I'm gonna try not to keep you
too long, but if you'd like to follow along, I'm gonna be in
Matthew chapter 23. Matthew chapter 23. I wanna begin
reading in verse 13. Actually, I'm just gonna read
verse 13 and then we'll go into the rest of it. But woe unto you, Scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites. For ye shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men, for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer
ye that are entering to go in. There's about seven more woe
unto you's. And that actually is my title
today, Paul, woe unto you. Before I get into it too much,
I do want to say this. I like to be positive. I do. I like to be, and it's easy to
be positive about good news. But I'm gonna tell you something,
this is not a negative scripture. The Lord Jesus Christ, when he
is speaking here to these people, he is very positive. He is declaring
exactly what he meant with what he said. And here's the thing, because
contrary to popular belief, Jesus did not have good news for everybody. The gospel is not for everyone.
And that's just the truth of it. Jesus Christ always spoke
the truth. Every message he preached, every
sentence he uttered, every word he spoke was perfectly true. Because when he said, suffer
the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for
us such as the children of God, he meant exactly what he said.
When he said, verily I say unto you, I have not found so great
faith in Israel, he meant exactly what he said. And when he told
that other woman, O woman, great is thy faith, let it be unto
thee even as thou wilt. He meant exactly what he said. And see, people don't have a
problem with that. But they might have a problem
with this. Because they perceive this as negative. Christ said
it positively. And it's positively true. Oh
my. Christ also said there's joy
in heaven over one sinner that repents. That's what he meant. That's what he meant. So when
this same Lord, Jesus Christ, who said all those wonderful
things, and who meant every one of those wonderful things and
more, when he says, woe unto you, he means woe unto you, to
exactly who he was speaking to. And this is where it starts out,
and I'm gonna start out in verse 13. But woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites, These, let's be very clear at
the start, these are the words of God. This is the word of the
Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ is God. This is God speaking to men whether
men know it or not. Whether men like it or not. That's
what this is. These are the words of the Lord,
our righteousness. God manifest in the flesh. Here's
the word of the Lord. Woe unto you. Woe unto you. What? Who? Scribes and Pharisees. And then he gives a nice little
descriptive word at the end. Hypocrites. Hypocrites. And that word technically translates
to actors. What's that mean? Fakers. That's what it is. They're faking
it. He called the Pharisees and the scribes that he was speaking
to here, he called them fakers. That's an insult, folks. But
it's true. It was true. He goes on. These
scribes and Pharisees, these fakers. Now, don't get me wrong. The religion of the Pharisees
and the scribes was real. They went through the motions.
And some of them, maybe, I'm sure some of them were sincere
in their religion. But sincerity does not make you
right. It never has, and it never will. Jesus Christ told these men they
were fakers. Oh, some of them were sincerely
wrong, and I believe some of them probably weren't sincere,
because they understand Scribes and the Pharisees had power in
the Jewish society. They could kick people out of
the temple and did. A blind man that Jesus Christ
gave sight to. They told him to get out. And
they used that power and authority to get their way and to keep
everything in the order they wanted it. What did he say one
time to them? You teach for the law the traditions
of men. What'd he say about that? Well,
you honor me with your lips, but your heart's far from me.
And that's exactly what he meant then. But here, what it says,
woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men. Against men for you neither go
in yourselves neither suffer ye that are entering to go in
now What's that mean I'm gonna tell you exactly what that means
They did not believe the gospel that Jesus Christ was preaching And they would not repeat What
Jesus Christ said? They would not preach it I'm
gonna tell you this This is the first woe unto you, and this
is the primary woe. All the rest of these woes, there's
eight of them, like I said, through the rest of this chapter. We're
gonna read them, just go through them. Every single one of them
come from this fact right here. These men did not know Jesus
Christ. This is where all the trouble
in all the churches across all of America sits. If you don't
know Christ, you're not gonna preach Christ. If you don't believe
Christ, you're not gonna repeat the words of Christ. You're not
gonna mean them, you're gonna vary them, they're gonna add
to them, they're gonna take away from them. We've seen it both
ways, folks. Throughout this whole land, throughout
the whole world, actually, I was watching something with Deborah
last night. It was called God in America. It was a PBS documentary
on Frontline or something like that. And this fellow was talking about,
oh, it was in the 1800s that it started coming into America
about people preaching free will, Walter. I said, what about the
1500s with a guy named Jacob Arminius? Is this new thing that come into
America? Wait a minute, no, it's not new. It's been around for
centuries. Man has always tried to usurp
God from the beginning. And he's still trying today.
But here it is, this is the first woe, the primary woe unto you.
This is actually the same woe that the Israelites found in
Egypt. When he says in Exodus 1 verse
8, you don't have to turn there, it says, now there arose a new
king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And that's how the Israelites
ended up being slaves. Because the new pharaoh did not
know Joseph, did not know the one that had actually saved Egypt
and the Israelites, the Hebrews. These scribes and Pharisees shut
up the kingdom of heaven against men because they're not going
in. They're not gonna believe Christ
and they don't want nobody else to believe Christ. That's where
Paul had gotten letters when he was Saul of Tarsus. and was
headed to Damascus to throw into prison people who believe Jesus
Christ, people who preach Jesus Christ. And these scribes and
Pharisees he called hypocrites because they were hypocrites.
And that's what he said. All these other woes flow from
this love. What love am I talking about?
Men love darkness rather than light. Men love darkness instead of
the light. Oh, my. Verse 14. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, for you devour widows' houses and for a pretense make
long prayer. Therefore, ye shall receive the
greater damnation. Verse 15. Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites, Ye compass sea and land to make
one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more
the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you blind guides, which
say, whosoever shall swear by the temple that is nothing, but
whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.
Now listen to this next phrase. Ye fools and blind. The blind are not going to see.
You know why? Because the blind can't see.
And the fool has said in his heart, there is no God, or no
God. Ye fools and blind, for whether
is greater the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold. And
whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing, but whosoever
swears by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and
blind. for whether is greater the gift
or the altar that sanctifies the gift. And down to verse 23. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin and
have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faith. Faith. These ought ye to have
done and not to leave the other undone. ye blind guides, ye blind
guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you make clean the outside
of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion
and excess. Verse 27, woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites, and here it is, for you are like
unto whited sepulchers. which are indeed appear beautiful
outward but are within full of dead man's bones and of all uncleanness. All uncleanness, oh my. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and
garnish the sepulchers of the righteous and say, if we had
been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers
with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore you be witnesses
unto yourselves that ye are the children of them which killed
the prophets. And then this last verse, verse
33. Ye serpents, ye generation of
vipers, How can ye escape the damnation of hell? You understand,
that's the conclusion of the whole matter from the lips of
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords himself. He's serpents
and vipers. Not only vipers, what, a generation
of vipers. My gosh. Understand all of these
woes which I've just read to you came from that very first
one Because that's what he's reiterating here when he's talking
about that white is sepulcher and the outside of the cup on
the inside They're full of dead men's bones What's that mean? There's no life in them Pharisees
and scribes hypocrites and fakers There's no life in those There's no life in faking religion,
in a false religion, in an insincere religion, or a sincere one if
it's sincerely wrong. There's no life in them. That's
what Christ said. They devour widows' houses because
they don't know Christ. They make a pretense, long prayers. They make long prayers for a
pretense. Why? Because they don't believe
God. They don't believe God. They
make proselytes twice the child of hell because there's no fear
of God before their eyes. Everything comes from unbelief. All uncleanness, all ungodliness,
and all unrighteousness. We'll get to that in just a minute.
They are whited sepulchers, pretty mausoleums, clean on the outside,
but on the inside it's just as dead as a doornail. And just as unclean as a graveyard. Oh my, full of hypocrisy and
iniquity. What is the end of those who
don't know God in Christ? That's what he tells us here.
This is the conclusion of the woes. And this is also the words
of our Lord Jesus Christ still. Ye serpents, ye generation of
vipers. What do you got? The serpent
is usually representative of Satan. Agents of Satan. He told some that he was speaking
to, you are of your father, the devil. His work you'll do. He was a liar from the beginning,
and you're lying now. He was the father of lies. Serpent
and vipers. Oh, my. You understand? There were some that told Jesus
Christ that their father was God. And he answered them, this
is in John 8 and verse 42. Jesus said unto them, if God
were your father, if God were your father, you would love me. That's the truth. Just as true
as woe unto you. If God were your father, you
would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God, neither
came I of myself, but he sent me. And this is where he said
it. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father
ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning
and abode not in the truth, because there's no truth in him. When
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own. for he is a liar
and the father of it. Christ told those they were of
their father, the devil, and his works they'll do. This is
what it is. If you're a Pharisee and a scribe
and a hypocrite, Christ said this is what you're doing. If
you're a faker, this is what you're doing. They lie. They devour widows' houses. They
make a pretense and make a long prayer for a pretense. And they
compass sea and land to make a proselyte, and he's twice more
the child of hell than they themselves. Oh, my. They strain at a gnat
and swallow the camel. What is he talking about? They'll
strain at this and then swallow somebody's tradition wholeheartedly. Ah. Tradition is not always good. I was listening to this God in
America thing when they were talking about the Catholics came
to America and said they were using, in America they were using
the Protestant Bible. They weren't using the Catholic
Bible. You know why they wanted them to use the Catholic Bible?
Because the Catholic Bible at that time had footnotes that
would tell you down at the bottom what you're supposed to believe
about what you just read, if you read it. Oh my, no. Jesus Christ said
what he meant, and he meant what he said. And some people really don't
like that. They lie, there's no truth in
them. They enter not in, and they don't want anybody else
entering in. Oh my. They will not hear the truth.
And they will not believe the truth. And they will not tell
the truth. Oh my. Understand the beginning
of wisdom and knowledge is the fear of the Lord. And if you fear the Lord, you're
not gonna wanna change one word of what he has said. You're not
going to. Oh. Let me show you a little something
else about these fellows, just for a minute. John chapter three,
verse 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
him might be saved. Now there are people who will
tell you that's the greatest verse in the Bible, John 3.16,
and they could very well be right. It's excellent. It's wonderful. It's great. But those same people
will not read John 3.18. He that believeth on him is not
condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation,
that light has come into the world, and men love darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Were evil. He that does not believe is condemned
already. Christ is saying that in Matthew
chapter 23. Woe unto you. If you believe not, you're condemned
already. Because he does not believe in
the name of the only begotten Son of God. If you believe not
that Jesus Christ is he, you will die in your sins. That's
what it says. And this is that condemnation.
Men love that darkness. They wallow in it. They build
great monuments to it. I still remember what Walter
said. They advertise their heresy on the signs. This is what they want. They
have heaped to themselves teachers having itching ears. And if you
don't preach to them what they want to hear preached, they'll
leave. And if you preach this Christ, the one who says woe
unto you, and he also says come unto me, it's the same man. It's the same man. This is the
condemnation. Men love darkness in the place
of the light. And he is the light. They will not enter into the
kingdom of heaven. They know not God, they will not believe
Christ, and they don't know they're wrong. John Newton wrote a verse of
a song here I wrote down. Poor sinners, little do they
think with whom they have to do. but stand securely on the
brink of everlasting woe. You understand, the unbelieving
world doesn't know it's unbelieving. But they're there. These scribes
and Pharisees and Matthew thought they were pretty good fellas.
They were the best, as Earl used to tell us, the best the Jewish
religion had ever produced. They could quote scripture with
the best of them. They taught, but they taught
incorrectly. One of them told him, we be not
sinners, we have Abraham for our father. And Christ said,
if Abraham was your father, you'd listen to me. Abraham saw my
day, and he was glad. Moses wrote of me. I'm gonna
tell you this, he was glad too. Oh my. The world stands on the
brink of everlasting woe. And listen, I don't want to hear
woe unto you. I don't wanna hear that, not
from Christ. Now I've heard it from other people, but they don't
mean anything. I don't wanna hear from Christ woe unto you. Woe unto you. Now, the question
is, do you? Do you? Do you want to hear woe
unto you? Because the question is, will
you come to him? You can come to the one who said,
woe unto you. You can call upon the name of
the Lord if you believe him, if he's given it unto you to
hear his gospel and to believe him, call upon his name. He did come to save sinners,
those that know they are sinners, because he's shown them they're
sinners. But he calls sinners, ungodly, unrighteous, weary and
heavy laden with their burden, come to him, come to him. Call upon the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He will give you rest for your
soul, for your soul. Call upon him. That's the good
news part. There is hope because he is our
hope. He is the only hope. Call upon
him. And I can guarantee you this.
If you call upon the name of the Lord, if you come to him,
weary and heavy laden with your sin, he'll never look unto you
and say woe unto you. He will never do it. Because
you understand, what we sing a song, blind unbelief is sure
to err and scan his works in vain. It is. but faith looks to Jesus Christ. He is our only hope, and he is
our hope. Call upon him, and he'll answer,
and it'll be a good answer. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this time and this place. Help us, Lord, to love you more, to believe
you more, to understand you more. You have given us everything
in your son. All blessings, all glory and
honor is in him. And he gives to us graciously
more than we deserve. Be with those who are sick, infirm. You know their needs, Lord. Help
them to make it the way you want them to. Help us all to walk
in your word. Be with Paul and Walter as they
come to preach. Be with all the other preachers
of grace wherever they might be. In Christ's name we pray,
amen.