Years ago, there was a young
boy in a congregation, and it was a congregation where
the pastor liked to use as many illustrations as he could, stories that would make what
he was trying to say real, make it come alive, make it relevant
to today, us today. One day that little boy was talking
to his mother. You know, he grew up there, and
I guess they were talking about something in relation to the
pastor. And he said, I like hearing him. And his mother said, why? That's
a strange thing to come out of a little boy's mouth. She said,
why? He said, because he'll preach
for a little while, and then he'll tell you something. And that's all I want to do this
morning. I just want to tell us something. I am going to preach
for a little while, just a short while. But I want to tell us something
and then I want us to rest in it. I just want to tell us something
that our Lord said from this passage of scripture. And then
I want us to rest in it. I titled this message, Go Learn
What That Means. Matthew 9 verse 10 says, And it came to pass, as Jesus
sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came
and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but
they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that
meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice,
For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. What our Lord has said in his
word right here is the exact opposite of what you will hear
in religion today. I mean it's the exact opposite.
Men say all kinds of things. Men will come up with all kinds
of things. The only thing though that matters
is what God has written in this book right here. That's the only
thing that will actually stand in the last day. That is the
only word that will hold true in the last day. What God has
written in this book. This morning, I want us to learn
what he means by saying, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. I want us to start by seeing
something absolutely amazing though. I want us to see that.
But I want us to start right here. This is wonderful. Matthew
9 verse 10 says, And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat
in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down
with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? All the good church-going people
were shocked. To say that He was sitting with
them means He was not sitting with them. And they were shocked. What is
He doing? What is He doing? We're doing
everything we can to separate ourselves from them. We're trying as hard as we can
to shun them. We don't want to be seen with
them. We don't want anybody to mistake
what they see and think we associate with them. We don't associate
with them. Turn with me over to Luke 15. Luke 15 verse 1 says, Then drew near
unto him all the publicans and sinners, for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes
murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. He's not just eating with them.
He didn't just sit down and a sinner came and said, is this seat taken? And he was okay with it. He welcomes them. He's sitting there because he
wants to sit there. That's where he chooses to sit. He's their friend. He's their
friend. You know why that is such good
news to me? Yep. You want to know what he
just said? It's because I'm a sinner. That's such good news to me.
It's because I'm a sinner. All of us are sinners. All of us. Go with me to 1 John
1. 1 John 1. just before revelation. First
John chapter 1. First John 1 verse 8 says, If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth
is not in us. No, I'm not really a sinner. Would you call yourself a sinner?
No, not per se. Verse 10 right here says, If
we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word
is not in us. If I believe in my heart that
I am not a sinner, I am screaming in the face of God You are a
liar. I'm proven to God. I'm proven
to myself. I'm proven to everybody else
that I don't know God and I don't know his word. I'm still a sinner. I just don't know it. Still a
sinner. I just don't know it. An old
hymn writer named Joseph Hart, he wrote this. A sinner is a
sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so. Oh, that's a sacred thing. It's
God's goodness and God's mercy that opens the eyes of a sinner
and shows him, I really am a sinner. That's God's goodness and God's
mercy. Not only am I a sinner, I'm much
worse of a sinner than I thought I was. Much worse. Turn with me over to John 14,
the Gospel of John chapter 14. John 14 verse 16 says. And I will pray the father. And
he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. Even the spirit of truth the
comforter is the spirit of truth. whom the world cannot receive,
because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but you know him,
for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." So the Comforter
is God's Holy Spirit. Alright, now turn with me to
John 16, two chapters over. John 16, verse 7 says, Nevertheless,
I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if
I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. God's
Holy Spirit will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will
send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will
reprove. That word means convince. the world every soul in the world
that he comes to of sin and of righteousness and of judgment
that is the goodness and the kindness and the mercy of God
to sinners that he would convince a sinner of his own sin and of God's righteousness that
he demands And the judgment that is coming because man has rebelled
against God. That's the goodness and mercy
of God to sinners. That He would open their eyes
to that. Why is that God's goodness? Our Lord told us why. He said,
go learn what this means. That right there is God sending
His Spirit to a sinner. That Holy Spirit of God comes
to a sinner and says into his heart, Learn what this means. God sends His Spirit. And that
Spirit comes and quickens the sinner. Learn what this means. Here's the truth. Here is the
answer. Here is what the Scripture calls
the secret. Here's the secret. Look with
me back at our text. Our Lord told it to us. Matthew 9 verse 10 says, And
it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold,
many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his
disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but
they that are sick. Those that believe that their
own morality makes them right with God. Those that believe that their
own natural way in this world, their own citizenship, their
own law-abiding morality, the fact that they try, the fact
that they want to do good as opposed to evil, those who believe
that their own morality makes them right with God, they have
no true need for His gospel. No need at all. They don't need
a great physician. They're not sick with sin in
their own eyes. They're not eaten up with sin
in their own eyes. And that's such a sad thing.
The reason is because it means God has not sent His Holy Spirit
to them. That's what it means. Only those
that God has chosen to save will ever learn what this means. Only
those that God has chosen to send His Spirit to will ever
learn what this means. Verse 13 says, But go ye and
learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice
For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
When it comes to God's dealings with sinners, He said, I will
not have sacrifice. I won't have it. A sacrifice
is an offering to Him. A sacrifice is a payment for
sin. Well, now I'm going to straighten
up and fly right. I'm going to do two good deeds
for every bad deed. I'm going to... He said, I won't
have it. I will not have it. I will not
accept a sacrifice from man. False preachers lie to men and
women and this is what they tell them. If you want to be saved,
you're going to have to make some sacrifices. You're going to have to give
this up, and you're going to have to give that up, and you're
going to have to start doing some things. You're going to have to do for
God. You're going to have to give
your heart to Him. You're going to have to give your life to
Him. But if you'll step up and make
the sacrifice, God will save you. That is not true. He said, I will not have sacrifice. I won't have it. When it comes
to the issue of salvation, the issue of the soul, and salvation
with God, He will not accept anything that man has to offer
Him. Nothing. Well, if He won't have sacrifice,
what will He have? He said in verse 13, I will have
mercy. I'll have mercy. What does that
mean? That means Christ made the only payment God would accept. That's what it means. He will
not accept our sacrifice because Christ has already made the sacrifice. He's already made the perfect,
full, and complete sacrifice. He offered Himself to God for
us. By the sacrifice of Himself,
His blood paid for every sin of every sinner that He chose
to save. Every single one. This verse
tells us that He did not pay for the sins of the whole world. He did not. There are millions
and billions of people that Christ did not sacrifice himself for. There are two types of people
in the world. The saved and the lost. Who is who? Who is who? Verse 13 says, But
go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice,
for I am not come to call the righteous. Here's the dictionary
definition of the word righteous. Upright, virtuous, keeping the
commandments of God. those who pride themselves in
their virtues, those who see themselves as innocent, faultless,
guiltless, those who see themselves approved of or acceptable to
God. Is it not scary that that describes
the average religious person? Is that not scary? He said, I
did not come to call the righteous. Well, who then can be saved? He said in verse 13, sinners. Sinners. Listen to the dictionary
definition of the word sinners. Those who are not free from sin. Those who are especially wicked. Those who are stained with certain
definite vices or crimes. Guess what? That describes me. I'm pretty sure that describes
you too. Are you a sinner? Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Those who have been ruined and
wasted by the sickness of sin. Those who know they need the
great physician. If that describes you, then go
learn what this means. Go learn what this means. He
will have mercy and not sacrifice, because He came not to call the
righteous, but sinful old you. That's who He came to call. What
has He called us to? He said He came to call us. What
has He called us to? He said at the end of verse 13,
repentance. The word means a change of mind. A change of mind about everything.
When God saves a sinner, oh man, he has a changed mind about everything.
I mean, it's completely changed about everything. He looks back
on his entire life, he says, I was wrong about it all. Wrong about everything. I had
the whole thing wrong. I had the whole thing backwards. I made myself God. But now I understand the sovereignty
and the holiness of this God Almighty. What He will accept
and what He will not accept. I have a changed mind now about
my own sinfulness. I said a cuss word last week,
and I shouldn't have done that. I am a cuss word. Changed mind. Changed mind about everything
Christ came and accomplished. Everything. And I have a changed
mind about who He came to accomplish it for. Not the self-righteous. When God calls His own to Himself,
that sinner learns what that means. He learns what that means. He understands what the entire
Word of God means. He does not understand the entire
Word of God. Who could? Can we, by searching, find out
God? Only what He reveals to us. But God reveals to that sinner,
God's Holy Spirit comes and teaches that sinner that every word in
this book is about Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. The love
of God towards sinners. May God teach us that. May we
learn what it means.