I have on a few occasions been
persuaded at restaurants, because of constraints of my wallet,
to order a big steak that was cheap. And I've always regretted
it, because you take a bite and the more you chew it, the bigger
it gets. And with regard to steak, that's
horrible. I've taken a bite, and the more
I chewed it, the bigger it's got, and the sweeter and the
better it's got. Turn with me to Luke chapter
15, verse 2. We're told in verse 1, then drew
near unto him all the publicans and the sinners for to hear him. the publicans, the lowest, most
contemptible, those men who oppressed the public, those men who were
scorned and hated by the Jews and held in utter disrepute by
the Romans, sinners, the scum of the streets, riffraff, vagabonds,
harlots, the off-scouring of society, gathered close to the
feet of the Son of God, this man, the only holy man who ever lived
in the world, the riffraff were real comfortable in his company,
and he was real comfortable in their company. That kind of throws a monkey
wrench in religious notions, doesn't it? There was a great crowd of very
respectable, good religious folks who were also present, but they
stood at a distance. They weren't comfortable in his
company, and he despised theirs. They stood at a distance because
they weren't vile. They weren't base. They weren't
riffraff. They lived on the upper side
of town. They didn't need a savior. They
didn't need mercy. They required no forgiveness.
They highly esteemed themselves, and they were highly esteemed
by others, especially in the church house, in the synagogue.
They were the rulers, the governors, the teachers, the leaders. And
they looked upon this prophet, this man who others thought to
be a prophet, this Jesus of Nazareth, with utter scorn. And they watched
him. Mercilessly, with malice eyes, they watched him, trying
to find some fault with anything he did, with everything he said. And when they could find no flaw
in him, they couldn't find anything wrong with him, they had no means
by which to answer or to repudiate his doctrine. It was clearly
the doctrine of Holy Scripture. That was a problem to them. It was no problem to them as
far as they were concerned, but it was a problem to them in dealing
with him. So they did the best they could, or the worst they
could. When they couldn't find anything wrong with him, when
they couldn't repudiate or denounce his doctrine, they decided to
slander him. They found an opportunity to
slander him because of the company he kept. Now look at it, verse
2. It couldn't have been more contemptible.
These shocked, proud, self-righteous Pharisees saw all these publicans
and sinners, and the Master just at home with them, and them at
home with Him. And it shocked their sense of
what ought to be, their sense of propriety, their self-righteous
notions of propriety. And when they saw that the Lord
Jesus was comfortable in the company of such people, that
he was kind and gracious, warm and tender toward them, when
they heard him speak to them words of grace, of mercy, of
tenderness and compassion, He receives sinners and eats
with them. Told you something was wrong.
They couldn't have been more contemptible. They couldn't have
been more vile. They couldn't have cast in their
opinion a more horrible, ugly, slander on his name. See, he's
one of them. This man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. Now tell me he's a prophet. Now tell me he's the Christ.
Now tell me he's the Messiah. Now tell me he's the Son of God. They couldn't have given him
a worse name as far as they were concerned. But they couldn't
have given him a better name. They couldn't have spoke more
highly of him. They could not have honored him more greatly.
And the master takes the name. He wears it as a badge of his
highest honor. This man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. I read a sermon early this morning.
And like I said, I kept chewing on this thing. So I got up early
this morning and read a sermon about Horatius Bonar. And he
said we could call this the gospel according to the Pharisees. This
man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. Now I've just got
two points to my message this morning. First, I want to show
you a statement of fact, revealed and verified throughout the life
and ministry of our Savior. This man receiveth sinners. And
then I want to To show you a most reasonable conclusion to this
fact, if this man receiveth sinners, surely he will receive me. And
if I get time, if there's enough time, I'll briefly say something
to you about the sweet consequence of all this, and eateth with
them. All right? First, here's the
fact. This man receiveth sinners. Now I don't suggest, nor do the
scriptures teach, that Christ receives everybody, that he cares
about everybody, that he wants to save everybody. Nothing could
be further from the truth. We know that. He said plainly,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. But he declares
in his word here, this man receiveth sinners. Now in our day it's
become fashionable for everyone to lie against what he believes
to be the truth and to say he's a sinner, even when he really
believes he's good and upright and righteous. We often hear
people say, well, of course I'm a sinner. Everybody's a sinner.
Nobody's perfect. And thus, when they pretend to
say they are sinners, they're saying, not really. I'm a sinner,
but I ain't any worse than you. I'm a sinner, but I've seen you,
buddy, and I've never been as good as you are. I'm a sinner,
but that's what all men are. What they say, they say because
that's what men are expected to say. That's what they're expected
to say. You know, when a fellow is bragged
on, he's kindly expected to act humble, even if he's real proud
of being bragged on. We've all been there. We're expected
to. So we will say things that we
really don't mean and don't believe for a second. The man says, I'm
a sinner. I know I'm a sinner. It's as
though he read something in Latin and he'd never learned to read
at all. He doesn't have any idea what it says. Doesn't have any
understanding of it. These scribes and Pharisees made
a distinction between themselves and sinners. They made a distinction
between themselves and sinners. This man receiveth publicans
and sinners. We ain't one of them. And the
master endorses their distinction. He endorses the distinction.
All right. I'll take you at your word. You're not sinners. I'll
take you at your word. When they saw the masquerading
Republicans and sinners, harlots, they stood to one side and pointed
at those people as being totally unlike themselves. Now hear me
well. You who vainly imagine that you're
good. I don't know who you are, but
you do. Our Savior endorses your distinction between yourself
and us other folks. In your own opinion, you're not
sinners, and therefore, you stand in no need of the good news of
the gospel. For you're good folks. For you're
good folks. I started to say, you may as
well go home, but maybe God will fix it so you're not good if
you stay around long enough. Because for you good folks, I've
got nothing to say. For you good folks, God has nothing. For you
good people, Christ did nothing. For you good people, the Word
of God has absolutely nothing to give you. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Listen to what the Scripture
says. Our Lord Jesus declares, I've
not come to call the righteous Well, brother Don, that leaves
me out. That's what I want you to hear. But sinners to repentance. There's something there for me.
Oh, I hope there is. Our master said, they that are
whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I came
not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. He repeats
it over and over. The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save that which was lost. God commendeth His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
This is a faithful saying. Oh, worthy of all acceptation
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. A beautiful conclusion to the
end of the day in Luke chapter 9. Our Lord had been working
wonders. And we're told in verse 11 at
the end of the day, He healed them that had need of healing. And He always does. Oh, is there
anybody here who needs the touch of His healing mercy? If you need healing, you're going
to get it now. If you need it. And if you don't
need it, you won't get it. But if you need it, you're going
to get it. God saves sinners. Christ came down here to save
sinners. He lived for sinners. He died
for sinners. He reigns in heaven for sinners.
He makes intercession for sinners. There is in Christ Jesus redemption
for the ruined, grace for the guilty, mercy for the mean, pardon
for the profligate, righteousness for the wretched, but nothing
for the righteous. He came here to save sinners,
just sinners. Now, having said that, understand
this. None but sinners ever have come
to Christ. None but sinners will ever come
to Christ. Oh, good people go to the synagogues. Righteous people join the church.
They look up the church when they move to town, find out which
one is attended, where everybody who's anybody attends. And they
join church. Who goes to church down there?
Paul, he does. She does. I'll move out and join
up over there. That sounds like just the place
for me. But sinners come to Christ. They're seeking Him. Just Him. They want Him. Just Him. They got to have Him. Just Him. God commends His love to sinners. He chose sinners. He called sinners. No one else, just sinners. You
see, there never has been such a miracle as a righteous person
coming to Christ for mercy. That's not going to happen. That's
not going to happen. None but those who need a Savior
come to the Savior. Therefore, our Lord said, ye
will not come to me that you might have life. None but sinners
will come to Christ. And none but sinners can come
to Christ. The self-righteous man can't come to Christ. You see, to come to Christ means
that you trust Him for mercy. To come to Christ means that
you look to Him for redemption. To come to Christ means that
you trust Him for righteousness. To come to Christ means that
you look to Him and Him alone to give you acceptance with God.
To come to Christ is to deny yourself, not your sinful self,
your righteous self. To come to Christ is to lay aside
your filthy rags of self-righteousness and cling to Him alone for righteousness. I cannot come to Him except I
own myself a sinner and deny all personal worth, all personal
merit, all personal righteousness. I cannot come to Christ if I
am not a sinner. You see, to come to Him is to
repent. And righteous folks don't have
anything to repent of. To come to Him is to trust Him for forgiveness. But the righteous has nothing
to be forgiven. To come to Him is to bend the knee and sue for
pardon, but the righteous has no reason to sue for pardon.
He has nothing to be pardoned. His hands are full, so He cannot
say, Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.
He is not impotent, so He can't pray, helpless look to thee for
grace. He is splendidly robed in His
goodness, so He can't cry naked, look to thee for dress. He's
altogether clean. So we cannot sing as we do from
our hearts crying, foul I to thy fountain fly. Wash me, Savior,
or I die. Only the sick need a physician.
Only the poor need a benefactor. Only the guilty need grace. Only
sinners need a Savior. Just sinners. Our text declares
this man. Receiveth sinners, and eateth
with them. Oh, but Brother Don, these were
Pharisees and scribes who said that. You can't put much stock
in that. Well, I wouldn't if they were the old ones who said
it, but God does, I'm sure more frequently than we ever give
him credit for doing, raises up a Balaam and his ass, and
preaches by Balaam and his ass exactly truths that neither Balaam
nor his ass understand. But they speak not by their understanding,
but rather by the ordinance of God, like Caiaphas the high priest
did when he spoke of Christ's substitutionary death in John
chapter 11. It means that the Lord Jesus
Christ received sinners to all the benefits of his grace which
he purchased for them. He received sinners. He received
sinners. Is there a fountain open for
sin and uncleanness? Christ received sinners to wash
them in the fountain. Is there medicine for the soul?
Christ receives sinners to heal their diseases. Is there a refuge
in Christ for the guilty? Christ receives sinners to give
them refuge. He receives sinners into all
the benefits of grace that he purchased for them. He takes
all that He has of love, and mercy, and grace, and goodness,
righteousness, and forgiveness, and redemption, and sanctification,
and wisdom, all that He has for sinners. And every sinner who
comes to Him, He receives them into the infinite ocean of His
boundless grace and gives it all to them. He receives sinners. And yet there's more. He receives
sinners into His very heart. Oh yeah, they were in His heart
from eternity. He loved them with an everlasting
love. But they spend all their days
under a sense of His wrath. justly condemned, terrified of
hell, terrified of everlasting damnation. And then he takes
the black, guilty, filthy, vile sinner, having washed him in
his blood, and he says, Thou art my beloved. My desire is
toward Thee. His left hand of mercy is under
my head. His right hand of grace embraces
me. He brought me into His banqueting
house and His banner over me was love. And when at last He
brings me home to glory, wipes all tears from my eyes, He gives
them all His glory. Now let me try to ring this bell
again. This man receiveth sinners. Oh, how I pray that God will
make every one of you sinners. How I pray that he'll take you,
Saul of Tarsus, proud, arrogant, good, moral, upright, religious,
devoted, good folks, and throw you flat down on your back in
utter desperation by the condemnation of his holy law and make you
to know yourself sinners. Christ the God-man receives sinners. I read an incident this week
in the life of George Whitefield, the British preacher that God
used so greatly both here and in Great Britain in the 1700s,
preaching the gospel. There was a lady of great renown
in England by the name, they called her Lady Huntington. And
I've forgotten her first name. I think it was Selena. It's unimportant. She'll forgive me. She was quite
wealthy. And she was benefactor to many
of the preachers of her day, Whitfield being one of them.
And some ladies had brought her an accusation. And knowing what
I do of Lady Huntington, she probably related this publicly
just to get the response she got. She said, some ladies here
have expressed concern. Because they said they heard
you say last night, so ready is Christ to receive sinners
who come to him that he's willing to receive the devil's castaways.
And Whitfield said, that's exactly what I said. And I approved it
just this morning. He said a young lady came to
me this morning who last night had passed by the
door. And she said, sir, I did something
last night I've rarely done, had no interest in doing. I passed
by the door where you were preaching and I heard you say that Christ
receives the devil's castaways. And I stepped inside and listened
to what you preach. And she said, sir, I've been
in this town for many years and am so worn out in his service. that I may with truth be called
one of the devil's castaways. Do you think that Jesus would
receive me?" And Whitfield said, I'm sure he will. And he did. He receives the devil's castaways.
Oh, what a taskmaster he is. He uses you till there's nothing
left to use and casts you away. Christ receives what hell itself
can't use. He receives sinners. He receives
sinners. As great and good as that is,
there's still more. This word receive. I looked it up. It's found 14
times in the New Testament. 14 times. 13 of those 14 times
is translated like this. It's either translated waits
for, watches for, looks out for, or lies in wait for. This is
the only place where it's translated receive. This man, the Lord Jesus, the
God-man, is looking out for sinners. We're told in Acts 28 that Paul
waited to receive all who came to him. But our Savior goes out
in search of those who come to Him and receives them as He fetches
them to Himself. He lies in wait for sinners,
for Magdalenes and Gadarenes. What does that mean? This man
receives, waits, lies in wait for and watches out for sinners. I reckon that means his heart
beats with intense love for sinners. That's what he said. God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son. Sinners! God commendeth
his love toward us and while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Sinners. He loves us. Sinners. Sinners. His heart beats
for them. He lives for them. They are the
thing that calls His being God in flesh. Sinners. He lives for
sinners. He died for sinners. He rose
for sinners. You've got to qualify that. I don't think so. I don't think
so. I'm a preacher. I'm a sinner,
but I don't know whether I'm chosen. I didn't talk about chosen
sinners. I'm talking about sinners. I know I'm a sinner, but I don't
know whether He redeemed me. I'm not talking about redeemed sinners.
I'm talking about sinners. I'm a sinner, but I don't know whether
He called me or not. I'm not talking about called sinners. I'm talking
about sinners. I'm a sinner, but I hear folks talk about sensible
sinners and repentant sinners and penitent sinners. I don't
know whether I qualify or not. There's no qualification except
sinners. You got that? Sinners. This man
intensely, his heart burns with love for sinners. How longsuffering
Christ is towards sinners. This is what that passage is
talking about in 2 Peter 3.9. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise. As some men count slackness, but as long suffering
to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance. Our Savior is intent upon the
salvation of sinners. He's thoroughly earnest in seeking
and finding that which was lost. Certainly, this speaks of our
Redeemer's desire and determination to bless. He delighteth in mercy. Well, how is it that He lies
in wait for sinners? Not like a lion. Oh, no, not
like a lion to destroy, to devour, but like a shepherd. Lies in
wait. He's found the sheep who stray.
And he's found the sheep moving in a certain direction. And he
sets himself down and hides, lest the little lamb be terrified
by the sudden appearance of another. He's just hiding, lying in wait
until the lamb crosses the appointed path. And he lays hold on his
strange sheep. He lies in wait with his word. He's the alpha and the omega
of the book. He's the spirit of the book.
Everywhere in this book, He's lying in wait for you. Don't
pick it up and read it. Oh, no, don't you dare. The Son
of God might get you. Don't pick it up and read it.
Don't pick it up. Not unless you hazard the possibility of
the Son of God finding you. Not only does this book speak
of Christ in every word, in every line, in every verse, on every
page, Christ speaks to sinners in every word, every line, every
page. He lies in wait through the preaching
of the gospel. By his word, he seeks out that
which was lost. And he lies in wait in providence. Oh, how sweet that word providence
is. Our politically correct forefathers in their day, who were as politically
correct as our politically correct leaders are today, rather than
giving off the appearance of deism and infidelity, they would
speak of providence. as a substitute for God. Well,
providence is not a substitute for God. Providence is the work
of God. Everything, every event, public
or private, everything that transpires in time, everything, is the work
of Jesus Christ the Son of God, lying in wait for chosen sinners. He seeks and saves that which
was lost. Yes, in this work, Christ is
very aggressive, not the sinner. The expression is beautifully
applicable to the parables that follow here, and there's really
no understanding of these parables until you understand the second
verse. The shepherd goes out looking
for his ignorant, senseless, straying sheep. The woman turns
the house upside down, sweeps it, turns over every wood, lifts
up everything in the house, looking for her dumb, senseless, emotionless,
dead, lost coin. And the father, the father is
looking out for his wayward, stupid, rebel son. I'll get to it another time,
but we'll get to the parable of the prodigal son. Isn't it
amazing that the father in the parable sort of knew everything
that was going on with that boy? Isn't that wonderful? It looks like It looks like he
sent one of his servants out to watch over that boy while
he wasted his substance and riotous living. It looks like he said
to his servant, now, you let him do whatever he wants to. Leave him alone. Leave him to
himself. The servant says, he's fixing
to crawl over in that hog trough, father says, Let him crawl over
there, it'd be good for him. But he's fixing to abase himself
like he's never abased himself before. Let him fall, it'd be
good for him. Just don't let him get hurt.
Don't let anything happen to him. Are not the angels of God
sent forth to minister to those who shall be their heirs of salvation?
When the son came home, When he got to the Father's house,
before he ever got there, the fatty calf was already ready
to be eaten. The robe was already stitched
and prepared for him. The ring was already made, the
shoes already. The Father, oh God in heaven. God in heaven is looking out for sinners. Coming home. You get that? He's looking out for sinners
coming home. And all things are ready for
them. Now, this pursuit of love, this pursuit
of sinners, is always effectual. I read this this week too. almost
shocked by the person who wrote it, so I won't give you his name. Why the love of an almighty heart
should ever be ineffectual is a mystery beyond our power to
solve. Well, were it true, it would
sure enough be a mystery. But the love of the omnipotent
God is never impotent, ineffectual love. but always irresistible,
always love that cannot be resisted. I don't mind saying of the love
of God, it's love that is graciously forced upon you, but forced upon
you in such a way that you want it more than anything in the
world. Irresistible love. Love that conquers the heart,
that conquers the will, that conquers the affections. Now
if this man receives sinners, poor, broken, helpless, doomed,
damned, sin sick, worthless sinners. What a sweet word this is for
me. If there's anybody Anybody here,
anybody who hears this, who seems to think this is an unreasonable
conclusion, please let me know. Here is what I believe to be
a most reasonable conclusion to everything I've said. Surely, He'll receive me. Surely, this man who is God,
will receive me if he receives sinners. Now, I'm talking about
real bona fide sinners, not complimentary sinners. I'm talking about sinners. I'm talking about folks who've
got nothing to commend themselves to God. Is anybody here who has
nothing? I mean nothing! In the inmost
depths of your soul! to commend you to God. Nothing
to make you feel good about yourself. Nothing to cause you to swell
with pride and say, I ain't like her. I ain't like him. Then I say to you, come on. Come on, come on home to the
Savior. Preacher, can I do that? Well,
he said he'd receive you. He said he would. He said, Him
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Now, I hear
fellas talk about that and they try to explain how you have to
come to Christ. I'll tell you what. You come any way you can
get to Him, it'll be alright. Just come to Him. Come to Him.
Come to Him. Because you know you've got to
have Him. Oh, how I'd like to see the Lord
God to bring people to the place
where they've got to have Christ. Every now and then I meet up
with somebody who's got to have Him. Who's got to have Him. If you've got to have Him, He's
yours. Did you hear me? If you've got
to have Him, He's yours. If you can live without Him,
He'll let you. Return to the Lord thy God, for
thou hast fallen by thine iniquities. Take with you words of repentance. Turn to the Lord and say unto
Him, take away all my iniquity. Receive me graciously. Now hear what God says. I will heal their backsliding.
I will love them freely. For mine anger is turned away
from him. Here comes Don Thornton. Here comes Larry Bell. Here comes
David Barrett. They come to me to take away
their iniquity, to receive them graciously. And I'm going to
receive them. And I love them freely, because
I laid their iniquity on Him, and I've taken it away from Him,
and therefore I've taken it away from them. I'll receive them
graciously." I'm sure this man will receive
sinners, because he's received a bunch of them. O Manasseh,
what king ever lived who was worse? When he sought mercy,
he found it. There was a Samaritan prostitute. Now, she didn't walk the streets,
but she was a prostitute nonetheless. She'd had five husbands. And
the one she had wasn't her husband. They just shacked up. But respectable
prostitute. The Lord received her. This woman
who's taken in a doctor, taken in very accurately, that red-headed
Johnny, the Lord received her. There's a publican named Zacchaeus. The Lord Jesus received him.
He said, I want to go to his house because I've come to seek
and save that which is lost. He received sinners. He's received
me. I know he'll receive sinners
because he calls sinners to him. Come unto me. Come unto me. There was a man that Lord Jesus
was passing by with a throng of people. And this man heard
the trampling of the feet, but he couldn't see anything because
he was blind. And he said, what's going on? Somebody tell me what's
happening? What's all the commotion? Folks
didn't pay attention to him. He was a blind beggar. Grab somebody
by the legs and go, what's going on? Jesus of Nazareth passeth
by. What did you say? Jesus of Nazareth
passeth by. You mean that man I heard about
the other day who healed that blind man? That's him. You mean
that man I heard about who raises the dead? That's him. You mean
that man I heard about who feeds the hungry? That's him. Jesus,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. And you know what the
Lord did? He just ignored him. Or it looked
like he did. He didn't even respond. So he
cried out more. Thou son of David, have mercy
on me. I know if he will, he can make
me whole when I can see. And I know that the only time
it'll ever happen is while He's near. Thou Son of David, have
mercy on me. And then the Master did something
we don't read of anywhere else in this book. Jesus stood Stopped him dead in his tracks. And he said to his servants,
go call him. Just like he sent me here to
call you. Go call him. And the servants
went to him and said, I don't know who you are. I don't know
how you managed to do this, but he calleth for thee. Be of good comfort. Now, what
do you suppose he did? Well, he must have sat there
and thought, I've got these dirty rags on here. I'm so poor, I
can't come to him. I'm so blind, I can't come to
him. I must not have heard that right. He wasn't talking to me.
He must be talking to somebody else. Well, if you think so,
you don't know what it is to be a dirty, poor, bankrupt, helpless,
beggar, clothed in the filthy rags that are nauseating, nauseating
to you, much less to God. Oh no, that man rose up and stipped
off those filthy rags and came to Jesus. And when he did, The
master said to him, what are you doing here? He said, what is it you want?
I just want to see. Open your eyes. Be it unto you as you wish. Your faith has made you whole.
And you know what he did? He saw. Oh, he saw. He didn't just see. This man,
Jesus of Nazareth, he saw God in that man because he went his
way and followed him. But then the text says that this man received
the sinners and eateth with them. Now here's the sweet consequence
of all I said. and take sinners into sweet, intimate, perpetual,
everlasting, ever-increasing union with himself and communion
with himself so that he meets his people in his house,
speaks to them, they speak to him. So that we sit at his table. You know, folks who are dinner
guests, they may or may not be friends. But folks who just come
into the house, and if there's biscuits on the table, they just
sit down and butter a biscuit and start talking, they're pretty
close friends, or they're very presumptuous. This man receiveth
sinners into such intimate, sweet communion that they are family. Brothers and sisters, sons and
daughters. So that everything that rejoices
them, rejoices him. And everything that touches them,
Touches Him. Everything. And when He gets
done, when He gets done, He's going to bring us into His
house. And the Lamb of God, like He
did His disciples in John 13, is going to gird Himself and serve us. at His table in
His house forever, leading us beside the rivers of everlasting
life, and feeding us from the bountiful tree of life forever,
because this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. Amen.