saw a publican,
a sinner named Levi, sitting at the receipt of customs. And
he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and
followed him. Heard that effectual call of
the gospel? And Levi made him a great feast
in his own house. And there was a great company
of publicans and others that sat down with him, other sinners,
friends. But their scribes and Pharisees
murmured against his disciples saying, why do you eat with publicans
and sinners? And the Lord answering said unto
them, they that are whole need not a physician, but they who
are sick, I'm not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance. Turn to one other scripture in
the book of Luke, find Luke 15. Luke 15, verse one. Then drew near, Luke 15, one. Then drew near unto him all publicans
and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes
murmured saying, this man receiveth sinners. This man receiveth sinners. Think of it. And he eats with
them and eateth with them. This man receiveth sinners. and
eateth with them. Find me a sinner, and I've got
good news for him. You know there's not many around.
You ask a man on the job tomorrow morning, you a sinner? Oh, I
used to be. What are you now? You're a hypocrite,
what you are. Find me a sinner, I've got good
news for him. You see, there's grace for the
guilty. There's mercy for the miserable. There's real salvation
for real sinners, bona fide, genuine sinners. Born in sin,
shaped in iniquity. Sin is what I am, sin is what
I am, and sin is what I do. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
came to save sinners. This gives this sinner hope. This is a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation, that the Lord Jesus Christ came to save
sinners, and the Apostle Paul said, I'm the chief one. He came
to save me. He came to save sinners. That
gives me hope. We have a good hope through grace.
He laid down his life for sinners, right? In due time, the Lord
Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. God committed His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5, 6-9. You see, He laid down His life
for sinners. And you know what that gives
me? That gives me peace. Here in His love, not that we
loved God, He loved us. And He sent His Son to be the
sacrifice for my sin. That gives this sinner peace. He came to save sinners. That
gives me hope because I'm a sinner. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
sinners. That gives me hope and peace. He came to seek the lost,
right? Turn to Luke chapter 19, verse
10. Remember what He said of Zacchaeus?
Make haste and come down. Luke 19. Verse 9, Jesus said
unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch
as he also is the son of Abraham, for the son of man is come to
seek and to save that which is lost. He is going to save every
lost man. You say, well everybody is lost.
No they are not. Ask them. I am not lost. Before God saves
a man, He shows him that he's lost and dead. And when God teaches
that lesson, He saves him by His grace. God's going to save
every lost man. He came to seek and to save the
lost. And that gives me comfort. He ever lived to intercede for
us. He appears in the presence of God for us. And that gives
me, what does that give me? That gives me joy. That gives me salvation. He said,
because I live, you live also. He said, I am he that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. Well, that gives
me joy. He ever lives to intercede for me right now. When we sin,
we have an advocate with Father Jesus Christ the righteous. He's
my mediator. He's my advocate. He's my intercessor.
That gives me comfort, joy, peace, and hope in Christ. You see, this generation, Peter
calls a chosen generation. You want to find that, we'll
read it together. This is found in 1 Peter chapter 2. You see,
this is a chosen generation. Verse 9, 1 Peter 2, 9. But you are a chosen generation. Oh, that's so much different
than this generation of rebels who hate God and the gospel.
But you're a chosen generation. You're a royal priesthood. We
may have been made kings and priests under our God. You have
been made a holy nation. You've been made a peculiar people
and the word there peculiar, notice the marginal reference
on the word peculiar. Number two, the marginal center
reference is purchased. He bought us with his own blood.
You're a purchased people that you should show forth the praises
of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Which were in time past, which
in time past were not a people, but now are the people of God,
which not have obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. You see, we don't earn mercy,
we obtain it. as the free gift of his grace. You see to this generation Christ
is our wisdom, he's our righteousness, he's our sanctification, and
he is our redemption. Christ has been made wise, the
Lord Jesus Christ has made some wise in the salvation. He's made
some wise hearted To see the glory of Christ crucified. You see, to many Christ crucified
is a stumbling block. It's foolishness. But unto them
which are saved. Let's turn and read that. 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. Christ the power of God. Christ
the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse
22. For after that in the wisdom
of God, verse 21, the world by wisdom knew not God. Verse Corinthians
1, 21, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe. For the Jews require a sign,
the Greeks seek after wisdom, fleshly wisdom. But we preach
Christ crucified unto the Jews, the stumbling block, there's
that first generation. and to the Greeks foolishness,
but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and Christ the wisdom of God. He is our wisdom. Christ is the power of God unto
salvation, the gospel of Christ is. Christ in wisdom stood for
us as a surety of that everlasting and eternal covenant of grace,
established with the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
that surety of that everlasting covenant. Christ in wisdom stood
for us in eternity as that wise surety mediator. The Lord Jesus
Christ in wisdom stood and lived for us as our wise Savior, honoring
the law of God, establishing righteousness for us. He said,
I didn't come to destroy the law, I came to honor the law
of God. enabling God to be both a just God and Savior. Christ
in wisdom redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a
curse for us. As our wise Redeemer, He wisely
put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He wisely shed His
blood to justify us from the curse of the law. being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. All those children, wisdom children,
Christ's children, His chosen generation, justify, honor, and
glorify Him in the salvation of sinners. Don't they? Yes,
they do. They say with Paul, God forbid
I should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wisdom's children take God's
side against themselves. God's side against themselves. That's true repentance. You know
that? Taking God's side. When he said guilty, We say,
Amen. You're right. We justify you.
We are guilty. You're right. You see, true repentance
before God is the gift of God that acknowledges and receives
all His truth. In regard to us, when He says
guilty by one man's sin at an end, death by sin, We've all
come short of the glory of God. We've all seemed to come short
of the glory of God. In regard to us, guilty sinners,
we agree with God. We justify Him. In regard to
God, Holy, Sovereign, Almighty, we justify Him in His person. We vindicate His person and His
work and His sovereignty. In regard to the way He saves
sinners, I'm in full agreement, aren't you? In how God saves
sinners by His grace. I have no objection to the Lord
Jesus Christ saving sinners the way He had wisely and powerfully
designed to do. By His grace. through the Lord
Jesus Christ freely. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? You see what that's saying in
verse 35 in Luke 7? But wisdom is justified of her
children. Are you one of wisdom's children?
Do you justify God in all that he does? Can you say in everything
that he does is right? Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? Amen. Of him and through him and to
him are all things to whom be the glory both now and forever.
And you know what the next word is? Next word says in that verse? those publicans justified God,
honoring God, by believing Him. By Him all that believe are justified
from all things, but you could not be justified by the law of
Moses. Now ask yourself this morning, in your heart,
to which generation do you identify with? To which generation do you identify
with? that which ridicules and mocks
the way of salvation in Christ alone, or that chosen, blessed
generation, that peculiar, purchased people that justifies God in
all that He does in creation, in providence. You have any problem
with the way God created all things in this universe? He created
all things by the word of His power. He didn't ask you or anybody
else. That chosen generation, that
peculiar people, justified by God's grace, justifying God in
all that He does in creation, in providence, and especially
in salvation. I repeat and read again what
we just read a moment ago, but you are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should
do what? Show forth the praises of Him
who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. You
see, God is so ordained and fixed this way of salvation in Christ. that truly and rightly so, it
gives him all the honor and glory and shuts out any creature merit. I don't have any merit, do you?
He has all the merit, all the righteousness, and all of salvation
is found in Him. By faith I receive Him and I
justify Him in everything He does and everything He says.
It is right, true, and holy.