Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee,
would like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. For information and service times,
visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker. Our message today will come from
one line In Matthew 11 verse 19, one line specifically, let
me begin reading verse 19 and I'll point out which line it
is. It says, the son of man came eating and drinking and they
say, behold, a man gluttonous and a wine bibber. A friend of
publicans and sinners. And that's the line that I want
us to focus on from Matthew 11 verse 19. The friend of publicans
and sinners. What a wonderful statement. is
made concerning our Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ, this is
a glorious truth from God's word. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
friend of publicans and sinners. Publicans were horrible people,
horrible people, members of the mafia they are described as being. But that's what the word of God
says about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the friend of publicans
and sinners. In James 2 verse 23, God said,
Abraham is my friend. That's what he said. Abraham
is my friend. Now, who was Abraham? Well, Abraham
was an idol worshiper. That's who Abraham was. He was
an idol worshiper until God called him. at the age of 75, he was
75 years old before the Lord revealed himself to Abraham and
called Abraham to the truth. And I want us to think about
something for just a minute here. This is maybe going to be a little
bit shocking, and this may sound a little bit blatantly honest.
But let's be a little bit blatantly honest, okay? Let's really think
about something. You know who Abraham is. You
know the story of Abraham and his wife, Sarah, and their children,
and you know the story. All right, let's think about
this for just one second, okay? After God called him, all right,
we're talking about Abraham. God said, he's my friend. Who
was Abraham? He was an idol worshiper until
God called him. And after God called him, he was unfaithful
to his wife. Can we acknowledge that? He did
not believe God. He did not have faith in God's
word to him. He did not wait on the Lord.
Instead, he took matters into his own hands and he tried to
perform the work of God for him. God promised to give Abraham
a son and Abraham said, I'll just go ahead and accomplish
that work for God. In Ishmael, his son that he had
on his own, Ishmael. Isn't it amazing that the man
who is called the father of the faithful, wasn't faithful, not
to God or to his wife. Isn't that amazing? Can we acknowledge
the reality of this? I know this is shocking to think
about, but can we acknowledge the reality of this? He was not
faithful to God or to his wife and he pled his own works to
God. This is Abraham we're talking
about. He said to God, surely Ishmael was the one you were
talking about. Surely you were talking about
Ishmael, the work of my own doing. Isn't it amazing that the one
of whom the scripture says believed God in his own flesh, of his
own doing, he didn't believe God. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that interesting? Do you
find that at all interesting? Well, if that's the case, why
does the scripture say that he was faithful and he believed
God? It's because God was faithful
for him and God was faithful to him. That's the reason why
God did a work in him and caused him to believe God in spite of
himself. God had mercy on him in spite
of himself. God showed grace to him in spite
of himself. God did all of that for Abraham
in spite of Abraham. And then God counted God's own
work to Abraham and in Abraham for righteousness, the scripture
says. What God did in him, God counted that. in Abraham for
righteousness. That means good works, good deeds. Well done. Now, why would God
do all that for Abraham? Why would he do all of that for
Abraham? Here's the reason why. It's because
he is the friend of sinners. He is the friend of sinners in
Christ. And that's the key. That's the
key to it all in Christ, outside of Christ. God is angry with
sinners. This whole thing hinges on Christ,
whether we are in Christ or out of Christ in God's own word. He said, and again, this is strong
language, but God said this in God's own word. He said, he hates
sinners outside of Christ. Outside of Christ, he must punish
sinners. He must condemn sinners and damn
sinners and cast them out. He has to, has to cast them out. Say, depart from me. I never
knew you, but in Christ, in the Lord Jesus Christ, all because
of what Christ did for sinners in Christ. Redeemed, justified,
sanctified sinners can be called the friends of God. That is amazing. If we have Christ, we have something
truly amazing. In John 15, he said, the Lord
Jesus Christ said, you are my friends. He said, from henceforth
I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what
his Lord doeth, but I have called you friends for all things that
I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. How amazing
it is to hear and realize and know that the Lord Jesus Christ
is the friend of sinners. So amazing. Every sinner that
the Father chose and gave to Him, every single one of them.
Now, what we're gonna look at today, this is proof of the fact
that our Lord is indeed the friend of sinners. We're gonna prove
that today. In this, I want us to see how
He was the friend of sinners. And I have seven ways for us
to look at seven ways that we can see how Christ was the friend
of sinners. And I'm just going to go right
through these. If you have your Bible with me and would like
to follow along, you can do that. Or if you want to write these
down and go back and look at it later, you can do that because
I have a scripture for each one of these to prove and to show
us how Christ was the friend of sinners. Okay. The first one
is in Romans chapter eight. If you would like to look with
me at Romans chapter eight, verse three, it says, for what the
law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh. What
could the law not do? It couldn't justify sinners. It could not say, well done,
you're worthy to walk through the gates of heaven. It could
not do it because this flesh is so sinful. so insufficient,
so weak for the demands of the law. So it says, what the law
could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, or
by a sacrifice for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Now, how do
we know that Christ is the friend of sinners? Just think about
this. This is so amazing. He came in the likeness of them. How do we know that he's the
friend of sinners? He came in the likeness of sinful flesh. He came in the likeness of sinners. Think about that. He could have
come in any likeness he wanted to. This is God. He could have
come in any likeness he wanted to. If he wanted to, he could
have taken upon himself the nature of angels. He could have done
that. But Hebrews 2 tells us that he
did not do that. Instead, he chose to take upon
himself the seat of Abraham. Sinners. He willingly numbered
himself with transgressors. That's what the scripture says.
He was numbered with the transgressors and he came to this earth in
the likeness of sinful flesh. This is God manifest in the flesh. God came down. That is amazing
to me. I hope that's amazing to you
because it's worthy for us to be amazed by it. God Almighty
came to this earth in the likeness of sinful flesh. That's the first
way that we can know he is the friend of sinners. He came in
the likeness of them. All right. Here's the second
way. If you'd like to look at Luke chapter 15. It says in Luke 15 verse 1. then drew near unto him all the
publicans and sinners for to hear him and the pharisees and
scribes murmured they were not happy they were the religious
people all the publicans and sinners were just flocking to
him and the religious people they were not happy about it
saying this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." He receives
them, he hugs them, he gets a plate and he sits down and eats with
them, he spends time with them. How do we know that Christ is
the friend of sinners? Truly, how do we know that? We
know it because he spent all of his time on this earth in
fellowship with them, in fellowship with sinners. He did not spend
all of his time with Pharisees and scribes and religious teachers,
he didn't do it. He spent all of his time in fellowship
with sinners. Everywhere he went, he was in
the company of sinners. he welcomed them and he received
them. He walked with them. He talked
with them. He ate with them. The religious
people were constantly shocked by who he associated with. Constantly. It was sinners. It was publicans. Look up the definition of a publican
sometime. It's a shocking, that's a horrible
sinner. Republicans and sinners. It was
the lost. It was the sick. It was the poor. It was the outcast, the forsaken,
the shunned, the condemned. That's who it was. Those who
had reputations, those who were known and had reputations for
being murderers, harlots. Think about the reality
of this. those who were known and had
reputations. Is this good news for you at
all? Are you a sinner? Have you committed things that
just weigh on you and just horrify you? Our Lord Jesus Christ associated
with men who were known to be murderers, women who were known
to be harlots, If you know that story in John 8, I love the story
when some Pharisees caught a woman caught in the act of adultery
and they brought her to the Lord to be judged according to the
law. And one by one, he convicted them and he sent them away. They
felt guilty and he sent them away. And then he looked at that
woman and he said, is nobody left here to condemn you? And
she said, no, Lord, they're all gone. And he said, well, neither
do I. Go your way and sin no more.
How could he say that to her? Was she a sinner? Absolutely.
They were too. In their self-righteousness,
they brought her and her sins. Well, they were sinners too.
How could he say, you're not condemned? It's because he was
condemned in her place. He bore the judgment of God for
her and set her free. And he told her, you're free
to go. You're free from the condemnation of your sins. That's glorious,
isn't it? That woman at the well in John 4 already had five husbands
and the man that she was living with at that moment was not her
husband. And this is what the Lord said to her. He said, if
you knew who was speaking to you right now, you would ask
of me and I would give you living water and you would never thirst
again. He said, I'll give you eternal life. Eternal life. The Lord is so much more merciful
than we are. He really is. He is so much more
merciful. Think about Saul of Tarsus. Just
think about Saul of Tarsus, how he persecuted God's people, he
persecuted the church, he hated the name Jesus Christ, his mission
was to get the name Jesus Christ removed from this world. And
the Lord said he's a chosen vessel of mercy to me. How do we know
that Christ is the friend of sinners? It's because while he
was on this earth, he was not ashamed to call them brethren. He was not ashamed. He spent
his time on this earth in fellowship with them. All right, number
three, right here in Luke chapter 15, verse two says, the Pharisees
and scribes murmured saying, this man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto
them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he
lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness,
and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he
hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And
when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors,
saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep
which was lost. I say unto you that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance." That's
the gospel. That's the good news message
of the gospel. How do we know that Christ is the friend of
sinners? It's because he preached the glorious message of the gospel
to sinners. That's who he preached it to.
All of the good news that he had was for sinners. It was all for sinners. In Luke
chapter four, he stood up to read Isaiah 61. What a glorious
passage that is. And he said, the Spirit of the
Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor, to sinners. He said, I'm here to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives. I'm here to
give sight to the blind, liberty to them who are bruised. All
of his good news gospel message, all of it, was for sinners. It was all for sinners. All right. Number four, Luke 22, over in
Luke 22, this is verse 31. It says, and the Lord said, Simon,
Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift
you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren. How do we know that Christ is
the friend of sinners? It's because while he was on
this earth, he prayed for them. He prayed for them. He prayed
for sinners. In John 17, he said, Father,
I pray for them. I pray not for the world. But
I do pray for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine,
all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I'm glorified in
them." He said, I pray for them. From the cross, he cried, Father,
forgive them, they know not what they do. He prayed for sinners. In a heart of compassion, in
a heart of tenderness, in a heart of mercy, in a heart of grace,
He prayed for them. He prayed for sinners. You know,
people say, pray for me. I'm sure you've said that. Pray
for me. Does it not do your heart so much good to think that the
Lord Jesus Christ prays for his people? He prays for them in
tenderness, kindness. He prays for them. All right.
Number five, John 15 verse 13 says, Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life, lay
down his life for his friends. How do we know that Christ is
the friend of sinners? Here's how we know. He died for
them. He died for them while He was
on this earth. He died for them. Romans 5 verse
6 says, when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ
died for, you know what the next two words are right there? The
ungodly, not the godly, which is what people naturally think.
Christ died for the godly. Godly people. Oh, he's a godly
man. She's a godly woman. No, when
we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. That's what I am. That's what
you are ungodly in our flesh. Ungodly go into your mind, go
into your heart, go into your thoughts. What's in there. ungodliness. That's what's in
there. While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us sinners. 1 John 4 verse 10 says, Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent
his son to be the propitiation for our sins, the bloody victim
sacrifice, the blood covering atonement for our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ proved
his love for sinners by dying for them. A man can say he loves
them, but oh, he proved it. He died for them. Having loved
his own, he loved them to the end, all the way to the end.
All right, number six. If you'd like to turn with me
to Romans 8. Romans 8, verse 31, it says, What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? 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? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who
is He that condemneth. It is Christ that died, yea rather
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. How do we know that Christ
is the friend of sinners? It's because He is right now. making intercession for centers
right now. He is right now pleading on behalf
of centers in treating for favor. That's what the word intercession
means in treating the father. He entreats the father for favor
toward us based on what, what does he What is His plea based
on? It's based on His own blood and
His own righteousness. For my blood's sake, for my righteousness'
sake, Father, I plead intercession for them. Hebrews 7.25 says,
He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
What wonderful news that is. He ever lives. He will forever
live. to do that for his people, to
make intercession for his people. So how do we know that the Lord
Jesus Christ is truly the friend of sinners? How do we know? Number
one, it's because he came in the likeness of them. Number
two, he spent his time on this earth in the fellowship of them. Number three, he preached the
glorious message of the gospel to them. That's who the gospel's
to, it's to sinners. Number four, it's because he
prayed for them. Number five, it's because he
died for them. Number six, it's because he arose
and he now makes intercession for them. And here's the last
one. Number seven, if you want to
turn with me to John 14, it says in John 14 verse one, let not
your heart be troubled. You believe in God? believe also
in me." He is God. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, the Word was God. He said, you believe
in the Father, believe in me. Verse two, he said, in my Father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there you may be also." How do we know that Jesus
Christ is the friend of sinners? It's because he said he would
come back to forever receive them to himself. What good news
that is. He promised. He came. He accomplished. He ascended. And he has promised
that he is coming back to receive his people to himself. First
Timothy 1.15 says, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Sinners. Hearing that, knowing
that, you know what that makes me want to cry? I'm the chief. We're the chief, aren't we? We're
the chief. If he came to save sinners, Lord, save us. We're
the chief. Thank God for our friend. Thank God for the friend of sinners,
our maker, defender, redeemer, and friend, the Lord Jesus Christ,
our Savior. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can call
or write to the number and address on your screen or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next
week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.