We continue in our Bible study
of Simon Peter, an apostle of Christ, and the road that Peter
had to travel through to get to that point where he writes
his two epistles, 1 and 2 Peter. And we're in Matthew chapter
18 right at the moment. We just finished chapter 17.
And you'll recall that our Lord was gracious enough to teach
His disciples how they must be born again. They must be like
children. They follow. It says in verse
20, 26, Peter saith unto him, O stranger, Jesus saith unto
him, Then are the children free, notwithstanding lest we should
offend them. Go thou to the sea and cast a hook. They were talking
about the fish and how the Lord provided for him just as we provide
for our children. I got a little ahead of myself
there. I jumped accidentally. So in this book, in this chapter
18, Our Lord begins to describe the people of God as children. And Pastor Fortner gives just
a fantastic introduction to this. So I've incorporated his writing
in this, and it's a couple of pages to introduce it, so you'll
allow me to read from that for just a moment. Pastor Fortner
wrote, the word of God uses many names to describe and identify
the Lord's people. But more frequently than anything
else, the name that is used is children. We are called children
of the promise, or children of promise, children of light. He
calls us dear children, beloved children. children of the day,
and little children. Well, this is a great privilege
and a matter of great joy. All who believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ are the children of God, chosen in eternity, adopted in
love, as we read, accepted in the beloved, heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ. That's God's word. And also under
the Father's tender care, he says in 1 John 3.12, Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God. Beloved, now are we the
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be,
but what we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Fortner goes on to write,
however, the word children not only expresses the idea of great
privilege and highest honor, it also is a word that implies
our nature, our state, our condition in this world. Children are weak,
dependent, very ignorant, unable to care for themselves, and immature.
And children are easily persuaded, tender-hearted, and quick to
forgive. Matthew 18 tells us that all
who are converted by the grace of God become as little children
in this world. Of course, there are babies,
young men and old men in the kingdom of God. But there is
a very real sense in which it may be said that as long as we
are in this world, in this body of flesh, we are in a state,
condition, of spiritual childhood. The 18th chapter of Matthew should
be read and understood as a single sermon, one of the greatest and
most important sermons ever to fall from the lips of our Lord
Jesus Christ. The subject of the sermon is
children, the children of God. The purpose of the message is
to teach us, the church of God, as a family of imperfect, weak
children, and how to get along with each other in this world.
Our blessed Savior teaches us five distinct lessons in this
message. First one, everyone who enters
into the kingdom of heaven must do so as a little child. We'll
see that in Matthew 18, verses 1 through 14. Second lesson is
all of God's children are to be treated by us as God's children. We'll read that in Matthew 18,
5 through 9. Third, they are all to be cared
for as God's children. Verses 10 through 14 addresses
that. Fourthly, when they require it, all must be disciplined as
God's children. We'll look at those in verses
15 through 20. And then last. and they must
all be forgiven as God's children. And we'll see that in verses
21 through 35. Closing Pastor Fortner's introduction here,
he writes, the thing that inspired this sermon was a question that
seemed to have been a constant matter of debate among the Lord's
disciples, even as it is to this very day. Who is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven? These poor disciples were still
looking for Christ to establish an earthly kingdom. And each
one wanted a carnal place of prominence in that kingdom. Their
question is one that revealed a terrible ignorance, a terrible
arrogance, and a terrible ambition in those very men. Now this is
Peter. This is Peter doing this. Now remember, we're learning
what Peter is learning. We're trying to see what God
is teaching Peter. We're watching Peter grow in
his knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through this very lesson.
And here we see Peter in ignorance and arrogance and ambition. And it is a question that still
revels terrible ignorance and arrogance and ambition in the
world today. There is only one great one in the kingdom of God. There's only one. Y'all know who that is? All the rest of us are just subjects,
brothers and sisters, joint heirs. There's only one who is great
in all things, and that's our Lord and Savior. All believers are equal in Him. There are no degrees of reward.
We looked at this in our Friday night Bible study, didn't we?
Our reward is Jesus Christ. I don't have any more stones
in my helmet, and I wouldn't care if I had any in it at all.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is my precious stone. But this question inspired our
Lord to give a message contained in this chapter. And the method
our Lord took to correct the error was very gentle, very affectionate,
and it was wise and instructive." End of quote for Don Fortner.
So I would like to begin this morning by taking a look at these
first 14 verses. Chapter 18 verse 1, And at the
same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child
unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily
I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Did
you catch that? This is from God himself, folks.
This is where we receive our instructions on how to walk in
this world. This is where we receive our
instructions. All must be taught of God. And our Lord says right here,
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven. That means we have to,
right? That means God will have to convert us. We're not in the business of
converting ourselves, are we? No, because we keep messing up.
I don't know. I do anyway, speaking of myself. I can go out of here,
this building, and mess up big time before I even get across
over here to the other building, just in a thought that might
cross my mind. I know you're laughing over there, Roger, because
you know. You know. Oh, how I need my Lord every
moment. Not just once a day, not just
on Sundays, every single moment. Whosoever, verse 4, therefore
shall humble himself as this little child, The same is greatest
in the kingdom of heaven. Consider that for a moment, will
you? Whosoever shall humble themselves as this little child. Think of
what it was like when you were a child. Did you ever sit on
your mom or dad's lap and do something that just made you
shake? And you were like, oh! But you knew you were OK because
you were in their arms. My dad, I was sharing this with
somebody the other day. He bought himself a truck. a delivery truck. In fact, it was a UPS truck or something, or maybe
something like that. He had bought a used one and
made it into a camper. Waddell Trucking, that's what
it was. He set me on his lap. I couldn't
touch the pedals. And I couldn't touch the stick
shift, but I could hold on to that big steering wheel. And
dad had his arm around my stomach like this, and he was shifting
and doing that. And I just, I knew I could do it. And from that
moment on, I've been a driver. Well, I didn't drive at that
time from that on, but that was, it's been in my blood since then,
you know what I mean? But you understand what I'm trying
to say? This is what our Lord's telling us here. This is what
we do every day. Father, I'm in your hands. I
know, I know that all the stuff we hear on the news, all the
stuff we see going on around us, three houses have been burglarized
right here within a half a block of this house, of this church.
Polly Mary has been sharing some stuff with me. Some people have
been breaking into homes. One of them was actually a home
invasion here just down the street. Once they realized the people
were home, they left. I mean, they ran back out real quick. But
still, they broke into the home when the lady was there. And
all this stuff that's going on around us, our government, oh
my goodness, the things that are going on there. But you know who's got it all
under control? You know who's got his hand around my stomach,
holding me right now? My Lord. And He's got each and
every one of you the same way. What have we got to be afraid
of? He says to those on the ship when the storm was, waves were
coming up over the ship and they were about to sink, be not afraid. He says to Peter, as Peter is
looking at the Lord, and then turns around and starts looking
at the waves, and how he's walking on the waters. Whoo! Look at
this! Look what I'm doing! And he starts to sink, and the
Lord reaches down, and He grabs him and says, be not afraid.
Well, this is what He says to each and every one of us. Don't
worry about it, Roger. God's got it under control. Pastor
Gene, he's breaking down pretty fast. I don't know if you noticed
it when he was here, but it's really hard for him to get up
and move around at all anymore. He would get up and go sit out
here on the front of this porch out here, and it would take him
two hours before he could get off that bench and just get up
and start doing something. And then when he is getting up
to do something, he doesn't last very long before he's got to
go sit back down and rest again. He's breaking down fast. You
know what he says to me? My God has got it under control,
John. It is what it is, and He'll have
it the way He'll have it. That's what Peter and the rest
of the disciples must learn. To trust in the Lord. That's what we must learn. How
many of you can walk out this door and forget about it's God
that's running everything just that quick? Think, oh, look,
I can do this. I got this. No, no, I don't have
anything but my Lord gives me stuff to do things. He's got
it. He rules it. Verse 5, and who
shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. How will people know you and
I as children of God? They're going to know us two
ways in the world. They're going to know us as we
know all the other religions in the world, like the Pope and
so on. What a pappish type of person that is. Look how mightier
they are than I am. Look how holier they are than
I am. They don't do this and they don't
do that. No, God's children are seen in
this way. We love one another. I made this comment to you last
week, Donna, but I make this to you today. Loving you is setting you above me. I see you as better than me. That's just part of loving you.
But you understand what I'm saying? I hold you in a high esteem,
folks. A very high esteem. Someday, Michael, I want to be
just like you, which is better than me. I know it sounds strange, but
that's how we look at God's children. We esteem them better than ourselves
because we don't see their sin, we see ours. I receive you because you're
a child of God. But who shall offend one of these
little ones which believe in me? It were better for him that
a millstone be hanged about his neck, and that he drowned in
the depth of the sea. Woe, woe unto the world because
of offenses. For it must needs be that offenses
come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh. Wherefore,
if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off and cast them
out from thee. It is better for thee to enter
into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two
feet to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if thine eye inoffend
thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. It is better for thee
to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes and
be cast into hell fire. Take heed that you despise not
one of these little ones. For I say unto you, that in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is
in heaven. For the Son of Man is come to save that which was
lost. How think ye? If a man have a hundred sheep,
and one of them be gone astray, doth not he leave the ninety
and nine, and goeth into the mountain, and seeketh that which
is gone astray? And if so be that he find it,
verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the
ninety-nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of
your Father, which is in heaven, that one of these little ones
should perish." So let's talk a little bit this
morning about the necessity of conversion. Our Lord says one
must be converted as a little child. Verily, he says, I say
unto you, except ye be converted and become as a little child,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Folks, it's impossible
for anyone to be saved without being changed. Not outwardly,
but inwardly changed. Our desires are changed. Our
hopes are changed. It's no longer a hope and a desire
in the things of the world or in the things of our flesh. It's
a hope and a desire in His will be done. How does our Lord teach
us to pray? He says, Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be
done. Lord, I really want to get this
work that needs to be done around here done, but Thy will be done. Thy will be done. That's our new desire. That's
the newness, the conversion. Ye must be born again, the Scriptures
say. By nature there is no fear of
God in our hearts. No love for God in our souls
and no faith toward God in us, but only corruption and sin.
By nature, we are entirely unfit for God's presence. Not only
do we deserve God's wrath, but we are unfit to enter into His
presence. He cannot be in the presence
of sin. Conversion is as necessary as
election and redemption. Without it, there is no salvation.
So what is the nature of conversion? In verses 2 and 4 we see, "...and
Jesus called a little child unto Him." Our Savior teaches that
very thing right here. "...a child unto Him, and set
Him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you,
Except ye be converted and become as a little child, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever there shall humble
himself as this child..." You hear the instructions of God? The same as the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven. He flat out rebuked what those
men were trying to do. Those men were trying to boast
themselves and see how great we can be. What seat do I get
to sit on, Lord? What room do I get to sit in,
Father? What crown can I carry on my
head? Oh, wait a minute. Wait just
a minute there, disciples. You must be humbled as this little
child. You must humble yourself as this
little child, dependent upon Me. That's the great position
in heaven. That's the great position in
heaven. We are like children, dependent upon Him. Conversion is a change. the turning
of a sinner to God. It's not something that we do,
but something that is done to us. The language of Holy Scripture
is not, except ye convert yourselves, but it says, except ye be converted,
and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom
of Heaven. Someone once wrote this, it is
a change of natures. a change of masters, a change
of motives, a change of manners. This change has begun in regeneration. When a sinner is born again,
he enters into an entirely new world, an entirely new life.
Christ enters into him, and he enters into Christ in such a
real way that he is made a partaker of divine nature. That's what
it says in 2 Peter 1 verse 4. But conversion is also an ongoing,
continual operation of grace within the saved center. Regeneration
is the commencement of life. Conversion is the continual movement
of the soul toward God. The believer's continual coming
to Christ, not just once on Sunday mornings, but every moment of
every day. The illustration our Master used
to exemplify conversion is clear and instructive. He says Jesus
called them little children unto Him. No, I'm sorry. Jesus called a little child unto
Him and He said, except ye be converted and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. How many children do you see
born and go right out into the world? and begin to earn their
own way. I know enough 35-year-olds that
still can't do it. I remember a 35-year-old who
was just as foolish as can be and thought he could do anything.
And he stands before you today realizing that it was my Lord
my Lord who did it all, who brought me through it all. Children are completely dependent
and so must we be completely dependent upon Him. What does
it mean to be completely dependent? We live by faith. Faith. We believe God. You all know where that faith
comes from? It comes from Him. And if He gives it to us, what
more do we need? That just blesses me every time
I think about that. The faith I have right now, this
very moment, is exactly as perfect as He wants me to have it. Children are modest, humble,
and unassuming. So those who are converted by
the grace of God, knowing and confessing their sin before Him,
are modest and humble and unassuming. We go into our closets. and pray privately, Lord, forgive
me for what I thought. Forgive me for my unbelief, my
lack of faith. Children are sincere and honest.
Grace experienced in the soul makes people sincere and honest. Children, little ones, before
they turn to be teenagers, are relatively free of envy and ambition
for the most cases. And grace teaches us to deny
such lust of the flesh. Children are quick to forgive.
I've seen how one moment, being in a family of five, my brother
Lee will be holding onto my arm, just pounding on me. I deserved
it. And a moment later, you'd be
pounding that other kid for looking at me wrong. We were little then. See what I mean by forgiving? In a word, conversion in time. Our experimental and vital union
with Christ by faith is the fruit and the evidence of our union
with Christ from eternity. What does it mean to receive
them? In Matthew 18, verses 5 through 6, our Lord Jesus teaches us
that we are to receive His children just as we would receive Him. And He warns us to carefully
avoid offending any of His darlings. And whoso shall receive one such
little child in my name receiveth me, but whoso shall offend one
of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him
that a millstone be hanged about his neck, and that he be drowned
in the depth of the sea." Those who receive God's children receive
Christ himself. He regards anything done to one
of his children as being done to him. But those who offend
his children are regarded by him as marked enemies. To offend is to cause one to
stumble. To offend is to lead one astray. To offend is to discourage. We can often offend others directly
by our own acts and words and attitudes. And we sometimes offend
others indirectly by example of inconsistent behavior. It's impossible for us to measure
writes Don Fortner, this side of eternity, the harm that is
done by one person who professes faith in Christ and yet behaves
inconsistently. He gives the infidel ammunition.
He stands in the way of those who seek the Lord. He discourages
God's saints. You see, our lives affect a lot
of people and a lot of things around us. I remember a time when my wife
said, you've changed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing
this. But the Lord changed me when
He moved in, and I began to trust Him more and more. As a child,
trust their parents. As I go along, I see myself more
and more. Why did I do that in front of
that person? Why did I use that word in front
of that young man on the dock? I go to my closet, and I say,
Lord, forgive me. The scandalous lives of people
who profess faith in Christ and the scandalous actions of people
who possess faith in Christ is a matter of grave concern. It may not be for you, but it
is for me. Lord, help me. Help me, Father, to turn from
those things. Help me, Lord, to be a beacon
of light that turns to You for all my needs, turns away from the flesh and the lusts that draw me to
Him, and occasionally blaspheming
the name of the Lord. These lessons are clearly demonstrated
in David's terrible fall. Let me bring your memory back
to that. Though God did not punish David for his sin personally,
his sin was punished in Christ, just as yours and mine are. As
a child of God, our sins were all laid upon our Savior. But David's sin was seen, the
actions that he did were seen by others. That's what this is
talking about. If I was down here at a strip
joint, what would you think of me on Sunday morning? Well, what would you think of
me? How can I listen to that guy talk about Jesus when he's
down here looking at this? If you were riding around in
my truck with me and I was screaming at people and giving them the
bird, could you listen to me on Sunday morning? I think about these things when
I talk with my son. This is what I'm talking about
when Kathy saw me and she says, something's changed about you
because that never bothered you before. You didn't hesitate to
flip the finger at somebody. And now, Daryl, when I say words
that I shouldn't say, I go to my Lord and ask for forgiveness,
which I never did before. That's the change we're talking
about in this, folks. David's sin was put on the Lord
Jesus Christ, but He did chasten him publicly. He had to vindicate
his honor and to show his displeasure with David's sin. The consequences
of David's sins were far-reaching. The name of the Lord was blasphemed.
The child of David's lust was killed. The sword had never departed
from the house of David. David reaped the consequences
of his sin and his children. You remember Absalom leaned,
he learned how to despise his father by his father's deeds. Athophel learned to betray his
trusted friend by his father's deeds. The point here is to take care,
never to offend any of God's children. So earnest is our blessed savior
for the present and everlasting welfare of his redeemed ones
that he declares this. And he's talking to all of us.
Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in
me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about
his neck and that he would drown in the depths of the sea. Then he talks about hellfire
after that, doesn't he? In verses 7 through 9. Woe into
the world because of the offenses, for it must needs be that the
offenses come. But woe to the man by whom the
offense cometh. Wherefore, if thy hand or thy
foot offend thee, cut them off and cast them out from thee.
It is better for thee to enter into the life halt that remained,
rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the
everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee,
pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to
enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to
be cast into hell fire. Our Lord gives us two strong
impressions here. And he does it so to get our
attention. Everlasting fire. I don't know
about you, but that gets my attention. And hell fire. There is a place
of unspeakable misery. And it's where the reprobates,
the unbelieving men and women, will spend eternity suffering
the horrible, unmitigated wrath of God. Many foolish dreamers
and religious deceivers have joined ranks in the infidel and
the scoffer, denying the doctrine of everlasting punishment. God
loves everybody. They repeat the devil's lie. You remember that? Back in Genesis
3, 4? What was the devil's first lie? Well, actually, his first
lie was, I shall be higher than God. But his first lie to mankind
was, you shall not surely die. Our Lord said, you shall surely
die. Do not allow their logic, their
reasonings to deceive you. No matter how plausible they
sound, hell is real. Imagine all the millions of people
that were here in the days of Noah. Eight souls. Eight souls, right? All the rest
are spending eternity in hell. Hell is real, and it is forever. Your conscience verifies that
fact. Noah's flood verifies that fact.
The ashes of Sodom verifies that fact. There is such a thing as
the wrath of the Lamb. God is merciful and gracious.
God is good and kind. And God is just and true. But
that means that the soul that sinneth shall surely die. The
only way to escape the wrath of God in hell is to find refuge
in the substitute God has accepted, the Lord Jesus Christ, our scapegoat. The hand, the foot, and the eye
are used metaphorically to represent our strongest earthly desires,
our dearest earthly possessions. All are to be denied and renounced
rather than let us, by indulging ourselves, offend our brothers
and sisters in Christ. Rather than gratifying ourselves,
let each submit to the other. Each esteem the other better
than himself. It is a great privilege and a
high honor afforded to us every time we have an opportunity to
serve the interests of another believer. either by receiving
Him or taking care not to offend Him. And then, lastly, our Lord brings
this point home in verses 10-14, the point of security. He says, take heed that ye despise
not one of these little ones. For I say unto you, that in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is
in heaven. For the Son of Man is come to
save that which is lost. How think ye? What do you think
of this? What do you think of if a man
hath a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray? Doth
he not leave the ninety-nine, and goeth into the mountains,
and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so, be that he
find it. Verily I say unto you, He rejoiceth
more that the sheep than the ninety-nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of
my Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones
should perish. Folks, Christ is our Good Shepherd. And He goes out into all eternity
of time, where men walk on this earth, and He finds His sheep. And He brings them into Him.
Just as He did you and I. He tenderly cares for every soul
that was committed to His charge before the world began. The youngest,
the weakest, the most sickly of His flock are so dear to Him, they're as dear to Him as the
strongest. And they shall never perish, not one of them can,
because their angels watch over them. Christ came to save them,
and it is the will of God that they shall be saved. Amen.